Heartless || •OG• ✔️

Chapter 49 - Charlotte

Waiting was a dangerous game.

The concert was thriving with life, Charlotte in the corner and wallowing in self-pity as she waited for her friends. Kayden and Ivan were back and heard the news about Theo and Asa. They sat by her and mourned, but it was Jericho who would be the most impacted. Her heart stirred with worry for the man. Being away from him made her pulse quicken under her fingertips. She knew she liked him, but it felt wrong to act on it considering what he did to Jimin.

Past or not, Jericho fucked up. Children deserved to be freed from this world, not dragged into it. Jericho was a walking contradiction to what Charlotte believed in. She wanted to protect kids, he was fine with using them. In his past, anyway. He changed. That was what she told herself, but it didn't change that he used to use the innocent to feed his ego.

A shadow covered her. She peeked up and saw Jimin there, Ariel behind him. No sign of Jericho. That was what got her standing and wiping the tears off of her face. Jimin didn't notice them, or didn't care, which was odd for Seong Jimin of all people. He was the type to wipe her tears for her.

"What's the plan?" he asked, no emotion in his tone.

"Forget the plan, where's Jericho? We need to tell you something."

"He's making sure we weren't followed, he'll be here in a moment. What's the plan now? We saw Madam, but she got away. Do we go after her, or are we retreating?" Jimin said, stepping a bit closer.

Ariel was trembling behind him, Charlotte leaving some more space between her and Jimin. The lack of emotion had her brain storming through possibilities. None of which satisfied her. Jimin wouldn't lie about Jericho's whereabouts, would he?

"Kayden found blueprints to Madam's compound. We have two options. Either we go get her now, or we retreat and regroup to take her out at the compound. Jimin, we lost Theo and Asa." He had no reaction to that. "Did you hear me? We lost Theo and Asa - they're dead. Are you listening?"

"We have more important problems," Jimin replied, his voice dropping several pitches. That was what had her freezing. "Why didn't you tell me."

Cells of blood crippled themselves inside Charlotte's body. Her tongue went dry to the point where rubbing it around her mouth made it worse, her skin feeling like it was about to flake off by the pound. Jimin's eyes were different. They were a different pair of eyes. They looked like him on that night, the night he beat a man to death.

"I was going to, but I wanted Jericho to do it himself. It would've made more sense if you heard it straight from the source, not a third party."

"Well shit, Charlotte. Guess what just fucking happened?" Her face fell. So, Madam didn't get away. She didn't escape. She planned this. All she had to do was give Jimin the kill order, then the rest was history.

"Is Jericho actually behind you, or did you kill him?" Charlotte asked.

"I wish I killed him, he deserves a slow and painful death." Jimin backed up, shaking his head. "All of you knew. You, Ivan, Kayden. With Theo and Asa gone, that means the literal child and me are the only two who didn't know. All of you hid this from me."

"I'm so sorry, we wanted Jericho to tell you himself-"

"Bullshit!" Jimin shouted, but with the music, no one noticed. "Ivan knew for years, and he never said shit. What kind of friend are you?" Ivan hung his head, accepting Jimin's harsh words. "Kayden, can't say I didn't see this coming. You've always been so hard to read. Who even are you?" Kayden flinched, backing away. Finally, his eyes landed on Charlotte. "And you. My ex-lover. Friend for years. The one who saw every sleepless night I had because of the nightmares your little boy toy gave me, and what do you do when you find out? Nah, it's fine, Jericho should tell Jimin, not his best friend for 5 years."

"Min," she said, and he took Ariel's hand.

"Fuck you. Forget it, you're dead to me. You are fucking dead to me."

"Jimin, please, you don't mean that."

"I do. I thought you were my friend. I thought all of you were, even Kayden," he replied, backing up and taking in the sight of the ones who used to be his friends. Charlotte's tears came back. Theo, Asa, June, Jimin. They were slipping through her grasp. In her quest to help others, she destroyed the ones she cared about the most. How cruel was she that she shattered Jimin's heart? What was left of it, anyway.

Jimin's pained eyes scanned the terrain. Ivan first, then Kayden, then Charlotte. And then, he squeezed Ariel's hand and swallowed whatever was left in his throat. After he was done, he grabbed Theo's bag and rifled through it, taking out the Dumbo plush and holding it. Suddenly, Charlotte saw Jimin's back. He turned and faced the crowd. Charlotte ran forward and grabbed his shoulder, but he slapped her hand off his body.

"What are you doing? We need to stick together," she said.

Jimin kept his eyes on Ariel. "We are."

And with that, Jimin pulled Ariel away. They disappeared into the crowd just as Jericho rushed back out. He came over and halted in front of Charlotte, then went pale upon seeing her tears.Her breaking point was met. She thought she could contain herself until they got to safety. She was wrong. All the madness built up inside her until she stumbled, Jericho pulling her into his arms and stroking her hair. She clutched his shirt and sobbed. First, Ivan went blind. Then June died. Then Theo and Asa. Now Jimin. The ones she loved were disappearing one by one. All she had left was a team that was unmotivated, beaten, and powerless.

"He's gone," she said, Jericho freezing before going back to comforting her. "They're gone too. Theo and Asa, they're gone." Two beats later, Jericho was crying with her, only he was silent. She felt the tears hitting the top of her head. "What do we do? What the fuck do we do?"

"We go to a hotel and stay there to recover," Kayden said from behind her, his voice breaking. "Make our main plan there. Just in case Jimin comes back, we should stick to the same hotel we stayed at before. Try to get the same section if we can."

"Shouldn't we go after Jimin?" Ivan asked.

"You really think he wants to talk to any of us right now, let alone go with us? Jimin's the best fighter in the Underworld, and right now, all he has left is Ariel. He won't let anything happen to her," Kayden replied.

They fell into a quiet that was broken up by the electric guitar one of the performer's was playing. If the situation were different, this would be a fun event with friends who were united by luck. Bad luck.

"But... Jimin," Charlotte said. It wasn't an argument to go get him. She knew as well as everyone that Jimin was gone, maybe for good.

"I'm sorry, Char," Jericho said, her peeping up at him. He wiped away her tears with his thumbs and did his best to hide his misery. "It's unfair to you. I'm grateful you kept my secret and gave me a chance to tell him myself, and I'm sorry I never said anything to him. You wouldn't be in this mess if it weren't for me. If Jimin wants to kill me, so be it. I'll let him. It's not like I don't deserve it."

As much as Charlotte wanted to disagree, her loyalties were torn between the man she was growing to have a romantic attachment to, and her broken best friend. She held Jericho's hand. It wasn't like she had anyone else to hold onto. And then, she shook her head.

"Let's go."

~~~
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