ITâS JUST A SHAME, THATâS ALL â THROUGH THE LENS OF CORTIS
âȘ pairing : ot5 cortis x 6th member reader
âȘ summary : a continuation to part one and part two. cortis tries their best to continue living normal lives without the core part of their group. can they manage without you ?
âȘ other notes : my god this part drove me insane. i like it overall and oh my days you guys are so funny in the comments, i love yall. any asks pertaining to part two will be answered later, very sleepy rn, gn everyone, enjoy :))) and creds to @/martiny.e , @/cortis.mp3 , and @/sa7easoee on tiktok for the analog horror imagery.
keonho stares down at his phone, sighing as he sends you another text. itâs been three months since youâve âdisappearedâ and you still havenât answered a single message. this isnât like you at all, you wouldnât just up and leave everything and everyone behind. guilt writhes in his stomach every time he thinks of the cctv. if you quit, maybe he could have talked you out of it. and if something else happened ? âŠhe would have stopped it.
james tries to piece everything together but nothing makes sense. you left the group without any reason to, and yet the cctv shows differently. the company said something else. and the more he thinks about it, every conclusion leads to five questions. as the oldest, he tries to shoulder everyoneâs emotional burden. but what about him ? how can he rest when questions continuously fill his mind. you would have been there to help him.
juhoon took it the hardest. you were the first person who accepted him into the group without hesitation, and in a blink of an eye, youâre just gone ? even though he has four other people to rely on, he feels so incredibly lonely without you, without his twin flame. thereâs many nights where he silently cries himself to sleep. and with every day that passes, the pit in his stomach only gets deeper.
seonghyeon feels like a swan without its cygnet. even though you were older than him, he tried his best to take care of you no matter what. he always wanted a big sister, and at some point you became that. he still buys your favorite snacks from the corner store you always complained smelled like ass. he just canât figure out if you miss them too. if you do, then why do you never answer the phone ?
about two months ago, staff came in and took all of your things. they ripped your bedsheets off of the companyâs bed, something keonho tried his best to fight, which only earned him a harsh scolding. your notebooks that were alphabetically placed in the shelf above your bed were all trashed, your thoughts, ideas, and feelings going with them too. most of your clothes were shoved into storage boxes before staff labeled them as âemergency.â
âwhat the fuck are they doing,â seonghyeon curses outside of the dorm, biting his nails. âtheyâre taking her stuffâŠall of it, theyâre acting like she never lived here,â keonho frowns. juhoon stays quiet, his fists clenching repeatedly. james tries to reason with the situation, âwhat if theyâre just storing it until y/n comes back for it ?â he winces at his own words, what kind of explanation is that ? âthatâs bullshit and you know it,â seonghyeon snaps.
âeverythingâs in those books,â juhoon finally speaks up. âshe wrote songs in those, y/n would want to keep all of them,â he continues, looking away from the open front door of the dorm. âsomethingâs wrong, i-â âokay thatâs enough,â martin claps his hands and interrupts. âguys i know this has all been hard for us but the company already said y/n left and weâŠhave to understand that,â martin becomes the voice of reason.
ây/n never answers my texts, i just want to know if sheâs okay,â keonho whispers, voice cracking at the end. âletâs just give her as much space as she needs, iâm sure sheâs trying to keep a low profile for a while,â martin reassures him, a wobbly smile forming on his face. âthatâs not who y/n is, she would have at least told us.â a scowl forms on seonghyeonâs face.
james sighs, he obviously doesnât agree with any of this but heâs also unable to do anything. about an hour later, everything that represented you, was now suddenly gone. the empty space only grew. the mug that james uses every morning before practice. the clothes that seonghyeon âaccidentallyâ stole from your side of the closet room. the bed that keonho laid on when he missed you. the presence that juhoon longed for every day.
when james glances over to martin, the taller boy is just staring ahead. a smile is on his face but thereâs no real emotion behind it. as much as james hates to admit it, martinâs been weird. not his typical weird, a weird that james has been logging for the past month. his rushed explanation for how he left you alone to go to the bathroom the day everything happened. the way he reacts when someone mentions you.
