"But what he saw on top of one of the first pages seemed to scream 'READ ME'." 

Song of the Chapter: If Walls Could Talk - 5 Seconds of Summer

---

 

"And well, I got drunk."

 

Any other time, Sooyeon would have made a snarky comment at how obvious that statement was. But this time she was quiet, focused, and listening intently to distract herself.

 

"Next thing I know, I'm back at home and somehow waking up under my bed," Hoseok continued. "When I finally got up and walked into the kitchen, there he stood, flipping out on two police officers. Turns out I had dropped my cell at the bar and when he tried to call me, some random guy answered and told him where he'd found the phone. But that's not all."

 

He huffed and shook his head, a silent laugh escaping in the process. Sooyeon didn't understand how this was so funny, but she let him keep talking.

 

"As soon as the policemen were out the door, he started yelling."

 

"Why did he start yelling?" Sooyeon asked.

 

"Because when he met this person to get my phone back, the man told him he'd seen me get dragged out of the bar by a group of guys. It was just my friends, obviously. Funny thing is, this had happened enough times that he should've known by now how drunk I'd get and that my friends would pretty much have to force me out of there. Apparently, he didn't put two and two together since crazy doesn't see logic, you know?"

 

'Oh trust me, I'd know better than anyone' Sooyeon thought.

 

"Anyway," Hoseok continued. "At first I thought he was just being an overprotective drama queen as usual. It took me a good thirty minutes of sitting through his yelling to realize that part of the reason he was so pissed off was that I hadn't asked him to go with us in the first place."

 

It took Sooyeon a minute to realize he was done, what with the way he stopped so abruptly and all. She fixed her gaze on the wall, trying to figure out what she should say since Hoseok was clearly expecting a response.

 

"That's...scary," she said.

 

"What's scary?," Hoseok asked, amused. "That he went through all that just because he was jealous?"

 

A hint of a smile crossed Sooyeon's face because yeah, that too.

 

"I mean yeah, but I was just thinking it's scary because that sounds way too similar to something Eunjin would do," she clarified.

 

At the mention of Eunjin's name, Hoseok's expression suddenly changed and he looked up at the ceiling, appearing to be in deep thought. When he spoke again, he still wasn't looking at Sooyeon and it caught her off guard.

 

"Speaking of Eunjin, don't you think we should get to figuring out how we're going to make this work?"

 

Sooyeon didn't understand the sudden subject change until she remembered that was the whole reason they'd met up in the first place.

 

"Well sure, but since this was your idea you should be the one coming up with something so don't ask me. I'm really bad at making decisions anyway so I won't be much help."

 

"I think I've got something, but you're probably not gonna like it," Hoseok said, unsure.

 

"Just tell me so we can get this over with."

 

No sooner than those words had left , the elevator jolted and the lights flipped back on. Everything happened so fast after that, that Sooyeon could hardly process it. The poor girl didn't know whether or not it was too early to let out a sigh of relief, so she held her breath when the elevator finally started moving again and didn't let it out until they were stopped on ground level.

 

Even when the doors opened and Sooyeon knew she was safe now, the suddenness of everything left her unable to stop shaking. So much so, that she had to hold onto the wall to keep herself steady as she made her way out of the confined space. The sight must have been quite alarming, as the emergency personnel that had been on standby, just in case, quickly rushed over to her.

 

Sooyeon immediately held a hand out to stop him from coming any closer and took a deep breath.

 

"I'm fine," she said, tone stern enough that she almost believed it herself.

 

Almost.

 

Sooyeon knew it would be a good fifteen minutes before everything would feel as okay as it possibly could for her, so she had no choice but to stand there and not move until it passed.

 

Hoseok, on the other hand, seemed to be handling things pretty well.

 

He started to converse with the paramedic the moment Sooyeon had more or less told him to leave her alone. They were close enough that she could hear them talking, but not enough to where she could make out what they were saying in her current state. Sooyeon really couldn't understand how it was so easy for Hoseok to start up a conversation out of the blue with someone he didn't even know.

