“You're no good for him, I see it. You're only going to hurt him,” Jongin said, and Sehun tried his best to listen where his voice was coming from. He still didn't understand why Jongin was talking as if he was someone else, and why he was trying to kill Sehun, but he was starting to get some ideas.

He was looking for a way out from behind the couch where he could maybe grab something to protect himself, but he immediately shook his head at the thought. Just imagining hurting Jongin - or whoever he thought he was - even if it was self defense, made Sehun's chest fill with guilt and sadness. He had to think of another way to get out of this without hurting his boyfriend, but he had no idea how to do that. Especially since a knife was being used against him.

“Jongin-ah, I don't want to hurt you,” Maybe he could diffuse this situation by talking Jongin out of his craziness, and he peeked out from behind the couch.
“You know that,” He tried to keep his voice soft as always when he attempted to calm Jongin down a few other times before. It worked each time, but Sehun wasn't too sure if it would be the same this time.
He stood up from the carpet - as afraid as he was, he had to at least look tough - and held his hands up just by his chest when he caught sight of his boyfriend who seemed so woefully angry and even terrifying with that large knife in his hand. Probably the largest they had in the apartment they shared.
“Why don't you put it down and we talk this out? I'll tell you anything you want to know,” Sehun tried reasoning with the blonde who simply stared at him with his brows slightly furrowed, his fist not loosening even a little bit around the weapon by his side.
“I don't know what happened but...we can fix it. Right? We can fix it all,” Sehun started inching closer and closer to his boyfriend all while keeping his hands raised steadily to show he wasn't trying anything funny.

Soon enough, he was in close range of Jongin to simply reach out and snatch the knife away from him. But even though Sehun seemed to see an end in sight, his hands still trembled just a little; he wasn't sure exactly what scared him so much. The fact that his life was in danger, the fact that Jongin was the one who wanted to kill him, or the fact that he had no idea what kept making his boyfriend snap and become a murderous person. It seemed that no matter what Sehun did or said, it would just infuriate the blonde and start this sequence all over, and he was sure that contributed to the adrenaline currently pumping through his whole body.
The whole room was filled with a tense silence, and Jongin's eyes stayed on Sehun the whole time. He knew the other one was coming closer, and he was waiting patiently for when he would be close enough; like a crocodile coming up to catch its prey.
Sehun's heart was pounding so hard it made him feel dizzy, and his breaths were coming out in short quick pants from the fear and adrenaline mixed. His eyes stayed trained on Jongin's who seemed so much darker than they had ever been before, and he began to reach out for the knife.
“Give it to me, and we can talk about all of this. Over ice cream if you want,” He offered, knowing how much the blonde loved his chocolate chip ice cream, and felt surprised by how soothing his voice sounded even to his own ears. Now he knew why Jongin was almost always calmed by it.

It took only one or two heartbeats before Jongin spoke. “But Sehun, I don't like ice cream,”
In the time it took Sehun to frown, the blonde was already slashing in the direction of the other one's arm that was close to the knife.
The silver blade connected with the inner part of Sehun's arm before he could pull away, and he let out a hiss as his other hand grabbed Jongin's wrist to stop him from doing even more damage.
“Stop this! I don't want to hurt you, but I will if I have to!” He threatened as his hand kept a firm hold on his boyfriend's wrist; the wound on his arm stung, but he was sure the adrenaline rush was preventing him from feeling it completely.
“But you could never hurt precious Jonginnie, could you?” The blonde answered in a mocking tone, his expression turning into a condescending one, “you said it yourself,”
“I won't hurt him, but that doesn't mean I won't hurt whoever the hell you are. Because I know for a fact that you're not Jongin!” 
“You're right I'm not!” The blonde tugged his wrist away annoyed.
“Call me Kai,” He waved the bloody knife around with a clumsy grin on his lips, holding his one hand out.
“Are you insane?” Sehun had to ask in a confused voice. He frowned at the outstretched hand, and then looked up at “Kai” who frowned back at him as if he had done the most offensive thing ever.
“What am I saying? You're 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑙𝑦 𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑎𝑛𝑒,” Sehun shook his head, unable to really grasp the contrast in Jongin and this Kai yet. Even if he had seen it before, it still felt new to him each time.
“I was trying to be nice to you, to see why Jongin adores you so much...but you're just a , just as I always knew,” The blonde said through gritted teeth, and he took a swipe at Sehun who managed to dodge it just in time.

