Minseok hates this.

‘I hate this!’ Baekhyun grins at the camera, eyes sparkling with both anxiety and excitement.

‘Wow the architecture is something,’ Jongdae remarks, one hand on a hip, looking around the estate as though he was looking to buy.

‘This is not the type of nostalgia I prefer or recommend,’ Zitao sniffs.

Minseok and Kyungsoo both share a look from behind their respective cameras.

It’s cold. Of course it is.

But it’s not alarmingly cold. Not in the way it was cold in Junmyeon’s childhood home. There is a definite heavy air- but not the same as the Asylum. Minseok’s skin prickles, feels eyes on him from every possible angle but he’s not sure if he’s just apprehensive after hearing what Kyungsoo had to say, or if it was actually what he was sensing.

They select a spot outside to sit and establish the main talking points of the hostel.

Minseok looks around the massive entrance lobby- clearly in its prime, this place would’ve been a very impressive lobby. All dark wood, heavy framed stairs, rich looking carpets, the windows were distinctly western and arched, and the light fixtures were brass and frosted glass. Minseok can see how parents who wanted their children to have a good experience in what appeared to be safe hands would buy into an establishment like DK. But now it’s faded and old, everything worn away with age, mold, dust, and damp. The smell is faint, but occasionally overwhelming for a brief second.

It hits Baekhyun first, who instantly makes a retching sound but stops abruptly, sniffing the air aggressively, eyes wide and pupils shaking as he says, ‘Oh my god, odour-spots.’

Kyungsoo sighs behind him.

‘Okay, so we’ll just go through each important location,’ Jongdae runs down their itinerary again. ‘We first set up in the entrance lobby, there Baek and I will talk through our main points. Then we head across the entrance into the study rooms and libraries. Then we track back, through the administrative offices, through the back entrance, to the back-gardens, and the cafeteria-slash-kitchens.’

‘We will also note where to place the cameras for our overnight footage,’ Minseok chimes in, ‘We will clear the first floor first, then proceed upstairs.’

‘Playrooms, nursery,’ Baekhyun shudders at that, ‘and then the dorm rooms, matrons rooms, and washrooms.’

‘And then one more time upstairs, to the final dorm rooms?’ Zitao completes.

Everyone nods.

‘Okay great,’ Baekhyun rubs his hands gleefully, nervously eyeing the building. ‘I am so excited.’

Minseok only just barely captures Jongdae’s expression of absolute disbelief.

Sitting on a couple of still remaining chairs pushed to the sides of the entrance lobby, Jongdae, Baekhyun and Zitao get ready for their practiced dialogue. Minseok and Kyungsoo place their cameras in the appropriate spots, and set up a quick lighting set-up. Lighting was tricky, considering the fact that these places couldn’t be prepped and set-up with complete lighting gear. The hostel also had most of their electricity cut off, only the lamps outside and a few emergency lights connected to a generator would be providing them with light here. They brought their own compact portable generators and chargers, but it would only be for these occasional stationary shots. Zitao had been super helpful in bringing his halo-lights, easily attached to their cameras using battery packs.

He did mention that he wanted to at least look good even if he wasn’t feeling all too good.

Priorities, Minseok guesses.

‘Hey, Tao-yah, Soo- no offence but your hostel .’ Jongdae beams across at Zitao.

‘Not mine.’ Zitao mutters.

‘None taken.’ Kyungsoo waves a hand, eyes on the viewfinder of his camera.

‘Anyways!’ Baekhyun grins at the camera, ‘Welcome to this episode of Unsolved Vlogs!’

Minseok allows himself to exhale out quietly, allowing his mind to relax and remove all immediate thought. He was definitely worried about this trip. Even more so after Kyungsoo gave him the history of DK, his experience, and concern over everyone. He needed to remove himself from this state of fear- it would do nothing to actually help him.

Apprehension, anxiety, and fear often clouded and changed what you think you’re sensing. Minseok knows this all too well. When he was a teenager, and more aware of what he could see, hear, and sometimes even physically feel, it terrified him to the point where he developed genuine anxiety. He even thought he would hear or see things which he later realized was simply the manifestation of his fears. As an adult now, Minseok is better at controlling what he can see, hear, and feel.

Minseok preferred to live like this. But for this specific long trip, he would need to be alert, calm, and rational. 

It takes almost an hour to wrap up the entire the narrative, which Baekhyun and both Jongdae will later add to for voice-overs. It’s 4 in the afternoon now, and the shadows outside are starting to elongate just a little. Minseok has also managed to compartmentalize his mind, ready for the following two nights they would be here for.

‘There’s a surprising lack of graffiti and vandalism,’ Jongdae points out as they finish wrapping up their equipment from around the lobby. They preferred travelling light, so as to make sure nothing ever got lost or worse, stolen. And now with Kyungsoo with them, they could better distribute their gear.

‘Yeah- no one likes this place,’ Zitao explains as he leads the way down the lobby towards the massive stairs, flanked by mahogany archways leading into hallways on both sides. They would first lock in and safely set up a temporary rest-stop in one of the dorm rooms they had agreed on the previous day.

Jongdae and Zitao had gotten all of the keys and locks to the buildings, so they could deposit some of their heavier equipment, as well as the ones they wouldn’t immediately need for an overnight stay.

They climb up the stairs, Baekhyun and Kyungsoo in the back because Baekhyun wanted to film some behind the scenes shots.

‘Imagine dozens of children trampling up and down these stairs,’ Baekhyun remarks, ‘In a purely aesthetic point of view, I’d say it’s quite pretty.’

‘We were never allowed to run,’ Kyungsoo tells him, ‘Running equaled punishment- but dawdling meant punishment too. We had to maintain a strict and steady pace.’

‘I really think we should issue a warning before these episodes air,’ Jongdae comments, ‘I mean a lot of what we do and say and how we act is comedic-‘

‘-how are my fears comedic to you-‘

‘-but I think we could potentially touch on some troubling topics,’ Jongdae looks back with a serious expression, ‘Best keep a warning.’

‘Of course,’ Baekhyun huffs, ‘We’re not like those YouTubers trying to gain views by being downright disrespectful and pretending to be apologetic.’

‘Besides, we’re Asian, we wouldn’t be able to get away with like that,’ Jongdae snorts.

‘Forget YouTube policy, our parents would have our heads,’ Baekhyun pants a little as he reaches the top. ‘Maybe except Minseok-hyung. I think my parents like him more than they like me.’

‘My parents love Kyungsoo more than me,’ Jongdae sighs.

‘Uh- sorry?’

‘Kyungsoo really out here, being the Standard for a son,’ Zitao sighs, posing tragically by the stairs before flinching a little and quickly moving away from the stairs.

‘What’s wrong?’ Baekhyun asks at once, hand reaching out to grab Kyungsoo’s sleeve, eyes widening.

‘No- it’s nothing,’ Zitao laughs a little at himself, looking back down the stairs, ‘I hated going on these stairs alone when I was here. Most of the kids hated walking alone- it’s why we always went in pairs or groups.’

‘Did you do that too Soo?’ Jongdae asks, pausing by the entrance leading to a long and uncomfortably dark hallway.

‘Yeah,’ Kyungsoo nods easily, also looking down, ‘No one really liked being here.’

‘Did you see something?’ Baekhyun asks, indicating to Minseok to have one of the cameras film this.

‘Didn’t see anything…just…’ Zitao pauses, looking back down the stairs. ‘God I really hate this place.’

There’s a hardened conviction to his tone. ‘It’s so-…so loud.’

Both Baekhyun and Jongdae give him curious expressions. For the two of them, the hostel was incredibly quiet.

But Minseok hears it too.

Hears the humming- the whispers, the loud shouts of bodiless voices calling out for each other overhead. 

‘Hey, I know I said this before, but anytime you want us to leave, we’re dropping everything and going, okay?’ Jongdae says, walking towards the lanky young man. ‘We don’t want anyone uncomfortable- or doing something they don’t want to do.’

Zitao nods before breaking out into a laugh, ‘Where does that leave Baekhyun-hyung?’

‘He’s a masochist,’ Jongdae says easily.

‘Hey! Take that back!’ Baekhyun snaps without any real threat.

They use the first room in the dorm hallway to set up camp. It was closest to the hallway and stairs, and was the best spot to access all of the different major entryways. The city council had also told them that the ground-level floors were drafty and damp, and none of them wanted to be sick.

They have two sets of keys; one is with Minseok, and the other with Baekhyun.

‘Okay- everything set?’ Minseok calls out, looking around the empty room, now cluttered with some of their hardware gear and camping items. They have two temperature-control carriers for their food and a carton of water bottles. Minseok and Jongdae, and then later Kyungsoo, had gone through their needed items with a metaphoric fine-tooth comb, packing any and everything. There’s several first-aid kits, but Minseok was carrying a smaller pocket-sized version on him all the time. You couldn’t be too careful after all.

