Week 5- April 15, 2021

The shower had been running for quite a while. 

Lately, there was a strange comfort in simply standing under the warm water for minutes on end. 

Minho wasn’t sure why that was. 

Being in the warmth of the shower was a safe place. 

It was the perfect excuse just to get away and to be away from everyone. He literally leaned against the wall of the shower and stood with his eyes closed. If he could, he would sit there for hours but in the back of his mind, he knew he couldn’t. 

Today was one of those days he couldn’t since Minho had finally agreed to meet up with Key. If he had to be honest, he had completely forgotten about the text he sent and wouldn’t have remembered if Sohee hadn’t mentioned that Key had reached out to her too, asking if Minho had run off to make new friends. 

He didn’t want to be suspicious so Minho finally opened his eyes and pushed himself off the wall. He hurriedly washed himself since his fingers were starting to ache from being too prune. Once the shower was off, it was back to the real world. 

Minho stepped out of the shower and reached for his towel. He dried his hair first since it was just starting to grow back in from being cut so short for so long. As he wrapped the towel around his waist he looked up at the mirror that was just above the sink. He felt around his chin and sides of his face the more he looked into the mirror. He hadn’t realized that there were slight hints of stubble and guessed that now was a better time than any to shave.  

If his memory served him right, he opened the doors of the vanity under the sink and was a bit surprised that a can of shaving cream and a razor was still there after all this time. He hadn’t bothered to really check since shaving had been the least of his worries. Minho reached for both of the items and as he stood back up to look into the mirror, his ears picked up on the bathroom door knob twisting open. 

He froze for a moment as he stared into the mirror to see the reflection of who was entering from the other side. The door opened almost too easily as Sohee appeared, still clad in a tank top and pajama pants. She stood only just a few feet behind him. She had actually been a bit startled, not because she had walked in on him, but more at the fact that he didn’t even seem to flinch. 

"I thought I locked that door.” Minho said to her reflection. 

Sohee blinked once and looked at the door for a brief second before turning back to Minho. “Aigo, I forgot that the lock is broken… Well, it has been broken for a while.” She admitted with a nervous laugh. She was almost taken aback that he would even think to lock the bathroom door. That is, until her eyes fell on Minho’s back.

Minho furrowed his thick brows just slightly and looked down into the sink. “Taemin didn’t fix it?” He asked. 

Sohee bit her lip. The truth was that she had told Taemin about the door; it was just that he didn’t know how to fix it. It wasn’t much of a bother to her anyway, since it seemed that Haneul was out of the phase of following her everywhere she went, including the bathroom. 

"Aniyo, he didn’t fix it because I didn’t tell him.” She lied but he seemed to believe it. He said nothing back in response and little did he know that Sohee was actually making her way towards him. 

Goosebumps rose on his skin when he felt her cool fingers go to his left shoulder. Minho lifted his head to look up into the mirror to see that she had found one of the scars he received while he’d been away. Her thin fingers lightly traced the shape of the one that was a little ways off the blade of his shoulder. The scar was a bit bigger than that of an American half dollar and probably wouldn’t have been such a size if he had received professional medical treatment. It not only showed in the back but also in the front that was an unwanted reminder for him every day. 

"Oppa,” Sohee said softly, but she was more concerned and he knew she was. In the mirror he saw her discover the other few raised scars that hadn’t been there before he left back in May. Part of him was glad that they were on his back so didn’t have to see them but it was also the reason why he kept the door shut and wanted it locked. 

"What happened to you?” She finally asked and looked up into the mirror but he was already looking back down in the sink. 

There were too many answers for that question, and trying to find the right one was hard. Minho remembered how he received all his scars and they were painful to him. To remember them only triggered his anxiety. He closed his eyes and just wished it would all go away. 

  *   *   *

"Aigo, I was starting to lose faith in you, Minho-ah!” Key said jokingly to his friend. They both briefly embraced in their reunion before sitting back down at the bistro table outside the coffee shop they agreed to meet up at. Minho simply waved him off with a smirk. 

"You're only older than me by a few months, Key, don’t forget.” Minho said with a chuckle. 

Key cackled loudly at his response and reached for his coffee. “Much more reason for you to see my wisdom and understand my respect.” 

Minho shook his head and smiled. For April, sitting outside was almost like being spoiled for spring. It wasn’t too cold but not exactly warm. Minho had opted for a light seafoam green sweater and jeans. Across from him, Key wore a grey mock turtleneck with a pair of black fitted jeans. It wasn’t long before a waitress had appeared from inside the shop and asked Minho for his order. Before he could even answer, Key immediately butted in. 

"Oh, make sure to give him about five shots of espresso, this man is going to need it!” He said while teasing. Minho only could roll his eyes but he knew that Key was always quick with his wit and teasing. His order wasn’t at all complicated, just a regular coffee, one sugar and skim milk. When the waitress left, Minho looked at Key, who was staring at him as if he had sprouted two more heads from his neck. 

