[title song: orgel by shinee]

Chapter 6;

Hyemi stares at the dark street corner, her eyes flickering back and forth between Baekhyun and the sputtering streetlamp he’s staring at quite intently. The light seems to flash continuously like it’s dying. Hyemi looks down at the arm wound around her waist and thinks this is a little awkward, so she pulls away from his grasp. There’s a moment where Hyemi thinks he won’t let her go but then his arm slips away, falling to his side, and she feels almost relieved at the loss of contact.

“Um.”

Baekhyun frowns down at her. “What?”

Hyemi makes at a face at him. “What are you doing?”

Baekhyun pauses, his nose scrunching in thought as his eyes dart around them. “We’re waiting for someone to take us back to the shop.” Then Baekhyun narrows his eyes in annoyance. “He’s late.”

Before Hyemi can point out that it’d be nearly impossible for a car to drive down this street, there’s a soft pop and a startled yelp from behind them.

“You’re late.” Baekhyun says in a slightly whiny voice that causes so many unwanted memories to resurface in Hyemi.

“You’re lucky I even showed up, hyung.” A slender, tanned boy with sleepy looking eyes appears before the two of them, halfway through an eye roll. His eyes slide onto Hyemi’s and Hyemi stiffens a bit when he looks her up and down as if he’s sizing her up. There’s the longest moment of silence where Hyemi just sets her meanest glare on the boy, yet that doesn’t even faze him. “You look like hell.” The boy finally says and Hyemi glares because she definitely wants to hear that right now.

Baekhyun rolls his eyes from where he’s standing. “Don’t be rude, Jongin.” Baekhyun mutters as he holds out his hands and looks at both Hyemi and the boy—Jongin—pointedly. Hyemi wants to snap back at the two of them but she’s too exhausted, mentally more than physically, to really care at the moment. So she takes Baekhyun’s hand, ignoring the strange little shivers running up her spine and to the very tips of her fingers, and watches as Jongin does the same, a tiny smirk playing on his lips.

There’s a moment of silence before she feels a rush of air all around her, making her eardrums ring. She feels like she’s being stuffed through a tiny hole by her bellybutton, forcing the air out of her lungs and she can’t help but unconsciously grip Baekhyun’s hand, imagining it as her anchor. Everything is rushing by her at high speed and she feels like she can’t breathe. And then it stops.

She stumbles and a warm hand presses into the small of her back, steadying her. It’s Baekhyun. He’s smiling at her reassuringly, sharp canines making an appearance, and she mumbles a thanks, her mother’s words still echoing in her head.

“Oh~, you’re back!” Kim Jongdae’s shrill voice jolts Hyemi out of her thoughts. Hyemi glances up and Jongdae is lounging on one of the plastic chairs, three empty bubble tea cups sitting in front of him. Minah is still completely unconscious across from Jongdae, her cheek pressed into the table.

Hyemi frowns at him. “You didn’t wake her up?”

Jongdae looks at Hyemi, his gaze traveling from her head to her toes before it lands on her hand. “What happened to you?” Jongdae asks, eyebrows raised, completely ignoring Hyemi’s question.

“She talked to her mother.” Baekhyun says, casually, even though there’s an edge to his tone that Hyemi doesn’t like.

“She’s alive?” Jongdae exclaims, eyes widening as he jumps out of his seat, the empty bubble tea cups falling to the ground. Hyemi doesn’t miss the way Jongin stiffens from beside Baekhyun either, his eyes locking with Hyemi’s and staying there like it’s normal to keep staring at people even after someone catches them staring.

“No, she’s not.” Hyemi interrupts Baekhyun before he can answer for her, forcefully tearing her gaze away from Jongin’s. “She’s dead.” Hyemi mutters, bitterly. She doesn’t know why she feels so bitter about it, because she barely even knew the woman, but she does. “She told me about the mess she made at…in her home. And she says I have to fix it.”

“She didn’t tell you anything else?” Jongin asks, suddenly, and Hyemi hates how suspicious he sounds. But then, she figures she needs to get used to the suspicion. Wherever she’s meant to go will be even less welcoming. She wonders why she’s not as panicked about this as she thought she’d be. Then she figures it’s because she can’t imagine it as a reality yet. Half of her still hopes this is some terrible nightmare that she’ll wake up from soon.

