Bright Darkness

“Once upon a time, in a small town in South Korea, there were two brothers who used to live in an orphanage since they were born”

They looked so pure and beautiful with blond hair for the smaller one and grey hair for the other one and unique eye colors. For Koreans, having colored almond-shaped eyes and blond hair wasn’t normal and well accepted, indeed it was alluring and attractive to have those kinds of features but people hardly accepted them without jugging.

Unfortunately one of the two boys was blind. Being unable to see the world, for the smaller one, was a malediction. He hated being blind because he only made his brother work harder and harder. Whenever the taller one was having a bad day, the blind boy would feel it. He knew his brother wasn’t doing well and it made him angry not being able to help. The taller boy would always fake a smile and talk in a cheerful voice so his brother won’t be worried.

Since the first day they were in the orphanage, they were never treated well, eventually because they were different. The other children would always make fun of them and always try to do the blind boy dirty making his brother get into a lot of fights with the other boys.

“Look who is there” a fat boy said playing with his food as the two brothers sat down in one of the small cafeteria’s tables.

“The blind and his dog” a tiny girl stood up in front of them smirking.

“Leave us alone.” The taller boy warned with a scary voice, glaring at the 5 children who surrounded their table. His eyes color started slightly changing.

“Ouuw how frightening you are!” All of them laughed and the fat boy grabbed the blind boy’s hair. “Oh, are you having trouble eating your food?”

“Don’t touch him you fucker!” The taller one was ready to jump on him but all the other boys grabbed him from behind so he won’t move.

“Calm down! Don’t you see i am trying to help your brother eat?” He smirked as he grabbed the rice on the plate and slammed it on the poor boy’s face.

The taller boy was screaming and trying to escape from their grips as the fat boy and one of his friends threw food on the blind boy’s face. He couldn’t see his brother crying anymore and with all his remaining strength the taller boy managed to slip from their grasp and throw himself on the fat boy beating him up.

Two ladies heard the noise and hurried to look at what is happening inside the cafeteria. As they saw them, the fat boy started crying and his friends started screaming and surrounded the blind boy, hiding him from the sight of the newcomers. One of the two ladies pulled the taller boy away and took him to the administration and the other one helped the fat boy to stand and asked him if he could walk. He was pretending to walk with too much difficulty. The ladies both quitted the small cafeteria with the two boys, forgetting to check on the little scared blind boy who was left alone with the others.

As always, the taller boy got punished severely and deprived of food for the whole day meanwhile the boy faking his illness was taken care of. He tried to explain to them what happened but no one would listen to him, they all left him in a tiny room with nothing but an old blanket on the floor. He was crying for help even if he knew that no one would come and help him. He was scared that those bullies would do something bad to his brother. Just the thought of his little brother being beaten made him so angry that he started looking for something to open the door. In one of the corners, near the small and only window in the room, he found a small but sharp little iron stick. He used it to open the lock and hurried out looking for his brother.

He couldn’t scream his name since the people working there would hear him. He hid every time he would hear voices or footsteps till he arrived at the rooftop. There was a hidden door behind an old library. The door led to a small room that no one knew about it. He knew that his brother would be there. Every time the blind boy had to come alone to their secret room, his brother would always worry about him being caught but fortunately, he never was. How? The taller boy never knew the answer.

He entered the room, his eyes looking at every corner. He wasn’t there. The boy’s heart almost dropped before hearing small sniffs coming from the closet. He opened the doors and saw his brother, half asleep, with food leftovers on his hair and clothes. His heart ached from this sight. His poor brother didn’t ask for anything but yet they still bully him.

He got on his knees and gently caressed his brother’s hair and cheeks. The blind boy widened his eyes and was ready to throw punches in every direction.

“It’s me” as soon as he heard his brother’s voice the blind boy took his brother into a tight hug, tears lending on his brother’s shirt.

“I-i was…i-” He couldn’t talk, his cries increasing as he was trying to stifle his frequent gasps.

“Shhh, don’t worry Minie, i will protect you no matter what”

As summer approached, the weather was getting hot and dry day by day. And fortunately for the two brothers, their summer holiday arrived. Kids in school would always annoy them with the fat boy and his friends and the two brothers were very happy but the taller one was quite worried. They indeed didn’t have to face the ones from his school anymore but the fat boy and his friends were still there.

After a tiring journey, where everyone helped with the cleaning, the two brothers were now huddled together on the old black couch in their secret room. Jimin was already asleep and his brother was contemplating the blue sky from the window above them as he stroked lovingly Jimin’s natural blond hair. He couldn’t take his hand away. It became a habit to touch his brother’s hair whenever he had the chance to. It made him relax and feel at ease.

“You don’t deserve this kind of life little brother” He smiled while looking at Jimin who was moving in his sleep. He looked cute, he thought. “You are too pure for this cruel world”

The taller boy loved and cherished his brother so much that he could do anything for him, even if it cost his life. Jimin was intelligent but too kindhearted. He would think about others before himself, which always annoyed the taller boy, and yet people treated him badly. He couldn’t understand why people would always make fun of them. Yes, they were different but they were still humans.

He hated his life. He hated seeing his poor brother getting abused. He hated hearing him crying every night in silence. The taller boy wanted their life to change so he promised himself to study hard and work as much as possible to make that change happen.

I’m so excited to finally upload the first chapter of Bright Darkness. I usually write in French but this time i tried to do something different, it’s my first time writing in English so please bear with me ^^’ and i’m looking forward to hearing your feedback! And thank you so much for taking the time to read my story!

Hope you enjoyed the first chapter~~