A SEVENTEEN MYSTERY (Seventeen Fanfic)

CHAPTER 7

It was fifteen minutes before the next round ended. Soonyoung and Jun had helped Dokyeom back into the living room. He was so shaky he could barely stand. 

"His ring was stolen?" Jeonghan asks. 

"Yes, right off his finger," Jun replies. "He's really upset about it."

Jeonghan was perplexed. Why on earth would they go out of their way to take that from him? Was it an act? Or was it really to break Dokyeom down? 

"Hmm," Vernon says, clenching his jaw. "How do we know someone even took it? What if Dokyeom just took it off and threw it?" 

Dokyeom looks up at Vernon angrily. "Why on EARTH would I do that?!" 

"So we give you sympathy, again." 

Dokyeom gets more and more furious, his face growing red. "I WOULD NEVER THROW MY OWN WEDDING RING AWAY! THAT'S THE THING THAT KEEPS ME SOMEWHAT CALM!" 

"Alright, settle down," Seungcheol says. "We don't have much time. We have to pick someone." 

They all look at Dokyeom. He throws his hands up, tears streaming down his face. 

"Fine, just fine. Do it. Then you'll feel bad once you find out I'm innocent. Just do it." 

Soonyoung frowns. "Guys, I don't think it's Dokyeom." 

"Why not?" Vernon protests. 

"Look... I don't know how to explain it," Soonyoung says. "He just seems genuine to me. And you know, he showed me pictures of him with his kids, and just..." Soonyoung was having trouble forming an argument. "It just seems too obvious, you know?" 

Jeonghan had to admit, Soonyoung had a point. Dokyeom was over the top, so he was either a bad actor, or a really emotional person. 

"And then there's you," Jun says. "I have to admit Soonyoung, you have been quite suspicious to me since the beginning." 

This was the first time Soonyoung had really been accused. He blinks. "What? Why?" 

"You are always by Dokyeom's side, and you see what this is doing to him," Jun says. "You even tried to follow him into the dining room. You were the last person he saw before his ring was supposedly stolen." His eyes flash with realization. "Could there be two mafias?" 

Everyone goes silent. 

"No, they said there was only one!" Chan exclaims. "If there were two..." he didn't know what to say. 

"I don't think there's two," Jeonghan says, supporting Chan's unfinished statement. "They said one of us is mafia, not two. If it's a lie, then we just gotta keep trying. That really doesn't change much." He turns to Jun. "And, back to what you were saying, I agree. Soonyoung was the first one here, then myself." 

The others gasp. "What did they say to you when you arrived? Did anything happen?" Mingyu blurts out, eyes wide. 

Soonyoung blinks and looks at Jeonghan as if he had been betrayed. "I arrived, took my suitcase upstairs, and made my way into the common area." He gestures to the drink station. "I came over here and got myself a drink, and not five minutes later did you walk in." 

"They didn't say anything to you?" Jun asks skeptically. 

"Well, they were normal!" Soonyoung says irritably. "Choi asked to take my coat, which I let him, then I put my own stuff upstairs." 

"How do we know you're not lying?" Minghao asks. 

Soonyoung was silent. "I don't know how to prove it. But I promise, I'm telling the truth." 

"If it were him, wouldn't he be trying to shift the suspicion to others? Like, wouldn't he want Dokyeom gone then?" Jihoon asks. 

"Maybe he's just trying to throw us off," Jun replies. "I mean, he's been quite quiet this whole time." 

"Seriously?" Soonyoung snaps. "Didn't you learn your lesson from Wonwoo? He was quiet!" 

"I'm just saying," Jun says. "It's a possibility." 

"It does make sense, do you all agree?" Jeonghan asks. 

The others nod slowly. 

"But what about Dokyeom?" Vernon asks. "Aren't we gonna agree on him?" 

"Okay," Seungcheol says. "We agree that the two most suspicious members are Dokyeom and Soonyoung. I think we should just take a vote on who we think is the most suspicious. Then we just eliminate that person."

"I agree," Jeonghan says.

"Okay, just say the name of the person you think is most suspicious."

Seungcheol: "I say Dokyeom."

Jeonghan: "Soonyoung."

Jun: "Soonyoung."

Jihoon: "Dokyeom."

Vernon: "Dokyeom."

Soonyoung: "Vernon."

Dokyeom: "Vernon."

Minghao: "Soonyoung."

Mingyu: "Soonyoung."

Chan: "Soonyoung."

When the vote was done, it was extremely shocking. Soonyoung and Dokyeom had no idea that Soonyoung would be the one to go.  

"Guys, please," Dokyeom begs. "It's not Soonyoung, I really don't-" 

The lights suddenly go out. 

*************

Joshua waits for the others to come back, slipping in and out of consciousness. The pain was overwhelming at times, but at least he was alive. 

"Are you finding anything?" He asks. His hair was stringy from the sweat and even speaking that loudly caused him more pain. 

"There's a home movie theater here or something," Seungkwan replies. "But everything seems to be locked up!" 

"I see..." Joshua looks down at his knee. It was black and blue and twice as round as it usually was. He needed a doctor, but there was no one here that was one, nor did they have the supplies. Joshua forces back his tears and takes a deep breath. 

"Hey, let me know if you find pain killers back there," Joshua says. 

"Will do!" Seungkwan agrees. 

Just as Joshua closes his eyes and tries to relax, he hears the door at the top of the stairs. His eyes shoot open and he turns his head to the left, so he could see who it was that was getting pushed down this time. 

He didn't want to risk calling the other two. 

The crashing was so loud he wanted to cover his ears. He couldn't believe the three of them had made it out without their neck broken. He watches the person hit the floor hard, then rolling a few feet away. His was on his back and his face was turned away from Joshua. 

Wonwoo and Seungkwan rush in, looking at the person with wide eyes. "It's Soonyoung!" 

Joshua felt bad because he couldn't get up and help. "You might want to pull him away from the end of the stairs, in case someone else comes down." 

Seungkwan wastes no time in dragging Soonyoung's limp body over to Joshua. They check his pulse. He was okay. He didn't seem to have much damage, unlike the others. 

"Thank goodness he's okay," Seungkwan gasps. Wonwoo nods in agreement. 

"Wait, shouldn't someone else-"

Wonwoo couldn't even get the sentence out because he's interrupted by another loud crash. They watch helplessly as another guest comes tumbling down the stairs. He hits his forehead on one of the steps, then lands on his back at the end of the stairs, one of his legs draped across the bottom few. 

Seungkwan gasps loudly. 

"Oh my god!"