𝐘𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐢 | 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐏𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 ✓

𝐄𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧

June 6, 2023

An unfamiliar smell reached Mingi's nose and he regained consciousness. Flashbacks of a street and a man rose up in his mind. Slowly the blood flowed back into his body and he tried to move, but he felt strange.

There was a pungent smell in the air and he couldn't see anything. Everything was black. Was he dead? Was this what heaven looked like or had he landed in hell? Suddenly Mingi remembered the men he had seen before everything around him had disappeared. Had they killed him?

Mingi's thoughts were interrupted as he heard the soft creaking of a door. For being dead, however, he seemed to feel quite alive. He straightened up slightly when he felt something being tied in front of his eyes. His hands were also attached to something. Mingi ran his fingers lightly over the rough surface. It felt like metal.

Mingi heard someone coming in his direction. He quickly turned his head, trying to make out where the footsteps were coming from and, more importantly, who it was, but everything remained a confusion. Not knowing what was happening, Mingi held his breath. There was silence again, then he felt cold fingers on the back of his neck and he flinched. Before he could let out a strangled scream, he felt someone untie the knot behind his head and then the tape that was apparently blocking his vision was removed. Mingi blinked a few times to adjust to the brightness. After his vision became clearer again, a face slowly came into view.

Blurrily, he recognized a small smile. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," he heard a voice that sounded as soft as honey melting on your tongue. Mingi blinked again and with clear vision he scrutinized the figure standing in front of him. It was a young man. His wavy black hair was tucked behind his ears, with only a few strands falling into his forehead. Mingi looked at his face, speechless. He was wearing blue contact lenses and his eyes looked like a whole mystery. The small smile on his lips disappeared and instead he seemed to be looking at Mingi as well.

After Mingi broke away from his gaze, he looked around. He was lying on a large bed with black blankets and pillows. The bed was in a huge room. The room had a black wooden floor and dark walls. On the right side was a huge window facing a forest, which let light into the room. Next to the window was a huge picture of a black panther.

Mingi looked around, fascinated and worried. Then he looked down at his body and discovered the shackles around his wrists and ankles. The man in front of him followed his gaze. "Oh..." he muttered. "That was just in case you would run away," he then added and leaned towards Mingi. First he freed his hands, then his feet. Mingi rubbed his neck and slowly sat up. The strange man dropped down next to him.

"Where am I?" Mingi asked and continued to look around. He spotted a small sofa with a round glass table opposite the bed. There were some papers on the table. Mingi squinted and tried to see what the papers were, but they were too far away. He heard a sigh and looked back at the stranger next to him. He brushed a strand of hair from his face and looked thoughtfully from the floor to Mingi and back again as if he didn't know where they were himself.

"And who are you?" Mingi asked suspiciously. The man smiled gently and held out his hand. "I'm Kang Yeosang," he said with a smile. Yeosang slowly lowered his hand when Mingi didn't take it, but continued to stare dumbly in his direction. "Don't you remember what happened?" Yeosang asked. Mingi shook his head slowly. "I was on a street. And there was this man.
I wanted to ask him for help, but then a car came and..." Mingi didn't continue. The thought of what had happened and how he had to watch someone being shot in front of him for the second time choked his throat.

"So where am I?" Mingi asked again. "You know Yunho, right?" Mingi nodded uncertainly, not knowing what Yeosang was getting at. "This is his room," Yeosang said and Mingi frowned. "So I'm in his house?" he concluded. "Well, in ours," Yeosang said and Mingi looked at him in amazement. "Yours?" Yeosang sighed and stood up. "Yunho should explain that to you himself," he said.