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When Baekhyun walked into the living room, he found Kyungsoo on the couch, staring blankly ahead of him. This was definitely not the first time this has happened. His boyfriend had a habit of zoning out at random times of the day for no apparent reason. Still, as always, Baekhyun blinked at him before saying, “Are you okay?”
After a beat, Kyungsoo looked at him. “I need help.”
“Okay...” Confused, he made his way over and sat beside him. He looked at the wall Kyungsoo had been staring at. “Is there something on the wall?”
“No, it’s not that. I was thinking.”
“Oh. What about?”
“It’s bad to ignore your feelings, right?”
Slowly, Baekhyun nodded. “Yeah...?”
“I know you’re supposed to let yourself feel it, but what happens after that? Like, what do I do after I feel it? I’m feeling it. Do I throw it away now?”
What? “Why are you talking about it like it’s an actual item or something?”
“I don’t know.” Kyungsoo pursed his lips in thought. “I don’t get healthy coping mechanisms. They’re so vague.”
Baekhyun put his arms around him, pulling him in to lean against his chest. This analytical side of his boyfriend was cute, but also a bit concerning. “Are you worried about something? Did something happen?”
“No, I just feel sad.” Kyungsoo breathed out, nestling against him and shutting his eyes. “Junmyeon told me I’m bad at dealing with my feelings so I want to figure out how I’m supposed to deal with them.”
Of course Junmyeon told him that. Their friend was too much of a mom sometimes. “What’s got you feeling down?”
“Nothing. I feel better now, though.” As if to say it was because of him, Kyungsoo wiggled a bit to urge him to tighten his arms. “Now I’m just confused because I don’t get how I’m supposed to deal with my emotions. Feeling them doesn’t really do much.”
Baekhyun shook his head. “It does a lot, though. If you bottle it up it isn’t good for you. You don’t have to do anything with them. Saying they exist is good enough.”
Kyungsoo hummed, but it was more doubtful than anything.
“How would you feel if you told me you were sad, and I said ‘well, whatever?’”
“Sadder?”
“Exactly. Same thing, but you’re doing it to yourself. If you feel your emotions without doing anything, it’s better. It’s like saying, ‘It’s okay to feel it. Go ahead.’ That’s better, isn’t it?”
Kyungsoo considered that. “I guess it is.”
“Plus,” Baekhyun added, “then it means you can probably talk about how you feel. Which is even better.”
“Like with you?”
“Yeah.” Baekhyun smiled. “Like with me.”
It took a moment, but Kyungsoo seemed satisfied with his logic. After putting his arms around Baekhyun and squeezing him once more, he pulled back. “Want to watch a movie?”
Baekhyun laughed a little. “All done with your psychological crisis?”
“All done,” Kyungsoo confirmed. “So? Want to or not?”
“Call,” he said, and got up to help him choose one.