SOFT BUN || markhyuck

24.

Today I went to explore.

The passage Haechan and I went on a walk on, I extend the length of it and came out in the opening of a long broken old wall. It surrounded the whole area I believed. The grass was burnt- the area gave off the vibe of as if something bad might have happened here. Nothing was alive.

Other than me.

I jumped through the opening down the surface below and walked further. Every sense of mine was on full alert. The rustling of leaves or even a little bit of odd sound- I was willing to kill, anyone or anything. It felt like hours since I've been walking. Deeper and deeper into this wilderness. Pushing branches out of my way; jumping and ducking, it was getting harder and harder to walk. My vision focused on what was in front of me, and never looking for where I was stepping, my feet slipped. Falling face first. It felt like I just fractured my jaw. Groaning in pain.

While I was busy, moaning in pain and regretting every second of the journey to here, I heard desperate weeping all of a sudden. Real shivers went through my whole body. Knowing now that I wasn't actually alone in these deep woods and I wondered if I would even make it back alive to the house considering if I get caught. Standing up slowly, my head felt dizzy. Leaning against a tree to keep my balance- I crouched down a bit and peeked through the bushes. I shuddered in fear and dread when I saw a boy run and fall on the rough ground. His hands and face tied up. I had seen him somewhere before, he felt too familiar.

He screamed and cried for help; moaning in pain and begging for mercy as wild dogs came and shredded him apart. His neck mostly. It wasn't long until he was lying there motionless. I felt like throwing up. I could feel his eyes in my direction. It felt like he was looking through my soul between all these bushes. That light that died out bit by bit.

I ran away.

When I entered the shed of the house, my head began to hurt. The things I saw in the past hour- I still couldn't get my head around it. Those screams. That fear in the eyes. I just dropped hard on the surface; my bed and decided to get some sleep.

It had been more than an hour or so and here I was... still awake.

A door sliding open and shut with footsteps leading away, I figured it was the kid. I wondered what he has been up to the whole day. Come to think of it I haven't seen him for some time. I'll admit honestly I missed him.

I asked some workers where he was. But no one knew.

I followed my only last two hopes; Jaemin or Jeno. One of the two should know where the kid might be. My feet took me to Jeno's room straight away. When I moved my hand to knock the door to his room, he turned the corner of the corridor.

He raised his brows as he saw an unexpected guest at his door. His faces never showed much emotion. 'I was wondering if you might know the kids' whereabouts?'

He stopped a few feet away from me. Watching me for some weird reasons, I couldn't tell what he was thinking about? Was it about me or the kid overall? In the end, he decided to ignore me and moved to open the door. I was forced to take a step back, making room for him. For a second when he took a step inside and was turning to me, his expression looked shocked as he focused at whatever was behind the door. I wondered what it was?

'The bathroom-' his voice brought me back to reality '-I saw him going in that direction' I didn't say anything, rather nodded and moved to the said location.

'You might..' I turned back to him when he raised his voice for me to hear for what he had to say '...think twice before you deal with what you see and the situation overall,' and he closed the door without waiting for my reply. What a jerk.

When I was about to enter the bathroom, I heard silent cries. Cries as if forcefully being stopped so that no one could hear. Cries, that were actually filled with pain. The scene of Jaemin laying on the floor from a few days back flashed my mind and I panicked.

I skipped steps and turned the corner fast to see only the back of the person I was looking for. Clothes wet and dirty. He was standing on the opposite side of the water. The steam from the water gave a foggy atmosphere. The moonlight shined inside from the window he was standing in front of. I swallowed the lump in my throat that formed for some reason and began slowly.

think twice before you deal with what you see and the situation overall

That fucker knew. Was he not planning on telling me about this?

'Haechan...' my voice was barely audible. But he heard- he heard and flinched, turning back towards my direction while taking a step back. At first, I couldn't make out how bad his appearance looked. But when I stepped inside the water and moved to him, those purple wounds on his neck that disappeared in his shirt made my heart skip a beat.

He shook his head crying, begging me not to come close to him. So I stayed a bit away, giving him his space. I wanted him to trust me. No, I needed him to trust me.

'Go away!' he screamed, slapping his hand on the water. The splash wasn't enough to force me away but I was surprised with his voice being this loud for the first time. Yet who was I to tell him anything about it?

I tried again. 'hey... it's just me,' I took a step forward.

'I don't care...' he muttered. '- I don't care anymore! You promised!' he pointed his finger at me. I grabbed his hand in return and brought it to my face, kissing it. Seconds after, I received a slap. He pulled his hand back and started hitting me. Where was all this coming from? He screamed more and more. But I never stopped him. He needed this. He needed to get all that frustration out of him and this was my only chance to let it happen.

'Liar!' It started to sting in some areas. But I didn't do anything. Maybe I deserved it. He grabbed my collars and looked me in the eyes finally. Both our chests moving up and down. His chin trembled as he spoke, trying his best not to let the tears that were in his eyes fall down any further. 'I hate you...'

I glanced down on his neck. Moving my hand up trying to see it all. 'Don't touch me!'

'Who did this?' those weren't just scars, they were hickeys.

'I won't tell you,' he looked terrible. It wasn't long when I saw a mark on his arm. It was like something made from a needle.

'Did they give you something?' he was definitely drugged. He spat on my face. My emotions were getting out of hand, as anger finally began to come out of its hiding. I clenched my jaw, trying my best not to say something fucked up.

'They took turns,' tears rolled down his cheeks as he leaned back a bit and laughed. Why were humans so unfair? What did he ever do to deserve this kind of life? I sniffed and tried to unbutton his shirt again. I wanted to see even though the sight that was in front showed more than enough, I wanted to see how much I had to rip those people apart. 'I called out for you,' he kept talking further. I slid the shirt off from his shoulder and let it float away. 'You left me,'

I couldn't say anything. I couldn't do anything; I couldn't go to the past and stop this from happening. I was a fool.