There’s a glass maze—every turn of his body he only see’s reflections of his confused face. Mingyu moves without direction, without purpose, trapped in an elaborate structure that he cannot recall entering. There is no hope in this maze; he only finds false starts and the cold touch of glass. It calls him, an unknown song, a firm but soft tinkle—maddening. Mingyu, with his lack of coordination, makes it up in brute strength as he slams shoulder first into one of the mirrors. He expects a sting, but instead he feels nothing as he falls, and keeps falling; down-and-down until the voice becomes part of the silence.

It was a lie.

My baby don't mess around
Because she loves me so
This I know fo sho

Damyang is pretty in the same sense as it is dangerous, you must look closely in order to see either. Jihoon pants heavily as he wipes the sweat that had gathered between his brow. The bamboo forest is a sea for all he cares; the tall trees into the blackened sky with no care of human needs. A shame, considering Jihoon could really use some help. He kicks a rock angrily, sinking in his own pity at his inability to locate Mingyu. What kind of idiot runs into the dead of night? Jihoon realizes his own situation and sighs, a heartbroken one, that’s who. Not allowing himself to ruminate anymore; however, Jihoon continues his trek through the bamboo. The soil is damp and fertile and everything smells so fresh and ‘naturely’ that he thinks it would be a beautiful place to get lost in, all things considered. And lost he is, Jihoon realizes with a deep groan as he wonders how he’d even lead Mingyu out of this place if he did find the giant man. He tries to recall how big the bamboo forest was when they had first entered Damyang, and if his memory serves correctly it was rather large.

“Great,” he growls, “this is all Wonwoo’s fault, if he had just kept his mouth shut or better yet if he hadn’t come to this damned town in the first place,” he shouts the last few words into the still air. His shoulders slump at the silence that echoes back. Mingyu was, has always been, too sunny for Wonwoo. Jihoon dares to venture in the idea that the puppy-faced rapper was too good, even, for Wonwoo.

“But if he’s too good for Wonwoo, who is he good for?” Jihoon’s brain questions.

“Maybe no one…”

“What? Are you okay, hyung?” Jihoon jerks at the sudden voice, his body unconscious going into a protective stance before he sees Wonwoo’s equally weary face. Great, just his luck he finds the wrong rapper. “Have you seen Mingyu yet,” Wonwoo questions. The younger looks just as defeated and tired, shoulders slumped. It appear as if he is curling in on himself, maybe he’s trying to.

“Obviously not, or else he’d be right here with me,” Jihoon grates out as civil as he can muster under the circumstances. “How long?”

Wonwoo blinks owlishly in his direction. “How long what?”

“How long have you and Jun been together?”

“J-Jihoon it’s not…what Seokmin said-“

Jihoon emits a sound that’s a cross between a growl and a bark. Despite his size, Wonwoo jumps in alarm at the singer’s fury. “Jeon Wonwoo, if you say that what Seokmin said is a lie I swear to god.” The threat goes unfinished, but there’s no need to elaborate as Wonwoo nods his head before he looks away.

“A few months after debut, it just sort of happened,” Wonwoo admits, sounding ashamed. Jihoon exhales noisily through his nose as his fingers go to message the bridge of his nose. Love, he wonders idly, has no place in a group like theirs—not romantic at least. “I didn’t expect it to affect Gyu so much…”

“Obviously,” Jihoon responds like if Wonwoo had just stated that the capital of South Korea was Seoul, “but you did. How are you going to fix this, huh?” Jihoon waves his hand vaguely in the direction of where the town might be, where the rest of the members might be. “You just don’t understand it, do you? You don’t understand how it feels to love someone who doesn’t love you back! To pine for someone for so long only for them to replace you!”

“I didn’t mean to!”

That’s the thing about anger, it makes you do stupid things. Despite the horrible screaming match, watching as Wonwoo winces at every statement, Jihoon keeps going. He wants it to hurt the way Wonwoo had hurt Mingyu. He wants his words to cut and serate the skin, leaving behind the ugly scars. He shouts the words that only the nighttime invokes, the words swallowed by the dark before they can reach the light of day.

