A/N This chapter is the start of their investigative story, the basic past of the year 2000's! Added visuals so it's easier. 

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Mark stared at the tape, a million thoughts running through his mind as he held it. He had no idea what was going on with the house, or if finding his brother’s death tape was good, but he knew one thing.

He needed answers.

That was why Mark Lee bolted out the room and straight to the clock tower.

“Mark!” Jeno yelled, turning around to follow his friend. “Ah, . Why does he always do this?”

With one look at the empty closet, he sped through the halls after his friend who didn’t seem to be listening to anything other than his own heart. Mark’s feet thudded heavily against the wood of the floorboards as the door to the bridge leading to the clock tower came into view.

“Mark!” Jeno called out again.

Jeno knew what Mark was thinking. He could tell just by seeing his expression, but Jeno also knew that any type of obsession wasn’t good for someone like Mark. Mark was the type to fall down the rabbit hole. He was the type to have dark thoughts and spiral.

Mark never listened to anyone in his life. Haechan still took people’s advice into account, but ultimately, he made his own decision. Mark did not listen to logic, and Jeno was sure he never will. It was just the way he was.

“Mark!”

Mark stood by the clock tower, holding his brother’s tape in the air as if it was some secret key to unlocking a memory. He waved it aggressively, Jeno seeing frustration start to show in his features.

Jeno sighed. “I think we need to wait for midnight.”

When Jeno spoke, Mark’s hand dropped to his side, his fingers clasped tightly over the tape.

“Mark… I,” Jeno began. “I don’t think this is good for us,” he paused. “I don’t think this is good for you.”

Mark had his back to Jeno, the male with his head hanging low. He wanted to fling the tape far, far away but a part of him wanted to protect it with his life. Mark turned back to see Jeno catching his breath.

“Let’s go home,” Jeno said, Mark shaking his head. “Mark, I’m serious. Let’s put all this behind us. We don’t know what’s happening here! I think I’m losing my mind. My niece insists there is a maid! You… You’re going to find a way to destroy yourself over your brother’s death that happened years ago!”

Jeno’s voice echoed loudly, the male stepping closer to his friend. He was worried about Mark’s mental state more than anything else when there was a sound, both of them looking behind them to see Haechan and Bunny with the kids.

Patricia was staring at them, Mark turning away so she wouldn’t see how bothered he was.

“Uh… Am I walking into a lover’s quarrel or?” Haechan asked, Jeno motioning for his wife to take the kids away. “What’s up with you two?”

“Jeno wants to leave,” Mark said simply, Haechan raising his eyebrows at both. “He said he saw someone in a blue dress disappear into the closet. This was in the closet.”

Mark raised Matthew’s tape, Haechan reaching out to take it from him but Mark snatched it back.

“Easy.” Haechan raised two hands in the air as if he wanted his friend to know he wasn’t an enemy. “I’m not going to do anything to it.”

Mark finally gave it to Haechan, the male looking at the label.

“DD – Matthew,” Haechan read, a look crossing his features. “This is the death tape of your brother.”

Mark nodded, his jaw tightening. “If I can go back to see the memories of the tape, maybe I’ll find out what happened to him.”

Haechan’s face softened. He loved Mark, but he also knew that Mark had a knack of getting too deep into things. It was like how he would get an idea and go through with it, but in the process he’d cut everyone out of his life.

But he also knew Mark would not change his mind.

“Absolutely not,” Jeno said. “Who knows what you might find, Mark? What if your brother did commit suicide? No. You do it. I’m going home. I have my wife and children here!”

“Jeno, if his death was a suicide, why is there a tape on it?”

Jeno breathed in. “Even so.”

Haechan took a step back. It was going to be a war between two of the most stubborn people on the planet, the male knowing he would just have to let his friends yell it out.

“Even so? Do you not understand—”

“You know what I understand?” Jeno hissed, stepping closer to Mark. “I understand that we were transported magically! Into some memory! That does not happen, Mark. Something is going on here. You know what I also understand? That there are things here that can’t be explained—”

“And you’re scared. You’re scared, that’s why you want to go home,” Mark said flatly.

“Damn right, I’m scared! Unlike you, I have a wife and kids!”

“What about the inheritance?” Mark asked.

“I don’t need it.”

“For years I’ve wanted to know about what happened to my brother. I’ve lived every day wondering if life was that horrible for him that he had to take his own life. If there were things going on I did not know about. And if this!” Mark motioned his hand behind him to the clock tower. “If this clock tower is going to allow me to go back to his last day, then I’m not leaving here till I do!”

Jeno opened his mouth to say something back. He wanted to yell at Mark and say that he had always tried to save him. He had always looked out for Mark when they were younger, but—

 “I need you,” Mark said, his voice cracking for a moment. For a split second, Jeno saw sadness in his eyes. A sadness that Mark hardly ever showed. “I know how I get, Jeno, but I’m afraid I will never be able to live life normally if I don’t do this. I know how often I dig my own grave in things, but you’ve always found a way to pull me out.”

