"It's okay," Changkyun insisted as Hyungwon stared at himself in the mirror in despair. Hyungwon had fled to the bathroom on the verge of a mental breakdown after telling Jooheon about his dreams, and Changkyun had of course followed him, wanting to make sure that the taller boy didn't accidentally hurt himself or fill his own head with negative thoughts.
Changkyun looked into the mirror and wasn't sure what Hyungwon was seeing, but Changkyun saw Hyungwon: a kind, caring boy who tended to give out too much of himself and not expect anything in return.
"No, it's not okay," Hyungwon mumbled, pulling his right hand up to his mouth and biting his nail. "They all think I'm crazy now."
"No they don't."
"Yes they do," Hyungwon said, his eyes dark as he continued biting. "Wonho couldn't even be in the same room as me. You saw him. It's because he doesn't believe me. He thinks I'm crazy, that I'm making all this up." Hyungwon shoved his bangs up with both hands, fisting the strands of hair out of frustration. "He doesn't think that maybe- that maybe I don't want to know about this either? That I'm not sick of seeing it every...every night? That I didn't doubt myself for a long time? That I'm not...that I'm not scared of going to sleep and dying all over again and it never stops, never ends-"
"Hey now," Changkyun whispered, pulling Hyungwon's hands down. "Look what you've done," he said, still keeping his voice soft so Hyungwon wouldn't think that he was being mean. Instead, he gazed sadly at the blood pooling at the end of Hyungwon's fingertips where a nail had been before Hyungwon had bitten it too short. "Come on, let's take care of that," he said, guiding Hyungwon's hand under the facet as he turned on cold water. Hyungwon flinched but allowed Changkyun to wash the blood away, and Changkyun turned off the facet a few moments later, patting the hand towel on Hyungwon's hand with gentle motions.
Then he looked up into Hyungwon's eyes. "Wonho just needs to get used to the idea, okay? He doesn't really remember Kihyun all that well, but we're still talking about a friend of his dying, and that's kind of a big deal. Just give him some time, okay? I'm sure he'll come around."
"Yeah," Hyungwon mumbled without confidence, and Changkyun's smile sagged before he forced it back up.
"And Jooheon is with you all the way. He's even letting us stay here. And you've got me..." He trailed off. "Not really sure how much that means to you, but...I'm here..."
Hyungwon looked up, feeling guilty for making his friend sad, and he patted the top of Changkyun's head, unable to properly express everything he wanted to say in words. "Thank you, Kyun."
Changkyun couldn't stop a small smile from appearing as he opened the door and ushered Hyungwon out of the bathroom. "You don't have to say it, Hyungwon. I know."
Hyungwon smiled at the ground until a knock sounded throughout the apartment, and he whipped his head up, his eyes wide with panic.
"Jooheon?" Changkyun asked, just as tense. "Who is it?"
"I don't know," said boy muttered, standing up and walking over to the door. "I didn't invite anybody, and my mom should be working right now. So who could-" He paused, putting his eye up to the peephole. "What the hell?"
"Is it someone from the institution?" Changkyun asked, gripping Hyungwon's hand too hard for comfort. "Are there here because of us? Do they know that we're here?"
"See for yourself," Jooheon answered, opening the door, and Changkyun felt all of his muscles lock until he saw the figure standing just outside the door frame.
"Shownu?"
