Breaking the habit (SEVENTEEN FANFIC)

GABRIELLE

the moon shone its rays on the streets of Seoul, illuminating the beautiful city as people bustled in and out of buildings.

I stared at the buildings that passed by, my thoughts on the events a while ago. I took a deep breath then glanced at Hansol.

"when you were put under, what did you see?"

He cleared his throat "Ji Han-ssi told you everything that I saw"

"are you sure you saw the color of the vehicle?"

"yeah. I saw a flash of orange"

"a hundred percent sure?"

He shot me a dirty look, clearly annoyed by my persistent line of questioning "I saw what I saw"

I shut my eyes. the frustration in my veins intensified. It's like I'm looking at the empty spot of a puzzle. I know that the picture isn't complete and the only way for it to make sense is to search for the missing piece.

But Ji Han wouldn't lie to me. Why would he? This is about his brother. It just doesn't make sense.

But then again, what if he really is lying? What if he knew something and he's being blackmailed to keep it?

Or worse ...

He could be the mastermind. The puppeteer.

I shook the thoughts off my head and let out a harsh breath. I leaned closer to the driver. "drive us to Gangnam-gu"

Hansol grabbed my arm. He glared at me "what the hell are you doing?"

"visiting your dorm"

"why?!"

"I just ..." I tugged on the hem of my shirt "I just need to see something"

--

Hansol's body trembled under my hold. He held my hand, silently asking for support as he stumbled towards the dorm. I squeezed it in reassurance.

I stared at the front door, my eyes welling up at the familiar sight.

It's been a long time since I allowed myself to visit this place. After Ji Soo and the others died, there was honestly no point in doing this. It was just like torturing yourself mentally once again. I avoided this place like a damned plague.

I took a deep breath. I can't bear being in there.

The grip on my hand tightened. I glanced at Hansol, his sickly pallor illuminated by the moonlight. His chest rose and fell rapidly.

I clenched my jaw and blinked the tears away. This isn't the time to reminisce or grieve. I have something important to do.

We entered the dorm and I was struck by how everything was left untouched. From Seokmin's humidifier to Mingyu's small TV even to Ji Hoon's guitar, everything is still in it's rightful place.

I was actually half expecting one of them to pop out and tease me like how they always do.

"there"

We stopped in front of the hip hop unit's room. By now, Hansol's teeth were beginning to chatter. I squeezed his hand.

I know how difficult this thing is for him. to relive everything mentally then physically visiting the scene where everything happened.

He hesitated before turning the lock. He began telling me what he saw, his voice shaking as I pretended to be him in that situation.

We ran outside. I stared at the untamed rose bush. This is it.

I told him to stand on the spot where he said the car was.

I ran towards the bush. His eyes widened and before he could even open his mouth to protest, I did the stupidest thing imaginable.

I laid down, the bush cushioning my back as it's thorns pricked my skin. Droplets of blood trickled down the ground.

"what the-?! Ya. Jung Gabrielle—"

"stay there, kid. Don't you dare move a muscle if you don't want me ripping that off"

I ignored the pain and stared at Hansol shoes, trying my best to look up and at least see his shirt. I narrowed my eyes. "are you really sure of what you saw?"

"that again?! I told you. I saw what I saw. Now, stand up. you're hurting yourself"

I rolled my eyes and stood up. he ran towards me, his eyes flashing with worry and disgust at the blood trickling down my upper torso. I gripped his arm.

"there's no way you can see the car's color down there"