Special thanks to exoxdid for the gorgeous poster!! ^^

A few warnings to keep in mind before reading!!

This is a long chapter, this is now written in THIRD PERSON (Jaeyun’s now her own person) and lastly this was written BEFORE the news of Baekhyun and Taeyeon being confirmed to be dating!!! Ok??? OK!!! *somersaults away*

Chapter 1 || The Return

Nightfall was gradually approaching this lonesome summer’s evening one languid step at a time. At this point, the once confidently risen sun high in the sky was now dejectedly dipped down beneath a horizon of ripples of the muted colored waves. Weak threads of light still sprouted out around the sun in contrast to the orangeish-red sky now being dyed a dull blue, allowing light rays to linger out of place against the water and in the sky. Perhaps it was just because of the summer heat, but the red that colored the evening sky seemed off. Rather than being a warm summery red, it was now a bloody shade.

Not a sound could be heard besides the whisper of an occasional breeze gone astray that would play at the swaying waves back and forth.

That… and the sound of hard splashes and desperate cries for help.

Because Jaeyun was drowning.

Every movement, every gasp for air, every attempt at trying to escape the water that entrapped her entire body only seemed to have pushed her deeper down. Her chest burning for air, head pounding and heart violently thrashing against her chest in a frantic act to demand her body to do something to get her out of this dilemma.

But she was too far off from land and had not even the slightest idea of how to stay afloat.

“SOMEBODY…!!! H…HELP!!!!” She choked as gulps of water plunged down and nose beyond her control.     

She felt helpless, terrified, disoriented and absolutely desperate to keep herself alive. And yet all the while, it seemed as though her surroundings seemed completely composed and undisturbed, as if this moment of her balancing on the threshold of life and death wasn’t even happening right now.

Was her imminent death really that meaningless?

In those far too brief and short lived seconds Jaeyun was able to pull herself up from the dark encasing of the water around her, she would catch a glimpse of something standing just at the edge of the water overhead. Or rather, someone.

He stood upright; his stance rigid without moving a single muscle or taking even one tiny breath. His murky eyes remained wide open, unblinking and locked solely on Jaeyun’s frantic body. But the most chilling feature he bore was the broad smile painfully stretched across his face. Inhumanly wide and extending wider and wider by the second, it was a clear sign that what he was witnessing right before his very eyes was entertaining to him—maybe even amusing.

The moments when Jaeyun would momentarily resurface seemed to have come longer than before and the instances where she found herself submerged in the water being prolonged twice as much. 

“You’ll be fine.” His gentle voice whispered.

Jaeyun was no longer taking in any more breaths and darkness began to cloud her vision. The coldness of the water engulfed all of her, leaving her feeling numb all over. Her limbs finally stopped moving all together. Taking in just one last breath, all that trickled through her slightly parted lips was thick water. Her thoughts, her body and her heart had just stopped all together.

And in the growing blackness, she heard his voice one last time.

“You’ll be just fine, I promise.”

Jaeyun’s body violently jolted as her eyes sky rocketed open. She found herself being awoken in her sleep by her rapid heartbeats drumming in her ears and her body quivering beneath her comforter. The initial shock slowly began to wilt away at the comforting touch of her soft bed sheets beneath her fingertips and the soothing gray iridescence that seamlessly blanketed her bedroom at nightfall.

Swallowing with a dry throat, Jaeyun pulled herself to sit upright in her bed and reached over to her side to switch on the lamp upon her end table. With the room now faintly hued in a warm, orange illumination, Jaeyun blew a soft sigh. “What was that anyways?” she murmured, pushing her fingers through her messy hair in front of her face. “God, I’m still shaking. That dream was just so… so… vivid.” Her eyebrows furrowed as she stared at her open palms and outstretched fingers. “I felt like I was actually drowning and fighting for my life.” Clenching her hands closed, her eyes scanned across her room in a single sweep. “I honestly haven’t been that terrified since…”

Her words trailed away from her. She shouldn’t say it out loud—never, ever will she speak of that ever again.

Though, she couldn’t help her nightmare from rooting its way back into her thoughts. A sick tingle shook at her body when she suddenly recalled the man who was in her dream; the man who just stood there and watched her life slip right out of her grasp. Jaeyun laid herself back down against her bed and held her blanket close to her body. His pale, almost colorless, skin. His empty, yet dagger filled eyes. That unfaltering, sick smile. And that chillingly calm voice. She knew it all too well.

