"Yah, Jinju, wake up." I shook her, trying to look around without glancing to far. This place is so dark, like an attic. "Wake up, wake up, wake up!" I yelled, swearing that I heard something moving near us.

Hm?" She opened her eyes, sitting up. "Ah..." She was rubbing her head. "Does your head really hurt right now?" She asked.

"No. Now, let's get going." We both stood up. She must have hit her head on the way down when we fell into this place because she kept holding her head.

The darkness was so deep, swallowing any light there could have been inside this room, or where ever we were.

"Myungsoo." She grabbed my hand, tugging on it to get my attention. "Don't look back, but I think there's something there." I just listened to the quiet atmosphere, hearing a small creaking noise.

"I'm sure it just your imagination." I said, lying, knowing that I had heard something pass by before.

We kept walking and I noticed that we were actually holding hands still. I don't get why I feel no awkwardness. I would with most girls; maybe I don't consider Jinju to be a girl. She's just a partner in this puzzle.

"Hey." She pulled me ahead, walking towards something. "Ah." She suddenly stopped.

"Is something wrong?" I asked, her letting go of my hand to hold onto her head with one hand. "Your head? Does it still hurt?" I wondered. It looked painful by her expression.

"It's hurting when I come closer to this light here." She pointed to the ground, but I still saw nothing except the dark floor. Maybe the fall impacted her head and made her a little loony? "Can't you see it?" She asked, pointing again.

I shook my head, a bit skeptical about this situation. There's something running around here and Jinju's head is hurting? Suspicious.

"Can you touch it?" I asked of her, seeing her bend to the ground. Her fingers touched the air, making a spark. "Wah, what was that?!" She withdrew her hand, blowing on it. Geez...why is this place so complex and weird?!

"Try and touch it too." I bent next to her, moving my hands around, not even seeing whatever light she was. "Not there." She took my hand, placing on the ground.

"Was something supposed to happen...?" I asked, glancing around quickly once I heard a loud noise. I stood up, pulling her with me. "There's something here. Did you hear it?"

"What? I don't hear anything." She said simply, looking back to the ground where a light was supposedly shining.

I grabbed her hand, yanking her away from the noise. It's so close.

"Yah, Myungsoo, what with you?" She demanded to know, but then froze. "Don't move." She whispered, slowly shuffling backwards.

"What is it?" I said, before I heard a monstrous roar. I immediately, pulled her along with me as I ran the other direction.

"Did you see that thing?!" She screamed, the two of us continuing to run into what seemed like a cyclic room with no end to it.

"No, but did you hear its growl?!"

"What? No. Did you hear something?" Ah. It made sense now.

She can't hear anything that I can, and I can't see anything she sees.

Is this some messed up tactic to make us work together more than we already do?! So annoying!

"Hey, do you see it around here somewhere?"

"No, do you hear it?" She had the same concept worked out. I like how we have the same thoughts when we need to.

"It's still behind us, but I feel like even when we run, we're not really moving."

"Yeah, but that light over there, we need to go back. You needed to touch it. When you put your hand on the light, it started to dim."

"Well that tends to happen when you put anything over a light." She rolled her eyes, running back in that direction. Luckily, whatever was following us had left for the moment. "Here?" I asked, letting her hands guide me.

Whoa...it feels different right here. "Do you see anything now?"

"No. Do you hear something?"

"Nope." I sighed, seeing that we were getting nowhere.

Wait.

"It's warm..." I mumbled, my hand starting to feel hot. Slowly, a small faded shine came into my hand. "I can see it, can you hear anything?" I could hear the creature from before scratching the floors nearby.

"Not really..." She said, lifting her hand to hold her head again.

"Maybe it has to do with your head." I said, moving closer to inspect a little. W-What the hell is that thing?! I recoiled back, falling down onto the floor. "D-Don't move." I sat back up close to her ear. This...this is so gross!

I touched it, hearing it hiss and feeling her quickly grab my wrist.

"What are you doing..." She was biting her lip. It must hurt.

"Sorry about this Jinju." I yanked the small creature out of her ear before she could protest. Hearing her scream fill the air in the next moment. Sorry...it had to be done.

I stomped on the tiny creature, hearing its small cry as it hopefully died. This place is just too much.

"Can you hear now?" I asked her twice, getting a nod with tears in her eyes. It must have really hurt... "L-Let's go then." I said, now being able to see another light towards the left of the floor.

I felt bad now...seeing her sniffling in tears. I kept telling myself that I did what I needed to, but I probably could have done it more gently...

"This is it." I touched a light on the black ground, similar to the one from before. It was more solid and I squeezed it, being able to lift it up, opening a door in the floor. There were stairs father down below the hole. Thank God.

"Myungsoo." Jinju finally spoke, getting back to normal.

"Yes?"

"Let's go." She put her legs into the hole, feeling around and finding a step ladder.

She started going down, me following behind and closing the door shut as I heard that monster again. Phew. Don't have to deal with that again.

"The steps stop here..." Jinju said, stopping. There was still a good 30 feet... I feel like the floor was closer before we started climbing down. "Do you think we would be fine, just dropping here?"

"Not unless you want to break some bones. I'm sure the stairs down there are hard concrete by the look." I said, my eyes following something that was floating up and past me.

"Balloons...?" She muttered to herself. She started laughing a little.

"What?" I asked, a bit creeped out by her sudden smiles.

"See you down there." Huh? She let go of the ladder.

"Wah! What are you doing?!" I screamed, not seeing her anymore anyway. Is she insane?! I thought back to the first time I saw her on stage 1.

You're not the type to attempt suicide, right?

No...are you?

Nope.

Then we'll make good partners.

I feel the same way!

We even had similar thoughts at that point...but this...she agreed that she wouldn't suicide. How disappointing.

"Are you coming or what?!" I heard a yell from down below me.

"W-What?! How are you okay down there?!"

"Just let go."

"What?! No!"

"Guess you'll be stuck up there all day." She mocked, holding something in her hands. Ah...I get it. I understood as another balloon flew up above me. How simple.

I let go, feeling the air pulling me down slowly. "Such a chicken~" He taunted, smirking as we walked.

"Why would you just jump though?! You didn't know if you would survive!"

"It's not like it would matter if I died on the ground from impact or in the air from some other cause."

"That not what you're supposed to say..."

I'm sure she really wanted to say that we can't get out of this place anyway.

"Oh, and look, of course; stairs." She was starting to get more and more frustrated as we walked. I was the same, just not voicing out my opinions.

"Player 54 and player 21, pass. Move onto the next stage."

"How annoying." She said spitefully.

"I guess it's perpetual." I grumbled, praying that this place had an end.

"Hm? What's that over there?" She pointed, my eyes lighting up a bit. A staircase leading into the ceiling.

There was light.