The Connect

Chapter Nine

Last night I realized that other people's happiness is like a drug to me. I found out I don't have to connect my mind, thoughts, memories and feelings at once, I can share them all individually. And I did it with the other people in the room without meaning to, because I was so focused on the intense happiness I felt.
I connected with every single one of my friends at once. Unexpectedly, it made me stronger and made me feel things so good they are hard to describe. They were all so happy, I was buzzing from feeling all of that, it was addicting. I found out that I get weaker when I connect with people with too many negative emotions and stronger when I connect with people with too many happy emotions.
There were many reasons everyone was happy. Kihyun has a new boyfriend, a guy from work who had been asking him out for a while. Olivia learned how to write hers and her dads' full name, Hyungwon and Hyunwoo made up, Namkyu was happy to see his 'dads' together, Jooheon and Minhyuk were just happy they've been having time to have a lot of sex lately and Hoseok was just happy I was around again.
But those were one of the many reasons they were happy. What made their happiness stronger, though, was that they were happy for each other, and happy they were together. Therefore I was too. And in that moment, I wanted to sit at that dinner table with my friends, holding Hoseok's hand, eating delicious food, making silly jokes, laughing so hard my belly hurt, for the rest of my life.
The high of happiness didn't end when they all went to sleep in the living room at three in the morning and I got too upstairs, too far to read their minds. Hoseok took me up, kissed me tenderly, begged me to fuck him. While he was lying down on his stomach and I was thrusting my cock inside of him, I connected our feelings and shared those of happiness, it was better than any drug I've ever taken. Hoseok was so happy he cried.
When we fell asleep, our minds were still connected. We shared a beautiful dream in which we are both in the sky, having a picnic on top of a plane. It was wholesome, simple and simply perfect.
The next morning, Hoseok wakes me up with kisses on my cheek and ear, rocking me slowly. Being woken up by Hoseok is one of my favorite things in the world. He kisses me and plays with my hair until I wake up. When I open my eyes and see his face I smile widely and press my lips against his in a soft kiss.
"Good morning." Hoseok whispers, brushing his lips against mine.
I press my hand to his face and caress his cheek with my thumb. "Very good morning."
"Sleep okay?" He asks.
"You know I did." I whisper.
"That dream was really nice." He whispers, running his fingers through my hair and smiles.
"Yeah." I drape an arm over his and give him a soft kiss on the shoulder. "I've... I didn't know I could feel this happy. Especially after mom left."
"You don't have to feel guilty." I tell him, massaging his ear softly. "She'd want you to be happy."
He nods, pursing his lips. "I know. I just wish she was here to see... to feel this." He sighs.
I give him a sympathetic smile then he smiles at me and slowly draws me in with the hand on the back of my neck to give me a soft kiss on the lips. "I'm here now." I whisper. "I will take care of you. For her."
He titters, nodding slowly then presses another soft kiss to my lips. "I know."
"I love you." I tell him.
I wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him, wanting to deepen the kiss but not doing it because of my morning breath. But he deepens the kiss anyway, sliding his tongue into my mouth. He tastes like strawberry cheesecake, coffee and love.
I pull away, widening my eyes. "There's strawberry cheesecake?" I ask, smiling excitedly.
He chuckles. "Yes. I got it for you but... Ate half of it..." He tells me. "I got you some stuff from the store. Banana milk, fruit cake--"
I interrupt him by giving him a hard chaste kiss on the lips then pull away, smiling. "You're the best boyfriend in the world, you know?"
He nods. "You've told me many times."
I bite my lower lip then chuckle, shaking my head. "And you love hearing it." I whisper. He stares at me for a second, with a small smirk then nods slowly.
"Wove you." He whispers cutely, burying his face on my chest.
I chuckle, patting his head, kiss the top of it then nuzzle it. "I wove you too, baby."
He rests his chin on my chest, looking up at me and pouting."Your manager is outside waiting for you on the porch." He tells me. "He texted when you were asleep. I didn't wanna wake you up so I just answered the text for you."
I sigh deeply. "I'd forgotten about all this shirt." I whisper, running my fingers through his hair.
"Me too." Hoseok says, draping an arm over my stomach then pursing his lips. "Your manager makes me feel really uncomfortable, Kyunie. When I answered the door he just... he looks really evil."
I chuckle. "He's not evil, he's a good guy, Seok." I tell Hoseok.
Hoseok sighs. "I don't think so. You just think that because your first manager was so much worse."
I stare at Hoseok and don't say anything.
