@DbSkHatter: Sup Earwax!!!!!!!! lol~ Lemme know what your other account is yeahh? I know you'll always say who it is but yeahh, just so I know LOL *feel like I made no sense just then* And ty for teaching me about how people subscribe, I felt so lost and like.....a noob! T.T hahaha~ Thank you

@mariehumbly: Yay! Reader! *hugs* Be warned, I'm insane. But thanks for reading :) Hopefully, you stick around ^^

Okay chapter two is here. Hopefully a few of you are enjoying reading this, even if there are silent readers. I do appreciate comments though; they help a lot and inspire me to keep writing. I know there hasn’t been much in the way of anything interesting yet, hopefully I don’t disappoint though.

Well here we are with chapter two!

Chapter Two

As much as Jaejoong and Changmin claimed that something was calling them to the maze, Micky knew that his inner instincts were screaming for them to turn around and go back to the hotel. He wasn’t usually afraid of trying something different; the years of absurd expectations on variety shows had cured him of that. Yet he was respectful of what his manager had warned them against and believed that there was indeed a good reason not to be in this maze. He hated to sound like a whiner but nevertheless he’d spouted many an excuse in the time it had taken them to walk from the hotel to the grounds. It had become so dark now that they had been unable to find the maze at first and as such ended up asking the groundskeeper where it was. He had answered their question cautiously which made Micky want to jump forward and ask the groundskeeper to make them go back. Nevertheless, the group continued on and there was no stopping them now so Micky simply had to follow along.

As the maze loomed up in front of them, they all drew to a stop just before the entrance. The breeze which had been blowing over the mountain earlier in the day was no longer there but the clouds were thicker and no sign of the moon or stars could be seen. The silence that hung over them was even scarier than the possibility of a whistling wind and although he was still eager, Changmin had no intention of stepping into the maze first. Thankfully he was saved from making that decision as Jaejoong stepped into the maze and turned to face them.

“You’re all just going to stand there?” He asked.

“Well…” Junsu shrugged.”I guess…you could say that…it’s sort of scary.”

“Says the guy who ate the hottest chilli’s without a problem on Explorers of the Human Body.” Jaejoong raised an eyebrow at Junsu.

“We’re comparing this to eating chilli?”

“Why not?”

“Why?”

“Are you guys going to come or wimp out now?” Jaejoong looked at the others who glanced around.

“We could wait until morning couldn’t we?” Yunho asked. “At least give manager-nim some sort of notice.”

“Manager-nim wouldn’t let us come, you know that, he’d be worried that we’d get lost or something.” Jaejoong turned around. “Well, I’m exploring this thing if any of you want to come then come.” He began walking down the first path and Changmin quickly jogged to catch up with him. Yunho and Junsu glanced at each other before shrugging and hurrying along, leaving Micky standing at the entrance torn between following s and returning to the safety of his room. He cast one last look behind him toward the bright lights of the hotel before hurrying after the others. A pair of eyes watched them from a distance and a shadowy figure followed their path.

A wave of silence fell over the five of them as they entered the maze; the paths were so small they did in fact have to walk along in single file.

“Did anyone remember to bring a torch?” Yunho asked as the entrance slowly disappeared from sight. The response he got was Jaejoong flashing a torch into his eyes.

“Of course I brought one. What do you take me for? An irresponsible child?” He shook his head as he continued to walk.

“You sure do act like one.” Yunho mumbled.

“I heard that and I am not. Where would you all be if I didn’t cook for you and look after you like a dedicated umma? Huh?”

They continued to move along slowly, Changmin and Jaejoong in the front, Junsu following closely behind, Yunho looking around as he walked and Micky at the back, half-tempted to run back. They took it in turns to choose which direction they were headed next whenever they came up to a fork in the road, occasionally spooked the member in front of them, and even dared to leapfrog over one another at one point before Yunho stumbled into the hedge by accident. The five of them continued on, unaware of a wandering figure lagging two paths behind them, until they each became silent and individually distracted, not knowing that they were splitting up.

*****

Changmin would have been more than happy to explore this maze the next morning, but now that he was actually there he had no desire to turn back. The maze around them had all but turned black in the night, the only thing standing out were the small red flowers that dotted the hedge every so often. Each time Changmin saw one he would turn to follow it as though it were a light leading them through. The maze gradually became unruly, with low hanging branches and overgrown hedges, nevertheless Changmin pushed on. He didn’t realise how quick he was going until he turned around and saw nothing behind him but a thick green hedge. He realised that his group mates were no longer with him.

“Jaejoong?” Changmin looked into the darkness next to him.

A crack sounded from behind and he spun around. “Junsu? Micky?”

“Are you okay?” An unknown voice broke in. Changmin stopped his looking and frowned.

