2-Shattered
1998, 10. August
Yoongi wasn't too excited about his new kindergarten. It wasn't as pretty as his previous one. This façade was bright yellow, it hurt Yoongi's eyes, and on the surface there were a couple of mascots his mom told him about already. The rain washed them away from the walls already and the bear 'Teddy' looked kind of creepy.
His old kindergarten was much prettier. Yoongi helped drawing grass and butterflies on the blue walls when they repainted the outside of the house.
Yoongi looked up at the ugly building while his mom rummaged in their trunk.
Suddenly another car pulled up the parking lot and drove past them.
It stopped in front of the door and stayed there for a while.
The car was all black and Yoongi couldn't see any dirt on the surface.
Finally an older person opened the door and exited the car before he walked to the door at the back and opened that one.
A small boy slid out of the back, turned around again and then pulled out his backpack.
The older men helped to put the backpack on and then kneeled down in front of the boy to talk to him.
Yoongi looked at the backpack for a while.
It looked new, without any scratches or bumps like Yoongi's.
It was black and had red stripes with white outlines on it. Mickey Mouse. Yoongi's parents allowed him to watch Disney Channel for a couple of hours on the weekend.
There were even the mouse's two big ears on the backpack. Yoongi wondered if he could try carrying the backpack if he asked later.
Yoongi lost sight of the boy when his mom held up his backpack in front of him and closed the back of their car.
With her help, he slid the backpack on. The soft fabric settled against his back. His Kumamon backpack was pretty old.
His mom always told him, that she'd buy him a new and bigger one once he'd go into elementary school. Yoongi thought that the small ears were the cutest detail of the little backpack but he also liked the two small feet which were underneath the face. The fabric in the front was already worn down. One strap already snapped twice. His mommy sewed it every time though.
Yoongi had a couple plushies at home. He loved Kumamon, but he wasn't sure if the kids would bully him for bringing a plushie with him, so he left it at home.
Yoongi's mom cleaned her hands from the dirt which stuck to their car while the black, clean one drove off the other end of the parking lot.
Yoongi wondered if the boy went inside all by himself?
"Let's go meet your new friends.", his mommy said and grabbed Yoongi's hand when he reached out for hers.
Yoongi only nodded as he wondered if his other friends were already dressing up as Indians and cowboys or if they were allowed to go into the playroom to play with the foam cubes.
Did they miss him yet?
Once they entered the building, Yoongi shivered.
It was chilly inside. Yoongi already heard a couple of kids laughing and when he looked over to the many benches, he saw the boy from earlier, trying to get his shoes off.
Around the area were a lot off jackets and shoes from other kids.
"Yoongi, baby, please sit down here, alright?", Yoongi's mommy said then led him over to the benches.
"I'll be back in a minute. Get your jacket out of your backpack, okay?"
Yoongi hummed and started to slide the backpack off his back and placed it on the floor.
He looked over to that boy again who was frowning at his shoes. He had opened the tie only halfway and couldn't get his feet out of them. Finally, he slipped down from the bench, sat on the floor and started to pull the shoe off his feet.
Yoongi watched with amazement. The boy already had shoelaces.
Yoongi only had shoes with hook and loop fastener. This way he could easily slide in and out of them.
He didn't even know how to use shoelaces. He only watched his mom every morning when she put on her shoes.
Suddenly the shoe slipped off the boy's foot and he looked up to stare into Yoongi's eyes.
Yoongi opened his mouth. He wanted to say hello. Anything so maybe he could befriend the boy, but suddenly his mom came back.
"Yoongi. I told you to get your jacket out. It's cold here.", she said and kneeled down to open the backpack to open Yoongi's thin zip up.
She then pulled the jacket over Yoongi's arms and pulled on the fabric until it sit right on his body.
Yoongi still tried to get more comfortable in the tight jacket tho.
"Okay. Yoongi, that's Miss Choi.", she said and just then, Yoongi noticed the woman close to his mom.
"She will introduce you to the kids here and show you around, alright?"
"Alright.", Yoongi mumbled and nodded without looking at Miss Choi. She was much bigger than his mommy and her cheeks looked red and round, as if they were about to burst.
"Behave and daddy will pick you up later, okay?", Yoongi's mommy patted his head and then kissed his forehead.
"I love you. And now go and play.", once she corrected Yoongi's clothes again, she patted Yoongi's butt and stood up again.
