A day. A whole day. Minho asked for her number more or less twenty-four hours ago. One of her idols, one of the people she respected and admired the most. One of the people she thought she would never meet just asked for her number ! She thought she was dreaming and wished to never wake up.
After picking Minnie up from the studio, she took him to his monthly vet appointment. Now three months old, he needed to get his second vaccine done so he could go on walks with peace of mind. She was delighted that the vet -not really that competent since he had barely examined her puppy- told her that everything was fine with Minnie. The latter, for that matter, had fallen asleep on her lap during the trip, exhausted by the intense play session he had with his friends and the members of the boysband. But his owner was too busy with all the possible outcomes of the day to even close his eyes and take a nap.
The end of her day had passed at an excruciatingly slow pace. Every ten minutes she would check her phone, hoping to see an unfamiliar phone number appear on her screen. Instead, the only things that greeted her were her Tumblr notifications and the messages her mother was sending her. It was in her nature to worry about things like this, so her thoughts were all over the place.
Did he changed his mind ?
The young woman still lived and traveled with her mother at the age of twenty-two - which she did not consider a shame, unlike her friends who were making fun of her for that. She immediately returned to where she was staying for the time being, after leaving the veterinary clinic, so that her little protégé wouldn't have to walk around when he was already exhausted. And on top of that, her mother had asked her to return. And yet, she had no desire to do so, and that, for a good reason.
"Encore en train de dépenser de l'argent pour ton chien ?" (Spending money on your dog again ?) she half-yelled just as her daughter barely passed the doors of their room.
"Oui. Je préfère dépenser mon argent pour lui plutôt que dans des choses inutiles." (Yes. I'd rather spend my money on him than on unnecessary things.) she said calmly, trying to defuse the situation but still feeling the argument coming. Her mother obviously got up on the wrong side of the bed.
"Tu insinues quoi ? Que je dépense mon argent dans des choses inutiles ? Tu sais tout ce que j'ai fait pour toi, tes frères et ta soeur hein ?! Tout ce que j'ai sacrifier. D'accord vous avez peut-être pas eu tout ce que vous vouliez mais tu peux pas te plaindre tu avais un toit sur la tête !" (What are you implying ? That I spend my money on unnecessary things ? Do you have any idea of what I've done for you, your brothers and your sister, huh ?! Everything I've sacrificed. Okay you may not have gotten everything you wanted, but you can't complain, you had a roof over your head !)
"C'est quoi le rapport..?" (What's the link..?) she asked, eyebrows furrowed, knowing full well how this discussion would end.
"Le rapport ? Comment tu parles à ta mère, huh ? Débrouille toi toute seule !" (The link ? How are you talking to your mom, huh ? Manage things by yourself !) her mother got angry and left the room, slamming the door, winding the puppy up as he started barking.
"Comme si je ne devais pas déjà payer tout ce que j'utilise." (As if I don't already have to pay for everything I use.) she frowned and sat cross-legged in front of Minnie, showering him with kisses to make him stop barking. "Shh Minnie, ne t'en fais pas, maman va t'acheter tout ce que tu veux ! T'es vraiment pourri-gâté hein. Allez gros rat, ta place." (Shh Minnie, don't worry, mom will buy you anything you want ! You're really spoiled rotten huh. Come on big rat, to your place.)
She got up and followed her puppy to his basket, rewarding him when he laid down, then she decided to take some 'me time' when he finally fell asleep. She stretched out on her bed and stared at the ceiling for about ten minutes, not knowing which way to turn.
Mom is angry...
Maybe he asked me out of politeness ?
Was I mean ?
Maybe he just wanted to know if I was an easy lay ?
I shouldn't have given him my number.
No, she's the one who hurt you, don't feel sorry.
He just wanted to hear from Minnie, stop mistaking your dreams for reality, who would want you ?
But still, should I have bought her something ?
In fact, you are the problem.
Minnie's loud yawn snapped her out of this hellish thought spiral (?) and she smiled softly at him, absolutely crazy about her little one who had brought her so much happiness on a daily basis since he had entered her life. The idea of ending up alone didn't scare her as much since he was by her side.
"Toi et moi, Minnie. Toi et moi contre le monde." (You and I, Minnie. You and I against the world.)
The sun rose again over the world, and, like every day, each person got up and went about their routine, as usual. But for one person, the birds looked too happy and the people too hurried. It was only seven in the morning for god sake. The young adult had been awakened by her mother who had asked - ordered - her to walk the dog. But her morning could have been worse, and it was getting worse ! The puppy, not being able to restrain himself, had urinated in the elevator; she didn't ate breakfast because there was, well, nothing to eat; no message from a pretty dancer of a certain boysband was waiting for her when she woke up; and to top it all off, today was the day of the concert of this said boysband. The same one she couldn't attend tonight.
"Maman, tu peux garder Minnie s'il te plaît, je veux visiter la ville." (Mom, can you look after Minnie please, I want to visit the city.) she asked her mother, who had just returned from McDonald's, having had lunch there - without her - while she was freezing outside, having just returned from Minnie's first morning walk.
"Tu voulais un chien, tu assumes, je vais pas m'en occuper à ta place." (You wanted a dog, you take on him by yourself, I'm not going to take care of him for you.)
"Je m'en occupe depuis un mois, je demande juste à ce que tu le garde une journée et que tu le promène toutes les deux heures." (I've been taking care of him for a month, I just ask that you keep an eye on him for today and walk him every two hours.)
"Je savais que t'allais faire ça, te lasser." (I knew you would do that, get bored.)
