𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 • 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐨𝐥𝐬𝐨𝐨

29

"WHAT?! oh, shit, shit. that's the first time i was called by a human other than seungcheol for help. that felt weird." jisoo suddenly poofs in front of wonwoo, who is surprised and ecstatic at the fact that his crappy idea worked.

what happened to his genius sexy brain? resorting to final measures now, eh?

"i got the successful portions of euphorium that minghao produced. i'm about to run away, but jisoo—he's in danger, and as much as i want to save him, he's—! well, the mission would be ruined, and i don't want him to die." wonwoo states, fumbling with the mythical drug in his arms.

jisoo wore a readable expression.

wonwoo wondered; why was he wearing his heart on his sleeve? wonwoo was certain that this legendary protector does not show emotions frequently. or, was jisoo unaware of what his facial expression twisted into?

"go, you. do whatever is righteous, or according to the plan. i will save him." jisoo's tone was determined. "i will have to find him. if he calls me, i will instantly know where he is, but he is not calling for me now—so i have to start searching and go ahead of him. now—"

"i will leave." wonwoo nods. "thank you."

"come on, seungcheol."

jeonghan, who held the gun against his temple, had spoken. the henchman, who seungcheol mistakenly thought of as a being who is capable of distinguishing right from wrong. but he is not. even as an upholder of justice, he still fell under the hands of a man of greed.

"this is not worth losing your life. why couldn't you just stay oblivious? this is all that.. reindeer's fault!" jeonghan spat angrily, emphasising his nickname for jisoo. seungcheol's eyebrows stopped furrowing, and turned his head to jeonghan.

as the muzzle is now pointed to seungcheol's forehead, jeonghan showed signs of hesitation. maybe it was not because of the sudden movement. maybe, it was because seungcheol's eyes are now in view.

and now that it is in view, his job is a little harder that it originally is.

what is it? why the hesitation? you just have to pull the trigger. you had enough guts when rejected him knowing that you like him, jeonghan. you turned away from his open arms, and now that you turn back around, you still expect him to have his arms open for you. but no—he was in the arms of another being.

in the arms of another being who causes discomfort just by his presence. and yet, seungcheol finds solace in that thing's company. the irony is stupid.

how about jeonghan? he is easy to be around with. he is friendly, kind, welcoming. is his external appearance actually different from what he is really like? is he truly rotten inside? and what? jisoo is not? he eats humans! jeonghan is a servant of justice!

but, jisoo is in a better position to talk about justice.

what? jeonghan's losing? why?!

because i rejected him in the first place!

"a reindeer?" seungcheol had the nerve to display a smile. even under the shadow that was cast on his face by jeonghan's gun, his eyes shined. "he wouldn't like that one. if i yell his name once and utter that, you're... well, dead meat. i doubt he'd eat you though."

"take care of this, jeonghan." minghao uttered, beginning to walk away. "you fail, i kill you."

"wait—! where are you going?!"

"the real culprit." he glances at seungcheol, who visibly gulped. did minghao figure out seungcheol's plan? "farewell."

the mastermind disappears.

"it's just you and me now, jeonghan." seungcheol says. he has backed away from the gun a bit, but jeonghan stepped forward and cornered the former once again. "you can stop. we can team up, we can get tons of money together by suing minghao! why are you even on his side?!"

jeonghan evades the question, deciding to raise his voice in an attempt to make himself look bigger. "what?! what is it?! why aren't you calling that murderer?! are you playing mind games on me?!"

"i'm gonna make use of our time together wisely, jeonghan. i know this isn't you. if i call jisoo here, something undesirable might happen." seungcheol states calmly. somehow, jeonghan got angrier that seungcheol did not raise his voice higher. "i have a much... calmer approach, you can say."

jeonghan did not like how this is going. why is he the only one angry?! why is he the only one agitated?! why is seungcheol treating this as a mediocre obstacle?! it's not like the thing pointed to him is a toy gun!

"no, i'm going to be on minghao's side, and there's nothing you can do to change that. now what? you're not scared of death now, because you can call your stupid partner anytime and revive you?!"

"maybe," seungcheol chuckled, but his nonchalant expression faltered slightly. "but go on. finish your mission, jeonghan."

jeonghan readjusts his grip on the gun. he wanted to close his eyes.

what's stopping him from betraying minghao?

"even after liking you romantically," seungcheol adds, which jeonghan flinched at. "i still can't deny that your eyes are beautiful."

so, jeonghan closes his eyes, and applies pressure on the trigger. a little more, and seungcheol would be dead.

"stop trying to sway me!"

"oh, it didn't work? oh well. worth a shot." seungcheol mumbled. "but it is true, though. shame that whenever i looked at them in the past, they never showed me the path to your soul. always guarded, always closed off."

"and you like jisoo because he's more expressive?!"

"why does it matter?" seungcheol's eyebrows furrowed. "are you jealous? you never even liked me! and what about our friendship? you're throwing it away just because of an evil shitty boss you just met?!" seungcheol's voice finally started to raise, and echo within the vicinity.

"and you! you just met jisoo! and you're picking him over me! your friend! the one who has known you your whole life! you left it all for measly butterflies in the stomach!"

"jisoo rejected me, jeonghan!" seungcheol spat, making the latter flinch. it seems like even with a gun, seungcheol still had the upper hand. it doesn't seem like so, right? jeonghan was always the one who was in control, but he never acknowledged it. he always regarded himself as the bystander, the victim who would be experiencing the calamity—and not the creator of the storm.

"and yet, jisoo was frank with me. he is beautiful. he's saved ny life countless times, he's fucking—fuck! i don't want to pit you two against each other, because you both are—!"

"well you have to choose, now! me, or that stupid murderer!"

jisoo was nearby, unbeknownst to them. seungcheol had called for him when seungcheol was enumerating the reasons why he liked jisoo.

"i can't—!"

"it's because it's jisoo, isn't it! why?! what do i not have?! why do i—why do you like him better!?"

"because jisoo sewed back up the heart that you broke! because jisoo, despite leaving, has left me with the tools to mend my heart whenever it aches! unlike you, jeonghan! you—you killed me!"

jeonghan was speechless.

within five seconds, the muzzle of the gun was redirected to jeonghan's temple.