With tears, he screams
Mea Maxima Culpa
A/N - Late night chapter update, but i was out all day so i've finally been able to sit down and post it up. Super happy to see so many comments as well~~~ Do keep them coming!
@kekekekeke - happy to see you're hooked!!! Well, here's the next chapter. More secrets to be revealed! And yeah, i wanted G.O to be a bittersweet kind of man who can show Cheondoong what may happen if he continues down his dark route, but at the same time is a kind and compassionate man who truly cares for his friends and family. I promise to make his ending happy tho - they're my favorite type~
@reilsm - "i'm so curious, yeah~" (shinee) ^^, but yeah, this chapter only builds on the suspense!
@wookielove - Yup, secrets are being revealed. The truth will come out soon!
@HanSang - omo >< guitar duet with IU???? *faints*
Finally, thanks to vipelfcassie and beastlyvip21 for subscribing! Lol, that makes three subscribers with 'vip' in their names. Made me laugh for a moment, but keep them coming~
Chapter 25 – With tears, he screams
Mir POV
I was dog-tired from our late night trek and now to boot we were walking through heavy sand that seemed attached to my sneaker, every step dragging me further into a sandy coffin. For the fifth time this night, I groaned. Sure, I loved my hyung and all but Cheondoong-hyung, why must you make me do exercise so late at night! The calories I was burning…urgh…
“Nearly there Mireu.” Joon patted my shoulder, encouraging me to continue. I nodded half-heartedly and doggedly continued walking. But eventually exhaustion got to me and I collapsed in the sand.
Seungho paused, huffing for breath as well, but backtracked over to where I lay in the sand. “Come on Mireu.” He begged. “Get up. I know you’re tired, we all are, but try your best.”
He held out one hand for me to grasp and reluctantly I took it. But just as he was dragging me up, we heard vicious voices slicing through the night sky. We all froze in various states: me half off the ground, Seungho helping me up, G.O in mid-turn and Joon with one hand wiping his sweaty forehead.
“Did you hear that?” I stated the obvious and stared at the far distance.
“Yeah.” Seungho heaved me to my feet. “Hurry.” He commanded and this time I didn’t waste breath complaining. I just ran. We all just ran. Until the sound of harsh voices made us stop and slow down. We peered over the sand dunes to see a group of dark figures huddled around a dying fire. I was thankful for the moonless night that hid our figures but at the same time it casted a eerie gloominess over the sea.
“Just stop this!” The harsh voice was Cheondoong’s but I could barely recognize it. It wasn’t the normal soft voice of the hyung I knew, no, it was twisted by anger and desperation – a touch of pain in his voice. “Haven’t I done enough already!”
A cruel laugh filled the air. It came from a man sitting down on driftwood, one long stick probing the fire and causing sparks to fly into the air. “Enough?” he scoffed. “Of course you haven’t done enough. You haven’t done anything yet!” he cackled, making the hair on the back of my arm rise.
“You know fully well I can’t do what you’re asking me to do.” Cheondoong’s voice was solemn and bitter. His foot scuffed the sand, spraying particles over the fire.
It only fuelled the sitting man’s laughter. “Of course we know.” He guffawed. “Why else do you think we asked you to do it? You owe us and we plan to milk every cent out of you. No matter who we have to use to meet ends.”
Even from our hidden spot meters away, I could see Cheondoong-hyung’s eyes harden and his hands form fists. In the flickering firelight, he looked like an avenging angel hell bent on smashing the person in front of him senseless.
“Don’t you dare-“ he hissed, taking one step forwards with a raised fist. At this the other three men who had just been hanging around the campfire stood up threateningly. Their eyes gleamed like hungry wolves in the firelight and their hands twitched towards their belts.
“ENOUGH!” Seungho yelled, standing up. He couldn’t take this tension anymore. “What’s going on!?”
