When It Reaches the Surface            Trying to numb the ache in her chest for her friend, Mina held the shocking and trembling body of Jaemi in her arms. She didn’t know how long they had been sitting there—there were no windows, nor any clocks that could indicate what time it was—but her friend had been crying for most of it, and it hurt Mina. Her tears never came for some reason, even though Yixing hadn’t said a word to her when he had dropped Jongin off in his room, nor when they were walking through the house in search for room number three.              Was it not for the undying fear that rushed through her blood, Mina would have tried to get something out of the boy, somehow manage to tell him that she was there. But his eyes were void, his demeanor scarcely active and Mina was scared she had lost her friend and love to the man that had taken him away in the first place. Jaemi’s mind, though, had drawn a blank. Yet one single face kept appearing in front of her eyes, haunting her with insecurity and desperation; his eyes emitted nothing but anger and fear.              A penetrating whine echoed through the room when the sole entrance opened, revealing an elderly figure wearing a long white lab coat. Jaemi felt Mina’s arms tighten around her body when Dr. Jung entered with his hands locked behind his back, much like how he had walked around their living room. A satisfied smile graced his thin lips as he admired his room with a certain awe that flickered in his eyes.              “This is where it always happened,” Dr. Jung smiled and glanced at the girls who began to tremble the closer the man came. “Every sensor, every needle, every torturous checkup, was performed in this very room. You should consider yourselves lucky,” the man laughed and crouched in front of the girls. He ran his eyes over their fearful features but when he saw Jaemi’s puffy eyes, his smile widened. He reached out to curl a lock of Mina’s hair behind her ear but the girl refused his touch by turning her head away, eyes closed in fear and disgust.              Dr. Jung narrowed his eyes slightly at this but didn’t move his hand away; instead, he slowly trailed his stubby finger over her cheek. “There’s no need to cry over these foolish boys, my dear sweethearts. They survived and look where they are in life now,” he stated as he leaned in, “superior,” he whispered menacingly victorious and cocked his head in a manner that was supposed to seem innocently but all Jaemi felt was disgust. She closed her eyes, taking a shaky breath because the fear in her body was still building with every word that slipped from the man’s lips.              “I’m sure you want to see him,” he whispered to no one in particular and ran his finger along her jaw. The tears were already flowing again as she refused to look the man in the eye. “Since you are Mrs. Trouble,” he continued and turned to Mina, “and you Mrs. Angel.”              He then straightened and stuffed his hands into the front pockets of his lab coat. “Go see them then,” he smiled at the girls and motioned at the opened door. But even though he did this, the two girls remained motionless because the man had been anything but trustworthy his whole life so why should they trust such a man now? Dr. Jung caught on, a smile appearing on his lips as he walked towards the door and stood next to it.              “The door will not stay open forever,” he then said emotionless but the same sick smile still curled his lips, “this is your chance.”              At this, there was something that stirred inside of Mina. Yes she was desperate to see Yixing again and wanted to know how Jongin was but she was sure that her friend was the one who was affected the most. Still hesitating, Mina stood up and carefully pulled Jaemi up from the floor, tightly holding onto her hand before nodding at her, as if silently telling her that it was okay. So with shaky steps, Jaemi followed after Mina to approach the silent Dr. Jung.              “As I said, I am a reasonable man,” he spoke up as he watched the two come closer and stepped aside. The burning of the tears in Jaemi’s eyes became more intense the closer she came to the entrance of the room and when she met eyes with Mina, she knew she felt the same by the way her eyes had glazed over. She nodded at Jaemi and mentally told her to be safe; this was all she needed to release her hand and dart out of the room. Quicker than she had ever ran, she made her way down the first flight of stairs into the dark hallway where she spotted the door to the basement.              Mina heard your frantic footsteps echo through the hall and pinched her eyes shut until there was nothing but silence. Dr. Jung knew they wouldn't try to escape or do anything that would get them into trouble. It was worry and desperation for their loved ones that led them to their destination at that moment and when he walked over to a fuse box and flipped one of the switches, he almost felt a little compassionate. Almost.              Jaemi’s heart was anything but calm when she was running down the stairs to the basement and met with a large wooden door that was covered in dozens of locks. “Jongin!” she shakily gasped as she tried to wedge the locks open with trembling fingers.              A dull pounding caught his attention, and when he had fully focused himself on his surroundings, he realized it were steps against the stairs. He frowned because they didn’t belong to Dr. Jung; they were quicker. Jongin slowly stood up because he didn’t know what was coming his way until he heard the locks.              “Jongin!” a muffled scream came from behind the door.              On the other side, Jaemi was desperately trying to open the door but it remained locked even when she had managed to pry off some of the locks. “Jongin, please answer me!” she yelled and pounded on the wooden surface of the door.              “Jaemi?” Jongin muttered to himself when he recognized the voice and stumbled towards the door, carefully placing his hands on the wood to feel the vibrations of the continuous pounding from the other side. “Jaemi!” he repeated louder and curled his fingers into fists before he pounded back. “I hear you!”              At the heavy response, Jaemi’s eyes widened when she heard Jongin’s muffled voice from behind the door. “Thank god,” she whispered as a shaky sigh escaped her lips and rest her forehead against the door. She closed her eyes at the sound of his voice and instantly felt tears welling up because he was so close to her yet so unbearably far away. The sudden sound of something unlocking caught her attention, followed by the door opening a little. Shocked, she hesitantly pushed against the wood to open the door more until she met with a dimmed room. But her eyes had no time to scan it any further because they fell upon Jongin’s frame that stood right in front of her.              Tears of relief found their way down.              “Jaemi,” Jongin breathed softly before she flung herself into his arms, pressing her face against his chest and hugging him tightly. His addicting scent instantly made its way to her nose as she let the tears fall, soaking Jongin’s light t-shirt. He hugged her back equally as tight and pressed kisses against her head, relieved to feel her in his arms again. After a moment, he leaned away and let her cup his face, his cheeks and press her face against his. Jaemi continued to cover his face in kisses while muttering thank god because she had thought that he was gone from this world but thankfully, here he was.              Finally, she pressed her lips against his and felt her heart explode of relief because he was real. He was right there in her arms, his skin against hers, his lips against hers, and she knew that no one could separate them. Still in each other’s embrace, the two moved to the back-most wall in the room and sat down on the floor. Instantly, she found Jongin’s arms tightening around her so she rest her head against his chest, soaking in his love and warmth.                    Questions continued to run through Jaemi’s head as she laid in Jongin’s arms. It had been an hour since the two of them were reunited but no words were exchanged; they were not needed because she was already relieved that Jongin was still alive. But regardless of the situation they found themselves in right now, there was still a problem. The door had locked itself against so they were locked inside of the basement without any knowledge of what was going on outside of the room. Jaemi didn’t know if Mina had gone to Yixing, whether the boy was okay or not or what Dr. Jung was planning next.              It was the damn house of horrors and she could do nothing to escape it.              “Jongin.”              He hummed.              “I’m scared,” Jaemi muttered against his chest and tightened her fingers around the piece of fabric of his shirt that she was holding onto. Jongin closed his eyes at this as he felt tears burn behind his eyes. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered against her hair but she shook her head and looked up at him, lifting a hand to brush away the lone tear that ran down his cheek. Again, no words were needed for them to be able to read each other’s emotions; Jongin’s eyes emitted nothing but pain and guilt whilst Jaemi’s tried to tell him that it was okay, that they were okay.              As the two remained silent, Jongin ran his eyes over the girl’s face in the dim lighting of the moon that broke through the darkness. He traced his eyes along her neck and arms that she had placed between the two, and instantly he spotted the fading scars that were left as a silent reminder of her accident. “Do they hurt?” he asked softly as he ran the pads of his fingers over her neck, feeling the bumpy surfaces of where the skin had been ripped. Jaemi closed her eyes at his touch and shook her head. “Not as much as before.”              “It’s the memories that hurt more," she added softly and noticed Jongin’s Adam’s apple bob as if he were attempting to swallow away a lump. “Of your parents?” he asked, his voice barely above a whisper and avoided any eye contact as he kept his eyes on her neck. Jaemi sighed softly and nodded in response but hadn’t expected Jongin to stiffen against her body. When she looked up at him, a shadow of guilt covered his face like a veil, making her feel worried. “Are you okay?” she asked softly and lifted her hand to Jongin’s warm cheek.              “I’m so sorry,” he whispered and closed his eyes, letting another tear drop and descend down his cheek “Why,” Jaemi asked worriedly and sat up straighter to see the boy better. The latter still avoided her eyes but she tried to make him look at her by cupping his cheeks and turning his face. When she met eyes with him, however, he stared at her through glassy eyes, his lower lip trembling uncontrollably, and sending a million darts through Jaemi’s heart when he answered.