A/N: Long chapter ahead because I've been pretty inactive lately.... hope ya'll enjoy :-)

-Chapter 17-

Face to Face

CREAAAKK

Opening the aging door just a bit and cautiously poking his head inside, Sehun’s eyes carefully roamed around the room, on the look out for anything suspicious or out of the ordinary. “Jaeyun’s room seems about as normal as I always remembered it to be.” Sehun lightly nudged your bedroom door open completely and he slowly took a step in. Advancing deeper into the room, Sehun involuntarily took very light and cautious air-like steps with both his eyes and ears alert to anything unusual.

Once Sehun stood directly in the middle of the room, he looked around. Your bed was neatly made as usual. Your desk had random pieces of school work papers strew across it as usual. Your digital clock resting on your night stand was about two minutes late as usual.

Everything… was completely normal. Nothing in your room would have tipped anyone off that there might have been something out of ordinary with it.

“What am I doing anyways…??” Sehun sighed, running his fingers through his hair in exasperation. “Am I seriously starting to believe that… my house is haunted…” Sehun inadvertently looked to his left and right at the utterance of the word ‘haunted’. Sehun paused and then let out a sharp sigh. “I guess that’s a yes…”

Ever since Jongdae informed Sehun that a murder had occurred in Luhan and Yoona’s room which is now your room, Sehun had been thinking about it nonstop. He needed to investigate the room for himself.

But there was nothing to investigate now that Sehun was here. “I should just forget about this. I’m only freaking myself out by over thinking it.” Just before Sehun could turn to walk out of the room, something caught his eye and immediately grabbed his attention.

Black and shiny and definitely out of the ordinary. “A flashlight?” Sehun strode towards the small metallic flashlight peeking underneath your bed and crouched down in front of it, examining it on the ground. “This is the flashlight Jaeyun bought that day at the store… I still have no idea why she bought it in the first place though- as if I’d actually believe that dumb excuse she gave me before.” Sehun mused out loud. Reaching down, he picked up the flashlight and looked it over in his hands. His finger lightly brushing against the flashlight in his palm twitched a bit. “This flashlight is freezing cold to the touch. That’s pretty weird…” It’s not paranormal. It’s NOT paranormal! The phrase kept annoyingly pestering Sehun once he had stood up straight.

“Whoa, how did this happen?” Sehun stared in awe at the flashlight’s button. Although the flashlight looked to be in perfect condition (as it should be since it’s brand new) the button looked absolutely battered and worn out, as it had been brutally pressed over and over. Just the condition of the button itself caused knots to form in Sehun’s stomach. “Jaeyun isn’t that heavy handed to do something like this. And this obviously couldn’t have been some type of accident. If it was, then the entire flashlight would have been in the same condi-“

SLAP

Sehun flinched when a sharp stinging sensation paralyzed his hand, causing the flashlight to fly out of his grasp and land a few feet away from him onto the hardwood floor. “Ahh, damn…!” Sehun painfully hissed, grasping his hand and holding it against his chest. He took in a sharp breath of air behind clenched teeth and held his hand up to look at it. The back of his hand had turned a light shade of pink in the area where he felt burning, needle-like pain. Bringing his hand closer to better analyze it, his face suddenly paled.

The mark was in the shape of a human hand. His hand was slapped.

Involuntarily, he turned his head to gape at the flashlight that had dropped out of his hands but… it wasn’t there. It wasn’t where he had seen it drop. It was no where to be found. Frantically looking around the room in an attempt to find it, he was left flabbergasted when he finally saw it lying under your bed, back where he had first seen it. 

“T-that’s not possible, it was just over there a second ago…” he whispered, staggering back a couple of steps. Immediately, the image of Yoona appeared in his head. It had to have been her… who else could it be?! Sehun worriedly snapped his head to the right and then to the left in the hopes that this being he was thinking about wasn’t actually in the room with him. It can’t be true but… there’s no way this could be a coincidence! It’s Yoona… it’s got to be Yoona…! Of course, it couldn’t have been Luhan… right?

“Sehun?”

Sehun jolted up and spun around on his heel only to see you standing at your doorway, staring up at him questioningly. “J-Jaeyun…?” He swiftly hid his hand behind his back in the hopes that you wouldn’t see it.

