Kyungsoo began walking back to the stairs as Ara stayed there for a moment. Contemplating on following him or not, but then she bit her lip, why not? It’s not like she had anything else to do anyways.

She sped up her footsteps, catching up to Kyungsoo as he hurried down the stairs. He never answered the rest of her questions, but she didn’t bother repeating them either. Instead, Ara walked besides Kyungsoo as the two of them made it through the empty campus area. Not a soul insight.

As they walked through the busy streets, the sun almost beginning to set, Ara took a moment to observe Kyungsoo. He seemed to be thinking elsewhere, as if his mind was long gone. He walked differently, more confidently but not cocky, as if he had no worries in the whole world.

Or maybe he did….

They arrived at the building not much later, the sun had already set causing the only light to illuminate was the moon being the street lamps were half lit. The building didn’t look old or abandon, in fact, it looked like any other building in the streets , vintage exterior. Ara knew it was abandon, everyone in the area knew.

So how did Kyungsoo know if he wasn’t from here?

“Tell me about this place.” He stared at it, long and lean.

Ara shrugged. “There’s not much to it. No electricity, no water, no heat. It’s going to be freezing in there. And it’s abandon so I doubt there’s anything in there.”

“You can wait here if you’d like, Samara.”

He took a step forwards, about to emerge into the entrance until Ara immediately tugged on his arm, pulling him back. He looked down at her, angling his head, the moonlight illuminating on his face, making him look absolutely flawless.

“Are you scared, Samara?”

Was she? No, not really. Ara isn’t really scared of anything, is she?

She shook her head. “No, but it’s just that, no one really goes in there. That’s why it’s abandon, Kyungsoo. There are rumors.”

The man smiled before ruffling her hair the second time that day. She didn’t like it, it made her feel like a kid. She was nineteen.

“That’s why facts are facts and rumors are rumors.” He beamed, slowly lowering his hand to clasp it into her’s. He didn’t intertwine their fingers, though. He just held her hand. “Let’s go and see if we can find him in there.”

Ara wondered what was wrong with her? Why was she stepping into an abandon building with a man she barely knew? What if he was the one who needed to be found? What if he was actually some criminal? It didn’t make sense why she wasn’t being cautious of her safety, but she didn’t care at the moment. Maybe it was the way Kyungsoo’s eyes observed every single speck and detail, or maybe it was the way he talked. But she knew for sure that it was because of Kyungsoo that she wanted to enter that abandon house and find him. Whoever he is.

“Interesting…” Kyungsoo pondered as they entered the main doors, the whole house was freezing just as Ara had suspected. But something else caught their eye.

It was the furniture.

It appeared to be so neat and clean, like it was given gentle care everyday. Kyungsoo walked over to the maple coffee table in the middle, letting go of Ara’s hand, he stuck out his index finger as he dragged it across the surface, putting it up to his face.

“There’s barely any dust.”

“Does that mean that the guy you’re looking for might be here?” Ara wondered aloud, staring at the retro looking mirror hung on the wall, it was big and tall, almost taking up the whole wall.

“No.”

She turned her head back, only to be faced with Kyungsoo’s figure as he too, stared at the mirror.

“Why not?” She asked, focusing her gaze.

“Samara, what were those rumors about? Of this house?”

She shrugged, pulling the strap of her bag over her shoulder, looking at Kyungsoo, she hadn’t really heard much, only a few stories here and there from Mrs. Lim who lived down the street. Or a few from her friends when they spent their Friday nights all cooped up in one dorm, trading scary tales.

“Sometimes, the people who live on this street would hear weird noises at night. Like some construction going on or something, or people banging on the walls but then all of a sudden, it would stop. Some people reported it, but the officers found nothing but an abandon house.” Kyungsoo’s eyes weren’t on her, they remained solely on the mirror behind her, but she wanted him to look at her. “There use to be a couple next door, but ever since the noises started, they disappeared.”

