xo, minho | xo, kitty ff

e i g h t :

soundtrack;
tryna find your love by JMIN
sour & sweet by bambam

The sunflower-coloured twinkling lights sparkled overhead as the staff efficiently worked to clean up the place. Minho quirked his head in Adelaide's direction. "C'mon, I got something to show you."

Before crossing the freshly trimmed grass, Adelaide removed her heels, clutching them like a purse as she planted her feet on the prickly blades and wriggled her toes nimbly in satisfaction. Running after Minho, she hastily trailed him the lawn crunching underneath her feet. "Where are we going?"

"Here!"

He stepped aside to reveal a gazebo shielded from the rest of the garden in by a grove of large, yellowing ginkgo trees. Adelaide stepped inside in awe as she marvelled over the beautiful chalky pillars that overlooked a medium-sized pond. "We used to come here all the time as a child." Minho rubbed the rough stone pillars. "I remember spending so many weekends here, eomma and appa would have a little picnic while I galavanted about the garden. Eomma loves this place. She put her foot down and told appa that no matter what, this gazebo would be the one nod to Korean architecture in the house."

Unlike a typical wooden gazebo, this one had a converging pointy roof with musty forest green ridges which curved upwards on it's four corner. Each side contained artistic tiles that connected the pillars together with a beautiful finish. A quiet and serene stillness crept up on them, underneath the twilight and twinkling stars, Adelaide closed her eyes feeling as if she could stay there forever.

Hesitantly, Minho wondered if he should address the elephant in the room. He couldn't help but notice all her little habits and quirks. "You're quieter than usual tonight." Of course, she couldn't escape his observant personality- like a watchful hawk. Adelaide just wasn't sure if she trusted herself with her words. "It's fine. I was just tired from classes today."

"Is Professor Lee being really harsh on you? Cause he's like that with all new international students y'know." Shaking her head, she paused. "It's not that. I can handle Professor Lee..." She trailed off, unable- or unwilling to explain her feelings.

"You do know you can tell me anything right, dede? You covered my ass so many times. It's the least I could do."

"Before I moved here, my parents were constantly at each other's throats all the time, it felt so suffocating. With me being the only one left studying at home, my parents put up with each other for me. Although I was worried about my expenses, secretly, I was really relieved to come here and be away from all that. But now that I'm gone, they don't have an excuse to stay together anymore, and the fighting's only gotten worse." Speaking those words out loud, to someone else for the first time, made it feel real. To her, it still felt like she was admitting something she shouldn't.

"I always thought that they'd be better off divorced anyways. I'm scared, now that it might actually happen. What would that be like? My mom has been a stay-at-home mom ever since primary school. How would life be like without them always being there?" She wrapped Minho's jacket around herself protectively and looked down at her exposed feet.

Gently, Minho's index finger hooked under her chin to raise it up to meet his gaze. He reached over to tuck her hair back into her ears and Adelaide's eyes clamped shut briefly with an instinctive reaction. "If there's something I've learned from therapy, it's that our parents relationship isn't our responsibility to fix. No matter what happens or what they say, you should never fault yourself for their decisions. And if your parents really love you, they'll always be there for you come rain or shine."