"" Taehyung mumbles, staring down at the device in his hand, 'Did he really say suicide helpline?'

A moment of hesitation passes 'what if the guy hurts himself? Should I call back?' Taehyung stands still for another few seconds before rushing back inside, putting his camera on the coffee table and glancing at his phone again. Without any other thought, he presses the green button and brings the device up to his ear.

One signal, two signals, three signals-

And finally he picks up.

"Hey um, you mixed up my phone number with the...suicide hotline, but you ca- I mean, I could listen to you.."
After a moment filled with silence, Taehyung is about to speak up again, when the other starts "But you're a stranger"

Taehyung lets out an awkward, quiet laugh "Yea I guess... But so are the people you call on the hotline" He says and starts to regret his choice of words almost immediately , he's supposed to be helping, not discouraging the other from calling for help. And Taehyung doesn't have any experience with those situations at all! How is that any help?

"Sorry I didn't mean it to sound that way..! Umm, d-do you have a number to the hotline? I could give you one, okay wait I'll just-" a delicate laugh stops Taehyung. The guy on the other line just laughed?

"what's so funny?"

"You sound really panicked all of a sudden"

"O-oh...sorry I just-" Taehyung pauses and takes a deep breath, getting himself back together before speaking again, there's no need to panic "I'll text you the number to a crisis hotline, but promise me you will call"

"It's ok, I have a number" the male says "But, I don't think I should call" the last sentence is really quiet and Taehyung feels bad, he doesn't want the other to get hurt, even if it's a stranger.
"If you have a problem, please call them, It will really help"

There's a loud banging sound heard on the other line and the boy quickly speaks over it "Okay...Um I-I have to go, sorry for the bother, and thank you"

And with that the other hangs up. Taehyung looks at the phone and sighs, he really doesn't want that guy to get hurt. 'Maybe I should keep in contact, to make sure he doesn't hurt himself'

He goes into messages and picks the boy's number before texting him.

Taehyung;
I never got your name. I'm Taehyung =)

xxxx-xxx-xxx;
Jungkook

-----

Jungkook puts his phone down beside him on the bed, his heart beating faster with each loud step he hears getting closer. He stares at door of his room. And the moment they open, he feels as if his heart stopped.

His father stumbles into the room, hair a mess and eyes hazy, yet another bottle of strong soju in one hand. He's clearly drunk, again, like always. The man glares at Jungkook.
"Who were you talking to?"

Jungkook knows he made a mistake and shouldn't have called anyone "Nobody." He shifts on the bed, changing his sitting position and hiding his phone in the covers while doing so.

The man that was standing at the door, is now walking into the room and towards Jungkook. The younger knows that one bad move or word can make him regret everything even more, he is terrified.

"Don't you ing lie to me" he raises his voice "I heard you speaking to someone" He is standing right at the edge of the bed, Jungkook can't move, his breathing is shallow and he never gets used to this horrible feeling of fear, even after three years.
"N-no, really, I was talking to myself, who would I be talking t-to?"

The man stares down at the boy for a long few seconds before turning around and walking out with a fading mumble of "Stupid kid" or something along those lines.

Jungkook flinches as the man slams the door shut. He lets out a breath of relief after a minute or so when he's sure the other is gone. He stands up, winching at the pain coming from several places of his body. He walks into the bathroom that he is thankful for having connected with his room. Jungkook pauses to stare at his reflection in the cracked mirror, unbrushed hair, dark circles around his eyes and that still healing scar on his lip. He looks like a mess, almost as bad as his father.

It only gets worse when he pulls his shirt off. Jungkook examines the dark purple bruises on his arms and chest, there's probably more on his back.
He leans in closer to the mirror, staring at the red mark around his neck, he'll have to wear a scarf to school tomorrow to hide that and the chances of any teacher letting him wear it in class are low.
Moving away from his reflection, he notices some cuts on his upper arm, most likely from when he tried to protect himself from the glass bottle being thrown at him. The old scars made by his father are barely visible under the recent ones, bruises never heal properly before he gets new ones, the pain is less bearable each time.

He finally looks away from the mirror and walks up to the shower, getting rid of the rest of his clothing before stepping in and turning the water on.
He wants this to end so badly.

-----

"Jungkook" Taehyung mumbles to himself, walking towards his room. He puts the phone on his night stand and sits on the bed, staring at the device.
He wants to know more about the boy, to know what's wrong and he wants to help, there's just something that isn't letting him let go of the matter. But should he get involved with all this?