𝐒𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐭│𝐒𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐚𝐮 ✓

53

Odera

[Chapter contains discussion of distressing content]

"Isn't this great!?" Chan asked, running around laughing, stroking his hands along the dark black wood. The other seven stood baffled looking upon the dense wood that they believed was just about ready to swallow them up.

Wonwoo instantly went to get back in the car when he was caught by his collar by Jeonghan, "I know what you're thinking but Chan is enjoying himself." He stated almost threateningly. The truth was, Jeonghan had done most of the planning for the trip over the past week and definitely had more than a few tricks up his sleeve.

"Tents everyone!" He chimed, getting Mingyu to help him haul bags off of Jihoon's truck of varying sizes, "When I ordered them it was weird, they'd sold out of proper sizes so we have one three man tent, a two man tent, two one man tents and a deluxe tent and now I'm a fair man so I'll throw them at you randomly.

Seungcheol just scoffed at the blatant lie, "Watch it Choi." Jeonghan said as he began giving them out. To no ones surprise Jeonghan's schemes landed him with the deluxe tent that looked like it could fit all of them in there, it was complete with a hammock, sun lounger and miniature heater - a vast difference to Seungcheol's who was deeply regretting ever crossing Yoon Jeonghan.  'One man tent' was an understatement, he'd clearly found the most grotesque children's tent in all of Odera that was so small his whole body couldn't fit inside, his legs poking out the entrance. "Yah!" He said as he realised what he'd pitched up and how quickly it was done before everyone else's, "Oh great you're done, that means you can help me with mine!" Jeonghan has the biggest shit eating grin on his face.

Hearing the commotion Jun, who was pitching up his own tent began to laugh, quite content with the genuine one man tent he was given. This made the others stop to laugh at their oldest friend throwing a hissy fit in the middle of the deep forest.

"Ack!" Mingyu said, tripping over the frame of the tent Wonwoo had delicately fixed together, "Kim Mingyu I swear to christ I will rip your balls off," He seethed under his breath to avoid Chan from hearing who was busy trying to make sense of the instructions (the fact he was holding them upside down didn't really help). The three had got unsurprisingly the three man tent, Jeonghan knew Chan would stop the rocky new couple from doing anything to ruin their holiday wether that be by having another argument or something more explicit.

Soonyoung and Jihoon were pitching their tent furthest from the group, they'd found a nice space where the forest opened go into something more than deep black trees with cute flora around the area, Jeonghan expected as much since the pair had become more distant and exclusive since Soonyoung's sudden confession - he hoped he'd soon find out how they were doing.

"So I go up to this kid on the street and he's got a fuckin mace and is just swinging it around trying to hit bottles off this ledge and ten year old me thought it'd be a good idea to say hey and the kid almost kills me! He was so scared he jumped, the mace went flying towards me and he almost cracked his skull open on the pavement, good times," Soonyoung was telling Jeonghan how he met Mingyu, all sharing various childhood stories, funny, none of them ever mentioned parents.

He laughed along with the others around the fire they had made when his curiosity came out, "Where were your parents in all this?"

The laughing camp muted in unison. He let out an awkward cough as he didn't expect the silence.

Seungcheol spoke up in a voice that made Jeonghan realise why he was the proclaimed leader, "He was going to mention them soon enough, you guys okay with it?" They all nodded and Chan who was enjoying his comfortable spot in Wonwoo's lap slinked off into their tent.

"It was the year of the 194th ceremony, seven years ago... We all knew each other by then, there was a discrepancy between two leading gangs in Odera." Wonwoo let out a dry laugh, swigging some soju before adding, "Discrepancy is one way to put it," Jeonghan was beginning to get uncomfortable, how much about these boys did he really know? He should've known better than to question such an obvious gap especially in their time of happiness - this was far from the week of harmless tricks and rest he had planned.

"We we're all neighbours, I was the sort to knock on everyone's doors and know everybody even if my Mother told me it wasn't safe. One day I went to knock on a door and there was no reply, it was Chan's house. His mum told me he was sick and I feel like an asshole now because at the time it felt like I was doing more of a favour by letting him hang out with us since he was so much younger, got I was even happy he wasn't going to play with us, I gathered the usual troop and we were just playing on the streets like kids are meant to."

He took a breath before continuing again, the camp continuing to be deadly silent, "Odera isn't all you've seen, of course you've been told about some of the bad stuff but it's been rose tinted glasses, back then we were at the forefront, our small street was poor and right at the heart of the city. That day, heard what sounded like thunder but it was sunny and it was getting louder and louder, there was one of the gangs and they-" Jeonghan looked around to see almost everyone with glazed eyes, minus Wonwoo's that looked empty and Seungcheol's that were fixed to the floor.

"They came for us, all of us and they wanted all of us dead. We were in the district of the other gang even if we had nothing to do with it - we were just fucking kids they didn't want a new generation of rivals. I took us up to our treehouse, Jihoon's dad had newly made it for us, it was meant to be our safe space. We all sat in a circle and cried silently as gun fire surrounded us, there was screaming and I still remember my mother choking out a final scream of my name before her screams stopped all together it was-" He let out a shaky breath as tears fell, "We could do nothing but pray, we were all too scared to look our, just holding each other silently until everything was empty. We checked for survivors but... there was just one. Jihoon saw his own parents strung up with guts spilling out onto the floor, Soonyoung found Wonwoo's in a bloody pile, almost unrecognisable if it weren't for their wedding rings on their hands still intertwined, I found my m-mum just shot and naked, humiliated on the concrete and Mingyu found Soonyoung's parents just mercilessly shot in a lineup along with his own but Wonwoo-"

"I found Chan." He cut in, sounding completely soulless, "He was in his home, clothes all bloody and as I approached him I saw he was holding someone, his little brother Samuel who was only fucking 7. Fuck- I didn't know what to do, I was fucking 14 so I just took him and he screamed and cried to go back, for them to take him but I just held him and I've never been able to let go..." Wonwoo finished and Jeonghan was just stunned, their wholesome camping trip taking such a drastic turn after only a few hours, "You don't have to respond, it was time you found out though, that's why we're all so close because we had to make it on our own. It's also why Chan may seem a little... childish? His childhood was ripped away from him so we let him enjoy it now, Samuel was his best friend and sometimes he gets nightmares about it, I'd do anything to take his place," Wonwoo added, it was clear to Jeonghan that he was also deeply affected by the events.

The silence was healing, they hadn't spoken about that day since it happened. All eight just weeping, Jeonghan unable to comprehend how something that bad could happen to them and Chan silently crying in his tent, he refused to hear it, the day was already ingrained in his mind.

It was a sick sort of healing, one no group should ever be put through but they felt themselves all get a little closer that night as they returned to their tents one by one.

This world was unforgiving.

-
That was intense, I felt like writing something a little longer today so I hope you liked it