The Devils On My Shoulder | ChanHoMin

22

seungmin was thinking a lot about what he was told when he woke up the next morning, he had gone hot again and kicked his blanket off, playing with hands as he looked up at the ceiling.

it was weird to think about chan and minho walking around above him, going about their life, he couldn't see them as normal people, normal people don't take random seventeen year olds from their apartment and keep them as pets.

he thought about their friends above him too, and how they'd have no idea that there was a real person beneath them, locked up against his will. he didn't really miss home anymore, he couldn't remember it well but he remembered all of the memories he had there, but when he thought about his apartment, he didn't think of it as home. it was hard but in some ways relieving, he didn't have anything to miss so he didn't have to go through the pain of longing for it.

he turned onto his side, he had thought about doing what they told him not to do but with their threats he didn't dare risk it.

if he was to bang on the door as hard as he could and scream for help at the top of his lungs, they would probably either help him or call the police... but of course seungmin didn't think about that, all he knew was that he didn't want to be punished.

he felt a buz of excitement when he heard the door open, he sat up and looked at it as they both walked in, he rubbed his eyes to wake himself up properly before swinging his legs out of bed.

"remember what you were told?"

"yes, don't make noise or bang on the door."

"or what?"

"or i get punished."

"good."

seungmin stood up and grabbed his cup as they put the container of food on the table, going to the bathroom to fill it with water, he sat down and picked up the slice of bread, biting into it.

minho went into the bathroom and put a towel in there as seungmin requested.

"thank you." seungmin spoke softly after swallowing.

his throat felt a little sore and hoarse, he assumed it was nothing and sipped his water to help it as he continued to eat.

"i think there's a few more books in one of the boxes out there, you can take your pick, but if you break the rules we set, all your books will go."

seungmin nodded quickly, it didn't take long before he finished the bread, it was the same every morning and he was starting to really get sick of bread and soup and rice and plain, cold chicken.

he vaguely remembered his favorite take-out to get when he lived in his apartment. he really wanted pizza, pizza was always his favorite, he wondered if they ever ate pizza.

"do you ever get take-out?"

"what? why do you ask such random things?"

"it was just a questions."

"sometimes i guess."

"if i behave and follow your rules while people are here, can i have left overs when you next get it?"

"you're getting very confident, watch it."

"please?"

"even if we say no, you will behave and follow the rules anyway." chan stated firmly, giving him a serious look.

"well... yes but-"

"that's what i thought."

"come on, please?"

seungmin gave them a small pout.

"you're not trying to act all cute to get your way, are you?"

"i didn't say i was cute, you did."

minho glared at him, clicking his tongue and rolling his eyes.

"you're too comfortable, put it this way, if we aren't sure that you're going to do as you're told, if we think for one second you're planning something, we will tie you to the bed and gag you so you can't make a noise, then even if you get out of that you'll be locked behind three doors as usual and you'll have to wait until they've gone to be fed, do you want that?"

seungmin definitely did not want that, he shook his head fast.

"i'm sorry, i promise i'll do as you say."

"better."

seungmin watched them leave without shutting the doors, he could see them walking up the stairs to leave. he really had free access to the whole basement and this was insanely surreal to seungmin, something he did not expect in the slightest. he finished his water and went to the bed, pulling the blanket off and draping it around his shoulders as well as slipping his socks on.

the most exciting part for him was finding a new book, he hadn't finished all three of his other ones, but anything new and unexpected was a revelation to seungmin's isolated mind. he looked around a bit when he stepped into the main basement, looking at the stairs.

he had told a bit of a lie, he was very excited about finding a new book but he was even more excited about sitting at the top of the stairs to see if he could hear a conversation, he thought about playing a game and trying to picture what the owners of the voices would look like.

before any of that, seungmin approached one of the boxes, there were about six of them stacked in twos. he had to be careful lifting them because if something heavy was in them, it would make a noise and he would get into a lot of trouble.

he pouted a little before going to get his chair, he tried to be quiet, pulling it in and putting it next to the boxes, climbing up so he could see better. he opened one of the boxes on top, looking inside to determine if it would be safe to lift. he found a lot of paper in that, he resolved to find the book first, and go snooping later.

he stepped down and started to try and lift the box off, it wasn't unbearable heavy, but if was a bit of a challenge for seungmin's skinny arms.

he put the box aside when he safely got it down and looked at the one underneath it.

seungmin opened the box below it, seeing a few things wrapped up in newspaper. he moved a bit of paper, just seeing old stuff in the bottom, he pouted and continued to look.

in the fourth box he tried, he found that the box was full of books, he gasped and smiled a bit. as he went to lift out a book he heard a faint doorbell sound, he assumed someone was here now, he didn't feel as safe out in the open, he was so scared of getting into trouble, he would prefer to go back to his room but he couldn't lift the box.

he lifted out the four books in the top of the box and carried them with struggle into his room.

he hated being stuck in the room, being isolated and trapped, he hated every minute of it, he hated chan and minho, he hated how they treated him, but after being stuck so long, he found security, familiarity, almost comfort in his room.

it was his cell before, but now his bigger room. he liked having more space, it wasn't much more but it was better than the tiny room before, he liked having more that was his own too like his clock, his cup, his blanket and now his books. he took them to the desk and laid them out in a line, these books would keep him busy for weeks.

he looked at the titles, they were worn and tattered but that didn't matter to him.

he picked up all of his books, carrying them to the cabinet, this was his only entertainment. before, he wouldn't think twice about books, he had the tv and his phone and felix to talk to, but now the only way to take a break from the empty feeling he constantly felt, he could transport to any world he wanted and completely escape.

he stood them up together on his cabinet, looking at them all together.

he left them there and pulled his blanket further around himself, going back to the main part of the attic, he went to the other box he found and sat down on the floor, it was dusty and didn't help his slight sore throat, but he ignored it, he opened the box of papers and started snooping since he didn't have to worry about getting caught.

=♡=

A/N
sorry this is a little late