You internally grimaced when you heard Minho's voice, scrambling around to find a place to hide.
The last few months of interning under his supervision weren't exactly your favorite. Lee Minho was like they all said. Cold and devoted to his work. And for a Caeliman without wings, he traveled a lot.
Being his sole student meant that you had to handle his endless assignments, and having wings only made you his errand girl. It was definitely not what you thought you'd be doing when the king assigned you to him.
You tried to stretch your wings, the warm browns and gold now tinted with the red of your blood, but the pain was overwhelming. You dropped back to your knees with a choked sob, letting the burning ache in your disfigured wing spread.
It all happened too quickly. You were flying towards the castle when a searing pain rang in your head. Before you knew it, you were falling from between the clouds, and an awkward landing was all it took for your left wing to snap in half.
"Are you okay?" You heard the crunch of dried grass behind you as Minho approached. His tone was foreign. You must've been hallucinating because he sounded worried. Almost.
You didn't reply, trying and failing to tuck your wings and stand up. The last thing you needed was a lecture about being careful while flying. Alas, your actions resulted in the opposite reaction from him. "What are you doing? Don't move!"
He dropped his backpack on the ground near you, eyes trailing over your injured wing. If you weren't glumly staring at the ground in shame, you would've seen the concern creasing his forehead.
"Alright," he sighed, crouching down to pull a medical kit out of his backpack. "This will hurt but it's temporary. You'll get a proper cast when we reach the castle."
Now, you couldn't deny the gentleness in his tone. Was this the same Caeliman who scolded you for having messy notes? You sometimes wished you could see what goes on in his head.
Truthfully, all that blared in Minho's mind was panic. He was trekking through the forest when he saw you tumble down like a lifeless rag doll. He couldn't fly to catch you, so he only ran, hoping to reach you in time.
When Chan told him he'd assign a student to become his intern, he expected anyone but you.
The eager gleam in your eyes reminded him of his own self many years ago. Perhaps he felt sorry for you, for knowledge scared him, but you were willing to absorb it all with an open mind. He wanted to make you hate it all — free you from the trouble of wanting to learn more, but you only accepted his relentless assignments with a tight smile and somewhere along the way, he regained his interest in research.
Who would've thought that a stubborn student would pull him out of his miserable void?
He never said it, but Minho was grateful for your company.
"All done. We must start moving now," he announced when he finished fixing a support stick to your wing, putting his medical kit back and slinging the bag over his shoulder. He gave you one last look before trudging ahead. "Try to eat well next time. I know you missed breakfast today."
You could only stare at his distancing figure, dumbfounded, before allowing a smile to stretch your lips. You shook your head as you rushed to catch up with him. He truly is strange.
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