ᴀᴅᴅɪᴄᴛᴇᴅ

【40】

it started with a letter.

a plain white envelope with sharp corners and heavy ink. yunho's mom opened it first—she was used to sorting through the mail, used to school notices and quiet bills and boring coupons. she didn't expect the official seal. or the words printed in harsh, legal font.

"petition for return of minor. claim of unlawful custody."

she stared at it for a long time.

mingi was upstairs at the time, curled up on yunho's bed with headphones in, eyes unfocused on a worksheet he hadn't touched in twenty minutes. yunho was beside him, quiet, distracted by the way mingi hadn't spoken all morning.

he looked like he was somewhere else. like some invisible hand had reached out and curled around his ribs again.

when yunho's mom called them downstairs, mingi moved slow. stiff. like he already knew.

she handed him the letter gently.

"this came today."

mingi took it in shaking hands.

read the first few lines.

and didn't say anything.

he didn't talk for most of that day.

not when yunho tried to distract him with games. not when his mom brought him tea. not when san sent a dozen messages in the group chat asking if they were okay.

by evening, he'd slipped back into the guest room he rarely used, door cracked just enough to not seem like he was hiding. yunho watched him disappear down the hall and felt something heavy settle in his chest.

the room was dim, only lit by the window. mingi sat on the edge of the bed, arms wrapped around his knees. his eyes were red but dry, like he'd cried and run out.

yunho stepped in quietly and sat beside him.

they didn't speak for a minute.

finally, mingi said, "maybe i should go back."

yunho turned sharply. "what?"

"he's right. i didn't tell him. i just left. it wasn't legal. maybe it was wrong."

"mingi—"

"your mom could get in trouble because of me."

yunho felt his throat tighten. "you think this is your fault?"

"i'm just... taking up space," mingi whispered. "you guys were fine before i showed up. now there's court. stress. money. i'm messing everything up."

yunho's heart broke a little.

"you're not a burden," he said. softly. firmly.

mingi didn't look convinced.

yunho reached out and gently took his hand, fingers threading together.

"you needed to be safe. that's not selfish. that's survival."

"but i—"