ᵈᵃʸ ᵃⁿᵈ ⁿⁱᵍʰᵗ | ᶜʰᵃⁿᵐⁱⁿˢᵘⁿᵍ

devastating news

Jisung had decided to wear a cute little olive green dress with a white sweaterneck underneath.

Felix cooed with delight, adoring how precious the other looked. I can see why they constantly dressed him like this, he's adorable.

"You ready, Ji?" Seungmin questioned as he came out of his room, instantly cooing at the smaller boy, "You look so cute!"

Jisung blushed as his friends praised him, feeling quite good in his outfit.

"Do you think your parents will be upset?" Jisung questioned the puppy softly, scared everyone else would hate his attire.

Seungmin scoffed, "My family adores you, you could wear a paper bag and they'd ask where you got it."

Jisung smiled at his best friend, telling him that he were ready.

They bid Felix goodbye before heading off to The Kim's house.

The ride was quiet, but not in a bad way. Jisung was admiring the passing scenery, enjoying the feeling of home as he gazed out the window. He had missed the familiarity of home.

"How are you, Ji?" Seungmin broke the silence, his question soft as he cared about his friend and his emotions.

Jisung continued to stare out the window as he responded, being honest with the puppy, "I miss them. Every little thing reminds me of them, Min. It hurts that I left them, I feel awful. But..."

Seungmin sighed, finishing the other's sentence, "It was something you had to do. You're allowed to feel pain right now, Ji. You had to do what was best for you, even though it hurts."

Seungmin was right. And Jisung knew that. He had verbalized what Jisung had been trying to tell himself since that moment he took his collar off.

It's okay to feel the way I'm feeling, even if I'm the one who left.

Jisung sighed, finally glancing over at the puppy, "Thanks, Min. I really needed to hear that."

Seungmin offered a quick smile in return, glad he could help the other in some way.

It wasn't long before the duo arrived at The Kim's house, Jisung immediately stepping out of the car as he was excited go see Mrs. Kim.

She was like the mother he never had, and he couldn't wait to see her again.

Mrs. Kim felt the same, practically rushing outside as soon as she noticed her son pulling into the drive, "Jisung, darling!"

Jisung allowed her to pull him into a warm hug, sighing against the comfort of her embrace. "How have you been, Mrs. Kim?"

"I'm so much better now that you're home." She beamed, pulling away from the boy in order to hug her son. Seungmin accepted her embrace with a small smile.

The trio made their way inside, and that's when Jisung realized that it wasn't just him and The Kim's having dinner.

Four other people were gathered around the dining room, drinks in hand, as they laughed and spoke about random things.

All eyes were on Jisung as he entered, Mr. Kim setting his glass down before he went to greet the smaller, "Jisung, welcome! How are you?"

Jisung gulped, hating the eyes that were on him. But, he tried to push it away as he focused on Mr. Kim. "I'm okay, sir. How are you?"

"I'm fantastic." The older smiled, gesturing towards the others in the room, "These are our family members, they'll be joining us for dinner. Please, feel comfortable around them, just as you do with us."

Family members? Jisung repeated the phrase to himself, soon realizing what Mr. Kim meant. The Kims. Oh my god.

"Darling, are you feeling okay? You're getting rather pale." Mrs. Kim spoke with worry in her tone, Seungmin resting his hand on his friend's shoulder, "Is everything okay, Ji?"

"Can I talk to you?" Jisung questioned in a hushed tone, pulling the puppy into another room.

Seungmin was about to inquire what was wrong, but Jisung immediately started ranting, "Your family is The Kims? You're a Kim? Why didn't ever tell me, Min?! We're best friends. Does Felix know?"

The puppy sighed, leaning against the wall as he began to respond to his best friend.

"Felix knows, I told him after Chan had beat up Hyunjin and Jeongin. I never told anyone before that, it's not something I want going around. I'm sorry, Ji. Please don't look at my family any differently now, though. My parents adore you, always have."

"Min, I'm a-" "You are not a Bang." Seungmin scoffed, "You're as much of a Kim as Hannah was."

"Was? What do you mean was?" Jisung's chest tightened, not liking the connotation of the word.

The sad and pained look in Seungmin's eyes was all Jisung needed to know. His friend was dead.

"She was never there to kill you. Her mission was to rescue you, Ji. By any means necessary." Seungmin spoke softly, hating that Jisung had to find out this way. He knew how close the two were becoming.

Jisung's stomach churned with guilt, pain, and sorrow as he thought about his recently discovered friend. I'm so sorry, Hannah.

"I need some air." Jisung mumbled, Seungmin allowing him some space as the other stepped outside. Seungmin informed his family, all of them nodding as they understood. The news wasn't easy to absorb.

Jisung stepped into the night air, sighing against the doorframe as he debated on if he should go for a walk or not.

He decided that he would, assuming he'd be safe. He was on The Kim's side of town, nobody would touch him. Jisung was home, he knew he was safe.

After everything that had happened, after Chan, after Hannah, The Kim's had enforced their territory boundaries.

The Bang's wouldn't be caught dead on the wrong side of town. Not because they were scared or worried, but because they didn't want to harm Jisung.

Any potential war, or outbreak of violence, could put Jisung in harm, and neither family wanted that.

Jisung didn't understand why the two families cared so deeply about him. He wasn't special, nor was he worthy of being treasured.

Hannah saw something in him, that must've been why she sacrificed her life to save his. But, they had never met. So, how could she have been so fond of him?

He wished he had known the true reason behind her motives sooner, he would have asked her far different questions. Jisung would have appreciated her more.