p̶ ̶r̶ ̶i̶ ̶n̶ ̶c̶ ̶e̶ ➸ mark lee

xviii

" 이미 나는 없는 네 손 찾아 "
i'm already looking for your hand that's not there

.✫*ﾟ･ﾟ｡.☆.*｡･ﾟ✫*.

"sorry, i'm so sorry! i swear i had my head in the clouds! i didn't mean to!" minhyung apologised repeatedly over the phone.

"you got me dead worried, jeez, you brainless idiot! i almost called the cops thanks to—" haneul babbled, though minhyung almost stifled a laugh, but stopped himself from doing so, knowing the other was dead serious. "i thought you got kidnapped or something, and what am i supposed to do i-"

one thing he noticed about her was that her voice sounded odd. as if it was cracked, or slightly strained, like that of a person who had just recently cried. but minhyung wasn't going to assume anything, but he did ask.

"hey, your voice sounds weird. did you catch a cold?"

there was a short moment of silence.

"you're just hearing things, i'm perfectly fine," haneul replied in a monotonous tone, a hint the prince had barely caught before she changed the subject. "where are you now? the sun's almost down,"

"oh.. about that, i won't be staying over at your home anymore," minhyung glanced at doyoung who was a few steps ahead of him. he made up a story, telling the elder he came from a far place, sent to korea by his parents and currently left alone to manage his life by himself, the reason being due to complicated circumstances and family issues. he explained further then. "because doyoung-hyung offered me a place at his apartment! he said he needed company anyways, since he lives alone and all,.. and he suggested me a job too, so i could pay for school fees and other expenses, you know,"

there was a moment of silence. minhyung concluded to himself she was probably digesting the new info, being surprised and all.

"..oh, that's great, minhyung!" her laugh was like music to his ears. minhyung needed to snap out of it though. "guess you won't have to jump out the window and land two floors down anymore,"

"that, i'm grateful for," he replied, an unnoticeable smile gracing his lips. talking to haneul always make him feel happy and fluttery inside. "so, i should come by to your place tonight,.. you know, i need to claim all my stuff in your room—"

"oh, no, it's okay, i'll just gather them all by myself and pass it to hyuck. seriously, don't come in, my room's a mess tonight, since i'm packing and all," her sentence was a bit rushed.

"alright.. thanks," he nodded. "i'll have to end the call now. see you.. next week?"

"yeah.. i'll miss you and the others," she sighed.

"i'll— we'll miss you too," minhyung breathed out. "but have fun though,"

the two exchanged goodbyes until minhyung ended the call, handing the phone back to doyoung. "thanks a lot,"

they've been walking for some time now until they reached a tall building, which now minhyung understood it as what people call an apartment.

"you have.. a really huge house,"

doyoung laughed a bit too loud. "don't tell me you've never seen an apartment before?"

minhyung's face flushed red in embarrassment. "no! i mean— it looks,.. it's just—"

sucks being born hundreds of years ago and not in this century.

.✫*ﾟ･ﾟ｡.☆.*｡･ﾟ✫*.

haneul tossed a number of clothes and her personal belongings into her brown luggage, humming to exo's new comeback, tempo being blasted from her phone.

after she was finally done packing, zipping the luggage shut and sliding it towards a random corner in her room, she laid down on the bed on her back. haneul found herself staring at the ceiling, something she hadn't been doing for some time now.

because she always did it when she was alone.

usually, minhyung would be beside her, asking five year old questions like 'how long does it take for an ice cream to melt?' or 'what's the difference between a car and a bus?' or 'what is sm entertainment and how do they pick good-looking people with great dancing skills and how do they sign up?'.

but now he had found another place to stay, leaving haneul to think about her life all by herself.

plus, she would be leaving for a trip starting tomorrow, and it was for a whole week. the fact that none of her close friends were her club-mates though, (well, she did have friends and acquaintances coming with her, but still) but she might as well enjoy the trip, since it was going to be about astronomy and the galaxies, which was totally her tea.

at last, haneul's bubbles of thoughts— drove her to fall asleep.

.✫*ﾟ･ﾟ｡.☆.*｡･ﾟ✫*.

🌱 thanks for reading 🌱