Fools.

The word replayed in my mind, like a damaged recorder.

Fools.

I was in a daze, my mind losing the sense of place. For a long agonizing moment, my memory failed to inform me of where I was. I was lost.

 

My blurred eyesight began to clear, tears that once sat on my waterline trailed down my cheek, leaving only a haunting memory of what happened the moments before. I tried to utter a word, any word, but only one came to mind.

 

Sehun.

 

But to no avail; my voice abandoned me.

 

Where am I?

 

I tried to look around, but it was as though I was the only source of light. My hands radiated energy, in the midst of an abyss, yet the darkness seemed fond of me.

 

I was in a pit, yet I felt at home.

 

I was in the darkness, but it felt like I belonged.

 

Where am I?

 

A silent sensation crept up my body, as if the darkness was trying to tell me something. “Where..” it seemed to whisper, a sound barely louder than a fast breeze in a starry, silent night. “The others…” the sound came yet again, one so unique it was unearthly, inhuman. The raw power of the source could be felt by the hushed words, so quiet yet so loud, as if every note, every pitch was bouncing off the walls of this non existent room.

 

“The others,” I repeated in a haze, my mind still not conjuring up the ability to make out what was going on. I strained my eyes into the darkness, catching a glimpse of what looked like a tree. I cocked my head to the side, a frown beginning to form on my face. The glow, that only moments ago seemed to be radiating off me, felt as though it was being into this.. Tree.

 

I analyzed said tree, the way it felt ancient, as though I was staring into a god’s eyes. Although difficult to notice at first, despite being so plainly obvious, I noticed the tree was cut perfectly in half. A creation of the most powerful, as if left unfinished. It stood elegantly in the dark, with leaves that outnumbered the amount of hair on my head, each unique in its own way. The roots clung to the ground, like a fist clutching a large ball of dirt, fingers sprawled and uneven. The trunk, wide and large, mimicking people huddled under an umbrella of leaves. I could almost breathe in its fragrance; a sweet, natural smell that furthered the aura it emitted. It was a nocturnal wonder, awake and alive amid this dark night. Flowers of all sorts sat on the crown of the tree, a tree that simulated the feel of a castle in the woods, enriched with life.

 

A sigh escaped my lips, not one of disappointment, but of wonder. A hushed murmur of multiple people crowded the space, as if every leaf had its own voice. “The twelve… bring them here,” a voice, combining all the faint mumbles, spoke.

 

“How?” I speculated, my voice barely above a whisper.

Badum.

 

In that very instant, the divine presence was gone. There in one second, gone in the next.

 

“Luhan!” a voice shrilled.

 

“Look at his eyes, I ruined him, this is all my fault,” someone sobbed, a familiar someone.

 

My eyes adjusted to the sudden light,  failing to distinguish colours at first, then focused on a worried face hovering above mine.

 

“Luhan?” he whimpered. A groan escaped my throat, and simultaneously all heads turned towards me. As if on instinct, I counted. 1..2..3..9..10. “What the hell,” I croaked, and sighs of relief (and a scream) echoed around the.. park? I sat up, examining my surroundings, with 9 weary pairs of eyes watching my every move.

 

“Where are we?”

 

“I don’t know, I just-” Jongin started, and was cut off by a fierce Jongdae. “He  saved us, and you like semi-died!” he exclaimed as he threw his arms in the air. I heard a sniffle from behind me and turned to face a disgruntled Sehun. I smiled faintly, the sight of him warmed my chest, and it felt as though a heavy weight was lifted off my chest. The feeling of urgency failed to leave my body, however, and the message I had to convey was stuck in the back of my head.

 

I racked my brain trying to recall the moments before, the thought sending a shiver down my spine. “We have to get Minseok,” I demanded.

 

I finally used this chance to examine everyone, all tired and hopeless. “Ha, you know how that went. Do you know how long you’ve been knocked out?” Kris growled. “A whole day, Luhan. A day. We didn’t know what the hell to do, all we’ve been doing is changing locations so they couldn’t track us as easily,” he grumbled. As easily. The day of our hopeful ‘rescue’ came to my mind, and horror swept over me.

 

“What happened to Minseok?” I roared. “Who knows?” Jongdae replied bitterly, and the familiar sense of urgency sat in my chest. I sighed and ran through my hands through my hair, the world spinning around me. “Is Tao okay?” I inquired, peeking up at Kris. He nodded and jutted his chin towards the boy behind him who was curled up on the ground. “He woke up, saw you like.. that, cried, got sleepy and passed out,” Joonmyun explained.

 

The events of the my last conscious day ran through my mind; Tao getting tranquilized, Kim Youngmin in the flesh, there. “The rest will be here in a little” I recalled Youngmin saying and I laughed bitterly to myself. “We thought we were a step ahead of them, didn’t we? When we were always two steps behind,” I shook my head in disbelief.

 

The boys sat in solemn silence. “What happened to you while you were.. gone?” Jongin whispered, fearing the answer.

 

The past events rushed into my brain at once, the darkness, the eerie silence, the tree.

 

Oh, how I wished I could brush it off as a dream, but fiction can’t be so realistic. Henry’s words ran through my head, a legend of a tree, guardians, heart.

