Forever Snow || Seventeen [Rewriting]

✨ Chapter 6 ✨

It was breakfast the next day and Seokmin has already apologized for his outburst yesterday. His parents have forgiven him even before he apologized (basically an apology was unnecessary) but the apology didn't seem to make his other brothers forgive him.

Not even Soonyoung would speak to the boy. That hurt Seokmin more than it should. He already apologized for something that he shouldn't even apologize for and yet, they're still mad at him. What do they want him to do?

"Why won't you talk to me?" Seokmin questions once they left the dining room and entered their bedroom. No one said anything to reply to the boy's question. "Guys!" Still nothing. Seokmin was close to tears and yet, they don't seem to care.

"You all think I'm crazy, don't you." Seokmin's voice was filled with sorrow. "Yes. YES! WE DO THINK YOU'RE CRAZY. IS THAT WHAT YOU WANT TO HEAR?" Mingyu exclaims. "WE DON'T BELIEVE YOU AND YOUR- YOUR CRAZY STORIES!"

Seokmin stared at the same aged boy in despair, his hurt and tears evident in his eyes. "But why-" "Because," Mingyu says, crying as well. "You always have the craziest stories that make people fall for you. Have you ever thought of how that affects us?"

Seungcheol tried to calm the two of them down but Mingyu wouldn't let this slide. "Everyone thinks you're either so naive or the most interesting thing ever. That makes you more likable than all of us. That makes you EVERYONE'S favorite."

Mingyu was so caught up in his emotions that he didn't care how much he was hurting the boy. He wanted Seokmin to know how much he has hurt all of them. "There were so many times when you almost got adopted without us."

"What do you mean?" "Couples like your little stories and want you for themselves. The only reason why you're still stuck with us is because you would unknowingly hint that you would never leave us behind. They didn't take you because they didn't like us!"

Seokmin looked confused, hurt but confused. "That- that's not true... That's not-" "And here you are, making up stories up once again to win the favorite title with our new parents." Mingyu says. "They'll soon get tired of us and only keep you."

As that was happening, Vernon quietly slipped out of the room and made his way to the library. He didn't want to hear and stay in the room because of the argument any longer. He hated the screaming and the fighting.

If you were to ask him why out of all the places he could go, he decided to head to the library, he wouldn't be able to answer you. There were multiple answers to that question. None of which he was willing to admit.

He either wanted to prove that Seokmin was going crazy and letting his imagination run wild again or, he wanted to prove to the others that what his hyung was saying was true. That there is a place called Caratnia.

If you were to ask Vernon whose side he was on.. He still wouldn't be able to answer you. He was closest to Seokmin for obvious reasons (since Seokmin was the 2nd youngest) but, there was this one-sided rivalry with them.

By one-sided, it was only on the part of Hansol. He was the youngest brother and yet, they treated him like a hyung. They pampered Seokmin like he was a baby. How about him? Was he not the youngest? Was he too mature to be pampered?

And yet, there was the part that feels bad for Seokmin. His hyungs keep pushing away Seokmin's ideas and thoughts due to the fact that they seem childish and out of this world. Vernon would never act like that.

It wasn't his hyung's fault that his personality was like this- that he was always a happy-go-lucky person and that his imagination goes wild. And yet, it did hurt to always be the favorite. It hurts that no one can ever hate him.

As Vernon reflected on his life, he came across the two shelves that have albums on it. "Taylor Swift... Taylor Swift..." He muttered under his breath, remembering the story Seokmin had told him the night prior.

He searched for that specific album through the absurd amount of albums on both shelves. When he finally found it, Vernon pulled on it and just as Seokmin said, the wall in between the two shelves opened with a loud creek.

Unlike Seokmin, Vernon came prepared with his cellphone flashlight. He took a step into the passageway and was greeted with a gush of cold wind hitting his face. With the light of his cellphone, Vernon started his journey through the passageway.

The boy noticed how the walls were filled with webs. There were no spiders, just webs stuck directly to the wall. The closer he got to the other side of the passageway, that's when he realized that those were not spider webs.

"Frost..." Vernon mutters under his breath. The wall was filled with frost and the frost seemed to get more and more the closer he got to the other side. Soon enough, he arrived at the land Seokmin had told them of, the land of Forever Snow.

He slowly entered the entrance of Caratnia, being very cautious. All he saw was snow, snow, and more snow. The one thing he didn't prepare to bring was a winter coat. Vernon was sure that he was going to die of hypothermia.

As he rubbed himself for comfort and warmth, Vernon looked around the place and couldn't help but be amazed by the beauty of the land. The snow just falls perfectly around every crevice of the area, every part covered in snow.

I mean, what else was there to expect in the land of Forever Snow? Hansol slowly approached the lamppost, the same one Seokmin played on. As he approached it, he didn't seem to notice a figure approaching from behind.

Just then, a sound of snow crunching came from behind and as Vernon was about to turn around and see who it was, the figure knocked him out. They dragged the boy's body across the snow and there was no one to help him.