The basement door was tucked away in the mansion’s kitchen. Chaeyoung and Jeongyeon had begun opening every door on the first floor anxiously, searching for it, while Nayeon stood behind them and tried to look tough. After opening about ten doors (the place was really huge), they finally found a door leading down to a dark abyss. Cobwebs coated the walls and the railing. Nayeon’s face scrunched up in disgust.

“You first,” Jeongyeon looked back at Nayeon and smiled smugly.

The older girl crossed her arms and stomped her feet. “Seriously, Jeong?” She wasn’t going anywhere first. Certainly not into a dark, creepy death trap.

“You scared?” Chaeyoung teased, and Jeongyeon’s smile intensified.

Nayeon instantly regretted being paired up with the short-haired duo. They always fed off of each other’s energy and could be relentless. Worst of all, they told the corniest puns unironically. “No, I just have some common sense, that’s all. What if the boards in the stairs are so old that they break under our weight. I don’t want to fall to my death, thanks. I’ll let one of you two have the honors.”

“Ah, why thank you. That’s so sweet,” Jeongyeon smacked Nayeon’s shoulder playfully, her flashlight briefly blinding Nayeon in the process, and turned back toward the stairs. “Alright, here goes.” Jeongyeon held her breath as she shined the flashlight down the stairs to get a better look at the floor below. From what she could see, there was a bunch of pieces of furniture covered with white sheets. Dust coated almost every surface. It looked as though no one had been down there in fifty years. She took a deep breath and stepped down onto the first step. Then she took another step, then another. On the fourth step she let out a yelp and clung to the railing to her right.

Nayeon immediately screamed, jumping backward into Chaeyoung, even though the younger girl was only a whooping 5’3”, and clung onto the girl’s arm. Jeongyeon stood up straighter, regaining her footing, and burst out laughing. “Relax, I’m kidding. The stairs are perfectly fine. You’d think they were built just yesterday.”

“Jeongyeon Yoo!” Nayeon whined, pouting her bottom lip and releasing Chaeyoung from her grasp, who was smiling sheepishly as she looked back and forth between Jeongyeon and Nayeon. “You scared me half to death!”

“That was the point, stupid,” Jeongyeon smiled broadly up at the older girl. “Now, c’mon.” She turned back towards the basement and began trekking down the rest of the steps.    

The stairs groaned under her weight but didn’t show any signs of giving, although Nayeon was still a bit paranoid they’d collapse under her weight. It would be her luck for the stairs to decide to give up right as she was walking on them. Chaeyoung gave Nayeon a sympathetic look but silently followed Jeongyeon down the stairs. After some more whining, Nayeon began descending the stairs as well, with an iron grip on the wooden railing.

Once they all made it down the flight of stairs, Jeongyeon cheered and shined her flashlight to reveal the rest of the room. It was rather large, and there were even a couple doors leading to who knows where, probably storage space of some sort. “This place is huge,” Chaeyoung remarked, turning her body 360 to make sure to capture it with her Go Pro.

“I feel like something’s about to pop out at us, like it’s hiding behind some furniture or something,” Nayeon added, shining her flashlight quickly from object to object. It looked as though there were some couches, tables, and even a grand piano underneath the sheets.

Jeongyeon approached the grand piano and dramatically pulled the white sheet off of it, revealing its once splendid keyboard, which was now missing a few keys, as if someone pried them off. Jeongyeon began to play the piano with her free hand, the song “chopsticks”, looking up at Chaeyoung and Nayeon with amusement. “I still got it,” she remarked.

“You’re a real rockstar, Jeongyeon Yoo,” Nayeon muttered, shuffling closer to her and Chaeyoung. She didn’t like the space between them, even if it was only a few feet. “Now let’s check out these other rooms so we can go back upstairs.”

“Alright,” Chaeyoung agreed, leading the way towards a metal looking door on the far side of the room. She stepped over the long white sheets and random boxes piled up in the middle of the floor. Nayeon followed her like a shadow and Jeongyeon was close behind. Approaching the door, Chaeyoung reached out her free hand and gave it a push, it appeared the handle was broken off. The door didn’t budge.

