Eunhyuk looked up at the building. The building that he would be going to for the next few years. How long exactly, he didn’t know. But he wouldn’t stop until he debuted.

He sighed and stepped through the glass doors. Waving at the receptionist, he walked up the stairs, to the room where all the trainees gathered on a daily basis. Trainee quarters, the staff called it. Hell hole was his preferred way of referring to it.

There were new trainees every few weeks. It irritated him. Why was there always more talented people out there? There should be a quota of talent in every country or something similar. He saw the new trainees as a threat; everyone did. When someone seems more promising than you, the lower down the list of soon-to-debut your name goes. Eunhyuk had been there for a year and had already seen some of the younger trainees practicing in the groups that they to debut in. He, meanwhile, was stuck here trying to improve his vocals.

Slinging his bag to the floor, he sat in a corner and put on his headphones. He leaned against the wall and put a Michael Jackson song on. He felt the beat being transmitted through his headphones and running through his body. His irritation dissipated as his body reacted to the music the way it always had. In his mind, he was alone on a stage, dancing in front of a cheering crowd. His hands moved, locked, pumped to the song. His feet slid across the stage as though he was weightless. Dancing was his thing. He was invincible, he was a legend, he was-

“Can I sit here?”

Eunhyuk opened an eye and glared at the intruder. Two new male trainees stood in front of him, one smiling sheepishly but with curious eyes, while the other completely avoided eye contact with him. He sighed. Might as well try to befriend the newbies.

“Yeah, sure,” he gestured to the space beside him. Why did he even have to ask for permission? It was the floor, you could sit anywhere you wanted.

“This is my first day here,” said the one with the curious eyes.

“I know,” Eunhyuk replied curtly.

“Oh..” the trainee trailed off. “Well, I’m Donghae. And this,” he pointed at the other trainee slumped beside him, “is my older brother. Donghwa.”

Eunhyuk raised an eyebrow. It wasn’t often that siblings managed to get through the auditions. Talent must be in their blood, he mused. Lucky kids.

“He’s not here as a trainee, though,” Donghae continued. “My parents aren’t around to take care of him, so I have to bring him here to keep an eye on him.”

This perplexed Eunhyuk. Donghae looked like he was around the same age as Eunhyuk, which was 20. Surely his older brother was capable of taking care of himself? He opened his mouth to ask Donghae about it but the trainer happened to enter the room at that time and announced that lessons were going to begin. Eunhyuk decided to ask him about his brother another time. Right now, he had some notes to hit.

That evening, the company held a steamboat dinner for them. The trainees, stomachs growling, dived into their seats and salivated at the plates of vegetable and raw meat neatly laid out for them, waiting to be dropped into the steaming pot of soup. Eunhyuk sat at a table with his friends, Junsu and Kibum.

“Mmm this is going to be so good,” Junsu murmured, rubbing his hands together.

“What are you waiting for?” Eunhyuk grinned. He picked up several slices and gleefully dropped them into the pot.

The chair beside him made a scraping sound as it was pulled back. Donghae sat himself down beside Eunhyuk and eyed the food. Junsu and Kibum exchanged glances. Who is he?

Donghae introduced himself to Junsu and Kibum while Eunhyuk looked around. Donghwa was no where to be seen. He must’ve went home after realizing how boring a day of training was.

“Donghwa not around?” Eunhyuk asked Donghae.

The hungry trainee reluctantly tore his eyes away from the sight of the food. “He’s vegetarian, so he left to get some proper food. He doesn’t like eating with others who are eating meat,” Donghae shrugged.

Eunhyuk nodded his understanding. His sister, Sora, was the same around people who ate fast food. She would decline eating with them because she would give in to the temptation to stuff her face with fries. He couldn’t understand why she was on a diet, though. He adored his sister and she was, in his opinion, too skinny. Girls.

“You know who loves meat?” Junsu leaned towards them. “The Beast.”

The Beast was the name that the media had given to the animal that savaged the bodies of innocent citizens. There was plenty of talk about what animal it was. Majority of the public were leaning towards the idea of it being a wolf or bear.

“Maybe it’s not even an animal,” Kibum said thoughtfully. “It could be a cannibal. You guys heard about that man eating another man’s face in Miami?”

They nodded. Eunhyuk had had goosebumps when he read about that attack a few weeks ago.

“It could be a snake,” suggested Junsu.

“Wouldn’t snakes crush the human’s bones and then eat the whole body?” said Eunhyuk.

Junsu scratched his head. “I guess. Maybe it’s a hungry dog.”

