Warnings: murder, sion is crazy and weird here, y/n is oblivious that sion replaced her boyfriend
Summary: Sion hated being a twin, having to share a life with another sucks. If only there can be one, no problem though, Sion can be both easily.
Authors note: I had to get out of my grave so bad, I couldn’t stand it 😔 I’ve had this idea for so long (a few months) and finally I got it done like this shouldn’t be that hard I swear. Also Sion and Seon are pronounced the same way 🥲 I couldn’t come up with any names.
Sion didn’t mean to kill his twin brother.
That’s what he keeps telling himself over and over again. Maybe he did mean to though. Although he didn’t expect it to happen so fast.
All his life he always envied his brother, Seon.
Sion despised being compared to him. It was already a pain that their names were the same just spelt differently. He knew he was the better twin, he was older by 3 minutes, handsomer, despite being a copy and paste of each other, smarter and just overall better. And most of all, he didn’t have an ugly mole behind his ear. The one that stood out as an indicator on which twin is which.
But if he was so great, why did Seon get to have you?
Seon didn’t deserve you, you are worth so much more than being with a parasite. Sion liked you and it seemed that his twin also had the hots for you too. The twins met you through a mutual friend, said friend dragged you despite your protests, to which Sion was joyous on the inside. He remembered the way you smiled, remembered thinking you look better next to him.
When he found out you and his brother were dating, he was livid. Sion remembered how tightly he gripped the edge of the table that night. How something inside him snapped quietly.
It was a nightmare that he wish to wake up from. Seon had been giggling too much at his phone and told Sion that you had agreed to date him. He didn’t even notice Sion’s expression change as he rambled on how you made him the happiest man.
Sion tried to ignore his feelings, be friendly around you both, but it wasn’t fair. He already had to share a name, features, friends with Seon. So why couldn’t he just have you?
Something had to be done, his twin brother just kept on winning and taking and smiling like he didn’t know he was stealing air from Sion’s lungs. The more Sion thinks about his brother’s death, the less he regrets it. Killing Seon was a little too easy, his twin, oh so sweet and gullible. It didn’t take much for Sion to get his brother in the woods with the excuse of wanting to talk things out.
He should’ve second guessed himself, Seon looked at him with fear and confusion when he saw the gun. Poor guy didn’t expect a bullet to go through his head. The sound was louder than Sion imagined, the way Seon’s body dropped was heavier than he expected.
The forest went quiet afterward, too quiet.
Sion cut the skin where his brother’s mole was, his hands shook, but not from guilt, from precision. If he was going to get rid of him, he needed to make sure they didn’t know which twin was dead. He couldn’t risk what he planned for the future.
Sion went back home, drew a mole behind his right ear, pressing the liner down harder than necessary, and made a call. He knew that you wouldn’t just run to him and leave his brother, so why inform the cops that he disappeared?
As soon as a the 911 operator picked up, Sion cried on cue.
—
When the news broke out that Sion had disappeared, your mind went to how your boyfriend. His twin brother, gone without a trace and with no one knowing where he could have left to. It must hurt a lot, Sion wasn’t a bad person so who knows what could’ve happened to him.
You held Seon tightly as he sobbed silently, “I-I just can’t think of any reason on why my brother would just vanish? It’s not like him.” It sadden you so much to see the love of your life so devastated. After all, how many missing people are even found throughout the years?
“Are you sure you’re going to be alright back at your apartment? Stay with me, I don’t want you alone knowing you’re this upset about your brother. Maybe we can come up with some ideas, I can make you some lavender tea to cool down.”
Luckily you stood up and faced away from Sion. He hated lavender tea, always complained it tasted funny. He never understood his brother’s obsession with floral teas. But if he’s going to play the part he needs to suck it up, “I’d really like that Y/n. You really know how to keep me together.”
He stood behind you in the kitchen, wrapping his arms around your waist. His hands lingered a second too long. You turned your head slightly to face him and smile, “I just want you to be happy.” With that you leaned in, giving him a soft kiss to which he returned without hesitation.
If only you knew how clueless you are, that the man in front of you isn’t your boyfriend. That your boyfriend is rotting beneath cold soil in the woods. Yet here you are, with Sion disguising himself as your dead boyfriend, his own twin.
Not like he cares though, his plan is working after all.
“come to me . . . hear my cries!” your shaky voice pleaded into the darkness of the room, candlestick clasped between your trembling hands, possessed by the desire for someone. something. anything. this carnal craving consumed you every sunset, but tonight was different, nearly insatiable. you couldn’t sleep, couldn’t think, could barely even breathe as if there was something physically suppressing you—something that needed to be exorcised.
the candle, now dripping into a puddle of wax pooled onto the floor, seeped through your dainty fingers clasped around it. the room felt even colder with the flame no longer lit, now completely dark aside from the moonlight illuminating the fortress’s stone brick walls through the balcony, alongside the light trickling through under the door where your parents were. they tossed you in this room to collect yourself during your “episodes”, though refused to look into it. god forbid your family was known as anything other than perfect. after all, word spreads quickly throughout the town.
you felt it before you saw it. before you saw him.
tall, slender, and winged. otherworldly. he slowly turned around to face you, the only thing visible being his fangs, displayed in a wide grin. anyone else would cower away in fear or disgust, but all you felt was utter relief. your cries were finally answered. oh, he was just perfect. perfect to fix and fill you up in each and every way you desired.
he took one step towards you and into the light, almost stealing your breath with his sheer beauty alone. he looked like a wet dream, forcing you to pinch yourself to ensure this was reality.
“you need to be cautious with your cries of invitation,” he warns, voice low and sultry. “you don’t know who… or what will accept.” his tilts his head, as if taunting you.
then suddenly, he’s on you, the pressure heavy on your chest as your body is pushed back onto the cold tiles. winded, you look up to be met with nothing, your breath hitching in betrayal. “no! come back!” you pleaded, until you felt sharp nails snaking under your forearms from behind, yanking you backwards. you let out a shriek, the fear and excitement you felt intertwining into something so intense you could cry—and you did. once your back met the wall, he was in front of you again, kneeling at your eye level.
“crying already? i haven’t even started.” he coos condescendingly, large thumb reaching out to trace the tear track on your cheek. his touch confirmed that this was happening. you whined when he dragged his thumb down to tug at your lower lip, still swollen and tender from the chewing you did earlier in your stressed state.
his lips are then on yours, cold, yet, invitingly soft as his fingers dug into the fabric of your thin nightgown, pulling you impossibly closer. he tasted like sin, but you couldn’t will yourself to pull away, desperate to feed your ravenous body. you were practically starved of touch and he could tell from just how wrecked for him you already were—but yuta loved to push, and push until you were beyond your breaking point.
that’s why when you opened your eyes, he was gone again, your lips quivering as they were left tonguing at the air. he was cruelty embodied despite being a man who looked akin to an angel. the last thing you processed was a sinister snicker and the shadowed silhouette of him on the balcony before you passed out.
you wake up the next morning in your bed, not even remembering how you got there. after sitting up, disoriented, you look straight ahead to see fresh red liquid running down your vanity mirror reading “BEG”.
every night since was spent kneeing on that same stone tile, devoting yourself to his sadistic game, hoping that he’d have enough grace to finish what he had started.
a/n: originally planned to make this a full fledged fic last halloween but stuff got in the way. enjoy this drabble :) both nosferatu and yuta changed my life.
"War, love and deceit. Betrayal, love and trauma."
Pairing. Taeyong x f!reader x Jaemin
Synopsis: When soldier Lee Taeyong returns home from war, he expects a joyful reunion with the woman he promised to marry, you. But home doesn’t feel like home anymore. His body is failing. His dreams blur into memories. And a chilling déjà vu of a murder, one he might have witnessed (or committed)claws at his mind. As your affection grows colder and secrets begin to leak, Taeyong must face a brutal question: Is the love of his life trying to kill him? Or is war still living inside him?
Warning. Dark romance. Trippy. Haunting imagery. Psychological thriller. Post war trauma. Distorted time. Betrayal.
Wc. 7k.
Lee Taeyong has walked through fire, the kind of fire only a battlefield can bring. And yet, on the flight home, he grins like a college boy catching the bus on the last day of the semester. To everyone else, he’s just another soldier returning from war. But to him, this is more than a homecoming. It’s a new beginning.
"Gee man, relax." Jaehyun, another comrade soldier merely snickers by Taeyong's eagerness. "You'll soil yourself."
Taeyong can only grin. After 2 years of service in the navy military, and being brutally thrusted into 11 more months and 18 days of chaos in the war, Lee Taeyong is finally coming back to you. The woman he loves. The woman he’s going to marry.
Or so he believes.
When the plane lands, his heart races faster than it ever did under enemy fire.
"Stay alive brother." Jaehyun and Taeyong share one last hug, as companions and survivors of a war.
"You too." Although it's their last goodbye, they're bonded by a new brotherhood code that only war can bring. "And good luck with everything."
The terminal buzzes with reunions. The tired, drained yet content soldiers are swept into teary embraces, laughter, kisses, cries of relief from family and friends.
But not for Taeyong. He scans the crowd, eyes searching, needing to findyou. Then confusion. Then quiet panic.
You’re not there.
As the crowd thins and the joyful noise fades into silence, he stands alone after bidding goodbye to the brothers who spent almost a lifetime with him in war. The same man who survived bullets and bombs now feels more lost than ever. The battlefield had rules. But life... is something else entirely.
With no other choice, Taeyong doesn't get faint at heart. He picks himself up and catches a taxi cab. The cab pulls up with a dusty screech, and the driver gives him a proud nod.
“You just get back from over there?” The driver asks, eyeing the duffel bag and the silence in his passenger’s eyes.
“Yes, sir,” Taeyong replies, his voice low. “Spent two years in military training, then eleven months and eighteen days at war.”
These are numbers he can't forget. He’s counted every single day. Not out of fear- but because he believes you are waiting. Because before he left, he made you a promise: "When I get back, we get married. No delays."
A smile manages to tug at his lips when he thinks of you, and how happy you were to marry him.
"You did our country proud." The driver comments. "Thank you for your service."
Taeyong merely nods his head, wanting to leave the past in the past and think of his present and future with you.
And now, as he steps through the doors of what once was your shared dream, his heart thunders like boots on gravel. He doesn’t see the distance, or the stillness, or what’s changed.
All he sees... is you.
And he is so incredibly happy to see you.
"Taeyong?" You look shocked. But he doesn’t notice it. Not right away. His heart is beating too fast, eyes fixed on you like you’re the only thing in the world that matters. He stands proudly, eyes watering when seeing your familiar face, heart hammering in his chest by being home, a peace washing over him to calm every bad trigger that happened during the war. He's happy.
"It's me."
You part your lips, just slightly, and after a second of hesitation, you manage to speak quietly. “I didn’t think I’d see you again.”
Your voice is steady, but your expression doesn’t match the joy he expected. There's something behind your eyes, hesitation, maybe. Fear. But he brushes past it. He’s waited too long, dreamed too often, held on too tightly to the image of you in his mind to let one strange moment break it. He steps forward, cupping your face in his hands. “I missed you,” He whispers, trying to control his own voice from breaking. “Every single day. I kept telling myself I had to survive because you were waiting for me. And now that I’m here, I—”
He’s just about to say it. Just about to ask you to marry him right now wit no delays- but the front door creaks open behind you.
"I'm back," A man steps inside, voice playful and eyes turning to shock when seeing Taeyong.
Taeyong freezes, confusion flickering in his chest. He’s never seen this man before. Tall. Calm. A stranger.
You turn quickly, your body shifting slightly in front of the man as if to block the space between them. “Oh... Taeyong this is... Doctor Na Jaemin,” You say, voice just a little too light. “I called him over, because I wasn't feeling too well. He’s… just checking in on me. Making sure I’m okay.”
There’s a pause. Taeyong says nothing, eyes narrowing ever so slightly as he watches your face. You're avoiding his gaze.
You move toward the doctor, giving Jaemin a gentle nudge toward the door. “Thank you for checking in on me. You don’t need to stay. Really. I’m fine now.”
Jaemin hesitates, then nods with a professional smile that doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “Alright,” He says. “But if anything changes…”
“I’ll call,” You finish quickly, already ushering him out.
The door closes. Silence settles again.
Taeyong wants to ask: Who is he really? Why was he here?—but he doesn’t.
"Well. Welcome home. I'll go and start something." You’re smiling again, tightly, as you head to the kitchen to prepare something to eat. He tells himself he’s imagining things. That after everything, you just need time to adjust. That’s all.
So he stays quiet.
-
Days pass. You laugh a little more. Smile a little easier. And for a moment, he lets himself believe you're warming up to him again. That maybe you were just overwhelmed. Maybe the war changed both of you in ways neither of you can name yet. Taeyong tells you tales of what it was like, stories that he and his comrades shared to keep each other from falling apart, but without failing to mention how he kept thinking about you and how it was your face and voice that urged him to continue. He doesn't mention how he was depressed and had days and night when everything around him felt like it would collapse- he brushes it to the back of his mind not wanting to trigger anything.
In return you tell him how you finally finished your degree and started working as a nurse. "I mean, I'm flooded in debt now, but I'm pulling through and working hard."
"You don't have to worry about money anymore," Taeyong assures you holding your hand. "Once we get married, everything I have will be yours as well."
Your eyes which always lit up his world, has him slightly worried when noticing that they don't shine as bright anymore. He knows he's got a lot of catching to do with you, to make up for the time missed.
"I'm here now." He promises.
-
But the house still feels like it’s holding its breath, with Taeyong on a break from duty and work, he tries everything to be present and make you aware that he's trying and won't let your relationship buckle. However at night, he still tosses and turns in the bed he shares with you. Images and memories of the camps and how the soldiers always had to be aware of their surroundings- always fills up his head. Even though you're there, he's afraid to admit that he's afraid to sleep and wake up to dead bodies around him.
"Tae, just sleep." You'd tell him continously every night. "Nothing is going to happen to you."
And he tries to believe it.
Nonetheless tonight, after tossing and turning in the sheets, Taeyong finally gives up from trying to sleep.
He slips out of bed and steps out onto the porch, a cigarette between his fingers. Taeyong sighs because you hated this new habit. You told him if he ever had to smoke, he should do it outside. He told you he only picked it up during the war, to calm his nerves. Said it helped keep his hands from shaking. And it does... but it also helps his mind from racing and thinking about his life with you... It's different now. It's not the way he imagined it.
He watches the tip of the cigarette burn in the darkness. His eyes checking his watch, it's 3 a.m. in the morning and the apartment and complex block is sleeping. All the lights turned off, living a luxurious view of a city he missed. The night is heavy and quiet, but across the street from his window, a light opens up.
Taeyong squints his eyes from the brightness of the light. He tries to ignore it, to continue admiring the city... however his eyes are curious to the movements inside the house with light across the street.
Inside, a man and a woman stand facing each other. Even from a distance, Taeyong can make out the sharp, high-pitched tones of their voices raised and tense. They are arguing. He hopes that's not how you and him become one day...
He's about to go inside his own house, but the verbal fight begins to get heated and it escalates into a physical fight quickly, with the woman slapping the man.
Suddenly, the man grabs the woman and lifts her off the ground near the window, before he throws her overboard. Taeyong freezes. A split second later, the woman lets out a horrible shriek as she drops, hair fluttering rapidly, and then-
Bang!
The sound is sickening.
Startled, Taeyong instinctively peers down to get a better look, heart hammering in his chest.
The woman lies motionless on the cement floor below, red pooling around her... a violent image of blood triggers his mind to the war. Her long hair fans out like a shadow around her head. Across from him, the man who pushed her stands frozen by the window.
Taeyong stares in disbelief.
The man raises his head, and in the dim light, their eyes meet... and Taeyong’s breath catches.
The man looks exactly... like him.
His chest tightens. His lips part in shock as he lets out a gasp. The man across the street seems startled, too. But he shouts something in return— and Taeyong can’t make out the words. It’s like watching a scene underwater.
A doppelgänger? The thought slams into him. No. It can’t be. That’s just a myth and stories that was told in the war...
His legs give out beneath him. He collapses right there on the porch, knees hitting the floor as his mind spins wildly.
“Taeyong? What’s wrong?” Your voice, worried, breathless. You rush out from the bedroom onto the windy porche, still half-asleep, crouching beside him. He grabs your wrist, panic rising in his throat.
“A m-man in the apartment ac-across the street- he just threw a woman out the window. I saw her fall. She hit the ground. She’s dead.”
Your eyes widen. Without waiting, you move toward the porch railing to look for yourself.
“Don’t go outside!” Taeyong says sharply, pulling you back. “He’s still there— he’s looking at our house right now.”
Taeyong ducks behind the curtain, his fingers trembling as he grabs his phone. With a shaking voice, he calls the police.
“There’s been a murder,” He exclaims. “A man threw a woman out the window. She’s lying there— dead. Please, come quickly.”
Within minutes, the flashing lights of patrol cars paint the neighborhood in red and blue. Officers rush to the scene, but—
The woman’s body is gone.
The blood. The broken skull. Everything. Gone.
And when they search the apartment across the street, it’s occupied... but not by the man Taeyong saw. There’s a completely different family living there now. They are calm, but confused, however they are still cooperative.
An officer steps forward, eyes sharp with suspicion. “Is this some kind of joke?” He says. “You know prank calls like this are considered obstruction of justice.”
"Officer please forgive him." You quickly step in between the officer and Teayong. "He just came back from the war, and he was telling stories, perhaps he got confused about somethings and phoned you accidentally."
“That can’t be,” Taeyong says under his breath, stunned once the police leave. “I saw it. I saw her fall. She hit the ground right there. I heard it. I heard the sound when she landed.”
You approach him quietly, eyes soft and tired. “You’ve been under a lot of stress lately,” You say gently. “After the war... maybe you saw something that wasn’t really there. Didn't you say that during the war you'd hallucinate-”
“No. Not everything is about the war.” He insists looking deeply into your eyes... that don't believe him. But he still tries. “I saw her. She fell. She was there. I’m not making it up.”
“If it was that loud...” You reply calmly, “I would have heard it. You know I’m a light sleeper.”
You place a warm hand on his arm. “Stress is dangerous, Taeyong. Please… calm down. I’ll book you an appointment with a therapist, so that you don't have to hold everything in anymore."
Taeyong looks away, hands shaking.
You sigh. "I'll make you some green tea, and everything will go back to normal.”
But after that night… nothing was the same again.
-
A few days passed. Life resumed on the surface, but something beneath it had shifted quietly. He went back to work. It’s weird how in the military he was in the Navy as a Sailor, but at war he became a soldier under an Army, and now… he works as a civilian clerk at a navy base, filing reports and typing up memos for officers who always salute him and his services at war.
But when he's home, he's under constant surveillance as you usually hand him a cup of warm, freshly brewed green tea, urging him to take care of his mental health. He told you he's fine.
But after booking an appointment with the Doctor Jaemin... things turned around. He didn't think he'd see Jaemin again, but he did. And Jaemin worked in the same hospital as you.
Taeyong didn't think that he was under too much stress lately, but the recent check-up hadn’t gone well. He'd been diagnosed with early signs of liver and kidney complications. It was a surprise... you blamed it on him smoking... but then Jaemin offered medical assistance to get him back on his feet.
