No One's POV:

Uneasiness twisted inside Hyunjin's stomach as he observed Minho's reaction to whatever message Jisung had left. The dancer paled until he was as white as a sheet and terror trembled through his nerves, causing his hands to shake like a leaf. Wide, panicked brown orbs met Hyunjin's concerned stare. Minho pulled the phone from his ear before swiftly checking how long ago Jisung left the message and calling the boy back, fear clutching at his heart.

"He's not picking up!" Minho yelled while frantically dialing the boy's number again. Hyunjin watched, his hands hanging uselessly by his sides, uncertain on what to do to help, uncertain as to what was going on.

When Jisung did not answer again, Minho changed tactics. He dialed Changbin's number, hoping that the rapper would pick up. He really didn't want to have to call Chan but if it came down it, knowing that Jisung was okay would take precedence over his pride. The brunette listened with bated breath as the phone rang. However, Changbin didn't pick up. His hands shook uncontrollably as he dialed the rapper again and still received no response.

The dancer briefly debated whether he really should call Chan or not, but decided to put his pride aside for now and call the elder. This wasn't about him. It was about Jisung. And something was seriously wrong with him right now. He inhaled sharply as the phone rang, the promising jingle allowing hope to rise once more from the ashes of the intense flames of his anxiety and suffocating abyss of dread.

"Ohmygoshthankgodfinally!" The brunette's words slurred together in one undecipherable mess in response to Chan answering his phone. However, his relief was short lived. "Are you with Jisung?"

"What? No. Why?" Chan sounded distracted and his words came slowly as if he wasn't fully focused on the phone call.

"Where is he?" Minho asked hurriedly, ignoring Chan's halfhearted question.

"Um... probably at the studio. Why?" Minho paled and words stuck to his throat as terrified thoughts charged wildly through his mind. Hyunjin stepped forward, taking charge after realizing that the brunette wasn't going to speak.

"Are you near the studio, Chan hyung?" Hyunjin asked, having heard Chan's voice through the phone speaker. He didn't know what was going on, but he knew that the boy who had seemed so happy earlier was now an anxious mess, and it had something to do with Jisung.

"H-Hyunjin? You're still with Minho? Wait? Why?" The ravenette ignored the jealous tinged questions with an annoyed roll of his eyes.

"Are you near Jisung?" Hyunjin snapped, the flame of his anxiety burning wildly as it fed on the panic radiating off the trembling dancer in waves.

"U-uh, yeah?" Hyunjin almost groaned at Chan's uncertainty. His tone indicated that he was hung up on the fact that Hyunjin was still with Minho rather than the strange fact that they were trying to find Jisung.

"Go! Go find him. We are on our way there,"

"Wait why? What's going on?" The higher pitch in Chan's voice was a clear indication to his confusion.

"I don't know, hyung," the ravenette admitted. "He called Minho seven times and left a-a voice message," he continued to speak as he urged Minho into motion and head for the front door, intent on finding Jisung. "I don't know what's going on but something's wrong and I am about to have a panic attack, if Minho doesn't beat me too it." He ended the phone call with those final words, knowing that they would spur the blond into action. He grabbed Minho by the wrist and dragged the still dazed boy from the apartment towards the JYP building.

Hyunjin was more than grateful that Minho lived close to the building. They raced into the building, ignoring the confused and judgmental stares from the people they tore past. Their shoes thudded loudly against the shiny floors as they sprinted towards the elevator, the small box being the only way to reach the upper levels of the building. Minho, who had snapped out of the anxious daze, aggressively pressed the button to call the elevator. Both dancers shifted their weight from foot to foot anxiously as trepidation mingled with the adrenaline setting their bodies alight with untamable energy.

Changbin watched Chan with furrowed brows. Why was he on the phone to Minho and Hyunjin? What was going on? He inhaled shallowly when Chan turned towards him with a serious expression while pocketing his phone.

"We have to find Jisung," That single sentence sent a tremor through Changbin and he begged all of the gods he knew to let Jisung be alive and okay when they found him. He should have never walked out. No matter how much it hurt that he was nothing more than a fuck buddy to Jisung, he should have just stayed. Jisung was obviously not in his right mind. A deep pit of dread sunk heavily into his stomach while fear tightened around his pounding heart. If Jisung killed himself, it would be his fault. He promised he would never leave Jisung and yet the moment he had gotten jealous and upset he had walked out on Jisung. Twice.

"W-what's going on?" He asked Chan as the older set a brisk pace back towards the studio. The blond had followed Changbin to the front of the building and offered to walk with him towards the park. Somehow the older had seemed to know how he was feeling because he had immediately offered Changbin support and comfort before even asking the question that was on his mind. Changbin hadn't wanted to admit how he felt about Jisung to Chan- or himself. But when Chan stated, "You love him. Don't you?" the dark haired rapper found himself nodding. The older had then done something unexpected. He had hugged Changbin.

