Tiger Inside ||Stray Kids Mafia AU||

Chapter Thirty-One

Minho POV

Minho slowly turned the page in his book, mug brought to his lips as he sipped the warm coffee as it steamed up his glasses.

The room around him was hazy, covered in a fog, yet it provided the comfort of home. Calm and serene as he relaxed into his own couch, in his own living room. The familiar warmth of safety.

Distant noises can be heard emitting from the kitchen. The clink of metal pans, the sounds of cups and bowls being returned to their spot on the shelf.

"What would you like for dinner?" the soft voice called out, yet a buzz like radio static.

He pulled his gaze from his book, eyes falling on the figure stepping into the living room.

Her hands were covered by a towel, wiping away any traces of water left across the skin. Yet her face was shadowed, features unrecognizable.

But the unknown person gave him comfort, stability, joy. His brain simply telling him 'you're safe here'.

He stood from the couch with a gentle smile, reaching out to pull her closer. The wish to hold her against him, letting the world fade out around them.

But before his hands could make contact, the scene melted away. Fading into nothingness and leaving him alone. Isolated in a dark field.

He looked around him, confused. It was an empty plane, no trees or foliage in sight. Yet an overwhelming sense of dread settled in his stomach. An invisible entity feeling like it was closing in on him, and quick.

Before he had a chance to think, he was running. His feet stumbling over each other clumsily as he tried to propel himself forward. None of his limbs were acting correctly, feeling shackled to the ground as his feet grew heavier with each step.

He skidded to an immediate stop as a cliff came into view before him, roaring waters screaming up at him from far below.

Minho spun around in place, immediately met face to face with a figure closing in on him. Unlike before, the features were clear as day. Far too familiar for comfort, as though he was staring into a mirror. Step by step, the doppelganger closed the space between them. Closing the distance and feeling as though he could strike at a moment's notice.

Minho stepped back, the crumble of dirt and rocks knocking his feet out from under him as he scrambled to grab onto something, anything that would prevent his fall into the waters below.

His fingers wrapped around a rock jutting from the cliffside, struggling to keep his grip as he tried to settle both hands on it, hands slipping over each other as his fingertips tried to dig in.

But the stone was too slick. His fingers were slipping as he looked up to his own face staring down at him from the cliff, before his grip failed, tumbling him through the air and bracing for the wet impact.

Minho gasped as he jolted awake in bed, sitting up with heaving breaths as he clutched at his chest. The pounding in his ears was deafening. His eyes quickly started to scan his surroundings, calming himself as he confirmed he was awake and in his current day surroundings.

The early morning sun had already started to seep in under the curtains, a soft glow quickly ignored once Minho flipped on his bedside lamp.

He rubbed his hands across his face, trying to feel at least some sort of stimulation to confirm that he was indeed awake and not waking up inside of another dream. Grabbing his phone from the nightstand, he switched it on and groaned at the time plastered across the screen.