It’s been far too long since Luhan has appeared in her dreams like that.

He was just a distant memory— a far off obscurity from Jaeyun’s past that would never again be brought to the light of day ever again. That’s what she told herself and for almost a year now, that’s what it all seemed like to her.

So then, why did he randomly appear in her dreams? Or rather, in her nightmares once more?

A cold chill blew past Jaeyun’s body, causing her to shiver slightly. Perhaps she might’ve left her window open without knowing it.

After lying there in complete silence and stewed thoughts, Jaeyun slid a hand underneath her pillow and whisked out her cellphone. Squinting in an attempt to adjust her eyes to the blinding beam of the phone’s screen, she poked around until she was face to face with an old text message.

From: $!#@$(g*

Sent: 3:39 PM, August 23, 2013

i”ll* n.ev#e%r; leA^&ve y@ou)

A sickening uneasiness grabbed hold of her entire body from the inside, making her avert her eyes from her phone for a brief second to compose herself.

It’s almost been a year, and I still haven’t deleted this text yet…

Jaeyun knew she must have seemed completely insane for actually keeping such a creepy message for so long. But there was a reason behind it—though Jaeyun would admit it wasn’t the best reasoning. In simple terms, she was scared, maybe even paranoid that deleting it would be a severe mistake on her part. Reason being that it was literally the only thing that chained her and her dark past with Luhan together.

There was just a gut wrenching feeling she always had that told her that deleting this one last trace of her past would be too easy. It would have to come at a cost.

However, swallowing her pride and in a sharp breath her index finger found itself pressed down onto the ‘delete’ button. Turning off her phone, she swiftly tossed it back beneath her pillow and closed her eyes as if what she had just done never happened.

I finally got rid of it. It’s done and over with now, and so is Luhan. I should just stop worrying now and get some rest. Tomorrow is the day I move into my college dorm after all.

Snuggling herself more comfortably into her sheets, she drifted to sleep; still slightly shivering from a coldness in her room.

Jaeyun let out a deep yawn, indolently rubbing the corner of her eyes as she lifted the remainder of her bags filled with her personal belongings out of her mother’s hatchback car. “Jaeyun, let me help you with that—it looks heavy.” Her mother offered. Jaeyun only shook her head.

“It’s okay mom, I can handle it.” Jaeyun smiled despite the fact that the bag practically shook the pavement the moment she put it down. Slamming the trunk door shut, her mother let out a small chuckle.

“Of course because my Jaeyun just loves doing things herself.” She said. Opening up her arms, she brought Jaeyun in for a tight embrace. “I’m going to miss my little baby girl so much now that you’re college bound.” She sighed, a slight crack in her voice. Jaeyun couldn’t help but laugh a tiny bit at her mother’s overdramatic goodbye. Pulling away from her mother’s embrace and the lingering scent of her floral perfume, Jaeyun held her mom at arm’s length and looked her in the eyes.

“It’ll be okay mom. I’ll only be two hours away from home so I’m not really gone. Plus, you can always visit every once in a while.” Jaeyun reassured with a nod.

“Oh, I know. But you can’t blame a mother for being a bit emotional during a memorable time like this. Too bad your father was held up at the office, he would have wanted to have been here to see you off.” Tilting her head to look past Jaeyun, her mother flicked her wrist in a waving motion. “Sehun honey, aren’t you going to say anything to your sister? You’ve been as quiet as a mouse over there.”

Jaeyun looked over her shoulder and gazed up only to lock eyes with her older brother Sehun, who was indeed standing there without uttering a single word this entire time. Casually leaned against the car and arms crossed firmly over his chest, Sehun stared back at Jaeyun with slightly knitted eyebrows. His eyes alone were a clear sign that there must have been a world of thoughts jumping around in his head.

Unable to keep the eye contact any longer, Jaeyun quickly turned her head away and picked up her bag off the ground. She’d be lying if she said she hasn’t been feeling his hard gaze on her this entire time despite his silence. “Um…” Jaeyun suddenly started, trying to shake off the awkwardness now dawning on her.

“Good luck in college.” Looking back, she was met with a small smile from Sehun and an encouraging nod. Perhaps there was something in the undertone of his voice or his softening eyes, but Jaeyun sensed a sort of sadness in him in that moment. Muttering a small thank you, Jaeyun swiftly looked away once again. Eye contact was such a rare thing between them nowadays after all (Or at least it was for Jaeyun anyway).

