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One day left, or else...
Tears silently dripping down his face, Jungkook stared at the ominous note which had been left for them at the foot of the locked door. After such a long time had passed, it was finally ending.
Bitterly, Taehyung ripped the note out of the younger's hands, tearing it into shreds and crushing its remains into the dirt beneath his feet.
"Where are the police? They should have been here already, why are they taking so long?" He snapped, his eyes dulling as they trailed over towards the pristine gun lying peacefully on top of a wooden stool. Beginning to tremble, Taehyung nearly tumbled onto the ground, catching himself with his hand and burying his face in his chest.
"It's pointless," Jungkook whispered, staring blankly at the wall. Running his hand through his unkept hair, he let out a deep breath, as though he had been holding it for quite some time. "We can't keep hoping... we can't keep waiting."
Letting out a scream of frustration, Taehyung shook his head, wailing, "We can... we need to have hope. Otherwise we're letting him win, can't you see that? It's not–"
"No," Namjoon interrupted, "We're going to have to play his... game. That's the only way to get out of this mess."
Taehyung continued to sob, soft murmurings of "we can't" slipping through the sound of his tears. Doing his best to ignore the elder's cries, Jungkook looked over at Namjoon.
"How... what's a fair way to do this? What rules do we have?"
"It's just Russian Roulette," Namjoon murmured softly, "The only rules are... that we have to shoot." He smiled sadly at the two, his eyes filled with a fierce determination which were a facade for the weakness and tears lying within.
"I’ll go first. It's five out of six, right? And I'm sure I'll... I know it.”
Before Jungkook or Taehyung could protest, he picked up the gun, his lips curling up into an empty smile.
"Don't worry, I'm not going to shoot either of you... Just… I can't let either of you go, okay? Plus, you two have to be there, for the others. At least you’ll have each other, I know you're close.”
Jungkook murmured, "Namjoon-hyung, please... We can find a way out of this. You're trying to be strong, but…”
"No… I'm not strong. That's why I'm doing this. It's because I'm scared."
He bit his lip, pressing the gun to his temple before continuing. Jungkook stared at him in shock, but he couldn't gather the will to move to stop him. Namjoon opened his mouth to say something, but couldn't get any words out through his futile attempts to stop a relentless flow of tears.
"I... I was so confident I could keep everything together. But now, now that we’re in this situation?”
Droplets of saltwater cascading down his cheeks, Namjoon tightened his grip, not yet moving his finger to the trigger.
"You’re all strong, and I'm weak. I'm the leader, and I'm just... Y-you guys can keep it together, okay? I don't... I wouldn't be able to live with myself. I'm sorry, I'm being selfish right now..."
Taehyung looked at him, teary-eyed, and whispered, “What makes you so sure that you’re going to die?” His leader's actions had caused him to stop his emphatic cries, leaving him with red eyes and puffy cheeks.
Silently, Namjoon moved his finger to the trigger. His hand shook uncontrollably, making it nearly impossible for him to keep the gun steady.
"I don't... I don't know for sure, but I really hope that I will. I'm... so, so sorry."
He looked into their eyes, hesitating before pulling the trigger of the gun. There was a bang, but Namjoon continued to stand.
It was an air shot, the bullet was absent.
Jungkook stared at him in disbelief. How could he have been so lucky-no, so unlucky-like that?
He looked at Taehyung, his expression blank. Carefully, he read the elder’s face. Taehyung’s face was filled with shock and surprise. There was a shadow of hesitation lingering in his expression. He wasn't going to take it.
Quickly, before Taehyung could react, Jungkook reached out and snatched the gun away from Namjoon’s hand. He let out a slight gasp, the weight of the object in his hand being taken away.
“Jungkook-ah, no!" Taehyung cried out.
"Hyung..."
Taehyung's eyes welled with tears. Jungkook was never one to call him "hyung." He stepped forward, moving towards the younger in a final, desparate plea. A plea to stop.
Still, he knew it was pointless. Someone had to die, and he was too scared.
Shivering, Jungkook stepped away from his approaching friend, placing the tip of the gun on his temple.
It was cold, like ice.
"Namjoon-hyung… thank you. Thank you for doing your best to keep us together.”
Although he was afraid, he kept his voice steady. He was the golden maknae, after all. He could do this, no problem. He had to act on stage, right? This was all just a big stage.
"Thank you. And Taehyung-hyung, I'm sorry. I don't want to leave you. I don't, but..."
Another tear spilled from Taehyung’s eye as he yelled, "If you don't want to leave me, then don't! Why are you doing this?”
Jungkook flinched at the sound of the yell and shook his head, tightening his grip. He stepped back, his voice tight as he responded.
