BORDERLINE (EN- fanfic)

Dawn 》25

"As if immobile... as if numb... the fear, the remorse clawed at your being... you felt that pain."

~*♧*~

Sunghoon

He abruptly opened his eyes heaving deep breathes clutching his chest as if being chased. Sweat dripped down the side of his face as his ears picked up a commotion happening. He slowly looked around him and felt his heart leap in instant when he realized where he was.

The woods... he was back again in the woods...

He looked around him and saw his members, they were all shuffling and hovering over something. He felt disoriented and his emotions are a mix of everything there is. His mind almost aching as he trembled a bit from the thoughts that just came to him like wildfire. He heaved ragged breathes as he binked his eyes to see the firelight in the middle which separated him from everyone. It was already nighttime...

"Its ok Ni-ki, calm down..." he heard his members muttered in soft low voices as he slowly got up to see what was going on.

As he got closer, their words slowly got clearer to Sunghoon. They were comforting Ni-ki which made him stop. He remembered those words as if they were real, were they? He saw the maknae, eyes glassy as tears run down his face. The maknae was sobbing and was looking away from everyone.

"What- what is happening?" He found himself asking, his voice was hitched as his heart felt constricted.

"Ni-ki, why... why is he-"

"I don't belong with everyone (sobs)... everyone hates me..." the younger's voice made everyone stop.

"Ni-ki, no one hates you..." Heeseung's voice was very soft trying to calm the younger who looked close to hyperventilating as he cried. Everyone looked so worried...

"T-they do, hyungs are mad at me... hyungs don't believe me, no one believes me..." the younger's voice came so small, it was almost inaudible.

"Ni-ki-yah that's not true..." Heeseung continued to comfort the maknae.

"I will never be mad at you either if you did nothing wrong." Jay also added.

"Ni-ki I'll always believe you." Jake held the maknae's hand.

"I also believe in you." Sunoo also said.

Sunghoon just felt himself back away. Thoughts of earlier events just rushed in his head at that moment, it almost made his head hurt. Could he have pushed the maknae into thinking this way? He felt so terrible of himself, he just wanted to get away.

"Sunghoon hyung watch out!" He felt himself being pulled forward and realized Jungwon was holding him by the wrist. He blinked a few times, still in a daze.

"You almost went to the fire." Jungwon told him as he turned to see the campfire behind.

"Sunghoon you're awake, you ok?" It was Jake who asked looking at him with worry. Now everyone turned to him whilst rubbing the back of the maknae to calm him.

Everyone had worried faces on and as his eyes went from his members then to the maknae who was still sobbing. Sungoon swallowed the lump in his throat and nodded to indicate he was alright... but he wasn't...

With that everyone went back to comforting the maknae as he breathed, his heart trembling. He felt so terrible...

"Sunghoon hyung..." he turned abruptly to the person. Jungwon was still next to him, eyeing the older.

"Why are you lying?" The younger continued and he couldn't reply.

"Hyung, what's wrong?" Jungwon pried.

"I'm fine Jungwon."

Jungwon

When Ni-ki finally woke up, instead of relief, they all felt panicked. The maknae let out an agonized scream then started crying heavily. It brought all of them except Sunghoon who was unconscious at that time in absolute worry and distress.

Ni-ki was always playful with them, the only time they've seen the maknae cried this hard was when he made it into the team during the finale of I-land, they all equally cried hard then.

But this time is different, it worried them all to the point of being scared. Jungwon especially has been worried for the maknae ever since they've been separated... and to hear the words that left Ni-ki's mouth just brought him to silence.

There was nothing he could say to probably ease the younger's pain or comfort him. He knew to himself, he was probably partly at fault. He should not have acted the way he did back then. If only he could change that, he would.

He took the courage to slowly approach the maknae but then he heard scraping sounds of tiny rocks on dirt. As he turned, he saw his Sunghoon hyung now awake but oddly looked kinda shaken about something.

He realized his hyung was making the sound as Sunghoon backs away. Jungwon was a little worried so he tried to follow his hyung's train of sight and it landed on their weeping maknae.

Jungwon empathized with Sunghoon, they both felt the same. He breathed to talk to the older but when he looked back to him...

"Sunghoon hyung watch out!" He called out running towards the older who was so close to backing up towards the fire.

"You almost went to the fire." He told the older who looked unfocused.

"Sunghoon you're awake, you ok?" They both turned to Jake who probably noticed them looking worried like everyone else.

Jungwon turned to his Sunghoon hyung who swallowed and simply nodded. He saw the members focused back to the maknae although Jake was a little reluctant. He heard his hyung breathed next to him and saw him tremble.

"Sunghoon hyung..." he called which almost surprised the older.

"Why are you lying?"

"Hyung, what's wrong?" Jungwon added when his hyung did not answer.

"I'm fine Jungwon." His hyung said giving him a smile but Jungwon knew he's not.

"Hyung I could tell." He told the older whose smile faltered.

"I know what you feel." He said which made the older stare at him.

"Trust me hyung." He held the older's hand.

"How would you know?" Sunghoon looked away.

"I felt the same way right now but we shouldn't let it get to us hyung." He told the older.

"Jay hyung told us while you guys are unconscious... this place will probably affect us in many ways so we shouldn't be defeated by it." Jungwon told his hyung with conviction.

"What do you mean?" Sunghoon looked at him with confusion.

"I'll explain later hyung but..."

"...can you tell me... what was it you were trying to say about Ni-ki before falling unconscious hyung. Can you recall?"

¤>~*♧*~<¤

NOTE:

Good day my dear readers! My stock of chapters are about to run out so maybe after 1 or 2 more updates... I will be MIA again until I managed to write write more chapters... but if I'm lucky my imagination won't come to another writer's block then maybe I won't have to be MIA... But just in case, I'm giving you guys a heads up if ever...

So anyway, I hope you find this chapter entertaining although I was hurt internally when I wrote this 😅 still I hope you enjoy!