Chapter two

05-05-15

As they got outside, Baekhyun noticed something. No matter how the building looked, it all looked different. Whether it was a different window or the distance between windows. You could easily see how big a room was.

The tall guy, Park Chanyeol’s buddy opened the door, letting Lia walk in first before he released the door and walked in behind her, letting the door fall against Park Chanyeol. If Baekhyun had to be very honest now, it was quite funny. He grimaced at Park Chanyeol opened the door again, this time (although Baekhyun couldn’t see his face) looking less proud. Baekhyun quickly slipped through the door before it closed and was met by a small hallway, a long hallway on the left and huge stairs. The others already walked up the stairs, so he just followed. Floor E was the upper floor and room six one of the rooms in the middle.

‘’Listen up guys, I’m going to tell you something very important.’’ Park Chanyeol’s buddy began as soon as they arrived at one of the many doors in the long hallway, looking exactly the same as all the others aside from the small ‘6’ on the side. He pointed at the door. ‘’This is the door to your dorm.’’ He said. ‘’However, it isn’t an actual room right now.’’ Baekhyun frowned.

‘’Right now, your room is just a square with white walls and nothing inside. No beds, no toilets, no closet. Nothing.’’ Baekhyun frowned harder, thinking about the impossibilities of living in a room like that. ‘’But using your abilities, you are going to change that. I heard both of you have a power containing brightness so I assume it’s going to be okay.’’ He murmured the last part. However, Park Chanyeol heard it (not that Baekhyun didn’t hear it) and decided to say something.

‘’What do you mean with that?’’ He asked, regarding to the murmured sentence.

‘’Well.’’ The buddy shrugged. ‘’There are some rooms that aren’t as nice as you think a dorm would be. A19 for example, is a prison. With a bunkbed and an open toilet in the corner. But those kids are jerks so the staff didn’t feel sorry for them at all.’’ Baekhyun smirked, although he did feel kind of scared that the same would happen to their room. His ability may be bright, but that didn’t mean it was ‘good’.

He heard Park Chanyeol chuckle. ‘’That won’t happen to us.’’ He determinedly said.

‘’How are you so sure?’’ Lia asked.

‘’Come on, have you seen my grades. Even the PE teacher said I was the best. I was in that other school for not even a year!’’ Park Chanyeol proudly exclaimed and Baekhyun rolled his eyes.

‘’Can’t we just start?’’ He asked, what was quickly approved by Lia. ‘’We are starting now. It’s easy. Just grab each other’s hand and put the other on the door. It’s all about your strength and loyalty; psychical and mental strength. The room will read you and decide the interior of your room. It’s not hard.

Baekhyun inwardly nodded and laid his one hand on the door and felt Chanyeol’s hand grab his in a firm hold, basically overlapping it since Baekhyun’s was much smaller. Baekhyun ignored the sudden touch and concentrated on the door.

‘’Just remember to stay relaxed.’’ Lia advised before she knocked on the door three times.

Baekhyun instantly felt a change inside his head. It was slightly mentally draining but on the other hand felt good. His surroundings became brighter, unknown burdens fell off his shoulder and he felt like he could fly away any second. But that didn’t happen. He was nailed to the ground by another force.

It only lasted a few seconds before he was back to himself again and opened his eyes, although he didn’t remember closing them. The door hadn’t changed. It was still the same, white door just like any other door in the dormitory. He opened his fisted hand in Park Chanyeol’s grip and made him release it before he stepped away.

A few seconds passed.

‘’Well, don’t you guys want to see how your room looks like or not?’’ Lia asked, making motions to them to open the door. Baekhyun looked up at Chanyeol who didn’t even hesitate to get in front of him- unnoticeably pushing him rearwards – and opened the door. He stilled. Baekhyun prepared himself for the worst to come, judging Park Chanyeol’s statue right now; it could either be astonishing beautiful, or terribly bad. If it was the latter, it’d probably be his fault. Even if Chanyeol was exaggerating (what he definitely was), Baekhyun’s power would still be able to ruin everything.

It took a while for Chanyeol to finally start moving, but when he did, Baekhyun could breathe properly again. All the thought about ruining the room quickly ebbed away when Chanyeol stepped aside, giving him enough space to see the room. Even his expectations of a room like any other – one with two beds, a bathroom and enough space for them to enjoy whatever they could enjoy – floated away in his thoughts.

Chanyeol pushed the door further open and Baekhyun (becoming slightly irritated that the other didn’t move) slipped through the open door and Park Chanyeol’s body and walked inside. There was a living room. A ing living room! A kitchen with an island and bar and stairs to their rooms. What was supposed a normal room for two boys to live in for the next few years had become a house for many more people to live in, as far as Baekhyun could see and predict. But before he could investigate further, Lia’s voice called out for him; and Park Chanyeol.

