alone | minsung

XXXVIII

Stars.

Minho feels like they're mocking him.

They're up there, in the sky, shining happily like nothing in the world can be bad. Yet they couldn't be more wrong in Minho's eyes.

His legs are agonising as he pushes himself forward.

His aunt had tried to keep him from leaving, throwing a dozen questions his way as he grabbed his coat from the rack. 'Why are you running out at 11pm?' Because, I am. 'Are you going to see a girl?' I don't know.

She also given the all-important lecture of how rude he was and that he should be grateful she's here. In the end, Minho told her to fuck off, more on edge with every second that he wasted. Against her desperate attempts to stop him, he ignored her and ran out the door. Luckily, Minho's dad had gone to bed hours before, otherwise it would have been harder to leave.

Minho reaches the reserve where the cliff Hannie always talks about is. The gate is chained shut, but its low and rickety and simple to jump over.

So that's what Minho does. Not a second after he's landed on the other side, he takes off again. The trees around him sway in slow motion, waltzing softly together in the breeze. They don't change as a boy runs past them, staying oblivious and blind.

Finally the path begins to slope up, and Minho is forced to walk as it gets trickier to climb. He still tries, though. He grabs onto branches to pull himself forwards, insistent on reaching the top.

At one point, he loses his footing. Minho's heart flies to his throat and his stomach drops. Luckily, he clutches onto a tree trunk beside him, and he partially falls against it.

He forces himself to take a deep breath before he carries on.