They head downstairs again, ready to follow their trajectory. Kyungsoo and Zitao lead the way down, followed by Jongdae and Baekhyun, checking to see if their GoPros and body-cams were properly focused correctly.

Minseok stops by the top of the stairs calling out, ‘I’m doing a sound-test!’

‘Okay!’ they call back.

Adjusting his headphones over his head and adjusting the straps of his carrier, Minseok gives a thumb’s up.

‘Jongdae mic test, Jongdae mic test,’ Jongdae grins, going downwards, ‘Minseok-hyung is the cutest smartest mic test.’

‘Clear,’ Minseok rolls his eyes, waving Jongdae off.

‘Baekhyun mic test!’ Baekhyun poses at the end of the stairs, leaning on the massive bannister column at the end, ‘Minseok-hyung the iest camera and sound man mic test!’

Minseok slowly makes his way down, snorting at Baekhyun’s antics as he adjusts the straps on his shoulders, his equipment heavier than normal.

‘Zitao mic test,’ Zitao looks at both Baekhyun and Jongdae with amused disdain, ‘Hyung, can you hear me.’

‘Loud and clear,’ Minseok smiles, pausing on the stairs to twist a little, hoping to distribute the weight on his back a little more. Both Jongdae and Baekhyun loudly defend their methods to Zitao who has his arms crossed over his chest, looking at the two with amused judgment. Minseok grins at them before asking, ‘Everything loud and clear Soo?’

Kyungsoo is grinning at the three as well as he looks up at Minseok. But his smile freezes, eyes focused on something behind Minseok.

The timing is bad- Minseok was just about to start descending the stairs, when Kyungsoo’s focused gaze behind him combined with the sudden shift of weight on his back makes him lose his balance.

Minseok is luckily physically aware- he’s quick to shuffle down the stairs, tilting his weight and tugging himself to press against the wall.

There’s nothing behind him.

But the look in Kyungsoo’s eyes tells him the opposite.

‘Hyung!’ Baekhyun rushes up at once, ‘Are you okay?’

‘Yeah I just- the stairs are at a weird height?’ Minseok points at the stairs, ‘Somehow wider and higher.’

‘Yeah,’ Jongdae is frowning at the stairs like they personally insulted him, ‘Let’s all be careful!’

‘I’m fine,’ Minseok smiles at Baekhyun who links arms with him at once, as though afraid of leaving him alone.

‘Oh , that just made me remember something,’ Zitao groans, ‘There were several accidents on these stairs when I was here. Hyung, do you remember?’ he asks Kyungsoo who gives a noncommittal shrug. ‘I think someone from a higher grade had tripped all the way down- broke his arm. And then two girls tumbled down- luckily no major injuries but they were hysterical. They left the hostel after that I think.’

‘Oh yeah,’ Kyungsoo nods while Zitao continues, ‘I heard some of the other students saying they had massive bruises- not the ones from the stairs, but what looked like hands.’

Baekhyun pales visibly, smile frozen on his face.

‘What a great segue way!’ Jongdae looks straight at his own camera, twinkle in his eyes. ‘Let’s begin!’

As planned, they start with the study rooms. There were 6 massive study rooms, and 2 smaller ones for the older students according to Zitao.

The large classrooms are dim, windows narrow and high- the desks are dilapidated but unmoved. There’s an organized but also strangely unhinged array of how everything is placed.

‘This is where the younger students would come to complete their homework after school,’ Zitao explains, walking over to the large chalk-board. There’s still several sticks of chalk along the board, the floors white with dust and grime.

Kyungsoo walks over to the opposite side of the room to capture another angle as Minseok stands by the doorway.

‘Maybe it’s the way it looks right now, but I don’t think I would be able to do any homework in here,’ Jongdae remarks, shining his flashlight to the ceiling. There’s massive stains- mold, water, general wear and tear. ‘Doesn’t inspire any academic spark.’

‘Woah wait-‘ Baekhyun holds his hand up. ‘Do you feel that?’

His hand waves a little over an area between a few desks.

Jongdae and Zitao walk over, hands stretching out.

‘It’s a cold spot,’ Baekhyun grins.

‘Oh yeah,’ Jongdae looks amused, ‘That’s actually a draft I think.’

But Baekhyun is hurriedly taking out his thermal camera and aiming it over the spot.

‘There’s nothing,’ Zitao remarks, staring at the screen displaying an array of colours, nothing out of the ordinary.

‘But it’s a cold spot!’ Baekhyun insists.

‘Uh- might be this?’ Kyungsoo pipes in, pointing at small vents lining up the floors and walls periodically.

Baekhyun’s face falls but he adds, ‘Okay you know what, I actually will accept that because if it’s logical, it’s not supernatural.’

‘Should put that on a t-shirt,’ Jongdae grins, winking at the camera.

They move to the next couple of study rooms, taking their time before coming to stop at the entrance to the library.

Minseok doesn’t really sense anything. It’s odd- he knows Kyungsoo saw something behind him on the stairs. Hell, Minseok felt it too. But he didn’t have any warning- any indication or the usual signs of something moving around him. It was extremely odd.

It’s only when they’re at the end of the hallway that splits towards the washrooms that Minseok is finally able to keep a finger on it.

The hostel felt frozen in time- not that it had been perfectly preserved. Rather, there’s a feeling- a sensation.

Like when you’re waiting for something- for someone maybe- and you’re holding your breath without realizing it.

This hostel was stuck right there- it was waiting, for that final exhale.

It does nothing to soothe Minseok.

‘Okay, we can set up one camera here,’ Baekhyun points at a good spot where they could install one of their fish-eye lenses, allowing them a good view of the long hallway that then split down to the washrooms as well as the entrance to the library. ‘Then we can oh my god!’

Baekhyun wheezes, shuffling backwards.

‘What’s wrong!?’ Zitao shrieks, clutching Minseok tight.

‘Baek why are you trying to look into the women’s washroom,’ Jongdae snorts, pointing behind him that clearly indicated the men’s washroom.

‘, that painting freaked me out,’ Baekhyun clutches at his chest, leaning back on the wall and pointing ahead.

Minseok quickly looks at Kyungsoo- to confirm his suspicions. Kyungsoo nods once behind his camera from where he stands.

‘Oh god, wow, this is terrifying,’ Baekhyun stands up straight again, approaching the wall.

Minseok rounds up the corner to find that yes, the painting Kyungsoo had told him about is there. The painted grinning face, pigtails and skirt- the eyes have completely faded, but the mouth is still somehow stark and vibrant, hands strangely and uncomfortably detailed in its gesture and texture.

‘There’s no painting here on the men’s washroom wall,’ Jongdae calls back to them, ‘You guys wanna cover that area? Soo and I will scan the washrooms here.’ 

Minseok gives him a thumb’s up, giving Kyungsoo a small smile to reassure him that he had things covered.

‘I only ever heard stories about this one,’ Zitao tells Baekhyun.

‘Hm? What do you mean?’ Baekhyun can’t quite look away from the crumbling faded mural.

‘This painting,’ Zitao nods at it, while redirecting his hand-held camera to it.

‘Does it talk like in Harry Potter?’ Baekhyun asks nervously, eyes flitting between the painting and Zitao.

‘Uh- well, no,’ Zitao says carefully, ‘But it’s uh- well, there’s this story in the hostel…I just remembered it actually.’

‘What is it?’

‘The girls used to talk about it- they said that at night, the painting sometimes vanished.’

Baekhyun pales, eyes wide, smile frozen on his face.

‘Ah- how…-how, uh, well-‘ he splutters.

‘I’ve never been on this side,’ Zitao laughs, turning his back to the painting and looking down the hallway. ‘Hyung, you should have a woman in your team- it’s 2020!’

‘Hey!’ Baekhyun huffs, ‘This wasn’t a planned set-up- Jongdae and I were just fooling around and now we’re here! We didn’t think we’d ever be approaching a women’s washroom!’

‘Does it still apply though?’ Zitao grins, walking towards the partially open door.

‘Oh I hate partially open doors,’ Baekhyun groans.

Minseok walks past the mural to keep up with the two, feeling a shiver run down his spine as he turns his back to it.

‘You know, I’m surprised that there are no rat droppings or cockroaches,’ Zitao comments, entering the washroom.

‘Yeah,’ Baekhyun frowns, looking around the closed stalls.

‘Hyung- I’ll buy us dinner if you open all of the stalls,’ Zitao teases Baekhyun, though he’s been steadily growing paler and nervous, sweat shining on his forehead.

