behind closed doors || shen ricky

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲-𝐟𝐢𝐯𝐞

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The sky was pitch black and the large clouds started to move towards them. Sudden taps hit the window which quickly turned into heavy rainfall. People started to run for cover on the street and umbrellas were fetched out of the bags. The murmuring of the rain through the window got louder by seconds. It sounded like a swarm of angry bees. 

Yujin and Jiah found cover before the rain could touch their skins. They sat inside of a coffee shop by the window. They looked out of it and sat in silence. 

After some minutes went by, Yujin took his phone out of his pocket. Jiah shifted her attention to him. He typed something in, placed the phone on the table and shoved it to her. She blinked a few times, looking at the phone screen with confused eyes. 

"This is a picture from when we were trainees" Yujin started. 

She studied the picture. It had five boys in it. From left till right, Hao, Yujin, Gyuvin, Ricky and a boy. A boy she had never seen before. 

"We were also best friends. We were together every day and did everything together" he mouthed. "But it wasn't easy" 

"Why?" she asked hesitant. 

"Ricky his parents didn't approve of him being an idol" he twisted his hands together. "They tried to bribe me and the others into convincing Ricky to drop his idol career" he took a deep breathe. "One of us took the money"

Jiah looked a the phone again and pointed at the unfamiliar boy. "Him?"

Yujin nodded. "His name was Jun" his voice became shaky. "He was Ricky's closest friend"

"If he was his closest friend why did he take the money then?"

"His mom was sick. His dad worked enough for them to make a living so he worked at night to pay for her treatment. But as her condition worsened, he was left with no choice. He took the money and sided with his parents" he looked outside. "He did everything they asked him to do"

His chest rose and fell with rapid breaths. She noticed how his eyes slowly filled with water. He took a deep breathe and continued.

"Eventually Ricky found out. So Jun went to his parents and broke off the deal. But as they asked for the money back, Jun already paid for him moms surgery"

Jiah gulped. "What did they do?"

"They found out where his dad worked and suspended him which made them homeless. He also got kicked out of school because he couldn't afford tuition"  Yujin twisted his hands together. "Jun never told Ricky or any of us what happened. We didn't even know he was homeless, until.."

"Until what?" she asked impatient.

"His death"

At first, Jiah didn't understand what was going on. She turned her head back to the picture and looked at the smiley boy in the corner. Why did it make her feel sad? She didn't know him and just learned his name, but her heart couldn't help but feel so heavy. 

"After he died Ricky never mentioned his name. He didn't even go to the funeral or memorial service. It was like he completely ignored his entire existence" Yujin wiped his tears away. "Nobody in the group knows about this besides the four of us. So please.." he looked at her with gloomy eyes. "..don't tell anyone. Not even your friends"

She nodded. "Yeah. I won't"

The two sat in silence again and looked out the window, both feeling drained and upset. She could hear Yujin sniffing a couple of times but didn't look at him incase he would feel embarrassed. Even though she never witnessed someone close to her dying, she understood how it felt to lose someone dear to them.