it was dark.

well, not so dark you couldn't see where you were going, but dark enough to bump into something once in a while

that was the first thing ilhoon thought of when he woke up, but it was partly due to the curtains covering the windows in the far left wall and the door that was shut all the way. funny thing was that ilhoon didn't remember leaving things the way they were right now. worse, he couldn't seem to remember anything besides his name.

getting up from bed which he was laying on, he pushed the curtains apart only to see a light grey coloured sky. he blinked. was the sky supposed to be that colour? he couldn't remember. he furrowed his eyebrows, trying to dig through his mind, but only a blank appeared. trying some more, he stopped. a headache came to his body. as much as he would like try to see if he could recall anything else, the headache seemed to stop those ideas.

where was he anyways? a bedroom for sure, but it didn't seem like his room. taking a glance around, he noted the basic items in the room. a simple bed, a dresser, curtains, and a table. it was bare to the extreme and ilhoon knew he wasn't that plain and simple. shaking his head, he decided to go out the door. he wondered what laid behind it. a monster? a killer? maybe a whole new world?

ilhoon turned the door knob slowly, hearing the click as it opened. he blinked. right across from him was another door. he peered out and saw that it was a hallway of door as if it was a hotel. he paused as soon as he saw a silver coloured metal door. an elevator, he noted. stepping out, he walked to there, hearing the seemingly loud sound of his footsteps as they clomped across the mahogany floor. stopping as soon as he neared the elevator, he took a breath and pressed the button with the arrow that signaled that he would be going down. he waited. it was only a few seconds before the door opened, revealing an old fashioned styled elevator that had the gates that covered it. it was similar to a bird cage, he thought. the way the metal bars wrapped around the others, creating the illusion that if you entered you could never leave.

"hey, are you going to just stand there and stare at the elevator all day?" said a distinctly male voice.

ilhoon jumped in surprise. he had no idea there was people up and about around during this time. he turned and saw a man older than him by a few years. his hair was dyed a light blonde colour and it was spiked at the top. he had on an annoyed expression on his sharp face. ilhoon looked at him with confusement.

"sorry, i was just noticing the caged elevator." he mumbled in embarrassment, facing the ground as he moved away to let the man get in.

he heard a sigh and looked up to see the man with a mixed expression on his face. "you must be new, huh?"

"new?"

"you don't know huh? can't you remember anything?"

"ilhoon, my name. that's about it." he said as he shook his head. "i've tried but when i do, a headache comes."

the older frowned and looked deep in thought. "really? how strange..." he trailed off. "well i suppose i should be your guide for today."

he held his hand out for ilhoon to shake. "name's woo jiho or zico. call me either. it's nice to meet you kid."

ilhoon shook jiho's hand. "nice to meet you also..." he paused, "do you mind telling me where exactly am i?"

jiho let out a chuckle and ushered the younger inside the elevator. "patience is key, kid. we'll get you up to speed once we meet up with the boss."

"the boss?" ilhoon asked as he tilted his head in curiousity.

"he's the person who controls everything. a god in some way, but not really because this is neither heaven or hell."

neither heaven or hell? did that mean he was dead, but how? he was right here breathing and living air. isn't death where you are happy and such? isn't it where you are supposed to be talking with angels? then again, we all have a different image of what heaven was like. at least this was better than hell. living air and not breathing fire was a much better alternative.

"is this a purgatory of some sorts?"

jiho shrugged. "in a way, but not really, sorry to confuse you, but this place is not really easy to describe."

"then what do you call this place?" ilhoon asked, still wanting more to be told to him.

"ilhoon, i welcome you to the elevator hotel, home of the broken, lonely, and depressed or just to put it simply, suicide victims." he stated as he bowed with a flourish, gesturing towards the people in the hustle and bustle.

well, today just kept getting better and better for him huh?