eighteen

                                    

                                          
-One Year Ago-
"I think I'm going to do it tonight," Soonyoung announced on the other end of the phone. 
Seokmin was a bit taken aback as he paused the show he was watching. "Are you sure?" 
"It's now or never." 
"Well, let me know how it goes," Seokmin said as he resumed the show. 
"I will." There was a pause. "Oh, I think he's home. The door's open. Hold on." 
Seokmin waited patiently as he heard Soonyoung set his phone down. He listened as he heard his friend sound surprised at the person that had arrived. However, before their small talk could continue any further, Seokmin heard coughing, not just normal coughing, but the kind that left a person wheezing and gasping for breath. Seokmin listened in horror as he recognized it was Soonyoung having an asthma attack. 
"Soonyoung! Are you okay? Soonyoung?" 
However, he wasn't heard. Soonyoung's phone was resting face down on the table where he left it. Seokmin's blood ran cold as Soonyoung's gasping came to a stop. The other end was eerily quiet and unintentionally, Seokmin held his breath as he waited for any sign of Soonyoung, but instead, he heard another voice. 
"It worked." It was a girl. Seokmin knew he had heard the voice before but he couldn't place it. 
"Alright, Kyungha, you have this." The girl told herself as Seokmin began recording the phone call. "Just hide the evidence and call the police before Minghao and Jun come home. Tell them Soonyoung had a nasty accident."
The other end was filled with sounds of shuffling, footsteps, and other general noises of a person trying to cover up a murder. Seokmin was frozen in fear, grief, and horror at what he just heard. He didn't want to believe it. Surely, Soonyoung wasn't dead. He couldn't have been. It had to be some kind of cruel joke. Without thinking or hanging up the phone, he ran out of his dorm to Soonyoung's. It took him nearly half an hour and he was out of breath. He didn't even bother knocking as he rushed in. Unfortunately, the first thing he saw was the paramedics zipping Soonyoung's body into a body bag before carrying him out. Seokmin watched in shock and disbelief at the sight. It was real. His friend was dead and what he heard was real. He had to do something. He was about to leave and run once more, but a voice stopped him. 
"So it was you." 
Seokmin turned, phone still in hand, and not hung up. Across the room was Park Kyungha holding Soonyoung's phone. 
"It was you who he was talking to." Kyungha finished as she hung up. "I was wondering if 'Seokiee' was his nickname for you." 
"Why did you do it?" Seokmin asked as he felt the tears start. "Why?" 
Kyungha acted surprised and confused. "Do what?"
Seokmin was seething with anger by that point. "You murdered Soonyoung? Why would you do such a thing?" 
Kyungha frowned. "What are you talking about? Soonyoung had an accident. I wouldn't murder my best friend. That's ridiculous." 
Seokmin lifted his phone. "I heard everything. I could go to the police right now and-" 
Kyungha cut him off. "And what? Tell them you heard a murder? They'd laugh you out of the station." 
"Maybe so, but I won't give up. Not until Soonyoung gets the justice he deserves." 
"That's sweet, but you won't be doing anything." Before he could react, Kyungha had a gun pointed at him. "Give me your phone." She ordered. 
Reluctantly, Seokmin handed the device over, keeping eye contact with the weapon the entire time. "I'll be watching you. If you make a move even five feet toward the police station or to Minghao and Jun, I'll kill you. Understood?" 
Seokmin could only nod, not seeing any other choice. 
Kyungha smiled seeming pleased. "You better get going, the boys will be home soon and will need a lot of comforting." 
A door was slammed in his face and Seokmin ran as far as could before he stopped to break down on the sidewalk. He was trapped. 
-Two Months Ago-
Lee Seokmin couldn't sleep. It was a normal occurrence, one which he had learned to deal with. Every night was the same. He would either take as many sleeping pills as he could manage without risking paralysis or death, or he would work out in the gym until he physically exhausted himself. That was the way Seokmin had been living for the past year ever since Soonyoung died. He was so weighed down with guilt that he could not fall asleep or live his life normally. He had heard his best friend take his last breath over the phone. He heard him die, knew who killed him, he knew it was more than an accident, but he hadn't done or said anything about it. He was too afraid to. What was worse was that he remembered every last detail and they kept replaying over and over again in his mind like a bad movie. That was when the what-ifs flooded his mind. 
'What if I had gone to him that day?' 
'What if I had never left his side?'
'What if I had been faster getting to him?' 
'What if I had swallowed my fear and gone to the police to give my friend the justice he deserved?'
'What if...what if...what if...what if...'
His mind would scream the what-ifs over and over again until the whole world was drowned out and all he could hear were the suffocating thoughts. It was driving him insane, but the fear held him back. It paralyzed him, but this night was different. This was the night Seokmin snapped. After the normal tossing and turning for hours on end as his mind kept screaming at him, Seokmin sat up in bed, sweat dripping from him. His mind came to a screeching halt as one thought came to mind. 
'Give Soonyoung the justice he deserves.' 
The only problem was that the evidence he needed was in the place where his fear had grown. Still, he had to do it, for Soonyoung. He came to the apartment and scanned the place. To the side, he saw a window and he contemplated climbing through it. Junhui and Minghao had to be asleep and chances were Kyungha wasn't there. Seokmin could grab his phone and run to the station. He held out hope that Kyungha hadn't destroyed it. She may have been evil, but she wasn't exactly bright either. Who planned a murder out loud? So, with a deep breath and small words of encouragement, Seokmin made his way into the window. He managed to get inside without too much sound and started the difficult task of searching for his phone. Surprisingly, he found it in the kitchen in a drawer, unharmed. He snatched it and left through the same window he entered. As he ran down the street he felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. It had been too easy. His phone wasn't well hidden and no one noticed him. He wasn't sure if had gotten lucky or set up. He got his answer when a car barrelled down the road and hit him without hesitation.