“I’m going to protect you.”
↷ ⁞ 𝚝𝚎𝚗 𝚢𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚜 𝚊𝚐𝚘 . . . ⁞ + .
His eyes were swollen with tears, chubby little cheeks flushed from how much the young Yi had been crying. Minsik hid his hands behind him, a feeling of shame washing over him as the welts stung as he flexed his fingers. The verbal humiliation rang in his ears as he failed to complete yet another task assigned to him by their tutors despite how much he had tried.
“I’m sorry,” Minsik warbled, voice wet with tears as he remained huddled under the blankets, too ashamed to face his twin who was sent to check in on him. “I’ll do better tomorrow, I promise. I’m sorry I let them hit me, it must really hurt, right?” Despite his apologies, Minsik knew, deep in his heart that tomorrow would only yield the same results. He lacked talent and lacked the tenacity that seemed so prevalent in their family. But Minsik had no rights to complain, when his twin was flourishing so well under the tutelage, and here he was, perhaps in a slightly better position than a squib.
Minji shouldn’t have to protect him. As an Yi himself, great things had been expected of the twins. Yet Minsik failed, again and again, to prove himself worthy, cast aside with disappointment by the people who should have offered him care and nurture. As two individuals, him and Minji were supposed to have each other’s back, to support each other through it all. Yet he was left in the dust while Minji improved by leaps and bounds, his fantasy a mere pipe dream.
Minsik understood that he and Minji, despite their connectedness and status, would never stand on the same level. He would always be some kind of liability.
Guilt overwhelmed the teen as another wave of tears swelled in his eyes as he sniffled and wiped them away. The back of his eyes were beginning to hurt from how much he was crying, and he was sure Minji felt it too. More guilt. “I’m sorry for being such a burden,” he mumbled, curling into a pathetic little ball.
