FROM ZERO [✓]

11

Kihyun could barely sleep once he was back at home. By then his brain was starting to get ready for a whole day of activities, but it was dark outside and he couldn't do much.

Sleep, Kihyun, sleep!

He pressed his face into his pillow. He was anything but ready to sleep. He sat up and hugged his blanket to his chest. He picked his phone up. It was 1:42 am.

He crawled out of bed and headed to the kitchen, where he opened the fridge to find food. He found some microwavable pizza in the freezer compartment.

Just what I need, he thought. He switched his phone on and went onto KakaoTalk. He was scrolling through his contacts and realised that Hoseok was online.

What's he doing awake at this time? Kihyun tapped on Hoseok's contact and sent him a sticker. His heart was pounding in his chest, and he had no idea why.

"You're still suffering from jet lag, ㅋㅋㅋ"

Hoseok replied soon enough. Kihyun found himself smiling as he typed his reply.

"Yeah. Why are you awake at this time?"

He didn't understand why he was so happy to be texting Hoseok. He never felt this way before. His smile faded when he saw Hoseok's response.

"Can't sleep. Can I ask a favour of you?"

What did kind of favour did Hoseok need from me? Kihyun began getting flustered. He pushed his hair out of his eyes and swallowed hard.

"Yeah, sure."

Hoseok typed for a long time, prolonging Kihyun's agony. God, can he type a little quicker? He was at the edge of his chair with anticipation.

When Hoseok' reply came through, Kihyun nearly fell off the chair altogether.

"Please keep this between the two of us. I don't want Hyungwon to know about it yet. I'm counting on our years of friendship for you to keep this confidential. Why Hyungwon and I broke up is because of Red. You remember her right? She decided to make an appearance and she fucking tricked me into having sex with her. After that Hyungwon saw me doing IT, and soon after that we just fell apart. I just wanted to ask a small favour from you, if that's okay with you."

Red was back. Kihyun took a deep breath. Okay, calm down. He closed his eyes for a second before replying.

"헐, I thought she left for good. I'm sorry about you and Hyungwon. Is there anything I can do?"

Kihyun rubbed his forehead. Red was actually back. Both Hoseok and himself thought she had left the country for good, but turns out she came back.

"Meet me at 7 am at my apartment & I'll pass you something. I'll tell you more tomorrow. I need to sleep now, or I'll be mistaking detergent for milk tomorrow, ㅎㅎ"

Why was Hoseok being so secretive? Kihyun groaned and placed his phone face down on the table.

He heard the soft 'ding' from the microwave.

It was going to be a long night.

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