Kibum was well put together. He got up early every morning to make sure that his appearance was flawless. He said it was good preparation for the real world. He hated when Minho would about his bed head on the Sunday mornings they occasionally spent together. He liked his appearance tidy. He liked his room tidy. He liked his mind tidy. It was easy to keep track of everything this way.

Today was not tidy.

None of it was Kibum’s fault. Firstly, his mom had accidentally unplugged his clock and when she’d reset it, she’d miss-set the alarm. He woke up an hour later than usual and with only 30 minutes before he had to be at the bus stop. He’d run out of the house, looking a bit rough, but not terrible, shoving an orange into his bag. He barely caught the bus and ended up having to hold a rail and stand. Minho, at the opposite end of the bus, tapped his own wrist, his large eyes giving Kibum the stupidest questioning look. He grimaced and shrugged, annoyed.

Then, when they got to the school, Kibum’s homeroom teacher asked him why he wasn’t helping clean the gym. It turned out that the class president had forgotten to tell Kibum that it was his turn. He raced over to the gym on the opposite end of the campus, only to find that they were nearly done. Class President refused to acknowledge that he’d made a mistake, instead telling Kibum that he could go mop the cafeteria. He turned right around and ran back to the other end of campus and quickly, but thoroughly, completed the task. By the time he got to his homeroom class, he was late and dripping with sweat. The girl who sat behind Kibum sneered at him and dramatically leaned away as he took his seat.

At break between classes, Minho turned around and asked Kibum if he had finished the history homework. Kibum’s face dropped and he scrambled to find it in his bag. He was incredibly happy to discover it there and complete. He placed it on his desk and smoothed it, proudly. As he leaned over to grab a new pen out of his bag, a girl walking past him tripped over another the leg of his desk and accidentally dumped her entire cup of coffee she snuck out of the teachers’ room all over his paper. It dripped down and got all over the interior of his bag as well. Minho immediately jumped up and grabbed tissues to dredge up the liquid covering Kibum’s hard work. Kibum knew what the phrase “seeing red” meant in that moment, starting to rise out of his chair as the terrified girl scurried away. Minho did his best to sop up the coffee, but the paper was ruined. Kibum would have to redo it and he didn’t have a chance to type it again. He quickly grabbed Minho’s bag and pulled out paper, writing as fast as he could to try to copy it all down onto fresh paper in time. Minho quietly snuck Kibum’s bag out of the room and cleaned it for him as best he could before subtly returning it beside his best friend’s desk.

Kibum managed to sneakily complete the history report, with the help of Minho, during their English class. Kibum would need to remember to buy Minho dinner later. He turned it in with no further incidents and then he and Minho ate lunch in the courtyard, enjoying the sunshine. One of Kibum’s absolute favorite things about Minho was that he was just comfortable. Minho let Kibum be completely himself all the time, no matter how cuddly or snippy or selfish he may be in any given moment. He even let Kibum play domestic couple occasionally when Kibum was feeling it, brushing and styling his hair or cooking food for him. Minho always said that he didn’t mind, that he wouldn’t do anything that made him uncomfortable. Kibum had no desire to make Minho uncomfortable. He never tried to hold his hand or sit on his lap. He never tried to make them wear matching clothes or kiss him. He didn’t want to. He believed with every fiber of his being that they were soulmates, but not the romantic kind. They were best friend soulmates. They would always find each other in every life they lived and all they wanted was to be supportive of each other. Occasionally, Kibum would hear other students making comments, speculations as to their relationship, and it irritated him. He didn’t care what people said about him; most of it was probably true, anyway. He cared that someone would say something negative about dear, gentle Minho. Minho was a huge bundle of kindness and he didn’t deserve any hate.

“So,” Minho spoke through a mouthful of the pasta he’d chosen for lunch from the cafeteria. “What’s up with you today? You okay?”

Kibum pulled his lips tight and reached over to wipe some sauce from the corner of his friend’s lips. He folded the napkin and laid it back on his plate beside his mostly eaten salad and sighed. “Yeah. Today’s just been… weird.” He met Minho’s eyes again. “And I just feel… kind of gross. I just want to go home and take, like, a 3 hour shower and lay on a mattress in the living room watching old Disney movies. You free tonight? You can come over.”

“Thanks, but I’m not sure yet. Kinda keeping my plans open today.” Minho finished his last bite, wiping his own mouth this time, and pushing his plate away.

“Why?”

“Just… I just am.”

Minho didn’t seem like he wanted to elaborate, and Kibum dropped it. He poked at the remaining leaves and dressing on his plate before deciding he was done as well. He let out another sigh, stretching his arms over his head. He hoped it would make him feel better after the crap morning, and it worked a bit. He clapped his hands and stood up.

“Alright, what am I forgetting?”

