Minsung - Hold Me In Your Arms

Chapter 9

Jisung's POV:

I feel warm. But why, though? My house is freezing, and dad says having more than one blanket is for wimps. That's when I realize it.

I'm not in my house!

My eyes flutter open in an instant, and I'm met with the sight of Minho's living room.

Did I fall asleep?!

I can't believe I did that! Not to mention, I fell asleep on Minho! Speaking of the dark-haired male, I think he's asleep too.

Good, he can't see me panicking right now.

I should leave, apologize for trapping him beneath me and ruining his night. But I can't. His face is buried in my neck, and I can feel his breath dancing across my skin. His hands are laced with mine and are resting gently across my stomach. I feel so terribly guilty, but the strength to pull away from him is not one I possess.

After several moments of me contemplating life, I feel Minho begin to stir.

"Jisung, are you awake?" He asks, followed by a yawn. He gently pulls his hands away from my waist to rub his eyes. I don't know why the action makes me frown, but it does. The small hmph leaves my lips before I can stop it, and my face burns red with embarrassment.

I hear Minho chuckle slightly before slowly snaking his hands around my waist once more. I can't believe he heard that! He must think I'm weird!

We sit in silence for a few moments, and I'm unsure of what to say. What is one even supposed to say I'm this situation?!

Like "Sorry I slept on you all night even though we've only met three times?" No way!

Fortunately, Minho breaks the silence for me.
"Sorry for keeping you here all night, Sung. I probably should've woken you up, but I was tired too," he says with an awkward chuckle.

"I-It's alright. I shouldn't have fallen asleep on you... I-I'm sorry for o-overstating my welcome. I-I d-didn't mean to..." I hear my voice begin to crack, but I can't help it. I'm so worried that he's gonna hate me for this, that he'll think I'm gross or weird, that he won't want to see me anymore. Dad always says I'm an inconvenience to everyone around me, and I was really trying my best to be better for Minho. But, I can't even make friends right.

Fortunately, Minho snaps me out of my spiraling.
"Oh little squirrel, you didn't overstay your welcome. I'm glad you're here, so don't fret. Now, how about I make you some breakfast? I can hear your stomach growling," he says, giving my tummy a gentle pinch.

I squeal and jump off the couch, but agree to the breakfast proposition.

Minho leads me to the kitchen, sits me down at the table, and asks what I like with my pancakes. I tell him what I want and soon get handed a large stack of fluffy pancakes topped with strawberries and syrup.

Minho sits down next to me with his own plate and pours me some juice.
I take a sip and begin to eat the pancakes he made. God, they were delicious! I'm pretty sure Minho saw the look of amazement on my face based on the chuckle he let out while watching me.
"Do you like them?" He asks, flashing a small smile my way.
"I like them so much I could kiss you!" I exclaim, letting out a satisfied groan.

Did I just say that?!

Shit! Shit! Shit! I look over at Minho, and his face is red. Why did I say that?! He's gonna think I'm weird! The words came out before I could stop them!

"Well, I hope you don't say that to everyone that makes you breakfast..." He says slowly.
"N-No, that was uh... brain issue?" I try and explain. There's no logical way to cover that up, but he accepts it nonetheless, nodding his head before returning back to his meal.

We eat in silence, but it's not bad. It seems as though our awkward interaction has passed, and Minho has yet again excused my weird behavior.

After breakfast, Minho went to feed his cats. I pull out my phone, preparing to play games while I wait for him to return. However, as I'm about to open the flappy bird app, my eyes fall on the time. SHIT! It's 11:00 am! I was supposed to have breakfast ready for when dad woke up! He'll have left by now, but when he gets home, there's gonna be hell to pay. I need to leave now.

I rush from the table to find Minho. I have to tell him I'm leaving and get home as soon as possible. If I can at least make dad dinner before he gets home, the beating may be less severe.

I find Minho giving his kitties their breakfast just as he claimed and I frantically tell him that I'm leaving. I turn to go, but he grabs my wrist.

"Jisung, slow down. Is everything alright? If this is about what happened at breakfast, you don't have to worry. My friend Chan says way weider stuff," he tells me.

Oh, how I with this was about breakfast.

"N-No, i-it's not that. I-It's just that I f-forgot to tell my d-dad that I'd be gone. T-that's all. H-He's p-probably worried," I manage to stutter out. I wish I could lie, I really do. But my stutter always gives me away. Not to mention my voice is going all high pitched and I feel like I might cry.

"Are you sure? You're welcome to stay?" Minho questions, and I really wish I could. But I need to leave now.
"I-I'm sure. But thank you for last night. I  had fun," I say, a little more sure now.
"Well... alright then," he says, looking defeated.

Well crap. I probably made Minho feel like a bad host, leaving so abruptly. But it's not like I can tell him that if I don't leave now, I might end up with a broken leg again. God I hated when that happened. I nearly shiver at the memory.

"Thank you, though, for being so nice to me," I say trying to lighten the mood.
"Yeah, no problem..." He says, giving me a small smile. But it doesn't look genuine. It's too sad.

God, now I feel even worse! I'm upsetting him. I'm worried, but I need to leave. So, with great hesitation, I turn away from him and begin to walk towards the door.

"Sung, wait..." Minho says from behind me. He sounds unsure of himself.
"Yeah?" I question.

He approaches me slowly, then gently wraps his arms around me in a comforting embrace. I sigh into it, and return it almost instantly. The fear that's overtaken my mind in the past few moments seems to dissipate, and I feel myself breathe a sigh of relief.

We stand there for a moment, before Minho pulls away.
"Text me when you get home, alright," Minho says, and I nod.

I finally reach his door and exit his apartment. It hurts to go. It hurts knowing that I have to leave such a safe place for a person that will never care for me in the way they're supposed to. It feels unfair.

As I walk back to my house, I feel sad, and almost angry? It just seems so wrong that I have to walk into that house again, knowing what's in store for me. Knowing that the man who governs my nightmares will be there in just a few hours to wreak havoc upon me once more breaks something in me.

Before, it didn't matter so much. There was nothing to live for, no alternative. But now, I've seen what kindness looks like. I know that there is something better than what awaits me in that house. And that just makes it all the more difficult to step inside.

I sigh as I walk into the kitchen, there's garbage everywhere. Minho's kitchen doesn't look like this. Minho's kitchen is clean, with succulents in the windowsill, and it smells so good.

I take a look at the rest of the house and find myself coming to the same conclusion in every room.

How have I been living like this, and thinking it was normal? With garbage, and glass littering every surface. The smell of alcohol lingering in every room.

I sigh, feeling defeated. I return to the kitchen to begin preparing something for him. More time has passed than I had thought, and I really need to get started on a meal that will make him less angry. Hopefully, I'll be able to walk tomorrow. I feel the tears begin to form, but I do not let them fall. This is my life, it has always been this way, and it will not get better.

I have three hours.