stockholm syndrome | minsung

chapter four

hearing the door to the basement open, jisung looked up from his book curiously.

"hi minho." he said, watching the man walk inside.

"hello jisung." minho replied, placing the small plate of food next to the other boy.

another few days had passed, with jisung's main pass time being the books. the man - whose name he found out was minho - had actually brought down a few more books, which was greatly appreciated.

"can't i get a little more food today? i am really hungry..." jisung asked quietly.

it didn't take long for him to feel the muzzle of the gun against his head.

"stop complaining," was the only response. jisung mumbled a quick apology, hiding his face behind the book he was reading. silence took over the room. despite his heartbeat quickening, jisung continued reading, extremely aware of the man next to him. "what are you reading?"

the question had him taken aback. "this one. it's romance, i think." jisung held the book up to show minho the cover.

the latter nodded knowingly. "it's a good one."

not much else was said between the two.

until...

"i think you should stop complaining." the sentence caught jisung off guard.

"what...?"

"you always complain. i bring you food and you are warm and safe from rain and snow. what else could you really need? i try my best to provide you." though he spoke quietly, minho's words were harsh.

"i'm sorry, it's just that-"

"it was just a request. no harm. please."

jisung nodded, not daring to speak up again. after all, minho was right. he had been given all he needed to survive. plus, he had not been killed. in his book, it was a win.

"okay." jisung whispered. it was unclear for both of the men exactly why he whispered; perhaps he was afraid of breaking the silence. afraid, that along with the silence, he would break minho's facade.

nothing more was said between the two. minho left a couple of minutes later, with a muttered comment about the stench. shamefully, jisung glanced at the faeces in the very furthest corner of the room. there was no bathroom around, so he had done what he must.

waiting for the all too familiar click of the lock, jisung readied himself for new hours of doing nothing. but the click never came. minho's footsteps in the stairs faded away, but the lock had yet to click.

"it must be a mistake." jisung muttered to himself, staring intensely at the door. it was almost as if he expected minho to run back down the stairs to lock the door again.

did this mean he was allowed to roam the house freely? did minho trust him enough for that?

excitement filled up jisung's body. he could finally get some sort of entertainment. hopefully a shower as well. and a proper bed...

a dreamy sigh escaped jisung as he thought of all the new possibilities that came with the unlocked door. he could live a most normal life, despite the circumstances.

the circumstances.

it hit jisung like a brick.

the door had been unlocked, yet he had time to think about what he would do next before any sort of escape plan even sparked in his head.

"oh no. oh gosh i'm going, crazy what the fuck?!" he yelled out in a whispering manner.

did he want to stay?

the thought scared him. although, a very small part of the thought also excited him. a very, very small part.

he was stuck in a basement by his captor.

but.

the captor gave him food, water, entertainment, a roof over his head, and apparently increasing amounts of freedom.

jisung was torn.

just as torn as he was about going up the stairs or staying in the basement.

every inch, every fibre of his being was screaming and begging him to leave the room as fast as possible. there was a stench so bad it could destroy a nostril down there.

but what if minho got angry?

what if... he killed jisung?

leaving the basement had to wait, jisung decided after a lot of thoughts back and forth. exploring the area and plotting eventual escapes would simply have to wait.