Monsta X One Shots

9. Friends Forever // 2CHAIN | KiHeon

"This must be my punishment... haha... of course..." A young man with messy brown hair held a bottle of wine in his hands and banged his head on the bar table.

The bartender took the wine away before the customer smashes it broken. "Mister... please be careful with this... it's expensive."

"What? This?! I can buy everything if I want to!" He stood up, obviously angry and ill tempered from the ten bottles of whisky kicking into his system. "I! Yoo Kihyun! Will! Buy! Every-" Before he could say "everything" he fainted and fell on the floor.

-

"Kihyun hyung?"

"Are you a friend of Yoo Kihyun-ssi?"

"Yes... Who's this? Why do you have his phone?"

"I'm the bartender of Indigo Night Club. He fainted just now. He woke up, but really drunk. When we asked whom we should contact, he tried dialling you. Can you bring your friend home?"

"...I see... I'll be there in ten minutes. Thank you."

-

Jooheon sat up on his bed, slightly shivering from the cold. It was 2 am on a Monday, and he had work to do, but seems like his best friend is in a little trouble.

Still half awake, he grabbed some essentials and his car keys, and then headed to retrieve his friend. Luckily, the club is only two blocks away.

"NO! PUT. ME. DOWN." Jooheon heard a familiar sound, immediately after he opened the doors to this pub. He saw Kihyun struggling to escape from the grip of two strangers.

Jooheon sighed. He could already guess what happened.

Kihyun was a player. It is impossible to keep track of how many boyfriends and girlfriends he had in his lifetime. Jooheon knows this the best – Kihyun never fell in love. Well, not until two months ago.

He met this guy, and Jooheon was convinced it was Kihyun's first true love. Everything was well, Jooheon could tell, because every time he meets Kihyun, all he could talk about is how perfect his boyfriend is.

Seeing his best friend like this, Jooheon doesn't have to be smart to know that they broke up.

When Kihyun sees Jooheon, he stopped screaming like a maniac. At least he still recognises his friend. "Oh! Jooheonie, why are you here?" He smiled goofily and passed out again.

-

Jooheon was a good friend. He drove Kihyun back home. Not his own home, but to Kihyun's home. Instead of leaving the drunk man alone in his apartment, he stayed with him, just in case he smashes his TV again.

"Jooheon-ah... thanks for bringing me home." Kihyun was more sober now, but still really drunk. He was starting to cry, even.

They were sitting on Kihyun's bed. Jooheon scooted closer and wrapped an arm around his hyung. "Just go ahead and cry. It will feel better."

"Huh?" Probably because of being drunk, Kihyun was confused and couldn't process Jooheon's words.

Jooheon smiled and shook his head. "So... you guys broke up?"

Kihyun nodded. "He just left me, saying he wants to study or something... He chose school over me!" Although crying, he stifled a bitter laugh. "I'm so pathetic. This is my punishment for toying with people's emotions. My heart is so broken, nothing is ever going to heal it."

The older gripped hard on the bed sheets. Jooheon already knew he was getting angry. Before Kihyun goes throwing a tantrum, Jooheon has to calm him down.

"Hyung." Kihyun glared. Jooheon gulped, and continue cautiously. "This... this is your first love. It has nothing to do with what you did before. It is not punishment. First loves never come true, yeah?" Jooheon smiled sheepishly.

To his relief, Kihyun's grip loosened. "Pfft. Says the one who never loved."

That's not true. Jooheon loved. Actually, he still loved the person he met from high school.

Whenever Kihyun hyung is drunk, he forgets everything the next morning anyways...

"Who said I never loved? My first love is you, Kihyun. My heart is broken every time you get a new boyfriend. Your heart is broken once. My heart is broken, and before the wounds heal, it is shattered again. New scars form over old ones. I want to congratulate you for your first love, but I feel betrayed. At the same time, I want to celebrate your breakup, but I can't because I love you too much."

-

The next morning, Kihyun woke up with a splitting headache. He forgot everything last night, but he felt weird.

People said when you forget things, the emotions stay. That was how Kihyun felt. He was still heartbroken from the break up, but he felt something else, something stronger.

Jooheon was on the ground sleeping. Kihyun woke him up.

"Hey. Jooheon. Did you bring me home?"

Jooheon rubbed his eyes and nodded. Then he remembered what he said last night and blushed.

"Thank god. It would suck if I had a one night stand right after I broke up." Kihyun stretched, apparently not noticing Jooheon's red face.

"Did you forget everything?" Jooheon gathered his guts and asked.

"Yeah... did I do something wrong?" Kihyun frowned, feeling his headache worsen. "Please don't tell me I had sex with you."

"What? No!" Jooheon held his hands up as if he is surrendering. "I just said something really embarrassing."

"What?"

"If you forgot, then you forgot."

"Tell me, Jooheon."

"No."

"Please."

"No."

Kihyun pouted. "Fine." He turned away from Jooheon and started changing.

Jooheon shut his eyes immediately after seeing Kihyun's bare back. His face was now a deeper shade of red, if even possible. "Whoa hyung! If you're changing at least tell me first!"

Kihyun turned around, confused. "What? It's not the first time- Why are you blushing?"

Jooheon stuttered so much no proper words came out. "Uh... ha..."

As if a rock came flying to his head, it suddenly hit Kihyun hard. He realised what that weird feeling he felt earlier was. He started to blush as well, and wore something in a hurry to cover his naked body.

"Jooheon-ah. I'm sorry... I know what you said last night... but..."

"I get it. I'm stupid, you just broke up, and it was so naïve of me." Jooheon scoffed at himself.

Kihyun immediately shut him up.

"Listen. You're my best friend; you're always there whenever I'm in need. It would suck if we dated and broke up- I would be heartbroken, for real. If we're separated, who will drag me home from the pub? Who would fix my TV and who would clean my vomit? I need you, but not as a boyfriend. You're too precious to become my boyfriend and just be dumped by me. Your heart is priceless; it's a waste to give it to me because I will just toy with it. You hear me?"

Jooheon was shocked at those words. As if being pulled backwards through a tunnel, memories of him and Kihyun clouded his head. He suddenly realised how bad it would be if those memories changed. He realised everything would be different if they dated. Those memories would mean nothing.

He nodded reluctantly, heart filled with complex feelings. Kihyun approached him, and they hugged each other.

"I love you, too, Jooheon, but only as a friend. I'm so-"

"Don't apologize." Jooheon squeezed Kihyun tighter. "You're right. I wouldn't want to lose you, I want us to be friends forever."