The Last Wish | Living With Stray Kids | New Chapters Added Every Sunday

Chapter 14: The North Korean Defector

"I didn't think you would come,I gotta say you got a lot of nerve to return after all the ruckus you created in front of the police",he said while smiling and looking at the guests,to seem friendly and non threatening.

"Once a bully always a bully",I realised instantly

"Why do you care what I do and don't do, can't you mind your own business",I retorted not sounding too mean as I don't know the nature of their relationship.

"Well your sister was living with the daughter of the traitor of our nation which reflects very poorly on our family now.

All the departments are talking about it and we as a family are ashamed, to add to the insult,you empathise with the traitors ,instead of your own family,so tell me Minho,is it still not my business?
Bambam replied

"Daughter of the traitor",it had really been a long time since someone called me that,I had forgotten the term but I didn't know that the very mention of it after all these years would shatter me as if I never moved past that guilt and shame of being the daughter of a man who was arrested and imprisoned.

"But you know thats not even the worst part of the story.You know what is?

Minha actively choosing to live with a jinx.

Haha

That girl was so fucking jinxed that she was born with a warning sign on her face.You know that scared eye of hers.I think she was a treacherous leach in her previous life too.So the king got her eye popped out.

I don't wanna be mean or anything but look,her father was arrested,her mother who never was found,nobody knows if she died or just abandoned the children because their father committed treason,she and her brother got orphaned and even when the brother was in the same situation as her,he still got adopted and not her.

Thats coz they saw exactly through her,she is a witch.

Everyone who loves her ends up dieing!!!

I wish I could have snatched Minha out of her evilness.
I feel responsible for not actively stepping in.
Only if had known where they lived".

I began trembling as the same 13 year old,who heard these cruel words for the first time,time and again people around me had made sure to never let me forget how awful I was for loosing all the people I had loved.The pain had subsided after Minha had come in my life and became my shield.

My panic made me inconsistent and I only heard parts of his speech as- I loved Minha since I can remember - she loved -always in way of our happiness -you disappointed too- both siblings are same- pattern or what-he isn't even handsome-she seems  the same-I manage Lee Industry-Dont come back ever ...Someone interrupted,and took me away.I saw a blur face.He offered me a glass of water.

As I gathered myself I looked at him,it was an ahjussi.He sat down next to me and told me to not take Bami's words seriously as he is just disturbed by everything thats happened recently.

Minho you have to be around more often.This is a rough time,your father needs you here,he is always looking out to your visits.He might seem cold but he actually glows up whenever we talk about you,the Ahjussi said

I had to ask him about it even if he thought it was unusual.So what Bami was saying about Minha living with some traitors daughter,what does that mean??,I asked

Well,I think you know more than me,I was transferred here after that. Didn't you fight with your father  about her when we first found out where Minha was living a year back??, Ahjussi replied

Minho fought because he didn't want me to be called a traitors daughter.He knows who I am ,and still didn't tell me ..All this time I thought he didn't remember me.

I decided to leave for home and ask him all these questions.As I was about to leave I realised the main gate of the mansion resembled the exit gate of the quaters a lot, taking me back to the winter of 2014,the year that orphaned me,the year that broke me.It was the coldest winter of my life.A year where I had to part ways with everyone I loved.

Flashback:
Saying the final goodbye,I hugged Minha and she asked  my mother to give her a painting of all four of us ,Lee siblings and Ahn siblings, she had drawn.It wasn't even complete yet.Imi had drawn Minha Minho,me but Yeo sup was yet to be drawn.Minha turned to Imi (Eomoni-Mother)and promised her that she  will complete it.

"Imi,I can't match your artistry but I will try my best to complete it the way you would have wanted it to", promised Minha clinging tightly to the canvas in her hand.

She took a few steps closer to Yeo sup to remember to draw his face,I won't forget your face,its engraved herein and I will draw you with us.The ground covered with snow echoed the icy silence that followed.I had never seen them talk before but then again this wasn't like any other day.

Under the heavy cloak of snow, each step felt like a burden. The ground, a canvas of pure white, concealed the path ahead. With every stride, our feet sank into the  ice, the cold seeping through worn soles. As we moved forward, our breath formed misty sighs, and tears welled in our eyes from the biting wind.

Looking at the quaters one last time,the frosty winds carried the echoes of lost warmth,and snow-laden branches bore the weight of frozen tears,before I could get into the lorry, I felt like someone held my sleeve from behind tugging at it to draw my attention,it was Lee Minho.I didn't want him to see me all shattered to pieces.

"Minhoya,Why do you have to always find me when I am at my worst"

"Thats because I am never not looking at you",he placed his hands around my freezing face,his hands felt warm against my icy cheeks  ,he took a few steps closer to me and inquired ,Will you do the same for me?Our faces barely an inch away from each other.The snowflakes kept kissing our face but we didn't move.He looked at me inquisitively waiting for an answer.I didn't reply,may be because I wanted the time to just stop here and let me reside in this moment forever.Would that have made the winter a bit warmer??

End of Flashback.

I was too engulfed in my thoughts,I didn't realise I was still standing at the Lee residence mansion.It had started snowing.I didn't have an umbrella with me.

"I should have prepared myself,they warned about the snow in the news",I mumbled under my breath leaving a misty fog out of my mouth.

"Whats there to warn about the snow,warn against running out and building a snowman,coz I would do it irrespective of whether you warn me or not",came a voice from behind.

"Thats exactly what my Minha would say",I turned around and saw a tall,slender man looking at me.I firstly thought it was Lino but I was mistaken.He stepped forward to cover me with an umbrella.He seemed familiar but I didn't recognise him.

"I was expecting to see you here,I can't come back for a while so I thought of seeing you here.Sorry,I couldn't come earlier.Minho,I am sorry for your loss".He embraced me in a tight hug.
He seemed like a close friend of Minho as I sensed a sort of connection so I lowered my guard around him, hugging him back.

At a distance,I saw Minho in a car waiting for me,so I said my farewell to the gentleman and started walking towards the car,the gusty winds became softer,and they didn't pierce through my face anymore,the dim headlight of the car lit up the dark snowy alley and the sheen snow turned golden.I smiled at Minho as he stood outside the car,opening the car door for me.I strided quickly ,so the car seat doesn't get all snowy, which made him giggle. We drove through a deserted snow covered lane but the heater being on for a while had made the car balmy and snug.

"Would you like to have an ice cream" ,Lino asked childishly

This unironically made me crack up and I burst out laughing at his silly suggestion but on a second thought it didn't seem like a bad idea.

Author's note:Yoona called her Eomoni Imi as she had misprounced it since she was a child and it had stuck .So Yeo sup also called her Imi. And so did the other kids.

Who do you think the mysterious man outside the Lee mansion was?

What do you think about Bambam,do you think people can change?

Please share your opinion in the comments.