The Party That Killed || Hyunlix

+Bonus scenes (83 🕸️)

Seungmin and Jeongin stood in front of the visitor room doors at the psychiatric facility.
Seungmin felt his heart speed up, but he took a deep breath and looked at Jeongin, who gave him a reassuring nod. Finally, he pressed down on the door handle, and they both stepped inside.

Chan was sitting at a small table, spinning a plastic cup of water between his fingers. When he saw them, he looked up and a faint smile appeared on his face. He looked clearly tired, but his eyes held a bit more warmth than before.

“I didn’t think I’d ever see you again,” he said quietly, looking at Seungmin.

“I had to come,” Seungmin replied, sitting down across from him. Jeongin sat beside him, feeling that even though it wasn’t his conversation, he should be there. “I know everything now. I know why it all happened.”

Chan sighed and leaned forward slightly. “And you’re still here?”

“Because I don’t hold anything against you anymore,” Seungmin said firmly. “I know your story, and I know you did what you thought was the only way out. I’m not justifying it, but I understand.”

Chan lowered his gaze, then let out a quiet laugh, though there was more sadness than amusement in his voice. “You know, I can’t even remember the last time someone said something like that to me.”

“I heard you’re getting out next week,” Seungmin continued. “You have a chance to start over.”

Chan was silent for a moment, as if trying to digest those words. Finally, he nodded.

“Maybe,” he murmured. “Or maybe I don’t know how to.”

Jeongin, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke up. “You don’t have to know right away. But you have a future ahead of you. That’s more than many others had.”

Chan looked at him in slight surprise, then back at Seungmin.

“You think all of this can be fixed?”

Seungmin gave a small smile. “Maybe not everything. But something can always be rebuilt.”

Chan nodded and watched them in silence for a moment. After a while, he sighed, and a hint of hope crossed his face.

“Thanks for coming. Really.”

“No need to thank us,” Seungmin said. “See you around, Chan.”

They stood up and headed for the exit, and Chan watched them go, as if for the first time in a long time he felt like something more than just emptiness might be waiting for him outside those walls.

≈🎃≈

Minho and Jisung sat on the beach, surrounded by the cool night air.
The sea in front of them rolled gently, and the stars above their heads stretched all the way to the horizon. The soft sound of the waves was the only thing breaking the silence between them.

Jisung grabbed a handful of sand and let it run between his fingers. “It’s a weird feeling, isn’t it?” he asked quietly, glancing at Minho. “That it’s all over. That we can just sit here and not worry about what comes next.”

Minho looked at him from the corner of his eye and gave a slight smile. “Yeah, but you know what? I think we’ve earned this. All of us.”

Jisung let out a soft laugh, turning toward Minho. “Of course, you go all wise on me every time we have a serious talk.”

Minho rolled his eyes, but his smile grew wider. “I just know that now we can live the way we want. No running, no fear, no secrets. And seriously, Jisung... I’m glad we went through it together.”

Jisung looked down at the sand, but after a moment his hand gently brushed Minho’s. “Me too. And… thanks for never leaving me. Even when I was being an idiot.”

Minho laughed and shook his head. “You were an idiot, that’s true. But you were my idiot.”

Jisung snorted with laughter, giving Minho a playful shove on the arm. “Hey! Okay, fine, maybe a little. But you had your moments too.”

They sat in silence a little longer, letting the sound of the waves wrap around them. Finally, Minho sighed and stood up, brushing sand off his pants. “Come on. The others are probably waiting for us.”

Jisung took one last look at the star-filled sky and stood up, smiling to himself. “Yeah. Let’s go.”