Kibum furiously cursed himself all the way to the depths of hell and back as he was almost blown away by the strong wind and blinded by all the snowflakes in his eyes, wading through the knee-high snow.

Why did he have to be so stupidly stubborn and irrational to go out, in the middle of the night, into this godforsaken forest in the midst of this snowstorm worthy of the tantrum of a celestial being?

Well, of course he knew the answer. He was looking for Jin.

Why?

Because he loved Jin. Jin was his life. After his parents had gone all he had was Jin. If Jin disappeared Kibum might as well disappear too.

“Jiiiiiiin!” he called desperately and pulled his thick winter coat closer around himself. The wind drowned his voice out. He very well could have gone around with his mouth wide open and it wouldn’t have made any difference in sound.

“Jiiiiiiin!” he continued to shout stubbornly in vain and the howling wind continued to mercilessly swallow his words.

Kibum's foot caught on something hidden beneath the snow and he toppled over, face first. Exhausted and pressed even further down into the snow by the strong wind he continued to lie where he had fallen, unable to move a muscle.

Might as well freeze to death, he thought miserably and felt extremely sorry for himself, Jin’s probably dead too.

Kibum could feel himself slowly slipping into unconsciousness and the wind howling in his ears gradually faded. It didn’t take long for him to pass out and when he finally did he welcomed the darkness most gratefully.

The first thing Kibum became aware of when he regained consciousness was softness.

The second thing he noticed was that he was surrounded by warmth.

Upon noticing this Kibum's eyes flew open and he shot up into a sitting position. He distinctly remembered that he had been lying in knee-high snow before his lights went out and soft as it may be it was definitely not warm.

He turned his head to look at his surroundings noticing the scenery had changed considerably.

He was in a large room with a high ceiling and noted that there was a big wooden door in the wall, made of dark panels, to the left in case he needed to make an escape. He was sitting in a four-poster bed with red, satin curtains that were attached to a bedpost each and he had been burrowed under a giant duvet cover. The bed was situated in the middle of two windows that looked out onto something that Kibum couldn’t see because of the darkness and mahogany bed tables were standing on each side. There was an impressive desk alongside the wall opposite and a gigantic dresser beside it, also both in mahogany. In the wall to the right of the bed was a fireplace that was lit up, illuminating the room. A worn looking sofa stood in front of it and someone had drawn up a chair to sit beside the bed but otherwise that was all the room had to it. Well, it had a large mat covering the wooden floor in the center of the room, also red, and he imagined that it would feel extremely soft under his feet. All in all the room was like a small cabin.

Kibum fidgeted nervously. The whole impression of the room made him feel like he had suddenly travelled back in time.

Where in the world was he?

There were suddenly voices on the other side of the door and Kibum quickly threw himself onto his back again instinctively and turned so that he was lying sideways, hidden beneath the cover with only a bit of hair sticking out.

“-up soon. Otherwise we’ll need to call the doctor.” The door opened and revealed a soft, soothing voice. “I may have studied medicine but I haven’t practiced it much. An experienced doctor would be better.”

“Umm… I just hope he isn’t dying.” Another lighter voice said.

“He was dying. That was the point of taking him here, remember?” A deep voice said. “I would say he has gotten better.”

Kibum assumed they had come to a halt at the foot of the bed, judging by the direction and closeness of their voices.

“Call a doctor you said.” The deep voice continued. “Will he allow it? He hasn’t allowed anyone in here since decades, if not centuries.”

Someone sighed.

“He’ll have to if this boy isn’t going to recover properly. Besides, he already allowed one person in. He could as well allow the doctor.” The soft voice said.

“That’s because Taemin was crying like a newborn baby and wouldn’t let him go.” The deep voice said.

Taemin? Who the hell was Taemin? Kibum wondered. Was he his saviour?

The cover by Kibum's head was lifted slightly and he stared in horror back at two brown, twinkling eyes.

“Anyway, we need to-”

“Guys! He’s awake!” The twinkling eyes exclaimed happily and the cover was lifted further so that Kibum was now staring at a boy with blond hair and a smile wider than the Cheshire cat’s grin, only the boy looked absolutely adorable wearing it.

