Chapter IV "House of Oddness"   

"Everything that you've done in front of my eyes, it's a complete darkness." ~ Bangtan Boys 'House of Cards'   

“I call for a break, I finished my work. How about it?” Sooyoung asked, slamming down the pencil onto the counter as Jungkook was on the other side of the store stocking the new headphone shipment. He felt his heart jump slightly, it nearly felt like she was asking him out. Nearly.

But as he looked at the clock, he knew it wasn’t possible. His break wasn’t for another hour and a half. But he didn’t want to turn down Sooyoung after finally having his shot at her.

“I already ordered some snacks. I have bubble tea and some really good pastries on the way.” Manager Song came out of the back room with another box of items that Jungkook will have to take inventory of and place in the shelves.

“Hello Seunghyun sunbaenim, sorry for intruding.” Sooyoung spoke, her sweet voice trying to sugar coat her apology to not get Jungkook in trouble. Seunghyun just smiled, he squinted his eyes and had a playful smile on his lips as he looked back and forth between his worker and her.

“Since when do they deliver that stuff?” Jungkook asked, his movements stopped after he scrunched his face up at the odd statement. His eyebrows knit with confusion as his eyes were stained with doubt as he stared at the cardboard box.

“Since the delivery worker needs a repair, I asked them to bring it for a small discount.” He spoke, his words cleverly dancing on his lips as he slid on top of the counter and begun kicking his feet like a kid. Sooyoung simply giggled as she moved away from the boy, his lips curved in a smile that was coated with excitement as he stared at the door.

Manager Song was simply five years older than Jungkook but they still held a close relationship. The boy was down to earth and really laid back. He talked to Jungkook about everything and even passed on wisdom, especially with girls, considering that Manger Song is able to charm girls with his amazing guitar skills.

“You don’t give discounts, even small ones.” He looked at Sooyoung, the plastic cap of the pen rested on her lips, her teeth gnawing lightly on it as she raised her eyebrows with a smirk that mirrored Jungkook’s. “Let me guess, she’s a girl you find cute.” Jungkook spoke, the words dancing on his lip as a teasing smile just took over his countenance.

“Well you’ll definitely see it when she comes, which should be any minute. How do I look?” He asked, his hands fixing the collar of his black and blue flannel as he pressed his lips together and did that thing with his eyes that Jungkook loves seeing. He widen his eyes to the max, which gave him a goofy and approachable look.

“Fantastic, if she’s into guys who look like creepy dolls.” Jungkook spoke, his tone was filling up with amusement as Sooyoung simply laughed, her joyful laugh filling the room with this aura that wasn’t common.

“Yeah, and the girl who pays attention to you will probably like horror characters that come right out of a video game.” Manger Song spoke as Jungkook bit down onto his lip to hold back the laughter. It didn’t hurt and he didn’t feel insulted, he found his comeback simply funny.

“Delivery.” As soon as that familiar voice echoed in the quiet room, Jungkook simply whispered no over and over in his head. Just when he completely got her out of his head, well for a while now, she shows up before he was mentally prepared.

“Minyoung-ssi, I just finished putting the last repair on your guitar. Can you put the stuff down here and I’ll go get it.” Manager Song spoke, his attitude was very calm and casual, which was the opposite of what Jungkook’s was. He was scared, scared to turn to look at her and see that snake, that monster that keeps poisoning his piece of mind.

The room should have turned quiet and stiff. Awkward tension should have had a physical grasp on all of them, but it didn’t. Jungkook felt this sense of easiness he didn’t feel before. He felt this warmth aura in the room, as if the sunlight was finding its way into the store and warming up his surroundings. Minyoung stood there, a black snap back worn backwards on her head, her bangs tucked to the side as he could clearly see her flushed face. She must have been working hard.

She was dipped in black from head to toe, but her eyes sparkled with this brightness that didn’t match her outfit. Jungkook cleared his throat, remembering she was the one who saved him the other day. He winced slightly as he remembered that they were supposed to go out to dinner for exactly that reason later on today.

“Minyoung-ssi, I haven’t personally thanked you for what you and your cousin did the other day. I’m in debt with both of you, especially with the attacks that have been going on.” Minyoung seemed to be thrown off a little bit as Jungkook kind of blurted his gratitude without even saying a slight greeting to the girl. Hell, he didn’t even acknowledge her presence and he blurted out his debt with her. Her eyes widen, she stared at him with a gaping mouth as she still held the cold drinks in her grasp.

“It was nothing, just try to not be drunk and alone at night.” Her smile pushed a giggle out of his system. “Besides, you guys agreed to feed Junhoe’s bottomless stomach today. I’m sure that will make us be in debt with you two.” She spoke, her words full of life and charisma. They were so charming and welcoming, it was like she was already great with friends him and that comfort was unusual. Her smile embraced him with joy and her deep brown eyes were normal, nothing unusual about them at all, except that they were so inviting.

