Centers of Fate - Stray Kids

Chapter 6 - Superior

"Minmin, have lunch with me pleeeease?" Felix begged.

"Why do I have to go by the weird people?"

"Because you love your little brother and want to spend time with him!"

Minho groaned on the other end of the line. "Fine, but only because it's you. Where do you want to go?" He walked through the parking garage towards his car, looking around to see what luxury car he wanted to try next after his lease was up in a few months.

"There's a cafe at the end of the nature trail. You can wait under the tree for me until I finish work."

"When will you be done?"

"Fifteen minutes."

"Okay fine, meet you by the tree." Minho hung up as he heard his brother start to make happy noises through the receiver.

The drive to Felix's work was only five minutes, and the weather was closer to old Spring than new Spring. Minho loosened his tie as he started up his car and made his way towards his brother, who worked a Sub-Standard job because he was a good person.

Minho thought he was a good person, but most people saw him as stuck up and privileged. As the eldest male of the next generation of the Lee family fortune, Minho went through life with ease. Sure, he worked hard, and expected a lot of those around him, but he never struggled like the people his brother worked with. The Final Evaluation was so simple, and yet so many freaked out about it. It didn't make sense.

As he got out of his car, he tossed his tie on the passenger's seat and loosened the top two buttons of his white dress shirt. His eyes looked to the left of the main entrance and saw a beautiful and sturdy tree. One path faded into the distance behind the building, and another branch went deep into the forest. Three benches surrounded the tree, about equidistant from each other, giving the sitter a bit of something other than the car park to look at. Minho was drawn to the comfort of the tree as he walked to the bench closest to the building. He found someone else sitting on the adjacent bench, looking pensively into the forest. He started to think this place wasn't that bad until he remembered his brother's line of work: Dealing with people his section of society would rather forget about.

"Hi." The boy said shyly to him.

"Hey," Minho responded before he could stop himself. Glancing to his left, he saw someone around his brother's age who had the most stunning side profile he'd ever seen. "What's a guy like you doing here?" The boy seemed stunned and shifted on the bench.

"I could ask you the same." His laugh was soft but distinct.

"I'm waiting for my brother so we can hang out."

"Who's your brother?"

"Lee Felix."

"Ahh, he's the sweetest." His smile was genuine. They sat in silence for a moment, enjoying the light breeze and the rustle of the leaves.

"Do you work here too?" Minho asked the boy who he instantly liked despite his general aversion to small talk without knowing class distinction first.

"No, I see a therapist. Mainly for my social anxiety, but we talk about my depression too." Minho froze.

I knew I shouldn't have trusted him.

"Oh." His body turned away without thinking. Minho never asked his name. That didn't matter now though.

"You can't be Felix's brother."

Minho ignored the boy, but was furious. Of course they're brothers. They're heirs to the Lee fortune. Why wouldn't they be related?