13. Gunshots

All that ran in her mind was “Why?” Why did she linger and pray inside the ambulance? Why did she cling onto him like he was the last sunset? Why did she rush inside the hospital? Why did she pace back and forth with a trembling heart? Why did this happen to her again?

Why?

Bringing her hands together, she shuddered, chocking a sob. “Oh God, please.” She whispered, shutting her eyes tightly as a tear tainted her flushed cheek. Everyone was there. Chanyeol, Jongin, Joon Myeon, Jongdae and Sehun. Yifan came when Joon Myeon told him about the news and even Minseok came in hastily but Aki felt like she was alone, in the dark. Swallowing the huge lump in . “Please don’t take him away from me.” She quietly stuttered.

In the white halls, they waited, uneasiness written all over their faces. While they lingered, Jongdae contacted Baekhyun’s parents in his phone and told about their son, swearing that he will tell them every single detail of the doctor’s words. Aki listened and heard Baekhyun’s mother’s worried whimpers and his father’s low voice comforting his wife in the other line. She couldn’t help but feel responsible and guilty about everything that had happened. She breathed in sharply, clenching her fists till her knuckles paled. “This is all my fault.”

When Chanyeol heard this, he had enough. Running his fingers through his hair, he stood up from his seat and walked towards Aki to envelope her in his arms that emitted safe warmth. He didn’t want his friend to blame everything to herself again. He wouldn’t allow that. She was lost and afraid when he met her at the apartment; pale and hollow. He would not let that happen again. “It’s not your fault, noona. It’s not.” Placing his chin on Aki’s shoulder, Chanyeol squeezed her reassuringly, letting her face fall in the crook of his neck as he felt tears trickle down.

Everything was a mixture of panic and desperation. Aki grasped onto Chanyeol’s back with a frantic need of assurance. She needed to be assured that Baekhyun will be okay, that Byun Baekhyun will give her that bright smile again with his kaleidoscopic eyes that gleamed with mischief and then he will dance her until their feet gets sore. But, Baekhyun was inside the emergency room and she had no reassurance whatsoever, besides her dearest friend’s words of comfort. At the ambulance, an unresponsive body lay in front of her, breathing shallowly as if he will give up any second. The idea of the light in his eyes will flicker was unbearable. She didn’t want to lose him.

…

You’ve been ignoring my notes, Ms. 221A, are you okay? Is your roommate treating you well?

Are you fighting? You seem really distressed when I passed by your window.

Is he being a douche? Do you want me to punch him for you?

Today’s some kind of concert of his, right? You don’t look too happy though.

I saw the kid dragged you away from your fellow tenants, where’d you go? Weren’t you supposed to go to Baekhyun’s concert?

It’s already late and none of you came back yet. What happened?

Aki, please, talk to me. Tell me you’re safe.

…

Laughing raucously at a joke Aki made about the lanky man from the opposing team that night, they sluggishly walked towards the front door with dreamy grins on their faces. They had all day for themselves and they couldn’t be happier. They spent their morning, stark together and had breakfast on bed like the blissful couple they were.

They left the house that afternoon to take a walk at the nearby park as they took shameless photos together and of each other. They immaturely wrote messages at the bottom part of their Polaroid photos, mostly cheesy lines like, “My wife’s lips are fat but adorable” or “My husband’s schlong is cute” which made both of them snicker obnoxiously, earning a few glares and curious glances from people who decided to laze around at the park as well.

When it was almost five, they decided to leave so they could arrive on time for the basketball game her husband bought tickets for. It was an important game of the year and they didn’t want to miss it. Besides, bets were made and for some strange reason, her husband won this time. Aki yielded and treated him in a restaurant that mainly focused on crabs. She knew her husband had been waiting for that glorious night to come. They ate deliciously, leaving with bloated stomachs. “I can’t wait to caress that huge tummy of yours once we get home.” He whispered, making her spine shiver. “Gee, you’re one to talk.”

