8 is fate // Stray Kids

32

Seungmin

"It's time to get your fucking head out of your ass and start talking!"

Minho visibly flinched not only at the harshness of Seungmin's voice, but also because he had neither seen nor heard him coming.

It wasn't every day the mage managed to sneak up on the cat hybrid and it showed how deep in thoughts the older had been.

Despite Seungmin crass words, he worried for his friend.

When he came up to the rooftop for some fresh air and to clear his mind, he wasn't expecting to find the second oldest of the group there. Much less covered from head to toe in blood.

Though Minho looked like he came back from a trip to the Abyss, he didn't seem to be hurt. At least physically. Which was also the reason why Seungmin hadn't enquired about his health first, but instead asked for some answers.

"Fuck Minnie, you scared me", chuckled Minho, slightly embarrassed that he hadn't noticed the other approach. "And since when do you curse like that?"

"Whenever it's appropriate", it wasn't necessarily that Seungmin minded cussing, more so that he saved it for special occasions so that the effect would be all the stronger. "Like when there's an idiot on the loose. Disappearing without a word, making his friends worry shitless and owing them a ton of answers."

"Fair, I guess", sighed Minho. "I'm sorry for vanishing like that. I was...kind of losing my mind. Everything that has happened was all my fault and Han...I...I just couldn't stay here. I was afraid of making things worse, afraid of hurting him again. I just couldn't stop thinking about it all. The guilt-"

Minho choked up, the words dying inside his throat. His face looked so troubled that Seungmin started to feel bad for pressuring him for answers.

"Hey, hey", he knelt before Minho, firmly grabbing his face so that he would look him in the eyes. "Breathe!"

It took a minute, but slowly, Minho started to calm down a little. At least to the point he wasn't hyperventilating any longer, though his chest still heaved visibly.

"Han told me not to blame myself, but how can I not?", Minho looked at Seungmin with a desperate glint in his eyes. By now, Seungmin had released Minho's face from his grip, knowing fairly well that he wasn't very fond of skinship. "How can I not blame myself, when my claws were the cause of the damage?"

Seungmin gnawed at his lip. The question that had haunted him these past days was burning at the tip of his tongue. Still, he hesitated, not sure if this was the right time to ask. Minho was still emotionally unstable, whatever happened that night, it had taken a toll on him.

"What happened that night?", the question was ushered in a soft tone. There was no pressure behind it, no judgement. Only the need to understand.

Minho opened his mouth, only to close it again, struggling to find the right words – or any words at all. In the end, he remained silent but offered an answer all the same.

It took Seungmin a second to realize that it was Minho's letter that had been shoved into his hands. His eyes widened in surprise. If the letter addressed to Minho was anything like Seungmin's, he knew it would be quite personal.

"Are you sure?", he questioned carefully as he had no intention of overstepping any boundaries.

Minho gave a firm and solemn nod, not a hint of hesitation in it, thus convincing Seungmin to start reading.

He found a pattern in which Han had structured the letters. The way he balanced humor with earnestness, the way he uncovered the vulnerabilities of the addressed but not without sharing some of his own. The way the letter made Seungmin go through so many emotions in a short span of time.