ℙ𝕃𝔸𝕐 𝔽𝕆ℝ 𝕃𝔸𝕌𝔾ℍ𝕊 ✔ ¨°ʰʸᵘⁿʰᵒ°¨

¨°thirty-one°¨

♡

With just a little of ten minutes left before they arrive at Minho's parental home, Hyunjin wakes up. His neck has been bent into an awkward angle for almost two hours, so he now feels the stiffness when he stretches his arms, palms flat against the roof. Hyunjin rolls his head from one side to the other, trying to ease the muscle pain.

"You okay?" Minho's peers at his friend for a brief moment, then back at the dark road ahead. He captures the tiredness etched on Hyunjin's face which makes him press his lip together into a flat line; he wants nothing more than give the blond all the needed sleep, but he's afraid there will be any of that when he knows Minho's past that he's about to share. The dancer has been redirecting the dreaded conversation in his head over and over again for the past two hours in the car, that his head is about to explode.

"I am. I'm sorry, I must be the most terrible road companion there is." His half-mast eyes glance at the green glowing digital clock and does the simple math in his head. "Woa, I have been out the whole trip. I'm really sorry, hyung. You must be tired."

"It's okay, we are almost there." Nerves run through Minho's muscles, tensing up his folded hands around the steering wheel. Hyunjin notices the knuckles losing color and peeks back at the pretty side profile. The artist follows the sharp lines of the brunet's nose to the squishy upper lip he adores. But his attention lays more on the rigid jaw and frown, tugging his brows and the corner of his lips down.

Fingertips gently caress the side of Minho's lips, down to the curve of his jaw, up so he can weave his fingers through the brown locks with his thumb brushing over the dancer's ear. "What's wrong?"

Minho looks caught when he stops paying attention to the road and turns his head to Hyunjin.

"You're wearing your heart on your sleeve around me, don't act so surprised." A tiny smile fights against the frown. "What's on your mind? Since that hug you're all over the place accept here with me."

"That obvious, huh?"

"Just a little." Hyunjin pinches his pointer finger and thumb together with his free hand to visualize his words, his other hand still warm against Minho's nape. His fingers scratch the back of the dancer's head like they have a mind of their own. It feels like petting an animal, lowering his own stress hormone while doing so.

"You're right," Minho sighs, his eyes back on the road. They no longer drive on the highway. Instead, the car manoeuvres through a wobbly country road with shitty lighting. "That day I bumped into my uncle."

"Which one?"

"My father's brother."

"Oh? What about him?"

For a moment there is silence, except for the tires crunching the gravel, little stones hitting the side skirts of the car and the engine humming.

With a wide curve to the left, the car rolls to a stop. Minho pulls the key from the ignition and turns the lights off. In complete darkness, he turns to Hyunjin.

A strange feeling sets in the artist chest when he sees Minho's eyes brim with tears, not letting them go.

"My parents worked a lot when I was young," he starts, his throat clogging up. "Sometimes they were gone before sunrise and back when the sun had been set hours ago. And because I was young, I spent most of my youth with my grandmother.  Our houses were only a stone's throw away, so it was easy for me to get to her."

Minho fidgets with the cords of his hoodie. Braiding them, unbraiding them, making a knot, or letting them snake around his fingers. Hyunjin hasn't seen Minho this worked up, ever, and it makes him uneasy.