Sunrise [Yungi FF]

12. Trying to Understand

You are what you see in the mirror, not what you think other people see in your reflection.

"Thank you," said Yunho. Mingi's words were certainly an inspiration, but it would take time to use the advice in action.

Mingi grinned, his heart swelling with pride. The little quarrel with San was worth seeing Yunho happy.

"Sometimes I think that it's such a miracle that I met you." Yunho sounded shy, but this time he stared into Mingi's eyes boldly.

It was Mingi who broke the eye contact. He looked away from the gray shadows that crossed Yunho's face as the sky dimmed and he faced the cityscape again, with an unusual serenity in his heart.

"Maybe it was." He replied, noticing that the excitement he had when he was inside the kitchen with Yunho had faded into nothingness.

Yunho noticed the monotone and frowned slightly. "You sound tired."

"I am." There was another voice in Mingi's head that echoed his thoughts in a less elegant and more demanding way. I want to go home.

The morose tone worried Yunho. "Are you okay?"

Mingi held his head. It was starting to throb. He wondered if it was the medications. He usually would've taken them by now.

He tried to force in a smile, but that only seemed to worsen the pain. Squeezing his eyes, he turned his head away to shake it off. When that didn't work, he started to pace the porch, the slippers clumping against the wood flooring.

"Does your head hurt?" Worry was evident in Yunho's voice. Following Mingi with small, hesitant steps, he tightened one palm around the mirror and reached out his free hand to touch Mingi's shoulder.

The contact sent a thousand tiny sparkles down Mingi's arm. Then they rebounded and rushed up to his head, intensifying the headache into agonizing pain. Mingi shrugged his shoulder vigorously and spun around, the world tilting unsteadily as he did so.

Obscenities slipped out of his mouth. "Don't touch me," he said, a little too aggressively.

With concern filling up his body, Yunho began to feel the cold, like the edges of the mirror, digging into his skin. "What's wrong? Should I call an ambulance?"

Mingi stopped when he reached the end of the porch, but he didn't turn around. He gripped the top of the banister, his ears ringing with Yunho's urgent voice. The darkness had settled in completely, and as he caught a glimpse of the scenery again he felt the sky and the shadows constricting around him, squeezing everything out of him and leaving only one thing behind.

"Let's go in first. It's freezing," said Yunho, nearly shouting in desperation when he saw Mingi's trembling shoulders. "I'll pour you a cup of warm wate-"

Stop it. "Shut up!" Mingi's shout echoed in the open expanse of land outside.

Yunho jerked in surprise and stepped back, a chill spreading through his body when he saw the twisted expression on Mingi's face. 

How dare you. "Stop being nice. I know who you really are," said Mingi, his voice deep and low. "What you really want."

The menacing glare in Mingi's eyes pinned Yunho in place. He shrunk under the intense gaze. Fear and confusion clouded his brain. "What do you mean? Did I do something wrong?"

Ridiculous. "You...I can't believe it took you so long to realize." Mingi's tight voice was filled with unreleased fury.

There was no time for Yunho to understand the situation. He widened his eyes as Mingi ran towards him and grabbed a handful of his sweater. Shock overcame his body and he dropped the mirror, a loud clang resounding as the metal rim struck the floorboards.