“Myungsoo!”

Leo reached out and wrapped his arm around her waist, preventing her from moving any further into the treacherous falling building that was crumbling away piece by piece into the void of the ground.

“You can’t go in there,” he murmured as he eyed the rubble.

“But Myungsoo’s in there! Not to mention N and K and anybody else in there!” the girl cried, her eyes wild with uneasiness.

“We got everyone out who shouldn’t be involved, remember?’ Leo said, as he tried to reassure her. “Ravi, Ken, and I checked the place three times.”

She didn’t seem to hear him as she struggled against his strong grip, but weak from worry and anxiety, she was unable to feel anything in her arms and legs and watched hopelessly from the distance away, her head sinking down in despair.

She wouldn’t believe what was happening. Was that sinking feeling she had before when the red string simply disappeared related to this? Did something actually happen to Myungsoo?

She shook the negative thoughts out of her head as she raised her gaze determinedly up. No, she couldn’t think like that. She wouldn’t let something so arbitrary as a string decide her fate, their fate.

“Was this part of the plan?” Ravi suddenly asked from the side. None of them could get any closer to the damage until it settled down completely. I thought we were going to blow it up after Myungsoo came out.”

“That is the plan,” Ken piped up. “Maybe Myungsoo decided to take into his own hands?”

“But he doesn’t even know where we set them up,” Ravi argued. “There’s no way he would have.”

Ken fell silent at his friend’s words and finally ended up shrugging, for he had no explanation either.

A spine-chilling silence swept through the air with unspoken words of the reason why the building collapsed. Someone must have set it off, but all the people who knew where each detonation was had left the building together.

As they watched the last bits of the building settle down into dust, each person’s worries only intensified and their hidden thoughts of what happened to the people inside were never confirmed with their mouths.

Soojin tried to calm her beating heart, closing her eyes and clenching her hands into fists. The others had already started conversing about what they should start doing and how they were going to search the place for any…survivors. And once in awhile, one of them would glance over to Soojin to see how she fared, for it was obvious that Soojin’s and Myungsoo’s relationship had become more than just friends.

They tried to give her some space, leaving her a little off to the side while they talked. Soojin knew that they were being considerate, but she couldn’t help but to think that it would be better if they stuck together; she had enough of being left behind.

She was about to take one step forward when she heard a light cough accompanied with a groan and then two consecutive dull drops. She frowned slightly and turned her head slightly to see what was behind her. And when she did, she let out a muffled squeal as she rushed towards whatever she saw.

Her cry did not go unnoticed as Leo turned to look what the commotion was all about. His eyes widened as he left the group towards where Soojin was heading. It wasn’t long until the rest of the group caught sight and rushed towards the fuss that was taking place.

“You…You’re K,” Soojin muttered as the said male leaned forward like he was about to fall, a pained expression written on his face.

Soojin caught him before he fell next to the two companions he had dragged out and helped him sit down. She had seen him walking unsteadily towards her with N on one arm and Myungsoo on the other as he lightly dropped both unconscious males on the floor, unable to hold them up with his drained strength.

Leo had finally joined the group, and Soojin wasn’t able to focus completely on the heavy-breathing male. Instead, her attention was focused on the black haired man who looked like he was beaten up rather harshly. Cuts and bruised littered his face and his black hair matted with sweat, sticking to his face.

Soojin lightly brushed his hair away before leaning down and putting her ear close to his lips. His breathing was shallow, but it was there. She collapsed onto the floor in a sigh of relief, letting go a breath she didn’t know she was holding in. Her eyes left the male in front of her towards the other unconscious male whose hair still held the faded tint of red. She crawled over to see if he was still breathing too with an anxious face and finally relaxed when she discovered that he was still alive as well.

The rest of the group converged around them, their eyes b with confusion and curiosity, but none of them knew where to start.

Soojin looked at K, or rather Taehyun, as he smiled gratefully at Ravi who had given him a bottle of water.

