To See The Moon

Promises

     Ahhh, this chapter was a really difficult one to write. There were so many difficult emotions to portray but it was also a nice challenge. I did my absolute best to give this chapter justice, especially which all the cliffhangers in the last one, and I hope it meets the bar. Enjoy!

     

     "I'm out."

     Minho said those words steadily, refusing to tear his gaze away from his parents. It was hard. He knew he had changed. He was no longer a puppet and day by day, he was cutting off more of his strings. But even then, it was a struggle to hide the shaking of his body, a struggle to not back away from the pedestal his parents stood on. A part of him wanted to beg for forgiveness, to revert back to the child he had always been.

     But it was about time for Minho to realize that maybe, just maybe, he didn't owe his parents any of that.

     A smile played at his father's lips, a typical reaction to a good joke. Like Minho was nothing more than just that. "This life, huh? And what, Lee Know, is your fantasy alternative to this life? Because I guarantee you it doesn't exist."

     Lee Know. Minho realized he loathed the name the most out of his father's mouth. He scowled. "A better alternative? Seriously? I'm alone every day, I get tossed aside half the time by you and mother, and my body finds sadistic pleasure in hearing the screams of others. Anything is better than this life you've given me."

     "This life is one that has given you power beyond your wildest dreams!" his mother lashed out. Whether out of defence of herself or his father, Minho couldn't tell. "Peasants in this Alley would grovel on the ground for your wealth and status. For the chance to inherit this business and to run an empire. Complaining about it makes you less than those vermin."

     Keeping his head up high was now becoming so difficult, Minho knew his stance was visibly wavering.

     You're right. I'm sor-

     "No!" Minho said instead, horrified of the apology that had been working its way to his lips. "You don't get to tell me what I should be thankful for! I decide that, not you!"

     "You're sounding like a spoiled brat. Apologize immediately. Your father might just have enough patience to allow you to continue holding the family's name-"

     "But that isn't what I want!"

     Minho knew he had lost control again. But never before had he admitted to something as great as this. His petty complaints earning him years of beatings and scars couldn't compare. Because now, Minho stood up taller, a fire raging through his bones, charging him up with something that burnt all of the apologies out of his mouth.

     "This... isn't what I want," he repeated again, calmer but with twice the conviction.

     The smug look never left his father's face. "What makes you think what you want matters, Lee Know? What makes you think life is so perfect that everyone gets what they want?"

     "It's not..." Minho said, feeling resigned. Not towards his parents' feelings, but towards how he knew he felt. How he finally knew he felt. "But all my life, you've been the only ones who've set those boundaries for me. You don't get to control the world I see. There's so much more out there and I knew nothing about it. I never got to know what was possible, I never got to realize..."

     You can't want this. 

     Maybe I can... why can't I? And why can't I have it, just like everyone else?