“Jongin.” Jongdae chides, in a voice that doesn’t sound all too reprimanding. Jongin just rolls his eyes before he takes a seat between Jongdae and an unconscious Minah.

“When am I leaving? Where am I going?” Hyemi blurts out when the silence begins to stretch out for way too long, her eyes immediately turning to Baekhyun.

Baekhyun bites his lip, thoughtfully, before he finally responds. “It’s called EXO Planet.” Baekhyun says, without ever actually looking at Hyemi. “And I don’t know when you’ll be leaving. We need to prepare some things first. But it’ll probably take two days tops. Meanwhile, I think you should just stay home.”

“Stay home?” Hyemi repeats, frowning. “I have one more final.”

Baekhyun gives her an exasperated look, his eyes widening, and Hyemi can hear Jongin snorting in the background. “Well, you can either do your final and risk death or stay at home and not die.”

Hyemi rolls her eyes at his completely unnecessary sass. “I understand the whole death thing. I did nearly get eaten by a close friend, thanks.” Hyemi bites out, ignoring Baekhyun’s eye roll. “But I can’t afford to miss this final. I can’t afford to retake the class whenever I get back. I’m thinking about the future.” Hyemi thinks she sounds a bit lame and nerdy (and judging by Jongdae’s expression and Jongin’s snort she’s probably correct in her thoughts) but Hyemi doesn’t think she can handle being stuck in her house for God knows how long alone with her thoughts. Besides, she honestly can’t afford to retake this class, not when her father spent an unnecessary amount of money on psychiatrists, psychologists, and all other kinds of clinics. Because of Baekhyun. It’s funny how everything somehow always traces back to Byun Baekhyun.

“No. It’s dangerous.”

“But it’s important.” Hyemi pouts at him. Although she may not have seen him for a while, although she may not even like him too much, Hyemi still knows Baekhyun’s weaknesses. So she pouts at him and she can see his resolve crack in about three seconds.

Baekhyun sighs, rolling his eyes. “Fine. But I’m going with you.” Then Baekhyun frowns at Hyemi, “We better not get attacked.”

“Pushover.” Jongdae mutters and Jongin snickers.

Hyemi makes a face because she doesn’t need a babysitter. Especially not one in the form of Byun Baekhyun, but it is dangerous so she relents. Instead, she changes the subject, when the silence begins to stretch on for too long. “Actually, when am I supposed to be back?”

Baekhyun’s eyes flicker down to meet hers before he shrugs. “I don’t know. It depends on how quickly you fix everything.”

She glances at Jongdae and Jongin, who both seem preoccupied with everything except for Hyemi. Jongdae’s fiddling with the empty bubble tea cups and Jongin is eyeing an unconscious Minah with an amused expression. Hyemi looks at Baekhyun, searching his face for the words he’s obviously hiding from her. “As long as I get to come back.” Hyemi says, softly.

There’s a long pause before Baekhyun finally speaks, “Yeah. As long as you get to come back.” Baekhyun repeats in a strange tone.

~.~.~.~.~

“I don’t get it.” Minah says as she places her backpack on the coffee table, stuffing it with notes.

“Get what?” Hyemi asks, fiddling with her phone because Baekhyun is still not here yet and her final is in fifteen minutes.

“Why are you hanging out with Baekhyun all of a sudden?” Minah looks up at Hyemi, her gaze sharp and searching.

“We talked… while you were sleeping.” Hyemi tells her, deciding it’d be best if Minah didn’t know what was going on.

Minah makes a face, her nose scrunching in distaste, “I don’t even remember how I feel asleep. It’s so weird.”

“Yeah.” Hyemi agrees, feeling guilty for lying to her best friend. “Weird.”

Minah shoulders her backpack and looks up at Hyemi, “You have ten minutes to get to class, Hye. Just leave without him.”