Baekhyun looks straight at the camera and says, ‘At least this will be on camera.’

Taking many breaks in the process, Baekhyun opens all of the stalls. He’s crouching by the sinks, easing his nerves when they hear Jongdae calling for them.

The mural painting is still there as they walk past.

‘I think we should set up a camera on her,’ Baekhyun suggests to Minseok. Minseok nods to that- he would feel better keeping an eye on it.

Jongdae and Kyungsoo are waiting for them where the hallway splits.

‘Have fun at the ladies washroom?’ Jongdae wiggles his eyebrows.

‘It was an experience,’ Baekhyun sends a glare at Zitao who expertly avoids it.

They set up a camera pointing at the mural and entrance to the ladies washroom before finally entering the library.

‘Wonder what they’ll do with all of these books,’ Jongdae ruminates, squinting at the bookshelves as Kyungsoo makes his way to the end of the library for a wide shot. Minseok stands by one of the shelves to focus on the trio as they make their way fully inside.

‘Our librarian used to stay here,’ Zitao points at a long desk by the doorway. ‘I didn’t really like coming here too much.’

‘Understandable- now this place would definitely spark some academic inspiration,’ Jongdae declares before pointing at the ceiling, ‘Look at those designs!’

The ceilings did indeed have some very nice flourishing designs around the edges and light fixtures. Most of the windows in the hostel were boarded up, so even though it wasn’t entirely dark out, they still used their flashlights.

Suddenly Zitao lets out a high shriek, making Baekhyun scream in turn, and nearly making Jongdae throw his GoPro in surprise.

‘What?!’ Jongdae demands.

‘!’ Zitao is crouching down, head down on his knees, ‘ I thought-‘

He points a shaking finger at some of the books on the shelf he had been leaning on.

‘What do you mean-?!’ Baekhyun also shrieks, jumping nearly a foot in the air. ‘Why-‘

Jongdae is laughing, leaning past the two shuddering young men to pull out a large book, the cover of which was a faded portrait of a young woman. It’s very realistic, her background dark and making it appear as though she was actually looking out at you between the books in the shelves.

‘Oh this is cruel,’ Jongdae laughs, ‘God, what a terrible cover. Imagine seeing this as you pull books out?’

Baekhyun shakes his head vigorously, backing away towards Kyungsoo only to shriek again, making Zitao scream again, covering his ears while Jongdae looks at the camera with a resigned sigh.

‘Is that- is that the ing mural!?’ he backs away, shaking finger pointing at something past the shelves.

‘Hm?’ Jongdae jogs a little to catch up to Baekhyun while Zitao latches onto Minseok saying, ‘God I hate this place so much hyung.’

Minseok walks up to the two and redirects his camera and sure enough, the same crumbly and faded mural painting is faintly visible from behind a few empty bookshelves.

‘Is that a recurring theme around the hostel?’ Baekhyun asks Zitao who looks distinctly uncomfortable, eyeing the mural with apprehension, not wanting to let go of Minseok.

‘- we should check to see if that mural is still there,’ Baekhyun wheezes out, face pale as he clutches Jongdae’s sleeve.

‘I’ll go!’ Jongdae volunteers cheerily. ‘Hey, if this thing moves this is actually pretty cool!’

‘Pretty cool?’ Zitao shudders, voice high-pitched.

Jongdae bounds out, and they all wait quietly.

‘STILL HERE!’ Jongdae yells. ‘How is this supposed to be welcoming?’ he adds, voice getting closer.

‘So there are two paintings?’ Baekhyun gingerly approaching the shelves behind which the mural was partially hidden.

‘Sounds like a great place to take Zitao’s interview!’ Jongdae grins at the tall young man as he returns.

‘I mean…might as well,’ Zitao sighs, palming his face.

‘This is a good shot here,’ Kyungsoo calls from where he’s situated not too far from them.

With a fidgeting Zitao sitting on a dusty chair, the library backlit behind him, they start on his interview. He relays what he’s already told them, only this time for the camera. They’ve rehearsed this already so it doesn’t take too long to finish.

‘Please, can we leave this library, I’ve been spooked enough in this one location,’ Baekhyun pleads.

‘Do you want a camera in the library?’ Jongdae asks him as Kyungsoo relocates himself to the doorway instead, framing their movement across the library.

‘Yeah- I think that’s a good idea,’ Baekhyun nods, nervously eying the place where the mural was located.

They quickly set up a motion-camera, pointing at the shelves with a clear view of the mural.

When they’re back in the main lobby, both Baekhyun and Zitao say they need a break; for various reasons. Jongdae grins and hands them both bottles of water and a mini chocolate bar.

‘I think this is one of the first times we’ve done such a thorough search,’ he remarks, also chewing a snickers bar.

‘Well- there’s a lot to cover,’ Baekhyun looks around, leaning heavily on Zitao who has his eyes closed, chewing diligently. ‘God, I don’t know how to describe it- I’ve been scared before- nervous; but the way this place feels.’

‘What do you mean?’ Jongdae asks, taking a gulp.

‘I dunno…just feels…’ Baekhyun frowns before he continues, ‘You know how, you watch a movie, and the main characters are doing some stupid -‘ Jongdae snorts, ‘-and you’re just waiting for them to do that one stupid thing that’s gonna things up for them?’

‘Yeah?’

‘I feel like this whole hostel is just that one moment- that period of waiting,’ Baekhyun crumples the wrapper and keeps it in his pocket.

‘Well, regardless of anything,’ Jongdae grins, ‘It’s best we don’t do anything stupid.’

Zitao, eyes still closed, raises his one bite of snickers bars in the air in salute.

Nothing surprising happens after that. No strangely placed mural- no odd book cover. The matron’s offices, and tutors offices are ordinary and very dusty. The superintendent’s office is excessively splendid but bare. Zitao poses on the massive heavy desk for some random selfies, Jongdae and Baekhyun photo-bombing him the whole time. 

Kyungsoo gives no sign, no indication of discomfort as they reach the end of the hallway, pausing before the doorway that lead to the back garden.

‘What’s down there?’ Jongdae asks, pointing his flashlight downwards before adding, ‘Oh- it’s a dead end?’

This makes Kyungsoo frown, stepping into Minseok’s camera frame to look down.

And Jongdae is right. The stairs that lead downwards to the maintenance rooms Kyungsoo had told him about is not there. The stairs go down to some transformers, an open bare shelf, and coils of stiff wire.

Kyungsoo, for the first time, looks confused.

‘Is this really a back garden?’ Baekhyun asks, redirecting their attention. Minseok has to follow them; he’s unable to say anything to Kyungsoo. ‘It’s more like a slab of concrete and weirdly placed dirt piles.’

‘There were vegetable patches before,’ Zitao tells him, stepping out into the night.

It’s very quiet, the air is still. If this were summer, it would be unbearable.

He hears Kyungsoo shuffling out as well, setting up a camera at the doorway as they had agreed on earlier before walking around to catch a different angle as they carefully walk around the uneven grounds.

‘It’s not a very big building, but I think as a child, this place would be very imposing,’ Baekhyun remarks, looking around, shining his flashlight around the walls.

‘Wow- these gardens spread out,’ Jongdae whistles, shining his light out into the open.

The garden space is so wide, Jongdae’s flashlight doesn’t hit anything no matter what direction he aims it at.

‘Damn- this place really at night,’ Jongdae remarks, shaking his head.

The rest of the night is not bad.

But it was now becoming increasingly strange- Minseok feels uncomfortable- like every corner they turn is going to be that moment. That drop- that mistake that Baekhyun had expressed so well. And Kyungsoo, though his expression is excellently schooled, he looks uneasy as well.

Jongdae also is a bit more subdued.

It’s with a strange sense of relief that they are done for the night and are back at the lobby. Zitao actually slumps almost immediately, groaning as he takes up the whole long dusty couch.

‘I don’t know about you guys, but I need to empty my bladder,’ Jongdae declares.

This reminds Minseok of something he’d been thinking about earlier.

‘Okay- we employ the buddy-rule for the night if we need to use the port-a-loo,’ Minseok announces, ‘It’s dark, the hostel is big, the grounds are dark, so it’s best we buddy-up. Is that clear?’

Baekhyun is very quick to agree before adding, ‘Can we employ the buddy rule when after we leave?’

‘I’m not touching your again to help you pee.’ Jongdae says immediately.

‘You have a really weird idea of what constitutes the buddy rule.’ Minseok frowns.

‘-what do you mean touch your again?’ Zitao demands, opening one eye.

‘I’ll go with you,’ Kyungsoo snorts.

‘Let’s empty our bladders together!’ Jongdae grins at Kyungsoo.

