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black

it was dark.

he could hear the faint noises from upstairs, seungmin's disgruntled screams along with jeongin and felix's laughs. slowly as to not make a single sound, he headed downstairs, the door of the basement, open. it was quiet, too quiet. usually, there were hostages and prisoners kept here, people who had committed horrific crimes so big that they had to be tortured to make them speak. this was changbin's job.

he hissed quietly as he walked inside, a small nail implaling his shoe sole. the room was big, the happenings in the room were even bigger. he sat quietly as the breeze from the small window entered in. the moon rose, illuminating the space that was visible through it. faint bloodstains were seen on the floor. the sight made seo changbin, the person who dealt with the criminals and hostages; look away from it.

he was often told that he was quiet. didn't speak much because he didn't have much to say. that wasn't entirely true. he was quiet, not quiet like chan; who didn't speak because he was tired, deep in thought or worried. changbin was silent because he was afraid.

it wasn't easy, being raised by a single mother. even in high school, the raven haired boy did everything in his power to help her. a younger and older son. often, he pitied her for having two sons, useless and irritating. his brother, dan was the epitome of happiness. a literal sunshine, contrasting to changbin' s dark aura.

changbin adored him.

he was in high school when it happened. every day, he made his way to his brother's middle school to pick him up. they would go home and clean up before their mother arrived. then, changbin would go outside to sit and think while his brother would do his homework and then talk to his friends on their old landline phone. on some occasions, changbin would help dan with his homework, firmly stating that nobody was going to fail when he was around. that made the younger crack up every time, changbin wasn't sure why as he meant every word he said and said it seriously. their mother would be home by that time and they would enjoy a family dinner together, sharing how their day went. dan often spoke about his school and how his teachers and friends told him about the latest news. he would tell them about how the principles of a rocket and a microwave were almost the same. changbin and his mother would listen carefully.

and changbin would smile.

the black haired boy frowned as he heard a slight buzz in the room. he turned to see a flying insect along with a moth, fighting near the window. he watched them in silence as the insect killed the moth, and flew away. ants started to crawl up the windowsill and attacked the moth, that was still alive. he watched as it writhed and twisted when the ants climbed on it. how it slowly stopped moving. how it was carried away by the small creatures.

the day was the reason he was like this. it has started off as any other day, but turned into something much more sinister. he had stopped thinking about it a long time ago. the police reports were the only things that now told the story of seo dan, who was killed by his teacher while playing in the field. reason? he was being too loud. too happy. happy?

happy.

that night, changbin killed his first person. blinded by revenge, mirth, anger. he didn't know how to feel anymore. would he ever feel again? emotions, words, actions... did they really exist anymore? expressions told only a part of the story that he had been through.

woojin actually, was the reason. his reason. he had found him while changbin was killing a middle aged man who was accused of abusing his family. he didn't react when changbin smashed the man's head. he didn't say a word when he killed him. all he did was give the raven haired boy a handkerchief to wipe the blood off his hands. when changbin had looked up incredulously at him, he did something nobody had ever done before.

he had hugged changbin.

the years after that were a blur. he was introduced to the team, sent on missions with them and interrogated probably more than two hundred suspects. all of them had ended up dead, whether they were guilty or not. changbin believed that the people who were guilty didn't deserve life, no matter what they had done and for what reason. woojin didn't say anything regarding the matter. he just wanted information.

the team did more than just help changbin find peace. they had shaped him. at first, it was extremely hard for him to adjust to them. he was used to being alone and felix reminded him of his brother. that changed quickly when he saw how much they cared. why would they care? did they care? felix, jisung, hyunjin, lee know, seungmin, jeongin and chan.

and woojin.

woojin was changbin's most trusted friend in the team. he, along with chan were the only people that knew what had happened to him. woojin had held changbin when he cried for the first time after his brother's death. he had wiped his tears away. he had given changbin his first mission and applauded his skills in interrogating, even if he didn't approve as much.

that's why it hurt

it hit the hardest when woojin had left. changbin's closed off personality returned and he started to get more ruthless, more aggressive. he started storming off during conversations and arguing with the members. they tried to understand. changbin knew they did. but it didn't always work out. that didn't stop changbin from protecting them. deep down, he was afraid. afraid that they would leave him just like his family did. that's why he stayed. because of his new family, that would always be there for him even if his former wasn't anymore

stray kids.

"hey binnie are you there?"

changbin calmly turned to see hyunjin facing him. he was one of the people changbin tolerated, even though he could be a handful. actually he enjoyed the company of the long haired male but he would never admit it out aloud. "we're ordering chinese food for dinner.. any options?"

"anything's fine with me." changbin responded softly. he got up, dusted the dirt off his jeans and gave hyunjin a small smile, the latter looking at him surprised.

"c'mon let's get going. felix would probably finish everything if we don't hurry up." "o-okay"
changbin stepped back to lock the door of the basement, catching sight of the moth shrouded in the glow of the moon. did it deserve death? no.

deserving things and getting things are two different feelings. in this world, people can suffer through both, the only difference between them is how they take it.

and changbin knew that he would learn to accept it eventually.

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whew, 1.2k words longest intro
i feel i haven't done justice to this chapter. rewrite?
okay now for today's question!
-how do you think the relationship between changbin and woojin is related to the main plot of the story? (spoiler: it is very much related)
see y'all next chapter!
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