“Yunho are you playing a prank on me?” He whirled around to spot Yunho behind him but saw nothing. After taking a cautious step forward a small figure jumped out in front of him. It was the young girl that he had seen in Jaejoong’s photo; she looked Korean just like him. Her wide brown eyes seemed to stare right into Changmin. He felt like she was reading him.

“Are you okay?” She asked again. Unable to say anything, Changmin just nodded.

“I heard you calling for your friends.” She said softly. “I could help you find them.”

Changmin nodded again. She frowned at him at this point, leaning forward to peer at him more.

“Are you sure you’re okay? You haven’t said anything.” The young girl smiled at him, but he remained mute as he admired her. It was cold outside yet she was still wearing a sleeveless red and white dress that seemed to ripple in a non-existent wind. “What’s your name?”

“I’m, uhh, Ch-Changmin.” He managed to splutter out. She smiled again, for some reason it didn’t quite meet her eyes.

“Sweet name,” She murmured almost to herself. “Come, I’ll help you find your way back, I’m the gardener, I know my way around here.” She turned around, her black hair let her blend into the maze’s hedges and the only thing that stood out now was her hands.

“Wait,” Changmin almost shouted. “Who are you?”

The girl didn’t turn around. “Just think of me as an angel.” She laughed before gesturing for him to follow. He paused again, wondering why she had given herself such a title, yet in a confused and hazy daze he quickly moved to catch up with her.

It was hard. The area that Changmin was in now was immensely over-grown, and if he was only just managing to push through, he had no idea how the girl was steadily continuing on with great ease.

“Yah. Yah!” Changmin shouted. “Slow down.” He pushed through another branch. He had already lost sight of the girl that was helping him but turned down another path following the ghostly giggle before him. As he stumbled over another bush, he lost his balance. The ground that he thought was right beneath him instead fell away and with a shout he fell painfully.

He was unconscious before he reached the bottom of the hill.

*****

“Aish, stupid torch.” Jaejoong banged the dying torch in his palm in an effort to keep it alive. With one last flicker, the light gave out. Sighing in frustration, he looked up to call the others.

“Hey guys, wait up for a second.”

He got no response. Jaejoong looked up confused.

“Guys?”

“You’re going a bit slow aren’t you?” A female voice asked behind him. Jaejoong spun around quickly to see the young girl from his photo staring at him. He quickly ran a hand through his hair and flashed a smile. He was known to many of his fans as the playboy of the group, and whilst he acknowledged it, he certainly did nothing to deny it.

“Ahh no, they’re probably just playing a prank on me…they don’t really stick to the respect your elders rule.” He told her.

“You’re old?” She squinted as she looked at him. Jaejoong hadn’t noticed until now that her incredibly white skin seemed to be the only bright thing in the maze…she was even whiter than him.

“Well not really, only 23. Prime of my life really.” He took a step toward her in an effort to make the space between them less awkward and in doing so only noticed she wore a simple dress with nothing more than a scarf to provide warmth. He began shrugging off his jacket to give to her. “I’m single too.”

The girl laughed outright at that comment before sheepishly accepting the jacket from Jaejoong, allowing her long hair to fall over her shoulders as she inclined her head in respect.

“Why is someone as fragile as you out here so late at night?” Jaejoong asked in an effort to make conversation, he really wanted to pushback a wayward strand of her hair but decided it would be impolite to do so and instead listened as she lightly giggled again.

“Fragile…oh, if only you knew.” She smiled down to herself. “I’m the gardener here – ”

“And may I say you do a very good job?”

“Wow, do you realise that you’re flirting?”

“Only when it’s pointed out to me.”

“How often is that?”
“Whenever I’m with a girl?”

“How often is that?”

“Few and far between.” Jaejoong smirked down at the girl he was now at least three inches from and she merely responded by glancing up at him under her eyelashes.

“Then may I say that you do a very good job?”

“Yah,” Jaejoong put a finger to her lips. “Don’t steal my lines; they’re all I have in this world.”

The girl moved his finger away. “Okay, well instead, I will tell you that I’m dangerous to flirt with.”

“I’ve done dangerous things before,” The space between them was only two inches now. “Within the presence of a first aid team of course, but still dangerous.”

“Hmm,” The girl laughed and wiggled her finger. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you then.” She pointed to the path behind Jaejoong. “I saw someone walking that way, he was tall, and he could’ve been one of your friends.”

“Most likely Changmin.” Jaejoong muttered before turning back to the girl. “You can keep the jacket if you want.” She smiled and stepped toward him.

“It’s only fair for me to give you something in return then.” She leaned forward and stayed there for a few seconds, the uncertainty causing Jaejoong to close his eyes. But to his slight dismay, she stepped back and threw her scarf round his neck, flicking the ends over his shoulders. Jaejoong exhaled a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding as he opened his eyes and chuckled slightly as the girl turned him round.