‘Why are you enthusiastic about peeing?’ Zitao demands though it’s more to himself.

‘UTI is a legit issue,’ Jongdae points a finger at Zitao, ‘Not that I’ve had it, which is why I’m grateful every time I pee.’

‘Sounds exhausting,’ Zitao remarks dryly.

Jongdae and Kyungsoo leave.

‘Okay so spend the night,’ Baekhyun closes his eyes, leaning back on the wall as well next to Zitao, ‘Then we go back to our original hostel, clean up, rest properly, and come back in the evening for the second night. Okay, cool.’

Zitao groans.

‘I’m kinda happy we’re spreading this over two nights,’ Baekhyun says quietly, ‘I dunno if you guys can feel it, but this place feels heavy- I dunno, it’s like- tiring.’

Minseok isn’t quite sure what he meant, because he wasn’t feeling that fatigue that normally came from exposure to places like this for people like him. Kyungsoo wasn’t displaying anything either. Was he relieved? Yes.

But somehow Zitao, Baekhyun, and Jongdae were very obviously tired. They looked drained, not making their usual jokes as they normally did.

Minseok goes through his phone, more to occupy his mind than anything else. Baekhyun and Zitao are talking to each other occasionally, both sounding sleepy though it was barely midnight.

Minseok goes through his footage, scrubbing along randomly, making sure he’d been recording the entire time. He looks up after a while, noticing that Baekhyun was almost dozing off, legs stretched out and feet crossed. Zitao had gotten up, and was standing at the center of the lobby, looking down the study room hallway.

He’s standing very still, no expression on his face. Minseok instantly checks the vicinity, carefully scanning the place for anything as he gets up too, making his way towards Zitao.

‘Tao? You okay?’ Minseok asks quietly, not wanting to spook the young man.

Zitao’s eyes are slightly glazed before he blinks a few times, looking down at Minseok.

‘Oh- yeah, no I just-‘

‘Oh my god did you see something?’ Baekhyun demands from where he’s suddenly sitting up poker straight.

‘No,’ Zitao laughs as he allows Minseok to direct him back towards the couches, ‘Just reliving some nasty memories in this place.’

Baekhyun makes his sad puppy face, standing and jumping a little to wrap his arms around Zitao and pulling him down to a hug.

‘You know that you’ve done well right? Look at you, all grown and adult and living a good life,’ Baekhyun beams up at Zitao, ‘You’re so much more than the bad memories.’

Zitao hugs Baekhyun back with a lot of force.

‘Thanks hyung,’ Zitao sounds small.

Minseok smiles at the two of them, his chest feeling warm at the sight.

‘Am I missing something?’ Jongdae asks as he and Kyungsoo appear through the doorway.

‘No!’ Baekhyun lets go of Zitao, ‘We were having a nice bonding moment!’

Jongdae holds his hands up as though in surrender, backing off with a comically offended expression.

‘Bladders emptied?’

‘Very empty,’ Jongdae holds up his thumbs. ‘Also, surprisingly clean port-a-loos.’

They lay out several yoga mats, courtesy of Zitao, before setting down their sleeping bags. They have several powerful camping lamps, and for about an hour or so, they set up a generator to charge up and plug in a few of their devices as they eat, mostly in silence.

‘What’s the worst thing you’ve heard about this place?’ Jongdae asks out of the blue before shoving in a whole roll into his mouth.

Zitao and Kyungsoo share a look, before Kyungsoo raises his eyebrows at Zitao as though to telling him to go ahead first.

‘I think it’s one of the first ones you hear about when you come here- from the other kids,’ Zitao fiddles with his chopsticks a little before reaching over to pick out a dumpling. ‘You know, none of the dorm rooms had locks from the inside.’

Baekhyun’s chopsticks hover before his mouth, the noodles inside his roll spilling out.

‘We could never lock the doors- and I kinda get it, safety and all,’ Zitao shrugs, ‘But there was that feeling of being vulnerable I guess- which is weird because I know at home I never locked my bedroom door. But uh, sometimes you’d wake up in the middle of the night and your door is open.’

Baekhyun’s eyes flit around the room, trying not to stare at the door that was open.

‘None of the bunks were empty- did one of the other kids open the door? Did someone forget to close the door behind them?’ Zitao looks thoughtful, ‘I used to wake up at night, and the door used to sometimes be wide open- once I even woke up in time to see it swinging as it opened…but the main story was that there was a man.’

Baekhyun’s eyes bulge open- even Jongdae stops, his eyes narrowing suspiciously.

‘A tall thin man, who would come inside the rooms, to check on each student making sure they weren’t up to mischief,’ Zitao shudders just a little, ‘A cautionary tale of sorts I guess.’

Jongdae just continues to chew, eyes still narrow.

‘You heard the same thing?’ Baekhyun redirects the topic to Kyungsoo.

Kyungsoo takes his time with his cup noodles before he gives a short nod.

‘It’s why we didn’t like sleeping on the top bunks.’

Feeling full and with tiredness catching up to him, Minseok slips into his sleeping bag, very ready to sleep. Zitao and Baekhyun come back from visiting the port-a-loo, looking wind-blown and cold.

‘It’s very windy,’ Baekhyun whispers for no apparent reason.

‘Should we open or close the doors?’ Jongdae asks.

‘Please close it,’ both Baekhyun and Zitao say immediately.

Jongdae playfully captures Minseok’s feet between his own, sleeping opposite him in the room. Next to Minseok is Baekhyun, and opposite him are Zitao and Kyungsoo.

‘Should we keep one lamp on?’

‘I think that’s a good idea in general,’ Kyungsoo rumbles.

‘Remember the buddy rule,’ Minseok gets out tiredly, eyelids feeling heavier and heavier.

He barely hears the goodnights thrown about and he’s out.

When he wakes up again, quite suddenly- feeling as though he’d only closed his eyes for a few seconds. He’s also sitting up.

He realizes he’s feeling oddly too warm, which was probably why he woke up in the first place. His shoulders were also aching; which wasn’t an uncommon occurrence after lugging around cameras and equipment the whole day. ping his bag, Minseok lets in some cool air before leaning back into his pillow. Checking his phone, Minseok notices it’s very early- almost 5 in the morning.

Everyone was clearly asleep, some light snoring coming from Jongdae’s form, his sleeping bag containing his usually spread out sleeping form. The whole night is overwhelmingly quiet.

The door was still closed- some relief settling in him at the sight.

He rolls over onto his side, his back to the door. Baekhyun’s facing him, mouth slightly open, one arm flung out of his bag. Minseok reaches over to place his hand back over the yoga mat before closing his own eyes.

When he wakes up again, it’s to Kyungsoo shaking him awake.

‘Hm?’ Minseok sits up blearily, yawning hard at once.

‘Morning hyung,’ Kyungsoo crawls over to the empty mat Baekhyun had left behind to slump close to Minseok.

Sitting up, Minseok looks around. The door is half open, and both Jongdae and Baekhyun weren’t there.

‘Sleep okay?’ Minseok asks Kyungsoo quietly. Zitao was still asleep.

Kyungsoo shrugs, temporarily transforming into a worm as he squirms about.

‘Anything?’ Minseok asks as Kyungsoo leans over to collapse over his lap.

‘Nothing,’ Kyungsoo mumbles back, ‘Didn’t even hear it during the night.’

‘Huh,’ Minseok mumbles quietly. He hears the doorway open downstairs, Jongdae and Baekhyun were probably leaving the lobby. ‘Maybe…maybe things have…gotten better?’

Kyungsoo exhales, adjusting himself a bit before saying, ‘I want to say that but…I don’t know- I just won’t feel relaxed until after we leave.’

Minseok nods to that.

‘I wonder if I…if I actually really saw anything at all,’ Kyungsoo says quietly.

‘What do you mean?’

‘…I’m just…I don’t know.’ Kyungsoo sighs out. ‘I’m questioning things I guess.’

‘You saw something. Behind me,’ Minseok says quietly, eyes on Zitao’s sleeping form.

Kyungsoo nods.

‘What was it.’

‘There were hands on your shoulders.’

‘I thought something felt heavy,’ Minseok tells him quietly. ‘But…but other than that- I don’t know, I didn’t…I didn’t feel anything more than out of the ordinary.’

Kyungsoo’s answer comes after a long pause, ‘Me too.’

Minseok continues to comb through Kyungsoo’s hair gently.

‘Are you…is this because of the basement?’

‘Yeah.’

‘It was closed off. Do you think it was sealed off?’

‘I don’t know- I…I obviously never went back there.’

‘Of course.’

‘And I just-…did I…imagine all of it?’ Kyungsoo asks. ‘Like…did I just…just dream up everything- reimagined what was clearly a terrible part of my childhood into something…something supernatural so that I had…I had something to blame?’