This, too, was true. Haechan was Mark’s ride and die. Haechan followed Mark blindly, the best friend who wouldn’t ask questions if Mark ever ask him to do something. Haechan always did what Mark wanted to do because it was fun.

But it was Jeno that was his sense of logic. It was Jeno who grounded him, who always made him rethink his decisions and try to make him see things from a different perspective.

It was Jeno who pulled Mark out of depression and made him get professional help. It was Jeno who stayed with him when he was in his lowest even if it was not fun to always be on edge with him.

Jeno breathed, running a hand through his hair.

“And frankly,” Mark continued. “I don’t think Haechan and I would pull it off. We aren’t the smartest.”

“Okay, now I’m offended,” Haechan said, leaning against the door. “That aside, Jeno, I know you’re worried about the kids and all…”

Mark and Jeno waited for Haechan to come up with a solution, a very bright one.

“But ghosts can’t hurt you,” Haechan said simply, Mark facepalming. “What? It’s true! I’m Bhuddist.”

“Your argument is that ghosts can’t hurt my family and that you’re Bhuddist?”

“I mean, I know the ghosts here might not be Casper the Friendly Ghost, but are we afraid of floating entities who died in the area? Besides, every place is a little bit haunted. Tell you what,” Haechan said conversationally, a hand going to grab a cigarette from his pocket. “I was in Bhuddist camp for a year. We believe that humans are creatures of light and ghosts are just energy.”

“I think energy is a more spiritual thing than bhuddism, bro,” Mark said, Jeno feeling the conversation steer to somewhere else. Mark turned to Jeno. “If it makes you feel better, Jeno, in Christianity we believe we’re protected by ghosts.”

“Have you seen the exorcist?” Jeno asked back.

“Those are demons, Jeno,” Haechan said. “The demon possessed a girl. However, if it were to be one of the children, I can only imagine it would be Patricia the demon would choose. Liz and Elliot are fine.”

“Look, I’m usually not afraid of the hocus pocus, okay?” Jeno frowned. “I can’t believe that I’m contemplating your reasons. I believe in facts! I’m a lawyer for godsake!”

“Hey, just… sleep on it, okay?” Mark said. “Tonight, if I get to go into my brother’s tapes when midnight strikes then we’ll leave. How about that? Just one more night.”

Jeno nodded, finally giving in. “Fine. One more night.”

That can’t hurt. Not at all.

Jeno had retreated to the empty bedroom he shared with his wife when his phone buzzed from the side table. The male answered it just to hear that his father telling him that his mother’s condition wasn’t the best and the medical bills had racked up.

“Her insurance is not going to pay for it anymore, Jeno,” his father said, and Jeno knew for a fact that his father was trying to keep it together. “What’s going to happen to her?”

“Father, I have savings,” Jeno said, rubbing his eyebrows. “I have savings that I put up for Liz and Sal’s college. Elliot’s, too. I—”

“Son, maybe…” His father’s voice trailed and Jeno already knew what he was going to say. “Maybe it’s best we…”

“No,” Jeno replied firmly. “No, father. We are not going to give up on mum just because we are running into a few financial problems. I-I-I’ll figure something out, okay? Don’t worry. I got this.”

Jeno, however, knew that he did not. He knew that if he didn’t figure something out, he’d deplete all the savings he was saving up for his kids for his mother. He, however, knew that he could not give up on her.

He could get a loan. A loan from the bank and pay it off over…. How years of debt would that be? Jeno groaned momentarily. Or he could inherit the school grounds.

None of them seemed like good options, but Jeno tried to push his worries away.

Hakuna Matata, he repeated in his mind. If he was Bunny, he’d follow that mantra. However, he was not his wife. His wife did not know a single thing about his problems.

He stood up, heading to the closet to bring out a jacket. The temperature of the air had just dropped, the male opening the closet door to choose a suitable jacket when a shiver ran up his spine. He made a mental note to get check if the house had any heaters when he heard a question.  

“Are you staying?” the voice asked, Jeno not turning around to answer his wife. His jacket was bundled up, and he guessed it was because she had put it in the laundry even if he told her not to.

Now, it had shrunk.

“Yeah, honey. Mark wants to stay, I don’t think it’s best we leave him alone,” he murmured, shoving a hand into the sleeve of the jacket.

“And the kids?”

“I mean, they seem to enjoy being here. Wouldn’t hurt to stay a few days more,” Jeno replied, thinking about the inheritance of the school grounds.

“Good, we need h--” the whisper said before he whipped his head around to see no one. His heart pounded, the male closing the closet to scan the room but there was no sign of Bunny.

“Honey?” Jeno called, his voice raising up an octave. “Honey!”

Were his ears playing tricks on him like his eyes were? Was he going crazy? His breathing came out in huffs and puffs, the male calling out for his wife one more time before heading to the door.

