The rain crashed against the window. Big drops ran down the glass, slowly, as if they wanted to keep him company for a while. Mino stared out into the darkness which was stained with a few lights. He only saw them blurred, they seemed unreal. Everything did.
On a little table next to him laid his mobile phone. He shot a glance at it from time to time, but there didn't seem to be a new message or a call. Even when he picked it up to check it, there was nothing. Oh how he wished to see Hanbin's name on the screen.
They had fought, pretty bad. For the first time ever. It was a rare sight to see Mino upset, usually he played it cool and kept everything on the inside. But not this time, as well as Hanbin. It all had began with a little something, nothing you would normally argue about. They had gotten into a playful fight, but at some point, it turned into something serious. Mino didn't know why. He didn't know what had been wrong with both of them on that day, he didn't know why their tempers got out of control so much. So much that a fight about nothing turned into a fight about everything, up to the point where it had gotten personal.
Normally it was hard for them to put a finger on things they didn't like about each other, but three days ago, it had been the easiest thing ever. Suddenly there had been so many things to complain about, so many things to criticise and name and shame. They had yelled at each other, blaming each other. For what? Who knows. They had said bad things, unfair things, things that hurt. And that in front of everyone. It had been after they had lunch together, an hour before iKON had to leave for the airport to go to Japan. Mino couldn't even remember how Hanbin's and his little discussion about a song ended with them screaming at each other in the hallway. He really couldn't. The only thing he remembered was how Hanbin had turned around, upset, angry, hurt, with nothing but an "Okay" on the lips. And then he had left. He still could see him hurry away, and even though he had been so angry in that moment, even though he as well had turned around to leave in a rage, Mino had instantly regretted every single word that had left his lips before.
The whole situation must have been absolutely shocking for the others. The WINNER and iKON members had tried to calm them down, but they had been so taken aback by what was happening that they had ended up not really daring to do something. It just had been so.. sudden. So unexpected. They had never seen them fight before, really. Not like this.  
No word from Hanbin since then.
Actually, it wouldn't have surprised Mino if Bobby had written or called him, to ask what the had happened and why he had behaved like that. But nothing. He was sure that Hanbin had told his best friend, no, everyone in iKON not to talk to him. Nothing that really bothered him right now. The only thing that bothered him was the fact that Hanbin wouldn't pick up his phone. He had tried to call him at least a hundred times the last two days, but to no effect. It was a mess. A ing mess.
"Do you want to eat something?"
Seunghoon's voice pulled him out of his thoughts. His friend suddenly stood in the door frame, looking at him, but Mino only shook his head.
"You must eat something. It won't get better if you don't."
He sounded worried, but it didn't seem to reach Mino. He looked out of the window again, his arms loosely crossed in front of his chest.
"I said horrible things."
"You both did."
"I'm the older one, I should have known better."
"At least you tried to call him. Did he call you?"
"I wouldn't want to call me either."
"Mino. I don't know what was wrong with you guys, but it happened and you can't change it."
"But I don't understand why I was so angry."
"Because you care. That's the only reason why someone gets angry."
Mino stayed quiet. A sigh parted Seunghoon's lips as he closed the door behind him to sit down on the bed. It didn't seem like he would be able to make his friend eat something. The only thing Mino needed right now was someone to talk to, Seunghoon got that.
"Look. What you said was true, actually. It's not that you said that he's a horrible person or something. You criticised him for things he did or still does that are bad for him. That's caring."
An ironic grin appeared on Mino's lips.
"But there are nicer ways to tell someone that you're concerned."
Seunghoon shrugged his shoulders and leaned back.
"Maybe these things needed to be said and maybe they needed to be said like that."
"And what's the use of it if we don't talk to each other anymore?"
"Mino", Seunghoon sighed again, but before he could continue, Mino stopped him.
"No", he quickly turned around to look at his friend.
"I hurt him. And nothing can excuse that. You know Hanbin. You know what these kinds of words do to him. He's probably trying to keep it cool and as long as there's something do to, he'll be able to. But as soon as he's got nothing left to do, as soon as there's nothing that keeps him busy anymore, he will think about it. He will just sit and stare, and he will think about it. And he won't be able to sleep, it will keep him awake at night. It will fill every free second of his day and I swear to God, I don't want to be the reason for this."
"You can't change it though." Seunghoon quietly sighed.
"I wish I could say something else, Mino. I wish I could tell you that everything will be fine when they're back, but I can't. And I can't help Hanbin with this as well. Yes, I know that he will think about it a lot. But.."
A gesture with his hands symbolized that he didn't know what to do. He seemed helpless, but not as helpless as Mino whose eyes he now met. For a second, they only looked at each other without saying anything, then Seunghoon sighed again.
"Should I call him?"
