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Baekhyun’s POV

Soft whimpers were coming from my side. They were faint but I could clearly discern whoever was crying was definitely and extremely broken. They were sobbing by themselves – wordlessly, agonizingly, and endlessly. They were, without a doubt, hurting so much.

There was suddenly a painful tug from the depths of my heart. The cries were familiar. They were seriously and strangely familiar to me. Hearing this person cry silently made my heart achingly constrict in my chest. I scrunched up my face in confusion.

I then felt someone’s fingertips lightly caressing the creases on my forehead. It seemed like they were trying to soothe my troubled face.

The touch was gentle and tender yet they were slightly trembling too. It was as if the person was afraid or hesitant as they touched my sleeping face. A frown made its way onto my face.

The person had withdrawn from their touch. My frown immediately became deeper.

I decided to finally open my eyes.

My eyes slowly fluttered open. I was greeted with darkness as I cautiously looked around. My room was filled with blackness, with the exception of the moonlight shining through my window and a dim lamp from my bedside. I blinked a few times to adjust to my surroundings.

The person has stopped from crying, I noticed. They might have realized I have finally awoken. I then turned to my side.

Minseok was sitting on a chair beside me. He was staring at me, curiously and tentatively. My heart ached a little.

He looked like a total wreck to be honest. His eyes were puffy from the crying he had obviously been doing. They were bloodshot too! It seemed like he hasn’t slept a wink at all. The bags under his eyes were worse compared to before. The smile playing on his lips weas slightly forced in my opinion too.

This isn’t the Kim Minseok I remembered.

I stared into his bloodshot eyes, trying to understand why he had been crying. He was visibly bothered about something. My forehead creased again. Worry soon enveloped my thoughts. Did something happen while I was asleep? I anxiously wondered to myself. Minseok only smiled wider, trying to simply assure me. I cracked a small smile of my own.

“Hey,” I croaked as I slowly sat up from the bed. My voice was obviously raw from sleep. I quickly cleared my throat. “Hey Ming,” I repeated myself. “Hey,” he softly muttered. His eyes were clearly troubled even though he tried to hide it.

“Do you want some water?” he asked with a raised eyebrow. I shook my head no. “No, thank you,” I softly answered.

Silence soon enveloped between us.

I hesitantly glanced at him then cleared my throat for the second time. “Uhm, sorry for suddenly fainting like that,” I told him as I remembered what happened earlier. “Maybe it was just fatigue and ugh, I got a little surprised from seeing Jongin after all these years,” I awkwardly chuckled. “I think I haven’t seen him for at least five years to be honest,” I thoughtfully added.

My head turned towards Minseok and flashed him – to what I hope was – a bright and happy smile.

I wonder if my smile reached my eyes.

“Jongin definitely grew up beyond my expectations,” I softly mumbled.

He was just staring at me though, blankly and distantly too. His expression was empty and unreadable.

“Ming, are you alright?” I worriedly asked as I gently grabbed for his hand. He unexpectedly recoiled from my touch.

Minseok gaped at his retreated hand then back to mine. He obviously couldn’t believe his reaction.

I too couldn’t believe it. What happened? I clenched my hand and anxiously bit my lip. I tried to hide from Minseok the hurt in my eyes.

Memories from back then assaulted my mind. I tried to fight them off.

You shouldn’t think of those things, Baekhyun! No, not now! Not ever!

My fists clenched tighter.

“I-I-I,” he stuttered. I quickly shook my head. “No, it’s alright. I understand completely, okay? You don’t have to say anything,” I replied as I pursed my lips. Minseok fervently shook his head. “No, Byung,” he denied as he anxiously stared into my eyes. He grabbed my clenched hands and firmly held them. “I shouldn’t have done those things to you. I shouldn’t have said those hurtful words. I shouldn’t have embarrassed you in front of the whole school. I shouldn’t have run away from you. I shouldn’t have… I shouldn’t have…”he ruefully rambled.

His lips were trembling and his eyes were welling up with tears. My heart felt like it was being choked. There was a large lump that had formed on my throat. I painfully gulped it down.

I clearly knew what Minseok was trying to say but I couldn’t say it myself too.

The incident between us was like a huge elephant in the room. We knew it’s there; it clearly happened because of the tremendous pain we both felt but we had no confidence or strength to ac