tagged | skz

seventeen

minji hears shouting in the distance.

felix is now on the floor beside her. he's bleeding.

two police officers run into the cafeteria. they're shouting something but minji can't make it out.

two paramedics are now tending to felix's wound.

two other cops handcuff chan and hyunjin and take them away. they don't resist.

another paramedic has helped minji sit up and is looking at her. she's talking to her, asking her questions. minji can't tell or remember if she answers her or not.

sooyun runs over and she's crying hard. minji thinks she might be crying too. sooyun hugs her tightly.

she's talking in her ear. she can make out some of it.

"it's okay. we're okay."

sooyun is still crying. she strokes minji's hair.

another police officer comes over. he's talking to both of them. minji can only make out "station".

the paramedic and sooyun help minji stand. she looks behind her and doesn't see felix, only a puddle of blood where he was.

"wh-where is felix? where did they take him?" minji rasps. sooyun looks at her with wide eyes. "where is he?!"

"hey, hey," sooyun's voice is soft. it makes minji want to scream. "it's okay. he can't hurt you anymore."

minji didn't remember what she said back or if she even said anything at all. she also didn't remember how she got to the police station. sooyun was sitting in the chair beside her and there was an officer looking at them expectantly.

minji's eyes flicked to the clock on the wall. it was after half past two in the morning now. as she attempted to swallow, she realized just how dry her throat felt. she looked back at the officer. "can i have a cup of water?"

the officer sighed and stood up from his chair. he walked out of the office and minji's eyes followed him as he walked over to the water machine. he filled two cups then walked back into the office. he handed sooyun one, who took it quietly with a small bow.

the officer handed minji the other cup and she gratefully took it with two hands. she took a long sip, the cold water soothing her throat instantly. she took another sip before placing the cup on the desk.

"okay," the officer began. he pulled a notebook out and clicked a pen. "let's start at the beginning. just tell me what happened. and don't leave anything out."

"it started at the beginning of the week," minji said. "i started getting these anonymous messages. i didn't know who it was but they knew a secret about me. and they were threatening to let it out if i didn't do as they said."

minji and sooyun took turns telling the officer everything that had happened to them, including sooyun breaking into chan's apartment and them setting it on fire. the officer took notes the whole time and by the end of it, he was at a loss for words.

he took off his glasses and rubbed at his eyes. "mister, is there any chance that he could be let out?" sooyun asked and minji immediately tensed. she didn't know if she wanted to hear the answer to that one.

"well, we do need to get statements from the two other guys, and him," the officer put his glasses back on and leaned back in his chair. "but, i will tell you this. he's facing some very serious charges, it's highly unlikely he will get out."

"what happens now?" minji asked.

"you two go home, try to get some sleep. we'll send someone to watch your homes for you if that makes you feel a bit better," the officer said. "don't worry about this for now. just let us do our jobs."

he stood from his chair and walked around the desk. he gestured towards the door. minji and sooyun stood as well and walked out of the office.

"will you stay with me?" minji looked over at sooyun. "i don't want be alone right now." sooyun gave her a small smile and nodded.

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4 days later,
monday morning

minji looked at herself in the mirror, smoothing down her school uniform. she moved her hands up to her hair, quickly tying it back into a low ponytail. she had covered up her dark circles the best she could but it just wasn't working out.

minji grabbed her backpack and stuffed her phone into her pocket. then she headed out of her room and downstairs. she could hear her parents in the kitchen and mentally cringed. ever since that night, her parents had started to be home more and were hovering.

minji didn't know how she felt about it.

minji quietly slipped out of the house and started the walk to school. as she got closer, she noticed people stopping and staring. a group of girls from her school looked away from her and started whispering to each other. but it was loud enough for her to hear.

"she obviously made the whole thing up. felix would never do such a thing."

minji swallowed hard but her throat was so dry. she felt so humiliated. she put her head down and walked towards the school. she pushed the door open and made the mistake of looking up.

people in the school were looking at her, their eyes widening and there was more whispering. god. minji put her head down again and walked to her locker, trying her best to ignore everyone's staring. and the whispering. it felt like it could swallow her whole.

minji opened her locker and a blast of red splattered right onto her chest. she moved her hands up to the splatter. it was dark red, almost the color of blood. the puddle of felix's blood. minji let out a scream and wiped her hands on her skirt.

she slowly looked up and looked around. everyone was watching her, whispering and a few of them snickering. she could've sworn she heard the word "crazy". minji's eyes teared up and her lip quivered. she slammed her locker shut and ran back out of the school.

she ran right into sooyun, who was getting ready to walk in. sooyun grabbed her by the arms and was about to ask what happened but then she saw the red splatter all over minji's uniform jacket.

"let's get out of here," sooyun said without a second thought.

they walked back to sooyun's house and changed into comfier clothes. then sooyun made them some breakfast and they ate while watching some tv.

"some people think we're lying," minji said finally. "that i'm lying."

"i had a feeling that would happen. people are going to believe what they want to believe minnie," sooyun frowned. "but we know what happened. we know what he did to us."

"yeah. it just really sucks," minji said. "i don't even think my parents believe me. and that somehow sucks more."

"it does, but it will get better. and we will move on with our lives," sooyun offered her an encouraging grin and minji managed to grin back. soo got quiet for a second. "the first hearing is this friday, isn't it?"

minji nodded. "yeah. officer song said that if felix chooses a short cause, it'll be a couple days of trial. but he could also choose a long cause. and that would take a lot longer, could be months before he's even trialed."

soo pursed her lips for a moment, thinking about it. then she grinned at minji again. "don't worry. no matter what happens, we'll stick together through it all."

minji would be lying if she said she wasn't worried about the hearing and about what would happen. but soo had made her feel a little better. "promise?"

soo smiled at her this time. a real genuine smile. "i promise."

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hi hi! this is not the end. i'll be working on an epilogue very soon. just bear with me 🤍