Taekwoon squinted as Sanghyuk helped him out of the carriage. They had brought him to the town centre, a place he had never visited before since Ravi had told him it was too dangerous. He looked around skittishly until his eyes fell on the great marble building in front of him. Everything was a gleaming white, tall pillars rose high towards the arched roof and two brightly coloured banners hunger proudly from the third-floor balcony. They bore crude illustrations of creatures Taekwoon had never encountered before: an aged man with two heads and a rotund woman with a great mass of red hair on her chin and upper lip. 

"Come on," Hongbin grinned "We have so much to show you." He took Taekwoon's hand and led him up the dozens of steps to the entrance, Sanghyuk trailing behind them while keeping his hand on the small of the boy's back as if to stop him from falling backwards. They were met with little resistance from Taekwoon, who was much too busy staring at the rich red carpet leading up to the large, oak doors to protest. 

They guided him into a small foyer and over to another door- one that, this time, had its windows shielded with thick, heavy curtains. Suddenly, Taekwoon's world became dark as two hands were placed over his eyes and he jumped, tearing away from Hongbin's soft grip in an attempt to remove them. He heard Sanghyuk chuckle, "This is it."

There was a dull thunk as the door was pushed open and he was pushed forward a few paces, feet leaving the polished floors of the foyer and finding instead the unfamiliar feeling of uneven, creaking slats of wood beneath him. 

"Ready?" 

Taekwoon's eyelashes fluttered against Sanghyuk's palms as he frowned, lips moving to form a word that he, for some reason, couldn't elicit. He nodded his head mutely and the hands were removed. It was another room; a large hall filled to the brim with rows upon rows of benches, with a pit that had pride of place in the centre. There were more banners hung above from the rafters, displaying more vulgar looking souls with wide smiles and eyes that Taekwoon felt were glaring right through him. The roof had been blown out so it was impossible for him to tell for sure whether he was now stood inside or outside and he suddenly became very aware of himself. How small he felt stood in the midst of such grandeur. How insignificant in comparison to the way Ravi made him feel in the tiny studio at the cottage. 

Seeing how the boy's jaw had dropped, Hongbin laughed and clasped Sanghyuk on the shoulder before turning on his heel. "Come on, there's still a lot for you to see."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Jaehwan! Jaehwan, open up!” Ravi hammered on the door of the apartment with white knuckles. His chest heaved as he fought to catch his breath, beads of sweat dripping from his forehead as the door finally opened to reveal Hakyeon. She was garbed in a white blouse and full, dark green skirt with one of Jaehwan’s scarves draped around her shoulders like a shawl.  Her eyes flew wide when she saw him. “Ravi? What’s wrong?”

He opened his mouth to answer when, suddenly, his knees buckled and he stumbled forward. He would have fallen face first onto the floor if she hadn’t caught him. She groaned under his weight as she dragged him inside, kicking the door closed before leading him over to one of the couches by the fireplace. 

“Hakyeon, what on Earth is all the com- Good God!” Jaehwan dropped the book in his hands with a loud bang as he stepped out of his office. His hair was dishevelled and his spectacles were perched on the end of his nose. He skidded to his knees in front of Ravi’s hunched form and tore off his glasses, tossing them behind him. “Ravi?” He said “Ravi, can you hear me?” He gripped his face between both his palms and lifted his head, cringing at how warm and clammy the artist’s skin felt under his fingertips. But Ravi was trembling violently as though he had just stepped out in the snow. 

Looking down, Jaehwan noticed he was not wearing any shoes either; his feet were torn to ribbons. His jaw dropped, “Hakyeon, go and get me a bowl of water and a damp rag. Quickly.” But she did not seem to hear him- or, if she did, she was far too busy staring at Ravi to pay attention. The doctor grabbed her hand, startling her.

“Please, hurry.” She stared at him with panicked, glazed eyes for a moment but this time got to her feet and scurried into the kitchen, leaving Jaehwan with Ravi.
The artist seemed to be entering some sort of catatonia: other than his constant trembling, he was stiff and unmoving, his hands curled into fists at his sides, his gaze was unwavering and Jaehwan wasn’t sure he had seen him blink since he entered the room.   “Ravi, what hap-”

“I’ve got the water!” 

Hakyeon all but threw the glass at the doctor when she rushed in, re-assuming her place on the couch at Ravi’s side with the rag in her lap. Jaehwan bit his lip as he placed it to Ravi’s mouth in an effort to get h