Lost
Belvedere House*In point 5 miles, turn left*
"Ughh, not again! This SAT-NAV is nuts! We're just going in circles. It's not leading us to the main road." Xiumin said, frustrated.
"Just keep following it, we have no choice. We don't know where we are and there's no house anywhere to be seen for us to ask around," Kris said. Kris sighed and turned beside him, "You okay?" he asked Jessica.
Jessica gave him a small smile, "I'm cool, just a bit hungry" Kris reached for her hand to comfort her. Jessica's smile grew wider. They've been going out for over a year now and yet one touch from Kris still makes her heart skip a beat.
Xiumin pouted and kept driving. He looked at his rearview mirror to see how everyone was doing. Kris and Jessica were huddled together, being romantic in the first row of the van. Behind them, Luhan and Yoona were happily conversing, completely oblivious to their surroundings. Then there's Krystal with an annoyed expression, seated next to Jessica, her back against her sister as she turn to Kai to yell at him to stop poking her from the back, while Kai pretended not to know what Krystal was talking about. *Kids* Xiumin thought as he shook his head. Seated next to him was Chanyeol, bobbing his head up and down, listening to Jason Mraz's 'Live High' with his eyes closed.
Xiumin yawned. *I need sleep. I've been driving all day* he thought.
*Continue point 3 miles then turn left* Xiumin's thoughts were broken when he heard the annoying voice from the navigator again.
Finally, Chanyeol spoke up, "Right, this is going nowhere" He grabbed the navigator and checked the screen. His face lifted up, "Hey look! there's the flag indicating our destination. We still have 5 miles left," he pointed at the flag in the map on the device.
"Atlast! We've been lost for about an hour now! I can't wait to have a rest. Maybe go to the sauna or jacuzzi to massage my body. Hey Kris, you said this is a 4 star hotel right?" Xiumin glanced at his rearview mirror to see Kris' response.
"Yep, that's what it said in its website," Kris responded.
Luhan stopped his sentence midway upon hearing Chanyeol's sentence. He looked out the van's window to see nothing but green. There were no buildings in sight.
"Kris, I thought you said that the hotel is in the city? How come it looks like we're in a country side?" Luhan asked.
"That's what I thought too. I think you keyed in the wrong destination Xiumin." Kris stated.
"I'm pretty sure I keyed in the right place," Xiumin responded with an annoyed expression.
"Ehh guys, there's a house over there on your right," Kai pointed out.
*In 600m, turn right* The navigator spoke again.
"That's weird, we're going to the direction of that house," Yoona spoke up, nodding her head towards the house.
Xiumin followed the navigator's command and turned right. The tyres of the van slowly stopped and reached the front of the house. Everyone was quiet, looking up at the mansion.
*Arrived at destination* The navigator spoke suddenly causing everyone to jump.
"I think it's safe to say now that Xiumin keyed in the wrong place ," Kris bitterly said.
"I didn't! I typed in the name of the hotel correctly. Maybe this thing is broken! Don't blame me! Even ask Chanyeol, he was there with me when I was fiddling with the navigator!" Xiumin defended himself, his voice getting higher and angrier.
"Okay, stop this nonsense argument. Kris hyung, I was there when Xiumin typed in the hotel name, look I'll show you," Chanyeol took the navigator and turned it around for everyone to see the screen, "See."
Everyone looked at Chanyeol with a confused look. "It says Belvedere House," Krystal said.
It was Chanyeol and Xiumin's time to look confused. They both looked at the screen to find at the top right-hand corner the destination name: BELVEDERE HOUSE. *It can't be* Xiumin thought. He looked at Chanyeol. Both of their eyebrows furrowed, trying to find answers.
"What do we do now?" Krystal asked, eyeing the mansion in front of them.
"Since that stupid navigator isn't working properly and it's getting dark and we're in the middle of nowhere, can't we just ask the owner of that mansion if we could stay in for the night? Xiumin is exhausted from driving, I'm sure he needs a break," Jessica suggested. Xiumin nodded in agreement.
