Darkness swallowed him. It felt like the oxygen around him disappeared, replaced by thin, poisonous air. He felt paralyzed, not able to move even a single finger. What he only could do was scream—scream until his throat sore; until someone was coming to save him from his own nightmare.

“Junmyeon!”

“Argh!”

His eyes opened wide. His chest moved up and down in an unstable movement as he panted heavily, body wet with sweat. Beside him was his roommate, a Chinese-Canadian man named Wu Yifan, who held his shoulders tightly.

“Junmyeon, easy. The electricity has been back,” Yifan said in his deep, comforting voice, trying to console his friend. “Take a deep breath… easy, Myeon.”

Trembling, he followed the instruction. He closed his eyes, trying to take a breath as deep as possible; filling his lungs with as much air. First trial, his breathing was still shaking, but after a couple of times, he could manage it. The invisible ropes that previously tied his chest slowly undone, letting him take an easy breathe.

“I’m sorry…” he said in a low, hoarse voice. “It’s really embarrassing… only because of the electricity was dead, I…”

Yifan shook his head. “It’s not embarrassing. People have their own fear.”

He made a bitter smile. Yifan was very understanding when even he, himself, didn’t want to understand the fear he had. He, himself, couldn’t tolerate it, while Yifan accepted it, as though it was a normal thing.

It was embarrassing to him. As a male, having a fear of darkness was embarrassing. It was only five minutes of blackout and he screamed like it was the end of the world. People would normally talk about it and laugh, saying it was very childish of him.

He got up from the white couch where he was earlier and went to his room. His fear had been bothering him since he was a kid. He couldn’t remember exactly how he could have his phobia; he didn’t really care about the reasons anymore after a while.

Nyctophobia, the doctor said. At first, he was too young to understand the meaning behind that word—Junmyeon was only 10 at that time. Thus, as the time ticked, he finally learned what nyctophobia was when he was 15. Fear of darkness.

He couldn’t forget what his school friends said when they were going on a trip in middle school. Kim Junmyeon, a big boy who couldn’t sleep without the lights on. Kim Junmyeon, a big boy who was afraid to go to the bathroom alone at night. Kim Junmyeon, a loser who was afraid of darkness.

Darkness swallowed him, the air around him and leaving him breathless—dying. It was an exaggerating fear for some people, and even he acknowledged it. Unfortunately, no matter how hard he tried to reduce the fear, it kept consuming him. It was like a shadow he couldn’t get rid of. It was out of his control.

Kim Junmyeon, at the moment, was a 27 year old male who hated darkness the most.

♦♦♦

Junmyeon finished his works right at 7 PM. Some of his co-worker had been heading back and some were staying because they didn’t want to bring another work home. Smiling at the co-workers in the room, he grabbed his bag and walked straight to the elevator in the middle of the hallway.

Someone was there when the elevator door opened. Junmyeon stepped inside, eyes glancing at the other male. He had never seen him before, but he shrugged it off. Maybe he was a new employee in another division—whoever the male was, it wasn’t his problem. He sighed softly and was about to press the button to the lobby, but then he saw the button had been pressed. It seemed the male had the same destination as him.

The elevator moved slowly—or maybe it was only Junmyeon’s feeling. Junmyeon leaned on the wall mirrors behind him, waiting until the ‘ding’ sound was audible.

Unfortunately, Junmyeon couldn’t reach the lobby that smooth.

The elevator stopped all of a sudden in a harsh jolt. The light was off and Junmyeon’s brain had to proceed for a moment to realize that he was standing in total darkness. He could feel his knees shaking before giving up and letting his body fall to the elevator floor.

The lights were back a couple seconds later, but the fear hadn’t gone yet. The other male looked a bit startled because of the sudden blackout as well, but he was more startled to see Junmyeon’s pale face and shivering body.

“Hey, are you okay?” The voice was deep, reminding Junmyeon of Yifan’s voice.

“I-I’m—” . Even the voice which came out of his mouth was trembling as well. “I’m o-okay. I’m okay.”

The other didn’t seem to believe him. No one would believe him if they saw his condition, though. A layer of cold sweats covered his forehead. His face was as pale as a white paper. His lithe figure shook in fear. He looked like he would cry loudly in no time.

“Are you really okay?”

