“I dug into your past just to find your birth certificate. I was curious as to whether there was another name and Soo jung came up. I think it’s very pretty…” he trailed off.
Arden’s gaze landed on her hands on the door. “I guess..I’ll just go. you have someone else now and I’m just irrelevant…as always."he said. At least he had seen her. She could slam the door and Arden would still be outside it.
“Sure, if that’s the only way to get it through your thick skull,” She said with a sickly sweet smile.
“I’ll take note of that,” Krystal responded, anger only growing at how calm he was being. Was he here to get on her nerves? But, the anger was coincidentally replaced by confusion only a few seconds later.
Krystal’s brows furrowed, and she tilted her head to the side, “Replace you? Where’d you get that idea?” Her eyes softened, because as mad as she was, she didn’t miss the flash of hurt that appeared in his eyes and tone of voice. Looking at him now, she just wanted to throw her arms around him, but-
Her voice hardened, “But it’s a name that I don’t want anyone to remember, Arden.” She said it with almost a final note in her voice. She didn’t want to talk about this anymore. The past was the past, and she had left it like that for a reason.
Watching his eyes flicker to her hand on the door, she cursed the fact that he could read her so well. It was like he knew what she was going to do before she even did it. She averted her eyes, staring down hard at the ground.
“Why didn’t you tell me...?” Her voice was barely a whisper, and she doubted that he heard her. She made sure that he heard how hurt she was.
As soon as she opened the door though, he smiled widely. “A bit icy aren’t we, today, Soojung-ah~.” he said. “Arden Park. We’re regressed from idiot to my full name…” he added, chuckling. He knew what he wanted to say but it didnt come out right or more like, the thought that came out was not “Sorry for disappearing. But I needed to go. My grandmother…”
“So, how was life without me? Died of boredom?”
Krystal huffed, tilting her head back and trying her best not to roll her eyes, “Died of boredom? Please, if anything it was more quiet and less stressful without you. A carnival came around the time you were gone.” She smirked, almost as if a carnival coming was some grand prize to win.
“An occasion much like this one deserves your full name being used.” She shot back, keeping her tone icy and angry. Krystal paused. Did he just use her real name? The name that no one knew, not even Chanyeol (or Jongin), knew. The forbidden word, Soojung, was a reminder of her past. And she absolutely forbade anyone from using it, even if no one knew but her family.
Glaring at Arden, she continued, “It’s nice to know you’ve also been digging up secrets about me, Arden Park. No one knows that name, and it should stay that way. It’s Krystal to you.”
Her fingers tightened around her door frame, wanting to just slam it shut in his face. First, he left without a single warning, and now, he was digging into her past? Who the hell did he think he was? Emotional or not, what he did was wrong.
Arden had come back to Mugunghwa after a long time being away. He could have run away with the money and no one would know. He wouldn’t have to be part of the sick sick games that were being played and he could just live on his own. but he couldn’t. There was something about Mugunghwa that drove him there. It was like a sickness of something…but he didn’t know what. He stared up at the gates and then at the chocolate cake in his hands. He had missed her too much.
He headed to her dorm room and knocked on the door. “Hey, pyromaniac brat!” he exclaimed, leaning against the wall, dangling a cake in front of her room door. “Open up. It’s your favorite person ever, my dear!” he exclaimed, clapping.
She didn’t want to admit it, but it hurt when Arden left all of a sudden. She thought she could count on him, count on him staying.
Eventually, Krystal forced herself to stop thinking about him; Arden had left without a single good bye, not even a note. Maybe he was gone, for good, and she didn’t want to pain herself any longer. Forget about him and live your life; move on.
That’s what you’ve been doing since forever right, Soojung?
And that’s how it went. Any thoughts that were ever mentioned about Arden Park were gone, swiped from her mind. Instead, she spent even more time with her friends, clubs…
And just when she thought she was starting to forget, fate (hah) came knocking on her door.
It was Arden at the door.
Plastering on an annoyed expression, Krystal wrenched the door open. “Arden Park, how nice of you to come.” Her eyes were narrowed, because although she may have missed him a teeny tiny bit, she was still mad he hadn’t even bothered to tell her.
