Caratland [Seventeen FF]

-23-

Seungkwan poV:

We were in Hansol's world this time.
"This time I really wanted to eat ice cream at yours. It's the only world were ice cream tastes like ice cream", Hansol sighed. We walked down the lake to the small, old-fashioned city. It was designed like these old strawhouses in those dynasties.
"We can still do something fun", I tried to be optimistic.
"But we already did everything we can do in my world", Hansol whined.
"Then let's go to reality. The last time we spent there an evening feels like decades ago", I suggested.
"Fine, if you want to...", he sighed.

We went to a strawhouse. It was small, but pretty cozy. On the bed lit up the yellow portal, back to reality. Hansol went in before and then I followed.

The way back was short as always. Back in the storage we saw Wonwoo crouched in a corner, having his arm crossed as he hid his face in it.
"What's with him?", I asked Hansol, whispering. He just shrugged his shoulders as confused as me. Wonwoo wasn't the type to end up in such a position. Hansol slowly approached him. I wanted to pull him back since Wonwoo is scary, but my hand slipped.

"Hey, what's wrong?", he asked. Wonwoo lift up his head and blankly stared on the floor. His gaze was... emotionless?
"Am I really that stubborn?", he suddenly questioned. Hansol looked at me, but I just shook my head confused. You never know what's up to him. "I always blamed the world for what I am, but is it really not my fault?", he kept going.
"W-What do you mean?", I asked flustered.
"I faught with Jihoon and he was right, I am an asshole. I really push myself in the middle and ignore your feelings. And I blamed the world for it...", he mumbled the last sentence. Hansol looked helpless to me, but I shrugged my shoulders. "You don't need to understand me", he sighed, stood up and walked off.
"What was that?", I asked Hansol confused, following Wonwoo with my gaze.
"Good question, next question", he replied, doing the same as me.

We went to the ferris wheel and sat down there.
"But you know what?", Hansol asked after we settled down. I shook my head. "Since before I keep wondering about what Wonwoo said", he said.
"Me, too. What happened that he suddenly questions his mindset?", I agreed.
"Yeah, that too. But most importantly: He argued with Jihoon. With the quietest person on this island! Remember how we thought that Jihoon is mute for the first month on this island? That person is supposed to talk back to Wonwoo? The scariest person I ever got to know? He's scarier then Miss Soyeon!", Hansol exclaimed, thinking back to one of the caretaker of his orphanage. Now where he mentions it...

Yeah, he was right. The Jihoon I knew so far would never talk back to anyone. He wouldn't even have a problem with being the pushover. The only people who knew something about him back then were Jeonghan and Seungcheol and Jeonghan only knew something about him because he saw his profile. I still don't know much about him. I know that he had a ruff childhood, but what exactly was still a mystery to me.
Wonwoo was just scary. In the beginning he was just vicious and rude, but as time went by you could recognize if he was being sarcastic or deadly serious. His glare alone could shut you up and take a twenty meter distance in 10 seconds. Mingyu was never part of his victims. Even if he was extremely annoyed, he never let it out on Mingyu. That's why Chan envied him so much.
Both were scary in their way: Wonwoo being a devil with a heart, rather it's cold or warm and Jihoon being a volcano where no one knows if he'd still explode or if it's extinct. When did things change? Oh, right... Soonyoung... After Soonyoung came the chinese masters of arguing suddenly stopped all their fighting, which took place for over a year and a half. Wonwoo started hanging around people even without Mingyu and Jihoon opened up to us. It's the first time I hear Jihoon speaking so freely around other people.

"Everything is changing since Soonyoung works here...", I thought aloud.
"Right? That's exactly what I was thinking", Hansol agreed.
"We can't say it's something bad", I said and Hansol nodded.

"But Seungkwan", Hansol started again after a while.
"Hm?", I turned my attention to him.
"What do you think is the reason that Soonyoung can't see his world?", he asked me.
"I don't know", I shrugged my shoulders. I wasn't curious anyway.
"I mean, Chan can see his world even though he never did anything bad in his life. So this can't be the reason. But there's no other reason since Seungcheol's brother told us that's the way how this world works. That Chan alone can see the world, is a mystery by its own. Maybe Soonyoung doesn't even have a world and that's why he can't see the portal without us. Maybe that's why he passes out when-", he started making up stories, but I quickly stopped him.
"It's all interesting, but please keep those theories in your head. Some people still want to sleep the night before exploring the matrix", I held his mouth.
"Got it", he sighed disappointed and pushed my hand away.
"So do you still want to eat ice cream?", I asked him to change the topic.
"Hurray, ice cream!", Hansol jumped up excitedly, throwing his hands in the air.
"You're such a little kid. And we are supposed to be 20...", I shook my head grinning.
"Well, theoretically you're a little kid too since we're the same age", Hansol giggled. I didn't replied to that and just swung an arm around his shoulder.
"Let's just stuff you're mouth with some vanilla ice cream", I sighed, making him laugh.

But now I was curious too. Why doesn't Soonyoung see the portal when he's alone?