When they arrived at Chan's parents, his mother welcomed them lovingly and immediately tried to stuff them with food.

"Mom, stop," Chan said with a laugh.

"But you have to eat something. As I know you, you came here without eating breakfast. Where are Jisung and Minho? Why didn't you bring the two of them with you?" she asked reproachfully.

Chan took a deep breath and looked at his mother.

"Mom, Jisung has a therapy session. He has to process the kidnapping," he murmured and let his mother pull him into his arm.

"Is there anything we can do to help him? It still feels like he is the baby of the family, even if you are now adult men," with a sad smile she pressed her son to herself for a moment.

After they both sat down again, Chan moved out with the language.

"Mom, we're not just here because of the new apartment. Binnie and I thought about spending a long weekend in the mountains with Jisung and Minho. To get out. And then maybe even being able to move into the new apartment when we come back. And we need your help with the implementation."

She smiled lovingly at her son. "Of course I'll help you. Do you already have any ideas or do I have a free hand?"

"We thought it would be better if Jisung had already completed the first therapy sessions than in two to three weeks and then four to five days. Otherwise, we haven't thought so much about it yet."

"Sounds good. I'll let you know as soon as I've arranged everything. And because of the apartment, my broker has already found several that would come into question. You should call her and make an appointment for the visit with her."

Changbin sat in amazement next to Chan and it was once again hard for him to believe what an incredibly dear, caring person Chan's mother was. Although he should have been used to it long ago.

"When you're ready for the weekend trip, tell me how much it costs and I'll transfer the money to you."

His mother looked at him with raised eyebrows. "Christopher, do you really think I will accept your money?!"

Chan shook his head with a grin. "It was worth a try."

Changbin also had to grin. Apart from the fact that Chan's parents had more than enough money, they would not accept Chan's money even if they needed it.

"Seo Changbin, I hope you take good care of my sons?"

"At least I'll try. Even if the two sometimes make it really difficult for me," he said with a laugh.

"Now you carry my fate," she said and agreed with Changbin's laughter, while Chan looked at the two with their heads crooked and folded eyebrows.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing my child. Are you staying for a while?"

Chan looked at his watch and sighed. "Only half an hour left, Mom. After that we have to pick up Jisung and Minho again. But we could come by on the weekend and eat together if you have time."

"I'll discuss this with your father and write to you when we have time."

~~~~~~~~

Minho took a deep breath when Jisung was picked up by his therapist. He was still not sure that it would help anything to come here, but at least Jisung was in a better mood than two days ago.

Nevertheless, he felt even more imprisoned today. He would have liked to have run 20km and then gone another lap to the studio to train, but he couldn't and it drove him crazy.

The nightmare hung like a dark shadow over him and he just couldn't shake it off.

On the way here, he had decided to accept Marc's offer and also go to therapy himself.

In the morning with the others together, it was easy for him to take over the good mood of the other. But here alone in the waiting room he had the feeling that the darkness would push him down.

He took a deep breath again, but it didn't help against the tightness in his chest.

Sighing, he let himself fall on a chair only to get up again shortly afterwards.

Normally, his opponents were flesh and blood and he could strike at them, fight them. But this opponent was invisible and attacked him from the ambush when he least expected it.

When the others were there and gave him support, he could handle it more easily. Chan in particular often seemed to know instinctively when he was not feeling well and he needed a shoulder to lean on. Even when he himself had to be strong for Jisung.

He was incredibly grateful to Chan and Changbin for staying with them. Because he wasn't really sure that Jisung and he would otherwise have survived the time so well.

Sighing, he let himself sink back onto the chair and buried his face in his hands.

He would have liked to have just hid in Chan's arms.

~~~~~~~~

Jisung sat opposite Marc and had pressed one of the pillows against him again.

Actually, he felt quite okay until now, but they hadn't really talked either, apart from greeting each other.

"So Jisung, how are you today?"

"Um, good somehow. A little excited and somehow also a little nervous, but actually good."

"Would you like to talk about why you feel that way?"

Like last time, Jisung poked small dents into the pillow and immediately smoothed them again.

"I will move into an apartment with my fiancé and our best friends. We have always been close friends, but since I was kidnapped they have been there for us and have helped us a lot. It just feels right."

"So you dare to take a step towards a new life after the kidnapping. That's good. Would you like to talk about your abduction today?"

Jisung took a deep breath and poked even more, deeper dents into the pillow. But finally he nodded.

"I... I don't really know where to start. Most of the time I was either drugged or tied up and gagged..."

Marc watched him wait and see.

"And the time I wasn't was the worst...." he took a deep breath again and wiped away the tear that ran down his cheek.

"Would you like to take a break? Or talk about why that was so?"

"I... I don't know... it was really hard to put all this on record at the NIS. Actually, I tried to suppress it all."

"Well, even if this is all too natural a reflex to suppress traumatic experiences, this is not the right way to process them."

"I've already noticed... the memories come out again at the most inappropriate moments...," Jisung murmured.

"Then let's find a way together how you can process the experience and how you can best deal with it when the memory comes out again so that they can't overwhelm you."

Jisung took a deep breath and nodded.

It was a strenuous hour. Rummaging through all the memories and trying to deal with it properly was damn strenuous and painful.

Especially since he not only carried the memories of the kidnapping and had to struggle with it, memories of his aggressive and violent father also broke out again and again.

"It really doesn't seem to work so well with the repression," he murmured and angrily wiped away the tears that ran down his cheeks.

"But that's exactly what we're here for. To process things. And if there are things from your past that you want to talk about, we'll do it. It's important that you talk about it."

"I thought I had successfully suppressed the past," he murmured.

"If you want, we can start there next time. Do you think you need a meeting on the weekend, or do we want to see each other again on Monday?"

"I... I think Monday is enough."

"If you urgently talk to someone on the weekend, my phone number is on the back of my business card. And if you need more extensive help, I will give you the phone number and address of a psychotherapy clinic, where you can also get quick help on weekends."

Jisung nodded. He really hoped that something like that would not be necessary, but was happy to at least be able to take the necessary information with him if it ever came to that.

Marc accompanied him back to the waiting room, where Minho sat like a pile of misery on the chair and waited for him.

"Honey?!"

Worried, Jisung knelt in front of him and reached for his hands.

Marc also knelt next to Jisung and watched the two attentively.

Minho only seemed to realize that Jisung was with him again when he reached for his hands. He felt as if a curtain was being pulled aside and suddenly he could see again what was happening around him when he felt the warm hands of his fiancé.

Relieved, he took a breath.

The next moment his eyes fell on Marc, who was still a bit away from them squatting and watching them.

"I accept your offer..."

"Good. Then they will get all the necessary information on Monday. If something should happen at the weekend, Jisung knows where you can both get help."

Minho nodded.

Marc got up and disappeared for a moment and then came back with two small cards in his hand.

"Maybe you'll give the clinic card to your friends you've talked about, Jisung. Sometimes it's easier when others have something like that at hand and you don't have to search for it in panic yourself."

With a smile, he said goodbye to the two.

"Come on honey, let's go home. Chan and Changbin are probably already waiting downstairs and."

Jisung stood up awkwardly and then pulled Minho down from his chair.

Hand in hand, they left the practice and were incredibly grateful to see that Chan and Changbin were actually already waiting for them.

꧁ ⸺ ♥ ⸺ ꧂