Man - y.kh

sixteen.

The day came when I'd finally been released from the hospital. I was free, practically. A fresh start. Hyungwon brought me home to a clean house, no remnants of the torture I'd put all of us through. Minhyuk and Jooheon accompanied us back home. I had offered Jooheon to stay with us. After seeing how much Jooheon needed Hyungwon, how easy it was for him to get him through his medical emergencies... I couldn't go home without offering it to him.

Hyungwon held me close as we approached the front door. "Baby, I have a surprise for you."

I furrowed my eyebrows as we opened the door. "Oh my God..." I whispered.

"Kihyun?" Changkyun stood up and bumrushed me, hugging my tightly as I jumped up and wrapped my body around him.

I began to cry. "You crazy, I thought you'd died long ago!" I sniffled softly before he put me down. "Hyungwon, where did you find him?"

Hyungwon chuckled softly. "He works at my job. And the way you talked about him, I remembered him. And he clearly remembered you." I loved Hyungwon. I truly loved him.

I smiled softly. "My best friend... I missed you, dickhead," I chuckled, jumping off of him. "Uhm, Jooheon. I have a room for you, upstairs. Right across from mine and Hyungwon's room. Follow me." Jooheon grabbed his bag, following behind me. When I got to the top of the stairs, I looked left and right. I didn't know where to let him stay. To the left, we had my mother's room. I had been staying there since she died. But not only was that the second to last room I was in, it was the room Abraham used me the most. Then we had my room, also destroyed by him. I settled on letting Jooheon have my mother's room. At least being with Hyungwon in my room could remind me I was safe.

I let Jooheon get comfortable as I came back downstairs. "Ki," Changkyun met me at the bottom of the stairs. "Let me see. You normally roll your sleeves up. Let me see." I didn't want to look down at them. I didn't want to see the damage anymore. So, I just let my arms hang in front of me and closed my eyes. I sighed as Changkyun pushed my sleeves up. "Holy fuck, Kihyun..." He mumbled.

After he pulled my sleeves back down, I opened my eyes to see him taking his jacket off. "I got a guy who can do fantastic cover ups. But you have to let your scars heal for at least two years. In your case, maybe three or four. When did you do it?"

"September 7th," I looked at Hyungwon, feeling shame in myself.

Changkyun sighed a bit. "No more. Okay?" He placed a kiss on my cheek, letting me walk all the way downstairs.

I nodded, smiling a bit. "Changkyun, you still got your little apartment?" Hyungwon asked.

He shook his head. "Man, lost that thing about a month ago."

I furrowed my eyebrows. "Where are you now?" I asked, worried.

"Floating around," he said. "I'm alright though." That wasn't gonna be okay with me.

Before I could speak, Hyungwon was meeting him with some cash. "That's about enough to stay at a hotel for about three days. Give us a chance to figure something out for you."

Changkyun graciously took the money. "Thanks, man." Hyungwon smiled as he walked him out. "See you, Ki. Good to know you're in the same place." His smiled lit my heart ever so slightly.

"Bye, Kyunnie." I smiled at him before heading upstairs again. I looked over at my mom's room to see Jooheon shaking. "Hey, kid..." I walked in, standing by the door. "You okay? What's wrong?" I asked.

Jooheon looked at me. "Change... I don't like it..." He began tapping on his leg, anxiously. "Peach... Peach... Pink peach."

I was confused for a bit before he continued repeating them. It was his echolalia that Hyungwon was talking about. I walked over to his bag. "Can I look in here?" I asked, calmly. Jooheon nodded, quickly getting worked up. I grabbed his iPod and headphones, walking to sit with him. "What's the password?" I asked.