Light Through the Shadows

CHAPTER 7 — The Distance Between Us

The past few days had been anything but easy for Hoon.

His father's words kept echoing in his mind.

"You will not see that boy again."

Dojin hadn't raised his voice when he said it. Somehow, that made it even more frightening. His calmness was heavier than anger.

That evening, when Hoon sat across from him again, Dojin's expression was cold.

"Listen to me, Hoon. I'm not going to have this conversation with you twice."

"Dad…"

"If you want to finish school and stay here, you'll do as I say."

Hoon's throat tightened.

"What does Yujin have to do with any of this?"

Dojin was silent for a moment.

"Everything."

Hoon's eyes filled with anger.

"I love him."

Dojin didn't even flinch.

"That doesn't change my decision."

"Then what do you want from me?"

"I want you to stop seeing him."

Hoon fell silent.

Dojin leaned forward slightly.

"If you care about his safety, you'll stay away from him. I won't allow the people in your life to pay the price for your choices."

Hoon's heart clenched.

"You can't do anything to me."

"I'm not talking about what I could do to you. I'm talking about what could happen to him."

Those words shattered what little resistance Hoon had left.

Dojin leaned back.

"Stay away from Yujin. Focus on school. This ends here."

Hoon left the room without another word.

But once he was outside, his eyes filled with tears.

Because for the first time, he was truly afraid of losing Yujin.

───

The next day, Yujin texted him.

"Want to hang out today?"

There was no reply for a long time.

Finally:

"Not today. I have a lot to do."

Yujin frowned.

"Tomorrow?"

The answer came several hours later.

"I don't know. We'll talk later."

Yujin put his phone down, a strange emptiness settling inside him.

Lately, Hoon had been leaving campus almost immediately after class. Whenever Yujin managed to catch him, Hoon either spoke in a hurry or found some excuse to leave.

Yujin couldn't understand why.

One day, he finally caught up with him in the hallway.

"Hoon."

Hoon stopped.

"What's up?"

"I can barely reach you these days."

"I've just been busy."

"I know, but…"

Hoon looked away.

"I really have a lot going on, Yujin."

Something changed in Yujin's expression.

"Okay."

Hoon looked at him for a few seconds.

He wanted to say something.

He just couldn't.

"See you later."

Then he walked away.

Yujin stood there watching him go.

───

Jiho had noticed how different Yujin had been lately.

One day, he sat down beside him.

"Did something happen?"

Yujin shrugged.

"Hoon."

Jiho listened carefully.

"Did you two have a fight?"

"I don't know. He just changed all of a sudden. He used to look for any excuse to spend time with me. Now he's always busy."

Jiho thought for a moment.

"Maybe he really does have a lot going on."

"You think so?"

"Yeah. Sometimes when people don't know how to talk about their problems, they end up pulling away without meaning to."

Yujin stayed quiet.

Jiho gave him a small smile.

"I wouldn't jump to the worst conclusion yet."

"What if he wants to stay away from me?"

"He hasn't said that to you, has he?"

Yujin shook his head.

"Then give him a little time."

Jiho's words stayed with Yujin.

Maybe Hoon really was dealing with something else.

But that uneasy feeling inside him still wouldn't go away.

───

At home, Yujin's parents had noticed the change in him too.

One evening, Minseo sat down across from her son.

"Yujin, you've been really quiet lately."

Jisung looked at him as well.

"Did something happen?"

Yujin hesitated.

"I'm in love with someone."

They both fell silent.

A gentle expression crossed Minseo's face.

"I see."

Yujin lowered his gaze.

"But things are complicated."

Jisung asked calmly, "How so?"

"I don't know… I don't really want to talk about it."

Minseo placed her hand over his.

"You can tell us when you're ready."

Yujin looked at his mother.

"Sometimes I think I'm doing the right thing. Other times, I feel like I'm doing everything wrong."

Jisung took a slow breath.

"Love can make things confusing. Whatever happens, don't make any decisions in a rush."

Yujin nodded.

"Okay."

───

Meanwhile, Taeyoung was trying to escape from the confusion in his own life.

The distance he had put between himself and Seojun was growing.

But Seojun had noticed.

One day, as they passed each other, Seojun looked at him.

Taeyoung looked back.

Their eyes met for a brief moment.

Taeyoung immediately looked away.

That familiar uneasiness settled in Seojun's chest again.

Lately, he had been spending more time with Jiho.

He felt comfortable around him.

Taeyoung noticed them together from a distance, and he couldn't understand why something inside him tightened whenever he saw it.

Jiho, meanwhile, was slowly realizing that what he felt for Seojun might be more than friendship.

He hadn't admitted it even to himself yet.

But he liked seeing Seojun smile.

And he kept wondering why Taeyoung had suddenly become so distant from him.

───

Hoon missed Yujin more with every passing day.

One night, alone in his room, he found himself rereading their old messages.

He thought about Yujin's smile.

The way he held him.

The things he had said by the sea.

"I love you."

Hoon closed his eyes.

"I love you too…"

But now, he couldn't say it to him anymore.

Eventually, Hoon decided he had to see Yujin and tell him everything.

Maybe he couldn't tell him what his father had said.

But at least he could explain why he had been pulling away.

───

The next day, as Hoon headed toward Yujin's house, he spotted him from a distance.

Yujin wasn't alone.

Hana was with him.

She was telling him something, and for the first time in days, Yujin was genuinely smiling.

Then Hana said something that made him laugh.

Hoon stopped where he was.

Seeing that happiness on Yujin's face made all the courage inside him disappear.

So he's okay.

So he can still smile without me.

A heavy ache spread through Hoon's chest.

He had thought Yujin was waiting for him.

That he missed him.

But the person standing in front of him didn't look sad at all.

Hoon watched them for a few more seconds.

Then quietly turned around.

Yujin never noticed him.

As Hoon walked home, he lowered his eyes.

His father's words echoed through his mind once again.

"If you care about his safety, you'll stay away from him."

Hoon's eyes filled with tears.

Maybe staying away really was the only thing he could do for Yujin.

But he had no idea yet how much it was going to break him.