'A special invitation for you and you alone. You have been chosen.'

Wooyoung's eyes opened wide. He checked the envelope again, it definitely had his name on it. Where had it come from? The invitation was written with golden letters on fancy black paper. In the left corner was some sort of insignia, pressed in gold. Could it be real gold? He ran his fingers over the inscription. He doubted it, but the invitation had the scent of power. There was no signature, only a time and a place. At the very bottom there stood 'Come alone.'. It all sounded so mysterious, so alluring.

He ran down the hall, starting to call out “Ch...”, but something made him stop in his tracks. There was a tiny voice in his head, whispering to him that this was his chance to shine. It was after all only addressed to him. He could go check it out by himself and then come running back, bragging about it in detail. He smiled as he imagined his fellow band members green with envy, begging him to tell the story over and over again. The image was so vivid in his head. He snickered as he pictured Nichkhun's pleading face. Glancing at the strange card again, he decided to do as it said – go alone.

He walked briskly down the street. He pulled the bill lower on his favorite cap so no one would recognize him and moved stealthily further down the darkened street. He felt giddy, it was like he was on a secret mission. Was this how secret agents felt on the eve of a top secret operation? Every cell in his body was alert. It hadn't been easy sneaking out of the dorm. Chansung had fallen asleep in the living room, like he so often did, sprawled over the entire floor so Wooyoung had been forced to play the role of Catherine Zeta Jones in Entrapment, only without the lasers.

Wooyoung's hand sprang up, but the cab just rushed right by him, almost splashing dirty puddle water on him in the process. Oh, being undercover was hard work, the cab would've stopped if the driver had seen it was him, right? Yeah, definitely! But the mission required him to keep a low profile, so he had to endure whatever hardships that followed. Everything for the mission! He pictured Chansung guffawing cutely, gazing at him impressed as he retold the tale of how his brave self ventured out on his own, looking danger right in the eyes, laughing sophistically, ha ha HA! He got goose bumps. This was going to be worth it, he was glad he hadn't shown the letter to Chansung or told anyone where he was going. This was going to be a surprise the guys would never forget. He was so excited he was practically skipping down the street.

The third time was the charm, he had caught a cab and they had just arrived in the district where this mysterious meeting would take place. The driver was having trouble finding the right address though, circling around again. “It should be a huge building, probably with a big flashy sign.” Wooyoung told him. Finally the cab came to a halt in front of a dark shabby alleyway. At the barely visible bottom of the alley one could glimpse a crooked neon sign, with only half an S blinking weakly. “Emm.. are you sure this is it?” Wooyoung said in a near whisper, a small knot forming in his stomach. “Yes, this is the street you mentioned and this building is number 29, and the one next to it is number 33. So number 31 must be down there.” the driver pointed down the alley. Wooyoung's stomach churned. Maybe this hadn't been such a good idea. It was completely dark out and there was no one around. For all he knew, these might be the hunting grounds for an up and coming serial killer, or the territory of some terrifying gang that did not tolerate trespassing, beating those that were foolish enough to enter their territory to a pulp. He got a shiver down his spine. Why hadn't he told the guys where he was going? He wished Chansung was sitting beside him, reassuring him that he was just imagining things, protecting him in case his hunches proved right. The driver tapped his fingers impatiently on the steering wheel, clearly wanting him to pay up and get out already. Wooyoung pondered whether he should abandon the mission and return back home immediately. It was sounding better every second he thought about it. The driver cleared his throat, annoyed. But if he were to tell the driver to simply return him to where he had picked him up, he would without a doubt not be happy. He couldn't gather enough courage to test the driver's reaction, so he just paid him and hesitantly got out of the car. The moment he closed the door of the cab, it drove off, leaving him completely alone on this dark abandoned street. He swallowed.

Wooyoung had never felt as alone as when he entered the dark abandoned alleyway. He was seriously considering calling the guys to come pick him up, but they would without a doubt laugh their asses off. It would probably be best to call Chansung, he was such a kind soul. Instead of laughing he would tell him to be more careful next time, and that it was okay, it could've happened to anyone. Okay maybe he would find it a little bit funny as well, but if he saw he didn't like him laughing at him, he would stop and hug him instead. He was sure of it. He took a moment imagining Chansung drawing him into his arms, holding him tight. His embrace was so warm, it made him want to stay there forever.

At least he was not going to call Taecyeon. Not only would he make fun of him till the end of days, he would also find a way to prank him when he came to pick him up, scaring the living daylights out of him. Wooyoung shuddered at the thought. No, no way he was calling Taecyeon. Nichkhun had a schedule at dawn so he couldn't call him, and he wasn't sure Minjun or Junho would come even if he asked them. Well, he was confident that if he managed to ask Minjun nicely enough, he would cave in the end. He had yet to find Minjun's limit of how much he was prepared to do for him. If he just worked the puppy eyes hard enough Minjun would walk through fire for him. Although he was extremely lazy, so sometimes getting him to do what he wanted was a whole lot of work, so it had to be worth it. But Minjun would also make fun of him for letting himself be fooled like that. He sighed.

He looked down the street, there were no cars, no people, no nothing in sight. Not even a stray cat. He was contemplating whether he should see what lay beyond that street, trying his luck at hailing a cab, but he was a tiny bit afraid of getting lost. Maybe he should just call his manager, but he would scold him for being out this late in a dangerous neighborhood. Oh, and maybe he would even tell Jinyoung what he had been up to. Oh no, he didn't want that. Being scolded by Jinyoung was an experience not everyone could handle. Wooyoung felt special and strong for having been able to survive his training, but he sure as hell wasn't going to anger the beast if there was any possibility of avoiding it. Oh, Jinyoung was so cool when he got angry, self confidence radiating from every cell in his body. Wooyoung couldn't help but to admire him.

There was only one option left. To rely on himself. He could do this. His legs were shaking and he was scared to death, but he could do this. What if someone had noticed that he was missing? What if they asked him where he'd been? He could of course tell them he had a new girlfriend, having snuck out to see her. It would be hard to convince them of that though, since they would poke him until something in his story didn't fit and then he would drown in embarrassment. Chansung would believe him, he thought, but having Chansung think he had a girlfriend was the last thing he wanted.

He stood in front of the shabby door at the end of the alley, trying to gather the courage to open it. The crooked sign above it spelled out 'Shaman'. He tried to make his legs stop shaking, taking a deep breath. The door seemed huge. As he pushed it open, it creaked something awful, making the hairs on the back of his neck rise. Inside, a fog of darkness greeted him, the fog's tentacles slithering through the air like snakes. He closed his lips tightly, barring the fog snakes entry. He took one step forward. He stood in front of a stairwell that led down to the basement, at the end of which there appeared to be a light. Holding his breath, he carefully climbed down the stairs.