“Come back this way if you manage to find them.” She whispered as she leaned on his shoulders. Jaejoong smirked before taking a step forward.

Suddenly something tightened sharply around his neck, the sound of fabric pulled against fabric and the feel of it cutting into his neck caused Jaejoong to panic, his fingers reaching for whatever could be trapping him. The thing around his neck was pulled tighter and he choked out a cry as a voice whispered near his ear.

“I warned you.”

*****

Yunho only realised he was lost when he could no longer hear the voices of his friends. But he didn’t react in any way; he merely stood there, annoyed and confused at losing them. He didn’t bother moving he just stared around him in a confused circle, occasionally nodding for no reason.

“I swear if this is another joke…” Yunho cursed under his breath. He ‘tsk’ed and reached into his pocket for his phone but realised with a sigh of annoyance he’d left it sitting in his room. He ‘tsk’ed once more as he pulled his jacket closer to him and tried to remember the way back to the entrance…

“You sound like a squirrel.”

Yunho jumped in surprise and spun around to see a girl standing there, blinking at him with wide, curious eyes.

“Not intentionally, I can tell you.” Yunho shook his head. “You haven’t seen four guys – or any guy walking around here have you?”

“Uhhhhhhh,” The girl tilted her head to the side in thought. “I……don’t think so.”

“Think?” Yunho asked. “Tch, it’s either you do or don’t know.”

“Well sorry,” The girl folded her arms and raised an eyebrow at Yunho who quickly noticed his snappy tone.

“I apologise, it’s just I would rather be in bed right now than playing hide-and-seek.” He sighed, rubbing the back of his head.

“Why are you playing hide-and-seek this late?” The girl asked quizzically, before chuckling as Yunho glared at her. “I’m kidding grumpy.”

Yunho ‘hmph’ed before looking her up and down. “Why are you out here then?”

“Because I’m the gardener.” She smiled at Yunho who merely glanced at her dress and scarf.

“Dressed like that?”

“Well, I’m not gardening at this very moment, I was checking before I went to bed.”

“At least you get to go to bed.” Yunho sniffed. Silence fell for a minute…

“That way.”

“Huh?” Yunho turned round to the girl again who was pointing to the right.

“If you take that path you’ll basically go round the perimeter, you should be able to hear anyone walking nearby.”

“Thanks,” Yunho nodded. “If you see any guys come past, tell them to go to the entrance, I wanna get out of here before the dawn.” The girl nodded and Yunho began walking.

“Look out for branches!” The girl called. “Devilish things they are!” All Yunho did was wave his hand in response.

Yunho continued along the path that the girl had pointed him down, it seemed as though she had chosen the most difficult path for him. His height wasn’t helping greatly as he pushed many branches out the way.

“Someone needs to take better care of this maze.” He muttered to himself as he came across a small clearing. “It’s almost as though it’s –” He stopped talking as he heard a moan. Yunho felt embarrassed for a second because he thought it was the girl who moaned, he didn’t want to have insulted her gardening skills within earshot.

But after hearing a moan for the second time, he directed his eyes to the ground, the moan didn’t sound female.

Yunho’s eyes fell upon a hand sticking out from one of the mazes paths a little way up from where he was. Taking a few cautious steps forward, he saw an arm, then a head connected to the hand…it was Jaejoong’s.

“Oh Jae – Jaejoong!” Yunho shouted, he started running toward his friend but was suddenly stopped in his tracks. A low hanging branch had wrapped around his neck, feeling that he was unable to breathe he tried to turn back but it didn’t work, the branch just tightened around his neck. He reached desperately out to Jaejoong and tried to call his name but it didn’t work. His fingers scrabbled desperately at the branch but it didn’t loosen. Finally his eyes rolled back and he slipped limply from the branch and fell to the ground. His hand inches away from Jaejoong…

*****

Junsu couldn’t even remember when he left the others behind, he just kept walking and cracking jokes, assuming that the others were listening and laughing. It was only when Junsu turned around that he saw he was alone that he at first became annoyed, and secondly panicked slightly. The logical part of his brain told him to go back and re-trace his steps, while his comedic side said he should hide behind a hedge and wait to jump out at a passing somebody. After what must have been a great internal battle, Junsu’s logical side won out and he stared intently at the ground as he attempted to remember his path.

He didn’t even look up until he bumped into another person, almost knocking them to the ground.

“Oh! I’m sorry, I should have been –” Junsu stopped as he watched the young girl flip her black hair out of her face.

“It’s okay.” She smiled. “I didn’t actually hit the ground, this shovel saved me.” She indicated to a rusty shovel by her side. Junsu laughed half-heartedly, not entirely amused by the girl.

