stockholm syndrome | minsung

chapter eight

jisung's eyes fluttered open ever so slowly. feeling the morning sun in his eyes, he buried his head back into the pillow. then, he paused. pillow?

almost flying up, jisung stared in disbelief at the couch. and the blanket tossed to the ground next to him. and the pillows he had slept on.

he had slept on the couch.

with minho nowhere near, jisung let out a happy squeal. finally, his time spent in the basement was over.

happily, jisung laid his head down on the pillow again. he was fully aware that he would not be able to fall back asleep, but it was too comfortable to be able to get up.

even if his stomach grumbled angrily.

at this time of day, he should have already been given his portion of food. where was minho?

"minho?" he quietly called out. no response.

perhaps he was still asleep.

slightly disappointed, jisung began fiddling with the blanket. boredom overtook his body.

or maybe it was also confusion. along with the disappointment.

"jisung!" the thing that surprised him was the total worry in minho's voice as he called out for the other.

minho's voice called out desperately once more.

"i'm in the living room." was the quiet response that jisung gave.

relief.

that was everything that could be seen in the older man's face.

"i was so worried," he mumbled as he walked over to the couch. "don't scare me like this again. i heard people outside. they were trying to get in. but don't worry, they are gone now. you're safe here with me."

that warmth began spreading through jisung's body. it was a feeling he had grown to love. such comfort was well appreciated.

he was safe with minho.

nothing could harm him now.

"thank you." jisung mumbled while pulling the older man into a tight hug.

"no worries. here is your food. i don't have anything better, sorry."

staring at the pieces of bread in his hands, jisung could not help smiling. "it's okay. i got something, and that's all that matters. thank you." ripping away the mold on the corners, he stuffed the bread into his mouth.

after ruffling jisung's hair with a silly little smile - which brought some color to the latters face - minho stood up again.

"i have some things to take care of now. i'll still be around, but i will be very busy. don't disturb me. and please, don't wander. can you do that for me, darling?"

darling.

more color spread across jisung's face as he nodded enthusiastically. the nickname was too much for him to handle.

with another one of those silly and adorable smiles, minho walked away. the front door opened and closed, before silence took over the house once more.

as he continued to chew on the bread, jisung stood up from the couch.

boredom.

despite what he had been told only a few seconds prior, he began wandering around the small house. most things he had already seen before.

but not minho's bedroom.

peeking in, jisung was met with a trainwreck.

the room was an absolute, total mess.

clothes, bags, food, bottles, dirt, and dust littered the floor. along the walls were spots of dirt, mold or grease. but the bed was clean.

and so was the desk.

curiously, and after making sure minho was not around, jisung walked into the room. on top of the desk were three things.

a lamp.

a pen.

and a notebook.

it was a tatty old notebook, which only made it more intriguing.

he opened the first page.

on the first few pages were various drawings and paintings. most of them were of voids of different kinds. people without faces, or with empty eyes. or no eyes. mouths abnormally wide open in black, empty holes.

other pages were gravestones, people being hung. death of every kind showed itself, page after page.

chills ran up jisung's spine as he flipped between the pages. then suddenly, the drawings stopped. instead, pages with text followed. but all he had time to read from the first page of text was a date.

22/03.

after reading that, he had to put the book down. because he had made eye contact with minho through the window.

the older man did not look mad. at least not at first. just in shock. and possibly regret.

both of them looked between what the two of them were holding.

jisung's jaw dropped to the ground, face most likely turning completely white.

something that probably should not surprise him, but still had his gag reflexes kicked in.

minho was dragging a dead body.