Saviors

15

   "We're here!" Someone shouted. Jihoon woke with a start. He quickly checked his phone, it read 9:12. Wow. Only three hours left. Soonyoung dragged Jihoon out of the bus by the arm.

   "Aren't you excited?!"

   "Y-yeah." Soonyoung was jumping all around him.

   They were ushered in through a back door because fans were already lined up in the front of the building. All thirteen of them were pushed into a room that had the word Seventeen written in big block letters. It was their dressing room. Some of the members' faces paled because now, it suddenly felt so much more real. It was their showcase. Their first concert. What if people didn't like them? What if Seventeen didn't get popular? What would happen then?

   Some members sat down to get makeup done, others were handed costumes. Jihoon was one of the ones handed clothing first. He scanned the room.

   "Come on, hurry, you need to get dressed!" Someone yelled at him. He shrank away. There was no where to change, except out in the open. He walked into an unoccupied corner, as if in slow motion. Jihoon looked around. No one was looking at him. Quickly now, he pulled off his shirt and put on the one they gave him. He looked around again. No one. Next he changed his pants. Mission success! Jihoon sighed in relief. He got his makeup done then sat down next to his members that were already finished. They conversed quietly until the rest of the members were finished.

Jihoon was normally quiet so it gave him a chance to observe his members. He always knew when something was off, but that didn't change the fact that he didn't know what to do when something was off. So he noticed. He noticed when one of the most talkative members didn't talk. At all.

He stared at Seokmin, who avoided eye contact with Jihoon. Once in a while he would look at Jihoon, then quickly look away. No one else noticed. Jihoon frowned then decided to put it out of his mind, for now.

It was time. They were guided backstage. Seungcheol looked at everyone and put his hand in the middle of the circle they created. The rest of Seventeen joined in.

"One... Two... Three... Fighting!" Then they stepped onto the stage. The lights blinded them for a second, then, the music started.

   They held their positions from the last song and the crowd erupted into noise. They were cheering for them. They did good. Still holding the ending position, all of Seventeen breathed a sigh of relief. It was over. It was done. They bowed and greeted the crowd.

   "Annyeonghaseyo! I'm S.Coups, the leader of Seventeen and the hip hop team. Nice to meet you!" The crowd cheered after the rest of the hip hop team introduced themselves.

   "Annyeong! I'm Hoshi, the leader of the performance team!" Again, more cheering.

   "Annyeonghaseyo. My name is Woozi. I am the leader of the vocal team and I write our songs. I'm glad we got to perform for all of you today." Jihoon smiled warmly and the rest of Seventeen introduced themselves. They said their goodbyes and ran off stage.

   "Nice job everyone! We did great! Only..." Seungcheol paused, "Seokmin, are you okay? You fumbled a bit and you look a little out of it." Seokmin looked up in shock.

   "Huh? Y-yeah, um, Ne I'm fine Hyung." He looked away again. That's strange. I wonder what's wrong.

   "Alright, if you're sure." Seungcheol said skeptically. Seokmin nodded.

   They changed out of their stage clothes and went home. Once their, Seungkwan flopped onto the couch dramatically.

   "I could sleep for a million years." He whined.

   "Hyung, what about food?" Vernon asked, sitting down next to him.

   "Oh yeah, food first. To the kitchen!" He immediately sprang up and ran to the fridge, which he opened and kneeled in front of, bathing in its yellow light. Vernon got up and followed him.

   Jihoon yawned and sat on the couch, stretching. The rest of the couch was soon filled up with tired members who squeezed in next to him.

   "We should get cleaned up then go out to eat. Seungkwan, step away from the fridge."

   "Aw but Seungcheol Hyung! I'm hungry!"

   "Just wait until we go out. We'll get some really nice food."

   "Fine." Seungkwan sat down and pouted, trying not to smile at his laughing members.

   "Who wants to shower first? We should go in groups of three or something." Jihoon gulped, silently hoping that someone would raise their hand so he wouldn't get put into a group. Luckily, Mingyu and Chan raised their hands, followed quickly by Wonwoo. "Alright, you three go. We'll decide the next three once you're gone." The got up and ran to the bathroom.

   "I want to go next." Jeonghan said.

   "Me too."

   "Alright, then the three oldest will go." Seungcheol decided. "Who will go next?" Vernon, Minghao, and Jun raised their hands. "Okay, then..." Soonyoung, Seokmin, and Seungkwan raised their hands.

   "Jihoon, do you want to join a group? Being the last one will get you cold water."

   "That's fine Jun Hyung. I'd rather shower by myself." He said quietly.

   They sat back and waited for the first group to finish. Then the second. Then the third. Then the fourth. Eventually it was Jihoon's turn. The water that came out of the nozzle was cold and hardly any soap was left. Jihoon sighed but stepped in anyway. He wasn't going to give up solitude for hot water.

   Jihoon stepped out into the hall, already dressed. His hair was still slightly damp but it would dry on the way there. The hallway was empty except for him, until Seokmin came around the corner.

   "H-Hyung." He said in surprise.

   "Hi Seokmin. What are you doing?" He stared at Jihoon, mouth parted like a fish out of water. He looked like he wanted to say something. He closed his mouth and gulped. "What's wrong?"

   "You-I-I saw."

   "Saw what?" Now Jihoon was confused.

   "In the dressing room. I saw. I saw y-your scars. Your body was lined with them." Jihoon's eyes opened wide and his mouth dropped open in shock.

   "Hyung, what are they from?! There are so many." He mumbled the last part almost too quietly for Jihoon to hear. Almost. Jihoon didn't move, he just stared at Seokmin in shock. H-he saw? I thought no one saw. "What are they from?" Seokmin asked again, only louder. Jihoon closed his mouth and stepped back. He hit the door with his back. "Hyung."

   "No."

   "What do you-"

   "No! It's none of your business!" Jihoon pushed past him, his eyes still wide open in shock. He joined the rest of his members, who were waiting for them in the living room.

   "Where's Seokmin Hyung?" Mingyu asked.

   "He's coming." Jihoon mumbled. He sat down on the arm of the couch and looked at the ground. The members nodded and went back to their conversation.

   Seokmin walked slowly into the living room, head down. His eyes were wide, as if he had seen something that he shouldn't have. And he had.

   "Alright, now that we're all here, let's go!" Seungcheol said excitedly, oblivious to the two shell-shocked members.