Monsta X Oneshots

Choices (HyungKyun)

based off animation Missing Halloween,  Monsta X's Are You There?  and Dramarama

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The sky melts from orange to red, and he waits.

The only time Changkyun appreciated his height (which seemed to have gone AWOL when he was fifteen) was Halloween. Because who cared if anyone said he was too old for trick-or-treating now? He could easily pass for any kid society would not frown upon for dressing up and collecting candy with bright eyes. Because what was better than candy? A whole night dedicated to it (okay, well, not just candy, but you got the drift)? It didn't really matter that all the houses he visited probably knew him (and his age) under every guise he put on by now; as long as he had enough candy, it was peachy. Besides, he was at least three percent sure trick-or-treating was still healthier than the more raucous and wild Halloween parties most of his other friends had traded their childhood for, where alcohol replaced the sweet treats and tricks became bleary one night stands and decisions teetering on the edge of a knife.

But his friends had still traded. And while Changkyun might love his chocolates and lollipops and gum, his overflowing bucket sometimes felt empty without someone to collect and share them with. The last time he'd gone trick or treating with Jooheon was two years ago; even the boisterous red haired older had slipped into that void. How much of an influence Minhyuk was, he couldn't tell. Simply put, he was alone on Halloween now. And trick or treating on his own while watching other kids rush past him happily in groups or pairs made him feel even more excluded, like an obsessive weirdo who couldn't get over himself. He didn't want to feel that way, feel all that candy make a heavy pit at the bottom of him stomach.

He just wanted to trick or treat, for crying out loud.

That was what he felt like saying when his mother sighed exasperatedly at the sight of him preparing a costume for Halloween that year-- not, she knew, for any party, but to go trick or treating. She'd been one of the first people to nudge him into the uncomfortable light of how he was "getting too old". No matter what he told himself to believe, Changkyun could never quite get rid of the anxiety of pressure that bubbled in his chest. But once again, he managed to swallow it down long enough to say with a light smile, "At least I'm not wasting your money on candy."

Halloween night came. Jooheon called Changkyun to ask if he'd come to the costume party at Hoseok's house. Pulling on his thick, furry cloak (the last time he'd gone as a wolf was in a onesie; he decided it was time to up his game), Changkyun simply said no, sorry, he was going out to trick or treat. It wasn't like he was falling out with Jooheon or anyone else; this was just a part of him that came with a take it or leave contract, the way Jooheon's fear of insects or Hyunwoo's cringeworthy to non-existent flirtation did. Besides, Changkyun was just, well, a little Changkyun anyway.

The evening somehow always knew that it was Halloween, and the sun would always set from deep orange to blood red to black, dousing all the world in eerie Halloween spirit tint. Changkyun loved it, loved watching the world mold itself to the needs of the night almost as if it had meant to all along. He enjoyed seeing everything silhouetted black against the changing hues of the sky until it too turned black and decorations came to their glow in the dark life. Halloween was perfect, down to the earth itself. And despite his conflicting emotions, he personally thought he'd brought in a good haul later that night as he strolled home under his magnificent (if he should say so himself) costume. He'd even impressed quite a few houses with his wolfish guise, consenting to more than one picture. His bag thumped reassuringly heavy against his leg.

As Changkyun neared his neighborhood, passing through a slightly deserted street as he did so, he noticed a lone figure sitting on a bench, right beneath the pale yellow circle of the streetlight. With nothing else much to look at now, Changkyun absently gazed at the person, but his eyes focused as he grew closer, suddenly observing the way he sat hunched over as if in pain, one hand clutching at his leg.