Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
eleven.
SOOBIN HEARD RUMMAGING AROUND THE ROOM as he opened his eyes slowly, feeling a throbbing pain in his head. The smell of gasoline littered across the room and as his vision became more vivid, he noticed.
"Wh-what are you doing?" He strained out as he watched Yeonjun dump more liquid on the ground.
The headache became more intense and Soobin groaned in pain, touching his head only to see that his fingers were coated in blood. Then the memories came flooding in.
Yeonjun hit him in the head.
He tried to stand up but noticed that his feet were tied to the pipes underneath the kitchen sink with thick ropes that he recognized were from his garage. His hands were free but considering how he got beaten up, the intense headache, and how his body felt sore, he didn't have the strength to sit up and free himself.
"Where did you get the ropes? Why are you doing this?" Soobin asked Yeonjun in a weak voice.
As he looked up, he met the cold eyes of Yeonjun who was dumping the last bit of liquid from the gallon in his hands. The strong odor of...
"Gasoline..." Soobin whispered in realization, his senses kicking in. "Hyung, why are you doing this? We can solve this—"
"No, you can't."
"Taehyun, Beomgyu, and Hueningkai are right there! They'll call the police. What about our debut? Why?"
"You brought this upon yourself, Soobin," Yeonjun answered coldly, walking away to get something from the table.
"I-I don't understand..."
Yeonjun faced Soobin once again, rattling something in his hand and as Soobin narrowed his eyes to see, he gasped in shock. A matchbox.
"Beomgyu heard your conversation with Taehyun...he told me everything."
"No, no. That wasn't—I didn't mean it. Please let me go." Soobin groaned, trying to push himself off the ground to get a hold of the ropes tied around his feet but his body wouldn't budge.
Everything felt painful for him.
Yeonjun merely watched as Soobin continued to struggle, slowly taking a single matchstick out of the box.
"No, please..."
----
"As a team, we should always stick together and help each other, okay?" Soobin smiled, placing a hand in mid-air to do their group cheer.
"If one of us fails?"
"We'll overcome it together," Yeonjun answered and placed his hand right on top of Soobin's.
The others joined in.
"Forever together, the five of us."
"Always!"
----
Yeonjun swallowed the lump in his throat, feeling tears gather in his eyes as he watched Soobin struggle to break free. As he heard Soobin's desperate pleas to free him, to save him.
Promises, they vowed. Only to be broken.
----
Yeonjun approached Soobin in the corner, he was crying silently, hoping the others wouldn't notice and assume he was just sleeping. But Yeonjun could immediately tell that he was crying from the way his shoulders were slightly trembling.
"Is something wrong?" He asked in a low voice so the others couldn't hear.
Soobin looked up and met the eyes of the older. His nose and cheeks were red, the bags under his eyes awfully noticeable, and his light sniffles showed that he cried. A lot.
"Why are you crying? Shouldn't you be happy?"
"We made it into the final lineup, hyung." Soobin paused. "Yes, I-I am happy...a lot, but I'm also scared. What if people don't like me? What if the fans don't think I deserve to be in the group? I didn't do that well during the final evaluation. I made a mistake. I don't think I deserve to be in this group."
Yeonjun sat down beside him on the floor as he patted Soobin's shoulders comfortingly.
"There are times we may think like that but trust me, PD chose us for a reason. You're an amazing, talented, and kind person, Soobin. Don't think so negatively about yourself."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, I'm sure. Now get some rest, this is only the beginning of our journey. Forever together?"
"The five of us."
----
Yeonjun ignited the matchstick, biting his lips in guilt as he looked at the small flame. Soobin became quiet as he looked at Yeonjun straight in the eye, silently accepting his fate.
"I'm sorry..." he whispered as he looked away.
Then he dropped the matchstick on the floor, igniting the ring of gasoline surrounding the room, lighting every wooden furniture surrounding Soobin on fire. He watched as the flames burned higher, covering his view of Soobin.
The last thing Yeonjun saw was a sad smile gracing Soobin's lips before the flames burned higher, covering his view. A guilty feeling lingered in his chest but he shrugged it off, backing away to go and find Beomgyu so they can escape.
