✔ ENCEPHALON: 𝐏𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐈𝐔𝐌

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟑.𝟎𝟖

Choi Beomgyu was still staring at the door that Yeonjun had pulled shut behind him more than five minutes ago. He couldn't quite realize what had happened, and yet he felt guilty.

As if he had upset Yeonjun with his talk and never had he meant to upset him. He was the first in a long time who really tried to help him. Who made an effort, who gave him security even if he was only standing next to him.

And they hadn't known each other for long.

Maybe it was because Yeonjun was the first to get so emotional and upset about the issue.

So Beomgyu sighed miserably, flopped back on the blanket once more, and ruffled his hair. Just when he had found someone who cared about him, he gambled it away again, and he hated himself for it. He should have gone after him right away, too, but now, the more minutes that passed, the more uncomfortable he felt.

It wasn't until he straightened up and looked straight ahead into the body-sized mirror that the boy with the empty eyes stared back at him.

And it made him sick, angry and sad.

So much so that he grabbed his pillow and threw it at his reflection. But it only bounced off it, showing the same image.

Over and over again.

"Loser," he hissed to himself, as if he was really insulting the person in the mirror, and rose from the bed to go to the door to find Yeonjun's room. But even as he yanked it open, there stood none other than Kang Taehyun.

"Oh, T-Taehyun," merely came out of him in surprise, then he remembered that he should have called.

The gray-haired man tried to smile, but his big eyes were glazed over with worry. "Beomgyu," Taehyun muttered, seeming to want to say something else, but it was obvious that the boy with the long hair was on the move again. "Are you leaving again? Do you have to work?"

"Eh ...-," apologetically Beomgyu lowered his head, "i-I'm just a little stressed right now and .... - no, I'm not going to work today I," he hissed, not knowing what to say.

"Taehyun," he then said again, and it sounded pleading. "I don't have time to hang out with you today after all," he finally decided, "something's come up and ... if you don't have something urgent to discuss with me, then please, I'll get back to you as soon as I have time." And it wasn't good for either of them if Taehyun kept showing up here. He was sad to get a cancellation and so was Beomgyu for having to cancel on him.

But right now, he just had other things on his mind than hanging out with Taehyun.

"I love you," Taehyun blurted out, more out of a knee-jerk reaction because Beomgyu dumped him twice in a row and in such a short time. Yet he had always welcomed Taehyun in the past.

Why not now?

"What?" gasped Beomgyu, stunned, unable to believe what had just come to his ears. He had never heard those words before in his life, and hearing them from Taehyun's mouth, of all places, didn't make it any better. It felt like an invisible force was pushing his shoulders down. As if everything was crashing down on him and he just stared at him with his mouth slightly open.