Sweet Cheater - Minsung

Chapter 40

Reeducation finally started, and Minho was eager to start with it. His first session was today, and he was anxious.

He wanted to heal as fast as possible, but he still got stressed.

He knew it was going to get hard, it was going to test his motivation, his patience. He knew he would want his body to work in a way it will not. He knew it would need time for his leg to not ache, to work functionally.

He wondered when he would finally walk, then run, and hopefully dance.

The doctor had assured him he would be able to, but he couldn't take his mind of the possibility of being unable to.

For his sake, Jeongin Jisung and Chan had an excellent idea.

The three of them decided to come along with Minho to his first session, they wanted him to feel safe and helped, and it worked. Minho couldn't tear his smile off his face as they told him they were coming.

They were watching Minho do his first exercises, as they teased him, joking along with nurse.

Minho found out how hard the exercices actually were. He always was athletic, but this was a different kind of pain. He would wince often, sometimes making faces that showed his pain, followed by some groans. He tried to keep them in, but they would escape his mouth, making his friends laugh a lot.

"You three are really mean to your friend" The nurse said with a genuine laugh, as she held Minho's arms tightly, making him stand up to lead him on the following exercise.

"Do you see what I have to live with?" Minho teased with a faked sigh, making Chan snicker.

"But our Minho is simply someone easy to mess with" Jisung stated jokingly, explaining to the nurse.

"Really?" The nurse asked, smiling seeing that Minho's level of distress had drastically lowered since the three boys started messing with him. So she made the effort for them to continue teasing his patient "Why?"

"He's the weird kind" Jeongin stated

"He is socially awkward" Jisung said, making Minho chuckle

"And has this thing where he is always distracted, like deep in thoughts" Chan said, but that seemed to make Minho tense suddenly.

The nurse realized, but decided to not give it too much credit. If talking helped Minho doing his stretches, she didn't care about whatever conversation they had.

"Yeah!" Jisung approved, looking at Chan "He randomly freezes and stays in his mind"

"Well... about that" Minho muttered weakly, but it got heard by absolutely everyone in the room

"What?" Chan asked, as he frowned at Minho's sudden tone.

"It's not really a ... characteristic, but more like... yeah" He vaguely explained, which got the three boys even more confused.

The nurse got a bit embarassed, realizing that the conversation got deeper. But she wouldn't stop it, as long as Minho works. She needed him to be comfy and he seemed getting lighter and lighter as he was talking more.

"More like what?" Jisung asked softly, noticing the slight trouble of the boy.

"Like mental illness" He said, in a joking tone, making the three boys stiffened on their sit.

"W-What?" Jisung asked again, eyes widened

Minho simply shrugged, not really knowing how he could react to that.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Chan softly asked

"Because it's not a characteristic" Minho defended, shrugging again

"Since when...?" Jisung asked

"Since I started therapy for my mom's grief, I guess" He responded, and that made Jisung pout.

"So we dated for 3 years and your stubborn ass didn't think about opening up to me?" Jisung asked, slightly in shock but trying to make it sound like a joke to not push Minho off.

Minho chuckled genuinely, as he smile at the boy "I was kinda ashamed, you know"

"You don't have to" He responded softly

"What is it, exactly?" Chan asked, trying to decipher more.

"Well, basically derealizations" He explained vaguely

"What is it?" Jeongin asked

"I sometimes shut down, and do things without really realizing. It can be subtle, or really dangerous. For example, I really shouldn't drive" He explained, as Jisung's eyes suddenly widened.

"Does it have a link with... what happ-" Jisung said unsure, but was cut off abruptly

"NO" Minho suddenly said as he stood up, wincing because of his leg as the nurse nagged him for it. He realized how he exclaimed, and sat back down, as the nurse helped him "No... I was simply stupid, Jisung" He said, tensing even more

"What if it does?" Chan asked, knowing that reaction was strange

"It doesn't" Minho defended firmly

"But it could, derealization can make anyone develop some kind of mythomany or weirded out behaviors." Chan argumented, and made Minho sigh loudly.

"Look. It's something I have been working on, and I know none of you will understand. But for my guilt-consciousness and my mental health, I cannot put the blame of my bad actions on whatever is wrong with my mind" He explained, somehow avoiding their eyes "That would also be manipulation towards you, Jisung." He added, as he turned to him, looking shamefully at him

"You're right" Chan agreed, nodding with a proud smile. He loved Minho's mind, he was too precious for this world.

"Yes, thank you" Jisung added, smiling warmly at him. That made him feel so much more at ease. Minho was really careful with others, even if he had forgotten it.

"You're so cool, Min" Jeongin said, raising up the mood as they all laughed at the comment.

"How can you be a red flag but also such a walking green flag, Minho?" Chan asked, teasing him

"You're joking? The cheater? A green flag?" Minho scoffed shamefully.

"I mean, aside from this fact, you've always been a considerate person" Jisung said, defending Chan's opinion.

And that warmed Minho's heart.