The dark haired rapper followed Chan as they walked swiftly towards the building. The blond broke into a sprint when they saw two familiar, breathless figures race past the front doors and Changbin followed closely behind.

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Jisung's POV:

I seemed to be standing in a world swathed in a black cloth, the darkness fluttering and pulsing around me. Muffled sounds reminiscent of voices echoed through the strange darkness. Muffled footsteps suggested that someone was approaching me, however, no one ever reached me and the sounds ceased abruptly. The voices faded away and bright red and blue lights seared my eyeballs as they whirled past me and into the roiling mass of shadows.

I shivered as the temperature dropped rapidly. Taking advantage of the light emitted from the strange floating red and blue lights dancing in the darkness, I glanced around, trying to discern anything from my surroundings. Nothing. I could see nothing but an impenetrable wall of darkness.

A high pithed yelp left my lips as I was suddenly falling, falling down an abyss of icy shadows. I squeezed my eyes shut as the sensation of falling continued. Whispered words reached out towards me and my eyes snapped open in surprise as I immediately recognised the voice. It was Hyunjin.

"I don't know why you hate me," My mind screamed at me to respond, to tell Hyunjin that I didn't hate him, that I could never hate him, but I clamped my mouth shut as unwelcomed and strange emotions tugged at my heart, demanding recognition and attention.

"Forgive me," my mind raced with unanswered questions. Forgive him? Forgive him for what? I opened my mouth to ask Hyunjin what he meant, but his distorted voice echoed around me once more before I could speak.

"It should have been me..." My heart clenched at the sorrowful words whispered through the darkness. Confusion and understanding battled violently within me. I knew what Hyunjin meant but couldn't work out why or how I knew, or why the words left a gaping hole in my chest and thoughts of unfairness crawling through my thoughts.

"I don't want you," If I wasn't falling, I would have frozen in place. The words seemed to hold no bite and sounded so casual as if Hyunjin were simply talking about the weather. Yet, the words hammered a stake of agonizing rejection into my heart. Hyunjin doesn't want me?

"I want you..." Hope pulsed through my entire body at those words. I ignored the echoed sobbing of heartbreak clinging desperately to Hyunjin's words and focused solely on what the words themselves meant. Hyunjin wants me! Without warning, I was deprived the only thing which had not been stolen from me, my thoughts. My consciousness was yanked out from under me and I found myself falling head first into a soundless void.

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Jisung's POV (Third Person):

It feels different, the world looks different, his relationship with Hyunjin is different, he and Minho are closer but also more distant... He sees him and Hyunjin on stage, the taller boy leaning against him as the lights shine and reflect their sweat. Voices chant their names as snippets of performances flash in his mind; the choreo, the songs, the fan chants, Chan, Minho, Hyunjin, Felix, Seungmin, Jeongin, Woojin, Changbin- all the same, and yet so different.

Changbin hugs him tightly and he feels an overwhelming satisfaction and warmth as if he never received it. A hug... A memory flashes to the forefront of Jisung's mind of Felix and Changbin crying and hugging. Why were they crying? What was wrong? Words filled his ears and he suddenly understands, suddenly remembers. JYP eliminated Minho and Felix from Stray Kids before they debuted- Jisung was beyond thankful that he had decided to let them rejoin and stay.

He jolts as the view alters and changes, the world warping and distorting. It's almost as if he is falling and watching all at once as disaster strikes. Jisung sees his body on the floor - maybe a stage but his eyes are glued to his body, too focused on this strange out-of-body view of himself to even wonder where he is. His view changes, and he is staring up into bright lights that obstruct his view of the ceiling. Blood surrounds him, soaking grossly into his shirt and jeans while dulled, muffled, underwater screams, crying and begging wade towards his ears. He feels as if he is floating, his entire body numb to everything. He knows he is injured, knows that it is something he will not recover from, and yet, he can't feel anything, just a soothing numbness.

As he blinks, he realises that Hyunjin is kneeling beside him, knees resting in his blood, tears wrecking his beautiful features with despair. His mouth moves but Jisung can't hear him. He wants to hear him. He panics and struggles against the fading world. He has to hear Hyunjin's voice! A static popping fills his ears, but as he fights harder, he can almost hear him, the whimpered begging and apologies and heartbreak, the chaos, the terror.

"I'm so sorry..."

He can hear Hyunjin begging, and he reached a hand up to touch the boy's face, to promise him that everything would be alright. But, the promise died on his lips as Hyunjin's pleas began to sound delayed or echoed, or both, he couldn't tell.

"It should have been me..."

