Kai stopped doodling and drawing crosses and lines on the paper in his hand. He folded up the piece of paper and tucked it away in his pocket.

“Should we start finding the others?”

He then gently lowered himself until he was in a crawling position, the edge being just wide enough to let him do that. “I think it’s best if we all crawl. It’s safer that way.”

They split up, each taking a different direction to head towards one of three cubes. After all, they weren’t sure when the maze would start to change again – if it would change.

“What?” Kai stared at the sight below him in utter shock. He was hoping to see some of the members enclosed within four walls, but what he saw instead was a roof – a solid layer of concrete covering the top of the cube-like area at a lower depth, perhaps leaving just enough room for those under the roof to raise their hands.

“Are you guys able to see them? The top is covered!”

“No wonder it got so silent! And the roof explains the loud sound from just a while ago!”

Kai ignored the voices of the other two. At that moment, he could only remain seated with his knees on the ledge, a crippling fear building up within him. He wished to know what was going on beneath the roof. He wished to know if the others were safe in the darkness.

Meanwhile, in the cube just in front of Kai, panic and concern filled the minds of those trapped within – Soobin, Yeonjun and Jisu.

“W-What is going on? I can’t see anyone! I can’t see anything!”, began Jisu in a frightened voice. She had her back leaning against one of the walls, terrified of moving, terrified of being caught by something that she wasn’t even so entirely sure existed. She could hear the footsteps of the other two, and she figured they kept their distance.

Soobin, being the one with the backpack, quickly rummaged through the packed items to look for a flashlight or some source or light at all, only to realise that they had none. He had no idea what was going on, but he knew that the moment a horizontal wall began emerging out from the sides to cover the top, they were in trouble.

“Okay, just stay calm. W-We can figure this out, okay?”

Soobin felt miserable. For the first time ever, hearing Yeonjun’s voice did not reassure him at all. Instead, he heard a voice in his head, a voice telling him to do something. He shook his head, for he didn’t want to cause any trouble given their situation, but that voice was almost weighing down on him, pressuring him to open his lips and speak. However, he remained silent.

“Jisu, stick with- No, stay where you are. I’m coming where you are.” Yeonjun then turned his head in the dark towards where he assumed Soobin was, and he made meaningless gestures. “Soobin, follow my voice and come towards me.”

“I’m going to stay where I am.”

“What? Okay, wait there. I’ll get you.”

Soobin remained still in his position, confused about his own actions. He wondered why he was being so stubborn and strange, but then it struck him – he realised that there was a change in Yeonjun, a change in his voice. He realised that Yeonjun sounded different when speaking to others. He realised that Yeonjun sounded almost exhausted and lifeless when speaking to him, and even though it could simply be a matter of respect shown towards others considering Yeonjun was seeing Jisu after quite a long time, a part of him felt defeated.

As Soobin felt a gentle touch on his hand, he flinched and backed away, hitting the wall behind him. “Don’t touch me.”

Immediately, guilt bubbled up to his throat as he noticed just how cruel he himself sounded, but it was too late to take it back.

“What is wrong with you?”

There it was, that tone of disappointment, that very tone that Soobin heard only a few times throughout their relationship, the same tone that always broke Soobin’s heart.

“You’ve been acting so strange ever since all of this happened, and I know it’s not because of whatever’s happening. It’s something else. It’s me, isn’t it?”

Soobin couldn’t see Yeonjun, not in the dark, but he had a clear image of what the other’s expression was. With a low chuckle, he responded, “I’m glad you’re self-aware.”

“Stop it! Tell me what the hell is going on!”

The sudden warmth around Soobin told him that the other stepped closer. He could hear and feel the other’s breathing, and it was starting to make him feel uncomfortable. He quickly folded his arms, hoping for his arms to act as a barrier to prevent Yeonjun from getting any closer.

“I don’t know. I really don’t know what is going on, but something is. Something has happened over the past few weeks, few months, and you’ve just changed, Yeonjun. You’ve changed heavily. You don’t look at me the same way you used to, and you just don’t feel the same, and I hate that I can’t explain it.”

There was no sign of rage or disappointment in Soobin’s voice, just pure confusion and concern instead. He wondered for a moment, if his lack of words could still be interpreted by the other, if his lack of emotion could still somehow to perceived, if his dim heart could