tw: murder, descriptions of blood and violence, and mentions of suicide & c*nnibalism

↓ fave header right here ↓

you chose:
a) refuse

* * *

Seonghwa eyed the phone in his hands, patiently awaiting Jongho's response. The guy seemed hesitant judging by the way he kept typing and retyping his response, which of course Seonghwa had expected. But, he was a bit disappointed when he finally got Jongho's answer.

- jongho🐻
i can't
i'm sorry

- jongho🐻
too occupied with work rn
(｡ŏ﹏ŏ)

- jongho🐻
hope you understand

Seonghwa looked up as Mingi descended in the seat across from his on the island, a strange, dubious look on his face.

- wooyoung
its okie
have fun :)

"Isn't that Wooyoung's phone?" Mingi questioned. He sounded puzzled, but his expression seemed quite empty, like he didn't really care.

"Yeah. He and San went out earlier, and he forgot to take his phone along," Seonghwa casually explained, still fabricating ways in which he could successfully bring Jongho over without raising much suspicion.

"Was that Choi Jongho you were just texting?"

Seonghwa bit his lip and raised a brow. Mingi's sudden onslaught of questions confused him. He was so used to the taller doing as he said and conforming to his ideas that it felt weird seeing him so curious all of a sudden.

"...Yeah," Seonghwa said after a while. Mingi had probably just woken up, as he was in black pyjama bottoms and a simple grey shirt. The older watched as he fiddled with his thumbs, absurdly quiet and restless. "You okay?"

Mingi moved as if he'd been pinched, before giving a half-hearted shrug. "Yeah."

Seonghwa carefully pushed Wooyoung's phone into his pocket, before leaning across the table to face Mingi better. "Are you sure? You know you can tell me anything, right?"

Mingi sighed and raked his fingers through his short, blond hair. "I just..." He watched Seonghwa, and it took a second for the older to recognize the emotion in his eyes. Hurt. "Do you even care about us anymore?"

Seonghwa froze, stunned at his friend's words. It was clear Mingi was taken aback by his words too, because he then cleared his throat and averted his eyes, which still looked sad.

"Forget I said anything."

"No," Seonghwa answered, voice firm. He reached out and clasped one of Mingi's hands, just like he'd done countless times as kids when the weather was bad and Mingi had been scared of the rumbling thunder. "I can't forget it. I won't. Please, I need to know why you feel that way."

Mingi's Adam's apple bobbed, a certain vulnerability clouding his irises. "Wooyoung, Seonghwa. It's because of him. Even before he came here, it was always about him. And -- and now, Yeosang, Yunho and Hongjoong are dead. Because of him."

"Yeosang did that to himself, and Hongjoong tried to kill Wooyoung. There was no way I would've allowed that to happen," Seonghwa curtly responded, irritated at how callously Mingi said Wooyoung's name. In fact, it made him furious. "You know that, don't you?"

Mingi's hands formed tight fists. "What about Yunho?"

"He died protecting me -- "

"And that was because Wooyoung stabbed him," Mingi stated, tone icy with venom. "He stabbed him and killed him, and yet you did nothing about it."

Seonghwa's jaw ticked as he tried to compose himself. "That's what we do anyway. We kill people. You should be happy Wooyoung's learning how to do it. You should be happy for me. We've been best friends for so long, and you knew how I loved him -- how I still love him. You knew how long I'd waited for Wooyoung and I to meet again, and yet you still have the guts to turn your back on me? How selfish are you Mingi?"

"I'm not the selfish one here," Mingi spat, cheeks flushed in an angry, explosive red. "You are."

"Shut up. Shut up right now," Seonghwa commanded. His booming voice managed to reduce the extent of Mingi's fury, but it was still clear he was fuming on the inside. "You don't get to tell me what to do. I own you. I control what you can and cannot do. Don't you ever talk back to me again."

Mingi's fists clenched so tightly they began to tremble, frustrated tears dripping down his face. Instantly, Seonghwa left his seat to take the one beside him, pulling him into a deep hug.

He massaged Mingi's hair as the man cried into his chest, shoulders shaking. "It's okay, Min. I'm so sorry I spoke so harshly to you. I got too angry, but I never meant to hurt your feelings."

