NIGHTMARE

28 | moral dilemma

over the next several days, kihyun tossed and turned in conflict, avoiding changkyun at every corner. every time he'd come to a decision on what to do next, something else would pull him in the other direction. it was like his head and his heart were having an internal war, and it was killing him inside.

but he knew deep down what the right choice was, and that was the reason he made the call to move his teaching placement back to his old home town.

"i'm proud of you, kiki," minhyuk told him the night he finished arranging it all, "you did the right thing."

kihyun let out a sigh and flopped down onto his bed. "it doesn't feel like it," he admitted, "i don't know how i'm going to survive until spring break."

part of the arrangement was that he could only start back at his old school in the new semester, which meant avoiding changkyun like the plague for a while longer. kihyun didn't know if he could do it. every time he saw changkyun with that stormy expression on his face, he wanted to cancel all of his plans and hug everything better again.

misty leapt up onto the bed beside him then, curling up into a small ball of white fluff on kihyun's chest. even misty reminded him of changkyun now.

"hey, you'll get through it," minhyuk assured him, his gaze softening at kihyun's despair. "are you worried about going back home, though?" he asked the question tentatively, because home was a touchy subject for kihyun.

it was obvious what, or rather who, minhyuk was referring to. kihyun had tried not to overthink it too much, but he knew he couldn't keep running from hoseok forever. things might have ended badly between them, but kihyun couldn't let that control his life. at least, that's what he kept telling himself.

"actually, i..." he took a breath before telling his best friend a fresh piece of news, "i called up the owner of my old apartment building."

"you did what?" minhyuk gaped at him in surprise. of all things, he hadn't expected kihyun to do this.

"i asked if my old apartment is still vacant and he said yes," kihyun continued, "and before you start lecturing me-"

"you're going back to live in the same building as shin lee hoseok?!" minhyuk blurted, "are you insane?"

"i won't have to see him that much," kihyun reasoned, "we used to live on different floors. anyway, i know for a fact that the other buildings in the area are even worse for wear, and everything better is either already taken or too expensive. i can afford my old place. it makes sense."

minhyuk exhaled slowly. "if you're sure," he conceeded. "how... how soon are you moving back?"

"start of spring break," kihyun answered, "and speaking of moving back, have you had enough of sleeping on my sofa yet?"

minhyuk didn't say anything, which was a rare occurence for him. it made kihyun awfully suspicious.

"minhyuk... you are going home, aren't you?" kihyun pushed misty gently off his chest and sat up, shuffling closer to the taller man.

"i..." the words stuck in minhyuk's throat as he struggled to admit the truth, "i can't."

"what do you mean you can't?"

"well, i mean i can't, obviously!" minhyuk snapped, now clearly upset, "i don't have anywhere to go home to, kihyun. so when you start sulking about your love life again, just think about me being homeless."

"hey, come on," said kihyun, frowning, "just tell me what happened."

minhyuk sighed in frustration, running his hands through his hair. "i got fired," he said quietly, "that's what happened. some girl hit on me and i told her i was gay, and next thing you know i'm being fired for a poor attitude and work ethic. anyway, now i can't afford my rent and my landlord kicked me out. that's how i ended up here, i guess."