Chapter Text
Tonight had the potential to be the worst or best night of his life and Seungmin was determined to make it the latter. He had prepared all these years for this exact moment knowing it would come, knowing he would not have a chance to be happy here. The choice was made for him but he took it in stride and worked in hope of increasing his chance of success. Now, he had to take the leap and trust that all his preparation would carry him to the other side.
Tonight, they celebrated his twenties. He had dreaded this night with a reason and the reason did not disappoint. He still hoped that he was the one in the wrong until the last second, that life would make him a liar. He was never really happy here but it was his home so he had waited until the breaking point. Tonight the last rope that retained him here was cut by none other than his own father and his decision to leave was made without much hesitation.
He silently waited for the festivities to die down and for everyone to fall asleep. At last, the whole place fell silent, only the sound of a ticking clock could be heard from the hallway just outside of his bedroom.
He decided it was finally time to carry out his plan. He opened his secret stash and changed his clothes for the one he had kept hidden there. They were adapted for the long trip he was about to take. Not too thin, not too thick, not too trashy but above all not too flashy. Clothes selected to make him disappear into the crowd.
He took everything that was hidden in the stash, aware that any object left behind could be enough to trace him down. A map, a knife, money, water, food and any other necessities. He could have managed without most of these items but the only thing he absolutely couldn’t leave behind was a small glass bottle. To anyone it would seem like pills crafted with some random herbs, probably for relieving headaches or to reduce stress. To him, it was the fruit of years of work and research, the missing piece to his meticulously crafted plan.
He opened the vial and took one of the pills before putting it carefully in his bag then he slowly closed the bag and breathed in to calm his nerves. He was doing this, no turning back. The emotions hit him suddenly and he wanted to cry. He couldn't even tell if it was from joy or grief, maybe it was both, maybe it was none. He had no time to figure it out.
He got up, put his backpack on and headed toward the door. His brain conceived every possible scenario of failure without his permission and although the door of his bedroom had never creaked before, Seungmin surprised himself by praying it wouldn't start today. Thankfully, he got out of his bedroom without a noise.
He proceeded to walk in the completely dark hallways. At this point, he had the path memorised by heart. Though, no rehearsal could have prepared him for how he would feel running through it for real. All he could hear was his own respiration and beating heart, they seemed so loud in the silence of the night that he feared someone would hear them.
The path to the stable seemed to stretch indefinitely. He knew realistically that it was not more than a dozen minutes since he got up but it could have been hours.
He did not even dare to relax once he reached the stable. It set it aside for when he would be far enough to guarantee no one could see, scent or hear him.
His horse, Chacco, liked him but frankly waking him up in the middle of the night to go out was maybe too much to ask. He had expected it and swiftly got Chacco to cooperate with a little treat. He prepared the horse as fast as he could while remaining as discreet as possible, jumped on him and headed outside.
He thought luck was on his side when the other horses decided to simply ignore his shenanigans and kept silent. Maybe they were aware of the step Seungmin was taking and how terrifying it was for him. Maybe they were simply tired after a day of work. Either way Seungmin felt more than grateful as he left.
The road would be long and difficult. He planned to avoid civilization and go by horse at least until he reached the border. Once there, his journey would be far from over. He planned to go as far as his resources would take him and counted on sea, mountains, borders, towns and any other obstacles he could think of so that no one would ever find him. Even him didn’t know where he was going so hopefully no one would.
That night, he left his old life behind without even a glance back. He had no idea where he would end up or what he would do but he could choose for himself now. That perspective made his heart flutter with hope. After all his suffering he was finally free and no one was here to stop him from taking the first step toward his new life.