Witness
Minho's only mission was to survive a week vacation with his estranged father. Then things got weird.
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"Minho, come and see this view."
Those are the first words that Minho's father has said to him in the last ten hours, and by the way, he's only been with his father about ten hours. It's time that they've spent traveling and "touring the city", that is, Minho was riding in a car while his father talked on the phone.
They're supposed to be getting closer, that's what his mom said anyway. This was all her idea and sure it's a good idea, nice thought, really sweet - except that if Minho's father had any interest in getting closer to him, he might have chosen to do so before Minho was seventeen.
Whenever he saw his father before now, it was more like a visit with multiple nannies. His father is a busy and rich man, which is probably why right now they're standing in an overly elaborate hotel room. Minho can't feel anything but uncomfortable in the decadent space that has way too much room and somehow not enough at the same time. He only glances towards the large window and the 'view' that his father mentioned. They're right in the center of Jeju city. He knows what the city looks like - light up blocks under a black sky.
"It's great," Minho mutters without enthusiasm. The only view he pays any actual attention to is that of his father's back. His mother tried hard to get his hopes up about this whole trip. She told him his life was going to change now that he was going to college and that his father could and should be a part of it. Minho refused to be so easily persuaded. At least, he thought he did...
Undeniably, he felt like something inside of him was sinking as he looked at his father, waiting for his father to look at him too. He never did. After a moment, his father waves his hand towards one door.
"Your room should be in there," he says, still staring out the window. "You must be tired."
Minho feels heavy walking away from him, carrying himself with far too many emotions towards the bedroom. He doesn't speak, because if he did he just might not be in control of his words. When finally he reaches the bedroom, he shuts the door tight behind him.
His luggage is already there, a duffel bag packed for the week sitting by the foot of a giant bed, while his laptop sits zipped up in it's case on a desk. He walks straight to the desk to unpack his computer. He isn't tired at all. He looks at a clock sitting on a bedside table to see that it's only around 9:00PM.
Well, around this time it isn't like he'd be doing anything different at home. He taps his fingers on the desk while the computer starts up and tries not to be mad. The harder he tries not to think about it, the more he does. Unspoken arguments keep arising in his head. "If this is how it's going to be while I'm here," he thinks, "I should just go home." He imagines saying it to his father and cringes. His father has never even raised his voice towards him, but all the same, saying something so confrontational to the man is a horrifying thought.
He hates to have hope rise again, but some part of him wonders if today was just a bad day, if tomorrow it will get better. When he gets the wireless internet working on his laptop, he looks up 'things to do in jeju city'.
He browses through pages about all of the touristy attractions that he already saw on their car trip through the city. There isn't a single thing that he can imagine having fun doing with his dad. Finally fed up with the very thought of it, he changes his focus to watching random videos online. He would have been ashamed to tell any of his friends that one video of a kitten was so adorable he watched it over five times. No matter how cute the kitten videos could be though, time wasn't going by too fast. When he looks at the clock again, he's still wide awake and a quarter until ten o' clock.
Finally he decides that nothing passes time like food. He leaves the bedroom behind, but when he looks around the living room his dad is nowhere to be found. He searches around the big hotel room for a while before he finds the master bedroom and knocks lightly on the door. There's no response, so Minho pushes the door open. His dad is there, typing on the computer while he talks to someone on the phone.
With great hesitance, Minho forces himself to say, "Dad?"
When his dad still doesn't seem to notice him, Minho finally closes the door. He didn't eat much for dinner because of the bad mood he was in (and besides, eating in cars makes him feel sick), and now that he has food on his mind he's starved. Determinedly, he walks to his own bedroom to retrieve the cash that he packed in his suitcase in case something like this may happen. He takes it from an envelope and carefully exchanges it to his wallet, stuffing that in his pocket before he leaves his room.
He'll be in and out before his dad knows he's gone, and if just out of anger, or to prove his point, he doesn't leave a note. He leaves the hotel room behind, takes an elevator ten stories down, and walks into the ocean fresh air of Jeju city. It feels great to be alone outside actually. There's something just incredibly freeing about it in the moment. He observes the scenery carefully as he moves down the sidewalk, although he figures that if he gets lost he can always ask someone for help. The hotel they're staying at is famous, and these streets are busy even late at night.
The city from close up is prettier than a sky view though, or at least this street is. Even the older people that walk around him are especially good looking, all of them in nice clothes that only rich people like his father can afford. He doesn't particularly feel out of place himself. His mother is well off enough, and he knows to wear his nicest clothes around his father. Besides, he knows better than to think he's unattractive.