“It’s so unfortunate that you two got accepted into different colleges. You both have been getting along so well recently too.” Their mother sighed with a frown. Jaeyun didn’t need to be reminded of that tiny fact to be hit with a wave of grief. He was just her brother after all, but there was just something about that fact of not being able to see him every day like before that curiously tugged at her heart strings in the most unexplainable way.

“We can’t always be together mom.” Jaeyun halfheartedly assured. Sehun arched an eyebrow unbeknownst to Jaeyun. “It’ll be a good experience for both of us to take on the world on our own rather then relying on one another.” Though there was slight hesitation evident in Jaeyun’s words, her mother nodded in agreement.

“I just hope you two keep in contact with each other. A bond between a brother and sister is a precious thing after all.” She grinned. “Are you sure you don’t need any of our help bringing your things to your dorm room. I really don’t feel comfortable allowing you to lug around all these things by yourself when you’ve only recently started walking on your own.”

“I’ll be okay, honestly mom. You don’t need to worry so much, I’ve got it covered.” Jaeyun quickly dismissed. “I’ve taken my medication and my therapy sessions have been going well. I’ll be just fine.” Jaeyun was startled when the bag in her hands was abruptly snatched away in the blink of an eye. Looking over, she saw Sehun now holding her bag and grabbing a couple more off the ground.

“Mom you can wait in the car while I help Jaeyun bring these to her dorm room. It won’t take long.” Sehun said in a single breath; flashing his mother a momentary smile before walking off.

“Hey wait! Sehun!” Jaeyun called out only to get completely ignored by the boy with his long legs taking him farther away from the two quicker than Jaeyun could process. Hurriedly saying her goodbyes to her mother one last time, Jaeyun picked up the remainder of her belongings (which was literally just one medium sized box) and rushed over to Sehun’s side.

Now out of earshot of their mother Jaeyun piped up a few words. “You know, you don’t have to do this. I already told you guys I could do this by myself.” Sehun rolled his eyes.

“Look, can’t you be even a little grateful that I’m even bothering to help you? I don’t even help bring groceries into the house so I’m obviously not enjoying this any more than you are.” Sehun retorted, readjusting the strap of the bag he had hung over his shoulder. “You always want to do things by yourself nowadays. Is it so wrong to accept a little help from someone?”

Jaeyun fell silent. There’s no need to rely on someone when I’m perfectly capable of helping myself. These days, that phrase was starting to become a sort of mantra that would constantly ring in her mind. It was definitely a new outlook on life for her, but she looked at it as a positive attitude to have. Independence is a good thing, isn’t it?

The two siblings were now walking side by side in an unannounced silence dashed with a tiny bit of awkwardness. An unexpected shiver suddenly swept up Jaeyun’s petite body, causing her to shudder to herself just slightly. Tugging her thin, cream cardigan closer around herself, Jaeyun began to feel a sort of nervousness begin to ever so slightly coil up in her stomach. Why was she starting to feel so edgy right now anyways? In an attempt to ease her discomfort, she began aimlessly raking her eyes around at her surroundings—taking in all the sights, smells and sounds that the campus had to offer. Finding herself now getting lost in the scenery, she paused when her sights landed on someone not too far away.

It was a cute fair skinned girl with dark hair that spilled down her back and she was adorned in a simple white dress which draped down from her shoulders almost too gracefully. She stood beneath a tall, white ash tree, wrapped inside the opaque shade cast down from buddle of leaves that hung high above her head.

But probably the thing that caught Jaeyun’s attention the most was that this girl was a child. A child who was all alone.

Without even realizing it, Jaeyun was now locking eyes with that very girl and couldn’t pull her attention away. It was then that Jaeyun noticed the girl’s lips moving but since they were a considerable distance away from each other, she couldn’t hear a single word from her at all. The child’s lips kept moving as though she might have been repeating herself over and over again. Squinting her eyes, Jaeyun attempted to read the little girl’s lips to figure out what she was saying.

Are… you…

“Jaeyun. Are you listening?” Jaeyun instantly snapped right back into reality and turned her head to raise her eyebrows at Sehun curiously.

“Huh?” Was all that came out in response.

Sehun heaved out an exasperation filled sigh. “And here I was under the impression you were all quiet because you were being a good listener… But as I was saying before, I heard there’s a nice local park near here. It’s got a really beautiful river there too. Maybe you could check it out one of these days when you don’t have any classes. It’d be nice for you to get some exercise.” Jaeyun’s face scrunched up, slightly insulted. Instantly taking note of Jaeyun’s bitter expression, Sehun was quick to correct himself. “Jeez calm down, I’m not calling you fat. I’m just saying that you don’t usually go out as it is, so taking a walk around the park here and there wouldn’t hurt, am I right?”

