stockholm syndrome | minsung

chapter five

the evening turned to night, which then eventually turned to another day. the door had yet to be locked, intriguing jisung even further. his entire body was screaming for a real bed, a shower, a proper meal...

of course, there was no guarantee he would be given that would he attempt going upstairs. but the possibility alone was enough for him to dream about it at night. letting out a sigh of content, jisung stretched out his body. everything ached after sleeping on the concrete floor for the past nights.

but he was alive. and that, he was extremely thankful for.

as he hummed quietly to himself, the stairs began creaking. knowing what it meant, jisung sat up straight, plastering a smile onto his face. the door opened, and minho stepped inside.

"hi!" jisung chirped. he had no idea why he decided to keep an act going.

"hello. how are you?" minho asked, reaching his hand out to the shorter boy. jisung happily - actual happiness - accepted, allowing himself to be pulled up from the floor. and for the first time since he had arrived in the basement, jisung was able to witness a smile grow on minho's face. a real, happy smile.

for some reason, it made something flutter inside jisung's body. a warm feeling spread across the rest of his body. safety. minho's smile helped calm the remains of jisung's nerves, leaving him feeling safe and relaxed as he was still held onto by the other.

"i'm alright!" jisung answered. "my body hurts a little, but other than that, i'm fine."

"i have been thinking. you should come upstairs with me. i want to show you around. and i think you are due a shower. sorry i haven't let you take one earlier."

jisung's smile was quick to grow into a real one. it almost became difficult to stand still for him. "it's okay!" he was quick to reply.

another gentle smile showed on minho's face, before he began walking towards the door. with his heart beating quickly, jisung followed. taking notice of the gun in minho's pocket, he made sure to keep his excitement inwards, not wanting to annoy the older.

as he took the first step on the creaky stairs, jisung suppressed a squeal. he didn't even know why he was so excited. many days of longing to get out of the basement had caused this. but it was okay. finally, he could be living normally. 

reaching the top of the stairs was just a slight disappointment. the rest of the house was visibly old. the walls almost looked like they were about to give in any second. but that was also okay. not everyone can afford fancy houses, and jisung knew that. he wasn't one to judge.

"come." minho waved at jisung to follow him, which the latter did without question. the house was pretty cozy. something that he could definitely get used to.

the two entered a new room. a bathroom. pointing at the shower, minho's lips curled up slightly, as if he was uncomfortable.

"here's the shower. i am, uh, saving up on the water. so i would prefer you not to shower for long. i can help you wash your hair."

jisung was taken aback, to say the least. "what?"

"i mean that you can just lean your head back and i can wash your hair for you. i don't want to see you naked." minho calmly explained.

"oh." jisung laughed awkwardly. then, he nodded. he walked to the shower, leaning forward and allowing his hair to fall down in front of his face.

after clearing his throat, minho reached over to grab the shower head. then, he began carefully washing jisung's hair.

as he watched the water run down into the drain below him, jisung could only think of how strange it was. why could he not just shower quickly on his own? he could, however, not complain about the heavenly massage he received on his head as minho put the shampoo and conditioner combo in his hair.

it only took them a few minutes, before jisung found himself drying his hair on his own. minho had left to get some food. he made sure to leave the bathroom door open as well. not that it bothered jisung; it was simply something he took notice of.

after drying his hair up a little, jisung exited the bathroom. finding minho was not difficult at all; he just followed the smell of something cooking. feeling his stomach rumble, jisung decided to check it out. in the kitchen, minho was cooking something which smelled heavenly.

deciding to not be a bother, jisung went to explore the house instead. it only consisted of one floor, so finding his way around was not difficult in the slightest. a living room, one bedroom, the bathroom and the kitchen was all there was to it.

as he stood and watched the scenery outside the windows, jisung could feel a very certain muzzle press against his head. momentarily, he froze.

"don't wander around on your own. i want you close."

"okay."

a hand grabbed onto jisung's forcing him back to the kitchen. but could he complain? in front of him was a small plate with some chicken and an egg. once again, jisung took in the smell of the freshly cooked food. finally, he would receive something that wasn't cold and a few days old.

"thank you." he happily said, shovelling the food into his mouth. it was a bigger plate, with more food than usual. and he would not be letting it go to waste.