𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗱 𝗖𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗮𝘆 // Jihan

eighteen

It had been 5 days already, and this was the last day where Joshua would have to sleep in the same room with Jeonghan. Sometimes, he wished his parents were gone for longer.

This morning, Joshua woke Jeonghan.

"Wake up~~ You have work today!" Joshua softly said with a morning voice.

Jeonghan slowly opened his eyes and looked at the younger. He couldn't help but notice how perfectly Joshua knew how to wake him up exactly the way he wanted. It was a bit strange, but he decided not to question it.

"Five more minutes, please!" the older mumbled, still half-asleep, and accidentally making a mini moan.

Joshua felt butterflies in his stomach but tried to act normal, failing miserably as he forgot to speak.

"Thanks." Jeonghan continued when he noticed that the other boy hadn't said anything.

"No, you need to wake up now. It's already late."Joshua insisted.

Jeonghan, still groggy, asked "How? What time is it?"

"It's late. Get up or I will eat you" Joshua playfully threatened.

"I want to see that. You're only a stranger still!" the older laughed.

"Stop calling me a stranger! Be grateful I woke you up, or else you'd be late."

"Fine." Jeonghan gave in, stretching and yawning.

***

"Have a nice day! Good luck with your work!" Joshua greeted Jeonghan as he left for work.

After Joshua left, a customer immediately entered the café.

"Seungkwan? Why are you already here?" Jeonghan said, confused.

"We have a lot of things to talk about. Make me a coffee, then come to my table." Seungkwan responded.

***

"What do you want to talk about?" Jeonghan asked, sitting down with his brother.

"Before talking about your lovely week with a stranger, I need to tell you something about Mom..."Seungkwan began.

Jeonghan noticed the seriousness in his brother's expression and knew that the situation at home was getting worse.

"What happened?" the older asked, concerned.

Seungkwan revealed a bruise on his forehead and his hand. "Mom got proposed to by her boyfriend, and she wants him to live with us. I thought it was a good idea because maybe she'd stop hitting us, but her fiancé is even worse. When I told him about my dream to be a model, he shouted at me. He even forced me to clean the whole house, and when I rested for a moment, he came into the room and hit me. My wounds are getting worse, but I have to endure it. The most important thing I want to tell you is..."

Jeonghan's anger boiled. "What the heck? Is he some kind of monster? How can someone hurt my brother like this? I want to confront him!"

Seungkwan continued "Let me finish. The most important thing is that you should stay at Joshua's place more. If you come home, he'll be even more brutal because of my condition. Don't come home, Jeong. If you do, your life will be ruined. Mine already is, and I'm forced to go to medicine."

Jeonghan couldn't bear to see his brother suffering like this. "I can't let you go through this alone! You're coming with me no matter what. We'll face this together!"

Seungkwan pleaded "I can't even leave the house now, Jeonghan. He said I can only leave when I have university. Today, I lied to him, saying I had university the whole day."

Tears welled up in Seungkwan's eyes, and Jeonghan comforted him, wiping away the tears. "Shh, don't cry, my baby! I can't stand seeing you like this."

Seungkwan insisted "Jeonghan, please listen to me. I'll try to leave the house and come to you, but please don't risk your life. Stay with Joshua more. Please!"

Seeing his brother in such pain tore Jeonghan apart. "Okay, bro, I'll spend more time with Joshua, but only if you promise me you'll find a way to escape from that place."

"I promise. Just don't come home." Seungkwan said with determination.

"Alright then. Calm down. I'm here for you!"Jeonghan comforted his brother, holding him close.

So his life got worse than before...right?...

That means...

***