"I-I'm s-sorry too," Mingi sniffed, roughly wiping away his tears like he didn't want them there. "I got mad at -- at how everything was turning out. Didn't mean to shout on you, Hwa."

Seonghwa continued patting Mingi's hair, waiting patiently for the taller to calm down as he whispered comforting assurances into his ear.

He stroked Mingi's wet cheek with his thumb, getting rid of all his remaining tears. "Everything's going to be fine, Min. Wooyoung may be special to me, but you're still my best friend. Nothing's ever gonna change that."

Mingi quickly nodded. His eyes told Seonghwa he believed him wholeheartedly. He wrapped his arms around the older male, relaxing into his embrace for a while before finally letting go. "Thank you."

Seonghwa smiled, and then booped the taller's nose to lighten up the atmosphere. That got him a soft chuckle in response.

"Want some coffee?" He suggested. "So you'll feel a little more energized."

Mingi grinned. "Yeah. Yeah, I'd like that."

Off went Seonghwa to the coffee maker to prepare Mingi's flat white, the latter too lost in his thoughts at the island as he anticipated Seonghwa's return.

Too lost in his thoughts to notice what Seonghwa had sprinkled into his coffee.

"Here you go," Seonghwa said once he was done, swiftly passing Mingi his drink while he took the first available seat he saw.

"Thanks."

"You're okay, right? Everything's alright between us now?" Seonghwa questioned, observing as Mingi began sipping his coffee.

"Mhm." Mingi sounded completely honest, a smile spreading across his face. "This tastes really nice."

Seonghwa waved him off with a laugh. "You always say that."

"But it's true." Mingi continued to drink, hurriedly finishing his coffee.

"Wasn't it a little hot?" Seonghwa asked.

"No, I -- " Mingi started, only to stop midway. His brows wrinkled, as if he was trying to solve a complicated math problem.

"What?"

Mingi paused, coughing a little. "Nothing. It's -- it's nothing." He coughed even more.

Seonghwa pressed his palm on his friend's back, rubbing circles into it. "Hey, what's wrong?"

Mingi's coughs were hoarse and painful to the ears at first, before thickening with phlegm when he coughed into his hands. Vibrant red stained them.

He paused, as if taking the time to let the realization sink in, and then he was staring wide-eyed at Seonghwa, who'd already dropped his hand from his back.

"H...how..." Mingi gasped, lips smeared with his blood. He never got to finish his sentence, but Seonghwa knew what he'd wanted to say. How could you do this to me?

Mingi slumped to Seonghwa's feet, betrayal flaring in his eyes before the life in them faded out.

"I'm sorry," Seonghwa extended his final apology to the younger. Chilling silence greeted him.

Seonghwa then walked into his room, hands slightly twitching at what he'd done even when he knew it was for the best.

Soon, it'll all be worth it. He stopped in front of his drawer, inserting a small key to unlock the one on top that was almost always locked whenever he wasn't around. The one he'd seen Wooyoung try so hard to open when he'd spent his first night in his room.

The drawer seamlessly slipped open, revealing a myriad of contents inside.

Soon, you'll get to have Wooyoung all to yourself.

The pictures were everywhere, spilling further into the constraints of the box. And they were all of Wooyoung through the years, some taken when the younger was fully unaware, and others were ones that had been posted online when Wooyoung had once been active on social media. Even San, who'd attended the same highschool as him, had captured a few purposeful selcas of himself with the boy just to hand them over to Seonghwa later.

Wooyoung had always been so close, yet so far, and that'd been Seonghwa's way of keeping him in contact; his way of loving him from afar. It'd helped him cope, helped him focus on Wooyoung and know whenever he was okay and how he'd been doing over the years.

Seonghwa shifted past the many photos, grabbing a black, squarish case at the corner. He held it up to his face, before opening it up as meticulously as he could.

Two golden rings dazzled majestically in the darkness.

* * *

San was...nice company to be around, and despite what had happened to Hongjoong, Wooyoung soon grew comfortable around the man. It wasn't a shocker though, as they'd gotten along way before Wooyoung had begun living in that apartment.

