Mark tried to be as quiet as he could when he came home. Even though it was a little after seven in the morning, he was pretty sure Jaebum was still asleep. Though he knew the other had work today, he wasn’t sure when the other had to go in. So on the off chance that Jaebum was actually still asleep, he wanted to just keep things as quiet as possible, so his brother wasn’t disturbed. However, as he made his way into the kitchen, he was surprised and shocked to see Jaebum sitting at their small little kitchenette table they had up while they waited for their dining table to be shipped by the furniture store.

“Hey. You’re up early. Did you sleep well?” he asked.

Jaebum looked up at Mark and shook his head as he sighed heavily. “Not a wink.” He said as he looked down at his paint-covered shirt and pants. “I saw someone in the hall mirror last night.” He said suddenly as he ran a hand through his hair before getting up to go pour himself a cup of coffee and bit his lip. He had been so freaked out after the conversation he had had with the man in the mirror that when he had tried to sleep he just couldn't fall asleep.  “The living room has a whole first coat of paint on it, I put down painters tape over the trim so I wouldn't screw it up.” He said as he looked over at Mark and rubbed the back of his head, a yawn escaping him.

“You did what?” Mark asked, a look of utter confusion crossing his face as he walked to the counter. Opening one of the cabinets, he pulled out a mug and grabbed the coffee pot and poured himself a cup of coffee, sipping it slowly as he tried to process the information that was coming from Jaebum. “So you saw someone in the hall mirror last night?” he asked and snickered. “Was it possibly, your reflection?” he snorted. “Go to bed Jaebum, you’re delirious.”

Jaebum shook his head and frowned. “No. Definitely not my reflection.” He said and rubbed his temples slowly. “I’m pretty sure I have black hair, not brown hair. And I’m one hundred percent that I’m not short.” He mumbled as he sat back down at the table. “He looked like one of the guys in the pictures we found from back in the 50’s. He even said they had been stuck in there since then. I don't know who they are though… I only saw one person.” He sighed out as he slumped back in the chair. “Maybe I do need sleep, I probably inhaled too many paint fumes and really did become delirious.” He looked over at Mark, sipping his coffee slowly. “I have work in a few hours though, so if I sleep now I’ll only sleep through my alarm.”

Mark listened to his brother and laughed. “yeah. Those paint fumes. And if you think it's one of those guys from the pictures, well that makes sense you hallucinate him. You've already seen the guy.” He said. Walking over, he patted his back lightly. “Alright, Jae. If you feel dizzy or anything please take a break and rest. I'll finish the living room before I go to sleep.” He said and smirked. “maybe see if I can see that guy in the mirror.” He teased.

Jaebum pouted at Mark and then nodded as he stood and rubbed his eyes as he moved to put his coffee mug in the sink. “Alright, I’m gonna get some sleep, There is more than enough paint to finish the living room. And if you hear classical music then go to the mirror. That's what I heard just before I saw that guy.” He said through his yawn as he waved at Mark and headed up the stairs to go into his room. He changed into clean pajamas and hummed to himself as he crawled into bed, burying his face in the pillow.

Mark nodded and waved the other off, shaking his head as he did. He honestly couldn’t believe his brother was evening believing that there was someone in the mirror. It was old, yes. It was creepy, yes. But magical? He highly doubted that. Jaebum was obviously just very tired and a few hours sleep would hopefully help with that. Finishing off his coffee, he placed his mug into the sink before making his way to the living room. He meandered his way into the living room and took in the sight of the walls. It was a really nice color and with a second coat, it was going to be really good, he could tell.

“Well, it’s not going to paint itself,” he muttered to himself and made his way over to the paint tray and started to pour more into the tray.

~_~

Yugyeom stared into the mirror intently, he could hear someone moving around in the house. It had been about an hour since the man that spoke with Youngjae had gone to bed, he knew that he couldn't have seen him since he had walked right past him on his way down the hall. He had tried to get his attention but it proved to be useless. He assumed that there was another male in the house with the black-haired man, he just wasn't sure how to get his attention.

He turned to look at Youngjae and then over at the record player in the corner of the room. “I really hope this works. If they can both see us then they might be our way to finally get out of this place.” He said softly, walking over to the old record player to flip the record over and play the song that was on the back of it. “Please let this work.” He whispered softly.

Mark was about halfway through the second coat in the living room when he heard the music. It was faint at first but started growing and growing in volume. A deep sigh left him as he put the pain roller back in the tray. Setting his cup down, he made his way upstairs and into the main hall. “Jaebum this isn't funny.” He said and moved to his brother's room. Opening the door, he peered in and stop, staring in shock at the fast asleep body.

“What the? Where is the music coming from?” He asked himself and turned as he walked back down the hall slowly. “H-hello?”

Yugyeom ran back over to the mirror when he heard the voice and tapped at the mirror as the male walked passed once more. He bit his lip as he cleared his throat. “Excuse me? Hello? Can you hear me?” He called out to the male. This had to be the other guy’s friend, or maybe his brother? He couldn't really tell. The times had changed so much and relatives were starting to not look like relatives.