"Can't someone else help with this? He isn't even P.R, babe. I don't trust this guy. He was weird and really rude to me and..."
"What?" I ask, raising my eyebrows. "Seriously?"
"You can see for yourself." He says, tapping his forehead. "He didn't even greet me, he just asked where you were and kept looking inside the house like I wasn't even standing there."
"That's... very unusual. He's always so polite."
"Well, he wasn't." Hoseok huffs, looks down and his expression goes from happy to completely sad and scared. I've seen it before. hoseok turns over to lie on his other side. I near him, pressing against his back and kissing his ear.
"What's wrong?" I whisper.
"Nothing."
"Babe..."
"I just..." He trails off and sighs.
"Just what?"
"Don't call me crazy, okay?"
I furrow my eyebrows. "What? Why would I do that?"
"I just... I think... I'm pretty sure I've seen him before, Kyun." Hoseok whispers.
"Really?" I ask. "Where? On TV?"
"Not on TV, but like..." Hoseok sighs for the nth time then turns over again to face me. He looks down, running a hand up and down my chest, in silence then sighs again, looking back up at me. "Remember when I... when I got sick? And I used to see those people near the house, our apartment, the stores we went to... but we thought they weren't real..."
I nod, humming, looking at him with a concerned expression and tugging a strand of his hair behind his ear. "I remember."
"I think they were, Kyun. I saw this guy, your manager." Hoseok tells me, looking down like he's ashamed. "I saw him out the window and at the store with other people. He was looking at me."
I look at Hoseok for a moment then lean forward to softly kiss his forehead. "Babe..."
"Don't say I'm crazy." Hoseok says firmly. "I'm not. You've looked into my head, you'd know if I was. So look again, you'll see it's him."
I do look into his head. There are many memories of him in the places he mentioned, the feeling of being watched and followed, fear and worry. He sees people in casual wear, standing and looking at him. And many of those times, my manager is there. I keep staring at Hoseok and shake my head. "Babe, memories can be distorted." I explain. "Sometimes we see them as we remember, not as they happened. Some moments we've had together are very different from the other's perspective. It doesn't mean it's him or... Babe, you were sick..."
"Then why would I remember him? I didn't even know him." Hoseok asks.
"Maybe you saw him on TV or—"
"I didn't." He interrupts me. "I feel uneasy, Changkyunie. I'm worried."
I shake my head. "Don't be." I whisper, trailing my hand up and down his arm. "He's here to help me and my career. I know him, okay? I've had dinner with his family, played with his kids, he's a good man. You know how much he's helped me."
"I know, babe. But... I just don't feel good about this. What if..."
"Now who's the overthinker, hm?" I ask and softly knock his forehead, coaxing a smile from him. "You worry too much."
"I can't help it." He says and softly punches my chest.
"I'm fine. The guy is harmless, okay?" Hoseok just looks at me with a big and adorable pout. I pinch his pouch and he furrows his eyebrows in annoyance. "Why don't we just let him wait outside for a bit, hm?" I ask, sliding my hand up his arm to his ear, to massage it. "We can go downstairs, kiss our nephew and niece, sit side by side at the kitchen table, chat with the guys, eat cheesecake... I'll see my manager after breakfast, we can shower together when he's gone. I promise I'll be quick, you won't even remember he was here after."
He sighs deeply then nods slowly. "Just don't trust him." He says. "And be careful."
"I told you I only trust you." I tell him and give him a chaste kiss on the lips. "Let's go eat."
"Let me kiss you for a bit first." He whisper before leaning in to capture my lips with his own.
We lie there kissing for a while then he excuses himself to the bathroom to pee. I smack his ass hard when he gets up to leave and he whimpers then chuckles and keeps on walking.
I hurry off the bed, put on sweatpants and a large black tee, then downstairs to the kitchen. Everyone is gathered there. The feeling of happiness in my chest getting even stronger. Hyungwon, Namkyu, Olivia and Minhyuk are sitting down, eating, Jooheon and Hyunwoo washing the dishes and Kihyun sweeping the floor.
"Where's the cheesecake?" I ask, walking in the kitchen.
"We ate all of it." Minhyuk says.
"What?" I whine. "You little--"
"He's kidding." Kihyun says. "It's in the fridge. Hoseok almost threatened to kill us if we ate it."
I chuckle, smiling excitedly. I run to the fridge and when I open it I find a single piece of cheesecake. A huge piece. And it looks delicious. I grab the plate of cheesecake, a spoon from the cabinet and take it to the table, sitting down next to Namkyu who gives me a dirty look.
