imagine: minho watches you succeed in your dancing, only until he gives up watching you live his dream
y/n's pov
all you could focus on was the packed bag minho had flung over his shoulder.
"don't," you fought back the tears filling up your eyes. you shook your head at him, tightening your fists and chewing your lip fearfully. his smile dropped in an instant, and his eyes reddened just as yours did. the idea of leaving wasn't hurting him, it was just seeing how hurt you were that made him collapse.
you'd been standing backstage, waiting patiently to be called on stage, but he walked over and your excitement disappeared. you couldn't ask him to stay, it would be selfish of you. if he wanted to leave, you couldn't stop him, yet you couldn't help but think that it was your fault.
just standing there and watching him was the worst, you watched how hard he tried to hold himself back; he couldn't.
"don't make this harder than it is," he turned away, lifting his arm to brush away the tears that seemed to run down his cheeks.
"oh, you think it's hard?" you spoke sarcastically. saying it made you feel guilty, you wanted to punish him for leaving you by having a go at him, but it was too hard. his hands shook as he dropped his arms by his side. "is it me?" you gulped, praying he'd answer with a no.
he hesitated, but he shook his head, "no."
"then, why? don't you have a good enough explanation?"
"y/n-"
"explain!" you cried, "please, explain."
"if i wait any longer, it'll be too late."
"too late?"
"you've got dancing, changbin's got rap, everyone's got something. i don't have anything," he shrugged. "so, i'm going to find my own thing. something i know i'm good at."
it hurt to hear the reality. it hurt to hear that you took his only thing away from him. he could have been in your place this second, but you were too ignorant to even notice how much it hurt him.
he'd watch your performances, but he'd always leave halfway through. he congratulated you, said he was proud of you, and he meant it, but he wanted someone to congratulate him for once. he was right. if he waited too long, he wouldn't get to where he wanted to be, so he had to search for it now. you just wished he could do it here, with you.
"are you really going?" you stared.
he nodded.
"you said you'd always be here," you paused, tearing up, "you said i could always rely on you to be here with me. you're breaking your promise..."
"you're doing well now," he smiled, walking over to you so that he was only a few feet away. "that's why i'm going now. you learnt to work by yourself, so you don't need my help anymore."
"you thought i needed your help?" you dropped your head in disbelief, letting the tears fall down your cheeks, "i didn't need your help. i needed you. you can't leave me now."
"i don't have any reason to be here."
"you have dance!"
"no," he shook his head, brushing his palm over your cheek to wipe away your tears, "that's your talent, now."
you thought back to what he'd said; 'i don't have any reason to be here.'
"i'm here..." you cried.
he leant in to kiss your head, but he didn't pull away. instead, he kept his lips on your head and cried with his hand combing through your hair.
you drew your hands up to wrap them around him but he quickly pulled back and walked away. there was no point in chasing after him, it wouldn't make a difference. even if he said he'd come back, you knew you'd never see him again.
"y/n, you're being called on!"
you were rushed toward the stage to start your performance.
the choreography behind your performance was the story of your relationship with minho. he gave you balance, he helped you off your feet again, but when you reached the top, you fell back to the beginning. the reason you fell back was because he was no longer happy. remembering the backstory of the dance brought back tears. you'd always pictured yourself doing the choreography with him, but you could no longer see him next to you. he wasn't there anymore.
once the performance ended, you stared back at the crowd and cried. it wasn't because of the standing ovation, or because of the applause or the appreciation you were getting, it was because you could see minho stood next to the exit, tears still in his eyes after watching you perform for the last time. he noticed you watching him, and he began to smile.
'i love you.'
you could just about see him mouthing the words to you and you broke down.
you ran from the stage and headed to where he'd stood, he'd already left the building so you left just to see his taxi driving away. he'd turn to look at you just for a second through the back windshield, just to smile at you one last time.
