Target | Minsung

Chapter 18

Jisung POV

    Jeongin, Seungmin, Felix, and I sat in a circle on the floor, carefully counting the cards that had been placed in front of us to make sure we had the correct amount. Two days had passed since Minho had been hospitalized and so far I had only gotten one call about him. The surgery had been successful and he was currently recovering. Since Minho had been hospitalized, me and my friends had been getting together every day to cope with the stress of not knowing whether he would fully recover or not. Occasionally, Hyunjin would stop by for a minute or two, but for the most part, he kept to himself.
    "Does everyone have seven cards?" Seungmin asked, his eyes glued to his deck. Once we all agreed, the game began.
    "Jeongin, I can see your cards," Felix said, leaning over Jeongin's shoulder pretending to try and get a better look.
    "Stop peeking!" Jeongin cried, pulling his cards close to his chest. Felix giggled and pulled back before Jeongin hit him.
    We were about halfway through our game where I was suffering with a handful of cards, and Felix was losing his mind when someone knocked on the door. Jeongin, being the closest, rushed up to the door and peered through the peephole. He opened the door and Hyunjin walked inside, nervously lingering in the doorway.
    "Come in," I said, waving him over. Felix looked apprehensive but forced a welcoming smile. Hyunjin sat between Jeongin and me, not making an effort to hide the fact that he was looking at our cards.
    "Don't you dare tell anyone what I have," Jeongin warned, trying to sound threatening even though he had a huge smile on his face. The game resumed. It was my turn so I put a plus-four down on top of the pile.
    "What?!" Felix cried since he already had almost as many cards as I did. He drew four cards and leaned his head against the back of the couch, staring blankly at the ceiling.
    "And I thought I was a drama queen," Hyunjin joked, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips.
    Ten minutes later, Felix's landline phone rang, interrupting Jeongin and Seungmin's argument and possibly saving their friendship.
    "Hello?" Felix said, answering the phone. He was silent for a minute or two only saying, 'yes' or 'okay'.
    He hung up, placing the phone back down on the charging port not saying anything.
    "So? Who was it? What did they say?" I questioned.
    "Minho hyung said he's well enough for visitors and the nurses agreed to it!" Felix exclaimed, bouncing on the balls of his feet.
    Hyunjin shot up, followed by the rest of us. "When can we go?" He asked, already halfway to the door.
    "The nurse said we can visit in half an hour. We can head out now," Felix replied. We left Felix's apartment, cramming ourselves into the elevator.

    We surprisingly only had to wait a few minutes before a nurse came out and escorted us to Minho's room. They seemed to be in a rush, wanting us in and out as quickly as possible. The nurse guided us down a long corridor before we reached Minho's room.
    Hyunjin wasted no time rushing to Minho's side the moment the door opened. I followed behind him, sitting in a chair on the opposite side of the bed. Minho's leg was propped up above the covers, wrapped inside a large white cast.
    "What happened?!" Jeongin cried, visibly distressed by Minho's condition.
    "To put it simply, I picked a fight with the wrong people," Minho said with a shrug, not seeming to care about what had happened. His voice was raspy and he sounded exhausted.
    "You could have died!" I cried, surprising myself. My worry for him that I had kept hidden inside, finally bubbled to the surface and it was making me angry how lightly he was taking this.
    "You call it a near-death experience, I call it a vibe check from god," Minho replied, slowly moving into a more comfortable position.
    "Well obviously god's trying to tell you something," Hyunjin said in a scathing tone.
    "I'm aware and I'm going to fix it," Minho said calmly. "I advise you to do so too."
    Seungmin, Felix, Jeongin, and I exchanged confused looks. I had a slight feeling that I knew what they were talking about but I was in no position to assume.
    "Anyway," Minho began. "I'm glad that being annoying is one of my talents or else you guys wouldn't be able to be blessed with my presence for another day or two."
    "You wish your presence was a blessing," I joked. Minho looked shocked for a moment before a small smile crossed his face.
    "By the way, can I talk to Minho alone for a bit?"
    Seungmin and Jeongin didn't question the request whereas Hyunjin and Felix lingered for a moment or two before hesitantly leaving the room. Once everyone had left the room, I looked over at Minho who was looking at me with an uncomfortable expression.   
    "What did you want to talk to me about?" Minho asked, carefully searching for the right words.
    "I'm not mad at you," I said. After that had been said, Minho visibly relaxed. "Please don't lie to me. Do you have a scar on the left side of your forehead?"
    Minho paused, thinking over his answer before replying. "I'm assuming you saw the security footage. Yes, I do. So what?"
    "Soo-ah drew a picture of you to help the police identify you," I explained, not looking directly at him as I talked. "She included the scar and I was hoping it was fake so that Chan and Changbin wouldn't suspect you."
    I glanced at Minho who had gone pale. Chan and Changbin had been on his trail from the beginning but his calm, statue-like exterior was slowly melting away the closer they got to catching him.
    "Can I see the scar?" I asked, wondering what it looked like in person. Minho lifted the hair that covered the left side of his forehead, revealing a thin white scar. "It looks worse in the footage."
    "Of course it does. I put makeup on it to look worse," Minho said. "I did that to try and throw off the police and it's worked up until now."
    I was about to say something else when the door slowly opened. I spun around, assuming that someone was trying to eavesdrop on our conversation. A nurse walked in.
    "I'm sorry to interrupt but you're going to have to leave," The nurse said apologetically.
    "Bye hyung," I said to Minho before leaving the room. Felix and Hyunjin were waiting outside the room.
    "What did you talk to him about?" Felix asked, walking up to me so I could whisper it in his ear without Hyunjin or anyone else hearing me.
    "I'd rather keep that between Minho hyung and I," I said. Though Felix looked disappointed, he didn't try to pry it out of me.
    Felix, Hyunjin, and I walked in silence to the waiting room where Jeongin and Seungmin were waiting for us.
    "What took you so long?" Seungmin asked impatiently. "Are you hiding something from us?"
    "Of course not. I just wanted to talk to him in private," I explained, defending myself. Seungmin accepted the answer without much hesitation.
    As we left the hospital, my mind inevitably wandered to the question that I had kept pushed in the back of my mind. How long would it be before Minho was eventually caught?

Minho POV

    A few hours had passed since Jisung and the others had visited me. By now, the sun was beginning to set, casting a soft orange glow on the floor of my room. I watched as the minutes ticked by, impatiently waiting for the day when I could leave the hospital to come. The police were hot on my trail by now and it was only a matter of time before Hyunjin and I were caught. We deserved to be in jail, but the selfish part of me wanted to take this secret to my grave.
    The sky had turned a deep purple and the lights in my room had begun to dim when there was a knock on the door. I slowly lifted myself into a sitting position, wincing as a sharp pain shot up my leg. The door opened and Chan and Changbin walked inside their expressions grave.
    "Sorry for bothering you so late at night but I would like to let you know that we have a warrant to search your apartment."