Two Different Worlds// Minsung

f o i v e ⚔️

Rain poured relentlessly, and dark, ominous clouds accentuated the bright neon lights of the city.

Jisung ran, stumbling now and then, legs screaming with effort.

He splashed his way frantically through the muddied puddles that formed across the pavement.

He pushed his way through the crowd, the chattering that was coming from all directions seemed to close in on him, making his head spin and his hands clammy with anxiety.

He barely registered his discomfort, how could he pay attention to anything else, when Jisung had found out what happened?

The boy took no notice of the grimy water soaking his shoes and feet, or the indignant exclamations of people as he bumped into them in his haste.

A small van honked at him loudly as he sped onto the road, not even waiting for the cars to clear.

Jisung had a single, desperate thought in his mind.

He must get there, and see for himself, if she really, unmistakably was gone.

His vision was blurred by salty tears and rain, water trickled down his face and dripped onto the collar of his shirt, soaking his neck.

Red and blue lights filtered his view as he drew closer.

Jisung harshly wiped his eyes and looked frantically through the barricade of yellow tape, his heart was in his throat, pulsing with trepidation.

He let out a strangled gasp.

He saw her face, bloody and pale with death, he saw her eyes, which were usually filled with kindness, staring sightlessly at the sky.

"M-mother." Jisung choked, voice trembling with grief.

The boy's legs gave out beneath him and he collapsed to the floor, vision gradually fading into insurmountable darkness,

🩸·🩹•🧲+🪦*🎈·📄•📍+🔗*💔

Jisung's eyes snapped open, his mouth formed a silent cry as he harshly sat up, gripping the tear-soaked duvet so hard his knuckles turned white.

"No, no, no, s-stop, please." he rasped as he tilted his head back to gaze at the ceiling in a silent plea.

His chest heaved with shaky breaths as he tried to calm himself the best he could.

Scenes from his nightmare flashed through his head like an old-fashioned video, distorted.

Jisung squeezed his eyes shut as a whimper escaped his lips.

Pull yourself together Jisung, everyone suffers loss, and crying like a baby about it again won't help. The squirrel-like boy thought harshly.

There's probably still at least one person left who loves you in this world, like Father, for example. Jisung attempted to convince himself.

But much as he tried, it still couldn't stop the tears leaking through his eyes or his heart from bleeding.

Jisung let his face fall into his arms as he cried, shoulders shaking with every sniff.

The boy was so far gone that he didn't even notice the click of his bedroom door and the soft footsteps that drew closer and closer.

Jisung tensed in shock as the lamp beside him flicked on and he felt something warm rest on his arm.

He looked up hesitantly and his breath caught as he saw through his tears, a handsome, cat-like face.

It was Lee Know.

Silence stretched out between them for a moment before the older lifted his hand from Jisung's shoulder.

The squirrel-like boy was afraid for a second that the other was leaving but Lee Know only turned to pluck a few tissues from the box on his bedside table and passed them to him.

Jisung wiped away his tears, he could see the older a lot clearer now, Lee Know's hair looked so soft and ruffled from sleep, he had taken off all his jewelry and his expression was somewhat softer than usual.

He looks so much more beautiful like this.

"Are you alright?" The mafia king questioned as Jisung quietly blew his nose.

It was a typical thing to ask but the younger could tell that Lee Know wasn't the best at comforting people.

"No, but I'll be fine. Time will do its thing." The boy replied, as coldly as he could, but he turned his head away so the older wouldn't have to see more tears run down his cheeks.

Jisung knew he was being dismissive but he was only trying to make the last, tiny effort to protect his already shattered heart.

His chest clenched with loneliness as he heard Lee Know slowly walk away, but he fought back the feeling of regret.

The squirrel-like boy sniffled reflexively as he felt himself break down again.

Suddenly, he felt a weight on the side of him and strong, warm arms wrapping around his torso.

Jisung turned his head and his gaze locked with deep brown eyes, was that vulnerability he could see in them?

He couldn't tell, he always found it difficult to read the older's emotions, there was always a hard, impenetrable mask apon his face.

Lee Know shifted slightly on the bed so they were lying down under the blanket and brought the younger closer to his chest as he turned off the lamp.

Both were tense for a moment but with a minuscule surge of courage, the squirrel-like boy pressed himself even closer to the older.

Jisung's tears slowly subsided as he felt himself melting into the other's embrace.

The younger couldn't remember the last time someone ever held him like this, like he was something to be cherished.

For once in a long time, he finally felt safe.

Lee Know softly caressed Jisung's back and the squirrel-like boy breathed out a sigh of relief as the tightness in his chest faded and the sharp pain in his heart slowly ebbed.

🪓·📷•☎️+🎧*🌹·🦴•🔪+☁️*🌡

 Jisung Blinked open his eyes to the feeble morning glow.

He had gotten used to waking up here now, the dusky color of his room at daylight had become rather comforting to see.

A pang in his gut told him that there was something missing, he looked around for a split second before it came to him, Lee Know had left.

Jisung made a mental note to thank the older for what he did, during at his lesson with him before pushing himself up to get ready.

The boy stole a quick glance at himself in the mirror and winced, his eyes were puffy and red, he would need to use some concealer in order to hide it.

Jisung quickly splashed his face with some cold water, trying to block out the anxious voices in his head.

🏮+⚖️·🛢•🪙*❤️+✉️·🖍•🔍+💌

Chan glanced over at Jisung worriedly.

"You don't really seem like yourself today, mate."

Jisung's mind quickly flashed back to Lee Know's face.

"Ah, no, I'm just a little tired." The younger answered.

Chan let out a hum, turning back to his documents before looking back up not a second later.

"Alright, that's enough for now, your next training lesson is with Lee Know."

The squirrel-like boy's face contorted in nervousness for a moment, but the leader patted him on the back reassuringly.

"Don't worry, he may seem unfriendly, but he'll warm up to you."

"If Lee Know is too much of a jerk, just gimme a shout and I can wack him over the head with my laptop.", Chan added, not so helpfully.

A/N: Welp, that's the first proper minsung moment, see you all next week!