“Well I guess you kind of have a point there… I guess I’ll check it out one of these days.” She nodded, though honestly Jaeyun wasn’t exactly the type who’d walk around outside when boredom struck.

After a couple more minutes, they at last arrived at dormitory and made their way up a few flights of stairs to get to her designated room. As she was walking, Jaeyun just couldn’t shake off this weird feeling that was eating away at her. It was making her feel fidgety and restless which definitely wasn’t something normal. Looking to her left and then to her right, it was all too clear that the throng of fellow college freshmen clustered in variant groups throughout the narrow hallway were paying her and Sehun absolutely no attention whatsoever.

So then why did she feel like every movement she took, every step, every breath she breathed in was being followed on the dot? It almost felt as if she wasn’t actually ‘alone’. It was a sort of claustrophobic paranoia that was gradually gnawing away at her sensibility to her surroundings one breath at a time.

“Is that your room up ahead?” Sehun pointed. Crawling out of her thoughts once more, Jaeyun peered forward and nodded in response. As they advanced closer towards the dorm room, they began to pick up on the sound of voices already inside. It was a female voice mingled along with two fairly contrasting male voices. “Hey wait, I recognize those voices.” Sehun muttered before walking on ahead into the room before Jaeyun.

“Chanyeol! Baekhyun!!” Jaeyun heard just before she stepped inside the room. Inside the slightly closed in room, Jaeyun spotted a slim figured, pretty-faced girl who stood next to what Jaeyun vaguely remembered as Sehun’s friends Baekhyun and Chanyeol. Sehun had already set Jaeyun’s things down into a corner and was chatting up a storm with his buddies as if they hadn’t seen each other in decades. Jaeyun quietly slipped inside the room unnoticed and placed her box down near the doorway.

“I thought you were accepted into a different college. What are you doing here?” Chanyeol asked, grinning ear to ear despite his simple question.

“Just helping Jaeyun bring her stuff up to her dorm room.” Sehun glanced over at Jaeyun as if on cue and gestured for her to come stand by his side. Not exactly all too fond of being dragged into the center of attention, she reluctantly made her way beside him.

“Jaeyun! It’s been a while huh?” Chanyeol almost bashfully chuckled (As strange as that might sound what with his booming vocals.) His grin seemed to have beamed all the more brightly with Jaeyun now in his sights. Jaeyun couldn’t help but smile a little in return since the giant had such a contagious smile. But in complete contrast Baekhyun, who stood in front of Jaeyun, wore a sort of uninterested expression on his face and wasn’t evening bothering to look at her as if she wasn’t even there. It didn’t at all faze Jaeyun because she’ll admit without any hesitation that she was pretty much used to this sort of ‘greeting’ from him.

From what Jaeyun perceived, Baekhyun was a loud and energetic yet friendly type of guy. If there was anyone who was always cracking jokes and causing all the obnoxious noises and laughter in Sehun’s circle of friends, it was most definitely him. But those puppy-like smiles of his can be deceiving because for some strange reason, he always ignored Jaeyun and wouldn’t even try to hide it no matter how obvious it was. They’ve never even talked before so why did he seem so bothered by her presence? He honestly wasn’t anyone she found interesting or important either so she would always just accept his cold treatment without a second thought and moved on even if it did seem weird…

Thump.

Jaeyun jumped up a bit and looked around. What was that? Jaeyun thought, eyes darting around the room in search of what could have made that noise—although she really had no idea where to look exactly since the noise sounded so out of place. The others were still in conversation with one other—aside from Baekhyun who was staring out the room’s only window nearby. It was almost as if they hadn’t heard that loud sound at all which was impossible judging by how thunderous it actually was.    

“So what are you guys doing here anyways?” Sehun curiously questioned. As if a switch had been flipped, Baekhyun’s eyes lit up and a wide smile broke out across his face. Almost immediately after seeing Baekhyun’s glowing expression and stifled fit of giggles, Sehun’s eyebrows rose in realization. “Oh wait… is it because of…” At last the girl Jaeyun had noticed from before finally stepped forward to Baekhyun’s side and smiled sweetly.

