Framed

Chapter 2: Regret Is Hindsight

(So . . . I know nothing about technology, and I'm not going to pretend I do. I made up a whole bunch of stuff to make Seungmin sound smart and to make the video fake, so . . . No judgment, please. However, if you happen to know a lot about computers and know a different and way more real way for this to be done, then please share. My only frame of reference is spy movies.)

(One Year Ago)

-Chan's POV-

The table fell silent as soon as Minho ran off, the sight of him bruised and crying burnt in our minds. When was the last time I've seen him cry? 

"We fucked up pretty badly." Hyunjin's voice was grim and weak, and I turn to see him with a rather pale complexion. I place a firm hand on his shoulder, attempting to comfort him. "I know we're sensitive about the topic because of what happened to Jeongin, but would Minho really do that?"

No. Logically he wouldn't.

Those who don't know him well usually assume the worst of him because of his blunt and often graphic comments, but we've known Minho our whole lives. Hurting someone else is something he isn't capable of. The worst he's ever done is shove tissues in Hyunjin's mouth, and even then he always makes sure to not hurt him.

If we had more time to think about it we would have been able to calm down and think reasonably, but Minho found us pretty much right after we watched the video. If we had more time to think about it we would have realized how weird it is to all be sent a video like that. The fact that it's anonymous makes it even worse. While it's possible the person just didn't want to get heat for exposing Minho for abuse, the fact we don't know who sent it is just another reason to not trust it. 

Even if it was from a credible source, the fact that we didn't allow him to explain himself is shameful.

I had never hit one of them before. I never lost my temper with them. But Minho . . . 

"Chan?" I meet eyes with a shaken Jisung, and I feel my stomach twist further. "What just happened?"

I'm not quite sure. I was there for all of it, yet I can't explain what my thought process was at the time. Probably because I wasn't thinking. But that isn't an excuse for my lack of control. It's my responsibility as the oldest to look out for the others. And that includes Minho. Yet I was the one who ended up hurting him. 

He asked me what was going on, which means everyone else in the school was probably treating him poorly as soon as he stepped through those doors. He knew something was off and he went to us because he had no one else to go to. He trusted that we would help him. But I-

I jump slightly when a hand grips mine, and I look down to see Changbin's hand wrapped tightly around my own.

"I know that face. You're over thinking again." I swallow harshly. At least I'm thinking now. I wince as he smacks the back of my head. "Seriously? Knock it off. We all fucked up. You may be the oldest, but that doesn't mean you're responsible for our actions. That doesn't mean you have to carry everything yourself. The way you reacted isn't ok, none of our reactions were. So how about we focus our effort on figuring out how to fix it?"

I nod and ruffle his hair in thanks, to which he whines about. 

"Changbin's right. Seungmin? Do you think you could look over the video? Find any evidence it was tampered with?" He nods, a look of determination clear in his eyes. The two Min's of our group aren't exactly the nicest too each other thanks to both of their rather savage personalities, but that doesn't mean they don't care about each other. Divorce requires marriage, right?

"Hyunjin? Use your odd ability to sniff out drama to see if you can learn anything more. No one try and clear his name or say anything on the topic to anyone outside of this group. Everyone knows we're childhood friends. They won't trust our word without evidence. Our priority is to figure out if that video is faked, and then we go from there. Alright?" I receive nods from all of them, and as the bell rings for first period, we all separate to complete our assigned tasks.