The Party That Killed || Hyunlix

32 🕸️

3rd person pov.
The room was enveloped in deep silence, interrupted only by the monotonous ticking of a clock and the soft clearing of an elderly woman's throat as she carefully observed Seungmin. Despite the passing minutes, the boy seemed utterly absent, staring off into the distance, as if a scene invisible to anyone else played out in his mind.

“Seungmin,” she tried to get his attention, waving her hand in front of his face.

He flinched, as if just realizing her presence. “Mhm?” he replied uncertainly, still not fully returning to reality.

“I asked you a question,” she repeated with a patient smile.

“I’m sorry… what was the question?” he responded, embarrassed, avoiding her gaze.

The elderly woman sighed softly, watching him with a mix of concern and understanding. “I can see you’re not in the mood for a conversation today,” she said gently. “Perhaps we’ll try again at our next meeting.”

Seungmin nodded quietly, then gathered his things and left the room, knowing that was all for today. Once in the corridor, he took a deep breath, trying to shake off the weight of the anxiety that had been haunting him.

As soon as he stepped outside, he instinctively reached for his phone and opened an old message from Chan. It was a short note that Chan had written but not sent before the tragedy: “I need to confess something to you, but… I don’t know how to start.”

Seungmin stared at the text, feeling the pain of loss stirring in his heart once more. A month had passed since that moment, but Chan remained ever present in his thoughts, and guilt prevented him from forgetting the events of that night.

Before the tragedy, Seungmin usually stayed close to Jeongin, but now his relationships with the other boys had tightened. Together, they tried to navigate this difficult time, though Seungmin never admitted to them that he felt watched every day and couldn’t shake the feeling that something remained unresolved. Especially at night, when he lay down to sleep, anxiety consumed him to the point that he decided to seek help from a psychologist.

He only told the boys that he wanted to improve his grades and catch up. Although everyone knew Seungmin’s grades didn’t require such intense effort, no one questioned his excuses, and they all pretended to believe him.

In reality, when Seungmin finished his classes, he didn’t go to the library or retake tests. Instead, he attended therapy sessions, hoping they would help him find answers to the questions that tormented him.

Seungmin walked slowly down the hallway, staring at his phone when suddenly a message from Felix came through: “Hey, we’re waiting for you. Are you coming?”

He paused for a moment, quickly replying, “Yes, I’m on my way. I’ll just grab something from my locker.”

He approached his locker and entered the code, trying to ground his thoughts. However, when he opened the door, a small, folded note fell out of his belongings. He furrowed his brow, not remembering leaving anything like that there. With slight hesitation, he picked it up and unfolded it.

On the white paper, written in dark, uneven handwriting, were the words: “You don’t know the whole truth about Chan.”

His heart began to race. A cold shiver ran through him—who could have written this? And how could someone know anything more about Chan? He hesitated for a moment, contemplating whether to tell the other boys about it. Maybe it was just a silly joke? Or perhaps someone was trying to scare them?

For a long moment, he stood there, staring at the message, trying to process its meaning. Finally, feeling the need to share what he found, he tucked the note into his pocket and headed toward where the others were waiting.