"I TOLD YOU TO NEVER COME BACK!" He roared, his voice was at its loudest. She'd never heard the tone on him, the hatred overpowering the disgust. In his beauty, she finally saw the monster under her bed. It reared its ugly head at her, emerging from dollops of honey and cream. And with sharp claws, it tore at her heart, ripping at her chest.
He was so angry, so angry that his body heaved from the effort and his face blossomed with red from the exertion. Her mind pounded, repeating his words again and again.
"And now you're sneaking into our dorm?" MinJae scoffed, rolling his eyes as he gritted his teeth. "My fucking God. You have so much fucking nerve." He stood tall, his shadow casting over her. He turned and the darkness shielded his face and all she could see was the glint of his eyes.
It mirrored the glint in the eyes of the crazy fan swathed in the green light of the exit sign. It mirrored the hatred that reflected strongly in Ezra's eyes. It mirrored the eyes of the veiled shadows in her nightmares.
MinJae continued, panting with each roar. "It's one thing for you to trick me with your lies, but another if you try to trick my best friends. GET THE FUCK OUT!"
His fingers reached for her, his digits fast as it swiped through the air to tear at her arms. She flinched, squeezing her eyes shut. The very next moment, she opened her eyes to Casper pulling him aside.
He was the tallest in the group and he easily lifted MinJae, dragging him back. His arm caged MinJae to his larger frame as he held him tightly. She was given the perfect view of her soulmates. The sadness and horror in each of their eyes as realisation dawned upon them.
Sieon's confused disbelief, Hikaru's horror and Ezra's bitter acceptance.
"Wait, MinJae. Wait. Wait," Casper beseeched, his voice soft and pleading.
Oliver stepped in, blocking her view in the very next second. She'd never been as thankful for him before, but at this moment she was. There was a gentle smile on his face, and he held her hand, his thumb rubbing her skin in small circles. His eyes were warm with his concern, the only ray of sunlight in the storm. However, she caught a glint of fear in his expression.
"I'll bring you back to the room, okay?" He spoke, his usually cheerful voice was carefully lowered into a soft hum. "We'll deal with everything one step at a time. Hm? You're okay. It's okay." He murmured, comforting her with a gentle squeeze of her hands. His actions drew her eyes to her hands and she finally noticed that she had been shaking. Her hands were trembling so hard that she quaked in her seat.
Fear.
"WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU PROTECTING HER? SHE'S A FUCKING OBSESSIVE, CRAZY FAN!" MinJae screeched, bucking in Casper's hold and she saw him, kicking his feet as he thrashed within his grip. "SHE WAS IN OUR DAMN HOTEL AFTER THE CONCERT IN SEOUL!" He screamed, his eyes wide and she noticed now. Noticed exactly how broken MinJae was. From the maniacal glint in his bloodshot eyes to the violent and wild bucking of his body.
He was tearing at Casper's skin, digging his nails into his flesh so hard that red streaks laced his arms. MinJae wanted to escape his hold and for what? Her breath hitched. He wanted to hurt her.
He wanted to hurt her.
MinJae continued "AND DO YOU KNOW WHAT SHE FUCKING TOLD ME ON THE DAY SHE DIED?" He heaved, and then he exploded. His voice pitching to the loudest she'd ever heard him go in her entire life. He was screaming, screaming as he wailed. "SHE DARED TO TELL ME THAT SHE'S MY FUCKING SOULMATE!"
He finished, the silence a stark contrast to that outburst of sound and she watched stunned as he panted. He was breathing hard, slumped in Casper's hold. His body shaking as he inhaled then he broke. His expression dissolved from one of intense hatred into one of sadness.
He was crying, sobbing in Casper's arms like a baby after his outburst. He folded inwards, slumping as he cried into his palms and Amber had never felt this conflicted before in her entire life.
Her heart stung, hurting even worse at the sound of his dry sobs in the corner and she watched as Casper gently soothed him, rocking him in his hold with gentle rubs against his shoulder. His outburst sent a hush throughout the room as each man stared at her with their eyes wide with shock. They didn't even give her time to think before they were attacking her again.
"Why?" Ezra snapped, his eyes glinting with his pain and detest. "Why did you do that? What did you have to gain? Why?"
"I can explain—" She tried to speak. Keyword: tried.
"I'm so confused, Momo—" Hikaru spoke.
"Hold on wait—" Casper.
"She didn't mean for this to happen!" Oliver. "Guys, please—"
They continued, their voices rising and falling as they argued in their confusion. She didn't know what to say, staring incredulously at the situation. She stared, her mind grappling at the situation. They were fighting over her, fighting one another. No, no. The Amber that loved them as artists before she loved them as soulmates spoke out. No, they couldn't fight. They couldn't fight because of her.
The thought was enough for her to rise to her feet.
"PLEASE LET ME SPEAK!" She raised her voice over the sound and the silence was thunderous, their eyes on her body, gazes that she didn't dare to meet. She inhaled, licking her lips nervously. "I—Where do I begin?"
She exhaled softly, shaking her head as she looked at her hands. The tremble didn't stop and she clenched her fingers tightly into a fists hoping that the additional strength would help. "I-I am a fan of your work, of IDOL. Have always been and forever will." She decided to tell them first, finding the topic easy to go to.
"So you lied to me?" Ezra asked and her eyes flew to his in her panic.
"You just didn't ask! I just didn't want to scare you off—"
"So you've been planning our meeting—"
"Please for the love of God. Can you just listen to what I have to say?" She glowered at him. Ezra snorted, folding his arms to look at her but he kept quiet, leaning against the wall. She swallowed thickly before continuing. "I turned twenty on January 19th. The day of the concert. I expected to—"
"Get to the fucking point," Ezra growled. "Before I call the fucking police for trespassing."
Asshole.
She shot him a hurt glare, tears blurring her vision. She inhaled sharply and sighed. The exhale of air usually relaxed her body but now it just seemed to add weight to the situation.
"You're my soulmate. Every single one of you are my soulmates. I have seven soul bonds, seven soulmates."
And the bomb was officially dropped.