Let's Play a Game // Monsta X FF

Game 007 (2)

"Why do you want to win so badly anyways?"

Jooheon felt the weight of someone staring down at him. Shownu heard him. Not that he didn't want Shownu to hear him – he would've kept quiet if that was the case – it was just that there was a strong desire and determination to do something, help, and play his part to contribute.

Minhyuk's sudden soft expression didn't go unnoticed. "Are you feeling better now?" Jooheon asked, trying to phrase it so it sounds as nice as possible.

Shownu and Jooheon both stared at Minhyuk, waiting for an answer. He opened his mouth, as if to say something, only to close it wearily shortly after, the same time he stole a glance at Shownu. Jooheon swore he saw a flash of anger the one moment Minhyuk averted his gaze, but it disappeared as quickly as it appeared, making it hard to be certain.

Still, Jooheon read the situation well. The following conversation was really only meant for two people. "Shownu-hyung, do you mind if we talk alone?" Jooheon said, looking up at the taller man. Almost reading the others mind, he stood on his toes and whispered to Shownu, "Don't worry, I will scream if Minhyuk... gets too angry."

Jooheon leaned back and looked at Shownu's expression for an answer. Shownu nodded hesitantly, his facial expression having barely changed.

As soon as Jooheon and Minhyuk left, Wonho approached Shownu, probably to apologize for all the shouting back then. Jooheon knew what that meant – Hyungwon, Kihyun and Changkyun would be waiting to move on in the game. He had no intentions of delaying this any further, but there was something he had to make sure. He'd have to make this quick.

They arrived at a back corner of the room, far enough from everyone else to get enough privacy, that's it, considering there would be no shouting or screaming.

Minhyuk leaned against a wall and looked at Jooheon. "Ok, let's start again. You asked me why I wanted to win, right?" Minhyuk asked, a bit too cheerily.

Jooheon was standing opposite of him, making sure to keep enough distance between them. He raised his eyebrows in response to Minhyuk's sudden mood change, but decided there were more important matters to attend to, rather than questioning about another man's weird behaviour.

"Yes." Jooheon answered. "To be completely honest, you're quite a bit of trouble to us, and I figured you're only acting like this because you want to win. So I want to know, why?" The self-formed script in his brain was a huge confidence boost for Jooheon, and he saw it as a good beginning to a conversation that would reach its purpose without big issues.

Minhyuk was hurt by those words, and Jooheon saw it, but he tried to ignore it and focus the task on hands. Breaking his resolutions of being nice was acceptable once in a while, especially if it was necessary.

Eventually, Minhyuk got himself to answer. "Because I want to get what I want. You get what you want when you win." Minhyuk said it as if Jooheon didn't already know.

"Yes, I know that." Actually, he didn't. How and why would Smiley give them whatever they wanted? "But what all of us really want now is to leave this place, and we get automatically no matter who wins, because the game would've ended."

Jooheon tried to explain while reading Minhyuk's expression, deciding whether it was too much for the other to understand. He gave exactly 5 seconds for Minhyuk to digest it before he continued. "And that's why we want to rush through this as fast as possible. If you want to win that badly, it means you have something you really, really, want, other than leaving this place. So what is it?"

Minhyuk arched his head and looked up to the ceiling, thinking. To Jooheon it looked like he was annoyed. When Minhyuk looked back, his bangs fell over his eyes and covered them slightly, a slight smirk on his face and hands slipped silently in the pockets.