Mark paused as he heard the voice and turned quickly. He was sure that he was going to see someone there behind him in the hall. But there was no one. But he had heard the voice. Walking slowly, he let his eyes scan the area for a moment, taking everything in. Surely it wasn’t...Jaebum had been hallucinating. He was sure of this. But what if….what he saw was real? Stopping in front of the mirror, he slowly turned and stared at what he thought was going to be his reflection. But instead, there was male standing there, tall with a gorgeous face.

“This can’t be real,” he whispered. “I must be hallucinating too.”

Yugyeom grinned at the male and then let out a sigh of relief. “Oh thank god, I got your attention!” He said and ran a hand back through his hair. “I was afraid that only one of us were going to be able to communicate with the outside world.” He took a moment to look the male over and bit his lip. Oh have the times changed, were those rags really considered clothes now? “Uh, I am so sorry to bother you but I wanted to see if Youngjae’s predictions were correct.” He smiled as he leaned closer to the mirror before placing his hand on the glass. “It’s still cold…”

Only one? Mark frowned as he stared in the mirror. He could only see the male that was there. But that phrase was so strange. He recalled that Jaebum said his mysterious man was short and Mark was absolutely sure this guy was not short. He could barely make out the top of his head, even in the mirror. So this couldn’t possibly be the man that Jaebum had seen. So there were two in there? “I’m sorry?” he asked softly. “Who is Youngjae and how did you get into my mirror?” Stepping closer to the mirror, he reached out and pressed his hand to the glass, feeling nothing but coldness.

Yugyeom looked at the male’s hand and moved his own to press it against the same place, he longed for the touch of another man that wasn't just his brother. For years now he had spent every moment with his own blood and it was wearing thin on his psyche. “Youngjae is my brother, he’s asleep right now but he met your friend last night.” He explained as he studied the male slowly. “I’m Yugyeom.” He said softly, letting out a little breath. “We got in through it in the late 50’s. We really haven't figured out what happened but we really want to leave this room. I hate it in here.” He sighed out heavily.

“Yugyeom?” Mark asked and smiled softly at him. “The late 50s? That was so long ago,” he said, nodding his head slowly as he listened to him. So they got into the mirror? So was it like some sort of magical mirror? Was it like Alice in Wonderland mirror, or was this more like the horror movie Mirrors or Oculus? It was important questions because he didn’t want to figure out how to get these two out and then be suddenly killed because they were actually demons. That would just be horrible. “Last night. He met my brother, Jaebum. I’m Mark and I honestly don’t know how to get you out of here. I don’t even know if I’m sane right now. People in a mirror? It’s crazy.”

Yugyeom nodded and lowered his head a little bit. “You have to believe me, We are real people, You aren't going insane. But I feel that if we stay in here any longer that might not be the case for us.” He said as he lifted his hand off the glass to rub his neck slowly. “All we know is that there was some sort of ripple effect when we touched the mirror. Next thing we knew was that we were here… in a box.”

Mark listened to the other and frowned before nodding. “Okay. Okay. Let’s say I do believe you and you aren’t just some sort of figment of my imagination.” he said. “You're asking a lot from me, you understand this? You should be...I don’t know...dead! It’s been like 60 years since the late 50s, at least. And yet you can’t be any older than 20? 23 maybe?” he asked as he looked Yugyeom over, or at least, what he could see. “What happens if we get you out? You come out and maybe you become super old really fast? Or you die? What if how you got in there only happens once every thousand years?” The ‘what ifs’ were really big ones that honestly Mark didn’t want to think about, much less believe he was talking to someone who got trapped in a mirror.

But if it were all true, how could he help? And what would happen if he did help?

Yugyeom nodded and sighed heavily. “That's what we have been afraid of.” He mumbled as he leaned his head against the mirror, shaking his head a little bit. “I don't know what will happen to us but whatever it is would be a lot better than being stuck in here forever.” He shook his head even more. “You wouldn't like it in here either, we are pretty much stuck, undying until we can either get out or the universe explodes” He rubbed his neck and cleared his throat. “If it really only happens once every thousand years then… There's only one way for us to even get out of there other than waiting.” He glanced to Mark before closing his eyes.

Mark nodded his head and sighed as he looked the mirror over. “Okay. Well…” Was he still honestly entertaining this thought? How could he? His parents did always say he had a huge imagination. He could understand why now. Nodding to himself, he patted the frame of the mirror. “This has been a nice talk. But I got to go. I got things to do and then I’m going to bed. It’s...It’s been nice.” he said with a nervous laugh and started backing away.

Yugyeom bit his lip as he nodded, smiling slightly as he waved to mark. “Yeah, it has been nice. Thank you for talking to me Mark.” He said rather gently, stepping back from the mirror for a moment. “we will always be here if you ever want to talk to us again, you two are our only connection to the outside world. So I really hope you do come back and talk to me” He whispered as he turned away. “ I'm sorry if I bothered you, I was just excited to see someone else after so long.” He gave Mark a gentle nod as an okay that he could go. “Go back to your work and get some rest.”

Mark sighed as he turned and headed back downstairs. Entering the living room once more, he took a seat on the couch and ran a hand through his hair. “,” he whispered. “Okay so maybe Jaebum wasn’t lying. Or maybe we’re both just hallucinating the whole thing. Either way….maybe I should look into this house more.” he mused to him. “How did we get to inherit it and what really happened back then.”