8 is fate // Stray Kids

27

Jeongin

Jeongin watched as Hyunjin stormed out of the room. It was obvious that he knew what was going on. Jeongin on the other hand was more than just confused.

What did any of this mean? What were the letters about? Why did Chan look like he was so close to falling apart?

He looked at the others, seeing different stages of confusion and understanding.

Felix looked just as lost as Jeongin felt. Seungmin seemed to have a suspicion but also carried some doubt. Changbin, without a question, knew what was going on.

Abruptly he stood up and grabbed the envelope with his name on it.

"Changbin", Chan tried to call after him, to stop him. His voice, hoarse and strained.

"I-", Changbin turned around and took a deep breath, like he had to hold himself back. "I told you not to wait too long. I told you he needs you."

Changbin shook his head in slight disappointment and headed out the door. Chan's shoulders slumped as he watched his friend leave. Jeongin knew that Chan wanted to go after him and that it took all his self-control to stay rooted to the spot.

"What's the meaning of this?", asked Seungmin cautiously, hoping his apprehension was wrong.

"He left", whispered Chan. "Han left, and he left us letters."

For a second it felt like everything was submerged in water. A hollow silence, warped surroundings, and a weird sense of gravity. And then, as if resurfacing abruptly, the meaning of Chan's words crashed upon them like a stormy wave.

"You can't be serious! Do you have any idea of what condition he's in? How can he be up and moving?", Jeongin had rarely ever seen Seungmin this furious and rattled.

Felix anxiously fiddled with his finger, clearly worried for the human.

Jeongin felt so very confused. Why would Han leave them, sneaking out on top of that.

"Han tends to make decisions he believes are best for others. He doesn't put anything else into the equation. He doesn't care if what he thinks is best, is not what others want. He doesn't care if his decisions might be hurtful. He doesn't care if he's the one who will suffer the consequences. All he sees is the greater outcome", Chan sounded resigned and incredibly sad. "He's truly an idiot."

"He thought we were better off without him?", is what Felix got out of Chan's explanation.

Chan shrugged his shoulders. "I guess so."

"This is ridiculous!", beneath Seungmin's fury, you could sense sorrow. Seungmin stood up, snatched his letter and left the common room.

It surprised Jeongin that Seungmin felt this strongly about it. He hadn't noticed that Seungmin had gotten this close to Han.

He eyed the letter addressed to him. He wondered what Han had to say to him.

"I'm gonna head to the gym", he waved his letter through the air before he teleported out of the room.

He leaned against the wall, soaking in the huge room and all the memories he had made with Han during the last weeks. He hadn't known the human for long, but they were plenty, nonetheless. They had spent countless hours here, even after their official training was finished.

They had shared the same passion for fighting, not minding pushing their bodies past the limit. But sometimes they just sat here, leaning against this very wall, and talked. They never seemed to run out of topics to talk about.