Jongdae held his breath as he waited for an explanation. He waited and waited. He waited for the always calm and collected Chinsun to enter lecturer mode and give him a breakdown of the situation. He waited for a grouchy Jongin to intercept and scold him like a child who tried to eat ice cream before dinner.

Jongdae waited and waited, however none of the scenarios he had envisioned took place.

Chinsun was collapsed on the floor, her hand still clinging onto Jongdae’s. The latter could feel her hands shaking uncontrollably, but he had not time to ponder on the matter because of the state Jongin was in. Maybe it was the fault of the dim bedside lamp, however the bags under Jongin’s eyes sagged as if they held the entire weight of the world. The usual healthy glow on his tanned skin appeared faded and ashen, and despite sitting limply on the bed, his whole body was tense.

Seeing the two strongest people he knew looking so broken, Jongdae was left confused and speechless. At the same time, a bubble of fear burst inside of him, threatening to clog up his veins and arteries.

“What happened?” Jongdae repeated, barely managing to squeeze his voice out of his constricting throat.

The sound of the door squeaking forced Jongdae to look away from Jongin and Chinsun. Finally he noticed Baekhyun hovering by the door, not quite daring to step into the delicate moment. Now that the two best friends had locked gazes though, Baekhyun dared to fully enter the bedroom.

“I don’t know the details but,” Baekhyun cleared his throat before continuing, “I was roused from my sleep when I felt a sudden cold rushing through my body, starting from my wrist.”

As he said that, Jongdae could not help but notice Baekhyun tightening his grip around his right wrist, highlighting his endless knot tattoo.

“Next thing I know there was loud banging on my door and Chinsun was there. Both of our tattoos was reacting so we ran here as fast as we could and saw Jongin shaking frantically…”

Baekhyun’s voice faded as his tongue suddenly felt heavy and unmovable. Eventually it was Chinsun who picked up from where Baekhyun left off. Although her voice was soft and airy, there was an unmistakable melancholy seeping through

“But you wouldn’t wake up. Meanwhile, I felt like I was slowly drowning in cold sea water in the middle of winter.”

“It was like my lungs was filling with salty seawater,” Baekhyun added hurriedly.

“Each p