just pretend.

30.

Minho spent the entire weekend catching up on finances, cuddling with Jisung and waiting for him to finish his shift, too scared to leave the house, not wanting another encounter with Wooyoung. He watched him study for his new courses he got accepted in and helped him come up with more dessert ideas. Monday came fast and Minho began to feel lonely. Everyone he knew was busy. Jisung was at work, Changbin was working out, Hyunjin and Chan weren’t in the city and Felix was at a meeting. He didn’t want to bother Seungmin, knowing he was starting his internship in a law firm, wanting to become a lawyer all of a sudden, and if Minho didn’t know better, he would think Seungmin had a crush on their lawyer. The thought alone made him giggle as he slipped into his sneakers and grabbed his coat. It was the middle of August and Minho felt like it did nothing but rain the entire month. He pulled the hood of his raincoat over his head and left the apartment, wanting to surprise Jisung and pick him up, before going home to see his cats. His heart felt heavy, not having seen them for almost a week and he just wanted to cuddle them, knowing he would feel better afterwards. He walked down the street, always looking over his shoulder, scared to be followed. Paranoid? Maybe. But better safe than sorry. The rain stopped and he heard his wet footsteps on the concrete as he walked along the street, hearing a white van stop next to him with screeching tires. He turned around and swallowed nervously as his eyes met Wooyoung's enraged face. Wooyoung’s features were tight with anger, his nostrils flaring and his eyes burning with a dangerous intensity. The corners of his lips slowly curled into a sinister smile, the malice behind it unmistakable, making his expression even more unsettling. Minho looked around, hearing the door to the van open. “I was hoping for you to make this mistake”, Wooyoung said with a deep voice and got out of the van, slightly limping towards him. It filled Minho’s chest with a wave of satisfaction and a sense of triumph, making him suppress a smile, not wanting to anger him more. He took a few steps back, his gaze fixed on Wooyoung’s bloodshot eyes, noticing the raw intensity in them as they locked onto him with unyielding focus. His hand moved to the back of his pocket, making him realize that he had forgot the knife at Jisung’s apartment. “You fucking idiot”, he internally scolded himself, feeling panic crawl through his bones. His back hit an iron gate that led to a driveway with expensive cars and a small fountain in front of a villa. Wooyoung was coming closer and Minho’s throat closed, his breathing got heavier and he struggled to focus. He only had one chance, knowing he had to run again, but his panic paralyzed him and made it unable for him to move his legs. “Please don’t do this”, Minho pleaded with a small voice, not expecting any empathy from him. Wooyoung laughed satisfied and cold, cornering him between the fence and his broad body, and Minho wondered how he even got out of it last time. He had no chance in a fight with him, not without the knife.

Minho flinched as he watched him raise his arm abruptly, shoving him against the fence until the metal dug into his back. “They’re not going to win this case, they won’t be able to pay you for this”, he choked out, seeing the corner of his mouth twitch, before he hit him with a spiteful grin. “They already paid me beforehand. Told me I can do whatever I want with you, as long as they get proof of it”, Wooyoung answered, making the blood in Minho’s veins run cold. His eyes were scanning the street in panic, hoping to see someone, just anyone who could help him get out of this situation. “I’ll pay you more”, he said with his panicked voice, hearing him laugh. Wooyoung spat on the concrete and tilted his head. “I beg to differ”, the other one said with a cold voice, his smile fading, as he grabbed Minho’s neck and dragged him towards the van. Minho swallowed, racking his brains to find a way out of it. He balled his fist and aimed for the spot where he assumed the recent wound would be, hitting the flesh as hard as he could. Wooyoung yelped from pain, letting go of his neck, cursing him out. Minho stumbled backwards and stared at him, unable to move, watching him pull out a small knife. “I’ll fucking kill you”, he cursed and spat on the wet street, holding the knife up. Minho finally managed to force his legs to move, stumbling backwards, against something hard. He wrapped his shaking hands around it without looking, figuring it was a lantern. Wooyoung still cursed, slowly limping towards him. He turned around, threw another short glance at Wooyoung’s enraged face, before running towards the restaurant. His footsteps echoed through the entire street, followed by Wooyoung’s steps and cursing. He picked up the pace, ignoring the stinging pain in his lungs, and ran around the corner that led to the street where the restaurant was, nearly running into someone. “Fuck, be careful”, the other one cursed, eyes widening as he looked into Minho’s panicked, sweat glistening face. “Hannie”, he choked out breathlessly, holding his ribs and clenching his jaw. “Minho, what are you doing?”, Jisung asked with a worried expression on his face. Minho turned around, looking for Wooyoung. He shook his head, swallowed hard, chest heaving heavily. “Wooyoung”, he mumbled, feeling dizzy as his ribs started hurting. “Lee Minho”, he heard Wooyoung’s voice come closer, making his heart skip a beat, chest tightening from panic. Jisung looked around, found a large shard of glass and picked it up, twisting it between his fingers. “Hannie”, Minho whined, not wanting him to face Wooyoung. He was dangerous and Minho was afraid Jisung would get hurt. “He has a knife”, he wrapped his shaking hand around Jisung’s wrist, shaking his head, looking at him with desperate eyes. “Come on boy, let’s get done with it”, Wooyoung called and Minho heard a screeching sound, as if he scratched a brick wall with the knife while walking along the sidewalk, giving him goosebumps. He didn’t want Jisung to fight Wooyoung, not for him. “I’m sick and tired of him”, Jisung snapped his wrist out of Minho’s hand and walked around the corner, and all Minho could do was watch with a thumping heart in his chest.