𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐋. ☐

FIVE.

"Two days." Minho said, slowly and surely. He stood in the classroom once again, facing the seven students sitting in desks. For once, the lights felt achingly bright, and the feeling of so many people watching him felt suffocating.

Jisung seemed to notice his growing anxiety, as he always did. More than anyone, Jisung's stare weighed on his shoulders, and he looked down at the papers in front of him to hide away from the feeling.

There was an immense guilt that kept whispering to him. Something that made him feel things, think things, that he knew Jisung would fight if he could. Jisung was so incredible. He didn't deserve this.

Although Minho was sure, if he could turn back time and stop them from meeting, he wouldn't. Because he would've never been able to look at Jisung, and talk to him, and hold him, and he wasn't sure he could ever do that.

He shuffled through the papers on the desk, although he didn't have a true reason to. He may never see these papers again. His breath hitched as the thought appeared in his mind. In two days, he may never see anything again. He might be setting up all of these wonderful people for death.

It'd be his fault, his mind repeated, drilling it into his head, it'd be his fault because they all trusted him to be safe. And he wasn't.

He shook his head, clearing his throat, "Is everyone ready for this?"

"Yes," Felix was the first to answer. Then came Jisung, then came Changbin, and so forth. They all spoke the same word, although it didn't help to ease the fear clawing at Minho.

He swallowed his fear and looked at all of them again.
"Good. Because we're not backing down."

"We'll meet at the Yellow Wood at 7:30 the morning after tomorrow," he explained. The past month had flown by terrifyingly quickly. Each meeting seemed to blur together, and he wasn't sure his classes had offered anything to his education.

The only thing that managed to stand out in his messy mind was the moments he spent with Jisung.

"The meetup spot, as we've discussed, is the pathway leading behind District 3's B dorms," he exchanged a glance with Jisung. He was the one who'd first brought up the path that he could see through his window. "Bring your materials."

"Our plan is to enter the Yellow Wood at 8 o' clock. We'll have 30 minutes to set up and discuss. If you're going to back down, do it now, or do it then." He analyzed each person's expression, and he couldn't find a hint of doubt looking back at him. "Stay strong."

He bit his lip, taking a deep sigh. "And... Just a reminder."

"Spend tomorrow like it's your last," He murmured, "It might be."

—

Jisung didn't attend any classes on Thursday. It felt as though he spent half the day sitting in the cafe, texting just about half of his family his affections. He had tried to hold on to the hope that they'd survive, and the plan would work out, but Minho's lack of faith echoed onto him.

He was waiting on his fourth cup of coffee at this point. Yeonjun had refused to serve him anymore, as he said too much expresso would be bad for his health. He'd resisted the urge to slam his hands against the table and say, 'What's bad for my health is this fucking death wish I got dragged into.'

Instead, he laughed it off, agreeing with Yeonjun.

Yeonjun walked toward him soon enough, holding a coffee in his hand. There was a glint of concern in his eyes, although he thankfully didn't press. Jisung wished so hard that he could spill out all of his worries to every person he spoke to, just to escape that concern he was always met with.