▬ Chapter 9: Indirect Changes ▬

After they learned about Hoya’s secret, the rest of INFINITE veered to the side of caution. They made sure to act as normal as possible around Hoya but the unavoidable thought of knowing that he kept in contact with a girl who died years ago still sent chills down their spine. On the other hand, ever since he knew that they eavesdropped on his conversation, Hoya noticed the slight change of behavior he began to receive from the six guys the next day.

However, all of them were still unsure about one thing. Other than getting creeped out by talking to a dead girl, they weren’t quite sure how a mere cell phone can be dangerous as per the warning of the principal. That was because, since day one, Hoya was acting like his normal self.

At least that’s what everyone thought.

“Tomorrow is the school’s field trip,” Sungyeol mentioned over dinner a month after they learned about Hoya’s case. “Unlike most schools, almost everyone’s going again, right?”

“Well, there are fewer students here at Woollim so I guess that’s understandable,” Woohyun pointed out. “But I guess it is kind of weird since there are still a bunch of us and not one of the teachers or administrators are going as the chaperone.”

“Wait, then who’s going to look after us?” Sungjong cut the noodle strand that he was slurping and faced them. “I didn’t hear about this.”

“Oh, you’re a freshman so it’s not a surprise,” Dongwoo answered for him. “They hire guards to look over everyone whenever we go on field trips.”

“Guards? Isn’t that going overboard? We’re not prisoners.”

“Right, but with some of our past records as delinquents, they’re not taking any chances,” Sungyeol commented. L went back to his usual silent nature and just nodded at their responses.

“I’m not going, by the way,” Sunggyu stood up and went to the sink to wash his finished bowl and utensils.

“But you didn’t even go for the other two years since you came to Woollim,” Woohyun eyed him. “Did you have bad experiences with field trips or something?”

“Something like that,” he replied. “Plus, it’s not like I’m the only one who’s not going. Some are just not interested in field trips.”

“But those are the only days that we can get out of this hell hole,” Hoya commented. “It’s suffocating in here and we aren’t even allowed to leave this place until we graduate. So much for being a school. It’s more like a prison for me. I’m glad that I’m only going to be here for two years.”

L chuckled at his retort and mumbled before he took a sip of his soup, “If you’re even going to graduate on time.”

Hoya’s chair squeaked against the floor when he turned to face L. “Say that again?”

“Now, now,” Woohyun intervened, “no fighting. Dorm rules, remember? Plus, it’s time to sleep or go get ready for tomorrow if you’re not yet done preparing. So hurry up and finish your dinner.”

With Woohyun’s words, those who were finished with their dinner went to their respective rooms which left Dongwoo, Woohyun, and Sunggyu by the kitchen.

“Since you two are older than him and are both going on the field trip, look after him, okay?” Sunggyu sat back down and whispered just in case Hoya was listening to their conversation. “I’m worried that he might do something rash when he gets outside. It’s a good thing that he’s been behaving for the last month.”

“Of course. It’s what family members are for,” Woohyun grinned.

“What are you going to do this time, hyung?” Dongwoo curiously asked him. “The other year, you said that you just slept for the whole day and last year, you said you cleaned around the dorm because it became messy since we added Sungyeol, Myungsoo, and Woohyun to the group. When we came back, the dorm still looked the same though.”

“Wow, thanks for the appreciation,” Sunggyu scoffed. “I did clean the dorm last year! You just didn’t look carefully!”

“I guess washing the dishes counts as cleaning,” Woohyun tried to negotiate with a forced smile. “Thanks, hyung.”

“Thank you,” Sunggyu raised his hands in the air in defeat. “At least someone gets me.”

Dongwoo chuckled with a teasing smile, “If you say so.”

“Back to the topic at hand,” Sunggyu cleared his throat, “I’m going to research some things so I’m probably going to be stuck in the library the whole day.”

“Research? We don’t have any ongoing projects for class,” Dongwoo looked at him with a confused face. “I couldn’t have forgotten something, right?”

“Not for class but for him,” he motioned his head towards the hallway and both men immediately got what he meant. “There might be some clues about what’s so dangerous about that cell phone or anything else related to the fire that day.”

“That’s a good idea. We’ll leave that to you then.” Dongwoo stood up and pushed his chair into the table. “Night. I’m heading to bed.”

“Same here,” Woohyun gave Sunggyu a wave and followed Dongwoo into the bedroom hallway. “I’ll go ahead then.”

With the two of them gone, Sunggyu was left to wonder about the events happening lately. He shifted his gaze towards Hoya and Sungyeol’s door after Dongwoo and Woohyun closed their own doors. He knew he had to act quickly with whatever it may be because ever since he heard Hyerin’s name, he’s been having nightmares of someone’s death and he knew who it was going to be.

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After a few quick paced hopping and changing of rides and even having the need to ride a ferry to get to their destination, the students of Woollim High finally arrived at Ulleung Island for their annual two days and one night field trip. Nicknamed as the mysterious island and is sometimes dubbed as underrated in comparison to Jeju Island, the administration determined that this would be the perfect getaway for the students not only to learn about its history but for sights