Past, Present and Mafia; SEVENTEEN ✔

twenty one.

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Everyone stared at you in shock, the knife had landed in the wall behind Jihoon. "Next time it won't be the wall."

"Did you seriously just do that?"

Minghao looked at his friend. "You shouldn't have said that, Jihoon."

"She deserved it."

As soon as the words 'she deserved it.', came out of his mouth, you tuned everyone out.

"Don't say stuff like that." Seungcheol snapped. "It's unnecessary."

You aggressively got up from the table and headed for the front door. "Where do you think you're going? We're not done!" Jihoon yelled as he ran into the living room.

"Look, Jihoon, I'm sorry I threw the knife, but you have no right to assume that my adoption parents weren't my real parents. They were better than my biological parents and you obviously don't know what they were like. So, I would like it if you could kindly keep your mouth shut, and not make assumptions about my life. Okay?" You snapped and walked out the door, slamming it behind you.

You walked away from the house and eventually, you found a nice little pond. You were taking deep breaths, thinking that you were all alone, until you heard two female voices.

"So, Jihun came to my house today."

You looked in the direction of the voice and hid behind the tree you were leaning on.

"What did you guys do?" The other asked.

"I kissed him and he kissed me back, then things escalated from there. I mean, can you blame him? I'm irresistible." The girl flipped her hair.

"Kiyo, I know we liked Jihun before Seungbi came along, but making him cheat on her is low and disrespectful."

"Excuse me, Lola? Are you taking her side after she stole our man?!" Kiyo exclaimed.

"It made me upset that we couldn't have him, but I got over it. They had a healthy relationship and you had to ruin it all. You're just jealous that Jihun wanted her instead of you." Lola snapped.

Kiyo scoffed. "You know what, Lola? I can't believe you're insulting me right now. Have fun without me in your life, because we're not friends anymore."

"Good. Maybe I'll make friends that don't treat me so badly."

You sat back and put your head against the bark of the tree. Jihun cheated on you, and Lola stood up for you. Maybe she wasn't that bad?

You began walking home with your head down. It was midnight, and you were surprised to find the door unlocked. You lifted your head as you opened the door, only to see all of the boys waiting for you. As soon as you made eye contact with Seungcheol, you had to try and hold your tears in.

Seungcheol immediately got up, sensing that something was wrong. "What happened?"

"I walked to the woods to cool off, and I heard Kiyo and Lola talking." You took a deep breath. "Kiyo told her that her and Jihun met up and- he cheated on me."

Seungcheol rubbed your back. "I'm so sorry. I didn't think he would do something to hurt you."

"I thought I started to love him, Seungcheol." You whispered.

"I know." He whispered back. "I thought he loved you."

"So, what are you going to do now?" Seungkwan asked.

You pushed your hair away from your face and took a deep breath. "I'm going to confront him about it at school on Monday."

Chan patted your head. "Our youngest is so brave."

"You're just glad you're not the youngest anymore." You flicked his forehead. "And, Jihoon, I'm not mad at you."

Jihoon looked back, a weird expression on his face. "Seriously?"

You started explaining to him why you got so angry, then he told you that your brother explained his side of the story when you left. "He also has something for you."

You turned to face Seungcheol, and he had a small box in his hand. "When I found you that night, I saw a locket on the ground, and it said it was for you. I was going to give it to you when I found you, but luckily the girl I found was you."

He smiled as he handed you the box. You opened the locket and found a picture of you and your adoption parents inside.

"I'm glad that you picked this up." You said. "Thank you."

He ruffled your hair. "Of course."

They started to walk off, but you caught their attention. "Can one of you stay with me?"

"Seungcheol should. Technically, you're still in a relationship." Jeonghan said.

Seungcheol smiled and puffed his chest out. "A brothers embrace is stronger than any man's."

You laughed and said goodnight to the boys, and you and Seungcheol went upstairs. As you got comfortable, you took a deep breath.

"I miss my parents." You said into the silence. "I was so grief ridden that I didn't take the time to realize that it was Bangtan that killed them. They set the house on fire with them inside. They must've been in so much pain, and I wasn't there to help them in the way they were always there for me."

Seungcheol leaned forward in the chair. "You and I both know that you can't blame yourself for that. I know that's such a common thing that's said, but I'm serious. There are only seven people at fault for that, and we know who they are. Your parents know that you would've tried your hardest to help them if you got there in time."

"But I was there in time. The house burst into flames when I got there, and Bangtan pulled me back when I tried to get inside. I didn't fight hard enough."

"I saw that fire, Seungbi. It was big, and you might not have made it out either."

You nodded. "I'm glad that you were there. Staying here has been an aid to the process."

"I'll always be here for you."

As you fell asleep, he stayed up to make sure you fell asleep comfortably, and then some more after that to make sure you were safe.

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