Kibum pick a spot to sit at while Jinki insists to pay for both of their drinks. He picked a spot at the far corner of the cafe next to the window. While waiting, he was thinking about what had happened earlier. Who was the guy bothering Jinki? Why does he seem so angry at him? What were they talking about? Many questions ran through Kibum's mind. He also couldn't get the image of how scared Jinki looked. Those images and questions went away when Jinki by with their drinks and took a seat across from Kibum. No words were exchanged for quite sometimes, so Kibum decided to start with something casual.

“How was your day?”

“It was okay until-”

“I understand.” Kibum cut him off.

It was quiet for a bit again. Kibum took a sip of his coffee while thinking of how to bring this conversation up. He tried to think of ways that would be most comfortable to talk about it without making Jinki upset, or rather more upset than what he already was now. Jinki mumbled something that made Kibum lose his train of thought and looked up.

“Do you want to know? A-about the thing...?” Jinki asked a second time.

“Only if you're comfortable talking about it.” Kibum replied. “What happened? Who is he?”

Jinki sighed and Kibum thought maybe he asked too much at once. No words were exchanged for a few minutes again, so Kibum figured it was because Jinki doesn't want to talk about it. He took another sip of his drink in the somewhat uncomfortable atmosphere.

“His name is Minho...and he really hates me.” Jinki started out nervously. Kibum started to pay attention since there might be more to be talked about.

“It's been like this since my last two years of high school. I don't know what, but he has something against me. He's like one of those people that hates you but doesn't really have a reason as to why. He bullies me, saying I'm too easy of a target, saying I'm nothing special, anti-social, too much of a dork and doesn't have a bright future. I thought this would go away after a couple weeks or so, but he says things like this to me everyday. Even though most of the things he does is emotional abuse...”

Jinki went quiet, not sure if he should continue. Kibum tried to figure out what Jinki wanted to say, while waiting for him to continue. Jinki look uncomfortable, struggling a bit to go on with the explanation. But Kibum kind of figured it out what he wanted to say.

“Jinki....did Minho...ever hurt you?” Kibum asked. “I mean in a physical sense?”

“Not...not since high school...” Jinki said. “But yes...it had happened. Twice. He tried to...um...”

“What?” Kibum waited for the answer, almost impatient, but hid the feeling knowing the topic is a very sensitive one.

“He tried to...choke me. Kill me. He wanted me to die. Twice it happened. One time I wouldn't let him do it and I got away on my own. The second time I was emotionally and physically weak and he almost won because I swore my vision got fuzzy from the lack of air. But my only...friends...helped me. Jonghyun stopped him and Taemin took me to a safer place.”

Kibum eyes were wide. A person who hates someone so much, or possibly no reason, not only mentally but physically by trying to take his life? What is going on in that twisted mind that is Minho's?

Jinki sighed before continuing. “After entering SNU, it didn't really bother me much after that, but it still had an effect on me. Then a year ago the newest freshmen class came, and I saw him. I knew from there my next few years of college are going to be hell. And I was right, he started bothering me again. Not as much as in high school, but it's still as harsh, if not harsher. But this time it's just all emotional abuse, nothing physical.”

Kibum understands now, or so what he believes. Jinki's depression started with Minho, it has to be.

“And what happened today?”

“We saw each other for the first time this year. He started making fun of me for having friends. Then I keep telling him to go away but then he got angry and.....” Jinki had to stop for a moment when his voice cracked, not aware that he was on the verge of crying. “I was so scared. Even though I stood up for myself in the end...deep down I was scared. I thought he was going to hurt me again. I never wanted to..........”

Jinki stopped talking suddenly. He couldn't possibly tell Kibum what he truly thinks on a near daily basis. Saying it couldn't drive him away and he could have lost a chance to try to make a friend. Kibum knew something was up, especially when he can see that Jinki is trying so hard to not breakdown.

“Kibum...” Jinki said after a few moments of silence.

“What is it?”

Jinki at first thought he shouldn't say anything. But no, he can't. He needs someone, and if he doesn't say anything now, it could be too late. To really trust someone, and wanting to become close, starts with sharing what you truly think and feel.

“I told myself...that if I was not feeling any better by the end of the week, even not the tiniest bit...I would end my life...”

Kibum was shocked but not at the same time. He understands that depression can lead to thoughts and acts of suicide, but he couldn't imagine someone like Jinki to go through with it. He noticed Jinki hasn't said much since his dark confession, and he could tell how broken he truly was.