“You know that you... I'm just sparing you the pain of having to make a choice.” He nearly spat his words out, anger blinding him in the moment. Though it wasn't meant to be too hurtful, Jungkook could tell he had deeply wounded Taehyung by the way the elder's lips began to quiver. It wasn't that he was angry at him, he could never be angry. But it was too much, everything was too much.
Widening his eyes in disbelief, Taehyung asked, "Wha... what?"
"You know that even if I handed this gun to you, so that I could live, you... you wouldn't take it."
"No, I would–"
"You wouldn't," he interrupted, raising his voice, "You wouldn't, and I wouldn't ask you to. I don't want you to die." Taehyung fell silent for a moment, tears running down his cheeks with nothing slipping from his lips but soft breaths.
“No… Jungkook, you can't do this to me. Please, you can't.”
Namjoon took a step towards Jungkook, who had long since retreated into a corner. With a shuddery breath, he interrupted the two others.
"Jungkook, just give it back to me. I was supposed to die, anyways, I was–"
"But you didn't, and I can clearly tell that you want to live. Through all your bravado, your huge speech about cowardice..."
Jungkook trailed off, his hand holding the gun falling to his side. Namjoon stayed quiet, the youngest's comments ringing true.
As though he were trying to convince himself as much as the others, Jungkook said, "Either way, if I went back, I'd be completely broken. Yoongi-hyung, Jimin-hyung, Hoseok-hyung, Jin-hyung… if I don't do this, what's going to happen to them? First, they'd lose you... but they'd also lose me.”
"You'd be alive, you–"
"Not really, no." His voice was soft, filled with resignation. "How could I live if you died?"
Taehyung shook his head, shouting, "But I can't, either! I can't do this... I can't live without you!"
"I know you can, Hyung," he murmured. His voice was so soft in contrast to Taehyung’s shouts. Raising his voice to a pleading tone, he continued, "You know that you're stronger, that you can keep smiling. Right? Please…?”
His voice started to quiver, though he silently commanded it to stop. Taehyung's sobs rang out through the room.
"Please, respond to me. Tae, please…”
Taehyung did not answer.
Namjoon watched him in shock, too afraid to move. Tears trickled rapidly down his face, though he wasn't being spoken to.
He turned to Namjoon, sensing that he'd have to end it soon. His voice was steady again.
“Hyung, the bullet will definitely be in here this time. Five out of six, right? You’re the leader, so please… protect Taehyung... hyung... for me.”
Sullenly, Namjoon nodded and replied, almost under his breath, “I’m sure you’ll be protecting him, anyways, no matter where you are.”
“Thanks, Hyung. And... Taehyung-hyung, can I ask you for a favor…?”
Taehyung stared at him stoically, neither nodding nor shaking his head.
“Can you smile for me? One last time… can you smile?” His voice cracked on the last word.
The elder finally seemed to be looking at him with an expression different than blankness. There was a sort of fire in his eyes, tears continuing to bubble at the corners like a boiling water. Meanwhile, Jungkook could feel his heart splintering.
“No. Jungkook… since you're being selfish, can't I, too? I can't smile when you're choosing to leave me! I-I can't…” His voice lowered at the end as he shifted his gaze to the floor, not wanting to see his friend’s tears.
Rather than crying at his words, however, Jungkook forced a smile onto his face as he raised the gun to his own heart.
“I understand, Tae. Thank you… thank you. I'm sorry that I had to do this. I'm sorry… and remember, no matter where I go, we’ll meet again. I'm sorry for leaving you, I'm so sorry…” Though he continued to smile, his eyes began to water.
"W-wait!" Taehyung suddenly looked up, a sudden realization coming to him.
"You still... you still have the rest of today. You don't have to leave now, can't you wait a few hours...?"
Shaking his head, Jungkook replied, "No, I'm going to lose my cool by then. I'm sorry, it's now or never. I just..."
Goodbye, hyung. I’ll miss you so much…
Click.
The last thing he saw was Taehyung’s tear-streaked face, doing his best to smile through his heart-wrenching sobs. He seemed to be running, getting closer and closer…
Jungkook appeared to be leaning on Taehyung’s shoulder in a loose embrace. The gun had fallen out of his hand and was lying on the floor, splattered with droplets of piercing red blood.
“Jungkook-ah! Please come back! Please… Don't leave me! I need you, Kookie! Please… please…”
“The rest of you are safe, thanks to his sacrifice."
“All I want is Jungkook back, please…”
Taehyung held the body tightly, his shirt becoming soaked with red as the smile faded from his face. He was smiling for Jungkook, but now Jungkook was gone.
I’ll never smile again. I'm sorry, Jungkook.