the way martin has continuously gotten snappier after you disappeared. thereâs just somethingâŠodd about him. james hates himself for entertaining a darker idea of involvement. because how can he even think of pointing the finger at martin ? martin isnât like that, if anything, heâd blame himself for going to the bathroom instead of just going with you to the corner store. martin cares about you. he loves you.
present day, the dorm becomes more glum as days pass. the boys are good coworkers, they hype each other up during dance and vocal practice. they put on a happy face for the camera whenever they film vlogs. they continue to work as just five. but as soon as the dormâs door shuts closed, silence fills the air. martin really tries to get everyone to hang out, maybe watch a movie, play games, do anything. it never works.
between james and juhoon, juhoon tends to take the first shower as james cools down in their room. keonho and seonghyeon play around before they retire for the night. to martin, it feels like everyone has their duo except him. heâs lonely and he hates it. with no one to hang out with, martin starts walking around at night right before midnight. hoodie over his head, a face mask on, gaze tilted to the ground.
every time he goes out, he ends up in the same place. the fence behind that one thai restaurant you used to love. he never goes in, he just leans against the fence and looks up at the moon, wondering if youâre also thinking of him. despite what happened, martin loves you and he likes to think that deep down, youâd still love him too. but thatâs just what he believes, itâs the only way he can sleep at nightâŠ
one night, juhoon wakes up at around three in the morning. he tosses and turns but nothing works. with a frustrated sigh, he sits up, staring into the darkness. across the room, james is sleeping peacefully, juhoon envies him. with no way to sleep again, juhoon quietly gets up and heads for the living room. since you disappeared off the face of the earth, someone has started leaving the light on, no matter the time.
no one admits to it but juhoon has a sneaking suspicion itâs james. he even heard him say under his breath âjust in case y/n comes back.â whatever the reason may be, no one turns it off. juhoon flops on top of the couch, grabbing the remote. he immediately clicks on netflix, grip tightening when he notices your profile isnât on there anymore. did the company delete it ? isnât that a little too much ?
he huffs, clicking his own profile. he flips through various movies and shows before stopping at one, when life gives you tangerines. your favorite show, the same one you watched with juhoon when it first came out. he remembers holding back tears whilst you cried like a baby in every episode. juhoon presses on it, leaning back against the couch as the soft melody of the opening theme starts.
but even before it can finish, he closes his eyes. it felt almost like a spell, luring him to sleep. itâs weird, he never felt sleepy when you guys watched it. but his grip on the control loosens before he falls into the arms of slumber. his dream is just a flash of different pastel colors, muffled voices, and some visible faces. he dreams that the six of you go feed ducks but his feet end up turning into duck feet.
everyone fades out except for just you and him. youâre laughing so hard that you pee on yourself. you end up crying and when juhoon goes to comfort you, he tumbles over himself with his new feet. your laugh returns as he falls face first into the ground. he canât help but laugh too but then, your laughter just stops. he looks up at you from the ground, youâre not there anymore. whereâd you go ? in real life, juhoonâs eyelids flutter, catching small glimpses of his blurry surroundings.
he squints at the bright tv screen, blinding colors enough to make him look away. his vision keeps drifting in and out of focus until it lands to something motionless. martin is already standing in the hallway. just watching him. âshit,â juhoon curses, jolting himself completely awake. his eyes go wide, heart immediately accelerating. âoh sorry,â martin apologizes, walking closer. âhow long were you standing there ?â juhoon rubs his eyes.
âonly like five seconds,â martin answers, a gentle smile forming on his face. âi thought i heard the tv and wondered if someone forgot to turn it off so i just came to check,â he explains himself, pointing at the tv. âohâŠokayâŠâ juhoon rubs his eyes, he knows of martinâs nightly walks and sleep problems, it makes sense. âgo back to bed, maybe you can sleep again,â martin encourages him. âyeah, iâm going,â juhoon mumbles, grabbing the tv remote.
he pauses when life gives you tangerines, noticing itâs only been 12 minutes since the episode started. juhoonâs barely been on the couch, did martin really just arrive right now ? juhoon shakes off any thoughts, turning off the tv before walking away. martin follows behind him, turning off the living room light. âoh leave it on,â juhoon stops in his tracks, pointing to the light switch. âwhy ?â martin raises an eyebrow.