“Sehun, I’d like to introduce you to Yoon Bomi—my adorable little girlfriend.” Baekhyun proudly stated, slipping his hand into Bomi’s and intertwining his fingers with hers.

“You know you didn’t need to add that last part.” She playfully commented, lightly elbowing him to which he jokingly rubbed his arm and pouted cutely as if it actually hurt him. Both Chanyeol and Sehun similarly cringed in unison at the unnecessarily mushy PDA—not that Baekhyun really cared anyways.

“So as I was saying, Channie and I just stopped by to help her unpack her things.” Baekhyun continued.

“Oh, so you must be Jaeyun’s roommate then?” Sehun asked her. Bomi gave a prompt nod and switched her sights onto Jaeyun.

“It’s really nice to finally meet you, Jaeyun! I can tell we’ll be the best of roomies.” She chuckled as she took a step towards her.

Thump.

Jaeyun’s body immediately reacted from the same foreign sound once again and receded a baby step backwards the moment Bomi came closer. Bomi stopped in her tracks, taken aback by Jaeyun’s instant reaction.

“Sorry, she’s just shy.” Sehun quickly defended with a nervous chuckle. He was used to her reacting to this way to strangers after all and was used to explaining his sister’s standoffish behavior.    

“Oh. Well that’s okay—we all warm up to others differently.” She laughed. The others shared a light laugh with her as well—all except for Baekhyun who remained silent.

“So Baekhyun,” Sehun casually started. “This is the ‘amazing girl’ you were hooting and hollering about meeting this summer right?” Sehun mischievously smirked as a hint of redness suddenly flushed Baekhyun’s cheeks.

“Well of course!” He cheekily replied. “Admit it, she’s pretty cute huh?” Sehun let out a rather shy chuckle before abruptly stopping after seeing Jaeyun staring at him notably. Thoroughly clearing his throat, Sehun peeked down at his wrist watch. 

“Oh, I’d better get going now—don’t wanna keep my mom waiting in the car for too long.” Sehun quickly said his goodbyes to Chanyeol, Baekhyun and Bomi but froze up when he finally got to Jaeyun. His lips remained parted as if he was moments away from saying something but it seemed like the words might have been crammed right at the back of his throat and was refusing to come out. His eyes, stained with a sentiment of longing, lingered onto her for a few seconds longer before he blurted a quick, “Bye.” And turned to walk out the door.

Jaeyun held her gaze onto his backside until he had disappeared into the hall where her eyes remained stranded onto the empty doorway. Remaining immobile in her spot for just a second more, Jaeyun found her legs rushing her out the door where she saw Sehun only a few measly steps away. Dashing over, Jaeyun gripped her fingers around Sehun’s arm. He halted to a startling stop and glanced down over his shoulder. Now gaining his complete and utter attention Jaeyun slipped her fingers off his the cotton of his raven colored hoodie and limply dropped her arm down to her side.

Turning himself around completely, Sehun patiently remained silent to give Jaeyun a chance to say whatever it is that she wanted to say. Her eyes lingered on his face but not exactly onto his eyes. “Um… goodbye.” Was all she blurted out, regretting it the second it came out.

Sehun didn’t say a thing for a few drawn out seconds before he broke out into a light chuckle. “The way you said that—you make it seem like we’re never going to see each other again.” Jaeyun wasn’t sure how to respond and stayed quiet. “You know,” Sehun suddenly started. “We’re going to different colleges now that are well over a couple of hours away from each other. Plus, both of us will be completely preoccupied by our studies.” He sighed. “You know what that means, right?”

She was slow to answer but eventually replied, “It could mean a lot of different things; more responsibilities, more reasons for us to learn how to fend for ourselves… You won’t have to constantly worry over me anymore which I’m guessing should be a huge weight lifted off your shoulders.”

“All of that may be true but that’s not what I’m trying to get at here.” Sehun advanced a step closer, making Jaeyun tense up a bit. “Now that we’re separated, I won’t be able to see you as much anymore or be around you like I used to be.” A warm sensation suddenly winded at Jaeyun’s stomach as she felt a subtle leap in her chest at his words. “So if something were to happen to you, I can’t just run over and save the day like before.” He concluded. Jaeyun blinked. Oh I understand. So he’s only worried about my safety. Is that right? Of course it is. Of course that’s what he was getting at.

