lessons in love | minsung

55

It was amazing to be free. 

Minho felt as if he finally got a break in life, after months of living under pressure. So much had fallen off his shoulders that it almost left a sense of emptiness, but he was loving it. There was nothing to worry about – not even school, since the cops had explained the situation which resulted in another few weeks off – and he could live without a care in the world without a batshit stalker breathing in his neck and watching his every move. On top of that, the endless questionings at the police station were finally over, and he could do whatever he wanted.

Right now he was outside, enjoying the early Spring sun as it peeked through the deck of light gray clouds. The trees that had green buds sprouting from their branches and birds chirped happily as they sat atop them. Winter had reached its end, and Minho couldn't but smile at the irony. Spring was a symbol for new beginnings, wasn't it? Well, if someone had a new beginning, it was Minho and Jisung, now that the darkness rested far behind them. 

Music was softly playing from Minho's earbuds – Linkin Park, something Jisung had recommended a while ago – and though it wasn't entirely to his taste, he found himself quite enjoying their songs more and more often. Which was funny, since the heavy lyrics seemed less and less fitting to his life. Were he to listen to this a couple of months ago, before he found a boy who lit up his life, he probably would've found the lyrics a lot more relatable. 

But now his life was peaceful.

He never thought he'd ever live to say that. 

Jisung was currently at school, after the principal called him over to have a conversation. Out of habit, and with old paranoia still lingering, Minho had been quite nervous at first to let Jisung go alone, but he kept telling himself that it would be okay. There was no one after them anymore. Yet, the anxiety didn't leave him alone, hence why he went outside to seek some distraction, listening to music that reminded him of his boyfriend. 

Suddenly, the music abruptly stopped playing, and the sound of his ringtone sounded through his earbuds as his phone vibrated in his pocket. Minho was confused for a moment, before he realized that someone was calling him. He whipped out his phone to check the caller ID, but he froze over when his eyes found the words displayed.

Unknown number. 

A shiver ran down his spine as the familiar feeling of fear crept up his spine, flooding out through his entire being as it began to grow in the pit of his stomach. It couldn't be, right? Their stalker was most likely still hospitalized, in shambled after being ran over by the SUV of Hyunjin's dad. It was just a harmless phonecall, Minho convinced himself, trying to stop his breathing from turning frantic. He hesitated, swipe up to accept the call or ignore it? Biting his lip, he shoved aside the anxiety and tapped the green button, dragging it upward.

"Hello?" he asked, his voice wavering just a little. 

The other side of the line remained silent for a moment, and Minho started to suspect it was some kind of sick prank call or whatever, but right when he was about to end the call, someone spoke up on the other side. 

"Minho hyung?" a shaky voice called for him. "Hey, it's me, Hyunjin." 

"Hyunjin? Goodness," Minho breathed out, relief washing over him. He couldn't help the smile that crossed his face, gleeful to hear his best friend's voice again after days of not hearing from him at all. "Where are you?" 

"In prison," came the reply, and the older sucked in a breath. "I got to call one person for a very limited time and uh, I wanted to call you. But I don't have much time so don't get too startled and let me explain, okay?" 

"Go ahead," the chestnut-haired urged, trying to calm the impending heart attack. Hyunjin was in prison? He had so frantically hoped for that not to happen, and it seemed that his one fear came true. 

"Okay, you can relax, hyung," Hyunjin chuckled on the other end of the line, and just hearing his best friend laugh calmed down the nerves that surged through Minho's veins. "I was told that the maximum punishment for attempted murder without premediation is nine years in prison, but since there's so much proof that it was out of defense, the lawyer I got assigned is likely to reduce the original punishment to shreds. Don't worry, hyung. I won't be here for long."

"Wait, hold up, what the fuck?" Minho cursed, guffawed. "They charged you for attempted murder while you only saved us from actually getting murdered by that psycho?" 

"It sounds worse than it is, hyung," Hyunjin explained. "As I said, there's plenty of proof which will work in my favor, and there's a significant chance that I won't even get a criminal record for this. Besides, it not even certain whether or not I'll be charged with attempted murder." 

"I really hope for the best, Jin," the other spoke into the phone. "I miss you, it's so quiet in my apartment without your dramatic ass around." 

His best friend laughed breathily. "I miss you too." 

"Do you know anything about Felix?" Minho asked. "The police refused to say anything about him, no matter how many times I asked them." 

"The police is so weird sometimes – oh, sorry, sir," Hyunjin chuckled awkwardly. "But yeah, they held him for a while as a possible accomplice in attempted murder but they released him earlier today because there was no proof he knew about my intentions or something like that." 

Okay, so at least Felix was free. Minho made a mental note to call him after his conversation with Hyunjin ended so he could go and see him. 

"When can I see you again?" Minho inquired, which was his final question. 

"I don't know, I hope I can call you again as soon as I know more," his best friend sighed. "I have to go now, hyung. But really, I'll be out of here soon, I promise." His voice turned small as he added, "I really hate it here, can we please have a movie night as soon as I'm back?" 

"We can hold as many movie nights as you want, Jin," Minho reassured him with a smile, even though Hyunjin wouldn't be able to see it through the phone. "Take care, okay? It's going to be alright." 

The line abruptly died, and Minho figured Hyunjin was forced to hang up by the cop supervising him. Relief coursed through his veins now that he had finally heard from his best friend again after a radio silence that lasted days. And according to Hyunjin, Felix was set free today, and he really wanted to see the Australian as well. He instantly dialed his number, and Felix was quick to pick up. 

"Minho hyung!" the younger greeted him. "I'm free!" 

"I know, where are you?" Minho asked, laughing at the boy's cheerful intonation. 

"On my way to your apartment, I'll be there shortly," Felix said. "And you?" 

"I'm going home right away," the chestnut-haired male told him. "See you there, Lix." 

"See you there, hyung." 

With that, Minho ended the call. He shifted directions, turning into a bystreet that was a shortcut to his apartment building. He wasn't that far from his home, around a fifteen-minute walk away. Minho and Jisung were done with the police, Felix just got released. Now they just had to wait for Hyunjin, and they could finally build their normal life for real. Honestly, after all the madness they'd been through, Minho couldn't wait.