“Here we go, you can’t even tell it was injured.” Manager Song finally came back, in his grasp was a beautiful electric guitar. It as matte black with a silver outline and it reflected Minyoung’s cool aura more than anything. She examined the instrument carefully and nodded with pure satisfaction.

“Thanks for the snacks.” Seunghyun spoke, a wide smile appearing on his face as he bit onto a red velvet cupcake. The pastry engulfing his senses as he was dinning on it. It was clear that he was flirting with her, and Jungkook didn’t know how Minyoung would react to the flirty eyes that just glimmered at the sight of her smile.

“Thanks for the discount, I should head back now.” She spoke, her laid back attitude showing as she took a small step back. Jungkook was thrown back at the observation that she was returning the same set of flirty eyes and smiles.

“We’re still on for six-thirty, right?” She asked, her eyes widening with assurance as she directed the question to Jungkook, but suddenly, all eyes were peering at him for the mentioning of something that sounded like a date.

“Yeah, tell Junhoe if he can’t find the place to just call Yugyeom.” She nodded simply at his nervous attempt of making it clear it wasn’t a date. But even after she left, Manager Song and Sooyoung begun to bombard him with picky questions and doubtful responses.

“So I still have a shot?” Manager Song asked, for the nth time in the conversation that Jungkook nearly rolled his eyes at his sunbae. But he caught himself before he could, he simply nodded but a thought was thrown out of his memory box and he smiled wickedly.

“Yugyeom is already working on it, so you have him to worry about.” Jungkook spoke, taking the bubble tea and indulging on the sweet and cold taste of the drink. Manager Song’s mouth gaped, his heart dropped a bit as he tried processing the information.

‘She’s not even pretty.’ Jungkook jumped as he heard the voice speak, it sounded just like Sooyoung but she wasn’t moving . He stared at her visage and simply saw closed, not moving and not making a comment on Minyoung’s appearance.

‘She looks so cute in her uniform.’ He took a step back, noticing that Manager Song was staring off, peering blankly at the door. His voice seemed to speak but his mouth was too busy trying to break down the last piece of his pastry. Did they just talk inside his head?

He was going nuts, that was a given. He might as well put up flyers for his lost sanity all over the city because it was clear he lost it. Why did he hear their voices so loudly and clearly in his head, it was as if they spoke or like he read their thoughts.

That’s inhumanly possible but now that he thinks about it, it wasn’t the first time something like this has happened. How many times, he wasn’t sure of, but he knew that he must have brushed it off like nothing. But at the moment, this moment when so many weird things are just happening around him, he can’t help but be bothered by it.

She is pretty. He thought as he stared at her walking in. That insane argument that he heard between a silent Seunghyun and Sooyoung was finally settled. She wore a black skater skirt with matching converse. A band tee shirt was tucked into her skirt and lose around her body as her cardigan seem to radiate this charisma he didn’t know was there.

He was also handsome, he hated to say it that way, but he could see why so Yugyeom said he was popular. His black jacket was draped over his body that was covered in a cool gray and blue baseball tee. He wore grey converse and slightly lose black pants. His blond hair was styled perfectly messy as he matched well with his cousin. So these were his two savors, the two people he hasn’t even officially met and the owners of his real life nightmare.

“Hey, thanks for coming. You both look great.” Yugyeom spoke, his nerves tinting his cheeks, he was crushing and it was worse than he expected. Well, he didn’t think that Yugyeom crushing on the new girl was bad, but he didn’t think it was this much. As far as Jungkook knew, they barely even met, how could he be crushing this badly?

For majority of dinner Jungkook forgot about everything. He forgot about the snake, that nightmare of a creature wasn’t there to painfully ask for all of his attention and peace of mind. The eyes of both his guests were normal, they were simple rich brown that wasn’t tinted like autumn or like the ocean.

But he couldn’t help shake this feeling, this sensation that was creeping up his spine and making him attentive. Yes, he felt this sense of comfort whenever Minyoung spoke and an assurance of safety when Junhoe smiled but his skin was crawling with negativity.

“Excuse me, I need to use the washroom.” Jungkook spoke, an apologetic tone tinting his words as he stood up and bowed slightly before taking his part.

Minyoung hasn’t come back from the washroom herself, but he needed a slight peep talk. He needed to stop feeling this angst that is brewing at the bottom of his stomach.

“Apgujeong, we’re sure that’s where the nocturne children are attacking tonight.” Her voice was oddly amplified. Jungkook felt his entire body stiffen as he realized Minyoung was in the bathroom next door.

