LATE UPDATE SHJSJS I GOT CARRIED AWAY BY MATH

-jiro
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"soonyoung, wake up!" i shouted, dragging the boy's foot out of bed. he didn't want to get up and it made me think that jihoon and i should just leave him, but no, jiwoo could be anywhere and it's dangerous. jihoon rushed inside the room as well and shook my arm, slightly panicking, "minseul, we have to go!"

"but we can't leave soonyoung."

jihoon hopped on the bed and shook soonyoung awake before screaming into his ear with a high pitched voice, "GET UP!" we both thought it would work until soonyoung just covered his ears with pillows.

"what a great leader of performance team, doesn't give a fuck even though one of your members is in trouble!" the small boy shouted "CHAN GOT CHOKED AND YOU WEREN'T THERE AND NOW HE'S IN DANGER AGAIN AND YOU'RE STILL NOT GONNA—"

before jihoon could even finish speaking, soonyoung sprinted out of the room to get ready. both jihoon and i were left speechless. we stepped out and then saw the boy already dressed up in his coat and cap.

"let's go."

from jihoon's, the way to chan's house was only a fifteen minute drive. i was constantly checking the group chat while we were on our way.

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anti-jiwoo
eight people are in this group

jihoonminati added sugardad to the chat

july: bitch what the fuck happened to lee chan

hoeforhansol: he just disappeared

jihoonminati removed thirdgrader from the chat

july: dude why did you remove

jihoonminati: bitch. check twitter

boxedin: what is happening

jihoonminati:

明浩: SHIT

eternal_darkness: who is that srry i don't recognize

jihoonminati:

明浩: IM GONNA GO TO HIS HOUSE I LIVE CLOSE ENOUGH

july: MINGHAO NO

july: DONT GO ALODNDE

july: PLEASDE

jihoonminati: we're on our way. three of us. hao if you wanna go, meet us along the way.

明浩: BUT WHERE

jihoonminati: 593-9 geoyeo il-dong. front. don't go until we haven't reached the place. we're close tho

eternal_darkness: i can't contact chan

boxedin: same

boxedin: we need to contact his parents

jihoonminati: dUDE NO. LETS NOT GET MORE PEOPLE INVOLVED. IF WE DO, JIWOO MIGHT EVEN GET TO CHAN'S FAMILY

boxedin: ohshit im srry

july: please make sure hes okay

jihoonminati: we're here @明浩 you know soonyoung's car, right?

明浩: omw

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it wasn't long until minghao spotted us. he sat beside me at the backseat and slammed the door shut, making soonyoung mutter, "please don't slam it next time." we passed a few more houses before turning right, then left.

"why is it dark?" minghao asked as we stared at the facade of chan's house. the window to his room was shut and there was a faint glow of light. we carefully walked to the door and soonyoung questioned, "okay but, how do we enter?"

"stand back," minghao ordered before kicking the door open "easy."

"chan?" i called. damn, i got chills because i remember the time when i entered this house and minghao had to kick the door open as well. it was pitch black and the only light was coming from my phone. through the stillness of the night, i could hear someone weep, but it was hard for me to tell if it was all in my head or not. stepping on the bottom stair, i looked up and slowly felt fear wrapping its cold arms around me.

the sound of weeping rang in my ears and all i wanted was to turn back and run. but then i assured myself that it's chan, and not someone else. still, i kept cursing to myself as i clung to the handrail and continued the upward climb while soonyoung trailed behind me, whimpering at intervals.

reaching the top, i stood in complete darkness, facing a door which seems to be the one for chan's bedroom. slowly, i made my way forward with extended arms until i found my hands wrapped around the knob.

it was a bad idea to turn it because the moment i did, i heard chan scream.

"NO, GO AWAY!" i must've startled him

"it's me! minseul!" i replied, "i'm coming in, okay?"

i carefully opened the door and heaved a sigh upon seeing that the room looks fine. no broken mirrors or cracked furnitures. just the boy curled up at the side of his bed and the laptop with a blank white screen. i hastened towards chan and knelt in front of him.

"what happened? did someone come?" i asked.

the first reply i got was a hug, then a gush of tears down my shirt. i rested my chin on the top of his head and ran my hands down his back while he cried. this poor child doesn't deserve this.

the other boys rushed in and minghao turned the switch on, "why is it so dark in here— OH MY GOD WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU!?"

"i got so scared," chan stuttered "i thought jiwoo was in my house. when my messages started glitching, i heard someone downstairs."

"well we're here now," soonyoung replied "can't we all just stay in one place? so nobody gets to be alone like this?"

"like we have the money to buy one," minghao muttered "plus, if we'd all stay together, i doubt minseul will stay as well. she's a girl, i mean, even if we're all friends, it'd still be awkward for her to live with thirteen guys."

"can we not talk about his now? we have a bigger problem than that," jihoon intervened

"choi ji soo!" i heard someone say, making me turn my head to the door. it was closed, but i believe that the sound came from the other side. jiwoo is indeed in the house.

"did you guys hear that?" i asked the boys, referring to jiwoo's voice, but nobody heard it.

jihoon shook his head, "hearing things again, minseul?"

"i swear, i heard jiwoo's voice!"

"like always. i think you need rest. maybe you just need rest," jihoon told me "shall we go home?"

"but chan's not fine yet," i muttered. the boy was still crying, but he pulled away from the hug and wiped his tears with the back of his hand, "please don't leave me here."

i cupped his face and puffed his cheeks, "of course we won't leave you here!"

"wow minseul x chan is a thing," jihoon laughed, earning electric gazes from soonyoung

"i still have that polaroid picture when minseul fell on him on his birthday," minghao added "i can bring it to school tomorrow." soonyoung laughed out loud, a little too exaggerated and bitter, "guess who kissed minseul on chan's birthday?"