“Probably that you left your bag in homeroom and I’m pretty sure you need it for next period.”

“Crap. You’re right. Uhhhhhhh” Kibum threw his head back and groaned dramatically toward the sky. “Kay, I’ll be right back. Are you gonna wait for me?”

“Of course, babe.” Minho winked at him, a rye smile spreading across his lips.

Kibum threw some finger guns at him and clicked his tongue before walking back into the building and to the stair case. Homeroom was on the 3^rd floor. No big deal, Kibum was fit. He jogged up the stairs, feeling better every minute. It felt like today was going to pass with no further incidents. He reached the 3^rd floor and, as he passed by the teachers’ room, he suddenly stopped. His body flushed and he felt kind of tingly, especially in his arms and head. He shook his head and blinked his eyes a few times before the feeling seemed to pass. He took a deep breath and released it, shaking his arms and starting off again to the classroom. He grabbed his saddlebag and swung it over his shoulder, pulling the strap across his torso. A few loose papers fell out in the movement and fluttered slowly to the ground. He watched them land and thought about how they looked pretty gliding to the ground that way. He bent over and scooped them up, turning on his heel and exiting the room.

On the second floor landing, he felt his phone buzz in his pocket and stopped to check it, tucking the papers between his chest and arm. It was from Taemin, a picture of how bored he was in his class and how much he wanted a weekend to hang out with Kibum. Kibum chuckled and began to text back, the idea of maybe hanging out with Taemin tonight sounding fun.

A body roughly pushed Kibum to the side and he tried to catch himself, stumbling over his own feet and falling to the floor. The papers scattered harshly across the landing floor, all in separate directions.

“Ah, sor…” Kibum looked up and his eyes landed on the most beautiful face he’d ever seen. In the same moment, his arm suddenly started burning intensely. His arm where his countdown was. He pulled it sharply against his stomach, cradling it, while continuing to stare at the other man. The guy grabbed his arm harshly and hissed. He pulled it close to his face, rubbing it roughly and examining the countdown. Realization spread across his face and he looked back down at slack-jawed Kibum staring up at him.

“…Crap…” the man said. He stood there hesitantly for a moment before a voice broke air.

“Oh! Hi again! Didn’t you leave? Wh.. what happened?” Kibum’s history teacher appeared in his vision. “Is everything okay?” Kibum didn’t answer, he just continued to stare at the man and cradle his arm.

The teacher helped Kibum to his feet, mostly with her own strength because Kibum was frozen and useless. “Do you two know each other?”

The man spoke very quickly. “No!” His voice was much too loud and too quick to be believable. “Uh…” he cleared his voice and lowered the volume, eyes looking everywhere except at Kibum. “No, I was just… here…” he finished lamely. “I have to go meet my friend. I’ll see you, again, though.” He turned and almost ran down the stairs, away from Kibum… his soumate.

“Okay, great!” Kibum’s teacher called after the man, a huge smile plastered across her face. She turned and looked Kibum up and down before saying “You should clean up this mess and get to your next class. I’m not going to make any excuses for you.” Then, she turned and walked down the stairs.

Kibum was alone in the stairwell. His made was racing and yet also, somehow blank. “Pick up the papers and go to class.” He heard his own voice say. His body autopilot and, after gathering up his spill, he walked numbly back outside. He was at the table where he’d left Minho, standing right beside his friend before he registered that other people were there as well. Minho looked up at him, all smiles and heart eyes.

“Oh, Bum, you’re back! You remember Jinki?”

Kibum met Jinki’s eyes and did a small nod. He was too out of it to speak. He turned back to Minho. He watched the smile melt off of Minho’s face.

“Class.” Kibum’s spoke with no emotion, as numb as he felt on the inside.

“Okay, yeah.” Minho stood up and shouldered his backpack. He looked down into Kibum’s face, concern etched across his own.

“Oh, Kibum! I forgot, this is my friend. Jonghyun, say hey to Kibum.”

Kibum turned his head and met eyes with the same man who left him on the floor a mere 5 minutes earlier. His lips parted and he inhaled sharply. Jonghyun first looked confused, but then his face hardened and his eyes turned cold and emotionless. He slid his tongue along between his teeth and looked away, annoyed. “Yeah, hi.”

“He’s Minho’s best friend!” Jinki voice rang out too cheerily for how the situation felt. He hadn’t noticed the mood. “They’ve been best friends since… forever, I guess. We met the other day at the library. He gets along well with Taemin, at least that’s what Taemin says. He runs on the tr…”

“I’m gonna be completely honest with you, here, Jinki. I really could not care less.” Jonghyun turned his head lazily to gaze at Jinki, leaning nonchalantly against the table. He was trying to look nonplussed, but he was too stiff.

“Oh…” Jinki said quietly. “Sorry.”

