welcome home, hyunjin <3

   ꧁ Our traveler wished he could imprint that moment in his memory like a photograph, a tattoo —the moment her gaze softened and a smile spread across her face once again, a sad and haunted one, and tears spilled.

He wished he never let go when she ran towards him and wrapped her arms around his frame, crying and whispering words he couldn't comprehend into his ear. If only he could memorise the way her fingers clutched his sleeves desperately, fisting them like her life depended on it, or how her hair smelled like coconut and corrupted all his senses when the silky locks tickled his neck, now peach-coloured.

Most of all, he regretted not protesting when a pair of arms wrapped around her to separate her from him, and a pair of dark, piercing eyes glaring at him like they never did before.

There was this determination in the way Hwang Hyunjin stood, tall and certain, only broken whispers escaping his lips in order to calm Dahye down. Minho wasn't sure how he managed to miss the moment he'd walked into the room, but he had Dahye to blame for that, for she'd taken all his attention. His insides turned as he stared daggers into the tall boy's hands on her waist, instead focusing on the way he looked.

Indeed, Hyunjin was just as handsome as when Minho saw him last. With an oversized white t-shirt underneath loose denim overalls, a tie collecting messy front pieces of his blond hair back, he was as fashionable as always, with no difference except for the hair colour —the Hyunjin he knew and loathed had his hair bubblegum pink.

Minho had obviously been taking too long to examine his appearance that the tall boy narrowed his eyes. "You're staring."

"And you should try pink."

Dahye blinked at him, hands still clutching Hyunjin's wrists as she attempted to free herself of his grip. Minho saw she was just as startled by his bizarre statement as the others in the room were, but he didn't know what she'd expected. He wasn't really sure what he had expected either, but it definitely wasn't her running into his arms the moment she saw him. He hadn't expected her to be so attached, but after the strange words he'd heard her say that night when the light appeared, he wasn't so sure if any expectations he had were valid anymore. Probably not.

Seungmin broke the tense silence, clearing his throat. "Dahye, please, sit down."

"Sit down?" She frowned. Minho flinched at her sudden shout. He saw how her limbs relaxed and how Hyunjin slowly, but warily let go of her, still alert and ready to grab her if she ran. "You expect me to sit down? Did you not see what happened?"

"I saw everything." Seungmin didn't give up. "And I will explain it all to you later, in private, only if you calm down." He turned his head to the side. "Felix, please."

The boy quietly walked over to his sister and whispered into her ear. A moment passed, then another one, and he grabbed her hand and pulled her over to the other spare armchair, then sat down by her feet, hand on her knee.

"None of you are gonna say anything?" Minho blurted out. "It's been two days since I got here, right? And no one seems to want to give me any answers, except for the whole supernatural theory you have no proof of." He lied. He did believe everything he had been told, he just needed a detailed explanation no one seemed to want to give. "Will anyone give me a straight answer?"

Seungmin started, "Alright. You want answers, you'll get them. So, we all know what happened a year ago. Dahye, I will now tell you all that I told him—" he pointed at Minho dismissively— "and I expect you to cooperate."

Minho suppressed a laugh at his words. Why was he acting like he was hosting some type of TV show and not talking to his friends?

"Cooperate," Dahye beat him to it, causing him to snort.

Minho hissed at the pain the gesture caused. Reaching up to touch his forehead, he discovered a cut which had probably been missed earlier. "Continue, please."

"Yes, so... Everyone, this is Minho." Hyunjin frowned, probably confused as to why Seungmin was stating the obvious. "However, it's not the Minho we know."

He heard whispers going around the room, but ignored them. As Seungmin explained everything he'd already told him, Minho focused on Dahye, who was looking back at him, face burning. He nodded at her, attempting to let her know he was okay with her hug, though he wasn't the person she had wanted to see.

Just when Seungmin started filling everyone in and Minho thought he could get some answers, a pair of rushed footsteps echoed through the house. Then, there was laughter and Minho's breath hitched. He could recognise those two voices anywhere. "You called Jisung and Chan?"

Seungmin didn't seem as pleased about this as Minho was, but he didn't get the opportunity to actually say anything about it. The door swung open once again, and the two boys appeared in front of them.

Minho knew Bang Chan loved giving piggyback rides just as much as Han Jisung loved receiving them, so he couldn't help but smile when the two waddled into the room in that exact position. As soon as they saw him sitting there, Jisung's arms around Chan's neck loosened and he slid down, feet landing onto the floor. Minho's smile dropped when he saw the two not looking as happy to see him as he was.

