Centers of Fate - Stray Kids

Chapter 22 - Truth Hurts

Minho stared up at the mansion he grew up in, seeing it in a whole different light after what he had been learning recently. Felix was sitting on the front porch waiting for him to arrive. He spent a lot of time outside of the mansion, where he lived since he couldn't afford a Superior apartment on an Average salary. His parents expected him to be away often since he had so many friends. The Superior spell was almost completely broken for Minho now. They knew why their parents had asked Minho over for a family dinner as the summer sun set in its familiar blood orange facade.

Both articles Mr. River wrote went viral.

"Hello Minho, I'm so glad you're here!" Mrs. Lee welcomed him with a hug. "You're so busy with work that we never see you anymore!"

Minho shot a glance at Felix, who knew about Minho's current job situation, but they both smiled and nodded, as they were expected to do.

"Minho, so glad you could make it! Dinner is just about ready."

Mr. Lee was still wearing his suit from work, just unbuttoned and with no tie. They walked through the foyer, underneath the chandelier, to enter the lavish dining room. All the finest silverware the Lees had was set up, and the boys and Mrs. Lee sat at their familiar places, Felix and Minho on one side, and Mrs. Lee on the chair nearest to her husband, who sat at the head. They sank into the comfort of the chairs, worried about what was about to happen.

Instead of bringing in dinner, Mr. Lee had papers in his hand that had recently been printed. He slapped them down on the table, and Felix quickly noticed the pictures of the corkboards from Mr. River's house.

"So there's no dinner?" Felix asked innocently, who had been out all day between work and hanging out with Hyunjin and Jisung.

"I'm afraid not. We need to talk about these articles."

Minho tried to contain his anger. "What about them?"

"Well," Mrs. Lee chimed in, looking at her husband. "These articles say a lot of things that your father and I know aren't true about you."

"As the kids might say, it's not a good look."

Felix was staying calm on the outside, but Minho wasn't having the same luck.

"What, exactly, do you think is wrong?" Minho grabbed Felix's hand and pretended it was Jisung's.

"First off, your mental health." He pulled out the appropriate pictures and slid them so the boys could see. "This reporter, if you can even call him that, said that your" He thrusted a finger at Minho. "mental health is Sub-Standard. That can't be, you're a Lee!"

"Did you even read the whole article? Superior evaluators skew rankings higher than they actually are sometimes."

"You have always been confident and able to handle anything. How does that make you Sub-Standard?"

"Unbelievable..." Minho muttered and briefly looked away. "I realized when meeting different people that I relate more with Sub-Standard mental health than Superiors. I have every right to trust my own instincts about myself, and honestly, I'm not as stable as I look."

"But at work..."

"That's different. It's a performance. When I'm by myself, I'm a lot more like Jisun..."

"Speaking of which, neither of you are straight?" Mrs. Lee was taking in all the information her sons were saying, but the Superior propaganda was too embedded for her to see anything else.

"No I'm not. I have a boyfriend." Minho said confidently, smiling at the memory of their first kiss.

"But how are you going to pass on your legacy?" His dad asked, angrier than he probably intended.

Minho smirked since he already used the perfect answer. "There's always adoption."

Felix nearly spit out the water he was drinking, which got him a stern look from his mother. It was such a beautiful answer to an incredibly privileged and homophobic question. Felix was almost mad he didn't think of that response himself, even though there would be no reason for him to answer it.

"What about you Felix?" Mrs. Lee really was trying to understand.

Felix's answer was simple enough. "I stand by everything I said in both articles, including my yellow push pins."

"Well boys, your mother and I will have to discuss whether you can still be connected to this family with our reputation soiled like this."

"Excuse me?!?" All three of them said in their own cadence.

"Minyong, sweetheart." Mrs. Lee spoke up. "If this is who they are, you can't just disown them, even if we disagree with their lifestyles."

"Oh that's bullshit!" Felix finally snapped. "How long did I get the silent treatment after my Evaluation? I hid my Average mental health and sexuality for years, fearing that the backlash would be too much!"

His mother looked shocked. "People can change Lixie..."

"Figure it out and tell us later."

Felix grabbed Minho's hand and dragged him out of the chair, almost bumping his knee into it. Minho expected this from himself at some point, but not from his mild-mannered brother. Their footsteps echoed through the house, and Minho made a point to slam the door behind him.

"Call Jisung." Felix demanded.

"Why?"

"He's the best at calming me down when I'm angry, and he'll probably help you too."

Minho grinned, called his partner and handed the phone to Felix so he could drive.

"Awwwwww." Felix's mood softened a bit when he saw Jisung listed as "Sungie my bf <3" in Minho's phone.

"Hey baby!"

"Hey Hannie!" Felix could hear the pride in Minho's voice, but that didn't take away from his own anger at his parents.

"Not to interrupt, but I was hoping you could help us."

The deep voice startled Jisung, who suddenly sounded sad. "Oh, hey Lix. I'm assuming it didn't go well."

"Those prejudiced fuckers! How dare they judge us and fuc..."

"Calm down," His voice reverberated through the car speakers. "We talked about this. We knew it was going to probably be this way."

"I know."

"And now you have Min who supports you too, which is different than before."

Felix frowned and hid his face from Minho, embarrassed at the true statement. "I know..."

"And if your parents disown you, the three of us will find a way to make it better."

"Can I visit you for a while?"

"Sure!"

Minho started to drive, and they continued to talk to Jisung until they got to their destination. Jisung was one of the best friends Felix could have ever found, and he was happy Minho was dating someone so amazing. Felix would make Jisung pay if he ever broke Minho's heart, but Minho was too whipped to let the relationship go that easily.

"Alright, I'm outside." Felix signed off.

"See you soon Lix, love you Min, bye."

Jisung hung up quickly, but Minho stared wide-eyed at his brother. "He said it."

"Said what?"

"That he loves me!" Felix had never seen genuine joy on Minho's face before. It was like some part of his soul was finally at peace.

"I'm so happy for you. I'm glad you can be who you are now." Felix patted his brother's shoulder in solidarity.

"Now it's time to make sure others can feel that way too."

He may have come to terms with who he is inside, but that will never stop Minho from eventually getting his way.