Stray Kids Drabbles

A flicker of hope (7)

"Do we ever get anything in the mail besides junk?" Seungmin grumbled as he flipped through the mail.

He kept flipping until he found a letter addressed to you. Looking at the return address, he called your name. It didn't take you long to appear from the kitchen with an apron tied around your waist. Seungmin handed the letter out to you. "Here, this came from your brother."

"Really?"

"I thought you didn't talk to your brother."

"I haven't for a while."

"Maybe it's important," Seungmin shrugged before leaving you alone with the letter.

With growing curiosity, you ripped the envelope open and pulled out the handwritten letter. Your eyes scanned the messy handwriting. Words were scribbled and letters were hastily completed. The further you read, the more you began to frown.

You and your older brother used to be close until your parents divorced. The separation between them caused hell between every family member. Bitter resentment and betrayal swept through your house. You and your brother liked a different parent more than the other. It often led to fights and the two of you blaming the other parent and sometimes each other for the messy divorce.

When you left home, you cut contact completely with your older brother, so you weren't sure how he managed to find your address. As you scanned the letter, annoyance began to wash over you. You were hoping for an apology. Deep down, you missed the relationship the two of you once shared, but now you could see that it was pointless.

The letter continued to blame you for your parents' divorce and it was riddled with insults. In it, your brother mentioned he fell on hard times and he was blaming you. The divorce was years ago, so you weren't sure how that led to your brother's downfall weighing on your shoulders, but apparently it was.

"Wherever you are, I hope you're struggling too. I hope you realize how much of an asshole you are. Honestly, the world would be better if you weren't in it."

With gritted teeth, you crumpled up the paper into a ball. You marched out to the kitchen and tossed the ball of hatred into the trash can. Seungmin glanced over at you from the open refrigerator. He raised an eyebrow as he looked you up and down.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"Just peachy," sarcasm laced your voice. You turned on your heel, ripped off your apron, threw it on the counter, and headed out of the kitchen. "I'm going to take a walk to clear my head, I'll be back later." You left the house without another word.

Seungmin stayed quiet and wondered what you were so upset about. He didn't know exactly what happened between you and your older brother that caused you to avoid him, but could it really be that bad? He stuck around the kitchen for a few extra minutes making sure the coast was clear before he retrieved the letter from the trash.

Pulling the wrinkled words back open, his eyes began to read. The further he read, the more his heart ached. No wonder you left upset. When he was finished, he crinkled the letter back up and threw it in the trash again. He bit down on his lip debating on how to make you feel better.

If he consoled you, then you'd know he read the letter. The last thing he wanted to do was further upset you. He let out a sigh and rubbed his eyes. You were awkward when it came to verbal affection. You told Seungmin receiving compliments made you feel awkward. You never knew what the proper response to a compliment was and it made you feel embarrassed.

After pacing around the kitchen, an idea finally came to Seungmin. He rushed off to the bedroom to get started on it. In the process, he shot you a text that he was heading to the grocery store and he'd be home later.

In your annoyance and frustration, you ran through the letter multiple times in your head as you rethought about it. There was no need for your brother to go out of his way to make you miserable. Just because he was in a shitty mood, it didn't mean you wanted to be in one too.

You never looked at your cell phone. By the time you got back home, you had been on a walk for nearly two hours. You circled town multiple times trying to blow off steam. You didn't even realize the sun was nearly down until you walked by someone who complimented the sunset to her friend.

A sigh escaped you as you headed back inside. You began searching for Seungmin and paused when you found him holding a bouquet of flowers and a letter in one hand. Your name was written in fancy font across the front in your favorite color. Your eyes were pulled back over to the flowers. You realized they were your favorite kind.

"What are you doing?"

"That letter seemed to upset you, so I made you your very own letter that you can read in your own time. Plus, I got you these flowers. They're your favorite, right?"

You nodded and stepped towards him. He handed you the flowers and you took them with a smile on your face. You grabbed the letter from him and glanced at it. "Can I read this now?"

"Only if you want to."

You wasted no time unraveling the envelope and pulling out the inside. A letter sat in Seungmin's handwriting. In fancy font at the top, he titled the letter:

All the things I love about you.

"You didn't have to do this." Your smile grew wider across your face. "This is really cute."

"I know I didn't have to, but I wanted to. You were hurt and I wanted to make you happy. I love you, you know?"

"I know."

"Wow, not even an 'I love you too?'" Seungmin playfully scoffed.

"I'm getting there!"

"Speed it up! Is my love disposable to you? In this case, I'll take the flowers back and I'll take back the letter. I'll even take back the pizza I ordered five minutes ago. I'll tell the delivery driver to keep it."

"No, no, no! I'm sorry," you quickly apologized. "I love the flowers and the letter and the pizza and I-"

"You love pizza more than me, don't you?"

"Hey, I never said that!"

"You're putting me at the last of the list."

"I love you!" You blurted out. "I love you so much! I'd die without you."

"Yeah, I know."

As you scowled, he let out a laugh.