escape call | minsung

iv

it was late in the night when minho returned home, closing the front door and shrugging off his coat as the warmth of the house seeped through his jumper.

"you're back."

minho jumped at the sudden voice and let out a yelp of surprise, turning around from the coat rack to face who had spoken.

it was his mother, a frail and short woman whose face had prominent laugh lines visible under her bright eyes. like him, she had a creases on her cheeks as she smiled softly, walking up to her son and dusting off the snow from his hair.

"sorry for surprising you." minho bent down slightly, so she could reach, and melted into her touch. he sighed deeply and it seemed as if his mother could tell how he was feeling. "it didn't go well?" she asked, stepping back and pulling his scarf off his neck.

he pursed his lips together and shook his head. "it's late... why aren't you asleep?"

"not tired." she shrugged and folded the scarf, placing it on the coat rack. "your dad is asleep, though. have you eaten?" minho nodded, smiling.

through the dim lights of the ground floor of their house, minho followed his mother into the kitchen, sitting on a stool at the island while the woman brought both of them some water to drink.

she sat staring at him for a while, and minho smiled awkwardly. "what is it?" he asked, avoiding her piercing gaze.

"do you want to tell me how it went?"

minho sighed and leaned on his hand. he obviously couldn't tell her that he lied and ditched sooah at the restaurant so he could go eat with his friends. he shrugged. "she was nice and pretty, but she was only interested in my job."

that wasn't a complete lie. sooah did only seem more interested after he had told her that he was a vet.

his mother squinted her eyes, her lips crumpling in distaste. "did she eat well, at least?" minho nodded.

"she was good at holding conversation and ate well." he recalled her hungry stare at the tray of appetizers. the woman hummed.

"well, it's okay, dear." she sighed, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "maybe next time you'll get the one who is right for you."

minho only could nod, not wanting to defend himself this late at night or ruin his mother's mood. minho's shoulders relaxed as he felt a familiar brush against his leg. he bent down and picked up soonie, his cat.

"why aren't you asleep, big guy?" minho babied, placing soonie on his shoulder like an infant and rocking him. soonie meowed quietly, signalling he was tired, but made no move to get away from minho, purring into his shoulder.

"oh i wanted to ask..." his mother put her glass down and went to the freezer to get some ice. she returned with a smile on her face. "do you still talk to that high school friend of yours? jiwoong, was it?"

minho chuckled. "jisung. han jisung."

"ah! jisungie!" she exclaimed with a laugh. "such a sweet boy! you would bring him over all the time when you visited for the summer. he was like another son of mine!"

minho smiled at the fond expression on his mother's face, and he mirrored it, remembering how it was when they were back at boarding school - dependent and freer.

soonie scrambled out of his arms and jumped to the floor, waddling over to his bed. minho's mother opened her phone and squinted at the blue light before tapping away. "are you still in touch with him?"

"yes, mom. all the time." he chuckled fondly. "i still meet up with him and hyunjin, from time to time."

"ah!" his mother snapped her fingers. "so that was the other boy's name." minho tilted his head in confusion. she showed him her phone screen.

there was a photo, the three of them smiling bright and young holding up peace signs after a long day at the amusement park. minho smiled, his eyes tracing over the boys in the picture. it filled him with happiness to know that they were still close even after so long.

his mother smiled as well. "i found this polaroid upstairs in one of the boxes when i was clearing out the guest room and i took a photo of it. i can give you the physical one tomorrow, if you want it."

minho nodded eagerly.

i want to address the passing of moonbin from astro

may he rest in peace.. moonbin was an extremely talented and wonderful human being and will be missed dearly in the hearts of arohas and non-fans.

although the cause of his death is still unconfirmed, it is a suspected suicide and i hope he is appreciated for the amazing work he has done and not just as a reminder for our fandoms to be nicer to idols. they are only human and deserve the world.

let the stars treat you well, our moon 🤍🕊️