Black Whisper

Xiao

*TW: Mentions of Suicide.*

Xiao P.O.V

Zane sat down beside me and sighed. Kat and Junie had been gone all afternoon neither one of us knew where they were and they hadn't sent us a single text since we split up.

"Where do you think they went?" I shrugged.

"I don't have a clue."

"Wherever it was, they must be happy. Kat has the ability to do what we can't. It's annoying sometimes."

"Are you jealous?" He frowned.

"Why would I be? I have qualities he doesn't. So do you. You also have qualities I don't have. I'm not jealous because there's no point to be. I have all I could ever need." I smiled and pressed a kiss to his temple.

"Hyung, should we go get some food?" I contemplated for a moment before nodding. After the article was released, several reporters were outside our place for a few hours every day since it happened. Since the original one was released, many others have been too. They had dug deep into the history of our company and us. In the end, they found out about Hajoon and Juwon because Minnie and Yunseo were spotted and they wanted to take the heat off their back. Hajoon and Juwon were just those kinds of people. We got dressed and ensured no reporters were outside before leaving the dorm. We had masks on our faces but still received looks. I wrapped my arm around his shoulder to relax his anxiety.

"Don't worry about them." He nodded as we walked down the street and across the road. We intended to go to the cafe we frequented but it was too busy. It wasn't worth causing a scene if we ran into a fan. We continued to walk until we found a quiet noodle place. Neither of us was fond of ramen but after living with Kat and Minjun for so long, we'd learned to like it. We walked in and sat down in a corner booth. Zane sighed and pulled his mask off.

"I'm tired of this. Remind me why we became idols again?" I smiled.

"You wanted to take care of your mom and I wanted to become a star. I guess we never did think about how those things would change us so much. I sure as hell didn't. This shit has probably taken 10 years off my life."

"Me too, honestly. I understand why Minjun wanted to quit so badly. Maybe we should have just let him." I raised a brow.

"You really think he would have wanted that?" He took a sip of his water before responding.

"I do. When they came home, Kat Hyung and I had a conversation about it. I'm not really sure how Kat Hyung found him but I could tell by the way he talked that it hurt him. He said that Minjun looked almost emotionless. Maybe he was sad about he left but I think he was actually really glad to be gone out of this world. It might have been shitty but he needed that time to think about us and the job. I can't believe that Kat was actually able to bring him back. Minjun loves us and he loves the fans but is that really worth breaking himself for? Are we really worth breaking himself? I don't think so. There's nothing really special about us." I hummed and thought for a moment. I sighed.

"Did I ever tell you the story about how Minjun and I met?" He raised a brow.

"Didn't you meet when we were trainees?" I shook my head.

"No. He and I met before then. What he said in the letter about me saving him was literal. When he was in his second year of high school, we met. I'd been at a dance studio. It doesn't exist anymore but back then all of the wannabes went there. It was expensive but they had the best teachers. Anyway, I guess something felt off that day. From the moment I entered to studio, I couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen. I hoped that I was wrong but when I went up to the roof to smoke, a kid was sitting on the ledge. He looked like he'd been there for a while. I didn't recognize him but I knew what he was thinking. He was crying and mumbling about something. I never did find out what it was. I stood there for a moment before deciding to go talk to him. He was young and lost. I had to help him so I got on the ledge and sat with him. He didn't say anything for a long time. We just sat there. It wasn't till he looked at me that I saw how swollen his face was. Then I noticed bruises on his arms. He didn't even try to hide them from me.

4 Years Ago

Just my luck. I only wanted to smoke a cigarette. How did I end up in this situation? He sighed causing me to look at him.

"You can leave. I'm going to do what you think I am." I raised a brow.

"Then why are you sitting on the ledge?" He sighed again.

"The air is nice." I glimpsed at his bruises.

"You know, just because I'm blonde doesn't mean I'm oblivious." I deadpanned. He chuckled quietly.

"Is that so?" I smiled and nodded. "Hm. I suppose I can't hide anything from you then." I scooted a bit closer to him.

"Can I ask how you got those bruises?" He tensed.

"My father. We got into a fight." He smiled grimly. "You should see the other guy."

"I see. Does he do that to you often?" He hesitated for a moment before nodding.

"Every since he found out where I go in my free time." I hummed.

"What brought you here?"

"To the studio or the roof?" He knew but he asked anyway.

"To the roof." He sighed once again.

"I can't lie to you so I'm here to jump but I've been sitting here for several hours. For some reason, I just can't do it."

"Well, jumping from this height won't kill you. It'll only cause excruciating pain." He frowned.

"How do you know that?"

"Believe it or not, you aren't the first person to do this. A few people have. All of them lived but none of them were able to walk again. The moral of the story is that nothing good will come out of this. Let me ask you, why do you come here? Why do you dance?" He looked away.

"Because I love it."

"Then why do something like this, knowing you will never dance again?"

"I don't know."

"I don't either. So what your dad hates it? Maybe one day he won't." He began to cry again. I could only frown and scoot closer to wrap an arm around him. "Let's get off of this ledge and talk in the studio. Maybe your dad doesn't support you but that doesn't mean that there aren't people who do." I knew that I would probably regret my next words but I said them anyway. "If no one else, you have me to support you." He looked up at me with eyes that shattered my heart before nodding. I knew then that I couldn't just walk away from the kid. I carefully got off the ledge before holding out my arms to help him down. He hesitated for a long moment before turning around and wrapping his arms around my neck. I frowned at how light he was. After that, he let go of me and we went back to the studio. We talked for a long time that day.

Present Time

"That's pretty much the whole story. We trained together every night after that. I never did understand why he pretended to not know me the day all four of us got together the first time. He barely even spared me a glance for a while. I asked him that night but he never told me. He just avoided it." Zane listened to me quietly with a frown on his face.

"His father still hates him?" I nodded.

"He does but I made sure that he never touched him again. His father hates me too. He has always suspected that we were sleeping together but never asked. We never brought it up either." He sighed.

"I wonder why Minjun never told us." I shook my head.

"He doesn't like to think about it. We've only talked about it once since it happened. It was a time when he was completely shattered."

"What's the point of telling me this story though?"

"The point of telling the story is to explain how much this means to him. How much I mean to him. He not only gave up everything to be an idol but also. He gave up everything for me. He wouldn't just leave us behind after how much he sacrificed. The was probably some truth to needing a break but he could never truly leave this world behind. If he did, he would lose his only reason to stay alive. That is not something he could ever do. He could never leave me and he could never leave the idol world. That is one thing I'm completely sure of if nothing else."

*********************************

Thank you for reading this chapter. I'm sorry for the long delay. Things have been crazy. Anyway, I love guys. bye bye.

-Thea