Whilst slumped on the bed that night, it suddenly occurred to Mingyu that he didn't necessarily have to live here in the mansion, right under his mother's nose. Pledis had a good dormitory, like he'd heard, and he had his own fucking bank account – the only beneficial thing he'd ever received from his mother.
Instead of being watched like a prey by his mother at all times, he could switch himself up a bit, and slip away on his own easily. Minkyoung, of course, didn't have to know. Mingyu just needed to plan this out in a way he would never get in her way, not even the slightest.
Mingyu had never been one to make impulsive decisions like these – where he had a massive chance of screwing up completely – but if he knew this would ensure a comparative peace at least for the upcoming two years, he would like to give it a try.
Worst case scenario, he'd get locked away from the world by his mother.
And just like that, with a newfound rush of adrenaline, Mingyu sprung off his bed, and got packing. It started off quite problematic, he realised five minutes into the process; he had too much stuff to take.
After sorting everything out calmly in his mind, Mingyu produced two huge suitcases from somewhere deep inside a closet embedded in his wall, and then tiptoed into the hallway, stopping at his ridiculous walk-in wardrobe. Arms crossed and forehead scrunched up, deep in thought, Mingyu quickly decided what all deserved to be taken with him. It won't be easy, he observed, just looking at the room stocked with all of his clothes, and extras too.
Fuck, he was so all over the place to think straight. Just the faintest idea of running away from this monstrous mansion made Mingyu giddy. He began grabbing the stuff he thought was necessary, realising a while later that it was quite a lot, but nothing his trusted suitcases couldn't handle.
Halfway through pulling out his clothes, it dawned upon Mingyu that taking all of it back to his room could get messy, making him quietly dash to his room to roll his suitcase into the closet.
Once satisfied, Mingyu quickly moved onto the next task – getting the things that he would need for university. Another thought popped in his mind. The dorms needed to be informed of his arrival. He couldn't just barge in, demanding for a room.
One hand searching it's way deep inside his cupboards, and the other holding his phone to his ear after looking up the contact for the Pledis dorms, Mingyu anticipated someone to pick up his call at two in the fucking morning. 24/7 service wasn't much to ask for, was it?
Unfortunately, as the call switched to voicemail, 24/7 service indeed turned out to be too much to ask for. Mingyu grunted in annoyance, throwing his phone on the bed, shifting his complete attention to grabbing his university stuff, uniforms and all.
Ungodly hour or not, Mingyu knew he wasn't going to wait for the sun to rise, so that he could go and inquire then. He would rather sit outside on campus, than stay here another night.
Nearly an hour later, Mingyu proudly looked at his baggage littered on the floor, all stuffed and ready to be dragged with him. Just when the twenty-third problem of the night arose. Mingyu sadly realised he couldn't take all of this and still manage to remain undercover in the mansion. He would need help.
And the first person that came to his mind was Wonwoo. If Mingyu had to say anything at all, Wonwoo was the only person he knew. Except for Chaeyeon, but he didn't feel like associating himself with her anymore.
As he got busy searching for Wonwoo's contact in his phone, it occurred to him that the boy might not be of any help, at least while Mingyu was still within the gates separating the mansion from the main town; and that was a long way to go unnoticed.
Nonetheless, asking Wonwoo wouldn't make a difference, seeing how he might not even pick the call up. Mingyu's phone sent little vibrations through his palm as he held it to his ear. Readying himself to keep it back in his pocket, Mingyu nearly ended up dropping it instead when Wonwoo did answer.
"The fuck do you want?" Wonwoo rasped through the line. It took a while for Mingyu to register his voice, at least three octaves deeper. It went completely silent after that, making Mingyu snap out of it and answer him.
"Yeah uh- I need help,"
"At three thirty A.M.?"
"Yeah,"
Wonwoo remained quiet for a while, probably questioning himself for picking the call up at all. "What is it?" he asked.
"I need to escape,"
Mingyu heard some shuffling on Wonwoo's ends, and when the latter spoke again, his voice sounded a lot clearer. "From what?"
"I'm running away,"
"And?" Wonwoo didn't seem fazed in the least at the fact that Mingyu was running away at nearly four in the morning.
"I'm alone and I have a lot of stuff,"
"Don't carry all of it,"
"I've tried everything, it's the least amount I need,"
"What do you want me to do?"
"Can you like, come over or something? Just outside the gates, they're hard to miss,"
"No. I'm going back to sleep,"
"Wonwoo, please,"
Wonwoo grumbled quite a lot after that. Mingyu caught a low 'what the fuck is he doing', while he patiently waited for Wonwoo to get over with throwing complaints.
"Fine, text me the address,"
Mingyu huffed in relief, mumbling a quick sure, and hung up on Wonwoo. He did as he was told, and then prepared himself to not mess up anything, bribe a few workers here and there, and slip out of the house in a matter of fifteen minutes.
He exhaled sharply, hauling his luggage through the hallway, hopefully for the last time ever. He didn't want to return, ever.
