mania /ˈmeɪnɪə/
an excessive enthusiasm or desire; an obsession.

"The rumours are spreading, aren't they?"

Jongin swung his legs as he sat on Luhan's bed.

The boy had been very reluctant to take Jongin to his small minimal apartment. He had been ashamed of it, in comparison to Jongin's big majestic apartment, Luhan's was a small studio room with a tiny kitchen and a tiny bathroom. The bedroom was small too, all dark and scattered with books borrowed from the library or gifted to him from the orphanage, when he had left.

Not that they cared at the orphanage. Maybe it was just to keep his mouth shut about the times the headteacher had asked him to come to his office and had his pants removed.

Luhan winced just at the thought.

The headteacher at the orphanage had been a sick man who used to say that Luhan was the best of the best. The one who truly satisfied his needs.

Almost throwing up at the thought of what used to happen in that office, Luhan quickly got up from the chair and started to pick up those books the orphanage had given him, surprising Jongin.

"Luhan?!" Jongin got up too as he looked at a frenetic Luhan, picking up books and dropping them again.

He went up to Luhan and put his hands on his shoulders shaking him, "Luhan! What is wrong?"

Cold sweat was making Luhan's vision blurry and then suddenly Jongin hugged him tightly.

Luhan dropped the rest of the books and stood still.

It was the second hug he had received in less than three days.

"Shhhhh, calm down, Luhan," Jongin whispered in his ears, "Everything is fine."

Luhan stood still silent for a while, then he started laughing.

Jongin let him go and looked at him in surprise.

Luhan indicated the old, dusty books on the floor as tears fell, "help me burn those, please?"

"Bad memories?" Jongin asked and without waiting for an answer, he quickly bent down and picked all the books, "Let's go. Do you have a small bag?" 

Luhan went to the kitchen and got him a tote bag.

Jongin threw all the books inside, "Put on shoes and lock up. We're going to mine."

It took them only ten minutes walk to get to Jongin's apartment.

The boy led Luhan to the basement and opened a black door from the wall. Luhan was shocked. He had never noticed those two doors when he had been there last time.

When the door opened, Jongin the light inside as a smell of burnt hit them both.

Luhan followed Jongin inside.

There was a black bathtub against the wall.

Jongin went straight towards it. He threw the books inside the tub.

He reached in his pocket and took out a black lighter with small sparkling diamonds on it.

He looked at Luhan one last time and then he started the fire.

Luhan watched mesmerised.

Pages after pages.

Book after book.

It all burnt.

Alongside the pages, Luhan read his own past. The first night, he was still a child. Thought there was nothing wrong in his teacher checking his body out. He didn't like being touched though. That he hated.

As everything burnt to ashes, Luhan let his memories burn away too.

"He never put it inside," he said aloud, without realising, "He did everything else but putting it inside."

Jongin looked at him for a few minutes, hard expression on his face. He wanted to ask who. He wanted to kill that person who had scarred Luhan like this. Who had scarred his innocence and ruined his childhood.

Luhan finally looked away from the burning pages and looked at Jongin who was still staring at him, "Thank you," he said.

Jongin didn't say anything. He simply went to the tub, the pages were unrecognisable. As the room filled with the smell of burning and smoke, Jongin turned the tap of the water on.

He filled the whole bath tub with water and the fire was gone.

Luhan smiled.

Only ashes were left.

**********

"I'm sorry for what happened," Jongin said as he offered a glass of pear juice at Luhan, who had never had pear juice before.

"It was not your fault," Luhan said.

"Why did you keep those books?"

"I don't know," Luhan said, "I