Colliding Stars (Minsung)

Chapter 17: Life of the Party

(Credits to the rightful owners.)

TW: Mentions of trauma, panic attack, drugs. All the best.

Wordcount: 4.4k

Minho P.O.V

When the voices in your head gets too loud, to shut them off, sometimes you built walls around you. But in that process you shut yourself up entirely, not only from the haunting noises but also from soothing melodies. And what you are left with is nothing but silence. A dreadful solitude you can never escape.

"What the hell are you doing here Minho!"

Chan?

Finally the mist of my misery untrapped my sight and I saw six blurry figures coming towards me.

"See I told you we should have zero faith in him! Thank god we all joined 'the find your child app' this morning and set it up with the baby monitoring devices of our kids! But who knew that the great Lee Minho would be the child we would have to track down in this completely unknown place. No don't even try to stop me Chris! Seriously those guards at the gate look traumatized. What did you say to them bro? And why are you in a pre-school playground. Are you trying to get yourself in a foreign country's jail or something or wha- wait are you crying? Minho hyung?!"

My vision got less blurry as I realised that the tears that had pooled up in my eyes had finally trickled down my face.

"Minho-ah you went to find Jisung. What are you doing here? It's already evening! What's going on?"

Changbin's voice was full of concern but it was his words that brought me fully back to my senses. I looked around only to realise that I was still standing under the shade of the tree as I had been since the afternoon. And now the surroundings were dark except the streets lamp-posts providing their soft golden light. The sun had set, and the playground was empty other than myself and the six wary looking guys standing in front of me.

"Hyung? What happened? Why do you look like that? It's breaking my heart to see you like this." Yongbokah said as I felt his hand on my shoulder.

"I came here to find Jisung." I said, my chest aching like it was being whipped with every word I uttered.

"Here? Why would Jisungah be at a pre-school?" Seungmin asked.

"Parent teacher meeting." I replied.

"We already told you that Taehyun is not Jisungie hyung's child. What parent?" Jeongin questioned.

I felt another tear slip past my eye before I spoke again, "Not Taehyun. Ryujin."

"Huh? Hyung...that your eom-"

"No Yongbok...Ryujin is Hannie's daughter. Our daughter."

"What?" Yongbok's hand left my shoulder as he clasped it on his mouth, tears now staining his face as well.

"Daughter...what...are you..."

"Yes Hyunjin-ah, I am sure. But it doesn't matter." I said, the words choking the air out of throat.

"Doesn't matter...what are talking about Minho!" Chan yelled.

"He said it doesn't matter. Jisung said it doesn't fucking matter." A bitter chuckle left my mouth, as more tears left my eyes, burning my ice cold skin with it.

"HE SAID IT DOESN'T FUCKING MATTER IF SHE IS MY DAUGHTER OR NOT! IT DOESN'T MATTER IF I AM HER APPA OR NOT!" I screamed as cries left my mouth.

I felt suffocated, like someone was seweing up the ripped pieces of my heart so tight that it was crumbling up into a mush of rotten bloody gunk.