Saviors

38

Soonyoung set Jihoon down once they got in the house and struggled to close the door against the wind. Finally it shut and he let out a deep sigh. Soonyoung walked over to the window and pulled back the curtains. Jihoon peered outside behind him.

"The shadow..."

"It's gone."

"You saw it too?" Jihoon asked while clutching the back of Soonyoung's shirt. He nodded.

"It was hard to miss such an out of place shadow." Soonyoung yanked the curtains shut and checked the front door to make sure it was locked. Jihoon stood trembling like a leaf in front of the window. He balled up the sleeves of his hoodie in his fists and held his hands to his heart. Soonyoung walked over to him and hugged him tightly. "Mianhey Jihoon." He whispered into Jihoon's hair.

   "You don't have to be sorry. I brought this upon the group." He mumbled into Soonyoung's shoulder. Soonyoung held him tighter. Oh Jihoon. I just want to protect you.

   "We should get some sleep." Jihoon nodded into his shoulder. Soonyoung let him go but grabbed Jihoon's shaking hand and walked with him to their room.

   Jihoon looked torn between grabbing his clothes and changing in the bathroom or just changing in front of Soonyoung. The older boy sensed his dilemma.

   "Just change in here. I won't look, I'll be checking to make sure the windows are locked." Jihoon nodded and grabbed some pajamas. He shivered as he changed, the air was cold. Once he was done, he sat on his bed and watched Soonyoung try to pull up the windows. He latched a couple that someone forgot to lock, then began to walk out of the room. Remembering Jihoon, he stopped. "I'm going to check the rest of the windows. You stay here and get to sleep. If you can't sleep, come find me. I don't want you sitting in front of the window like you usually do." Jihoon nodded and crawled under the covers.

   After five minutes, Soonyoung still hadn't returned. Jihoon was getting nervous. What if something happened to him? However much Jihoon wanted to go check on him, he couldn't. He felt that if he put his foot in the floor, someone, or something, would reach out from under the bed and grab his ankle. It was an irrational fear and Jihoon knew he was being childish, but he couldn't help himself. His childhood fear of the dark had returned with the shadows.

   Jihoon's breathing sped up and his heart pounded as time passed. There was a creak outside the door and he pulled the covers over his head, shaking. The door opened and with a short click it was shut again. Footsteps approached Jihoon's bed. They stopped and a hand was placed on Jihoon's shoulder. He barely bit back from screaming.

   "Jihoon?" He almost cried in relief. It was Soonyoung. Jihoon pulled the covers away from his face. His stark white face shone in the darkness and Soonyoung placed a hand on his trembling cheek. "Are you okay?" Jihoon shook his head and curled into a tighter ball.

   "I'm scared Hyung." His voice was small and muffled from all the blankets. "Will you..." Jihoon gulped, "will you sleep with me tonight?" Soonyoung looked shocked a moment before nodding his head and grabbing the blankets. "Actually, could we sleep up there? I don't like being so close to the door and ground." Soonyoung nodded in understanding.

   "Of course." Soonyoung wrapped his arms around Jihoon and his blanket. He managed to carry him with one arm while he used the other to climb the ladder.

   Jihoon curled up against Soonyoung like a bird in a nest with the two blankets. With Soonyoung's arms wrapped around his shaking body, Jihoon managed to fall asleep easily.

   Rough cement tore at the boy's feet. He looked a lot younger than he actually was. The boy looked to be about eight or nine, but was really almost twelve. The boy was naked and his thin, bruised body was chained to a wall. He was dirty and had long, dark hair to his shoulders. It was tangled. Purple and yellow bruises coated his body like clothing that he didn't have. Wherever the boy didn't have a bruise, he had long, jagged cuts that shone red. Through the bruises, one could tell that he was pale, deathly pale. His ribs stuck out and his shoulders were sharp points. His knees were knobby and his face gaunt.

   The door swung open and hit the opposite wall with a clang. The boy didn't even flinch at the harsh sound. Instead, he just raised his head and looked at the man that just entered with the eyes of a corpse. There was no life in them, and they were sunken in. If the boy had been well fed and healthy, he might have been beautiful. Pretty like a girl. But his good looks were ruined by the pain that he bore in his skin and in his dead eyes.

   "Hey Jihoon. Miss me?" The man purred. Just like how the boy was older than he looked, the man was younger than he looked. He was only 19, not yet a man at all. The man also would have been attractive, if it wasn't for the sick glint in his eyes and the wide smile. The boy didn't respond. The sound of his ragged breathing filled the cement room and his sides heaved like he just ran a marathon. A sharp slap echoed through the room. "Answer me when I speak to you bitch." His voice was cold.

   "N-ne." The boy struggled to get out. The man trailed his tan finger down the boy's pale cheek.

   "That's better." He purred. "Sorry I have to be gone for so long. But how would I take care of you if I didn't have money? And to get money, you need a job." When his finger finished trailing down the boy's cheek, he grabbed his chin. The man leaned in and kissed the boy, seven years younger that him. "I sure missed you." He unlocked the chains holding up the boy, making him fall to the ground. The man unbuckled his belt and pulled down his pants. He grabbed the boy by his hair and pulled him closer. "You know what to do." And the boy did.

   Because it was routine.