freak ϟ monsta x

ch. 7

It had been a month since Minhyuk had been locked in and just like the others had said, he was back exactly thirty days after the incident. Kihyun found him in a dark corridor- the corridor that had the exit of the prison at the end of it. Of course it wasn't possible to get out and if someone somehow got past the gigantic metal door with a ridiculous amount of padlocks,  it was a widely known fact that an even bigger door would wait for them. Kihyun had heard that once, a prisoner had managed to open the door, but was then confrontred by the bigger door. He was about to give up and go back with some other prisoners he had brought with him, but the door he had opened before had closed before he could even open his mouth. No one had ever seen him since.

That was exactly why Kihyun had been so concerned when he saw Minhyuk curled up in a ball right next to the door. His legs were drawn to his chest and he was hiding his face inbetween. He was sobbing very loudly and Kihyun suspected he could hear the heartbreaking sound from a mile away. It was very obvious just how filthy he was even with the lack of light.

''Minhyuk?'' Kihyun called softly as if Minhyuk was a wild animal who could attack at any given moment. But Kihyun knew. Minhyuk was anything but wild at that moment. He was just a scared, helpless and vulnerable human.

''Minhyuk,'' he said again, this time a little more loudly but still not enough to startle Minhyuk. His voice echoed. Minhyuk finally looked up and their eyes met. He looked absolutely perished but Kihyun could see that he hadn't changed too much. The circles under his eyes were as dark as the night sky but his eyes hadn't lost their shine.

He gulped. ''Kihyun,'' he whispered, his voice hoarse and scratchy. He really did wear his emotions on his sleeve. His voice showcased every emotion he could possibly be feeling: Sadness, guilt, anger, hurt but most of all, fear. Kihyun mirrored some of those feelings with nearly the same intensity.

He took four steps towards Minhyuk, trying to avoid making him get scared. His effort was proved to be worthless when Minhyuk flinched and crawled further back.

''I'm not going to hurt you,'' Kihyun raised his hands in front of his chest with his palms looking at Minhyuk, showing that he had no intentions of doing anything bad. ''I promse. I just want to check you.''

''Check what?'' Minhyuk's voice was trembling. ''Whether I'm feeling off or not? Whether I'm going to jump and bite your hand off or not?''

Kihyun panicked for a moment. Had Minhyuk somehow heard him saying bad things about him? But he couldn't. He had been locked inside a room with no way to get out. Kihyun calmed himself down. ''No,'' he said simply. ''You know it's not like that. You're my friend, so I want to see if you're okay.''

Minhyuk didn't give him an answer- not that he had asked a question, but Kihyun needed a pass to get closer to him. He took , silence as his answer and got down on the same level as Minhyuk, crawling towards him. His heart threatened to start beating faster but he controlled himself. He didn't want Minhyuk to think that he was scared of him.

He sat down in front of Minhyuk, copying his position as if to show him they were equals. He reached out without a word and started petting Minhyuk's hair. It was greasy from not being washed for a month. Kihyun couldn't bear seeing his friend in such a pitiful state so he started pulling on the man's big hand with his smaller one gently.

''Come on,'' he murmured encouragingly. ''Let's get you cleaned up.''

Minhyuk didn't protest as Kihyun pulled him up with no difficulty as he had lost a noticable amount of weight during his time in the cell. He closed his eyes.

''Lead me,'' he said. ''I don't want to be in control.''

So Kihyun did. He let the man's eyes stay closed and carefully led him to the showers.

''Stay here,'' he told Minhyuk. ''Don't move. I'll get a cleaner jumpsuit for you.''

He let go of his hand, trying his best to ignore Minhyuk's whimper. He got out of the showers and inhaled deeply. As good as a nice, cold glass of beer would be right now, he couldn't think about such things. He had to help his friend whom he was, admittedly, still a tad bit scared of. He passed by the other prisoners in the hall, not making eye contact until he reached the laundry room. He looked around to see if there were any guards around. Seeing none, he quickly sneaked into the room. He chose a jumpsuit that looked like it'd be Minhyuk's size and got out.

''Kihyun, where were you?''

Kihyun flinched back upon hearing Hyunwoo's voice. ''Hey,'' he smiled weakly. ''How're you doing?''

''I'm fine, but you seem like you're not,'' Hyunwoo said with a hint of worry in his voice. ''Where're you rushing to?''

''I found Minhyuk,'' Kihyun said, feeling guilty when Hyunwoo's eyes widened in shock. He should've told him before he had gone to look for Minhyuk. ''I found him sitting next to the door.''

He could tell the situation was deeper than he had thought from Hyunwoo's expression. ''The door? Oh god, that's not good. He must've been desperate?''

''I guess,'' Kihyun mumbled, feeling guiltier by every second that passed. ''I'm sorry for not finding you guys earlier.''

''It's fine, just get me to him and Now.''

Kihyun tucked the jumpsuit under his arm and walked towards the showers, Hyunwoo's heavy and big steps following his faster and lighter ones. Once they reached the showers, Kihyun opened the door. Minhyuk was standing at the same place he had left him and his eyes were still closed.

Hyunwoo brushed past him, his eyes only seeing Minhyuk. He pulled the skinny man to himself, wrapping his strong arms around Minhyuk's: frail body. The latter reacted immediately to the touch: he buried his face in the man's neck and wrapped his arms around his muscular torso.

''Hyunwoo,'' he whispered. It was at that moment Kihyun knew. No one could replace the comfort one's beloved could give. Minhyuk had reacted so differently with Hyunwoo. Where he had flinched with Kihyun, he had hugged with Hyunwoo. Kihyun knew Minhyuk liked him, trusted him, even, but someone you genuinely loved was a different story. No matter how distorted you are.

Hyunwoo extended his hand hand towards Kihyun without breaking the desperate grasp of Minhyuk. Kihyun handed him the jumpsuit.

''Thank you,'' Hyunwoo said and smiled gratefully at him, but Kihyun knew he wanted him to leave.

''Okay,'' he said, petting Minhyuk's hair for one last time. He turned back and left, the last thing he saw being Hyunwoo unbuttoning Minhyuk's dirty jumpsuit.

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That was Chapter 7! I don't know what to write as a note if you haven't noticed it by now. Thank you for reading!