Something New (OnHo)

Meaningless Steps

The more Jinki thought about it, the more he became worried for Minho. What if he's the next target? What if Kibum keeps killing to get his attention? But then again, Jinki knew he also didn't have any solid proof, just speculation and a conversation.

He tried to calm himself down, deep breaths and reminders that coincidences happen. But after hours of rereading articles and repeating the same things to himself, he saw the sun start to rise. He sighed, his body and mind tired and worn out, but a new day had started and he couldn't just sleep now.

Jinki stumbled out of bed and to the kitchen, struggling to find the items necessary to make coffee. Once he had the coffee pot going, he sat down on the couch, hoping to rest a little. But his eyes fell closed and the next thing he knew he saw Kibum.

There was a smile on his face that made Jinki sick, and when Kibum started walking Jinki felt like he was being pulled along. He was behind Kibum now, and he let his gaze go down, only to see a knife clutched in one of Kibum's hands.

Fear struck Jinki, and then he saw Minho and he tried to yell, scream, anything. Minho's back was turned, and Jinki was begging him to turn around.

"He can't hear you" What was only vaguely Kibum's voice echoed in his mind.

And then the knife was plunged into Minho's back. Again. And again. And Jinki screamed, tears making his face wet. Suddenly, there was a jolt and Jinki gasped as his eyes opened.

"Jinki? Jinki are you okay?" Minho's voice came through to him and Jinki wanted to cry.

Jinki couldn't speak, he pulled Minho towards him and into a hug, a few little tears falling out. And while Jinki couldn't see his roommate's face, he knew Minho was confused. But as arms started to carefully wrap around him, he knew Minho didn't care.

"It was just a dream, everything's okay now" Minho's hand came up and stroked Jinki's hair.

Jinki took a deep breath, his grip on Minho letting up and Minho pulled back to look at him.

"I'm sorry, I just... I've been up all night and I've been overthinking things" Jinki tried to calm himself down as Minho moved to sit beside him, "That employee at the Thai place and the food truck owner, they think there was foul play and I've been thinking a lot about it and-"

"Hey hey hey, it's okay! I understand, it can all be overwhelming and scary" Minho tried to calm him down but Jinki shook his head.

"But it's not okay, I'm scared that we may know the killer, I've thought about it so much and what if Kibum did this?" Jinki asked and Minho's eyes widened.

"What do you mean, he doesn't have an evil bone in his body! The police don't even know for sure if it's murder yet, maybe you should stay away from news articles" Minho suggested, all the information coming out somewhat frantically.

"I've been trying to tell myself it's just coincidences and I'm just being paranoid, but then I had the nightmare and... Minho he murdered you" Jinki revealed, tears threatening to fall again.

"Shhh.. it's okay, that'll never happen, I promise" Minho pulled Jinki in for another hug, trying to quiet him, "Everything's going to be okay, no one is going to hurt me or you or anyone"

It was silent apart from Jinki's occasional sniffle, the two just sitting in each other's arms. Jinki could've stayed there forever, but Minho's phone alarm brought them back to reality.

"I have to get to work, you rest, I'll be home before you know it" Minho suggested, holding Jinki's hand in his and he stood up.

"Okay, I'll be here" Jinki spoke weakly, their eyes locked on each other and Minho smiled sadly before letting go of his hand and walking away.

They said their goodbyes and Jinki quickly realized he didn't want to be alone. He got up and poured himself a cup of lukewarm coffee, then called Jonghyun.

"Hello?" Jonghyun answered and Jinki smiled to himself.

"What do you say to having a little tour of my new apartment?" Jinki asked and Jonghyun laughed a little.

"Text me the room number, one sec" Jonghyun's voice got a little muffled as he moved the phone away, "Taemin! Can you watch the shop for today? Thank you!"

"Maybe tomorrow I can come see your shop" Jinki suggested.

"I've been wondering when you'd come, but I'll see you soon" Jonghyun chuckled and hung up.

Jinki texted the details, then sat on the couch and waited with his coffee that seemed to be getting colder. A few knocks on the door caused Jinki to get up, happily unlocking the door only to pause in partial fear.

"Hey Jinki, is Minho here or did I just miss him?" Kibum asked and Jinki couldn't find the words to respond.