~<*>~ Pain in me ~<*>~

Chapter 49

Dino places his bag on the table when he arrives home, he really hopes that Scoups is ready to go by now.
"Scoups, we should leave!" he yells, but there's no response. He rolls his eyes annoyed while he walks over to Scoups' room, but when he opens the door, no one is inside. Scoups' laptop is still open and when he looks at the screen, he sees the footage of a store. Dino frowns confused, why would Scoups look inside a store? But right when Dino wants to shut it off, he sees a message popping up on the screen. His smile widens when he reads it, Scoups got accepted for his job! Dino can't wait to tell him, he will be so excited! But where could Scoups possibly be? Dino guesses he already left to still be the first one to arrive, so he decides to go too. He has to admit that he didn't look forward to this day, but he's glad it's finally here. He knows this is for the best and maybe Scoups will get some rest after today.

When Dino arrives, he notices that everyone is already inside. He smiles while he greets Seungkwan and Vernon, and when he sees Mingyu he gives him a hug.
"Thanks for the M&M's", Dino whispers.
"Thank you for cleaning my apartment", Mingyu responds and Dino can't hold back a chuckle. They break the hug and he looks around to find Scoups, but his roommate is nowhere to be found.
"Where's Scoups?" Dino asks and Vernon shrugs.
"I don't know, we thought you would know where he is", Seungkwan says and Dino feels the panic rising up inside of him.
"No, I went to the store and when I came back he wasn't home anymore. I thought he already left to be here", Dino mumbles worried.
"Where could he be? Should we go looking for him?" Dino asks, but Mingyu shakes his head.
"Scoups is our leader, we need to have faith in him. He will be here in a second, just wait", he says, trying to comfort Dino.
"Okay, if you say so", he answers with a shaky voice, but deep down he isn't okay at all. He feels scared, he knows something is wrong. The only thing is that he doesn't know what.

~<*>~ 

Scoups is already out of breath while he arrives at the store. He decided to run, so he ran all the way here. But now he doesn't know what to do. Will he just kill Woojin? Will he confront him? Will he stalk him? Scoups doesn't know, but he doesn't have more time to think because Woojin suddenly comes out of the store. Scoups gasps as he watches him. Seeing him so close makes his blood boil, why is he here? What does he need that bomb for? He guesses it's not for something good. Scoups isn't sure what to do yet, so he decides to follow him. Strangely, Woojin is going in the woods nearby and he bends down while he takes something out of his pocket. Scoups widens his eyes while he realizes that this is the controller that will set the bomb to explode, which means Woojin is using the bomb right now.
"Only one more", he whispers as he looks down. Scoups can't handle it anymore, so he grabs his gun and aims it at him. Woojin heard the sound and turns around to look at him surprised.
"Oh, there you are", he says with a smile. "I didn't think you would find me, congrats." Scoups clenches his fist and runs up to Woojin, slamming him against a tree. While doing so, the controller and the phone fall out of Woojin's hand and Scoups sees the footage playing on the phone. Four people are standing in a room Scoups knows too well. Woojin is watching his team.
"I wouldn't be here if I were you, you're going to miss the surprise", Woojin says, still with that dirty smile on his face. Scoups yells frustrated while he slams Woojin into the tree again, his gun right under Woojin's chin.
"I did expect more people to be here actually, is this all that's left from your little team?" Woojin asks and Scoups looks at him with anger in his eyes. He wants to kill this man, but something inside of him stops him. Maybe it's because of how last time ended.
"Why don't you just shoot me? Save everyone, be the hero", Woojin challenges him, but Scoups can only focus on his own heavy breathing.
"I see," Woojin says, "you're just a tired, old man. Too weak to fight me." With those words, Woojin slaps the gun away, too far for Scoups to reach. And before Scoups can even react, Woojin punches him in the face, causing him to fall back to the ground.
"Why are you even trying if you can't fight properly?" Woojin asks mocking.
"How did you know we were going to be in there?" Scoups asks and Woojin chuckles.
"Do you really think that I stayed back? I have followed you all in every step you made, I know everything. I didn't know you actually found me, though. You surprised me with that. But I still want my revenge, so wait here while I blow up your friends and then I can kill you." Woojin smiles as he wants to grab the controller, but Scoups gets up and throws his body on Woojin's, making them roll around while they fight. After a few kicks and punches, they seperate and Scoups is still able to stand up.
"You've changed", Scoups mumbles, but Woojin only scoffs.
"No, I haven't. I'm just pissed", he answers while he punches Scoups, causing him to fall down again and he coughs blood. This concerns him, it's probably the lack of sleep that causes him to be so weak. Scoups curses at himself for being so reckless, but he doesn't have the time to stand still. In the meantime, Woojin grabs a knife and the weapon glimmers in the sunlight. Scoups looks around for his gun, but he doesn't see it anywhere.
"I'm just going to have to kill you first, then", Woojin grits through his teeth as he comes running towards him. Scoups manages to dodge the attacks, but he knows he can't hold on much longer. He doesn't have a weapon, so he can't fight back. But then, he grabs Woojin's hand and squeezes so hard that Woojin is forced to drop his knife. Scoups lets go of Woojin's hand to catch the knife, but right at the moment he catches the weapon, he feels a burning pain in his chest. Scoups gasps and falls down on his knees while his free hand grabs his chest and the knife sticking out.
"I'm always one step ahead of you, you should know that by now", Woojin says as he bends down as well. Scoups feels the warm blood leave his body and his sight gets blurry while his body feels numb. He feels the knife falling out of his hand and he feels Woojin pushing him down on his hands, forcing him to lay down on the ground so that the knife sinks in deeper and Scoups gasps for air as he feels the pain rush through his body. Is this the end? Will he die like this? Woojin finally gets up and Scoups forces himself to get back on his knees and hands to lower the pressure on the knife. He coughs up blood while Woojin walks towards the controller laughing. 
"Say bye to your friends, hope you'll see each other in hell", Woojin says as his finger almost hits the button.
"No", Scoups whispers, but there's nothing he can do. This is his fate, he will lose everything he has, even his own life. He will fail to protect his loved ones, not even able to save one. Scoups lets his head hang low, there's nothing he can do. His eyes fill with tears as Woojin laughs.
"You really are weak", he says and then, when Scoups looks back up, he sees Woojin pushing the button. Scoups still weakly stretches his arm out, but it doesn't help. From the phone, he hears an exploding sound and he knows the building exploded. Woojin is laughing like a maniac while Scoups is trying to keep his breathing under control. He has to do something good, even if everyone dies including himself, he should at least be able to kill the one who did this. So Scoups tries to get up, but he's too weak and he falls down again, on his knees. Woojin is still laughing while he bends down again and grabs Scoups' face so that he has to look at him.
"They're dead," he says, "I killed them all." Woojin's laugh sounds in his ears while Scoups clenches his fist. He can't let this monster get away. Scoups slowly wraps his finger around the knife that's laying on the ground while Woojin still holds his face.
"And now you will die, I will end your pathetic, little... Oh!" Woojin gasps as Scoups pushes the knife in his chest.
"I'm cutting your heart, I hope you don't mind", Scoups says while he twists the knife, causing Woojin's body to jerk. The blonde looks at him surprised as the light in his eyes fade, Scoups watches until his very last breath. For a while, Scoups looks at Woojin's dead body. He did it. He finally did it. But he wasn't able to save his team. With all his strength, Scoups gets himself up and he stumbles towards the dance room. He needs every tree, every wall, every bench to help him stand up, but he manages to get to the dance room. When he sees the building, fire everywhere, there's nothing left of it. Devestated, Scoups drops down on his knees, he really failed. But then, he hears footsteps running towards him.
"Scoups!" a very familiar voice yells and Scoups looks up to make sure he isn't dreaming.
"Dino", he whispers with a smile before everything turns black.