Taeyong nodded, thanked you and him, and took the medical green tea in silence. But the vision from that night clung to him like a shadow. He could still see it vividly and it was horrifying. The man who looked exactly like him. The lifeless woman sprawled on the cement with her skull shattered. The movement of the man's lips as he shouted something across the street.
What had he been trying to say?
That question haunted Taeyong, and stopped him from smoking. The nightmares came often, replaying that single moment again and again. It never dulled. It never faded.
It couldn’t have been a dream… or a war time hallucination story told by one of the soldiers.
...But thankfully he had you by his side to tell him over and over again that it was just a dream.
You tied down the knot in a court wedding. Got rings and were the happiest couple ever.
Or that’s what Taeyong wanted to believe.
-
Two years later.
The unexplained abdominal pain that had tormented him for 2 straight years only worsened. And now he burned with a high fever. His body felt foreign to him. It was a heavy pain, which was slow to die and made his body unreliable... and so weak.
His organs, already fragile, were failing. Bit by bit, his liver and kidneys had weakened to the point of barely functioning, disrupting his daily life. The doctor Na Jaemin gave him sympathetic looks and complicated explanations every time he went for a check up, but deep down, Taeyong felt certain of one thing:
He had started dying the moment he locked eyes with the man in the window. He remembers Jaehyun's words of the superstition that if you meet your doppelgänger, one of you will die. It was just a story at first... but now Taeyong in his slow dying breath believes the words to be true.
Maybe the man he saw that night wasn’t a hallucination. Maybe he was real. Maybe he was Taeyong’s double... and he had been watching ever since, waiting for Taeyong’s life to slowly fade.
You noticed the change in him. How could you not?
Watching him lose his vitality day by day broke your heart. You cried often, quietly, thinking he didn’t notice. But he did.
And despite everything, you never gave up on him.
You continued bringing him tea. Continued holding him when the pain grew too sharp. And often, you took him to the hospital where you worked as a nurse, doing everything you could to get him examined, tested, helped, even when the answers never came.
The cause of Taeyong’s illness remained unknown.
If he died, you would be left alone.
He thought about your beautiful eyes, your soft hair, the calming voice you used every day, and even the warmth of your embrace. His heart ached at the thought that there might not be many days left to share with you.
Recently, Taeyong had quit his job. The sickness had taken too much from him that he could no longer work. As a result, you became the breadwinner, taking on extra hours at the hospital and working overtime to make ends meet.
He felt so sorry for you. But the pain was relentless, and all he could do was lie in bed, trying to fall asleep through the discomfort that gripped him most of the time.
One night Taeyong lies on the bed, pale and worn, the weight of pain pressing down on him like a heavy fog. You sit beside him quietly, brushing a stray lock of hair from his forehead.
“Hey,” You whisper softly, your voice barely louder than the hum of the night.
He turns his head slowly, meeting your eyes with a tired smile. “Hey.”
“I wish I could take it all away,” You say, your fingers tracing gentle circles on his arm. “You don’t have to carry this alone.”
He sighs, a mix of gratitude and sorrow in his eyes. “I know… but, the pain feels endless. And I wouldn't want you to carry it.”
You squeeze his hand gently. “Then I’ll be here, holding your hand through every second of it.”
For a moment, silence fills the room. It's comforting and calm.
Taeyong’s voice is soft but steady. “Thank you… for not giving up on me.”
“I'll be here for you.” You promise, leaning closer to rest your head against his shoulder.
And in that quiet, fragile moment, the world feels a little less heavy until he falls asleep. And you leave for your 'late night shift' at the hospital.
-
The soft glow from inside the hospital spills faintly onto the balcony, dulled by the late hour. The usual rush has long faded, replaced by a heavy, unnerving stillness. Sometimes, the night shift is spent in silence and tonight is no different. You and Jaemin stand side by side, the air between you thick with more than exhaustion. You both carry a weight neither of you names, though it hangs there, unspoken.
You turn to look at him.
Not a glance. You study him quietly, your eyes tracing the familiar lines of his profile. You’ve memorized every expression, when he’s content, when he’s tense, when he’s trying to hold it all together. Like now.
Jaemin doesn’t move, but he feels your gaze settle on him, warm and heavy, like a memory pressing into skin.
Then, slowly, he turns to you. His hands gently find your jaw. Your bodies lean in, tentative at first, seeking permission... but something magnetic draws you closer. Your lips meet in a kiss, deep and quiet. It speaks of sleepless nights, shared regrets, and the thousand things you’ve never had the courage to say out loud.
Halfway through, Jaemin pulls back, licking his lips. His breath comes out shaky, forehead resting against yours.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" He whispers, voice low and rough with guilt.
You don’t hesitate. "Yes."
He grunts, jaw tightening as he steps back. His hand drags down his face, like he's trying to rub away the shame. "I hate that we’ve come to this… to lying. I feel pathetic."
You reach out, placing a hand on his back. "You’re not."
But that’s not how he feels. "I’m a liar. A fool. A real doctor wouldn’t do this—hell, I’m not even a doctor. Just a stupid nurse… who’d do anything for you." He leans against the railing, bracing himself with both hands, like the weight of it all might break him. "Why’d he have to come back? I’ve always been here, for everything. Why should I stand aside and watch you go through with this?" He quietly stresses. "It's been 2 years now. And he's not dying. I hate that I can’t stop it," He mutters.
"Stop," You say softly, stepping closer and covering his hand with yours. Your voice is steady. In his eyes, it’s clear, you don’t love Taeyong anymore. You love Jaemin. That much is certain. "I just need you to hold on a little longer. He's nearly dying. Let him hate me if he wants—it was my plan."
You meet his gaze, and for a moment, he sees the version of you that existed before Taeyong came back from the war. Before the lies. Before love turned into something sharp.
"I need to do this," You continue. "You’ve helped me so much. Now it’s my turn to help you. Once Taeyong’s gone, everything in his account is mine. I’ll clear your debts. All the money you spent on me— it’ll be paid back.”
He shakes his head and cups your face. "It’s not your fault. You don't need to pay me back... I'll find another way to get the money."
"He's already dying Jae," You let him know. "Just turn your cheek away, it'll all be finished. And then we can go back to being just us,"
Silence falls between you again, broken only by the distant hum of the building and the faint sound of footsteps below.
Jaemin doesn’t speak. He just closes his eyes and exhales through his nose, like he’s letting go of something he knows he’ll never get back. His humanity.
He hates what this has become. At first, the plan felt simple: let Taeyong die slowly. Let time do the work. But each passing day, pretending to be a doctor, watching Taeyong’s health decline without action, has worn on him. Taeyong isn’t just some man—he’s a soldier- so how could Jaemin think that Taeyong's body wouldn't be fighting not to die?
Jaemin felt pathetic, because in all this, Taeyong is someone who didn’t choose to stay away. Someone who didn’t know how long the war would keep him. But he came back to you, because he loved you. Jaemin feels guilty... but he loves you too.
You had believed for so long that Taeyong abandoned you, left you behind after promising forever. And so, you left him for Jaemin. But now that Taeyong’s back… all you want is his money—what you feel you’re owed for waiting. And for him to disappear again.
And so, you stand there in the quiet together. No more illusions. No more lines left to cross.
Just two people who already did, and know there's no turning back.
-
One day, as another wave of severe abdominal pain flares up, Taeyong reaches for his painkillers— but his supply is running dangerously low. He can’t take them without more medicine, and it'll be a while before he sees Doctor Jaemin again.
Suddenly, he remembers the green tea you prepare for him every day and thinks maybe it will ease the pain a little. Clinging to that hope, he carefully makes his way to the kitchen, clutching his stomach.
Because of his long hours and worsening illness, Taeyong hasn’t spent much time in the kitchen lately. He fumbles around, searching for the green tea bag, unsure of where you keep it.
Finally, after some rummaging, he finds a single green tea bag tucked in the corner of the cupboard. He steeps it in warm water and takes a sip.
His breath catches.
The taste is off... different from the green tea he’s been drinking.
Confused, he searches the kitchen again, this time, more carefully. Perhaps it's in a special space for his medicine and not to be mixed up with the normal tea.
As he's searching, behind a pile of items in the cupboard, he discovers a bottle of automotive antifreeze.
His brows furrow. "Why is there antifreeze in the kitchen?" He mumbles.
It’s not something he’s ever seen before, and it definitely isn’t the kind he keeps in the garage.
Suddenly, a memory strikes him like a jolt. Just a few days ago, you had walked into the kitchen- your face tense, your eyes darting nervously and hurried him out before he could even make himself something to eat.
“Come on, Taeyong, let’s go,” You said, voice unusually hurried, tugging at his sleeve. “It’s late. I don’t want you to be in here alone.”
He frowned then, confused by the urgency in your tone. “Why? What’s wrong?”
But you only shook your head, avoiding his gaze. “Nothing. Just trust me, okay?”
Now, recalling that moment, Taeyong’s heart tightens. Something isn’t right.
No way… Maybe it's just there...
A spine-chilling sensation crawls up his back, and a heavy sense of foreboding settles over him...
With trembling hands, he takes a few drops of the automotive antifreeze and adds them carefully to the green tea he just brewed. Hesitantly, he lifts the cup and takes a sip.
His eyes widen in horror.
It tastes exactly the same as the green tea you’ve been giving him all this time.
He stumbles back... in disbelief and shock. There's no way. He trembles out... grips his phone and dials your number. But he quickly cuts it. Afraid of confrontation. Afraid of what he's discovered. This has to be an accident. He finds himself, trembling not only in disbelief, but his body aches all over, opening up his laptop. He searches for a number... Jung Jaehyun's number.
Jaehyun is in his home, allowing the regular Saturday to be his personal day off where he can sleep in. But his phone buzzes, and his face lights up when he sees the name on the screen.
"Taeyong," He greets with a low laugh, smiling as he picks up. "Wow, talk about time lapse. What? It's been years and only now you think of me?" Jaehyun is so bright and bubbly, that Taeyong hates to be the one to disrupt the reunion. "I was just thinking about you..."
He stops mid-sentence. There’s no greeting on the other end, just silence. Heavy. Uneasy.
"Brother?" Jaehyun says, his voice softening with confusion. "Are you okay?"
Taeyong finally speaks, but his voice is barely there... thin and shaky. "Jaehyun... can you come get me?"
The smile disappears from Jaehyun’s face. His body tenses, a creeping worry settling in as he already gets on his boots.
"Where are you? What’s wrong?"
"I think... I think I need to go to the hospital."
Jaehyun goes still. His heart starts to race.
"What happened? Are you hurt?"
There’s a pause. Then, Taeyong exhales like he’s holding himself together by a thread. "Please." He gulps. "Please, I just... I need you to come. I don't want to die."
Jaehyun doesn’t hesitate. He grabs his keys, already heading toward the door.
"I’m coming." He says quickly. "Just stay on the phone with me. I’m right here."
As soon as Jaehyun gets there, the reunion is cut abruptly when he sees Taeyong's form and state. The once heavy and built soldier, now lays curled up on the floor almost looking like skin and bones. Jaehyun doesn't say anything more. He helps up his brother, his breath held as this triggers events in the war were they had to hold each other up after a heavy bomb blast.
"I'm not going to let you die," He says, getting Taeyong in the car. "You'll get through this okay.
And Jaehyun takes Taeyong to a private hospital, where tests are conducted and exams are made for Taeyong. Taeyong hasn't said anything, as he tried to process if what just happened was real. Antifreeze tastes like...green tea?
The doctor’s face shifts to shock as he reviews the test results and calls Jaehyun and Taeyong in his office.
"Your liver and kidneys are severely damaged," The doctor says, voice tense.
"That's something I already know." Taeyong says. "I smoked before..."
The doctor shakes his head. "This isn't from smoking." That causes Taeyong to be stiff. "It’s from long-term exposure to a substance called ethylene glycol, that’s antifreeze."
The explanation continues, each word hitting him like a blow. The doctor says his organs are failing. His central nervous system is deteriorating. After so long ingesting poison, there’s no recovery.
"What happened Taeyong?" Jaehyun asks firmly when the doctor prescribes some pain relief tablets, not giving Taeyong any hope that he'll get better. But that he can only push on. "Were you trying to kill yourself?"
Taeyong stares, numb. For two years, every check-up at the hospital where you work as a nurse failed to uncover the cause. Two years of vague symptoms, constant pain, and no answers.
How did they miss this?
"Talk to me brother." Jaehyun speaks again.
But Taeyong's heart twists with suspicion. Instinct screams that you... and the doctor you work with... did something. "I think..." Taeyong bites his lips. Afraid to admit it. "I think my wife tried to kill me." There's no way for 2 years that nothing was found.
"Don't talk like that." Jaehyun tries to ease the situation that Taeyong is facing. "This is the woman you wouldn't shut up about. This is the same woman you'd fight all the other soldiers just because they said she would leave you. This is the woman you fought so hard to come back for-"
"That same woman has been poisoning me for 2 years straight and lying to me. I dare even say she's been cheating behind my back." Taeyong's jaw trembles. "I'm going to kill her."
"Taeyong no." Jaehyun says firmly. "Don't cross the line." He places a hand on a stiff and dazed Taeyong, who's got nothing but anger mixed with sadness in his gaze.
Taeyong breaks face, sinking in pain and letting out a few tears. "Why?"
-
That night Taeyong is seated in front of the tv in the dark when you return home. "Hey," You greet warmly. "Why is it so dark?" You turn on the light.
You move towards him giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Sorry I wasn't home today, they needed me at work." Lean back and look at the tv, and the little empty bowl on the table of the food you left for him to eat while you were out. "Otherwise, did you manage by yourself."
"I did." Taeyong's voice is hoarse and gruff, catching you by surprise. You simply look at him. Trying to read his closed concealed face.
"Are you okay babe?" You ask him quietly, taking a seat near him. But he weakly gets up, and begins walking away. You quickly get up and begin to help him. Something's wrong... you note.
After helping him on the bed, you go to the kitchen and look behind your shoulder. Bringing out a tiny key to open a cabnit, you freeze when seeing it's unlocked. Your eyes widen. Did you leave it unlocked? You quickly open the fridge, checking behind several items- and sigh in relief when seeing the anti freeze tucked in it's hiding space.
You quickly make the tea for him and then enter the bedroom and hand him the cup, just like always. He takes it with a small smile and tells you he’ll drink it later. He just wanted to rest his muscles a bit.
Once you leave, Taeyong slips into the bathroom and pours the tea down the drain with anger when smelling the contents. You blatantly smile in his face... wanting to kill and poison him. It doesn't sit well with him. Jaehyun told him that he'd come back in the morning for him, and that Taeyong must say his last proper goodbye without hurting you.
So Taeyong wait on his bed... waiting to confront you. You disappear into the shower room and Taeyong is suspicious when hearing the door click shut. Then, silent as a shadow, pushing himself, he creeps forward and presses his ear against the door.
Your voice leaks through. "I'll bring him tomorrow." Hushed and low, but unmistakable yours. "Just say he’s going to die in two or three months at most." Taeyong's fists ball. "Give us time to spend together so that I can check his will again." He hears some shuffling and then the water turns on. "I’ve got a lot of insurance on him, so the payout will be considerable. Thanks for waiting so long, babe."
Shock paralyzes him. He covers his mouth to keep from making a sound, then rushes back to the bedroom, heart pounding in his ears.
He’s dying. Not by fate. Not by illness. But by your hands. The love of his life.
Lying in bed, pretending to be asleep, he hears you come in. The room fills with the quiet sound of your movements. He hears the subtle rattle of the cup. Your fingers checking to see if he drank the tea.
Eventually, you settle down beside him, your breathing loud in the stillness. Rough. Uneven. Like you’ve fallen asleep right away.
And Taeyong just lies there, awake. Dying. Knowing the truth.
With you lying beside him, a chill runs down Taeyong’s spine, sending goosebumps across his skin. Suddenly, he’s fully awake.
His mind races.
Should he report everything to the police right away? Or wait for Jaehyun... should he start by gathering evidence? Or let you go just as Jaehyun said?
After what feels like hours of agonizing thought, he chooses the most dangerous, most human path. It's what he wanted to do initially. To confront you directly and hear why you did it.
He tells himself it’s the only way to make sense of the impossible, he needs to hear it from the woman he loves.
At 2h a.m. just before dawn, Taeyong gently shakes you awake.
You stir, groggy and confused, your eyes blinking slowly as you try to focus on his face in the dark. "Tae? Just sleep, it's a nightmare."
"Y/n," His voice cracks, trembling with a mix of heartbreak and fury. You're still trying to sleep, but he can't let you sleep after everything..
"Taeyong what's wrong?" You groan tiredly. But sit up when seeing that he's sat up. "Baby?"
"I’ve loved you with everything I have… my whole life." Taeyong sniffs, trying to stop himself from trembling. "I came back just for you. So why?"
"Why what?" You're not awake... a part of your mind already knows that it has something to do with the unlocked cabinet. But it's not like Taeyong would connect that it's what you've been using instead of tea...
"Why are you trying to kill me?”
You freeze.
For a split second, panic flashes in your eyes, raw and unmistakable.
"Baby… what are you talking about?" Your voice trembles, but something in it feels brittle, rehearsed.
Taeyong's voice lowers, cold but shattered. "I know."
"You know what?" You ask slowly, panicking but trying to remain calm.
"You’ve been poisoning me," Your eyes widen trying to feign surprise. "With automotive antifreeze."
Your face twists. The innocent mask snaps into place like muscle memory. "I don’t know what you’re saying."
"It’s too late for lies. Just tell me why you did it." His eyes narrow, fury cracking through his grief. "If I tell the police to pull your call history—the conversations with Na Jaemin, the doctor, the man you’ve been seeing behind my back, it’s all going to come out. So tell me now."
Something in you shifts. The mask slips, your expression turning hard, your angry tears showing.
"Because you left me." You whisper out. "I did it, because you left me. You weren’t a husband," You hiss. "You left me."
Taeyong’s jaw clenches. "I went to fight for our country. What else was I supposed to do?"
"I don’t care what you did. You should've just stayed there. Taeyong I was alone. You convinced me to leave my home and move in with you. I left everything behind. My family, my life and my school. Here I struggled, but you promised- you promised that you wouldn't leave me. And then you left. You left and said you'd be back. Taeyong I waited for 3 years- I paid the house, I struggled with school- struggled to keep up and you weren't here. I was alone without my family! Without you!" You shout, voice thick with rage and something deeper, pain. "I was alone. So damn lonely. Maybe that makes me a monster, but what did you expect? I moved on. I’m sorry, but you ignored me. For years."
Taeyong’s breathing is unsteady. "I came back,"
"So what you came back. You didn't come back to me." You continue. "You made me work myself to the bone, day and night. You didn’t come home. You just existed beside me. I didn’t want to live with you anymore."
His voice breaks. "Then why not just get a divorce? Or leave me? Why poison me? Y/n you poisoned me- my chances of living are slim to none- why did you just leave if you were so miserable?" He whispers, sad and upset. “Why murder me?”
