Chapter 8
The Secret Ingredient
{ Sunday }
[ Choi Minho’s POV ]
It’s a nice day today. I pick up my newspaper after taking another sip of my morning tea. I read the headline...
Lee Han Jun, the sister of SHINee’s Lee Jinki runs away from hospital where she was recovering from her attempt at suicide. Read more on page 6.
What the hell? Does Onew know about this? He can’t can he... he hasn’t visited for a few days. It says here that they found out last night. He was cooking for us last night... perfectly fine. This is bad. Really bad. She tries bleeding herself to death and then she runs away from the hospital. A hospital. They were supposed to make her get better. I slam the newspaper down, barge into the bedroom we share and shake Onew awake forcefully not even bothering to respect the other’s sleep.
[ Lee Jinki’s POV ]
I wake up to find someone shaking me roughly. I open my eyes, irritated to see Minho’s face inches from mine. “YAHH! Can’t you see I’m trying to sleep??”
For a response, I get a newspaper shoved in my face.
“Whatt! I don’t care about the new bar they’re opening in town if that’s what this is about.” immensely annoyed now. No one dares to interrupt my slumber.
“LEE JINKI. SIT UP AND READ IT.” Minho thunders. His voice reverberates in the small bedroom. Taemin and Key are both awake now.
I sit up quickly, somewhat frightened. I’ve only seen Minho like this a few other times, and those times were serious. I grab the newspaper. The first thing I see is a picture of my sister. What...? Then I see the headline. I go through my whole vocabulary of curses and swear words yet my bewilderment still feel no where close to being expressed. I stare at that one sentence, repeating it in my head over and over and over again.
“What... what’s wrong?” Taemin asks timidly, leaning hazardously out of his bunk. Minho grabs the newspaper out of my clenched, white hands and tosses it to Taemin. He chokes on his spit. Key snatches the newspaper out of Taemin’s hands, eyes moving quickly across the newspaper, his disbelief pasted plainly on his face. I cover my face with my hands and think.
How was I not informed? I’m her brother. How could they not tell me she ran away? Why did she run away? She was supposed to be getting out today, she was supposed to be getting better!
[ Choi Minho’s POV ]
Poor Jinki. That’s the only thought running through my mind right now. Poor Jinki. Han Jun was a good kid... I hate feeling like this. Useless. I know what I need to do. I’m going to go look for her.
[ Kim Sun Shin’s POV ]
I take a sip out of my Hello Kitty mug pick up the newspaper. I’m about to flip to the Sunday comics when I my eyes catches a name in the headline. Lee Jinki? Is he that popular? He’s even in a newspaper?? I read the headline to see what it’s about.
Lee Han Jun, the sister of SHINee’s Lee Jinki runs away from hospital where she was recovering from her attempt at suicide. Read more on page 6.
. I sit there for a few moments. Stunned. RUNS AWAY. If she was in the hospital for therapy and she ran away... That’s not good. Not good. Not good at all. I summon his voice in my head, summon what he told me about her on Wednesday. Han Jun. Her name. It was a pretty name. I suddenly felt deep sympathy for him. I look at the picture of her, she looks really young. If only I had some way of contacting him... Jonghyun gave me his phone number. They should be together right? They live together? I’ll try it...
[ Lee Taemin’s POV ]
This room’s too heavy with sorrow, I think to myself unhappily. I can’t believe this happened. A phone starts ringing. It sounds like Jonghyun’s. The happy chirps puncture the desolate atmosphere. It seems so unreal. A dream. A haze. Aigoo... What Onew must be feeling right now I think sympathetically. What. Jonghyun’s still not picking up? The chirping’s so annoying. I look over at Jonghyun’s bunk. Sound asleep. What the heckkk. I hop over and snatch his phone off the table. Kim Sun Shin... A girl, huh. Jonghyun’s finally got a girl after all his practice being smooth.
“Yobseyo?”
“Ahh... Is Onew there?”
Calling Jonghyun’s phone for Onew? Huh. Strange girl. “If you want Onew why are you calling Jonghyun’s phone?”
“Oh.. Sorry. I didn’t have Onew’s number and I thought you guys would be together. I was reading the newspaper. I’m sorry... but who is this?”
“Taemin.” I respond coldly. “I don’t think Onew’s in the mood to talk right now. Please hold.”
“Who is it” Onew asks weakly.