"Hey, Kihyun hyung." I call him and he turns around to look at me.
"Hm?" Kihyun hums in response.
"How are you?" I ask.
"How am I? What do you mean?" He raises his eyebrows and puts his hands on his hips.
"I mean it's a simple question, isn't it? Uh... How are you doing?"
"Changkyun, I'm not mad at you if that's why you're asking. Holding grudges is exhausting." He replies.
"Why do you ask Kihyun hyung if he's okay but not me?" Jooheon asks, looking at me with a pout.
"I'll ask you later." I tell him. "Kihyun hyung?"
"I'm fine." Kihyun tells me. "Why are you asking?"
"Can't I worry about your well being?" I ask.
Kihyun shrugs and goes back to sweeping the room.
"Kihyunie is going out with that guy from work." Minhyuk tells us.
"That was supposed to be a secret." Kihyun says.
"No secrets amongst family." Hyungwon, Hyunwoo, Minhyuk and Jooheon say at the same time and smile at each other.
I scoff. "Also, I can read minds."
Minhyuk rolls his eyes, Jooheon says "Oh... Right and the others don't react
"I knew you guys would make it a big deal." Kihyun tells us. "I'm still testing the waters."
"Because you're in love with Hoseok?" I ask, with my mouth full of cheesecake, looking down at my plate.
Kihyun sighs. "Can't you read minds?" He asks.
"Well, your mind is super confusing." I tell him. "When it comes to Hoseok it is. You think one thing and then another and then—"
"Stop exposing what's in my mind, Changkyun." Kihyun says. "I just don't wanna get hurt, okay? I need time to know if I can trust this guy, if he likes me or—"
"Are you, though? In love with Hoseok hyung?" Jooheon asks.
"I..." Kihyun shrugs. "I thought I was. I don't know."
"What don't you know?" Hyunwoo asks, cleaning foam off his hands with the water and turning around to look at Kihyun.
"It's nothing..." Kihyun sighs, crouching down and grabbing the dust pan from the corner to gather the dirt.
"Just spill." Minhyuk says.
"Leave it." Kihyun replies.
"I'll just read your mind again then." I tell him and he groans.
"Kyun, just don't." Kihyun says.
"Well, you won't talk... I know you want to." I say with a smirk.
He stands up once he's gathered all the dust, throws it in the trash, goes into the laundry room to leave the broom and dustpan there and comes back, sighing with his hands on his hips.
"So?" Hyungwon asks as we all stare at Kihyun.
Kihyun paces around for a moment then sits by my side. "I have felt weird for a while." I gulp when Kihyun says that. Shit, did I fuck up his brain by controlling his mind? Should I have done something the past few weeks instead of watching him close like Hoseok said?
"Weird how?" Hyunwoo asks, sitting by Kihyun's side.
"Like... Free?" Kihyun says, tilting his head. "It was so sudden like... I feel like my heart has ached for years for loving Hoseok. The pain of knowing he'd never love me like I loved him was torture. I felt like I was stuck. I couldn't date anyone or do anything, I just wanted him. And it hurt. But then suddenly it didn't and I felt so... Free?"
"Just like that?" Minhyuk asks. Jooheon looks at me, raising an eyebrow. I know he knows I can control minds and what I did to Kihyun but he keeps quiet and looks down, smirking.
Kihyun shrugs. "Maybe Changkyun coming back made me come to my senses. And it's good I did. I feel good. I feel light and it's amazing. Last night I only scrubbed my toilet once before using it. Only once!"
"Wow." Hyungwon says with a big smile. "That's huge."
"I know!" Kihyun says, excitedly. "And when I went out with that guy, I didn't even think of Hoseok like I did every single time I tried to date before."
"Ki, that's great." Hyunwoo tells Kihyun.
"Yeah." Minhyuk takes Kihyun's hand and smiles at him. "We are really happy for you."
"But you're still his friend, right?" I ask. "You're not... leaving him alone for good, right?"
"Of course not." Kihyun tells me. "He's my best friend."
I feel very relieved to know that I didn't fuck up my boyfriend's relationship with his best friend because of my crazy mind controlling powers. And Kihyun seems happier, no bags under his eyes or grumpiness like before.
"By the way." I say, once I finish my cheesecake. "Hoseok and I are back together."
"Really?" Minhyuk asks and I nod.
"That's awesome, man." Hyunwoo tells me, smiling, even if he already knew it, having seen what's in my head last night, he cheers for me.
"Don't go breaking his heart again." Kihyun says, narrowing his eyes and pointing at me.