While Aki was fiddling the keys to their door, he stared at his wife with a wistful look, a heavy heart and a sad smile. Ever since the day started, he felt something was wrong. He shouldn’t feel that way though. He was unfathomably happy but something had been bugging him and he can’t put his finger as to what that was. He smiled at Aki’s petite figure as he turned her around and planted a kiss on her fat lips, as he would like to call it. The kiss was soft but urgent and Aki noticed this and wondered. When their lips pulled away, Aki smiled but eyed him worriedly. “Are you okay? You seem bothered today, honey.” He smiled weakly and shook his head. “I’m fine.” He paused, smiling reassuringly. “You should go ahead and I’ll catch up. I’ll just check if the car’s locked.” Something was not right, Aki felt this but she chose to neglect it, wishing that were nothing. “All right. Hurry and come inside once you’re done.” Aki smiled slightly and walked inside with a vexed frown on her face.

Thinking of curious reasons why her husband acted a bit differently today, her thoughts were suddenly disrupted when she heard alarming shouts outside. Her heart jumped when she noticed that she could hear them loud and clear. She quickly climbed down the stairs; panic and fear cloaked the blissful feeling she felt a while ago. When she arrived at the living room, outside the window, she saw three men wearing black masks. Her eyes dilated in bottomless fear when the man that seemed to be their leader took out a handgun and directed it to her husband’s forehead.

“No.”

…

Everything happened fast. He was just about to close the car’s door when teenagers wearing jet-black masks attacked him and caught him off-guard. Despite the spinning world he saw from his vision, he swore that he saw them grinning proudly of themselves. They must’ve thought that, finally, they caught a proper hostage of their own. He was trapped. The man in front of him gave quick orders to his two companions as they sprinted towards Aki’s husband and restrained him from moving, catching his arms on both sides.

Forcefully taking his wallet from his victim’s pockets, the masked man scoffed arrogantly but he only found photos with scribbles at the bottom and used basketball tickets. There were no cash or credit cards. Thankfully, he used all his money and Aki was the one keeping their credit cards but he prayed that she didn’t have to be involved. That was the last thing he wanted.

“Oh gramps, there’s got to be more than these useless tickets and photos of yours, or else, we might break into your house.” The leader threatened but his actions said otherwise. He took out a gun from his pocket but his grip was sloppy and he was shaking uncontrollably. Even though they sounded daunting, they weren’t really much of a threat if it weren’t for the frightening gun. They were doing this out of impulse and desperate need and Aki’s husband eyed the house, hoping his wife wouldn’t come out to check the noise.

“You kids don’t know what you’re doing!” He exclaimed but the thugs that held him back punched him in the gut, making him gasp painfully. “Stop messing around and give us the money!” Yelled one of the ruffians. The leader crouched down and placed the trigger on Aki’s husband’s head, making him freeze on the spot. “Look, we don’t want any trouble but it’ll be much better if you-“

“Stop!” shrieked Aki who ran from their house with a thundering heartbeat and flushed face. His eyes widened with unquestionable fearful as he felt his insides clench in an instant. The hooligans’ attention averted to his helpless wife who stood at their doorway, uncertainty and dread filled her lungs. “Aki, go back inside!” he shouted frantically.

The leader smirked disgustingly as he stood up and faced Aki’s horrified look. “Hello there, missy. Geez, mister, you didn’t tell us you have a pretty wife.” His dumb companions moaned in a nasty way making Aki’s husband glare at the offender dangerously, rage written all over his facial features. “Leave her out of this.”  He warned them, wanting to snap each of them in half because that was his wife. No one will lay a hand on her.

Aki was frozen. She stared at the masked man in front her and then to her husband, who looked like all the anger in the world had gathered towards him. She was afraid. She didn’t know what to do. She hasn’t encountered such an incident before. The one thing that really struck her was the gun in the man’s hands. It was a treacherous weapon that could take life away in an instant.

The leader clicked his tongue and sneered maniacally. “This is the beauty when you live in the outskirts of the city. The scenery, the peace and quiet but what made it even lovelier is how every house is far away from each other, no one will hear you scream.” The idea he was creating in her mind expanded like a balloon, consuming everything that remained hopeful and good inside her heart. Slowly making his way towards Aki, he grinned devilishly. “Are you a screamer, missus?” Aki stood her ground; wearing a quiet façade, wishing that nothing terrible will happen. “Stay back! I already called for help!” Hearing this news, he growled agitatedly. He knew how fast the police was when it comes to these kinds of cases. But they were quite far away and they have the upper hand. He snickered and grabbed Aki’s chin, making her look at him dead in the eye. “What makes you think they’ll arrive on time?” He chuckled and mercilessly kicked Aki and dropped her on the ground, making a loud thud. Aki wheezed and coughed loudly while her husband resisted the tight grasps of the teenagers.

