(a/n: ya'll know that this book is FULL of angst and drama, and this chapter will definitely contribute to those titles. though, this is the first time i'm actually hurting a seventeen member. might include major character death? idk.)
fighting. tons of fighting. deokhwa and jihoon were up against each other; deokhwa was destroying large chunks of the hotel while jihoon tried to hold up the severely damaged hotel, pitching in a few attacks meanwhile.
minghao was burning the clothes of the pledis members he liked to call 'extras', because they aren't relevant whatsoever. seokmin helped minghao kill them by throwing a katana to one direction that surely hits and penetrates their torso, before the katana returns back to seokmin's hand with the help of the magnets that joshua made. junhui was using red demon to stack up the dead bodies, soonyoung was altering the memories of those who got involved, but were innocent.
wonwoo, meanwhile, wasn't doing anything in particular. maybe helping jihoon hold up the hotel, that's about it. but when he finds minhyuk running across the event hall to the exit, wonwoo gets excited about getting a significant role—so he takes out his new weapon and shoots minhyuk.
everyone literally stopped in their tracks. minhyuk, who was previously running and very much alive, disappeared. "won, what the fuck is that?" minghao asked. "i want it."
"oh, it's a de-atomizer. minhyuk's dead now." wonwoo calmly explained, before jihoon grunted and replied.
"well genius, make good use of it now!" jihoon nods to deokhwa, who was trying to break the table that jihoon put in front of him to shield him from the rocks. wonwoo nods and goes on another killing spree.
"hey, i want that gun too!"
"shut up, dk!"
"but—"
"i can lend it to you if you buy me gelato."
"DEAL!"
seungcheol and mingyu, meanwhile, went up to the hotel bar to help the bar gang prevent the pledis generals from leaving. they were obviously in control though, if you look at it: mori had corks from liquors in his mouth, serving as a muffler while vernon held the rope that they used tie him. one wrong move and mori's dead.
why corks, though? one answer: he looks hilarious.
jishin? oh, never mind that guy. he's dead. seungkwan and he were having a duel while 'roasting' each other about how weak they are. at once, seungkwan got annoyed when jishin called him 'bacon'. seungkwan simply said 'die', and jishin miraculously lost to seungkwan.
chan was guarding jiryeok, in case he wakes up and attempts to attack.
"i guess we came late." mingyu says. he gives seungcheol a side glance, who was busy talking to joshua in the earpiece.
"wow, your boss is dead!" chan says, pressing on to his earpiece while looking at mori straight in the eyes. "joshua-hyung said it took just a minute."
"yeah." seungcheol walks to where mori was tied up, casting a shadow over him. "what's your next move? huh? you haven't even explained why you tried to use jinha. what do you guys really want?" seungcheol clicked his tongue.
if you were not oriented about everything, you'd think that seungcheol is the bad guy based on this scene. he's so dangerous to play with, you literally and figuratively can't touch him, he can lead his team very well. what a man.
"oh!" seungcheol chuckled. "of course you can't answer me. you have corks shoved inside your mouth," seungcheol giggled childishly,while seungkwan joined in the laughter.
"pledis mafia is really something else. you've managed to screw up every single one of our members' lives and you can still wake up to a new day without regrets? i can't do that, even when i was in pledis mafia." seungkwan drinks from a wine bottle.
"hey, seungkwan, that's not wine." mingyu warned, reading the label of the bottle that seungkwan was drinking out of. seungkwan spit out everything. "ew, jesus christ! don't do that to me!"
"yeah, the police is coming." vernon nodded towards the door.
and the police swarmed the hotel bar. "it's the police, don't move!" mingyu stepped aside for them to enter faster. vernon's grip on the rope loosens, seungkwan pockets his guns, chan walks backwards from jiryeok a little. seungcheol sighed and smiled a little, happy that they finally got their long-awaited victory.
but, seungcheol was relieved a little too early, don't you think? just as the police were cuffing mori's hands behind him, somebody moved. opposing to what the police said—not like he'd listen, anyway.
seungcheol was fast, but impulsive and impelling.
"CHAN!" seungcheol shouts as he strides to the youngest.
seungcheol could've kicked the gun off of jiryeok's hand, that would've been easier and safer. jiryeok's already weak so he won't be able to pick up the gun once it had been kicked from his hands—so why didn't seungcheol do that instead?
how stupid was seungcheol to jump in front of chan? he can't die. who will lead seventeen if he dies? who will be jinha's 'papa' once seungcheol has passed on? who will replace his title of 'only child' in his family?
maybe it wasn't stupid. it was just the price of chan's life. chan deserved more, and seungcheol was willing to step out of the way to make room for the boy's growth. it's too early for chan to die.
seungcheol's life was the price.
"chan." seungcheol muttered, stumbling. chan caught him, before chan gently knelt to the floor while holding seungcheol. "you should always be aware of everything around you! i told you that on our very first t-training, ri—right?"
seungkwan, mingyu and vernon were just as shocked. only the police moved, taking jishin, jiryeok and mori with them, leaving the five seventeen members frozen in their spots. mingyu spoke. "did jeonghan and joshua arrive already? seungcheol was just speaking to them e-earlier, and i..."
"i don't think so. they were just about to leave..." vernon replied, recalling what he heard from seungcheol and joshua's conversation earlier.
"no, seungcheol-hyung, you won't die." seungkwan whispers, looking at the mentioned person. his gaze on seungcheol lingered longer.
"hyung, w-why did you do that?!" chan cries, a few drops of chan's tears landing on seungcheol's cheeks. "you can't die, alright? when jeonghan-hyung comes, he'll help you. seungkwan a-also used his ability for you. you'll be okay. okay? okay. s-stay with me."
"i d-did it.. because i want you t-to live. isn't it obvious?" seungcheol chuckles lightly. though he's showing signs of happiness right now, chan can feel seungcheol slipping away. "when i—when i die... i won't have any r-regrets. it's because i protected o-one of the people.. one of the people that i want to p-protect."
seungcheol stared at chan with a smile, while chan just cried. he was at a loss of words. chan knew he should be doing what everyone else is doing right now; running downstairs to get help like mingyu, or calling for jeonghan over the earpiece like seungkwan and vernon.
"hyung, you didn't have to! i-i don't h—"
"lee j-jung chan, that's y-your real name, right?" seungcheol asks. instead of continuing to make a point, chan nods as he cried. "i-i... i feel happy th—that i saved someone i care f-for. d-don't think of me too m-much when i'm—when i'm g-gone, alright?"
"but...h-hyung.. i don't want you to die."
"it's...it's okay." seungcheol's hand reached for chan's face, and chan held it as soon as it made contact with his cheek. he was so warm. "if jeonghan c-comes, i'll be privileged to stay with—stay with y-you."
"h-hyung.. thank you. f-for everything. for believing in me, for taking us i-in, for saving my li—life."
seungcheol nods. the pool of blood under him only grows bigger. seungcheol thinks that his life had been fulfilled, and chan has heard everything that seungcheol wanted him to know. seungcheol also knows what chan wants to say to him, so seungcheol was ready to give out—before seungcheol remembers a very important detail that he managed to miss out. don't forget to say i love you.
"ch-chan... tell seventeen... that i love them. e-especially you, and jinha, a-and my par—parents.." seungcheol felt like hell. he sensed that these might be his last words.
"will do. they love you too, i-i know that for sure. i love y-you, seungcheol-hyung." chan's words brought relief to seungcheol, and finally, seventeen's leader rests peacefully in chan's arms. it ends here.