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I was forced to open my eyes as pain engulfed my entire cranium. It was dark and I could hardly see. I looked around and saw I had probably fallen off of his bed. I sat up then noticed Haknyeon wasn't in bed. "Where..." I headed towards the bedroom door then yelped.

I had stepped on something and was positive it had at least scratched me. "Fuck..." His room was a mess. It didn't look this way when we turned in for the night. I tried my best to avoid stepping on anything else and made it through the door.

It was quiet throughout the apartment. I checked the living room and kitchen, but didn't see him. I checked his parents' room and saw him resting his head on his father's lap. I quietly watched through the crack as faint sobbing could be heard. I didn't know what to do as of now.

"Honey? What's wrong?" Nothing else was said as they both comforted my sobbing best friend. "I think you should go back to sleep. He won't like it if you're anywhere near him." Mrs. Ju had gone back to bed while Mr. Ju had silenced the crying Haknyeon.

I crept back into Hak's room then got under the covers. Something was obviously wrong with Haknyeon that I wasn't aware of. Was this what they were referring to back in school? I made a mental note to bring it up in the morning.

We entered the school building in silence. I was ready to bring it up this morning, but his face was so sullen that I couldn't bring myself to. "Kevin." "Yes?" "Lets not do our podcast this week. My leg for obvious reasons and I'm not exactly emotionally ready."

"Understandable." He seemed thankful that I didn't ask for details. "I'll keep doing them and let our fans know." "What did I do in my past life to deserve you?" I shrugged as I had no idea either. "Anyway, I'll see you later." He then headed off to class.

I waved to him as he slowly came over to the table. "So, how badly were you teased?" "Jackass." I laughed as he pulled out his lunch. "That bad huh?" "When my leg heals, they're as good as dead." "I believe you'll do just that." "You know me well."

I smiled then stole some of his lunch. "Have you been able to get around school okay? We don't have elevators..." "Yeah. You're not the only friend I have." We were soon joined by Geung. "If it isn't the ex top who was cheated of his throne." "Stop that, Hak."

He shrunk back a bit then looked at me. "So, what brings you to our neck of the woods?" "Just wanted to talk." "About?" "Your podcast, Reverie." We both looked at him with our full attention. "Some people are being haters and making threats on some anonymous forum."

"What forum?" He pulled it up on his phone then handed it over. "Some call you attention seekers. Others say egotistical. Then there's this hack threat." It was all there. "How long has it been up?" "I don't exactly know...Check for the oldest posts?"

I tapped away on his phone with a frown. "It started not too long after Reverie's first birthday..." I looked at him skeptically. "Why are you just now bringing this to us?" "Because I just found out today. I heard some people talking about a hate forum and I asked for the site."

"Eh, did you plan to use the forum too?" "Yeah, until I saw what it was for. I love your podcast, don't get me wrong." Haknyeon took Geung's phone then scrolled through. "These sad, jobless people. Their little haven will be no more." "How do you plan to do that?"

He looked at the both of us as he handed back Geung's phone. "A friend." He started eating again while the both of us eventually started up a side conversation. "So, how long have you been watching us?" "Since the beginning. Remember when you shyly told me about it?"

I rubbed the back of my neck. "Hey, Geung?" "Listening." "Do you think you can help us? Like, talk to some students see how they feel about Reverie." "I'll make an anonymous poll. People are more honest that way." "Let my friend tweak it." We turned our heads towards Haknyeon.

"It'll tell them they voted anonymously, but for us it'll show who voted." "Your friend sounds scary..." "She's a real sweetheart." I frowned at his praise of her. "Alright. When can I meet up with her?" "Does today work?" Geung nodded then smiled at Haknyeon. I frowned more.

I opened the door to my bedroom and was greeted by the usual sight of my room. I sat down at my computer and suddenly didn't want to do a podcast. I settled for an audio message about Haknyeon then logged in so I could let them all know.

I ended it then logged out. I was confident that I could manage on my own, but I guessed I expected too much of myself. Everything was better with Haknyeon, even if he's an asshole at times. He was my favorite asshole to say at the least. I missed him.

"Hey. What's with the sudden call?" "Would you believe me if I said I missed you?" He moved out of frame and made me wonder what he was doing. He came into the frame with a cup. "Miss you too, Kev." I smiled at his reply. I knew he didn't mean it, but it still made me happy.

"So, are you done or haven't started?" "I'm done with the podcast." "Eh, that's pretty short." "I didn't properly plan. That's all." He nodded as his sipped on his drink. Silence fell over us. "I think you're cute." I froze then looked at Haknyeon. "What...?"

"Wouldn't others agree? You do some pretty cute things around people." My body relaxed as my mind registered it as a general thing. "Well, thanks I guess." "I'm hungry Kev." "Then make something." "Like what?" "Don't you know how to cook?" He was dead silent.

"You're joking right?" He still didn't reply. I peered down at my phone and saw that he wasn't even there. "Guess he's motivated now." I rolled my chair over to my bookbag and decided to get started on homework. It was boring, but I had to keep up my grades.

Podcast : Reverie | HakMoon✅Where stories live. Discover now