Antithesis | StrayKids

Chapter 9:

He was trying desperately to pay attention to the movie that was on but his mind kept wandering off. He could feel the warmth of Seungmin's body below him.

His heart sped up when he felt the boy running his fingers slowly through his hair. It was nice... Jeongin had almost forgotten what it felt like, his grandmother used to do the same thing. She would sing him a song while Jeongin would lay on her lap. A smile appeared on his face.
The taller boy had begun to doze off when a sudden ringing awoke him. Seungmin had reached over for his phone, hesitantly answering it.

"Hello mother," the smaller boy answered, his tone bitter.

Jeongin sat up quickly. Seungmin had a mother? 'Wait, of course he had a mother,' Jeongin thought. But then why was she never around?

"Seungmin, good to hear your voice. I've missed you. "

Jeongin could hear her voice faintly on the other end of the line. He listened closely, trying his best to catch the words.

"If you missed me so much, why are you always going away?" he spoke, a hint of annoyance in his voice. Seungmin stood up, walking into the kitchen.

Ah, so that's what it was... Jeongin felt sorry for the boy, part of him relating to Seungmin's situation. His own parents were similar, the exception being that they were at least around.

Standing up slowly, he made his way into the kitchen, seeing Seungmin gripping tightly onto the edge of the counter.

Something was wrong.

Seungmin looked deathly pale. As his grip on the counter tightened, his eyes closed. Jeongin began to step toward him just as he dropped his phone, almost collapsing to the ground. The smaller boy stumbled over to the bathroom and Jeongin could hear the awful sounds of him throwing up.

What on earth had frightened him so much.

Entering the bathroom, he noticed the boy leaning over the toilet, tears streaming down his face. Upon instinct, he began rubbing circles on the boy's back. He had done this many times when Minho or Hyunjin had too much to drink.

If it was Minho or Hyunjin that was crying over their own barf, he would have laughed in their faces... but this was Seungmin.

The boy finally sat back against the wall, his face red and tear stained. Poor guy.

"Seungmin?" He called, trying to draw the boy out of the trance he seemed to be in. Wetting a towel with cold water, he gently wiped the boy's face, clearing away the tears and whatever else on it. It seemed to calm him down a bit as he closed his eyes, his crying finally ceasing.

"Seungmin... Seungmin, are you ok? What happened?" He asked, gently rubbing the boy's arm.

Seungmin shook his head, falling on Jeongin when he attempted to stand up.

"Whoa there buddy, take it easy," he cautioned, steadying the boy who leaned up against his chest. He looked so incredibly helpless.

"I- I can- can't stay here, need to leave," he mumbled, attempting to walk once again.
Jeongin ignored the boy's protests as he picked him up as if he weighed nothing. In fact, it felt like Seungmin weighed nothing. This boy really needed to eat.

Seungmin wrapped his arms around Jeongin's neck as they made their way back over to the couch. Placing Seungmin down gently, he pulled out his phone.

Driver: I'm outside now.

Shit. He had to go but Seungmin was in no state to be left alone.

Running his hand through his hair in frustration, he looked back down at the boy who was staring off sadly into space.

"Seungmin, can you please tell me what happened?"

The boy remained silent, only to, once again, mutter that he needed to leave a few seconds later.

Fuck it.

He ran back to the kitchen, picking up the dropped phone and grabbing his bag, before walking back over to the boy.

He gestured for Seungmin to get on his back and after a few tries, the smaller boy managed to. Jeongin stood up, grabbing the keys from a bowl next to the door, locking it just as he stepped out.

The cold air hit his face and he realized Seungmin didn't have a jacket with him. Shit.

The driver stepped out of the car, shooting Jeongin a confused glance as he made his way over to the other side of the car, opening the back seat.

"I'll explain on the way." Was all he said, before hopping in next to him.

Nodding, the driver got back into the car, turning on the ignition.

Jeongin gently placed the boy's head against his shoulder, stroking the side of his face, which seemed to calm him down a little.

"Jeon... Jeongin, where are we going?" He whispered, looking out the window as they pulled away.

"Back to my place. You kept saying how you wanted to leave so I'm taking you with me, since you're obviously in no condition to be left alone."

That seemed to answer his question and the driver's as well, since neither spoke after that.

He was going to get to the bottom of this once and for all. For Seungmin's sake.