San seemed to enjoy his presence too, so Wooyoung guessed Seonghwa had told him he'd forgotten all that happened again. He'd been forgetting a lot of things in that apartment lately, but like always, he ignored it as best as he could. All he wanted was to find out more about what his flatmates did, and push aside his parents' increasingly ferocious texts and calls to the furthest crevice of his mind. As long as he didn't answer them, didn't acknowledge their presence, they didn't have the right to send him back.

"What're you thinking about, huh?" San asked across the table at the restaurant they'd found themselves in, downing his can of cola. He smiled at Wooyoung's raised eyebrow as a result of how quickly he'd finished off his drink. "What? This is amazing."

"Riiight," Wooyoung dragged out the syllable, nibbling on a slice of pizza. "Sprite is better."

"Nuh uh." San's voice bordered on stern, a dark look falling on his face. It momentarily surprised the younger. "Coke is elite."

"Sure, sure. Whatever," Wooyoung replied, finding himself agreeing with San a lot faster than he'd anticipated. It wasn't his fault though, the older man looked a bit intimidating like that.

San clapped a little, giggling whilst doing so. "Yay."

"How can you be so excited?" Wooyoung asked before he had the chance to think over his words. A sort of awkward and tense silence followed, causing him to clear his throat a little bit too loudly. "Uh, sorry if that came out rude."

"...No," San shook his head, taking a forkful of his risotto. "It wasn't rude, don't worry."

Wooyoung exhaled a sigh of relief. "Oh, okay."

"I just...miss Hongjoong, I guess."

Wooyoung tried not to make it so obvious he remembered what'd gone down between Seonghwa and Hongjoong. He took an innocent sip out of his own drink. "Really? I haven't seen him around lately. Why is that?"

"He's away," was San's vague-ass response.

Wooyoung bit the inside of his cheek. "For how long."

San poked his risotto in a lackluster manner, nestling his head on his palm. "Dunno."

Wooyoung suddenly felt like he shouldn't probe further. He already felt like an asshole for even venturing into the subject of Hongjoong's permanent absence. San's sorrowful, defeated expression had also struck a cord within him.

"How did you and Seonghwa meet?" Wooyoung decided to ask instead, hoping the change of topic would lighten San's spirits. "I mean, we went to the same highschool, but I'd never seen you with him."

San took another brisk bite of his food. "I met him at the mall one time. Thought he was a chill guy, and he seemed really nice too. We started hanging out more after that encounter."

"Oh."

"Why'd you ask?"

"I was just curious," Wooyoung answered, braving a glance at San's face. The man had on a beanie that covered most of his black hair, his brows furrowed with dark shadows lining his features. Once again, he looked quite domineering.

"What you and Seonghwa have going on..." San started, eyes dimming over, "is it actually serious? Do you actually like him, or are you just using him?"

His accusation got Wooyoung all startled. Flustered. He hadn't expected that. "I'm not -- " he nervously picked at his pizza crust, "I don't get what you're trying to say -- "

"I know you both had sex two days ago," San cut in, his voice blunt. Fortunately, no one else heard his words, but the aggrieved undertone in them was loud and clear.

"I'm sorry, but are you mad at me?" Wooyoung questioned, because he honestly didn't know. The air between them had turned sour in a matter of seconds, and it had him on edge.

San's fork clanked against his plate. "I'm not."

"Then why do you sound like you are?"

"Seonghwa -- " San stared right at Wooyoung, his eyes as piercing as they were vexed. "Seonghwa really likes you, Wooyoung. He has for quite a while. He likes you so, so much, Woo, and I sincerely want him to be happy. If you aren't actually interested him, then stay away. Don't lead him on."

"I'm not...leading him on." Wooyoung hated how unsure he sounded. He guessed San had picked up on it too, as his face had been wiped off of any and all amusement. "Seriously, I'm not."

"Hongjoong..." San began only to stop, fingers tapping anxiously on the table. "...Seonghwa's done things for you that he's never done for anyone else. He truly cares about you, so it would break his heart if he knew you kissed and slept with him only to use him for whatever plan you have."

Ouch. Wooyoung felt breathless. He hastily sipped his drink, San's stare burning into his skull. "I don't have any plan," he muttered dumbly.

He hoped his answer would fend off whatever accusations San also had under his sleeve, but the older didn't look like he was done with him just yet.

"Do you like Seonghwa?"

