Work Text:
The sound of rain hitting glass and hurried footsteps getting closer pulls Haechan out of unconsciousness. He slowly opens his eyes, which are covered in blood, and looks around. The car he was driving was tipped upside down, meaning that he was upside down, and people were shouting at him to get out of the car.
Eventually, he was able to unbuckle his seatbelt, but only after getting out of the car and getting asked a million questions by the people around him, did he realize that Mark had been in the car with him too. He bends down to get a good look inside the car, only to see him still unconscious.
He begs and begs for him to wake up, and even gets him out with the help of a few people, but he doesn’t wake up. He’s sobbing now. Tears blur his eyes and he’s shoved into an ambulance and forced to part ways with Mark.
He is informed a few minutes later that Mark had died in the crash.
***
When Haechan arrives at the hospital, he’s screaming and sobbing.
He wants to see Mark.
He needs to see him for himself.
There’s no way he’s dead.
He can’t believe it.
They had known each other for so long and had been dating for a few years now. What was he supposed to tell the other members? What was he going to tell the company? Mark’s family? What is he going to do with himself after all of this?
Haechan isn’t sure, but all he can do is cry.
***
The next day, the news is going crazy over the crash. Haechan is plastered all over the news as purposely trying to cause the crash.
Fans have turned against him and the group, saying that his reckless driving is the reason for Mark’s death. The company and even his own family have urged him to lie low for a while. Take a year off to heal and think about where he wants to go from here.
Regardless of what anyone thinks, Haechan knows that he’s not the reason for Mark’s death. He and Mark—despite the latter being dead—know that.
He doesn’t need to prove anything (unless police decide to investigate, of course).
There’s no way he doesn’t remember what happened, and because of Mark’s death, it’s going to follow him for the rest of his life.
“Are we doing the right thing, Haechan?” Mark asks his boyfriend as he looks down at their hands. Haechan was driving, but his right hand was holding Mark’s left hand.
Haechan smiled and squeezed Mark’s hand. “Of course, Mark. I believe that us moving to the United States to get married is the right thing. It’s going to make us happy, and I believe that if it makes us happy, then we’re doing the right thing.” He brings their intertwined hands up to his mouth and kisses Mark’s hand before lowering them back down again. “And what makes you happy, makes me happy, Mark. If you’re still unsure, we can cancel our plans and wait to go through with anything. I don’t want us to get there, and you’re having second thoughts, okay? Let’s think about it a little more.”
Mark mirrors Haechan’s smile and hums, thinking about it, then says, “Yeah, that sounds like a good plan. Let’s do that. I wanna make sure that we really wanna go through with this if we leave. Cause once we announce this, we may or may not have a career anymore. Our biggest support is in Korea, and people like us aren’t widely accepted yet.”
“You’re exactly right, Mark,” Haechan says, chuckling as he brakes when he sees the lights up ahead turn red. “I love how smart you are.”
“Isn’t that the reason why you fell in love with me?” Mark jokes as he leans forward and kisses Haechan on the lips.
Just as the light turns green, Haechan steps on the gas and steadily drives across the road, only to get hit from the passenger seat side of the car by another car that was going too fast. The car spins and tumbles a few times before landing about twenty feet away, and landing upside down.
Haechan cries as he recalls what happened over and over again.
How could anyone blame him for Mark’s death? He wasn’t even the cause of the incident.