"I foolishly believed that word love" - Gaon x Jungsu
plot : tension rises when guitarist jiseok suddenly leaves the group # : jungji established relationship + angst, based off the lost & found mv trailer, mention of homophobia & sh (brief) a/n : im p sure the one chasing jiseok in the trailer was junhan or jooyeon but for story sake it's gonna be jungsu. as of nov 2nd i still havent watched the mv, im scared
It's been hard for Jiseok recently, his grades falling, tensions at home rising and he's been behind with the band recently, not to mention the competition coming up. The group was practicing as usual but something sounded off, the group glanced at each other, everyone knew who it was but no one wanted to point fingers, the silence was thick before Gunil spoke up "Ah it's okay guys, let's just take it slow--one more time okay?" he said easing the group.
The group started playing again before Hyeongjun heard the problem--Jiseok was playing off-key, he was about to help cover but Jiseok strummed a bit too loud. The group immediately stopped, Jungsu and Seungmin glared at Jiseok, Jooyeon looked lost and Gunil didn't know what to do. "Yah," Jungsu said as he was about to scold Jiseok but before he could speak--Jiseok threw his guitar to the nearby sofa and ran off, the group was in shock. Seungmin just stood disappointed "Does he even care anymore?" he asked rhetorically "He's been like this for weeks, running off and not dealing with his problems--let's just kick him," he said, pissed and disappointed in his friend.
The group looked at each other in silence, it was something they all had in mind but was never brave enough to say out loud. Jungsu broke the silence by running after Jiseok and calling for him.
---
Jiseok ran as far as he could, he ran away from the studio, his friends, school, home, anywhere from here. He ended up in the underpass connecting the city to the countryside, he was about to run before Jungsu called him. He stopped in his tracks before turning around, he thought his mind was playing tricks on him but he really saw Jungsu standing behind him, panting heavily with his hands on his thighs gasping for air.
"Why did you follow me..." Jiseok said as he stared at Jungsu "I know you're mad at me... everyone is... you were gonna scold me earlier--I know it," he said. Jungsu shook his hand, trying to dismiss Jiseok's allegation but deep down--he felt guilt, it was true, he WAS about to scold Jiseok. "No just--talk to me dude," he said walking up to Jiseok who was starting to walk away "What's up with you lately, you've been distant, you come to class with a jacket in summer and--" Jungsu was about to continue before Jiseok suddenly cut him off " 'Dude' ? Seriously? That's what you call me?" he said in disbelief.
He put his hood down and looked at Jungsu so he could see his red puffy eyes "5 months with you and all you call me is dude?" he said, hurt "Gunil was right... we shouldn't have gotten together... it fucks up the band's relationship," he said wiping his tears. Jungsu ran to Jiseok and gave him a hug "Baby no its not--let's just go home please... it's not safe here..." he said referring to the cars driving by--but in all seriousness, he just wanted to get Jiseok somewhere safe so they could talk more rationally.
But it was clear Jiseok wasn't having any of it, he didn't reciprocate Jungsu's hug and? he scoffed at the elder. "Safe... like you know what that is," he scoffed before pushing Jungsu's hands off him, he stared at Jungsu, he knew the elder wanted to reach out and comfort him but he knew Jungsu was one to give someone space when they need it. "My parent's found out about us..." he said looking away from Jungsu, sniffing before he spoke again "They found our letters and our pictures--they forced me to show them my phone and that was the nail in the coffin..." he opened up, Jungsu just stared in shock, the buzzing cars driving by suddenly went silent in his ears as Jiseok's words filled his ears "It's fucking everything up, they wanna transfer me to some Catholic private school next semester,"
Jungsu just stared at him "So... what's your plan with running away?" he asked, referring to the fact Jiseok was gonna run away to the countryside "To be with my Grandma... she's the only person who cares about me," he sobbed, his eyes were red from crying "Jiseok why... why didn't you tell me?" he asked softly, not wanting to startle the already overwhelmed Jiseok "I-I didn't want you to worry... you have college applications next semester..." he spoke.