There’s a low buzzing sound- a phone vibrating.

‘Is that yours?’ Minseok asks.

‘No-‘ Kyungsoo shows him his phone, retrieving it from inside his sleeping back.

Zitao turns in his sleeping bag, groaning a little before he asks, ‘Is it tomorrow already?’

‘Well, it’s 8 in the morning,’ Kyungsoo offers the lanky young man as the vibrating stops. Zitao groans, rolling over onto his back and says, ‘It stinks.’

Kyungsoo laughs, stretching out properly over Baekhyun’s mat. A phone vibrates again.

‘Ugh,’ Kyungsoo groans, ‘Baekhyun’s phone is so loud even on vibrate mode.’

Zitao laughs, pushing back his hair as he sits up groggily, ‘Doesn’t that describe him perfectly though?’

Kyungsoo laughs, reaching over to his mat for his glasses.

Minseok sits up properly, pushing himself out of his sleeping bag completely, shivering a little as he does so. This was polar opposite of earlier that morning. He’s reaching for his folded hoodie when the door downstairs slams.

Both Zitao and Kyungsoo flinch.

‘What the ?’

‘Hyung?’ they hear Jongdae yell.

Electrified, Minseok leaps up. He rushes for the partially open door and rushes out to the hallway. Jongdae is halfway up the stairs, hair a mess, toiletry bag swinging wildly in one wrist.

‘What’s wrong?’ Minseok demands at once, uncaring that his feet were bare.

‘Is Baekhyun with you guys?’

‘What no-‘ Minseok’s skin is crawling- suddenly everything is so so loud.

‘What’s going on?’ Kyungsoo and Zitao appear, eyes wide awake and nervous.

‘Where’s Baek?’ Jongdae sounds afraid.

‘He- I thought you both went to the port-a-loo-‘ Kyungsoo begins but his eyes widen, turning to gape at Minseok.

‘I tried calling him-‘

‘-his phone is here-‘

They all stare at each other before Jongdae yells loudly, ‘BAEKHYUN!’

There’s no answer.

‘Okay- okay,’ Minseok breathes in, ‘Team up- everyone wear shoes- flashlights- Kyungsoo, Tao-yah, take this hallway- Jongdae and I will take the other.’

‘BAEKHYUN!’ Jongdae yells again, sprinting into the hallway of the dorms.

‘- hyung-‘ Kyungsoo grabs his arm, ‘I don’t think he’s on this floor we should look downstairs-‘

‘What- what is it-‘ Zitao demands, eyes wide and nervous.

‘We should check downstairs,’ Kyungsoo says instead, haphazardly tying his laces, ‘Come on.’

Jongdae sprints past, heading for the opposite hallway. Minseok quickly catches up, calling their friend’s name loudly. He hears Zitao and Kyungsoo rushing downwards.

‘BAEKHYUN!’ Jongdae yells again, slamming doors open.

There’s no response.

Minseok tries to think- where could Baekhyun have gone. He was too scared to do something like head out by himself. Baekhyun was the type who insisted on the buddy-rule even when they had gone to investigate Sehun’s dance studio even though it was unnecessary. He even employed the rule long after they left a location for days.

The dorm halls are empty- each room forlorn and dark.

They turn back, sprinting towards the stairs.

But Jongdae stops abruptly, turning to face Minseok, making him stop.

‘Dae?’

‘,’ Jongdae wipes at his face, ‘Hyung, are you sure this isn’t some dumb trick Baek is trying to play?’

There’s desperation in his tone- as if he wants this to be a prank.

‘What if he fell through somewhere-‘ Jongdae stops himself.

‘Hey, come on,’ Minseok crouches down next to him, holding his face up in his palms, ‘We just keep looking okay? Don’t let this overwhelm you. If we don’t find him in 10 minutes, we call the police and an ambulance.’

Jongdae inhales deeply.

‘I’m going to kill him when we find him.’

Minseok kisses his forehead and pulls him up. Jongdae doesn’t let go of his hand as they descend downwards.

‘Baek!’ Jongdae yells again. Kyungsoo and Zitao appear downstairs, exiting the hallway that lead to the basement.

Zitao stops, staring up at them, doing a double take before he asks, ‘Anything?’ Kyungsoo runs past him into the study room hallway.

Minseok shakes his head as they get to him, ‘None of the dorms had any sign of anyone being there-‘

‘Here!’ Kyungsoo yells. ‘HERE!’

Jongdae is sprinting at once towards where Kyungsoo had gone. Zitao and Minseok rush after him.

Nearly crashing into one of the camera they had placed in front of the library doorway, Minseok turns the corner of the smaller hallway, just noticing the sign for the washrooms, Zitao right behind him. Jongdae is already on his knees, panting besides Kyungsoo and Baekhyun who was sitting up, looking very disoriented and sleepy.

It was the ladies washroom.

The one with the mural.

Minseok can’t find it in himself to look at the mural- at the smiling eyeless face, faded pigtails and directional gestures.

Suddenly his neck feels stiff- a cold weight pressed down on his shoulders heavily.

‘What happened?’ Baekhyun is asking, voice slightly distant as Zitao kneels before him. Jongdae’s worried voice is warped and his vision momentarily swims- only Kyungsoo’s bright form illuminated for a brief second.

It’s overwhelming- suddenly, as though a veil was lifted, as though that final breath was exhaled- everything rushes at them. And-

And he can feel them behind him.

Feel them all gathered, watching. Warning.

‘Hyung!’

Kyungsoo looks at him and Minseok can move again.

Baekhyun doesn’t seem injured. There’s nothing on him- no imprint, no shadow- there’s nothing on him.

‘Oh my god was I possessed?’ Baekhyun asks hysterically, massaging a stiff neck as Zitao hugs him tight.

‘Oh for ’s-‘ Jongdae curses under his breath before palming at his face, ‘He’s all right!’

Kyungsoo laughs- how he’s able to, Minseok isn’t sure. He can still feel all of them behind them. Watching.

Warning.

*

Baekhyun is hysterical when he finds out that- well. He has no idea how he ended up downstairs, in front of the ladies washroom.

So they obviously watch the footage at once, syncing the files to one of the laptops and scrubbing down the timeline.

‘Ooh orbs-!’ Baekhyun says rather hysterically.

‘Not now,’ Jongdae says curtly. Baekhyun lowers his head.

Minseok knows that as head cameraman, he should be recording this part right now but he’s too preoccupied. However, Zitao is filming this on his expensive phone (with shaking hands) so Minseok doesn’t have to worry too much about the footage quality. Maybe it was useful after all that the youth of today were so quick to whip out their phones.

‘There!’ Baekhyun points out and Kyungsoo stops.

Baekhyun looks casually awake, getting out of his sleeping bag with his usual mannerism. He stretches a bit, yawns, and then he stands up. He makes his way around the dorm room, stepping clumsily over Minseok’s unconscious form, and outside. They sync up the time in the other footage and they catch him making it down the hallway.

Baekhyun’s eyes are open, that much was clear to see.

At the stairs is when Minseok notices something odd.

Baekhyun’s right arm is swinging but his left is rather stationary. His fist was loosely curled, as though holding a hand.

They watch him make his way down the stairs, turning with purpose as he enters the study room hallway, straight forward and turning easily in front of the library. He looks completely normal- Minseok can’t see anything strange about this situation.

‘Here- this camera feed,’ Minseok says, connecting the camera’s drive to the laptop quickly. Kyungsoo expertly navigates the folders before pulling up the recorded footage. It’s the one they placed outside the ladies washroom.

Baekhyun appears, casually striding along before stopping in front of the mural.

He doesn’t even look at it, hand still loosely held in an odd grasp. Then, as though it was completely normal, he places himself down on the floor and promptly sleeps. They fast forward the footage, watching in silence, just interrupted by Baekhyun’s loud fast breathing. But Baekhyun on the footage just continues to sleep, light slowly building up.

Then Kyungsoo rushes in, making Baekhyun stir.

‘So.’ Zitao says slowly. ‘Uh.’

‘Let’s get going,’ Jongdae says, getting up. ‘Let’s pack up, head back, we’re done for the episode.’

Baekhyun just gapes, looking at the laptop, and then back at Minseok, and then Kyungsoo.

They don’t say much as they pack up.

Jongdae is clearly upset, Baekhyun anxious and confused, Zitao hesitant and nervous. Kyungsoo moves quickly and methodically, not saying much either.

And Minseok.

Suddenly Minseok can hear them.

And to his absolute disquiet, suddenly he can see them.

‘Hyung, shall I take this for you?’ Zitao asks, turning to pick up one of the cases that held their more sensitive gear by the doorway. Minseok looks up, his eyes flitting in what he hopes is not a noticeable way at the elongated tall figure right outside the doorway Zitao was standing by.