Beyond the people though, the buildings are all clean and lit with big electronic signs that flash logos and special deals. One particular catches his eyes when it advertises a double cheeseburger that looks like the most delicious thing in the world. Minho follows that sign into the fast food style restaurant. After not leaving a note he had every intention of grabbing food and going right back to the room, but even the ambiance of this little place seems worlds better than the hotel.
Minho orders his double cheeseburger and gets fries to go with it, then sits shamelessly on his own and eats every bite. Admittedly, when he's done, he feels almost sickeningly full, but extremely satisfied none the less.
He walks back onto the street with a smile on his face. This trip might not be so bad after all. It's liberating being on his own. Still, he should get back now. He didn't leave a note, which is bad. He hopes for once that he was right and that his father wasn't paying any attention to him.
Minho starts his walk back towards the hotel, not particularly fast paced even if he is feeling guilty about the noteless adventure. This city is beautiful, the weather is warm with a cooling breeze, and everything just seems good.
Then, as he's passing by a narrow passage way, something wet splashes thickly into the side of his face. Mud, he thinks, rain, he thinks, but the weather is still perfect. When he turns his head, he's horrified to see red flying through the air. A boy with an incredibly youthful face and long hair pulled back into a ponytail is holding something silver and glinting, hacking it through the air in front of him where the body of something else is falling to bloody chunks. It's a sight Minho hasn't seen in the worst horror movies he's dared to watch. Terror pierces through his chest like an icy sword. He can't even move. He can't even make a sound. At least, not until the boy with a ponytail looks at him with large, rounded eyes. Then, Minho screams.
Someone touches him, not just a touch, but an embrace from behind. Minho screams again, eyes falling from the horrific scene in front of him as he tries to pull out of the grip. There's a jet of blue light shooting up before his eyes and tiny particles floating in it, like when a sun ray is shining light on dust. It grows brighter until it blinds him, and then he falls on something soft and clumsily rolls into something wet.
When his vision clears, he sees black sand. He lets out another shocked scream, scrambling onto his knees and looking around to find that he's on a beach.
A calm, if a bit exasperated, voice speaks to him then, "Can you stop screaming? Ahh, I have a headache~."
Minho looks over his shoulder to see a young man dramatically holding a hand to his forehead. He drops that hand, however, when their eyes meet and a wide, happy smile spreads over his face. "I'm Onew," the man announces, "What's your name?"
1 | 2
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"Minho, come and see this view."
Those are the first words that Minho's father has said to him in the last ten hours, and by the way, he's only been with his father about ten hours. It's time that they've spent traveling and "touring the city", that is, Minho was riding in a car while his father talked on the phone.
They're supposed to be getting closer, that's what his mom said anyway. This was all her idea and sure it's a good idea, nice thought, really sweet - except that if Minho's father had any interest in getting closer to him, he might have chosen to do so before Minho was seventeen.
Whenever he saw his father before now, it was more like a visit with multiple nannies. His father is a busy and rich man, which is probably why right now they're standing in an overly elaborate hotel room. Minho can't feel anything but uncomfortable in the decadent space that has way too much room and somehow not enough at the same time. He only glances towards the large window and the 'view' that his father mentioned. They're right in the center of Jeju city. He knows what the city looks like - light up blocks under a black sky.
"It's great," Minho mutters without enthusiasm. The only view he pays any actual attention to is that of his father's back. His mother tried hard to get his hopes up about this whole trip. She told him his life was going to change now that he was going to college and that his father could and should be a part of it. Minho refused to be so easily persuaded. At least, he thought he did...
Undeniably, he felt like something inside of him was sinking as he looked at his father, waiting for his father to look at him too. He never did. After a moment, his father waves his hand towards one door.
"Your room should be in there," he says, still staring out the window. "You must be tired."
Minho feels heavy walking away from him, carrying himself with far too many emotions towards the bedroom. He doesn't speak, because if he did he just might not be in control of his words. When finally he reaches the bedroom, he shuts the door tight behind him.
His luggage is already there, a duffel bag packed for the week sitting by the foot of a giant bed, while his laptop sits zipped up in it's case on a desk. He walks straight to the desk to unpack his computer. He isn't tired at all. He looks at a clock sitting on a bedside table to see that it's only around 9:00PM.
Well, around this time it isn't like he'd be doing anything different at home. He taps his fingers on the desk while the computer starts up and tries not to be mad. The harder he tries not to think about it, the more he does. Unspoken arguments keep arising in his head. "If this is how it's going to be while I'm here," he thinks, "I should just go home." He imagines saying it to his father and cringes. His father has never even raised his voice towards him, but all the same, saying something so confrontational to the man is a horrifying thought.