 

Maybe the anxiety she felt in any kind of interaction with people was thinking for her, but she just found it...odd.

 

Sooyeon didn't know how long she'd been standing there, or when she'd closed her eyes, but she was so zoned out that she didn't hear anyone approaching her until they cleared their throat. She jumped at the sudden noise and her eyes shot open, the face of her neighbor Mrs. Kim coming into view. Sooyeon couldn't focus enough to hear what the woman said, but the feeling of cool metal pressed against her back indicated that she was still leaning against the elevator doors and blocking Mrs. Kim's way.

 

Sooyeon bowed her head and mumbled an apology before moving out of the way. She looked around to make sure that her embarrassment had gone unnoticed, and in that moment she'd never been more thankful to her neighbor.

 

She clearly had only been zoned out for a couple minutes because nothing much had changed. Hoseok was still chatting away, as well as the few residents that were still gathered at the entrance. The only difference was made when a familiar loud voice interrupted the small crowd to ask what was going on.

 

Eunjin.

 

Thankfully, Mrs. Kim had snapped Sooyeon out of her trance just in time and neither she or Hoseok had made it into Eunjin's line of sight yet. However, that would change in a matter of seconds if she didn't make a run for it. So Sooyeon reacted faster than she herself thought possible and bolted towards Hoseok, who let out a surprised yelp when he was literally yanked away from his conversation.

 

"Ah! Sooyeon what are you doing?" Hoseok borderline yelled.

 

"Keep your voice down," Sooyeon hissed.

 

Since the girl seemed panicked, Hoseok decided to just let her drag him along with her as she made a beeline towards the stairwell. Once they were out of sight, Sooyeon dropped Hoseok's hand like it was on fire and took a step away from him to catch her breath. After a moment she turned back towards him, only to be met with a puzzled look.

 

"Eunjin," was all Sooyeon said, still struggling to catch her breath.

 

Her severe lack of stamina was such an inconvenience at times like this.

 

"What about her?" Hoseok asked.

 

He was too focused on Sooyeon to realize that he'd gotten his answer, and Sooyeon was focused on the nuisance's voice that sounded like it was coming straight toward them. She reacted on instinct again and grabbed Hoseok's wrist and tried to pull him with her. However, he wouldn't budge. Sooyeon looked at him and realized he was still expecting some kind of answer from her.

 

"That's what!" Sooyeon cried and pointed in the direction of Eunjin's voice that continued to come closer, desperately trying to get Hoseok to move. "Come on. If she sees you with me it'll be drama central!"

 

Hoseok finally realized what was happening and relented, letting Sooyeon drag him to wherever she was headed. They ran up a couple flights of stairs, then into a small hallway towards a door that led to what Hoseok assumed was her apartment. Sooyeon hurriedly punched in her code and pulled Hoseok along with her until they were in a bedroom.

 

Sooyeon frantically looked around for a place that Hoseok could hide. When her eyes fixed on her open closet door, she immediately started pushing him towards it. Hoseok quickly realized what the girl's intention was and grabbed both her wrists to stop her from pushing him any farther.

 

Sooyeon tried to get out of his grip, but Hoseok wasn't letting up.

 

"Woah, woah, woah," he said. "We just spent an hour, maybe longer, trapped in an elevator and now you're expecting me to hide in a closet? And from what, a twenty-something-year-old girl?"

 

"You wouldn't understand," Sooyeon retorted, still trying to wriggle her hands away from him.

 

"Oh, I wouldn't? Hoseok questioned, tone laced with sarcasm as he spoke. "Do I need to remind you that the whole reason we're meeting up is because I, in fact, have a crazy friend too?"

 

Sooyeon didn't respond this time and used all her strength to try and push Hoseok backward, even with the hold he had on her. At first, it didn't work, so Sooyeon decided to give it another go. That did not turn out very well for either of them.

