Sunrise [Yungi FF]

18. Flying Thoughts

The sun was gone. The sky was a clean, dark blue. Stars were out, almost outshining the thin crescent of the waxing moon. Headlights illuminated the gray asphalt and white pavement markings with bobbing yellow pools.

Yunho and Mingi were going in the opposite direction now - back towards the city - so they could get some dinner. 

"There's a nice Japanese ramen place near where I live," said Mingi.

"Sure," Yunho said, smiling. A big warm bowl of noodles sounded very tempting after sitting in the car with the windows open for so long.

Everything was going well. Hope bloomed in his chest as he took in the moment - the night view, the casual conversation, Mingi's warm voice...

Yunho's phone buzzed softly in his coat pocket, breaking his reverie. He took it out, prepared to mute it so they wouldn't be disturbed again, and hesitated when he saw the caller ID.

"Who is it?" Mingi asked, catching a glimpse of Yunho's knitted eyebrows.

"Jongho."

The ringtone continued playing softly. "You can pick it up."

"No, it's fine." Without a second thought, Yunho pressed the red button to end the call. The quiet that followed was more prominent than it was before the ringtone interrupted the silence. "He's probably calling to nag me."

He was near the end of the sentence when the phone sounded again, this time with incessant chimes from a slew of notifications.

"Are you sure?" Mingi probed. Yunho thought he heard a hint of irritation in the other's voice.

"Yeah." Yunho's voice lacked conviction as he scanned through Jongho's messages. Some were apologies for the argument at the hospital, but most of them were warning Yunho to be careful. "I'm sure," said Yunho again, more firmly this time.

He looked at Mingi, who smiled in return. When they were sitting in a car driving into the night and talking about dinner, there was nothing he needed to be careful about.

"Do you still have my mirror?" Mingi asked suddenly.

"Of course," Yunho replied, taking the mirror out. He peered into his reflection effortlessly, completely overlooking the crack running down across the glass surface. It felt such a long time ago when he broke it that it didn't bother him anymore.

Mingi felt a surge of pride when he stole a short glance at his present to Yunho. The mixture of happiness and excitement, coupled with the thrill of driving so freely against the wind, gave him an exhilarating rush that overwhelmed his senses. He felt it at the back of his neck, where the skin tingled. "I'm guessing it helped you, then."

For a moment Yunho didn't know where to begin. There were too much to say and too few words to use. "It did. Whenever I look into the mirror, I think about what you always say about me, and then I smile and suddenly, instead of an incompetent and weak employee, I see a compassionate person who just wants to help others."

He thought about the many times he cowered behind his desk, thinking he was useless because of something a stranger said on the phone. He laughed inwardly at himself now as the realization dawned on him, as refreshing as the cold wind coming in through the windows.

"As you said," Yunho continued, "I hid my good traits from myself and let other people's opinions shape who I was. And then you came by and helped me find those hidden parts. Now I use my patience and tolerance to answer those phone calls at work."

"You can't forget about the rest of you, though," said Mingi. His mind was on the road, the words flowing out of his mouth as freely as the cars moving on the unobstructed highway. "Everyone has a bad side."