the view | minsung

71

"minho-ya, can we talk?" minju said in a trembling voice, her gaze fixed downward.

sensing minho's lack of response, she slowly raised her head to make eye contact with her brother. when she did, she immediately noticed the hesitation in minho's eyes, causing her lips to form a frown.

minho, in turn, seemed to sense her readiness to speak and slowly nodded his head, signaling minju to express herself. seeing minho's approval, minju's eyes lit up, and she took a deep breath before beginning.

"um... i don't know if saying sorry can fix what i did to your relationship with jisung, so i'm not going to say it," she started.

"i want to tell you my reasons, but... i'm scared you might think of them as excuses for what i did," she continued, glancing at minho from time to time.

"i'll hear you out," minho replied in a flat tone.

minju gulped at the tone her brother was using, but she continued, "minho, i'm jealous of you."

"i-i'm jealous of you always having the good things in life. i know i shouldn't be, considering dad chose me and my mother over yours, but i just... couldn't help it," she confessed, her voice small and cracking, tears starting to well up in her eyes.

"dad would only talk to me if necessary, he doesn't care about all the achievements i proudly show him. while you, he always asks, 'how are you?' or 'how's your day?' despite you not even acknowledging him as our father anymore. with me, he doesn't even ask those things," minju continued to express her feelings, while minho listened intently. inside, minho felt sympathy for his sister, understanding that she didn't deserve what happened to her. however, he also knew that her jealousy shouldn't have led to the sabotage of his happiness.

"minho, you have wonderful people around you, your friends and your boyfriend. while me, i had to change myself just to be able to befriend people, and i don't even know if those people see me as their friend. my boyfriend broke up with me, but yours... you're really lucky with jisung," minju continued, tears streaming down her cheeks and her voice trembling.

"i have never felt what it's like to be genuinely loved. my boyfriend never did any of those things that jisung does for you. i'm jealous of you, minho. i wanted to be in your place so badly, but i know that would never happen. so instead... i-i intended to ruin your happiness... so you could feel what i feel," minju confessed, her eyes becoming red from crying.

minju's words deeply moved minho. he and minju weren't particularly close as siblings, so he had never known what his sister had gone through. now that he understood, he couldn't help but embrace minju in a tight hug, rubbing her back as he whispered comforting words.

"shh, minju, don't cry anymore. big brother is here, okay? big brother is here to give you love," he reassured her, tears pricking his own eyes as they shared this emotional moment.

minju, feeling the warmth and care in her brother's embrace, couldn't help but release all the emotions that had been bottled up inside her. for some reason, hearing minho say those words made her incredibly happy. it made her feel that she truly had someone who loved her. in that moment, she was grateful to have minho as her big brother.

they stayed in that comforting embrace for a few more moments until they were interrupted by a voice.

"captain lee, minju, boarding will start soon, so we better head to the cabin," felix informed them.

with that, they pulled away from the embrace, getting up from their seats to make their way to the cabin. sensing that minju hadn't completely calmed down, minho swiftly took her hand in his and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"don't worry, i'll talk to dad when we return," he said, offering his sister a small, comforting smile.

minju smiled back in return, despite her red, tear-stained eyes. "thank you. i'll also talk to jisung when he returns to korea. besides, i want to meet the man who made my brother so cheesily in love," she managed to joke, trying to regain her composure since the boarding process will begin shortly.

minho chuckled, already walking towards the cabin with minju following beside him.

as they walked, minho suddenly heard a loud and familiar voice calling out to him, causing him to halt in his tracks, with minju already looking back to see the person calling out for her brother.

"it's jisung, and he looks... panicked?" minju commented, her eyes fixed on the figure frantically running up to them. jisung's hair was a mess, and his uniform was crumpled as he was bathed in sweat.

-----

as soon as jisung decided he wouldn't ignore the warning from his dream, he rushed to get dressed in his flight attendant uniform so he could move around the airport without drawing too much attention.

jisung knew about minho's flight since felix had informed him beforehand. initially, he felt a pang of sadness that minho hadn't told him about his departure, but he also understood that the older likely had his reasons for keeping it a secret.

once he was dressed, he hailed a cab to take him to the airport. inside the cab, jisung was bouncing in his seat, frantically checking his watch to see if he could still catch up to minho's flight.

"excuse me, can you drive a little faster? this is really urgent," jisung said to the driver, his voice trembling with unease. the driver nodded and sped up, determined to get jisung to the airport on time.

as they neared the airport, they encountered a long line of cars stuck in traffic. jisung looked out of the window, assessing the situation, and muttered, "fuck it." he grabbed his wallet, handed his payment to the driver, and stepped out of the cab, sprinting towards the airport as time was running out.

jisung kept running, pushing himself despite his racing heart. fortunately, his regular visits to the gym paid off, and he was able to maintain a fast pace for quite some time.

wearing his flight attendant uniform worked in his favor, and he swiftly entered the airport without encountering too many questions from security, except for a joking, "running late to your flight, sir?"

once inside the airport, jisung immediately looked for the gate where minho's flight would depart.

after frantically searching and running around the airport, jisung finally spotted a familiar figure. he rushed towards them, calling out a few times, "minho!"

as he approached, he also noticed another figure standing beside minho, holding hands with him. a frown crept across his face, and his heart ached at the sight, but he pushed those feelings aside to focus on the urgent matter at hand - saving hundreds of people on minho's flight.

minho and the woman with him stopped in their tracks, both turning to face jisung. minho's expression held an unexplainable mix of surprise and concern as he looked at jisung.

when jisung reached them, he walked up to minho and gripped his shoulder tightly. his breathing was erratic, and his tone was filled with seriousness as he stared into minho's eyes, his own filled with worry and fear.

"you can't leave," he said firmly.