A Beautiful Paradox (COMPLETE)

Chapter 13

"Yeah it is," Ming agreed with a small smile.

A brief silence fell upon them. Ming stared at him wordlessly. Kit stared back, at a loss as to what to say next. Because he felt so numb. And he was still having trouble figuring out what was going on.

Ming eventually broke the momentary silence. "I'm going to miss you Kit," he softly said with a tender smile. "Keep in touch, okay?"

Ming extended his hand out to him for a handshake, and Kit hesitantly held it with his own. Ming's hand was warm, just like it always had been. And that's when it hit him. Ming was saying his farewell. His goodbye. The familiar warmth and gentle grasp brought a lump in Kit's throat. He could feel the tears starting to form in his eyes. Not now, he desperately told himself. Please hold it in.

"Take care, Kit," Ming finished.

Kit tried his best not to reveal what he was feeling inside. Not to look so crushed. So broken. So devastated. He forced himself to smile, hoping that it looked convincing enough to Ming.

"You too," Kit choked out.

***

"You drank all of this?!?! Are you out of your f*cking mind?!?!?!"

At the call for help of a fellow colleague, Beam immediately drove over to the address of the pub that the colleague texted him. His eyes almost popped out at the sight of what awaited him. We tried to stop him, but he kept saying that he was alright, the group of guilty-looking friends quickly babbled when they saw Beam's shocked face. And shock didn't even cover what Beam was feeling then. Because, right in front of his eyes, there was a Kit who clearly looked completely wasted. He was leaning against one of his colleagues, unable to even sit up properly, and he was surrounded by several empty bottles of vodka and shot glasses.

"Don't worry. I'm not drunk," Kit reassured Beam with a smile. But, contrary to his statement, he was slurring all his words due to his drunken state.

"That's not the point!" Beam yelled in frustration.

With the help of the other friends, Beam slung Kit on his back and carried him outside of the pub and over to his car. Considering how pissed off he was, he really wanted to just throw Kit on the ground, thinking that the crash might knock some sense into his idiotic friend. But, to his utter frustration, whenever it came to Kit, Beam couldn't do anything that hurt him in any way. So, he ended up carefully placing his friend in the front seat of his car, making sure that Kit was properly and comfortably seated. Despite all those gentle actions, though, Beam still shot a death glare at Kit. Because this was it. This was the last straw and Beam just couldn't take Kit's sh*t anymore.

"Why are you doing this to yourself?!"

Kit dropped his smile and let out a heavy sigh. "Beam, no matter how much I drink, it doesn't work," he muttered in a trembling voice. "I can't stop thinking. I can't stop feeling. It just keeps hurting. More and more."