~<*>~ Music in me: seventeen fan-fiction ~<*>~

Chapter 30

And I miss you in the morning when I see the sun.
Something in the orange tells me we're not done.
- Zach bryan

~<*>~

Dino is shaking from emotions. He doesn't know whether to be happy or sad, whether to burst into tears or laugh like crazy. Mingyu gently gives Wonwoo back his glasses and the black-haired male smiles through his tears. He wraps his arms around the taller male relieved and he squeezes Mingyu tight as if he's scared to lose the taller again. Mingyu happily rubs Wonwoo's back and the two males look happier than ever.
"I was so scared to lose you," Wonwoo sniffs, "but this means that DK and Minghao..." Wonwoo's voice dies down and turns into sobs. Mingyu sighs sad, the taller apparently didn't know that he's the only one who survived. Joshua walks over to Dino and smiles.
"They are soulmates if you ask me", he says while they are watching Wonwoo and Mingyu being in their own world. Dino nods in agreement, but he isn't able to put a smile on his face. Dino's soulmate isn't here and he knows that Joshua's isn't too. How can the black-haired male be so happy when his roommate just died?
"Let's get Jeonghan up before his arms become sore", Joshua states and Mingyu releases himself from the hug to make himself ready. Dino's heart drops to the ground and shatters in a thousand pieces, they don't know.
"Where is he anyways?" Joshua asks and he looks at Dino hopeful. But the brunette stays silent, breaking down inside. This is real torture, this is nothing compared to the things Hyunjin and that blonde maniac did to him. Time seems to slow down when Dino watches Joshua slowly realize what his silence means.
"Jeonghan!" Joshua cries out and he runs to the edge of the bridge. Dino can still grab his collar to make sure that the black-haired male doesn't fall down and they both trip and land on the ground. Dino stares into the depth again and so is Joshua. The water is flowing beneath the bridge and Dino knows that Jeonghan should be somewhere inside the liquid.
"I'm so sorry Joshu-" Dino doesn't get to finish his sentence because Joshua gets himself up and runs off. Worried, Dino follows him with Wonwoo and Mingyu right behind him. Dino can imagine how cruel this feels to the black-haired male running in front of him. Wonwoo and Mingyu get their soulmate back, while he loses his. The brunette has no clue where Joshua is headed to, but they sure are going down at a high speed. Dino has to make sure he doesn't trip at least a few times on his way down. Mingyu is slowly catching up on Dino, but the taller male stays behind for Wonwoo. The poor boy with glasses is too shocked to even run this fast. Dino feels like he's in a sort of trance, he can't feel anything at the moment, his brain is just dull. The moment when Jeonghan fell keeps flashing in front of Dino's eyes while he hears the sound of water nearing him. Then, it suddenly hits Dino where Joshua is headed to.
"Joshua-" Dino yells, but he gets cut off by a branch hitting his face. Ugh, stupid nature.
"Leave me alone!" Joshua yells back while he fastens his speed. Sighing, Dino does too, he feels like he has all the power inside of him. The two males have arrived at the little park, while Mingyu and Wonwoo are barely recognizable behind them. Joshua runs over to the jetty and Dino's heart skips a beat. Is he really going to...?
"Jeonghan!" Joshua cries out again while he jumps into the water.
"Shit", Dino mumbles while he runs onto the jetty as well while taking off his hoodie and shirt. With a scream, Dino jumps into the water. The cold surrounds him and Dino almost stiffens from the low temperature, but his mind keeps him focused. He has to find Joshua. The brunette swims up and with a gasp, he reaches the surface.
"Joshua!" he yells. Although Joshua is a few years older than him, the brunette feels like he's watching over him right now.
