ATEEZ 9th Member AU

Anniversary Pt. 2

Nari tells the boys about the night her parents died

She opened her eyes and looked at all the members around her. They were all eager to know, she could tell that much. However, no one rushed her to begin. They all sat, patiently waiting until she was ready. She didn't believe she would ever be ready, but she had to keep reminding herself that this was truly her family now, she had no one else. She took another deep breath and started to talk, voice cracking a little. Oh god, how she did not want to relive that horrible night.

"Uhm, I don't know if the company told you all anything about my past. But my parents are dead. They're not alive." She heard a few gasps and felt someone grab her hand. She let them lace their fingers through hers and squeezed. She closed her eyes and began talking again. "You all already know that I lived in America for a long time before I came here. In Hawaii. I was little. Maybe 6 or 7. My parents and I were enjoying the night, walking around the city. My dad was supposed to be going somewhere for a while for work and they wanted to have a family night before he left. I remember running around and laughing, getting ice cream with them and my dad buying me a stuffed cheetah. He always said that I was to hyper and moved to fast." She laughed a little at the memory. "That's the one you keep on your bed, isn't it?" Yunho asked curiously and Nari nodded. "It is. I named him Keoni, after my dad."

She continued on, wanting to get this over with. The memories were going to come back in full swing, and she knew she would only have seconds to run to her room before she started to panic. She squeezed whoever's hand she was holding tighter and felt a light squeeze back. "We were in a store, I don't remember what store or why, and s-someone came in. With a g-gun. They wanted money." Her voice was cracking, and she squeezed the hand even tighter. "My dad told us to get down, he was trying to shield me and my mom and keep all of us hidden. Safe. But I was stupid. In the chaos and franticness, I had dropped the stuffed leopard. I wanted it back and I was trying to wriggle out of my father's grasp and I did." The room was silent, you could hear a pin drop. It sounded like no one was even daring to take a breath of air.

"When you're ready, love." Hongjoong said, softly; gently placing his hand on her shoulder and giving it a squeeze. She nodded, willing the tears to stay away, willing the panic to subside just long enough to make it to her bed. "My dad came after me, trying to stop me. But I ran out, in the open. In front of the gunmen, to grab the stupid leopard. They turned their guns on me; they didn't know we were in the store. They didn't want anyone to be a witness in case they got caught. M-my d-d-dad jumped in front of me." Nari couldn't help it at this point. The tears were streaming down her face and she squeezed her eyes shut, trying to make the flashbacks stop. It was like she was living it all over again.

"My m-m-mom screamed. There was so much blood. On me, on t-the floor. She grabbed me to s-shield me. A-and they; t-they shot h-her." She knew she was full on ugly crying at this point and she could no longer feel the hand she was holding onto even though Yeosang had never let go. "There was b-blood everywhere. The police showed up and got them. Then I m-moved here to K-Korea with my grandparents. They; t-they hated me. They blamed me. I b-blame me. I'm the reason they're gone!" She was not in the room with ATEEZ anymore. She was lost in her memories. Her breathing became ragged and she felt like she couldn't get a breath in. She could hear the screaming, hear the gunshots. Feel the pain of the bullet that went through her mother and grazed her stomach. She bore an ugly scar and she felt like it was burning. She reached her hands up and gripped her hair. Mumbling "I'm sorry," over and over again.

The boys were shocked, upset, hurt. The company had never told them this. Never even told them that her parents were dead. They had no idea that it was today and how much you have probably struggled today without them having a clue. Yeosang awkwardly, but carefully reached for your wrists, trying to unclasp your hands from your hair. He felt terrible, but he had no clue what to do in this situation. All he knew was that you needed someone and he didn't want you to feel like they had abandoned you. Seonghwa immediately put his arm around her shoulders, gently pulling her into him. Nari had no idea any of this was happening. She was reliving her worst nightmare.

San immediately was in front of her, softly singing. Yeosang almost had a death grip on her wrists, not wanting her to pull out her hair. "Nari, baby," San cooed softly. He wiped some tears with the sleeve of his shirt. "I need you to open your eyes and look at me, Nari. Open them and look at me. Focus on my voice." Nari's eyes slowly opened but they were frantic, moving back and forth trying to get a sense of her surroundings. Seonghwa held on tighter, "listen to me, little love. You're okay, we're all here. We're all so happy you're here with us. We wouldn't be what we are without you. We're so happy you lived through that to come and find us. Focus on San, in front of you. You can do this, Nari. We're right here."

Slowly but surely Nari gained her senses back. She was embarrassed, but she was too exhausted to care at this point. Everyone hugged her and she couldn't understand why Yeosang was gripping her wrists. "I didn't want you to pull your hair out," he said, looking away. "Oh. Thanks." She said, falling limp into Seonghwa's side. "Let's sleep, little love. I'll take you to bed." Seonghwa said softly, and San helped him carry her to her bed. She laid down and felt the bed dip beside her. She turned her head just enough to see who it was and when she saw it was San, she turned fully, burying her face into his chest. He clung on to her, kissing her forehead and whispering sweet nothings into her ear. Nari fell asleep a few minutes later, too tired to cry and talk anymore.

Yeosang came in and covered Nari and San with an extra blanket, bringing San an extra pillow too. "Thank you, Yeosang-ie." He said softly and Yeosang just smiled and left to his room for the night. San kissed the top of Nari's head again, gently running his fingers through her hair. "I am so happy, so happy you're here with us, Nari. We love you, all of us. But I love you the most." He sighed, closing his eyes and falling asleep with Nari clinging to him like an octopus.

He was happy she wasn't awake, because he really did love her the most out of all of them. More than she would ever know.