Wooyoung didn't know how to reply. If he said yes, he'd be lying, and if he uttered a 'no', then San would discover he'd been faking it all along. And who knew what Seonghwa would do if he found that out.

He looked around the busy restaurant and its warm orange interior, trying to stall. "What kind of question is that?"

"Yes or no, Wooyoung," San instructed, his risotto forgotten. "Tell me the truth."

"It's none of your business." Wooyoung regretted ever bringing up Seonghwa, but it was too late to do anything about it. "My relationship with Seonghwa doesn't concern you -- "

"It fucking does, Wooyoung," San spat, expression exasperated. His voice was thunderous, earning the attention of a couple customers. "It concerns all of us. It has since the start."

Wooyoung clenched his jaw, trying to contain the anger bubbling inside him. "Please, you're being too loud."

San wasn't listening, though. His russet brown eyes were like glaciers, cold and slicing through the younger. "Yeosang, Yunho, Hongjoong -- they're all dead. They died because of you. They were all my friends, were all Seonghwa's friends, yet he didn't bat an eyelash when he lost them."

"What..." Wooyoung blinked, but his blank reaction enraged San even further.

"Oh, but of course," San's voice simmered with mockery as he leaned in. "You don't remember. You don't remember Yeosang killing himself, don't remember you stabbing Yunho to death, and you most certainly do not remember Seonghwa killing my Hongjoong just because he touched you."

Wooyoung couldn't take it anymore. He sped out of the restaurant, his mind spinning and his vision blurred. He could hear nothing but the erratic thumping of his heart, and even the nightly breeze did next to nothing to cool his humid body.

Everything, everything came rushing at him in full force; Yeosang choking on his blood, Yunho's silent cries of pain as he succumbed to his death, Hongjoong's limp body on the floor when Seonghwa had bashed his head in with that drawer box. Everything was so clear and vivid it seared itself behind his eyelids every time he took a breath, and god, it made him afraid. Mad.

He peered at the burnt gold sky, desperately wanting all the memories and emotions he'd felt then to all just fucking disappear. Why couldn't they just disappear?

Wooyoung fisted his hair as he tried not to trip on nothing on the sidewalk, wishing he had something he could lean on.

Hands landed on him right then, their touch sending intense shudders down his spine. Wooyoung flinched, stepping away. There San stood, mere inches from him with a heavy look on his face.

He attempted to touch Wooyoung again, only for the younger boy to smack his hands off.

"Don't touch me."

"I'm sorry," San gruffly said. "I shouldn't have told you about it."

"I said don't touch me," Wooyoung repeated, his nose stuffed. He was crying.

"I was furious, Woo," San continued to explain. His voice broke as he uttered his next words. "I -- I was angry at everything, because why did I have to lose him? Why did I have to lose Hongjoong just to protect you? I loved him, Wooyoung, and I still do. I still love him."

"And I don't give a fuck," Wooyoung gritted his teeth, the weight on his chest too overwhelming to bear. "Take me home. I need to see Seonghwa."

San's face hardened, but, he nodded nonetheless. "...Alright. I've already paid for the meals, so we can go now."

Wooyoung said nothing as he sat in the passenger seat of San's Ford, arms tightly wrapped around his form to fight off the nausea building up in his stomach.

San was quiet too, street lamps spilling into his eyes and illuminating half his face. He didn't look happy either, but it wasn't like Wooyoung cared when he was too busy calming his emotions down.

He only started noticing something was up when San drove past the highway they usually took to get home quicker.

"What are you doing?" Wooyoung asked, sounding a lot more panicky than he'd intended. It was just San. "Are we...taking a shortcut?"

San didn't even spare him a glance, and he didn't stop driving too, further and further away from the bustling city and closer to the woods.

Wooyoung pressed his palm against the window, the car's speed making him want to hurl. "San -- San, please tell me what's going on. What the hell are you doing?"

"Shut the fuck up." San's voice was just a whisper, but it was a deadly one. One Wooyoung had never heard from him before. This San wasn't his usual happy-go-lucky self. No, he looked livid, murderous.

He unceremoniously swerved and parked into a secluded spot inside the woods, the car's engine soon going silent.

"Get out!" San shouted. "And don't run. I'll catch you in no time, and it won't be pretty."

