Face Value | Lookism x Reader Oneshots

32. Jae- Mr. Brightside (Part 2)

Jae Yeol's head hurt. His mind rushed with thoughts and pains, engulfing his entire conscious. From the outside, he appeared to be spaced out, lost in his own thoughts, but on the inside he was reliving a moment he'd experienced in his youth -- when he was naive, not scared of the world he would soon know to be vicious.

Honey, his mother whispered, her voice lingering in his ears. Why are you crying? Is something wrong?

Jae Yeol shook his head, his fingers gripping his knees, chest heaving silently. No, no, everything is fine. Everything is okay. Please, don't worry about me. Please.

His eyes fluttered closed, and he could see her silhouette in the faint light at the end of the hallway. He looked down at his hands, but only darkness appeared in front of him. He glanced back up, but the outline of his mother, and the light, were both gone.

Where did Mommy go? He saw his brother, his father, smile and look at each other. At such a young age, Jae Yeol was still able to comprehend that their smiles were not real ones.

She's going to be on a business trip for a long, long time. Maybe even when you're a big kid, you may not see her. But that's okay, because she misses you a lot, Jae. She loves you. Jae Yeol nodded, looking up, his father's face looming down, still forcibly smiling at him. He was scared. Not for his mother, but at the fact that he was so small.

He felt so vulnerable.

And so sad.

"Jae!" The blonde snapped back into reality, gasping a tiny bit. (Y/N) stood behind them, a pair of gloves around their hands, holding a big, red pot.

"Sorry if I startled you," they laughed sheepishly, grinning. "But the food is ready, and I don't want it to get cold." He nodded, quickly getting up from his position on the couch, and heading to sit at the small table his classmate owned.

"It's not much, but..." (Y/N) lifted the lid of the pot and wonderful aromatic steam rose out, filling the air with the smell of savory broth and crackling salts.

"I made a hot pot with the ingredients I had left," they admitted, scratching the nape of their neck in an awkward manner. "But I think it smells pretty good." Jae Yeol could only look at the dish. If he responded, he thought he would cry. The two sat in silence as he held back tears.

I don't like fish cake! the small child exclaimed, putting the slab of meat back onto his mother's plate. She clicked her tongue and sighed, using her chopsticks to bring it back to her son's plate.

Well you have to learn to like it, she retorted, flicking her wrist in his direction. The hot pot won't finish itself.

Ugh... fine. Jae Yeol angrily took a bite of his rice and shoved some fish into his mouth, chewing pettily.This is okay, I guess.

The woman across from him laughed and messed up his hair, her fingers ruffling his black locks.

Glad you like it, son.

Now, Jae Yeol sat, arms slack, staring at the dish as it bubbled, familiar foods floating inside the soup. He bit his bottom lip and swallowed his saliva, eyebrows furrowed in a heavy struggle to not cry. He felt like his heart had been sunk in the ocean, then fished back up again.

"Do you like hotpot?" (Y/N) asked, taking some glass noodles from the pot. He nodded slowly, shaking hands reaching for his chopsticks. (Y/N) watched him put a little bit of cabbage onto his place, mixing it with the rice.

"Come on, that's not enough! Here, let me help." They picked up a fish ball, waited for it to cook, and placed it on Jae Yeol's place, smiling. "Protein's good for you. You do martial arts, right? So eat up. Get energy."