7 reasons why it happened
genre: angst, some fluff, broken friendships, incidents of betrayal
pairing:ot8 highschool student! ateez
summary: it has been 5 months since jung wooyoung jumped to his death. while the whole school still seems to be mourning his sudden death, 7 boys each receive a mysterious letter containing written contents related to the boy’s death. as all of them read their own letters, they slowly discover their seemingly unharmful actions may result in unpredictable hostile situations.
warnings: mentions of suicide, quite a large amount of swearing, underaged drinking, smoking, substance abuse and violence.
note: the plot of this story is inspired by 13 reasons why (which y’all should totally watch) and the words in bold are texts from the letters and words in bold italic are flashbacks<3
note (2): the show 13 reasons why contains very disturbing topics such as SH, SA, violence, substance abuse, rape, and quite gory in some scenes where blood is explicitly shown. please don’t watch the show if you are easily triggered by such topics!
“Remember, you’re not alone. Our counsellor, Ms Park, is always available to talk to. Always be alert of any signs of depression and make sure to tell a teacher or a responsible adult. At Sliveta High School, we will not tolerate any bullying of any form and we will always remember and mourn the loss of one of our treasured students, Jung Wooyoung.” Soft lifeless claps were emitted before the students started to make their way to their first morning class.
“Shit’s fucking messed up.” Seonghwa muttered under his breath.
“Good to know that you’ve finally got a pair of eyes to notice that. Shit had gotten messy since the beginning.” Hongjoong responded to the boy’s statement, rolling his eyes. As the two made their way down the long crowded hallway, they could not help to notice a large group of students gathered in front of the school’s trophy cabinet. Whispers were heard along with the loud clicks of the cameras.
“It’s a fucking memorial, not a tourist attraction!” Hongjoong grumbled, annoyance evident in his eyes as he witnessed students from all levels trying to snap a picture of the small memorial dedicated to Wooyoung.
“Can’t blame them, can we? The student council could’ve put it somewhere else more discreet, right Mr President?” Seonghwa replied in a snarky manner.
“Jesus, it wasn’t even my idea! Whatever, I’m leaving. See you in English.” Upon uttering that last sentence, Hongjoong stomped away, leaving Seonghwa all alone.
The bell had went off a while ago, and Seonghwa was the only one left standing in the now empty hallway. He swiftly opened his locker, grabbed his Chemistry textbook, and shoved the locker door close. As he did that, he saw a white envelope flutter to the ground. Seonghwa bent down and picked it up. Strangely enough, his name and address were neatly written on it, so why would it even be delivered to his locker instead of his own house?
Curiosity was beginning to get the best of him and he hurriedly tore the envelope open. Just as he was about to read the letter that was placed snuggly in the envelope, he heard a booming voice call his name.
“Mr Park, off to class! You’re late.” Mr Lee, the discipline master instructed Seonghwa. Seonghwa glanced at the letter one more time before shoving it into his back pocket frantically.
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Hey, it’s Wooyoung. Jung Wooyoung. If you’re reading this, it means you are the first person to get this letter. I know this may seem out of the blue and a little strange, but I promise you that this letter will explain everything.
“What in the actual fuck.” Indeed, the senior was confused, shocked and scared. With shaky hands, he held up the letter closer to his eyes and continued to read.
You know how everyone says life is short and you should treasure it. Well, I wholeheartedly agree and I tried to treasure my existence on this planet. Keyword, tried. Life at Stilveta was…torturous, to be extremely frank. However, you made it a little bit better for me. You were so nice to me on my first day. I remember being lost and you helped me find the Chemistry Lab. You even offered to hang out with you and your friend group, which honestly, was the best thing a lonely new kid could ask for. You were the most friendly and kind person I had have ever met that day.
So thank you. But that is not what this letter is about.
As much as I loved to believe that nice people actually existed, I could not help but to have my doubts. You, Park Seonghwa, was nice to almost everyone. Campus sweetheart, basketball captain, school heartthrob etc. You were all that. The amazing, one and only, Park Seonghwa.
I get it. You had an image to keep.
But I never knew you would go to such an extent and throw someone under the bus.
At that moment, Seonghwa felt time stop. His room started spinning, cold sweat trickled down his forehead and his breath started to quicken. His heart pounded against his chest and it felt as if Seonghwa was about to pass out onto the ground.
He knew what Wooyoung was referring to, all too well.
