Bubble

7. Trauma Bonding

Entering Minho's small, closet sized office, Bang Chan soon became cozy with the slate gray walls as Minho yanked a chair from in front of his desk and dragged it into a corner, forcing Bang Chan to sit there. Obeying him, Bang Chan sat on the chair while Minho walked to his desk and took a seat. It was a desk that lacked any sort of order. There were piles of scripts that were so haphazardly stacked that they all looked like they were about to landslide into the garbage any second. To Bang Chan, this looked like an office that was fit for a stressed middle-aged man going through a crisis, not someone Minho's age.

Minho logged into his computer as Bang Chan turned his head to look out the window by his shoulder. Large pepper gray slat shutters blocked out most of the light coming in from outside, but there was enough space between them that he could see how high up they were. He couldn't help but to — not only marvel at the height — but at how whole the world outside the window was. The last time he had seen the outside world, he had been fifteen and it was being completely swallowed up by all manner of warfare. Minho looked up from his computer as it did the long and painfully slow ritual of booting up, noticing that Bang Chan was staring off into space again.

"Yah! What are you looking at?"

Bang Chan snapped out of his daze as he looked at Minho who was waiting for an answer.

"I was just taking in the view," he said. "I haven't seen the world look so whole in a while."

Before Minho could say anything, a knock came at his office doorframe, causing both of them to turn and look at the middle-aged man who stood there. The middle-aged man had a smile on his face that was as shiny as the bald spot on the top of his head.

"Ah, there you are Lee Know! I was wondering where you disappeared to."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Ahn," said Minho with a slight incline of his head. "My morning break became a little long due to an unexpected situation."

Mr. Ahn turned to look at Bang Chan who sat in the corner like a child in time out, noticing the visitor's pass resting against the center of his tank topped chest.

"I take it this is your unexpected situation."

"Yes, my distant cousin came for a visit," he said as Mr. Ahn walked over to Bang Chan and extended a hand.

"My name is Ahn Ilsung. It's nice to meet you..."

"Haechung," said Bang Chan, filling the blank as he shook Mr. Ahn's hand. Bang Chan looked past Mr. Ahn's shoulder to the desk where Minho sat smirking.

- - -

Silence filled the air as Bonita and Felix wove their way through what little foot traffic was on this side of the city. They seemed to be in their own awkward little bubble apart from everyone that was rushing off to their job or working at their businesses trying to make a living.

"What's the story behind that DVD player?" asked Felix finally as they rounded another block, deciding to finally break the silence that had settled between them.

"I could ask the same about you and your MP3 player," said Bonita as Felix smirked. "Why are you smirking?"

"You got defensive really fast. That's all," he said. "If it makes you feel comfortable, I can go first."

Without replying, Bonita watched as Felix slipped his hand into his pocket to bring out the MP3 player again. She looked at the chipped navy-blue player in his hand as he stared at it, flickers of sadness passing through his eyes.

"I always had a habit of breaking things. It wasn't like I tried to. It just seemed to happen. My best friend agreed to let me borrow his player when mine broke right before an audition. I promised him I'd take good care of it. I never got a chance to return it to him though."

"Was it because it broke or something?"

"Or something," said Felix with a twitch of a sad smile upon his lips as he turned to look at her. "He died."

"Oh...I'm sorry."

Felix just nodded his head as he came to a stop, focusing his full attention back on the MP3 player that still rested in the palm of his hand.

"I kept it in good condition right up until his death, but then I listened to it so religiously, I broke it. Listening to his playlists and favorite songs made me feel like he was still here in a way. I know I could just create the playlists on something else, but I don't want to lose the only remaining part I have of him. It's why I keep pestering every repair shop I can find in the hopes that eventually, maybe someday, I can make what is broken whole again."

For some reason, Bonita couldn't help but to feel that Felix had stopped talking about the player with his last statement. Taking a deep breath, she felt like it was her turn to share.

"I want to fix my DVD player because it helped me heal," said Bonita, causing Felix to look over at her. "I used this player all the time to watch my favorite show. Doing so helped me through my depression. It was my lifeline and I don't want to live without it."

"I get it," said Felix with a small smile. "Thank you for sharing and trauma bonding with me for a moment."

Bonita couldn't help but to crack a grin as she nodded, moving to follow after Felix who had begun to walk again.

- - -

"I'll be back from my meeting in a bit, so don't leave this office," said Minho as he looked at Bang Chan who was still sitting in the same chair he had been when he arrived.

After Mr. Ahn's greetings, he had informed Minho about the roundtable and urged him to hurry along.

"Alright," Bang Chan responded. "I'll stay right here."

Minho nodded his head, turning to leave the office and shut the door behind him. With the door now shut, Bang Chan felt in certain ways that he was back in his bunker. The only difference was that small strips of light were allowed to make its way in through the blinds and across the carpet. Unlike Bang Chan's former hopeless situation, Minho at least had a glimmer of a life.

Standing up, Bang Chan walked over to Minho's cluttered desk, looking at the stacks of scripts there. He picked up one, using his thumb to flick through the pages. Eventually he took it to the corner with him, sitting down on his chair again. Minho had said not to leave the office, so at least this would help him to pass the time and not feel like he was stuck once again.

- - -

AN: I know it's an odd place to leave it, but if I kept going, this chapter would never end. 😂

At this rate, I will probably be back with another update tomorrow. See you all then!