Run Away Boy

Yonghwa went to his room and saw his face in a mirror in the bathroom,

his face was bruised a red angry mottled skin on his cheek and neck could be seen clearly in his pale white complexion and his lips were a little split at the corner

there was a little blood crusting the corner of his mouth he got his phone out and took pictures grimly

if his father thought he was going to shrivel up in a corner and die because of this he could think again Moon Yonghwa was stronger and smarter than this, hitting was child abuse

after taking evidence of his father's assault he carefully and gently washed his face with cold water

and used a first aid kit to apply cooling ointment to the bruise and then a cooling pack was

attached to his face using dressing tape and then he put on a black face mask to cover it he went downstairs next and

washed the quilt three times in the washing machine and then put it in the dryer as he tried to think about his options

he couldn't do this anymore he really couldn't live like this it was unbearable if the hitting continued after this then...

he needed to get out, things had escalated from verbal to physical

when the quilt was dry he took it from the machine and smelled it

it smelled freshly of fabric softener and it was clean and beautiful once more he went up to his room with it

he began to put together his things packing up all his mother's pictures from the wall

he took them out of the frames and put them into the albums and put the albums in his suitcase

he folded up his mother's precious quilt and that went in as well

his mother journal from its hiding place followed

sorting through the things he had taken from his father's room things like her makeup and perfume that

were on her dresser most of them were too old and couldn't be kept

she had a few bottles of perfume she hardly used except on some special occasions

Yonghwa kept those they were expensive designer scents with fancy stylish looking bottles collectibles

he found her jewelry his mother preferred understated but elegant and classy looking pieces

that never went out of fashion they were very valuable due to their craftsmanship

their style was not made anymore by popular jewelry designers

but they were refined and beautiful classic style jewelry

Yonghwa put out her favorite piece it was a thin gold necklace with a teardrop pearl pendant

the pearl white and faintly pink he gently polished it and bean to glisten and shine with that pretty translucent glow

"so beautiful," he said softly he decided to wear it putting it on

around his neck the pearl hung at the hollow of his throat it was very lovely

he found her gold charm bracelet that had the tinkling musical notes on it he smiled faintly

in memory of seeing her wearing it

he had bought this for her birthday the year he was twelve after saving his allowance money

that went around his wrist the next pieces were her earings and four rings inside a little velvet jewelry sack

Yonghwa slipped two of the rings unto his fingers and the other two couldn't fit, he left those in the sack with the earrings tucked in a pocket in his wallet putting it back into his inside shirt pocket

and buttoning it closed to keep his wallet safe,

he found inside a velvet casing hidden inside one of her old handbags

was an expensive diamond necklace and earring set

his father had bought those for his mother when they first got engaged its a part of her betrothal gifts

they were extremely valuable and had been missing for a long time he could get a lot of money for them his plan

would not be short of finances if he sold them those went into his backpack

her clothing came next his mother was a very stylish dresser she had several lovely dresses and skirts suits Yonghwa

wasn't sure yet what should be done with those so he put those back in their storage containers

he found she had several dress shirts and blouses

he put one on looking in the mirror his mother was slim and petite so the shirts were able to fit him

also being the small slim type,

they were very nice he thought they could still be worn and some of them were expensive designer shirts

they were elegant style buttoned-up shirts some of them had ruffles on the wrist or around the collar

one with small ruffles going down the front next to the buttons that went into his suitcase

he found her ruffled cravats one was black lace and the other was white they were beautiful neckpieces

worn with a chocker clasp with a beautiful fake jewel at the neck worn on very formal occasions when she wanted to look extra fancy

he would wear those when he performed on stage they went in his suitcase he found her ribbon neckties there were

in various styles and colors, some were simple ribbons, others were big bow ties or pretty scarf ties, some were ribbons hung from decorative accessories worn clipped to a shirt collar or pocket, they were very lovely

trying on a ribbon around the collar of his white shirt a black silk tie looked very nice with the white shirt with the ribbons hanging down elegantly from the bow at his neck

very elegant but soft and cute simple he would wear those with the shirts in they went as well

he found her dark blue pea coat with the belt that always so nice when she wore it

he put it on with a giggle styling in front of the mirror

he would wear this and the other tan coat to it he found

went into his suitcase along with several pairs of pants and underwear

socks and shoes,pajamas and what he called home clothes t-shirts and shorts

sweat pants he would wear to hang around the house in

he opened up in his second suitcase in went his hotplates and sandwich maker his kettle and pot

his hanging baskets and food would have to stay since they couldn't fit in

but he carefully packed his mothers

potted plants five small African violet plants into a travel storage box with a sealed cover to keep them safe during the trip in his suitcase

his laptop phone ear pods and electronics went into his backpack the only thing he would regret leaving was his piano

with his passport and everything else secured for his trip he packed his tables and whatnot

into his closet along with the dish rank dishes and utensils inside that belong to his mother his food was put into

storage containers and he put away the baskets too in his closet and then he locked it up with a chain and padlock across the doors of his closet

he had packed up his most important things to take with him his room looked bare now with all her pictures taken down

and furniture packed away he washed up and got dressed

in black skinny jeans one of his mother's white shirts and a black ribbon tie

black face mask covering the bandage on his face and his mother's blue coat and sneakers on his feet

he locked the door of his room so his father couldn't get inside while he was gone

and quietly slipped out the open french window in the back of his room

from the balcony to the ground using the cloth ties from his drapes knotted together

to create a very simple but effective rope

one suitcase at a time was lowered to the ground

as the distance to the ground from his balcony was not that high

Yonghwa was mostly worried about damaging anything in his suitcases

after getting his luggage safely out of the house with his backpack on he then easily climbed

over the balcony hanging off the bottom of the balcony ledge by his lower body first and then

with his hands, he lowered himself down as far as he could get and then let go jumping

down the rest of the way, he landed on his feet with a thump on the ground below catching his breath as his heart pounded hard in his chest and he looked back up at the balcony

he was really running away from home he realized

he wondered what his mother would think "don't be disappointed in me mom" he said softly "I haven't given up I am taking you with me we will be back stronger than before"

he slipped out with his backpack and two suitcases in tow