“Splendid!” The soft voice said and Kibum sat up, turning his head in the direction it came from, wondering if anyone even said ‘splendid’ anymore.

His eyes came upon two other young men, one who looked kind of airheaded and goofy, the other tall and intimidating. What confused him, though, was that they were not wearing modern clothes. At least it didn’t look like modern clothes, Kibum wasn’t sure. They were wearing some kind of white, baggy shirt with a vest (grey for the goofy-looking one and black for the other two) and black pants that Kibum had no clue what they were made of.

The blond boy continued to pull at the cover and Kibum shrank back a little when they were taken off him completely. The coldness of the room hit him and he shivered slightly.

“Taemin don’t pull the covers off like that, he could still have a fever.” The goofy-looking man said and the boy with the twinkling eyes, Taemin was it? pouted.

“But I wanted to see him.”

Kibum thought that was a strange statement as he could already see his face without having to pull the covers off completely. Taemin covered Kibum's lower body with the duvet again, however, and sat down beside him shining like the sun.

Kibum was starting to feel incredibly dizzy and confused and disoriented all at the same time. On top of that his head was starting to hurt somewhat horribly. He wasn’t even sure if he was awake and alive or still in the snow, drifting between death and life while he was hallucinating. Everything seemed so surreal. He groaned silently and pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes. He could feel the panic creep up on him.

A cool hand was put on his cheek and he started.

The boy named Taemin pulled back looking apologetic. “Sorry, I just wanted to see how your fever was.”

The tall, intimidating boy approached the bed then, having watched them in silence, and Kibum unconsciously held his breath in fright. But he simply gave him an almost non-existent glance, laid something down on the edge of the bed beside Taemin and backed away again turning to the goofy-looking one.

“I think we’re scaring him more than we need to.”

The other nodded. “We could go down to the kitchen and tell the maids to prepare dinner, now that he is awake. It looks like he’s in a bit of a shock. Eating should help.”

The tall boy turned to Taemin. “You can stay here and let him get used to you, for the time being.”

Taemin nodded with the big smile that never seemed to leave his face. “I can do that! I’ll get him into his own clothes and explain what happened and then we’ll come down to eat.”

Kibum, who had mostly stared dazedly at Taemin and trying to determine if everything was real or not while on the verge of hyperventilating, looked down at his body immediately at the mention of his clothes and discovered that he was only wearing some kind of white, long cotton shirt.

The two at the foot of the bed excused themselves and left Kibum alone with the bright boy Taemin. He looked up at the boy with a frown.

“I’m sure you are really confused right now and about to panic, but I’ll explain it properly once you get dressed.” He said and picked up whatever the tall boy had left on the bed to give to Kibum. He realized that it was his own bleached jeans, white t-shirt and light pink cardigan. “We washed them for you.”

Kibum nodded dazedly, somehow unable to speak, and took them. Then he managed to give the boy a meaning look. He certainly wasn’t ready to just strip in front of a complete stranger, even if he was confused beyond words.

“Oh.” He caught on. “I’ll go sit on the sofa. I promise I won’t look.”

When Kibum was sure Taemin had entirely occupied himself by looking at the fire he got out of the bed to quickly slide the shirt off and pull on his own clothes. A familiar feeling settled over him when the fabric of the clothes touched his skin and helped calm him down a bit. He still felt like panicking, though.

Taemin, who heard him stop moving when he was done, turned around and Kibum felt his body freeze up a little. As adorable as the boy seemed there was something off with how the light of the fire fell on his face. Kibum couldn’t put his finger on it and in his disoriented state it might as well have been tricks played on his mind by the shadows. However, something in his subconscious subtly told him that he should leave this place sooner rather than later and that if he stayed something would happen to him.

The boy saw Kibum freeze up and his smile faltered a little but that didn’t stop him from talking.

“You can come and sit here.” He said and patted the seat next to him. “It’s warm.”

Kibum stared at him a little longer. Then he mechanically approached the sofa and sat down. Taemin took his hand as soon as his but touched the cushions and squeezed it. Kibum looked at him wide-eyed.

“Hi, I’m Taemin.” He said and smiled sweetly.