“How...Where…What…Did they…?” Soojin stuttered, unable to form proper sentences.

Taehyun smiled softly at her. “Myungsoo and Hakyeon should be fine. I got them out before the building collapsed.”

“How did it collapse in the first place?” Ken asked suspiciously with a raised eyebrow.

Taehyun blinked at him as he responded with, “Because I set the bombs off.”

The only sound that could be heard was the dry wind rustling as everyone remained silent, letting the male’s words settle.

“You set them off?” Hoya asked in astonishment. “Why the hell would you do that?”

Taehyun smiled bitterly at them. “Because I, too, was sick of that place.”

“Then…,” Hoya asked, looking at the two males on the ground.

Taehyun followed his line of vision and frowned ever so slightly. “When I went back for them, they already collapsed. I believe that the exhaustion got to them. I had already set of the explosives, so I had to drag them out of there. That was my mistake; I thought they would have escaped. I should have made sure that were out of harm’s way.”

Ken looked at him and then back at Myungsoo and Hakyeon. “Did they…you know, fix their problem?”

Taehyun frowned slightly. “What do you mean?”

Ken shrugged. “Honestly, I don’t know what I expected. One to be the victor? That either Myungsoo or N would win? Yet, both look fine despite their scratches? Did they fix their relationship?”

Taehyun looked over to the unconscious males. “I honestly don’t know. I left in the midst of it. They were both determined to set things straight their own way. As did I.” He paused as he looked back the building that was no more and then back at the two people he called his friends.

Soojin observed Taehyun as he looked over the other two males. He seemed annoyed at the situation, in the way a friend would, but layered underneath it all was a look of relief, that everything seemed to be over. But as Soojin looked at the three of them, she wasn’t sure. Not until one of the two verified it. That all of this wasn’t just for naught.

A light groan escaped the mouth of one of the two as everyone turned to look who it was.

The boy winced as he tried to sit up with his elbows perched on the ground. He squinted through half-lidded eyes, mostly though exhaustion and because he felt a bruise forming around his right eye. He turned and observed his surroundings, only realizing that he wasn’t inside but rather outside and that many pairs of eyes were watching him intently. He moved from each pair of eyes, jumping one to another until he landed on one particular pair. He stared at her as she stared back while she waited until he spoke.

He blinked at her before he let out a breathy, “I’m sorry,” as he dropped back onto his back, unable to hold his weight.

Taehyun looked at him worried eyes, but the male seemed to know his thoughts as he waved his hand in reassurance and a soft reply of “I’m fine”.

Soojun stared at him in confusion and apprehension, unable to understand what those meant or why he said it to her. Did he really think that a simple “I’m sorry” would solve all of this? That she would simply forgive him? And it wasn’t until she thought those feelings did she realized that she was angry at him. For putting her through all these pain, putting everyone through pain and hardships.

“I’m sorry?” she whispered angrily. Everyone turned to look at her, including the now conscious male. “Did you think I’m sorry would fix everything?”

Most of the group looked at her in surprise. That she would say these words to him. Fear and admiration were just few of the things that they thought of her.

The male watched her and shook his head. “No, I don’t. But I thought right now, you were the one who should hear those words from me the most.”

Soojin opened to speak, but words wouldn’t come out. She looked down, unable to say anything back. Because the way he looked at her, it seemed like he regretted everything and everything he did. The face that showed that he was truly sorry. She didn’t have the heart to push him any lower.

But she did ask one thing. “Why?”

He looked at her. “Why what? Why I think you should hear the first sorry from me?” He looked at her and then at the other male who still hadn’t come to yet. He smiled wistfully as he watched him. “Isn’t it because of him? I’m sorry that I put Myungsoo through so much and in the end affected you. You two are going out, correct?”

Soojin widened her eyes the slightest and blushed before looking down at her left hand and then frowning. She then looked at Myungsoo with furrowed eyes, realizing that he still had woken up yet.

