infinity || minsung

"echoes"

chapter five
minho

Despite having a less-than-stellar experience in the past, the family were eager to relocate to Paraguay after their time in Forks had run out. I understood what they liked about the place, especially in contrast to Forks — sunny and secluded, there was no one to pretend for, nothing to hide from.

They managed to find a fairly spacious house, two storeys tall, backed against a hill, surrounded by farmland and forest. It came with a barn that Jeongin, Hyunjin and Seungmin remodelled into their own little manor, sequestered from the rest of the property.

Now, as we approach the farmhouse, Hyunjin appears on the balcony, leaps to the ground and bolts toward us.

"You're here!" He grabs us both in one fell swoop and hugs us tightly. "I missed you so much!"

"You saw us a week ago," Jisung laughs.

"Exactly! It's been so long. C'mon, we've been waiting for you!"

We follow him to the house, drop our bags inside and leave our shoes on the rack. Seungmin, Jeongin, Haseong, Changbin and Chan come into the room and dole out hugs. I squeeze Seungmin extra tight.

"Chan, you okay?" Jisung asks suddenly.

He's tense, absent, I can tell from a glance. Plus, if Jisung has to ask what's wrong, it means Chan is purposefully blocking him out.

"It's fine," he says, smiling a tight smile. "Just seasonal worries. Don't fret over me."

Then Felix comes in. He has the same look on his face. Now I know — something has happened.

"Bro!" He throws his arms around me. "Christ on a bike, it's been forever and a day! I wanna show you the falls, it's spectacular this time of year."

"That'd be great," I say.

He moves on to Jisung and gives him an aggressive hug-noogie combo. Chan's eyes are heavy, watching the two of them. He looks down, turns and heads into the kitchen. Haseong watches him go.

I unzip my bag, take out the tattered copy of Emma by Jane Austen and walk into the kitchen. Chan is sitting at the table, staring out the back doors. I take a seat next to him and set the book on the table.

He looks down at it, up at my face. "You finished it?"

"More or less."

"Did you like it?"

"It didn't really hold my attention. That's probably my own fault. But thank you for lending it to me. It's pretty cool Jane Austen signed it."

"It is, isn't it? She was actually quite nice. She asked me what I was doing in Chawton; I told her that adventure did not befall me in my own village so I had to seek it out abroad. I suppose the sentiment stuck with her..." He sighs and looks at me. "Sorry, I'm rambling."

I scoot my chair closer to his. "No, I wanna hear more."

He smiles but it's still heavy. He puts his arm around me, pulls me into his side — I slump down a little so I can put my head on his shoulder.

───

Chan tells me stories for a while, anecdotes from his three centuries on earth. The people he's met, the places he's been, the things he's witnessed. Sometimes I have to cut in and ask if he's being serious, and every time he looks back at me and replies with a genuine 'why wouldn't I be?'

The sun is bright outside, and for the first time in a long time, I'm somewhere I can go out and enjoy it. Chan seems excited when I suggest taking a walk. He plucks Haseong out of the other room and the three of us head out into the field behind the house.