"Okay, c'est bon, je vais rester ici-" (Okay, fine, I'll stay here-)
"-Non mais c'est bon je vais le garder, sort-" (-No it's fine I'll keep an eye on him, go out-)
"-Non j'ai plus envie de sortir, si c'est pour que t'aille dire aux gens que je m'occupe pas de mon chien." (-No I don't want to go out anymore, if you're going to go tell people I don't take care of my dog.)
"Comme tu veux." (As you wish.) her mother shrugged, preparing to spend another day doing nothing in their hotel room when she had literally denied her daughter to get out - among other things.
The young lady sighed and went to get her computer in order to to sit next to her dog's basket and browse the internet while playing with him. Everywhere on Instagram she saw posts of fans preparing for the concert that would take place tonight. Goodies, outfits, fanchant, the fans had worked hard to make this experience unforgettable for them and the artists. Unfortunately, as she had told the Stray Kids members, she didn't have enough money to attend. Firstly because she had to pay for everything the dog needed, secondly because the little vacation that had allowed her to be here today had cleared out all her savings, and thirdly because even if she had enough money, the tickets' prices were exorbitant in the United States, so she would have never bought any. But she had lived five years without seeing them in concert, so she could go on with her life without seeing them today. Besides, she had seen them yesterday, up close, right in front of her, and she had talked to them ! Well, her dog had received more love than she had, but hey, it was still a victory.
The day had passed just as quickly as the previous one, that is, excruciatingly slowly. She had wandered around her room for hours, played with her dog, surfed on her phone, walked her dog, surfed on her phone, slept, played with her dog, and that, tirelessly. She had spent her dinner eating instant noodles - while her mother was off wandering in the hotel - and looking at the photos and videos of the concert that had been posted by the Stays, squealing and raving at every new post she found on Instagram. She congratulated herself for not making the boys uncomfortable when they met before drowning that thought into deep in her mind. She was far too shy to even look at them for too long.
Maybe that's why Minho didn't send you a message, he surely prefers confident women, women who look at him in the eyes...
"T'es trop bête !" (You're so dumb !) she said, hitting the side of her head multiple times before realizing what she was doing. She stopped and sighed, plopping on the floor as the little guy climbed on her, licking her face.
"Ew. Love and saliva, the best combo ever."
Later that evening, while she was laying down on her bed as she had just return from Minnie's last night walk, the phone of the Frenchwoman vibrated on her bedside table. Her hand hesitated halfway through and she retracted it several times before finally taking hold of her mobile. Turning the screen slowly towards her, she saw an unknown number displayed, followed by the beginnings of a text message.
"Ah ! C'est un rêve !" (Ah ! This must a dream !) she raved, rolling around in her sheets and acting like a little kid who had just been given the gift he always dreamed of. "Minnie, regarde, c'est grace à toi ça !" (Minnie, look, it's all thanks of you !). Finally calming down, she sat down on her bed and opened the messaging app.
'Hey, it's Minho, how's Minnie, did the appointment go well ?'
"Oh my dog it's him, it's really Minho ! He wants news from you ! Well, I knew it, why would he text me..."
Fear of failure and fear of not being enough were things that the girl had grown up with. She hated not handing in her papers, thinking that they would suck; she hated not leaving her house, thinking that people would judge her; she hated pretending to be sick when she had to go out with her friends. And now she hated herself for not answering her idol's message, thinking that he wouldn't find her interesting, that he'd just made a mistake and would stop talking to her after a few exchanged messages.
She felt selfish. The only person the dancer cared about was her puppy. She should answer and tell him that Minnie was fine, that he was acting like a little devil, as usual, and that Stray Kids had outdone themselves during the concert. But she didn't say any of that. Sure, she'd written those sentences, but she'd erased them. Then written them again. And erased. Again and again. Until finally giving up, letting that little voice in her head win. That night she had fallen asleep cuddling Minnie, headphones in her ears, crying while listening at the lyrics of Voices.
The next day she had started the same exhausting routine: taking her dog out, playing with it, being argued with by her mother, staying at the hotel all morning. But today was different. Today, around two o'clock, her phone had notified her of a new publication on the account realstraykids, Minho had posted photos on Instagram - which was not to his habit. The devoted Stay squealed when she saw her bias' face on her feed. She looked intently at her screen, reveling in the beauty of the two boys, pushing the memory of the message she had received last night to the back of her mind. She laughed softly when she saw the third picture and the memory of a flustered and stammering Jisung flashed through her mind - but well, who was she to judge him when she herself couldn't ask the McDonald's cashier for extra napkins. Finally, just as she was about to click and scroll down, the caption caught her eye. Firstly, because it was written in English and secondly, because its content was strange.
Today I was able to eat delicious food. I wanna eat French food next~. But why doesn't Minnie answer me ?
#리노는기여어 #straykids #stay #minnieanswerme
'French', 'But why doesn't Minnie answer me ?', was he referring to her ? Seungmin was on the picture, sure, but maybe he was trying to get her to respond to his text. Was she imagining this, was she delusional, overthinking it ? He couldn't wait for her text. After all, she was just a nobody, another Stay. And yet, she decided to give it a try. She posted a picture of Minnie in a park not far from the hotel while he was gazing into the distance, adding the caption:
We're at xxxxxx park, Minnie might be too scared to answer when I call him.... It's fine you're still the cutest 🥰
#puppy #minnieanswerme
Crossing her fingers, she pressed the 'publish' button, immediately turning off her phone afterwards as she rolled on the floor. "Qu'est-ce qui ne va pas chez moi ?" (What's wrong with me ?) she squealed, looking at the ceiling. After contemplating her life choices for a few more minutes, she finally decided to get up and go get ready. "On va se promener ? On va au parc Minnie ? Allez." (Are we going for a walk ? Are we going to the park Minnie ? Come on.)