She scooted next to, brushing his hair out of his eyes. She glanced over to Hakyeon who was watching them. “I didn’t mean that kind of why,” blatantly avoiding his last question, “I mean, why or rather what made you change? Frankly, it seemed like a too fast of a change. To suddenly fix everything in such a short amount of time compared to the time you two hated each other.”

Hakyeon smiled sadly before turning his attention to the sky. “I think that I was bitter about Myungsoo leaving and that warped my views on the world even more. Perhaps I was waiting for him to come and stop me. So, I’m sorry. To everyone.” He shook his head before sitting up and bending his head to look at Myungsoo with a slight frown. “But why hasn’t he conscious yet?”

The group watched the peaceful looking boy until Ken piped up, “Maybe you should do some magic.”

“Magic?” Soojin asked with a raised eyebrow in confusion.

He grinned at her. “You know, like the fairytales.”

Soojin blinked at him, unable to comprehend where he was going with this.

Ravi rolled his eyes. “He’s saying that you should give him a kiss. You know, the whole true love’s kiss and that jazz.”

Soojin stared at them before snorting. “What? You want me to kiss Myungsoo?” she asked in disbelief. “You can’t be serious.” She glanced at them again when she realized that most of them were serious. “No!” she spluttered out. “What? But does that even make sense?”

“Hey, it never hurts to try,” Ken smiled devilishly.

Soojin looked at them with an uncomfortable expression, not knowing what do to. “This isn’t going to work,” she murmured as she gave a downcast look at the ground. But nevertheless, she moved closer the Myungsoo before she was looking directly at his face. She glanced at the rest of the group as they urged her to get on with it. She sighed then glanced at the boy’s face in front of her.

As she moved closer and was about to touch her lips to his, she paused, giving a hard and long look at the male. She wasn’t sure, but it seemed like Myungsoo’s lips were slightly puckered, like he was waiting for this kiss. She narrowed her eyes when she realized that it wasn’t her imagination. She quickly swung her body up and scowled.

“What?” Ken groaned. “What are you doing?”

Soojin wasn’t paying attention to him as she pulled her arm up and socked Myungsoo harshly in the arm.

The boy jumped up, complaints while rubbing his arm. “Hey! What was that for?”

Everyone besides Myungsoo and Soojin had similar shocked looks on their face seeing that Myungsoo had suddenly revived.

“What’s this?” Leo grinned. “You were conscious that whole time?”

Myungsoo didn’t meet their gazes, but the tell-a-tale grin on his face gave them the answer.

Soojin glowered even more furiously, turning her body away from Myungsoo.

He laughed as he crept behind her and said cutely, “Aw, you mad?”

She clicked her tongue as she swept her body around and landed another punch in his other arm. “It isn’t funny!” she cried out. “I…I thought…” She tried to put a strong face but her eyes glimmered with tears on the break of falling.

Myungsoo’s expression softened as he watched her before bringing her in a hug. “I told you I wouldn’t die,” he whispered in her ear.

Soojin took a deep breath as she buried her face in his shoulder, opting not to say anything in fear of breaking down into tears that moment.

“Oh God,” Hoya’s voice mumbled out, breaking their embrace as they looked at him. “We get it. You guys like each other. Blah, blah, blah. Just do this in your own free time, or else I’m going to puke.”

Myungsoo smiled at his words while Soojin rolled her eyes.

“And we got more important things to worry about,” Hoya continued. “Like them,” he murmured as he looked pointedly at Hakyeon and Taehyun.

Hakyeon who realized that all their gazes were all on him became flustered and jumped up. He wobbled a little from dizziness for he had gotten up too quickly before stabilizing himself.

Taehyun stood up as well, first looking at Hakyeon and then the rest of the group.

 Hakyone spoke first, his voice coming out hoarse and slightly nervous. “I promised to end this organization, and I will stay true to my words.” His gaze fell to the floor as he continued. “I also want to apologize to everyone I’ve hurt, but seeing that there will be many, that shall take a while to do. But most of all,” he continued, raising his head to look at the group, “I want to live a normal life.”

