I tried to swallow the bitter taste in the back of my throat as long arms wrapped around Chanyeol's waist and pulled him further into the house until he was hidden from our sight. The door closed and sealed Chanyeol away from us and in with whoever that very attractive man was. His blond hair and polished features hinted that he wasn't from around here, most likey a foreigner.  He was tall, even taller than Chanyeol, and as much as I hated to admit it, the two looked perfect together.

Beside me, I heard Kai grunt in annoyance and shuffle forward. 

"Where are you going?" Suho hissed, reaching out to catch the younger boy by the edge of his shirt. 

"To get a better look," Kai whispered stubbornly, escaping the older one's grip with a harsh yank and sneaking closer to the house. Suho and I exchanged worried looks and began to creep after him, unwilling to let our childish friend go alone. We both knew one thing, whoever this man was, he couldn't be trusted. I could hear D.O. hiss in alarm and follow us, Sehun creeping along quietly, and so the five of us made our way towards the foreboding gate.

"Do you see them?" D.O. asked, craning his neck for a better look into the windows, but yellowed lace curtains blocked our view. 

"Who's this guy's decorator, the crypt creeper?" Kai muttered, trying to slip through the opening Chanyeol had left in the creaky gate without making much noise. 

Slowly, we all trailed in, and I waded through the weeds, dashing to the nearest window and trying to look in. Suddenly, I heard a loud screech behind me. A panicked glance behind me told me that Sehun's shirt had caught on the gate and he'd accidently pulled it while trying to get through. 

"Did you hear that?" The low voice was muffled, but I heard it through the window nonetheless and my heart beat picked up once more. 

"Hide!" I hissed as loudly as I could, reaching for Kai and D.O. who were within my arms reach and pulling them to the ground under the window, as Suho grabbed Sehun and dove into the thickest parts of the weeds, the greenery luckily concealing them.

I heard the metallic creak of curtains being pulled against the rod above me, and used my arm to push the two next to me further into the wall. We all held our breath, terrified that we would be found out, but eventually I heard Chanyeol's voice.

"Is someone there?"

"No," The other voice responded, footsteps announcing his departure from the glass pane. "Must have been the wind."

I thanked every higher power, knowing that I very nearly had a heart attack. Slowly, I moved away from the wall, standing up to see that there was no longer anyone standing by the window. I glanced in and saw an empty hallway, the deteriorated wooden floorboards, lack of decoration and cobwebds adorning the light fixtures causing me to agree with Kai's earlier statement.

I turned in time to see Suho and Sehun stand up from the weeds, the younger one giving his grass covered saviour a small smile. He reached out to pick a leaf out of the other boy's hair but pulled back in fear when the shorter's eyes narrowed dangerously. They walked over to us, peering into the house also and frowning when they took in the interior.

"This doesn't look like a friendly place," Sehun muttered uneasily, pressing his nose against the dirty pane. 

"Way to state the obvious, Sehun," Kai retorted bitterly, earning sharp glare from Suho. 

"Will you two stop bickering? This is obviously no place for Chanyeol to be in, and we need to figure out why exactly he's here," He reprimanded them.

"Besides the fact that that guy, who's most likely his fiance, probably lives here?" Kai muttered, crossing his arms.

"Why would anyone live here?" D.O. asked, wrinking his nose at the filthy state of the place.

"Maybe he's some creep who likes to eat children!" Sehun whispered, his eyes widening in awe.

Suho smacked him lightly while D.O. and Kai chuckled, but I couldn't shake the uneasy feeling in my gut. As much as I knew that Sehun was joking, I couldn't help but worry that something equally as sinister was going on here. 

"Do you know where they went?" I asked, knowing very well that no one else could have the answer.

"Let's try going around the house?" Kai suggested, and before anyone could tell him that it was a potentially dangerous idea, he dashed off, ducking around a corner.

Everyone followed reluctantly, now thoroughly spooked by the place.

I rounded the corner and my heart leaped out of my chest, my hand flying to my mouth to muffle the scream that nearly erupted from my throat at the sight of the gargoyle statue protruding from the wall right in front of me. Upon closer inspection, it was a dragon, but that didn't help to calm me at all as I backed away as quickly as possible.

Kai was standing next to another window, pressing himself against the wall as if he were a secret agent on an important mission. "Guys, they're in there," He hissed, cocking his head towards the glass next to him.

I crept over as carefully as possible, the others on my heels, and peeked in. It took me a second to realize that I was staring into a kitchen, an old cast iron stove and rickety wooden table alerting me to just how ancient this place must be. A doorway that must have led into the hallway stood directly opposite the window, while another door to my left was open, revealing a set of wooden stairs probably leading to the second floor.

