polaroid (the sequel) • stray kids

6 📸

There I was, standing in front of the restaurant in the early morning, my suitcase by my side, but not with Seungmin close anymore. We already said our goodbyes, Seungmin trying to reassure me that it wouldn't be for long, yet he too didn't like it at all either. One last hug and one last kiss before being apart again didn't feel like it was enough, but it was sadly all I got. I kept trying to convince myself it was for the best, but was it really? Weren't we supposed to go through this together?

"Y/N?" Jisung asked, getting me out of my daze. He smiled, opening the door. "You were spacing out again." I laughed awkwardly, rubbing the nape of my neck. We walked in, in the familiar small restaurant. Though it was small, it never really felt cramped thank to the open design it had. That was mainly Hyunjin's doing. Though he worked as a waiter here, he always seemed to have a passion for designing, it really fit him well.

Jisung opened the door for authorized personnel only, our way up to the small space up. It was mainly used just for storage, but somehow we managed to place a mattress here. "You can just dump your stuff next to it, it was never clean here anyways," Jisung chuckled, making me laugh a little. He glanced at me with a smile, happy to his attempts to make me feel more at ease were working, even if it was only a little bit.

"What do you want me to do?" Jisung asked after I had settled in. "Want me to stay with you? I could get a projector, we could watch some movies if you'd like? You know, Disney? The usual?" I smiled in appreciation, but shook my head. "If you don't mind I wanna call Seungmin to make sure all went good with him... I'll just clean up here and get some work done." Jisung's gaze stayed on me for a second, but he eventually gave in. "Just call me if you need me, I'll be back in a few hours to start up the restaurant," he ended the conversation with, walking down and closing the door behind him again.

Without hesitation I got my phone out first thing, already calling Seungmin, who picked up in a split second. "Hey princess, did you settle in okay?" My smile returned, already happy to just hear his voice. "Yeah, I was just going to clean up a bit here for some more space, you know, for if I have to stay here for longer." It stayed quiet on the other side of the line for a bit, only his breathing audible. "Y/N, have you thought about moving?"

"Of course I have," I sighed, "I just don't know if it would really work. Right now we're still struggling with the rent, and the prices for buying a house right now are sky rocketing, it would be practically impossible to find something so soon." Seungmin hummed, knowing it too, yet wanting to find some sort of solution. "Y/N... I don't want to be apart from you for so long, especially since it's dangerous right now. I want to stay with you, protect you, I'm honestly starting to doubt if this was a good idea."

It felt like my heart broke upon hearing him sound so desperate. I sniffed, trying to keep it together. "I honestly don't like it either Min... I miss you already, I just keep getting scared something will happen, especially when I'm not you." Another silence arose, the both of us unsure of what to say, but both knowing that we should have just stayed together.

I could hear Seungmin curse on the other side of the line, following by some rather loud noises. "Min? Are you okay?" I asked rather panicked. "Yeah, I'm fine, I'm on my way to the restaurant," he stated shortly. You could hear Changbin calling out in the background, his voice coming closer, becoming louder through the phone. "Seungmin, I understand what you mean, but I really don't think this is a good idea," he tried calmly, but Seungmin lashed out. "How could I possibly keep my cool if she's all alone?"

I put my hand over my mouth, a tear falling from my eye. "Seungmin..." I called out softly. "Seungmin, can you hear me?" I asked. "Yeah," he muttered, the wheels from his suitcase having stopped louding in the background, indicating he had probably stopped moving. "Seungmin, you don't have to worry about me. Of course I don't like this either, but I'll be alright you know? I'm stronger than I used to be, both physically and mentally, so please don't worry about me, okay?"

Seungmin broke down, as Changbin shushed him to calm him down. "It'll be okay man, trust me. Your wife is a good one," Changbin told him, making my smile return. My phone started vibrating, the number being that of my elderly neighbor, grannie as we used to call her. Why would she call? She never did. "Min, I'm getting another call from grannie, I'm putting you on hold for a sec okay?" I took the other call. "Grannie? Is everything alright?"

You could hear grannies breathing being awfully heavy, her voice shaky. "Dear, there are men in your house, you're not at home right? I already called the police, they shou-" the line suddenly became quiet, too quiet for my liking. "Grannie? Grannie are you there?" I asked, becoming more and more exasperated by the second. Suddenly a laugh followed, a laugh from a voice deeper than grannie could possibly have.

"Hello Y/N, it's been a while hasn't it?"