𝕄𝕒𝕜𝕖 𝕞𝕖 𝕗𝕖𝕖𝕝 𝔸𝕝𝕚𝕧𝕖 || 𝟚𝕞𝕚𝕟

41 | Death by A Thousand Cuts

The next morning, Seungmin stood at their usual meeting spot just outside the school gates, where Minho always greeted him with a lovely smile and a hug. But today... there was no Minho.

The minutes passed. A group of students walked by, then another. Seungmin checked his phone.

No unread messages. No "running late!" text.
Just silence.

Even his birthday text, bright and loving and sent at the stroke of midnight...still showed as unread.

He hesitated, then typed out a quick message.

"Are you on your way, hyung?"

No reply.
Nothing.

Eventually, the bell rang. The school gates closed. Seungmin glanced at the empty road once more before quietly walking to class, his eyes constantly flickering back to his phone.

Maybe Minho had overslept. Or maybe he wasn't feeling well. After everything he'd been through recently, that made sense... Maybe rest was exactly what he needed to recharge before the party they'd been planning with so much love and effort.

Still...it felt wrong.

When lunchtime came and went and there was still no sign of Minho, Seungmin's worry shifted from quiet concern to full-blown dread. What if Minho didn't show up later as well?

After school, the others met up outside the gates, buzzing with excitement. Laughter filled the air as they talked about the setup, what time to light the candles, who would bring Minho in blindfolded, who'd yell "surprise!" first.

Seungmin forced a smile, nodding along, but his heart felt hollow.

Felix bounced over to him. "He hasn't replied yet?"
Seungmin shook his head. "Phone's still off."
Felix frowned. "That's weird..."

Chan's expression grew serious. "Alright. I'll go get him."

Everyone turned to look at him.

"I know where his place is. If he's just sleeping or something, I'll drag his lazy ass out myself," Chan said, trying to keep it light. "He can't skip his own party."

"I'll come too" Seungmin signed with no hesitation, already following Chan.

Chan nodded. He would prefer some company as well. Honestly, he'd never liked Minho's house. Something about it had always felt...off. Cold, maybe. Lifeless. He'd only been there a few times, but that was enough. He knew Minho had issues with his family, though he never shared details.

Minho had mentioned once that he wanted to move out. But he couldn't afford it. Every part-time job he got ended in disaster...shattered plates, spilled drinks, missed shifts. Wherever he tried, something always went wrong. And eventually, no one wanted to offer him a job anymore.

Chan had offered, more than once, for Minho to move in with him. But Minho always refused.

"There's already too much going on in your house," he'd said. "I don't want to be one more problem for you."

Minho had believed that he was someone people had to put up with, not something they wanted around, that he would ruin everything wherever he would go... and of course that's something you'd believe when you get reminded of it almost everyday.

Seungmin and Chan headed toward Minho's house in silence. Chan tried calling Minho a few times along the way, but it went straight to voicemail.

"That's weird..." he muttered, lowering the phone.

By the time they reached Minho's neighborhood, the air felt colder. The house loomed at the end of the block...tall, pale, quiet. Too quiet.

Chan rang the doorbell once.
Then again.
And then one more time.