Terror clogged Wooyoung's bloodstream, but he forced himself to remain composed. Fingers shaking, he stepped out of the car, feeling the wind tousle his hair. I'm going to die.

San stepped out too, shutting the door with a resounding slam. He then strolled over to Wooyoung, dark hair framing his slitted eyes and a black duffel bag in hand. He jutted his chin to the right. "Go in there."

Wooyoung gulped, fingernails digging into his skin. "And if I refuse?"

San flashed a humourless smile. "Then you'll die right now, darling."

"Seonghwa would get rid of you once he finds out you want to kill me," Wooyoung tried to reason again, but he doubted it worked because San frankly did not look like he gave two fucks.

"You've ruined him, Wooyoung. You've ruined all of us. And I've lost Hongjoong, so I don't care anymore. Now, for the last time, go in."

Wooyoung had half a mind to attack San and subdue him, but he feared the older had a bunch of weapons on him that were hidden from sight. Actually, he knew San had weapons on him. He'd obviously planned this ahead of time.

So, he entered where San wanted him to go, the older close behind in case he wanted to run off.

"I know you want to find things out about us," San spoke, his cheery voice frightening Wooyoung instead of relaxing him like it normally did. "So I decided to let you in on some of them before you die. Go left."

Wooyoung obeyed, chills racing up his back at the feeling of San's body pressed against his.

"You already know we kill people. It's like a fun lil' thing for us. I'd say you wouldn't understand, but then again, you did stab Yunho after all."

Wooyoung shut his eyes when those images squeezed themselves into his mind once more. Shut up, shut up, shut up.

San's laughter infuriated him. "And -- oh! We sometimes use people for food, and served you some of them, no biggie. And Seonghwa knew who you were since you were ten, keeping tabs on you and all that. Told me he even wanted to marry you once, sounded so serious about it too. Isn't that sweet?"

"Shut up!" Wooyoung yelled, turning to face a grinning San. "Shut the fuck up. If you want to kill me, then just do it already. What are you waiting for, huh?"

"Oh, but a willing prey's no fun," San clicked his tongue, slipping out a long knife from his duffel bag. "You have to hate it."

Wooyoung grabbed the older's wrist, directing the knife to his neck. "Kill me. I don't give a shit anymore."

His action caught San momentarily off-guard.

Wooyoung took that chance and snatched the knife from San's grip, taking a few steps back. "Stay away."

San just guffawed, not even worried about the sudden turn of events. "Wow, Wooyoung. I applaud you."

Wooyoung's head felt hot, beads of sweat rolling down his temple. His heart was beating so quickly he thought he was having a cardiac arrest, staring down at San who was chuckling crazily at him. "I said stay away!"

"Oh, Wooyoung," San let his bag fall on the ground. He took slow, but determined steps at the younger. "You think I didn't prepare for this?"

Wooyoung cried out in agony when San held his neck and threw him against a tree. His vision flared with white, pain shooting into his core. Before he could relax, San was already in front of him, choking him with his fingers.

Wooyoung thrashed in his hold, lungs aching for oxygen, but San didn't relinquish his grip.

He kneed San in the groin, scampering away before the older man could capture him again. Spotting the knife in the distance, he scuffled for it, limbs digging into the damp soil.

San leapt on him in no time, digging his knees into his back and yanking him by his hair. "Trying to kill me, Wooyoung? You're too weak."

Tears gushed down Wooyoung's face as he fought with San, clumsy hands meeting trained, experienced ones. He howled in pain as San smacked him, fingers clawing his face.

"Try a little harder, Wooyoungie," San sing-songed, giggling at the scorching glare the younger shot him. "C'mon."

Wooyoung crashed his fist into San's stomach, insides steaming with satisfaction at the way he yelped after the impact. San fell off, but Wooyoung didn't waste a single second. He grabbed San's hair and slammed his head on the ground several times, not stopping even when he saw blood.

Then, he took the knife and duffle bag, and descended on San's hyperventilating body, witnessing the way his shoulders shook at the chuckles he kept releasing.

"You're a lot stronger than I -- than I thought." San winced as Wooyoung zipped open the bag, tightly binding his wrists and ankles with the thick ropes he found. His face was bruised, nose and lips caked with blood and grime. "What a nice surprise."

