BELOVED BY THE TWINS

CHAPTER 2

"BELOVED BY THE TWINS"

by: Dark Flame Master

As soon as Shin walked into the school the whispers started. “Hey, look, there’s that loser again,” one of the boys sneered, loud enough for Shin to hear. Others joined in laughing and pointing at him. Shin tried to ignore them keeping his head down and walking faster but it didn’t matter. The bullying followed him everywhere at his locker, in the cafeteria, and even in the hallways between classes.

In class, things were no better. Someone threw a crumpled piece of paper at him hitting the back of his head. “Hey, Shin, why don’t you just disappear already? No one would miss you,” one of the girls said, her voice full of malice.

The entire class erupted in laughter and the teacher didn’t even look up from her desk. It was as if Shin was invisible, his suffering unnoticed by everyone around him.

At lunch, a group of boys blocked his path knocking the food tray out of his hands. “Oops, sorry, didn’t see you there, Shin,” one of them mocked, grinning as his friends laughed.

Shin said nothing, his hands trembling as he bent down to pick up the scattered food. His stomach churned with both hunger and humiliation but there was no point in fighting back. No one cared. They never did. He was just a target, someone to take their anger and frustrations out on.

After school, things didn’t improve. Shin had walked home quickly hoping to avoid any more confrontations but his mind was still heavy with the weight of his problems. He barely had enough money to pay for his meals let alone his mother’s growing medical bills. The doctors had been kind but the hospital wasn’t going to treat his mother for free. His part-time job barely covered the basics and each day the bills are piling higher and higher.

“Mom…” Shin whispered to himself as he walked down the crowded street, his voice trembling. “I don’t know what to do.”

Later, as he entered the hospital to visit her the familiar wave of stress and fear washed over him. His mother smiled weakly when he entered her room, her pale face framed by the hospital pillows. “Shin, honey… you don’t need to visit every day. I don’t want you to worry about me.”

His mother was the only person left in his life who cared about him and she was slipping away, stuck in this hospital bed, her condition getting worse. He couldn’t help her. He couldn’t help himself.

“Mom, I…” Shin started, but he didn’t know what to say. He forced a smile trying to hide the pain. “I’ll be fine, okay? Just focus on getting better.”

But his mother saw through his forced cheerfulness. She reached out, her hand weakly grasping his. “Shin, you’ve been carrying so much… I’m sorry you have to go through this.”

Shin blinked back tears, swallowing the lump in his throat. “It’s okay, Mom. I’m okay.”

But he wasn’t. And deep down he knew his mother understood that.

When Shin left the hospital room that evening he felt more lost than ever. The bullying, the mounting bills, the hopelessness it all felt like too much. No matter what he did it was never enough. No one at school saw him as anything more than a joke and the hospital staff only saw him as the poor kid struggling to pay his mother’s bills. There was no one he could turn to, no one who really understood.

And now, standing on the hospital rooftop he was ready to give up. The thought of continuing like this day after day was unbearable.

He stood there, staring at the city skyline. The air was cold and the wind whipped around him but he barely felt it. His mind was a blur of pain, anger, and sadness. His thoughts raced and the weight of everything crushed him.

“No one would care if I disappeared,” Shin muttered to himself, his voice lost in the wind. “No one ever cared.”

He thought about his mother lying in that hospital bed. He thought about the hospital bills, the bullying, the laughter that followed him everywhere he went. His heart ached and tears filled his eyes.

“I can’t do this anymore,” he whispered to himself as he stood at the edge of the rooftop looking down. The world below seemed so far away, so detached from the pain that had consumed him for years. He thought about how easy it would be to just… end it. No more bullying, no more debt, no more being invisible to the world.

The voices of his bullies echoed in his mind, taunting him, reminding him of every cruel word, every shove, every laugh at his expense.

“You’re worthless.”

“No one would miss you.”

“Why are you even here?”