He still wasn't sure what to do - he knew he'd have to protect himself somehow, but if he hurt Kai badly, Jongin would see the aftereffects. They weren't two separate people - they were one and the same, like two different personalities.
So that's what this was! Clearly, the trauma of his childhood had never really left Jongin; maybe he hadn't healed as much as he thought he had. But what was this trigger? A verbal one? A physical one? Sehun didn't know. Verbal, possibly, since whatever he said earlier seemed to have set Kai off. But what if physical was also a possibility? Sehun wouldn't have a clue since he would never try to hit or hurt Jongin in any way. If he was triggered by both, then that made him all the more dangerous, especially if Kai's only aim was to kill Sehun.

He moved to the left, then to the right, just barely able to avoid Kai's angry stabs and eager slashes. It was as if he had done this before, or at least had some experience in it, but Sehun could never recall a time when Jongin had told him of practicing something like this or even seeing him play with knives. Sehun would've loved to observe, but of course, he couldn't. As insignificant as it was at the moment, this had told him becoming a psychologist was a good idea in case the dancing didn't work out.

After Kai had given one last mighty stab, only to miss, Sehun managed to grab his arm and make him drop his weapon with his back pressed against Sehun's chest.
“Yah!” The blonde struggled angrily in Sehun's tight grasp, both his arms wrapping tightly around Kai instead.
“Jongin,” He panted out, “Jongin, come back to me. I know you're in there somewhere,”
In all honesty, Sehun didn't even know if what he was doing was right or not. Maybe Jongin couldn't hear him, maybe Jongin couldn't fight this...maybe Kai had all of the control and he was the one who decided when he would leave. But what if he never did? What if he stayed like this for the rest of his life?
Sehun shook his head vigorously; nonsense! A personality switch couldn't last so long. It just couldn't.

“Sehun,” Kai said in a distressed voice as he continued to struggle in Sehun's arms.
“Sehun, please let me go. It's me, it's Jongin,” He whimpered his best impression of Jongin, and he knew it would only be a few seconds before Sehun fell right into his trap.
And he did.
His arms loosened slightly around his boyfriend, and then let go, “Jongin?”
“You idiot! You don't really think it would be that easy, did you?” Kai almost yelled, then pushed Sehun against the nearest wall roughly.

𝐷𝑎𝑚𝑛 𝑖𝑡! Sehun thought to himself. He had to find a way to bring Jongin back before Kai really did kill the black haired one.
Kai's one fist delivered a hard punch to Sehun's jaw, and his teeth clamped down on his lip almost immediately, splitting it open.
There was nothing more he could do - he had to fight back, or he'd be beaten like a coward.
He wiped his lip, glanced at the blood, then curled his hands into his fists.
“You wanna go?” He asked while backing away from the wall, “then let's go,”

There was a furry of punches from both of them, both blocking and ducking and sidestepping the blows as best as possible. They knocked each other into furniture, Sehun tackling Kai so hard they both rolled over the back of the couch with Sehun landing on the coffee table, effectively smashing the glass.
The two rolled around on the floor as they tried to gain an advantage over the other, sometimes hitting one another with an elbow or a knee before they both got to their feet again.
Sehun was quick to ram Kai into the wall this time, causing the framed photos to tremble with the force. His one hand came around the blonde's throat who sneered at him, some blood dribbling from the side of his mouth.
“You think you're such a tough guy, don't you? Well, you're just a to me,” He said with a grin as he struggled for air for a few seconds, only to grab Sehun's wounded arm.
The latter howled out in pain and let go from instinct when the sting in his arm intensified, blood coating Kai's palm as he pushed the other one's hand away from his throat before giving Sehun a hard knee to the stomach.
He knew he was losing this fight, and if he didn't do something fast, he wouldn't make it out alive.
But the more he wanted to fight, the more it hurt inside at the thought of how much pain Jongin would be in later. He knew Kai was already pretty damaged, and Jongin would have to suffer because of it; when had Sehun become so soft and sappy?! It made him angry.
He loved Jongin, he really, truly did, but that affection was getting in the way now.

They began fighting once more, Kai getting thrown so hard into the couch it got knocked over. He grabbed the lamp from the small table and slammed it down on the spot where Sehun's head was supposed to be, only for him to roll away before Kai could get it right.
He managed to plant himself on the black haired male with the knife from earlier, both of them wrestling for the weapon.
“Just...let...me...do it,” Kai growled as he aimed the blade towards Sehun's chest, the latter holding both of his wrists as he tried to push Kai off.
“Jongin needs me!” Sehun hissed before he punched Kai with the last bit of strength he could muster, throwing the knife to the other end of the room once Kai was on his back instead of Sehun.

