[Hands] JJK

jeongguk

the university bathrooms consisted of eight individual shower cubicles. each one had a rotten bench inside, along with a rusted door lock and metal hook for towels. the toilets were directly opposite, and the sinks were located in the far corner of the room. jeongguk was staring into the misted mirrors nailed into the wall above the sinks.

he observed his reflection in the mirror. running a hand through his dark hair, he stared into his deep brown eyes. he pushed his bangs to the side, revealing his eyebrows and the acne on his forehead. the boy sighed as he looked at the swollen red lumps, unevenly scattered over his face. jeongguk looked down at his feet, trying to ignore the negative thoughts swirling through his head.

he walked into the fifth shower cubicle and turned it on before locking the door behind him.

jeongguk placed all of his shower essentials down onto the corner of the bench with the least amount of mould and pulled his shirt over his head, neatly folding it onto the planks of wood nailed into the tiled walls.

once he was left in only socks and shower shoes, the boy stepped under the water and allowed his body to finally relax.

🐰

jeongguk stepped out of the shower cubicle, fully clothed after spending thirty minutes lathering strawberry scented shampoo into his hair.

the squelch of his slip on shower shoes against the rubber tiled floors echoed through the empty bathroom.

once he reached the sink, jeongguk positioned his hands underneath the faucet and twisted the handle.

he began to wash his hands.

the boy began to pump out the soap into his palm and proceeded to scrub at every surface of his hands. he forcefully rubbed the soap into every possible area and rinsed it off. he then dried them and observed.

"one"

the cracks in his hands stung from the chemicals inside the soap.

"two"

the water became discoloured from his bloody hands

"three"

disposable paper towels littered the ground surrounding him

"four"

tears cascading down his cheeks

"five"

the suffocating scent of aloe vera as he reached for the soap again

"what are you doing?"

jeongguk's petite body jumped at the sudden noise coming from behind him

however, the boy didn't respond. instead, he continued to scrub and scratch at his cracked hands as the water came tumbling out of the tap, almost beginning to forget about the presence standing directly behind him as his mind was taken over by the necessity to keep on cleaning.

"what are you doing?"

jeongguk froze as he heard the same voice again, only this time he could feel the breath of the stranger on the back of his neck, heating his damp hair.

"i-i'm.."

the boy couldn't form a sentence, his mind was occupied with the terrifying thought of millions of germs multiplying on the surface of his swollen skin.

"you're bleeding."