Junmyeon didn’t know since when the male had been crouching in front of him. In that close distance, he finally saw the face of the male clearly. He was a handsome man with bronze skin, maybe younger than him by two or three years. His eyes were dark, and Junmyeon felt like drowning in those orbs.

“Can you stand up?” Another question was thrown by the male.

The shorter male nodded, but truth was his legs were still too weak to sustain him. He wobbled once he put his weight on his feet; almost hit the floor again if the other man didn’t catch him right in time.

“I’m sorry,” Junmyeon quickly got away from the stranger before he could even feel the other male’s warmth. “I’m… I’m okay. Thank you for your concern.”

A gentle jog signaled both Junmyeon and the male that the elevator had been working already. Junmyeon stood in the corner of the elevator, trying to get as far as he could from the other male. There was only a while more before he could reach the lobby and get rid—

“What’s your name?”

—of the stranger who seemed to be interested in him.

“You don’t have to know, do you?” Junmyeon answered coldly.

“My name is Kai. I’m new here—fresh graduated. I’m still an intern.”

How Junmyeon hated new people.

Ding!

Junmyeon heaved a relieved sigh when the elevator finally stopped at the lobby. He walked out right after the door opened and rushed without looking back at the Kai guy.

♦♦♦

Junmyeon sighed as he noticed everyone had been gone home. Too bad, he had to work overtime tonight. The light outside his room was a bit dim, and it made him feel insecure every time he looked at the hallway. Shaking his head, he continued his work, wanting to go home as soon as possible. It was almost 9 at the moment; maybe he should call Yifan to pick him up—

“Oh, you’re still here.”

Junmyeon almost jumped from his seat when the deep voice was heard. He turned around in aware to find Kai standing behind him. “You!” he hissed. “You almost made me have a heart attack!”

Kai grinned. “I’m sorry,” he said lightly, though he didn’t really sound like he was sorry. “Why are you still here?”

Junmyeon turned back to face his PC screen and huffed. “I still have some works, can’t you see that?” he answered rather annoyed. “The same question for you: why are you still here?”

The younger only shrugged slightly. Instead of answering, he seemed to enjoy throwing questions at Junmyeon. “I still don’t know your name,” He pulled a chair nearby and put it beside Junmyeon before sitting there. “I’m Kai, in case you forgot my name.”

“You just gave me your name yesterday, how could I forget it,” Junmyeon muttered, trying to concentrate on his work. “I’m Junmyeon. Kim Junmyeon.”

“Why did you seem afraid yesterday?” Kai continued. “It was just a few seconds of blackout.”

“Don’t you think you’re too blunt?”

Junmyeon stopped typing on his keyboard and turned to Kai. His face told the latter that he wanted to finish his work as soon as possible, so he could go home, but Kai replied him with an innocent look, which made Junmyeon feel more bothered.

“Just go and let me do my work.” It sounded like an ultimatum, but Kai didn’t even move an inch from his seat.

“Is it a phobia?” asked the tan-skinned guy more. “Are you afraid of darkness? Your reaction when the lights were off was kinda… exaggerating?”

“Can you stop asking me?!” Junmyeon raised his voice. He really wanted to stuff his socks into Kai’s mouth to make the younger guy stop asking him such annoying—and humiliating his pride—questions. “I want to go home and you waste my time by asking me those stupid questions!”

“I just wanted to know…” Kai ducked his head, as if he was a kid who got scolded by his grumpy teacher. However, it couldn’t stop him from asking more. “Why are you afraid of darkness?”

Junmyeon felt like he couldn’t stand it anymore. “Do you not understand—”

“You know, Junmyeon, darkness embraces you in a very gentle way.”

The older guy blinked when Kai cut his words. “Excuse me?”

Kai smiled gently at him.

♦♦♦

The sting of sunrays woke Junmyeon up from his deep slumber. He stretched his arms to loosen his stiff muscles before getting up and walking off his room. Yifan had been there in the pantry, making two cups of coffee for them both.

“Morning,” Yifan smiled when he saw his roommate. “Your coffee is ready.”

“Thanks,” mumbled Junmyeon as he took the cup.

“I’m going to have dinner with Yixing today, so maybe I’ll be back a bit late,” said the taller male while spreading butter on his toast. “Will you be alright?”