“hello kyrstal.” he mused, crossing his arms over his chest.
“rather late to be harvesting organs.”
it was no surprise, that seo inguk was not surprised - he was smart, he knew most of what all his students were up to - how lee howon was not only a amazing student; but also a bit shady and had sexuality issues. how park jimin was a little too close to the campus crazy kid. and of course, that kyrstal liked to sell organs.
Krystal flinched, eyes widening and immediately dropping the corpse back on the ground. In the faint light, she could make out that the passerby was none other than her coach.
Coughing, and trying not to choke, she blinked confusedly back at him. What the hell? How had he known she was collecting organs? Well, recently she hadn’t been too careful- which also explained the dead body. But, still. She guessed it was that weird, freaky teacher thing: the ability to know everything and anything that happened in and around school.
“Coach,” She breathed, stepping back from the corpse, and nudging it with her foot behind her, “It’s early, out for a jog?”
When she noticed him looking at the corpse, she grinned, “Just dealing with someone who was too nosy for his own good.”
Krystal didn’t know how everything had come to this.
She didn’t kill often; in fact, she didn’t kill at all (if possible). But, perhaps the reason why she was currently dealing with a dead body at all was the fact that her victim was annoying. Emphasis on the was.
It wasn’t like murders were uncommon at Mugunghwa (given its creepy ass history and all), so bodies often littered the campus here and there... if no one had cleaned them up yet. Valuable body parts and organs were always nice money-makers; and hey, if no one claimed them, it was anyone’s game. And one particular student had been getting a bit too close for Krystal’s liking, he was digging too deep into her past and getting too curious about her nightly adventures. He saw her cutting open one of the bodies she had found, and lo and behold, he had snapped a picture and threatened her with it.
Black mail.
How cliche. Of course, something like that only annoyed her further. The last thing the boy really saw was the flame of her lighter before he, well, died.
Honestly, it had all happened too fast. She didn’t know what she was doing when she had flicked on her lighter, and the next moment, she had a dead body on her hands. Dragging the burnt body beside her, Krystal tried to quicken her pace.
She would need to get rid of the evidence, but how?
The news sank over Mugunghwa like wildfire, and in less than a minute, Krystal’s phone was already beeping with texts and notifications.
The carnival was in town.
The Rapture, and so appropriately named, was definitely an event that had gotten all the students of Mugunghwa on their feet. Gone were the tired eyes, now it was replaced with anticipation, eagerness, and curiosity. It was all anyone talked about in class, and honestly? She couldn’t get her mind off it either.
And she knew just the person she wanted to drag (er, she meant invite) to come along with her. Leaving her class, Krystal was already on her phone, thumbs flying over the keyboard.
[ sms → bro ] are you home? i’m coming over in like five minutes.
[ sms → bro ] you’ve heard about the carnival, right? LET’S GOOOOO.
In less than five minutes, she was in front of Chanyeol’s door. Knocking excitedly, Krystal bounced on the balls of her feet, not even trying to contain her giddiness. Smile on full display, she waited, rather impatiently, for the door to swing open.
“Chanyeol!!!!”
~
Chanyeol had checked his messages, and immediately face-planted back into his bed. He didn’t want to go to any carnival. Carnivals were loud, dusty, ripe with unpleasant smells and full of creepy people. The only way they could be worse was if there was fire involved.
Still.
He waited for Krystal's (yelling) dulcet tones at the door before shoving away from his kitchen counter. He had a facemask on, hooked over his ears and covering his nose and mouth. Inevitably, the smell of cooked meat would make him sick to his stomach; the eucalyptus drops in the mask would keep him from vomiting all over the place. Hopefully.
“I’m coming,” he complained, grabbing his bag and bracing himself for Krystal’s inevitable enthusiasm. He knew she was excited. He didn’t share her excitement, but that didn’t mean he had to be an asshole about it.
“You’re too excited,” he said as he opened the door. “What are you, twelve?”
