Part II (539 words)
The Lie

“So how’d it go?”

Taemin groaned at the sound of Kibum’s voice, pushing past the older man in the doorway of his apartment and collapsing face-first on the couch. “How’d you get in?” he whines through the plush pillow against his face.

Kibum snorted and Taemin could mentally see the way he rolled his eyes like the younger man was an idiot—and he might as well have been, if it were up to Kibum to decide. “I stole your spare key, remember? Now spill.”

“No, I don’t remember. That’s illegal—this is considered breaking in and entering, I should call the police,” Taemin countered stubbornly, but he could feel the elder’s eyes digging into his back so he sighed long-sufferingly before relinquishing. “She looked way too much like you, hyung. I couldn’t tell her everything, but I told her what she needed to know.”

“And?” Kibum urges, squeezing Taemin’s arm hopefully.

The older man sounded too excited for Taemin’s liking. “I’m not going to go see her again, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

He feels Kibum’s cool hands grip his shoulder, a small push forcing the younger to roll over to his side so he had to look at him. “Taemin-ah,” Kibum starts slowly, distress heavy in his voice as his troubled gaze meets Taemin’s.

“I’m fine, okay? I don’t need the help.”

Nose scrunching with annoyance, Kibum pinches his arm playfully and Taemin yelps in pain. “So, what? Are you just going to avoid movie theaters and sleep with the lights on for the rest of your life? Does that even make sense?”

“Those are the least of my problems, hyung. I’ll do whatever it takes. I’ll be fine—I always have been.”

“So what about when it rains?” the elder adds quietly, and the atmosphere suddenly grows heavier. “And the power goes out like it did last time? Will I find you like… like that, again?”

They stay silent for a few beats, Taemin rolling back onto his stomach and burying his face into the pillow again as he recalls the day Kibum found him curled up in the corner and screaming his lungs out. The thunderstorm had cut the lights, and when the shrieking began, the neighbors had already been knocking at the door for an entire half-hour before the police finally arrived. When he still did not quiet, they found his cellphone and dialed the last person he had talked to—Kibum. He only calmed when the elder man wrapped his arms around his body, hugging the younger close and whispering reassuring words into his ear.

“I’m fine,” Taemin finally mumbles through the pillow, more of a reassurance to himself than anything. “I’ll be fine.”

He is surprised when Kibum does not press the matter like he usually would for anything else; Taemin’s fear of the dark was a sensitive subject, it always has been.

“I just want you to live happily, Taemin-ah,” Kibum tries one last time, voice small. He is seated on the floor in front of Taemin now, reaching out to twine their fingers together in comfort.

“I am happy,” Taemin grumbles back, insistent as his grip tightens. “I have you as a best friend. I couldn’t ask for anything more.”