The Underground - 3RACHA

14

When Hyunjin turned up at Jisung's house that Thursday afternoon, Jisung wished he could disappear. He had moved back in with his aunt and uncle after getting a job, his uncle agreeing to let him stay if he paid him monthly. Now Jisung was on his way to see someone but he was late and Hyunjin turning up before he left only made him even more so. He wanted to ignore the doorbell. His aunt and uncle were at work and his cousins at school so he was the only one home. If he didn't answer then Hyunjin would have gone away eventually, but Jisung had pulled open the door before he thought to check who it was.

"Hey, Jisung," Hyunjin said, walking in without being invited. "I was thinking, we haven't done any rap practice in a while. We should do it now."

"I'm a bit busy today," Jisung explained, pulling his coat over his shoulders in hopes that Hyunjin would realise he's going somewhere. "Besides, it wasn't really working. I think we should call the whole thing off."

Hyunjin didn't like that. The smile he sported was gone and he closed the front door behind him as he took a step closer to Jisung. Jisung automatically took one back. He feared what Hyunjin was going to do and wished he'd never spoken because he looked more pissed off than Jisung expected him to be. "Call it off? But you'll never be successful without me, you have no confidence."

Jisung knew he should have bitten his tongue but he couldn't hold back what he wanted to say, "but you like me with no confidence. You can't control me if I'm confident, that's why you're not helping me properly, isn't it?"

Hyunjin pressed one hand to the wall that Jisung was backed up against. He smirked as he leaned down closer to Jisung at such close proximity that the latter had to squeeze his eyes shut and clench his hands at his sides to stop the inevitable panic that was building up. "That's not true," Hyunjin said, moving his free hand to stroke Jisung's hair. It made him sick to the stomach. "I'm not helpful because there's no helping you, Jisung. You're useless alone and you need me because without me you're nothing."

"Not anymore," Jisung said, visibly cringing from the soft touch which made Hyunjin grip a handful of his hair instead. Jisung let out a cry of pain.

"What do you mean not anymore?"

"I got someone else to help me."

"Who?" Hyunjin demanded, his voice full of rage as his grip on Jisung's hair grew tighter. Jisung's eyes started to well up with tears as Hyunjin roared, "tell me who it is now!"

The tears slipped from Jisung eyes. "Please let go," he begged, trying to pull Hyunjin's hand away but his efforts fell short. Fury was radiating from Hyunjin and the sight alone was enough to make Jisung quiver, nevermind the pain he was inflicting.

"Not until you tell me who it is!"

"Stop it!" Jisung yelled, now trying to push Hyunjin off him by shoving his chest. Jisung was significantly shorter and weaker than Hyunjin so it didn't do much good. When he managed to make Hyunjin stumble backwards, he only grew angrier and pushed Jisung's head against the wall. It wasn't enough to cause much damage, but it was enough to make Jisung start sobbing. "I'm not yours, Hyunjin! I'm not your property!"

"I have done so much for you. I didn't ruin my reputation in high school to hang out with a pathetic fucking coward for no reason. I did it because it made you mine so tell me who the fuck thinks they can take you away."

Jisung was terrified. He'd never heard Hyunjin say such absurd things before and he'd certainly never seen him so angry. Overcome with so much fear, Jisung didn't know what else to do, other than shout out: "Chan, it's Chan!"

-

Changbin had barely slept over the past few days. He hadn't left his bedroom and the only time the door opened was when Felix left to go and get food for the two. Those were the only times Felix left his side and usually he returned to see Changbin looking distressed, sometimes rocking backwards and forwards where he sat, but this time he returned to find Changbin asleep. Felix's journey for food had been longer this time as the kitchen was bare and the closest shop was a twenty-minute walk away. Felix worried that Changbin would be in a distraught state when he returned but he was relieved to see he wasn't.