𝐛𝐭𝐬 & 𝐬𝐤𝐳 𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐬 ❝ [no requests] ¡! ❞

🧸🧷 minho ¡! ❞ ptsd/plane crash

! trigger warning !

panic attack, flashback, description of plane crash, vomiting

[...]

summary;

minho is a survivor of a deadly air disaster and suffers from ptsd since that incident, he kept it a secret from his members for over a year, until one day he happens to experience a traumatic flashback in the presence of bang chan and jisung

[...]

His whole body was being thrown and shaken around like a rag doll, up and down, side to side, his teeth rattling against each other, careful to not bite the tongue off; the only thing keeping him in place being the safety belt, digging bruisingly deep into his lower abdomen, peeling his skin raw as the turbulence shifted his body around.

Hands, weak and unsteady, placed over the seat in front of him. Head hidden low in between his arms. Braced for the impact.

"Brace, brace, brace!" The flight attendants were yelling from down the aisle. "Heads down, stay down!"

The cabin overtaken by the smoke. The desperate roar of damaged engines. People's gut-wrenching screams for God, prayers, heartbreaking cries and pleas. The sight through the small window, the ground drawing nearer and nearer beneath them, impending doom heavily hanging in the air.

The first impact comes as the wings brush against tops of trees, cutting them off like a knife cutting through matter. The passenger cabin snaps in half mid-air with a deafening clang, the force squashing it like an aluminum can. As the flames devour the first rows of seats, the final impact finally comes, and everything fades to black.

Minho claws at his bedsheets with a death grip, his whole body covered in cold sweat. His eyes snap open, and his body jerks up, immediately alarmed. He yelps at the phantom pain that lingers around his head and chest area, only a reminder of how it once felt like. The boy's on the edge of hyperventilating, his eyes uneasily darting around the room, trying to reason with himself.

It's my bedroom. I'm in my bedroom. I'm safe. Everything's okay. I survived. I'm here, safe and sound.

His nostrils still sense the suffocating smoke, and the roar of struggling machinery buzzes in his ears. It takes him three deep breaths and a grounding technique to realise that these are just routine environmental stimuli in Stray Kids dorm - the smell of slightly burnt pancakes (never let Felix cook), and the low hum of a hairdryer.

Minho stumbles out of his bed, his smartwatch reading 144 bpm. The whole room seems to nauseatingly sway from side to side, just like the aircraft rolled from left to right in an attempt to regain control. With trembling hands, Minho pushes the door open.

"Wow, hyung!" The hairdryer is momentarily turned off as Minho passes by the bathroom, "You okay? You look like you just got hit by a truck!" Hyunjin remarks.

Worse than a truck, Minho bitterly thinks.

"M'kay, just... tired," he lies, yet he can't hide the weakness in his knees, legs wobbling, forcing him to support his weight on the nearest wall. He traces the wall down the stairs, making it to the kitchen, connected with their living room. The smell of smoke is pretty strong in here.

"Morning, Min," Chan greets him, while opening the windows to let some fresh air in. Thank God because the smoke is making his throat tighten with unsurfaced panic.

"Morning," he replies groggily, aiming to sit down on a chair. Just anything to not let them know that he feels like he's about to collapse.

Chan makes a double take at his friend. Minho's skin is so pale that it has acquired a greenish undertone, his sweaty bangs are sticking to his forehead, and no matter how hard Minho tries to act normal, Chan can tell he's all jittery.