Hyungwon sighs heavily, rubbing at his eyes. He really can’t believe he left studying for his history final until this late. Even Minhyuk had begun cramming hours ago, though, to be honest, that could’ve been just to get Kihyun off his back. Hyungwon isn’t lucky enough to have such a nagging roommate to keep him on track. He’s just got Jooheon and Changkyun, which, he doesn’t usually mind, it’s just now their pun war has gotten a bit distracting.

“I’m going to the library,” Hyungwon finally announces, slamming his binder shut and shoving it into his bag. Jooheon glances up from the television, a questioning pout on his face.

“Hyung, it’s almost dinner time,” Changkyun interjects. “Can’t you wait around and eat with us before running off?”

“Sorry, Kyunnie,” the taller says, “but I’ve got to cover five more chapters of notes before tomorrow.”

“But,” Changkyun goes on, pausing the game he and Jooheon are playing to give Hyungwon his full attention, “I was hoping all of us could get together tonight. You know, Minhyuk and Kihyun-hyung, Hyunwoo and Hoseok-hyung… I know Hoseok-hyung would be happy to see you…”

“Hoseok-hyung and I haven’t even met yet,” Hyungwon argues with a roll of his eyes. He then stops, turning his gaze towards the youngest. “You’re not trying to set me up with him again, are you?” Jooheon chuckles under his breath, and Changkyun pushes him to the floor in protest. Though, he doesn’t bother denying it.

“I appreciate the continued concern, Changkyun-ah,” Hyungwon sighs again, “but stop trying to set me up with random guys, okay? I’m perfectly happy not dating anyone right now.”

“But you should put yourself out there more,” Changkyun whines. “Hyung, you’re a great guy, I just want to see you happy, like Minhyuk and Jooheon-hyung.”

“And Hyunwoo and Kihyun-hyung,” Jooheon murmurs, earning a silent glare from Hyungwon. Jooheon merely laughs again, shrugging helplessly. “What? Minhyuk-hyung has been on me about getting you and Hoseok-hyung together, too. I can’t help it if you two might actually make a good couple, but you’re running away from it for whatever reason.”

“Right now,” Hyungwon says, “all I’m running for is the exam I have in just a little over fourty-eight hours. I’ll see you both tomorrow, probably.” He doesn’t bother saying anything else before leaving the apartment, leaving Changkyun to pout after him.

“Just give him time, Changkyunnie,” Jooheon advises, getting up to retrieve their folder of takeout menus. “After his last breakup, he’s had a rough go of things. Just let him do things at his own pace.”

“I just want him to be happy,” Changkyun murmurs, his eyes falling to the floor in disappointment. Jooheon chuckles at the cute worry on his dongsaeng’s face, and can’t help but ruffle his hair affectionately. Changkyun grumbles at the older for the action, and fixes his hair with a scowl as Jooheon sits beside him for them to decide what to order for dinner.

Hyungwon sips on his extra chocolatey mocha as he stares at the notes before him, the sugar absolutely not helping fight off his increasing drowsiness. Words about the Joseon period float off the pages and up into the air, earning a disgruntled groan from the young man attempting to memorize them. Surely it hasn’t been so long that he’s begun to hallucinate, has it?

A yelp of surprise suddenly echoes through the air, startling Hyungwon so much he jumps in his seat. He glances around, trying to discern the source of the noise. He hadn’t passed many people on his way to his usual study nook, not an unnormal phenomenon for a Saturday night. Granted, it is the last weekend before finals begin, but that only seems to strength the need for partying on this campus.

Hyungwon shrugs at hearing nothing else, figuring now he’s just hearing things. He rubs at his eyes, thinking maybe he should call it a night. Hearing things and hallucinating are obvious signs of exhaustion, which is something that’ll help him even less on his exams than not studying. He heaves a sigh, slamming his books shut and beginning to put them into his bag. A mysterious smell fills the air, and he wrinkles his nose, looking around for the source. Could that be… fire?

“Help! Someone, please!”

Hyungwon is paralyzed for a moment by the scream. He drops his bag, all thoughts of studying behind as he goes to help whoever is in distress.

After many twists and turns through the stacks, he comes upon the place he’s sure he heard the noise. It’s a study carrel, secluded from all others with a set of walls. Hyungwon frowns confusedly, having not remembered seeing such a carrel before. Which is pretty odd, honestly, because of all the miserable hours he’s spent studying for exams here before. He’s even made a sort of game of it, marking each carrel he’s used with a little tick that’s easily missed by anyone not looking for it. However, this carrel cut off from everyone else, without even windows to allow peeks to the outside world… Hyungwon is sure he’s never seen it before.

He goes to open the door, but pauses. It’s been a while since he’s heard the voice, to be honest, so maybe whoever it was doesn’t need help anymore. Maybe whoever it was had really been nothing more than a figment.

He’s just about to shrug it off and go home, sure he’s in dire need of sleep now. But, just as he’s turning, a flash of bright light catches his eye. He whirls back around, eyebrow raised in question as he stares at the door. Surely he hadn’t even imagined that?

Just about fed up with all this nonsense, Hyungwon reaches over and pulls open the sliding door. The makeshift room is empty, save for a bag, a book, and a mess of herbs circling a copper bowl. Smoke drifts up from the bowl.

Well, Hyungwon thinks with a sigh, at least that explains that… He steps into the room, frowning curiously. Maybe he hadn’t imagined that voice at all… Maybe whoever was in here, doing whatever experiment it is they were doing, had been the owner…

The hell kind of experiment is this? Hyungwon silently demands, frowning as he reads the label of one of the many plastic bags. Is mugwort even a real herb? I thought that was something only mentioned in fantasy novels... His eyes drift over the book, and he picks it up, recognizing it as the text book for the history class he’s taking. He opens it, thinking he might try to return this—as well as all the rest of this junk—to the owner if their name is written in the cover.

The book fans open to the section Hyungwon had just been studying, the one considering the Joseon period. He sighs, eyes flitting about the all-too familiar phrases describing the different hierarchies and whatnot of the time. Suddenly, the smoke begins to fill his vision, and vertigo hits him.

Definitely lack of sleep, Hyungwon thinks, and turns to leave.

He doesn’t even make it out of the mysterious room. He falls, his knees giving out almost as soon as he looks away from the book. His vision begins to darken, and the last thing he’s aware of is the door being closed before him on the other side, sealing his only exit.