𝐂𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐌𝐀, i-land

017.

「 CINEMA ‧₊˚ * 🎞 」
╰► 017.  fire

IN THE TWO HOURS THAT FOLLOWED, THE I-LANDERS LEFT THE LOBBY AND LOUNGED ACROSS THE BUILDING. Haru's mind had gone blank. Not only did she not know who to eliminate, but she also had no idea what to do with the exemption card. The mere thought of having that power in her hands terrified her. She returned to her bedroom after a quick trip to the bathroom, where she found Sunoo, Jaebom, Taki, and Taeyong chatting amongst themselves. Haru smiled as she greeted the boys.

"Haru-Noona!" Sunoo greeted with a smile, "Or do you want to be called Koharu?"

"Whatever you want. I don't mind," Haru chuckled softly as she plopped down beside Sunoo with a grunt.

Sunoo hummed brightly, "So, Noona... Congrats on number one!"

"Congrats!" Taki, Taeyong, and Jaebom chimed in.

"Thanks," Haru smiled warmly.

"How do you feel?" Taki asked sheepishly.

Haru let her shoulders slump and let out a sigh, "Tired. I had a lot of fun on stage but now I'm just..."

"Exhausted?" Jaebom finished, "Me too to be honest. I felt relieved when we saw the scores but now that the eliminations are happening soon..."

"Same," Taeyong nodded.

"I get it," Haru muttered softly, "I think I might get eliminated."

"What? But you got the highest score?" Taki exclaimed. Like the others, he was taken aback.

"That's true and all but not everyone's voting off of the scores and in case you haven't noticed I'm not the most liked person right now..." Haru rubbed the nape of her neck sheepishly.

"Well... That is true," Sunoo muttered disappointedly, "I didn't think they would look past your score because of that..."

"If I make them uncomfortable there's no reason for them to want to keep me around I guess..." Haru hummed.

"Are you going to use the elimination card on yourself?" Taeyong asked sheepishly, "If you are eliminated that is..."

"I thought about it..." Haru let out another sigh, her eyes squeezed shut as she leaned back into the headboard, "...And I have no idea honestly. I think I might. But I also hate knowing that another person would get eliminated in my place..."

"There's no winning is there?" Jaebom frowned.

Haru shifted on the bed, moving to lie down, "I think I might sleep it off... How much time do we have left?"

Taeyong gave it a thought, "I think an hour and a half?"

Haru hummed, "Could one of you wake me up when it's time to vote?"

"Sure, but have you got your bags ready?" Jaebom asked, watching as she slipped off her large jacket and nuzzled her head into the pillow. Her stage makeup was going to transfer onto the clean covers but she was too tired to worry about that.

"It's always ready," She mumbled as she let her eyes shut.

「 ‧₊˚ * 🎞 」

BEFORE THEY KNEW IT, TIME HAD PASSED, AND HARU WAS FORCED TO SELECT HER 4 CANDIDATES FOR ELIMINATION. Despite the doubt she held, she didn't waste time in coming to a decision. In the end, she separated the candidates into those she thought had great potential and those who hadn't particularly stuck out to her, which helped her to narrow the field to just 4. Guilt settled in the pit of her stomach. They were all great at what they were doing, and she didn't want to be the one who forced them to leave I-LAND.

Once again, they were all gathered in the lobby, staring at the 4 empty cards with anxiety.

"The first eliminated participant received 10 votes," The voice announced, the card flipping over to reveal the face, "Taeyong."

"The second eliminated participant received 9 votes," The next card flipped over, "Haru."

Haru heard a few gasps and bit back a laugh. Why were they surprised when they were the ones that voted for her?

The next card flipped over, revealing someone Haru was not expecting. "Sunoo."

Haru furrowed her eyebrows. Was everyone here blind or something?

"The fourth eliminated participant received 5 votes," The voice continued, everyone listening intently, "Taki."

They were upset definitely, but they'd expected their fate. The remaining i-landers looked at Haru as she stood up from her seat, swinging her duffle bag over her shoulder.

"Kim Taeyong, Haru, Kim Sunoo, Taki," The voice repeated, "Those are the 4 eliminated members."

Haru watched as the boys exchanged sad hugs with their friends. She let out a breath as she turned on her heel, ready to leave but a hand on her shoulder pulled her out of her thoughts.

She turned around to see Seon who she immediately accepted into a hug.

"Use the card on yourself," He muttered softly, "You shouldn't have to go."

"I can't," Haru shook her head, removing herself from the hug, "I don't want someone else going in my place. I don't want to be responsible..."

"Now all that is left is for the first place i-lander's decision." With that, all eyes were set on her. "First place i-lander Haru. Will you use the exemption card?"

She didn't have to give it much thought as the answer was already there in her head. She looked up at the screen, her expression remaining blank despite all the stares she felt burning into her skin. "No. I won't be using it."

"Haru..." Heeseung looked at her confusedly.

"I'm sorry," She kept her gaze on the ground, "I can't use it... I just..."

Sunoo walked over to her, patting her gently on the shoulder in reassurance. Haru sighed again, tightening the grip around her duffel bag. "Using the card won't change much really. If one of us gets to stay, one of you guys will have to leave... I'm not going to be the one to decide that... Sorry again."

She bowed shortly as silence took over them once again. She could hear a few sniffles around her as the remaining i-landers bid their farewells. Haru didn't have the heart to see who was crying so she kept her head low, uneasy with the lingering guilt in her chest.

She looked at the 3 other i-landers that would leave with her, her eyes softening. She bowed again, "I'm so sorry."

"Don't be," Sunoo patted her back, "We understand."

"It's okay," Taeyong reassured, awkwardly throwing his thumbs up.

She looked over at Taki who had tears threatening to fall from his eyes. She felt her heart crumble a bit as she stepped over to engulf him in a hug.

"We'll make it back here, okay?" Haru said to the three encouragingly, pumping up her fist.

They all nodded before Haru gestured for them to take their leave. She took one last glance at the i-landers, putting on a small smile and waving goodbye.

STAR SPEAKS
double update ahah

ik i said i would update more frequently during my winter break but that didn't quite go to plan did it 😭😭

anyway, these last two chapters were a bit hard to write as I really hate taking key moments away from existing characters in fics to give them to the OC or inserted character so I wasn't sure about taking the first-place spot away from K and essentially erasing that entire scene from existence.

In the end, I thought it would make the most sense that way so I ended up writing it in any way LMAO

hope this was somewhat enjoyable🤞🤞