“Well,” He cleared his throat, eager to not blurt out anything silly in front of her. “I…am sorry…but…uhh…I’ll be on my way now.” He pointed past and made to move in that direction but was stopped by the girl holding the shovel in front of him, an act which surprised him to say the least.

“That area’s off bounds.” The girl said sharply.

“No it’s not,” Junsu laughed. “There’s no sign to say it is.”

“I say it is.”

“Yeah, like that’s going to stop me.” Junsu shoved the shovel out of the way, not at all in the mood to argue. The girl moved in front of him however.

“You can’t go there.” She stared Junsu down, who merely stared right back.

“And who are you to tell me that? Huh?”

“The gardener.”

Junsu laughed out loud. “Are you serious? Looking like that?”

“Deadly serious. If you got the hint you’d go the other way.”

“Ohhh,” Junsu waved his hands. “I’m shaking, really.” He started to laugh again but the girl pushed him in the chest with the shovel.

“Don’t make me use this.” She said darkly. Confused, Junsu stepped to the side.

“What’s wrong with you?” He made to move forward again, but this time the girl placed both hands on the shovel and swung it in his direction.

“What the heck?” Junsu almost shouted. He grabbed the end of the shovel closest to him and pushed it back at the girl causing her to stumble. Junsu couldn’t actually believe he was fighting with a girl about walking down a path, he was half-tempted to turn around, but his annoyance got the better of him.

“I said not to!” The girl shouted as Junsu pushed past.

“Like you’re going to stop me.” Junsu tutted over his shoulder before exclaiming as the girl whacked the shovel into his arm.

Turning to face her, he only heard the swing of the shovel before it connected with his head, sending a blinding pain through his head, causing the world around him to turn black.

*****

Micky was becoming worried; maybe it hadn’t been such a good idea to remain at the back of the group. Perhaps he should have kept his eyes on the people in front rather than his feet. It couldn’t be helped now though. The best thing to do was find s and go back to the hotel with them all. Micky was about to turn down a path on his right when a lost looking person jumped out from the left. It wasn’t one of s however…it was a young girl. Despite her nervous look and black hair that looked as though she had been fighting the maze, Micky thought that she was quite pretty. Being the nice person he was, he decided to see if she needed help.

“Hi there,” The girl flinched when she realised Micky standing there. “Oh, it’s okay. I won’t hurt you I’m just looking for my friends. You haven’t seen four guys walking by here have you?” He asked. She shook her head reluctantly after glancing back at the path she had come from. Micky couldn’t help but glance at the path on the left as well.

“Uhh, are you okay?” He asked. The girl nodded her head and gave a slight smile.

“I’m fine.” She said in a soft voice. “I was just trying to find a…uhh, piece of gardening equipment that I left in here. I’m the gardener.”

“Oh.” Micky seemed interested but was more pre-occupied with why she kept looking at the path. He didn’t want to let his curiosity get in the way however. He merely wanted to make it back to the hotel in one piece and with his friends.

“Well, if you’re okay, I’ll leave you to it.” He smiled – a look that made many girls swoon – and attempted to side-step around her.

“You might not want to go down there.” The young girl caught at his arm as he brushed past. Unsure, Micky paused to look at her.

“How come?”

“Well,” She sighed as she tucked a strand of hair back. “It’s kind of a mess back there with…things lying about.”

“Ahhh,” Micky nodded. “Gardening at this time of the night?”

“I guess…cleaning the area would be a better way to say it.” She smiled at him, which he returned.

“Do you need any help with it?” Micky asked out of politeness.

“No, I think I’ve got it under control.”

“If you’re sure then,” Micky turned to wander away before spotting a rake leaning against the hedge. He picked it up and held it for a second like a microphone before spinning in a neat circle and gracefully passing it to the girl, who blushed at his gesture. “You might be needing that.”

“I may,” The girl said between her smiles, her eyes almost analysing Micky. “I may indeed.”

“Don’t let anything get away from you.” Micky winked before heading on his way.

“Oh, I won’t…” The girl said softly from behind. Micky continued on his way, eyes peeled for any sign of s.

A sharp blow to the small of his neck sent him crumpling to the ground.

*****

The grounds remained quiet the rest of that night, no breeze disturbed the eerie silence of the maze.

The moon’s rays broke through the dense clouds at some late point in the night and shone down onto the maze.

There was no sign of Changmin.

There was no sign of Jaejoong.

There was no sign of Yunho.

There was no sign of Junsu.

There was no sign of Micky.

I will say that I am jealous of the scene I wrote for Jaejoong. Like really jealous, but I enjoyed writing it....then shook my fist at my created character. I have a feeling I'll do that alot over time kekeke~
I apologise if any of the scenes are crappy, lemme know yes? It all helps me to improve my writing ^^

NO SILENT READERS are allowed, but I know you'll sneak in *sigh*