“Honey!” he called out one more, pulling open the door just to come face to face with two big eyes staring at him, Jeno jumping backwards. “Oh, fuc—”

“Shhh, the kids are playing hide and seek,” Bunny said. “It’s their third round. They still can’t find Elliot. You were calling me?”

“Where…” Jeno began, not wanting her to know how rattled he was. Who was he talking to? “Where were you?”

“Downstairs,” Bunny told him, smiling. “Liz is counting to a hundred. I was just making sure the kids are okay. Are you okay? You’re pale.”

“Yeah, I j-j-just,” Jeno cleared his throat, Bunny chuckling at him and telling him his stutter was back. Jeno adjusted his glasses. “I just missed you.”

“Really?” she asked, beaming. “I’ve missed you, too. What did you and the boys talk about?”

Jeno took a deep breath, the male finally deciding to tell Bunny what was going on. He knew marriage was shared effort, the male sitting Bunny down and telling her that Mark wanted to stay. He told her that if she wanted to leave with the kids, maybe that was the right decision.

He told her about his mother, and she sighed. “If worst comes to worst, we can borrow money from Doyoung.”

“You know that’s not an option. Your parents gave me hell to allow you to get married to me… What would they say if we ended up borrowing money from them?” His shoulder’s slumped, Bunny shaking her head.

“You’re a great husband. You’re an amazing dad,” she told him, and it was times like these that he needed the reassurance. “They’ll understand.”

But Jeno was a man of pride and having to ask for money from the people who told him that he didn’t have the resources and the means to provide for his family was something he’d never allow to happen. He simply smiled to his wife cutting the conversation to: I’ll figure it out.

“You always do,” Bunny said, kissing his cheek. She hugged him. “And I’m not leaving you here. You need me more than ever. We’ve been married for almost ten years. I’m going to be right here.”

Jeno smiled as Bunny slipped her hand into his, holding it tightly.

“And we’re going to run this school together and prove my parents right!” she exclaimed.

“Wrong, Bunny. Wrong,” he corrected. “And no, I don’t want to run this school! I want to sell it.”

Bunny paused, tilting her head to the side before shaking her head. “Naw, Jeno. I’m running it. I want to live my dreams as a headmistress.”

The couple joked about how life would be like, inheriting a school and running it as a boarding school once more when there was a loud cry.  

Elliot was playing hide and seek. The five-year-old had ran away down the East side of the main building, looking for rooms to go and places to hide. He, however, got a bit distracted by a room that was filled with cool things.

“S…” he began, trying to read the sign. “S-Kien-Ke r…room. Ssskienke Room.”

He beamed, giving himself a pat on the back before pushing the door of the science room open. He gasped at the skeleton that was by the door, his tubby fingers reaching out to move it as it made noises. He ran up to the tables that were lined up vertically.

“Wowsies,” he whispered, the young child running over to the microscope and struggling to touch it. Tried to look into it but saw nothing, Elliot finally losing interest with the tool. “Magnifying glass! Blue’s clues!”

Elliot was obsessed with Blue’s Clues. The young child lifted the magnifying glass and pointed it into the ground as he tried to look for ants. When he was done, he put it back at the same place, the male propping the magnifying glass up just to see a light.

“Wowsies!” he repeated, seeing that when he moved the magnifying glass, the light moved. It was created by the sun’s hot rays that shone through the glass. “It is here! It is there! It is here!”

He bounced the light everywhere on the room until he was bored, finally letting the light settle on the desk. He forgot about it, running around the science room and staring at a few fake butterflies on the wall when he heard footsteps.

“Elliot! Elliot!”

Elliot’s eyes widened. He had forgotten that they were playing ‘Hide and Seek’! He quickly sat under the desk; hearing Liz enter the room. Liz murmured to herself, humming a soft song that he knew.

“Hakuna Matata,” Liz sang when she stopped by the butterflies. He saw his sisters’ feet, the five-year-old trying not to giggle to himself. “I guess he’s not here. Patricia!”

Footsteps sounded and he could hear Patricia enter the room. The two began to converse, Elliot waiting for them to find him when he yawned. Oops. Afternoon time was nap time. Elliot felt his head lolling to the side, the male trying to keep his eyes open but to no avail.

He knocked back and fell asleep.

Elliot had no idea how much time had passed, the kid in slumber land. In his dreams, he was under the hot sun. It was hot, hot, hot until it burned his skin. His body was sweaty and sticky, Elliot leaning against desk when a voice spoke.

“Hey… Hey!” a lady said, Elliot stirring. “Hey, kid. Wake up… Wake up!”

There was urgency in her voice, Elliot cracking open an eyelid to see a face looking down at him. She had beautiful eyes and thin shaped lips. She was wearing what Elliot knew was the uniform, the male having seen the uniform on the portraits down the hall.

“You have to wake up!” the girl said. “The desk is on fire!”

Elliot sleepily moved, the lady telling him to move.

“Where is mummy?” Elliot whined, wanting to go back to sleep when the lady yelled.