𝐒𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍 𝐆𝐔𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐒𝐄

54; 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙩𝙝

seungcheol, chan, seokmin and minseok were in the hospital cafeteria, talking about the attack a few days ago. seungcheol and chan felt a little out of place though, they were still in their funeral suits.

"how's jinha?" seungcheol spoke, sitting beside chan. "who's looking after her?"

minseok took a bite out of his dry sandwich, cursing the cafeteria cooks for making their retailed food inedible. he speaks after. "my husband. by far, she's doing really great. the bullet missed her heart, so things weren't as critical."

chan sighed, relieved at the news. wouldn't anyone be? he was the one who made a run for jinha's life, after jia-er shot her and ran. what a piece of shit. negotiating calmly with him did not work. trying to win over him through a fight didn't work. chan didn't know what he'd do to that damned mafia leader.

"chan," seokmin reached for chan's hand, holding it tight. "thank you so much for everything that you have done for my niece." and then, minseok joined in.

"yeah, thank you very much." minseok gives chan a little bow, and chan blushes at their words. "she really thinks you're her mom. she calls me and my husband samchon!"

the four people on the table giggle, lightening the mood. "y-you're welcome, sorry!"

"okay, on to business." seokmin lets go of chan's hand, to cross his arms over his chest. "minseok and i can't find jia-er's location. we should've placed a tracker on him or something."

"what is his motive now, really?" seungcheol's eyebrows furrowed. seungcheol's index and thumb held his chin, in deep thought. "he wanted to use jinha to conquer seoul, right? why jinha?"

"jinha can turn people into dolls, and they'd use her to turn the people of seoul into dolls. that way they'd conquer seoul easier. i don't really know, that's what jihoon-hyung told me." chan readjusted his cuff links while he spoke. "but jia-er discarded jinha easily when we surrounded him. he even shot her, that's what confuses me."

"why do they want seoul?" seokmin asks. "do you think we need to send an undercover from seventeen?" he suggests. though that really might be a good idea, sending a seventeen member to infiltrate pledis, it's a huge risk.

"i think it's safe to say that pledis is laying low for now. but, don't let your guard down, okay?" minseok says, standing up. the three others stood up as well, in unison. "let's go visit jinha now."

when the four reached jinha's room, minseok spoke. "wait, seokmin, seungcheol, you guys go ahead. chan, stay with me."

minseok got weird looks, but he didn't care. "okay... we'll wait for you guys inside." seungcheol and seokmin walked inside jinha's room, while minseok and chan stood face to face in front of the door.

suspense. chan thought, scratching his nape. honestly, chan was scared (maybe because seokmin's blood runs in minseok's blood as well, and you know seokmin) of whatever minseok would say, or what he was up to. looking anywhere else other than minseok's eyes wasn't working.

"oh my—minseok-hyung!" startled, chan looks straight into minseok's eyes after he stole the arm that chan used to scratch his nape. groping it tightly, minseok chuckled. "w-what is it?"

"do you like seungcheol?"

and then, thoughts of seungcheol came flooding into his mind. chan chuckled nervously, trying to answer—but minseok's grope on his arm felt tight and uncomfortable. almost like minseok's hand was stinging chan. "h-hyung, what questio..."

minseok spoke after chan trailed off. the stinging sensation felt stronger than ever. unsettling, it was; chan didn't want to be rude. like, pulling his arm away or 'politely' asking him to take off his hand. "i asked a question."

"i don't know!" chan bursts, unable to focus. the stinging sensation lessened, but not so much because chan could still feel it. "i don't have time for feelings!"

minseok laughed and set chan's arm free. there was a red hand mark on chan's arm, receipt of what minseok did. "just saw some signs and picked up." minseok stopped talking, once minseok's husband—who chan didn't know—walked out of jinha's room and stood behind minseok. "don't worry, that thing will fade."

chan's eyes sparkled in realization. "oh, it's your ability! like minghao-hyung's?! that's cool!" chan mused, almost jumping around like a little kid.

"yes, but not really. my ability allows me to sting anyone to pressure them after i ask a question, and when they lie, the sensation gets worse. opposite when they tell the truth," minseok waved off chan. "go in her room now, we'll be waiting here. this is jongdae, by the way."

"n-nice to meet you." chan gives jongdae a nod, to which he returned back. "i'll be going in now."

so, if the stinging lessened, what did that mean? chan himself didn't know.

inside jinha's room was not a typical empty all-white room. there were ballons taped to the wall, a 'get well soon' banner in between the balloons, a boquet of flowers on the table. jinha was sitting upright on the bed, smiling at seungcheol.

"hello." chan mumbled, making everyone's attention turn to him. jinha's expression became even lighter. "jinha, you're all fine now!" chan walks to jinha's bed, and gives her a kiss on the forehead.

"mama's here!" jinha exclaimed, chan smiled at jinha, but he soon placed his index finger in front of his mouth. being loud would strain her energy. "papa's here! samchon's here! i feel so happy! take me out of here, it's boring! pleaaase!"

seungcheol ruffled jinha's hair, making the little girl giggle. "yeah, get better first and we're taking you to the mall!"

"don't make a mess again, or else we're not going to take you to the mall!" chan scolds, but he smiles afterwards. in seokmin's eyes(who sat out of the little 'family' reunion), he just saw a happy family. these two are like her parents, but like, incredibly young.

"wow. what a family." seokmin remarked, eyes dropping to chan's arm. sighing, seokmin asked: "what did minseok wanna know now?"

seokmin noticed the slight ting of pink on chan's cheeks. "nothing important. he just messed with me, that's that." which seokmin found very weird.

anyway, jinha didn't care about all those adult talk. she was just happy she was reunited with her mama and papa after days of waiting in this boring room.

mingyu tried to look as bright as possible, recieving her sister's death certificate. "thank you!" mingyu placed the brown envelope under his arm, walking away from the booth.

"there we go." mingyu took the brown envelope in his hands again, proudly looking at it. "you're officially dead, sis. i hope you're happy, wherever you are." mingyu smiled at the brown enevelope, looking like an idiot to other people—but he didn't care.

the walk home was not as dreadful as mingyu thought it would be. just plaster a smile on your face and you'd feel a little better, instanly—

"h-hey!" mingyu ran, chasing the person who stood in in front of the pedestrian lane. who, by the way, also just levitated a bit. is that an ability user? he looked shady! that person wore all black, and his cap was covering his eyes!

the person looked back for a second, and ran.

agitated, mingyu knits his eyebrows. "if i find out that you're a pledis mafia member," mingyu took out a piece of paper from his pocket, unfolding it. as the ripped page of paper turned into a gun, mingyu chuckled. "you're fucking dead."