âi- i donât know, just in case, you know, y/n comes at the crack of dawn or something,â juhoon shrugs. martin pauses before sighing âif you say so.â he passes by juhoon, going into the bathroom. juhoon swears he saw martin roll his eyes, it canât just be his imagination. but with nothing else to do, he returns to his and jamesâ room. he quietly pushes the door open before shutting it closed.
james stirs, making juhoon wince, he didnât mean to wake james up. but juhoon takes advantage of this moment, âjames ?â he whispers. james hums, turning over to face juhoon. âcan i talk to you about something ? hasnât martin been weird-â james suddenly pressed a finger to his lips. juhoon albeit confused, stops talking. james lifts his finger and points at the gap underneath the door. juhoon faces towards where his older friend is pointing.
the shadow of a pair of feet. not moving, just standing on the other side of the door. juhoon feels his heart skip a beat, waiting to breathe. eventually, a small shuffle can be heard before the pair of feet are no longer in sight. juhoon exhales, chest hurting. âwas that ?â james nods. âheâs been doing that a lot lately, just making rounds around the dorm,â james bites his lip, obviously disturbed. juhoon realizes that maybe an eye roll isnât must to report on.
a few days later, the five of them are in a practice room. thereâs not much going on so seonghyeon decided to mirror his phone the projector screen. âoh my god bro delete that !â james laughs at an embarrassing picture of him sleeping with his eyes open. juhoon chuckles at the selfies he took on seonghyeonâs phone. keonho keeps trying to take seonghyeonâs phone, wanting to scroll through the whole gallery. martin watches his friends, happy that theyâre smiling.
eventually seonghyeon clicks on an old dance practice video. youâre falling asleep standing up, only taking one little stumble, keonhoâs giggles can be heard in the background. âi remember y/n swore she was just resting her eyes,â james smiles at the video. âshe needs a good sleep schedule, all of us do,â juhoon adds. âguys can we stop talking about y/n ?â martin interrupts everyone. seonghyeon turns back to face him, âwhy ?â
âbecause it makes me uncomfortable,â martin shakes his head. âbut why ?â âbecause it feels like every conversation we have leads back to y/n, itâs already been three months,â martin lets out a frustrated sigh. âthree months is nothing compared to years of friendship, y/nâs our best friend and nothing is going to take that away,â seonghyeon scoffs, disconnecting his phone from the projector.
ây/n was my best friend too, and i loved her a lot, but even i have to admit she wasnât a saint,â martin twists the subject. âwhat are you talking about ?â juhoon joins the conversation, now baffled. âitâs likeâŠwe talk about something, it leads to y/n, and then we talk about how amazing she was without acknowledging the times she made our lives hard,â martin explains himself. âwhat times ?â james asks, furrowing his eyebrows.
âshe argued with everyone, are you guys forgetting that ?â martin insists, thinking everyoneâs had amnesia. âno she didnât,â keonho defends you. âshe literally did, it was always y/n starting arguments with staff,â martin throws his hands into the air. âno she didnât martin, she never started anything, yes she argued when we were being treated unfairly but y/n wasnâtâŠaggressive.â james shakes his head, confused by what martin is getting at.
âand what about the time she got into a physical fight with our choreographer ?â martin doubles down. âare you forgetting the times heâs hit her ?â seonghyeon makes a face at martin. âyouâre remembering her wrong,â juhoon states but it only makes martin roll his eyes. âam i ?â he sarcastically laughs. âyeah, because none of the things you described represents y/n.â keonho answers without hesitation. âsure, disregard me like you guys always do,â martin ends the conversation, leaving the practice room.
about a week later, keonho groans when he opens the fridge, a whole lotta nothing. âthereâs never anything in here !â he slams it closed. âthere is, you just donât want to cook,â juhoon says, mixing in a flavor packet into his buldak noodles. âdo you want me to make you something ?â seonghyeonâs standing over the stove, making a few fried eggs. âno, i miss y/nâs cooking, your food tastes like ass,â keonho makes a disgusted face.
âyou still eat it though,â seonghyeon gives him a look. keonho pouts, opening the fridge again. ânothingâs going to magically appear keonho,â james shimmies behind him to sit on the counter. âiâm so hungry,â keonho whines, almost ready to throw a tantrum. âwell how about we order takeout,â martin enters the kitchen. âfirst time you have a good idea,â keonho immediately agrees with martin.
