Crime, Betrayal, and Love (A Seventeen Street Racing AU)

XLIII | Helpful Friends

The city blurred by as Changkyun drove. The constant stream of tears only made it harder to differentiate anything.

After receiving my call, Changkyun rushed to find me, picking me up and bringing me to his apartment, no questions asked. Even as the sound in the car was sad, sniffles and choked back sobs, he didn't ask what had happened. Not yet, at least.

As Changkyun pulls into the parking garage of his apartment, I whisper, "Thank you." My voice is raspy and quiet.

"Of course," Changkyun immediately responds. "Do you want to talk about it?" He asks while parking.

I stay silent, unsure. I hate holding this in, but I've kept my past hidden from everyone I've known for years. Why ruin that now?

But looking over at Changkyun changes my mind. Genuine concern of a friend laces his face, tight-lipped as he waits for my answer. Plus, if anyone knew about living a secret life, it would be him.

"Can it not be in the car?" I painstakingly laugh. "There's uh- well, there's a lot."

Changkyun sighs, and I'm scared I did something wrong. "Did one of them do something?"

"No!" I quickly shake my head. "Well, it's complicated."

Raising an eyebrow, Changkyun gives me a grave look. "I always meant it when I said I still consider you and Jisoo my friends. If one of them hurt you or Ji-"

"You won't have to do anything." I give Changkyun a soft, sad smile.

"Okay," He begrudgingly agrees.

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Changkyun's silent. He has been for the past thirty or so minutes I took to explain everything. It's starting to become concerning.

For the life he lived, Changkyun had a very nice, clean apartment. The living room is mainly white—a white couch, coffee table, and bookshelf. It didn't exactly fit the college dishwasher boy, either.

"I never liked him," He snarls, finally saying something. "The entire group is insane!"

"Hey," I softly say, "The rest of them aren't so bad."

Rolling his eyes, Changkyun turns away. "Sure they aren't."

"Really, some of them are... pretty nice."

Changkyun side-eyes me, "Oh- do you like one of the-"

"No!" Heat rushes to my face at the suggestion. "They're just not all bad," I say, hiding my face.

"Okay then. I still hate The8."

I bitterly laugh. "Yeah, same. I hate everything about him." Somehow, the words feel weird in my mouth. It's my true feelings. Or at least it should be.

After a moment of awkward silence, Changkyun stands and paces around the room., "Y'know," He slowly starts, "You and Jisoo could move back to your apartment. Monsta X isn't too hung up on you guys anymore. A little bit, but not enough for anyone to threaten you."

"Hmm, we could," I say with less enthusiasm than expected. This should be a great opportunity, but I can't find myself wanting to move back.

"Of course, you don't have to," Changkyun grimaces. "But if you don't want to stay with thos- with Seventeen, you don't have to."

"Thank you Changkyun." The gratefulness in my voice is genuine, even if I still can't convince myself to feel excited about the potential of going back to my regular life. Living with Seventeen feels so normal now. It would be weird to go back to our technical home. I can barely picture my life before, and I doubt it will go back to that, even if we do move back.