"Aish, has the military made you that bland?” Key asked with a chuckle. Minho raised his brows at him. Despite the question coming out as a joke, Minho knew that there was some seriousness in it too. Minho decided not to answer and awkwardly looked back at the shop, hoping the waitress would come out soon as she left. 

Key made a mental note of Minho’s silence but decided not to entertain it. Instead, he decided on a new topic. “Yah, so what have you been up to these last few weeks?” 

Minho glanced back up to his friend. As much as Minho was trying to hide it, he was feeling anxious. He hadn’t been able to shake it off since that morning. He was already sweating despite the weather being comfortably chilly. His hands felt clammy and he felt as though he couldn’t sit still in his seat. He knew he had to answer Key at some point and he was pissed he didn’t have a cup of coffee to shove into his face every few seconds to stall. 

"Nothing really.” Minho finally admitted. Everything that had happened in the last month was too stressful to talk about, let alone even think about. Partially, Minho could barely remember what had happened and he wanted to keep it blocked out as much as he could. However, he knew if he spent time to really think about it, he could remember every detail.

Key's demeanor went from being playful and joking to a little bit more concerned. It was exactly what Minho didn’t want to emit from his friend, so he had to try harder at being more calm and natural. 

The waitress came back out and politely placed Minho’s coffee on the table. He thanked her and she disappeared back into the coffee shop. As soon as Minho reached for his cup to finally take a sip, he practically burned his taste buds and couldn’t help but flinch at the heat. 

"I'm assuming that you’re adjusting well?” Key asked as his eyes seemed to almost scan Minho’s body language. It was out of habit for Key and it came to him as second nature considering his career as a teacher and part-time counselor to students who were either deaf or were hard of hearing. It was clear that his friend was uneasy and he was starting to think that maybe them meeting up was a request granted too soon. 

Minho could feel his ears flush a deep shade of red. His thoughts were racing which only added to the anxiety that riddled through him. He asked himself;

What should I say? 

Should I even bother with the truth? 

He quickly answered his own questions with no, it’s best to keep everything to myself. 

"Ne, of course. It’s like I never left.” Minho responded and smiled for reassurance. It seemed to have been convincing for Key to believe him (or so he thought) since he nodded his head and reached for another sip of his coffee. 

However, Minho felt like screaming on the inside. He wanted to tell Key that home life wasn’t exactly what he thought it would be and he felt like a shell of a person. He wanted to tell Key how he hated feeling anxious, exhausted, and irritated all the time. Minho wanted to say how much he hated that he had to be on guard. He wanted to express how his relationships were on edge and that he felt like he would break down almost every moment of the day. 

But he didn’t. 

Instead, Minho scanned his surroundings as if he hadn’t done so before. Many people were out today, casually going about their errands or routines. On the inside, Minho envied these people and wished that he could be like them, like he used to be. 

"Well, that’s good. How is Sohee-ah? Haneul-ah? Your brother?” Key pressed but as he did so, he felt that perhaps he shouldn’t have. Minho glanced back at Key and sat up straight this time. He pushed his hair back with the palm of his hand and reached for his coffee again.

"They're good, real good.” He answered quickly and took another sip even if it scorched his throat. Minho wasn’t sure if it was his own nerves or the influx of caffeine he was drinking or both, but what he did know was that his heart was fluttering. As he sat trying to be unnerved by everything, his stomach started to hurt despite barely eating anything before he got there. 

Key set his coffee down carefully on the table and folded his hands together, leaning in closer to Minho. “Are you feeling alright?” 

Again, the dreaded question that he felt that’s all anyone asked him. And it was the question that this time around, had really sent him over the edge. Key suddenly perked up when Minho scooted his chair away from the table, but didn’t get up. All the color had drained from his face as it was clear he was in distress. Minho’s heart was beating in his eardrums and he was breathing as if he had just run a marathon. He looked as though he was about to faint in the very chair he sat in. 

"Yah! Minho!” Key got up from his chair and immediately went to his friend’s side. He put his hand on Minho’s shoulder and could feel him trembling under his palm. Key had never seen his friend like this and he should have known that the moment Minho sat down that there was something wrong. 

Key glanced around in the spur of the moment to see at least one of the young waiters from the shop stop in his tracks to watch the whole thing unfold. Without wasting a second, Key told the waiter to bring a glass of water to which he complied and dashed back inside the coffee shop. The people nearby at the other tables had caught on to the small disturbance, as well as some passersby but it went unnoticed to Key as he turned back to Minho. He could still feel the other man trembling and was trying to catch his breath. It was a scene that Key had seen before in his students but he never thought he’d see it in his friend. 

The waiter almost tripped over his own feet in the small distance it took from the door to the bistro table to bring the water. Key would have thanked him if given the opportunity but being currently occupied with the situation at hand, wasn’t necessarily doable. He reached for the glass and practically stuck it in Minho’s face. 

