Silent Cry ㅡ 2min ✓

Chapter Twenty Six ㅡ Gaslighting & Manipulating.

The ringing of Minho's phone shattered the silence of his apartment, pulling him out of his thoughts. With trembling hands, he answered the call, his heart pounding in his chest.

"Minho speaking," he said, trying to keep his voice steady despite the fear gnawing at him.

"Mr. Lee, this is Detective Park from the Seoul Metropolitan Police Department," a stern voice greeted him from the other end of the line. "I need to ask you a few questions regarding the recent rumours circulating about you and your involvement in certain incidents."

Minho's blood ran cold as the gravity of the situation hit him like a ton of bricks. The police were onto him, and there was no way he could hide the truth any longer. Panic surged through him, threatening to overwhelm his senses.

"Y-yes, of course," Minho stammered, his mind racing as he tried to come up with a plausible explanation. "I'll do my best to cooperate. Please let me get in touch with my lawyer, however, please."

The following days blurred into a pattern of polite interrogations and veiled threats. The police wanted timelines. Motives. Names. Every inquiry was a blade, and Minho was running out of places to hide his bruises.

He lied. Smoothly, precisely, weaving stories with ease. But the guilt? That didn't lie still. It coiled in his chest, heavy and sharp-edged. Sleep was a fiction. Food lost its taste. Each sunrise brought with it more dread, more dread, more dread.

Seungmin couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to Minho's confession than met the eye. He couldn't believe that he was capable of such cruelty, but the evidence seemed to point in that direction.

As the pressure mounted, Minho found himself teetering on the edge of despair. He knew that he couldn't keep the truth hidden forever, but the thought of facing the consequences was too much to bear.

As the police investigation closed in around him, Minho realized that his darkest secrets were about to be laid bare for all to see. The truth was closing in on him, and there was nowhere left to run.

With a heavy heart, Minho braced himself for the inevitable. The consequences of his actions were about to come crashing down upon him, and there was no escaping.

"How about this,"

Shin Jiwoo, their manager, sighs, rubbing his forehead. "You tell me the truth, and we figure out what to do next. The cameras have been tampered with by the JYP team cyber security experts, but it won't be long until the police find out. So either you tell me what happened with those victims or either you let them do it for you. Choice is yours. "

Minho leans back on his chair, his foot tapping anxiously to the ground. His company hired a world class lawyer just a week back, but he turned out to be a 'certified justice seeker', so if Minho's truth comes to light, his lawyer won't be any good to him.

Despite the mounting evidence and pressure from the police, Minho remained steadfast in his denial, weaving a web of lies to obscure the truth. He gaslighted those around him, deflecting blame and manipulating the situation to his advantage. With each passing day, his facade of innocence grew more convincing, further deepening the rift within Stray Kids.

Shin Jiwoo's patience wore thin as Minho continued to evade responsibility, his frustration evident in every interaction. "I can't help you if you won't be honest with me, Minho," he said, exasperation coloring his tone. "You're only making things worse for yourself."

But Minho remained unmoved, his mask of deception firmly in place. He couldn't afford to admit the truth, not when the consequences loomed so ominously on the horizon. So he continued to manipulate and deceive, clinging to the hope that he could outsmart the inevitable.

"Lee Minho, I hope you know that you could be eliminated from the group after this investigation, right?"

He knew that he could.

"I can't keep pretending this is fine," Seungmin whispered, voice hoarse. "It's not. None of this is."

Minho just laughed. That low, bitter sound that wasn't laughter at all, not really. It chilled Seungmin to the core.

"You're being paranoid," Minho said, with that same familiar tone, the one that always made Seungmin second-guess his own mind. "You know me better than anyone. You know I'd never... do that."

But something had shifted. Seungmin felt it like a snap in his chest. He flinched, then recoiled, staring at Minho as if he were a stranger.

It wasn't just doubt anymore. It was grief.

He had loved a version of Minho that maybe never existed. And now, the floor beneath him felt paper-thin, like it might tear apart under the weight of truth.

Should he stay? Wait for proof? Or walk away from a love that was starting to taste like poison?

In the end, there was only one thing he knew for sure.

He couldn't live in the dark anymore.

So Seungmin chose.

He'd much rather face the truth than live in denial, and so,

He decided.

Sorry for the horrible chapter this is all I could do guys T-T