"Shut up," Wooyoung commanded, the knife in his hand a looming threat. Even at the sight of it, San's smile didn't waver.

"Look at you scratching your neck again!" San wheezed, as if it was something hilarious. "I remember you also doing that when you tried to choke me. And now, you're actually gonna kill me. Nice."

Wooyoung stopped touching his neck, feeling the skin itch at the loss of contact. He pointed the knife at San. "Didn't I tell you to shut your damn mouth?"

San's cheerful attitude dropped in a flash, replaced by something more grim, more wicked.

"...You're just like him."

"Who the hell are you talking about?"

"You sound just like Seonghwa now. He's rubbed off on you, Wooyoung," San explained. "You both are the same person now. I bet he'll love the sound of that!"

Wooyoung looked at San, the guy who he'd gotten along with in highschool, and also the guy who'd caused it all. And here he was, knife clutched in his hand as he contemplated killing him off. How things had changed for the worst.

"I miss Joongie," San suddenly whimpered, eyes glassy with incoming tears. "I can't live without him."

"...Then go meet him," Wooyoung stated, before digging the knife into San's abdomen. At the older's distressed wails, he stabbed him again, and again, and again. He didn't cease until San stopped moving altogether.

Wooyoung let go of the bloodied knife and scurried away from San's body, stumbling on broken branches and wayward roots to get to San's car.

Inside was icy cold when Wooyoung entered, searching through the glove compartment for San's phone -- if he'd brought it along.

He'd just killed someone. Yet, that was the furthest thing on his mind as he switched on San's phone, discovering it conveniently didn't require a password.

The bright screen sliced into the dark, settling on Wooyoung's dismayed features. He went on 'contacts', and swiped past a couple names until he came across Seonghwa's.

He pressed it, choosing to call the man before he could think himself out of it.

It only took a ring for the call to go through.

"San?! Where are you? Where's Wooyoung? I've been trying nonstop to get through to you!"

Wooyoung knew it was highly hypocritical of him considering what he'd just done, but he couldn't help but feel guilty. "Sorry."

A pause, and then, "W-Wooyoung? Is that you?"

Wooyoung nodded, staring at his right hand and all the dried blood on it. "Yeah."

"What happened? Are you okay? Where's San?"

"San is..." He inhaled a shaky breath. "He's dead."

"What?" Seonghwa sounded shocked.

"He tried to kill me, but I -- I killed him before he had the chance to." Wooyoung nibbled his lip, fighting back the wetness fogging his eyesight. "I'm so sorry."

"No, no. It's fine, Wooyoung." Wooyoung could imagine Seonghwa quickly shaking his head, and the thought made him smile. "It's self-defence, alright? I'm just so happy you're safe. Where are you? You probably need my help getting home, and..."

And getting rid of San's body. Wooyoung knew that's what he implied. "Uh, I don't really know. But, I do know San drove straight up after passing this particular gas station. 'Win Gas Station'. Yeah, I think that's it. I'm in the woods."

"Okay." Seonghwa was moving around, possibly getting his things ready. "Just wait there, hm? When I'm near, I'll call you."

"Sure..."

"And, are you fine?"

Wooyoung did not have an answer to that.

* * *

As Seonghwa drove Wooyoung back to their apartment, a series of messages entered his phone. Two were from his parents, the rest from Jongho.

- jongho🐻
oh my god, woo

- jongho🐻
some lady walking her dog earlier today reported she apparently found a site of buried bodies near hyewa road. that's only miles from yonghwan avenue where you live!!

- jongho🐻
its on the news and everything

- jongho🐻
please, you've gotta leave that apartment before something bad happens

Wooyoung wanted to throw up.

- wooyoung
oh, that doesn't sound too good

Jongho's reply was fast.

- jongho🐻
honestly, it doesn't
the police are probably gonna start questioning everyone who lives around that area as soon as they can

- jongho🐻
i seriously don't want you getting involved in that mess

"Fuck," Wooyoung mumbled under his breath.

"What is it?" Seonghwa asked, meeting his gaze.

what does wooyoung do next?

a) tell seonghwa everything

b) lie and try to get out of it unscathed

***

a/n: this fic is gonna end soon. thoughts?