𝕄𝕠𝕟𝕠

Coldness

Winter had arrived. The last orange leaf had fallen from its branch and the crisp autumn air had turned frigid. The long awaited first snowfall of the season began to cover the city of Seoul like a glistening white blanket. As most people crowded the streets to record the snowflakes or shop for upcoming festivities, Namjoon sat quietly in his boyfriend's apartment alone.

It was past midnight and Jisung still wasn't home. Worry and loneliness threatened to overtake Namjoon's mind as he waited on the sofa. His eyes trailed from the broken TV screen to the tilted picture frame, hoping to find something that would distract him. Slowly, Namjoon stood up from the sofa and made his way across the cold floor tiles to the window. He gazed at the outside world longingly. How wonderful it would be if he could take a long walk in the snow or have a shot of soju with his friends again.

The more Namjoon stared out the window, the sadder he grew. It had been so long since he escaped the prison that was Jisung's apartment. His body was probably no longer adjusted to the fresh air or natural sunlight. The last time he sneaked out to see Taehyung, he ended up with more bruises than he could count. Those bruises took weeks to disappear and every day since then, Namjoon remained in his confinement.

How did it come to this? Such a question would appear in Namjoon's thoughts every now and then, and he would remember back to the old, happier days. He would look back at a time when Jisung treated him gently and showered him with affection. However, reminiscing could not change the present and Namjoon knew that. The days when he would smile and laugh at Jisung's cute little antics were over. Such happiness had vanished, leaving Namjoon with only melancholy and fruitless hopes.

Knock knock. Namjoon scurried to open the door since he knew Jisung was most likely intoxicated.

"Jisung... where have you been all night?" he asked as if he didn't already know. "Minho, thank you for bringing him home."

"You're welcome, Namjoon. Have you been doing all right? I haven't seen you for a while now," Minho said.

"Yeah. I-I've been fine."

"I miss hanging out with you and I know Taehyung does too. He keeps bringing you up every chance he gets."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you guys worry about me."

"Don't be sorry, Namjoon. Hey, I'm having a little get-together at my place this Friday. I hope you can make it."

"I-I'll try."

"Alright, goodnight. I'll leave you two alone then."

With that, Minho left and Namjoon was back to being isolated from the outside world.

"Namjoon-hyung," Jisung slurred, "who are you talking to."

Namjoon frowned as he laid the younger boy on the sofa.

"I was just talking to Minho. I'll get some water for you now."

"No." Namjoon felt a sudden grip on his hand, pulling him down. "Hyung, you didn't get my permission to talk to him. You're mine, remember that."

Jisung hastily pulled Namjoon into a sloppy kiss before pinning the older male down.

"J-jisung, a-aren't you a bit tired tonight?"

"Shh hyung, I promise I'll be gentle."

---

Namjoon shot up from his bed. Yet another nightmare had plagued his mind after he closed his eyes. The nightmares were recurring and resulted in him having fitful sleep or no sleep at all. Glancing at the clock and then at the empty space next to him, Namjoon decided it was time to get up. Slowly, he dragged his sore body off the bed and into the bathroom.