rectify
verb
make (something) right; correct.

{Minho apologized for the wrong thing.} | 785w

A/N: y'all must hate me for being so inconsistent. I don't mean to be.. these past few days have been hectic. and this weekend was only the first of my family events ( ; __ ;) I'll post the rest later to get caught up bc I hate doing this to myself and to you guys

Minho returned from the bathroom in the humble establishment nearby and took his seat on the large piece of pale driftwood situated by the small bonfire on the sand.

“Want another?” Jinki asked, lifting the lid of the cooler beside him.

He hummed, eyeing the dark bottles, unsure about how he felt about drinking more.

“We're already stuck here for the night,” Kibum piped in. “We didn't agree on a designated driver, remember?”

Jinki laughed, reaching for the silver bottle-opener at his feet. “He's right.”

Minho smiled and shook his head, giving in and accepting the drink the elder offered.

They resumed an earlier conversation, talking over the crackle of the fire and the rush of waves hitting the beach.

Minho turned his gaze to the empty spot beside him. “Where's Tae?” he interrupted.

The evening had become chilly after the sun set beyond the lazy sapphire waves, and the ardent orange flames were keeping them cozy enough to stay outside. Jonghyun and Kibum – seated on another discolored trunk – had a blanket over their shoulders to shield them from the ocean breeze coming at their backs. He'd figured that the youngest had gone to the van to grab a sweater or something, but it'd been a few minutes too many.

“He went to the car,” Jinki answered, pointing over his shoulder.

“Looked kinda out of it, actually,” Jonghyun added, not sounding too worried as he put another spoonful of leftovers from earlier into his mouth.

Kibum shot him a disbelieving look. “Did you not eat?”

“You should eat when you drink,” he mumbled defensively. He turned to Minho again. “He's probably just wiped out.”

The others agreed and continued to talk and laugh, but Minho couldn't sit there any longer. After they'd left the waves, he was sure something was off with Taemin. Maybe he'd hurt his foot more than he let on and was just being careful around him. It still didn't explain why he avoided making eye contact though. He understood if Taemin felt safer at a distance, but looking at him was harmless as far as he knew.

Minho set his mostly full bottle down, burying it a bit in the sand to make it stand. “I'm gonna check up on him.”

Jinki nodded and Jonghyun agreed. The three followed Minho with their eyes until his shadow disappeared.

Minho couldn't see anything through the tinted windows. He tried the door, but it was locked.

“Tae, open up.” He tapped the dark glass with a finger and after a brief moment, he heard the clack of the lock. Minho pulled the handle and slid the door open. Taemin was inside, lying on his side across the back seats, his expression blank.

“Hey.. why aren't you outside with us?” He lingered by the door, unsure if he should climb inside seeing as Taemin didn't move to make room beside him.

The younger looked out the windshield to stare at the sand dunes, still not making eye contact with Minho. “I needed to be alone.”

“Why? What's wrong?” Minho frowned, trying to figure out what had made Taemin upset, fearing that he'd really injured him and he had been hiding his pain. He craned his neck to see if he had a bruise where he'd accidentally kicked him. “Is your foot okay?”

Taemin finally met his eyes, but it was with a disappointed look.

“Well what is it, Taemin?! Please tell me so I can do something!”

“My foot's fine, I told you that already!” He sat up, combing his blond hair with his fingers as he noisily scooted to the furthest seat.

“Then why are you mad at me?”

Taemin turned away, suddenly interested in his hands. “I'm not mad at you.”

“Then?”

He sighed. “Get in. Close the door.”

Minho did just that, and once seated beside him, he asked again. “What's wrong?”

The younger swallowed and continued to push his cuticles back with his fingernail.

“Stop that.” Minho took his right hand and held it in both of his. “You're gonna hurt yourself. Tell me what's wrong. Please.”

He nodded, wishing nothing had happened so that he wouldn't be in this situation, but there he was and there was no more avoiding it.

“I'm not mad at you,” he repeated. “I was. But then I was just hurt. And you didn't even realize it.”

Minho's eyebrows furrowed even more. His hold tightened around Taemin's smaller hand. “I hurt you?” he asked, voice deepening with concern.

“You scared me.”

He was stunned, but still clueless. “How?”

“When we were in the water. We were out pretty damn far and you had me by the waist, remember? That wave came and we went under. I told you not to let go of me, Minho, but you did! I was ing scared!”

Minho thought back to how that wave curled over their heads and crashed onto them. It pushed them down, making them somersault just feet from the sandy floor. He had let go of Taemin without thinking. Minho had assumed he would push himself off the bottom to break the surface, and when he'd come up seconds after he did, gasping for air and spitting out water, he didn't even feel sorry. He actually laughed, thinking all was well because Taemin didn't say anything after he'd recovered. They'd swum back to shore and all Minho apologized for was for kicking him during their tumble underwater, and that was only because Taemin had a slight limp when he walked away.

“I– I didn't know..” Now that he did, it made him feel like the worst person alive. “I'm so sorry Taemin. I'm really, really sorry.” He heard the younger sniffle and that made him feel a hundred times tier. “I'm sorry.”

Minho turned his torso so that he could wrap his arms around Taemin. He felt the other melt into the embrace, and he guided his head to rest beneath his chin. Taemin buried his face in the elder's chest and let himself get gently rocked from side to side.

Sleep eventually took him, but not before hearing Minho whisper, “I promise I'll never let you go.”