The 9th | Stray Kids Extra Member AU

❀ 15: The Roses ❀

Yejun sat straight up, her chest heaving as heavy breaths left her body. She had broken into a cold sweat and her body was trembling. She looked at the time on her phone as she blinked back tears. 

02:40

She hadn't been asleep for a whole hour. Despite the terrifying event happening a week ago, Yejun still couldn't shut her eyes without thinking about it. Stupid things would trigger the memory, like knocking noises, especially on the bathroom door. Did she let the others know? Of course not. 

Yejun didn't want this situation to drag on any longer than it needed to. The members had been on edge ever since the sasaeng broke in, frequently checking in on Yejun and never letting her be alone. She never was allowed to skip a meal, which caused her to gain a little bit of weight, only stressing her out even more. Yejun hated this. 

The girl looked next to her on the bed, seeing a lightly snoring Jisung with his mouth slightly open. She sighed, thankful that she didn't wake the boy up. As carefully as she could, Yejun slid the covers off of her body, putting on her slipper and cringing as the floorboards creaked ever so slightly. Again, she looked around the room to see if anyone was awake. Thankfully, she had been successful in being quiet again. 

Slowly, she snuck her way out of the bedroom and into the kitchen to get herself some water. She opened a cabinet, grabbing a glass before walking over to the sink. She let out a small yawn as she watched the water fill the small, round glass. 

"Why are you awake?" 

Yejun let out a small shriek, dropping the glass in the sink as the sudden voice startled her. She turned around, seeing Chan standing in the doorway of the kitchen, unable to stop the fearful tears that fell from her eyes. 

"Oh, my God. Emmy, I'm so sorry," Chan immediately apologized, walking over and pulling the girl into a hug. "I didn't mean to scare you, baby." 

"You didn't," Yejun sniffled, pulling away from the hug. "I'm just tired, that's all." 

Yejun turned toward the sink, letting out a sad sigh once she saw the glass broken into pieces. Without saying anything, she began picking up the pieces one by one.

"Yejun, I can tell that it's still bothering you. There's no need to lie about it," Chan stayed behind her, leaning against the fridge. 

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Yejun lied through her teeth. Chan just let out a sigh. 

"It's okay to suffer from this kind of thing. Maybe we should delay the comeback to help you recover," Chan suggested, Yejun immediately shaking her head 'no' as a response. 

"No, I'm okay. There's no reason to delay the comeback, Chan. Don't threaten that, please," Yejun let out a shaky breath, her body starting to tremble. 

"Yejun, you need to be mentally okay before you perform again. It can really mess your performance up," Chan argued, his voice rising ever so slightly as his tone became more strict. 

"Trust me, I know," Yejun picked the glass up a bit more aggressively, tears building in her eyes. 

"Do you? Because you don't seem to be taking this very seriously," Chan continued to argue. "You're not over this and lying to everyone about it won't help!"

"I know! I know that, Chan! I'm trying to get over it but I'm scared over everything and it's aggravating! It scares me to go to the bathroom, damn it! You think I'm not taking this seriously? How about you almost get kidnapped, possibly murdered, and then let me know how you feel? Are you going to want to tell everyone in this fucking dorm how scared you are when they do so much as open a door? I don't think so," Yejun didn't look at him, her body trembling even harder than before and sobs leaving her mouth. As she opened her mouth to say something else, a piece of glass pressed against her hand the wrong way. She let out a yelp of pain, along with a small string of curse words. 

"What? What happened?" Another voice broke into the kitchen. "Are you okay?" 

Yejun looked down at her bleeding hand, ignoring the question. She just stared as blood dripped from her hand and into the sink, feeling numb as everything around her went quiet. He heart was racing and she couldn't breathe. Her throat felt as if someone had lodged a rock in it. The air around her pulsed in her ears. Nothing felt real. Everything around her had disappeared and now she stood in darkness, with her hand dripping crimson liquid. 

"Yejun," a voice echoed around the void. 

Warmth

Yejun felt a strong, warm presence in her cold void. She shivered, trying her best to swallow the rocks in her throat. The girl blinked a few times, the setting around her finally changing back to the kitchen she stood in previously. 

"Roses," Yejun mumbled, her voice being muffled by something. It smelled like roses. 

"Yejun, are you okay?" The voice reached her ears clearly this time. Yejun moved her hand around, grabbing whatever she could, wincing when she accidentally spread the cut on her hand. "Hey, you're okay, okay?" 

Her head began to throb. Everything began to become real again. Everything was okay. Yejun was okay. 

"My head hurts," Yejun said, a small sniffle coming from her nose. Yejun nuzzled closer into whatever her head was against, whatever it was that smelled like roses. "You smell so pretty."

There was a small chuckle. "Thank you." 

Yejun pulled away and looked around, seeing Chan worriedly crouched next to her as she sat on the floor. Then, she looked up to see Jisung with a small, reassuring smile. Yejun smiled back before seeing the bloodstain on the sleeve of his white t-shirt. 

"I'm so sorry," Yejun immediately apologized, realizing that's what she had grabbed earlier. 

"It's okay, I have a ton of shirts," Jisung had a strong grip around her wait, his arms securing her from moving. 

"Yejun, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get you worked up," Chan apologized form next to her. 

"That's what happened? Hyung, what did you-?"

"It's okay. It's my fault for repressing everything. I just need you to understand that I'm trying my best," Yejun felt tears build up once again, forcing herself to get rid of them. Her eyes were already hurting. 

"Yes, ma'am," Chan nodded. Yejun gave him a small smile. "Now, let's go clean that cut with some alcohol!"

"NO!"