"Jeonghan!" he gets as response and he realizes that the black-haired male is looking for his red-haired roommate in the water. His voice comes from a few meters away and Dino puts all his strength inside his swimming. Soon, he reaches the black-haired male, who's head just dissappeared into the water. Dino is scared that Joshua is drowning, when his head appears again, gasping for air.
"Jeonghan!" he shouts again and Dino tries his best to grab Joshua with his arm, but that isn't easy when you're having to make sure that you don't drown yourself.
"Joshua, please, just-" Dino tries to reason with him, but a splash of water interrupts him.
"Stop following me! Just leave me alone or help me find Jeonghan!" he shouts, his cheeks are wet and Dino can't tell if it's only from the water or if there are tears involved.
"Joshua..." Dino tries again, but the black-haired male doesn't want to listen to him.
"Just help me find him!" Joshua yells, "He must be here somewhere or-"
"He's not here, Joshua." Dino's words seem to trigger something in Joshua, but the brunette knows he's speaking the truth. The black-haired male stops swimming and his head soon drowns in the water, but Dino is quick to snatch him and pull him back up. Swimming on his back, Dino tries to get the two males to the shore, where Mingyu and Wonwoo are waiting for them. Joshua doesn't move at all, but Dino knows that he's still conscious, he's probably just in denial. When Dino can feel the stones under his feet, he stops and let's Joshua go gently. The black-haired male is standing with his feet into the water, staring at the little forest in front of him. Dino suddenly feels the cold hit his naked upper body and he starts to shiver. Mingyu takes Dino's hoodie and uses it as a towel to keep Dino warm. When most of the water is off of Dino's body, Mingyu takes off his own hoodie and gives it to the brunette.
"You did good", he says softly while Dino puts on the hoodie. It's way too big for him, but it gives him warmth and it reminds Dino of how tired he actually is. Exhausted, the brunette walks over to a tree and sits down next to Wonwoo, who's staring at Joshua in silence. Dino let's his head fall down on Wonwoo's shoulder and the boy with glasses just smiles sad.
"It feels unfair to be so happy when he just lost his soulmate", Wonwoo says sad, referring to Joshua. Dino hums in agreement and for a moment, this feels really nice. It's like a lot of weight falls off of his shoulders to know that they took Scoups' shooter down. It was at a high cost, but they took him down. Dino has to admit that deep inside, he feels glad that his dream didn't come true. I'm not coming to you just yet, Hoshi. Dino thinks while he looks at Joshua, who's still standing in the water. But there's someone else coming in my place. Dino still can't believe that he wasn't strong enough to pull Jeonghan up, but it gives him a slightly bit of peace to know that Jeonghan chose his death himself. Dino realizes that from the moment Jeonghan dropped his weapon, the red-haired male chose to die. Dino blinks surprised when Joshua suddenly turns around. The brunette is scared that the black-haired male will run into the water again, but he only drops to his knees. His body starts jerking and Dino can tell that Joshua is crying. It hurts him to see the older like that, but if Dino hadn't jumped into the water, they would've been without him. This is part of the grief, accepting that you're sad and that others are sad too. No matter how hard you try to push it away, sadness will come eventually. It's easier just to let it in at once. Screaming, Joshua hits the water with his fist and Mingyu slowly walks over to comfort him. Dino sighs and closes his eyes, he feels at ease knowing that someone is comforting Joshua right now.
"Uhh, Dino?" Wonwoo says right at the moment the brunette was about to fall asleep, "You have to see this." Curious, Dino lifts his head to see what Wonwoo is talking about. He reads the message on the black-haired male's phone and his mouth falls open.
"Scoups is awake", Dino says in disbelief.
"Finally", Wonwoo shares his excitement. Dino's heart is racing, but his smile is bittersweet. How can there be so much happiness on such a sad day?

