Truly Yours • Kim Mingyu

[thirteen]

"Since when?"

The air around the Han River feels so fresh and alive in my lungs against the congested heated air and those dominating noises of the club. After I ran away like a coward, I told Jeonghan to take us to the Han River since it was the only decent place I could think of at that time.

I place my hands on the cold metallic railings, waiting for him to response. He shoots me a despondent look. "After two years of your disappearing."

"Why is he like this?"

"None of us know what exactly happened or the reason that caused him to change like this." He lets out an exasperated sigh, brushing his bangs backward with his fingers.

"One day he came home really late. He was drunk and suddenly started breaking things. He wouldn't talk to us nor he listened. He would lock himself up inside his room after causing all that ruckus. This continued for several days. Every night he came home late, wasted and with a temper. Each night he brought a new girl home.

"Things got really really ugly and much worse one night. He was pissed off enough to break our family portrait. He was throwing around more stuffs and when Dino tried to stop him . . .he . . .God help me I can't do this Miyeon." He sucks in a shaky breath, tightening his jaw as his eyes start glistening. "Take it easy. Tell me what he did."

Seconds later, I'm regretting my life decision of ever coming back. A mixed feeling of abhorrence and consternation gushes through me like frantic frequency. The hairs on my arms and legs stand up in fright.

"He, maybe accidentally or I don't know . . . maybe deliberately, pushed Dino down the stairs. We were beyond surprised. We didn't know what to do or who to call. When reality checked, we rushed to him and quickly took him to the hospital. Dino . . . he lost a lot of blood Miyeon. Alot. He didn't wake up for 2 days.

"We were so worried about him that none of us wanted to leave him alone and go home. Later, we found out that he hit a sensitive spot on his head really hard while falling down the stairs. And that resulted him to reach coma. God have mercy Miyeon . . . h-he was just a little kid but he was in coma for 5 weeks, fighting against life and death. Doctor said he was brave as well as lucky. Trust me, ever since that dreadful day we never exchanged a proper sentence with Mingyu. He wasn't even sorry for what he did."

"Oh my god." I say in a quick whisper, voice breaking at 'my'. I put a hand on my mouth, whimpering. My mind is blank like a white paper now. Just imagining Dino falling down those stairs makes me shiver, as if I'm in a deadly chill. "What happened later?" I ask as I weep silently.

"We didn't want Mingyu to stay with us anymore. Unfortunately, his parents weren't here either. They were outside the country for sorting out some business deals. We were too devastated and inconsolable about with what happened to Dino, so we didn't think of the consequences and told Mingyu to pack his stuffs and leave the next morning. We thought it was for the best. Everyone else agreed to it but out of the blue Wonwoo insisted on keeping him with us, saying he was only 19 and how he wouldn't survive on his own. How he was still an immatured kid who knew nothing about the outer world and we couldn't abonden him like that and all kinds of crap."

"Later with or without our consent, Mingyu ended up staying. However, we divided the house into 12:1. We agreed that he'd be on his own, all the troubles he'd potentially cause in the future would be only his to handle. He would take responsibility and he would never dare to drag us into his messed up life. He still lives with us but we never crossed paths again."

His head drops over his shoulders, knuckles turing white due to the extreme firm fist he had made to hold in his tears. "I hope you understand why I was trying to keep you away from him as far as possible."