“What are you doing in my room?” you asked, walking up to him. Sehun promptly took a couple of steps back as you advanced towards him.

“I-I thought I left my textbook in here. Apparently not.” He punctually replied back as he sidestepped around you and quickly paced backwards towards your doorway. You were silent for a moment, unsure of how to take his reply but spoke once more.

“Are you okay? You look…” You tilted your head to the side slightly. “Uneasy.”

“I’m fine. You don’t need to worry.” Sehun nodded. His pain stricken hand behind his back clenched into a fist as he fought off the urge to just tell you the truth. “Um… Listen Jaeyun- you have a minute for me to talk to you about something?” Anxiousness began to bubble up inside of him.

You narrowed your eyes are him curiously. He wanted to tell you something? Was that why he was acting so nervous? “Sure… what is it?” you slowly asked, sitting yourself down onto your bed with a long drawn out squeak from the mattress. Sehun fixated his attention on the ground and cleared his throat.

“Well… you know how… you’ve always talked about how you’ve felt uncomfortable in this house?” A small, almost inaudible gasp slipped past your lips.

D-does he know…? Does he know about Luhan…?

You steadily nodded in response to Sehun’s question, now restless to know what it is he wanted to tell you.

Sehun expelled a sigh and a bit strenuously went on. “The other day, I was at the library with my friend. And he told me that in this very hous-“

In a flash, Sehun felt a vicious jerk on the back of his shirt that caused him to lurch backwards and painfully fall into the hallway wall outside of your doorway. With raised eyebrows, you jumped up to your feet. “Sehun!” You took one step forward but jumped up, letting out a small shriek when your bedroom door suddenly slammed shut right in front of you.

“Jaeyun!!” came Sehun’s muffled voice from behind the door. You stared at your door in horror and at your doorknob that Sehun was rattling on the other side of the door. “Jaeyun, the door is locked! Open the door!!” You were subdued with unexplained fear and bewilderment, not even having one clue as to what was happening right now. You gulped and took a few baby steps towards the door with an outstretched, shaky hand.

You stopped dead in your tracks when you suddenly felt two arms wrap around your waist from behind, literally stopping you from moving forward or in any direction at all. The grip was strong and unfaltering, yet somehow consoling. You knew this touch anywhere. Before you could utter out his name, he spoke.

“You don’t have to worry. I’m here, Jaeyun.”

Relief washed over you like a tidal wave. All your muscles relaxed and you felt your entire body going absolutely numb from all the tension being released. Luhan always did have the ability to do something like this to you. You settled down in his embrace and felt yourself beginning to lose yourself until the sound of Sehun’s banging on the door brought you back to reality.

“Jaeyun! Say something!!! Are you okay in there?!”

“I’m fine!” the words practically burst out from your mouth. “You don’t have to worry. I’m fine.” The words almost flew out of you without you even realizing it. You stared at the door and carefully listened to the creaking sounds emanating from the floorboards outside as Sehun slowly stepped away from your door.

“…Are you su-“

“Yes.” You could barely hear the few incoherent words Sehun had mumbled to himself once he had turned and walked down the hall away from your bedroom door.

“Don’t you love this new house?”

You nodded and smiled at the eager man who stood before you whose eyes were darting this way and that at the beautiful furniture and decorations that adored the living you were both standing in. You silently stared at him as he continued talking with the same smile spread across your face.

Realistically speaking, you didn’t know him in any way and this was the first time you had even seen this short, chubby cheeked man. Although just like everything else in your dreams, he was familiar. When you looked at this man, you felt comfortable and at ease, like you’ve known him all your life. You vaguely had an idea of what his name was too. It began with an ‘M’… Min… Minseo…

“Baozi, you mind bringing in some furniture from outside?”

That voice… it sent your heart into a fluttering fit and electricity through every part of your body.

“Can you not call me that?” the man in front of you griped with a small pout. He looked over at you and smiled. “I’ll see you a bit, okay.” He beamed, walking past you. You turned your head and watched him walk out.

“Okay, I’ll see you soon… Sehun.”

