Truly Yours • Kim Mingyu

[twenty-three]

I stare blankly ahead of me, questioning myself if I heard him right. He seems to be as shocked by what unpremeditatedly came from his mouth as me. A considerable amount of reluctance spurs inside the whitest corner of his eyes when I ask, "Did you say something?"

He takes a good few seconds to shake his head at my inquiry. "No I was talking to myself." He replies tightly. His facial expression shifts back to the bold unaffected look he wears, and it makes me ponder over an inevitable notion, did he already forget what he said to me that night?

I think I subconsciously wanted him to say that. His unbothered attitude is starting to disappoint me in more than one way. I'm more disappointed in myself for having expectations.

Get a grip Yoon Miyeon. A long time has passed, alot of things have changed when you were gone. His feelings are one of them.

Technically, I'm 23, but my mind  hasn't yet grown from the immature 17 years old highschooler. Sigh.

He pulls over the car few feets away from the house. It was drop dead silence all way, excluding Brownie's occasional barking. She's pretty quite for a dog.

Mingyu clears his throat. "We're here." He says dryly.

"I've eyes I can see that."

"Do me a favour. Take Brownie with you." He pleads, out of the blue. "Give her to your brother. If you can then tell him that she hasn't eaten it."

I narrow my eyes at him. "You can do it yourself, can't you?" I ask as I unbuckle my seatbelt.

His lower lip trembles while his eyes meander, like he's forcing himself to not to say something he wants to say so badly. "Your brother doesn't really like seeing me. I feel bad for leaving her at the doorsteps everytime."

For some strange undiscovered reasons, the hard feelings inside me softens by a tiny snippet. Words I wonder are appropriate for me to say urges to come out.

"You can come home." I say in a whisper. 

Unexpectedly, he laughs. It's half hearted and melancholic; the kind of laughter someone impels when they refuse to cry. He looks . . . lonely.

I want to be there for him, but I can't. I shouldn't. He was the one who pushed me away, he made me give up on him. Not the other way around.

"I've no home." He utters in a low pitch voice. Before I can say anything, he quickly changes the subject. "Anyways, I'll see you around. Maybe."

"Yeah. Maybe."

His car dashes off to the opposite side in a flash, leaving me alone on the streets with his dog. I slowly walk towards the house.

Going inside, I see a very disturbed Jeonghan sitting on the couch with his arms and legs crossed.

If I'm told to be straightforward, I'd say I haven't seen my brother being that much irritated for a long long time.

He looks genuinely mad. It's unnerving me.

He trudges towards me and stands a few metres away with a patent frown on his face. "Did you just get down from Mingyu's car?" Asks he skeptically. "Don't even try to say no because nobody in this house or residence drives a sports car other than Mingyu."

I swallow the lump that just produced in my throat, thanks to the superfluous seriousness he brought up. "Yeah. We ran into each other at the store. He offered a ride home." It was the best and safest lie I could come up with. Great.

I should've said something like I broke my ankle or I was afraid to get hit by a truck on my way home.

Jeonghan groans dramatically, massaging his temple with his thumb. Something tells me that a domestic war will most likely wage if he doesn't calm his shit down.