You hear the shrieking and growling behind you, edging closer and closer. Your muscles scream as you continue to push them harder and harder. You force away the swelling wave of despair threatening to overtake you.
Jungkook is gone. The boys are sca...
The crack is deafening, the sound ringing in your ears.
Vibrations rattle your bones, electrifying your arm, spreading up to your shoulder as the gun clenched in your fist recoils.
The small, silver bullet launches forward.
For a moment, it hangs in the air, suspended somewhere between life and death. Time distorts and stretches, milliseconds seeming to span into hours. In this alternate place where time stands still, you see the eyes before you. They widen ever so slightly, fear blooming in the dark, murky depths of those fathomless eyes.
You briefly wonder what those eyes see now.
If they see images and flashes, brief whispers of the life they have witnessed.
If they see loved ones long gone, the happier moments from before the world fell.
If they see the destruction they have caused, all the havoc they have wreaked.
Or if its merely death that they see racing towards them.
All at once, reality comes cascading down, time resuming its normal trot as the bullet finds its home squarely between those black eyes.
The once-powerful man crumples as the life leaves his body, slumping down before falling on his back with a dull thud. Vacant eyes stare without seeing at the pale sky above.
His lips part, mouth hanging slightly ajar. His words snatched away, never to be spoken again. The shock is etched on his face, a permanent mask forever frozen in time.
As you watch, snow begins to gather on his lifeless form, but no hand will move to brush it away.
You wait for it to hit you.
For an overwhelming wave of guilt, or a sense of crippling grief over the loss of life at your own hands. For a feeling of irreparable damage to your very soul. Something for what you have done.
But it does not come.
Instead, all you feel is relief, wrapped up in an almost eerie calm.
Kang is dead.
And all of your fears of being hunted, of something happening to the boys, die with him.
Finally, he is dead.
And you are the one who killed him.
***
You're not sure how much time passes before you finally tear your eyes away from Kang's body. Admittedly, there's a small part of you that can't really believe that he is truly gone, despite the hole in his head that proves otherwise. The threat of his very existence has hung over your heads for so long, its hard to get your mind around this new freedom.
When you look up, you see your own emotions mirrored in everyone else. The boys watch Kang with unwavering focus, as if waiting for him to spring up from the ground at any moment.
But he doesn't.
Instead, the snow continues to gather.
It takes you much too long to realize that Kang's beloved henchman, Jae-work, has vanished, no longer standing by the tree line. Upon his boss' death, he must have run for safety. You curse silently, hoping that will not have dire consequences later.
Slowly, the boys wake from their stupor, coming to their senses.
"Is he...is he really gone?" Jimin asks, voice barely above a whisper.
Namjoon stoops down, retrieving his weapon from where he dropped it before. "Yes, he's really gone."
Everyone seems to be at a loss for words.
There are no words adequate enough for everything you've all gone through in the last day.
You hear the crunching of snow underfoot, drawing closer as someone approaches you. A hand rests lightly on your shoulder, while the other cups your chin, pulling your gaze up to see two very concerned eyes watching you closely.
"Are you ok, y/n?" Jungkook's voice is soft, his worry evident.
You think for a moment, still waiting for those feelings to come, but they are still nowhere to be found.
Slowly, you nod your head. "Yes, actually. I don't know whats wrong with me, but I'm fine. I honestly only feel relief." You say honestly, searching his eyes for any sign of repulsion at your apparent callousness. After all, you had just ended someone's life.
Shouldn't I feel something more than relief? Shouldn't I feel bad? You begin to wonder if there's something seriously wrong with you.
Jungkook smiles, as if reading your thoughts. He pulls you close, wrapping his arms tightly around you.
"Nothing is wrong with you, and you should feel relieved. You just saved me. You saved all of us from someone who wouldn't hesitate to kill any one of us. Don't feel bad about not feeling bad." He chuckles lightly, squeezing you tighter.
You hug him back, leaning your head on his chest and closing your eyes. "Thank you" you say softly, grateful for his reassuring words.
"It's us who should be thanking you." Hoseok chimes in. You release Jungkook, looking at the other boys. Before you know it, Hoseok grabs Yoongi and Jimin by the arms, dragging them towards you as he calls out "group hug! Namjoon, come on!"
You can't help the laugh that bubbles up in your chest as the boys throw their arms around you and Jungkook. They each thank you, hugging you tightly.
"You don't need to thank me. I'm just happy you're all safe." You smile as you look at each of them. "Besides, we should thank Jungkook. He's the one who actually had to fight Kang." Your lips turn down, forming a slight frown as you spot the bruises blossoming across Jungkook's pearly skin. You reach up, running your thumb lightly over his cheekbone.
"No no, its ok. I'm fine, and I would do it again in a heartbeat." He says reassuringly as the others begin fussing over him as well.
Suddenly, you hear the sound of someone running, growing louder as the person draws nearer. Instantly, you all break apart, whipping in the direction of the noise. You all raise your weapons.
But to your surprise, it's Taehyung who comes crashing through the trees. He skids to a halt when he sees you all gathered there, bending over and grasping his knees as he sucks in air, trying hard to catch his breath. He raises his head, looking at each of you.
Your heart plummets when you see the look on his face.
It's completely drained of blood, and he's unable to hide the fear in his eyes.
No.
Your mind screams.
You know what he's going to say even before he says it, but it doesn't make it any more bearable.
"You have to come quick." He pants, straightening up.
"What's wrong?" Namjoon takes a few steps forward, brows furrowing in concern.
"It's Minho."
A/N Unedited. I'm so sorry I've been so bad about updating lately. Thank you all for your continued support, even as I disappeared for awhile. It means so much to me! 😭 I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Kang is finally gone! As always, don't forget to vote! 💜 - m.
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Just gonna drop a final Kang Dong Won pic because I still love him even though he was so evil in this book.