~
The door swung open, and Krystal’s grin brightened, only to drop at the presence of a facemask. She opened her mouth to question it, but Chanyeol’s next comment put the thought on the backburner for the moment.
Scoffing at his comment, she grinned snarkily back, “Obviously I act like a five year old. To which I take great pride in, Chanyeol.”
“Come on, the carnival can’t be that bad. I mean, just the name is enough to excite anyone. Can you just imagine all the games, all the food?! Gosh, I haven’t been to one since forever.”
Shifting the bag on her shoulder, Krystal tilted her head to the side, “All set right?”
Taking his hand lightly and dragging him to the staircase, she moved down the stairs at a rapid pace, a certain bounce to her step. “I don’t want to intrude, and you definitely don’t have to reply if you don’t want to, but why the facemask?”
She glanced back briefly before focusing her gaze to the stairs in front of her, careful not to trip on any of the steps.
~
It was hard to remain stoic in the light of Krystal’s enthusiasm, and Chanyeol smiled despite himself. He let himself be led, shrugging when she asked about his facemask. “Smells,” he replied. “Like, grilled meat and stuff. I hate it, so. This is just a precaution kind of thing.” He motioned to his own face and then gripped the banister to make sure that neither of them went flying down the stairs due to inattentiveness.
The truth was Chanyeol hated this kind of thing. Carnivals, fairs; all those people, all those smells and unpleasant touching. If it was anyone but Krystal he’d have told them no. But Sir was encouraging him to “step outside of his comfort zone” and this was about as far as he was willing to go. The second someone tried to offer him a piece of grilled meat he was going to leave.
~
“Oh,” She replied, turning back to fully look at him now that they had both landed on the lobby floor. “Okay, I’ll make sure we don’t go near grilled meat and all that stuff.” She stuck her tongue out, “I’d rather be eating cotton candy and pretzels anyway. Junk food galore!”
Krystal moved towards the door that would lead them outside of the apartment complex, letting go of Chanyeol’s hand to instead walk beside him. As they walked, the silence that draped over them felt oddly comfortable. Usually, silences like these felt tense, uncomfortable, and overall awkward. But next to Chanyeol, there was a certain peace, a peace that not even she was willing to break. After a few moments, Krystal paused before blinking sheepishly, “Is it bad that I don’t know how to get there?”
~
“I’m pretty sure we can’t miss it,” he replied, laughing. “Tents, lots of loud, probably drunk people. We’ll get there.” He smiled down at her, draped his arm over her shoulders. “I’m taller than you, I’ll keep a lookout.”
He took in the lights at the sky, turning them in the general direction that was the most lit up. Sure enough, they made their way to the path that headed for the carnival. The sight of it didn’t really excite Chanyeol, but there was, at least, a sense of anxious apprehension. This kind of place wasn’t his favorite. But there was always the allure of doing things outside the norm, knowing that he could be proud of himself-- and that other people would be proud of him-- made it seem more like fun, than torture.
The eucalyptus under his nose smelled sweet and bright.
~
Krystal crinkled her nose. The thought of drunkards was enough to put a damper on her excitement. “Gross, drunk people? I didn't even think of that…” She pouted, “What if they cause too much of a commotion and everything gets delayed?!”
She whined, “It's not fair that you're blessed with great genes. Being short sucks.” Even with her boots on, Krystal barely reached past his shoulder. Krystal sighed, the curse of being a shortie.
She grinned up at a Chanyeol, bouncing on her feet and smiling wider the closer they got to their destination. “I'm just so excited for all that food and all those games! I'm definitely going to beat you, Chanyeol. What should we do first? Food? Games? All of the above, none of the above?” The soft sound of music seemed to drift towards them, along with the smell of freshly made hot dogs, newly spun cotton candy, and the sweet sweet sense of happiness.
“We’re almost there!”
~
Chanyeol smiled under his mask, ruffled Krystal’s hair and followed her. The more excited she was, the faster she walked; it was easy to keep up with her, given his long, somewhat stiff stride.
“Whatever you want to do first is fine,” he replied, taking in all of the bright lights.