"He won't pick up."
"Should I call Bobby?"
"No."
"Why? I'd only ask if Hanbin is okay, that's all."
"Still no."
"Okay, Yunhyeong then? Donghyuk? I think they're pretty neutral."
"It's not that I'm afraid that they could take sides."
"Then what is the problem? I'm just trying to help, okay? Seungyoon actually wants to call them as well. So let me call someone now or he will do it sooner or later."
Mino frowned. He didn't want that, you could tell by looking at the expression on his face. Sure, Seungyoon was worried too, all of them were, but he didn't want anyone to get involved in this. Yes, the two groups were friends, but this was nothing about them. This was only about Mino and Hanbin.
"Okay. Call Junhoe."
"Yes, okay- wait, what? Junhoe??" Doubtfully, Seunghoon stared at Mino.
"Mh. At least he won't try to play it down. And put him on speakerphone."
Seunghoon shook his head a little, but he did like the other rapper said and dialed Junhoe's number, putting the call on speakerphone straightaway. While the dial tone resounded a few times, Mino turned around to lean against the window. Then, Junhoe answered the phone. Seunghoon wanted to greet him since it was him calling, but the other rapper barged in. The singer needed to know that Seunghoon wasn't alone, so Mino said "Junhoe" to catch his attention. For a moment, it was quiet, then they heard him say, "Yes, hi mom. How are you?" A sign that he wasn't alone and most likely in a room with Hanbin. A brief smile shaped Mino's lips. Smart kid. The silent noise on Junhoe's side of the phone implied that he had gotten up and was now leaving the room 'to talk to his mom' as the others might think. Only when he was sure that they couldn't heart him anymore, Junhoe turned to them.
"Ya, Mino. I don't think I have to tell you that I shouldn't be talking to you, right?"
The rapper shook his head, even though the other one couldn't see it, but didn't say a word. So Seunghoon raised his voice.
"Did Hanbin really ask you not to talk to Mino?"
"Well, we shouldn't answer his calls, yes. But since it's not Mino who called me but you, I'm not really breaking any rules, I guess."
Mino and Seunghoon couldn't stop themselves from smirking. Junhoe didn't really act like he was a smart kid, but this was proof enough that he was one. When he continued, they got serious again.
"He's not answering any of your calls, right?", the younger asked in some kind of way that it was sure that he already knew the answer. So no need for Mino to confirm it when he asked the question which was the reason for their call.
"How is he doing?"
They could hear Junhoe breathing in some air through his teeth. Not a good sign, but he could be exaggerating. Or not.
"Well, can I say that you ed up?"
This is what Mino meant when he said that the singer wouldn't try to play things down. He had needed a straightforward answer like this, even though it didn't change the situation he was in. Nothing could change said situation at the moment and nothing could make it hurt less.
"He's okay during our schedule", Junhoe continued, "but as soon as we're done with it, he stops talking right away. Even Bobby has difficulties getting through to him, and I don't think that he slept much the last days."
Seunghoon looked at Mino. He couldn't respond, he just gazed in abstraction. This is exactly what he had thought would happen.
"Don't worry too much though, hyung. He probably won't ever talk to you again, but it could be worse."
With a loud sigh, Seunghoon slapped his forehead. Mino only clenched his teeth when he heard Junhoe's laugh. He was a smart kid, yes, but not really sensitive.
"Just kidding, just kidding. Don't worry. We're having an eye on him and when we're back, you can work this out. We all know that he's not happy with how things are at the moment, but you know how stubborn he can be if he wants to. I- uh, I have to go, mom. The kids want to go out for dinner. Just call me any time, okay? Bye."
The call ended. Neither Seunghoon nor Mino said a word, Seunghoon only put his phone away while Mino kept staring at a random point. It was a suffocating silence that set in and even though they knew that Hanbin was in good hands, Mino didn't seem relieved. He could feel how his friend was inspecting him, but he decided not to react to it. So it was the other rapper who had to break the silence.
"Maaaan, why does everything feel so weird? I must say, I'm still not over your fight. That was a shocking experience." Seunghoon shuddered.
"Maybe that's the reason why everything feels so extreme, to all of us. I mean, I can't remember that you two have ever fought before. But it's not the end of the world, okay? And now do me a favor and eat something, or else Hanbin will have to talk to a corpse."
With these words, Seunghoon got up from the bed and left the room, obviously trusting Mino to follow him to get some food. But the rapper stayed where he was and only ran his hands over his face and through his black hair, letting his fingers rest in his neck. Maybe Seunghoon was right, maybe Junhoe was right. Maybe everything would turn out fine, maybe he just had to talk to Hanbin and explain why he had said all those things. Maybe he would understand.
But it was just maybe.
Nothing was certain.