Hyemi frowns, glancing back down at her phone. She shouldn’t. She knows it’s dangerous. But her chemistry final is important and she’s definitely not planning on retaking that class. It’s equivalent to hell on Earth. Besides, Minah will find it strange if she keeps waiting for Baekhyun, who’s obviously going to stand her up. So Hyemi picks up her backpack and follows after Minah, trying to hide the fact that she’s jumping at the slightest of sounds.

~.~.~.~.~

“I told you to wait for me.” A familiar voice calls after Hyemi, making her stiffen slightly before she pauses.

“You were running late.” Hyemi responds, peeking up at Baekhyun, who’s got an irritated scowl plastered across his face. Hyemi grips the straps of her backpack, “And I think I passed, if you wanted to know.”

There’s a moment of silence before Baekhyun grabs her wrist, forcing her to look up at him. His eyes are serious despite the playful look in his eyes. Hyemi’s reminded of the Baekhyun from years ago and it hurts her head. “You need to start listening to me, Hyemi.” Baekhyun murmurs, his bottom lip jutting out slightly.

Hyemi yanks her arm out of his, “I don’t like being told what to do, Baekhyun-ssi.” Hyemi mutters, trying to remind him that she’s still mad at him, that she still hasn’t forgiven him. Baekhyun steps away from her, a series of emotions she can’t quite pinpoint flashing through his eyes, and Hyemi feels terrible. She hates this.

“You know I’m sorry, right?” Baekhyun speaks in such a soft tone and Hyemi can hear the guilt radiating from it. “I’m sorry, Hyemi-ah. I’m so ing sorry.”

He’s staring at her then, with the sincerest expression, and she’s reminded of a kicked puppy. She wants to forgive him, pull him into a hug, but her stubborn side won’t let her, her mother’s words continuously echo at the back of her mind and she just feels completely confused about all this. opens on its own accord and she’s not entirely sure what she plans on saying next.

But before she can get any words out, there’s a loud bang from their right followed by panicked screaming. Hyemi whips her head to the side, watching as students and professors alike sprint past her, terror coloring their faces. There’s a cloud of dust down the hall, near a wall that had completely caved in. She barely catches a glimpse of something big hidden in the cloudy dust before a hand is steering her in the opposite direction.

“Go home now.” Baekhyun says, quickly, glancing back.

“You can’t fight that alone.” Hyemi blurts out, grabbing his arm, unconsciously.

Baekhyun looks down at her, the smallest smirk playing on his lips. Hyemi wants to punch it off because this is not the time to smirk. “Do you plan on helping?” Baekhyun asks, playfully.

“I. You know what I meant.” Hyemi snaps at him, “Just. Come with me.”

Baekhyun doesn’t respond for a lot longer than she expects, his eyes becoming distant. She thinks he'll just ignore her. Instead, he unexpectedly pinches her cheeks, “Aw, you’re cute when you’re worried.” Then he shoves her back, “Don’t worry. I’m not the one it wants. Now, go.”

She takes a step back and listens to him, despite something in the back of her head telling her to stay. She skids through the halls and makes it to the stairs, the emergency lights flickering eerily down the staircase. She’s about to run down when she hears the loud scraping of metal against metal coming from directly below her. Without thinking, Hyemi jumps to the side, landing on the stairs going up and scraping her knees in the process. That’s when the spot she had been standing in barely three seconds ago caves in on itself, crumbling as if something below was it up. She stares in horror as the crumbling just stops.

Slowly, so slowly, Hyemi gets to her feet, afraid that something will happen if she makes any sudden movements. Then there’s a low keening coming from the hole that has Hyemi taking slow steps back, up the stairs and away from the hole. She catches a glimpse of something dark with bright red eyes the size of dinner plates before she’s turning on her heels and running up the stairs.

Hyemi yanks open the door leading the third floor and she can feel it coming after her. Hyemi finds the nearest door and slams it shut behind her, swiveling on her heel, searching for a way out. She’s in a bathroom, a row of stalls in front of her, and the window is too high for her to reach. Hyemi skids down to the very last stall and steps in, standing on top of the toilet and trying to control her breathing. Maybe it’ll pass by the bathroom.

Hyemi fishes through her pockets until she finds her cell phone and dials Baekhyun’s number immediately. He picks up on the second ring.