“It’s not like you’ve never gone out with him until late, Fan,” answered Junmyeon, sipping the brown liquid. “I’ll be alright, of course. I’ll go to sleep sooner, so I hope you won’t make any noises like the previous nights, especially if you want to bring Yixing here tonight…”

Yifan grinned. He still remembered how Junmyeon ranted about how noisy Yixing and he were when doing their ‘activity’. Yixing and he felt sorry for Junmyeon, even though they knew Junmyeon understood.

“I’ll try not to make any noises…” Yifan said. “But are you really going to be okay? The blackout often happens nowadays in this area.”

“Let’s pray there won’t be any blackouts tonight.”

Those words were said lightly, but Yifan knew that Junmyeon was insecure. “Well… quickly call me if it happens, okay? I’ll come as soon as possible.”

“Got it.”

Junmyeon flinched ever so slightly when Yifan patted his head.

Stop hurting me, heart.

♦♦♦

It was raining when Junmyeon reached the lobby. Luckily, he brought his umbrella in his bag—he forgot to pull out that embarrassing umbrella from his bag, to be precise. It was a small, shocking pink umbrella, with many hearts scattered on its surface, which Yifan and he bought for emergency a month ago, when they went to convenience store, and rain suddenly fell. Even though it was embarrassing, Junmyeon was grateful that he had that umbrella in current situation.

He was about to open his umbrella when he spotted someone familiar standing nearby. It was Kai—it seems like he would wait until the rain stopped because Junmyeon didn’t see him bringing an umbrella. Junmyeon moved his gaze to the sky, thinking whether he should ask the guy to come with him or not, because looking at the rain, it looked like it would keep pouring for a long while.

“Junmyeon.”

Junmyeon’s body jumped softly as the voice startled him. “Kai,” he turned slowly to the owner of the deep voice, shooting him with annoyed look. “Stop startling me.”

“I’m sorry,” Kai chuckled lightly. “Are you going home now?”

“Yes. Aren’t you?”

“It’s still raining. I’ll wait until it stops.”

“Good luck, then.” Junmyeon took his umbrella and opened it, not caring if people see him as a ‘feminine’ guy because of the umbrella. He walked for a couple meters, but then he went back to where Jongin was standing. “Come with me.”

“Huh?” Jongin looked at him in a puzzled look.

Junmyeon huffed. “Come with me. I’ll take you to the nearest bus stop. You don’t want to wait here until late, do you? The rain seems durable; it won’t stop anytime soon.”

Jongin still looked confused, but he smiled and nodded in the end. “Your umbrella is cute.” he said as he finally stood under the umbrella with Junmyeon. He took the umbrella and Junmyeon let him. Kai was taller, much taller than him. His head would be stuck if Junmyeon was the one who brought it.

“Don’t mock me. I bought this for emergency.” Junmyeon grumbled. “My friend chose this without thinking.”

“Your friend.”

“Mhmm. My roommate.”

The conversation stopped there. They walked in silence with only the sound of rain accompanied their steps. Junmyeon felt awkward with it, but when he took a secret glance at Kai, the guy seemed comfortable with the silence. So, Junmyeon decided to keep his mouth shut.

However, the silence didn’t last long. The gentle rain became heavier and the umbrella couldn’t keep them dry anymore, especially because the wind got stronger as well.

“My flat isn’t far from here,” Junmyeon said, half shouting. “Come to my place first, you can’t go anywhere in this weather!”

Kai knew he didn’t have a choice, thus he nodded. He let Junmyeon pulled his hand and they ran together to Junmyeon’s flat, which was really not far from where they were before.

They were soaking wet when they reached the flat. Junmyeon’s small body was shaking because of the cold, and he was amazed because Jongin didn’t seem to feel cold at all. The guy was quietly entering his room without any words of complaint for the bad weather.

“You have a nice room.” The bronze-skinned male scanned Junmyeon’s room. He stood still on the parlor, waiting until Junmyeon was back with the white towel to dry his body.

“It’s not an easy task to clean this place when you have a reckless roommate,” Junmyeon smiled slightly. “Here, clothes for changing. They’re my roommate’s clothes; they might be a little too big for you.”