He looked normal again and wasn’t giving off a strange vibe like he had just seconds ago. Kibum swallowed nervously.

“I-” he had to stop and clear his throat. His voice had become hoarse and raspy from disuse. “I’m Kibum.”

Taemin continued to smile, Kibum wasn’t sure he was ever going to stop actually.

Kibum bit his lip. “Where… am I?”

Taemin’s face fell a little, but didn’t lose its smile.

“I don’t really know how to explain that to you. You’re still in the forest, if that’s what you’re wondering.” He said. “This is the Lightwood mansion.”

Kibum didn’t see the difficulty in explaining that.

“How…?” Kibum had to stop again. His throat was too dry.

“How did you get here?” Taemin helped him finish and stood up. Kibum nodded. “I found you unconscious in the snow near here and brought you back.”

He had gone over to one of the bed tables and was filling a glass with water. Kibum hadn’t noticed there had been a water pitcher and a glass there until now. He returned to the sofa and handed Kibum the glass. Kibum accepted it gratefully and finished it in one.

“You have been recovering here for a four days.” Taemin continued when Kibum had finished his water.

Kibum took a breath so fast that he started coughing. Four days?! He had been sleeping for four days? He looked up at Taemin who was watching him worriedly.

“R-really?”

Taemin nodded.

“You also mumbled something about a ‘Jin’ in your sleep.” He grabbed Kibum's hand again. “Is that why you were out in the snowstorm?”

Kibum pulled back a little but let the boy hold his hand. “Y-yeah.”

Taemin’s eyes shone with curiosity. “What’s a ‘Jin’?” he asked excitedly.

Kibum blinked. What’s a ‘Jin’? What kind of question was that?

“Um… He’s very dear to me.”

“Oh, so it’s a he.” Taemin nodded understandingly and Kibum's confusion only deepened.

What kind of place was this?

There was a knock on the door and it opened a crack to revel a girl with long dark hair wearing a classical maid’s dress.

“Dinner is ready.” She said and disappeared as quickly as she had appeared without waiting for an answer.

“Great!” Taemin exclaimed and pulled Kibum by his hand towards the door. “I’m famished.”

There was an old generation word again Kibum noted, but decided it was better to just ignore it in the state his mind was in at the moment.

“I’m sorry.” He said. “But I don’t think I can eat.”

He supposed he should be hungry too, but for some reason the thought of food appalled him.

Taemin stopped to give him an once-over only to continue dragging Kibum with him.

“If you don’t eat, you will not regain your strength.” He stated simply and Kibum let himself be dragged off into the unknown at the other side of the door, not feeling like arguing with the boy.

The way to the dining room wasn’t really that complicated. Kibum's room was at the end of a dark, long, stone floored corridor with another five doors that probably led to other bedrooms. The walls were covered in green tapestry that had become greyish from the dust that no one had seemed to wipe off for years. There were also spider-webs in every corner and Kibum shuddered at the thought of all the different kinds of insects that could be hiding in the dark. There was a grand staircase in the middle of the corridor leading both up and down, which they took, and he made a mental note to never touch the reeling covered in the thickest layer of dust he had ever seen. One floor down (Kibum supposed it was the ground floor) they took a left and arrived in the largest dining-room he had been in.

The dark, wooden table, which ran through the middle of the room, was set for about twenty people and blue, padded chairs were placed in front of every plate. There were two grand crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and there was a fireplace with a lit fire in there too. At the other end of it was another door that most likely led to the kitchen and Kibum could faintly hear the bustle of food cooking. The wall facing the outside was almost entirely made of glass and he could now see outlines of a forest not far from the house. Except for the room he had woken up in this was the cleanest part of the house (or was it a castle?) he had seen.

Taemin led Kibum to the closest end of the table and put him in a chair while Kibum stared at the chandeliers in amazement. They were enchantingly beautiful with their mysterious twinkling and he noted that they had living candles in them. Lit living candles. Kibum wondered who had done the lighting since there were probably about a few dozen candles in each.

“Wait here. I’ll go and see if they’re ready.” Taemin said and disappeared behind the other door.

Kibum was left staring after him. Then he took another look around the table.