Then Yoongi looked over to where that boy was earlier, but he was gone, just like his backpack.
Yoongi's mommy talked to Miss Choi a bit longer until she started to walk off.
She waved at Yoongi and he knew she'd only leave the kindergarten once he'd wave back.
For a moment he considered not waving back.
He remembered when he went into his previous kindergarten for the first time.
Back then he cried when his mommy wanted to leave. So she couldn't help herself but to stay with Yoongi until he slept in. She even growled at kindergarteners when they tried to separate them, but Yoongi was older now and and he decided to be more like his father.
So he quickly raised his hand and waved at her while he smiled.
His mother mirrored his smile and then disappeared through the door.
Yoongi swallowed heavily when Miss Choi told him to pull off his shoes and pull on his play socks.
Yoongi didn't like it here. Not at all. It was cold and the kindergartners were stricter and didn't let Yoongi draw because 'The drawing corner only opens at 11' so he needed to either join the kids in playing memory or do some board games. Yoongi hated both. He wondered when they'd go into a playroom where they'd build things or when they could go outside. Yoongi had tried to talk to the other kids but they were really loud and the kids asked him weird questions a lot.
Overall he didn't find any new friend yet. Two told him that Kumamon was creepy and ugly and then almost ripped the strap off which his mother secured just yesterday.
Only one girl started to talk to Yoongi.
Nobody really seemed to like her as well.
"And why are you so pale?", she asked.
She already wanted to know if Yoongi was allergic to anything because she couldn't eat apples, pears, bananas, kiwis, pineapples, melons and so on. Basically every fruit. And she was lactose intolerant? Yoongi wasn't sure what that meant. Maybe he should ask his daddy later. He always knew everything.
"Uhm. I don't know.", Yoongi muttered while he watched how she put a puzzle together. Some fresh snot was coming out of her nose and her big glasses kept sliding down her nose even though she always pushed them up with her tiny hands.
She had a very high ponytail and her black hair was a bit greasy, her bangs slightly straggly.
Yoongi's mommy always made him wash his hair twice.
He wondered if some parents didn't do that? Yoongi also didn't like his hair when it was greasy.
"Don't you go outside?", she kept asking and finally put a puzzle piece into its place.
"I do, but my mommy always puts sunscreen on me. Otherwise, I might get red."
Yoongi noticed that the girl's skin was much darker than his.
She had a bracelet around her wrist and Yoongi already saw that her skin was much brighter underneath. Didn't her mommy apply sunscreen on her skin?
"Did you go to the beach this vacation?", Yoongi asked and hoped he could tell her about his vacation.
But the girl only shook her head and placed down another puzzle piece.
"Beaches are boring.", she stated and she didn't seem really interested in another conversation with him.
Yoongi's friends would have asked him about what he saw at Jeju and what food they ate, but nobody really cared about his vacation here. So Yoongi sat alone most of the day.
Once he was allowed to draw, he did. But other kids stole his colors or juddered the table so he couldn't draw properly.
Finally he ended up on the couch with a male kindergartner who read a book out loud. A story about a rabbit and a turtle. Yoongi didn't have a particular interest in the story but when he discovered that the boy from earlier was there, he settled down as well.
Some kids left when Yoongi joined them, mumbling that he looked like a ghost.
Back in his old kindergarten, everyone told him that he was cute and they were very kind. Yoongi didn't know what he was doing wrong.
Taehyung had told him that he was looking creepy sometimes when he was thinking hard, but he never thought he'd have this kind of effect on others. He didn't want to scare anyone away. He was just shy. He couldn't speak up easily and was scared that he would say something wrong. However, he still wanted to make friends. That was everything Yoongi wanted.
"Hoseok, do you want to tell us how the story ends?", the kindergartner asked and looked to his side where the boy was curled up against the men. Yoongi could also use some cuddles but he was too scared to ask.
Hoseok shook his head and looked past the man, right at Yoongi. He had heard the light laugh Hoseok had before and he had seen his two apple cheeks that blew up when he grinned widely, but now Hoseok wasn't grinning. He looked very serious and even frowned a little.
"Okay, kids. Who wants to play outside?" Suddenly Miss Choi asked.
Yoongi flinched and Hoseok quickly jumped up and started to run away.
Everyone was running downstairs and Yoongi couldn't find Hoseok anywhere now.
Many kids yelled in excitement as they ran downstairs, just a couple, including Yoongi, kept their voice down.