A bitter laugh escapes you, but it comes out sadly. "Because I needed your insurance money. I’m sorry, but a nurse’s job won’t last forever."
"You..." Taeyong starts, but you cut him off, voice cold and resigned.
"Taeyong, you’re dying anyway. You’ll hate me for this. But think of it as karma for neglecting me. Forgive me. At least you'll be put out of your misery in a few days from now." Your voice drops to a whisper, cracked and aching.
It's 3 a.m. when Taeyong’s blood boils.
Enraged, he lunges forward, grabbing you by the throat, his grip fierce and desperate. You choke and hold onto his tight hands before fiercely smacking him away from you. Taeyong- despite his weak form draws energy from the darkest parts of his grief and shoves you off the bed getting on top of you- his hands getting around your neck again.
"Taeyong stop- "You slap his face hard.
In that moment, something snaps inside him. He loses control and roars picking you up, running toward the open terrace door.
Without thinking, he throws you out the window.
A horrified scream tears from your lips as you fall from the eleventh floor.
The sound of your body crashing onto the cement below echoes sharply.
Shaken, Taeyong looks over the rail and down to the ground... the scene familiar...
You lay motionless, your skull shattered.
Only now does he realize—the murderer he had seen on the terrace two years ago wasn’t a doppelgänger after all.
It was the future version of himself...
Bloodshot eyes slowly lifting, he meets the gaze of a man standing on the terrace across the street. Young and healthy, the man he had been two years ago.
Taeyong shouts at him with all his might, "Kill Y/n!"
-
Suddenly, Taeyong jolts upright, gasping, his heart pounding in his chest. His breath catches and squints by the bright light.
"Woah man relax, relax." He hears Jaehyun's voice.
Quickly turning around he's surprised. For a moment, he’s disoriented- was that a nightmare? A memory?
No...
"You good?" Jaehyun, his comrade asks. When meeting Jaehyun's bright eyes, Jaehyun taps his shoulder. "Now's not the time to have nightmares. You're going back home."
Oh... that's right. He’s still on the plane, flying home.
His hands tremble as he grips the armrest, eyes wide with nervous tension. The hum of the engines and the muted chatter of passengers surround him, but inside, his mind races.
What did that dream mean? It was so vivid and clear... it even repeated itself. Is it a warning? Or a truth he’s been too scared to face… that you might hate him for leaving you for so long…
The plane begins its descent, and with every passing second, his heartbeat quickens.
When the wheels finally touch down, he exhales shakily, trying to steady himself.
... Taeyong is nervous, because this all feels familiar. Especially when Jaehyun comes in for a hug. "Stay alive brother."
"Y-you too." Taeyong utters. "I'll stay in touch."
Outside the airport, his heart hammers so fast he fears it might burst from his chest. Everything about the way he's moving feels so familiar. Once he's outside, he scans the crowd of happy individuals reuniting with family. Then, there you are, standing in the crowd, your eyes shimmering with tears.
Taeyong’s body stiffens, cautious, wary of what might come next.
But before he can hold back, you run toward him, tears spilling freely, and with all your strength, you throw yourself into his arms. "Taeyong! You're back."
The world still feels unreal for a moment, but as your arms wrap tightly around him, he knows... He isn’t dreaming now. He's quick to also wrap his arms around you. "I'm sorry," He cries out. "I'm so sorry. For everything. For leaving you alone-" Taeyong cries out. You were always waiting for him. The blurted words of you crying in the dream has him weeping out. Could you really be capable of doing that? "I'm so sorry."
"It's okay Tae," You smile and lean back, kissing his lips, still with tears in your eyes. "I've missed you so much." As your arms wrap around Taeyong in the airport crowd, he only has one thought in his head…
"This is real," He whispers to himself.
You pull back and smile through tears, brushing your fingers against his cheek. You take a cab home and Taeyong is worried once he steps through the door... there's a banner that says welcome home. "I hope you like it." You smile up at him. “There’s so much I need to catch you up on. How about we settle down over a nice cup of tea?”
“Tea?” He freezes and looks at you. You’re confused but smile nonetheless.
“Yeah tea. I prepared this before I left, hopefully it’s still warm.” You go in the kitchen, just as Taeyong cautiously takes a seat like a stranger in an unfamiliar place. Coming out with the biggest smile on your face, you giggle.
“Why do you look so stiff?” You take a seat beside him, placing a green flask on the table, and taking it apart, placing one cup in front of yourself and him. "I made your favourite," You say, handing it to him. "Well, if it's still your favourite."
Green tea.
His fingers tremble as he accepts it. He doesn’t speak much. Just nods. Smiles. Mechanical. You take a sip of yours and smile at him… he’s hesitant to drink, but because he sees you drinking it… he wonders if it’s really poisoned. He drinks it… gulps it down, but it tastes normal. Not poisoned. You’re nodding your head with the biggest grin. “Good right?”
You look so happy, so excited, and this is exactly what he wanted… but he’s still afraid. What did that dream mean? Why did he have such a dream about you trying to kill him? And why, as he’s having fun with you right, does he keep hearing in his head… ‘Kill Y/n’.
It’s a mystery that Taeyong can’t explain. Not now at least. Maybe time will make everything fall into place.
Hiding away at the arcade was Chenle’s definition of a day well spent. He could play games in the comfort of his home, but there was something far more appealing about sneaking outside. As a teen rebel, he had to act his part.
His mother had insisted he stay within the confines of their estate, however not even the guards assigned to watch over him could stop him from chasing his wild youth.
There was a killer on the prowl, they warned him. Mysterious deaths, with no rhythm or rhyme.
Chenle had heard of the serial killer. In fact he had a rather morbid fascination with the works of the killer, though he knew it wasn’t the sort of thing he should admire.
When his car flipped over for what may have been the thousandth time on screen, Chenle decided it was time to head back home. He may have a streak of rebellion, but he wasn’t eager to stay out in the shadows where it was easier to be snatched.
As he pushed back his chair, the power went out, plunging the room into darkness.
Then the machines sputtered back on, all of them showing the same screen:
GAME OVER.
That’s when Chenle noticed that he was the only one in the arcade. Not even the staff he’d greeted when he’d walked in this morning were around.
Chenle swore when he heard the footsteps behind him.
“Am I out of lives?” he dared to ask, though he already suspected the answer.
PAIRING: liu yangyang x reader
GENRE: smut, horror
WORD COUNT: 5.8k
SYNOPSIS: you're invited to one of the biggest halloween parties of the year. unbeknownst to you, the host's vampire costume isn't as fake as you think it is.
CONTENT WARNINGS: vampire!yangyang, horror aspects, minor character deaths (some are mentioned, others are briefly hinted at) heavy mentions of blood, blood sharing, blood drinking, biting, marking, dubcon themes (reader is unsure at first but yangyang is adamant), yangyang is mean and cocky, light breast play, breast biting, humping, unprotected sex, yangyang is kinda rough, he is fucking for his pleasure but you cum too, open ending? maybe?
“Are you sure that this is a good idea?” You say with uncertainty, struggling to readjust the straps of the white swan wings that cling uncomfortably to your shoulders as you stare up at the decorated halloween mansion in sight.
Carved pumpkins scattered amongst the front lawn, fake cobwebs and spiders wrapped around hedges and potted plants, fancy lights of dark purples and oranges illuminating the windows and the cracked cemented path that leads up to a wooden door that’s splattered with fake blood, the words ‘ENTER IF YOU DARE’ written in smudged black paint. You’re thoroughly impressed with the decor, but it does nothing to hide your hesitancy in entering this unknown house.
“The website said; ‘all are welcome’… This is a great idea!!” Ningning grins with excitement, adjusting her own black swan wings, her outfit perfectly matching yours despite having opposite colours. “Chenle sent me the link and you know how trustworthy he is”
Your face twists, “That’s questionable”
Ningning’s shoulders sag slightly, “You’re right… But he’s the only person we know that can get us into places like these, and I refuse to let us go to some shitty low quality halloween party again when we have the perfect opportunity right here! This is the real deal”
You hate how right she is. Not only is your shared friend Chenle remarkable at getting you both into some serious events, to which you’re unsure of how he’s even able to even do in the first place, but the last halloween party you had both attended was a complete disaster that ended with pathetic drunken fights and police turning up to shut the party down for people causing too much chaos.
You couldn’t blame Ningning for wanting one good night, especially on her (and yours) favourite night of the year. Halloween. As an icon once said: Halloween is the one night a year when girls can dress like a total slut and no other girls can say anything about it. It was a tradition that you both went by, digging out your savings to buy the sluttiest outfit you could find, matching ones to be exact.
Last year you went as slutty cops and robbers and the year after that it was slutty Ghostface and Michael Myers. But this year you went as white swan and black swan, sticking to your slutty theme of short dresses and showing as much skin as possible. You, admittedly, loved the tradition.
“Okay, fine, whatever” You give in a little too easily for your liking, swayed by the puppy dog eyes she’s giving you. “I’m sure I can hear the tequila shots calling out our names”
“I love you!!” Ningning squeals, smooching your cheek loudly before clasping your hand in hers to drag you up the pathway, heels scraping against the concrete.
You’re far more impressed by the interior of the house when you step inside: another fake set of cobwebs hanging from the ceiling, fake blood splattered up the walls that you’re positive would be a pain to get off of the white paint, caution tapes stuck to doors and smoke machines hiding in every corner of the room that creates a misty atmosphere. You almost want to go around and find the person that had managed to make the perfect halloween party, but with the amount of people that overcrowd this house, you’re positive you won’t be able to even find them.
Although being absolutely astonished by the decorations, the hairs couldn’t help but stand at the back of your neck and shiver runs down your spine when you see what’s written on the opposite side of the front door. ‘NO ONE LEAVES’. It has you feeling a little unsettled, but you know that’s the whole purpose. It’s Halloween after all.
“BOO!” A voice screams loudly in your ear above the bass of the music that thumps from the speakers, fingers digging harshly in your ribs to catch your attention. You and Ningning jump in shock, your grip on her hand tightening as you both whiz around to find the suspect and you face Chenle who is dressed head to toe in his The Nun costume you knew he was making, fake yellowy green contacts staring at you both in amusement, screeching a laugh throw fake bloodied teeth. “Oh my god, I got you both so good—”
“You’re a dick” You grumble, but the anger washes away almost in an instant when you finally get a good look at his costume, even taking a step back to get a full view and you hum, “Impressive. Another ten out of ten this year”
“What else did you expect from me?” Chenle teases, doing a little twirl in his spot before his arm curls around Ningning’s waist to pull her close to his side. His fake rubber pointed nose nudges against Ningning’s tiara and she whines, immediately putting it back into place. “Looking slutty as always, black swan”
“And what else did you expect from me?” Ningning repeats his words and Chenle smiles proudly, pressing a slobbery kiss to her cheek before leading you both out of the foyer and towards a door that has bats dangling from the doorframe, but once you walk through the opening, you realise you’re in the kitchen.
Endless amount of red coloured punch bowls fill the dining table, ice cubed hands floating above the concoction, but what throws you off the most is the empty blood bags that hang off the bowls, the spouts dipping into the drink to insinuate that the alcohol is ‘made’ out of blood. Creepy, but creative. You’re impressed yet again.
As Chenle fixes the three of you a drink, you take it upon yourself to nosely search through the pantry, on the hunt for something more of your taste. But weirdly, and much to your dismay, everything is completely bare. There’s no other beverage in sight, or food for that matter. You find it strange even though you try to convince yourself that this was supposed to be a part of their ‘Halloween Party Plans’... you still find it odd.
“So, which one of your rich, geeky friends owns this place?” Ningning asks the question that's resting on the tip of your tongue and you turn just in time for Chenle to hand you a drink. You take it out of his hands to nurse it in your own, staring at the liquid that stains the plastic cup.
“None of them” Chenle passes Ningning her drink next. “Belongs to a friend of a friend. He told Kun to invite as many people as possible because this is apparently his last night in town… wants to make it a night he never forgets or something like that”
“That’s not suspicious at all” You chuckle softly, trying to make a joke out of a strange situation. “How does Kun even know this person?”
“I have no idea” Chenle shrugs his shoulders nonchalantly, not seeming to care about the host as he raises his cup high. “Anyway! Cheers losers!”
“Cheers!” Ningning says with enthusiasm, knocking her cup against yours and Chenle’s before downing her drink. You say your cheers with a little less enthusiasm, bringing the beverage to your lips to take a sip and you’re instantly confused at the thick consistency that slides down the back of your throat, the taste of copper overwhelming your tastebuds.
You grimace, coughing and rubbing your neck as you struggle to swallow the punch. Chenle and Ningning seem to have the same problem as they stare at their drinks quizzically and you take this opportunity to put the cup down, refusing to drink anymore and possibly choke to death. Although it would be fitting for Halloween, dying wasn’t exactly on your list of things to do tonight.
You’re surprised when you see Ningning and Chenle both shrug at each other before chugging down the remains of the drink, although you shouldn’t be too surprised when you know what they’re like. As long as it gets them drunk, they’ll drink anything.
“Definitely needs more vodka” Ninging confesses, handing her cup over to Chenle who happily refills it even though he nods his head at the suggestion.
“He’s trying to keep it as real as possible, which is why you probably can’t taste the vodka” A voice speaks up from behind and you slightly turn to see who was talking. You’re met with a black haired male who seems a little bit older than the three of you, dressed in a white silk shirt and black pants with a black cloak hanging off his shoulders, red eyeshadow blended underneath his eyes and lips shaded the same colour.
“Kun!” Chenle greets happily, handing the drink over to Ningning before slipping through you both to throw an arm over his broad shoulders. “Guys, you remember Kun right?”
“Briefly” Ningning eyes him suspiciously even though a smile sneaks its way onto her lips. “You’re the guy that picked up Chenle from the bar we was at last weekend”
“That’s me” Kun chuckles softly, shoving his hands into the pockets of his pants. “I’m surprised you even remember that night seeming as you were too drunk to walk to your taxi”
Ningning shrugs her shoulders, “I surprise myself sometimes”
“Aren’t you a little old to know Chenle?” You poke, arms coming up to cross over your chest as you stare at him questioningly. Chenle shoots a blank look your way, clearly unimpressed with your choice of words but all Kun does is chuckle again.
“I am. But I’ve known Chenle for quite a while… His brother and my grandfather are a part of the same company” Kun explains to you without even batting an eyelid, clamping his hand down on Chenle’s shoulder as he grins. “We’re good friends, possible upcoming CEOs—”
Ningning immediately throws up her hand to silence him, “We don’t need to hear about how rich you both are”
“Noted” Kun smiles, eyes flickering around the kitchen before they settle on Chenle. “Have you met Yangyang yet?”
“Yangyang?”
“The host. The owner of this house. He’s lurking around here somewhere… making sure everyone is having a good time” Kun’s voice trails off slightly, his eyes beginning to wander around again. Your brows furrow at that, watching him suspiciously as his face lights up, gently tugging Chenle in a certain direction out of the kitchen that has you and Ningning following closely behind. “That’s Yangyang. He’s the one that arranged this entire party”
Your eyes dart towards the person in question, seeing a blonde haired man dressed all in black with a drink in hand and a girl dressed in a nurse costume in the other, his hand resting dangerously low on her hip. The dark circles under his eyes and the pointed fangs that peek through his lips when he smiles lets you know that he’s dressed up as a vampire tonight, similar to Kun, but minus the cloak.
You’re somewhat impressed with knowing that this is the guy that owns this incredible mansion as he seems a little young. It makes you wonder what type of person he is or what job he has to even afford a place like this, you come to a conclusion that maybe he’s in the same wealthy group as Chenle and Kun, or maybe he’s just using his parents money.
Yangyang takes one look at the crowds that fill his humble abode before turning to the nurse hanging off his arm, dipping his head low to make eye contact with the girl as he whispers something which makes her nod slowly, allowing him to wrap his arm securely around her waist as he leads them both up the spiral staircase.
“He wasn’t lying when he said he wants to make it a night he won’t forget” Ningning jokes and you snort, finding her comment far too funny. Chenle smiles too but Kun’s lips form in a straight line, his facial expression blank to make you unable to figure out exactly how he’s feeling which you find strange, but you don’t question it further as Ningning slips her hand in yours, dragging you through the mass of sweaty bodies to find a perfect place to dance.
Chenle tugs Kun along despite his attempts at trying to rip his wrist away from his grip, not wanting to join in on the fun but he resists after a while, allowing Chenle to sway his body back and forth as Ningning does with yours, keeping you as close to her as possible as you both happily lose yourself in the music.
“Where are you going?” Ningning shouts over the music after a few hours of dancing, lips forming into a pout as she tries to tug you back into her embrace, wanting to continue to dance with you but you shake your head, claiming how desperate you are to go relieve yourself in the bathroom. Ningning offers to come with you, wanting to stick by your side but Chenle’s already swooping in to steal her away, screaming the lyrics at the top of his lungs as he spins her around.
Due to Ningning being distracted, you take this opportunity to leave, muttering small apologies as you push through the crowd of people, heading up the staircase to locate the nearest bathroom, pausing in your steps every so often to stare at the portraits on the wall, admiring the unusual art of half naked bodies sprawled in different ways with a shadowed figure hovering over them, blood splattered and pouring from open wounds.
This really is the best decorated Halloween house you’ve been to.
You’re almost out of breath as you trek up the, what seems to be, endless amount of stairs before you reach the top floor, eyeing the multiple doors to try and figure out which one could possibly lead to the bathroom and you head towards the closest one, twisting the doorknob in your grasp and pushing open the wooden door, immediately met by darkness.
You quietly curse to yourself, stepping further into the room as you blindly reach out for the light switch, flicking the little button just as the door closes behind you, illuminating the room and granting you the access to see, but your eyes widen when you realise that this is not a bathroom… and you’re not alone in the room.
Yangyang, you remember his name, has the nurse pushed up against the wall of the bedroom, head buried in the crevice of her neck with his hand gripping tufts of her hair, pulling so hard you’re afraid he is going to snap her neck. She remains still, blank eyes staring directly into yours, mouth slightly ajar as if she’s taking short gasps of air, trying to find her breath, but that’s not what concerns you.
It’s the blood that’s pouring down her white nurses' outfit and dripping to the floor that does, pooling at both of their feet and creating a puddle for them to stand in. A part of you believes that this must be some sort of ‘vampire act’, that maybe he was hoping someone would walk in and capture this happening for the effect. But this seemed too realistic to you, especially with how the disgusting sounds of his mouth slurping ravishingly at her neck with low, pleasant hums. It makes you stumble back in surprise.
Hearing the heels scrape against the floor, Yangyang retracts his head from the girl’s neck, slowly turning to look over his shoulder at you, eyes completely blacked out and you struggle to remember if he wore contacts prior to this, but your thoughts are answered when you see dark red veins slithering unhuman-like beneath his eyes as his iris turns brown and the sclera dissolves into a normal white, the black disappearing.
Neat trick, you want to say, but the words never come, not when you’re so conflicted with what you’re seeing in front of you.