“Aki!”

When he saw what the man did to his wife, he felt something snap inside him. How dare he hurt his wife in front of him like that? Unending wrath filled his dark eyes. He furiously stepped on one of the thugs’ foot as he sprinted and threw a clean punch right across the offender’s cheek. The anger inside of him bubbled. A wave of gladness washed when she saw her husband took control; she wanted to rejoice to the Heavens that the nightmare will soon end, but when he decided to punch the delinquent again, two gunshots resounded deafeningly, causing her heart to crumble and fall in the pit of her stomach.

Something stung and he perfectly knew what had happened to him by the piercing sound. When his eyes glanced down he saw his shirt donned a bloodstain that seemed to grow wider and wider as seconds went by, turning his white shirt into a shade of red. The delinquent carelessly let the gun fall off his hand as he dashed cowardly away with his companions.

Everything was in slow motion. He fell on the floor, his vision was fuzzy and his hearing was starting to lose its use. He tried to open his eyes. He saw his wife, hearing her voice call his name over and over as he felt her arms circle around him. She cried but all he can hear was the sound of monotonous ringing as his vision began to darken. Aki whimpered, desperately gripping onto him, praying that help would come soon. His skin was starting to become deathly pale and his eyes weren’t as bright as they were. “Stay with me, honey. I’m here with you.” She chocked a sob as she tried to be strong for him. “Help will be here any minute and you’re going to be okay.” Aki said, caressing his face as tears began to fall unendingly. His lips trembled. He tried to smile but the pain was too much to bear. “You’re not hurt, are you?” He stammered, his fingers brushed her hair that covered her face. She shook her head as her breath hitched. “I’m all right, I’m scared for you.”

He weakly chuckled. “Say, luv. Will you do something for me?”

“Anything.”

“Promise me, when I’m gone, you’d have to be happy.”

The inescapable truth made Aki’s tears burst as she continued shaking her head, letting her face fall on his bloody chest as she noticed bright lights and urgent footsteps approach behind her but she didn’t give them any notice. All she knew that the most important person in her life was saying goodbye to her. Everything was starting to crumble into tiny pieces; all their laughter, colorful happiness and serenity had turned into their photos that had been stained with blood.  

“Don’t leave me, Kyungsoo.”

A/N: Hello there! I'm so sorry for the pitiful delay even though I'm spending my summer and I always work well under pressure but since I'm not being pressured and I'm mostly chill inside the house. I just let it be or sometimes I get really terrible writer's block. 

Anyway, the cat is finally out of the bag! Aki's husband is Do Kyungsoo, who would've thought? Well, actually, it seemed pretty lame because it's a bit noticeable (so sad)

But I hope you were surprised, I hope that, at least, you didn't expect that or you were anticipating for it and you got your wish hahaha.

I am a Baek and Soo stan and I love them as a couple however I love Chanbaek more~

Tell me your thoughts! I'd really feel motivated if you'd talk to me. Just follow me, I'd like that. On twitter! Please, I need spazzing friends: samlovesbaek

Anyways, I know that there are a lot of things happening nowadays, about our beloved Galaxy, Kris.

I don't want to take anyone's side. I love EXO w Kris.

But it's his choice if he wants to leave or stay, I also hope that the whole EXO won't overwork themselves.

I've been depressed and miserable bc of these news but I'll try not to be, bc if they're trying to be strong for us, we should do the same for them!

I love EXO so much and I would very much like it if "We Are One", if we keep on arguing with these rumors nothing will happen.

Let's just wait for the official news, I still hold a sliver of chance bc I really love Kris but if he's being controlled like a robot, I'd like him to go.

They deserve rest and all I want for them is to rest and renew their strength. They need it.

Thank you for reading this!! Sorry for rambling, I'll make sure to update soon and if you're interested in Hunhan, check out my latest story, "Pinku Pinku is Luhan"

God bless everyone!!