ROOM ━ stray kids ✓

11. ebrious

Jeongin didn't remember who called the police, and he didn't recall the door being broken down. He didn't feel himself be lifted up by Minho, all he felt was numb.

He, Yang Jeongin, had just killed someone.

Felix began to cry as soon as they were finally out of that room, bawling his eyes out into Changbins chest because they were alive.

It had been 72 hours since anyone had seen or heard from them, and the reunion with their parents was bittersweet.

It was awful, seeing the light leave the eyes of the parents of Chan, Woojin, Hyunjin, and Seungmin, when they realized that their children were absent from the survivors.

It was Felix who explained everything to the police, as he was functioning the best out of everyone. Jeongin was too frozen, too shocked to do anything. Minho was being brought to the hospital with a concussion, a broken nose, and 3 broken ribs. Along with Changbin, who's neck was a blossoming blue and purple.

"He had no choice. Jisung was going to kill all of us if Jeongin didn't intervene," Felix said, once the police found out that it was the youngest who had killed their murderer.

Jeongin spent the following days wrapped up in a blanket, sitting on Minhos hospital bed. Jeongin was also emitted there, but every time he was alone and closed his eyes, all that he could see and hear was Jisungs neck snapping in his hands.

He spent a lot of time crying.

Night after night, all were haunted with dreams— nightmares, flashbacks— of the terrors that they had just experienced. No one ever mentioned who they'd lost, but everyone thought about them.

Seungmin and Hyunjin were buried beside each other, as they would have wanted. Their gravestones were simple, yet they were a certain type of elegant, just like the boys had been.

Woojin's body, although barely recognizable, was recovered and given a proper burial.

Chan, however, was not so lucky, and his body was never found. His family buried an empty casket. 

Jeongin cried some more.

No one knew how to comfort the boy. They'd all been through the same horrors, together, but Jeongin was haunted by a sickening crack and Jisungs unliving figure, still  smiling.

Not the eerie, manic smile, but a small, genuine one. The type that they all used to take comfort in.

Jisung had been smiling until the very end.

Changbin, even though it had been Jisung who'd gotten them into that mess, insisted that he also got a proper funeral and a burial. Engraved in the boys gravestone was,

"May the darkness within you, find peace in the light." 

That one had been Minhos idea.

Slowly, the others began to recover. They were allowed to go home, and Jeongins new spot became curling in a ball at the foot of Felix's bed. He'd only leave for meals and the occasional shower, but otherwise he just laid there, staring at the bed blankly.

Counseling was going well for the others, but Jeongin refused to go. He only talked to Felix, and when he did it was in small murmurs and quiet "yes"s and "no"s. 

Eventually, Minho had enough.

"Jeongin."

The boy flickered his eyes over to the elder boy briefly, a sign that Minho had his attention.

"This isn't healthy. Why don't you come downstairs and watch a movie with the rest of us?" He asked softly, leaning against the doorframe. 

The rest of us. Jeongin remained quiet. The rest of us would mean all of them, but there never would be all of them ever again. 

"Please?" Minho said almost desperately. 

It hurt him to see his friend like this, especially since Jeongin was refusing help with his mental health. He was dying before all of their eyes and no one could do anything about it. 

"Felix's mom ordered pizza," Minho tried again, knowing that that was the youngers favorite. 

Pizza. 

The last time Jeongin had had pizza was during his sleepover with Seungmin before things went to hell. The thought of ever eating it again made him feel sick. 

"I don't want any," Jeongin mumbled quietly. 

"Come on.. we never see you anymore," Minho begged. "We're all worried."

"Then stop worrying," Jeongin said bluntly. 

Minho, defeated, walked downstairs. 

Lee Minho had always been a quiet boy, keeping to himself but always smiling around his friends. His friends were the best part of him, always knowing how to make him feel better when he was down. He happened to be down a lot lately, as he was having financial struggles at home. His mother was sick, and he had to go to extreme lengths to get money. 

His friends were always honest with him, telling him all their secrets and trusting him. They hid nothing from one another.

But Minho was a liar.

_________________________________

word count: 807

Opinions?

There's only one chapter left and a lot to reveal. :)