Melodies Of Betrayal: The Toxic Encore ✓

Chapter 26: Lies

Chapter 26: Lies

WOOSEOK unlocked the door with one swift move, hurrying inside the shared house despite every inch of his mind telling him otherwise. He pushed the door back in its place before making his way through the hallway that led to the living room.

Closing his eyes and praying that he never met up with any of his group members, he continued to step closer to the living room and peeked inside, his eyebrows raised in curiosity.

And to his terror and dismay, three heads tilted themselves in his direction, already smirking and staring into his soul despite many attempts from him to disappear at that moment.

"Where were you, Kim Wooseok?"

His familiar, cold tone sent a chill down Wooseok's spine, causing the latter to step back in hesitation.

"I was n-nowhere, Soul! Where else?" He replied, his voice coming out shaky and small.

"Lies." Soul got up from his seat, and then took multiple steps towards the younger. Soon enough, the other two took their turns in making their way towards Wooseok, causing him to take a step back.

Until he remembered what was going on.

His hands turned into fists until he could feel his palms bruise. His mind raced with all the people he loved yet betrayed, because of how coward he was. Whether it was Junwon, Hikaru, or his past friends from the survival show.

The amount of things he could've set right with his voice if he needed to. Him defending any of his friends, Junwon first, and ending with all the friends he had lost over the course of the survival show... Santa and Yacht even, who thought that he might've known something about Junwon's mysterious illness because of how attached he was to his harmful group members.

Why?

Why did his mind have to wake up at the last moment?

If only he had spoken up earlier... Maybe Junwon wouldn't have quit. And maybe, just maybe, Hikaru would still be alive.

And maybe he wouldn't have felt so bad about himself just as he did now.

"Whatever you're about to do..." He began, straightening his voice with a small cough. "Forget it."

"And why is that?" Soul let out a scoff of sarcasm, his arms defensively hugging his chest. "You're about to end up like your friends after all."

The three let out an evil cackle, and Wooseok could almost roll his eyes at how dramatic they seemed.

"Because the police are already on their way."

His own heart dropped at his sentence. He would've slapped a hand over his mouth if he knew it would take back what he said.

But he couldn't.

So he was stuck there, staring into their piercing gazes, his eyebrows furrowed while he took a step closer to the person standing in front of him, who happened to be Soul.

"What did you say?" Hanbin questioned, his tone above a whisper as he took a glance at his two friends.

"Lies!" Soul screamed, then bolted in Wooseok's direction at full speed, causing the other to fly backwards toward the nearest wall behind them.

And despite Soul's trapping hand, which was pinning his neck against the wall, he still managed to keep a straight face. His piercing gaze could almost send chills down Soul's spine.

"The police are coming to arrest the three of you already," he repeated, his breath hitched and his voice choked. "Forget it, Soul. We know what you did."

Soul's tearful eyes met Wooseok's, his hand grabbing the younger's throat tighter.

"Lies!"

Wooseok weakly shook his head, a smirk lifting up the corner of his mouth despite his vision blurring.

"You'll spend the rest of your life in jail, Soul. You all will!" He attempted to scream out. "You'll regret what you did to Junwon, Mal, and Hikaru! You'll regret everything!"

Soul tightened his grip around Wooseok's throat, his hands weakening at the mention of everything they had done coming to light.

Everything was over.

Wasn't it?

"All you do is lie, Wooseok."

"Do I?" Wooseok let out a dark chuckle, staring into Soul's eyes to show him that he wasn't terrified of him like he used to be, not anymore. "Not right now, I'm not."

Soul's ears perked up at the sound of police sirens filling up the atmosphere, along with the others'. Their eyes widened in shock as the blinding blue and red lights seeped through the window, lightening up the dark, gloomy room.

"No, no, no—" Minseo began, running a hand through his hair as his body uncontrollably fidgeted around, his feet taking a few steps towards Soul. "We weren't supposed to get caught—you said we won't get caught, Soul! We can't go to jail—"

Soul's head bolted towards Minseo just before Minseo's arms grabbed him by the collar.

"You said we'll never get caught, you freaking liar! I hate you—I hate you so fucking much!"

"Police! Open the door!"

Hanbin's figure jumped a step back at the firm scream of the police officers. Minseo's gaze shifted from Soul to the door, then back at Soul.

"You brought us into this. You convinced me to do this! I'm telling, Soul, I'm telling them everything!"

"No, you won't!" Soul screamed, briefly letting go of Wooseok's throat, then reaching out to grab Minseo's shoulders with a firm grip. "I'll make sure you won't!"

"Goddammit, Soul!" Hanbin screamed from across the room, soon enough followed by the terrifying bang as the door was kicked apart. "You're not going to do anything! It's over..."

Soul shook his head weakly, his tearful eyes stuck on the sight of police officers hurrying inside the house.

It really, really was.

"Were you the one who called?" A police officer asked as she stepped in front of the four young men, doubtfully taking a glance at each one of them.

"It was me, officer," Wooseok replied, nodding his head while taking a closer step, hitting Soul's shoulder in the process. "I'm Kim Wooseok."

The officer nodded before turning her gaze to the remaining three.

"Take them!"

"No, no, no—please, it was all him! It was all Liu Zekai!" Minseo repeatedly shook his head while pointing at who once was his friend. "Take him! He did this to Junwon and Hikaru!"

Wooseok briefly shook his head, attempting to suppress a giggle at how fast they turned against each other.

Some friends they were.

"You can tell that to the officers in the police station." The officer spoke in a firm, motionless tone, finally turning to each one of them with a gaze they could all cower beneath if they had gotten the chance. "Right now, you all need to come with us."

And it wasn't long before each of them, including Wooseok, was dragged to one of the police cars. Minseo took one final look at Hanbin, at Wooseok, then at Soul. His piercing gaze could surely send Soul six feet underground if it was possible. Hell—he would've sent Soul six feet underground if he knew that this would be the end of it.

And just like that, everything was over.