“Some girl called Sun Shin.” I reply. Jealous. Maybe.
“Give it here.”
Surprised that he would talk to a girl when he wouldn’t even speak to us, I handed over the phone. He stumbles feebly out of the room with it.
Then, Minho stands up from his bunk abruptly. “I’m going to go look for her.”
Ughh nooo. Minho Oppa... don’t leave me. It’s too depressing here. I grab his leg as he leaves. “Can I come with you? Pleasee?”
“Alright. Go dress in something warm. I’ll wait for you.” Thank goodness...
~~
It’s such a chilly sunday! Sun day? Tchh. Not even close to being sunny. Aigoo, aigoo. Even Taemin is sad today. I make myself a promise. Taemin must pretend to be happy, to cheer up his hyungs. He must give his hyungs hope. That is his mission. For now, I must give Minho Oppa hope. We had dressed in thick layers, adding scarves and hats for disguises. “Minho... Where are we going first?”
The park.”
“Wae?”
“She sat there and read everyday after school. She grew a close bonds to the place. She liked play there as a kid. She never grew out of it.”
“Like me and the zoo?”
“Yeah. I guess.”
~~
Nowhere to be found. We looked all over the park. It was big. It had a pond with little fishies, a really big playground and even a patch of woods. It was a really pretty park, I understand why she must have liked it.
I sigh. “Oppa... where do we go now?”
“Skybridge.”
“Why a skybridge?”
“She liked watching cars pass by, it made her feel less lonely watching so many people drive home every day.”
“You sure do know a lot about her.”
“Yeah. I liked-like her. She’s mature for 13.” He was going to use past tense. He caught himself just in time but not before I noticed.
We step on the the skybridge. It doesn’t look like anyone else is here. I walk over to the middle of the bridge and lean out towards the railing and watch cars zoom by under us.
“She’s not here either.”
Minho nods sullenly.
“Where to next?”
Minho stares down. He seems really deep in thought. “Ah! Why didn’t I see it before? Coffee shop. Of course.”
“Coffee shop?”
“She liked the warmth. She liked the aromas. She was friends with the customers and the baristas since she visited so often.”
~~
The door tinkles cheerfully as I pull the door open for Minho. He chooses a booth positioned so that we could see nearly every seat. He orders a cup of tea and a cup of hot milk for me. I watch as Minho’s eyes wander the shop, looking for a small 13 year old girl. Our drinks arrive. Milk. Yum yum! I take a sip. Yikes! It’s hot! My tongue sizzles unpleasantly.
“She’s not here either.” Minho finally concludes.
I look up. He look dispirited again. I look down, it’s really affecting my mood seeing everyone like this today. It feels like the whole world just lost faith today. I was desperate to see one smiling face today.
“Let’s go home. Onew need us.” He leaves money on the table then gets up. I watch as the girl from the booth behind us gets up at the exact same moment. No... no... It happens anyways, despite my pleas. It happens in slow motion like always. The girl was turning around just as Minho was getting up. He was turning around too, heading for the door. They crash into each other, Minho slightly off balance because he just stood up. The girl trips. She falls forward into Minho. He topples backward, with her on top of him. Ouch. His head hits the hard floor of the cafe with a dull thunk. I jump up quickly to see if he’s okay. The girl has gotten off him now.“Mianhae! Mianhae! MIANHAEE!! Ahh!! Are you okay??”
Minho gets up slowly. It looks like he’s in pain. “Ah.. It’s okay... That’s alright.. I feel okay.”
The girl smiles kindly one last time at Minho then excuses herself explaining that she was in a hurry. I see Minho staring at her for a moment too long. Earth to Minho? Earth to Minho? It’s a while before he returns to reality. Back to reality... but in love. Aigoo. What am I going to do? This forever alone Lee Taemin needs to find a crush soon.
[ Choi Minho’s POV ]
Her apologetic smile was absolutely angelic. I strip off heavy my jacket and toss it onto the couch back at the dorm. A small rectangular piece of paper falls out. I pick it up.
Jing’s Dry Cleaners.
508-371-2375
I smile to myself as I bring it into our bedroom and set it under my pillow carefully.
Sorry guys, this chapter kind of but I swear it gets more dramatic once you get to chapter 10. Ahh. Lol I alrdeady wrote up to chapter 11. If you guys are nice to me and comment I might post chapter 9 and 10 soon^^
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