‘Yeah um thanks-‘ Minseok begins but doesn’t know how to stop him. But the elongated figure, its head blocked by the doorpost, simply walks past before Zitao turns and exits the room.

Minseok quickly picks up the remaining things in the dorm room and steps out. Down the long hallway, Minseok spies the elongated man slowly shuffling down, pausing at every doorway.

At the staircase, a row of children are waiting for him. Their hands on the shoulders of the child before them. They all stare up at him and Minseok immediately looks away.

Minseok tightens his metaphoric belt and speeds down the stairs. He hears giggling behind him, breathless pants as though catching up to him. Kyungsoo is at the doorway, brow furrowed and glancing between Minseok and the stairs. But he doesn’t say anything.

‘Last tripod is near the library,’ Jongdae says as he comes back in to help Kyungsoo lug back the heavy generator crate. Kyungsoo looks like he wants to go with him but doesn’t want to raise suspicion.

Minseok says in his best stable voice, ‘I got it.’

‘I’ll wait for you hyung,’ Zitao smiles, coiling up the last of their long cable into neat loops around his forearm.

Minseok nods in thanks and heads down towards the library.

Each doorway he passes is blocked by figures- he doesn’t look at them, doesn’t acknowledge their presence. At the end of the hallway, standing right next to the doorway is a young woman, brown skirt, hair tied away with a red scarf, knotted to the side. Half of her is visible, simply watching Minseok approach. But Minseok is concentrating only on the tripod, already taken apart and leaning against the wall. Minseok picks up the tripod and turning, finds that the mural has moved, wide grinning mouth leering at him from the wall opposite him.

Minseok doesn’t increase his pace, doesn’t attempt to run- he simply walks ahead, tripod tucked under his arm. Zitao is waiting for him, a small regretful smile on his face.

‘Is uh- will Jongdae-hyung be okay?’

‘I think he was just very worried,’ Minseok tells him quietly, ‘And well- he doesn’t really know how to deal with it. Don’t let it get to you. They’ll talk it through, they never argue for long, they’re good like that.’

‘Does…does Baekhyun-hyung frequently sleep walk?’ Zitao asks as they lug out the last cases to the steps outside. They were waiting for the van they had hired for this very purpose. They were a tad early, but no one argued leaving the building.

‘Not to my knowledge,’ Minseok shakes his head, huffing out a breath as they pause a moment, looking out to the gateway down the driveway. Baekhyun was on the phone, talking, his back turned to Jongdae and Kyungsoo who were stacking up their stuff to make it easy to put into the van once it comes.

Zitao sighs.

‘I feel like this is my fault.’

‘It’s not,’ Minseok tells him firmly. ‘Don’t feel guilty about this. Jongdae’s reaction was…it was odd. He’s normally very level-headed, he doesn’t normally behave like this. If at all.’

‘But I brought up this place, convinced them to come here and-‘ Zitao looks genuinely torn up. ‘And now Baekhyun just- just started sleepwalking out of nowhere and-…and now Jongdae-hyung is mad- and Kyungsoo’s been uncomfortable ever since this started- I know he’s here because well-…I know it’s different for him here.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘I don’t-…really believe, in ghosts and stuff,’ Zitao tells him hesitantly, like he’s afraid that Minseok will laugh at him, ‘It’s spooky, I spook easy…but uh- I know that Kyungsoo can…sense things differently? He’s sensitive. He’s always been like that.’

‘Oh.’

‘Yeah but uh- don’t say I said this. But I think this place isn’t very nice for him and well…I feel bad he got roped into this too- I know he tried to protect me while we were here…- and I don’t really know what he did- or what he thought…he had to do. So much of this place is just so…so dark- when Kyungsoo appeared I thought for a moment he-…he wanted to end this too. Put this all behind us, once and for all.’ Zitao shrugs a little, ‘And this just- I dunno, I feel like this is somehow…this just proves everything we both feared.’

‘What’s that?’

‘I guess…it just proves somehow that this place just…’ Zitao looks back at the doorway, ‘It just doesn’t want to let us go.’

Minseok takes his hand and squeezes it gently.

‘We’re all here out of our own choice- we wanted to look into this place, you don’t have to feel bad about this, okay?’

Zitao nods.

‘I’ll lock up,’ Minseok ruffles Zitao’s un-styled hair.

Minseok walks up to the door, taking out the keys from his pocket to secure the main lock as well as the padlock outside. Fumbling, Minseok drops the keys. Quickly picking them up, Minseok grabs the door only to come across a man standing inside.

His back is turned to Minseok.

He’s wearing some sort of uniform- there’s something in his hands but Minseok can’t quite make it out.

Stiffly he slowly turns- in the process his body stretches unconventionally, thinning rapidly. He turns his head and Minseok quickly swings it shut.

But it’s not quick enough to shut off the trill of a telephone ringing.

*

‘I want to finish the episode.’

Minseok, Kyungsoo, and Zitao stand awkwardly at their own hostel room.

Minseok had just stepped out of the shower, hair still very wet, one foot still in the bathroom, when he comes across Baekhyun and Jongdae standing off.

Jongdae has an uncharacteristically irritated expression on his face.

‘Did you fake it?’ Jongdae asks Baekhyun seriously.

‘I didn’t!’ Baekhyun exclaims empathetically. ‘I did not fake sleepwalking in a ing building I am terrified of!’

‘That’s why I’m worried!’ Jongdae gets out, ‘You never sleepwalk! We have slept at god knows where before and you’ve never slept walked before!’

‘I am sorry for worrying you- I can assure you it was not on purpose,’ Baekhyun hisses out.

‘All the more reason for us not to go back. We don’t even have to air this episode- we can just say there was an issue with the site- that the council stopped us-‘

‘No.’ Baekhyun says firmly. ‘I want to go back, complete what we set out to do. Because it’s our job- we committed, we planned- we-‘

‘Do you even know-‘ Jongdae stops himself, taking a deep breath. ‘Baekhyun, think of this in my point of view for a moment. The floorboards could be rotted, I didn’t even-! and I-!’ Jongdae wipes at his face again before he crouches down.

‘I’m sorry for worrying you,’ Baekhyun says quietly, stepping in to squat down next to Jongdae. ‘I’m so so sorry.’

He pulls Jongdae into a tight hug.

Minseok eye signals both Kyungsoo and Zitao and they slip outside.

‘So-‘ Zitao says hesitantly. ‘I uh- I dunno if it’s my place to say this but- I uh, wanna complete the episode too.’

Kyungsoo nods, though he’s hesitant too.

And Minseok understands. He’s wondering if he can somehow get time to speak to Kyungsoo alone- maybe he could tell him what he saw in the last hour of their stay in the hostel- maybe the two of them could contact his aunt, ask her for advice. Hell, maybe Minseok could even contact Taehyung and his uncle because this could definitely fall under some sort of strange necromancy or shamanism. Would the eggs trick work here because destroying the place and building up something new might not work. Whatever was wrong with the place was a very sentient force that purposefully blocked Minseok out. It clearly staged whatever strange sleepwalking Baekhyun went through, to somehow rile them all up- affecting the one person who probably regarded the whole situation with little to no seriousness. It had managed to catalyze a reaction in all of them- easily sparking hysteria in Baekhyun, nervous and anxiety in both Kyungsoo and Zitao- and then displacing Jongdae’s level-headedness.

It was dark, powerful, cunning- and it was hungry.

And Minseok can understand why both Zitao and Kyungsoo wanted to do something about this place.

There was something that seemed to keep pulling them back- it applied to both the Son’s they interviewed too. How they still seemed to carry a strange weight that they gained while in DK.

Suddenly they hear laughter.

They all stare at each other, not sure what to do.

They wait a few more minutes before Jongdae opens the door, behind him Baekhyun. And to everyone’s surprise, Jongdae pulls Zitao into a hug.

‘I’m not angry at you, I don’t blame you,’ Jongdae tells him. Zitao’s lower lip trembles. ‘I was worried and afraid, and then I expressed it in a very dumb way. I’m not mad at you, okay?’

Zitao hugs him back hard.

‘So!’ Baekhyun grins at them, ‘We’re continuing with our plan!’

Minseok is both happy to hear this, and also apprehensive. He needs to be able to talk to Kyungsoo before they get back.

Zitao cheers.

‘Baek was right,’ Jongdae explains, ‘I was- uh, I reacted badly-‘

‘-understandably,’ Baekhyun interrupts, leaning in to squeeze/hug his best-friend.

