I'm In Trouble

Clip 36

How stupid. He should have said something after all, stopped him, forced him even if he knew something bad was about to happen. He could tell. Minhyun wouldn't have rejected spending a night with him if he had just asked, just gave him a little pull. Maybe he had it all wrong. It wasn't Minhyun who wanted to stay. Maybe he really wanted Minhyun to come after him instead, to stick with him, to depend on him. To feel needed when no one is left.

"What if I'm the selfish one?" Baekho asked himself but shook his head. Now wasn't the time to be thinking such thoughts. He made his way to Minhyun's apartment to check there first. He opened the door and made a quick round but it was empty as he expected. Jonghyun, think Jonghyun. Where would the other be?

He knew the immediate answer.

~~~

It was quick. One second they were at the front, the next they were in a room at the back with a knife pressed against the pale neck.

"Who the hell told you?" Jonghyun hissed, dropping all his calm smiling demeanor.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe you're just not as good as hiding things as you thought," Minhyun said with a laugh. An almost desperate sounding one but it was also empty sounding.

"All evidences were erased. You don't have any proof that I did anything."

"Oh yeah? Maybe they kept it to blackmail you if you ever went against their back," Minhyun chided. Jonghyun pressed the knife deeper and Minhyun just smiled. "Do it. How does it feel to kill so many people, hmm? Does it excite you?"

"What do you think?"

"I think it turns you on," Minhyun egged him and held Jonghyun's hand. "I think you thrive off it, that's why you wouldn't accept my offer to give you a bigger gig because you don't want it. You don't want the fame, no, you have what you want."

"You're right and you have everything too so why are you doing this? You..." Jonghyun loosened his hold on Minhyun and chuckled when he understood what was going on. It didn't take him long because Jonghyun knew how the face of someone who didn't want to die looked like but Minhyun? His face was the opposite. "You want to die, don't you?"

Minhyun's facade flickered. "I-"

"That's why you're pressuring me. You knew I killed innocent. You knew I would have to kill you too because you know about the accidents." Jonghyun scoffed and Minhyun gulped. "I'm not going to kill you. You don't even have evidence on me."

Minhyun regained his composure and clicked his tongue. "Are you sure?"

"You'll be lying if you think you can trick me."

"Well, what if you just ask the boss himself, hmm?"

Jonghyun frowned and pulled his hand away from Minhyun. "And why should I? I don't need to get myself into unnecessary trouble and you shouldn't either but then again, if a reporter is getting into your case, maybe you should be worried."

Minhyun flinched slightly when he heard the word reporter.

"He might out you and you'll lose everything."

"Baekho isn't like that," Minhyun said and slowly stood up.

"And what would you know about him?"

"More than you do. He's a genuinely nice person and..." Minhyun placed a hand around his own neck. "And I probably hurt him again."

"What's this? Please don't tell me you're actually in love with someone who could ruin you?"

"So what if I am?"

Jonghyun chuckled and flipped the knife in his hand. "Did you know that guy is loaded?"

"Huh?"

"Kang Dongho. His parents left a huge inheritance for him."

Minhyun frowned. "Why do you know that?"

"Because a whole chunk of it went to me."

"How?"

"I can't tell you or I'll have to kill you."

"Kill me then. It doesn't matter to me whether I live or not."

"You've really broken, haven't you?" Jonghyun said and hummed in amusement. "Okay. I'll tell you then." Jonghyun placed the cold metal against Minhyun's neck again and smiled. "Right before they passed away, their will was tampered with. Part of their inheritance went to the company and thus, my payment for getting rid of them came from there."

"They can tamper with wills too?"

"You shouldn't look down on the Choi boss. He's real nasty. He even put a target on his own son just to silence him."

"Choi Minki?"

"Yep."

"You did something to him?"

"Ran right into him. It's not quite what I would like but it's easier for hit and runs to get away with it. They can't trace you if they've got nothing on you."

Minhyun just chuckled as he relaxed, stretching his neck out. "Okay. I get it now."

"You don't get anything."

"I do. You're just doing all this for money, right? A nice house, a nice car. You have this little bar to satisfy your performing needs. Everything is just simple as long as you do as you're told. A loyal dog to the very end."

Jonghyun shrugged. "It's what it is. Don't be bitter about it. You just make your life more complicated than it needs to be. Good night."

Minhyun closed his eyes in response. He felt the knife dig into his skin and made a straight line across it. He expected pain, a lot of it and also difficulty breathing but everything also felt numb at that moment. The very thought that he was finally going to get his wish to die made him let go. It would be a peaceful death.

Or so he thought.

"MINHYUN!"

"What the-"

Minhyun didn't bother opening his eyes. He breathed lowly, feeling warm liquid run down his body. A hand reached up to touch his throat instinctively.

Ah.

A loud crash followed by cursing echoed in his ears loudly but Minhyun just wanted to go to sleep. Everything felt slow and unmoving despite the loud noises booming around him. Noises he couldn't and didn't bother to decipher. The speed in which he was losing blood made him dizzy and he coughed a little, unsure at this point if he was coughing blood either. He couldn't tell apart anything. Everything just felt cold and it was the end of a long arduous journey.

Then he felt arms on his side, moving him to lay down just before he was about to pass out. Something pressed against his throat lightly, followed by a desperate warm voice calling his name. Over and over again.

"Stay with me. Don't go. Minhyun, wake up. Don't leave me alone, please."

Words Minhyun wished he had heard before making this decision.