NIGHTMARE

27 | honesty talks and dual therapy

kihyun was still in tears when he parked his car outside his apartment block that evening. he didn't stop sobbing all the way up to his apartment, and the tears didn't stop flowing as he unlocked the door and let himself inside.

at this point, he didn't care what minhyuk thought about him. minhyuk had seen him at his worst, and all kihyun wanted right then was for someone to hug him and tell him he'd made the right decision, no matter how much it hurt.

had he even made the right decision?

mind clouded with doubt, kihyun tried to unlock his front door, hands shaking. he burst inside and slammed it behind him, wanting to disappear to his bedroom in a flurry of tears. but that didn't happen because the moment he stepped inside the apartment, mr son the maths teacher was sitting on his couch.

and so was minhyuk.

"what the fuck is he doing here?" kihyun spat, wiping at his eyes and trying to avoid eye contact with the other teacher.

"well, first of all," minhyuk answered, looking both confused and alarmed at kihyun's current state, "you said you'd be working late, so i invited hyunwoo round to keep me company!"

"brilliant," kihyun sniffed, kicking his shoes off by the door, "fucking brilliant."

"kiki, wait-" minhyuk called, following after him as kihyun tried to evacuate the room as quickly as possible. "he knows a lot more than me, and i thought maybe you could also talk-"

kihyun turned on him then in anger. "what have you told him?" he hissed, tears still threatening to spill out over his cheeks again.

minhyuk was instantly defensive, moving backwards closer to hyunwoo, who still sat hesitantly on the couch. "i'm just trying to help you, kihyun," he said shortly, "you clearly don't know how to deal with this yourself, so i thought it would be a good idea if you talked out your options with someone who knows better than me-"

"you don't know anything, minhyuk!" kihyun cried, "just because we work together, doesn't mean you needed to tell him my entire life story!"

"can you just hear me out for two seconds?" minhyuk grumbled, trying to keep his emotions under control, which was difficult when dealing with an irrational yoo kihyun.

"no!" kihyun was breathing heavily at this point, and he rubbed at his eyes in frustration, "fucking hell... get out of my house."

minhyuk set his jaw. as much as he loved kihyun, sometimes he needed a kick up the ass to realise he actually needed help. "hyunwoo..." minhyuk murmured, trailing a hand over the math teacher's broad shoulders, "you've gotta help me get him to listen."

"i-" hyunwoo paused, unsure whether he should try and talk the situation out with kihyun, or just leave and let him calm down, "minhyuk..."

"ugh, stop talking about your therapy plans over there," kihyun growled, trying his best to hide his sobs with angry outbursts, "i told you to get out, so get out!"

"kiki, we need to talk about changkyun," minhyuk said bluntly.

kihyun fell silent at the mention of the name, words catching in his throat and getting caught up with the sobs that were already stuck there. within only a few months, the name changkyun had held such a special place in his heart. he'd thought shutting him out was the best way to deal with the fact that they couldn't possibly be together, but it had all blown up in his face. now changkyun hated him, and kihyun couldn't deal with that at all.

minhyuk approached him carefully, and took kihyun's hands in his. being extra gentle with such a fragile version of his best friend, he led him over to the couch and sat him down amongst the sagging cushions.

"listen," he said softly, "i just want to talk, okay? i was worried about you, so i told hyunwoo about your situation, and because he's a teacher he knows what's best to do from here. all you need to do is listen to his advice, just hear us out. can you do that for me, kiki? please?"

kihyun gave the tiniest of nods. after the argument that went down with changkyun in the back of his car, he didn't have the energy to protest.

minhyuk didn't let go of kihyun's hands, drawing circles with the pads of his thumbs as he nodded to hyunwoo to start talking.

"um," hyunwoo cleared his throat, not quite knowing where to begin, "obviously, this is a less than ideal situation..."

minhyuk tilted his head to look at him, and hyunwoo quickly got to the point.

"i'm sorry that you're caught up in this, kihyun," hyunwoo continued, in a gentler tone this time, "but in my honest opinion, i think the best thing you can do now... is request for your teaching placement to be moved to a different school."

kihyun couldn't even look at him as he said it. the way hyunwoo worked was like a math equation - you should solve any problem in the most logical way, where the least amount of things could go wrong. and that made sense, of course. hyunwoo was a math teacher, after all.

but as logical as moving away seemed, a tiny part of kihyun's heart was still clinging onto the idea that him and changkyun could still be together. which was a ridiculous idea, after the fight they'd just had. it just hurt to let him go.

"i've enjoyed working with you these past few months," hyunwoo added, looking a little glum, "but you know that's the best way to avoid any difficult situations, right?"

"are you listening, kiki?" minhyuk asked in a small voice, squeezing kihyun's hand in his.

kihyun gave another slight nod and sniffed. "yeah," he whispered.

"i... i think i should get going," hyunwoo murmured, shooting minhyuk a brief smile and ruffling his hair before heading for the door. kihyun was in a right mess, and hyunwoo figured it would be easier for minhyuk to take care of him on his own.

"call me," minhyuk called softly after him, watching as hyunwoo put on his shoes and left the apartment.

kihyun just gave a small heartbroken sigh and snuggled into his best friend's arms. minhyuk held him tight, stroking kihyun's hair while he cried. they both knew it was a difficult decision for kihyun to make, to leave the school behind completely, but there was no other way do deal with the situation without risking that someone would get hurt.

"i'm sorry," minhyuk mumbled, "you know i am, right? i just want to see you happy, kihyun, after everything you've been through."

the rest of the evening was a quiet one. minhyuk helped kihyun get ready for bed and tucked him up under the covers. it reminded him of the time, not so long ago, that he'd taken kihyun into his own apartment after his messy breakup with hoseok. at the time, minhyuk had pretended it was just because he was being a good friend.

"i'm sorry for everything," he whispered as kihyun drifted off to sleep, "i was selfish back then, but all i want is the best for you now, kihyun."

minhyuk had his own reasons for taking him in, wanting kihyun to be closer, hoping to create feelings that would never happen in their friendship. he could see now that he had been wrong.

"things will be okay," minhyuk murmured, half to himself as he brushed kihyun's hair off his forehead, "we might not be able to fix this, but you'll be happy again one day. i promise."

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