Yoongi loved playing outside.
The sun felt good on his skin and the fresh air made him tired for a perfect afternoon nap.
He loved that time of the day - the afternoon naps.
Everyone would cuddle together and rest.
He could never relate to his friends who wanted to play instead of having an afternoon nap.
But for now, Yoongi wanted to discover the playground. So he slowly slid off the couch and followed Miss Choi who carried a very young kid downstairs.
The small boy hid behind his comfort blanket when Yoongi looked up to him. He seemed very shy.
When they reached the wardrobe, almost every kid had dressed up. All of them had a cap on and Yoongi realized he didn't have one. He softly pulled at Miss Choi's pants until she looked down at him.
"I have no cap.", he said.
Apparently he spoke too lowly because Miss Choi bowed down to him.
"Sorry, can you say that again?", she asked and somehow Yoongi felt scared. This big woman with her dark and curly hair frightened him slightly and suddenly a lump formed in his throat. He didn't know what to do so he shook his head instead and walked over to the other kids. Yoongi easily found a free spot on the bench and sat on top of it.
While most of the kids ran outside already, Yoongi fumbled a bit longer with his socks.
They were difficult to peel off his feet and he wanted to play in the mud.
His mommy always told him to take them off.
Besides, Yoongi didn't want to wear shoes.
It was way too hot outside. The kindergarteners opened the window to free a ladybug earlier and Yoongi felt overwhelmed by the heat which crawled inside the room.
Suddenly two pairs of shoes appeared in front of him.
When he looked up, Hoseok stood in front of him with arms crossed over his chest.
He still frowned.
"Are you a monster?", he asked suddenly.
Yoongi blinked at him. The lump was still stuck in his throat.
Huh? Why would he say that?
"The others tell me you are a ghost because you barely smile or talk. Are you a monster?", Hoseok asked again and this time Yoongi was devastated.
Why did the other kids say something like this?
He wasn't a monster. He was just shy and didn't know how to talk to others.
Suddenly Yoongi felt ashamed and looked down. He didn't have the courage to look straight at Hoseok.
He was close to tears so he started to pout and tried to suppress the urge to cry.
His eyes started to burn and something hurtful bubbled in his chest.
It spread through his body, heating up his chest and then his back.
Yoongi didn't want to cry in front of the boy he wanted to befriend. He wanted to be cool, but Hoseok critical stare made him shy away.
"So you are a monster.", Hoseok said loudly and Yoongi's gaze shot up.
No, he wasn't!
He wanted to yell that at Hoseok, but his throat got tighter and tighter with every heavy heartbeat.
He couldn't take it.
When their eyes met, Hoseok ran away.
No. He wanted to be friends with Hoseok!
This couldn't happen.
So Yoongi started to thug on his socks again until they came off and then stuffed them into his shoes.
Then he tried to run after Hoseok. He knew he still needed to pull off his zip up and ask someone to put on sunscreen, but now wasn't the time for that.
Once Yoongi reached the outside, Hoseok was nowhere to be seen.
Yoongi looked around, the playground his second priority at this point, and then he discovered a huge tree crown and he saw Hoseok's yellow shirt disappearing between the green leaves.
Yoongi didn't know why a big tree was laying on the grass, but he also didn't care at this point.
The bright sun was dazzling him and he squeezed his eyes to see where Hoseok crawled into.
Once Yoongi walked closer, he discovered a small hole between the branches.
He crawled through the waterfall of leaves and felt the wet mud underneath his hands. His shorts were probably dirty as well but once he reached the other side of the tunnel, he forgot about how his mother would later scold him.
Yoongi stood up as soon as there was enough room. Five kids were leaning against the bigger branches or sat on them. Everyone was staring at him. When Yoongi's eyes wandered around and found Hoseok's, he saw that the boy held three leaves and a stick in his hand.
Yoongi wondered if they were playing something and if he could join.
"The monster followed us. The hideout isn't safe anymore!", one kid, Yoongi didn't talk to yet, yelled.
Yoongi flinched when suddenly everyone started to move around. They dropped their sticks and leaves and started to storm towards Yoongi.
One kid ran towards him and pushed him to the side so everyone could flee from the hideout.
Yoongi stumbled back and he tried to find his balance by grabbing after a branch.
Yoongi cried out when he stepped into something sharp.
He whined and looked down.
