42 (hyunminsung)

5

"You're completely cold!" Hyunjin chimed in as he placed his hand on the blond boy's cheek. Jisung just stood there in shock, not moving a muscle. He was in some kind of trance.

"Here you go," Hyunjin quickly took off Minho's hoodie and pulled it over Jisung's head. Blond boy slowly slipped into it.
"B-but..." Jisung tried to say something, but the taller one cut him off.
"I have a long-sleeve shirt, I won't be cold," he smiled, gently stroking the blond boy's hair.

"T-thank you..." Jisung stuttered. He still couldn't believe what was happening.

Someone is being nice to me!

Jisung, Jisung, those are just false hopes, they will leave you, like everyone else!

You didn't leave me...

That's how it will stay, you are nothing without me!

Shut up!

"Are you okay, sweetie?" Minho asked when he noticed Jisung zoning out. The blond just looked at the ground and tried to hold back the tears slowly but surely surfacing.

He didn't know what to do right now. He was in the embrace of two strangers, it was dark, and both boys seemed so kind. On one hand, he wanted to run away, but on the other hand, he wanted to snuggle back. He needed comfort, love... home.

You don't need them! Go!

Jisung hesitated for a moment and then pushed away the hand of one of the boys. He quickly looked around and ran away.

But he didn't count on his injured ankle.

"Ah!" He whimpered and with a hiss, he fell to the ground. His eyes welled up with tears.

"Are you okay?" Hyunjin widened his eyes and knelt down next to the boy on the ground. The blonde just sat on the cold ground, tears in his eyes as he held onto his injured ankle.

"Hey hey! Breathe!" Minho joined in, rubbing Jisung's back. Meanwhile, Hyunjin pulled out his phone to shine a light on the injured leg.

"N-no!" Jisung exclaimed, quickly grabbing the taller one's hand.
"I'm okay," he stuttered and slowly got up. He glanced back once more and started walking away slowly.

"Let him go, love," Minho whispered as he noticed his boyfriend trying to stop him.
"It's better this way," he smiled and gazed into the distance, it was really dark, the only thing visible were the outlines of figures.

"Plus... that was my favorite hoodie," Minho chuckled. It didn't bother him that one of his hoodies was missing, he just wanted to tease his boyfriend.

"I'm sorry, babe, I wasn't thinking straight, I had a lot on my mind," Hyunjin frowned as he realized he wasn't wearing his own hoodie at the moment, but Minho's.

"It's okay... I was just kidding," Minho laughed and smiled.
"Shall we go for that late-night snack?" He grabbed his lover's hand. Hand in hand, they headed to the convenience store.

On the other side, Jisung was struggling to climb up the tree. His ankle was still hurting, and a missing branch didn't make it any easier.

⚠️
"HAN JISUNG! YOU BRAT!!" A scream came from the house.
"I'LL KILL YOU!" It echoed again.

Then an older, overweight man rushed out of the house. As soon as he spotted Jisung under the tree, he slipped off one of his slippers and threw it at him.

"PICK IT UP AND GET INSIDE! I WON'T REPEAT MYSELF, YOU BRAT!" The man yelled.

The blonde quickly picked up the slipper and, with his eyes downcast, hurried inside.
As soon as he crossed the threshold and closed the door, a slap landed on his face.

"WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU ARE WALKING LIKE THIS, YOU DISGUSTING WHORE?!! WE SHOULD HAVE SOLD YOU LONG TIME AGO! YOU'RE LUCKY YOUR DISGUSTING MOTHER HAS US UNDER HER THUMB AND SHE'S DEAD! ALL RIGHT, THEN!" He screamed like a madman. In anger, he kicked Jisung as if he were a punching bag.

The man's words made his blood boil.
"D-don't talk about my m-mom like that," he tried to stand up against him through all the pain.

"SHUT YOUR MOUTH AND DON'T YOU DARE TALK BACK TO ME!! GET UPSTAIRS... I DON'T WANT TO SEE YOU TODAY, YOU WHORE!" The man spat at Jisung and with one final punch to the blonde belly, slumped back onto the couch and took a sip of beer.

Jisung got up as quickly as he could and went upstairs. His whole body was aching, and his ankle felt like needles were piercing it. He could barely stand on his feet.

With a deep sigh, he collapsed onto the bed. A single tear trickled down from the corner of his eye. He had cried so much today that there were no tears left.

If you had done what I told you, you wouldn't have ended up in this situation.

Leave me alone!

Or if you hadn't killed your mother. You should have died alone.

Shut up.

People really get angry for the true, well, except for the fact that you're not a person, you're a monster.

Stop it! Please...

You should have died!!

I know!

But you're a coward, you don't have the balls for it!

I know...

"I know..." with a whimper, Jisung curled up into a ball, burying his nose in the hoodie he got from the unknown couple. The mixed scent of Minho and Hyunjin tickled his nose, reminding him of their embrace, their touches... their words.

With thoughts focused on the two strangers, he slowly but surely drifted into the world of dreams, or rather nightmares.

"Mom?"

"Mom, where are you?"

"Please, I need you..."

"Please..."

The empty space was filled only with sobs and cries. The painful cries caught the attention of the older man. He burst into the room at lightning speed and grabbed the small boy by the hair.

"No!" With a scream, Jisung woke up. He quickly sat up and breathed heavily, trying to shake off the dream.

Tears began to gather in his eyes, forcing him to slowly get up. With pain, he made his way to the closet, from which he pulled out a small box. A wooden box adorned with beautiful red ornaments. The box he received years ago as a gift for his seventh birthday...