CHAPTER 4 : THE FRACTURE

The sun was blazing overhead, heat rising off the pavement as if the world itself was holding its breath.

It was their first official fansign as Monsta X.

Rows of chairs were lined up under a white canopy. Fans swarmed beyond the barricades, buzzing with lightsticks, banners, and eager hearts. Despite being a new group, their popularity was overwhelming.

Changkyun sat at the far end of the table.

Last in line.

He smiled quietly at every fan who approached bowing, signing albums, forcing cheer into every word. But some fans skipped him. Others looked at him like he didn’t belong. A few even whispered loud enough for him to hear.

“Why is he even here?”

“He ruined the original team.”

He didn’t flinch. Just smiled.

A staff member stepped up to the table, placing bottled drinks in front of each member. Their names were written in black marker on the labels routine hydration, nothing unusual.

Changkyun glanced at his bottle. Banana milk. His favorite. He reached for it.

Before his fingers could close around it, it was snatched away.

“Ah..this one looks delicious,” said Hyungwon, grinning as he twisted the cap open and took a sip.

Changkyun froze.

“You can have mine, Changkyunie,” Hyungwon added, sliding his untouched strawberry drink across.

“I don’t really like it.”

Hyungwon smiled, soft and sincere.

For a brief second, the world slowed.

Someone cared.

Changkyun nodded gently, unable to speak. He didn’t want to ruin the moment.

But Ten minutes later, it happened.

A loud thud echoed across the stage.

Screams erupted.

Hyungwon collapsed sideways off his chair arms limp, body twitching slightly. Blood dripped from his nose. Foam clung to the corners of his mouth.

The crowd panicked.

Wonho bolted to him, catching him just before his head hit the floor.

“Hyungwon-ah !! YAA!! Look at me!” Wonho’s voice cracked with panic, his hands cupping the younger’s face.

“Hey! Stay with me!”

But Hyungwon’s eyes rolled back. His body spasmed.

“MEDIC!! SOMEONE GET THE MEDIC!!”

The crowd was ushered away.

Hyungwon was rushed to the hospital.

The rest of the members stood frozen backstage, their faces pale and speechless. No one knew what had just happened only that it happened too fast. Too wrong.

A few minutes later, a nurse approached with news.

“He was poisoned.”

Silence.

Kihyun’s eyes widened. “What?”

“He ingested something laced with toxins. We’re flushing it out now. If it had been a little more he might not have made it.”

That’s when Changkyun finally spoke.

His voice was barely audible.

“That… that drink was mine.”

All heads turned toward him.

“What?” Minhyuk asked, breath sharp.

“I didn’t get to drink it. Hyungwon-hyung took it... He said he liked banana milk.”

The silence turned colder.

Kihyun’s voice was the first to cut through.

“Then why didn’t you drink it?”

It wasn’t a question. It was an accusation.

“If you had,” Kihyun muttered, “maybe this wouldn’t have happened.”

The words sliced into him like glass.

Jooheon stared at him like he didn’t recognize him. Hyunwoo’s disappointment was visible in his clenched jaw, the way he turned his back.

Wonho was still kneeling, blood on his hands. He didn’t say anything. He didn’t have to.

His silence said everything.

Changkyun bowed his head.

His lips trembled.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, voice cracking.

No one responded.

He turned and walked away without another word.

...°°°...

Outside the hospital, the world felt colder.

Changkyun sat at the bus stop alone, the banana milk bottle still clutched in his hand.

He was supposed to give it to the staff for evidence. But his fingers wouldn’t let go.

He stared at the label.

His name.

Written in black.

“You’re right,” he whispered to no one, voice hollow. “It was meant for me.”

His hand trembled.

...°°°...

Back at the hospital

Hyungwon stabilized.

Barely.

“He’ll recover,” the doctor said. “But slowly. He’ll need close monitoring for the next week.”

Kihyun’s heart twisted.

He sat down on the hallway bench, hands clasped together.

“Hyung,” he whispered to Shownu.

“I… I think I messed up.”

Shownu looked over. “What do you mean?”

“I said something earlier. To Changkyun. Something I didn’t mean.”

There was a pause.

Then Shownu pulled out his phone.

“Don’t worry. I’ll call him.”

He dialed once.

Twice.

Three times.

No answer.

By the fifth call, Kihyun was shaking.

'"He’s still not answering,” Hyunwoo said, frowning as he lowered his phone.

“Then I’m going to check on him,” he added, grabbing his coat.

“Wait Hyung, I want to go with you,” Kihyun said quickly, already following him out the hospital doors.

They searched everywhere.

The streets around the hospital. The small convenience store Changkyun often visited. The nearby park bench where he used to sit alone.

Thirty minutes passed. Nothing.

No sign of him.

“Hyung…” Kihyun murmured, breathless.

“Let’s check the dorm. He might be there.”

They jumped into the van and sped through the city.

...°°°...

Back at the dorm.

Changkyun sat alone on the edge of his bed, the banana milk bottle still in his hand.

He lifted it to his lips.

And finished what was left.

The poison was slow but it was still poison.

A small dose. Just enough to tip his body over the edge.

His vision blurred. The walls bent. The floor tilted under him like a sinking ship.

He stumbled toward the bathroom, one hand dragging along the wall to keep himself upright. Something clawed its way up his throat, but he swallowed it down, refusing to gag. Not yet.

Somehow he didn’t even know how he ended up in the bathtub.

His fingers shook as he turned on the tap. Cold water poured down, soaking his fully clothed body. He didn’t care.

Pain bloomed in his chest. His stomach twisted in violent cramps.

But all he could think was...

“If this is what it takes to make them happy… Then I don’t mind dying.”

His sight went dark.

And slowly… his body sank under the water.

...°°°...

At that same moment

Hyunwoo and Kihyun burst through the dorm door.

“Changkyun!!” they shouted.

No response.

They checked every room. Nothing.

Then they heard it.

The sound of running water. From Changkyun’s room.

“Changkyun?! Are you in there?!” Kihyun called, pounding on the door.

No answer.

Kihyun’s panic surged. “YAH!! IM CHANGKYUN!! Open the door or I’ll break it!”

Still silence.

“Move!” Hyunwoo shouted, and with one powerful kick BANG! the door flung open.

The room was empty.

Except for one thing.

A banana milk bottle, drained to the last drop, lying on the floor.

Kihyun’s heart dropped.

“Changkyun…” he whispered.

Then he noticed something else.

The floor was wet.

Very wet.

The sound of overflowing water gurgled from the bathroom.

Kihyun’s knuckles slammed against the door. “OPEN UP!! HEY!!”

Still no response.

Hyunwoo came charging back with a fire extinguisher and slammed it into the bathroom door.

CRASH.

The door burst open.

And there inside the bathtub was Changkyun.

Unmoving. Submerged. Limp.

“K-Kyunnie!!!” Kihyun staggered back, choking on a sob.

Hyunwoo dove forward, pulling Changkyun’s body from the water. His skin was cold. His lips were blue.

He laid him flat on the floor and immediately started CPR, pressing down on his chest in a desperate rhythm.

“Come on,” Hyunwoo begged.

“Breathe!!breathe!!damn it breathe!!”

Kihyun dropped to his knees beside them, tears streaming down his face.

“I didn’t mean it… I didn’t mean any of it…”

No one knew how long Changkyun had been under. The ambulance siren finally pierced the silence a few minutes later.

But by then

all that was left in the room was soaked tile, shaking breaths, and a silence that screamed.

Tbc...

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