I Must Protect ( MinSung )

Stepping Out

The deafening thunder sounds paired with the blinding lightnings occupied the whole sky. The loud sound of the rain has been echoing all over the area...but none of these details mattered to the man who was hiding in their basement, trying to camouflage in the pile of laundry in hopes that the trespassers don't find him.

THUD.

He heard the door get kicked and saw it fall and crash on the floor. All he could do now is pray to whoever god that can hear him that the bad guys don't find him.

One, two, three men in black coats descended to where he was. They were taking their time looking around, not going all over the place trying to find him. The silence is killing him. His cold sweats starting to drip down his face. He's trying his best not to quiver because that will only reveal his hiding spot.

Seconds, minutes passed, and suddenly, the three men huddled and they all smirked at the same time.

Worst part, they all turned to his direction and started walking towards him.

This is my end. My inevitable end.

He shut his eyes and just waited for him to only see white. He wanted this torment to end. Unfortunately, the heavens weren't ready to give him that just yet.

He was startled when the men yanked him out of the clothes and gripped at his arms to drag him to the center of the room.

"SIR! THE BOY'S DOWN HERE!", one of the men shouted.

Just a few moments passed and there was a large man, wearing an obviously expensive blue trench coat, walking down slowly, eyes locked on the hopeless boy in front of him.

"I finally found you, little snitch."

The boy's eyes furrowed, his face now full of anger instead of fear. He wanted to fight, he wanted to break free and finish the man in front of him first before he meets his own end of the line.

"Too bad", the man said in a whisper, "...I don't have time for chit chat, but I would've loved to talk to you."

A small gun appears out of nowhere and into the hands of the large man. He puts a bullet into it, and cocks it. He then  proceeded to do what the boy had anticipated already, point it at his forehead.

"You shouldn't have done that."

BANG

"NO!!!"

Minho screams at the top of his lungs, alarming his mother.

"Son?! Are you okay?! What happened??"

Minho is sitting straight up on his bed, face full of fear, eyes wide and seems to be staring into nothing, his sweats are visible.

"Mom....I...", he struggles to find words, "it was just a bad dream, mom."

"Again?" His mom sat beside him and pulled the poor boy into her arms. "Don't worry, honey, I'm here.  Nothing bad is gonna happen to you, alright? Now I made breakfast. Today's somehow a special day for you, so let's get you ready."

The smile his mom flashed him was full of love, Minho felt so safe in her arms. He didn't want the moment to end but she was right, he needed to get ready.

This isn't an ordinary day for him. He's finally being freed. He was looking forward to it, until his nightmare that happened this morning.

After eating breakfast, he went and showered and got pampered. He's just going to sign papers and get some lectures for all he knows, but he still wanted to look good for it.

He kissed his mom on the cheek to bid her good bye and hopped on their car. His father, taking the driver's seat, looked at him with worry.

"Son, are you sure you're ready? I mean, we're getting all the support we're getting and-"

"Dad, you know the program. Not a lot of people get approved for it, and me being out of it might just get someone else in. Who knows how much more of them need to be in there."

Minho's dad could only nod, the worry still visible on his face but he knew his son was right. He could only hope for the best for him at this point.

His dad started to drive.

Minho swears his heart could jump out of his chest at any time, he doesn't know if he's anxious, scared, excited, or all of these.

But there's one thing clear on his mind.

He's finally stepping out of the witness protection program.