The five men around the fire were startled. The leader, obviously the one sitting down on the driftwood, adapted quickly. He merely narrowed his eyes, as if committing Seungho’s profile to memory and leaned forwards with the hungry eyes of a starved wolf. The other three thugs zeroed in on Seungho-hyung, their figures tense. But Cheondoong did the opposite, he jumped backwards and a guilty expression covered his face almost immediately.
“Hyung?” he mumbled, eyes flitting nervously back and forth. “What are you…doing here?”
“Hyung?” the leader of the group spoke from where he sat. He leaned back, seeming comfortable despite the fevered tension that crackled in the air. “I see?” he grinned crookedly. “He’s the leader of your little band, isn’t he?” The way he said band was filled with mockery. It made my blood boil.
“Who are you?” Seungho’s fierce voice was directed at the man who laughed so mockingly. “And what is your connection to our Cheondoong?” At this moment, he was the leader without a doubt.
The man however just continued to laugh, as is seized by some sort of fit. “This is too good. Ahh, Sanghyun, you’re such a useless child aren’t you. You can’t even do simple things properly.” My hands fisted and this time it was me who wanted to punch the guy who was making fun of my hyung.
But the man uncrossed his legs and stood up, dusting sand off his expensive black jacket. “Time’s ticking Sanghyun.” He addressed Cheondoong informally. “Get what I want soon or else you know what’ll happen.” He waved cockily and departed with the other three men lining up behind him uniformly.
“Are you going to just let him go, hyung?” I hissed between gritted teeth to Seungho.
Seungho nodded. “We can’t just randomly accuse people.”
“But-“ I protested.
“No,” Seungho cut me off. “We need to get the facts straight first.”
At this he turned to look at Cheondoong with fierce eyes that drilled straight into the boy. Cheondoong bowed under the weight of the pressure and bit his lip – the sign of his absolute guilt.
“Tell us, hyung.” I spoke up. “What was that all about?”
Cheondoong took a step backwards and raised his head ever so slowly. Guilt was written all over his face. Then it hardened.
“I told you once already,” he said firmly. “I can’t let you know.”
G.O’s eyes grew stormy. “For God’s sake Cheondoong, haven’t we gone through this already?! Hiding secrets is just bull. Especially after that little scene.”
Cheondoong flickered one small glance at the fire, seeing it as criminal evidence. He looked like a little kid trying to hide the empty chocolate box behind his back whilst having chocolate smeared all over his mouth.
“I can’t-“
Enough was enough. Joon covered the distance between him, and Cheondoong in the space of two strides, fisted one hand into Chendoong’s shirt and punched him.
Joon POV
I wasn’t thinking.
My body acted before my brain and all that stormy emotions that had been building up inside of me erupted. My feet flew across the sand, my hands moved and only seconds later did I realize that I had just punched Cheondoong.
Okay, maybe I had been thinking. But I was just so angry at Cheondoong. Angry that he had everything I wanted, was everything I wanted to be and yet was throwing it all away with this ‘secretive’ bull. It just pissed me off and my emotions got the better of me.
Right after I struck him, I regretted it.
It was like my brain had momentarily froze, cogs stuck, but then started functioning again. I was frozen, one fist held out and Cheondoong toppled back on the sand with wide eyes of shock and one hand placed to an already darkening skin.
“H-hyung?” he stuttered, touching the bruise on his left cheek. He stared at me with disbelief and I saw his tongue gingerly probe the injury. Even the other four were frozen, as if their brains couldn’t compute what I had just done.
Cheondoong raised his head to look at me in the eyes, but suddenly dark red liquid leaked from the corner of his mouth. He raised his hand to touch it and it came away with coppery blood coating the tips.
The sight of blood kickstarted me. “Cheondoong!” I gasped, kneeling down. I winced as he flinched, leaning away from me as if he was afraid. “I’m sorry.” I apologized, feeling tears coming to my eyes. “I’m so, so sorry. Forgive me.” I begged.
Now Seungho kneeled down next to us both. He leaned out to gently touch Cheondoong’s wound who winced. “I’m fine, hyung.” He pushed away the probing hand and with his other hand wiped away the blood. Instead of clearing it, his hand smeared the bloodstain over his cheek as if to remind me of my criminal deed.
