nothing ever changes, xu minghao

36

song:
epiphany - taylor swift

WALLS MADE OF PAPIER-MÂCHÉ

After a long sleep that lasted till the moon decided to rise, Minghao's body finally had enough rest to get up and keep going. Although his body was awake, he kept his eyes closed as he laid on the bed, his mind still wanted to rest, and he would've just stayed in the bed till sunrise but a pesky unstopping ringing echoed in the breezy and dusk lit room forcing him to move.

He reached out, fumbling his hand on the nightstand until he grabbed his phone, lazily moving it to his ear.

He mumbled a tired hello, not even knowing who was on the line until their voice spoke up, and simultaneously like a shot of espresso he gained his energy and shot up.

"... there has to be more there Minghao," Seungcheol's voice was confident but a twinge of anxiousness layered it from knowing they could uncover something huge- something that could change everything.

"Okay, then I'm coming," Minghao couldn't see it any other way. He wanted to uncover everything with his own eyes.

"No you're not," Seungcheol's natural authority almost echoed in Minghao's head from its power, "Idalia told me you're in the final cycle of your transformation, actually you're in the thick of it. There is no way you're coming with us. What if something happens? None of us could help you."

A thought of selfishness crept into Minghao's head for a moment, but Seungcheol somehow knew what he was thinking and stopped that thought quickly.

"Idalia is not sneaking into Hell again, not with so many eyes already on us, so you're stuck there but if we find anything I'll get everyone and head your way. I just wanted to keep you in the loop," Seungcheol finished.

The call ended and Minghao released a deep breath that he didn't know he was holding, and as he noticed how silent the room was he could hear something so faint outside his door.

His feet got him up, curiosity itching in his brain as he opened the door, it creaked open as the dark hallway encompassed him but a faint light glowed at the end of the hallway, the inconsistent chatter of noise got a little bit louder.

He shuffled his feet to the light, being conscious of the overly sensitive wood floor underneath him that seemed to creak out of spite.

He wasn't expecting anything as he made it to the living room, but what he saw never crossed his mind when he walked cautiously into the hallway.

There, leaning over the couch arm rest with one of her hands propping herself up. Idalia was in dreamland to pass the time as a rerun of some romance drama played, the cliche moment casting over the screen.

He examined the area, his eyes glancing at the open sketchbook laid in front of Idalia, messy but intricate sketches that seemed to be of reference from the show that played.

He moved forward in the Tv lit room, reaching towards the remote on the coffee table, tempted to turn the Tv off, to call it a night.

But his movements must've somehow been too loud because she managed to flutter her eyes open and spoke out, her voice soft and hazy.

"How are you feeling?"

He didn't see her wake up, so her unprecedented words made the fearless demon jerk the smallest amount, his body turning around to face her.

She chuckled softly.

"I'm okay," honesty; he was being truthful, "Seungcheol and the others think my mom might have written more entries about what happened to your parents so they went to see if they could find anything."