"Yeah." Hyungwon agrees. "I don't think he could take it if you left again."
"True. He was fucked up the time you did." Jooheon says.
"I know." I say. "But I won't leave. Or hurt him. I love him. I've learned from my mistakes." I tell them.
"You better have." Minhyuk says. "Or I'll beat your ass. No matter how cute you are."
We chat for a bit more, then I remember my manager is outside waiting for me. Hoseok doesn't show up, I assume he's still in the bathroom. So I plan on making the conversation quick with my manager to get back inside and find Hoseok in the bathroom to go shower with him.
I run out of the kitchen to the door then go outside to find my manager. He's sitting on the lover's seat on the porch on his phone, when he hears the door open, he looks at me, smiling.
"Changkyun." He says happily, with a big smile on.
"Come on in." I tell him, motioning to the door."
"I was thinking we could go for a walk." He suggests. "There seems to be a lot of people inside?"
"Yeah, but they won't bother us." I assure him with a small smile.
"Still, I wanna walk around for a bit. Is that okay?"
"Okay." I say, nodding. "I'll just grab my phone upstairs and--"
"We won't be long." He says. "Just grab your coat. Let's go." He sounds weird. I try to read his mind but I'm not able to. Maybe it's because I'm tired.
"Hoseok, my boyfriend, he worries when I don't have my phone with me." I explain. "Especially now I'm in recovery from the surgery."
He clicks his tongue. "I have my phone, he can text me if he needs."
"Okay." I grab my hoodie that's hung behind the door and my shoes on the shoe rack.
My manager and I walk down the porch steps to the streets. We walk in an awkward silence for a while, the cold breeze making my cheeks heat up. It feels weird to be with him again. I think of the fact that he hasn't been around since I got injured. Maybe Hoseok is right, maybe I got too excited to make sure my career wasn't ruined and contacted him. Maybe he isn't a good man after all.
"I'm sorry I didn't reach out to you." He says, breaking the silence. My head snaps up in surprise when I hear his voice.
"It's fine." I tell him with a small smile on. "Hoseok took good care of me."
A corner of his lips go up in a tiny smile. He keeps his hands shoved in his pockets and staring down at his feet. "That's good."
"Can we just talk about business and not have a cheesy conversation about feelings?" He nods.
"Does the company still want me?" I ask then take a deep breath. "What do I do about all this?"
"Don't worry about it."
"What do you mean don't worry about it?" I ask. "People find any excuse to ruin me, these little things could fuck things up for me and—"
"Don't worry about it." He repeats.
"I am very worried." I tell him. "People are believing some bullshit Hyunseok is feeding them. No one in the company has contacted me in months. Are they dropping me? Is that it?"
He sighs but doesn't say anything.
"Why? Why are they dropping me? They've always been fine with my sexuality. They took advantage of it to make money and now they're dropping me?"
The man still didn't respond.
And when I'm about to start whining about the company and their fucked up aways, someone covers my head with a bag and I'm roughly pulled off my feet. My arms are held behind my back, I can't see anything and I'm being dragged away. I try to scream but the bag is pressed so hard against my face I can barely breathe, I try to get away with all the strength I have, trying to elbow them, kick them, but they're much stronger than me, holding me too tightly.
I try to read any mind that is around me but it's like there's no one there even though there's more than one person holding me. Maybe it's their emotions, they might be weakening me. I feel what they feel but can't read their minds. I feel their anger, their lack of empathy, lack of love, lack of positive emotions. There's only darkness. I scream, even though my screams are muffled by the bag and I wince loudly when I'm thrown in what feels like it's a vehicle.
"What do you want?" I yell. "Who are you?"
But no one says anything. It's like there's no one there. But there is. Because I feel my arms being tied behind my back, tightly and my legs are also being tied.
"Who is there?" I yell and I feel warm tears stream down my face. I'm so scared I feel like I'm about to pee my pants. What do they want? Money? I can give them money. "Is it money you want?" I ask but there's no reply. "I have money. I'll give it all to you if you let me go."
The silence is deafening. No one says anything and it seems like no one thinks anything. I hadn't noticed how much I began to rely on my powers until now I can't use them. I hear the engine roar and the van or whatever it is I'm in, drives off.
"Please. Let me go. I'll give you however much money you want!"
Then I feel the sting of a needle on my arm and whatever is in it makes me feel very sleepy. I try to fight it but I can't so I pass out. And the last thing I think of is that I promised Hoseok I'd be safe, I promised I'd stay with him, I promised so many things. Hoseok was right once again. My manager is definitely not a good man.