“Well… you’re a pretty little thing, aren’t you?” Yangyang speaks first, the boyish grin that slips onto his face fails to ease the nerves that bubble in your stomach, all too focused on the blood that stains his lips and drips from the corner of his mouth as he fully removes himself from the girl, her body thumping to the floor almost a little too lifeless for it to be apart of the ‘vampire act’ you had in mind.
Your attention darts down to her chest, praying that you’d see any type of movement that indicates she’s breathing or that she’ll hopefully raise her hand and give you the thumbs up to tell you all is well. But she doesn’t, and your blood immediately runs cold as you take a cautious step back, your hand flying behind you to try and find the handle of the door.
Yangyang snorts in amusement, shaking his head as he steps over her body. “The door locks from the outside, little swan… Unless, that is, you have a key”
The way he dips his bloody hand beneath the collar of his shirt to pull out a silver chain necklace with a key attached to it is almost taunting, and instead of the fear, it’s anger that rises inside of you as he begins to sway it back and forth, daring you to come closer and take it from his hands.
“Enough with this fake act” You find your voice, even though you don’t believe your words so much anymore. You glance down at the body once again before meeting his eyes that are filled with excitement. “You win best Halloween costume of the year… happy?”
“Fake act?” He repeats with a laugh, tucking the necklace back into the collar of his shirt. “I wasn’t aware I was putting on a show”
You swallow thickly, “I think you’re taking your party and your costume too seriously—”
“Why don’t you come closer and find out how fake this costume truly is?” The change in his tone and facial expression is enough to have you spin around and try the door handle again, jiggling it with force in hopes that it would miraculously open without the need of a key. You hear him laugh at your failed attempts, not realising how close he is until you feel his chest press up against your back, moving your white swan wings out of the way so he could connect his mouth to your shoulder in a wet kiss.
“Don’t touch me!” You spit, shoving him back with as much strength you can muster. Yangyang doesn’t move far, much to your dismay, maybe a few steps back but it was enough to create some distance between the two of you. Your hand reaches up to your shoulder, frantically wiping away the blood off of your skin with a grimace.
“I was only kissing you” Yangyang fake pouts, reaching to stroke the white swan feathers in your hair but you whack him away once again and he grins widely, tilting his head to the side as he looks at you. “Are you afraid of me, little swan?”
“No”
His grin falters slightly, face hardening. “I don’t like liars”
“Give me the key” You ignore his words, opening out the palm of your hand towards him as if he’d straight up give you the key. You’re hoping he would. “I’ll scream if you don’t”
His brow twitches upwards, “Nobody will hear you up here”
“My friends know I left” You try again. “My friends know I left and they will come looking for me if I—”
“No they won’t” Yangyang braces his hands on either side of your head, resting against the door as he leans closer to your face. Your eyes dart down to the dried up blood around his mouth before looking back up to his eyes, trying to ignore the smell of copper that emits from his breath. “They’re already stuck”
Your heart drops as you repeat with a whisper, “Stuck?”
Yangyang hums with a nod, hand coming down to rest on the side of your neck, thumb rubbing against your jugular, putting a slight pressure that has your heart rate picking up. “No one leaves… not even you”
“Wh—”
Your words die in the back of your throat as Yangyang lurches forward, sharp teeth piercing the skin of your neck and a silent scream rips from your lips, trying your hardest to rip this animal away from you and free yourself from the pain that spreads around your neck and chest, feeling a burn surge through your veins. Your fingers pry at his shirt with voiceless pleases, head whirling at the sounds of him ripping into flesh, vision going blurry to the point you struggle to make out the details of the bedroom.
Yangyang retracts his mouth away from your neck suddenly and your body slumps forward, too dizzy to stand straight and he captures you with ease, letting you fall slack against his chest. Your neck feels numb, but you can still sense the blood pooling out of the wound, ruining your costume of the night.
His hand caresses the top of your head as he walks backwards from the door, leading you both to what seems to be a bed as you’re laid down against something cushiony and soft. He climbs above you, knees resting on each side of your hips and you manage to faintly make out his face through blurred vision, tears springing in your eyes at the blood that drips down his chin. Your blood.
“You taste absolutely divine, little swan…” Yangyang compliments. “I almost don’t want to kill you”
“Please” You pathetically whisper. “Please, let me go—don’t kill me”
“But where’s the fun in that?” Yangyang chuckles, fingers dancing across your shoulders and over your wound, making you flinch at the tenderness. Something flickers in Yangyang’s eyes as they meet yours, “Do you want to have fun with me?”
“I—”
“I can make everything go away” Yangyang says to you lowly, licking at his lips and sighing in content as he swallows the blood from his mouth. “I can make you feel good too… I can make you feel good while I’m feeding off of you, doesn’t that sound better?”
“I don’t want to die” You splutter out through tears. “Please, I don’t want to die”
“You won’t die, little swan” His voice is soft, but you know deep down that he’s lying. You’re going to die tonight. There was no way you were getting out of this alive. As if he could hear your inner thoughts, Yangyang sighs softly as he brings his wrists up to his lips, pricking the skin with the edge of his fang before forcefully shoving his arm against your lips, the blood from his wrist dripping into your mouth and on your tongue.
You try to fight back immediately, stiff limbs trying to push him away but it was no use, not when his blood was sliding down the back of your throat. You gag instantly, the taste making your face twist and turn in disgust to which Yangyang laughs at, dropping his wrist from your lips to lean over you again, eyes watching you intently.
You’re shocked at how your body suddenly seems lighter, the slight tinge of pain in your neck disappearing into almost nothing and how your vision clears up, now being fully able to see the man that’s hovering above you clearly. Your hand shakily comes up to touch your wound and you bring your hand back to inspect, surprised to see the dried blood on your fingertips. You stopped bleeding?
“What did you do?” Your question with a whisper.
Yangyang grins at this, tilting his head to the side once again. “I told you, little swan. I can make everything go away”
Incredible, you think. You slightly wonder what else he can do but you mentally slap yourself for thinking that way, not wanting to succumb into his wants and needs. He’s going to kill you. You blink as the thought repeats in your head. He’s going to kill you. There is no way out of this. You’re going to die.
“Let’s have fun” He insists, caressing your cheek softly. “It won’t hurt anymore… It’ll feel good, I promise”
“I don’t believe you” You admit, swallowing thickly. “You’re a… you’re…” You can’t bring yourself to say the word and you shake your head. “It’ll hurt”
“Does this hurt?” Yangyang asks you, taking your hand in his own hand and bringing it up to his lips, opening his mouth wide to show off his precise fangs before sinking them into your palm. You wince instantly, awaiting for the pain to come but there’s nothing, absolutely nothing. You can feel him drinking from your wound, how his tongue laps over the holes he’s created in your skin, but you don’t feel the pain you once did when he bit into your neck.
You watch mesmerised as he drinks from you, those dark red veins appearing under his eyes again, slithering around beneath his skin as the black pools into his eyes, completely overtaking any other colour present and you feel yourself relax into the pillows, head becoming a little too fuzzy and lightheaded, but there was no pain. The pain was gone. It felt… good. Almost too good.
A light gasp leaves your lips as you feel Yangyang’s lower half rut against your stomach during this, harsh thrusts making the bed squeak beneath your bodies, the air knocking out of your lungs. You struggle to form a sentence as Yangyang drops your hand from his mouth, letting your arm flop to the sheets motionlessly as his fingers roam over your white dress, fingers digging into the fabric before ripping the material apart with ease.
He isn’t gentle as he pulls the ruined dress from your body and the broken swan wings from your shoulders, his mouth dropping to your breast and sinking his teeth into the flesh with a guttural moan, brows furrowing at the blood that rushes down the back of his throat. You hiss at the slight sting you feel, but it morphs into something a lot more pleasurable and bearable which makes you let our airy moans of satisfaction.
It makes you sick at how much you're enjoying being ravished by a monster, how your mind overcrowds with lust and want, something you know you shouldn't be experiencing. You should be screaming, you should be pleading for him to spare you and to let you go, to fight back with a much strength as you can must, but you can't.
His teeth retract from your breast with droplets of blood rolling down his chin, dark eyes staring at you through his blond strands of hair that hang in front of his face, lips curling into a smirk that sends a wave of fear and lust through your body, goosebumps rising to your skin.
“You’re doing so good for me, little swan” Yangyang praises, tongue swiping over the wound he’s made on your breast and teasing over your nipple. You gasp, back immediately arching into his touch. Yangyang chuckles, “Are you enjoying this?”
Your voice wavers, “No”
“Liar” Yangyang snorts, head dipping down to leave wet bloody kisses down your stomach, nipping gently at the skin before breaking the surface at your navel. A whisper of his name leaves your lips involuntarily and you swear you can feel him smirk against you, hands caressing your body as he slurps hungrily and the bulge in his pants grows against your leg, desperate to be let free and touched as he ruts.
He travels further down your body, fingers hooking beneath the waistband of your panties before being torn apart, the flimsy material being carelessly thrown to the side. You’re now completely bare to him and you shiver at the cold air that hits your skin, hands splayed across the bed sheets, tugging the blanket in hopes to cover yourself but the low growl that comes from Yangyang has you dropping it instantly.
Although, when you feel his fangs graze over your mound, you shriek with a frantic shake of your head, hands flying down to his hair and gripping the roots, trying to yank him away from you but Yangyang remains still, only raising his gaze to look at you quizzically.
“No” Your voice is stern. “No, not there. Please”
“It won’t hurt” He tries to tell you but you refuse to listen, shaking your head once again and you hear the deep sigh that leaves his lips. You calm down for a brief second before you see him crane his head to the side, now choosing to sink his teeth into your inner thigh instead. You mewl at the feeling, legs snapping together and closing Yangyang in between your thighs to which he laughs at, holding your thighs with an iron grip to keep himself locked in as he feeds from you.
You grunt, tears pricking your eyes at the weird sensation of his fangs tearing through skin, slurping and lapping up the blood that’s now mixing in with your arousal that leaks from your pussy. Whether you’d like to admit it or not, you yearn to be touched by him, to make the ache between your legs disappear.
But instead, it’s his weight that disappears off of you and you stretch your neck to see what was going on, your heart thumping wildly in your chest at the sight of Yangyang unbuttoning his shirt and unbuckling his pants in inhuman speed, revealing his toned body to you. Although, your eyes zone in on the key that dangles from his necklace, just a small reach away.
“Don’t even think about it” His voice grumbles and his weight returns over your body, slotting himself between your legs that he rests upon his shoulders, bending you in a way that has your body burning and you whine at the uncomfortable feeling, trying to move yourself in a comfortable position but Yangyang’s already burying himself back into the crevice of your neck, biting down on the opposite side as his cock slides into you roughly, not giving you time to adjust to his size.
Gasps and moans combine with his low grunts and pleased hums, hips feverishly snapping against your own, his cock hitting all the right places at once which has you seeing stars in your eyes. Yangyang’s ruthless as he drinks from your neck, tongue hot on your skin as his cock plunges in and out of the warmth of your walls.
“You are unbelievable, little swan” Yangyang groans between slurps, pulling back slightly to stare into your eyes that flutter with each harsh thrust. The cocky smile returns to his lips, “Feels good?”
You weakly nod, tears streaming down your face. “Yes”
“I like it when you tell the truth” Yangyang hums, pressing his hips further into yours to hit even deeper, chuckling at the way you moan loudly for him. His fast strokes have your head spinning and lolling to the side, drool seeping from your lips and onto the pillow, mixing in with the mess of your blood.
The knot in your stomach tightens with each sharp movement of his hips, nearing you towards your climax as he pounds into you, fingers fisting the hair on your head and tugging your neck to the side awkwardly to dive back into the wound, tongue lapping and sucking up the blood. It’s enough to have your orgasm hit you intensely.
Your legs tremble on his shoulders, pussy convulsing around his cock as you cum, unable to control the sounds that leave your lips as a moan rips from the back of your throat, back arching off of the bed.
Yangyang’s rhythm falters at the tightness of your pussy, jaw locking around your neck with a grunt as his dick pulsates, hot cum spurting around your walls, choking out a deep groan that rumbles in his chest as he empties inside of you.
You both lay still for a moment, the nerves returning in your belly as you await your pending doom, wondering if Yangyang would be kind enough to let you go after everything that happened. He’s still drinking from you and the pain from earlier slowly emerges, the effect his blood had on your moments prior no longer keeping you safe from the pain and discomfort. You fidget beneath him, legs dropping limply from his shoulders as you whine at the sting, it’s enough for him to remove himself from you.
“Thank you for making this a night I won't forget, little swan” Yangyang whispers to you in your ear before climbing off of you, reaching down to grab his pants from the floor to dig his hand into the pocket, pulling out a silver pocket watch that reads midnight. “Looks like fun for everyone else is just beginning… Can you hear them, little swan?”
The music cuts off abruptly and a familiar scream echoes throughout the mansion, followed by others that make your body tense up. “W-wait—”
“Shhh…” He coos at you as he crawls back above your body, licking at his lips that are smudged with your blood, droplets dribbling down his chin. Yangyang cups your face in his hands, the gesture almost seeming sweet if it wasn’t for the tight grip and the slight sting of his blunt nails digging into your skull.
The sounds of the screams outside of the door makes you feel utterly sick, trying your best not to imagine what’s happening but the smirk that Yangyang gives proves that it’s nothing but good, it’s evil. A sob blubbers past your lips, tears streaming down your cheeks and Yangyang hums softly as his thumbs brush your tears away a little forcefully.
“It’s okay… It’s going to be all over soon, my little swan” His fake reassurances do nothing to calm down your nerves, already seeing through his pathetic little lies. You wish you could move to throw him off of your body but with your weakened limbs and his unbelievable strength, you know you wouldn't be able to do anything of the sort.
Yangyang dips his head down to hover over yours, his lips pushing against your own in the form of a kiss that you didn’t reciprocate, yet the metallic taste of blood sits on the tip of your tongue and the nausea hits you, throat tightening with the urge to throw up. Yangyang creates a slight distance between you, still feeling his breath fan across your face and his eyes bore into yours. The grip he has on your head becomes too much to handle and a pained squeak leaves your lips, your hands slowly coming up to wrap around his wrists but it's far too late.
A loud pop rings through your ears as he forcefully twists your head to the side, darkness immediately overcrowding your vision, dipping you into complete nothingness.
tag list :- @hall0ween-twn . @skzzznct . @jenoslutie . @yujaemna
It was that damn…melody. That sick, haunting tune. Once again. Over and over and…over again.
pairing: hyuckren x fem!reader
word count: 3.5k
genre: mystery-thriller, horror, angst
warnings: profanity (use of the f word), mental illness (some allusions to s/h, please don't read if sensitive), mentions of medications and psychiatry, polyamory, police, mild mention of sexual activity (minors proceed with caution)
disclaimer: this is a fanfiction purely from my imagination. I don't know the nct members and don't claim that they act like this in real life. I also don't condone any of the activity by any of the characters in this fic. I'm not a mental health expert and don't claim to be at all, if you are struggling please find some resources to help yourself or dm me for support <3
a/n: ahhh it's finally here! the series I've been wanting to write for SO LONG. I hope you enjoy the first chapter because I got this random burst of inspiration yesterday and wrote it all and I'm so happy with the set up! hopefully as it progresses it becomes spookier and creepier and I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoy writing this already <3 lav out p.s. can you tell I love my mystery-thriller movies and kdramas hahah (send me recs!!)
It was that damn…melody. That sick, haunting tune. Once again. Over and over and…over again.
You wake with a gasp, shooting up in your bed, blood rushing upwards and dampening your hearing with a blunt drone. You groaned at the jolts of pain in your temples, your cold hands caressing the supple skin as you squeezed your eyes shut. 8:09am.
“Renjun-ah?” Your voice came out a lot harsher than you expected, but there was nothing you could change about it as you watched your boyfriend’s petite frame walk into your shared room, his soft, nimble fingers tying the buttons on his wrist.
“Yeah?” He barely looked at you. His attention was divided, long lashes flicking up and down his wrists, and you realised with a sick nausea that you were starting to become annoying.
You swallowed, throat dry and eyes burning with tiredness. “Um, nothing. Just wanted to check if you had left already.” It took everything in you not to mention the dream, the song, but you knew how he would react. As if like clockwork, he had the same reaction every single time.
“You just miss him, _. That’s why you keep having these dreams. Take your meds, and get some rest today, okay?”
You were sick and tired of hearing the same line every single day, almost as much as you were tired of having the same dreams. If there was something worse than being stuck in this insane loop of same same same, it was not having Renjun the way you always did.
But could you complain? Ever since…well, you were only a shell of the person you were before. You were bitter, grating, much like the shots of expresso you had once downed with your lover, squealing ‘Oh! That’s so strong!’ much to the disgust of the haughty young waiter watching from the corner. You felt your chest tighten with a tender nostalgia as Renjun walked over to peck you on the forehead, his lips as fleeting as that memory passing through your brain.
Take care of yourself today, honey. Okay?
“Take care of yourself today, honey. Okay?” You smiled, gritting your teeth at the irritation of his newfound predictability. Falling into this routine of stark distance and hospital-grade perfection. You were truly and utterly sick of it.
You counted to 383…no, 384. Three hundred and eighty…(I don’t know what I should eat today)…Three hundred and eighty-one...(Renjun’s probably sat at his desk by now…)…Three hundred and eighty-two…(…wonder if he’s thinking of me…)…Three hundred and eighty-three…(…is he eating well? What if he gets sick from all the takeout?)…Three hundred and eighty-four.
You dragged yourself out of bed, looking at the date glaring back at you from your bedside alarm clock. August 6th, 2022.
Three hundred and eighty-four days since Haechan had gone missing.
∞
“We should have studied French properly instead of just-“
“Oh, our French sessions were pretty fun,” Renjun raised his eyebrows while Haechan smirked at you suggestively, swiftly followed by you giving him a playful kick under the table to shut him up. “She’s pretty damn good.”
“Gross, Haechan. We’re on vacation in a nice place. You should have left your shameless thoughts at home.”
“Hmm, but we are in the city of love, aren’t we?” Haechan outstretched his arms like a comical cartoon character, making you and Renjun both look down in embarrassment, Renjun cursing softly under his breath. You watched a young Timothee-Chalamet looking waiter side-eye the three of you in the corner and your cheeks grew warmer. Yet, you didn’t really care. He was right. You were in the city of love with the only two men you had ever loved in your entire life. What was so wrong about that?
“Waiter!” Haechan yelled out, raising his hand like he was a primary school student in class, and both you and Renjun lunged out to make him stop being so loud. “Hyuck, oh my god, everyone’s looking.”
“Yes?” It was almost a blessing the waiter had come regardless of your collective bickering, and Renjun went first, speaking in perfect French. “We’d like number 3, please.”
“All three of you?” He frowned through his glasses, peering through the lens like he would look at spectacles at a freak show. You suddenly felt self-conscious, but Haechan started leaning over towards Renjun, acting like the waiter wasn’t even there. “What was that? What did you say? Number 3? I don’t want that one. Tell him I want number 4.”
“The young man over there will have number 4, please. And for me and my girlfriend, number 3.” You swallowed a smile at the way Renjun exasperatedly acknowledged Haechan, and the way Haechan looked just as confused as before. Once the waiter stepped away, you smacked Haechan’s thigh playfully. “You’re so embarrassing!”
