SUNOO | Crown ✓

seventeen

APOCALYPSE GROUNDS

"Where's that old geezer, Jisung?" Sunghoon barged into the mansion, reloading his gun as he briskly walked alongside Heeseung and Jisung.

"In the room," Jisung uttered quietly, causing Sunghoon and Heeseung to stare at the purple-haired boy in shock.

"Don't tell me Jake Sim is there too?! Why didn't you stop him?!" Heeseung bursted out angrily.

Looking down in shame, Jisung motioned towards his knees as a tear escaped his eye. He couldn't run freely, let alone fight properly given the damage caused by Papa.

"Even if I did help him, I can't run away. We all end up dying one way or another," Jisung retorted back sourly before wiping his tears away.

As the three boys stopped in front of a black metal door, the aura behind it seemed to trigger their senses. Their breaths hitched in sync as they desperately tried to ignore the memories that occured behind the door. Glancing at Jisung, Sunghoon flashed a small smile at the equally taller boy before embracing him warmly.

"Stay alive for us, we'll get all of you out of here," Sunghoon whispered before letting go of Jisung.

"I'll take care of the rest of us. Send my regards to Sunoo and the princess," Jisung compressed his smile before walking away from the duo.

Gripping onto the door handle, Sunghoon glanced soullessly at Heeseung who returned the same expression. As the duo clutched tightly onto their guns, they knew that it was eventually time for them to face their trauma. They wouldn't and couldn't bare to wish it upon others, not even to the royals.

"I'm ready if you are Hoonie," Heeseung assured quietly, his eyes solemn and dark with it being the only way to conceal his lingering fear.

Heaving out a heavy sigh, Sunghoon looked down at the door handle before cursing under his breath. His conscience was getting the best of him, wondering why he even cared about saving Jake Sim. The only valid reason was because something about the handsome prince exuded nothing but purity.

No way in Hell would Park Sunghoon let Papa taint the innocent.

"If you ever get the chance, shoot him at the area where the sun doesn't shine," Sunghoon smirked before finally pushing down the door handle.

→

???

Sitting across each other in awkward silence, Yeri glanced up at Ni-ki in concern as she fiddled with her hoodie's strings. The younger boy had been bouncing his leg continuously for the past hour as his eyes shifted back and forth between the clock and the apartment door.

"Riki?"

"Hm?"

"You haven't touched your bungeoppang-"

"You can have it Yeri," Ni-ki responded quickly before continuing on to mutter a string of incoherent prayers.

Huffing out in defeat, Yeri scanned her surroundings in hopes to find something she could do with Ni-ki. Standing up from her seat, Yeri wandered about the living room before softly gasping in astonishment. Scurrying towards the various collection of DVDs, she quickly picked up one before slamming the paperback case in front of Ni-ki.

"I still question you lot as to why there's an ungodly amount of DVDs in that box. Nevertheless, watch this movie with me!" Yeri prompted Ni-ki.

"We use DVDs and manual CD players because Netflix can easily give off our IP address and is thus traceable to our location and if our location is found we'll all be dea-"

Shoving a piece of of bungeoppang in his mouth, Yeri stuck her tongue out playfully before pulling the anxious boy towards the sofa. Hesitantly succumbing to the princess's playful ways, Ni-ki glared at Yeri before crossing his arms.

"You made me cry yesterday, I thought we were gonna lose our first home," Ni-ki grumbled as he avoided Yeri's gaze.

"I guess I acted out on impulse, I'm sorry Riki," Yeri genuinely apologised as she played with the hem of Sunoo's hoodie.

Unable to hold up his tough act, a wide smile crept up on Ni-ki's face before engulfing Yeri in a tight hug. Smiling widely in response to Ni-ki's way of forgiving, Yeri hugged the taller boy back before jumping up and down excitedly. You could say that Nishimura Riki reminded her of Jay, who was equally sensitive yet loveable.

"So what movie are watching?" Ni-ki asked after pulling away from their hug.

"Spider-Man!" Yeri beamed, causing Ni-ki to smirk smugly at the princess.

"Your Royal Highness, I believe you hold taste in this household unlike these uncultured swines!" Ni-ki praised Yeri, who returned the same exact smirk before pointing at him.

"I gotchu Riki,"

Snatching the DVD case away from Yeri, Ni-ki happily skipped to set up their movie. Proud that she had successfully comforted the younger boy, Yeri slowly realised that being in that apartment wasn't so bad after all. She never realised how much freer she felt. All she had to do was avoid Kim Sunoo at all costs.

She wished she hadn't thought so soon.

A loud thumping sound suddenly echoed throughout the hollow walls, catching Yeri's attention while Ni-ki remained invested in working the TV. Making sure Ni-ki remained seated, Yeri briskly walked towards the apartment's corridor before cautiously approaching the source of where the thumping sounds came from.

To no surprise did the sound of course, come from Kim Sunoo's room. Although intimidated by his violent ways, Yang Yeri never realised how mad he could actually be. For as she boldly opened the door to his room, she found the older boy curled into a small ball. Books of various sizes piled up against his wall while crumpled balls of paper littered around his room.

Amidst the chaotic state of his room, there sat in the middle of it all was Sunoo; his back facing the door as he sniffled quiet sobs. The red lighting in his room served no justice in calming the boy down either.

Just like his room, Kim Sunoo was a mess stuck in his own nightmare.