The Family That's Ours (Sequel to Family)

Forever and Always

Hey everyone! This is author Evie! This is a short AU in which the idol reality never existed and Dae really got shot. If you want more to this little AU, let me know! I was just spitting ideas when I wrote this. 

Dae could feel the blood leaking from her hardworking heart that continued to pound. She clutched her shirt, attempting to apply pressure to the very wound that was about to kill her.

Her knees buckled and she felt them mash to the concrete floor, probably breaking them, but she didn't care nor feel it. The ground looked quite comfortable so the young girl made her home on the cold floor. Felix replaced her own hand, applying a hefty amount of pressure onto the fatal wound.

The ringing, she will not forget the ringing of her ears for lifetimes to come. It was all she heard, she wanted to hear her fathers begging for her to stay alive; To keep breathing. But the ringing was all she heard, and frantic mouths moving was all she saw.

When the ringing had finally cleared, she could finally make out the voices of her family, the only people she had. But it was much too late.

"Dae, darling," Minho sobbed, clutching her shirt, holding it as if it was the thing keeping his daughter alive. "Please stay with us."
"JYP," Dae mutters, her voice hoarse. Even despite the pain, her mafia mindset was at the forefront of her brain.

"He's dead," Chan announced, his voice stern, but yet so afraid too. He dropped to his knees, and Dae noticed the blood dripping from his fingertips. She didn't know if it was hers or JYP's, but it didn't matter.

"Am I...dying?" Dae asks slowly. She wanted to look at the wound, but Felix kept her from doing so.

"No, baby," Felix soothes, tears streaming down his face, trickling down and falling on Dae's face. "You're going to be just fine. Jeongin just needs to take a look."
"...Foxy?"
Felix smiles heartbrokenly, nodding. "Yes, baby. Foxy will make it better."

The boy looked up at Jeongin, who was also crying. Felix motioned for him to come down and help their dying daughter, but Jeongin shook his head, releasing choked sobs from the depths of his soul.

"What do you mean no?" Chan snarled. "Fix her."

"Foxy?" Dae whimpered. "Will you make me better?"
All eight eyes fell upon a man who knew the time with Dae was dire. "Let's just spend more time with you, Dae."
"I'm not stupid," She laughed, but suddenly coughed up blood, interrupting her heroic commentary. She then continued as if her life wasn't almost over. "I know why you won't save me," She peered up at him, with nothing but love and adoration written in those eyes. "You can't."

Jeongin continued to sob, getting down on his own knees to cherish the final moments with his daughter. "Yeah," He choked out. "You're right."

Dae laughed once more, coughing up more blood than ever before. Felix continued to apply pressure onto the wound to buy more time with her.

Suddenly, the doors to the building swung open, a couple of yards away from where Stray Kids were mourning.

"Dae!" Jinyoung shouted, his voice laced with fear. "Dae! I heard gunshots and got worried."

The young boy scanned the hallway, locking eyes with his dying girlfriend. "Dae!" He screamed, his voice cracking and afraid.

He ran to the group, immediately dropping to his knees and taking in Dae's face, cradling it in between his fingertips. "What happened, Sunshine?"

Dae smiled, her glassy eyes taking in her boyfriend's disheveled form. "Youngie," She sighed.

"No!" Jinyoung screamed. "You can't be dying. We still have to get married."

"We'll get married another day," Dae comments with a smile.

"We're losing her," Jeongin says with wide eyes. "Stay with us Dae."

"I'm fine," She slurs, her teeth stained red from the blood she continues to cough up. "But I got a question for you guys."
"Anything, baby girl."
"Why did you leave?" A silent tear rolled down Dae's face, reminiscing about the loneliness she felt when Stray Kids had abandoned her. "Why didn't you take me with you?"
"We wanted to escape the mafia life," Chan confessed. "And we thought you'd want to stay."
"Stay?" Dae choked, gargling on her own insides. "I'd follow you guys anywhere."
"I know you will," Seungmin sobbed. "We wanted you to write your own destiny, but it backfired."
"We were eventually going to come back for you," Chan continued, silent tears falling down his beautiful cheeks. "Contrary to popular belief, we had been keeping a close watch on you."
"We just wanted you to find your own happiness," Felix concluded, moving sweaty hairs out of Dae's face.

The young girl smiled. "I love you all so much," She sighed, exhaling all the air in her lungs, her eyes rolling back, and her body going slump against Felix's.

Dae was dead.

A series of sobs and screams erupted from the nine boys who had loved Dae so much. And yet, none of them fell upon the deceased girl's ears. She was gone, forever and always.