chapter III 무서움 [fear]

my mind is telling me no but my gut is telling me yes...

        A pair of hazel brown eyes slowly began to flutter open. His eyebrows pulled together as he felt the dull pain in the back of his head. His ears were ringing and his vision was blurry but his memory was foggy as well. What happened? Why does his head hurt so bad? And where the hell is he? The questions made his head hurt and he groaned softly as a result, accidentally catching the attention of his fellow gang members. He could hear some muffled voices before someone shouted, causing his ears to ring a bit louder. Daehyun reached up and covered his ears as his face scrunched a bit in pain. After short moment, he felt a hand gently touch his arm - almost hesitantly as if the person was afraid that Daehyun's arm would break. Daehyun slowly opened his eyes and blinked a couple times before he tried to sit up. The hand let go of his arm and slipped on to his mid-back, guiding him up into a sitting position. Letting out a heavy breathe, he lowered his head a little as he closed his eyes once more. Once again, he heard someone speak but his hearing wasn't quite in tune just yet. His eyebrows furrowed a little and he lifted his head, opening his eyes before looking up. There was 3 males standing in front of him, looking at him with worried gazes. Daehyun put one hand on the mattress he was sitting on as he reached up, his fingertips meeting a cloth that was wrapped around his head. Groaning, Daehyun closed his eyes as he suddenly remembered what happened. The bank. They were going to switch bags. All he remembered seeing was Zelo give Choi some kind of signal before everything had went black.

"Daehyun." A deep voice called out softly, causing the said male's eyes to reopen. "Can you see us...?" Daehyun looked up and scanned each other faces before nodding softly. "Can you hear us...?" Daehyun swallowed thickly and only then did he notice his throat was try.

"...Water..." He managed to mumble before looking around for a glass of water. One of them jumped up disappeared out of sight for a few seconds before returning with a glass of water. Daehyun took it graciously and began to chug it down.

"Careful, you might choke." One warned, putting his hand on Daehyun's shoulder. The sudden touch made Daehyun flinch a little, making the hand immediately pull back. Daehyun his lips and looked up at  them.

"Dae...do you even...recognize us?" The same male asked, his eyebrows furrowing in concern. "You got hit on your head pretty hard..."

Daehyun stared at them before exhaling a little, closing his eyes. "I'd rather die than to not recognize any of you." He replied, hearing a couple of relieved sighs. "Don't worry. I know all 3 of you..." He felt the glass touch his lips and opened his eyes, only to see Yongguk gently pressing the glass to his lips.

"Drink up." He suggested, his voice soft with worry and warmth. "You should drink as much fluids as you can. You've got a nasty concussion." Daehyun nodded and drank the rest of the water, handing it to Himchan so that he could refill the glass. "Do you remember what happened?"

"I remember...the bank...we were going to swap duffel bags, but...the last thing I remember seeing is when I looked up..." Daehyun furrowed his eyebrows. "I saw...Zelo nod at Choi, but I didn't understand what that nod was for. When I was about to ask, that's when...it all went black." He revealed, feeling a spark of pain in his head that made him jolt. He let out a soft hiss and touched his head, closing one eye.

Himchan returned with the glass and held it out for Daehyun to take it. "Choi was the one who hit you. But since you were knocked out, you don't know what else happened." He exhaled. Daehyun blinked slowly and took the glass before looking around, noticing someone was missing.

"...Where's Zelo?" He asked. Jongup glanced up at Yongguk, who was too busy staring longingly out of the window. Jongup sighed softly and sat down on the edge of the bed.

"We don't even know what happened - it all happened so fast. To be honest, it's still hard to process." Jongup paused momentarily and looked down at his hands. "After you were knocked unconscious, all hell broke loose. I started punching the out of Choi and Yongguk was an inch away from blasting Soosun's brains out with a gun. But then we all had noticed something; Zelo had disappeared along with Soohyuk and Justin. Then Himchan came out of nowhere and that Soohyuk and Justin were trying to kidnap Zelo. Yongguk picked you up and we dashed outside to try to stop it but...we were too late. By the time we got out, the van was already half way down the street."

"How could this have even happened?" Daehyun's tone dropped a little. "Zelo isn't one to get caught easily like that."

"I was watching the CCTV's the entire time, Dae." Himchan reminded, folding his arms across his chest. "I remember watching Zelo freeze and immediately start crying once you dropped to the ground. He tried to run to you but got held back by Justin. With both Soohyuk and Justin, they managed to carry him out of the bank, but it took a good while to force him into the truck since he was fighting like hell."

"Zelo is gone. We think it was by the same people who took Youngjae, too." Jongup assumed, shrugging a little. Daehyun's eyes narrowed slightly and he exhaled, closing his eyes. "Dae...this just proves that Zelo wasn't up to anything, right? He's been innocent the entire time!"

"...I don't know." Daehyun said softly. "I don't know what to believe right now, to be honest. My mind is telling  me no but my gut is telling me yes."

Yongguk growled softly and got up to his feet. "God damn it, Daehyun!" He yelled, making the younger boy flinch in surprise. "Will you give it up already!? Zelo isn't up to anything! He even stated so and now look where he is!" Daehyun frowned.

"But hyung-"

"No ing buts!" Yongguk hissed, pointing a finger. "Zelo isn't the one who betrayed us."

"Yongguk, this isn't what I want to believe either!" Daehyun retorted. "You think I'm purposely thinking like this?!"

"Maybe!" Yongguk threw his arms up. "Maybe you are because you want to separate us."

Daehyun fell silent and his eyes widened a little. "...What are you talking about?"

"Zelo told me about the crush you have on me. About the crush you've always had on me." Yongguk folds his arms across his chest. "I think it's because Zelo's in the way. I think you're blaming Zelo because you want me all to yourself."

"What?" Daehyun exclaimed. "That's absurd! Why the hell would I even think about doing that?!"

"Because you're in love with him. People tend to think irrationally when they see the person they love with someone else..." Himchan agreed, rubbing the side of his neck. Daehyun looked up and frowned a bit.

"Himchan...you too?"

"Dae, maybe Yongguk is right on this one." Jongup furrowed his eyebrows as he spoke. "Maybe it's your feelings for him trying to get the best of you because of this dramatic situation."

"If I actually was up to something like that, it would make me a lowlife douche!" Daehyun defended. "Yeah, I love you Yongguk but it doesn't mean I'm trying to ruin your relationship with Zelo!"

"Yes you are! Why else would you be lying about all this?!" Himchan boomed, making Daehyun flinch again.

"...L-Lying?" Daehyun murmured. "I'm not lying about anything-"

"-First you accuse Zelo of doing something he's not even apart of, not you're lying about having your feelings for Yongguk being involved. Face it, Daehyun. Just admit it already." Himchan demanded, folding his arms across his chest. Daehyun swore he felt his heart beginning to break. How could his friends even think such low things of him? Did the things they were explaining even sound like something Daehyun would do?

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