‘’Okay guys, you can look around later. We need to go to the dining hall before all the food is gone.’’ She said. Oddly enough, it had become dark outside, Baekhyun noticed as he looked through the windows in the… room.

‘’Wait what? Now already?’’ Chanyeol asked the question Baekhyun had in mind and gave the two buddy’s a confused yet indignant look.

‘’You guys took a long time at the door, now come on.’’ Lia said and started walking away, leaving no choice for them other than to follow her.

¬

When they entered the dining hall, it was already filled with students, both old and new. The tables were filled with food. Park Chanyeol’s buddy led them through the bustle towards an empty table and sat down, doing the only thing they could do for now. Eating.

Baekhyun wasn’t hungry and just stared at everything and nothing while Chanyeol’s buddy and Park Chanyeol himself were gluttonously cramming themselves with food. Just like wild animals. As if they hadn’t eaten in days.

It looked utterly disgusting.

Baekhyun decided to wait, resting his head on his palm while the other was on the table, three light balls rotating in it. It was something he always did when he was bored. It somehow killed time, both because of the required concentration and slight amusement. He noticed Chanyeol looking at him again, or more at his hand, but decided to ignore it for now.

He couldn’t help to constantly look over at the clock, hanging above a small platform. Time seemed to pass by slowly. Too slowly. It felt like ages before three soft taps on a microphone were heard through the whole hall, followed by a loud, probably accidental, ear-piercing screech. His head snapped to the side and he saw the principle, Mr. Oscar, standing on the platform, holding the wireless microphone rather awkwardly in his hands. The noise stopped after a good few seconds and the man started grinning at his new pupils, who looked back at him as if he was on fire.

‘’Great, amazing, now that I’m certain that I have your attention, please listen. I’ll be naming a few rules of the school’’ He said, sudden authority was clearly heard in his voice.

‘’First of all, one of the most important, if not the most important one. Food! Three meals will be served at specific times of the day, breakfast, lunch and dinner obviously.

If you want to eat outside the fence, be sure to provide yourself from a map. I want this to be a serious aspect. When you go outside the fence, being careful is a definite must. The people out there don’t want us, are scared for us and yet try to find and capture us. Going outside, however, is mainly your own decision, and thus your own responsibility.

We have already proved you from a map of the whole ‘inside the fence’ and the school in a handy booklet that will appear in front of you right now.’’

Just like the old man said, a small booklet appeared right in front of Baekhyun (and all the other students) and fell on the table. Baekhyun grabbed it from the table and opened it, not really looking at it.

‘’The booklet also includes a few main rules, such as staying outside late, the times food will be served and  some activities the school does.’’

Baekhyun nodded to himself, another odd habit he had, and flipped to the page containing the map of ‘inside the fence’. He wasn’t even going to bother wondering all night about why it was called that way.

‘’Your lessons will started tomorrow at eight am prompt. Late-comers will not be tolerated here on EXO. Inside your new room will be all the supplies and foodstuff you need for your first, and upcoming, schooldays. Any questions?’’

No one raised their hand and Mr. Oscar nodded. ‘’Then you all will be dismissed, sleep tight and come back refreshed and well tomorrow.

The students clapped when Mr Oscar finished his welcoming speech before the man walked off and most of the students stood up from their seat. Baekhyun had noticed that his roommate was still eating and definitely didn’t bother to say something about the fact he was still looking at his hand. Instead, he fisted his hand and made them disappear.

‘’I’m leaving.’’ He promptly said as he stood up from the seat.

‘’You’re not waiting for your roommate?’’ Lia asked.

‘’Yeah, you’re not waiting for your roommate?’’ Chanyeol mimicked the buddy and stopped eating for a moment, leaving his chicken holding hand in the mid-air.

‘’My roommate is still eating, and I’m not hungry. So no.’’ Baekhyun simply answered. Chanyeol shrugged and went back to eating. He was about to walk away when a smaller hand grabbed his arm, stopping him on the spot. He turned around just when she laid a small, shiny object in his hand. ‘’This is your key of the room. Keep it in sight.’’ She said before sitting back on the seat. Baekhyun muttered a soft ‘thanks’ and walked off.

He remembered the way back easily, photographic memory, as he named it. It was probably one of the only things he liked about his mind. He followed the same way back and quickly arrived outside. Students were walking around everywhere, even though it was already dark outside. Some were in big groups, chatting happily, while others stood with their roommate only (Baekhyun assumed it was their roommate), checking the surroundings and trying to get familiar with everything.

Baekhyun made his way to his room and into his room. The room once again didn’t fail to shock him by how humongous it actually was. He walked around, observing the huge living room. There were two big couches with TV, a kitchen with a mini bar and a long dining table. He slowly walked in further, taking the time to observe every small detail, like the big painting of flowers on the wall, and the filled fruit bowl on the bar. Baekhyun grabbed the pale stair-railing and made his way upstairs He was greeted by a small hallway with four doors. Baekhyun assumed it were two bedrooms, a bathroom and probably a spare room. Although he had no idea why there would be a spare room.