Chanyeol was seated at the table, his back to me, talking to the mystery man who stood off to the side. Before I could do anything, the man walked in my direction, stopping at the counter situated right in front of the window. Luckily, his head was turned back towards the other, and I was able to duck by the time he turned back. 

"What's he doing?" Suho mouthed, unable to see from his position.

I looked up, afraid to alert anyone of my presence, in time to see the figure move away from the glass. I stood slowly, just barely peeking my eyes over the bottom of the sill, and saw the man holding a cup out to Chanyeol. It was opaque so I was unable to see what my friend was drinking, but as he brought the cup to his lips and downed the liquid, I couldn't help but feel worry knotting in my stomach.

When the cup was empty, Chanyeol placed it onto the table, a dark color staining his lips. The two spoke to each other quietly, and the man reached down to the stain from Chanyeol. He then pulled him to the side, leading him towards the stairs. I felt like crying from anxiety as the two went up, disappearing from my view. I didn't understand what was going on but every fiber of my being told me that whatever it was, was not going to be good. 

My mind made up, I turned and without a word to the others, I walked back around to the front of the house. 

They must have taken my actions as a signal that we were leaving and followed me, heading towards the gate, but I had a better idea in mind. I walked right up to the door, twisting the knob and finding with delight that it was unlocked. 

"Baekhyun? What are you doing?" Suho asked in alarm, probably thinking that I'd gone mad.

"I came here for answers, and so far all I have are more questions," I said quickly, opening the door as carefully as I could and tiptoeing in before anyone else could object.

"Baekhyun!" Suho hissed, running after me, flanked by the others. 

"You can't go in here!" D.O. added, eyeing a large cobweb next to him.

I walked further into the hallway, pulling away when Suho tried to grab my arm. Unlike the older two, Kai seemed excited by my idea, hurrying forward to stand next to me as I examined my surroundings.

"I wonder if we'll find any dead bodies in here," He exclaimed with a grin.

Suho rolled his eyes. "Kai, Sehun, wait outside."

"No!" The two objected shooting the older boy an incredulous look and earning a hush from D.O.

"No way I'm missing this, Kai said, following my lead and heading into the kitchen.

Although Suho was very opposed to this, he and D.O. trailed along after us, making sure to keep a protective arm around the youngest. "Just make it quick okay? There's no telling when they'll come down."

I looked around the room, a pot on the counter by the window catching my eye. "Is this what he gave Chanyeol?" I opened it, and an extremely strong smell filled the air. It wasn't disgusting, I decided, but rather, unsettling. It smelled of herbs, reminding me of some tea that my grandmother used to give me when I was sick, but another scent offset the former one. It smelled earthly and smoky, almost like a fireplace, but with a more sinister metallic edge. 

"What is it?" Kai asked, wrinking his nose as he snuck a peek at the contents. Before anyone could stop him, he dipped a finger into the pot. "It's warm," He said when he pulled it out, revealing the thick dark liquid that ran down to his hand. It was a dark purpleish red, reminding me of grape juice, only much more viscous, like syrup. 

I made a face at it. "Clean that off," I whispered, glancing around the room once more. 

D.O. stood by the stove, looking at what appeared to be a recipe book. "Hey guys, come look at this!"

I ran to it, wondering it it held any clue to what the drink could be. I stared down at the book, taking in the fancy script and elaborate borders of each page as I flipped through it, and a frown crept onto my face. "It's a different language," I noted with irritation. It seemed like all I was finding was more questions.

D.O. ran his finger along the center of the book and raised an eyebrow. "I think a page is missing," He said, leaning closer to get a better look. I did the same, and noticed the small ripped edge of a page protruding from the center.

Before I could get a closer look, a creak behind us caused us all to freeze. 

"Do you really have to go?" It was the first time I heard the stranger's voice smoothly. A low baritone much like Chanyeol's, only much smoother, rang out through the room. 

I exchanged terrified looks with Suho and we all rushed to make sure everything was just the way it had been when we first entered.

"I'm sorry," Chanyeol's voice was thick with regret and I could practically feel the devotion poured into the words. "I'll be back tomorrow."

As the voices got closer, the five of us bolted from the room, running for our lives as quietly as we could. We ran out the door, being sure to shut it behind us, and ran out the gate. We'd managed to duck behind the gate, luckily hidden by a large bush, as the front door opened once more.

"I love you, Chanyeol," The charming voice echoed in the wind. 

"I love you too, Kris," Chanyeol responded, leaning in for a kiss and the rest of us took their preoccupied state to leave.

Kris. I frowned, finally knowing the name of the man who'd captured Chanyeol's heart and probably had something evil in mind for it. I glanced to my side at the others who were walking in silence. As I met their eyes, I knew we were all now on the same page. We needed to find out who this Kris was exactly, and how to get Chanyeol away from him.