Wonpil blinks, turning into one of the rooms on the left. Surely he would have knocked, despite his cheeky ways he would have no use for rudeness. The door is left ajar, however, making it obvious that Joon has taken to Sungjin’s room.

“Hello Wonpil,” says the leader with a small laugh. “Did Joon mess with your attempt to sleep? I should have closed the door I suppose, but he launched a surprise attack on me.”

“I actually wanted to find him though,” mumbles the pianist, and Joon jumps onto his lap, nibbling his sleeve harmlessly.

“Oh?” responds Sungjin. “Well alright. Take him as you wish. I was about to sleep, really.”

Yet Wonpil does not leave the room, and so the leader looks at him closely. As there is no audible response, he pats the other’s shoulder and prepares for bed. It is only when his hand is lingering by the light switch when the pianist speaks at last.

“Leader Sungjin, could I sleep here?” he asks quietly. “I don’t think I can handle being alone in my room tonight.”

Though the request sounds odd, and his bed small for two, the leader allows it. He heard the breaking of his voice and notices the stray tears that escaped. Joon makes a home for himself by the edge of the leader’s bed.

“Goodnight, Won,” he whispers, a nickname hardly used, especially not in the presence of others. “I hope you’ll feel safer today.”

The other boy hears these words but he is incapable of forming a coherent reply. All he knows is that the darkness that is looming is simply less menacing with the presence of another human by his side. A darkness unexplainable, choking and silently dangerous.

“I might be afraid of the person in my mirror,” he confesses to no one. “And one day, I might lose sight of what these hands can do.”

[click here to continue]