“Am I embarrassing, or do you just wanna impress mister oui oui baguette over there?”
“Haechan!” You laughed. “What do you mean?”
“I saw the way you were oogling him. Tsk, tsk.” He should his head exaggeratedly and added. “You have the hottest guy sitting next to you and you’re just gonna eyeball him?”
“Leave _ alone, Haechan.” Renjun was now peering at the menu, squinting intensely. The soft morning sun illuminated his body, giving him a tender glow and making your heart feel warm with affection. He shook his head to the side to move his fringe away from his eyes. “Baby, I think I might have ordered you a shot of expresso. Do you want to change it?”
“Huh? No, that’s okay, honey.”
“Are you sure?” You felt Haechan’s breath on your shoulder, and you rolled your eyes, pulling his arm closer to your side as you looked up at him. “Yes, I’m sure. I can handle it.” The smell of dark coffee from the kitchen mixed with Haechan’s natural musk and your light perfume, and you breathed in deeply.
Haechan’s chest vibrated as he chuckled. “I’m keen to see this.” In front of you, Renjun smiled at the table, a mix of love and playfulness, and you scoffed. “I-It’ll be fine. It will taste good. I will drink it all!” You fake-slammed the table in front of you with your fist as both men started giggling slowly.
∞
You remembered the memory fondly as you watched the milk swirl and dissolve into the brown instant coffee mix. Too tired (lazy) to use the coffee maker, you settle on a bland concoction of going-to-expire-today lukewarm milk and instant coffee powder that’s at least 2 years old for your everyday morning fix. Taking a sip, you sighed. Yep, just as disgusting as ever.
You flopped down on the couch, turning on the TV at the same time, like a trained reflex. The rain outside poured heavy and relentless, just the right amount of ambient noise to send you right back into your slumber. But you stayed awake. You couldn’t be sleeping all day again. It just wouldn’t be…right.
Turning on an old favourite show, Gilmore Girls, you let it play as you opened your laptop. The battery reader on the bottom right corner shone nice and bright. 0%.
Of course. You groaned out loud, cursing underneath your breath. Of course, the day you felt the tiniest twinge of motivation to do something, your laptop was dead. Getting up from the couch, you felt a warm-hot liquid pour all over your pajama bottoms.
“Ah! Fuck!” You swore out loud, watching the coffee stain your crotch and drip onto the skin of your thighs. Clutching your laptop to your chest, you ran back into you and Renjun’s shared room.
You stared at his pajamas on the shelf, neatly packed and folded, as if he was so ready to move on. You looked to your side of the bed, messy as ever, the oldest bra you ever owned strewn across the covers.
How embarrassing.
You felt a mixture of anger, first at Renjun, then at yourself. Stupid fucking perfect Renjun with his crisp ironed clothes and his tidy side of the bed and his take care of yourself, honeys. Gosh, I hate him. As you said these in your head, hot, frustrated tears poured down your cheeks and dripped onto your collarbones. I fucking hate that man. I fucking hate myself.
You didn’t know how long you were standing there, but after a while, you rubbed the rest of the rolling tears off your face and walked out of the room. You plugged in your laptop, walked to the kitchen for some paper towels and half-heartedly wiped down the almost-dried coffee (if you could even call it that) on the couch, took off your soaked pajama pants and lay on your side, facing the TV. You watched Lorelai and her mother fight for what seemed like hours, you watched Lorelai cry on the shoulder of some hunk of a man who very clearly loved her, and then you felt yourself slip into a sad, restless slumber as the credits rolled.
∞
You woke at the sound of your phone buzzing next to your ear.
You blinked once, then twice. Then you closed your eyes and opened them again.
There was no way.
my teddy
i’m coming home
What the actual fuck.
You grabbed at your phone, fumbling, shaking. You dialled Haechan’s number – once, twice, three times. It was going through. It was going through.
“Renjun!”
“What’s up, honey? Are you alright?”
You sobbed uncontrollably into the phone, the screen now wet with tears.
“Shhh, I’ll be there soon, okay? Please don’t hurt yourself again. Thank you for calling me. I’ll be there, baby, in just a few minutes. I love you so much. I’m coming.”
“No…n-no…” You rubbed your nose, hating the way it squeaked. “No, Renjun, it’s about H-Haechan.” Silence on the other side, as if you had said a bad word. “He’s coming home.”
You could feel the gears in Renjun’s head clicking, choosing his next words wisely. “Let’s talk about it when I get back, okay?”
“Renjun, no, you don’t fucking get it. He’s coming back. My baby’s coming back…”
“Honey…”
“Don’t fucking call me that! Fuck you!” You shouted into the phone, you had no idea why. You were trembling with a mixture of anger and sudden fear.
“Okay.” You heard Renjun’s voice tremble on the other line, the sounds of the rain louder now, pitter-pattering over the line. “I’m sorry. I’ll be home soon.”
“So will Haechan.” You said, before ending the call.
∞
“Please, please, don’t tell her.”
Those words haunted Renjun every single day he thought about Haechan. His knuckles were white as he gripped the steering wheel. No, now was not the time to think about that. He kept side-glancing at the time on the dashboard, as if minutes would pass without his permission. The windshields scraped the glass with a jarring squeak everytime it moved, the rain pouring as strong as ever. He prayed silently for there to be no traffic on the main road he was about to turn into, not wanting to leave you home alone for another second.
His heart ached, thinking of the phone call, the bad signal in his car breaking up your cries. His eyes welled up with tears, but he quickly blinked them away, not wanting to get distracted. I need to get home right now.
Luckily, traffic moved at a steady pace, it not quite being rush hour yet, and he was pulling up to the driveway quicker than usual. He needed to remain calm and composed for you. He knew you didn’t mean any of it, and that you were having one of your episodes. He tried to think about what your psychiatrist had said, but his brain felt so heavy, like a burning lump of coal, black smoke shrouding any helpful thought he was trying to have. Dammit. I just need to go inside.
“_?” Not wanting to spook you, he started speaking from outside as he typed in the code for your shared apartment. “It’s me, Renjun, baby.” He paused slightly, wondering if he should wait for you to open the door. You clearly needed some space. Maybe he was imposing too much. Maybe you felt intruded, not in control. Maybe he should let you do small things like open the do-
“Renjun?”
At first it didn’t register, but as Renjun slowly turned around, his heart started pounding louder and louder in his chest and his legs felt like jelly. He knew what – or who – he was expecting to see, but the sight of him still threw him against the apartment door with a gasp.
There was no way.
“Oh my god. It’s really you.”
Renjun didn’t know what to say for once. Always the easy talker, known for making awkward situations normal, always known to have something smart to say. Nothing. His tongue felt like lead in his mouth, immobile, weighed down with the weight of a thousand stones.
“Renjun. It’s me.” He stepped closer and wrapped his arms around Renjun. He felt like a ghost for a split second, like his arms weren’t quite there. But then he smelt it. That faint smell of his best friends’ cologne he had used since their university days, back when they would go out for dinner after long days. Back before they had even met you.
Renjun inhaled sharply as the realisation hit him, his arms feeling more and more solid around his frame. “It’s really you. She wasn’t…but how did she…” Snapping out of his daze, the two men parted and Renjun thought about you.
Haechan called out first. “_! I’m home!”
∞
“So, you say you received a text message from Lee Haechan today before he came home?”
“Yes, yes. Here.” Your lit up screen illuminated the face of the officer, speckles of his stubble becoming visible. “Right.” He frowned, before handing your phone back to you, the charm jingling as he did. The tips of your fingers slightly touched his as you took your phone back, still staring at him with more questions than answers strewn across your features.
His chair made a high-pitched creak as he leaned back. “So, we have questioned him, as well as your, well…” The officer looked uncomfortable, almost squeamish, you reckoned at the thought of you having seduced not one, but two men in your lifetime.
“Yes, Renjun.” You spared him the misery. He nodded.
“Yes, and his story lines up with yours in terms of the disappearance. Lee Haechan, however, is saying that he cannot disclose where he was this entire time, because he just does not remember anything. We will continue to investigate his whereabouts for the past year. We have tried tracking his phone already, and we actually found its location.”
“Oh?”
“Yes, in your apartment.”
“Our apartment?” You were confused, and a weird feeling started brewing in the pit of your stomach.
“No, miss. At your apartment.”
“You mean the one I share with Renjun.”
The officer looked at you wordlessly, before flicking through the papers in his hands and passing one across the table to you.
You looked at it in utter disbelief. “W…what…”
“It was strange to us too. You didn’t mention to us that you had an apartment. Yet, we were able to find this under your name. We asked the owner, and she said you had indeed bought this four years ago. In person, too.”
“No way,” you breathed, your eyes as big as saucers. “Four years…” You would have been fresh out of high school, just about to enter university. You remembered being penniless then, having cut off your parents and working bizarre jobs just to get by. There was no way you would have even been able to afford an apartment. And the most important part was, if you had indeed done that, you would have remembered. Despite everything that had happened, and parts of your memory being faded due to the stress of the past year, there was no way you would have forgotten something so big as an apartment.
You sighed out loud, resting your head in both hands. You kept having those weird dreams…it always felt like, maybe they were…like…lost memories?
“I think my memory is just bad,” you chuckled uneasily, letting the officer ease back into the chair, some of his worry lifting off his shoulders. “That probably was me. Sorry.”
“It’s okay.” He drawled out the words, as if he didn’t really mean them. “We just wanted to inform you before we applied for the warrant because we’re going to search it.”
“Right.” Somehow, even though you had found out about this apartment 2 minutes ago, hearing that it was going to be searched made you feel kind of violated. The fluorescent white light started to feel hot against the skin of your face, and you were becoming aware of the stretch of time you had been here. Your leg started to jump, one of your many restless tics.
“Can I come?”
“Hmm?” The officer looked confused.
“Like, when you search. Can I come?”
He made a sorry kind of smile with his mouth and shook his head. You felt stupid for even asking, but the feelings dissipated when you watched the officer look increasingly uncomfortable, suddenly avoiding eye contact with you as if he was scared of you.
“So,” you leaned in, and watched as he cleared his throat and crossed his arms. “What does this mean? So, someone sent a text message using Haechan’s phone the day he came back. He said it wasn’t him, and now his phone is at my apartment?”
The officer gave you a blank stare, and all of a sudden, it all clicked.
“No, I-“
“Look, miss. We need to consider all possibilities. And your boyfriend told us that you’re…struggling with your mental health and currently on anti-psychotics…”
You gaped at him, not believing the words that were coming out of his mouth. “You think that’s supposed to make me uncomfortable? Yes, I’m batshit off the walls crazy, sir, thanks for acknowledging it. But I’m just not that kind of crazy to send myself a text from my missing boyfriend to soothe myself, I do know that.”
“That’s not what we’re- okay, look. Personally, I think it’s probably, like, a hack or something.” You recognised his ability to go off script, no matter how much he fought it, and you appreciated it, just a little bit. “We just wanted to check all the possibilities. We’ll be checking the footage around the apartment and finding out if anyone’s been coming and going, and we will search for the phone and check its usage.”
You nodded sharply. “Okay.”
The door opened, and a younger looking man inaudibly signalled at the officer in front of you. “That’s all for tonight. You are free to leave. Let us know if there are any updates, and we’ll do the same.”
∞
“So, what did they talk about with you guys?”
Renjun was slowly starting to come out of the shocked state he had been in for the past few hours as you nuzzled deeper into Hyuck’s warm body in the backseat of the car, the rain still roaring on outside.
“It was weird. They asked me about an apartment I own.”
“An apartment?” Renjun sounded curious, but you were distracted by the feel of Haechan’s slightly dry lips on your forehead, grazing the skin teasingly. “Haechan…”
“Let’s just forget about this for now. I missed you so much.” He pressed his lips against you, the kiss resounding in your skull.
“I missed you too.” You wanted to cry, laugh, scream. Everything was pouring out of you all at once, slow and viscous like thick honey on bread. “So much. You have no idea.”
“Yeah.” Renjun’s voice was silent. “We can talk more tomorrow.”
That night, your bed for two was a bed for three. Warm and safe, smelling like three instead of two. You were finally home. The dinner you three shared for the first time in over a year was quiet, all of you overwhelmed by the new familiarity that was now your new normal. Or old normal. It was all a bit strange. But it just felt so…right.
For once you drifted off to sleep naturally, not crying, or needing your pills or something to watch to distract yourself. It was like Haechan’s arrival repaired you, piece by piece, with nothing left over or loose from the reconstruction.
Everything felt right until the next morning, when you woke up to no Haechan next you, and you felt an insidious wave of anxiety waft over you, threatening to paralyse you. But then you heard chatter from the kitchen.
“She likes it like that now. Extra chilli. Make sure you don’t burn it.”
“Yes, ahjussi.” The unmistakeable nasal tone of your lover’s voice calmed you, and you were convinced you weren’t dreaming this time. This was real. Haechan came home.
You rolled over in bed and checked your phone. Old habits die hard.
Plot ⬩ After a year spent living as a shut-in, you finally agree to go on a drive with your sister. When a storm steers your plan off course, you find yourselves brought closer to two charming strangers—but an unsettling tension lingers in your mind.
Warnings ⬩ anxiety; agoraphobia; implications of depression; ongoing feelings of helplessness, general discomfort, self-doubt; mental breakdown; minor violence; character death
‹ Note › The feelings/mannerisms that come as a consequence of (mild?) agoraphobia in this story all come from a personal place. I don’t mean to make light of anyone’s experience with mental illness.
Disclaimer! I don’t know any of the nct members personally, and would never claim this is how they behave/think in real life. They only inspire me to write these stories, and I think of them as a cast of actors like in a drama or movie. It’s never my intention to project on or disrespect any of the people mentioned.
A sliver of light escaped through the window blinds as your fingers pulled at one of the blades. Despite the clear and sunny sky outside, it was dim in your apartment. It often was. Your eyes rejected the foreign light for a brief moment before they readjusted.
Outside, a pale pink Cadillac convertible was parked in front of the building’s entrance. The kind where the back just above the tail lights rose in a theatrical peak on either side. The roof was down, revealing the velvet white interior. You liked the velvet, it was comfortable; you could almost remember what it felt like.
Although, right now, it only served to remind you of how much time had passed since you were last in it. Maybe a year, maybe a little longer than that… Right before your driver’s license got revoked and you gave up entirely.
“Are you gonna keep staring at it, or are we gonna go get in?” Your sister quipped from behind you, resting her chin on your shoulder. “Not that this isn’t a killer view.”
Even though you appreciated her keeping up a humorous air for your sake, you could still feel the tension. She had been trying to get you to go outside for at least an entire year. Yet you still always managed to back out at the last second.
“We’re absolutely not going to get out of the car?” You asked, probably for the tenth time now. For the whole duration of this past month, you would ask and she would reassure. Over and over again, that it would’ve made anyone else sick of you by now.
She squeezed your shoulders. “Nope, just drive around. Eat something nice. Drive back home before sunset. We’ll get on the coastal highway so there won’t even be that many cars.”
Opening the front door wasn’t a problem—online shopping was basically your lifeline. The slight nausea began only after you stepped out for the first time. Autumn was coming to an end, with the beginnings of a fierce winter approaching eagerly on its heels. The cold wind bit at your flushed cheeks, and you closed your eyes to take it in before willing yourself forward.
It almost didn’t feel real. That somehow made it easier.
The sky was so blue, the trees so green, you couldn’t quite stop staring as everything sped past you. The sun breathed life into the colors of its surroundings in a way that it could never fully achieve inside your apartment. Even having the sun directly on your skin felt foreign. Car roof down, the chilly wind engulfed you in waves.
Soon, you were on a curving highway by the sea. The road was flat and stretched as long as you could see, with only the odd car here and there. What you could only describe as psychedelic pop music played in a pleasant volume in the background.
The drive would be four hours long, two to the end of the coastal road and two back, but you took that as an excuse to stop by three different drive-throughs to assemble what was surely going to be a magnificent spread. A car picnic was part of how your sister had managed to entice you, after you saw some characters on a TV show do it. She even let you pick all of the food.
Breaking the trance-like silence, you said, “I don’t know if I can stand the smell of that food much longer…”
“Same,” she said, “we’re almost there, you see that?”
She nudged her head at a square brown building in the distance. It looked like one of those rest stops that would have a shabby family pool up front. You felt a sense of relief that you wouldn’t have to go in. Maybe you would get the courage to venture out of the car next time. Or maybe the time after that. You let your mind wander as you got closer and closer.
There was one other car already parked there, a jet black Brabus G Wagon. It was a monster of a car, so big and square you thought it almost looked like an armored hearse. When your car pulled over a few spaces away from it, it still managed to dwarf you by comparison.
The music kept playing as the pair of you laid out all of your food, placing it on a checkered picnic blanket that you had covering the trunk of your car, and pushed the front seats as far as they could go for you to stretch your legs out on.
Thankfully, the food was still hot when you took it out of the thermal containers. You had yourself to thank for that idea, so you mentally patted yourself on the back.
“The chicken is all limp,” your sister whined after she picked one up. Just as you reached out for a strip yourself, a drop of cool water landed on the back of your hand and slid off to the side. The colors had grown faded, and the air felt different.
“Oh no.”
And just like that, in under a minute, a few stray drops turned into one of the quickest downpours you had ever experienced. A strong wind came and blew some of the smaller containers off, while you both rushed to hold down whatever you could.
“This doesn’t look very partly cloudy,” your sister laughed. You admired her ability to laugh it off while you panicked and scrambled around dramatically, making a mental note to never trust the weather forecast again.
“Go on, you bring up the car roof and I’ll take care of these,” she called to you over the wind that was continuously growing louder.
The moment you let go of what you’ve been holding down, they slid away from you but mostly held their place (for now). The retracted roof only budged by the tiniest margin despite your incessant pulling. All this rain must’ve done something to it…
At that moment, the door of the black SUV opened and a young man with soft facial features half-jogged to your car. Fighting your instinct to recoil, you found yourself avoiding his eyes instead. You really weren’t ready to talk to anyone. Not to mention, you didn’t get a chance to do any mental preparation for it.
He, on the other hand, had an effortless smile on as he approached, and you almost rolled your eyes at yourself for noticing his dimples right now. But you didn’t, your brows furrowing instead.
“Hi,” he called, “let me help you.” Smoothly, he joined you in pulling the roof up. You could only manage a small “sorry” but your sister added a friendly “thank you!”
He was only wearing blue jeans and a lightweight white sweater. The expensive kind of fabric you wouldn’t want to get wet. So you glanced at him with guilt as it got wetter and wetter.
“It’s like it’s nailed down,” he laughed, eyes squinted in what looked like embarrassment.
“Oh!” he added, looking behind you. You turned to see one more young man coming out of the rest stop this time. It was a bigger guy dressed all in black. Despite his tall and muscular build, something about him was gracefully cat-like.
“Johnny! Could you give us a hand?” The dimpled guy beckoned him over, although he was already on his way to you.
“What’s up? Ah.”
Soon, it was all three of you yanking at it together. Ridiculous. For some reason, it didn’t feel any different than when you were pulling on it by yourself. You prayed that it would be over as soon as possible. You could already feel your breath constricting—even looking their way was difficult. Like they were radioactive.
