Ch 69 - Minho's Secret
*A/N: PLEASE READ
I want to get something straight.
I am not glorifying mental illness at all. I just want my story to be realistic, the characters to be realistic, and if you feel yourself getting triggered with certain topics, please do not feel forced to read on.
This chapter was made specifically to recognize that other people might be going through something, while most people won't even notice. That we're sometimes so busy worrying about ourselves that we forget about others.
Despite there being many forgotten characters, I think I only know Minho fully well to be able to create an untold story for him as opposed to some of the minor characters.
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~Sara~
She figured that Newt needed a longer time to relax and gather his thoughts, hence she went to visit Minho first.
She waited until at least Rachel, Chuck, and Thomas had fallen asleep during the travel while Rebecca relaxed on one of the beds in there. Brenda was still with Jorge up in the cockpit.
When Sara walked to the back of the berg, she found Minho sitting against a stack-full of boxes. There were boxes scattered all over the floor, and it was hard to tell whether Jorge was a messy person or if Minho had let out some anger by throwing them around.
He was facing the other way, so she couldn't see his face very well. She had expected to find him asleep, but he was just staring straight ahead, into space.
Sara cautiously approached him, a bit afraid that he would probably turn her away. Then she gently placed a hand on his shoulder as she took a seat next to him.
But then he turned to her, and to her utter shock and horror, she saw tears dripping from his eyes. Mighty Minho, the unbreakable one—the toughest shank she'd ever known—was crying right in front of her eyes.
She was faced with undiscovered territory at this point. What could she say to someone like Minho—someone fluid in the language of sarcasm and who always tossed his emotions aside in front of everyone?
"Don't come to rattle out your pity for me—I don't wanna hear it," he said with an irritated tone, so Sara retracted her hand from his shoulder.
He furiously wiped a tear away. It was like if it were a scandal for someone to see him crying. All because the assumption always was, 'well... it's Minho. He doesn't do that.'
What a great start.
"I'm not," she blurted out, quickly trying to come up with the best words to use with him. "I just came to apologize for... that back there."
Minho frowned at her. "Don't apologize for your boyfriend's actions."
"Okay, fine." Sara was shocked by his behavior. "But you know he didn't—"
"He didn't mean to—I know," he interrupted her harshly, his eyes softening at the look on her face. "I just... it's hard to see he's losing it so quickly. I mean, it'd only been minutes since his last outburst." Sara was nodding along to his words right up until he said the last part. At her reaction, he suddenly realized what he'd said, and quickly tried recovering from it. "Uh—you know... back at WICKED's. He was getting all snippy."
"Minho," Sara said in a warning tone. "Newt said we'd barely taken off when I woke up. What aren't you telling me?"
He looked at her for a couple of seconds until he seemed to realize that she wasn't gonna let him keep that information to himself. At the same time, Sara was scared to find out. What could be worse than that obvious demonstration of insanity eating away at Newt's mind?
"He... we got into a fight," he mumbled.
Sara arched an eyebrow. "Another one?"
Minho sighed frustratedly. "He lied. It's been at least three hours since we took off. The weapons room joke thing came up again, and I made fun about him stating the obvious. Brenda said there could've been Cranks that broke in and stole some weapons—we just got into a fight because of that stupid argument, and he got mad instead of trying to explain himself. It was a stupid fight, but I couldn't control myself."
He shrugged, as if that were an excuse for literally admitting having picked up another fight with Newt while she was passed out. He knew perfectly well that Newt's temper was holding on by a thread.
She shook her head, inspecting Minho for any injuries but found none. And if she wasn't mistaken, she didn't remember seeing any traces of a fight on Newt either except for the old marks from their fight back in HQ.
Sighing with relief, she said, "At least it wasn't a physical fight."
Minho snapped his eyes toward her and raised an eyebrow as he rubbed his neck. "Yeah," he said, awkwardly.
"Think about Chuck. Do you guys really want him to be seeing you guys fight all the time?"
Minho groaned. "Chuck was taking a nap, he doesn't know."
"That's not the point," she snapped. "You guys need to stop fighting, and you need to stop provoking him; he has the freaking Flare, Minho! If he yells at you, just be patient with him, don't fuel the fire."
"Sara, shut up and look," he said, pulling down the neckline of his shirt, and she saw finger marks around his neck. "He got physical after I simply made a joke about him. And when he finally woke up from his loco episode, he told us not to tell you what happened."
