Midnight Rain | Jilix |

42

A/n Pov.

Last night flashback

The beats of Felix's step as he walked closer to the door after having dinner were casual, but his expression was different from usual. He sniffed before unlatching the door and letting himself in his room. His room was filled with darkness, just like his heart was after Jisung and his argument. The phone buzzed with a sharp 'ting,' making Felix tilt his head as it vibrated gently in his hand again. He pulled out the phone from his pocket, his finger hovering over it as he unlocked the phone, wondering who would be messaging him at late night.

His eyes widened, instantly locking his door, and his steps trembled along with his breath. His eyes constantly blinked as he looked through the notification, however, he stopped blinking as he found "Mirae's" numerous messages. His trembling finger opened Mirae's chat, but as soon as he opened his chat, his eyes found plenty of pictures loading on the screen, so he also brightened the light of his phone. But as the picture became visible to his eyes, everything silenced except his breathing while his eyes looked at the picture of someone unconscious with blood all over him, someone who was Jeongin. A large cut on his wrist as he was carried by Seungmin, who was trembling and sobbing. Felix's hand was still trembling, but he felt like his heart stopped for a moment.

All photos were the same but clicked with different angles; however, as he reached the end, there was a left note that said.

"How selfish of you. Won't even let your little friend explain why he wasn't picking up your phone that night."

His hands instantly yanked his phone away from himself and roughly threw it at the wall. His feet fell on the floor while his eyes filled with tears of every single emotion he could feel, embracing himself in a small space as his sobs became louder to be unnoticed. But, not wanting to get caught by Minho, he immediately placed his palm on his mouth, stopping himself from making any noise.

Felix's chest tightened, his breath coming in short, frantic gasps as the room spun around him. The screen was still glowing inside his mind, with messages he could no longer bear to look at. His heart raced, pounding against his ribs, each beat louder and more suffocating than the last. He felt trapped, the walls of his room closing in. Without thinking, he stumbled towards the bathroom, his legs weak beneath him. Shoving the door shut behind him, he collapsed against the sink, gripping the cold edge. His reflection stared back at him—pale, eyes wide, and rimmed with tears that had yet to fall. The panic rising in his throat threatened to choke him, and finally, the dam broke.

Tears spilled down his face, uncontrollable sobs wracking his body. He slid to the tiled floor, pulling his knees to his chest. The pressure in his chest grew unbearable like something heavy was crushing him from the inside out. His hands trembled violently as they ran through his hair, pulling at the strands as if the pain might drown out the storm raging in his mind. Sobs turned into a scream, muffled by his hand as it pressed against his mouth, his body shaking with the force of it. He needed to feel something—anything other than the unbearable weight of his panic. Desperate, Felix lashed out his hands at the sharp wall, striking the hard tile beneath him. Again. And again. The sharp pain flared through his knuckles, but it wasn't enough.

His mind imagined Jeongin crying even harder while hurting himself back as the flashback of the picture came— "that cursed phone." Getting up to his feet, he burst out from the bathroom, his tears blurring his vision. He grabbed a pair of sharp scissors from his desk, his hands still trembling along with his entire body. His breath hitched, his fingers clenching around the cold metal handles as his eyes locked on the broken phone, which lay face up near the wall. With a furious cry, he drove them down into the phone, cracking the screen with a sickening snap. Again and again, he stabbed at the shattered device, glass splintering beneath the relentless assault. His breathing shortened as he sobbed, but he couldn't stop, not until the phone was barely recognizable, broken beyond repair—just like him.