“Okay, I don’t think this is working out. We might actually damage it if we keep this up,” Johnny said, looking between the three of you, “you’re better off coming inside for now. At least until this storm is over.”
You looked over at your sister, who had just successfully put away all she could save from the food, which was now stacked in a corner in the back seat, getting pitifully hammered by the rain.
Her smile was stretched from ear to ear. You tried to catch her eyes and somehow telepathically communicate to her how uncomfortable you felt, but she had already moved on to observing the dimpled guy’s physique.
Under other circumstances, you would’ve found it funny that you could see the exact moment she snapped out of it. But you were sad to admit that over the past year you rarely found anything funny anymore. A few moments later, her eyes found yours, apologetic.
“Actually, we really need to get going,” she turned to them. “Thanks for your help, though!”
Owing to the storm, it had gotten darker much earlier than anticipated. A glance at the road ahead only discouraged you further when you saw just how thick the fog had gotten—even with the roof up, driving in this weather would certainly be a questionable choice… You would never forgive yourself if you were the reason your sister got into an accident.
Frozen with your hands clenched by your sides, you mentally talked yourself into it. Just one night. Clearing your throat, you gave a hesitant “okay. Let’s go in.”
Her eyebrows shot up in response. “You sure?” Even though she was offering otherwise, you could see how tired she already was. You could also feel the eyes of the two men on you, although you didn’t look up to confirm it.
“Yeah. It’s too dark. We’ll leave as soon as the sun comes up, okay?” Although your words were directed at her, part of it was also said to yourself for reassurance. You continued in a low voice, forcing yourself to look up at them, “uh, thank you so much for trying to help.”
“No worries,” the dimpled guy smiled at the both of you.
If your sister had a tail, she would’ve been wagging it. It was hard not to see that she had a type. The dimpled man, who had a laid-back demeanor and a twinkle in his smiling eyes, was exactly the type she always gravitated towards. The type that looked like he would never hurt you.
A stagger in your step, you found your body resisting the walk inside. Something felt very wrong in your gut, twisting a knot into your stomach. Sharp feelings of regret started to find their way into your mind at having offered to stay. Today wasn’t supposed to go this way. You weren’t supposed to run into anyone.
It could’ve been your imagination, but you felt Johnny’s stare linger on you as you finally followed everyone inside.
*
You were wrong about there being a pool by the entrance of the rest stop. That was probably for the best, because everything else looked fairly uncared for, and the rain only exaggerated all the dirtier aspects.
Past the small courtyard covered in dead (and now, wet) leaves, and a lone vending machine with a few snacks covered in a thick layer of dust, the four of you walked through a smaller door leading to the lobby.
It was just as shabby on the inside as it looked on the outside. Dim, warm-toned light-bulbs provided less-than-ideal lighting so that you could only just make out your surroundings. A musty smell wafted your way almost as soon as you stepped in.
“I’m Jaehyun, by the way,” the dimpled guy’s voice made you turn, and you saw that he still had a relaxed smile on. You and your sister introduced yourselves as Johnny went ahead to the front desk, which was manned by an old woman and her cat. The cat sat with its front paws tucked into its chest, unfazed by the new guests.
“Are you guys staying here, too?” Johnny called back to the two of you.
“Go on,” your sister encouraged. You shot her a look, and she returned it with two thumbs up, miming you can do it.
Keeping any further signs of discomfort to yourself, you agreed that you were in dire need of practice. Given that you hadn’t spoken to anyone other than your sister for the past year, even the thought of a brief exchange with a clerk was enough to set you on edge. You approached the counter with heavy feet.
“Good afternoon,” you started, but the woman spoke right away in a sharp tone. “No vacancy. Under repair, dear.”
“Oh. Well… We’ll just wait in the lobby then, if you don’t mind.”
Your sister had moved on with Jaehyun, the pair of them talking by the entrance. Sopping wet and looking giddy, their laughter and voices were drowned out by the storm outside.
Johnny looked down at you then back to Jaehyun across the lobby before offering “you guys can crash at our room if you want.”
His smile was cat-like to boot, and he was even bigger up close. Absurdly attractive, too. Something about that almost made you queasy, but you passed it off as your nerves building up. How long was the storm going to last?
“We couldn’t. Thank you for your offer, though.” You managed to return a small smile, but by then there was something else in his eyes that you couldn’t decipher. Interest? Amusement?
It must’ve been something you didn’t like, after all, because you hurried away and hooked your arm through your sister’s. She took her time before finally turning away from Jaehyun and back to you.
Deciding it was best to speak away from Jaehyun’s ears, you dragged her farther away. Just in case he felt charitable enough to repeat the same offer—at this point, you weren’t so sure she’d turn it down.
“No vacancies. We can just wait in the lobby for now,” you relayed, steering her towards the waiting area. At least you would get it to yourself.
There were only two shabby couches facing each other, with peeling wooden legs and faded out green fabric. With a start, you noticed for the first time that it wasn’t empty after all.
There was someone sleeping with his legs stretched out on the floor in front of him, ankles crossed. His head slumped forward so that his red hoodie obscured his face, his arms folded against his chest. He was only as big as you or maybe a little taller. Strange. You hadn’t noticed any other cars parked outside.
“Is he with you?” Your sister whispered to Jaehyun, who had followed the pair of you and was suddenly looking around the lobby awkwardly, brows slightly furrowed. He shook his head no.
There was still water dripping from the ends of his hair. He must’ve noticed you unconsciously stare, because he said “I’ll go get us some towels” and went up a narrow set of stairs to their room. Johnny glanced up at him only for a second, before going back to playing with the cat on the counter. The cat squeezed itself past his hands and stalked away into the shadows somewhere.
Why was Jaehyun sitting in the car, if they already had a room with their things in it?
“She doesn’t like us very much,” Johnny said to himself, his tone light. You don’t know why your heart did a little jump. He was talking about the cat. Not you. Right?
That was a non-ideal time for him to look straight at you. But nevertheless he approached, and his quiet walk reminded you of the cat he had just been petting. When he got close enough that it made your body tense up, you were relieved that he didn’t stop and instead kept walking past you.
“Forgot something in the car,” he said to no one, and left the lobby.
A pang of guilt sounded in your chest. You knew you were coming off as stand-offish, but you had your set limits. Especially today.
Your sister had her back turned to you, and was observing a large, muted painting of a tall ship sailing through turbulent waters. There was an ornate but faded golden frame around it.
Reaching out for her hand, you opened your mouth to say something, and—
“Towels?” A smooth voice spoke up behind you, and you spun around so quickly that you almost twisted your neck.
“Aww, thanks!” Your sister took one and let it fall over your head before taking another for herself. That made Jaehyun laugh, twinkles in his eyes. Everything seemed to make him smile or laugh, like he didn’t have a care in the world.
You grabbed the towel off of your head and absentmindedly held it out to your sister until she took it, then you turned to follow Johnny out into the rain.
A cold hand gripped your arm, stopping you. Turning around, you saw Jaehyun’s pale face staring back at you. “You’re gonna catch a cold if you go out there again. Do you need me to get you something? Your roof is open anyway, so I don’t need your keys.”
Next to him, your sister was looking at you with a puzzled expression. You hoped your voice wouldn’t crack, and said “uh, no… No, nevermind, it’s nothing.”
“You okay?” Your sister put her arms around you. “Long day, huh,” she said, rubbing your back.
“Yeah.”
When Johnny came back, you noticed he didn’t have anything in his hands.
What did you forget in the car? You wanted to ask him. But you knew better than to share what was on your mind, with everyone around.
You cursed under your breath at Jaehyun, who was still buttering up to your sister. The curse wasn’t only for how stuck to her he was, or how taken she was with him. It was also for how despite that, he still wouldn’t let you follow Johnny outside.
Although you supposed you had yourself to blame for that, too. It’s not like he forced anything on you. But somehow, when he told you not to go, you felt rooted in place and could no longer do anything other than what he told you to do. Somehow, your body was under other people’s control more than it was under your own.
The whole past year, you had felt yourself slowly slipping—you had been at a war with yourself that went on for so long it left you only as a ghost of who you once were. A silent shadow etched onto the pavement you once sat on.
All the new activity must’ve been noisy, because the sleeping man (boy?) took a deep breath in, sat up, and stretched his arms out in front of him. When he looked up at the three of you and his big eyes caught the light, you decided it would be more accurate to call him “boy” rather than “man.” Wide, circular glasses framed his youthful but angular face.
He immediately looked away and awkwardly drummed his hands on his knees. His clothes were wet, but his hair was dry underneath his hoodie, so you guessed that he must’ve ran in just before your group did. Probably while you were all struggling with pulling the roof up.
“Hi there, storm messed with your plans, too?” Your sister scrunched her nose at him playfully. “Sorry if we woke you, by the way.” She was still rubbing your back.
“No, not at all! Um, I wasn’t actually sleeping or anything. I just ran in a few minutes ago, actually,” he said, “that storm really came out of nowhere! And there was nowhere else to stop… so, yeah.” he paused, then added “I’m Mark.”
You introduced yourselves, and Jaehyun asked if Mark wanted him to check the front desk for a towel for him.
“No, I’m okay, thank you,” he pulled his hood back and shook out his hair, running a hand down its front to calm it down. Something made you instinctively look to your side, and you caught Johnny quietly staring at Mark. His eyes looked different when he wasn’t smiling. He glanced back at you, and that blank expression disappeared just as quickly.
Johnny took that as a chance to address you. “Hey, could I talk to you for a second?” When you nodded, his hand brushed gently against your wrist and led you to a more private space.
“I’m really sorry if I made you uncomfortable earlier.” He leaned into you, his voice soft. “It wasn’t my intention…”
“Don’t worry about it,” was all you could scrape together. You’d be lying if you said this hadn’t caught you off-guard. That being said, you still kept your defenses up. You were a naturally wary person. To be honest, you weren’t even sure what he was apologizing for.
“You didn’t do anything wrong, so…” You trailed off. You used to be so much better at talking.
“Didn’t I? Asking you to share a room with a stranger you barely just met,” he gave a soft laugh, and you could feel his warm breath on your face. Peppermint. Was it just you or was he closer now than when the conversation started?
Feeling the heat rising to your cheeks, you realized you needed to end this exchange soon—you weren’t ready for whatever this is. Willing yourself to continue, you said “you were just being considerate. I can understand that.”
“Is that so? Well, we’re in room two if you change your mind,” he countered, only half-joking, a glint of whatever you caught in his eyes earlier still there.
“But hey,” he said, as he reached to take his jacket off, “it’s chilly out here, so at least let me give you this.” He draped it over your shoulders and walked away, letting his reiterated offer hang without rejection.
* *
The rain outside was relentless. The gaps in the wood of the windows had the cold wind whistling through them, and rattled the glass rhythmically. It made your bones feel damp. Your sister had you wrapped in a tight hug both for her warmth and yours.
Quite the opposite from how you were feeling, these circumstances had her vibrating with excitement at all the possibilities. She adored movies where a random ensemble of characters were stuck together and had to find ways to get along.
Much to your sister’s disappointment (and your relief) Jaehyun and Johnny had went up to their room soon after that encounter. Thanks to the lack of Wi-Fi, she had spent her time so far pestering Mark out of boredom. As the conversation went on, he had loosened up and politely entertained her with whatever random topic she sprang on him.
It was just like your sister to quickly get people to open up to her wherever she went. But soon enough, even she was running out of things to talk about with Mark.
The pause in the conversation left enough room for your sister’s ears to perk up, picking up on the noise coming from down the hall. Considering the fairly small size of the rest stop, and the fact that you watched the two men walk into the room right across from the few steps leading up to the corridor, you could somewhat see their door from here if you strained your eyes hard enough at the dark.
The gap between the door and the floor told you that their lights were still on, and seeing the shadows moving around was the final push your sister needed to bounce up and practically skip there, dodging your desperate hands that clambered to pull her back down.
“Shh, I’m bored, I’ll just go see what they’re up to, that’s all!” She giggled. Your heart just threw itself against your ribcage miserably, in slow but heavy thumps. All the will in your legs escaping, you accepted that you probably wouldn’t be able to get yourself to stand up and follow her. You were under an invisible binding spell. So you and Mark watched her disappear down the short corridor.
She knocked a musical tone on the wood of their door, and it opened in no time, unleashing the light from their room and illuminating their silhouettes. Judging by the size of it, you guessed that it was Johnny. His head bobbed, going along with whatever she was saying to him.
He stepped aside, and your body tensed even more when you saw her go in. From here, it was hard to make out his features as he stood still, facing you. Was he looking your way? He held that position for a little longer before finally closing the door and drowning the corridor back in shadows, making it seem darker than it was before.
You couldn’t tear your eyes away from the corridor. It was as though everything stood still as you watched that door. Almost like all your surroundings shifted, steadily bringing you and that door closer, everything else around you disappearing.
Mark cleared his throat, asking “are you okay?”
That made you snap out of your hyper-focused state, sparing him a glace before returning it to the corridor. “I think so. Sorry.”
“Um… Do you wanna, like, go after her?”
You nodded, almost as though you were given validation to move. Just as you braced yourself to get up, the door opened again. The sight of Johnny stalking down the corridor and coming towards you made you stop, confused.
He sank down into the space next to you, casually flashing you a smile. “Hi again.”
You gave him a curt nod in reply, before impulsively shifting your gaze away. When your eyes found him again, through a great deal of effort on your part, they lingered this time. At that, his eyebrows went up inquisitively.
“Is everything okay?” He finally asked.
Before you could answer, you jumped at the sight of your sister already approaching you with Jaehyun on her tail. You really must’ve been out of it staring at Johnny…
As they maneuvered to find an empty spot to sit, the pair had ditzy smiles across their faces, and you could even see a hint of childish mischievousness.
“You won’t believe what Jaehyun here had in his suitcase,” your sister teased, both of her hands holding something behind her back. “Which was immaculately organized, by the way. But…” She pulled out a long rectangular box, and it took you a moment before you recognized that it was a Jenga tower. “Who the hell travels around with this thing?”
All four of them laughed at your sister’s presentation, and you felt like the odd one out for not having it in you to laugh along with them. Your sister plopped down in the space between Jaehyun and Mark, and began setting up the tower on the short coffee table that stood between the two couches.
“We might as well make use of it, right? You’re all playing,” she said. After that, it was mostly quiet as she finished working on it. It wasn’t plain wood like what you usually saw on TV, but instead with blocks tinted red and green.
“How about you go first?” You found your sister pointing at you excitedly. Now that she was guaranteed time spent together with everyone for at least the duration of one game, she was practically bouncing in her seat. And you knew perfectly well that she didn’t plan on letting it end after only one round.
“Let’s go!” Mark clapped, saying your name to hype you up.
You reached out and plucked an easy red block towards the top of the tower, which you were eager to set back on the very top to get everyone’s eyes off of you.
“Not so fast,” your sister said, finger twirling playfully in the air, urging you to pick the block back up. When you did, you noticed a line of small print on the underside of the block:
Whisper one of your deepest, darkest secrets to the person on your left.
Truth or dare. You never thought it was something that you would have to come across again as an adult. When participating was unavoidable, you had always defaulted to truths. But looking at it now, you concluded that the green blocks must be truth and the red ones must be dare. Although this one felt awfully a lot like both.
“Well?” She pushed, “read it aloud!”
“Whisper one of your deepest, darkest secrets to the person on your left,” you read, and Johnny perked up as he held his long hand up to his ear. Pathetically, your own hand shook as you leaned forward to set the block back.
“The darker the better,” Johnny winked at you.
“Oh. Well…” For starters, telling him anything personal was out of the question. What was something believable you could come up with on a whim? Finally, you leaned into him as close as you could get yourself to go (which wasn’t very close at all) and whispered “I cheated on my college final.”
“That’s all you got?” He feigned an expression of disbelief.
“That’s all I got.” You said, deflecting.
“You’re welcome to give us a dark secret of your own then, mister the darker the better,” your sister teased, earning a playful nudge from Jaehyun, who seemed to be enjoying driving Johnny into a corner.
“Oh, trust me, I have plenty,” Johnny’s tone was lighthearted, but your eyes met his and you caught that same look from before, lurking just beneath the surface. He didn’t look away, almost like he was pausing to savor your discomfort, so you broke eye contact first and cleared your throat.
“Mark, your turn.”
When you glanced up at Mark, you caught his eyes darting from you to Johnny. Too caught up in whatever was going on between you two, you had failed to notice that Mark was somehow under the same blanket of tension. Or at the very least, he was an observer. Had Johnny noticed?
Mark mirrored you in clearing his throat, then pushed a finger into a block towards the middle of the tower. A green one stuck out on the other side, and he reached around to take it. Truth.
“What is the most childish thing you still do?” He read.
“And try to limit it to one, kid,” Johnny stared ahead at Mark, his calculated smile delayed.
So he had noticed.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Mark said, although he was visibly trying to keep his tone light. Meanwhile, a laid-back Jaehyun still had his amused smile on as he watched Johnny. When Johnny didn’t comment, Mark moved past it and gave a half-baked answer to his prompt.
“Finally!” Your sister gave an exaggerated sigh, probably relieved to have the focus shifted away from Mark and Johnny’s strange tension. She went straight for a red block, picking out a dare. “Hm, dance with no music for one minute… See, no, that’s no way to treat the game master.”
“Game master?” Jaehyun echoed, grinning.
“Yep. You may be the landlord for packing the Jenga, but I dug the thing out, so I hereby officially declare myself game master. Everyone kneel—or actually, I’ll settle for some singing this time.”
Johnny held a conceding palm out to Jaehyun, who pondered for a moment before slipping into smooth singing. You weren’t surprised by how it sounded just as rich and smooth as his speaking voice did.
“I fall in love too easily,” he sang extra slowly, earning a smack on his shoulder from your sister for picking a ballad, followed by some passionate head-banging as she pretended to dance at a rock concert.
“I fall in love too fast,”—his voice broke at ‘fast’ as he held back his laughter—“I fall in love too terribly hard,”—it was getting harder for him to maintain his composure when Mark and Johnny didn’t share his reservations, with Mark clapping like a seal right next to him—”for love to ever last... Okay, okay, I think the minute is up. You’re gonna dislocate something.”
Out of breath, she flopped back down onto the couch, hands busy fixing her wild hair. “Your turn,” she panted to Jaehyun, “And don’t be lame. Dares only.”
“Okay, dare it is,” he laughed. Then proceeded to laugh even harder when he read out his dare. “Serenade the person of your choosing.”
Needless to say, of course your sister was serenaded twice in one night.
The game went on for a while, with Johnny, Jaehyun, and your sister routinely picking dares. The group would eventually get loud enough to warrant an occasional scowl from the old lady at the front desk, until it was late enough for her to call it a day and disappear into a door tucked away behind the counter.
Meanwhile, you and Mark had mostly stuck to truths, as the Jenga tower grew more and more unstable. It was Mark’s turn again when he picked yet another green block.