They were both exhausted and in pain, but there wasn't any indication that Kai was about to leave any time soon.
So Sehun did the only thing he could possibly think of to stop Kai dead in his tracks; he smashed his lips down on Kai's, and as much as he hated it, he knew he had to try everything to bring Jongin back.
He couldn't leave for a while and then come back when he was sure it was safe - for one, he would probably walk into a deathtrap coming inside again, and two, if Jongin did come back while Sehun was away, he would no doubt be anxious. Especially with the mess.
He had no choice but to stick through this until Kai left; maybe not for long, but hopefully long enough for Sehun to figure out what they could do.

Kai hit his palms against Sehun's chest aggressively when their lips met, but didn't pull away. It was somewhat attractive to him, though he wasn't sure if Jongin would think the same.
That didn't mean he wouldn't hurt Sehun as much as he still could, though.
He bit into Sehun's split lip which caused the mentioned man to push Kai back down onto the carpet, frowning down at him when he broke into shrill laughter that raised goosebumps on Sehun's skin.
“You're such a little !” He said while trying to ignore the sting in his lip now, and Kai merely giggled up at him with blood staining his lips like lipstick.
“I don't see the problem with it,” He answered, and Sehun winced as he went in for another kiss that he was sure would hurt much more than the last.
But it didn't - it only took a few seconds for Sehun to realize Kai had stopped thrashing around like an angry child during a tantrum, and he pulled back to look at the blonde who seemed rather confused.

“Jongin?” He asked in a gentle voice and his boyfriend's hair softly, Jongin slowly coming to his senses.
“Wh...what happened? Why does...why...your face, it's...what's going on?” He seemed so dazed that it hurt Sehun to see, but he brought Jongin up to hug gently anyway. He had never been this happy to see his boyfriend before, but he would sure as hell be careful this time round.
“Shh, don't worry,” He hushed the blonde, and Jongin let out a shaky whimper.
“Your arm...your arm! It's bleeding! Sehun, what happened?!” He almost shrieked, growing restless at the sight of blood on his palms once Sehun had pulled away to look at him.
“Yah, just listen to me,” He said calmly, and brought his own hands up to cup Jongin's face.
“I'll explain it all to you soon, but for now, what hurts?”

Sehun's mother had taught him basic first aid such as what to do in the event of someone choking on food, or drowning, and even getting cut, which helped since he was able to bandage a few shallow cuts Jongin had on his hands. Probably from rolling around in the glass. He also guided Jongin on what to do to stitch his own arm, and even though he was sure the blonde was upset, he didn't show it much.
“What happened?” He finally asked as he looked around the room; broken picture frames laid on the carpet, shards of glass scattered around the room from the coffee table, and even knocked over furniture like the couch and lamp.
“We fought. That's why you have all these cuts and probably bruises too,” Sehun said as he wrapped the bandage around his arm after Jongin had disinfected his lip and some other small gashes on his face.
“W-we-we fought? But why?” Jongin swallowed thickly - Sehun wouldn't get into a fight with him, would he? No...Sehun wasn't like that. He was too much of a softie for Jongin.
“You have multiple personalities, Jongin,” Sehun said with a sigh, and Jongin frowned at him as if he was speaking a foreign language.
“What?” He scoffed, “don't you think I'd know if some other personality was taking over me?”
“That's just it. You never really know when it takes over. Even though you're aware, there's not much you can do about it,” His boyfriend explained, and Jongin looked at him sadly.
“It makes me a monster then, doesn't it? Because I've hurt you like this,” He said softly as his one hand reached out to Sehun's one cheek that began to darken to form a bruise.
“It isn't you, Jongin,” Sehun said quietly with a small wince as the sensitive skin got touched.
“And we'll do something about it. I'll talk to my mother about it to see what we can do. But I want you to know that you're not alone in this, okay? We'll get through this together,” He wasn't one for sentimental things like this, so his cheeks flushed by the time he was done. That didn't mean Jongin didn't find it utterly adorable, though.
“I'm sure you're tired. How about you go lay down for a while? I can bring you some medication for your headache,” Sehun offered, but Jongin shook his head.
“I have to clean up,” He mumbled and stood from the chair, only to stumble slightly when he felt his head spin.
“No. Come on, let's get you to bed,” Sehun said sternly, then helped Jongin to the bedroom for him to lay down.
“Will you come lay by me soon?” The blonde asked with those signature pouty lips when Sehun didn't want to go to bed yet or take a nap.
“Of course. Just get some sleep,” Sehun smiled a little, then leaned down to kiss his boyfriend's head, all while trying to ignore the ache in his ribs as to not alert the blonde.

