GOING BOARDING HOUSE | SEVENTEEN group chat. (Editing)

Destination

"You're fucking with me," Jihoon snapped, his voice tight with frustration. Anyone near him could hear the sharp edge of anger in his tone.

Seokmin winced, taking a cautious look back. "Hyung, it's probably not that bad—"

"Not that bad?" Jihoon cut him off, his eyes narrowing as he glared at Seungcheol. "You dragged us out into the middle of nowhere, to this?" He gestured wildly at the run-down lodge, his patience clearly wearing thin.

Joshua tried to defuse the tension, stepping in with a smile. "Come on, Jihoon. We don't know what it looks like inside yet."

"Relax," Seungcheol said, raising his hands as if to calm everyone. "We're here to have fun, remember?"

"Fun," Jihoon muttered under his breath. "This is bullshit." He crossed his arms, his nerves ticked as he took in the sight of the eerie lodge.

Seungkwan, already irritated, was on the edge. "Shut the fuck up. Nobody asked for your fucking opinion."

Mingyu's eyes narrowed, clearly taken aback. "What the hell, Seungkwan? What's your problem?"

"My problem?" Seungkwan scoffed, arms crossed. "My problem is we're in the middle of nowhere, about to walk into some creepy-ass lodge, and the last thing I need is you adding to the vibe."

Minghao stepped in. Clearly on defense. "The fuck is your problem, Seungkwan?" His voice was sharp, cutting through the tension.

Seungkwan shot him an annoyed glance . "Stay out of it, twink. I'm not in the mood for your bullshit either."

Minghao's eyes flashed with irritation, but he held his ground. "You don't need to take your anger out on him just because you're scared. We're all freaked out, but that doesn't mean you have to be an asshole."

Vernon, sensing the situation was getting worse, raised his hands. "Guys, let's not do this here. We've got enough going on without fighting each other."

And what do you know? That only added to Seungkwan's irritation. He was just agitated. "You too? Vernon, please. Shut the fuck up," he whined, clearly at his breaking point.

Vernon blinked, his hands still raised in a gesture of peace. "I'm just trying to—"

"Trying to what?" Seungkwan cut him off, his voice cracking with frustration. "Make everything better? Well, newsflash, Vernon, it's not working. So, shut up."

Vernon blinked, taken aback by the outburst. "I'm just trying to keep things from getting worse, man."

Jeonghan sighed, stepping in once again. "Seungkwan, we all get it, but Vernon's just trying to help. Don't take it out on him."

Seungkwan clenched his fists, glancing around at the others before letting out a frustrated breath. "Whatever," he muttered, storming off the bus without another word.

Vernon glanced at Joshua, raising an eyebrow. " What did I do?"

The tension in the air grew thicker as everyone exchanged glances, unsure of how to defuse the situation. Even Mingyu, who had sparked the argument, kept quiet, sensing this wasn't the time to push further.

Seungcheol, who had been silent, sighed deeply. "Can we all just calm down and get off this bus? The sooner we deal with whatever's ahead, the sooner we can get back on the road."

Jihoon shot him a glance, that Seunghceol returned.

Joshua sighed under his breath, stepping closer to Vernon. "Maybe let him cool down, yeah?"

Vernon shook his head slightly, stepping back. "Whatever," he muttered, clearly not wanting to make things worse. From the building to now, Seungkwan's been irritated at him for no reason.