 

She ended up knocking herself off balance and falling right into Hoseok, which caused him to lose his balance as well. They landed in the small open space in the closet and Sooyeon started panicking at the unexpected turn of events. Neither one of them even had time to process it before the panic only escalated at the beeping sound that signaled Eunjin punching in the door's code.

 

Sooyeon quickly (and shakily) pushed herself back up onto her feet and pushed a now too-stunned-to-fight-back Hoseok the rest of the way into the closet. She shut the door as quietly as possible and ran to jump on her bed and pick up the book she'd left on her nightstand, attempting to look inconspicuous.

 

"Sooyeon!" Eunjin called.

 

The tone of her voice was a bit off-putting, and Sooyeon worried that Eunjin had somehow actually managed to see them. She braced herself for a confrontation when she heard her friend's footsteps steadily approaching her bedroom. Which, wasn't really necessary because the expression she was met with when Eunjin appeared in the doorway wasn't at all what Sooyeon had been expecting. It was the exact opposite actually.

 

Eunjin was smiling.

 

And it wasn't just any smile. Eunjin only smiled like that when something really amazing had happened or she'd heard something she found way too funny to keep to herself. Either way, Sooyeon knew she had no choice but to sit there and listen to it.

 

"First thing's first," Eunjin began, smile leaving her face for the moment. "Are you okay? I heard it took them over an hour to get the power back on. Knowing how clumsy you are it was probably hard for you to manage getting around in the dark without freaking out or breaking something, right?"

 

Sooyeon facepalmed, not believing what she was hearing. Ok, maybe the freaking out part was pretty accurate but the rest of what Eunjin had said made zero sense. After all, it was still midday and the sun was shining through this wonderful creation called a window.

 

"Eunjin, it's daylight, we have windows..." Sooyeon trailed off, trying her best to keep from saying something that would likely offend the other girl. "Anyway, I'm fine. I got distracted and played a game on my phone until it came back on. I didn't even really pay attention to how long it'd been out."

 

Thankfully, the fact that she showed no emotion in her tone made the lie completely believable. Eunjin didn't seem to suspect anything as the smile returned to her face and she made her way across the small room to plop down on the bed next to her friend. Any other time Eunjin would have made a comment about how it was 'irresponsible to play games without a way to charge a phone' or something like that so Sooyeon was shocked when the other girl said nothing, especially considering how excited she'd been a few moments before.

 

Sooyeon didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

 

"So, you said you were in here the whole time?" Eunjin asked.

 

The question alarmed Sooyeon and it was all she could do to keep a straight face and nod when Eunjin turned to look at her. Was the other girl playing her? She couldn't help but wonder if Eunjin knew about their guest and was just using a new calm before the storm technique to her dramatic tendencies. Sooyeon knew it was unlikely but she couldn't help it when her eyes nervously looked towards the closet to make sure Hoseok couldn't be seen and only hoped Eunjin hadn't noticed it.

 

Eunjin sat back up from where she'd laid back on the bed and the sudden movement set Sooyeon even more on edge. Eunjin's actions only turned more terrifying when she began laughing unnecessarily loud given how quiet the room had been. Sooyeon fidgeted nervously, not having any idea what was going through her friend's mind when the other girl calmed down enough to speak normally again.

 

"Sorry, it's just funny. I'm guessing you didn't hear what caused it then since you weren't in on the conversation downstairs," Eunjin said.

 

Sooyeon shook her head. Had it not been something that would usually cause a power outage?

 

"Fried rat," Eunjin laughed.

 

"What? Eunjin you're scaring me."

 

At this point, Sooyeon was convinced her friend had finally crossed that fine line between normality and insanity.

 

"A rat, Sooyeon. The power went out because of a rat," Eunjin clarified. "The little guy chewed on some cables and boom - rodent a la mode."

 

Sooyeon didn't have anything to reply to that with, much to Eunjin's dissatisfaction. Apparently, Sooyeon had to respond to her every word with the utmost enthusiasm in order to make the other girl happy. And quite frankly, she'd rather be trapped on an elevator again than do so, that's how much she despised it.