“I’ve got this,” Jeongyeon pushed past Nayeon to stand with Chaeyoung besides the door. She immediately kicked up her leg and shoved the door forward with it. The door swung open quickly and loudly, banging against the wall with a clank. “Whoops, well if the spirits didn’t know we’re here than they do now.”

“Wonderful,” Nayeon replied sarcastically, turning behind her to shine the flashlight on the large room they were leaving behind. She felt as though something were watching her and would sneak up on her from behind.

Jeongyeon and Chaeyoung’s flashlights revealed another storage space, although this looked more like a wine cellar. There were broken bottles lining the floor. Clearly someone else had gotten here long before they had and made a mess. “Damn, I think all the wine’s gone. That’s too bad, that would’ve made this night even more fun.”

“I could’ve used some of that,” Nayeon admitted. Chaeyoung looked genuinely disappointed, seeing as to how she was still underage and couldn’t drink. Occasionally Nayeon or Jeongyeon would smuggle her a beer or two, but Jihyo always scolded her when she found out.

“You can’t keep giving the kid beer, she’s practically a baby!” Jihyo had shouted at Nayeon nearly a month ago, arms crossed. Mama-Bear mode activated.

“Oh, c’mon, it’s not like she is a little kid,” Nayeon sighed, wrapping an arm around Chaeyoung and pulling her towards her.

“She’s like...five years old,” Jihyo pointed at the short girl, who looked very offended.

“I’m more mature than both of you,” Chaeyoung muttered, pouting and only proving Jihyo’s point, as in that moment she did in fact look like she was five years old.

Later that night, Chaeyoung stayed in the common room of her dorm, blasting music and drawing away. She was angry at Jihyo for babying her, and always being mocked by her older friends. Suddenly she felt a slight poke on her cheek and she looked up, startled.

Standing off to the side was Mina, who was laughing at Chaeyoung’s startled reaction but trying to hide the fact by putting a hand up to cover . Chaeyoung immediately took off her red Beats headphones and Mina’s laughter had subsided into a small, closed-mouth smile. “Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you. Can I sit?” Mina asked, nodding to the empty chair beside Chaeyoung.

“Yeah, sure.”

Mina sat down, leaning back in the chair in her perfect posture and suddenly making Chaeyoung much more aware of the fact that her spine was extremely curved forward, her shoulders hunched over the table and her sketchbook. She straightened up slowly, looking at Mina curiously.

“Are you okay?” Mina asked, her brown eyes were wide and her bottom lip was sticking out slightly. She looked concerned.

“Yeah,” Chaeyoung sighed. She realized that didn’t sound too convincing so she said, “I’m okay,” with much more conviction.

“Tzuyu mentioned you were out here. I-I came over to visit you.” Mina explained. “And Tzuyu,” she added. “What are you drawing?” She eyed the page in front of Chaeyoung and suddenly the younger girl felt very embarrassed.

“It’s just doodling, really,” Chaeyoung shrugged.

Mina looked down intensely at the page, leaning forward to get a better look. “You’re so talented, Chaengie,” she whispered, smiling slightly. “Jihyo briefly explained what happened, with you and Nayeon.” Chaeyoung was slightly mortified that Mina knew she was drinking, would she judge her for that? Mina didn’t look disappointed though, she was still smiling slightly and had this far-away look in her eyes. Chaeyoung wondered what she was thinking about.

“Jihyo wasn’t right to call you a kid, you’re not,” Mina admitted.

“You really don’t think so?” Chaeyoung asked, surprised.

“Well, you’re still a baby,” Mina said, suddenly reaching forward and pinching Chaeyoung’s cheek. Chaeyoung could feel them redding under the older girl’s hands. “But you’re not a kid, if that makes any sense. Don’t feel too bad about being one of the youngest. Being younger can have its perks.”

“I guess,” Chaeyoung shrugged, but suddenly under Mina's gaze, suddenly being the “baby” of the group didn’t seem like such a bad thing.