“It's mid-week...are you still thinking about it? Is it still set in stone?” Kibum broke he silence, looking at Jinki worryingly.

“I would like to think no...”

“Only think?” Kibum didn't get it. “You said if something made you feel better, you'd stay. Has something made you the tiniest bit happy this week?”

“Well...” Jinki looked down. “This...this made me happy. Hanging out here with you and being friends with you. I mean....if we're friends....I mean...”

So you consider me as a friend now? Kibum likes what he heard. Kibum only just noticed that tears slowly spilling from Jinki's eyes. He got up and gently wiped them away with his thumb. “I'm glad our new friendship makes you happy.”

Kibum smiled at Jinki, and Jinki started to have that feeling again. That same feeling from the first day of school. It was a different feeling, something foreign, but he admits to himself, it does make him feel better.

“There's still a few hours of the day left. What do you love to do? I'm sure you do something that comforts you, reduces your stress or makes you happy.” Kibum asked. He wants to know more about his friend, which include his hobbies or something that calms him.

Jinki had to think for a moment. It all comes down to one thing that calms him the most and makes him the most happy when he's stressing out. Without a word, he took Kibum by the arm and out of the cafe, leading him to one of Jinki's favorite places nearby.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They arrived at a park that is a few feet away. It's nearly dark outside by now, and the temperature has cooled down a bit. The sky is clear, which is more than perfect enough for Jinki. Walking to a grassy area for a bit longer, the boys stopped and sat down.

“Why are we here?” Kibum asked, wanting to know why Jinki decided to come a park at night.

“You wanted to know what I like to do, what makes me happy, right?” Jinki started off. “This is something that makes me the most happy. This is my escape. I come here to think about life, to pray and sometimes even cry if I need to. Then, if the sky is clear enough, I'll lie back and watch the stars above me. I don't know why, but just watch the stars give me this calm feeling.”

Kibum nodded. “So this is like your place to run away to?”

“I guess so.”

It was quite since then. More quite than the quite moments they had at the cafe. Kibum looked at Jinki and seen that his eyes were closed, holding his knees to his chest. He assumes he's thinking, praying or both. Kibum waits patiently, while thinking about how his first year was going so far basing on the first half of week one. The best part was today, of course. Not just because getting to spend time with Jinki, but seeing him open up a bit to say things he probably never told anyone before, especially not after only knowing someone for three days.

Kibum looked next to him, only just realizing that Jinki is laying down. As much as he didn't want to, he decided to lie down too. He looked at the sky, not seeing very many stars, just a few here and there.

“This is not the best spot to see them. But I think it's good enough.” Jinki suddenly spoke, which scared Kibum a little bit since he was quite for so long. “At least it's good enough for me. I don't know what it is, but I feel like for a moment, all my worries go away.”

Kibum looks at Jinki again, noticing something different. Jinki, by the look of his eyes, seem different than a while ago. But it's not the bad kind of different. He has like a type sparkle in his eyes, like they're shining brightly. If Kibum could, he would say that Jinki's eyes are brighter than the stars themselves. But he kept that to himself and felt glad that he finally saw Jinki happy, even if it only lasts for a little bit.

“Why are you staring at me?”

Kibum blinked a few times, not realizing he was staring. He quickly turned his head back to looking at the sky. He missed the chance to see Jinki smile at him before speaking again.

“Looking at stars make me happy. But do you know what would make me more happy? Shooting stars.” Jinki laughs at himself. “I know they're just meteors but hey, I would like to pretend. I would like to make wishes. I would be happy if I can just see one though. It would make me more happy if one of my wishes came true as well.”

“Do you have many wishes?” Kibum asked curiously.

“Besides being truly happy again, I do have others, but for now I would like to keep those to myself. Right now, trying to be happy again is my top priority. I miss the feeling, you know? Feeling pain and being scared for the last three or so years is too much and it isn't exactly the path I want to keep going down you see...”

“I see.” Kibum said, listening to what Jinki is saying.

Both of them lost the track of time a long time ago, but neither of them seem to care. Jinki talking about life while Kibum is listening to him, asking questions if it's necessary. Kibum wants to do this more often, and he hopes that they do.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A/N: It's bee a while, huh?
I'm so sorry. I've been busy with classes. >.< I'm just about finished with finals, so hopefully I can start writing a bit more before I start summer classes. I plan on taking online summer classes though, so maybe I can still update here and there during that period. ^^
Anyways, I hope you enjoy reading!