#상자 안의 남자|Man In The Box. | Gayeon

MITB. | 9

THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS MATURE & TRIGGERING THEMES LIKE:
sexual themes. depictions of ptsd, manic depression & depression, domestic violence.
mentions of mental disorders, medicinal drugs, paraphernalia, domestic violence, mental & verbal abuse, mpreg/miscarriage.

The restaurant had been busy all day, Jiseok was finally back to work after his suspension due to how packed the place was getting most days.
Jiseok had been running around all day, taking orders and bringing them to the tables. It had been so hectic all day, he was just so exhausted. When he took his break, he felt so relieved to finally have a moment to just sit. His mind was blank, just staring at a wall in the break room as he let his mind sit empty.

"This was delivered for you," Jiseok's manager alerted as they handed him a rather sloppy envelope. All he could see on the front was the address for the restaurant and his name.

Curiously, he tore the letter open and pulled out the sloppily folded paper shoved inside the envelope. As soon as he opened it, He could tell it was from Jooyeon just from seeing the penmanship.

Jiseok immediately read the letter to himself in his head, taking note of all the little dried teardrops littered across the paper.

He wasn't sure how to feel as he read every last word until the page finished. Jiseok just didn't know what to do with himself.

When everything in that letter was finally processed, he jumped up and ran to find any kind of paper and pen. Nothing in that letter made sense to him. He could protect Jooyeon and love him, better than Yeonjun could ever even attempt to.
If Jooyeon wanted to be with him then why was he staying with Yeonjun? None of it made sense. They wanted each other so why couldn't they be with each other?

Jiseok began to scribble all that onto a loose paper he found behind the counter. He couldn't let Jooyeon marry Yeonjun, not without at least trying to convince him not to.

Everything he was thinking was all suddenly on that paper. He expressed every thought and feeling he had. ".. If you want to be with me, Jooyeon, I promise I can take care of us if you let me. I love you and you are the only thing I have ever wanted."

Once Jiseok finished his reply, he ran out of the building and straight down to the post office. He purchased a stamp and envelope there, hurriedly sealing the letter in and writing Jooyeon's old address on the front.

It was a bit of a stretch to assume he still lived in the same apartment but he hoped and prayed it would get to him.

He let out a soft breath as he just stood there and stared at the mailbox before he realized he was probably due back at work.

Just like Jiseok had prayed for, the letter made it to Jooyeon in just a few days.

Jooyeon had been sitting alone at home while Yeonjun was at work. His mind was mainly still on the baby. He just didn't know what to do with himself anymore. All his days beforehand had been spent reading about pregnancy and babies. There was no need for him to do that anymore. He was lost.

Jooyeon was trapped in a spiral of his thoughts when a knock at the front door startled him, pulling him out of his seat on the couch that he had been stuck to for the past few days.

When the door opened, Jooyeon parted his lips to greet whoever was there but he was shocked by who was standing there, just letting out a soft "Oh," in reaction instead.

"Hi," Jungsu awkwardly greeted the boy, Seungmin clinging to his arm as he stood beside him. "Your landlord dropped this off." Jungsu explained, handing the letter in his hands over to Jooyeon who was just standing there in shock.