𝑯𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝑰𝒔 𝑶𝒖𝒓𝒔 ✓

Chapter 15

RAJWAN made his way down the stairs, towards the living room he assumed his sister was in. He rubbed his sleepy eyes and sighed heavily, his back aching from sleeping on the floor beside his sister's bed.

"Mal?"

So he could understand why he was surprised when he opened his eyes and didn't find his sister beside him.

His eyes squinted into the room and glanced around, spotting his sister's frame sitting on the couch, her face between her palms, her shoulders shaking with soft sobs that escaped her mouth.

"Mal?" He repeated, his voice higher than before.

It took her a moment before she looked up, and when she did, he immediately noticed her tear-stained, heartbroken face.

"M-Mal?" He managed to stutter out, his voice trembling in shock. Hurrying towards her with his arms stretched open, he wrapped her in a tight hug and closed his eyes, taking one mental note at the phone on the coffee table in front of her before doing so. "What's wrong?"

She shakily sighed and returned the hug, her eyes still on the phone.

"Mal, what's wrong?"

She only shook her head, her eyes fixated on the phone's screen. The same screen that she saw the day before about her husband's video, except that she woke up that morning with a new disaster.

There was a new video.

"A-Another..." She began in a low, brittle tone. "There's another one!"

Rajwan slowly let her body go, staring into her eyes with a baffled, shocked expression. "W-What?"

She reached out to grab the phone from the table, her hands trembling. She then shoved the screen to his face, making him gently grab the phone from her hand and stare at whatever was displaying.

"W-What is that?"

On the screen was another video, with his brother-in-law on the thumbnail. Curiously, he pressed the play button, and he was met by loud screams and occasional pleas for mercy. The sight brought tears to his eyes, and he realized he couldn't watch the entire video.

"God... Oh, God!" He heaved the phone to the empty seat beside them on the couch and ran a hand through his soft, messy jet-black hair.

Mal let out a sob and sank back into her seat, two lines of tears leaving marks on her exhausted face.

"I... I w-want him back!" She yelled, causing him to turn in her direction. "He's getting hurt on a daily basis. We can't let that happen again!"

Immediately, he rushed to hug his sister once again, nodding his head in furious agreement.

"Get dressed, okay?" He softly suggested. "We're going to go see that detective!"

She nodded and stood up, hurrying back upstairs towards her room. Rajwan soon followed, and as he passed by the coffee table, he took one last glance at the now turned-off phone that laid motionlessly on the couch.

And, oh, how he wished for everything to go back to normal.

❆

Chan angrily huffed as he typed away the song on his laptop, the presence of his two friends, Jisung and Changbin, calming him down (just a little bit) despite them not saying a word whatsoever.

He sighed and closed his eyes in an attempt to calm himself down. Eventually, he shut the laptop off and sank his head between his arms, his breath hitching.

"Hey—" Changbin started, letting go of the paper in his grip. "You okay?"

Chan slowly looked up, turning his attention to his younger friends.

"Yeah..." He replied, his voice firm yet soft to not upset them both. "Yes, I'm fine."

Jisung bit his lower lip in hesitation.

"Chan Hyung, to be honest, I have a feeling you're hiding something..."

Chan took a moment to absorb the words. He blinked twice, his eyes fixated on Jisung, then at Changbin. Then, at the mirror behind them that had his own reflection.

"I..."

He found that it would be useless to lie straight to their faces, considering that he hadn't done that before. He reluctantly swallowed his saliva and shook his head, his lips pursed into a tight smile.

"Everything is fine, Jisung."

Changbin huffed and hugged his arms close to his chest, annoyed at the response. He rolled his eyes and turned to Jisung, attempting to shift the conversation to a different topic.

"Jisung, when are you going to go visit Mal?" He asked, his eyes sharp as he sent a smooth glare at Jisung. "She said before that she wanted to see you, multiple times."

Jisung sent him a soft smile, his heart stumbling to a halt between his ribs. "Really? She said that?"

Changbin nodded in response.

"Oh, I was planning to go see her today, actually! I just wanted to see if she was available—"

Jisung's iconically loud voice was interrupted by the sound of the practice room's door creaking open. The three turned around, their eyebrows furrowing in curiosity as soon as they spotted Felix hurrying towards them, his phone gripped tightly in his small hand.

"Why didn't you tell me?!" The younger boy yelled, tears filling his eyes. He stopped in front of Chan and glanced around, his voice lightly trembling.

And as soon as he raised his hand to show the others what was on the screen, Chan's jaw dropped open.

It was yet another different video of Hyunjin.

"Tell you what?" Changbin gritted his teeth, his gaze fixated on the thumbnail. He was shocked to see two naked people in a dim-lit room, as he hadn't expected to see such videos on any of the members' phones, let alone Felix's.

"Lix, what is that?" Jisung asked, his finger reaching up to press the play button. Meanwhile, Chan gulped and glanced at his shoes in embarrassment, unconsciously running a hand through his soft, light brown hair.

"Chan?" Felix began again, a small tear streaming down his face.

The video played a few seconds after Jisung pressed the button, and the three covered their mouths in shock.

"I-Is that Hyunjin?"

Felix nodded in heartbreak.

Chan's eyes welled up in tears, quickly following Felix.

"I-I'm... So sorry."

"You knew?"

Chan slowly nodded his head, reaching up to wipe the tears that poured out of his eyes. "I'm so sorry. I had no idea how to tell you."

Changbin scoffed, shaking his head in denial.

"You guys have fun writing the song. I'll go see Mal."

Jisung immediately took a step forward. "Wait, I'll—"

"No!" Changbin yelled, eyeing his three friends up and down in disappointment. "Don't bother."

And soon enough, the boy disappeared through the door, leaving the others to stare at where he once stood with teary eyes.