Are they expecting a lot of guests? He wondered eyes falling upon the many plates and cutlery, feeling a little nervous.

A sweet piano melody floating through the air interrupted his thoughts and he whipped his head around.

He was still alone in the room. Somehow the melody had seemed to come from in there but when he turned his head it quickly became a distant sound. Kibum strained his ears to hear it properly and nostalgia suddenly filled his chest. The sensation was so strong it brought tears to his eyes even though he was sure he heard that piano piece for the first time. He strained his ears some more to hear the lower keys but heard something else entirely.

There was a soft meowing somewhere close. Kibum shot straight out of his chair and almost ran to the door.

It couldn’t be!

He followed the sound of the meowing, which was surprisingly much clearer than the piano, up the steps to the third floor, through other long dark hallways and more creepy corners. As he ran past a smaller hallway he noticed a shadow on the windowsill at the end and skidded to a stop. Kibum squinted to see better through the darkness. Then his heart made a leap of joy and he almost started running again, but the shadow was moving towards him at its own accord.

“Jin!” Kibum called softly in a happy voice and got the answer ‘meow’ in return.

When the black cat was close enough he bent down and picked him up, laughing softly.

“You have no idea what I did for you!” Kibum said and buried his face in the soft fur. There came another ‘meow’ and Jin started spinning in his arms, closing his eyes.

Now that Kibum was no longer trying to listen for the sounds of his cat he noticed that the sound of the piano had gotten much stronger. And as if the one playing piano also noticed Kibum's presence the melody abruptly stopped.

He looked down at Jin, turning halfway in the direction the sounds had come from, about to comment something to his cat (he always had conversations with Jin, since he was pretty much his best friend) when suddenly there was a strange coldness going up his spine and his breath started coming out in small gasps. Fear struck through him and even if his natural instinct was to run his whole body had become paralyzed, making it impossible for him to flee the danger he sensed. He couldn’t even blink. Jin, however, was still calmly spinning in his arms like nothing was wrong. Despair started filling up Kibum's chest and shivers ran nonstop up and down his back. Just when he thought he would faint from the horror of it all the feeling disappeared and he wobbled over to the windowsill on shaky legs to sit down.

He had barely managed to begin calming down when he heard light footsteps running towards him. His body tensed up again, although this time it was his own choice.

“Kibum!” Taemin was speeding towards him quite gracefully, almost like he was floating, followed by the tall boy. Both of them looked a little worried. “What are you doing here? You shouldn’t wander off on your own before getting to know this mansion better.”

“I-I,” Kibum stammered. He was still feeling cold but his body relaxed somewhat, “I heard my cat calling and needed to find him.”

Taemin and the tall boy looked down to his arms immediately and discovered Jin, looking a little bewildered. Then they glanced at each other.

“You should have told one of us before, either way.” The tall boy said. Kibum pressed his lips together to stop himself from making a snarky reply. The tall one turned to Taemin and added in an undertone: “We need to get him away from this corridor.”

Taemin nodded and they grabbed an arm each, pulling Kibum to his feet.

“Excuse me!” Kibum complained. “I can walk myself, thank you very much!”

They ignored him and started dragging him down what he assumed was the way he had come, glancing around a little. Kibum would have said they looked nervous, but somehow that didn’t really suit the expressions on their faces. Before turning the corner of the corridor that would lead them to the stairs Kibum looked over his shoulder. He wished he hadn’t. There was an extremely black shadow lurking at the end of the hallway and he was entirely certain it wasn’t cast by something standing in the moonlight by the windows. No, someone or something was emitting the shadow. Kibum was surer of that than he had been about anything that day.

And he was also sure that that exact shadow would change his life tremendously, if not take it completely, in case he stayed for too long.

A/N: Mmmmmhh... sooo, I was feeling productive and thus I give you chapter 1 :D

This chapter became quite long and I don't know if the other chapters will be as long or not, but we'll see... >_< I'm actually not sure how all this will turn out myself but in the end I hope it will be satisfying ^_^

I hope you liked this, have a wonderful day or night and until next time bye! <3

That's right! I almost forgot! Don't forget to comment! ;P