Seeing the two faces of people closest to him had his heart racing and his hands fisted. He had to try hard to control himself and not rush into their arms that very moment, for maybe the boys weren't used to that kind of affection in this world.

He managed, for a moment or two, to simply wait for them to make the first move, to say or do anything. The fear grew inside of him, the fear they might not recognise him, since Changbin hadn't either. But he couldn't help it anymore. He just needed to be near them. Standing up from the bed as though he'd never needed resting, he walked over. Just a few more steps and he'd finally be in front of them, ready to get lost in the comfort only they could provide. One of them more than the other, though.

If there was one person Minho could stand having physical contact with, it was Han Jisung. While Chan preferred showing affection using words, Jisung loved skinship. Minho still remembered the day of his mother's funeral, after spending the day judged by unfamiliar guests for he never cried during the ceremony, all he had needed was rest. That's when the skinny boy shared his bed with him, and even let him be the little spoon for once. That night, and many nights afterwards, he had spent in the arms of his best friend. And now that Jisung was in front of him, all he wanted —all he needed to do was get to him.

And that was probably his biggest mistake.

As soon as he stepped forward, Jisung backed away. His round eyes widened and he moved back, until he was almost completely hidden behind Chan, who stood in front of him with an undistinguishable expression.

So Minho stood there, paralysed. "Jisungie?"

He was shaking. The same eyes that always crinkled when he laughed at the dumbest jokes, the same eyes that cried for him when he couldn't, were now frozen in dread. Same hands that Minho used to hold whenever piercing screams rippled through his dreams, that he used to practice his manicure skills on, were trembling, holding onto the back of Chan's black hoodie. Even his knees looked like they couldn't hold him up anymore.

Minho, what have you done to him?

He stared into the boy's restless eyes and, for a second, he saw a flash. It was a light, similar to the one he'd seen two days earlier. He gasped as an image appeared suddenly, and went away just as quickly.

An image was of Jisung, on the floor, crying like he'd never seen him do, shoulders slouched and face red and swollen, sobs ripping his throat open.

"Why?" was all he said. "Why do you have to do this?"

"Do what? What did I do?"

Minho blinked and the memory was gone, melted off and vanished, leaving him back in the room full of people he didn't exactly know anymore. Changbin was by his side, rather confused. "What did you do?"

"I don't know... Jisung, did I... d-did I do anything?"

The boy didn't reply. Minho glanced at Chan —a paler, yet more muscular version of Chan —who simply stood there, no emotions evident in the way he looked at him, emptily. It was almost like disappointment.

"Hyung, you should sit down." Jeongin was now beside him, holding onto his shoulder. "Just sit and we'll see what's wrong."

He shook his head, feeling his heart beating restlessly. "No, no. I need to know." He gasped. The air seemed to be slowly vanishing from his lungs, just like it had been when he woke up. "W-what was that I just saw? What did he do?"

"Minho." He turned around to glare at Seungmin, who simply held eye contact. "You are not helping. Sit down."

He let out a sharp breath and obeyed without a word. He didn't want to, he needed to know what he'd seen, but Seungmin's voice made it sound all so serious, and he simply followed the instructions, throwing himself onto the bed once again. Jeongin sat down next to him, hands not leaving him for a moment.

"Uh, Seungmin..." Dahye trailed off. "You should probably explain it to them."

So Seungmin did. And Minho ignored the story, not in the mood to hear it the third time. Instead, his eyes followed Jisung as he went to sit down in Seungmin's chair, and Seungmin moved to sit on the bed, by Minho's feet. Chan stood beside Jisung, still silent.

"So... you're trying to say that Minho is from an alternate universe?" Felix finally concluded, his accent prominent as he dragged out the words. "That's how he recognised Changbin-hyung out of nowhere?"

Minho nodded. "Yeah, where I am from, Changbin and I are best friends. Also there's... Chan and Jisung." He looked up, hoping to get any sign of recognition from any of them.

"Ah, right..." Felix cleared his throat. "It's definitely not like that here. Just stick with Jeongin, yeah?"

Minho nodded, grateful for the younger boy's warm smile. Dahye drew his attention away, however, once she sat up straight and tilted her head. "Minho." He swallowed hard, the way she called his name after so long awakening too many memories. "If what Seungmin claims is true, then you should be careful... Things are a lot different around here, as you can see."

