NOTE: Italics used to distinguish when English is being spoken.
January 2013
Minho was grasping at nothing but air.
He was trying so hard to act like it didn't bother him. But it did. Even though it was futile to feel this way, he was bothered by them.
Chan's "rules" that is.
Most of them were fine, it's just that Minho didn't really think he'd be part of them.
The other kids took this new idea as if it was their mission. A fun challenge, and Minho pretended not to feel humiliated when he, at 16, was being treated like a baby.
No staying out past 11:00 pm. No being on your phone after 1:00 am.
No hanging out with friends without telling Chan.
But why? How else was he supposed to have fun? He watched his brothers, he did his homework, he kept his room clean, he did his share of laundry. All he wanted was to be able to blow off steam and have some fun afterward. But now, he wouldn't even be able to do that. And why not? It's not like his friends were bad or anything, even if they did stay out pretty late.
He was disappointed.
But even still, Minho didn't think he would find himself in trouble. He didn't intend to be the first one to break the rules.
But, for Minho, since it was hard to overcome the language barrier, once he finally made friends at school, he didn't want to lose them. And he was willing to do a lot in order to keep them.
How could he disappoint them by just not showing up to things he used to go to?
Maybe he could just go and then make an excuse to leave before 11.... He dreaded the thought of telling them that his brother said he "wasn't allowed" to do something. What if they were embarrassed of him...
~~~~~
"Hyung. I'm going to play pool."
"Okay. Be back by 11."
"I will"
After they played for a couple hours one of his friends suggested going down to the river to hang out.
"I should probably head back. My brother had said he wanted to do something or planned something at like 11 or something" Minho said.
"What did he plan?" They asked.
"He didn't say. I'm not sure." Minho lied.
"Then it's probably not important. He won't mind if you're late. Just tell him we lost track of time." His friend said.
"Well, I don't know. I told him I would be home soon."
"What is it? Did your daddy give you a bedtime?" One of the guys taunted.
"He said it was his brother." His friend defended.
"Anyway. It's not even 11 yet. Let's just go to the river already. Come on Minho don't be lame." his friend insisted.
"Okay. It's probably fine. It's not that important to me anyway." Minho said, not wanting to let on to the fact that he was indeed given a "bedtime."
---------
Another hour passed and Minho was antsy the entire time. How pathetic.
"I should really get going now you guys."
YOU ARE READING
Party of Eight
FanfictionA story of brotherhood. Chan was just 20 years old and about to take on a responsibility that he wasn't sure he could handle. Born to a drug addicted mother, and never having known his father, he grew up taking care of himself. When his mom had mor...