“I’m——kind of—oof—busy right—seriously—now, Hyemi!” Baekhyun speaks haltingly, the sounds of crashing and someone cackling hysterically loud in the background.

“There was something on the stairs.” Hyemi says softly, feeling breathless. “I had to go up. Baekhyun. I think—” She cuts herself off when she hears a loud scraping just beyond the bathroom door, causing shivers to run up and down her spine.

“Hyemi. Hyemi.” Baekhyun’s voice comes out clearer, suddenly, as if he’s not fighting whatever that thing was anymore. “Where are you?”

“Third floor. Girl’s bathroom.” She whispers, the scraping sound echoing in her head loudly.

“Which stall, Hyemi? Which stall are you in?” Baekhyun speaks calmly and it’s almost relaxing.

That’s when there’s a sudden blast of air and a loud bang. Hyemi’s eyes are nearly bugging out of her head and she’s clutching her phone so hard, her fingers are turning blue.

“Hyemi~. I know you’re in here. I can taste your fear, darling.” A deep voice scrapes against her ears and she has to hold back her whimper. “Come out; come out, wherever you are~.” It says mockingly, its voice sickenly sweet and grating.

She doesn’t dare answer Baekhyun’s question. Not when something terrifying is in the bathroom with her, the sound of something metal scraping along the bathroom tiles resonating loudly in the room, echoing in her ears.

“Oh~” The voice says, its cheerful voice filled with a menacing, insane note. “Not answering, are we? No worries. There are, hmm, five, six, seven, eight! Eight stalls in here, Hyemi-ah. I wonder which one you’re hiding in.” There’s a blast and she watches as the ceiling trembles, dust rising from her right, where the first stalls are. “Seven stalls to go. I like this game.” It says before laughing maniacally, making her toes curl in terror and goosebumps prickle up and down her arms. One by one, at a slow agonizing pace, the thing destroys each stall, its voice getting closer and closer. "Come out and play with me, Hyemi-ah." It calls to her and Hyemi can barely breathe.

Hyemi has to bite her lip to keep from screaming when the closest stall just to her left is blasted apart, her heart beating against her chest and her palms growing sweaty. She can see its feet through the crack below her stall door, finally realizing that the metal thing is an axe, gleaming under the flickering fluorescent lights.

“I wonder where you are Hyemi-ah. Are you in the last stall, perhaps?” The voice whispers in a deceptively soft tone just beyond the closed stall door and it’s so close. Hyemi can’t hold back the whimper then, as she watches the axe rise away from the bathroom floor and disappear behind the closed stall door.

She squeezes her eyes shut but the expected impact never comes. Instead she feels the vaguely familiar tug near her bellybutton and the distinct feeling that she’s being vacuum-packed through a teeny tiny tube, fingers gripping her arms tightly.

She stumbles a bit and is immediately pulled into warm familiar arms. She’s breathing hard, belatedly panicking, as she clutches the back of his shirt tightly.

“Calm down, you’re okay, Hye. I’ve got you. You’re safe.” Baekhyun murmurs over and over again against the top of her head but all she can do is clutch on to him like she used to do so long ago, still finding it hard to breathe. “…Yixing, help.” Baekhyun says a little desperately, when Hyemi's positve she'll never be able to breathe properly again.

An odd cloud of euphoria seems to spread over her, then, and her eyes droop against Baekhyun’s chest, her grip on him loosening. She takes a deep breath, finding it easier and easier to breathe with each passing second. She can feel Baekhyun’s fingers running through her hair, soothingly. She wants to tell herself she's not conscious enough to shrug him off but, in a ll honesty, she doesn’t really want to pull away from him. He feels safe.

The last thing she hears is an unfamiliar voice, “We need to get out of here before it’s too late.” 

a/n: ok so hyemi's kind of a damsel in distress right now but i promise you that when she's not confused and starts figuring things out she'll learn to take care of herself (character development!!!)

wow i just updated all my fics at the same time this is the power of listening to every shinee album in existence all week (also 2ne1's new album omg)

as always comment your thoughts, subscribe, and upvote if you like this so far!! <33

Love youuuuu

xoxo