"Here, you need to drink this.” Key said and he wasn’t asking but more so instructing. He waited for Minho to take the glass and he was glad that he was able to. Key stepped back to give Minho some space and quietly observed him. He was sweating, that much he could tell and the trembling seemed to have ceased but only slightly. As Minho drank the glass of water, Key quietly paid the bill by slipping the money under his coffee cup. 

When he looked back, Minho had basically finished most of the water in the glass and was rubbing his forehead. Key went back to his friend and Minho finally glanced up at him, only he looked exhausted. 

"C'mon, let’s get out of here.” Key said and again, wasn’t asking. 
 

  *   *   *

Key had led Minho to his car but he didn’t start the engine. Instead of sitting outside in public to talk, Key figured that being in the privacy of his car was more suiting. He looked over to Minho, who sat winded in the passenger seat. 

"This isn’t really like you,” Key said with concern in his voice. “If meeting up today was going to be a problem, you could have just told me.” 

Minho was barely listening. His eyes were closed as he sat back with his head fully against the headrest. He was trying to focus on other things other than what just happened, but with Key’s nagging presence, it didn’t seem like that was going to happen. With a heavy sigh he opened his eyes and glanced over to Key. 

As Kibum looked at him, he could see how tired Minho was. He could see the dark circles under the man’s eyes and how stoic he had become. It was worrisome, without reasonable doubt, and as much as Key had experience dealing with stressed out students, he supposed nothing prepared him to see someone so close to him in this state of being. 

Finally, Minho sat up and rubbed his forehead. “It’s not a problem. I just have a lot on my mind.” 

In essence, this was true. By not exactly telling what was on his mind, it didn't seem like it was a lie. That was if no one asked him. 

Key quirked his brow and almost had to stifle his scoff. “A lot on your mind, huh? Enough to make you have an episode out there?”

Minho shot a glare at the other man. Though he knew it was of no use to give dirty looks to Key, he wasn’t afraid of confrontation. “There’s nothing to be concerned about.”

Key was close to cackling this time.“Oh, Choi Minho,” He chuckled out his name while reaching to place a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Do you honestly think that I’m going to believe you?” 

Minho looked back at him with the obvious look that he was irritated but only because the other man knew him so well. 

"No, I don’t.” Minho finally confessed. “But you wouldn’t understand.” 

Key had to do a double take. “I wouldn’t understand? Kim Kibum? The Key who was there for you when Sehun hit you once? Then a second time? Then when he started to pick on Taemin?” 

Minho closed his eyes and furrowed his brows when he realized he made a mistake in his choice of words. He sighed but let the other man rattle off…

"I was there when your umma left. My parents offered their home to you and Taemin. I was there when you decided to move out and I even gave you tips when you first started going out with Sohee---” 

"Yah! Yah! I get it! I get it, alright?” Minho blurted out to cut Key off. He reached for his forehead as he could feel a headache was beginning to start. If it was anything that Minho hated most in the world was being proved wrong or having good deeds thrown in his face. With Key, it wasn’t so much that he wanted to do either of those things, but he did it because he wanted Minho to understand. 

"Arasso. I’m just reminding you that whatever it is that you’re going through, I’m here, you know.” Key said gently and removed his hand. “That little episode back there isn’t the Choi Minho that I know. You could lie to your family and tell them you’re fine but you know there is no point in lying to me.” 

Minho dropped his hand from his forehead and stared at the dashboard. At the moment, all he wanted to do was go home and sleep. He was exhausted just by today’s activities and it didn’t help that he now had a full blown headache. In frustration, he sighed sharply before looking over to Key. There was a sincerity about him that could never be faked, and Minho could see it as they both sat in the car. 

In the reality of things, Key had been like a second brother that he never had. 

When they first met in school they weren’t even friends but mutual bullies to each other. During gym class if there were team sports, it was either God or the teacher who wanted a good laugh to see two polar opposite six year old boys fight each other. Minho would call for a time-out only to go up to Key and tell him that he needed to actually put effort into the game if they were going to win. Key would respond back that maybe Minho should be the only one on the team to play if he thought he was so good. Of course, the fights would be stopped before they escalated.

It's funny how time evolved where the two of them eventually became like brothers themselves.

And after everything they had been through, why wouldn’t Minho feel he could confide in his one good friend?

A/N: Hey all! Sorry that it's been a while since I've updated! Lots of things happening in the Shawol fandom that more or less, got me distracted :P But managed to see the very nice and heart warming 13th anniversary v-live. 

After this, I'm planning on finally posting the chapters that will "fill in" what happened in between when Minho was deployed and captured. Thank you guys for sticking around as long as you have been and reading my story! It really means a lot to me as I always say because it really does and I appreciate the comments/subs/and views! It never goes unnoticed to me <3 

Catch ya on the next chapter! 

-M