Jisung woke a second time.
This time it was early afternoon. He wondered how he had slept this late, and why no one had woken him up. Usually Sicheng would prod him gently and tell him to eat.
Jisung wandered around the quiet studio. Donghyuck was no longer on the couch. There was no sign of Chenle, Donghyuck, Sicheng, Yuta, Jeno, or Yukhei. The whole place was silent, aside from the sound of his own footsteps.
The studio seemed to take on an eerie vibe. Jisung's head was pounding and the sound of his own breathing was beginning to irritate him. His footsteps now seemed ubiquitous. His hair stood up on the back of his neck and he froze in place.
Sitting at the desk in front of him, the one where Yukhei sat and sorted out their finds from when he and Jisung would go out scavenging, was Renjun.
Renjun sat with one leg crossed over the other. His hands were folded on the desk, and he looked up at Jisung like he had been waiting.
He smiled. "You've grown up."
Jisung blinked. "You . . . you're dead."
Renjun furrowed his brows. "Well I'm here, aren't I? I can't be here if I'm dead."
Jisung looked around the room for any indication that he was dreaming, but his vision was all messed up. Everything swam before him and he felt like he would collapse at any second. He wasn't moving, but the sudden dizziness made him nauseous.
He looked back at Renjun. He looked different. His face was slimmer, his jawline sharper. His eyes seemed shone brightly in the sunlight that seeped through the boarded up windows. His hair was dark brown instead of blonde, as it was the last time Jisung had seen him. His skin was dark and glowing, his cheeks twinged with red. He looked alive and better than ever. His shoulders were slightly broader (still pretty slim though) and when he stood, he was slightly taller. Not by much, but Jisung wasn't about to point that out.
Jisung swallowed hard. He suddenly remembered the crush he used to have on Renjun a couple years ago.
Jisung was in grade seven, and Renjun was in grade nine. Renjun wasn't the best looking kid, but in Jisung's eyes, he was everything. Jisung used to gush over him to Chenle all the time, and Chenle would just smile and tease him.
Back then, Renjun had crooked teeth and acne, choppy, unkept, bright orange hair, and wore the ugliest sweaters. Thinking back on it, he almost laughed. But Jisung's crush developed when he stayed after school to work on an extra credit assignment for art class, and Renjun was finishing up his own painting for the art show. After that, Jisung stayed after every Tuesday just to see Renjun.
His crush was short lived, though. A few months passed, and Jisung had already forgotten all about Renjun until Chenle befriended him and the two bonded over being foreigners and sharing a mutual irritation of Jaemin and Jeno's lovey-dovey grossness. And when Jisung got to know Renjun, he couldn't imagine ever actually being with him. Renjun was a great friend, but Jisung would rather cut out his own tongue than date him. Plus, he was pretty sure Renjun was aromantic. He never asked.
"If you aren't dead, then where the fuck have you been?"
"Around," He said. Renjun stepped around Jisung and looked through two of the boards on the window. "Where is everyone? I really miss Jaemin, where is he?"
Jisung shifted his weight nervously. "He's not here right now. I don't know where anyone is."
Renjun didn't seem to be listening. His eyes narrowed as he continued to stare outside. Suddenly, he pulled away from the window and spun around to face Jisung. "Who's that outside?"
Jisung shuffled forward and took Renjun's place at the window and looked out. Outside, Jeno stood with three strangers. Jisung's heart raced in his chest as he stared.
"Mobs," Renjun hissed in his ear. "Jeno's unarmed."
"But . . . they're just standing there," Jisung said. "I don't think-"
"Don't trust anyone, Jisung," Renjun walked back over to Yukhei's desk and pulled a long wire out of one of the drawers. "Don't worry. I'll take care of it."
"What? Renjun, wait-" Jisung sprinted after him. Renjun pushed the door open, but Jeno didn't seem to notice him. Jeno locked eyes with Jisung and tilted his head in confusion.
Renjun had been "dead" for over a year, and Jeno didn't find that strange? He didn't even look at Renjun as he marched towards the group. Jisung quickly followed, but before Jisung could say anything, Renjun lunged towards the closest stranger and tugged the wire around his neck.
Jisung grabbed Renjun and tried to pull him back. He reached around and tried to work his fingers into Renjun's hand, straining to loosen his grip on the wire.
As Jisung struggled, Jeno ran over and grabbed him. Jisung could see him yelling but all he heard was ringing in his ears, like someone had shot a gun on either side of his head.
Jeno tried to pull him back, but Jisung refused to let go of Renjun. He could just let Renjun kill a (presumably) innocent man. He felt blood dribbling down on to his hands, creating a sticky mess. Jisung's stomach churned, but he only squeezed Renjun's hands harder. At this point, he didn't care if he broke Renjun's hands, he just wanted to make him let go.
The stranger was struggling, arms reaching behind him to try and hit Renjun anywhere he could reach, but nothing phased him. Renjun didn't budge. The stranger choked and spluttered, moving his hands away from Renjun and instead, up to the wire that was slowly sinking into his skin.
"Jisung, stop!" Jeno shouted just as the ringing in Jisung's ears suddenly stopped. Jeno gave up on pulling him off Renjun, and instead shoved his elbow into Jisung's spine. Jisung fell to the ground.
The stranger hit the ground just after Jisung did. Jeno grabbed Jisung by his arms and dragged him away from the stranger struggling to catch his breath on the ground.
Jisung looked around wildly. Yuta and Yukhei must have just arrived, as they were out of breath like they had run back from somewhere. Sicheng stood in the doorway, which Jisung found strange-he could have sworn the studio was empty before-Donghyuck stood a few feet away from him, and the two other strangers knelt beside the third. Chenle appeared from behind Yuta and stared at Jisung. His eyes were wide with fear, tears streaming down his cheeks.
Jisung forced himself to look away from Chenle, and instead, down at his hands. His heart nearly stopped. His breathing hitched and he suddenly felt like he was about to be sick.
In them, he clutched the bloody wire, and Renjun was nowhere to be found.
