this chapter is more of an introduction than anything else. to begin, the living room is the only area i've seen in my dreams. it is going to be the main room of the story, though i'm not sure how often we'll be seeing it. anyways, i hope you'll find this chapter enjoyable, though it is mostly just a way to vaguely give off how the house works (and if you have any questions i'll answer them to the best of my ability). i do hope to see you in the next chapter!

warning(s): choking [ only for about 2 sentences, hence why the chapter is not rated m ]

  The living room. It's where everything starts. 

  Eric has never been to a part of the house that sees as much activity as the family space. It's a little off-putting, considering there isn't actually a family to populate the room. Whenever he's running through it Hyesung is just sitting on the couch. 

  Like he's waiting for Eric to come barreling through every time. 

  Some days he finds it - some days he doesn't. Eric belatedly concludes that to find the living room it depends on the situation you're in. 

  He's always being chased. 

  What is chasing him? Even he doesn't know for sure. 

  Eric can only catch glimpses of the creatures that traipse through the halls. Some are lumbering, with heavy steps that make hanging picture frames tremble. Others are silent and float above the floor without a sound. The only other "normal" person within the house is Hyesung, who doesn't appear to be some sort of monster, but even then he's strange. 

  Terrifying, even, because Eric has noticed how he's always calm. How he seems to have control over every single event in the structure. 

  So the days continue on like this. Eric runs, and Hyesung waits.

  There's a newspaper in Hyesung's hands as Eric shoves the living room door open. He sits calmly, turning to the next page in a slow gesture that confuses Eric's limbs screaming 'faster! faster! faster!'.

  He even slows to a jog for a moment to watch him. 

  Hyesung doesn't look up from the paper and starts speaking, but Eric can't make out the words. It's as if they're too far away. Like the distance between them is a football field and not ten feet of carpet. Faintly, Eric registers that he probably can't hear the other because of the raging beast making a ruckus outside the open door. He turns to find it clawing it's way into the room. 

  Everything speeds up again, Eric tearing through the living room with such ferocity that even his shoes might get rug burn. 

  The monster breaks through the posts and lintel of the doorway, large feet thudding over the floor as it crosses the threshold, to the door where Eric has escaped into the other side of the house. 

  All the while Hyesung flips to another page of the newspaper, ignoring empty spaces as the ghost of a name dies on his tongue.

  "You can't keep running, you know."

  Hyesung has a book this time, peering down at the words disinterestedly. With the way he's studying it Eric wonders if he needs glasses. 

  "What do you mean?"

  It's only going to be another minute or two before that thing finds him. There are so many questions he wants to ask, but timewise Eric will only take what he can get.

  "They'll find you."

  "They always do."

  Neither of them speak for a moment. 

  Then, a shiver is running to the top of Eric's spine as a distant screeching sound greets his ears. He turns to the source, finding it to be accompanied by what seems like a breeze as the figure starts materializing through the door. 

  It floats just a few inches above the ground with no definate shape. Smoke trapped in a bottle. 

  Looking back at Hyesung for a moment Eric gets ready to exit the room. He's disappointed to see that he still hasn't looked up from the tome, but can't focus on it for much longer as the apparition starts to gain on him. Sprinting to the door he rips it open only to find another creature looking exactly the same as the original waiting for him. 

  He groans, running down the left hallway as the two follow him together. 

  Eric is being chased, but today it seems as if Hell decided to give him a little break. Though it won't stop following him he has come to realize that the creature is slower than a snail. 

  Today he walks into the living room. 

  Today Hyesung is not sitting on the couch. Instead, he's taken a spot by the window. Though he appears to be looking outside Eric knows for a fact that he can't see anything. There's nothing out there. Every window in the house is a doorway to blank nothingness. A grey-white mist takes up the atmosphere and blots out anything that might be there. 

  Standing carefully in the center of the room he watches Hyesung. 

  "You're not running today." he says, finally acknowledging that Eric is there even without turning away from the glass. Smiling a bit sheepishly Eric nods and rubs the back of his neck, taking a few steps closer. 

  "Yeah, the...thing, following me, it's not very fast..."

  "Slower than anything else in the house?"

  "Very."

  No warning comes as Hyesung suddenly grabs him by the hair, slamming his head against the window. Eric can hear the glass crack against his skull.

  Hyesung looks down at Eric with smoldering eyes as the older tries to get away. Clawing at his hand he almost gives up seeing the anger emanating from him. It comes off in waves, almost palpable. 

  "You should be dead, Eric Mun." he hisses, other hand coming up to grip him by the neck.

  "H-Hyesung." he gasps. Eric is now trying his best to peel Hyesung's hand from his throat to no avail. Slowly, painfully, he's losing oxygen as Hyesung doesn't let up. It's only after a few more moments that he finally lets go. 

  "Run."

  Eric runs, even when he's not being chased. 

  Hyesung never leaves the living room. 

  He stays there, day after day. They always pass by the same. Usually, at some point after the clock has struck noon, Eric will burst through the first door. Depending on what is chasing him he will leave without a word or try to talk to Hyesung. Out through the second door.

  Hyesung finds him annoying. He finds Eric to be such an unneeded nuisance, but he can't get rid of him. Can't flush him out of this house in which he resides.

  Even now, sitting alone in the middle of the night all Hyesung can focus on is how much he hates that man. 

  Hyesung hates, and Eric lives. 

  The days go by.