NIGHTMARE

01 | strangers at midnight

january 1st. a new year. a new start for yoo kihyun.

except so far, things seemed to be going just as disastrously as before. his new apartment had mould spreading in the shower, the neighbours upstairs were having extremely loud sex every night, and his bank account was still very... bare.

and if all of that wasn't enough to keep him up at night, his cat was missing too.

"misty!" kihyun called, stumbling over the cobblestones in the pavement, shivering in the cold wind. "misty, where are you?"

his voice was thin and tired, his hands shook with the missing cat posters he'd made, and his heart ached. he was exhausted. he couldn't sleep, barely ate anything at all, and found himself in a constant state of tears.

they say change is good for you, but kihyun wondered whether anything was good for him at all.

"misty?" kihyun called faintly, his voice drowned out by the showers of fireworks overhead.

all of a sudden, there were hurried footsteps on the pavement and kihyun floundered, caught by surprise. before he could hop out of the way, a large mass slammed into him, knocking him off his feet.

"ah, shit," a voice muttered, from somewhere above kihyun's face.

kihyun's ribs struggled to expand under the weight of the stranger and he heaved uncomfortably until he was released. the missing cat posters were everywhere.

"sorry," the deep voice apologised, picking himself up and dusting off his jeans. after a pause, he offered kihyun a hand and pulled him to his feet.

kihyun's small body trembled in the january chill, and a shiver shot up his arm from the warmth of the stranger's hand.

"shit, are these yours?" the stranger asked suddenly, looking at the fluttering posters around them. "i'm so sorry, i-"

he was cut off by a not so far away yell, and his eyes widened with alarm. not knowing what else to do, he grabbed kihyun's hand again and started running.

"...what-?"

"just don't stop."

kihyun tripped and stumbled after the taller stranger, totally caught off guard. the deeper-voiced male was quick and it was hard for kihyun to keep up. odd yells echoed from behind them, getting gradually closer the longer they seemed to run.

it came to an abrupt stop when they darted inside a tiny mini-mart, hiding between the aisles. this was when kihyun got a proper look at the offender.

he was a little taller than him - which was the usual state of things when you're yoo kihyun - with hair a few shades lighter brown, and cheeks rosy from running. his breath escaped his lips in quick puffs, matching kihyun's own huffing and puffing.

"in there!" yelled a voice from outside.

the stranger met kihyun's eyes, pressing a finger to his own mouth, begging for silence. kihyun obeyed, barely breathing to keep completely quiet.

"fucking idiots. he obviously didn't come in here."

"ugh. he's a dead faggot when we catch him."

the voices subsided and the stranger took a step back. "sorry about that," he breathed.

"why are they chasing you?" kihyun asked in a small voice, feeling the numbness return as the stranger's hand escaped his own.

"long story." he rolled his eyes, as if this was a common occurance. "sorry about your papers. were they important?"

kihyun slowly shook his head. "no," he answered glumly. "i don't think they'll help me find misty anyway..."

"misty-?"

"my cat."

the stranger suddenly understood, nodding his head. "your cat's gone missing? any idea which direction...?"

kihyun shook his head again. "i'm kind of new in town, so..."

"oh," the stranger gaped. "shit, you've probably got not idea where we even are now. i could... walk you home, if you want?"

"i guess... thanks," said kihyun, offering the stranger a shy smile.

"i'm changkyun, by the way," the taller male smiled, though it came out more as a smirk. he led the way back outside, holding the door open for kihyun.

"i'm kihyun," kihyun replied, involuntarily shivering as the chill wind hit his small body again.

"nice to meet you," said changkyun, and suddenly there was a warm hoodie wrapped around his shoulders. "when did you move here?"

kihyun started counting on his fingers until he totalled it up in his head. "four days ago," he told changkyun.

"hope the city isn't too shitty so far," changkyun chuckled, sticking his hands in the pockets of his sweatpants, striding along beside the smaller of the two.

kihyun chuckled with him. "could be worse," he said.

"still pretty shitty though, right?" changkyun cocked his head at him, raising an eyebrow.

kihyun let out the tiniest giggle. "still pretty shitty," he agreed.

"where do you live then, huh?" changkyun asked, craning his neck to scan the nearby area.

"sunshine apartments," kihyun told him, burying himself within the warmth of the borrowed sweater.

"ah, sunshine apartments," changkyun remarked, "where the sun never shines."

"got that right," kihyun mumbled darkly.

"well, it's just this way," said changkyun, stretching his arm around kihyun's shoulder to guide him around a corner.

changkyun didn't take his arm away, kihyun noticed.

"i'm sure your cat will come back," changkyun told kihyun with a breezy yet serious tone.

"doubt it," kihyun sighed. "she's probably run back to my old place. stupid cat."

"your old place much better than here?"

"worse."

"wow," changkyun laughed. "well, maybe this city won't be so bad now."

"what do you mean?" kihyun asked, putting old memories to the back of his mind and concentrating on changkyun again.

changkyun just smirked at him and tightened his grip around kihyun's shoulders. "i like you, kihyun," he said, "so far."

kihyun just laughed at the absurdity of the whole situation. "well, i suppose you're not so bad yourself, changkyun," he said, "so far."

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