Vendetta

Chapter 3

    "No! Please not that, I'll do anything! Please!"
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    Jeongin was pulled out of his sleep by the sounds of distant laughter, feeling a faint pang of anger that his siblings were having fun without him. When he got up, he realized that he was the only one still in the room, all the other occupants joining whatever was going on. With a huff, he waddled out of his room and to the living room where everyone was congregated, still in his pajamas.

    "Our lovely Innie is finally up!" Felix exclaimed, looking over his shoulder with a bright smile. He had both arms wrapped around Changbin's neck, the latter fully absorbed in a game of Super Smash Bros. Chan had brought the game home along with the console when Seungmin started complaining about being bored. "Sorry for not waking you up sooner, but I didn't want to disrupt your sleep."

    "It's fine," Jeongin dismissed, taking in the congregation. It was normal for everyone to clump together, especially in such a small house, but Jeongin still found it funny to see everyone piled on top of each other to fit on the couch.

    Changbin, Jisung, and Hyunjin were immersed in the game in front of them. Those who were not playing were sitting on the back and arms of the couch, practically laying themselves across the player's laps. Minho had pulled up a chair to the side of the couch and was watching the game with a serious expression, not noticing that Jeongin had joined their ranks.

    Jeongin climbed onto the back of the couch behind Hyunjin, fiddling with the older's hair as his character hopped around the stadium to avoid getting hit. Jisung practically screamed everytime his character fell off the side of the map while Changbin seemed to be unleashing years of pent up anger on the younger. Hyunjin just seemed to be there to add to the chaos, not doing much but hopping around.

    "You know Hyunjin's playing too, right?" Seungmin pointed out to Changbin who replied with a fierce glare. By the end, Jisung and Changbin had finished each other off, leaving Hyunjin victorious despite the fact that he had barely even touched the other players.

    "I remembered something when I woke up this morning," Jisung said out of the blue as Minho began to put the game away. All attention was turned to him, everyone morbidly interested in what he was going to say next. When he spoke again, his voice was quiet. "I remember being with two other boys when I was younger and we were all playing under...I don't know what they're called. The huge brown things with the fluffy green things on top that grow out of the ground in the game we played. We were throwing a ball around and it seemed like a lot of fun."

    A hushed silence fell over the group, everyone except for Jeongin exchanging glances at each other like it was an experience they all could relate to. Everyone except for him. The loud and chaotic energy of the room had fallen victim to a heavy confusion that felt as if it were engulfing them. No one knew what the memories meant or how they should react to them. All they knew was that the memories were there.

    "I remember being in front of this huge tub of water that seemed to go on forever. I couldn't see the end of it no matter how hard I tried," Hyunjin chimed in, combing his fingers through his hair. "Even though the memory is fuzzy, it was breathtaking. Just imagine water for as far as the eye can see."

    Jeongin scoffed as Hyunjin added onto Jisung's recollection. He thought everyone knew that, even though he loved him dearly, Jisung wasn't entirely right in the head. The smallest of noises could throw him into a day-long panic if he wasn't informed on what had caused them and that he wasn't in danger. Whatever he said wasn't entirely trustworthy. At least, not in Jeongin's opinion.

    "Come on, guys," Jeongin began slowly. "Nothing like that exists except in games. Channie had told us this many times before, and he's the only one that leaves the house. He would know what he was talking about. You guys are just getting your dreams confused with real life."