Blasphemy - Minchan

4// Give in to the slow descent.

Chan dawdled down the hallways. He put off returning to his room for as long as possible after cleaning the dishes, but it was hard when his room was only a minute long walk from the canteen. Once he was back in his room, there would be nothing to do for the rest of the night though. Swinging his arms back and forth, his eyes flicking from candle to candle and he hummed a hymn to himself. When he reached his bedroom door, he grabbed the handle... but he hesitated.

Somebody was talking on the other side?

Chan's humming droned out. He placed his ear against the door and realised nobody was talking after all, but were singing and it was the most angelic singing Chan had ever heard, which was ironic because the lyrics were so far from innocent. Chan didn't focus on those, taking in the sound of Minho's sweet, melodic voice instead. He hit every note perfectly.

Chan didn't want the singing to disappear. He stood with his ear against the door for as long as he could, eyes fluttering shut. The song Minho sang was so different from all the hymns Chan had been forced to sing for years.

Minho's voice hitched when he jumped onto his bunk of the bed, mattress springs bouncing below him. Chan couldn't help but smile, shifting his attention to the lyrics as Minho started singing a new verse. They were so blasphemous, but they sounded so beautiful when they came from Minho. How was it possible for sin to seem so pure?

Chan could have stayed there all day, but the candles dimmed behind him. The shadows grew bigger, darker. He gulped when he opened his eyes, straightening up and taking a quick look around. He couldn't see anything. He could hear some scuffling though. He'd have to enter the room at one point or another anyway. He gripped the handle and twisted.

Minho's voice was ripped away from him as soon as he stepped inside. He was sat on the top bunk, face blank as his eyes fixed on Chan. "You're back," he noted as Chan closed the door and rushed over to his bottom bunk without making eye contact.

"Yeah," Chan slipped off his robes and folded them over his arm. Left in his white t-shirt and jeans, he stood up to place the robes in the box under his bed. All the while, Minho watched him, not saying anything until Chan was out of sight again, hidden away on his bottom bunk. He thought that's where he'd spend the rest of the evening but Minho had other ideas.

"I'm bored," he claimed, climbing down the ladder to stand in the centre of the room, "let's play a game."

"A game?" Chan asked as Minho lowered himself onto the grey, tiled floor, crossing his legs. The cold seeped through his jeans and a shiver passed through him, but he remained where he was. "What type of game?"

Minho patted the tiles in front of him. For some reason, Chan found himself complying with what he wanted, slipping off the edge of his bed and sitting in front of Minho.

Minho shrugged, "truth or dare?"

"Really? Truth or dare?"

"What? Do you have a better suggestion?"

"Well... no, I guess not," Chan mumbled, "fine, you start."

"Ok, truth or dare?"

Chan wasn't sure how to feel about that smirk on Minho's face. "Truth?"

Without hesitation, Minho asked him, "do you believe in God?"

With hesitation, Chan stuttered for an answer, "uh, well, yes? Kind of?"

"Kind of? How can you kind of believe in God?"

"I mean, I believe in God, it's just not the God they preach about here. I guess I started to lose my faith after I was sent here. The God they teach about here is terrifying. God didn't seem like that before."