"We have no choice. It's a lot dangerous out there on the road, better if we have a place to stay for the night," Kris agreed with Jessica.
One by one they got out of the van, looking around, taking in the surroundings. The sky was getting dark with cirrus and cirrocumulus scattered above the horizon. The two-storey house stood out in the field. There were branches growing and climbing on the walls of the mansion. The dirty white paint breaking away and coming off of the house. There was only one room lit throughout the entire house, the very far right window. A shadow can be seen moving around the room. There was a shed about 100m away from the house, nearly the size of one of the rooms in the house. There was an old black Honda Civic parked on the left. The place was too quiet. Everything was still...too still. All in all, the scenery was...eerie..cold..hostile..and most of all, dead.
Luhan took Yoona's hand and walked up slowly to the front door. Everyone eyed their skinship, all of them having the exact same question in their head. They followed the two anyway.
Chanyeol spoke up, "Since when did you two get together?" he asked, looking straight at Yoona's eyes with a blank expression. Everyone tuned in.
"W-w-we're not together," Yoona stammered, avoiding everyone's gazes. She blushed and abruptly took her hands away from Luhan.
"Yet," Luhan whispered too low for everyone to hear. He softly smiled at Yoona which made her blush even more.
"Ooooohhh I sense LOVE here!" Xiumin teasingly said.
"Luhan and Yoona sitting on a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G! " Kai joined in.
"Such a kid," Krystal rolled her eyes at Kai.
Kai wagged his eyebrows with a smirk on his face, "What about me and you, baby?"
Krystal's heart began to speed up. She blushed but soon covered it up with her y face. She wacked Kai's arm and walked ahead of the rest, arms crossed against her chest.
"Oh c'mon, I know you want to!" Kai yelled.
"Shut up, jerk!" Krystal responded but smiled to herself. *She didn't say no* Kai thought, the smirk reappearing on his face again.
"Hurt my baby sis, you're dead Kim Jongin," Jessica joined in.
"Wait..does that mean I'm allowed to ask her out?" Kai thought about Jessica's sentence.
Everyone laughed, except for Chanyeol. His hands in his pockets while his face remained blank. Somehow he couldn't erase the picture when Luhan and Yoona held hands. He knew this was going to happen sooner or later, he can read Luhan pretty well. The way he takes care of Yoona, the way his eyes couldn't leave Yoona's face, and the way his face lits up whenever he hears Yoona's name. There was a pain in his chest. He felt...heartbroken.
They arrived at the front door. A plaque on the side of the door says: BELVEDERE HOUSE. Luhan grasped the door knocker and lightly hit it against the door 3 times. Everyone remained silent, listening to any ruckus inside the house. Out of the corner of Yoona's eyes, she saw a girl in a white dress standing beside the shed. Yoona was about to call her when the lights in the hall lit up and the door creak opened revealing a lady in her mid 40s. Her face looked tired, eyebags clearly shown under her eyes. Yoona looked back at the girl at the shed but she was gone.
"Well what do we have here?" Her voice raspy. She smiled at the group of teenagers. There was something about her smile. It seems dangerous, like a snake finding its prey. She was wearing all black; black shoes, black long skirt and a black cardigan. Her hair was tied back, revealing roots of grey hairs at the top of her head. She looked at each one of them but her eyes lingered at Luhan. Her face became shocked for a moment but was soon covered when she softly smiled at him. Luhan became uneasy but returned a smile.
"Hello, good evening ma'am, I'm very sorry to disturb you but we don't know where we are at the moment and it is already dark outside and our navigator isn't functioning properly, we are wondering if we can stay in for tonight?" Kris explained.
There was a minute of pause. There it was again, the creepy smile the lady gave. She opened the door fully with her arm outstretched, welcoming her guests.
"Of course you can!" Her smile grew bigger. "Welcome to Belvedere House," she added.
With that everyone slowly stepped in, closing the front door behind them.
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