By The Window | YeonBin

fourteen

CW: Mention of Self-Harm. Please read with care and prioritize your mental wellbeing.

____________

Yeonjun sat in the dim light of his bedroom, staring at his phone. The silence of the house was unsettling; it was almost midnight, and for once, his parents weren't yelling. He guessed they finally have some decency and decided to let him sleep.

But the quiet didn't soothe him. It only made all the chatter in his head even more pronounced. He felt hollow, a familiar ache settling into his bones. His thoughts circled back to the same dark place, and nothing seemed to matter.

You can't even be a son
worth being proud of.

You've got nothing to show.

You're a disappointment.

Those words were still replaying in his head again and again, like a broken cassette.

His bare arms rested on his knees, and his eyes drifted down to the faint scars running along his skin— remnants of past moments of weakness. He scratched at one absentmindedly, feeling a dull sting beneath his fingertips.

The pain grounded him, but it wasn't enough to ease the torment swirling inside.

His hand reached out to his desk drawer, fingers curling around the blade he'd hidden away. It was always there, waiting.

Yeonjun's breathing hitched as he brought it to his skin, the cold metal pressing lightly against the surface.

Just one more time... Maybe this will help.

Before he could press down, the blade was slapped out of his hand with a sharp sting. Yeonjun's breath caught in his throat, heart racing as he looked up, startled.

Soobin.

He hadn't even noticed Soobin climbing through his window again, the same way he always did. Soobin's eyes were wide with alarm, his chest heaving as if he'd just sprinted to get there.

Without a word, he pulled Yeonjun into a tight embrace, arms wrapped securely around him.

Yeonjun didn't resist. He couldn't. The warmth of Soobin's body against his own washed over him, and the tension in his shoulders slowly unraveled.

Soobin didn't say anything— he didn't have to. The steady beat of his heart, the firmness of his hold, said everything.

Yeonjun's eyes stung as he buried his face into Soobin's chest, hands clinging to the back of his shirt.

"I'm here." Soobin finally spoke, stroking the other boy's locks gently.

"Soobin— I—"

"Shh... it's okay, you don't need to explain anything, at least not now." The taller boy whispered, tightening his embrace.

They just sat there, quiet sobs were heard from Yeonjun's lips. His hands couldn't stop trembling as they clutched to Soobin's shirt. The scene unfolding before Soobin's eyes was stabbing daggers into his heart, he doesn't know why it hurt him this much to see the other boy suffer.

Yeonjun, who got his senses back, pulled away from the hug, sniffing softly.

"Sorry..."he mumbled.

Soobin couldn't help but notice the scars all over Yeonjun's forearm. He took the other's hands in his. "What for? I should've said sorry, you got cut a bit..." Soobin looked at the grazed skin, leaking a bit of blood.

"I- it's okay—"

"Where's your first kit aid?" Soobin looked up to Yeonjun.

Yeonjun was silent, trying to decipher whatever Soobin's intention was. "Third drawer, left," Yeonjun answered quietly.