“You don’t have to worry. Nothing bad will happen to me because I can take care of myself. I promise.” She nodded with a weak smile. “You’d better go now. I’m sure mom is wondering why you’ve been gone for so long.” With a small wave, Jaeyun turned around and started towards her dorm room. But not even a moment too soon, the sound of hard footsteps met her ears and two long arms tightly latched around her from behind. Her back met the warmness of a firm chest which rose and descended in an unpretentious yet soothing pace that put her now thumping heart at ease.

“Sehun.” She hesitantly murmured, unsure of what else to say or even what to do besides remaining motionless in his embrace. “Sehun… are you…”

“Just stay quiet for a minute.” He interrupted, instantly silencing her. He wrapped his arms tighter around her small frame, bringing her even closer to him. Each of his short breaths now cascaded past her cheeks, gently caressing her skin and sending every nerve in her body into a frenzy. Faintly, almost silently, a timid whisper escaped his lips. “If you talk right now, I’m only going to get more nervous…”

“Jaeyun!!”

Quicker than the blink of an eye, both Sehun and Jaeyun jolted up in alarm and shot away from each other; leaving a safe ten feet distance between themselves. Shortly following the voice, Bomi poked her head out the doorway. “There you are Jaeyun! Oh wait… I’m sorry, but was I interrupting something?”

“No, n-not at all.” Sehun hastily brushed off, running a hand through his hair and exhaling a deep breath. “Uh, I’ll be seeing ya Jaeyun. You too Bomi.” Sehun nodded to Bomi. “I’ll call you tomorrow or something to check up on you, all right Jaeyun?” He added before he turned around and jetted away, almost running into a random girl exiting her dorm room.

“He seemed a little riled up, don’t you think.” Bomi commented as she walked over to Jaeyun’s side. “Is he your boyfriend?”

“Huh? Oh, no no no—he’s my brother. Just my brother.” Jaeyun promptly assured.

“Oh my gosh, really?? I’m sorry, my question must have made you feel so uncomfortable!” She frantically apologized. Jaeyun smiled at her sympathetically and shook her head.

“No it’s okay, really. It’s a common mista-“

Thump… thump… thump…

Jaeyun’s words halted to a stop right at the tip of her tongue. There was the sound again. Gazing past Bomi, Jaeyun could hear the thumps emanating from the inside of their room though the sound was still clear as day. So she wasn’t imagining it—the sound really was coming from their own dorm room. “Hey, it something wrong? You suddenly got really quiet.” Bomi asked in concern.

“I’m… I’m fine. Well actually… Bomi, do you hear that noise? What is that anyways?” Bomi furrowed her eyebrows.

“Noise?” she slowly echoed. Cupping a hand behind her ear and closing her eyes, Bomi stayed just like that for a good ten seconds before opening up her eyes once again with a shrug. “Sorry, but I don’t hear anything.”

Thump… thump…

What? How does she not hear it? We’re in the hall and I can still hear it as if it were right next to me… “Maybe your head is hurting and you’re starting to hear things. Come on, you should go sit down— you’ve been on your feet this entire time after all.” Bomi suggested. Reluctantly taking her amateur prognosis, Jaeyun followed Bomi back into their room where they found Baekhyun and Chanyeol casually standing around chit-chatting. Though something seemed a bit off with one of them.

“Hey Baekhyun, you doing okay? You’ve gotten a little white in the face.” Chanyeol didn’t need to get up close and personal to plainly see a sickly paleness that had overcome Baekhyun’s cheeks.

“What’s wrong?” Bomi asked as they approached the two boys.

“I don’t know. One minute I’m all happy and dandy and then the next, my chest starts to tighten up and I’m breaking into a cold sweat.” He groaned. But rather than shutting his eyes to ease his now growing migraine, his eyes were darting in every corner of the room with an index finger stuck inside his ear. Jaeyun couldn’t help but take some notice to that. “Ahh, I feel absolutely terrible right now!” He whined, the growing weariness becoming more evident in his voice despite how loud he was complaining.

“If you really aren’t feeling good then you should go back to your dorm and rest up.” Bomi resolutely stated with a contrasting glimmer of true concern gently shimmering in her eyes. With just one look at her, Baekhyun immediately gave in without much of a fight.

“Alright… I guess I’ll go then. I’ll text you later, ok?” Baekhyun grinned at Bomi, pecking her sweetly on the forehead. Glancing over at Jaeyun for a brief second with a gaze laced with ice, he leaned in close and lowly whispered in Bomi’s ear. “If anything strange happens, don’t hesitate to come over to my dorm ok?”