The smile on your face faltered a bit. That wasn’t his name… Glancing back up at the man who walked through the doorway, you caught a small glimpse of his back and his platinum blonde hair just before he exited. What…? His hair wasn’t that color before, and he was definitely not that tall either… He was already long gone before you could fully think this whole thing through.

Your attention was now on the beautiful man who was leaning against the doorframe with the usual smile across his face. Luhan pulled away from it and strode towards you. He brought a hand up to gently push a couple of strands of hair out of your face. “I can see you’re happy about this new move in as well.” He lightly chuckled.

“I am, but I’m also a bit hesitant.” You replied back, feeling a small blush creep up your cheeks.

Huh, that’s kind of strange… your voice sounded different. Now that you thought about it, this was the first time you ever spoke in your dream. Wonder why it sounds so distorted…

“You have nothing to worry about, Jaeyun.” Luhan gently reassured with a hand on your cheek. “As long as we’re together, you have nothing to worry about.” You smiled at his words and nodded. You could see a hint of a blush begin to form on his cheeks the moment you smiled at him. He let out an uneasy laugh when he noticed himself blushing at you.

He stared down into your eyes. His brown eyes were so bright, so full of life and yet piercing enough to make you feel so small under his gaze. His eyes were just so perfect. Everything about him was so perfect. And… this man was yours and only yours.

Without you and even noticing it, Luhan craned his head down and eased his face in closer to yours. Was he going to do it? Was he going to… kiss you?

You woke up and stared up into the darkness. Immediately, the feeling of dejection overcame you and overpowered all of the other feelings and sensations you usually experienced when you awoke out of one of your vivid dreams. Why did you feel so sad?

“Because… I didn’t get to kiss him in my dream…” you quietly whispered. Of course you felt silly for actually being that depressed over not getting a simple kiss, but at the same time you couldn’t fight back the complete sadness that was engulfing you right now. Why did you want it to happen so badly?

You flinched when you heard your door let out a short squeaking noise. You shot your door a quick glance and froze up at what you saw. Were you seeing things?

Did you just see a tall shadowy figure of a man slip outside your opened bedroom door?

Bringing up all your nerves, you sat up and stared at the door through the darkness. “Luhan…” you uttered. You pulled your blanket off your body and swung your legs off the bed. “Luhan…” You staggered out of bed, feeling all the blood in your body abruptly rushing downwards in your body as you stumbled out the door. Looking down the hall, you saw the same figure run down your staircase.

Without a second thought, you rushed down the hall and down the stairs in the dark.

Sehun felt a tap on his shoulder. His eyebrows knitted in discomfort and he let out a small groan as he situated himself more comfortably in bed. The tap persisted but Sehun was too sleepy to actually open his eyes. Who could be tapping me this late at night..?! He thought angrily.

In a second, Sehun’s blanket was yanked off his body and fell to the floor with a small thud. His eyes shot open and he sat up and looked around in irritation. It was dark and there was no one there. His anger began to slowly die down when the realization began to dawn him. “Jaeyun…?” he nervously said, hoping it was just a small prank his sister was pulling on him. No response. “Mom, dad? Is that you who did that?” Still no response. “M-maybe… it just fell off my body or something…”

AAHHHHHHHH

Sehun threw his hands over his ears and clenched his eyes shut. There it was again… the scream…! He hesitantly opened his eyes and scanned the room. “Y…Yoona…?” he frighteningly uttered out.

AAHHHHHHHH

He cringed once again. So it really was her. But what did she want?? He was awoken out of his thoughts when he heard footsteps outside his door. He quickly jumped out of bed and ran over to his door. A bit apprehensive out of fear of what he might see, he lightly swung the door open just a crack.

He looked around but was surprised to see you swiftly running down the staircase. Now alerted, he fully opened the door and looked out. “Jaeyun? What is she doing up this late at night?” He stepped out his door and quietly followed you down without you knowing.

You stood at the bottom of your steps, attempting to look around for anything that would catch your eye through the thick darkness, only relying on the moonlight shining through the nearby windows for any assistance to see anything. Almost instinctually, you turned and dashed into your living room. The room was silent and almost hauntingly still. Your eyes darted around from one part of the room to the other. Nothing seemed out of place, and there was no sign of the dark figure anywhere.