A chilling realization crawled up his spine; this wasn't his world.

He slowly turned his head away from Hyunjin, his unblinking gaze settling on another part of the stage. He watched the other members frantically scurrying around an extremely pale and haggardly breathing Chan as the numbness washed over his bones in soothing waves, draining away any emotions or feeling. The sickening sounds of Chan's wheezes floated around him, the choking gasps rippling inside his chest and sending a crashing tsunami of emotions flooding through him once more. He cried out in despair. Not Channie!

Questions whirled through his mind like the brutal winds of a storm thrashing the ocean mercilessly. However, one thought in particular struck him to the core, sizzling and burning an electric purple and setting his body alight; What happened?

A flicker of memories stirred within the haze shrouding his thoughts. Someone brought a gun to the fan meet. Someone... He tried to protect them. Chan saw it first and he took the bullets first. Jisung blanked at how he got there until the memories seared into his mind flashed white hot and he nearly screamed. Despite his silence, he still heard screaming. It was Hyunjin, and yet as the tall dancer gently turned Jisung's head back towards himself, he wasn't screaming. Jisung watched as Hyunjin's eyes flickered over to where Chan lay, the intent behind his turning Jisung to look at him crystal clear; he didn't want Jisung's last sight, last memory, to be of Chan dying right beside him.

The screams faded into muffled words. Hyunjin's voice seeming to float in the air, begging him to come back, to just come back. Another memory sparked at these words. He had sacrificed himself for Hyunjin. When he saw the gun turn towards the tall dancer he shoved him down and dove in front of him. Or maybe that was the wrong memory. Maybe the gun had just been aimed at him and Chan tried to save him. He couldn't tell anymore. He felt like he was experiencing déjà vu within déjà vu and he couldn't discern what was real and what wasn't. As he floundered, the static returned, but he fought it away and silence reigned over his world. The strange Hyunjin voice ceased to exist and it unnerved him more than it should. He could hear Hyunjin beside him, but something about the voice seemed wrong. It was all wrong. He turned his head sharply to see Chan and for a moment couldn't see him, as if he was never there, but then, it was if he was staring through a camera lens that had just focused. He could see Chan all too clearly.

Jisung watched numbly as Chan's eyes dulled and his body relaxed, releasing any tension. Is that my fate? The thought intruded upon his sorrow, dragging behind it an overwhelming sadness. Is this where I will always end up? On the floor in my own blood, for Hyunjin? He hated that there seemed to be no other ending for him. He hated Hyunjin for taking his life away from him, for being the reason he never seemed to escape death's clutches. He inhaled sharply as the world distorted, everything warping and changing as he begrudgingly accepted the shitty fate card he had been dealt, because he knew that he would do it again. No matter how many redoes he was given, no matter how much he loved his life, no matter how devastating it would be for the other members, he would always, always, give his life for Hyunjin. But, why was Hyunjin always the target?

He felt Hyunjin's hands on his face, his mouth moved but the silence persisted and not a single sound escaped passed the boy's plump lips. Jisung watched as tears rolled joyfully down the dancer's cheeks and dripped off of his chin as if they were playing some fun game. Jisung wished he could join in. He wished he could rejoice in the same freedom those little drops of water had. They didn't feel pressured to protect someone, they didn't die-

BANG! The loud noise shattered the silence, jarring Jisung from his thoughts. He stared at a bewildered Hyunjin whose mouth opened and closed like a surprised clown. In another scenario, Jisung might have told the boy to stop being so over dramatic. However, as red blossomed out from a spot on his chest and he slumped to the side, falling beside Jisung, the joking words died on his lips in another timeline. Hyunjin's eyes glossed over as the red dyed his white shirt a vivid, violent crimson. Rage tore through Jisung as he stared into the unseeing brown eyes dulled to a lifeless brown as the life drained out of Hyunjin alongside his blood that was pooling onto the floor, mixing with Jisung's own red sea. The sharpened claws of agony shredded his heart as the sizzling pop of static filled his ears once more. This couldn't be how it ended. He couldn't fail. Hyunjin couldn't die!

"I don't want you!" the words clashed inside Jisung's head. The beginning and the end. Hyunjin's voice contradicting itself, morphing into right and wrong with each new word, changing the meaning. Jisung allowed his own voice to join Hyunjin's, allowed himself to scream the words like an accusation to the world. He didn't want this fate. He didn't want this ending. He didn't want this world.

"I don't want you!"

The static grew unbearably loud, snapping and popping as if the sound were emanating from his head and finds himself catapulted into his world where he is only conscious for a second before slipping into a deep sleep once more. This time a dreamless one.

Merry Christmas ^-^ 

IHY! is now officially off hiatus. 

Updating Status: Monthly

I hope you all have an amazing Christmas!