“A couple, huh?” Kyungsoo nodded his head, his eyes looking far off. “Like the one in the mirror?”

Ara scrunched her eyebrows as she looked at him in confusion, before slowly turning herself to follow Kyungsoo’s gaze in the mirror, and she gasped, her eyes wide as saucers as she gaped in horror..

There, in the mirror, stood a man and a woman. Both young, and both standing lifeless. The man was tall lean, his jeans looked torn as his shirt looked dirty, his eyes remained stoic with a bit of hope as he stared straight ahead. The woman beside him, was petite and fragile looking, as if she might break if you even touched her. Her breaths were staggered and she looked distraught as ever.

“How is that possible?” Ara whispered. “How are they in the mirror, isn’t that just a reflection?”

Kyungsoo took her step forward, his fingers running themselves through the rim of the mirror, before placing his finger on the glass. He looked around, as if searching the air for clues.

“Perception profundity glass filter. Genius idea.” He then turned to Ara. “It’s extraterrestrial technology, actually. Luvane tech. They were the first to discover it millions of years ago.”

Ara brushed off the feeling in the pit of her stomach as he spoke his words, instead she looked at the helpless couple in the glass. “So, it traps them in there? Like an alternative universe?”

“I like your way of thinking, Samara.” Kyungsoo winked. “Sort of, yes. They see us, we see them. There’s no sound waves going through the filter, so we can’t hear each other. I wouldn’t really call it an alternative universe, though. Because they are not in any universe, they are literally trapped inside the glass.”

“That’s crazy.” She stammered. “How do we get them out?”

“We don’t.”

Ara swung her jaw open. “But they’re stuck, and I know you know wha-”

“We’re going to wait here, Samara.” Kyungsoo roamed his eyes over the area. “Whoever trapped them in here, obviously wants to keep them alive. Unless they would’ve been dead weeks ago. So we’re going to wait here until he returns to make sure they’re still here. We’ll wait for him.”

“Here? All night? Then, where are we going to hide?”

Kyungsoo eyed her for a long moment. “Are you scared, Samara?”

She gazed back at him, her eyes looking for something in his, but she found nothing. Did this man have no emotion? “No, I’m not.”

His lips curled into a smile. “Good, then come on, I know where we can hide and wait for the predator.”

As soon as she turned her back, the banging on the glass had started, as if it was screeching itself. She was going to look back at the pitiful couple before Kyungsoo’s arm came around her shoulder, pulling her closer to him as they began walking deeper into the house. His lips grazed her ear softly and Ara felt something inside her spark.

“Whatever you do, don’t look at them. Understand? Just focus on me, and look straight. No matter how much they bang and how much you want to look back, you can’t, okay?”

Ara’s eyes looked far ahead, instead of asking why, she had a much bigger question stuck in her mind. “The guy you’re looking for, Kyungsoo, he’s not... human, is he?”

They turned a corner and into a rather larger bedroom that seemed as if it belonged to a teenage girl back in the 1900’s with its’ vintage but feminine interior.

Kyungsoo let go of her, leaving Ara to her own shivers at the loss of his warmth. He walked around, eyeing the room skeptically.

“No, he’s not.”

Ara swallowed the lump in . Maybe he’s just trolling her. But this uneasy feeling settled in her stomach as she watched Kyungsoo’s eyes graze all throughout the room, as if he was memorizing every single bit of it. As if he could.

“H-He’s an alien.” She stammered, and that’s when Kyungsoo finally looked at her, his gaze cold but warm. It didn’t make sense. “But he looks human, doesn’t he? He’s an alien that looks human.”

Kyungsoo nodded, taking a step forwards, Ara didn’t flinch nor did she step back. She stayed rooted in her spot until Kyungsoo was only a few inches apart.

“Just like you, right?”

“Yeah.”

My fingers were itching to update, I can't help it *-*

Stay Awkward xoxo