Taehyun smiled at Hakyeon and nodded. “I, too, want to apologize and help set things straight.”

Hakyeon frowned slightly however. “But even I don’t where to start.”

Ken stepped forward with a large grin on his face. “Well, my good friend, you’re in luck.”

“Friend?” Hakyeon asked slowly, a confused look in his eyes.

“Sure,” Ken continued, putting his arm around Hakyeon who in return flinched. “Trust me on this. We can help,” he grinned as he gestured to Leo and Ravi.

Hakyeon blinked his eyes uncertaintly at Ken. “Alright,” he murmured slowly. “What do you have in mind?”

Ken grinned widely. “Oh, I never thought you asked.”

Soojin watched at Ken led Hakyeon away towards Leo and Ravi, telling him exactly how they were going to put everything back in place. She could tell that Hakyeon was a little bewildered at Ken’s friendliness, especially what happened between all of them, but she was sure that it would turn out fine.

“I’ll be back,” Myungsoo murmured to her.

She turned to look as Myungsoo walked over to Taehyun who had a content smile on his face. She then moved her head in the other direction where Hoya had arrived.

“How’s your brother?” she asked.

When they had made their escape from the building, dragging everyone they could find out. Mostly everyone in the building had left and some carrying their unconscious friends and others throwing a small “Thank you” towards them. Leo and his group had scoured the inside, making sure that no one was left inside before meeting Soojin and Hoya in the abandoned smaller building further away. Which had left Hoya’s brother Taehyung the last person to leave. Except for the fact that he was still unconscious. So they called Dongwoo who brought Sunggyu and Woohyun to help, and without a word of confusion or bewilderment, they had taken his brother home, promising to keep him updated on his condition.

Hoya sighed. “He’s fine. He’s not hurt, and he’s pretty much sleeping it off.”

Soojin smiled. “That’s good.” When Hoya didn’t reply, Soojin looked at him catching the worried expression on his face.

“He’ll be fine,” she reassured him.

Hoya frowned. “That’s not it. I’m just worried about what’ll happen to him. He’s was so intent on revenge, and in an instant, it all fell apart. And I’m partly to blame.”

Soojin smiled lightly at him. “Don’t worry. He’ll be fine.”

He scowled at her. “How do you know?”

She grinned, pulling out her phone while dangling it from the corner. “I’m made sure that there’ll be someone to set him straight.”

Hoya blinked at her, changing his gaze from her to her phone. His eyes widened momentarily in understanding before breaking into a smile. “Your brother,” he answered.

She smiled at him. “Yep. I sort of told him the gist of it all, and honestly, he sounded pissed,” she chuckled. “But from what I learned from all of this is that friendship goes a long way. Your brother will be fine.”

Hoya pursed his lips before grinning and pulling Soojin into a large hug. “Thanks. Thank you, Cho Soojiin. For putting yourself in all of this. For not walking away from the Myungsoo. For putting your trust in us all. For helping me and my brother. For helping putting a stop in this all. Thank you.”

Soojin blinked slowly, a bit taken back from the sudden gesture from Hoya but in the end smiled. She hugged him back before pulling back and giving a soft punch to his arm. “Anytime.”

“Hey.”

Taehyun looked over to see Myungsoo. “Hello, Myungsoo,” he said warmly.

Myungsoo stood next to him while Taehyun continued to watch Hakyeon and the rest of group.

“Myungsoo,” he finally said. “Thank you.”

Myungsoo glanced at him. “What for?”

Taehyun let out a soft laugh. “Don’t act all modest. You know what you did, but if you really want to know what for then I shall say thank you for doing what I couldn’t ever do.”

Myungsoo didn’t say anything in return.

Taehyun continued. “I was jealous of you. For being so upfront with your feelings.”