Shin’s vision blurred, his breath shaky. He was ready to let go. He was ready to end it all. No one saw him and no one cared. It would be easier this way.

But just as he was about to take that final step he heard something. Footsteps, running toward him.

“Hey! Don’t do it!”

Startled, Shin turned slightly just in time to see two figures running toward him. It was the twins Ruka and Luca. They reached him in an instant and before Shin could react Ruka grabbed his arm and yanked him away from the edge, pulling him to the ground.

Shin fell hard, his body colliding with Ruka’s and Luca knelt beside them, his expression serious but calm.

“Let me go!” Shin cried, struggling against Ruka’s firm grip. Panic flared in his chest as he tried to free himself. “Just let me go!”

But as he glanced over his eyes landed on Luca who was watching him with that same calm steady gaze. “Luca…” Shin whispered, the name escaping his lips before he could stop himself.

Both twins froze for a moment shocked that Shin had correctly identified them. No one ever got it right.

“How did you—” Ruka started, his voice filled with surprise. “You knew who Luca was?”

Shin, still trembling, nodded. “I don’t know… I just… knew.”

Ruka’s grip softened and he exchanged a glance with his brother. “No one ever gets it right,” he murmured to himself.

Shin’s heart pounded in his chest. He didn’t know why but he could. It was like he could sense the difference between them without even trying. But that didn’t matter now. What did it matter if he could tell them apart when the rest of the world didn’t care about him at all?

His emotions suddenly surged and before he could stop himself he spoke the words he had been holding in for so long. “Why are you even bothering with me?” he said, his voice cracking. “You don’t know me. No one cares about me. I’m just… invisible.”

Ruka frowned, his expression turning serious. “That’s not true—”

“It is true!” Shin interrupted, his voice shaking with anger and hurt. “No one ever cares. I’m always alone. People treat me like I don’t even exist.” His voice broke and he looked down tears threatening to spill. “And now… my mom’s in the hospital, and I can’t even pay her bills. I don’t know what to do anymore.”

The twins went silent their usual energy and calmness replaced by something deeper. They looked at each other, something unspoken passing between them.

After a long pause, Luca finally spoke, his voice low and gentle. “We understand,” he said quietly. “People look at us and only see ‘the twins.’ They don’t see us as individuals. It’s like… we’re always one person, never two.”

Ruka nodded, his expression soft. “We’ve never had anyone who could tell us apart. Until you.”

Shin’s heart ached. He had never expected anyone to relate to his feelings of loneliness. But somehow, these two who barely knew him seemed to understand what he had been going through.

A silence fell between them but it wasn’t uncomfortable. It was as if they were all processing the same realization that they were more alike than they had ever thought.

After a moment, Ruka broke the silence with a sudden grin. “Okay, here’s the deal,” he said, his voice lighter but still serious. “Be our boyfriend, and we’ll help you with your mom’s hospital bills.”

Shin blinked, taken aback. “What?”

Luca nodded, his expression calm and sincere. “We’re serious. We can help. You don’t have to worry about the bills anymore.”

Ruka’s grin widened. “And in return, you’ll be our boyfriend. It’s a win-win.”

Shin’s mind raced. Be their boyfriend? It was such a strange, unexpected offer. He didn’t have romantic feelings for them, at least not yet but the idea of not being alone anymore of having someone to lean on was more tempting than he could admit.

“But… why would you want me?” Shin asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

Shin felt something shift inside him something like hope, something he hadn’t felt in a long time. It was overwhelming and confusing but it was also comforting. For the first time in what felt like forever, someone was offering him a lifeline.

After a long pause, Shin finally nodded, his voice barely above a whisper. “Okay… I’ll do it.”

As they helped Shin to his feet, Ruka immediately started talking excitedly about how they could set up a space for Shin at their house. Luca stayed beside them in his quiet presence providing comfort as they all left the rooftop together.

For the first time in a long while, Shin didn’t feel completely alone. And as they walked away from the rooftop, he realized that maybe, just maybe things could finally get better.