Day 4 —Write a story/excerpt to include the line, “Sorry, we can’t insure you for a journey like that.”

 

Jiyong felt Seunghyun’s heavy gaze run over him from head to toe with the weight of disappointment.

 

“You’re not really going to, are you?”

 

Youngbae sighed, not indifferent to the eldest.

 

“Please, Ji. Don’t do it.”

 

Daesung stared at his leader, partly as though he couldn’t really believe it, but mainly as what he’d suspected all along.

 

“Hyung, don’t throw it all away. Please, we’re here for you. Don’t you know that we’re here for you? You know you can lean on us anytime. It might not seem like enough, but we don’t want you to do this. Please.”

 

Faint shadows of s, his friends, his brothers, Jiyong reached out towards them, all huddled before him in a line. His hands skimming the space before his brothers’ faces, the air rippled out from underneath his fingertips, like droplets landing on water, the surface breaking in waves. However, his brothers’ faces did not waver, and neither did their protests.

 

“I’m sorry, Jiyong,” Seunghyun sighed deeply. “I’m not going to help you with this.”

 

Youngbae stared resolutely into his best friend’s eyes. “I always swore I’d do anything for you. You’re like a brother to me. But, this…this I cannot do. I’m sorry, Ji.”

 

“Jiyong-hyung…” Daesung shook his head. “You’re our leader, and we love you. But we’re sorry. We’re just not going to do something like this. We’re sorry. We can’t insure you for a journey like that. I-“ Daesung paused meaningfully to swallow the lump in his throat. “-I can’t help you with something like that. I’ll tell you this once, and I won’t tell you it again – life is precious. Whatever happens to you after this…I’m not having any part of it. And that’s that.”

 

“Goodbye, Jiyong.” Seunghyun swept a blank look over Jiyong’s face one last time. It was evident he wasn’t having any of it, either, as he turned around with Daesung. The two walked away from Jiyong, their backs facing him, walking further and further away into the hazy distance until he could no longer see them.

 

“I’m not going to stop you,” Youngbae muttered in a low voice. “I know better than to try that with you. And I’m not going with you. But, I beg you,” He paused, lifting his eyes towards Jiyong’s. “Don’t regret this. At this very moment in time, this is what you want. Even if this does not remain true to the future, remember that this is what you wanted, and couldn’t be stopped. Don’t forget that.”

 

Jiyong locked eyes with Youngbae one last time before his best friend turned around just as the previous two had, and disappeared into the foggy distance. Jiyong was left, stood all alone, in the misty plains of endless blue shadows.

 

“…You’ll…”

 

One, final figure began to form before Jiyong’s very eyes.

 

“…You’ll stay by my…”

 

Ink hair and rice paper skin, with eyes more hooded and shadowed than death itself.

 

“…My side…”

 

Eyes of soot blinked, opening wide to face Jiyong’s.

 

“…Won’t you…Ri…?”

 

The figure smiled slowly at Jiyong, the image flickering like static.

 

“You…You promised…!” Jiyong screamed. “You promised you would stay by my side! No matter what I did! If she’s dead, if I’m dead! What does it matter?! You promised you’d be with me! You’d kill with me! You’d die with me! Why-“ Jiyong cut himself off with a choking sob. “Why’d you go and disappear like that, huh? Maybe I should just die after all, just to see if you’d follow me in turn, like you damn well promised you would.”

 

The spectre continued to smile benevolently at the weeping Jiyong. As the leader buried his head into his hands, fallen to his knees, the wordless figment only smiled down at Jiyong amidst his sobs. There were just too many promises made to Jiyong, and not enough truth to a single one of them.

 

“Why?!” Jiyong cried out. “Why must you do this to me?! Why must I still see you?! In my mind, at day, now, in my nightmares, when I sleep?! Why won’t you leave me?! I’ll get rid of her; what will it take to get rid of you?! I can’t take this! Just set me free!”  

 

Pulling himself to his feet and roaring at the top of his lungs, Jiyong leapt up and swiped at the shivering flame of an illusion. The image of Seungri’s face immediately fell to the floor in a pile of ash. Gone.

 

Too bad she wasn’t.

 

Yet.

 

Inspired by: G-Dragon - Obsession/Nightmare