!trigger warning! (if you're sensitive to things like bleeding and acts of self-harm, then please proceed with caution.)

***

there was something oddly calming about silence, especially one that made you unaware of time or reality. it was just you, alone with yourself and your mind. there was nothing else, only those things.

minho had grown to appreciate silence. as a kid growing up, he'd never been a huge fan of it, as it always meant that something chaotic was going to arrive soon; like the calm before the storm. noise was a daily occurrence in his life back then, complete with so much shouting and reckless behaviour galore, and that was all the younger minho ever knew.

but now, he loved the quiet. he needed it to stay sane, to function properly.

with his head absent of so many of his usual invasive thoughts, his mind felt clear for once. he felt like he could finally rest.

the coldness of the bathroom tiles seeped into minho's pale skin, but yet minho paid it no mind. his body felt an ice marble, as his dorm's bathroom had always been particularly cold during winter, but he barely moved from his spot on the floor.

the door was locked, blocking him out from the outside world, and minho was more than okay with that. he didn't want any disruptions. he just wanted to be alone.

his eyes fell on his exposed arms, blankly observing the way his previously healthy skin had turned a deathly pale shade, the surface rough and dry. his wrists were thin, their joints more pronounced than ever, but minho couldn't find it within himself to care.

he didn't even feel like himself. everything he saw felt distant, like he was watching this unknown person through a camera lens, observing how they were gradually breaking off into nothing. the body he was staring at had nothing substantial left, only sunken skin and brittle bones, and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

but suddenly, minho didn't pay much attention to his body any longer, as something else had caught his eye.

a shiver ran down his spine, one that made tension arise in his body and trigger his fight or flight response.

that familiar feeling of being watched presented itself again, and minho groaned, messily tugging through the strands of his dark hair. he didn't want this to happen, he just wanted to be by himself. but why was that so hard to achieve?

"leave me alone," minho spoke, hugging his arms around his knees. even that small action took quite a bit of effort on his part. "please let me be..."

that thing watching him didn't listen though, and minho became agitated. he gritted his teeth, fisting his hands inside his hair.

"go away!" he exclaimed. silence was the only response he was given, and he felt livid with anger. why couldn't he just be left alone? why was all this happening to him? what did he do to deserve this? "i said go away!"

a shadow materialized at the corner of the bathroom, slow and patient, and minho's blood ran cold. panic flowed through his veins, but his terror kept him in one place. he couldn't move.

the shadow kept growing bigger and bigger, kept being more and more visible to minho, and the dark haired male felt more frightened then he'd ever felt in his entire life.

a face painstalkingly formed on the shadow's head, pale and ghastly, and drew closer and closer to where minho was. minho started inching away, but when his back collided with the wall, and he couldn't do anything else.

the face stared down at him, its dark hair revealing equally as dark eyes, and their recognizability made minho all the more petrified.

"j-jisung?" minho stammered.

jisung moved closer, his pale face expressionless. he looked exactly like he did in his unclear pictures with his round, hooded eyes and childlike features, but unlike those pictures, his presence ignited nothing but horror within minho.

he felt like jisung was going to harm him.

"go away! please, leave me alone! i-i'm sorry i ever ignored you. p-please don't hurt me!" minho begged, trying to crawl away. his body felt heavy, like some heavy gravitational pull was keeping him stuck to the freezing floor. "p-please..."

jisung moved quicker, preventing the dark haired male from escaping by caging him in. he held out a hand, one that was thin and pale -- just like the rest of him -- and placed something inside minho's shaking palm.

the danger, anger, and pain jisung exuded was just too much for minho, and instantly tears sprung from his eyes, threatening to spill over when he caught sight of what was in his hand.

it was his phone.

incoming call from 'jisung'
accept?
yes|no

jisung's gaze pierced into his skin, burning holes into his skull. his aura radiated nothing but danger that threatened to engulf minho whole.

minho stared as his phone continued to buzz with the incoming call, not wanting to pick it up at all. his intuition was telling him to run away and never come back.

jisung stepped even closer, and minho's skin grew ice cold when his fingers suddenly wrapped around his neck, unexpectedly choking him with a force that was too great to be human.

minho's eyes widened as he fought for himself to be released from jisung's hard grip. a sharp pain pricked his neck and he let out a loud yelp in response.

jisung's hand was preventing him from breathing properly, and he placed his own hands over jisung's, trying with all his might to free his neck.

his legs twitched as he struggled to retain some oxygen, and black spots danced around his vision as jisung held his phone up to his face, staring at him with his dark pair of eyes as if he was taunting him.

incoming call from 'jisung'
accept?
yes|no

minho's stomach flipped over just as he messily pressed on the yes button, and his lungs felt like they were in flames when jisung suddenly let him go, his dark eyes surveying minho as he pressed his own phone to his light coral shaded lips.

"sorry i had to do such a thing," jisung's voice exited the speaker from minho's phone, as the dark haired male struggled to breathe normally again. his voice was low and confident sounding, just like it had always been when he and minho used to talk, but right now, instead of feeling comforted, minho felt sick. "you were being too stubborn, as always."

minho's chest rapidly rose and fell, and his hair felt damp, pressed against his forehead. nervous beads of sweat at gathered at his temple, and his heart was skipping too many beats to be okay.