“Why does it matter so much to you,” Wonwoo thunders back. Jihoon watches as the rapper seems to come back to life with a newfound vigor. They’re both going to regret the things that they have said thus far, but Jihoon thinks another couldn’t hurt.

“Because, you aren’t the only one who cares.”

Wonwoo opens his mouth but no sound comes out. For a while he’s a mime, a lousy one, but Jihoon watches in a weird cocktail of mirth and exasperation. After the umpteenth time of Wonwoo running his fingers through his hair, he sighs and looks Jihoon in the eye.

“Jihoon, do you happen to…like Mingyu…”

The darkness swallows the answer.

“There you two are!” A wail meets there ear before two bodies collide into Jihoon and Wonwoo. Jihoon wriggles out of whoevers grasp it is before he squints at the light in his face. Chan smiles sheepishly. “We were so worried!” The voice Jihoon quickly identifies as Seungkwan shouts, “Mingyu was lying on the main road asleep, or passed out I guess. We were so worried though!”

“Is Mingyu okay,” Wonwoo asks, unintentionally ignoring Seungkwans concern. “Where is he? Who’s with him?”

“First off, yes, he’s at the inn, and the rest of the group,” Soonyoung counts the questions on his fingers.

“W-Wait, how far are we from the road,” Jihoon buts in, head already pounding.

Soonyoung’s brows furrow before he moves his head to where Jihoon assumes the road is. “Not far, really, maybe thirty steps in?”

Jihoon sighs before he shakes his head. Well, long as all head are accounted for, even the ones he doesn’t care for right now.

Thank God for Mom and Dad
For sticking to together
Cuase we don't know how
 

Collectively, the trip to Damyang is called the “Damyang Incident” and no one talks about it once they’re back in their dorm. It’s a tense peace; clad in faux smiles and avoidant eye-contact. Mingyu isn’t a very observant he’ll admit, but eve he sees how Jihoon seems less angry and just generally melancholic towards Wonwoo. Even Wonwoo, who has tried to get close multiple times, has stopped since the incident. He feels sad for the older member, even though Mingyu is still unable to recall much of what has happened between them. Who knows, maybe he’ll just end up surprising this memory too.

“Whatcha’ got there Gyu,” Soonyoung’s drowsy voice softly calls out, “coffee? You do know that it’s night, right? Or did you forget what days and nights are now,” the now brunette jokes out. It’s nice hearing a joke, even if the execution isn’t all that strong Mingyu still smiles. Everyone’s still being as careful as before. If Mingyu were fine china or an expensive vase being held by glue he’d understand, but he isn’t and it’s tiring. It’s tiring trying to re-learn things and events that are foggy in his mind. And he’s done with the pitiful glances and comments of their fans wondering when they’ll do a fan-meeting or just generally show up from their unannounced hiatus.

Mingyu sets the cup down and sits on the counter. “I thought this would be easier,” he admits, “that remembering or not remembering wouldn’t matter but it does. I just feel so…guilty, everyone’s fighting and it’s my fault.”

Soonyoung pats the taller’s knee comfortingly, “Hey, don’t think like that, it’s not your fault, okay? We’ll try better, we can go back to how it was before, before you…” Soonyoung bites his cheek. “That came out wrong, I didn’t mean for it to, dammit Mingyu this isn’t your fault,” the dancer finishes with his eyes closed.

“I know, hyung, I know,” Mingyu acquiesces but it doesn’t sound heartfelt.

“Come on, you need some more sleep. If Jeonghan saw you with dark circles under your eyes he’d throw a fit, at the rest of us,” Soonyoung finishes with a dry laugh. Mingyu grins despite his self-pity and hops off the counter.

Oh, you think you've got it
But got it just don't get it when there's nothin' at all
 

“Seungcheol, I’m not asking you to make a decision right now, but at least just think about it,” Jinsung’s voice emits from the other line, as tired and frustrated as Seungcheol feels.

“No, we’re 17, if a member goes-“

“It doesn’t have to be forever.”

“He’s still leaving.”

“Just…suggest it to Mingyu, it’ll ultimately be his decision,” Jisung ends the conversation before a curt good-bye. Seungcheol closes his eyes and dries the tears threatening to fall.

A/N: Bet you guys thought I died

song: Outkast - Hey Ya