 

"Geez, Soo. That last part was a joke. But I wasn't lying about what caused it, it really was because of a stupid rat chewing through cables. I just thought you might find it funny too," Eunjin confessed.

 

Sooyeon continued to not respond to what Eunjin was saying, only making the girl more annoyed.

 

It wasn't Sooyeon's fault that she wasn't able to find anything funny when her friend was so over dramatic with her story build up. Maybe if she'd cut to the point instead of freaking Sooyeon out, she could've gotten a better reaction. Not that Eunjin really realized that she was freaking out, or why, but still.

 

"Are you sure you're okay?" Eunjin asked. "You're acting even more cold-hearted than usual."

 

Sooyeon rolled her eyes but quickly decided to use Eunjin's question as an opportunity to get her out of the building long enough for Hoseok to leave unnoticed.

 

"Yeah, I'm okay. Just hungry is all," Sooyeon said, a pleading lilt to her tone.

 

Eunjin rolled her eyes and stood up, already knowing where this was headed. Sooyeon gave her a look that was her polite way of saying 'go get me food, now please and thank you.'

 

"Fine, fine," Eunjin relented. "I'll go pick something up for us. What do you want?"

 

The two bickered for a moment when Sooyeon told her friend to choose, but Eunjin eventually gave up and walked out of the room. Sooyeon waited until she heard the door shut before she hesitantly got off the bed. She'd hoped Hoseok wouldn't try to start something given that she'd shoved him in a closet.

 

Hoseok, however, was too busy getting into something that he shouldn't have been.

 

When he'd first come to his senses after the fiasco with Sooyeon, he could already hear the sound of the two girls talking. He secretly the flashlight on his phone to see better and get a good look around the small space. There wasn't a lot in there other than the typical things you'd find in a closet, mostly clothes and whatnot. However, in the corner, there sat a stack of notebooks. Curiosity got the better of Hoseok and he grabbed one off the top and opened it up.

 

After skimming over a few pages, he realized that it was a journal. Hoseok knew he was crossing a line and that he shouldn't have been doing this, especially since he was practically a stranger. Going through the belongings of someone he didn't really know that well probably wasn't the smartest thing he could've done, but what he saw on top of one of the first pages seemed to scream 'READ ME'.

 

The words 'I am not a killer' were written over and over again, until it had completely filled up the page. Hoseok felt a chill crawl up his spine, not knowing what the words could possibly imply, and he wondered what kind of person he'd gotten himself acquainted with. Sooyeon seemed nice enough, didn't she?

 

Ok, maybe nice wasn't the right word, but she definitely wasn't mean.

 

He didn't get to think on it much before he heard the sound of what could only be Eunjin leaving the apartment. Hoseok knew he had to put the journal down before Sooyeon gave him the ok to come out or caught him, so he quickly set it back on top of the rest. He tried his best not to look like a deer caught in headlights when Sooyeon opened the closet door, instead, he stood up to give her a glare.

 

Hoseok almost felt bad for that considering he'd just violated her privacy. He couldn't even really be mad at Sooyeon for pushing him in there when all she wanted to do was try and avoid drama. Besides, it would have been Sooyeon who had the right to glare at him if she'd known what he'd just read. Not when those words, in particular, had stuck out to him enough that he wouldn't soon forget. And based off of how indifferent the girl seemed to act each time they'd met, he could tell there was more behind her actions than what he'd found in the journal.

 

Oh boy, if Hoseok hadn't wanted to solve the mystery that was Kang Sooyeon before, he certainly wanted to now.
 

 

---

 

A/N: So I'm finally back and will likely be updating frequently because I've gotten so much inspiration to continue this story :). If anyone is reading, prepare yourselves for loads of drama in the next chapter as a certain someone is finally going to make his appearance lol. Votes/comments/constructive criticism are always appreciated and even if you're just clicking on this mess, thank you!