Cheondoong pushed himself off the sandy ground and stood with his shoulders hunched, as if trying to ward us off.
“I’m sorry Cheondoong.” I tried to apologize again. “I just got…really…angry.” I admitted.
Cheondoong’s eyes seemed to flash in a way I just couldn’t decipher. “What do you want me to say, hyung?” his voice took on a bitter tone. “You don’t understand my feelings and I won’t be able to understand yours.”
I was taken aback with his wild hiss. It was like looking at feral cat with his eyes slit and ears flung back. “I-I…”
Seungho stood forwards. “It was both your faults.” He said, flinging his arms out to separate the two of us. He looked at me. “You should’ve controlled yourself better, but I understand why you’re angry. We all are.” At that, he turned to face Cheondoong with glittering eyes. “And you.” He hissed. “Can you not trust us? All this chaos, it’s all because of your little secrets.”
Cheondoong flinched.
“Secrets.” G.O stepped forwards and looked at Cheondoong squarely in the eye. “Yes, whilst we’re on the subject of secrets why don’t you tell us about that car crash?”
Cheondoong’s eyes widened and he trembled. “Car crash…hyung…what are you-“
“Don’t lie to us.” G.O spat, kicking the sand furiously. “You’ve lied enough already!”
At that, Cheondong’s eyes darkened as if he was sealing himself off. “What do you want me to say? Yes! I was in that car crash, yes I might’ve been the one to hit your girlfriend and yes it’s all my ing fault!”
His eyes seem to gleam and his entire body tensed. We all were taken aback at this new Cheondoong. Sure we had seen his many faces from innocent, to somber and very often pouty. But we had never seen anger of this level. It was like he was emitting thunderclouds and spitting fire. His hands bunched into fists, his muscles strained with anger and veins on his neck stood out.
“You know why I’m not telling you anything?” he yelled. “It’s because it’s for your own ing good. You don’t understand what I’m going through and I doubt you ever will. Everything! Everything I’ve done is for everyone else.”
All of us were backing off now; frightened by this feral creature Cheondoong had turned into.
“Everything…” he staggered backwards and let the words fall from his mouth. “Everything is always my fault, always.” Tears were falling now. We were all stunned, unsure of how to deal his emotions that shifted faster than a storm cloud.
He looked at us mournfully. In that moment, not only did I regret punching him but I also regretted thinking he had everything I wanted. At that moment, I was realizing that our Cheondoong may be carrying something heavier than I would ever understand.
“Why,” he fell to his knees. “Why is that it that I mess up everything?” He curled and uncurled his hands, shaking even more severely than before and then pressed them to the sides of his head, holding them as if suffering from a headache.
Seungho took one step forwards, as if afraid he was suffering from a . But he stopped as Cheondoong raised his head clasped between his two hands and in that moment, our eyes focused on his tear stained cheeks.
“Cheondoong?” I whispered.
But he seemed lost in another world, his eyes taking on a glazed sheen like he wasn’t looking at us properly. “Why can’t I do anything right?” he whispered pitifully.
“Mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.” He breathed and closed his eyes. He was frozen in that exact moment for so long we were worried again.
“Cheondoong?” Mir whispered and took one step forwards.
At his movement, like a puppet whose strings were snapped, Cheondoong crumpled and fell to the floor.
We all rushed over, shaking his prone body.
“Cheondoong! Cheondoong!” we screamed when he did not respond. “CHEONDOONG!”
A/N - Another cliffie, sorry~ But this chapter revealed a lot!!! Next chapter: Cheondoong's in hospital! How will everyone react??? Find out tomorrow (btw i feel like i'm a broadcasting MC right now...)
Omo! And did you check out the pic??? Mblaq in Idol Manager!!! So excited~~~ Cheondoong's teaser was released today, he is so so so so so so so ADORABLE in it!!! Sigh, can't wait to see more amazing mblaq on variety shows~ If you haven't seen it yet, check it out below:
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