As soon as Hani reached the drainpipe, her mind was clouded with the worst possibilities, focusing on the most negative outcome. And as she began to climb downwards slowly, Solji’s assumptions crossed her mind: and she imagined that the drainpipe would wrench away from the wall throwing her against the concrete ground at any moment. But no matter how much she believed it would move, it didn’t, but she made a much bigger mistake: she looked down to check her progess, and being afraid of heights, she perceived it as a monumental distance. She felt her stomach churn, her heart beat erratically, and the world below begin to spin and distort. Her body got weak and she could feel her grin begin to loosen. 

~ 

“If anything happens to Heeyeon, I’ll kill those outside this room.” Solji muttered. She kept rubbing her forehead and wiping off the cold sweat, caused by the fear and concern for Hani. 
“I understand that you’re worried, but trust in Hani. She’ll do well.” LE shook Solji’s hand to calm her down a little. It had already been five minutes since Hani left and there was no sign of her coming back, so each member was busy contemplating and hoping she was fine. Meanwhile, something made them break out in a cold sweat. The noise coming from the next room… Tap… Tap… Scratch… Once, twice… Then the sounds were getting much more louder, with every passing second, it felt like the wall would break and whoever ‘they’ were, they’d break in the room all four were in. 
“We gotta leave this room, now!” LE ordered. There was no time to argue, debate and think of anything else; so they just held hands and ran out of the room speedily. 
That was it. As soon as they opened the door and stepped out, the sounds stopped. Everyone held their breaths even if they were all collectively tensing. 
Wait, was that… footsteps?  They froze on the spot, too scared to move. 
“Downstairs!” LE ordered and let out a low breath, leading the girls down the stairs. They stopped and gasped for air as they reached the bottom stair, not daring to step any further into the dark hollow. The way they managed to climb down the stairs safely in complete darkness was itself a miracle. 
“Go to the front door.” LE whispered, looking straight ahead. The front door was just in the next room, and it would only take a few steps to reach it. 
“What about you?” Solji whispered back. 
“Just go and wait for me there!” LE replied, speaking as quietly as she could. She then let out a low breath and slowly moved down the hall into the living room. What she saw wracked her brains in utter confusion. What she had seen with Hani by her side… it all was real. She didn’t imagine it: every light they left on in the living room was smashed. Every lightbulb that was on was broken, every lamp knocked over and smashed in. Her breath caught in as she looked around. She began to feel as if somebody was watching her, she looked around countless times but didn’t seem to find anything. She was on the brink of paranoia, no matter how many times she tried to assure herself that the situation was under control. The fear she was feeling compelled her to tip-toe back to the stairs and get to the front door where girls were most likely waiting for her. But as she reached the stairs, she froze on the spot. 
Footsteps were heard from upstairs again. No matter how many LE urged herself to pass to the next room, her legs wouldn’t move. She stood there, unmoving, her gaze focused on the stairs. The bangs were getting louder, and the final bit of light coming from the window turned to black - and it was apparent that there was somebody standing at the top of the stairs. One more step and he’d be facing LE directly, unless he already knew she was there. For a split second, she staggered backward, her mind swirling, her breaths shallow. Then she noticed something… someone was hiding beneath the steps. Refocusing her gaze and looking carefully, she saw who it was. 
“Junghwa…” she whispered inaudibly and promptly tip-toed to hide there as well, facing her. She was utterly confused and curious about where the other two members were, why did they leave her alone here, why didn’t they leave through the front door? Was it still locked? If so, where was Hani? Why did she take so long? But she couldn’t ask it. She knew that the person would make his way down from above their heads, and if Junghwa would be aware of that, she wouldn’t be able to control her emotions anymore. LE brought her finger to her lips and made a gesture to keep silence, but seeing the look of fright on Junghwa’s face and hearing the footsteps, she knew that she had to take more measures to make her shut up. 
“Un—“ Junghwa was about to whisper but the next thing she knew, LE had slammed her lips to hers and nearly knocked all wind from her lungs, making Junghwa's body go rigid with surprise. Her eyes widened and it took approximately three seconds to realise that she was kissing her back. The kiss obliterated every thought and freed her mind at once. It was slow and soft, comforting in ways that words would never be. Junghwa had never imagined how warm LE's lips would feel pressed against her own. 
She couldn't help but lift her hand and run it up LE's arm, planning to rise it until she could reach LE's face or neck. But as her hand reached LE's shoulders, her fingertips felt some kind of wetness... wait... 
Abruptly, Junghwa pulled back and stifled a frightened gasp. 
“You’re wounded…” she whispered. 

Hani, meanwhile; 
Her body got weak and she could feel her grin begin to loosen… Strangely enough, the members’ words rang throughout her awareness as if they were present, down there, encouraging her. With what was for her a huge effort, she found herself keeping up with climbing downwards. 
But what she saw when she peered inside from the window was only the beginning. Her eyes widened with shock and her face was captured by the expression of fear once thought impossible to fee. And it surely matched the horror that she was feeling inside. 

~