He hates to have hope rise again, but some part of him wonders if today was just a bad day, if tomorrow it will get better. When he gets the wireless internet working on his laptop, he looks up 'things to do in jeju city'.
He browses through pages about all of the touristy attractions that he already saw on their car trip through the city. There isn't a single thing that he can imagine having fun doing with his dad. Finally fed up with the very thought of it, he changes his focus to watching random videos online. He would have been ashamed to tell any of his friends that one video of a kitten was so adorable he watched it over five times. No matter how cute the kitten videos could be though, time wasn't going by too fast. When he looks at the clock again, he's still wide awake and a quarter until ten o' clock.
Finally he decides that nothing passes time like food. He leaves the bedroom behind, but when he looks around the living room his dad is nowhere to be found. He searches around the big hotel room for a while before he finds the master bedroom and knocks lightly on the door. There's no response, so Minho pushes the door open. His dad is there, typing on the computer while he talks to someone on the phone.
With great hesitance, Minho forces himself to say, "Dad?"
When his dad still doesn't seem to notice him, Minho finally closes the door. He didn't eat much for dinner because of the bad mood he was in (and besides, eating in cars makes him feel sick), and now that he has food on his mind he's starved. Determinedly, he walks to his own bedroom to retrieve the cash that he packed in his suitcase in case something like this may happen. He takes it from an envelope and carefully exchanges it to his wallet, stuffing that in his pocket before he leaves his room.
He'll be in and out before his dad knows he's gone, and if just out of anger, or to prove his point, he doesn't leave a note. He leaves the hotel room behind, takes an elevator ten stories down, and walks into the ocean fresh air of Jeju city. It feels great to be alone outside actually. There's something just incredibly freeing about it in the moment. He observes the scenery carefully as he moves down the sidewalk, although he figures that if he gets lost he can always ask someone for help. The hotel they're staying at is famous, and these streets are busy even late at night.
The city from close up is prettier than a sky view though, or at least this street is. Even the older people that walk around him are especially good looking, all of them in nice clothes that only rich people like his father can afford. He doesn't particularly feel out of place himself. His mother is well off enough, and he knows to wear his nicest clothes around his father. Besides, he knows better than to think he's unattractive.
Beyond the people though, the buildings are all clean and lit with big electronic signs that flash logos and special deals. One particular catches his eyes when it advertises a double cheeseburger that looks like the most delicious thing in the world. Minho follows that sign into the fast food style restaurant. After not leaving a note he had every intention of grabbing food and going right back to the room, but even the ambiance of this little place seems worlds better than the hotel.
Minho orders his double cheeseburger and gets fries to go with it, then sits shamelessly on his own and eats every bite. Admittedly, when he's done, he feels almost sickeningly full, but extremely satisfied none the less.
He walks back onto the street with a smile on his face. This trip might not be so bad after all. It's liberating being on his own. Still, he should get back now. He didn't leave a note, which is bad. He hopes for once that he was right and that his father wasn't paying any attention to him.
Minho starts his walk back towards the hotel, not particularly fast paced even if he is feeling guilty about the noteless adventure. This city is beautiful, the weather is warm with a cooling breeze, and everything just seems good.
Then, as he's passing by a narrow passage way, something wet splashes thickly into the side of his face. Mud, he thinks, rain, he thinks, but the weather is still perfect. When he turns his head, he's horrified to see red flying through the air. A boy with an incredibly youthful face and long hair pulled back into a ponytail is holding something silver and glinting, hacking it through the air in front of him where the body of something else is falling to bloody chunks. It's a sight Minho hasn't seen in the worst horror movies he's dared to watch. Terror pierces through his chest like an icy sword. He can't even move. He can't even make a sound. At least, not until the boy with a ponytail looks at him with large, rounded eyes. Then, Minho screams.
Someone touches him, not just a touch, but an embrace from behind. Minho screams again, eyes falling from the horrific scene in front of him as he tries to pull out of the grip. There's a jet of blue light shooting up before his eyes and tiny particles floating in it, like when a sun ray is shining light on dust. It grows brighter until it blinds him, and then he falls on something soft and clumsily rolls into something wet.
When his vision clears, he sees black sand. He lets out another shocked scream, scrambling onto his knees and looking around to find that he's on a beach.
A calm, if a bit exasperated, voice speaks to him then, "Can you stop screaming? Ahh, I have a headache~."
Minho looks over his shoulder to see a young man dramatically holding a hand to his forehead. He drops that hand, however, when their eyes meet and a wide, happy smile spreads over his face. "I'm Onew," the man announces, "What's your name?"