Sunrise [Yungi FF]

8. Something Changed

San burst into the restaurant, panting heavily. The blast of warm air that hit him as he entered didn't help; he was already sweating from running all the way from his apartment.

He spotted Mingi, sitting slouched on a chair at the back. Someone wearing a black suit stood next to him, a phone in his hands. He skirted through the tightly packed tables and walked to the far wall as quickly as he could.

"Are you his friend?" The man in the suit asked with a gruff voice, shoving the phone towards San impatiently.

"Yes, thank you." San took Mingi's phone from the man and brushed away some hair that had stuck to his forehead. Then he eyed his friend, who had bent over and was now staring intently at the floor.

Immense frustration made his blood boil, but he kept his cool as he said, "I'm so sorry for the trouble he caused."

The man - presumably the manager, now that San got a good look - waved the apology off half-heartedly. "Just bring him home."

A thought came to San and he searched his pockets hastily. "Has he paid yet?" He found his wallet and took some bills out. "Here-"

San faltered when the manager snatched the money abruptly. "Just go." He scanned the room, sighed shortly, and lowered his voice. "Don't disturb the other customers." Then he walked away with an urgency in his gait.

San took a deep breath to prepare himself before turning to Mingi. He pushed him back to an upright position and stared at the blank eyes. That was when he picked up the nose-tingling smell of alcohol.

"For goodness sake, Mingi! How much did you drink? You get drunk after one mouthful!" San exclaimed, grabbing Mingi's shoulders. "I told you not to mix your medication with alcohol!"

Mingi winced and squirmed under the tight grip. "Let go of me. It hurts."

San let go of Mingi and arched his neck to the ceiling to compose himself. He felt a headache coming and muttered, "For f**k's sake. What the hell did you do?"

Mingi stood up clumsily. "I didn't take the pills." He said, almost too quickly to be coherent.

"You what?!" Unable to control his agitation, San raised his voice and his words came out harsh.

This attracted the customers' attention, and when San noticed the stares he grabbed Mingi's arm and began pulling him towards the exit. On the way, he bowed his head and apologized quietly.

One particularly bold customer looked at San and shook his head pitifully. "He almost hit the man he was with. How horrible is that?"

The old lady said something else about not drinking alcohol, but San wasn't listening anymore. He pushed the door open and yanked Mingi's arm, practically throwing him out onto the street.

"What actually happened?" San asked, trying to suppress his anger.

Mingi frowned, shoving his hands into his pockets roughly. "He was going to hurt me, like how he hurt my dad."

San could barely hear Mingi's soft voice. He linked an arm around Mingi's and tugged gently. "Come on, let's go home. You're hallucinating again."

Yunho wasn't sure what to make of the text message. Mingi had sent him the video he took in the restaurant - the video of Yunho helping the waiter - without any elaboration.

He sat at the pantry, fingers hovering over his keyboard, wondering what to say. Wondering if he should say anything at all.

Hey, did you g

He wasn't halfway into the message when he held the delete button and erased it all. What was the point in asking whether Mingi returned home safely? Mingi wouldn't have sent the video yesterday at midnight if something happened.