“Name one thing you’d do if you knew there would be zero consequences.” He read in a drowsy voice, going on to give a quick answer. “I don’t know, I guess I’d knock some snacks out of that vending machine. I don’t know why I said that, I wouldn’t actually do that. I really am getting kinda hungry, though…”
“Your mind went straight to burglary? You guys better watch your bags tonight,” Johnny said, and what you assumed was supposed to be a humorous jab came across a little too sharp-tongued. Everyone’s energy levels had been depleting over the past couple of hours spent on the lobby’s less than ideal couches.
“I’m sorry, do you have some kind of problem with me?” Mark retorted.
“I don’t know, should I?” Johnny said.
“Dude, if you have something to say to me, just say it.”
Your sister pushed herself off the couch. “Well, I’ll go use the bathroom until you guys figure this out like big boys.”
“Nice and condescending, yeah?” Johnny said, not bothering to look up at her as she retreated to their room.
Jaehyun hid his evident enjoyment long enough to hold both of his hands up and say “okay, guys, how about we take a break?”
“Nah, I’m good.” Johnny shot back, his face anything but. His demeanor was scarily calm throughout the entire exchange.
That cold atmosphere went on for the next few rounds. You hadn’t forgotten that you were merely attempting to get along with strangers you knew nothing about. Johnny with his two sides, all calculated smiles and concealed stares. Jaehyun with his eerily laid-back demeanor and strange enjoyment of the conflict. And Mark. You didn’t know what to think of him yet.
With the added tension, you stopped trying to look up at any of them.
Before you knew it, it was your turn again. Would this cursed game ever end? So far, you had exclusively picked truths and lied your way through all of them. Your eyes scanned the tower over several times, before you gave up finding a green block that was stable enough. You picked your second dare of the night, this time voluntarily.
Let the group look through your phone for one minute.
A whole host of reasons rushed through your mind at how bad of an idea that was. At the very least, they would know that the only contact on your phone was your sister. You had virtually no pictures, and no apps. Everything pointed to your ghost-like life, so empty and unremarkable that it was practically a burner phone.
“Well?” Jaehyun said.
“I don’t want to do this one.”
“It can’t be that bad, can it?” Johnny asked.
“She just told you she’s not comfortable with whatever it is, though.” Mark spoke up, having mostly kept his silence for the past few rounds.
Johnny reached for the block in your hand, and your body flinched involuntarily, the block flying out of your hand and skidding across the floor.
“Whoa,” Johnny hung back, “I’m sorry. I wasn’t gonna do anything.”
“I think you’re scaring her, Johnny.” Jaehyun said, his voice ominously quiet. Was there a hint of a smile in his voice? Were you imagining things?
“Am I?”
No one said anything for what felt like a long moment, until finally, as if on queue, your sister was back in the lobby.
“What did I miss?” She said, entirely missing the atmosphere of the room.
Johnny reached forward and tugged one of the legs the tower was supporting itself on. The entire thing came crashing down.
“Oh.” She stopped midway, hovering awkwardly next to them. “Okay then.”
“Good night.” Johnny said, getting up and giving you a brief pat on the head, before slowly making his way back to their room. Your scalp felt like pop rocks as you watched him walk away.
* * *
It was past midnight. Now it was just the two of you again, along with Mark. Your sister was sleeping soundly next to you, her head on your shoulder.
Mark was still awake on the couch across from you, but he was back to sitting quietly in the corner and avoiding eye contact. Save for the occasional accidental eye contact with you, which he responded to by sending a small smile your way before going back to aimlessly staring away.
His hands were curled around the warm thermos your sister had given him earlier. He set it down when the owner’s cat sauntered towards him, and patted his lap for it to come up. It deliberated for a moment, then jumped and curled up on him as he stroked it.
Your mind couldn’t help but go back to your interaction with Johnny, running it over in your head again and again until you had positively squeezed the life out of it. One minute he was cold and calculated, and the next he was the gentlemanly romantic lead. Or at least he knew how to make people perceive him that way.
You shivered—the weather was getting colder.
“Mm?” Your sister looked up at you, eyes barely able to open.
“It’s nothing, go to sleep,” you reassured her, then took the chance to get up now that her head was no longer resting on you.
The front desk was empty now, but you attempted to ring the bell on the counter anyway. A while of waiting made you accept that no one was coming. It was probably safe to assume the old lady ran this place by herself, and was most likely asleep by now.
You needed to go to the bathroom. A quick look around led you to a door with a sheet of paper taped to it, reading “Staff Only.” You twisted the doorknob, your guilt a second priority right now. Locked.
It might have been the hope of almost finding a bathroom, but suddenly your mild need for it turned into a more urgent one. You looked around some more, before cursing under your breath and going up the narrow staircase that led up to the rooms.
To your surprise, the hallway was very short. It was even darker than the lobby, so you gave your eyes some time to adjust. There were only three doors, the one in the center had a brass number 2 on it, and was right across from the staircase.
We’re in room two, if you change your mind, Johnny’s captivating voice played in your mind for what felt like the hundredth time. Feeling your heartbeat speed up again, you took deep breaths and willed yourself to calm down. The other rooms were under repair, but maybe their bathrooms weren’t.
First, you attempted to open the door with the brass 1 on it, but it didn’t budge. Then the one with the brass 3, but that one wouldn’t open either.
You clenched your fists and cursed your terrible luck. Would they even be awake?
After a lengthy struggle, consisting of an internal argument about whether you’d rather ask them for help or go out into the nearby wilderness in the middle of a storm, you knocked on the door of the second room.
As you waited, you glanced back down the stairs behind you, your eyes searching for your sister. She was now lying down on the couch, breathing deeply…
The door springing open made you jump, and Jaehyun was positively beaming in the center of the door frame. Following a quick scan, his smile faltered when he realized your sister wasn’t in tow.
He looked like he had just showered, his hair damp again, and his skin glowing. Johnny was stretched out on the bed behind him, awake.
“Welcome,” Jaehyun said, picking his spirit back up. “Did you change your mind?”
“No, but would you mind if I use your bathroom?” You died a little on the inside.
“Of course not, come in,” he made way for you, and you abandoned your last remaining shred of dignity as you sprinted to what you assumed was the bathroom. Jaehyun giggled behind you before you closed the door and finally got some privacy.
Despite being done, you stalled going back out, probably out of dread. You supposed it was in your favor that the bathroom was by far the cleanest place in the entirety of this pit stop. A quick look around told you that Johnny and Jaehyun were comfortably settled in. An electric shaver was strewn on the counter, and a travel-sized toothpaste tube lay feebly next to the sink, almost all used up. Peppermint.
Finally, you took a deep breath and opened the door. You were immediately met with Johnny, who was leaning on the wall by the bathroom, not even an arm’s length away. Behind him, Jaehyun was nowhere to be seen, and the door leading out of the room was closed.
Momentarily dizzied from the blood rushing to your head, you took a step back to create some distance.
He smiled sweetly, “the storm sure is taking a while to settle down. Where were you two on your way to, again?”
“Just a short trip. They’re expecting us back at work tomorrow.” You lied, knowing full well there was no one there who would notice your absence, save for your sister.
“Oh, you two work together? Jaehyun and I work together too, actually.”
His eyes watched you patiently as you flipped imaginary pages in your head, scrambling for something normal to say next. You felt like it would be the polite thing to do to continue the conversation, but your heart was beating too fast for that, which made you that much more nervous and jittery. Johnny seemed to be enjoying your visible anxiety. You weren’t sure if it was your imagination that his smile was getting wider. Something about it wasn’t so sweet anymore.
“I should get back. To the lobby, I mean. Thanks again.” He didn’t lock the door, did he? The nausea was creeping back up.
You speed-walked to the door like you used to do when you were little, when you were alone in the dark and scared of whatever thing that might snatch you and drag you away before you reached the light. You could only feel fear. Fear of how powerless you felt about everything.
It felt much longer than it should’ve but you reached the door. The hair on your neck stood and your breath quickened. You turned the knob, and it swung open.
In a hasty moment, you tripped at the first step of the stairs, and a big arm grabbed you around your waist. You could see Johnny’s profile in your peripheral vision, curling down for his cheek to meet the side of your head, slow breaths against your ear. His chest rose and fell gently against your back; he was holding on so tightly.
He felt like a solid wall, and you knew it was impossible for you to get away unless he was the one who chose to let go of you. He alone should’ve been able to pull up the car roof with ease.
“Back when we were playing that game,” he said, his voice so low you could barely hear it, “did you feel like I was gonna hurt you?”
What was he saying? You left his words unanswered as you were still engulfed by your silence.
From here, you could see that your sister was still sleeping peacefully, and Mark had his head turned away. Nevertheless, just having your sister in your sight helped soothe your nerves. That feeling was fleeting as Johnny spoke his next sentence.
“Are you scared of me?”
Trapped in what felt like an iron embrace, you opened your mouth but you still couldn’t make any noise come out. Some hunch or instinct, or maybe just pure chance, must’ve been what made Mark’s head turn your way out of nowhere.
He was staring for a while with an expression that told you he wasn’t quite sure what he was looking at. His eyes must’ve finally adjusted to the darkness of the hallway, because he suddenly got up, making the cat on his lap scuttle away offended.
“Dude, what are you doing?”
The entire building let out a groan, and whatever dim lights were there all blinked out simultaneously, plunging you into complete darkness. Johnny held on for a few more seconds before finally letting go. You ran down the steps without looking back.
Mark called your name, his voice alarmed, “is everything alright?”
Your throat was still squeezed shut, as you walked into something and stumbled in the dark until you felt your way to the couch your sister was on. Your hands found her sleeping from, and you shook her awake.
“Get up, we’re leaving,” finally finding your voice, you spoke sternly. She was still in a daze and clearly confused.
“Wha- what? What?”
“We’re leaving. I’m gonna call us a ride, I just need you to be awake with me,” you stammered. Your sister sat upright, most likely still processing.
Mark’s voice spoke up. “It’s pitch black outside, the roads around here aren’t lit very well. Did something happen? Are you okay?”
You couldn’t put it into words. The familiar dread that built up in your gut.
At this point, you just wanted to go home and shut yourself in again.
You ignored Mark, and ruffled through your bag for your phone. You went through every corner of it four times, your heart sinking deeper with each try. “My phone is gone. Where’s my phone?”
Without waiting for a reply, you tossed your bag aside and felt around for your sister’s this time. Also gone.
“Wait, mine’s not there either? That’s weird…” Your sister went through hers again for good measure, her voice thick with sleep. “Do you think we left them in the car?”
“No, I always have mine on me.” Something suddenly occurred to you. “I was awake the whole time, wasn’t I?”
You felt your sister shrug next to you. Hesitantly, Mark answered instead, saying “I don’t know, you both kinda drifted off at some point.”
“And you? You were awake?” You pushed.
“I was, yeah. I went to check on my Vespa for a second.” You couldn’t quite grasp what it was, but something was off about Mark’s voice.
Paranoia now had you firmly in its grip. You decided it was best to watch your words until you could see again. But you couldn’t stop a wave of helplessness from washing over you, making your limbs go cold.
“Could we borrow your phone, maybe?” You asked Mark. One final attempt.
“Oh, man, I sent it for repairs this weekend,” Mark said, apologetic. Why did his voice sound like that?
“Let’s go.” Resolute, you grabbed your sister’s arm and attempted to head towards the exit.
“Just give me a minute!” She said, releasing her hand from yours. “You go on and get the car started, okay?”
You hesitated, before making up your mind and following the only source of light, out into the storm.
The rain immediately battered down on you, and if you thought it was cold in the lobby then this was absolutely freezing. You could only barely make out the silhouettes of the parked cars.
If you just turned on the headlights all the way, the two of you could probably drive through the dark. And if you kept moving, the rain wouldn’t bother you. You had the keys ready in your hands, and you were grateful that at least they were still in your sister’s bag. Maybe you really did forget your phones in the car, after all.
But something was squirming in your gut, making your stomach do desperate flips as you jumped into the driver’s seat, slamming the door behind you.
You slid the key in the ignition and turned. Nothing. Not even the sound of the engine trying to start. The sounds of the howling wind and heavy rain carried on.
Reaching for the glove compartment, your hands found the flashlight, and a weak beam of light pierced its way through the darkness. You stepped out of the car, wrapping your other arm around yourself to stop from shaking. When the hood of your car was open and you shined the light at its interior, you doubted your eyes.
The battery was gone.
You were just silent. Your own worse fears coming into realization right before your eyes. After what felt like a second and an eternity of staring down at the empty spot in the hood, you felt a light touch on your arm when your sister joined you by your side. She looked exhausted, her breathing heavy. Calling over the storm, she said, “should we ask them if they can do something about this?”
Your head snapped to her in bewilderment. Could you be wrong? You doubted yourself for a second, but then got a grip back. There was no other explanation. You were stuck here, and it was too late to speak up. The words collided into themselves and were left mangled somewhere in your throat. But you had to say something, anything.
“Listen,” you started, and she looked at you attentively, concern clouding her face, “I think—”
“Is something wrong?” A voice spoke up from behind you. Jaehyun. Again.
“We were just talking about you!” Your sister chimed. “Take a look at this. Think someone stole it?”
You were dumbfounded as he leaned in between the two of you to take a closer look at the car’s contents.
“Mmm,” he didn’t look very surprised. He turned to your sister and said “we can give you a ride tomorrow morning. You might need to get it towed.”
“Okay... I can barely hear you. Let’s go inside?” She turned to you. Your face must’ve looked terrible because she did a slight double take and put her hand on your shoulder. “Come on.”
Shining the flashlight ahead, the three of you walked back to the rest stop.
When you were back inside, Mark was gone.
* * * *
At least an hour must’ve went by until Johnny was back. He didn’t acknowledge anyone as he came in, just silently sauntering past the lobby. He was completely soaked again from head to toe. Drops of dark water trailed behind him as he made his way back to their room.
You resolved that you would find a way to take your sister and leave any way you could. Maybe you would find a way to take their car. They were only human, they had to sleep sometime.
For now, Jaehyun was still in the lobby with the both of you.
“You don’t think he took our car battery and our phones, do you?” She was talking about Mark. Your sister was sitting next to Jaehyun and mostly addressed him, since she hadn’t gotten a word out of you after you failed to leave. Having Jaehyun hovering around took away any of your will to speak up.
“He didn’t seem like the type…” She trailed off, still thinking about Mark.
The night felt longer, probably because of the changing seasons, but it might as well still have been midnight. You lost track of how much time was going by and doubted yourself when you remembered that this has all been just one long day. The power was still out. You had the flashlight off to conserve its battery.
Down the hall, you heard the room open, and after a minute you felt the cushions next to you gently sink with a familiar weight.
“I found some candles and lit them in our room,” Johnny’s voice spoke up. You could only see his outline and features like a hazy dream. You avoided looking at his face. You were too tired.
There was a soft, dancing reddish light coming from their room now. Gently, Johnny spoke again. “It’s too dark out here, isn’t it? Let’s go inside.”
Your sister shifted, and you noticed for the first time how close she had been sitting to Jaehyun. Were they holding hands? You didn’t know if your mind was playing tricks on you. She got up before your eyes could decide what they were looking at.
“I need to wash up,” she said, sounding just as tired as you felt. Getting up, you followed her to their room. You couldn’t care less if you looked completely unhinged, sitting on the floor right in front of the bathroom door after she closed it.
“You two are so close,” Johnny spoke though the dark, face hidden in the shadows cast by the candle light. You still refused to look up at him, but you could hear the tone of amity. The candles on the night stand behind him exaggerated the size of his shadow and made it dance over you.
“You look tired,” his voice was gentle, surreal, “get some rest.”
You hugged your knees closer to your chest, fighting to keep your eyes open. The sound of the water running in the bathroom was steady. Your eyes kept rolling back into your head, and you kept dragging them back into focus…
But they were so unfocused…
And the steady stream of the shower ran…
And everything swayed in the candle light…
Everything swam…
and the water ran…
and ran…
You dreamed that Johnny was carrying you and wading through a crimson sea. Gently. Gently.
You were floating in crimson.
Or was he the one floating?
Daylight. Your body woke up with a jolt, eyes snapping open. The first thing that screamed out at you was how incredibly sore your body was. It must’ve been from all the tension that you had built up. You were curled up on your side, holding your own body close.
Small mountains of white sheets were piled up around you, and strips of sunlight draped over the bed and made their way to your skin. It was so silent; last night’s storm almost felt like a distant dream.
Moving excruciatingly slow, you lifted your head and looked around. Your heart hammering in your chest when you saw that Johnny was sleeping over in the other bed, his large frame rising and falling slowly with each breath.
The bathroom door was open, and you could see from here that it was empty, too. It was only the two of you in this room.
Logically, you knew that there was still a possibility that Jaehyun and your sister chose to sleep on the couches outside. But there was a pit in your stomach that crippled you. It made it hard to move. Hard to think.
As quietly as you had it in you to move, you left the bed. The cold floor against your feet made you notice for the first time that you were barefoot. Good. With quiet footsteps, you made your way to the bathroom to double-check. The floor was wet under your feet, like someone had walked in from the lobby straight to the bathroom not that long ago.
But just like you suspected, it was empty. The curtains drawn shut over the bathtub caught your eyes, but one look at the material told you that it would be too noisy to try and move it right now. It was too quiet for anyone to be sleeping there, anyway.
You turned back towards the bedroom door, taking glances behind you to make sure Johnny was still asleep. You didn’t take your eyes off of him as your hand gripped the doorknob and turned it. It opened without resistance, and you peeked outside at the lobby past the staircase. Empty.
Trying to slow your breaths and breathe more quietly only proved to make things worse for you. It was as though you were running out of air. Before you could give your brain more time to panic, despite your overwhelming instinct to just run out and start calling for your sister, you walked back towards Johnny, who looked so peaceful in his sleep that your own panicked state was almost laughable.
At this point, you must’ve gone out of your mind, because suddenly you found yourself fighting the urge to laugh. You were hysterical. You had to stop and put your hands over your face, as your body shook with silent laughter, but tears started to stream down your face.
Thoughts of your sister were racing through your mind. Maybe she really was cuddling up to Jaehyun last night. Maybe they went somewhere together. Maybe she thought she’d be back before you woke up.
But you knew deep down that she wouldn’t leave you behind. You were so convinced of that, that any what ifs you tried to feed to your worry, to keep it from consuming you, just felt forced.
You knew she wouldn’t leave you because she knew how fragile you were after what happened last year. You were so fragile, you saw everything through the lens of a horror movie. With your own little cast of strangers.
Something caught the light just outside of your line of vision, halting your chaotic train of thought. Your hands wiped away any tears that lingered on your eyelashes so you could see more clearly. There, carelessly tossed away on the nightstand by his bed, a set of keys were reflecting the sunlight. Among them was a car key.
Well, if you really were crazy, then you might as well see where it led you.
The closer you came to Johnny, the harder it was to breathe. Until you couldn’t bear to do anything but hold your breath. Finally, when the keys were within your reach, your hand closed around them. There was only the slightest sound of scraping against the wood of the nightstand.
With no time for you to worry about the sound the keys had just produced, Johnny’s hand shot up and grabbed your wrist. But it didn’t stop. His grip got tighter and tighter until the ends of his fingers yellowed, and your hand shook and dropped the keys with a clatter. Even so, he didn’t release his grip.
