taller || minchan

chapter two: you'll see

6th grade Minho walked towards his house while holding Chan, who was in 7th grade, by his hands. He was confident this time that he'll be able to show higher numbers to Chan after measuring their height.

"Quick, Channie! Let's measure it now so that I'll be able to marry you sooner." The oblivious Minho said. He wanted Chan to be by his side forever and so, he needed to be taller than him.

"Wait up Minho, we'll be able to measure it, okay? Just slow down for a bit." Chan said, losing his breath from all the running that Minho made him do.

He tried to let loose from Minho's grip but soon enough failed because he had to admit, the younger was stronger than him now.

Minho didn't listen to Chan and only went faster because he couldn't contain his excitement. He was going to marry the elder, and nothing will be able to stop him from doing so.

As they were hurriedly crossing the road, Chan noticed the continuous beeping from a large vehicle. It was going to hit them in no time because of its speed. He noticed that Minho also saw the upcoming disaster when he tensed up.

The beeping made Chan's mind go empty. He no longer had time to think and so, he did what he thought was the right thing.

He pushed Minho to the safest place that he could think of, making sure that he won't be wounded from head to toe and with all his might, Minho made it to the other side of the road.

Minho was terrified and he didn't know what to do. The vehicle went past through the place where him and Chan was in a moment ago.

His eyes felt teary and his breathing became uneven. 'Channie' was the only thing that he could think of. The feeling of Chan's hands started to linger as his eyes bursted with tears.

Channie. Channie. Channie. Channie.

It was the only thing in his mind. He slowly turned his head up. He felt horrible, he saw the curly blond hair from the other side of the road. His clothes were stained with red pigments and he was laying on the floor.

There were no people and the stores and houses around them were closed. He couldn't call for help.

Minho stood up, walking towards Chan slowly, afraid of what he had done to his friend. He looked at Chan with tears flowing non-stop from his eyes. He looked at him, realizing that this was his fault.

He sat beside the elder, crying his eyes out, forgetting about every single thing in this world if it's not about Chan. He closed his eyes, not realizing that his tears were falling to the elder's body.

Hiss.

He quickly opened his eyes to see Chan getting up. He was injured but he wasn't dead. Minho blinked a few times, seeing Chan sit up from the cold ground where he lied.

"Ugh, stop crying. It stung." Minho was more than relieved. He wasn't seeing things. Chan was alive. He didn't die because of him.

"C-Channie hyung!" He said, gripping to the elder's cloth tightly. He lowered his head, sobbing and shaking furiously. He was ashamed of himself.

After a few comforting words, Minho finally brought Chan to his house, making sure that his wound would be treated carefully. They later on went to measure their height.

"Oh, looks like I grew taller. My height's 160cm now Minho." Chan said, feeling a bit proud because he had grown for the past few months.

Minho just huffed, feeling determined to grow taller than him. He stepped into the measuring plate (idk what it's called, sorry) and waited for the thing that goes down to hit his head.

Once he had felt a light tap on his head, he went down and looked at the screen which showed his height. His face was barely readable, it showed no signs of being happy nor sad. It was just... blank

Chan took a look from Minho's back. He was a bit shocked but he already predicted it. He laid his hand on Minho's shoulder to make sure that he was alright.

Minho just shrugged Chan's hand off and quickly ran towards his room, locking it so that no one can get in.

He heard some knocks and voices calling him from the other side of the door but he didn't listen to any of them. He just wanted to cry.

As if on cue, he suddenly felt something wet roll down his cheeks. Tears.

He wiped them away but it was no use. Tears just kept on flowing non-stop, it was as if they were never going to end. He sat on the floor, hugging his knees. He let out quiet sobs from his mouth.

'I need to work harder. I need to grow taller than Channie. I need to surpass his height. I need to marry him.' Selfish as it was, this is what Minho thought to himself. He loved Chan and will only love him for the rest of his life.

"Just wait Channie. I'll show you that I'll be able to grow taller than you. I'm only 158 cm now but you'll see. You'll see." Minho told himself while standing up. He promised to never cry until he's taller than Chan. And with that, he felt his chest become lighter.

'I won't give up.'

___

Years passed but Minho still can't surpass Chan's height. He studied well so that he can follow Chan to wherever he goes, he tried exercising daily and doing stretches that were said to be effective for growing taller, he ate foods that are rich in whatever it was needed in order to grow taller, and of course, he continued to love Chan and only him.

He thought that it'll be fine as long as he worked hard to surpass Chan's height but, he was proven wrong.

While Minho was waiting for Chan as always, he saw the elder walk towards him with someone by his side. They were holding hands but Minho tried to not overthink things.

"Yo, Chan! What took you so long? I almost froze to death here." He said, not noticing that he didn't call the elder Channie. It had always been Channie for him but today, it felt different to Minho.

"Who's this?"

"Uhm, Minho. I would like you to meet Jeongin,"

"A new friend?"

"He's my boyfriend."