"i'm so sorry i scared you, minho. i was just too excited to meet you today," jisung giggled. a cheery smile formed on his face, one that seemed too nice to be real. "tell me, am i what you expected me to be? are you happy to see me too?"

minho was too exhausted to answer. his eyes drowsily searched the bathroom for an opening, or some sort of escape route that would help him get out of this place before jisung actually killed him.

by now, most of jisung's body had grown more human-like, so he just looked like normal male with pale skin clad in a dark jeans and a black hoodie. but he was anything but normal. he sat down in front of minho, grinning excitedly at him like a child, his gummy smile on display.

"come on, answer me minho," jisung spoke into his phone. "are you happy that i'm here? i was so glad when i could finally reveal myself to you, since you've been wanting me to do so for a long time. i even made myself look presentable, even though chan and jeongin thought i was being crazy."

minho didn't know how to respond. he felt so afraid. he wanted to leave this place, but jisung was too close to him. if he acted impulsively, the male before him could easily give him a painful death.

"why aren't you answering me?" jisung asked, his tone demanding. "do you want me to force you into doing what i say again?"

"n-no. i'm sorry..." minho mumbled.

"why do you sound so tired? are you sad that i'm here?" jisung questioned. "you're such an ungrateful, worthless idiot at times. it makes me sick. why can't you stop acting like a dumb child for once?"

minho's shoulders sunk, but he tried his hardest not to let himself cry. he couldn't afford to cry in front of someone like jisung.

"minho, answer me." jisung's voice had grown even deeper -- almost demonic -- and it terrified minho to no end.

his eyes stared around the bathroom again, racking his brain for some sort of plan that he could execute, even though his body felt so tired. his eyes landed on his sink, but before jisung could notice anything, he stared at the floor.

"minho, i swear to god -- "

"can you get me that small container over there? it has my toothbrush and toothpaste in it. i want to brush my teeth."

for the first time ever, jisung looked speechless. "...what?"

"you're... you're gonna be here for a while, right? might as well make myself comfortable on the floor," minho spoke. bile rose in his throat as he tried to swallow his saliva, and he forced a smile over his face when his and jisung's eyes locked.

jisung's expression mirrored one of blankness for a while, and for a couple of seconds, minho felt as if jisung had seen through him and caught his lie. but the male promptly stood up, heading to the nearby sink to grab the little container. he passed it to minho in record speed, as he was aware that minho could try to escape through the bathroom door if he wasn't quick enough.

"so...what do you want to talk to me about?" minho asked, trying to will all his nerves away. he didn't want jisung catching on to any suspicious behaviour that could expose him.

"anything, really. i just want to hear your voice," jisung replied, smiling once again. it unsettled minho how he could be so happy one second and then turn so dangerous at the other. it was like jisung had multiple personalities combined into one.

but, minho wasn't ever going to wait to discover the rest of them. he was ready to risk it all to ensure his own safety, and to end everything once and for all.

"...start talking, jisung. tell me about your day," minho said, his eyes glancing at the contents the container held. inside it were his toothpaste and toothbrush, of course, but there was also something else. minho gulped.

"well... my day wasn't bad in the slightest. mostly because i knew i was going to see you tonight," jisung answered. his dark round eyes crinkled at the corners when he smiled, and minho felt lightheaded.

the dark haired male lightly nodded. he slowly fisted his right hand over and over again, making sure it wasn't asleep.

when he looked up though, he saw jisung's eyes on him. he let out an empty, cold smile that held no substance. "jisung, i want to ask you a question."

"of course you can, minho." jisung looked relieved that minho was finally coorperating with him for once. "what is it?"

"what are you, jisung?"

at this, jisung's body froze. he let out a nervous laugh. he spoke into his phone, "what do you mean by that, minho?"

"before, you told me you were going to tell me what you were when we could finally talk again, so now i want to know." minho took out the toothpaste and toothbrush.

"i'm afraid i can't really answer that."

"so you're a liar, then."

"i'm not." jisung furrowed his brows together. his anger and frustration basically led him to miss the way minho's palm clenched over the thing in his hands, waiting to strike. "i'm really not, minho. i just don't want you to leave me."

minho's lips lifted up into a calm, sarcastic smile. "...right."

"i care about you too much minho. i need you in my life, and i don't want to scare you away."

minho's jaw clenched. in less than a heartbeat, he yanked out the razor blade in his grip, digging it into his flesh to form a rough, jagged line. thick red blood splattered from the opening, and jisung's eyes widened in fright.

"minho! what the hell are you doing?!"

"i don't need you in my life, and i sure as hell do not care about you!" minho cried out as drove the razor deeper into his wrist, breathing like a madman at the pain and agony it cost him. his hands were slick with bright red blood, and his fingers trembled at the sensation, but yet minho just kept on slicing.

jisung stood up, running towards minho. he forcibly grabbed the razor, throwing it aside. but the blood kept on coming. "m-minho, what have you done... WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!"

minho stared right at jisung, an eerie sense of smugness taking over him at seeing all the blood that left his body. the liquid soaked his clothes, and ran down his left arm like a crimson waterfall.

jisung's shocked expression would become one that would be forever engraved into his memory.

"i hope i never see you again," minho whispered, his tone dripping with nothing but venom despite how sleepy he was getting.

although his actions would cost him his life, he was glad he would never have to deal with any of this again. he would never have to deal with jisung again.

now, he was finally free.

minho smiled, closed his eyes, and let the sleep take over him.

***

a/n: hi hello *lenny face*

thoughts on this?