“Seonghwa, what in the actual fuck is this?” Wooyoung was immediately shushed by the taller male’s hand that covered his mouth.
“Not here Woo. Science block. Now.” Seonghwa whispered before dragging Wooyoung by the forearm all the way to the Science building, the most secluded part of the school campus. Wooyoung could feel shock course through his veins as he still could not believe his eyes that Seonghwa, Stilveta’s “all-star student and nice guy”, had weed in his possession.
Seonghwa was bombarded with numerous questions from the latter and he could not help but to just remain silent. Achieving academic success all the time in order to uphold his reputation was extremely difficult. Nothing ever truly helped him relax except getting high. It was detrimental to his health, but Seonghwa had no choice.
“Do me a favour and keep it with you for now. Return it to me after school. We’re friends, right? Friends do things for each other!”
“But not this, Hwa! You need to tell someone! Please, Seonghwa! This is not healthy.” Wooyoung tried to reason with the desperate male who was on the verge of tears.
“Please fucking hide them Wooyoung. I can’t let anyone find out, not even Hongjoong or San. Please!” As much as it pained Wooyoung to see his friend so utterly anxious, he had to stay true to his own values. Seonghwa was a friend. Indeed, friends help each other, but it was time for Seonghwa to fix this problem on his own.
“I’m sorry Seonghwa. I won’t tell the teacher, I promise.” Wooyoung uttered out before walking away, leaving the taller male crouching on the ground, tears cascading down his cheeks.
Maybe if I had covered up the truth for you, things would have turned out to be completely different. But I did that because I cared about you, Hwa. You needed serious help. Not from me, not from Hongjoong, not from Mr Lee. A professional. A therapist.
It was obvious you did not see it that way.
Your feeling of betrayal was completely understandable. Everyone has always been at your service to help you with the everything, even the most bizarre matters.
Your feelings spiralled out of control, and you decided to let it out on me.
“I’m sorry.” He whispered.
“Sorry to disturb your class, my dearest students. It seems that a student in this class is in possession of drugs. We will conduct a bag check right this moment.” Mr Lee announced. The constant rustling of bags, thumps of books being poured out of their containment and quick firm footsteps filled up the once quiet room.
Seonghwa and Wooyoung shared that one particular class, World History. What confused Wooyoung the most was after one of the teachers went through Seonghwa’s bag, she simply put it down and walked away calmly. Wooyoung was sure he saw the drugs. The two of them had an episode just half an hour ago.
The boy was so caught up in his thoughts that he did not detect his bag being scoured through. He was snapped out of them when Mr Lee banged his table, causing Wooyoung to jolt in response.
“Young man, may I know what is this?” Wooyoung’s eyes widened in utter shock. He glanced to the other students in the classroom. All eyes were on him, mostly confused while a few students snickered at the poor boy. It was when Wooyoung caught Seonghwa’s eyes. They were cold and emotionless, but if he were to look closer, they withheld a look of victory and smugness, subtly bringing across a message along the lines of “I told you so.”
Wooyoung’s gaze travelled back to Mr Lee’s palm. He was doubtful at first and thought Mr Lee was simply referring to the miniature pen knife that Wooyoung carried around in the front pocket of his bag for self-defense purposes.
Wooyoung was proven wrong. In Mr Lee’s palm, weed was present. A huge plastic bag of weed.
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Park Seonghwa, you are indeed a smart cookie. I’m surprised the drug did not mess up your brain yet. ( sorry I thought that was hilarious ) As you hoped, Mr Lee and the headmaster did not believe me. Why would they anyway? I was the new shy kid who obtained average grades in all my classes. I had no reputation before, but after that incident, everyone called me the “Drug Dispenser”. They could have been more creative with the nickname, I have to admit, but man, it still hurt. It hurt even more when you did not even try to defend me in the principal’s office and in the hallways. I thought friends helped each other Seonghwa. I never snitched about you snorting weed, but you fucking threw me under the bus.
You were absolutely merciless, Park Seonghwa.
But I began to forgive you. You seemed to forget about the incident anyway. Even though you started to ignore me from then on, I still treasure our friendship.
So I thank you once again. Thank you for being my first friend at Stilveta High. Thank you for tolerating my clumsiness. Thank you for always tutoring me in World History that I managed to barely pass.
Thank you for being the first reason for me to wipe my existence off this world. Thank you for being the first reason for me to die.
Seonghwa got high that night. Quietly.
