Angel ✦ Nomin

03

Jisung swings his and Chenle's hands as he holds on tight.

"You know, I really expected Friday the 13th to be a lot scarier," he speaks suddenly with a wide smirk on his face.

"What? It was terrifying!" Chenle exclaims wildly.

"I knew you'd think that," Jisung admits, "That's exactly why I chose it."

"You wanted me to be scared and cling to you the whole time?" Chenle asks incredulously. Jisung glances at him, his grin growing much wider at his cheekiness. Chenle chuckles at this and swats the taller's arm with his free hand. "You absolute douche," he jokes, causing Jisung to laugh. The taller boy leans into Chenle and pecks his cheek.

Suddenly, Jisung hears the loud purr of a vehicle going slowly. He glances over his shoulder and spots a black van a short distance away from them, driving at a very convenient speed so that it doesn't pass them, but it doesn't fall behind.

"So I was thinking that tomorrow we could tell our parents we're going to the arcade, but we meet up at the bridge and spend some...alone time," Chenle suggests, redirecting Jisung's attention.

"Another secret getaway to have a make out session?" Jisung asks rhetorically with a laugh.

"It's not like we can just do it publicly," Chenle sighs.

"I know. I'm not complaining about your idea. I actually don't mind it," Jisung retorts, "Besides, how could I resist?"

The two boys come to a halt as Jisung leans in and crashes his lips into Chenle's. The latter kisses back needily as he captures the tall boy's face in his soft hands.

But the kiss is cut short.

The sound of a car abruptly parking and the doors opening and slamming shut startles the boys. They watch as two men in all black with ski masks over their faces approach them with guns pointed directly at them.

"Don't try to run, or we'll shoot," one of the men bellows with a very scruffy voice, "Give us your money. All of it."

"J-Jisung," Chenle stammers as their eyes meet.

"I said give us your money!" the man snaps, his voice raising.

"Do it," Jisung breathes as he starts to reach into the front pocket of his jeans. He withdraws his leather wallet, but Chenle hesitates.

"Y-your wallet!" the second man stammers as the hand which he holds his gun in twitches, causing Jisung's breath to catch in his throat.

"Chenle, just do it," he manages to whisper, and the older boy shakily reaches into his pocket and pulls out a black velcro wallet.

Jisung compliantly hands the man in front of him his wallet, and Chenle does the same for the man in front of him. The two men then hastily rummage through. One suddenly freezes and slowly looks up towards the other.

"The tall kid is Park Jisung," he says in a dumbfounded manner, "He's that lawyer's son...We've hit the jackpot!"

"H-how much is he carrying?" the other man inquires.

"Not hardly as much as he's worth," the man with the deep voice responds, "Hey, how much is your father willing to pay for your ransom?"

Jisung's stomach drops at the question. The two men then abruptly lunge forward and grab not only him, but Chenle as well. They begin dragging them harshly down the sidewalk.

"Stop struggling!" the man holding Chenle hisses with an air of nervousness about his voice, but Chenle doesn't listen. He proceeds to scream and kick and writhe against the man's grip.

"Chenle! Stop struggling! Don't-"

Jisung's pleas are suddenly cut short at the sound of a gun shot ringing out, deafening his hearing. The proceeding events seem to go by in slow motion.

"Chenle!" he screams at the top of his lungs as he watches the smaller boy's eyes widen. The man holding him lets go and his body collapses to the concrete.

Suddenly, the scene around him starts to dematerialize. Atom by atom, piece by piece, the horrific sight turns into random particles and is blown away by a sort of wind into oblivion until all that remains is an empty white room. A single man with faded red hair stands with his hands clasped together and his lips pursed.

"One more time," Jisung says weakly as a tear falls down his cheek.

"Jisung , you've been at this same scenario about a hundred times. Don't you think that if there was a way to save him, you would have found it by now?" the man sighs.

"Taeyong, just...let me try. I think maybe if I-"

"If you throw your wallet at them and run, the anxious mugger will shoot. That's how Chenle died. It won't work if you try it again," Taeyong cuts him off.

"But maybe if I switch sides with Chenle-"

"You wouldn't have thought to do that when it happened," Taeyong retorts, "You can't just insert hindsight logic into a situation which you didn't know better beforehand. It doesn't work like that."

"But...Taeyong..."

"I'm sorry, Jisung. You couldn't have saved him even if you tried. There's nothing you could've done," Taeyong states with a deep sigh.

"Th-there has to be something..." Jisung responds with a cracking voice. Taeyong frowns and approaches him, his shoes tapping against the ground with each step he takes. He places his hands on the tall boy's biceps and looks at him with solemn eyes.

"You've tried every scenario. If Chenle hadn't been shot running away from those men, he would have been murdered at some other point by them," Taeyong explains, "It's not your fault. It never was."

"Then why did he have to die?" Jisung asks with bloodshot eyes.

"It was just Chenle's time. He was always meant to die on that day from the moment he was born. There's nothing you could've done to stop it," the gentle man informs him, "You should be happy you met him before his life ended, and even more so now that you have a chance to be with him again."

Jisung's brain makes it slow to process Taeyong's words, but as soon as they sink in, he feels his heart grow even heavier. Even if he did all he could to save Chenle, he would have died anyway.

"So what do you say, Jisung? Are you ready to earn your wings?"