Under the Sea | Minsung

ψThirtyψ

"Do you think this is okay?"

"Probably not," Felix chuckled at Minho. He reached into his back pocket, grabbing his phone to take pictures of a marked paper sitting folded on the table. Messy writing covered every inch of the eraser torn sheet, creases from the random folds indenting the smooth surface and causing the scribbles to be unintelligible due to the awkward warps, though there wasn't anything important on there. It was merely a piece of paper with some writing on it to the normal eye. To the trained eye, it was actually an intense game of lexicant.

Jeongin, who had lost the game in the first round and no longer wanted to play with them because he bellowed they cheated by ganging up on him, was peacefully curled up on Seungmin and Hyunjin's carpeted floors and drifted off to a gentle slumber. The three of them often met at the couple's house to talk, or plan alongside one half of their brain, and Chan. On this day the two who actually owned this apartment and cared for it were out; Hyunjin and Seungmin were spending their usual time working at the aquarium. That left Minho, Felix, and Jeongin to loiter around their house, raiding their kitchen supply and overall being bored out of their minds while they waiting for the other brains of the operation and attempted to come up with their own ideas before they came back.

The front door of the apartment creaked open, shutting without a sound as Seungmin  stumbled in to the living room, Chan in tow behind him as the older scanning over the three lounging around there. The oldest of the two sported an odd expression, to say the least. It was tensed beyond what 'tense' normally could be considered, like his skin was stretched beyond emotion and unable to warp anymore to his command. Felix was the first to notice them and offered a small wave, "Welcome to our humble criminal abode."

Uncharacteristically, Chan completely lost the joke. Instead, his eyes flickered around the room to land on Minho. They had a vacant, glossy look in them as if they were made completely of the finest glass known to all of humanity, ready to shatter under the pressure of their trembling palms at any moment. They had that same sheen to them, the same blank gaze to them, as if those eyes weren't fully present in what both he and they were supposed to be doing. He opened his mouth, ready to say something but closed it, then opened it, then closed it. After a few times he broke out of his trance, meekly stating a warbled, "I'm sorry."

The older raised an eyebrow, "Why? What's wrong?"

"They approved it this morning. I'm sorry, we couldn't stop them."

"Approved what?"

"I tried."

"You aren't making sense."

"They're going to open the exhibit sooner than they planned. If they can't prepare it by then, they're going to euthanized Jisung."

Minho felt his stomach drop.

"You're kidding," He drawled, staring up at him expectantly like he hoped it would be a joke, some sick and twisted joke they came up with to tease Minho. But when he was treated with a heavy silence, his heart shattered. It was like someone had ripped it out of his chest and stomped on it again and again till there was nothing left. He messed up enough, he was sorry enough that he had made his own mistakes, he knew that, but now this?

He hunched over, leaning his elbows on his knees so he could bury his face in his hands and hide away from the other three. Minho could feel his shoulders shaking from the rush of anxiety that overcame him, followed by a confusing mix of emotions all fighting at once and became so muddled in the brawl he couldn't tell what he was feeling. He kept thinking that it was his fault, that everything was his fault, maybe if he never got curious, maybe if he didn't fall for him. Those thoughts started flooding his mind, "what ifs" and "maybe". It was impossible to focus.

Jeongin was now wide awake after hearing the topic of discussion, fully alert as he pulled himself up on the couch to sit beside the older and wrap a comforting arm around him. He continued to probe, "When?"

"The 8th. Three weeks."

Felix rolled his head back to stare up at the ceiling. He scoffed, "They're a bunch of pigs. They think that's okay?"

"Jisung is a means to an end for them," Seungmin interrupted as stepped around Chan, who was by far ready to explain everything to the best of his abilities. Instead, the one half of the classic couple stepped in to simplify as best as he could with the comment of, "If he isn't profitable, they get rid of him. That's how it is."

"That's messed up," Jeongin hissed. When the older glanced over to him, his fists were clutched tightly around themselves, gaze trained on nothing but the folds in his hands as they bent and flexed, tightened and loosened around themselves. He hissed again, slightly louder than he had before with the same plea of, "That's so messed up."

"We need to get him out of there before then," Minho pleaded as he uncovered his face, unfurling his arms to press off of the couch and stand on shaky legs.

Seungmin frowned bitterly at him, that same kind of look a person would give you when they grew disappointed with everything you were and everything you could have been. Although his nerves tried to write off the severity of that look as the gravity of the situation, he couldn't bring himself to fully agree to that fact as the younger stared him dead in the eye and pressed, "Right now, do you really think you can?"

"What else can I do?!" Minho paused when he caught at the looks full of pity he received from them. But he could've cared less about how pathetic he seemed as clutched at his chest, an uncomfortable pressure building in his throat making him stammer a weak, "I need to help him."

"We're going to help him. We have time," Jeongin reassured as let his hands unfurl as the rigidity to his shoulders squared off. He carefully stood from his spot on the floor, before stumbling hesitsntly over to Mimho. As if he was some animal that stalked it's prey, but this was only Jeongin, and it was only his hand that slammed down on the older's shoulder to get his attention. His features twisted into something grave as he stared down Minho, lips pressed together as he told, "I have an idea to save Jisung.

But it's a bad one, and you're not going to like this."

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