âwhatâs everyone in the mood for ?â james asks the busy kitchen. âwell i was the first hungry one, so i say thai food,â keonho nominates. âugh no iâm tired of thai food,â martin rolls his eyes, earning a side eye from junoon. âwe havenât eaten it in months, iâm down for some thai,â seonghyeon ignores martinâs complaints. âso am i,â juhoon agrees. âanythingâs good for me,â james shrugs, leaving martin the odd one out.
âso my opinion is worth nothing ?â martin frowns, crossing his arms. âummm itâs 4/5, and if y/n was here, itâd be 5/6, democracy wins, sorry mr dictator,â keonho teases him. âthis shit is so unfairâŠâ but no matter what their leader says, the boys still order thai food. once it arrives, it smells like heaven on earth. they crack the lids open on every container, some food even spilling out. soon enough, things settle down, food filling their mouths instead of words.
james suddenly snorts, earning weird looks from his friends. âsorry i just remembered the time martin ordered kebab and everyone was ready to jump him but y/n said sheâd eat our portions even though she hates it, just to make martin feel better,â he shakes his head as seonghyeon and keonho snicker. juhoon smirks, shoving some food into his mouth.
martin groans, rolling his eyes. âyou guys might hate me but y/n was always my right hand, she was funny,â he laughs. âyou mean is,â keonho corrects him. martin looks at him, nodding, âyeah, is, thatâs what i said.â âno you didnât,â seonghyeon shakes his head. âokay is this âride martinâs ass as hard you canâ week or what ?â martin drops his chopsticks angrily. âthey were just correcting you martin,â james tries to defuse the situation.
âno itâs not correcting me because y/nâs gone, sheâs not here and sheâs not coming back,â martin angrily states. âhow the fuck would you know ?â seonghyeon points his chopsticks at his leader. âbecauseâŠbecause, i just know,â martin shrugs, attempting to calm himself down. âwhat does that mean ?â keonho pries. âit means that she left and that she left us, can we just stop talking about this ?â martin pushes away his bowl.
âmartin, i think itâs good that we talk about y/n,â james looks at him. âno hyung, itâs not, itâs soâŠnot good and itâs been three months so can we let the y/n topic go already ?â martin frustratedly runs his hand through his hair. âsheâs not a topic, sheâs a person who was our best friend since we were both 12 and lived with us,â seonghyeon furrows his eyebrows. âexactly, so why are you acting like talking about her is a crime ?!â keonho supports his maknae duo.
martin scoffs, feeling cornered, âbecause nothing is going to change regardless andâŠâ he trails off, not finishing his sentence. âsays who ?â seonghyeon challenges him. âsays me, okay ?â the room becomes quiet, food long forgotten. with a shaky sigh, james speaks up, voice trembling as he does so. âmartin, do you know something about y/n that we donât ?â
the only thing that can be heard for the next few seconds is the whirring of the AC. âdo you think i do ?â martin asks james, no malicious tone behind his words. james hesitates, this isnât something he can turn back on, an accusation so grave. and yet, he admits it. âyeah, i think you do.â juhoon, seonghyeon, and keonho snap their heads to james, confused, shocked, and in disbelief. martinâs gaze turns to his unfinished food, making him nauseous.
martin doesnât know how to answer. he knows he can lie, he knows that but at this point, would it mean anything ? âmartin ?â james asks again. martin keeps staring at his food, unable to face anyone. âbro are you good ?â seonghyeonâs voice wobbles. âdid something happen that night ?â keonho asks and itâs martinâs final straw. his shoulders shake as he starts crying, tears dropping onto the table. âiâŠâ he starts but heâs unable to finish before he hiccups out a sob.
james leans forward in his seat, âmartin, i need you to tell us the truth, did something happen to y/n that night ?â martin squeezes his eyes shut, lip quivering. ââŠyeah.â for a second, nobody reacts, nobody says anything, nobody breathes. âwhat ?â a lump forms in seonghyeonâs throat. âiâŠi canâtâŠi triedâŠi didnât,â his hands go up to his hair, tugging at it harshly. âdid you do something ?â keonho whispers, martin immediately shakes his head.