He pulled his foot up and saw that his little foot was bleeding.
For a moment Yoongi was paralyzed. He looked past his foot, down to something transparent under the many leafs the tree shed.
Yoongi didn't want to look for what it was. He just wanted to leave the hideout.
Hoseok was gone just like everyone else.
So once he started to move towards the entrance as well, he finally started to cry.
His foot stung and hurt a lot. He couldn't hold back his voice anymore and the moment he emerged from the treetop, the male kindergartner rushed to him.
Suddenly Yoongi trembled and even when someone pulled him up, patted his head and tried to calm him down, he wasn't able to stop crying. It felt like the most horrible thing he ever experienced.
They carried him back to the house, into a room Yoongi hadn't seen before. It looked similar to the office his dad was working in. Kids weren't allowed to play here probably.
Miss Choi tried to explain to him that he stepped into a shard.
They needed to wash his feet so the wound shouldn't stay dirty.
But Yoongi fidgeted and tried to kick after Miss Choi who wanted to clean up the cut.
At one point she seemed to give up. She stood up and told Yoongi not to stand up before she left. Yoongi sat alone and cried silently. He hated the new kindergarten. He wanted to be strong like his daddy but he couldn't. Maybe another day. Because now he needed his friends who'd hold his hand so it wouldn't be so bad. But the kids here only stood at the door and observed the situation.
Once Yoongi looked over to them, they either shied away or stuck out their tongues.
Yoongi felt horrible. He wanted to go home, but he knew he couldn't.
Suddenly, a stranger walked through the door. A young woman with beautiful long, black hair. She wasn't very tall, but she wore a pretty flower-patterned dress that hung so prettily on her body.
She had a weirdly looking scarf around her chest and just when she kneeled down in front of Yoongi, he saw that she was carrying a pup on her chest, secured by the fabric.
"Hey, Yoongi, I'm Mrs. Lee. Miss Choi told me your feet still hurts", she said and smiled kindly at him.
Yoongi felt calm all of sudden. His hiccups stopped and the tears stopped running down his cheeks.
The omega in front of him pulled out a tissue and started to rub Yoongi's tears away.
Yoongi nodded but couldn't stop pouting.
The woman then wiped away the snot and smiled calmly.
"May I look at your feet? I really need to check on them.", she asked but didn't grab Yoongi's foot right away.
Yoongi eyed the woman. Her eyes were shining brightly and her hair was tugged behind her right ear, which revealed a shimmering earring. A small mole was under her right eye and her skin was glowing.
Yoongi was wondering if this woman was a kindergartener as well. He already saw that there were other groups with other adults. Maybe she belonged to one of them?
Finally, Yoongi decided that this was alright. This woman wouldn't hurt him for sure.
He lifted his leg slightly and the woman softly touched his limb and lifted it so she could see underneath once she bowed down slightly.
She started to stroke Yoongi's leg.
"Well, I think we really need to clean that up, Yoongi."
Yoongi pouted again. He remembered when someone touched him on the foot sole. He didn't like that.
"Do you mind if I try?", she asked and looked up at him again.
"I will clean that with some warm water and then we will see, okay?"
"Where is my mommy.", Yoongi whined and shook his head.
"We called your mom but she can't come here now. She will pick you up early tho, but we can't wait for her to arrive. Do you understand?"
Yoongi did understand. His mom was working and couldn't leave too early.
A heavy sigh escaped Yoongi's mouth and he bit his bottom lip.
This woman looked really nice and Yoongi couldn't believe she would harm him. Something familiar was radiating from her so he nodded.
"Okay. I will go to the bathroom and prepare everything for you. Miss Choi will pick you up, alright?"
At the mentioning of Miss Choi, Yoongi tensed up again, but then he nodded. He was going to be okay, and really, after the lady left, Miss Choi joined him and talked a bit with him.
Apparently, the tree fell on the playground last weekend during a thunderstorm.
At first, the parents wanted it to be gone but the kids protested and they left the treetop there.
They checked it for dangerous objects twice but didn't find any so it was alright to leave it there as a hideout.
Miss Choi apologized to Yoongi many times and promised him they'd take better care so nothing like this would happen to him again.
Yoongi didn't trust the woman yet even though she didn't try to touch his foot again and didn't lift him up until Yoongi agreed to it.
But the other woman quickly earned his trust.
