LADY LIBERTY :: minchan ✔︎

thursday ~ 10:32 am

minho rubbed his aching scalp, sitting down on a random park bench located near the street where he usually stood. chan hadn't passed by that morning, which made minho's day a smidgen duller.

the strange april weather made him cold one day and unbearably hot the next; today, minho was feeling sticky and gross. the humidity of the air made him feel as if moisture was being drawn out of his every pore, and the sun only made the whole ordeal more disgusting.

the dark, leaf-green robes minho was dressed in did not help, nor did the spiked crown adorning his forehead. both caused him to sweat more than he should have, especially when his lack of current movement was factored into the equation.

minho wanted to just hop into a cool lake or drink something frosty, but he knew he couldn't afford either luxury. not just because of money, but also time. minho didn't have time to spend on his own pleasures.

he'd been barely surviving every day for the past ten or eleven years, always scraping the bottom of the barrel for whatever he could afford. now, the thirty-one-year-old had been working his part-time shift at the bar for nearly three years.

minho didn't exactly remember the first day he decided to put on a costume and stand still for hours, but it had to be nearing his first year anniversary since he'd started.

"rough morning?" someone asked, sitting next to him.

minho flinched in surprise, his hand automatically patting down his wild, dyed-blue hair. he didn't know how long he'd been sitting on that bench, moping and sweltering in the insufferably hot, humid park.

chan offered minho an iced starbucks water, noting the way the younger's eyes lit up for a moment. feeling guilty, minho took his offer. it hadn't cost chan anything except time, but taking the free cup felt wrong.

"every morning is rough," minho confessed. "every evening is rough; every night is rough. life in general."

chan laughed, kind, leaning back as he relaxed. "tell me about it. it's as if the world is against you, twenty-five hours of the day, eight days a week."

a quirked smile graced minho's lips, the first one chan had ever been able to get out of him.

"your smile is nice. does the statue of liberty smile? i don't remember. either way, you should try smiling more."

laughing ruefully, minho showed chan a picture of the real statue, who, in fact, was not smiling.

"there are many things i should have done, and there are many things i should do. which, i digress, is why i will now bid you adieu."

as minho stood up and walked away, he heard chan snicker a little. not in a rude way, but in a way that let minho know that his acquaintance appreciated the rhyme.

but chan still didn't know lady liberty's name, and he watched as a man he considered his friend strode in the opposite direction he'd come from.