Help (Moonbae)

26: Jacob Opens Up

Kevin hadn't seen Jacob in days. He hadn't been at the grocery store or the florist. On top of that, he wouldn't answer his phone either. Whenever Kevin would ask one of their friends, they would all tell him that they either hadn't heard from him either, or that he wasn't feeling well. Kevin knew Jacob well enough to the point where he knew that Jacob wouldn't miss work because he was sick. Jacob was always there, even when he looked like he would faint any second.

That was when Kevin decided to visit Jacob at his house. He figured that if Jacob wasn't feeling well, he would bring him some soup and take care of him for a little bit. He got the address from Younghoon and decided to make his way over.

When he got there, no one was home since Younghoon was at school and Hyunjae was at work. Younghoon had told him that he would leave the door open for when the younger boy got there. He made his way through the door before going down the hall and stopping at the first door on the right- Jacob's room.

He slowly pushed the door open, and saw a sight that was completely foreign to him. Jacob was lying underneath his covers, rolled up in a ball. He was facing the wall, so Kevin couldn't tell what he looked like but just from the sight in front of him, he knew that the older boy couldn't have been doing well.

He slowly walked over the the bed and sat at the foot of it.

"Younghoon, go away. I'm fine, I swear."

"Not Younghoon, but Kevin."

"Oh. Hi?"

"Hey. What's up? I heard you weren't feeling well?"

"Oh, yeah. Just been feeling a little under the weather."

"Are you sure? You never miss work, even when you're sick."

"Maybe, maybe not.

"Come on, Jacob. What's wrong? I haven't seen you like this ever."

"If I tell you, do you promise not to leave?"

"I promise. I wouldn't leave you like this."

"I uh.. I have Depression and PTSD. It started a few years ago when I was with my ex. He was abusive and ended up kicking me out two years later. I was on the streets and at a homeless shelter for a while. I had to get two jobs in order to afford a crappy apartment. That's why I'm living with Hoon and Jae. We all split rent and I can afford a lot more now. So now, I have like random episodes of either one. Like the day at the grocery store, that was a PTSD episode."

"Oh my god, Jacob. Why didn't you tell me? I could have been here for you if you needed anything."

"Well, the thing is.. this whole episode kinda started with you."

"What?"

"I came by the other day and I saw you and Eric kissing."

"Oh. Is that all you saw?"

"Yeah. I went by to ask you on a date and then I was going to ask you to be my boyfriend and you were kissing another guy. What did you expect me to do? I wasn't going to sit there and watch you guys make out."

"Cobi, we didn't do that. He kissed me because he's confused about something. I pulled away and told him that it was wrong. I wouldn't do that to you, ever. I like you way more than you even know."