Man - y.kh

twenty-one.

Changkyun led me inside, taking my hand to comfort me. "You wanna cuddle up and watch a movie?" He was really trying his hardest.

I shrugged, getting a text from Hyungwon.

Hyungwonnie:
Please, let me explain, Kihyun... It's not like that.

Me:
Nothing explains being a deadbeat. It really doesn't. And what's worse is that you wanted me to put myself through hell just to make you happy. Don't you fucking think I've had enough of that shit?

Hyungwonnie:
Will you please just call me? I love you. It's not what it seems.

Me:
Nothing is what it seems.

Hyungwonnie:
Then call Jooheon. He loves you too. And he's been really upset since you left. I swear I won't interfere. But he's not calming down, whatsoever.

And that's where I felt terrible. I decided to go ahead and call while Changkyun led me to his room. Hyungwon answered, "Joo, look who it is. It's Kihyun, he called for you. Ki, you're on speaker." At least he was respectful enough to leave me alone.

"H-Hello?" Jooheon whimpered, sniffling as well. I knew by then he was crying.

I sighed a bit, sitting down on Changkyun's bed. "Hey, Jooheonnie. What's wrong bud?" Jooheon couldn't speak. "Listen, I know Hyungwon and I had a fight, I know it's scary. But I'll come back, I promise."

Jooheon sobbed before answering me. "When?!" He screamed, his crying turning into hyperventilation.

I began panicking because I wasn't there to help him. We found new things to help him with his anxiety and it was normally me doing them. We were closer in height than Hyungwon. "Get him on the floor, stretch him out. Don't let him lay with his knees bent like he's gonna do sit up."

Hyungwon whispered to Jooheon, trying to get him on the ground. "Okay, what now?" He asked. "I-I don't normally do this, I just hold him." He was panicking but I wasn't gonna go home.

"Lay on him, gentle but firm." Changkyun had gone downstairs and came back up to give me some food.

I could still hear Jooheon crying. "Ki, come back. Please." His crying broke my heart.

I bit my lip, thinking for a bit. "Tell you what, you can take my number from Hyungwon, okay? And every day, I'll be there at 9:00 to eat dinner with you and take you to bed, alright? And I promise I won't leave until after you're asleep. And I can come take you to school. Is that okay for you? And you can always call me, until I get a job." Jooheon calmed down a bit. "This won't be forever, Jooheon. I'll be back, but I need to be away for a little bit."

Jooheon sniffled again, "Okay." He took a few deep breaths. "I'll leave you alone for now. I'm fine." I assumed Hyungwon was helping him up now. "Love you, Ki." It went quiet after that.

"Love you too, Jooheon. Goodnight. Hyungwon, take me off speaker real quick." I checked to make sure they didn't hang up, because I wasn't calling him back.

Hyungwon sighed, "What's up?" He asked.

"When's Luna supposed to train with him?" We adopted a dog from the local shelter and had her begin service dog training for him. Jooheon never really had friends with his health conditions. If he had an anxiety attack, he'd be in the hallway alone. If he passed out, he'd just be in the nurse's office, waiting for someone to pick him up. There was no one who really looked out for him. And middle school students can be harsh, harsher than high school students. They'd rather talk about the freak who cries and passes out, the kid that "stutters" instead of giving a damn about him. So, we decided that he needed a service dog, something Minhyuk was adamantly against.