Yoongi learned that her name was Mrs. Lee. She had delivered her baby 5 weeks ago and started working right away with her pup always close. She told Yoongi that her husband often worked out of the city and was barely home even on the weekends. She was 24 and when Yoongi called her old, she laughed happily. "Just wait until you are 24.", she said and shook her head in amusement.
Yoongi whined a couple of times while Mrs. Lee cleaned his foot. She used a weird spray that burned on his skin.
After she looked closely into the wound, she told Yoongi that he has been lucky because there was no glass in his foot. Yoongi didn't know if he'd call that lucky.
After they finished, she washed Yoongi's feet again and then dried them off carefully before she spread an ointment underneath.
"So don't walk now. That will hurt a lot.", she said once she packed all the supplies away.
The baby on her chest was still sleeping peacefully.
Yoongi's eyes felt heavy from all the crying and he kept blinking a lot.
"Are you tired? Do you want to sleep?", Mrs. Lee asked and Yoongi nodded right away. He felt as if he could fall off the stool at any moment.
"Miss Choi will bring you to our office so you can nap peacefully until your mommy will pick you up.", Mrs. Lee said, her voice sounded like music to Yoongi.
Mrs. Lee asked for Miss Choi who then came to pick him up.
The office was pretty dark with many chairs and couches. Only a couple of lights were on which also only shone softly.
Miss Choi already prepared one couch for him and pulled a soft blanket up to his chin once he got comfortable.
"Now sleep and once you open your eyes again, I'm sure your mommy will be here already."
Yoongi nodded and squeezed his eyes shut. He needed to sleep quickly.
Once he woke up, his mother really was there. She stood at the other end of the room and talked to Mrs. Lee. The room was very bright now.
His mommy looked worried and Yoongi really didn't like the look on her face.
"Mommy.", Yoongi whined once he was able to push himself up.
His mother turned quickly towards him and then hurried to his side.
"Hey, baby. Did you rest well?", she asked and sat down beside him so Yoongi could lean on her.
She pulled him onto her lap and started scenting him.
Yoongi felt relaxed and safe. He'd be home soon.
"I'm sorry I wasn't able to pick you up earlier.", she mumbled into Yoongi's hair and kissed his forehead.
"It's okay.", Yoongi lied. He looked down his foot which was feeling weird. It was a heavy feeling and his bandage loosened a bit.
"Mrs. Min, again. I'm terribly sorry. We will remove the tree right away and take care of the situation. I'm sorry Yoongi stepped on the shard."
Yoongi's mother smiled sadly.
"Okay. Thank you for taking care of my son. And congratulations.", Yoongi mother said and Mrs. Lee smiled widely. "Thank you. And it was a pleasure. Yoongi is really adorable."
With these words, Mrs. Lee started to collect the blanket from Yoongi and smiled kindly.
"Even when I don't take care of your group, we can always play at the playground, okay?"
Yoongi nodded and smiled at the offer.
He'd love to play with Mrs. Lee.
"Alright. We'll visit a doctor now.", Yoongi's mommy announced and stood up while she held Yoongi against her chest.
Yoongi quickly grabbed his mother's shoulders and held himself close.
"See you soon.", his mother said to Mrs. Lee who then nodded towards them.
"Take care."
On their way to the doctor, Yoongi's mommy didn't talk.
Maybe she was mad. Mad at Yoongi that he stepped on the shard.
"I'm sorry, mommy. I didn't want to step on the shard."
His mommy looked over for a split second.
"Oh, baby. It's not your fault.", she said and forced on a smile. "I'm not angry at you."
"Please don't be angry at Mrs. Lee either. She was really nice."
"I am not.", his mother said then parked in front of the hospital.
"I'm angry at Miss Choi. She should have looked after you, but don't worry about that. We will make sure you can quickly walk again."
His mother then smiled before she exited the car and walked around to pick up Yoongi.
Yoongi didn't like the examination and the syringe the doctor pushed into his arm, but he at least got sweets afterward, and he was allowed to stay at home for a few days together with his mommy. However, he wasn't allowed to run around which was why his mother barely let him do stuff on his own.
The day Yoongi needed to return to the kindergarten, the tree was gone.
That afternoon, after his mother picked him up, the firefighters came and removed the tree from the playground.
Everyone was mad at Yoongi because he was the reason their hideout was gone now.
And at first, Yoongi felt bad, but then he was glad that no one else would step on the shard like he did.
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