3000 Stars

Minjoon

The fever didn't pass for another two days. Taehyung remembered almost none of it, wrapped up in the blank fuzziness of his own head. When his mind finally cleared, he found himself at the kitchen table, facing his parents.

Telling them everything.

His mother was understandably horrified. Taehyung no longer had the energy to cry, but he felt his eyes burn when she wrapped her arms around him and refused to let go. His father joined the embrace a few seconds late, but join it he did, and Taehyung let himself fold into their arms and feel protected and safe for the first time in years.

They wanted him to take a break. From everything. For once he didn't mind. But when they booked a hotel by the beach for a week and told him to leave his phone behind, he wondered what they were planning. After all... didn't these things always end with a different 'solution' to his problems?

When he woke up in the hotel bedroom, staring sleepily at the morning light through the large windows, and realized no notifications were going to disturb the peaceful atmosphere, he felt strangely light. He let a hand crawl over the surface of the blankets and drape off the end of the bed, blinking in the soft light, and relaxed, letting his mind remain completely empty.

It felt good.

Hours passed before he found the will to get out of bed and go to the window, looking down. From their level he could see across the courtyard to the beach, the crests of the waves glinting in the sunlight as the clouds started to clear above them. He opened the window and took a deep breath, shivering as the cold air blew over his skin. It felt so refreshing.

He wondered if he could stay in front of the window forever.

Someone knocked on the door, and he turned as his mother poked her head, in, smiling.

"Would you like some breakfast?"

Taehyung nodded, rubbing the back of his head.

"Good," she said. "We invited someone over who we'd like you to meet."

Curious, Taehyung followed her out of the bedroom into the main room, where his father sat chatting with a man Taehyung had never met before.

"Taehyung, meet Minjoon," Taehyung's mother said. "Minjoon, this is Taehyung."

"Hello!" Minjoon said, hopping up from the couch. "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you," Taehyung echoed, giving his mother a confused look. His mother smiled again, patting his shoulder.

"Minjoon works on a medical team for the arena," she said.

Taehyung nodded, frowning. As if noticing his nervousness, Minjoon chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Your parents still want you to talk to a professional," he said. "They thought it might be easier if that professional was another fighter."

Taehyung looked between his parents and Minjoon, mouth falling open. "You're a fighter?!"

"One of the originals," Minjoon said. "I promise I won't tell you to quit, yeah?"

Despite himself, Taehyung laughed, nodding. Minjoon settled back into conversation with his father, and Taehyung wandered into the kitchen, leaning against the counter and eating the food left out there. It was still warm. He watched Minjoon chatting with his parents and felt a small spark of hope ignite inside him.

Maybe he could be okay after all.

***

His first session with Minjoon was out on the beach, early in the morning. A few surfers ducked in and out of the waves, hopping on and falling off their boards. Minjoon sat down in the sand a little ways from the waves, and Taehyung joined him, trying to push down his nerves and avoid the thoughts of his last therapist.

"Anything you want to talk about?" Minjoon asked.

Taehyung shrugged.

"That's pretty typical," Minjoon said, chuckling. "We just met, yeah? How about we walk down the beach?"

Startled, Taehyung turned and realized Minjoon was looking at him, a crooked smile on his face. Minjoon stood, brushed himself off, and gestured for Taehyung to follow, walking down to the water and taking his shoes off.

"The water's pretty cold right now," he said, wiggling his toes and sinking into the sand. "But it feels nice to walk without kicking up sand."

Taehyung nodded, walking beside him as they started up the beach. Minjoon held his shoes in his hands and wandered into the water every so often, kicking at it or pointing out a shape in the water or the clouds. He didn't mention the arena, and Taehyung found himself relaxing, wandering into the water with him and splashing around a bit. The sun rose slowly, giving them all the time in the world before children began to appear on the sand, dogs rushing by them. When more people started to enter the water, Minjoon sighed and turned to Taehyung, rolling his eyes.

"Want to head back up to the hotel room?"

Taehyung shrugged.

"We can stay in the water if you want," Minjoon said. "Just thought you might want to get your suit first."

"Nah," Taehyung said. "I like it here."

"Alright then," Minjoon chuckled, wading further in and soaking himself up to his waist when a wave passed them. "Let's keep going."