~
The sights that greeted the both of them were all so much to take in at once. There were flashing, bright lights in nearly every direction she glanced at. It was still early, but there were already people walking around. It would only get more crowded as the night went on.
The first booth that greeted them both was the cotton candy booth. The sweet smell of spun sugar was enough to make Krystal’s mouth water. Being at the carnival only made Krystal act even more like a five year old. Quick to hand over the small price for a big ball of sugar, Krystal held out the cone of sugar to Chanyeol, tilting her head to the side, “Want some?”
~
He smiled down at her and offered out his hand for a piece of tooth-rotting confection. When she gave it to him, he eased it under his mask and shuddered at the taste. Wow that was… Sweet. Very sweet.
“I think I like fried dough better.” He glanced around, trying to find a path that wouldn’t lead them directly past any meat booths; there were a few options and he was grateful. Krystal could have a hot dog if she wanted-- Chanyeol would stand a few feet away from the booth to wait for her.
“I wonder if they make green tea cotton candy.”
~
“Any flavor cotton candy would taste great. But green tea, that’s something I would be willing to try,” Her eyes widened at the prospect of another food choice, “Fried dough?! YES! LET’S GO GET THAT! Or should I have actual sustaining food before?” Krystal eyed the hot dog stand a few feet away before looking over at Chanyeol.
“But you’re not too great with the smell of meat right? Besides, who actually has time to eat hot dogs, when you could be eating basically anything else?” She shrugged, “Here’s to the regrets of having dessert for dinner!”
He wasn’t sure how they got separated. One minute they were talking about the virtues of cinnamon on fried dough, talking about getting ice cream, and then she was gone, as though she’d just… Vanished.
Chanyeol looked around for her, but the crowd was too dense to be shouting-- he sent her a text message and shrugged. She’d probably gotten distracted, it wasn’t a big deal. It wasn’t the first time it’d happened. She’d call him if she needed him, and it meant he could be heading back to his room, too.
“Even I don’t know,” she stated, groaning as she heard someone play another song while others fist-bumped to this American trash. Her eyes tried to find something, anything, to save her dignity and pride, and whatever was left. Staring blankly at the open cabinet near the couch, she pushed people out of the way. Her anger was ticking. Others complained, some were too drunk to care, but one finger on her shoulder and she was going to bite someone’s finger off. She quivered with some kind of anger unbottling. There had to be some kind of redemption. In there were bottles of wine. Wonderful bottles of wine, how kind. Su Min waved the bottle in the air for Krystal to see and smiled once again.
The stench of vomit and alcohol reached her nose, the smell was too pungent for her sensitive nose. With a quick glance, she took Krystal’s wrist and ran out the door. Away from the mortals who had nothing better than to drink their prides away. The stench disappeared and the fresh air clammed her limbs.
Krystal followed Su Min’s lead, watching as the girl swiped a wine bottle from the cabinet. From the brief glance she had of the bottle when it was being waved in the air, it seemed like it was expensive. But then again, wines were supposed to be good, weren’t they? Hopefully, the homeowners wouldn’t be missing this priceless bottle, but they deserved it anyway.
“Gross, it smells like shit too,” She murmured, eyeing the Beer Pong table for a moment.
Who threw a party this sucky and expected anyone to stay?
Krystal’s nose crinkled at the lingering smell of vomit, sweat, and air freshener. It was a horrible attempt to cover up the sickly stink, and honestly, she wondered how anyone at all was able to deal with the scent. But then again, 95% of the party was already drunk on the cheap alcohol, so it shouldn’t have been a surprise that their senses were already dulled beyond belief.
“This party was way more hyped up than it actually was. I don’t blame you; whoever planned this party obviously doesn’t know how to keep their guests entertained.” She shook her head, rolling her eyes.
Following Su Min out the door, the fresh air that greeted the both of them was very much welcomed. She had never felt more relieved to be outside.
Glancing over at the other, Krystal huffed, “Well, that party completely blew.”