ânot meâŠâ martin mumbles, starting to sit straight in his seat. âthen who ?â james pressures him, making martin cry even harder. âthem, the company, everyone knew,â everyone stiffens, martinâs known something for three months, and still said nothing ?! âdid you know something was going to happen ?â james continues, attempting his best to remain his cool. martin nods, âbut iâŠi t-tried to warn her b-before the concert.â
âwarn her about what ?â seonghyeon slams his fist against the table, making martin flinch. âthat they were going to take her away,â martin rushes his explanation. âtake her where ?â keonho asks, chair scooting back with a loud scrape. âi donât know, they didnât tell me that !â martin sobs, becoming obviously overwhelmed by the swarm of questions. âis she okay ?â james asks, eyes full of worry. a pause comes as martin freezes âi donât knowâŠâ
juhoon, who has been quiet this entire time asks a single question. âis she alive ?â martin finally looks up, meeting eyes with juhoon. âi donât knowâŠafter it happened, they never said anything else,â martinâs eyes are full of remorse as juhoonâs eyes fill with anger. âwhat happened martin, after you left with her, what happened to her ?â juhoonâs voice rises, clearly tired of martinâs tears.
martinâs breathing becomes uneven, his vision becoming blurry. he canât hide, he canât run, heâs ruining everything. he wipes his snotty nose, realizing that the earth canât just suck him whole into the ground. âiâŠi led her down to the parking garageâŠand i wanted her to leaveâŠand i tried, i swear i tried to help herâŠbut they saw us and she tried to run but they caught up to herâŠand just put her in the back of a van,â martin blurts out, ending his statement with a suffocated gasp.
nobody says anything. james covers his mouth in shock, seonghyeon stares at martin in disbelief, keonho looks down at his trembling hands, and juhoon shakes his head, tears filling his eyes. âso sheâs just gone ?â keonho looks up, breaking the silence despite being scared of the answer. âi donât know,â martin whispers. âstop fucking saying that, you were the last person who saw her !â seonghyeonâs voice breaks.
âi know ! donât you think i feel guilty that i didnât help her ?!â martin cries before realizing what he said, his eyes widening. âwhat do you mean you didnât help her ? you could have helped her ?â james questions him, âno- i mean like, no i did-â martin stumbles over his words, attempting to find a quick explanation, a way to defend himself. seonghyeon slams his hands on the table, âdonât you fucking lie to our faces martin, either tell us the truth or i swear to god-â
martin takes a deep breath, looking at his members one by one. an uncomfortable expression forms on his face before he closes his eyes. ânone of you get it. iâŠi wanted to help, i swear i did, but i thought about the five of us, of our effort and hard work. and i realized that if one person could take the fall, we would be okay.â keonho scoffs in his face, âthe five of us ? itâs either the six of us or none of us. why do you get to decide whats right for the group ?â
âbecause itâs my job as the leader to look out for the group keonho. i wonât allow anyone to hurt us,â martin tries to use his authority. âbut you wonât protect us as individuals ? just the groupâs reputation ?â seonghyeon bitterly laughs. âno, thatâs not what i meant, iâm saying that instead of us getting ruined by someone, i chose the route where our hard work wouldnât be just ripped away from us !â
ây/n is apart of us martin, she trusted you and you still didnât protect her or even at least tell us,â james scolds him, face contorting into disgust. âwhat would that have done ? y/n is gone because it was a sacrifice the company and i had to make for the greater good.â martin reasons, now refusing to back down. âsay that again,â juhoon stands up, hands clenched into fists. martin grinds his teeth, âit was for the greater good.â
with that, juhoon launches himself across the table, crashing straight into martin. martin falls back on his chair, thudding loudly on the floor. juhoon starts throwing punches into martinâs face. âyou lied to us-â punch âyou lied to her momâ punch âyou lied to the policeâ punch. âjuhoon stop !â james pleads, attempting to pull him off of martin. seonghyeon and keonho almost immediately backed away from the scene, not knowing what to do.
âhe fucking deserves it !â juhoon yells, feeling martinâs nose break under his knuckles. âs-sop phluse,â martin begs, spitting out blood, weakly thrashing from under juhoon. but juhoon only continues, grabbing martinâs collar to smash the back of his head onto the hardwood floor. âyou let them do this to her, you fucking asshole !â juhoon screams, struggling against jamesâ grip. and suddenly- CRACK.
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