“Where were you gonna go?” He spoke slowly.
“It depends—where’s my sister?” You shot back, voice shaking.
He laughed quietly. He had a gentle laugh. Finally letting go of your wrist, his hand instead brushed through his hair. “I told her you might get worried. You must’ve gotten a scare… Sorry about that.”
You turned to him with an inquisitive look, hanging onto his words. He looked sleepy and relaxed, his hair tousled. Not like someone who almost broke your wrist less than a minute ago.
“Jaehyun told me about all our phones going missing, and your car battery. That Mark might’ve made away with them or something. He and your sister went to pick up a new one.” He explained. And as you listened, your heart sank.
“Okay. Please take me to her, then.”
“You know, I think they wouldn’t have minded some time alone, too,” he chuckled, “but sure, if you’re so worried. I’ll take you.”
Passing through the lobby, you noticed the old lady was back at the front desk. Were you brave enough to finally say something? Everything in your body screamed at you not to, straining your muscles into place.
Your heartbeat quickened, and you used any strength you had left and turned to approach her. Before you could go on, you felt Johnny’s hand hold onto your upper arm and pull you closer, wrapping you into a hug by his side.
“Let’s not waste any time,” he whispered, and held on as he led you all the way out of the rest stop. He only let go of you when you were in the shadow cast by his giant car.
The day you stopped for the car picnic, you had parked farther away on the left side of it, but as you approached the other side of his car this time, you saw what had been obscured by the SUV. A turquoise Vespa came into view.
Mark’s.
Seeing it sent goosebumps down your back and up your neck, but you dragged yourself away. You couldn’t afford to comment on it right now, not to Johnny. You would talk to your sister when you saw her…
A sting creeping into your eyes warned you of incoming tears, but you blinked them away rapidly, not ready to face a possible reality. When you saw your sister, you would tell her everything you had on your mind and you wouldn’t care who might be listening in.
Johnny was making his way to the driver’s side when you spoke up abruptly, before you could help yourself. “One more thing?”
“What is it?”
“I just want to get something from the car. My sister’s car.”
“Go ahead,” he leaned an arm over the car roof as he waited for you.
In the trunk, a few thermos flasks were stacked neatly to the side, with small labels taped to them, reading “12” and “24” and “48.” Your sister had always been meticulous when it came to packing. This would be all you had of her with your right now. You found the one labeled with the number twelve, and hugged it close to your chest. Twelve would do.
For now, you walked with your own two feet right to what felt like your doom, and hoisted yourself up into his car. A second after you got in, all the locks snapped shut.
* * * * *
He drove with the two of you in silence for a while, his eyes focused on the road, one hand on the steering wheel. You were getting farther and farther away from the rest stop, in a stranger’s car, your sister nowhere in sight.
Reality finally crashed into your chest like an icy wave. The tears you were holding back fell down your cheeks, making your chest heave in small, irregular breaths.
Incoherent thoughts raced through your head, and you started hyperventilating, your seemingly never-ending tears threatening to choke you.
“Hey, hey,” Johnny reached his other hand out, the one that wasn’t on the steering wheel, and brushed his long fingers against your face, lulling you, “deep breaths. In… out… that’s right. Just like that. In… out…”
Your rattled breathing slowed, your mind halted.
He didn’t turn your way once, his cold stare on the road, face expressionless. But his voice was gentle. Effortlessly soothing. If you looked hard enough at his face, maybe you could find something you wanted to find. Maybe it wasn’t cold. Maybe he was just tired.
“What are you so afraid of? You’re safe. Everything’s going to be okay.”
He sounded so reassuring that for a long moment you doubted that anything out of the ordinary had happened today. Maybe you were just imagining everything. Maybe your isolation had finally gotten to you.
You were glad someone kind like Johnny was here to look after you.
Taking his outstretched hand into your own, you nestled your face into his palm and closed your eyes.
“Good girl,” he said.
That was the last thing he said for a while.
Hours must have passed by the time you realized you had fallen asleep out of exhaustion. Orange hues now stretched across the sky in broad strokes, clouds almost dissipated. Next to you, Johnny was still silently driving, soaked in the orange light. Everything was so saturated, it looked like a painting.
“How did Jaehyun leave without his car?” You asked, your voice coming out small.
“This is my car,” Johnny said. “But we came with two. I told you, we work together.”
“Oh.” Somehow, the more time you spent with them, the more you didn’t have it in you to know more about them. Ask about their life or what they did for a living.
“You know, I had this car modified. It’s sound proof. And bullet proof, even.”
“Hm.”
The silence was strangely comfortable now. You closed your eyes and leaned your head back on the headrest.
“You cold?” He asked.
“No.” You said, your hands unconsciously pulling in his jacket tighter around your frame. “I never thanked you for giving me your jacket… Here. I want you to have this,” you handed him the warm thermos. The last thing you had of your sister’s.
Somehow, you felt like everything would be okay. Just like he said it would be. He gave a grateful smile and took slow mouthfuls from the flask, as you watched the sun outline him through his window.
The trees that were scattered more sparsely before now gathered into denser bunches the farther along the road he drove. Before you knew it, you were driving into the middle of a forest thick with pine trees. The car rocked left and right underneath you as the ground grew wilder. At some point, all directions started looking identical.
Eventually, the car slowed into a stop and he cut the engine. You were surrounded by nothing but trees, in what seemed like the middle of nowhere. “Get out,” Johnny said, not looking your way.
The silent bubble you were in was broken by a rush of cold wind when he opened his own door, stepping out. Following him out into the forest, the smell of pine twined with the cold air seeped into your lungs. The silence was only broken by the sound of Johnny’s and your shoes against the vegetation.
Your body felt so heavy with sleep, it only exaggerated your dream-like state of mind. The orange light of the sunset warmed you to your core. You were the calmest you’ve been in a very long time, as you followed him deeper and deeper into the forest.
“Where are we?” Your own voice sounded jarring against the silence.
“Jaehyun likes it here. It’s quiet, and there are no eyes around. I’m just making a guess that they made a stop here.”
The trees parted and the sea revealed itself for the first time. It had been years since you were this close to it, and the air coming through over the water felt nice on your face.
Johnny had stopped walking ahead of you, and you were now the one in the lead. You stopped as soon as you got to the edge of the water, staring down at the crimson ripples.
There was a trail in the sand that looked awfully a lot like something heavy had been dragged away, back towards the thick of the trees.
“Why are we here, Johnny?”
Johnny’s arms reached around from behind you, slowly, wrapping you into a snake-like embrace, his broad hands curling around your frame. His movement was tentative, like he was giving you a chance to pull away.
It was quiet for a while before either of you said anything.
“Back when we were playing that game,” he repeated, before stopping to recollect his thoughts, and starting again, “look, I know I haven’t known you for long. But this whole time, I was watching you, you know.”
“It’s just… Something about you seems off,” he continued, “You’re scared of everything. And there’s the way you walk all folded into yourself… I wasn’t sure at first. I thought maybe you were just having a bad day. Then I thought maybe that guy Mark was bothering you or something. Until you flinched at me like I was gonna hurt you.”
For the first time, nerves were evident in his voice, “like… I don’t know, like that’s something you’re used to. Like you’re in trouble… Or you’re trying to hide from it.” He paused to take a shaky breath, his words dripping with uncertainty, his voice odd. Just like Mark’s had been.
“You seemed like you’ve been trying to say something these past couple of days. No one is around here right now, you can talk to me. Whatever is going on with you, I think I can help.”
You kept your eyes ahead of you, watching the sea. There was nothing you could say or do now. You understood now that last year’s events had their claws on you too deep to shake off. You were a haunted house.
Like how he had been holding you back at the corridor, his embrace lingered. But this time, he let it linger indefinitely. It was comfortable.
You don’t know how long the two of you just stood there in silence. Over time, his grip loosened just a little but kept hold. Then it loosened more, until it completely slipped away from you. There was a loud thud behind you when he hit the ground, but you didn’t turn around. Caught on watching the crimson ripples for a moment longer.
You still had twelve hours.
That would be enough.
When you finally turned around to face his slumped body, your eyes didn’t go up to scan the forest. Instead, you trained all of your focus on Johnny, because you knew everything counted on these next coming moments. Because you couldn’t let things end like they did last time.
Getting down on your knees, you pushed his heavy body until he was flat on his back. Then you put your hands around his neck and squeezed.
You knew how hard you needed to do it to cut off someone’s air supply. How long you needed to keep it cut off until it was too late. So you knew your limits perfectly well, and how to do it just enough to be convincing. Just enough not to really hurt him.
And when your hands finally withdrew from his neck, you stayed perfectly frozen in place, not moving a muscle or making a sound until you could make sure that he was drawing the shallowest of breaths again.
Finally, your hands roamed his pockets until you found his car key. Your grip wrapped around it tightly.
A rustle and the crunching of leaves told you that your spectator had finally come out of hiding. The crunching stopped as your sister walked onto the sand of the small beach. She was scanning your face carefully. In her hand, a long metallic baseball bat.
“I almost thought you wouldn’t be able to do it.” She said, proud.
“You told me I would develop a taste for it sooner or later.”
“And I guess I was right, huh,” she teased, nothing different from the usual way she spoke. She didn’t let go of the baseball bat as she raced towards you and drew you into a big hug. “I’m so proud of you. I can’t believe it’s finally happening! We’ll be so good together!”
Your body tensed up, and she withdrew to look at your face. “Something wrong?”
“No! No. I’m just… tired.” You pulled her back into the hug, spinning your bodies ever so subtly. Shifting her view away from Johnny.
“You’re acting weird. Are you mad at me?” She said.
“Why would I be mad at you?”
“You could barely stand looking at me after last time.”
You mustered up everything in you to stop your voice from wavering. “Because it was my first time ever seeing anything like that. There was… so much blood. There was so much blood on you, I would see it again in my mind every time I looked at you.”
She drew away from you again to give you an understanding look, before saying “Well, now you can do things your own way. No blood. Right?”
“Right.”
“We’re in this together, right?” She beamed at you. You nodded in a silent reply.
“You’re avoiding my eyes again,” her face dropped into a cold stare almost instantly.
“I’m not… I told you, I’m just tired. I wanna go home.”
“I know I promised we wouldn’t do anything this time… But you know I can’t keep doing this alone. It just doesn’t feel the same. We’ve always done everything else together, and I wanted you to finally accept this side of me.
"You accept it now, don’t you? You just did it, too. You just killed someone! We’re the same now,” her eyes were shining as she kept filling the silence. “How did it feel?”
“It felt… It- it felt,” you stuttered, “I was the most scared I’ve ever been in my life. I want to go home now. Please?” You felt the urge to throw up, which you held down by swallowing your bitter saliva repeatedly.
Thoughts of Jaehyun and Mark weighed heavy on your mind, and thoughts of what she would do if she noticed Johnny’s shallow breaths made your body start shaking out of your control.
“Wow, you’re really taking this hard. Shhh,” she held you to her side, supporting you back into the woods, “it’s okay. It’s okay…”
“Is Jaehyun here? Is he somewhere in this forest?”
“He is.” Her reply was curt.
“And Mark?”
“Poor baby…” she cooed like she was talking about a wounded puppy, “he followed me right out into the storm. So eager to help. After I was done with him, he had to spend the night out in the rain. I had to lay his body in the bathtub the morning after, early enough while you were all sleeping.”
“Oh.” Bathtub… Bathtub…
You left her with him. Why did you leave?
“Anyway, we’ll need to actually go get a battery now. I don’t think the one I took out is usable anymore.”
“Hm.”
“Which car do you wanna take back? I got Jaehyun’s keys. It’s a pretty nice car. He had good taste in music, too.”
Had… You were the one who agreed to stay at the rest stop.
And it cost two people their lives.
Your step faltered. “Johnny’s.”
She side-eyed you, “you’re talkative. Okay then, lead the way.”
It felt as though your blood had entirely escaped your body by the time you were back by the car. The keys were clutched so tightly in your hand that you wouldn’t have been surprised if they drew blood. You doubted that you would’ve felt it right now.
“Can I drive?” You asked.
“Ooh. Are you sure?”
“I think so.”
She gave you a proud look once again, and she threw the baseball bat into the car before she finally got into the passenger seat. You, on the other hand, had been pretending to circle around to the driver’s side after having used the remote control key to activate the locks. Ten more seconds before deadlock would be activated.
Nine… You walked as slowly as you could, but not slow enough to draw any suspicion.
Eight… What would happen to her if you turned her in?
Seven… What would happen to Johnny if you didn’t? And every other person after?
Six… She said she wanted you two to be together. You would be. You were just as guilty.
Five… You were positive that these were the longest ten seconds of your life. Everything seemed to move in slow motion.
Four… Your eyes betrayed you as they stole a worried glance at her.
Three… She held your eyes for a moment, before you watched a slow change in her expression.
Two… Her eyes went wide, realization dawning on her face. She lunged at the door, and—
One.
You couldn’t hear her screams as she thrashed at the door handle, shouting something at you. Then, all at once, she stopped. There was a crazed expression on her face as she pulled out her baseball bat. She waved at you before pointing at it, giving you a wild smile.
Your heart sank. Your knees weakened under you and made you slump to the ground like a rag doll, using your arms to brace yourself against the soil of the forest.
It was over.
You had ruined everything.
Of course it wouldn’t have worked.
You betrayed her.
What were you thinking?
She swung the bat at the window by the passenger’s seat, and you couldn’t do anything but watch in stunned silence as she bounced right against the glass. Coming back for a more charged swing than the one before it, she bounced back as harshly as she had swung.
And then you remembered why you couldn’t hear her screams one bit from out here. Johnny had modified the car. It was soundproof. Bulletproof.
You scampered away from the car, your legs still refusing to carry you. She wasn’t giving up, baseball bat bouncing off the glass over and over again. When she finally stopped, staring into your eyes like an animal whose leg got caught in a bear trap, your heart hammered so loudly that it was all you could hear.
Please, she mouthed at you.
She was bargaining.
You weren’t sure which stage weighed heavier on you, this or the anger from earlier. She dropped the bat and splayed both of her hands against the glass.
Her eyes were so wide, so scared, that you had to fight the urge to run back to her and unlock the door. She was all you had. Your sister, your best friend. You only had each other.
But you knew that more than anything you could give her, she needed help. And you needed help. If you went on living like this for any longer, you were sure you would only lose your mind more and more. That was if you hadn’t already lost it.
You took a deep breath and looked her squarely in the eyes, then you shook your head no.
Her face broke down into a silent sob as she slapped her hands at the unmoving glass. Crying for the freedom she knew she had just lost. Grieving for it.
Then you were reminded that the stages of grief weren’t always linear. Because just as quickly, she was back to anger, and your hand went up over your mouth as you watched her bang her head against the glass.
Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang.
Maybe she was hoping you would let her out before she hurt herself too much. And then it dawned on you that this wasn’t anger. This was really just her final bargain.
You couldn’t do anything but sob quietly to yourself as you watched your sister. Before long, she grew sloppier and swayed against the glass until she finally gave out and collapsed.
Turning away, you walked back to where you had left Johnny, and followed the trail you had spotted earlier in the sand. Where it looked like someone had been dragged away.
Surely enough, Jaehyun was at the end of that trail, propped up under one of the thicker trees. His face was pale and peaceful, his back leaning against the tree as though he were sleeping. Your movements stuttered as you approached him.
Getting a grip on either side of his face, you pulled him forward. One look at the back of his head was enough to tell you that it was too late for him. You cried for the lives ruined and lost because of one reckless decision.
The more your adrenaline tapered off, the more your muscles reminded you of how sore you were, and the more the hammering of your headache increased. What now?
Call the police? None of you had your phones.
Drive back to the rest stop and do it from there? Your sister had the keys to Jaehyun’s car. The thought of unlocking the car and attempting to get the keys from her unconscious body spiked a horrible fear in you that you couldn’t possibly face right now.
Getting on your knees next to Johnny, you lied down on the sand and watched him as he slept.
You wondered if his neck would bruise, and whether he would be as sore as you were when he woke up.
You wondered how many hours were left until the sedative from the flask weakened in his system.
You wondered what he would do when he finally woke up.
You wondered about what kind of person he was, and whether he would still help you after he found out how much trouble you were really in.
When you noticed the first signs of his understanding, you were nothing short of terrified. The past year felt incredibly lonely. But the thought of someone finding out about the burden you carried was frightening.
You had never taken a life, but you were there when your sister did—and you were too damaged to say anything about it. All you had in you to do was shut yourself away from the world and live the life of someone who had died a year ago.
And as you wondered many things, your eyelids grew heavy. From here, it almost looked like Johnny was floating on the surface of the crimson sea. So you watched him and watched him until you couldn’t anymore.
This work is fictional and for entertainment purposes only, but is licensed and protected under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial-noderivatives 4.0 international license. Any instances of plagiarism will be dealt with accordingly. Do not re-post or translate without my permission.
(warnings: yandere/psycho au, mentions of blood, possible murder, restraint, let me know if i missed out on anything!)
apov.
Her feet led her to absolutely no destination in mind but she hoped she'd end up anywhere out of this hell of a mansion. She ran in a blistering speed in this endless hallway as her sweat dripped down the side of her face to leave droplets on the floor and her breath ragged. She takes a glance behind her and she saw no one, but her steps never stopped nor slowed down.
She looks down on her hands that were still restrained by the tight wraps of a thick rope. Too tight to see indents on her skin and the visible sign of her disrupted blood flow as her hands turned quite numb and paler than the rest of her.
There, a door was in sight which gave her a glimpse of hope until she had fallen over. Eyes closed as an instinct to open to her tied hands covered in glistening crimson blood. Fresh as it was to reveal a puddle of it. Heart beating rapidly, eyes widening in disgust and disbelief, suppressing a shriek to have herself still escape unannounced.
"Well, I see you've seen some evidences of my last victim. I told them to clean it up!" She gasps to herself upon hearing the voice. Left with no choice, she turns her head to attend to the owner of the voice who she despised him so much. But for him, it was a different story.
"What do you think you're doing, anyway? Escape? Oh that'd be absurd, my love!" He laughed but it soon went quiet when he calmed down. Oh but this silence, it was eerie and suffocating.
With the strength she had left, she stands up ashamed especially with how much she struggled to do so with her hands still tied up together. Her clothes were drenched in blood, the metallic scent taking over her system and it almost caused her to faint.
"Oh, stop with the bullshit Taeyong and let me go!" She cried, shoving her hands right in front of her face but he remained unfazed. Still recovering from the run she just had, her sweat drips to mix with a tear drop that fell to mix with the red puddle beneath her.
"And why would I do that?" He pouted mockingly, leaning down to her eye's level as he stepped closer, tilting his head as well for the cherry on top.
"You psycho-"
"Psycho? Oh baby, I'm no psycho." Taeyong scoffed as he rolled his eyes. He met eyes with his victim, grinning before bringing his hand up. From the past events that she had seen his hand up like that, she flinched and instantly turned the other way. Feeling a soft caress on her cheek, delicate yet there was no romance felt. Only terror. Soft yet could cut like a knife and scar her forever.
"I just...love you so much. But indeed, you do drive me crazy."