Myungsoo frowned deeply at those words. “You’re wrong. I wasn’t ever upfront with my feelings. I ran away…”

“But more than me,” the other interrupted. He glanced at Myungsoo before fully facing him. “You managed to tell Hakyeon you wanted to leave, and even years after, you managed to tell him what you wanted to say years before. I could never do that. But that’s not the only reason why I’m jealous of you. Hakyeon always liked you better.”

“Taehyun…”

He put up a hand to silence Myungsoo. “Even after you left, Hakyeon would never stop talking about you. Granted, it wasn’t praising you but rather spiteful vengeful words, but I could tell. He couldn’t understand why you left like you did, and it twisted him up in confusion. But even when all he did was talk bad about you, it wasn’t as if he hated you. He simply couldn’t. And because of that confliction, all he could was put his anger into something else.

“And all I could do was support him. But he never saw me, only you. Even though I was right there next to him. He never looked at me once.”

“I’m sorry, Taehyun. I wasn’t able to stop this before it all started,” Myungsoo murmured softly.

Taehyun shook his head. “It was inevitable. But I don’t think you understand what I’m trying to say.”

“That everything will be fine?”

Taehyun chuckled. “I suppose that’s one way of putting it.”

Myungsoo pursed his lips, trying to see the hidden message. “So what are you going to do now?”

Taehyun glanced at him with a surprised smile. “You really don’t understand, do you? I’m going to do what I’ve always done.” He turned his attention back to the front where he watched Hakyeon trying to remove himself from Ken’s embrace. “I’ll support and follow Hakyeon with his decisions. I’ve made that resolution the moment I met him.” He frowned slightly at the sight of Ken tightening his grip on Hakyeon as the other continuously tried to avoid his touch.

He then looked over to where Soojin and Hoya were. “Shouldn’t you get going? It looks like your girlfriend his getting a little friendly with the other boy.”

Myungsoo whipped his head over to see Hoya and Soojin hugging, turning his expression into a deep scowl.

“Good luck, Myungsoo. And thank you. I hope we meet again with a better future.”

Myungsoo looked at Taehyun as he walked away and towards Hakyeon and the others. He stealthily pulled Hakyeon and Ken apart from each other as Ken cried out shouts of disappointment of ruining his fun. Hakyeon, on the other hand, glowered at Ken, hiding behind Taehyun with a tight grip on the back of his shirt, shouting foul insults at Ken.

Taehyun looked surprised at Hakyeon’s actions, but then a blissful smile bloomed on his face.

And at that moment, Myungsoo understood. Why Taehyun dislike him, why he was constantly jealous, even after he left their group. He smiled wistfully, hoping for the best of them, before turning his attention back to Hoya and Soojin who were now simply talking to each other.

He stalked over to them about to say a few harsh words until Soojin saw him and rushed over to him. She gave him a long warm hug that melted away all of his anxiety.

“Finally,” Hoya muttered. “Shall we go?”

Myungsoo nodded, and Hoya put his hands into his pockets and walked over to the rest of the group.

Soojin peeked at Myungsoo from the corner of her eye and smiled softly. “Is it finally over?”

Myungsoo looked over to her and smiled back. “Yeah, I think it is.”

She sighed and looked up to the sky. “I’m glad everything came out well.” She glanced at him again. “I’m glad that you’re okay.”

Myungsoo blinked at her, unable to keep a smile from appearing on his face. He cleared his throat and responded, “Well, there’s one thing that I haven’t done yet.”

The smile off her face and a worried expression replaced it. “What? What is it?”

He grinned. “This.”

He pulled her towards her and gave her a kiss. A long and hard one that made her grab onto the front of his shirt so that she wouldn’t collapse then and there. One that expressed his relief and happiness that everything was over and that she was fine as well.

They broke apart, slightly out of breath, but both with smiles on their faces.

“Hey, you two!” Hurry up, or we’re going to leave you!” Ken shouted from the distance.

Soojin laughed while she grasped Myungsoo’s hand, intertwining their fingers together, and pulled him with her as they walked over to where the others were waiting.

A/N: One more chapter. Are you ready?