He passed the first door on the left and stood still in front of it. The door was sharp white and had one dark-blue star on the right-upper side, his initials next to it. He stood still for a second, actually not wanting to open the door. The whole room itself was already a huge thing, and it took a lot time to consume everything. But his curiosity made his hand reach out for the door handle and open the door.

It all again went far beyond his expectations. There was a king-sized bed in the middle of the room, a low, white chest in front of it and a white bureau. His room was mainly white and blue, colours that bring happiness and ease along, although it didn’t feel like that. There was a hint of darkness in everything, at least, that was what Baekhyun could feel. It was an odd, unexplainable feeling; he quickly shivered it off of himself and looked around more. To his surprise, he found out he had a walk-in closet which was filled with clothes he had never seen before, all in his size and measuring up to his liking.

He closed the door to his room and turned around. The door diagonally opposite of his was completely the opposite; it was a dark red door with a hint of ash here and there, the initials PCY carved in it. He wasn’t going to open the door to his roommate’s room and instead decided to investigate the remaining two rooms. He was indeed right about the spare room, which turned out to have two cozy beds. The other room was the bathroom, which was much bigger than he first thought.

He closed all the doors with a soft clicking noise and went downstairs again, just in time to see Chanyeol emerging from the kitchen, taking a big bite out of the apple he just grabbed. Baekhyun frowned.

‘’Since when where you here?’’ He asked, staying on the stairs. Chanyeol quickly swallowed the fruit. ‘’Hello to you too, roommate.’’ He sarcastically said.

Baekhyun sighed. ‘’It was just a question.’’

‘’Yeah, I know, and this was just a remark.’’

‘’Good observation.’’ Baekhyun rolled his eyes. To be honest, he had no idea what he should do now. Should he walk around and do , or go back upstairs and do their, which probably meant sleeping. He didn’t feel like choosing and stayed where he was, watching how Park Chanyeol walked around in the room.

‘’So your power.’’ Chanyeol started out of the blue, making a loud noise as he took another bite from his apple. ‘’VFat is iv vhav you can foe?’’
‘’Please swallow the fruit first.’’ Baekhyun remarked and leaned on the railing of the stairs, watching how the latter quickly swallowed his food before asking again. ‘’What is it that you can do? With your power, I mean.’’ He asked, leaning his arms on the back of the couch, staring up at him once again.

Baekhyun shrugged. ‘’Nothing much, turn the lights on and off.’’ Was what bluntly came out of his mouth before he shrugged again. This time, it was Chanyeol who frowned.

‘’Nothing much.’’ He repeated, slightly unbelievably. ‘’That’s bull.’’ He concluded. Baekhyun wanted to throw an argument to that when Chanyeol quickly backed up his sudden statement. ‘’There must be a reason why you are send here.’’

Baekhyun closed his mouth; he actually didn’t have anything to say to that.

‘’Answer the question.’’

‘’That wasn’t even a question.’’

Baekhyun didn’t know whether he and his roommate where on good terms or not. For some reason, he didn’t feel awkward around the boy, but he didn’t like him either. Chanyeol however seemed to have his interests in him. Sometimes. When he did something others didn’t do. Or something like that…

‘’Just say something.’’

‘’What do you want me to say?’’

‘’Why you- no, just show me something.’’ Chanyeol’s voice was something between desperate curiosity and hardness.

Chanyeol waited for a few seconds before the lights turned off. He wasn’t quite amazed by this, although it was much darker than it’d normally be when the lights turned off, making it unable to see a thing. But when the lights went on, the boy wasn’t there anymore and Chanyeol was sure that he had gone upstairs. He smirked. An interesting roommate he had. The boy was weird in some way, yet very interesting and mysterious, making Chanyeol want to find out more about him. But for now, the main question: ‘’Why are you here?’’, stood on top of the list of his main priorities. He threw the apple in the bin and made his way upstairs as well. The sharp white door on the left was closed, so he didn’t bother opening it.

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­His room was just like his door, red and dark, a hint of playfulness here and there. His bed was red, his cupboard black. There was a single window with closed curtains and a guitar resting against the cupboard. It wasn’t a special room, but he was sure that it was better than Baekhyun’s.

It was a fact that he was the main reason that the room turned out like this. Baekhyun’s room was probably just a bed and a cupboard, just like his but then smaller. Chanyeol grabbed the guitar and sat down on his bed, leisurely strumming some random notes. He used to practise every day before he was sent to the school by his parents, he was pretty damn good.

He heard the shower run, meaning Baekhyun was taking a shower. For some reason, Chanyeol didn’t feel like showering. He was drained from the door ‘event’, but didn’t nag about it because he knew it meant he did most of the stuff to basically ‘make’ the room. He decided to call it a day, putting away the guitar and changing to something more comfortable before he went under the sheets and went to bed. Forgetting just one thing.