✔︎𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 || 𝐋𝐞𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐡𝐨

9. she's only 22

When Y/n closed the door of the shop behind her, it was already 9.00 p.m. She sighed, letting out all the tiredness she had stored during the day, then she started walking away. Minho followed her again, questioning where was that girl going to go now.

As she kept walking, their surroundings became less and less comfortable for Minho. They soon ended up in a district of Seoul that Minho recognized immediately: he had never been there, because of all the untrustworthy people that used to hang around there. It sure was a cheap district, where apartments didn't cost a lot, but it could be easily called the most dangerous district in the city.

Minho wondered why that girl was walking through those streets, especially alone. But she didn't seem to be bothered, she actually seemed used to it. Suddenly, she stopped in front of a tall building, it looked old and damaged. She stepped inside and she walked up three flights of stairs, until she stopped in front of another red door.

She took her keys from her bag, and with those she opened the door. So it's her house?! Minho asked himself in disbelief, it sure was weird to find a young and pretty girl like her living in a place like that. As she stepped inside, Minho quickly followed her, a little uncomfortable at the thought of entering a girl's house like that.

The insides of the apartment were even more shocking than the outside: the apartment was small, surrounded by twilight, and it was a mess. Things were scattered around with no particular order, and Minho could swear he had seen some trash on the floor too.

"I'm home!" Y/n suddenly screamed, obtaining no response back.

"Why is it so dark in here..?" she asked turning on the light.

Minho could now see the mess around them even better, and Y/n probably saw that too as she quickly bent down to collect some trash in her hands. She then walked into what seemed like a living room, where an old and little sofa was lying in front of a small and damaged TV, that was currently on. On the left side of the sofa, there was an armchair, and on the armchair there was a woman.

As Y/n saw her, she sighed, turning on the light in the living room as well.

"Mom" she called out. But the woman didn't seem to respond.

"Mom!" she said again, louder this time.

Now the woman's eyes traveled from the TV to the girl, looking at her with no emotions at all. Now that Minho could see her better, he noticed how run down that woman was: her clothes looked old and dirty, she had two big dark circles under her eyes, and she looked rather sick. But what caught Minho's attention the most was the almost empty bottle of soju in her hand, and the definitely three empty bottles scattered on the ground around her.

The woman looked at Y/n, but didn't respond, she didn't greet her at all, she simply stared at her with her two tired eyes. Y/n sighed, looking at her with the most disappointed face, then she bent down and she started collecting some more trash from the ground.

"Mom! Look at all this trash on the floor, can't you pay a little more attention? Or this place will soon become a junkyard!"

Finally, the woman responded to Y/n's presence, even tho she sounded rather annoyed "Ashhh, shut up, what are you screaming for!" She said, and Minho now knew that she was definitely drunk "What an ungrateful daughter I have, she can't even appreciate her mother's work!"

Y/n stopped her movements to look at the woman in the eyes "Work? If you only leave this house to go and buy alcohol!"

The woman seemed now even more annoyed "Ash... stop screaming so much. By the way, I need money for the grocery".

The girl rolled her eyes "No, you're not getting any more money, you're only wasting it for alcohol! If you want money, go and earn it yourself!"

"Oh my god, I can't believe my ears! Is this how you are repaying your mother for raising you with her two bare hands?!"