Saviors

28

It had been a while, since he had dreamed of something other than the room. So he didn't expect it. He didn't expect to suddenly dream about his past, about his father.

The boy's face stung were it was slapped. He fell back onto his butt, holding his cheek in his little hand. A tear rolled down that cheek, but he quickly wiped it away, not wanting his father to see. The boy's father grabbed him by the hair and slammed his head into the wall. The boy gave a short cry then clamped his mouth shut.

"You." His father spat. That was normal. The boy didn't even know what he did wrong, but that was normal too. "Every time I look at your bratty face." His father growled and reached for him again, but the boy stepped back and tripped. He fell down the stairs, breaking his arm, and knocking himself unconscious.

   Jihoon woke sadly. He didn't cry, he had already cried enough about his past. Instead, he drew up his knees to his chest and laid his cheek, the same cheek that was slapped in the dream, on top of them. Jihoon sat there a moment, in his bed, then sighed and ran his hands through his hair. It was shorter, his members must have taken him to the hairdressers while he was mentally... unavailable. Jihoon stretched his legs and slid out of bed. He walked out of the room and got a glass of water then sat on the couch, next to the large window. The last time he sat out here, late at night, or early in the morning, whatever you wish it be, Soonyoung was waiting for him. Was that where it had all started? Perhaps.

   Jihoon curled his cold feet underneath him and stared out the window. The moon was shining weakly through the thin curtains and leaves blew across the empty street. His glass almost slipped out of his sweaty hands, and he set it on the table. The wooden floor creaked behind him and Jihoon turned quickly. Soonyoung stood there, barefooted and in striped pajamas. Jihoon's heart drummed in his chest.

   "Hey." Soonyoung whispered. Jihoon could've pretended that he didn't hear him, that he thought the whisper was just the wind. But, he was tired of running from problems.

   "Hey," he replied, his voice breathy and barely there. Soonyoung sat next to him on the couch. He glanced at the water glass on the coffee table, then at Jihoon.

   "Can't sleep?" A corner of Jihoon's mouth lifted slightly. He looked at his hands.

   "What makes you say that?" He asked quietly.

   "That night, you were sitting on this couch, staring out the window, with a water glass in your hands." Jihoon knew what night he was thinking about, for he was thinking about it only moments earlier. "I assume it's your way of dealing with whatever you deal with." Jihoon hesitated, then nodded. They were silent.

   "Soonyoung Hyung?" His voice wavered, "can I ask you something?" Soonyoung looked at him seriously.

   "Of course."

   "Why did you kiss me?" The drumming in Jihoon's chest got louder, and more frantic. On the outside though, he was calm. Soonyoung looked past him, out the window. Jihoon waited anxiously. He needed to hear the answer.

   "It was the only way I could think of in order to get your attention. Make you see." Of course. It was only a friend helping a friend. Nothing more. So why was Jihoon disappointed? He nodded though, as if that was the answer he was expecting.

   "I-I remember," he confessed, "that you were always there." He stood and began walking back to his room, taking his glass with him. Naturally, e missed Soonyoung's blush. Jihoon stopped and turned slightly, "so Soonyoung, thank you." He went back into his room and set the glass down on his bedside table. Jihoon crawled into bed and faced the wall, not wanting to see Soonyoung's face when he walked in.

   Jihoon woke up only once more that night, but he didn't remember why. When he woke, it was five thirty as usual. When he grabbed his clothes, he saw Soonyoung's sleepy head pop up and look around dazedly. His eyes focused on Jihoon and he began to get out of bed.

   "You don't need to get up Soonyoung Hyung. I'm fine, remember? Get some more sleep." He said quietly. Soonyoung nodded and laid back down.

   The feeling of cloth against his skin, the feeling of his fingers lightly brushing the scars his father left him as a present, the feeling of water hitting his skin. He felt raw. New. Reborn. Reborn from that hell into a new life. A new life that was heaven by comparison. It was the same life as before, but he was different. In the shadow place, his clothing was weightless, he was weightless, his thoughts were weightless. He felt nothing against his skin except mist and the pressure of blood surrounding him. The only sights he saw were muted colors and shades of gray. The only sounds he heard were screaming and blood rushing in his ears. Reborn.

   Jihoon took a shower and dressed, then walked into the kitchen, expecting to see Jun and Mingyu. He was still getting used to the way clothes chaffed against his skin, the way light and color seared his eyes, the orchestra of little sounds, unnoticed by normal humans. He was by no means normal now. His two members weren't there though, which surprised Jihoon. He checked his phone. It's a bit past six, so why aren't they out yet? Jihoon sat down at the table and contemplated what to do. Should he check on them? Should he wait? Should he put out some food? Should he go ask Soonyoung what was going on? Then he remembered, the rest of his members didn't know that he had 'woken up'. They must still think that he is stuck in... his mind. He didn't even think they practiced during the three weeks that he was... away... mentally. So... what should he do? Wait? He would wait. Waiting would give him a chance to adjust, at least a little. Jihoon didn't think that he would be able to fall back asleep. He wanted to get his mind off of everything that happened, so he decided to do something he hadn't done in a really long time.

Jihoon pulled the blanket over his legs and curled up on the couch. He opened the book and began reading, quickly becoming immersed in the literature.

Sunlight filtered into the room through the large window, lighting up the shadowy corners. Jihoon assumed that around an hour had passed and he was already halfway through his book. None of his members were out yet, perhaps they were sleeping in. Jihoon would have expected Soonyoung to come out, only he told him to sleep some more.

Taking a break, his mind wandered. Jihoon wondered if Jihyo's funeral had been held, he also wondered if he went, if it had been held. But, would he have remembered if he had? Someone walked into the room, pulling him from his thoughts. He turned around on the couch to see who came in. The person stopped abruptly, seeing Jihoon on the couch.

"J-Jihoon Hyung?" Minghao covered his mouth with his hands and slowly walked over to Jihoon, seemingly unsure if Jihoon could actually see him. Upon realizing that Jihoon could in fact see him, Minghao quickly picked him up in his skinny arms and held him tight. Jihoon was surprised for a moment and tensed up, then hugged him back, remembering how Minghao comforted him when he held his sister's head. Minghao set him down.

"You made me lose my page." He said, wide-eyed. Minghao burst into tears and laughter then wrapped Jihoon up in another hug.

"I missed you so much Hyung."

"I missed you too." He whispered, a small smile on his face.

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I made a mental promise to myself to post once I got at least 20 reads on a chapter, and since the last chapter got over that amount, I've decided to treat all my readers to another chapter. Plus, I have a lot of chapters prewritten, and I want to get through them. Hope you all enjoyed!