“Good thing you swiped the wine. At least they had something decent for the taking; they probably won’t miss this with all that gross alcohol around, right?”
Send me ‘It hurts!’ and I’ll generate a number for a scenario.
Theme: Grievous bodily harm/pain; TW for violence, suicide/self-harm, blood/gore, near death experiences (NSFW)
Numbers: 1 - 20
Bonus points for not peeking! Send ‘It Hurts! (In Reverse)’ for opposite.
Screaming. Crying. Cruel laughter. Bloodthirsty smiles. Red...blood, so much blood. Death.
A blur of images flicker past her shut eyes in a dream turned nightmare. What was once a fond dream that spoke of her childhood memories morphed quickly into the horrible darkness that clung to her very soul and past.
A scream penetrated the silence of the apartment, probably waking up some neighbors. It was ear-splitting, sad, and painful.
Krystal jolted awake. Her eyes were wide, and her blonde hair was an utter mess. Her sheets were tangled around her legs, and her hands were still clenched tightly around her blankets. Breathing heavily and shivering from the nightmare, she couldn’t help but let the tears fall from her cheeks. Sniffling and shivering quite pitifully (although she would never admit this later on), Krystal tried to take deep breaths and calm herself down.
It’s just a nightmare; none of it is real. In and out. Take deep breaths.
But it didn’t work.
In a moment, her entire apartment felt too small, too narrowed and cramped. It felt like she was suffocating. She couldn’t breathe.
Help. Someone help me, please.
Clawing her way out of bed, Krystal quickly threw on a hoodie, not even caring about her appearance. She just needed to get out, get out of there. She was out of the door in a flash, feet hitting the pavement, breath coming out in rough patches. A million people flashed through her mind in just one second: Chanyeol, Jongin, Arden, Sumin. But, how can I go to them looking like I just killed someone?
Too lost in her thoughts, she didn’t even notice bumping into someone else.
Her words came out jumbled, and she struggled to compose herself, her thoughts, everything.
“I-I’m sorry. I just- I just didn’t know where I was going. Sorry,” Krystal’s voice shook, and she struggled to wipe the tear streaks away from her face.
(/ she checks her phone as the first reply came in, and quickly stored it away in her pocket as she made her way towards the door. throwing her purse over her shoulder, she sped up her footsteps towards the cafe and into the back alley. ) Why in the world would you want me to meet you here… (/ she yelled as she made the turn, knowing her friend would be on the other side of the wall but instead they had a third company. she stared at the girl infront of her, in slight disbelief but trying to act nonchalant. ) I would love to hear your excuse for this one missy.
( ; she holds her hands up, like she didn’t just leave an alleyway with corpses in it. ) ❝ um, i was strolling by and i saw the corpses...?❞ ( ; a sheepish grin appears. ) ❝ i swear i’m not up to anything.❞ ( ; she steps in front of yoona, trying to block the girl’s sight to the alleyway. )
send me a ϟ for a muggle au: our muses were students at hogwarts, but they suddenly find themselves in the muggle world with no magic
send me a ☻ for a future au: our muses in the future
send me a ❀ for a supernatural creatures au: your muse is a hunter and they've been hunting my muse, a dangerous creature
send me a ツ for a triwizard tournament au: your muse's name was just drawn from the goblet of fire
send me a ☾ for a wartime au: our muses are on the frontline of the battle
send me a ღ for a married au: our muses are married
send me a ♒ for a spy au: our muses are on a top secret mission together
send me a ♜ for a vegas au: my muse wakes up next to yours after a night in vegas without a clue of what's happening
send me a ☄ for a titanic au: our muses are on the titanic together and it's time to panic...
send me a ♡ for a soulmate au: in a world where soulmates are predetermined and you don't know who they are until the clock strikes 00:00:00, our muses are soulmates
send me a ❥ for a arranged marriage au: our muses are forced together into a marriage and they're in their room alone
send me a ✦ for a celebrity au: your muse is a celebrity and mine is an adoring fan
send me a ☠ for a zombie apocalypse au: our muses must fend for themselves and protect each other in a world infested with zombies