 

“Jongin! That place we were in for the split second you teleported us, I was there!” I gasped. As if expecting that answer, Jongin’s face fell, misery written all over. “No, no, no! It’s not like that, the-the tree Henry was talking about, half of it is there!” I proclaimed, energy surging through me once again. “What?” Yixing drawled, clearly not as excited as I was.

 

As though it was on cue, a branch snapped. Kris rushed to wake Tao up, the latter whining as he woke up. A small figure stepped outside of a bush, and gasps left our chests.

 

Minseok.

 

He stepped closer, expressionless, and the rest of us stood still. It was him, yet it wasn’t. Physically, he was the same, but when I studied him, I noticed the cuts and bruises on his arms. His small fragile body looked as though it had gone through hell and back, and guilt settled in the pit of my stomach. “Min-” Jongdae started, making his way to the unfamiliar Minseok, when I halted his movements. “Don’t be foolish, look at his face!” I snapped, but Jongdae ignored it. I was pushed aside, everyone on their feet now and Jongdae stomped over to the small man.

 

“Don’t,” Minseok whimpered, defeat apparent in his voice. “I-I c-” he began, but his hand jutted out and a ball of ice came flying towards Jongdae. Jongin teleported to Jongdae within the second, pushing him on the ground as the ice ball flew above them.

 

“He’s not him right now, Jongdae!” Joonmyun bellowed, hurt seeping from his voice. “No,” Jongdae’s face contorted, pain visible with the lines between his furrowed eyebrows, his lips quivering. “Minnie, please.”

 

Minseok only poised for another attack.

 

“Minnie,” Jongdae’s voice faded to a hiss, and he stood. Tears ran down his cheeks, and he swiftly dodged yet another ice ball thrown at him. Ignoring the constant screams from the other boys, he stalked closer to Minseok, carefully dodging every attack. I began to run towards him, but he stretched his arm out behind his slender, shaking body, indicating he wanted to do this alone.

 

Finally standing right in front of Minseok, the taller gave him a sad smile. He bent his head lower, to rest on Minseok’s shoulder, and s his arms around his back. A few moments passed, Jongdae failing to keep his composure, Minseok as expressionless as the moments before. I caught Minseok’s lips moving, a silent word uttered, only for Jongdae to hear. The tears fell without ceasing.

 

Jongdae tensed, then relaxed, still embracing the cold man. In an instant, one I would play for the rest of my life, one that seemed to play in slow motion, Minseok’s hand moved. A loud crunching noise, a noise I could never try to comprehend, echoed. And Jongdae, a man who loved more than he could ever hate, a man who never misjudged the little man in his embrace, remained motionless. An icicle, the size of my forearm, dug through his chest and out of his back.

 

A horrified shriek left my throat as the world froze around me. Bile rose to my throat and in that same second, a loud rumble vibrated through the ground. Jongdae’s hands were clutching Minseok’s shirt, the latter now slumped in his clutch. Burns were apparent on Minseok’s skin, his muscles twitching. Slowly, they both dropped to their knees and to the ground, still enveloped in one another.

 

Seconds that felt like decades passed, utter silence infecting the area and the metallic smell of blood swept through my nose. I ran, not succeeding in getting far as my knees buckled and I crashed to the ground. Minseok.. Jongdae..

 

Memories flashed through my mind, my heart aching to talk to him, to apologise.

 

Jongdae ran behind Minseok, his arms wrapped around his waist and his chin resting on the elder’s shoulders. “I love you, you know,” he muttered and nuzzled his face into the crook of his neck.

 

A memory that was only a few days old passed through my mind, yet it felt like centuries had passed

 

“Me next!” Jongdae announced and ran off to the rock. He then stood there and proceeded to strip off his clothes.

Oh right.

He didn’t have any swimming trunks on.

“KIM JONGDAE, COVER THAT UP!” Minseok shrieked and put his hands on Sehun’s eyes, blocking him from the horrifying view. “At least put your underwear back on!”

“It’s okay Baozi, it’s all yours,” he smirked and wriggled around, receiving a bunch of screams of protest before he put his underwear back on.

 

I choked a sob as I crawled towards the lifeless couple. “Please, please don’t leave us,” I cried. “Please..”

I felt a pair of hands clasp my shoulder, and I looked up to see Kris, his eyes red with hot tears. “This is what they wanted,” he wept. The silent words that last escaped Minseok's mouth hung around the air, and we finally understood what his last words to Jongdae were.

 

"Kill me."

 

Hours passed as we sat there, still trying to wrap our heads around the events that occurred. We cried for hours on end, strengthening one another by keeping each other grounded. Fatigue finally began to settle in, exhaustion clear on all of our faces.

We finally mustered up the courage to pick our friends up and dig a burial for them.

 

I won’t recall the events of the burial as it was too emotional for me, but it’s safe to say it didn’t provide as much closure as people would presume.

 

I sighed as we settled down again and announced “well, now at least we know what we have to do,

ing destroy SM.”

 

❀     ❀     ❀     ❀     ❀     ❀     ❀     ❀     ❀     ❀    ❁    ❁     

wow i am actually writing an ending whoop whoop! rushed, but still. 

notice the flowers~~

Comments are very appreciated<3

Oh and if anyone has any k-drama suggestions, that would be wonderful. I think I might start watching hehe.