✔︎𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 || 𝐋𝐞𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐡𝐨

4. sound of shoes on the floor

"Sometimes, I come in this place, but you're not here. I seem to come way more often than you do". 

"At first, I thought it was a good thing, but now I'm not sure anymore. Something feels off".

"Minho, wouldn't it be better for us to stay here all the time? Wouldn't it be better if we never had to leave?"

"If I have to come here so many times, at least I wish I didn't have to leave..."

Y/n's words echoed in Minho's head. They felt like a distant dream, a memory, yet they felt so warm as he kept recalling them. He had wondered if maybe there was a way to stay in that place, with her, forever, but that would have been like hoping to dream for the rest of your life. It's been a few months since he first met her in that land, and every time he showed up, she was already there. He started to think that she was only a part of her dream, a dream that repeated itself every time Minho went to sleep. It was so sad that one of the only few things good in his life right then was just a dream.

"Minho... are you listening to me right now?" His friend asked.

Minho came back into reality, as his eyes lay again on his friend's face.

"Uh?" He asked confused.

Chan could only sigh and lie back in the chair of the cafeteria. He brought his americano back on his lips as he studied Minho's face: he was pale, way more than usual, he had big and dark circles under his eyes, and every time he looked at him, he seemed like his mind was on another planet.

"What's up with you lately" Chan asked.

Minho rubbed his eyes, coming back into reality.

"I'm stressed" Minho replied.

"We all are, but you truly look like a zombie. Not just that, you look sick"

Minho looked at the ceiling, then he just shrugged his shoulders "Would it matter?"

Chan blinked a few times, watching Minho's exhausted expression. Then, he put his americano down, as he leaned on the table, now inches from his friend.

"I know it's difficult for us, our life is stressful, no one can deny it. But you should really see someone. Our agency provides a therapist for this kind of thing, you know, you could talk to them, and see if they can help you".

Minho stared into the air, blankly "I'm not following you"

Chan sighed "What I mean is, I think your mental health is dropping, Minho. And I'm not the only one, the other boys too. Lately, you've become way more quiet, you don't want to go out anymore, not even when we go to the arcades, and you're not even drinking with us on saturday night. You prefer sleeping, and I can't help but think that it's more than just tiredness now".

Minho kept looking at the tidy cafeteria's ground, as the word of his friend echoed into his head.

"Remember that before your teammates or your co-workers, we're your friends, and we hate seeing you like this".

Now Minho looked up, just to meet Chan's overly worried expression. He felt his heart melt as he saw how much his friend actually cared about him, and just now he began to realize that his state of mind wasn't an influence only on him, but on everyone around him too.

He took a big breath, closing his eyes "It's true that I feel tired, but it's not something only physical anymore..." Minho said.

Chan nodded his head "I know, but it's time you do something about it, alright?"

Minho hesitated, but then he nodded, still looking at the ground.

Chan slightly smiled, and right after doing so, he got up from his seat, grabbing his Americano with one hand and his bag with the other.