Truth
Deep River
The X-Ray showed one fractured rib, but there was no significant damage to surrounding tissue or organs. The doctor said it'd take a month to completely heal and that he was lucky there wasn't any more. But he didn't feel like it. The pain was hell and he knew at the back--no, the forefront of his mind--that he'd never be able to perform, and he wasn't sure if that or the injury hurt was worse. Still, he was more afraid of walking up on that stage only to be shot down in front of a thousand witnesses. And knowing that someone out there was trying to kill him and end his life... he knew he'll never be able to sleep comfortably.
Seungho thought it was best to keep everything to himself, to spare everyone else the panic, the madness. They probably would have been too afraid to leave the dorm and their homes, had he told them. But what if the gunman was actually out for everyone?
The rest of the car ride was quiet save for the sound of the salted road being crushed. In the silence, Byungki wondered if Seungho was ever going to tell him what exactly happened. He glanced at the passanger seat with the question still in his mouth, nearly wanted to swallow it down after looking. Seungho was near asleep, eyes closed and mouth open, and a quiet snore filled the car.
"Hey," Byungki suddenly called from the driver seat, trying to gently wake him up. It shook Seungho out of his thoughts and he immediately groaned and writhed in pain.
"I am sorry for waking you up, but you should tell me what really happened today.", he said. "I feel like there's something you are hiding."
Seungho grumbled quitly. "I don't want--"
"If it gets you in trouble, you should talk about it immediatly," Byungki interrupted.
There was a long silence between the two of them. Maybe two seconds. It felt like two minutes. He finally had the courage to tell him.
"Someone was trying to shoot me,", he said with a shaky voice. "I was running through the woods... I fell and rolled down a slope."
A pause.
"Are you serious?"
He nooded silently, as Byungki focused on the road. There was no expression on his face. No emotion. Nothing.
"It's best if you stay at the dorm after tomorow's perfomance until we find out who's trying to... get you. You have any idea who it is?"
Any idea? He never did anything that would warrant murder, never hurt anyone to the point of hopelessness. He's only ever helped people, always tried to care for everyone else.
Seungho pressed his temple against the cold window and closed his eyes. The snow was covering Seoul's streets and he could feel the air steal warmth from him. He was desperatly trying to search for a possible person, who disliked him to the point where he wants to see him dead. But there was no one he could actually think of.
"I don't know.", Seungho replied after a long silence, taking a deep breath.
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