~<*>~ 

Dino screams Scoups' name again when he watches him drop down to the floor. Dino's body is filled with terror, he knows something is wrong. The whole group had decided that they should go looking for Scoups and only a minute after they left, Dino heard the building explode. Worried, he ran back to the building and now Scoups is laying down on the floor. He runs towards his roommate and drops to his knees to be closer to him.
"Scoups? Scoups!" Dino yells, trying to get him to wake up. And then suddenly, he sees the knife sticking out of his chest and Dino gasps in panic.
"No, you can't die, don't die!" Dino yells while he shakes Scoups' body. Suddenly, he opens his eyes again and Dino exhales relieved.
"Scoups", he whispers and Scoups has a faint smile on his face.
"I killed Woojin", he says with a raspy voice. "I thought you were..." But Scoups can't finish his sentence because his face grimaces from the pain.
"No, we're okay. We're all okay. You saved us", Dino says and he watches the relieve in Scoups' eyes. Dino can't believe that Scoups is hurt like this, just to protect his team. He immediatly regrets all the fights they had, the fights they had because Scoups tried to protect him.
"Were we ever happy?"
"I was"
Dino really hopes Scoups is happy, and that his happiness will save him. Dino needs him. He needs his leader, his roommate, his friend, his everything. He needs his Scoups. But how painful it is, while Dino watches Scoups in pain, he realizes that Scoups needs rest. He has done so much for them, he is just tired. A tear rolls down Dino's cheek as he strokes Scoups' hair. He gently removes any stray hair from his forehead, calmly bringing them to the side. 
"I will survive", Scoups whispers, "I will survive for you." Dino smiles, but he knows Scoups is struggling to even keep his eyes open right now. His whole shirt is covered in blood, his blood. So Dino sighs, closes his eyes and opens them again. He looks at Scoups, trying to comfort him and he keeps stroking his hair.
"It's okay," Dino whispers, "you have protected us until the very end. It's over. You can rest now." Dino looks at Scoups and once again he sees relief. Relief that he can finally let go, that he can be free and that he can rest. No more worries, no more pain.
"I was happy too", Scoups whispers and Dino smiles through his tears.
"Good", he says and Scoups' eyes slowly become dull as his breathing gets slower too. Dino waits and comforts him until he knows Scoups is in a better place.
"I love you", he whispers while he strokes Scoups' hair one last time. And then, Dino breaks down crying until Mingyu's arms wrap around him.

Five days later, january 27th, Dino is standing outside. His hair is getting ruffled by the wind, but he doesn't mind. He likes to think that it's Scoups, who is still watching over him. And then, Dino looks in the eyes of Kyle, who looks as happy as a child. The gates are opening, Kyle steps outside. His first steps in freedom after so many years. First, Kyle looks around. When his eyes meet Dino's, he's happy at first. Then, he looks confused, but then he starts to realize. 
"Oh, poor child", Kyle whispers as he hugs Dino, who can't keep his tears inside anymore and cries his heart out.