Flowers on the Moon ; jinyoung-centric

Chapter 9: quietly

That night, it was silent in the household.

When Mark woke up in the middle of the night to grab a glass of water, he was instead met with the sight of a fully awake Jinyoung in the living room, staring at somewhere along the wall.

"Jinyoung? Why are you still awake?"

Jinyoung merely glances up at him from the couch, curling into himself even more. He looked so small amidst the strewn blankets, amidst the gentle glow of the cracked moonlight streaming through the windows. "Couldn't sleep."

"Are you okay?" Mark asks softly, eyebrows knitted in worry as he reaches a hand out to brush the strands of hair on the younger's face. Jinyoung flinches away, and Mark immediately retracts his hand, feeling the tug in his heart at the younger's fearful expression. "It's okay. I won't hurt you."

Jinyoung visibly relaxs, but the fear in his eyes was as clear as day. Mark slowly sits down next to him, looking out through the windows. He didn't expect this when he woke up earlier to get a glass of water, but then again, he didn't expect that his life would turn to this direction when he and the others met Jinyoung.

He remembers all too clearly the dull look in Jinyoung's eyes as they left the cafe and even as they all sat down to treat the younger's wounds. He had been so angry then, wanting nothing more than to punch that asshole in the face right there in the middle of the shop, but when his eyes landed on Jinyoung's disheveled form, all traces of anger seemed to dissipate completely from his body.

Jinyoung just looked... defeated.

The image of the scars on Jinyoung's wrists came flashing through his eyes at that moment, and Mark had never felt so helpless than he had at that second. Had those people really caused that much damage to someone as kind as Jinyoung? Had they actually succeeded in breaking the person that did nothing to them? Just what have they done to Jinyoung all those times?

He looked down on Jinyoung, who was now fast asleep against his shoulder, chest rising and falling steadily in the dim lighting, and as if on instinct, he pulls Jinyoung just a little bit closer.

-

Breakfast, for once, was unusually quiet in their dorm.

Even with the cleanliness and organization of the whole place, and the silence that surrounded the typically chaotic and bustling-with-activities living room, Yugyeom couldn't shake off the feeling of uneasiness and worry hanging in the air. Mindlessly, he cracked an egg into a pan with a soft sigh, glancing over at the closed door across the hall.

Jinyoung didn't get much sleep last night. Mark told him that Jinyoung fell asleep in his arms just before dawn, and he's been sleeping in the eldest's room until now. It was almost 9AM, and with some of the others heading off to school (even though they wanted to stay to take care of Jinyoung) for morning classes, it was even quieter around the whole place.

Yugyeom wasn't sure how they got here.

It was like someone had flicked a light switch, and before he could barely even blink, suddenly everything was shrouded in darkness. It seemed like yesterday he was just walking inside Jinyoung's cafe, having small talk with him as he looked around the shop. He could never have imagined that this would be where they would end up.

The simplicity of it all was washed away way too suddenly. It was hard to believe that the same bubbly boy he'd met a couple of weeks ago with the bright and breathtaking smile was now completely silent, eyes hollow and so, so different from the Jinyoung standing behind the counter and humming along quietly to a song.