“What do you mean…?” Baekhyun, however, was already well on his way out of the room with Chanyeol trailing close behind (and waving a couple more times than necessary at Jaeyun). “That’s so weird, don’t you think?” Bomi muttered as she closed the door behind them with a click. “He was so cheerful and healthy earlier, remember?” She leaned her back against the door. “I can’t help but feel worried. He’s a guy so he can take care of himself but still…” Though it did also seem more than bizarre to Jaeyun as well, she tried not to add onto the suspicion and worry her even more.

“I’m sure he’ll get better after some rest.” Jaeyun reassured. Bomi reluctantly shook her head in agreement but still looked a bit unsure. Jaeyun planted herself down onto her undressed bed; the groan of the springs inside of the mattress resonating across the room beneath her weight. She did have to admit that it did relax her body a bit to finally get off her feet, but at the same time it didn’t really help at all.

Thump… thump… thump…

Jaeyun’s eyebrows furrowed together in slight annoyance now. What on earth was that sound anyways? It no doubt sounded like something being pounded on but it definitely wasn’t coming from behind the door or walls. Rather, it was some type of sound that sort of just came out of the thin air right in front of her. A shiver unexpectedly s up Jaeyun’s spine. Maybe I’m the one who’s sick here. I’ve been feeling cold all day…

“Hey Jaeyun,” Jaeyun turned her head and saw Bomi now standing at the door. “You wouldn’t mind if I go check up on Baekhyun real quick, right?” Jaeyun blinked at her almost in a vacant state. “I’m sorry but I really can’t help it. I’ve never seen Baekhyun like this before, so I’m just really worried about him. You understand where I’m coming from, right?” As Jaeyun stared back at Bomi, her heart began to slowly tip toe up in both speed and strength and an awful, nauseating sensation began to crawl up from the deepest part of her stomach all the way to the back of .

Something isn’t right here.

“U-um…” Jaeyun uneasily started, lightly rubbing her fingers in a circular motion against .

For some reason, even her fingers were trembling.

“You… you can go.” She thoughtlessly said. Calling out a cheerful thanks, Bomi swiftly left the room.

And now, Jaeyun was all alone.

The hallways behind her closed door lay in a layer of growing silence. It seems like the groups of students out in the hall must have all finished bringing their belongings in their rooms as well, leaving the halls practically deserted and absolutely soundless. This only added on to Jaeyun’s now increasing feeling of desolate solitude even more. Bringing her legs up to her chest, she loosely enclosed her arms around her legs and rested her chin on her knees. Whenever she was alone, this was always a position she’d find herself sitting in. It made her feel more comfortable, more secure even. And during a time like this, it really did help to calm her nerves.

However, she just couldn’t shake off this anxiety clawing away at her right now. Pulling her arms tighter around herself, she squeezed her eyes shut. A throbbing ache in the back of her head was beginning to plague her thoughts, hindering her from thinking straight.

Just calm down now Jaeyun. She kept telling herself. I need to relax. I’m safe now after all. Why did she feel the need to reassure herself of something like that so suddenly? I’m out of my house now; which is miles and miles away from here. The way I’m feeling right now—I’ve felt like this long ago. But… there’s no reason for me to be feeling this way. I mean… there’s no way at all because… he’s gone. Luhan is—

Knock knock knock

Jaeyun jumped up, unable to suppress a small yelp from leaping up . It took her a moment to finally realize it was a knock at her door and thankfully wasn’t that strange noise she kept hearing before. “C-come in, it’s unlocked.” She called out, hand against her chest to steady her jumping breaths. A long moment had past before she heard the same handful of knocks once again. “Come in!” She repeated with more vigor just in case she wasn’t heard before. An identical pause blew by before the knocks sounded against her ears once more. What in the world?

Getting up onto her slightly wobbly and unstable legs, she preceded a few steps towards the door. “Bomi…?” her tone was careful as restlessness began to simmer in her stomach. Once again, another knock followed a few silent seconds. “Whoever you are, i-if this is a joke then stop! This isn’t funny!” She firmly cautioned, at last making it in front of the door. There was no real response to her besides the same knocks, except this time around it sounded a bit more powerful and impatient. It was almost as if this person—or whatever it may be—knew she was right in front of the door.

She nervously waited; waited for another round of knocks. But for some reason, it stopped completely.

But she could feel it. She could feel it all too well. She knew there was someone standing on the opposite side of this door. Just like her, this person was rooted to the ground in the same manner as her; waiting for something to happen. But what this other individual was waiting for, she had no clue.