"cry," jihoon whispered to the youngest. and he did hug me and cry again, making soonyoung panic, "shit i'm sorry!"

jihoon glared at soonyoung, "look at what you did to the boy, you made him cry, you asshole." soonyoung hopped off the bed and tried to hug chan but i slightly pushed him away, "no, get away, you made him cry!"

"but..." soonyoung pouted "i didn't mean to be a jerk."

"you're always a jerk," minghao chuckled. before soonyoung could even start whining, chan started to laugh, "jokes on you, hyung."

"what a little bitch. we'll leave you here—"

"no!" chan shouted and puckered his lips "but hey, even if you kissed minseul on my birthday, you flirty little douchebag, at least i have the best candid pictures with her, right minghao hyung?"

"photos by the8!" minghao threw his hands up and lay down the bed "ah, i'm such a photographer. i love myself."

"good for you, you love yourself," chan mumbled and stared on the ground with his tired eyes "i'm tired of myself, always the target for hurting. anyway, where can i stay?"

"my house, but jiwoo's haunting it so jihoon's house," soonyoung answered

"can i come?" hao asked

"sure."

"if all of us sleep on one bed this time, i swear, kwon soonyoung—"

"nah, don't worry jihoon," the boy chuckled "it's just gonna be you and i this time."

"sick," jihoon rolled his eyes

i got up from the floor and noticed that my shirt was still soaked in baby tears, specifically the chest part. damn, i looked like i was sweating after running a million miles. chan apologized but i told him that there's nothing to be sorry about. he then offered me his shirt to change into, which made soonyoung salty again. but i accepted it anyway.

"let's leave minseul here, she has to change," the youngest announced

"she can just change outside, nobody's there anyway," soonyoung muttered

"lee chan for minseul's boyfriend!" jihoon cheered and started to chant with minghao, "lee chan! lee chan! lee chan!"

soonyoung started to whine, which made the rest of the boys groan, "why do you hate me?"

"that's it," jihoon jumped off the bed and dragged soonyoung by the ear "let's just go and let minseul change, shall we?" the taller one winced in pain as all of them stepped out the room "take it easy jihoon, it hurts a lot!" chan closed the door and then i was left alone in the bedroom.

it was dead quiet although i could still hear soonyoung whining outside.

i did my job fast because it was just the top that was needed to be changed. after doing so, chan's laptop caught my attention. it had a glitchy screen and it clearly looked messy but i didn't bother touching it because i don't know shit about broken laptops.

right when i turned my head to face the mirror, light passed through the window, directed at my eyes. i covered them with my palm and edged my way to the frame, peering into where the light was coming from.

there was a girl holding a small mirror, right in front of chan's house. i couldn't see clearly because of the light blinding me but i could tell that there was a camera hanging on her neck.

"jiwoo," i muttered and ran to open the door. the boys were surprised when i sprinted down the stairs to get out of the house. just when i opened the door, nobody was there, until there was the light again, and jiwoo was now at the corner of the street, smiling, holding her mirror.

"minseul!" soonyoung called and grabbed my hand "what happened to you?"

"jiwoo, she's," i pointed at the darkness "there."

"silly, there's no one there," soonyoung messed my hair up "come on, let's take you home."

"i swear, i saw her!"

"ssshhh."

the rest of the boys came running to the car, with chan hugging his backpack. he said that it's just full of clothes, money, and then his precious laptop. i was seated in between chan and minghao at the backseat while the other two were in front.

and as soonyoung drove, i kept a keen eye for jiwoo, but she wasn't there anymore. a few minutes drag past and light was flashed directly at soonyoung's eyes, which made him close them in an instant. "SOONYOUNG WATCH OUT!" jihoon screamed and took the wheel. minghao was awakened when the car started to go on zigzags because jihoon didn't know what to do, while soonyoung was still blinded by the glint.

"stop the car!" minghao ordered

"i can't!" jihoon replied "soonyoung, stop the fucking car!"

soonyoung stepped on the brakes but he claimed that it wasn't working. he then turned off the cruise control and started to pump the brakes with his foot repeatedly before downshifting. the ray finally left soonyoung's sight and he started to control the wheel again, this time, using the emergency brake. both minghao and chan grabbed my hands tightly.

"put your seatbelts on," soonyoung ordered and drove the car to the far right side of the road, "i think we're going for a crash stop."

"A CRASH?! I FUCKING LOVE MY LIFE, KWON SOONYOUNG!" jihoon shouted

"WE'RE NOT GONNA DIE, JUST KEEP YOUR FUCKING SEATBELT ON."

soonyoung took the car to the side of the road to the grassy area and tried to use friction against the shrubs until the car finally stopped. we were left in silence for a few minutes. soonyoung craned his neck in our direction, panting, "are you guys okay?"

"i think i'm going to faint, but i'm... i'm fine. thank you, hyung," minghao's voice was shaky. soonyoung nodded and turned to jihoon, "you, are you okay?"

jihoon was pale as hell and he was just staring down, until his eyes started to water. the boy covered his face with his shaking hands and started to cry so hard, "I THOUGHT WE WERE GOING TO DIE!"

"ssshhh, it's okay," soonyoung ruffled the boy's hair "it's done, we're alive."

"i fucking hate you."

"i know," soonyoung replied with a small smile "and i won't tell hoshi."

"do we walk, hyung?" chan asked "it's really dark outside. i'm kinda scared."

"we'll get a ride, but hold on, let's stay for a bit," soonyoung sighed, with worried eyes looking at jihoon.

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why do i feel like when a member of svt cries, it's the end of the world shjsjdkd

kbyeilysm, stay safe
-jiro