Sara was furious. It may have caused her to overlook the fact that Newt tried to choke him, but it wouldn't have happened if Minho just kept his mouth shut. "Minho, why can't you just leave him alone for once? He's slowly—"
"I know what's happening to him!" he shouted at her. "I'm not dumb. But can you for once just stop making this all about Newt?"
Sara leaned back, shocked by his words. "What—?"
"It's always you two," he muttered. "You act like this whole story's only about you and Newt. Only you two matter. What about the rest of us? I mean, I know I'm immune, and I have no idea what it's like for Newt and those who have the Flare, but we all live in the same shucked world. I might be immune, but I'm also trying to survive. And I'm tired." He shook his head, furiously wiping the moisture remaining on his cheeks.
Sara's head hung low. He was right. All along, her decisions had been influenced by Newt and him having the Flare. He needed her help, but so did the others.
She hadn't thought that people who weren't immune weren't the only ones suffering. The Immunes were also trying to survive. They might not have had the Flare, but they were in danger of being attacked by masses of Cranks, if WICKED didn't find them first to continue their experiment. At least Cranks could live with each other, and no one cared about them half as much to keep them from roaming the streets of abandoned cities.
That was a horrible thought, and she didn't want Newt to end up with them for sure, but Immunes were the ones in higher danger. They were a specific target.
"Minho, I'm so sorry," she whispered, feeling ashamed of herself. "I never stopped to think about how you're dealing with everything."
Minho swerved his lips to the side, and finally looked up at her. He sighed. "Sara, I'm not saying Newt, or your problems aren't important, but I've always felt like I had to give up on my own problems to be there for you both. I didn't mean to make him mad, but the only way I know how to lift someone's mood is by joking around with them."
"Aw, Minho..."
"I mean, before you showed up, Newt would have panic attacks in the Glade," he continued, and Sara only listened with a heavy heart. "He was depressed as shuck, and I had to learn to deal with someone like that on the go. I don't remember ever being taught about that stuff. Then you came, and with you came more problems. That night you told me everything, it wasn't a coincidence that I couldn't sleep. Newt was right. Only he knew, 'cause I'd never let anyone else know, but I hated the Glade just as much as he did. Only I knew I couldn't help Newt if I was depressed along with him."
Sara's jaw dropped; she was shocked that both Minho and Newt were dealing with the same things all along. But Newt and Sara at least had each other. Minho didn't have anyone.
"You were upset that night, I noticed it," she said, then followed with a groan. "And I wasn't there for you when you needed me—I'm so sorry."
Minho shrugged. "Well, you asked back then, I just didn't wanna talk. I'd been crying like a shuck baby, so mad at everything. Newt would sometimes find me kicking stuff and breaking things at night, cursing at everything. Other times, I used to hold my breath as I lay on my hammock. I wanted to see if I could just stop breathing forever." He snorted, shaking his head. "Then I'd wake up the next morning to discover you can't die by just holding your breath, 'cause you just pass out."
Sara shook her head, deeply saddened by Minho's confession. "I should've known something was up, Minho."
He kept his eyes fixed to the ground, and he huffed. "I thought I was being selfish 'cause I was jealous when you and Newt were together. You guys had each other, and he didn't need me anymore. But I didn't have anyone else to talk about things; only Newt. He was the only one that cared, but I couldn't just tell him that I was jealous of him."
Her eyes were wide, and she couldn't believe he actually thought that way. "Minho, he wouldn't be mad at you for that."
He smiled, looking at her. "When it comes to you, he would. Newt's a nice guy until someone messes with you," he said, and they both laughed. Then Minho gave her a playful look. "But don't flatter yourself. Newt would've assumed I was into you, but you're like the sister I never had," he said, ruffling her hair as always.
After fixing the mess of her hair, she placed her hands on his shoulders, getting serious again. "Thanks, Minho. Seriously. But Newt shouldn't have exposed you like that. I wish I would've done something, I feel so stupid."
She then wrapped her arms around her friend. Minho embraced her so tightly that the gesture brought tears to her eyes. No other words needed to be spoken.
When they pulled apart, he gave her a small smile. "You're a good person, Sara. I can't really blame you. I didn't wanna tell anyone, but Newt knew, that's why I just kinda snapped back there. But I also don't wanna see him turn into a monster," he said, lowering his voice.
Sara didn't know what else to say. Everyone around her was falling apart, and she had only thought about herself. When she thought of Newt, it was really just her thinking about herself, because she knew she couldn't live without Newt.
