anti-carat .

seventeen

"You drank together?" Meili asks, her eyes widening as she saw Jihoon melt onto the table. He simply let out a hum, his head pressed against the table. It felt...heavy. Heavy with all the thoughts and feelings crowding inside it. "Did something happen?" Meili asks, shaking Jihoon slightly. "What- No! Meili, that's disgusting." Jihoon scrunched up his face, judging Meili. The girl simply chuckles, sitting on Jihoon's bed.

Jihoon felt his pocket vibrate. Already knowing who it is, he took his phone out to reply.

-

sy
@ kwnsyng

so uh
i think the manager kinda loves us together??
he was legit trying to make up excuses so
that we could hang out

oh no he's torturing me 😩😩

oh fuck you ):
anyways how was your day bub?

shitndgsj
better now that im talking to you 😩💦💦

holy fuck
jihoon what-

are you surprised sweetie xx
FUCK SORRY
THAT WAS MEILI WHAT THE FUCK

I WAS SCREAMING I CANT BELIEVE SHE GOT MY HOPES UP

oh my fucking god this is so EMBARRASSING !!
b ye

tell meili she's a legend tho 🤠
bye bubba <3

-

"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" Jihoon exclaimed, tugging on his own hair from embarrassment. "Sorry, sweetie. It had to be done." Meili winks, making Jihoon sink into his seat. "I fucking hate you." The boy hid his face, not ready to face all the bugging Soonyoung was going to do. "Oh come on, you two are just so damn adorable together." She says with the widest smile on her face. "Shut the actual fuck up."

"Anyways, the love of my life is texting me. Gotta fucking go." Meili says, getting up and leaving. Jihoon shook his head, not being able to calm himself down. He let out a sigh, leaning back on his seat. He wanted to scream. He wanted to let out all of his emotions. Minhyuk suddenly entered the room, holding the house phone. "For you." He whispered, handing the phone to him. "Who?" He whispered back. Minhyuk simply shrugged before leaving the room. Jihoon suspiciously held the phone to his ear.

"Hello?" He spoke to get rid of the silence, his hands trembling as soon as he heard the man speak. The voice, it was too familiar. "How did you get this number?" Jihoon asks, trying to stay calm. "That's not important. I need you to come back now, this instant! Or else-"

Jihoon ended the phone call before the man could finish his words. He breathed heavily, remembering the traumatic experience and how he ended up in this situation. He couldn't forget.

-

His head hit the cold hard floor after being pushed by the man whom he had no other option but to live with. He reeked of alcohol and cigarettes. Jihoon was just a punching bag he could use to get rid of his stress. He laid there, emotionless as the man put his foot to the side of his face, leaning closer to him. "You ruined everyone's life." The man slurred, harshly pushing Jihoon's head with his foot. "Piece of shit." He growled before walking away, locking the door behind him.

Just like that, Jihoon was left alone to bawl his eyes out. It hurt to cry, everything just hurt. That was when he decided, he had enough. He got himself up with all the effort he could put in and looked around the room, trying to find something to escape with. He looked above only to find the part of the ceiling that led to the roof. He pushed his bed to align it with the path, trying not to make any noise. He then placed a chair on top of the bed and crawled his way up to the roof.

His heart racing, he slowly crawled to the edge of the roof and jumped down, resulting in his foot getting more fucked up than it already was. He realised the amount of noise he had made and quickly got up to run as far away as possible. He didn't know where to, he just ran. He kept going till he made sure that he was as far as possible from the house before collapsing onto the ground, his chest heaving up and down. He was practically gasping for air at this point.

He had no energy to even stand up or walk. He saw a boy around his age run up to him, making him panic a little. But there was nothing he could do about it. He let his hand behind Jihoon's head and slightly lifted him up. "Can you hear me? Are you okay?" The boy who seemed genuinely worried asked, kneeling down towards him. Jihoon nodded, letting him know that he was alright. The boy helped him sit up, then looked at his hands in horror as he saw blood all over it. Jihoon simply stared at the boy's shocked face and sighed.

"It's normal..." He spoke softly, startling the boy. "This...this is not okay! Who did this to you?"

"My uncle."

"You need to get cleaned up. Come over to mine, I'll try and keep you as safe as I possibly can." He spoke, making Jihoon reject his offer. "Please..." The boy desperately spoke, persuading Jihoon. Jihoon finally gave in. Half way through, Jihoon blacked out. That was all he could remember until he woke up at a completely different place. He had different clothes on, his wounds were cleaned up and he felt safe for once.

He watched the door open, revealing the boy he saw earlier. "How're you feeling?" The boy asks, sitting next to Jihoon. "Much better. Thank you so much, I don't know what I'd do if you hadn't saved me."

The boy smiled, running his hands through Jihoon's hair, fixing it. "I'm Minhyuk, you?"

"Jihoon."

"Where are your parents?"

Jihoon gulped before speaking, "My mum passed away, my dad got a divorce and left."

"Oh...I guess that's something we have in common." Minhyuk let out a broken chuckle, avoiding eye contact. Right after, a female's voice was heard, calling out Minhyuk's name. She entered the room, only to be startled by the extra person in the room. She looked at Jihoon and waited for him or Minhyuk to say something. "He's Jihoon, same situation as mine." Minhyuk explained, making the girl nod. "Hi, I'm Meili. Are you doing well?"

"Uh...um yeah, I'm doing well." Jihoon nervously spoke. Speaking to new people was always a challenge to him. He didn't know whom to trust and whom not to trust. "Do you have a place to stay?" She asks, making Jihoon shake his head no. "Oh, why don't you stay with us? We have an extra room anyway and we promise to take care of you." Minhyuk smiled as Meili nodded, agreeing with the boy.

"Oh no, that's fine. I...I'll find another way-"

"Trust me, Jihoon. It's alright. We're happy to welcome you here." Meili says, chuckling a little. "Are you...are you sure?" Jihoon stuttered, playing with his fingers. They both nodded, making Jihoon smile lightly. Soon enough, they got to know each other well and grew closer by each second.

That was the beginning of Jihoon's new life.