I prayed she didn't hear the sound I made. I knew both me and Jeongin would be in trouble if that happened. She was one of the strictest lady's I had ever seen.

My whole body froze, and I slowly turned my head to the side so that I could peek out the opening.

Jeongin seemed to have noticed it as he was looking right in my direction. I tried my best not to make any more sound. The boxers were still on my head, but it fit me just perfectly, cause I could see through each of the leg-hooles. The middle part of the boxer hung over my nose.

I knew I had to take it off, but I'd at least wait until his mom was gone.

"Uhm, I'm sorry mom" Jeongin said loudly, trying to hide the sound coming from his closet, "The basket was outside on the doorstep"

Oh my

She didn't hear me. Jeongin was a hero. Without him, I'd be in big trouble. On the other hand, I wasn't sure why he lied about the basket. He could've just told her the truth.

"Oh really?" His mom questioned him, "so that's why there were broken cookies everywhere"

"Yes" he nodded, "I didn't do it though!"

She didn't answer

"I opened the door to get some fresh air, and there was a basket on the ground, and cookies spilled everywhere!" He explained, "the birds must've tried to take them"

"Why would there be a basket outside in the first place?" She asked

He looked over at the closet again.

"I'm not sure" he lied, "maybe it was for you guys"

She let out a loud exhale.

"Don't you ever touch something that's for us without our permission first" She demanded

"Yes, I'm sorry mom." He mumbled, "I just thought I should save the basket and bring it inside"

"No more excuses. I want all the cookie-mess gone"

He nodded politely, and put the Bible down at his bed.

Wow, was she strict. My mom would have never said something like that. She'd at least help me clean up. I didn't understand why his mom was acting like that. I felt so bad for him. Imagine being treated so differently compared to your own brothers.

His mom left the room, and he was left standing alone. I knew I needed to help him clean up. After all it was me who made the mess.

I took the boxer off my head, and threw it somewhere behind me. I then waited a couple seconds until I knew his mom was gone for sure. Jeongin hadn't started moving yet.

I opened the closet door just a bit, and peeked my head out.

"I'll help you" I said quietly

He turned to me immediately, and started coming closer. He grabbed the collar of my shirt aggressively.

"What did I tell you about talking?" He brutally whispered

He pulled me even closer to his face, causing my heart to jump.

"I- you told me to shut up" I responded

He let go of my shirts collar with a small push back into the closet. He clenched his jaw looking at me.

"I'll tell you when you can get out okay?" He explained, "until then, you don't make a sound"

I nodded, and he closed the closet.

He stopped for a second just to look in my direction before leaving the room. I felt my tummy rumbling.

I hadn't ate in a long time, and I was starting to get really, really hungry. My mom always made sure I ate enough. She wouldn't be happy knowing I hadn't eaten more than a cookie while staying here.

Hopefully I'd be invited to dinner. They couldn't keep me locked up in here forever.

____

While waiting for Jeongin to get back, I didn't do much more than watching the same five satisfying videos on repeat. My mom actually sent me another message while I was waiting. She was all excited about me spending so much time here. Little did she know I had barely even spoken to the guy.

I didn't reply to the message, cause I wouldn't want to scare or disappoint her.

Jeongin came back into the room after speaking with his dad in the kitchen. Apparently, they were having pizza for dinner and he was allowed a specific number of slices.

I assumed he had diabetes at first, but then I remembered how much he ate at camp.

I wanted to ask him what that was about, but obviously I couldn't. I did exactly as he said. Stayed in the closet, not saying anything at all.

My legs were cramping, but I powered through it.

I started counting the number of times we made eye contact through the opening. Well more so, I made eye contact with him. He couldn't see anything of me. After a full hour, we had connected our eyes a total of 32 times. If you ask me, that is a pretty decent number.

When the time hit 17:00, he was called in for dinner. I had some hope in me that he would let me out, and invite me to the table. It smelled amazing. I'd love some pizza.

-But sadly he left the room without saying a word.

My heart ached. It truly hurt. I thought he'd care for me, but it seemed he didn't. Thinking about Felix's and Hyunjin's relationship used to be nice, cause I could see me and Jeongin in them. Now, it just hurts.

He kept yelling at me, telling me to shut up. I couldn't even remember the last time he told me something nice.

After all this effort, he ended up hiding me in his closet. I tried my hardest not to let out any tears, but I couldn't manage to keep them in. I fully broke down. I cried harder than I did earlier when I fell and hurt myself.

Dang

My legs felt weak, but I couldn't sit down. I had no space around me. I felt trapped.

Who knew how long I'd stay in here for.

My whole vision became blurry, and my head hurt. Tears kept flowing, making it worse. I felt claustrophobic. I missed mom a whole lot.

"Hello?" I heard a whisper outside the closet door.

I rubbed my eyes. It was Jeongin, but I didn't reply. He could've just been testing me.

"Seungmin?" he said, slightly knocking on the wooden door.

I sniffed, still not answering.

He slowly opened the closet, revealing my puffed up, red face. He didn't look mad. Not at all. His head tilted to the side.

"What?" He mumbled, most likely confused as to why I was crying.

I replied only with another sniffle, and he reached his hand towards me. What he was holding surprised me.

A slice of pizza

"I managed to bring you this" he said, "I hid it behind my back"

My mood lightened

"For me?" I asked in a quiet voice

"Yeah" he said, handing it to me.

I stared at him with wide eyes. Did he really just do that?

"T-thanks" I stuttered

He smiled

I took a bite out of the slice, and let me tell you, it hit the spot. It also felt great being able to reach my elbow outwards without bumping into a wall.

"Why are you crying?" He asked me

He kept turning his head to make sure nobody were coming.

"I don't know" I lied before taking another bite

He sighed. Something told me he knew I was lying.

"I'm sorry" he apologized, "it's just-"

He stopped for a second.

-"my parents"

"It's ok" I said

There was nothing to be ashamed about. I guess it wasn't his fault. His parents were super strict, and there was not anything to do with that.

"No, really" he repeated, "I'm sorry"

🤍