"No, I'm being selfish, Minho. I put you guys in danger for calling Rat Man, thinking I could fix things with a little chit chat with him," she said, rolling her eyes. "And I didn't think about anyone else but Newt when Rat Man told me I was killing him and all the infected for not turning myself in."
Minho furrowed his eyebrows, giving her a hard stare. "Oh yeah, why's he more obsessed with keeping you than Thomas or something? You never really explained that well."
Hence Sara confessed her heart out. Everything Rat Man said about her genes, and all of the connections to the dreams she had.
"I'm sorry I only thought about me and Newt," she added. "I just don't know what to do 'cause if Becca can take us somewhere safe, then that's great. But then what about Newt and our other friends who have the Flare? I felt I should sacrifice myself for them, even if I risk dying of cancer or something."
"No, Sara," he said. "Just 'cause your genes might cure him doesn't mean it's the right thing. I don't want you to die, and you know Newt would rather put a bullet through his own head before you die to save him."
Sara did know that. That was why she didn't want Newt to know about this.
"Then what do I do?" she asked Minho. "I wanna save everyone, immune or not, and I suck at it."
Minho snorted. "Oh, most definitely you do suck." She pushed him lightly, making him laugh. Then they sat in silence for a few seconds before Minho said, "Go talk to him. He needs you."
She perked up, turning to him. "What about you?"
"I'm fine," he said, smiling. "I just needed a weak moment, and weak moment's over, so I'm all good. We should probably go out there now." Sara gave him a doubtful smile, and she shook her head at his minimal ability to show emotion for longer than a few minutes. But she was glad he did it at least. They both needed it.
Sara stood up and walked out first, Minho following, and she spotted Rachel near the door on the other side. Seeing as she was caught, Rachel hid behind the wall, and Sara pushed Minho back inside, to the back of the berg.
"What are you doing?" he asked her, but Sara put a finger to her lips.
She then opened the door and peered at Rachel, who was still hiding. Rachel looked embarrassed, and Sara knew she was eavesdropping.
"I think you guys should talk," Sara whispered, smirking at her. Then she looked back at Minho, who was just standing there all confused. "There's someone who wants to talk to you," she told him.
She went out and let Rachel in.
Sara winked at Minho and gave him a thumbs up, to which he rolled his eyes. Then she closed the door and hid behind the wall. She would've left to give them privacy, but curiosity got the best of her.
"So... were you spying on us?" she heard Minho ask Rachel.
Rachel chuckled and shrugged. "Maybe." It got quiet for a bit, then Rachel added, "I understand you though... and it's impressive how you've been handling everything and still stayed strong."
Minho only shrugged. "Someone had to do it."
Rachel scoffed. "Stop trying to act all tough," she said, hitting him playfully. "I've done it before; never works out. And it was actually Sara who taught me that," she added, and Sara smiled. She didn't feel like she deserved any credit for anything, and she was surprised with how much she'd learned from her friends rather than vice versa.
"Oh, so you like to play tough?" Minho teased her. Rachel huffed and turned away from him, a smile tugging at her lips. "Well, I think I also learned a thing or two from Sara," he added, peering over her shoulder, and Rachel turned around to face him again. She took a slight step back when she realized how close their faces were to each other.
"And what's that?" she asked, crossing her arms.
Minho gave Rachel a look Sara recognized, because Newt would give her that same look. "How to love another more than myself."
Sara's heart swelled with happiness for both of her friends, and she stared at them with a giant smile as Minho cupped Rachel's face and leaned in to kiss her. Rachel responded, wrapping her arms around him and finally letting go of her pride that wouldn't let her admit her feelings.
When they pulled away, Minho suddenly looked up and his eyebrows lowered. "Ya forget something, shuck-face, or are you just spying?" he asked, and Sara walked in, half-embarrassed.
Rachel gasped as she saw Sara, and glared at her playfully, making Sara laugh. "Hilarious."
Sara suddenly straightened up, a surge of confidence taking over inside of her. "I promised I'd get you back for spying on me and Newt back in the Glade," she said, outstretching her arms, "happy payback time, lover boy," she added with a smirk.
"I thought you forgot," he muttered.
Sara shook her head. "Just like I haven't forgotten that little joke about us out in the Scorch," she reminded him with a smile tugging at her lips.
They all burst out laughing, and Minho shook his head. With a lighter heart, the three of them went back to join the others in the center of the berg.
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