STAY By My Side

Chapter 26: Unexpected Outbreak!

Hey my lovely readers! Your author is back and apologizes for updating the story a bit late. Had guests visiting, work stress and other shit. But here I am now. To bless you all with more Minchan or Banginho because why not! So yeah, this will be a Minchan special chapter... 🥳

Let's see what's cooking in Skz dorm.

Minho's POV

"What the hell are you doing in the kitchen!?" I asked shockingly. "Making lunch. Wanna taste?" he shoved a piece of meat into my open mouth without waiting for my answer. I chewed the meat and immediately my face turned into a grimace. "Aah, it's burnt. Don't eat." I shoved the piece of meat away from his mouth. "You should've asked me for help, hyung." He looked disappointed in himself so I tried cheering him up. "Gwenchana Channie. We'll make lunch together," I smiled reassuringly and it worked. He cracked a big smile making my heart flutter.

"But, did you just call me Channie? You never do that," he said. "Oh, I'm sorry. I think I forgot the hyung," I panicked. "But, I like it. It makes me feel closer to you," he looked me straight in the eyes. Why does it feel like he's staring into the deep ends of my soul? Why does he have to make my heart pound? "Let me throw this away and we can cook afresh," he said pulling me out of my thoughts. I quickly whipped up some dishes and cooked the meat. I put the soup to boil and stood there staring at it.

Not one of us thought that Chan hyung would cope up this soon. He was crying, skipping meals, locking himself up in his room for days on end. But everything changed just like that. It did hurt me a little to see him moving on so quickly but I can't be selfish. For once, Chan hyung is thinking of himself and I am happy for him. I should be. My thoughts kept me occupied but when I got back to my senses, I left the soup unattended for too long.

In a hurry I held the vessel by the hand and it burnt my skin a little. "Sss... Aaah" I let out a small cry. Chan hyung immediately put the vessel down with the mitten and dragged me towards the faucet. He turned it on and put my fingers under running water. "Couldn't you be careful? Where were you lost? Your fingers look so red. Does it hurt?" he kept shooting questions and scoldings at the same time. "Hyung, I'm fine. It doesn't hurt much." He shushed me and went to bring the first aid kit.

He cleaned my wound and applied medical cream. He looked at me and asked, "Are you really okay?" His look was making me melt. It was so full of love and care. I couldn't even form words for a complete minute. "Why won't I be fine when you are with me?" I said without much thought. My mind stopped working the moment he looked at me like that. The corners of his mouth lifted up a little, in a smirky smile. "Are you flirting, Minho?" "Maybe. Is it working?" I said puzzling him.

What the hell is wrong with me? Why am I acting so lame? My mind was so confused to even notice him leaning towards me. I was just there, staring at him. Capturing every little detail of his in my mind, stamping it in my heart. He was so close to me. I could feel his breath on me, making my stomach churn in some kind of way. That's when everything hit me like a raging wind. All the letters, all the smiles, all the tears, all the hurt.

I pushed him away and he fell on the floor. "Minho, what's wrong?" he asked standing up. "Hyung, what were you doing?" he looked confused at my sudden outburst. "What do you mean? I was just..." I cut him off. "You were just what...? Flirting with me? Trying to kiss me? Or moving on?" the dam broke. "What are you talking about?" he said like it's no big deal. "Wow. Did you forget the fact that you were crying a few days ago? Or that you were heartbroken?" I asked him. "I'm trying to move on Minho." He shouted.

That one sentence dropped me off the cliff. I couldn't hear any more. Something inside me was blocking out all the noise from the outside. I was drowning in my emotions. "No, don't. Don't come close. Didn't know you could move on so easily. Till now, I thought it's good that you are being selfish for once but it hurts like hell. Even I'm a human and I can't pretend anymore." I saw him look at me with concern. "Don't show concern. Don't make me like you even more. I must have lost my freaking mind to want to see you happy. I didn't know I would be the one hurting in the end. Don't follow me, hyung." I screamed and ran out the dorm.

Chan's POV

"Minho? Are you here? Minho.....?" I kept shouting and searching for him in the nearby park. I was beyond worried when he left the dorm without even putting on a jacket in this cold weather. It's literally snowing out here and he ran out, crying. Did I do something to hurt him? Why does he look so broken? I kept pushing any unwanted thoughts out of my mind for now. Finding him is my top priority.

I know he often comes to this park when he's feeling down or tired. I was running around the park for over 30 minutes now but didn't find him anywhere. I was on the verge of giving up when I heard some sniffles. I quickly scanned the area but saw no one. I looked up in frustration to notice a small tree house. I went a little closer and could hear the sniffles a bit louder. So I climbed up the tree and went near the treehouse. I knocked and I heard him quiet down. "Go away please," he cried out. Without thinking much, I opened the door and went in.

"I asked you to go away then..." he stopped mid sentence realizing that it was me. "Minho-yah!" I ran to him, putting the jacket around him. He pushed me away at first but I didn't budge. After a while of pushing and pulling, I could finally get him to wear the jacket. "Why did you run away in this weather? You could've fell sick Minho." I half scolded him. "Please go away. I'll come back soon," he said pushing my hand away from his. "No, I'll stay here with you till you decide to come back. I won't utter a single word if that's what you need." I said making it clear to him that I came to get him. He sighed but didn't say anything which I think is a positive sign.

We sat there, staring at the floor for a while. "Why did you come, hyung?" he asked breaking the heavy silence. "Because I was worried Minho. And I really want to know what you meant and why you stormed out like that," I said looking into his eyes. "Forget it hyung," he said making me mad. "You ask me to forget it and then burst out at me for doing it. What's your problem Minho? Do you want me to forget or not? Can you please decide for sure?" I lashed out at him.

"Yeah, just forget it. Forget everything. The letters, the fan, how hard I tried to make you smile, how much I love you - just forget every damn thing," he screamed at me with the same amount of frustration. "Fine, I'll forget everything." I said what he wanted to hear. "What the...?! I honestly envy how easy it is for you," he said making my blood boil. "You think it's easy? Huh? You didn't see the amount of tears I shed, the countless sleepless nights I've endured, the memories that keep replaying in my head not letting me think about any damn thing. So, do not talk about something you don't know." I shouted and he flinched. This was the first time I lost it this bad. The first time I shouted at anyone and now Minho looks terrified. He was literally shivering and I've no idea whether it's because of the cold or fear. "Hyung, I was the one writing those letters," suddenly out of nowhere he dropped those words on me and it felt like the whole world is turned upside down.

Oops! The dreaded cliffhanger... hehe. Forgive your author-nim for this. I'll try to relieve your curiosity soon, hopefully. Keep reading and enjoy the story guys. It would mean a lot to me if you guys can comment what you feel while reading the story. Kamsamhida! 👋