dino's twin sister ➳ seventeen

Thirty Six ➵ Burdens

 "Joshua, can you hear me?" I ask quietly and hold his hand tighter. 

I lean over and watch as he battles with his eyes until they're finally open. I smile, feeling tears of happiness spring inside my eyes before hugging him cautiously. 

"Areum." He says croakily and I kiss his forehead.

Damn, I've missed him so much. 

"I'm so glad that you're awake." I say and instead of kissing him on the forehead, I connect my lips with his. 

He smiles into the kiss but I can tell he's tired, so after only a few seconds I pull away. He tries his hardest to move along in the bed and pats the small space beside him which I carefully occupy. I sit beside him - well, practically on top of him - and lean my head onto his unwounded shoulder.

He strokes the back of my hair with his free hand and turns to the side, kissing the side of my head. We sit there, not saying anything simply because words aren't needed. I just take the time to appreciate the fact he's actually still here and we're together again.

"How have you been?" He asks and I decide not to tell him about the previous incident. 

"I've been fine, just really worried about you. You really scared me, Joshua."

"I'm sorry," he says quietly. "I can't remember much of what happened." 

"What do you remember?"

"Well we were in the lounging room in the company building, talking but I can't remember what about and the fire alarm went off. I remember you helping me out but that's about it." 

"You don't remember what happened before?" I ask. 

He shakes his head. "No, what were we talking about?" 

That means he's forgotten about the whole fake relationship ordeal. I decide not to tell him, not wanting him to worry further because he should be focusing on his recovery. 

"Um, it was nothing. We were just talking about things in general." 

I feel bad for lying but telling him wouldn't help. I then decide to go and find a nurse so she can check up on Joshua considering he's only just woken up. 

As she's asking Joshua questions about how he feels, I walk into the waiting room with the other boys. Jasmine isn't here anymore and I assume she's gone home. 

"Hey, Ar. How did things at the police station go?" Vernon asks quietly when I sit beside him.

I simply shake my head, signalling that it didn't go well. He sighs and wraps his arm around my shoulder, hugging me like he hasn't done for a while. I really do miss Vernon, we haven't spoken as much as we used to but I know that we're always best friends. 

"Everything will be fine, I promise." 

As badly as I want to, I find myself unable to believe his words.

Who could have possibly done this to Joshua and I? The only person I can think of is Kim Eui, but even she couldn't have stooped that low. But she does hate my guts, after all. 

I sigh and close my eyes, desperately wishing that all of this would stop soon. 

Thoughts of being in court and sent to prison flash through my mind, which may happen due to the accusations against me. The very thought frightens me so much. I feel my head ache as my stress levels rise even further. 

"You should go home for a while, Areum, you need some time to rest." Dino says from opposite me. 

I know he's right but I can't just leave Joshua here. 

"Mum and dad aren't home." I mumble. They're currently visiting family abroad.

"I'll go with her." Mingyu suggests and I look at him, surprised.

"You wouldn't mind?" 

"Of course not." 

"Sorted," Dino smiles. "Get some rest when you're there, Areum." 

After catching a taxi to my house, Mingyu and I sit in my living room. I sit with my head in my hands, feeling the stress of school, exams and worry about Joshua all at once. 

"You should try and get some sleep." Mingyu says and I shake my head.

"I can never sleep when I have a lot on my mind," I say quietly and look up at him. "I'm really scared, Mingyu." 

He moves from the other sofa and sits beside me. I've never been as close with Mingyu as I am with some of the other boys but I still consider him to be like a brother to me. 

"Don't be scared," he assures but his words fail to change my emotions. "Everything will be fine, I swear, but you need to stay strong for Joshua's sake." 

"How can I stay calm when there's a huge chance that I'll be in prison in a few months?" 

He looks down. "You won't be."

"I just want to forget all of this. I want to wake up and the burden is gone. I want Joshua to be okay again and I don't want anybody else to get hurt." 

"I feel like I have a huge burden, too." He admits, scratching the back of his head and biting his lip. 

"What is it?" I ask curiously. 

"You can't tell a soul." He warns, raising his eyebrows. 

I shake my head. "I promise." 

"Do you pinky promise?" He asks and I chuckle, outstretching my hand and linking my little finger with his own. 

Without breaking the contact, he mutters the words I never expected to hear. 

"I'm not 100% straight."

"You're gay?" I ask, shocked. 

"No, not fully. But yeah, a little, I guess." 

"Wow," I mutter, surprised. "Have you told anybody else?" 

"Just Wonwoo. I'm too scared to tell the other boys, they might hate me." 

"They won't hate you, don't be silly! Your sexuality doesn't change who you are, Mingyu." 

"You're right, I'm just scared," he sighs. "I guess we both have our burdens." 

I smile and squeeze his little finger. "We sure do."

author's note; aw sorry just a filler but drama is ahead

I HAVE LOTS OF NEWS FOR YOU GUYS

1. ThANK yoU ALL sO MucH FOR aLL THE ReADs 

honestly, every day after i get home from school i check my notifications and i always see loads of lovely comments and votes and they just make me so happy 

2. my sort of date (it wasn't a date but i call it a date bc my friends did) DID NOT GO WELL AT ALL 

I LEFT EARLY

I ABORTED THE MISSION 

IT WAS MORTIFYING 

i haven't spoken to him since, opps.

update: we're on talking terms now 

that's all for now, i hope you're all well&happy :)