If I Were You (Stray Kids Lee Know X Female OC)

Ch. 27: What Hearts Speak

A sigh comes out of Minho, after going through the comments under his debut showcase video himself and seeing that about half of the comments were, in fact, about his age.

"Oh, wow! So we're debuting grandpas these days, huh?"

"Bluebird Ent couldn't find talented trainees so they must have debuted one of their staff ㅋㅋㅋ"

"Is he for real? Wow, at that age, I would have just given up already and just started working at a restaurant or something."

"It all makes sense now. He dated Doyoung so he can get a free pass at debuting despite his age."

"Someone's desperate ㅋㅋㅋ"

"Wow... Wow, these are... Ugh, I really shouldn't be letting myself be affected by these," Minho mutters as he leans against the mirror of his practice room, placing his arm above his eyes to shield himself from the harsh light.

It had been six hours now since he started practicing by himself again. When he decided to take a break, he had hoped he would somehow find rest in checking the rest of the comments that Nayeon showed him, but it seemed as if there were other reasons she hid her phone away from him when he tried to scroll.

"Seriously, what the hell is... Why the hell is it even wrong to debut at my age?!" Minho's voice echoes across the room,against the walls, and then back at him, reminding him of the fact that in tough situations like these... He's still all alone in facing them. A deep sigh comes out of him as he looks at the empty practice room he sits in. In the next few seconds, he eventually stands, but just as he does so, he staggers, freezing as his head spins for a moment.

Come to think of it, he hasn't even eaten anything since that shared lunch with Nayeon, and with how hard he's been working and practicing for the past hours, it isn't quite a surprise that his energy would run out.

But the rookie idol remains stubborn as he grabs his head and stands up straight again. "Ugh, seriously, I have no time for this," he mutters as he walks to the middle of the room and then faces the mirror again, only for his frown to fade when a certain voice speaks in his head.

"Please don't push yourself too much."

All of a sudden, Minho hears Doyoung's voice in his head, and he stops and widens his eyes at the realization. Now why was he suddenly remembering her words now?

Not only that but, for a moment, the young man seems to see her face, and her sympathetic eyes looking at him as she said those words.

Minho breathes a sigh at the thoughts that occured to him, before he drops his shoulders and goes to his bag instead. "I must be really tired or something. Why am I even thinking of her all of a sudden?" Opening his bag, he looks through all the things inside, searching for his water bottle only to bring it out and find it completely empty. "Ugh, seriously..."

Looks like, he'll have to go out to buy another one.

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The bell above the door rings as Minho walks through, entering the convenience store and being softly greeted by the cashier. He nods back at them under his cap, before walking into the aisles and looking through the shelves. It doesn't take long for him to finish his business there, though, because in a few seconds, he's back at the cashier with just a water bottle, just as the bell above the door rings again, and he turns to it to meet a pair of familiar eyes.

"Oh." Minho's eyes widen as he quickly recognizes the newcomer, while the latter does the same shortly before smiling softly. "She must be really spying on me or something, huh?"