‘-and I displayed it in a way that was immature and not at all healthy, regardless of the fact that, well, I was really strung up,’ Jongdae looks sheepish. ‘And I do want to complete this episode too. I’m sorry you guys, for making this difficult.’

He’s bombarded with hugs- which they have to awkwardly break for a few other hostel-ers living on the same floor as them.

Kyungsoo goes back to transferring and saving the files, tagging specific clips in advance to follow their main narration. Zitao takes a nap next to him, and Baekhyun orders them a massive meal. Minseok heads back to the bathroom to dry his hair. The mirror is fogged up, so he quickly wipes down the condensation as he starts up the dryer. He pauses, his eyes catching on something under his t-shirt’s collar.

Quickly, he pulls back the neck of his shirt and on his shoulders were bruises- slightly faded, but quite clear against his skin. Pulling the neck back more, Minseok notes, to his horror, that they’re shaped like hand-prints.

The door slides open wider and Minseok hurriedly lets go of his collar, redirecting the hairdryer to his head as casually as he could. Jongdae beams at him through the gap of the doorway.

‘Hey hyung,’ Jongdae slides up next to him.

‘Oh god, what,’ Minseok switches off his hair dryer, facing Jongdae.

He suddenly leans in and presses a kiss on his forehead.

‘Thanks for being such a good hyung,’ he grins, ‘I nearly lost my - and you helped me remain calm. Thank you.’

Minseok quickly waves his hands, pushing Jongdae back a little, ‘Yes yes, that’s what I’m here for.’

Jongdae hugs him tight and lets go before pushing Minseok out of the bathroom saying, ‘Also I need to pee!’

*

‘Damn we really back,’ Baekhyun grimaces at the building.

Minseok’s stomach churns, doing his best not to look at the faces looking down at them from the windows.

They were waiting. Definitely waiting. They ignored the warning- although it couldn’t really be considered a warning as Baekhyun, Jongdae, and Zitao weren’t aware that what happened to Baekhyun was supposed to be a warning.

It’s a little later than when they started.

‘I mean we could always-‘

‘I am not complaining!’ Baekhyun stomps his feet before facing Minseok’s camera, ‘I am so ready!’

*

‘I am not ready,’ Baekhyun wheezes, clutching at his chest as Jongdae takes his turn to spend 2 whole minutes alone in the furthest dorm room on the third floor. Jongdae chose this place as where he wanted to spend 2 minutes alone.

Zitao would do his in the dorm room he had spent most of his childhood in, and Baekhyun would be spending time in one of the nurseries.

Minseok is relieved when nothing happens during these moments of solitude. Or at least, nothing he can immediately see.

Because Minseok is on edge.

Every single corner they turned, every hallway, corridor, room, office- any place they entered or left would instantly crowd with forms and faces just out of Minseok’s immediate sight. Kyungsoo is rigid- his back poker straight, his jaw tense, his eyebrows furrowed.

They’re just watching- waiting.

Not all of them try to approach them- but a few try.   

Jongdae casually walks down another washroom, intently discussing how impractical the tiles were in hiding dirt when Minseok spots it.

A huddled mass of shapes- Minseok is barely able to distinguish their forms but he knows that there are three of them. He can hear Baekhyun talking to Kyungsoo’s camera in the washroom opposite the one Jongdae was investigating. Zitao is explaining that this washroom was especially unused by most of the students- especially at night because none of the light fixtures ever worked properly and the toilets wouldn’t always flush.

Jongdae is listening to disgusted interest, leaning against one of the sinks, nodding to Zitao’s story and it starts to move.

It slides under the space of the sinks- for a moment, Minseok thinks it might just stay put there. Their hunched forms were just a bit too tall to fully crawl under the space in their crouched form. But he’s mistaken.

The crouched figures glide, heads hitting the u-bend of the sinks with thuds that resemble gurgling sounds. Jongdae pauses, a small frown on his face as he looks around. Zitao also turns where he’s standing, looking disturbed at the sounds.

The figure is right by Jongdae’s legs and Minseok is starting to sweat profusely.

‘The pipes?’ Jongdae tilts his head in interest before squatting down, nearly eye level with the crouched figures now just one sink away from him. ‘Old plumbing can definitely cause creepy sounds- especially if they were so backlogged as you said.’

From the figures, a hand extends out slowly, cupped in a c-shape and the dark mass of figures splits to form a gaping maw of a mouth.

As though it was trying to whisper something, getting closer and closer to Jongdae’s tilted head as he, in earnest, tries to listen to the pipes.

‘Hey guys! It’s the ing mural again!’ Baekhyun shrieks.

Jongdae stands just before the crouched figures touch him and Minseok has to stop himself from pulling his friend out of the washroom.

When they go to where Baekhyun and Kyungsoo are, they find that yes indeed, the mural is there. It’s the exact same- no change in chipped paint, stains, or even the way the eyes are faded and the mouth vivid.

‘Damn I just-‘ Baekhyun shudders, ‘I just really hate this mural- , sorry for swearing but-‘

They all stop talking- eyes flitting to one of the hands, pointing to the right as a guide for women looking for the washrooms. The hand had previously been pointing straight, in all of it’s uncomfortable detail despite the whole mural looking quite cartoon like.

But now, the hand was pointing downwards.

‘So…’ Baekhyun whimpers breathlessly, hand shaking as he holds his GoPro towards the mural. ‘Did uh- did you guys uh- catch that?’

‘Uh-‘ Zitao’s voice is high-pitched and he’s pressed up against the wall.

Jongdae is frowning, wary but doubtful. He walks up the painting and gingerly touches the painted hand.

‘What are you doing?!’ Baekhyun squeaks.

‘Maybe the paint is, I dunno, like, chipped and loose?’

‘You definitely saw it move didn’t you!?’ Baekhyun demands, now inching a little closer as Jongdae investigates it.

‘I mean, I wasn’t really looking at the hand to be honest,’ Jongdae trails off, ‘But I know the one downstairs is pointing straight?’ Jongdae asks, looking back at the camera.

‘It is,’ Zitao nods.

‘Okay- Soo and I will go check on the mural downstairs and we’ll be back!’

Baekhyun looks light-headed, slumping on the wall next to Zitao, both of them nodding mutely.

‘You okay?’ Baekhyun asks Zitao.

‘Sure, never better, of course I’m great,’ Zitao responds.

‘Hyung, keep pointing the camera at that spot- we should set up a camera here- just on this mural,’ Baekhyun says, ‘I’ll uh, use my GoPro- we could prop it here.’

With shaking hands, Baekhyun uses his own GoPro to securely prop the camera one of the sinks.

Jongdae and Kyungsoo come back a few minutes later, slightly breathless from trekking up the stairs.

‘It’s pointing forward,’ Jongdae confirms, ‘Maybe this was just always like this?’

‘But- but didn’t we all see it move?’

Zitao looks confused, so does Baekhyun.

‘I think maybe what happened is, we were all aware of the difference in this mural at the same time,’ Jongdae concludes.

Baekhyun looks straight into the camera and asks, ‘Did anyone see it move?’

They move on with some difficulty. They’re all very paranoid at this stage, and doing their best not to lose composure. Jongdae is fidgety- something he’s normally not in any episode shoot. Baekhyun is increasingly more agitated, unwilling to separate for any reason.

It’s with extreme relief that they wrap up their investigative shoot and trek down to their over-night camp site.

‘I need to retire after this,’ Baekhyun groans, slumping on his mat.

‘This is a genuinely terrible place,’ Jongdae mumbles, leaning all the way back to lay down on his mat.

Dinner is a quiet affair. Everyone appeared to be lost in their own thoughts, sort of mindlessly chewing and looking around blankly. Minseok doesn’t even realize he’s doing it until Kyungsoo asks him to join him to do a final check on all of their cameras they would be leaving overnight.

‘This place,’ Kyungsoo says as they go down the stairs, sticking close to the wall. ‘It drags you down.’

‘Yeah I’m noticing that,’ Minseok replies quietly, glancing behind him briefly to note that yes, little figures were following them down.

‘They’re all out now,’ Kyungsoo sighs, ‘One of them even smiled at me, like they remembered me.’

They check on the cameras, making sure they were still recording and running, their batteries charged and if any needed to be changed.

‘Could you uh- do the one near the library,’ Kyungsoo asks hesitantly, ‘I don’t like the matron much, to be honest.’

Minseok nods in understanding. Kyungsoo does go with him, but he stops some distance away. Minseok goes to check on the camera, nothing looking out at him from the darkness of the library. Minseok also double checks the mural- the eyeless painting grinning at him from the dark corner, finger coyly pointing forward.

Going back Minseok turns the corner to find Kyungsoo still there- except this time he’s distinctly uncomfortable, expression rigid.

