why? // ateez au

the end.

There he was, over Mingi's now unconscious body, pointing a knife to his stomach. He stared at me wide-eyed, his body trembling like a leaf. My body went cold, 

It was Jung Wooyoung.

"San..." He stuttered, "what are you doing here?"

I gulped, "what are you doing Wooyoung..?"

He let his arms drop to his sides and got off Mingi, stepping up to reach my face. I looked at his eyes as they brimmed with tears, but they didn't look real.  Behind those tears, I could see no emotion in his eyes. It was all a show.

The initial sadness and fear I felt transformed into anger, and my breathing quickened. "Don't put on an act, Wooyoung," I said, my voice filled with rage. He continued to gaze at me with sad eyes, but his mouth slowly curved into a sinister smile.

"Had you fooled, didn't I?" He grinned at me, tears still streaming down his face. His smile appeared almost venomous. "I had all of you fooled, huh? Playing dumbfucks under my spell."

He chuckled, and I was left dumbfounded. It seemed that everything about Wooyoung was a lie. All the time we spent together, trying to uncover the truth about Yunho's death, all the moments we shared—were they all a lie?

He stepped closer to me, "You were just too busy playing detective, San. You're so fucking blind." I bit my tongue as he stepped closer, circling me with the knife still in his hand. He stopped behind me, breathing down my neck. "So, how did you figure it out, Sannie?" he whispered playfully, dragging the knife up my back. I took a deep breath, feeling vulnerable to the death I was presumed to face.

He scoffed as he pressed the knife harder into my body, his breath tickling my neck as he chuckled. "Tell me! Or would you rather die?"

He continued to breathe down my neck, sending uncomfortable shivers down my spine, and I struggled to speak. "I didn't... Mingi called me..."

He moved away from me, gasping in mock surprise. "Wow! This fucker actually has a brain? Shit, I thought all those drugs and alcohol would've fried it..."

"Don't insult him like that," I said through gritted teeth. He moved the knife away from my back, and I let out a small sigh of relief as he faced me. His face held a confused expression, arms crossed in front of him.

We stood there in silence, the only sound being my heavy breaths. "Why..." I muttered, staring at Wooyoung. Uncontrollable fire rose through me, visible on my face. "Why the fuck did you do this, Wooyoung!?"

He clamped his hand over my mouth, the knife against my neck. I mumbled beneath his hand as he stared at me with flames in his eyes. "You talk too much, don't you?" he breathed. "Maybe I should just slice your throat open right now, just to shut you up."

I stared at him, my body paralyzed and blood pounding in my ears. He sighed, pouted his lips, and taunted, "Oh, Sannie, you must have so many thoughts going through your head!" He pushed me against a wall, the knife pressed harder against my neck. I winced in pain as he dragged it slowly, drawing the slightest amount of blood.

"Let me tell you, San," he started, pressing his hand on my mouth even tighter. "I adored Yunho. He was like a brother to me, he helped me through my darkest moments, even the ones nobody knew about. He was everything I needed. But that boy lying on the floor now? He fucking took him from me."

My face drained of colour as I witnessed tears falling from Wooyoung's eyes. "He took him from me, San!" he screamed. "So, I took Yunho away from him, to make him feel what I felt when he did the same. He took everything from me, so I'm going to take everything from him. First, Yunho..." He sucked in a shaky breath. "And now his life."

He released his grip on me, moving the knife away, and stumbled backward, hitting his back against the sink. The urge to run surged within me, but my feet remained glued to the ground as I watched Wooyoung gasping for air.

"You cannot..." I gasped out, my voice trembling. "You cannot keep hurting the people we love."

He stared at me, his lips curled over his teeth as he leaned on the sink. "You cannot keep breaking us, Wooyoung," I choked out through tears. Adrenaline coursed through my veins, fueled by the anger within me. "You murdered our fucking friend. You destroyed us. And you had the fucking nerve to send us threats and put us through weeks of hell. You even cut Yeosang's arm and accused everyone else. You helped me! You helped me try to figure out who killed him, and it was you. You're sick, Wooyoung."

His hands clenched the knife as he straightened his posture, staring at me with rage. His breathing quickened as he stepped forward, the knife pointing towards my stomach. But I refused to flinch or move. Everything stood still and quiet, and the panic I felt earlier had vanished. My body stood tall as I locked eyes with him. The knife in his hands slowly moved closer to me, and I let out a breath.

"Fucking kill me, Wooyoung," I whispered angrily. "You've done enough already."

He stopped moving, his body and face froze as his breathing quickened pace. My legs trembled as he stumbled backward, once again hitting the sink. The colour quickly drained from his face.

He lifted the knife and studied it intently for a mere few seconds before plunging it right into his own stomach. 

It was like déjà vu.

Coughing out blood, he clutched his chest, collapsing to the ground. Panic filled his eyes as I stood there, paralyzed, watching him die right before me. More blood poured from his mouth as his hand reached out, as if regretting everything, but I refused to take it. His arm fell limp, and he released one final breath before everything fell silent.

I ran to Mingi, lifting his unconscious body and carrying his weight out of the blood-stained bathroom, laying him on the living room couch. Pulling out his phone, I dialed a number, and after the third ring, they answered.

"Mingi?" 

"It's San. Mingi's hurt, and... 

we know who killed Yunho."