WHEN I WAS OLDER

There was a lot of things he wasn't sure about in life: what tomorrow would bring him, what the impact of yesterday's actions would be, what comes as a side to the silver tray of death, but there was one thing that he was damn well sure of as of this moment- the man a few metres behind him did not have good intentions.

His parents had always warned him about going out at night, saying the streets are dangerous at night and bad people come with the moon, he'd just thought that was a load of horse shit to make him come home early, but now he really was cursing his 3AM sugar cravings.

Jeongguk had noticed the man dressed in an ankle length black coat- fitting, he knew- in the store and had thought nothing of him, now though, twenty minutes later with heavy footsteps to accompany his own, he occupied his mind like undone homework due the next day.

He chanced another glance behind him and, sure enough, the man was still there, but, to Jeongguk's dismay, with a quickened pace and a few steps closer, far too close for his liking- and not that the boy wasn't scared before, but now the fear had really settled in. I could be kidnapped, or raped, or even killed maybe.

He too picked up the pace, what was supposed to be a peaceful stroll to the store turning into more of a panicked speed walk. No matter how many corners he would turn, how many alleyways he would go through, he couldn't lose him. He had past his house ages ago- why would I want this creep knowing where I lived- and now he really had no idea what to do, or where he was,even.

He was really running out of options here, and fast. Soon enough he was acting on pure instincts, seeing a house with a light on in the distance and, without thinking, broke into a sprint- leaving, hopefully, the man behind him.

Getting to the fence outside the house, Jeongguk completely ignored the gate, hopping right over it and running to the door. His knuckles rapped against the door rapidly as he stood on the doormat, impatiently shifting his wait from one leg to another, hoping- praying more- that whoever owned the house hadn't just left a light on.

To his relief, he eventually heard a shuffle behind the door, a lock clicking and the door swung open, revealing who would hopefully be his ticket out of abduction. He really hadn't thought out what to say when the door opened, the figure in front of him- a man- looking slightly more intimidating than he expected, his piercing eyes questioning him, resulting in a stuttered answer of "T-there's a man that's been following me for a while a-and I was wondering if I co-"

A hand suddenly clamped down onto Jeongguk's shoulder. A yelp left the boy as he snapped around, unintentionally backing into the man. "I told you not to run off like that, it's not safe, especially at this time of night." What? There was genuine concern in the other's eyes, it confused him to no end. What are you on about? "I...I don't know yo-"

Again, he felt a hand come down on his shoulder, this time softer, less firm. Just then he realises the chest his back was pressed against. "It's getting awfully late. Do you two want to come in?"

✧✦✧

He was...nice, to say the least. Jeongguk stared at the man in the armchair, cradling the mug of tea he had handed him. Taehyung was his name apparently, and his stalker- he turned to him, trying to sit as far away from him on the couch as possible- he had introduced himself to Taehyung as Hoseok, bearing the brightest smile he thought was humanly possible.

He stared at Hoseok from behind the rim of his mug as he took a sip, he watched quietly as the other spouted out lies upon lies about his and Jeongguk's 'relationship'. How they had just moved here, how they had been dating for nearly two years- if Jeongguk wasn't terrified of the situation he was currently trapped in, he would've said something, but there was something about the two men that just...scared him.