The Clan Part 1: Lost (Monsta X / Reader)

Chapter 5

Minhyuk watched (Y/N) trudge down the empty street, praying for her safety just as much as he knew she was. He normally wouldn't let her go alone, but he needed to see Hyungwon without her. Minhyuk stayed rooted to the spot, his eyes never leaving (Y/N) until her figure disappeared from view when she turned a corner. Then, he spun on his heel and continued to his own destination, the rocks crunching loudly underneath the thick soles of his shoes.

He hurried the rest of his brisk trek through the quiet streets, avoiding looking at any of his surroundings by staring straight ahead. His brain was too occupied to pay attention anyways. He couldn't help stressing about what he would find when he got there.

His mind subconsciously drifted back to the conversation he had yesterday morning. Wonho had stopped by early to talk to Minhyuk about Hyungwon while (Y/N) was sleeping. Apparently, no one had seen or heard from Hyungwon since he left to go home and he didn't meet up with Kihyun and Wonho for something even though they had planned it days in advance. Minhyuk knew that he might be overreacting, but he couldn't help shaking the nasty feeling that Hyungwon might be extremely hurt.

Turning one last corner, Minhyuk began sprinting towards a large building that stood out against the rest of the tiny settlements surrounding it. The building was two stories like his except way bigger than the house he shared with (Y/N), a tall brick wall built next to it and two white flags hanging from above the front door. It looked cold and intimidating, making him feel a small sliver of dread creep into his gut, but he continued forward until he reached the door. It had a few glass panels, but it was textured, meaning it kept anyone from clearly seeing what was inside and therefore was only used to let the sunlight shine through.

Minhyuk hesitated before knocking, his fist suspended in midair just inches away from the door's hard surface. He inwardly hoped that Hyungwon's father wasn't currently inside to invoke any trouble. Taking a deep breath to remove the stressful thoughts lingering in his brain, he quickly and loudly rapped his knuckles against the door.

Minhyuk received nothing but silence as he nervously waited for an answer. After a couple of minutes that seemed to drag out forever, he banged his hand on the door even louder than before, praying in vain that someone would hear him. Nothing happened once again, causing him to grow desperate. He knew that someone was inside; they just wanted him to go away without creating a fuss. This meant that it obviously wasn't Hyungwon's dad, who would have probably answered then slammed the door in his face.

Minhyuk swallowed down the bitter taste that rose in his throat and slowly reached for the handle. His hand shook as he turned the cold metal and pushed it open a crack, peering in cautiously. A long hallway was brightly lit from the sun's rays shining through the windows. It was painfully quiet and he flinched when he thrust the door open further, its loud groan deafening against the still air and thundering all around the house. Minhyuk carefully stepped inside and loudly shut the door behind him upon realizing that no one was coming to stop him.

He scanned the corridor, looking for any signs of someone being home. Although Hyungwon's father was highly ranked, it was obvious that he was also affected by some of the same problems as everyone else in this town. Ripped papers and miscellaneous objects were scattered carelessly on the floor, and dust coated everything within sight. Minhyuk maneuvered his way around pieces of furniture such as chairs that were out of place, making his way to one of the rooms. Suddenly he froze.

A sound came from a room that he had passed near the front of the house. Minhyuk strained his ears, trying to pick it up again while heading in that direction. He heard a loud and uncontrolled sob, followed closely by a few deep breaths. Minhyuk's stomach wrenched from listening to the pitiful noises, and he prayed inwardly that they weren't his friend's as he peered through the door.

The space before him was probably once a comfortable living room, but now it resembled the rest of the house, books and papers strewed aimlessly and one or two dusty chairs pushed to the sides. A small television that was still currently intact was resting casually in the far left corner of the room. But Minhyuk didn't notice anything unusual until he spotted the figure sitting weakly against one of the walls, its head in its hands.

"H-Hyungwon?" Minhyuk immediately recognized his friend's skinny form and he took a double take when he noticed that Hyungwon's face was covered with a mask made of grungy white cloth. He slowly raised his head when heard his name, his dark eyes meeting Minhyuk's before flicking down to the floor as if he was ashamed to make any eye contact. Minhyuk rushed forward, tripping on his way over to his friend's side and kneeling down in front of him.

"Are you okay?" He sputtered out in confusion. "Why haven't you visited any of us? Why are you wearing that?"

Hyungwon's only response was to lower his head, refusing to answer with his words. Minhyuk swallowed, his heart wrenching in his chest. He shifted slowly so that he was sitting crossed legged in front of Hyungwon, moving so that he could look him in the eye. His gaze softened, trying to get Hyungwon to open up and take off the mask that served as the only barrier keeping Minhyuk from seeing the truth.

"What happened?" Minhyuk whispered, reaching his fingers up to brush the edges of the fabric that stretched over his friend's jaw. Suddenly, Hyungwon harshly shoved his arms away from him, preventing him from lifting it up and revealing what was underneath.

"Hyungwon," he sighed, exasperated as he extended his hand out, this time to grab the top of the mask. "I just want to help-" Hyungwon flinched out of his reach, knocking his arm aside defensively with his palm.

Minhyuk sat quietly for a moment, staring at the broken sight of his friend, trying his hardest to keep himself calm.

"Hyungwon..." he pleaded, voice barely above a whisper. Tears started stinging the corners of his eyes, but he blinked them away, attempting to appear strong for Hyungwon's sake. "Please... let me help you."

No response. Hyungwon's breathing grew ragged as he continued staring down at the floor, his hands fidgeting in discomfort. Minhyuk stretched out his fingers until they connected with the white fabric of the mask one final time. He froze, waiting for Hyungwon to push him away again, but nothing came. Slowly, Minhyuk's fingers gently curled underneath the edges and started lifting it up. His breathing hitched in his throat and his heart shattered at the image before his eyes.

Hyungwon's usually handsome face looked horrible. His skin was a mixture of red, purple, and black bruises that stood out drastically against the pale color of his flesh. One of his eyes was almost completely swollen shut while the other was a bloody red. Numerous small cuts were littered across his cheeks. His raven black hair was tangled and matted beyond the impossible ability of fixing. Despite his awful complexion, Hyungwon raised his head to meet Minhyuk's widened eyes, every movement making the muscles in his neck throb. But he didn't speak, instead almost saying 'this is what you wanted to see' with nothing except a pained expression.

Minhyuk only stared, mortified. "This..." his voice cracked and his mouth hung open a tiny bit in shock. "This is what... your father..." He couldn't even finish the sentence, too horrified by the answer to continue. He would do this? He thought bitterly. To his own son? He didn't know what personal dilemmas Shownu was dealing with at the moment, but he now understood exactly why the boy hated the man so much. He's not a doctor, he's a monster. He's hurting instead of healing. The very thought of him made Minhyuk's blood boil with rage.

No. Not just him. They're all monsters. And someone needs to do something.

Without thinking, Minhyuk shot up from his sitting position on the ground and bolted out of the building, head swimming and unfocused due to his new overwhelming anger.

Hyungwon's head lowered even further after Minhyuk ran. He wanted to go after Minhyuk and tell him that he was fine, but then he would be lying. Lying to his friend. Lying to himself. Not to mention his muscles ached too much to even move. Hot tears slid down his swollen cheeks without warning, stinging the split skin as they fell to the floor.

This was nothing compared to the agony he felt when he recalled his promise to (Y/N).

The promise that he had broken.

Feeling as though he had lost everything important, he squeezed his eyes shut and let his face drop into his hands before letting the uncontrollable sobs rack his body.