You inadvertently let out a reluctant sigh. “I thought I was going to see him…” you sighed. You turned around and began towards the doorway when you suddenly stopped dead in your tracks. With widened eyes, slacked jaw and paled face, you stood absolutely paralyzed in place. All you could feel was your heart rapidly pounding against your chest.

Were you imagining this? No… it wasn’t a dream… And you were so relieved it wasn’t.

There he was, standing at the doorway and leaning against the doorframe just like he did in your dream. It was him, it was Luhan. You had seen him multiple times before, but it was completely different now. Unlike before, he wasn't a white illuminated see-through figure. You could see his legs and everything, from his hair to his clothes, crystal clearly. Right now, he didn’t look like a ghost.

He looked alive. Like a living man standing before you, just like he was in your dreams.

Was this even possible? Was this really happening?

“Luhan,” you said, a bit shakily as you took a few steps towards him. You stopped when you saw Luhan put a finger to his lips to signal you to be silent for a moment. Your mouth immediately closed shut after, causing Luhan to let out a small, unheard chuckle behind his finger. Luhan then stood up straight and approached you, an act identical to how he had done it in your dream.

As he approached you, you couldn’t help but notice his clothes. There was a large, dark stain around the chest area of his shirt and as he proceeded towards you, you immediately took note of Luhan’s scent. He smelled like… blood…

He stood literally an inch or two away from you, and smiled down at you. Seeing him up this close, you could clearly see subtle, ghostly bags under his eyes that stood out on his pale face. His eyes also differed tremendously from your dream, for it was dark and clouded, absent of any brightness or light. His demeanor might have given off these frightening traits, but all you saw was undeniable beauty and his bright smile that caused butterflies to flutter around in your stomach.

You flinched when Luhan abruptly brought a hand up to touch your cheek. His grip was a bit more forceful than that in your dream, but you disregarded this small detail. “Jaeyun,” he said. His voice sounded a bit worn out and strained.

“Do you love me?”

You hesitated as the question sunk in. Love him? Did you love him? All the moments you had shared with him, both the good and the bad, flashed through your mind. After all of that… did you love him?

“Yes.”

Immediately, a heavy weight began to weigh down on your lungs and all you could smell was blood. You couldn’t feel yourself being able to take in another breath for the blood in the air was suffocating you. For some reason, you didn’t feel scared through all these sensations though. You were getting light headed and it was starting to get a bit painful not taking in anymore air… but you didn’t mind… All you did was continue looking into Luhan’s eyes and his sweet smile.

…

In an instant, you recoiled back when your eyes were suddenly blinded by light engulfing the entire room. You pulled your head down and rubbed your eyes. You immediately looked back up.

Gone. He was completely gone. You looked around and you realized you were the only one in the room. “What just happened…?” you said aloud, bringing a weak hand up to hold onto your head. “W-what came over me…? What was I about to do…?”

Meanwhile, behind the wall near the doorway of the living room, Sehun stood completely stunned against the wall. He was amazed he was even able to reach over and turn the light on in the living room while in such a shocked state.

He had seen it all. He saw you and he saw Luhan. But… what did he really see just now anyways…?

Still in a daze, he turned and headed up the stairs. He made it to his room where he flipped the switch to turn on the lights. He took a step in but stopped when he instantly noticed a blue pen lying in the middle of his room.

He walked up to it and picked it up. “I thought this was inside a drawer…” he murmured to himself. Just before he could proceed towards his bed, he glanced up but found his attention being caught onto the sight before him. The pen in his hand slipped past his fingers and onto the ground. “No… n-no…” he pleaded, taking a step back with a hand over his mouth.

Sloppily written on his wall, in blue pen was a message…

I’M GOING TO KILL HER

AND TAKE HER WITH ME

`Author's Corner

I have no idea why this chapter was so hard to write which is why I haven't updated in a while, so sorry to my subbies *guilty* Idk if this story is starting to turn a little weird (in a bad way) and people might start to become uninterested in it. I assure you it'll get more interesting later on though! Tomorrow, there will (hopefully) be a double update so look out for that!!!