They all stood there in an awkward silence for a few more moments before Minho suddenly grabbed Kibum’s hand.

“We have to go to class. See ya, Jinki.” He pulled Kibum forward, roughly shouldering Jonghyun out of the way. They walked quickly to the next building, Minho keeping a tight grip on Kibum’s hand the entire way. Kibum was glad. He wouldn’t have been able to find the building by himself. He was too busy trying to keep the tears from falling. They stopped outside the door, Minho only dropping Kibum’s hand when he noticed people staring. He didn’t look at KIbum. “Do you want to just go home? I don’t mind skipping the rest of the day.”

Kibum shaking his head no was subtle, but his friend saw it. He took Kibum’s hand again and walked them to their seats. He pulled out the older boy’s book and writing materials and laid them on the desk in front of him. Their last class was a double period and Minho sat behind Kibum. The entire time, Kibum kept his eyes focused on the blank paper in front of him, blinking away the blurriness that kept creeping over his vision. Minho took notes for the both of them, keeping the tips of his fingers on one hand lightly in contact with Kibum’s back the entire time. He didn’t want Kibum to feel like he was alone.

When the bell released them, Minho helped gather all of their things and waited for Kibum to stand up and head out.

“Are you doing anything this afternoon?” Kibum’s voice sounded thick and came out harshly. He swallowed to try to help, but that did nothing.

“I’m coming over to your house and we’re gonna lay in your bed all evening watching Disney movies and eating junk food.”

“Okay.”

-----------------

Back at Kibum’s house, Minho pulled out all the Disney movies he could find. He piled them on Kibum’s bed and then went to the kitchen to get all the good snacks and drinks that he knew Kibum hid in the back of the fridge. By the time he got back, Kibum had changed into sweatpants and a long-sleeved t-shirt. Minho grabbed a pair of his own “comfy clothes”, as Kibum called them, and changed. When he returned, Kibum was just sitting on his bed, staring at his hands in his lap. Minho sat on the floor next to him and pulled two movies out of the pile, placing them on top of Kibum’s hands.

“Choose.”

Kibum chose Dumbo. Good. No romance. They stayed in those positions for a while, Minho being the only one to snack. When that movie was over, he started to sort through the pile of dvds again, but Kibum stopped him. He pulled one that Minho had intentionally put on the bottom of the pile and pushed it into the younger boy’s hands. Minho sighed, reading the title.

“Are you sure you want to watch Sleeping Beauty?”

Kibum responded by falling onto his side on the bed and curling up, hugging his stuffed puppy against his chest and fixing his eyes on the tv screen.

An hour and a half into the movie and Minho had laid down next to Kibum on the bed, his arm wrapped around his friend’s waist. The only light in the room at this point was the flickering images on the tv screen. He couldn’t see the older boy’s face, but occasionally he would feel his body shudder and Minho would pull him a little closer.

The movie ended, the credits rolled and the screen went blank. Now the room was nearly pitch black, a street light outside allowing Minho’s eyes to make out shapes and outlines.

“You knew, didn’t you.” Kibum’s voice was quiet and calm, fitting the feeling the street light gave the room.

“Knew what?”

“You knew it was today. You didn’t say anything, but you knew.”

Minho loosened his grip a bit, allowing the other boy to pull away if he wanted to.

“Did you want me to say something?”

Kibum didn’t answer.

Minho swallowed. “Do you wish I had?”

Again, silence. And then, very quietly.

“No. I don’t think so.”

Minho moved his arm to slowly rub up and down Kibum’s back and shoulder, trying to comfort him. He knew that something had gone badly. He didn’t want to ask what.

“He hates me.” Kibum’s voice broke the silence, again, this time a little louder. “I don’t know why, but he hates me.”

Minho’s hand stopped. He froze. Hate?

Suddenly, Kibum’s body began trembling. It scared Minho, so he started to sit up before Kibum’s voice stopped him short.

“Don’t say anything. I’m sorry, but… you can’t make this better this time. Just…” his voice was shaking and he struggled to get his words out. “Just please, don’t say anything.”

And then he broke.

The rest of the night found Kibum wrapped in Minho’s arms, crying harder than he’d ever cried before. Minho’s own silent tears streamed down his face, joining Kibum’s on the pillowcases. He stoked his friend’s hair, rubbed his back, hugged him tight to himself and kissed his forehead. He hoped it helped. He hated feeling useless. At 4am, he helped Kibum get in the shower. He changed the sheets on the bed and on the pillow Kibum had been crushing to his chest and sobbing into. When he was done, Kibum was out of the shower and finally calmer. They laid down together in bed again, finally managing to fall asleep. Just before Kibum drifted off, he made a mental note.

“Please please please remember this Kibum. You will do everything you can to help Minho live his happiest life. You owe him the world.”