~<*>~

Scoups smiles happily when he sees the familiar brunette walk inside. He looks tired and wet, but Scoups doesn't mind. He's glad to see Dino alive, no matter at what condition. The brunette hugs him tight and Scoups can't hold in a smile.
"You were gone for way too long", Dino says and Scoups can't help but notice a difference in his friend. He looks sadder, grown up and as if he's been through a lot. It's like the happiness that was always able to charm Scoups has faded away.
"Did something happen while I was gone?" Scoups asks worried.
"No", Dino answers with a smile. Scoups sighs relieved, when Vernon and Jun answered, he didn't really believe them, but seeing Dino's genuine smile, he has no other choice. Dino wouldn't lie to him.
"How are you?" Dino changes the subject. Scoups smiles and gestures Dino to sit down on his bed. The brunette does and Scoups holds his hand. It just feels comforting to actually feel him, to know that this isn't another weird dream.
"I have had many visitors", Scoups chuckles, "but only Jeonghan, DK and Minghao haven't showed up yet. Do you know where they are? Normally, they would be here in a second." Scoups sees Dino's smile drop, but he decides not to ask about it. The brunette probably doesn't want to talk about it.
"Well, they must be busy", Dino answers and his smile is back again.
"When are they going to take you?" Dino adds while pointing to the cuf on Scoups' wrist.
"Probably in a few days, but why am I cuffed in the first place?" Scoups asks confused. It irritates him that the policemen won't say a word to him.
"You killed Hyunjin, remember?" Dino says. Scoups knows that he's thinking back about that moment. For the black-haired leader, it's all a vague memory, but for the brunette, it must've been pretty vivid.
"Ah shit, they found out", Scoups mumbles. But there's nothing he can do about it. Dino straightens his posture triggered.
"Are there murders that they haven't found out about?" Dino asks carefully. Scoups blinks shocked and he is a bit taken aback.
"Why do you ask that?" Scoups asks suspicious. The brunette bites his lip, but he gives in eventually.
"The Australian guy from Stray kids told me that you murdered someone and I don't know if-"
"Chan", Scoups grunts. Dino looks at him confused and repeats his words.
"Chan?" the brunette clearly wants an explanation.
"It's an old friend of mine. Some things went wrong between us and now he is probably taking revenge on me." Scoups sighs and Dino looks at him shocked.
"You murdered someone he loved?" Dino asks and it feels like a knife stabs his heart. The brunette is spot on, but Scoups hasn't talked about it with anyone. He takes a deep breath, he is not going to lie to Dino.
"I was 18, we were on a summer vacation. My parents, his parents, Chan and I. We got along pretty well and we had a great time. Did some bad stuff too, I'll admit." Scoups chuckles sad at the thought of that great time, before everything went wrong. If only he could go back to that.
"Chan was getting more and more distant with his parents. He was busy with some girl, I suppose. Our parents wanted to make a trip, but Chan had organized a meeting with that girl. So I had to get our parents out, you get what I mean?" Dino nods, the brunette is listening without judging and Scoups is glad he does.
"I had a party with Chan and the girl before we left, just to get in the mood. We drunk some things and I have to admit that we were quite tipsy. Then I had to drive our parents to the trip we were going on. Chan stayed behind and I went behind the wheel. Everything went fine until I-" Scoups' voice breaks thinking back at that moment. Dino rubs his shoulder trying to comfort his leader while Scoups is holding back tears.
"You had an accident?" Dino helps him. Scoups nods thankful.
"I drove into another car. I was the only one who survived. Chan never forgave me for that, but he forgets that I lost my own parents too." a single tear rolls down Scoups' cheek and Dino gently brushes it away with his thumb.
"So that is why I have to go to jail," Scoups adds, "Otherwise, Chan will hunt you down. I'm the reason this is all happening." Dino stares at him shocked and shakes his head in denial.
"No, I'm going to get you out. You have to help us." Scoups smiles, but shakes his head.
"It's my fate, Dino. I did too much harm", Scoups says softly.
"You don't get it, we need you, we need our leader!" Dino suddenly sounds desperate, but Scoups has to keep going.
"You don't need me!" Scoups assures him.
"We do!" Dino yells back and Scoups can see the fear in the brunette's eyes.
"You still have Jeonghan!" Scoups holds on.
"Jeonghan is dead, Scoups!" Dino yells and tears stream down his cheeks. Scoups stares at the brunette in shock and releases his hand.
"What?"