“Our plan is simple, we’ll use June and me as bait. There will be a group of wolves in a perimeters around the neighborhood. Once one of us is attacked, the location will be clear and you move in at top speed.” The voice was oddly clear, for a thick wall to be between them, her voice sounded like it was right next to him.

An attack tonight? They are using wolves to catch the attackers in Gangnam. But why would they put themselves in danger like that? If they are being used as bait, they will get hurt. He can’t let them put themselves in danger, he couldn’t. But what could he do? It’s not like he could physically stop them.

He looked at the reflection in the mirrored and noticed he believed it, it was like this talk of wolves and vampires was normal and he didn’t even think about the chance of it being feign. He felt this weird shiver crawling up his skin, he knew that even if it was made up, he had to stop them from diving into this.

Getting back to the table, he felt concern. But before he could think of a way to stop them, a slithering creature was dragging its golden body across the floor.

His chopsticks fell, his mind being too in shock to see the creature approaching. It wasn’t matte black, its scales were no longer that familiar charcoal shade that made him feel uneasy. They were sparkling gold, as if the snake itself was worth thousands.

“Are you okay?” Yugyeom asked, his eyes darting at Jungkook as they scrunched in worry and confusion. Jungkook shook off the feeling, this idea of insanity that came whenever he saw that foul creature.

“Yeah, sorry, I had this weird feeling. Anyways, how is the biology lab going Junhoe-yah?” Jungkook tried to turn the conversation so it wasn’t directed at him. Junhoe looked at him and then to the roof, as if he was thinking deep about it before he continued to tell Jungkook of the lab that they had taken part in.

‘The Japanese Coalition just arrived, they’re interfering with the ambush. We’ll have to move it to another day.’ Junhoe closed his eyes briefly as if he had just heard something that was painful or something he had no desire of knowing but couldn’t help but hear. The snake whispered in Junhoe’s ear, its tail was attached onto the boy’s wrist as if it belonged to him.

Junhoe hitched slightly at the snake’s message, he can hear it. He could understand what it was saying and what’s worse, Jungkook could see the state or worry and shock that over took him for a second.

“But it’s going great. Science has always been such a fascinating subject. I have to thank you guys, the food was great and we’ve been receiving such a warm welcoming.” Junhoe spoke, his smile radiating as he sat down his chopsticks and carefully dabbed his mouth with a napkin.

“Most definitely. You guys should come to the café sometime soon, the first drinks will be on us.” Minyoung’s smile was mirroring Junhoe’s radiance. It was like a warm gesture they both were trying to show.

“You don’t have to do that. But are you guys leaving, it appears like you’re already saying goodbye.” Yugyeom spoke, his heart aching a bit since he’s been so deep into conversation with Minyoung about anything and everything. Jungkook does have to admit that he has been enjoying their company, and he feels slightly sad that their presence will be gone in seconds.

“We’re terribly sorry but we have a friend we need to pick up from the airport. She’s visiting from Japan and we must take our leave. Thank you so much for dinner, it was amazing. We had a great time, right Min.” Junhoe spoke, his soft and sweet words that were spoken with a cheeky smile was almost hypnotizing. It was like it was making Jungkook believe everything he said and understand everything it was trying to convey.

“Yeah, it was fun getting to know you two, and don’t worry about being in debt with us as you said. Hope this won’t be the last time we hang out.” Minyoung spoke, her words being directed in a general form but Jungkook couldn’t help but feel like she was directing those words to one of them in particular. And his ego was big enough for that slight selfless part of him to say she was directing her words towards him.

As the two took their leave, Jungkook begun to wonder off. Was this friend a simple excuse from them to leave for the attack? But what exactly was the Japanese Coalition? Better yet, who is this coalition? He felt angst rushing through his body, the snake did say the ambush will have to be moved to another day. But is he willing to listen to a snake who he thought was a depiction in his imagination?

“Oh crap, I forgot to ask them something. Let me see if I can catch up.” Jungkook spoke as Yugyeom was caught off guard. The boy simply stood up and rushed towards the door, trying to see if the two were in sight. He didn’t know what he was doing exactly, his senses just took control of him.

They were still in sight. They stood only a few meters away from the door but before he knew it, they were gone. Well, they weren’t just gone as in disappeared. He looked at the two as that golden snake was in between them, moving its body like it was dancing. And then, they took off running.

Jungkook’s breath was caught in his throat, his heart dropped and all of his senses were frozen. Their speed was inhumane, they were so fast that they were gone in the blink of an eye. They were simply running though, nothing more.

“What the hell is going on?” He asked, his soft and scared words leaking into the world. The people walking along the side walk or the cars that were in halt due to traffic saw none of that. He bit his lip, his mind entering a battle of whether to believe the snake or not.