Kai walked to the pointed bathroom, while Junmyeon made something warm for them to consume. They ran out of coffee—“How could Yifan forget to tell me that the coffee jar is empty?!” Junmyeon complained—so he made two cups of hot chocolate instead.

There was a sound of door opened, and Junmyeon turned around. Kai was walking toward him, interesting in what he was making.

“I made hot chocolate for us,” Junmyeon stirred the beverage a couple times before giving Kai one of the cups. “Make yourself warm, I’m going to change my clothes first.”

Kai nodded as the hot beverage moved from Junmyeon’s hand to his. Junmyeon told him to sit on the couch before disappearing behind his room door.

Junmyeon rubbed his palms together before picking his clothes in the wardrobe. He laughed at his own stupidity—why didn’t he change his clothes when Kai changed as well? Wearing a comfortable sweater and sweatpants, he sighed when the warmth surrounded his lithe figure.

Junmyeon’s hand was reaching for the doorknob as he wondered whether Kai liked the beverage he had made, but then a loud thunder made him freeze.

No, it wasn’t the thunder that made him freeze—it was the blackout that followed after.

The next thing he knew, a loud scream escaped his mouth, as though he had never screamed before.

Darkness swallows me.

His mouth opened and closed panicky, like a fish meeting a dry land. The room felt like shrinking, the oxygen left like there was none of it from the very beginning.

Darkness eats me alive.

“Junmyeon!”

Yifan, help me.

A pair of arms embraced him right when he felt like his head would explode. A big palm rubbed his back, comforting him.

“Easy, Junmyeon… easy.”

The palm moved to his cheek, caressing it gently, as if his skin was a fine china.

Whose hand is this…? It’s cold…

“Junmyeon, are you okay?”

Junmyeon’s eyes felt heavy as the hand his hair.

It’s cold, yet comforting.

“It’s okay, Junmyeon… don’t be afraid. Darkness won’t hurt you.”

“Kai…?” Even though he felt so powerless, Junmyeon tried to look up at the male who embraced him. There, Kai smiled at him reassuringly.

“It embraces you in a very gentle way…”

♦♦♦

“—Myeon! Junmyeon!”

Junmyeon opened his eyes when he heard someone calling his name again and again. Grunted, he forced himself to get up.

“Hey, are you okay? I told you to call me if something happened!”

It was Yifan. Junmyeon tried to focus his eye sight, and there was Yifan.

“Fan… you’re home already.”

Yifan sighed harshly. “I am. Come here; let me help you get up. How could you just lay there on the floor? You must be passed out because of the blackout.”

“Blackout?” Junmyeon muttered. Right… there was blackout before… and… “Kai… where is Kai?”

“Who’s Kai?” Yifan pulled Junmyeon’s arm to help him get on his feet.

“An intern guy in my company… he was here before. The rain was heavy, he couldn’t go home…”

“It’s so kind of him for leaving you passed out on the floor like that.”

“Eh? But…” Junmyeon didn’t continue his words since Yifan had that face which told him clearly that he didn’t want Junmyeon to talk more.

“Go resting. You’re okay sleeping alone, are you? Yixing is in my room; I can’t be here…” Yifan’s tone sounded guilty, but Junmyeon understood.

“I’m okay,” said the smaller guy. “Go to him, don’t make him wait. And please, don’t be too noisy.”

“I’ll be only next door. Call me if you’re scared.”

No, I won’t. “Okay.”

Junmyeon threw his body onto his bed after Yifan closed the door. Normally, his chest would hurt a lot when he knew Yifan was with his boyfriend, doing something Junmyeon didn’t even want to think about, but at the moment, he had something that bothered him more than that.

“That guy… how could he leave me alone in such state?!” Junmyeon hissed in annoyance, but then silence swallowed him.

How could he make me feel so calm, while even Yifan can’t do it? Why did he feel so cold, yet so comforting at the same time?

Junmyeon buried his face into his pillow. “So comforting…”

A/N: I wanted to make this as a one shot, but since the chapter was too long, so I split this into two parts. It’s been a while since I last wrote something, so this chapter might be a bit weird. And no beta, guys, so I’m really sorry for all the mistakes. I hope you enjoy the story still!

P.S: I’d like to know if some of you are willing to be my beta-reader, especially if English is your first language. ;)