Donghyun sits down at the bar as he waits for Jibeom to arrive, nervously fiddling with his thumbs while the constant thudding of the music echos in his ear. 

They have arranged to meet up in a club that neither of them frequents to hang out. Donghyun supposes that it isn't necessary to tell anyone of his plans, as it's only his childhood friend that he's meeting up with.

The young adult looks up and notices that the bartender is trying to take his order, he assumes.

He can barely hear what the bartender is saying, so he makes a wild guess and orders the first thing he sees on the menu. Thankfully, the bartender nods and leaves him alone again. 

Donghyun has his dark hair styled up this time, showing off his forehead and giving off a more fierce look to his normally youthful features. 

He's wearing a button up black shirt, and tight jeans which hug his lean figure. Donghyun prefers wearing loosely fitted clothes, but Jibeom chastised him the other day for his clothing choices. 

When his drink arrives, Donghyun takes a small sip and instantly makes a contorted face as the bitter substance travels down his throat. The boy wants to rethink his life choices when he feels his phone vibrating in his pocket. 

The text that pops on the lock screen is from an unknown number, and the message below leaves Donghyun feeling more alarmed than ever. 

From: Unknown

Didn't I tell you not to meet with other guys? I will make you regret this.

A feeling of dread slowly creeps up on him, and his eyes skim over the text multiple times. He quickly glances around but he doesn't see anything out of the ordinary in the club, though the colourful lights may have an effect on his vision. Donghyun quickly makes his way around the club and purposely weaves in and out of the bodies of people before he slips into the men's bathroom, locking himself in the cubicle.

Luckily, the sound of the music is not loud enough to be heard in the bathroom, so he decides to call for help. He quickly dials in Joochan's number, holding it to his ear as he pleads for his best friend to pick up. 

"Hm? Donghyun?" comes the soft voice that he knows so well. 

"Joochan?" Donghyun says, voice trembling. "I'm being stalked again." 

"What?" Joochan's voice comes louder this time, sounding alarmed. "What did they say this time?" 

Donghyun reads the message out loud, and Joochan outwardly curses. 

"Listen, Donghyun, I'll come meet you. Just wait for me, okay?"

The older boy sighs in relief and thanks his friend.

"I'll be right there. See you in a bit."

The call ends and Donghyun sits on the closed seat of the toilet while he waits.

His phone rings again and this time, it's Jibeom.

"Jibeom! Where are you? We were suppose to meet up today." 

"I thought Joochan told you already?" Jibeom questions, sounding confused," Jaehyun injured himself so I had to stay back and take care of him." 

"Typical of Jaehyun," Donghyun huffs, "I guess you told Joochan where we were meeting?" 

"No, I didn't mention anything about it." 

Before Donghyun can respond, his phone vibrates again, and he tells Jibeom to wait as he checks his messages. 

From: Joochan

i'm at the bar right now, where are you? 

While staring at the tiny black words on the screen, his grasp on his phone tightens and he continues his conversation with Jibeom in a tone very small and unlike his usual voice. 

"Jibeom-ah, have you told anyone that you were meeting with me today?"

"Only Jaehyun. But he's been with me all day, so he hasn't told anyone either." Jibeom answers slowly in a worried voice, "Why? What's wrong?"

Theres a pause.

"Listen, I thought the creepy texts stopped coming, but it's back again. And whoever it is, they know where I am. Jibeom, I want to cry." 

Donghyun blurts out in a rush, feeling his emotions erupt the longer the seconds drag by.

", Donghyun. Hang on, I'll go to you. Stay hidden, and don't make conversation with any strangers." 

"No... I think it's too late."

Jibeom's voice comes muffled from the other side, but the way his voice cracks signals that he's panicky. "What do you mean?" 

"I think... it's Joochan."

"What the ?" comes his instant reply, sounding very much bewildered. 

Donghyun doesn't want to believe it either, but all the pieces of the puzzle begins to fit. 

"He knows where I am without any of us telling him where we were going, Jibeom, and he's here for me. It was him all along," Donghyun whispers, and he wants to vomit. He remembers the countless sleepless nights he had went through after months of being watched and being tailed. He remembers how people he got close to got hurt and the texts he received afterwards warning him. He wants to empty the swirling feeling of despair in his stomach, and forget that this ever happened. He needs to leave. He needs to escape. 

"You have to call someone. Please, Jibeom! I'm scared! You-" 

The door to the bathroom swings open and heavy footsteps echo in the room. Donghyun freezes, feeling fear paralyse his body. He hears Jibeom calling his name through the phone, but it doesn't register in his mind. 

"Donghyun-ah? Are you in here?" Joochan calls out. 

The older boy shoves his phone back in his pocket without hanging up, and takes a deep breath before he opens the door to the cubicle. 

"Joochan-ah, you've came for me," he says weakly, and tries to offer a natural smile.

Joochan's blonde hair is messily styled to the side, and his sharp eyes curves into crescents as he smiles at the latter. He crosses the distance between them in two quick strides before pulling him in for a hug. 

"You're safe with me. Let's get you out of here." Joochan smiles once more and clasps onto his hand, gently leading Donghyun outside the bathroom and club.

Donghyun only nods, playing along with the other boy and trying to act as if all is normal. 

Since he had taken a taxi earlier, Donghyun is left without another way to get back home, other than Joochan's car. 

"Come on, get in." the younger boy says, opening the door to the passenger seat. 

Donghyun wants to contemplate this, wants to reject and go his own way. But the fear of Joochan finding out he knows is greater, and so he slides in, and watches as Joochan crosses to the other side, and sits in the driver's seat.

A soothing song plays on the radio as the car travels down the road, and Joochan sings along to it. 

After twenty minutes of driving, Donghyun realises something that make his blood run cold.

"This isn't the right way home," he says, turning to Joochan with wide eyes. 

Joochan doesn't respond for a while, and he doesn't bother looking at Donghyun too. 

"I'm not taking you home," he responds, calmly staring ahead into the dark road lit up only by their headlights.

"Then where...?" 

Joochan suddenly makes a sharp turn and pulls up to the side of the road. They are parked at an empty dirt road, with no houses or other cars in sight.

"There's no use letting you go now that you know." Joochan stares straight into Donghyun's eyes, and his gaze is now unreadable.

The voice is chilling, also unrecognisable to Donghyun, but it is definitely the same voice that he's known for the past few years. 

"Why are you doing this?" he feels tears well up, and he bites his lip hard to control the trembling. 

Joochan wipes the tears away for him and caresses his wet cheeks.

"I will take care of you. Until you're 50, 80, or even 100. I will hide you away from the world. Nobody else deserves you like I do."

Joochan sounds crazed at this point, and Donghyun cowers against the seat with a petrified expression. 

Then, Joochan's gaze suddenly turns sharp and narrowed.

"Now, I think Jibeom has eavesdropped enough. I'm confident he won't call for help unless he wants his lover's throat slit." Joochan takes Donghyun's phone out and ends the call, and then throws it out of the window. Donghyun hears the sickening sound of shattering glass and he knows he is done for.

"You're crazy, you are ing insane." 

Joochan plants a gentle kiss against a completely pale-faced and frozen Donghyun. 

"Now aren't we all a little crazy, doll?" 

a/n : here's another short fic of dongchan for you all!! i don't usually write this genre (mystery-ish?), since i'm a er for fluff, but i thought it's reasonable considering that it's halloween soon. hope you all enjoyed reading! 

if you liked it, leave a comment and tell me what you guys think :D 

(sorry for any mistakes/typos)