Burnt Skies | Stray Kids 9th Member (Hwang Minaki)

The First Storm

(Bolded Words are spoken in English)

"And... there you go!" Minaki exclaimed, pointing at Jeongin and clapping excitedly. "That's it!"

Jeongin grinned. "I did?"

"Yeah!" she said. She started the music from the beginning and pulled him back to the starting position. "Come on, let's try it from the beginning again."

The part that they were working on began to play and the two of them began to dance. The dance was really intense, and Minaki was tired of doing it again and again. But she appreciated the effort that Jeongin was putting into learning it, and continued to do it with him without a single complaint.

When the part ended, Jeongin collapsed on the floor and Minaki stopped the music. "You got it. You wanna keep practicing, or..."

"NO!" Jeongin exclaimed. "Not right now, at least."

Minho, who was standing in the corner, laughed. "We should go home now. It's getting really late."

Minaki checked her phone. It was 9:49 in the night. She looked up to see herself in the mirror and brushed her blonde bangs out of her eyes. Outside, the sky was dark and cloudy. She frowned. The forecast didn't say anything about a storm. It was probably just rain.

"Yeah, we should get back," she said.

Minho didn't pick up on her change in mood and picked up his stuff, leaving the room. Meanwhile, Jeongin, being the closest to Minaki, easily figured out something was wrong. Still, he didn't say anything, knowing that Minaki would feel terrible if he asked, since she would feel like a burden when she wasn't.

"Come on, kitten," Jeongin called.

Minaki's mouth twitched at the nickname, the corner of her lips pulling up into the crooked grin she was known for.

"Right behind you, Innie."

She walked behind Jeongin for a few seconds before he fell into step with her and put his arm around her shoulders. The three of them walked silently all the way to the car and got in. Minho was the only one out of the three who had a driver's license, so he was immediately nominated to be the driver. Minaki got into the backseat on the right side, and Jeongin got in on the left. Minaki blinked at him.

"Aren't you gonna sit in the front?" she asked, confused.

Jeongin grinned. "I had something I wanted to show you."

This statement wasn't a total lie. Jeongin did have an edit made by a STAY that he wanted to show her. But he also didn't want to leave Minaki alone in the backseat. Ever since Minho had said they should go back home, his maknae had seemed somewhat tense and anxious, as if she was waiting for the results on a huge test she hadn't studied for.

Minaki didn't think twice about Jeongin's actions, and scooted over to sit next to him, placing her head on the elder's shoulder as Minho started up the car. In reaction, Jeongin turned his head to look Minaki in the eyes and kissed her nose, quickly turning back to his phone. Minaki smiled and leaned on Jeongin, loosening up at the comforting, familiar gesture.

Minho pulled out of the parking lot just as it started to drizzle. It didn't bother Minaki at first, but when it started to rain harder, she tensed up and shifted so that she was closer to Jeongin than before. Jeongin noticed this and frowned, but didn't say anything.

Soon enough, the three of them reached the dorm. Jeongin opened the car door and let Minaki out. The three of them walked to the house and Minho knocked on the door. Minaki, who was still tense, jumped slightly when the door opened to reveal Chan.