He opened his mouth to reply to her, but Jeongin beat him to it, placing a hand on his shoulder. "The Minho we know, he... He isn't around at the moment. And you should know he has a reputation around the campus and just college generally. So some people might look at you a bit differently, since their memories of that Lee Minho might not fit what you know and remember."

"Thank you," Minho whispered, and he really meant it. As much as the new information overwhelmed him, people around him —most of them, at least —helped him calm down.

"Bullshit."

He looked up at Chan, who spoke up for the first time that morning. The older boy met his gaze and laughed shallowly.

"What?"

"Bullshit," he repeated, glaring at Seungmin. "You expect us to believe this is him from the alternate universe? Right. And I'm a wizard. You honestly believe all his crap after everything? It's him and you know it. He's just coming up with bad lies to cover up his story."

Minho shook his head. "Chan, I don't know what he did."

"What you did, you mean? Because it's still you, and I'm not buying any of your crap. You've got them all under your spell, but I'm still here."

Minho's eyes burned, and he was certain he would start crying, at a wrong moment, just like always. He swallowed and looked down, blinking away the tears so they wouldn't get to fall.

He heard Changbin cough and glanced up to see him walk over. He uncrossed his arms and let them rest by his sides, a small smile on his lips.

"Listen, Minho, I don't know the guy they're talking about. Whatever 'the other you' is like, I see you now and you're cool, alright?" He nodded. "Whatever you need, a place to crash, hell, I'll even take care of that cat downstairs for you, just let me know."

And after having one of his friends hide from him and the other accuse him, Minho couldn't help the grin that made its way onto his face, the familiar kindness his third best friend possessed evident in the boy in front of him. Still smiling, he nodded. "Alright."

Changbin smiled back and patted his head softly, before waving to the others and leaving the room.

"He does have a heart, huh?" Felix mumbled with a smirk. "Such a shame it's hidden beneath all the money."

Everyone except Jisung and Bang Chan reacted to the statement, some smiling, some laughing. And as the group continued gossiping about Changbin, Minho felt his eyelids grow heavier by the second. He didn't exactly know why he felt tired out of nowhere, but after the confusing conversation he just had with actual people from parallel universe, he just wanted to sleep. There were too many questions he wanted answers to, and it seemed like the vague replies he'd gotten earlier had been like that on purpose. They didn't want to give him more information.

"You need rest." A hand on his shoulder didn't even make him flinch as Jeongin smiled warmly, his voice barely audible in the noisy room. "You're at my place. The others live on campus, but the two of us are here. Seungmin and I will be downstairs, so when you're hungry, feel free to come down. I can ask my aunt to prepare something delicious for you."

Jeongin and Seungmin then managed to make the others leave, too. Chan didn't need much persuasion, as if his only purpose of being there in the first place had been to glare at him. Dahye sent a sad smile in his direction, before Felix and Hyunjin forced her to come along with them. Jisung left the room with Seungmin, hands completely covered by the sleeves of his huge hoodie as he stared at the floor. Soon enough, the youngest boy was the only one left in the room with Minho.

"I'm not tired, though," Minho lied, attempting to get at least a bit more insight. "I just want to talk to you guys about what happened and—"

"You'll get all the answers later, I promise," Jeongin insisted. "I will tell you everything personally if I have to, but you won't be in the dark much longer, know that. There's more to this than you may think and you'll be in on it before you know it."

"Jeongin—"

Minho fell silent. His eyes widened when the boy suddenly leaned in and left a soft kiss on the side of his forehead, still smiling. In a matter of moments, he stood back up with a chuckle. "Welcome home."

The deafening silence was strange after such a noisy conversation. Minho sat there, numb, and stared at his hands, thoughts in his head plummeting around like bees. A sudden sharp pain in his forehead made him wince, weak at first. However, the throbbing got stronger, and he stood up.

Minho ruffled through drawers and found a single bandaid, then walked over to the mirror, ready to clean the cut on his forehead. However, the moment his eyes landed on the mirror and he saw no trace of the cut he'd felt beneath his fingertips minutes earlier, he could only stare in silence.

A/N:

jinnie is back ahhhhh y'all already heard my thoughts on this so im not gonna repeat myself but i wanted to update today because of this. and yes i did just dedicate the chapter to him and yes he's barely in it, but oh well...

but seriously, i am not that big of a fan of this chapter, but i know the first few ones are usually the toughest cuz they need to have too much info dumped suddenly, especially in this genre

so thoughts? what do you think the other minho did? where is he?

also the ending might be a bit confusing but you'll understand everything soon

ily all hehe <3