The Bet

I saw you

"These bruises aren't from the bullies yesterday, are they?" Shownu said carefully as he helped Kihyun remove his jacket. Kihyun just sat there limply as tears tumbled down his cheeks. Kihyun's arms were both covered with bruises that were just starting to blossom, and there were deep scars on his upper arms that weren't revealed yesterday. Now Shownu knew why Kihyun refused to try on anything sleeveless. He was certain that if Kihyun revealed his bare body, it would be covered with injuries as well.

"Who's doing this to you?" he demanded, but Kihyun just cried silently, his entire body trembling. Shownu sighed, and pulled Kihyun into his arms, hugging him tightly. He hadn't forgotten about the bet, but he was beginning to realise that maybe... he wanted to call the bet off.

Kihyun sobbed as his body shook, and Shownu rubbed his back comfortingly. "I-I- Sorry..." Kihyun whispered between sobs, and Shownu hugged him tighter. "Don't apologise." They sat there for what seemed like forever, then Kihyun said slowly, "last night... when I came home, my f-father was drunk on the sofa. He demanded to know where I had gotten all that stuff from, because he knew I certainly wouldn't be able to afford it. I was forced to explain that a friend had bought them for me, and he got angry and called me- called me-" he started crying harder again, unable to continue his sentence. "Shh, stop crying," Shownu cooed into his ear, and Kihyun took deep gulps of air and continued.

"He c-called me a cheap whore- he- he- assumed I was bribed or p-paid off for s-services," Kihyun stuttered, not daring to look at Shownu. "Oh Kihyun," Shownu said painfully, then a thought occurred to him and he looked down at Kihyun in alarm. "He didn't... he didn't rape you, did he?"

Thankfully, Kihyun shook his head, but his next words were almost as bad. "H-He tried, but he f-fell asleep because he was d-drunk." "Kihyun!" Shownu cried out, horrified, hugging Kihyun tightly again. Kihyun gripped Shownu's shirt loosely as he buried his face in Shownu's shoulder.

Now Shownu understood why Kihyun had always looked broken- with a father who abused him like that, it was no wonder he was terrified whenever anyone came close to or touched him. "Where's your mother? Siblings?" Shownu asked, hoping he didn't trigger another bout of crying.

Kihyun said softly, his voice more stable now, "my parents divorced a few years ago. My older brother lives with my mother." "Can't you stay somewhere else?" Shownu said worriedly, but Kihyun shook his head painfully. "Where can I go? No one wants to know me, no one wants to come near me, and everyone either shuns me or makes my life a living hell!" he choked, clenching his fists.

***

"Move in with me," Shownu said on impulse, surprised at himself. Kihyun shook his head again. "I couldn't. You've done too much for me already." Shownu shook Kihyun slightly. "I said move in with me. I live alone cos my family's in Japan, and I'm lonely. Come on, say yes."

Kihyun looked torn, looking up at Shownu in fear, but Shownu was adamant, and finally Kihyun agreed. "Is your father home now?" Shownu asked. "No, he usually comes home around eight," Kihyun said. Shownu stood up and pulled Kihyun to his feet, wiping the tears off his cheeks for him. "Then quickly, let's head to your house and pack your stuff." Kihyun tugged on his jacket again, yanking the sleeves down nervously.

They headed to Kihyun's house, where they packed everything that Kihyun owned into two suitcases and Kihyun left a short note for his father. They then left for Shownu's apartment in a different part of town, where Shownu helped Kihyun settle into the spare bedroom. "T-Thank you, Shownu hyung," Kihyun said softly when they were done. Shownu looked at him and smiled, squeezing his shoulder gently. "You're free now."

From then, Kihyun became much happier, and since he was always hanging out with Shownu, Shownu's outgoing personality soon started to rub off. By the end of the two weeks, Kihyun was much more confident and much happier, especially when he realised that if he just talked to more people, they'd be more than willing to become friends.

At the end of the two weeks, Shownu was sitting in class by himself finishing off his physics homework- which he was now getting top grades on because of Kihyun's diligent tutoring- when Wonho and Minhyuk appeared at the door, looking impressed. "Well, I didn't think you'd be able to do it, but you did," Wonho stated as he entered. Minhyuk nodded. "Yeah, to transform Kihyun from a nerd into a hottie- you've really outdone yourself this time."

Shownu looked up and said, "yeah, told you I could do it," but his voice was half-hearted. The truth was, he forgot about the bet, and had truly come to care for Kihyun. Wonho, who hadn't realised that, pulled out his wallet and handed the money he owed to Shownu. "There, I guess you've won the bet."

At that moment, a soft 'thud' sounded from the open classroom door, and Shownu looked up in alarm. "That's Kihyun's bag- oh damn!" he cursed, pushing Wonho's money away. "Keep it, I don't want it," he said distractedly, before running out the door. Kihyun was nowhere to be seen, but Shownu instinctively knew where he was, and headed up to the roof.

The door was still swinging slightly to and fro as he arrived, and he quickly ran through the door to see Kihyun stagger to the middle of the roof and collapse in a heap on the floor with loud sobs escaping his throat. Shownu swallowed, wracked with guilt, and approached Kihyun slowly. "Ki?" he whispered.

"Go away!" Kihyun screamed. "I trusted you, I thought you really wanted to be my friend, I changed for you, I loved you, and all this time it was only for a stupid bet?!" He started sobbing again, and Shownu felt like a knife was stabbing at his heart. "You... love me?" he whispered dazedly. Kihyun curled up in a ball on the floor, clutching at his shoulders as heartbroken sobs escaped his throat. Shownu dropped to his knees next to Kihyun, placing a hand on his shoulder, but Kihyun flung his hand away. "Go away!" he screamed again, his voice breaking halfway.

"Kihyun, Ki please listen," Shownu begged, but Kihyun's eyes were tightly clenched and tears were streaming down his cheeks like waterfalls. "I won't! I won't listen! You're just like the rest of them. I mean nothing to you! I'm just a tool you used to win your stupid bet. Well, you've won, are you happy now?" he muttered bitterly, his voice hoarse and cracking with every other sentence.

"Ki, it's true that it started out as a bet at first, but then I realised I really did care for you, and I wanted you to be happy," Shownu said desperately, his heart aching. Kihyun just cried silently, his shoulders shaking and his head turned away from Shownu.

"Please, please believe me, I truly do care for you, Ki," Shownu begged desperately, trying to get Kihyun to turn and look at him. "Leave me alone," Kihyun whispered. "Ki, please... I love you..." Shownu said brokenly, starting to cry as well.

Kihyun took in a sharp intake of breath. "What? That's not going to work," he said bitterly, but all the same he turned his head slightly so he could just see Shownu out of the corner of his eye- although hot tears still clouded his vision.

Tears tumbled down Shownu's cheeks as he pulled at Kihyun's hands, and Kihyun just let him take his hands in his, having no more strength to fight. Shownu pulled Kihyun into his arms, hugging him tightly. "I love you, Ki, and I mean it. I didn't touch Wonho's money. I don't need it, and I don't want it. All I want is for you to believe me, because I really do love you," he said honestly, pouring his heart out to Kihyun.

Kihyun clutched at his shirt, their position similar to two short weeks ago when they had first talked on the roof. "You'll just hurt me again if I believe you," Kihyun whispered, but Shownu immediately shook his head. "I never will, Ki. I'd rather die instead. I never want you to get hurt again."

"What do you see in me?" Kihyun said sadly, so softly that Shownu nearly didn't catch it, but all the same there was a slight glimmer of hope in his eyes. Shownu smiled. "I saw you," he replied, kissing Kihyun gently on the lips.