TEXT MSG, minsung

54

minho truly felt scared for his life.

as the week slowly progressed on, he couldn't find it within himself to actually get some sleep at night, ridden with so much insomnia and restlessness, and during the day, he felt so, so tired that he feared he'd pass out during one of his classes and never wake up again.

but sometimes, the possibility of falling asleep and never waking up didn't seem like a bad prospect in itself, as minho literally felt so drowsy and lethargic at times.

it got even worse when all he could feel was an unsettling dread that only grew inside him as the days painstalkingly went by. he was on edge, and obviously so. every passing second felt like a step closer towards whatever might have been out there that wanted to capture him, and eveywhere minho went, he felt like he was being watched.

it was absolute torture.

"this place is pretty nice, isn't it?"

minho's mind snapped back into reality as he eyes fell on his friend's observant pair, and he absentmindedly nodded, his fingers nervously fiddling with the straw connected to his coffee. it was hard for him to hide how shaky his hands had gotten again, but he hoped that somehow seungmin wouldn't notice it and comment on it.

"i thought it'd do you some good to take you out of the dreary college setting for a bit, at least to clear your mind for a while," seungmin spoke, smiling at minho when the older just nodded.

"uh, yeah. thanks." minho cleared his throat, staring at the way his fingers continued to play with the straw, anxious and jittery. he dropped his hands from the table when he noticed seungmin's gaze on them.

his friend looked worried, but it was clear he was trying his hardest not to address the elephant in the room, just like how he felt it'd be best for minho to go out into town with him for a bit, because he felt like the awkwardness between minho and changbin and felix was getting too much.

minho knew all of this, and that only made him feel worse about himself.

"...are you okay?" seungmin finally decided to ask.

"yeah, i am," minho replied, even though he knew his answer couldn't be more further from the truth. he barely looked after himself now, his creamy skin had turned a sickly pale shade, and he never cared about what he wore anymore. at certain times, he just felt like a living, breathing bag of flesh and bones, and there was nothing that excited or cheered him up anymore.

"minho, please be honest. i care about you. felix and changbin care about you. you've literally lost so much weight, and we have to try so hard to wake you up for your classes at times," seungmin started, and minho bit the inside of his cheek so hard he felt the metallic taste of blood on his tongue. "you barely talk to us as well, and always stick to yourself now. i just want to know why."

"i said it's nothing, seungmin," minho spat, furrowing his eyebrows. his friend's eyes widened at his hard tone, but minho was too caught up in his unstable emotions to notice a thing. he just suddenly felt so angry. "nothing's wrong with me. why do you keep asking me that? is that the reason why you brought me to this cafe in the first place?"

"no, i -- that's not the reason, minho. i'm just worried about you," seungmin answered, shock tainting his words.

minho sighed, leaning back into his seat. "well i'm fucking fine, seungmin. stop being so worried."

seungmin became silent for a few seconds, and minho felt that dull pang of guilt again.

"i'm sorry for pissing you off, minho. it was never my intention. i just really care about you, you know?" seungmin began, his voice quiet. "i don't know what happened, but you've become so sad, minho. sometimes -- sometimes you look like you're so close to crying, and that always affects me."