1 taeyoon
hwan:
[ hyung, can we play hide and seek? ]
taeyoon {signing in exasperation}:
[ for the sixth time, you're 23 hwan, so no. ]
hwan:
[ come on, hyung, it's the first time we're in a haunted house, plus we haven't done anything like this for a while. ]
taeyoon looked over to the others in desperation, who were all staring in awe at the black spired church-like structure looming over them.
he didn't understand why the others had to pick a haunted house for their monthly outing, when there were so many other more decent places to choose from.
taeyoon himself wasn't scared of ghosts, his legs were wearing him out, he wanted to crawl back into his bed and sleep the day off. but instead he was stuck here.
taeyoon turned to chunghee, considering he was the oldest, maybe he still had some sense in him.
instead he found the oldest collecting leaves with youngsoo
taeyoon:
[ why do I feel like I'm the oldest instead. ]
snapping his fingers to get his hyung's attention, chunghee looked up after a while, meeting taeyoon's gaze.
taeyoon:
[ hyung, don't tell me you're really onboard with playing hide and seek here. not to mention that only children play that kind of shit. ]
chunghee {gesturing excitedly to the others}:
[ i mean, why not, like hwannie said, we haven't done this in a while. so are we going in or not?]
not that taeyoon was surprised. chunghee's mental age was literally the same as a five year old.
wonshik:
[ shouldn't we explore the place first? or at least take a look around? ]
wonshik, the most unexpected one to make sense.
taeyoon scoffed before taking the first step in, rolling his eyes at the others who were staring at him expectantly.
yep, they shouldn't have come when half of them were scared of ghosts.
taeyoon:
[ you all dragged me here, now I'm standing here do you want me to prove this is a ghost-free place too? ]
hwan {frowning}:
[ but ghosts don't exist. ]
taeyoon {clapping his hands dramatically}:
[ exactly my point. ]
seeing junghwa's worried expression, taeyoon stepped into the dimly lit lobby further.
taeyoon:
[ If I don't get eaten in 10 seconds, is that enough to assure you all? ]
reluctantly the other 4 stepped into the room, when an invisible force seemed to push them in, as the door slammed shut.
dohyun, in his natural clumsy habitat, stumbled as the door hit him.
it was just the wind, or so taeyoon thought, but the others had to make a big deal out of it.
junghwa's lip quivered as he stared at the looming door, which seemed to be locked now.
wonshik:
[ it wasn't this windy this morning. ]
junghwa:
[ for once, I agree with taeyoon. why did we have to come here, out of all places? ]
taeyoon rolled his eyes at junghwa's statement, proceeding further into the house, the other 6 having no choice but to follow.
taeyoon:
[ for once? i've always been sensible. ]
youngsoo {scoffing}:
[ says the one who threw a camera into the swimming pool to check if it was waterproof. ]
taeyoon:
[ I had a reason for that! ]
the bickering stopped when taeyoon realized there was barely any light in the house. heck, he didn't even know if the seven of them were alone in that huge mansion or not.
he wandered to something which seemed like a table, feeling the smooth surface with his hands, until his hands went to the drawers, fingering at the handle, the cold surface sending shivers down his pale, milky fingers.
taeyoon:
[ are there any candles here? nothing? how did people live here? ]
dohyun:
[ it's called a haunted house for a reason, hyung, people don't live here. ]
taeyoon:
[ well at some point people had to have stayed here! they still need light to do that, right? ]
the silence between them dragged on for a while as taeyoon fidgeted with the drawer handle.
youngsoo {timidly}:
[hyung, what's in the drawer?]
taeyoon:
[ what am I, a cat? last time i checked i can't see in the dark. ]
hwan:
[ you don't need your eyes to touch the thing. ]
rendered speechless, taeyoon stuck his hand in the drawer cautiously, feeling around for at least a match or candle.
he flinched as his fingers came in contact with something sharp. slight pain exploded in his finger and he squinted to take a good look at what that was, attempt failing due to the darkness occupying his eyevision.
wonshik:
[ hyung? what was that? ]
carefully taeyoon picked up the object, ignoring the blood flowing from the tiny wound on his finger, making sure he wasn't cutting himself again with that sharp edge.
taeyoon:
[ glass? i don't know. there's only a bit of it though. ]
wonshik:
[ who puts one piece of glass in a place like that? ]
hwan:
[ why are we fussing over a piece of glass when there's the whole house for us to roam around? come on, taehyung! ]
the older was then dragged away by the enthusiastic hwan, but he didn't seem to be complaining.
the excited chatter of the two slowly disappeared as they vanished into the shadows.
taeyoon:
[ so hide and seek it is, huh? ]
dohyun:
[ wait, you two! ]
as if wonshik and hwan would listen. known as the two troublemakers of the group, the two couldn't go anywhere without causing at least a bit of trouble.\
chunghee:
[ only those two would have the energy to run around in this state. ]
youngsoo:
[ didn't you encourage playing hide and seek too? ]
ignoring chunghee telling youngsoo off, taeyoon wandered around in a small circle, surveying his surroundings. he wanted to leave. this whole house was stressing him out, not to mention they now had the youngest two running somewhere in it.
junghwa:
[ how about we leave? i think that's enough for today. ]
dohyun:
[ best idea you've had in a while, junghwa. ]
taeyoon wanted to scream when they realized they really had to search for the two who had gone. that house was as big as their dorm building, and taeyoon hadn't gone into half of the rooms yet.
he just wanted to go back to his studio, to work on his music for a long time, falling asleep in the process like he was used to.
taeyoon:
[ whose great idea it was to leave all our phones in the bus? ]
the younger next to taeyoon held his breath.
youngsoo:
[ i thought we would get to spend some quality time together! ]
chunghee:
[ spilt up, we'll find them fast. ]
hearing that, taeyoon quickly set down the glass and walked into the shadows. he wasn't familiar with the place, yet he got a strange feeling that he'd been here before. he reminded himself again he'd never been to a haunted mansion, focusing on the task he had in hand.
taeyoon stopped in his tracks as he heard dohyun call him back.
dohyun:
[ taeyoon-ah, you don't want to find them in groups? We don't want another one lost before we find wonshik and hwan. ]
taeyoon flashed dohyun an innocent smile, which would have made dohyun do so too if the following words hadn't come out of his mouth.
taeyoon:
[ no thanks hyunnie, I tend to work better alone in these kind of situations. ]