He left their shared bedroom to go to the kitchen to gather up the energy to start cleaning up the messy living room. He didn't feel very motivated for it, but he knew it would only upset Jongin if he saw it again - the blonde was still dazed from everything that had happened, but he wouldn't be so confused and slow when he woke up from his nap.
Sehun groaned quietly when his ribs gave a mighty pang of pain once more as he was about to sit down, and he lifted his shirt to see the bruises - it hurt to touch, but he had to assess whether or not any were broken, which luckily, none were. He took one of the larger bandages and wrapped it tightly around his abdomen, all while letting out a few groans of pain, louder than what he was used to. Hopefully, they were only bruised and not fractured, but they needed to heal nonetheless. Jongin obviously kicked like a horse, then. He just didn't know he could do that.
When Sehun was done taking care of his wound, he called his mother.
“Sehun! I've been trying to rea-”
“He has multiple personalities. It explains everything, mother. The amnesia afterwards, the-the sudden switch, everything,” He said before she could drone on about how worried she was. He knew she cared, but right now, they had to do something about Jongin before Kai took over again.
“How did you come to the conclusion?” She asked in full seriousness.
“His personality came out and attacked me. It named itself Kai...or Jongin named it Kai...I don't know! But the point is that Kai is dangerous, very dangerous, and he 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 kill me if he gets the chance,” Her son said, and she grimaced from the other side.
“Are you badly hurt?” She knew Sehun could handle just about anything; he had broken his arm once, but he didn't cry. He was a real tough cookie.
“I'm fine. Some bruised ribs, I think, and a few cuts here and there, but I'm fine,” He responded, and his mother kept silent for a moment.
“Don't you think it would be better for you to be away from him for now? I can have your room set up until we figure out what to do,” She offered, and Sehun didn't even give his answer a second thought.
“No!” He slammed his fist down on the table, “I will not leave him!”
“We find something that would help right now,” He sighed when there was silence; it wasn't uncommon for him to have little outbursts like this, but he knew it still hurt his mother sometimes.
“Bring him to my work,” She said calmly. She was almost sure he would refuse, and she was right.
“Never! He'll think he's insane if he gets put into a mental asylum!” Sehun almost yelled out.
“What other choice do we have, Sehun? There's nothing else we can do. He needs to be separated from you, or you'll end up dead. I promise you that you'd be able to visit from the earliest hour possible to the latest to make him feel better,” His mother said, and he brushed a hand through his hair. He knew she was right.
“Can't we at least use family therapy then?” He asked with a sigh; the thought of submitting Jongin to therapy where Sehun couldn't help made him feel anxious.
“If Kai is trying to kill you, do you really think family therapy is going to do any good?” She chuckled; her son could be such a ditzy person at times.
“DBT will work the best,” She said after a second or two, and Sehun frowned.
“I know I liked reading your notes, but you'll have to excuse me if I don't remember what DBT is,” He said, and picked up a few frames from the floor once he had entered the living room.
“Dialectic-behavior therapy. It's a form of psychotherapy for when symptoms of the disorder show when Jongin is reminded of something from his traumatic past. It's used to help PTSD, so it should help here too,” She explained as she looked through some of her notes on the desk in front of her.
“So...what? I bring him to the mental asylum and just...just...leave him there?” The idea seemed so foreign to Sehun, and if he was honest, he didn't like it one bit.
“I promise I'll be his psychologist and I'll give you updates as soon as they come,” She replied, and he sighed.
“I just need a few days with him,” Her son said as he looked down at a photo of them together, looking as happy as they could be.
“Please, mother,” He said softly when he sensed her hesitation, and it was her turn to sigh now.
“Okay. But if anything happens, he's going immediately,” She said, and he nodded.
“Got it. I have to go now. I'll call you in a few days,” He ended the call, and then began cleaning up the living room.

Sehun was now left alone with his thoughts, even though there wasn't much to think about. He felt numb in his brain due to all the pain he felt on the different spots of his body; even though if ached to be bending down, standing up, bending down, and doing it all over again, he knew the faster he did it the sooner it would be over and done with.
When he had finally cleaned up everything - picked up the couch, all the picture frames, put the remaining piece of the coffee table away in the closet, and made sure there were no glass shards at all - he returned to the bedroom where Jongin lay fast asleep.

Sehun glanced at him with a small smile once he had climbed under the covers to be closer to the blonde, then brushed some curls out of his face. He wrinkled his nose slightly in response, and the black haired man smiled a little more to himself as he kissed Jongin's forehead.
“I love you,” He murmured, even though he was sure the blonde was too deep in his slumber to hear it.
Jongin let out a small mumble as he moved closer to Sehun from habit, wrapping his one arm tightly around the other one.
And even though it hurt like a , Sehun didn't mind it too much- instead, he smiled. He knew Jongin would be very angry with him for putting him in a mental asylum, so he wanted to cherish these little things as much as he could before he had to give them up.

For how long, he wasn't sure.