The Red Knot Matron is standing directly behind him, half of her showing. Kyungsoo doesn’t look away from Minseok, concentrating on him until Minseok is close enough. Taking his outstretched hand, Kyungsoo turns on his heel and faces the empty hallway.

Minseok chances a look behind him and the Red Knot Matron watches them from behind the entrance to the library.

‘We need to…’ Kyungsoo says quietly, ‘We need to make things better.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Everyone’s a bit too- they’re dulling,’ Kyungsoo explains, ‘You are too.’

‘What do you suggest we do?’

When they get back, Baekhyun, Jongdae, and Zitao are all blankly on their phones.

‘Hey guys,’ Kyungsoo smiles, ‘All the cameras are fine and set up.’

Baekhyun looks a little surprised at Kyungsoo’s upbeat tone. Then Kyungsoo produces playing cards, smiling warmly at everyone. Jongdae almost seemed inclined to decline but Minseok ropes him in quickly.

It takes a while to get into the mood of it- but everyone seems to realize that this was supposed to be a mood lifter. Baekhyun’s forced smiles and laugh is replaced with genuine ones and Jongdae is cracking dumb jokes again. Zitao even takes a short video of them playing, wheezing with laughter when Kyungsoo loses spectacularly.

The atmosphere is much better when they turn in to go to sleep. It was an unspoken agreement almost, that they stay awake for much of the night. Jongdae actually manages to combine both his Baekhyun’s sleeping bags to form one odd lumpy one that they could both snuggle into.

‘Can’t believe all the comments on my post is ‘keep a mentos in your coke’ are people trying to have me killed?’ Baekhyun grumbles from the sleeping bag, though he looks amused as he scrolls through his phone. ‘Maybe you should do it instead username yibosballsack27.’

Kyungsoo chokes on his water.

‘You should totally keep a mentos in your coke,’ Zitao grins.

‘Yeah Baek, do it for the vine!’

‘What does that mean?’ Zitao asks, face blank.

Jongdae gapes at the younger man before declaring hotly, ‘You’re just trying to make me feel old on purpose!’

Minseok does feel better as he readies himself to sleep. It was just this night, and then they would be done. It was just 5 more hours at most, and they would be able to leave. Zitao and Kyungsoo will be able to feel a sense of completion- or whatever it was they needed from here, and Minseok would be able to hightail Baekhyun and Jongdae out of here, sneakily throwing protective charms all over them again.

And then, a blessed break.

Minseok closes his eyes, dreaming of when they can go on a break in a couple of days.

It doesn’t even feel like an hour has passed,

‘Hyung!’

Minseok feels sluggish, waking with difficulty.

Something felt wrong- the air felt heavy and damp on him.

There’s a heavy unshakeable weight on his shoulders and it yanks him down and Minseok starts wide awake.

‘Hyung wake up,’ Kyungsoo says desperately, looming over him.

‘What’s wrong,’ Minseok asks quickly, looking around the dark room, his eyes adjusting with difficulty. Why was the lamp off? The whole place looked strangely different- the windows were no longer boarded he was on a bunk bed?  

‘Zitao is missing.’

*

Erikyoooooooonggggg_ggg: So, no offence to Baekhyun I love him and he is the reason why this account exists but es be falling in love with Kyungsoo and yeah im es

Erikyoooooooonggggg_ggg: I SPOKE TOO SOON FORGET THIRSTING OVER ANYONE WHY THE ARE YOU GUYS IN THIS PLACE

Erikyoooooooonggggg_ggg: WAIT WAIT WAIT WHAT. Okay listen if…if this is fake…which I don’t think it is…but if its not fake it means its true…

Erikyoooooooonggggg_ggg: WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE WAS SLEEPWALKING BAEKHYUN WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU WERE SLEEP WALKING I HATE THIS

minghaoFrogagenda: I AM SO DONE WITH THESE TWO I AM FULL ON CRYING I HATE THIS SO MUCH side note I already love Zitao and I am adopting him please protect him

minghaoFrogagenda: I HATE THIS EPISODE SO MUCH HE JUST STRAIGHT UP SLEPT WALK AND STOPPED IN FRNOT OF THAT CURSED MURAL

Indigo_salad: not to sound paranoid but uhhhhhhhh did that painting in 12:34 mark just um, you know, move?

Indigo_salad: THAT PREVIOUS COMMENT THAT PAINTING WHAT THE

Im a whole treat: 12:34 12:34 12:34 12:34 12:34 12:34 12:34 12:34

Bread for Cheeks, Cheeks for Bread: I keep telling myself I wont watch the next episode but I’ve been saying that for 2 seasons now I should just never say things I will not follow through with i

Bread for Cheeks, Cheeks for Bread: YEAH OKAY THAT’S IT I AM NOT WATCHING THIS SEASON GOOD BYE I STILL LOVE YOU GUYS I CN’T PHYSICALLY WATCH ANYMORE

DrinkThatWaterBtich: WAS THAT A FULL BODY APPARITION AT 16:03 WHY IS NO ONE TALKING ABOUT 16:03 GUYS I NEED SOMEONE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THIS WHAT WAS THAT BEHIND JONGDAE IN THE ING BATHROOM AT 16:03 WHY IS EVERYONE SPOOKED ABOUT 12:34 ALL PAINTINGS ARE POSSESSED ANYWAYS

DrinkThatWaterBtich: Oh. I see why…

Baguette Au Pain: I was wondering why people were doing weird double comments, and the tweets from this episode were weird (I was at work and I couldn’t watch but I could read the comments!) and so yeah.

Baguette Au Pain: WHAT THE, and I cannot stress this enough, ?????????????????????????????

Real talk though, I used to sleep walk as a kid, and later when I was stressed, I would sleep walk in my teens too. Maybe baek is just stressed with this whole situation? And he ended up kinda projecting his fears from the stories of the place and slept-walked?

Why Are All The B-Sides Bops?: as someone who has a sleepwalking brother this is very familiar to me it’s so jarring and displacing. They look so normal in what they do, I once had a whole conversation with my brother and turns out he was sleep walking the entire time but at least that was in our house. Baek suddenly slept walked in a creepy hostel I hope he’s not too jarred from this experience TT_TT

GrimArtandStuff: The fear in jongdae’s eyes when baek went missing- we love best friends. It was obvious they were unprepared- if this was staged, they would have had full on POV cameras to “catch” their reactions. But we only had cut-off and weirdly angled camera cuts. I think baek might have stress slept-walked. But jongdae’s voice ;_; he was so worried

15 Frame Rates Per Second: This is fake, 100%, damn wish it wasn’t, I really liked them a lot after their collab with Studio NNG

Mareete: did they…I know that they’ve had…a bunch of episodes where it genuinely looked like the places they were in were, yknow, “haunted” haunted. But this place is…is it Haunted™?

Mareete: HI OKAY BUT DID ANYONE ELSE SEE THAT SAME ING MURAL IN THE WALL OUTSIDE WHEN THEY WENT BACK IN FOR THE SECOND NIGHT???????? IT WAS RIGHT THERE- ///OUTSIDE/// CAN SOMEONE ELSE CONFIRM THIS WITH ME

DaeDroid: I can see this video in a youtube compilation of “supernatural activity caught on tape” for the next 5 years, also that ing painting literally gave me so many chills every time it showed up so to anyone who wants to avoid looking at that ed up mural it shows up in: 07:12, 08:11, 12:34, 17:15, and 23:17

LuckyFrogSong: is anyone else hiding in the comment section because same, I know nothing I see nothing idk anything about moving paintings or full body apparitions stay here in the comment section where its safe lalalalalala I cant hear anything!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sehun_omayaaaaaa: hyungs you need to burn down this building I’ll help you

*

(Author’s Notes)

So

The whole thing about how

A place doesn’t seem to want to let you go

Kinda pplies to me and the house I grew up in- for the longest time after moving out I couldn’t quite get over that house- it’s possible that it was because most of my strongest memories of childhood centered around this house, but it was unpleasant that everything I based my memories out of, of certain stories and just in general- so much of how I really based the foundations of memory were all from this house. Im nto sure if the house I grew up in was legitimately haunted or if it was my way of coping through a really bad time my family went through when we were there, but it never wanted me to leave I guess- a way of processing trauma to a certain extent I guess- and for a while, even though I HATED that place, I wanted to go back??? Because even though I hated it, I knew it- it was familiar to me I guess, but obviously I didn’t- though till now I still see that house in my dreams I am definitely able to put it behind me and no longer have it as a fundamental basis of everything immediate in my life. Like baek says, the bad memories aren’t what makes us

BUT I HOPE THIS WASN’T TOO BAD

And sorry for the late update

T_T

Also who would’ve thought that the baekhyunIU fight scene would come out like this again