He suddenly dropped to his knees as he started to cough, Jungsu immediately ran to him and started to take off Jiseok's jacket to give his body some cool down. Jungsu's eyes widened at the pack of cigarettes and lighter that fell out of the pocket, his eyes trailed to Jiseok's arms covered in cuts and bruises. He was in fight or flight; part of him wanted to run, disgusted by the blood and bruises, but the other knew Jiseok was struggling, he was partially guilty for it and he needed to own up to it now--not later.
"Jiseok, lemme take you home--please," he said trying to help pick Jiseok up but he pushed Jungsu off "No fucking--leave me alone," he said, sounding more like a plea than a threat "I don't want you nor the band getting involved in this mess, just leave it between me and my parents," he said putting his jacket back on and shoving the cigarettes and lighter back in his pocket before walking. Jungsu just stood in place, frozen "S-so you're just gonna leave? Like that? What about the band, what about all your dreams?" he yelled, trying to get Jiseok to listen "What about us? What about the days ahead of us where we get to play? In the US? London? All the places we dreamt of?!" he yelled in exhaustion, Jiseok finally stopped, turning to him "Those were all dreams," were the last words he spoke to Jungsu before sprinting off. Jungsu couldn't catch up to him even if he wanted to so he just collapsed to the ground, yelling in defeat at a loss before passing out from the rush of emotions that crashed over him.
---
Jooyeon luckily found Jungsu on the side of the road not long after and managed to get him back to the others. They all sat in Gunil's apartment in silence, Jiseok's guitar, bag and phone were all on the dining table, Jungsu was crying as Jooyeon comforted him, Hyeongjun and Seungmin sat in silence as Gunil brought him a cup of tea.
"So he just ran off?" Seungmin asked after Jungsu explained what happend, the elder nodded "I tried offering him to comeback to my place or just get him back to the city but he wasn't budging," he replied before drinking the tea "Then he just... sprinted off, you guys know how fast the kid is... I couldn't catch up even if I wanted to," he spoke softly, they all murmured in agreement "Well what about the competition? It's too late to back out now..." Seungmin said, addressing the elephant in the room as he eyed Jiseok's guitar.
"Did he say anything about the band?" Gunil asked, Jungsu kept quiet, "Those were all dreams," echoed in his mind again. He glanced at the group, he knew how much Jiseok's opinion mattered to the others, especially considering the fact he was one of the most passionate members. Jungsu sighed before crossing his fingers behind his back "No, he just hoped you guys don't forget to eat," he spoke softly, seeing the members' faces sigh in relief took the weight off his shoulders "Well... competition's this weekend, see ya'll tomorrow?" Gunil asked, he knew everyone was still shock with Jiseok's sudden departure but the show still had to go on--everyone nodded in agreement before heading to their respective homes.
---
"1, 2, 3 we are all heroes! Hello, this is Xdinary Heroes." the group said after they finished performing, their fans started cheering, holding up banners, gifts for the members and photocards of their faces. It had been years since Jiseok left, the group won that competition all those years ago which helped skyrocket their fame to a wider audience. They haven't gotten past the bitter feeling of missing someone but it's something they'll come to when they're ready.
Amongst the audience, was a grown up Jiseok--he looked different from all those years ago, a more mature face, his hair was back to black and he was much taller but... you couldn't forget those full pouty lips. He was recording the group onstage chatting with the audience but he focused on Jungsu, wondering if he'd gotten over him as Jiseok himself hadn't. He put his phone down after recording before realizing Jungsu was staring dead straight at his direction, eyes wide before pointing at him and trying to get Hyeongjun's attention beside him. Jiseok was about to put his hood up and hide in the back but Gunil spoke "And with that... let's welcome your main show: Green Day!"
a/n : 1:31am by the time I've finished this, no beta read, goodnight
au ending i js made
