The funhouse of murder • Stray Kids X reader

20 ☠️

West: Minho and Jisung

"Hey Jisung... I've been wondering..." Minho started the conversation. Jisung looked up, seeming a lot more cheerful with just the two of them. "Do you regret coming along?" The question had been weighing on his mind ever since he brought Jisung into the group. He had always doubted whether it was the best choice, but neither of the two options were great. Either he'd had to leave his adoptive brother alone again with the possibility of never coming back to him, or he'd take Jisung with him, with the possibility that neither of them would make it out alive.

Minho knew it wouldn't be easy for Jisung to come along. He had many qualities that could help them when it came to details, or thinking out of the box, but survival instinct and strength was something he completely missed out on. Not too weird, since before his adoption his birth parents never actually took care of him. Malnourished, and never really let outside except for school, it was no wonder he barely learnt or developed any of those qualities. Especially since they'd only been together for about a year and a half, it was already hard enough for Jisung to learn to trust them and bond with them.

And when he finally got used to it all, life changed again. Their father in a coma after a car crash, mother depressed, unable to work, Minho never felt more responsible than those months. Minho had to pay for the hospital bills, rent, food, school fees, it was impossible. And that was how he came across this entire thing. A way to quickly make money, enough for the family to live comfortably. But that would mean leaving everyone behind.

He wasn't even planning on telling anyone at first, until Jisung suddenly stormed into Minho's room, seeing it all for himself. At the time Minho had already come into contact with Chan through an online forum, he already made up his mind. He was planning on telling them that he'd go on a trip with friends, Jisung would have been able to take care of their mom, but instead of protesting, Jisung insisted on going along. He argued that he could help, it would give them more money, plus they were still short two men. Since time was running out, Chan seemed to agree quite quickly, and so they joined. Luckily his aunt would help take care of their mother, so Minho wouldn't have to worry too much.

"I don't," Jisung assured. "It was my choice to come along in the first place. Besides, I don't think I could feel happy with you in here alone." Minho knew all too well what Jisung meant. To Jisung, Minho became the only person Jisung found comfort and trust in, and since Jisung had started clinging onto Minho whenever they went out or met with other people. Jisung knew Minho wouldn't do something bad to him, and that he would take care of him and protect him, so Minho felt safe. The rest of the world... not so much yet, but he was slowly getting there. He even volunteered to go with Minho knowing there would be other people close by him.

Still, Minho felt relieved. Minho knew it was probably just because Jisung didn't want to be apart from Minho, he never liked so, especially when Minho had to work late for example, but seeing Jisung quite relaxed about it still felt like one less worry. Even though Jisung didn't seem quite comfortable yet, he at least seemed to be doing better than expected. He didn't talk much to anyone else yet, but he at least seemed to manage when Minho was still around.

"I wonder how mom and dad are doing," Jisung changed the subject. He never seemed to like talking about his worries or anything anyways, so he always tried to avoid it. "I'm sure they're doing okay," Minho answered, trying to reassure himself more than Jisung. He absolutely hated that he had to leave them behind. What if his dad suddenly woke up? What if his mom had another episode and panicked? What if his dad's life support failed him? He didn't know for how long he'd be stuck in here, maybe two weeks, maybe two months, he couldn't be sure, but so much could happen in that time. And then again, he wasn't even sure if they would make it out alive at all.

"Ah!" Minho suddenly heard a shout besides him, seeing Jisung fall down with his face in the sand. Though an instant panic shot through his mind, he couldn't help but let out a chuckle as Jisung got up again just as fast, his entire face now covered with the sand sticking to him. "You okay there?" Minho laughed, wiping the sand off of Jisung's face for him. Jisung looked back, puckering his lips to make a pout. "Who even puts a rock in a desert," he muttered, continuing to walk like nothing happened.

Minho caught up to Jisung, patting his back. "Come on, let's go on a little longer before turning back. We should still have some time left." Jisung hummed, the both now comfortably again continuing their quest to find something, talking about the most random things to fill their time.

If it went on like this, and they would make it out, maybe Minho could finally let go of his worries for good.