[M] Family Issues (1/1)

Daehyun stared out the window watching autumn leaves dance across dying grass. Fall is finally here and the abandoned house is chilly inside. When he needed to think Daehyun always ended up there. He sat alone in peace, letting the silence around him clear his cloudy head a little bit but still, he couldn’t stop thinking about how much he hated his brother Myungsoo, the golden child, the apple of his parent’s eye, the perfect brother. He knew his parents preferred his brother over him, that much was obvious in the daily treatment he received. His father and brother always spoke their minds despite whether it hurt people or not; he just wished deep down, however much he hated to admit it, that he was an exception to this but sadly he seemed to get the worst of it on a regular basis. It wasn’t fair at all so when his dad unfairly compared him to his brother once again, he no longer acted surprised, he was too used to it by now, numb in fact; he expected it but that didn’t ease the pain it caused. This place was a sanctuary for him, an escape from the pressure filled hell that was home. He found it in a forest across from his house when he was 10, it was the day that father first started to compare him to his brother, they’d both tried out for the soccer team and of course Myungsoo had earned a place on the team while Daehyun was rejected. Now it was a constant every day occurrence for Daehyun to be put down by his father because he didn’t live up to his expectations like Myungsoo did. Myungsoo had perfect grades, attendance, extra curriculars and even tutored needy kids on top of it all. Daehyun was disgusted by his brother’s very existence.The house was surprisingly clean, save for the hundreds of cobwebs lining the corners of the old pale walls and a few squirrels that made their house in the attic. It wasn’t much but it made him feel safe and secure, there’s nobody to patronize him or tell him how much of a failure he already knows he is. It’s peaceful here, located right on the edge of a tiny lake. The trees in the small yard were dropping their multicolored leaves in the clear water and Daehyun’s eyes followed the reds, yellows, and oranges twirl and dance on the water, it was peaceful. He got into it again with his dad the second he got home from school with a B+ on his algebra exam, which led him to retreating here for hours already, fighting the hunger that stabbed his stomach ruthlessly. He wished he’d grabbed something to eat before showing his parents his grade but his father had demanded to see it right away, knowing it wouldn’t be an A like Myungsoo’s. His family was constantly reminding him of how much better his brother was than him, always rubbing it in his face that he’s never going to be good enough. Mr. Jung knew how to read Daehyun and push his buttons accordingly, knowing full well he was hurting his son deeply. Even his brother knew how much he hated being compared to him but all he did was sit there while his father griped at him. Usually his mother would defend him against his father’s below the belt attacks but today she’d just stood there without a word, silent. Maybe she was also sick of arguing with her stubborn know-it-all husband and had just given up completely trying to save her son from his tormenting. It hurt him knowing that his father despised him for not being perfect like Myungsoo, he tried hard but even when he studied for hours on end he still couldn’t be the straight A student his parents expected of him. The arguments always got bad quickly, mostly because his father had a short temper and Daehyun was just sick of all the bullshit that came out of the man’s mouth. He didn’t even care if he was being disrespectful to him anymore, why give respect when you don’t get any in return? Sometimes his brother would stop the arguments, but he did it in such a smug way that it pissed Daehyun off too much to even be grateful. Daehyun suspected the disappointment in his mother though she would never voice it to his face. The way she would look at him with that pitiful expression and then at his older brother, as if gauging why her two boys were so different from one another, it drove him crazy and shattered his heart at the same time; he hated that look. He used to think that his mother was the only one who understood him, but lately she’d been less helpful and more silent. She wasn't sure how to help without looking disrespectful towards her husband and demeaning him in front of the boys so in turn she did nothing but stand there and watch.   Finally today Daehyun had had enough and just snapped with the final insult his fat