Biting the lower left corner of her bottom lip nervously, Jaeyun brought both of her quivering hands up and awkwardly wrapped both around icy, silver door handle. Don’t do this Jaeyun. Don’t do it. She repeated in her mind. Exerting only a tiny bit of her energy, she twisted the knob clockwise. Pulling the door towards her, she allowed it to open just a tiny bit to allow a measly sliver of the hallway into her sights, which was just enough for her to check to see if anyone was actually waiting for her on the other side.

But the hall was empty.

The second the realization hit her, a sudden monstrous force rammed into the door from the other side with terrifying strength, almost as if someone was attempting to push their way through. Momentarily losing her footing and screaming out in absolute fear from the sudden strength, Jaeyun held tightly onto the doorknob and pushed her entire body into the door; slamming it shut for good.

Violently shaking and too horrified to figure out how to properly inhale a breath, she managed to firmly push down onto her door one last time for good measure and firmly twisted the lock. Leaned against the door, she could feel every inch of her body paralyzed in place. This fear she’s felt right now, this overwhelming paranoia— she’s felt it all before, which was what frightened her the most right now. The sound of mixed footsteps and alarmed voices were now muffled behind her doorway.

“Did you guys hear that loud bang? What was that?”

“Yeah I heard it too!”

“I could have sworn I heard a girl screaming too.”

Jaeyun eyelids collapsed down and hooded her eyes. Please… please tell me this isn’t happening. Anything but this. There’s no way this could actually be happening—it’s impossible. …Right? Oncoming tears began to sting her eyes accompanied by an all too painful ball forming in .

She was scared and couldn’t control herself from completely losing it.

Knock knock

Jaeyun in a breath and her eyes shot wide open. She swiveled her head around and gaped at the door with rounded eyes. She wasn’t going to open it this time. She absolutely wouldn’t. Though she couldn’t ignore curiosity still timidly tugging at her conscience. Taking in a deep breath, she thought of nothing else to do but to gently rest her ear against the door. Would she be able to hear anything out of the ordinary?

She waited but was only met with the low hum of complete silence. Though she remained patient and stayed in her place. Perhaps a minute passed or maybe even two when Jaeyun was beginning to think this was all a waste of time.

But the moment she was about to pull away… she heard something. Something that the oxygen right out of her lungs and made every part of her body go completely numb. She wanted to scream now. She even wanted to cry. But nothing came out; not even a single breath.

For what she finally heard behind that door was voice. An all too familiar voice belonging to a man she thought she had finally escaped who was done away with for good.

The voice belonged to Luhan.

And he had said only one thing to Jaeyun.

“Go to sleep.”

This chapter is so bad omg I can't breathe

*LONG AUTHOR’S NOTE AHEAD CUZ I GOT LOTS TO SAY DAMMIT*

Ok so I believe Sehun can better express my gratitude to my loyal readers by saying:

Right on, Sehun. You handsome piece of booty

But yuuup thank you guys for being sooooo patient with me and waiting for me to post this damn chapter lol I’d also like to take this time to thank each and everyone one of you for getting Watching Me featured!!! (It was on Friday the 13^th too o.o) In all honestly, I never aimed to get it featured. All I really wanted was to share the story with all my fellow exostans and low and behold it ended up garnering a load more attention than I ever dreamed. All your comments and support omg I don’t deserve it, y’all are too kind *ugly cries*

This chapter wasn’t really meant to be scary which is what I’m assuming all of you thought it was going to be right lol But Watching Me started off kind of slow when it came to the scary so perhaps this will turn out the same. We’ll never know! My main intention for this chapter was to really set a firm premise for everything so that I can really focus on the characters and plot and creepy junk throughout the rest of the story.

And yeah the story is in third person now. Is it weird reading about Jaeyun when y’all have been her for so long lol I find third person a lot better and it’s a good way to develop Jaeyun’s character this way. FUN FACT: a few days before Watching Me got featured, I was planning on putting it on draft mode and editing it all into third person. But then it got featured so I was just sitting there all stupid looking, thinking oh... well I guess I can’t do anything with it as of now… lol But one day when I find the time, I’ll edit it!!!

And also, I need to announce that I will be out of state in a few day to go to my cousin’s wedding so I’ll be gone for about a week or two. This’ll give y’all some time to let that cliffhanger really stew in your minds right lol I know, I’m an evil author.