My Client's Former Best Friend | MEANIE/MINWON

Chapter Eight.

Mingyu waited for the front door to close before turning to Junhui. "And why do we need him?"

Junhui shot him a look. Mingyu waited.

Junhui sighed. "Remember that rapper we were into like ten years ago? The one who turned out to be in all those cults?"

Brett nodded. "Jay Park."

"Yeah. And you kept saying it was weird that he was so famous but no one knew about the cult thing? Everyone thought he was doing charity work instead?"

"That was Wonwoo?"

"That was his uncle. Choi Seungcheol."

Mingyu whistled. "Impressive. So why didn't you contact him?"

Junhui rubbed his hand over his face. His whole body was tense and on edge, his expression a dark shadow of frowns. "No one has seen Choi for eight years. Now, can we please focus on how we're going to find Minghao?"

Mingyu opened his mouth to ask something else, but Junhui glared at him and he closed it again. He still had so many questions.

Why has nobody seen this guy in eight years? Does that include Wonwoo? Is he his own uncle in disguise? The last thought is preposterous. Maybe. Good idea for a plot, though...

"I wonder what Wonwoo said to make Detective Kim go away," he said aloud.

"For fuck's sake, Mingyu! My fiancé is missing, probably being tortured, possibly dead." Junhui choked on the last words.

A punch of guilt stopped Mingyu's thought train. He stood, shifting from foot to foot, while Junhui sank into another wave of sobs. Then he did the only thing he could think of-he went to the summer kitchen and fixed them both a generous pour of whiskey.

"Here," he said, shoving the whiskey in Junhui's face. "Drink this."

Junhui took the glass without a fight and downed it in a few gulps. He gazed up at Mingyu through watery, angsty eyes. "Mingyu, you are such a good friend to me. After all I did to you. I know this is a rough time for you too, and I just...thank you for being here. I'm sorry-"

Mingyu slapped Junhui across the face.

Junhui blinked, his cheek turning red beneath his pale skin. "What was that for?" he asked, rubbing his jaw.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but you're a fucking mess," Mingyu said, sitting in Wonwoo's vacated chair beside the couch. He took a long drink of his own whiskey. Why hadn't he thought to bring the bottle over? He remedied the situation and refilled Junhui's glass, splashing more into his own for good measure. The day was shaping up to be a real fucking shit show.

Junhui gulped his whiskey. "I know. I mean, I can see it, I can see myself, but I just can't do anything to stop it."

Mingyu nodded. He could see himself drinking too much, sleeping with strangers he cared nothing for, wasting his life on a profession his family wanted, and failing spectacularly at it. No, there was nothing spectacular about his failing. It was a flailing, desperate failing that not even his dearest friends, of which he had none save the man next to him, wanted to hear about.

"What we need to do is find Minghao, find out why he's been trying to kill you, and get this whole crazy situation cleared up."

Junhui was silent for a few minutes. "I've been thinking. What if he actually does want me dead? What if it isn't a big misunderstanding after all?"

"Come on, Jun." Mingyu leaned over and slapped him on the back. "This is Minghao we're talking about. My hot-headed cousin who loves you more than anything in the world. He probably got in with the wrong people, owes them money, and they put out a hit on your life. When they couldn't get you, they kidnapped him."