Eunhyuk rolled his eyes. “Yeah, Junsu. A hungry dog.”

“Maybe if you feed it a finger every day, you can keep it as a pet,” Donghae smirked. Everyone sniggered. That was Junsu for you. Never seemed to use his brains.

They ate, talking and joking about that day’s training. Junsu had noticed a blood stain on his female trainer’s skirt and asked her how she had injured herself. The table exploded with laughter.

“You.. are.. so bloody stupid!” Eunhyuk gasped, wiping his eyes.

Donghae was doubled over with laughter. “Good choice of words-“

A scream pierced the merriness. Everyone went quiet. The raw pain in that scream was unmistakable. The trainers rose from their tables and rushed out of the room.

“Everyone stay in your seats!” yelled one of them, before running out and locking the door behind him.

Eunhyuk gripped his chopsticks until his knuckles went white. Junsu and Kibum were shaking. All colour had drained from Donghae’s face. He wrapped an arm around Donghae.

“W-what’s going on?” Donghae stammered.

Eunhyuk had a feeling he knew what had happened, but he acted nonchalant. It was Donghae’s first day here and Eunhyuk did not want to scare him further. All the new trainees looked petrified.

“Maybe it’s just a thief.”

“Didn’t it sound like it was coming from outside?” asked Junsu, getting up from his seat and heading towards a window.

“Are you seriously going to look outside? Busybody,” muttered Kibum.

“I’m just looking!” He pulled aside the curtains and squinted out at the dark.

Eunhyuk frowned. “Dude, I really don’t think you should-“

Junsu fainted.

Gasps, symphony of chairs scraping over the floor as everyone rushed over. Some attended to Junsu, while everyone else jostled, trying to get a glimpse of what was outside. Eunhyuk was pushed to the front, along with Donghae. Donghae’s head was painfully shoved onto the window pane with a loud smack.

“Ouch! What the-“ Donghae rubbed his head. Eunhyuk ignored him, and peered down at the alley. What he saw made his stomach churn.

A girl’s body lay spread eagle under a streetlight. Her intestines and other organs glistened under the soft orange light. She stared unseeingly, body shuddering as blood squirted from , which was ripped open. Flecks of flesh surrounded her. Her blouse had been shredded to pieces, exposing what was left of her s. Blood stained her skirt and pooled around her.

Dumbfounded, Eunhyuk stumbled away from the window. He braced himself against the wall as he breathed deeply, trying to fight off the nausea.

Some of the female trainees were in hysterics, tears streaming down their face. Trainees huddled in groups, trying to comfort those who were in worse shape than them, all the time looking around in fear. Eunhyuk watched them from the armrest of the sofa that he was perched on. Junsu, who had regained consciousness, was lying on the sofa.

“I.. just wanted to see..” he mumbled to himself. “Didn’t think.. oh god..” he trailed off.

Eunhyuk scanned the room. Where was Donghae?

After an hour, the trainers came back with somber expressions. They told the trainees what they already knew; a girl had been attacked by the Beast right outside their building. It was not safe for any of them to leave the building in case the Beast was still nearby. The trainees were to spend the night here, and go home the next day.

There was a flurry of activity. Trainees were calling their parents and assuring them that they were fine, and that they would not be going home that night. Eunhyuk had to pacify his mom who had called him before he even called her; then deal with Sora who was equally, if not more, worried about him.

“I’m fine, noona,” Eunhyuk tried to comfort his sister.

“Please take care of yourself..” Sora sobbed over the phone.

“Even mom’s not crying! Calm down, it’s perfectly safe here,” he said.

After promising to Sora that he would not leave the room without somebody accompanying him, he found a spot in the room and lay down. A trainer announced that they were going to switch off the lights in 10 minutes. He made himself as comfortable as he could on the floor, using his bag as a pillow.

The door opened. Donghae and Donghwa entered the room. Donghae looked around the crowded room, looking for a place for himself and Donghwa to sleep. Eunhyuk waved at him. Donghae hurried over, Donghwa behind him. They quickly settled themselves down and waited for the lights to be switched off. Eunhyuk turned to face Donghae who was lying next to him.

“Where did you go?” asked Eunhyuk.

“I had to find Donghwa,” said Donghae. “I couldn’t leave him alone out there, knowing that the Beast was near.”

Eunhyuk nodded. What a good brother he was. “You knew where to find him?”

“Yeah. The nearest vegetarian restaurant down the street.”

Eunhyuk looked at Donghwa. His eyes were closed, ready to sleep. He must have missed the whole incident, as he looked unaffected. The fan blew a few strands of hair onto his face and he raised his hand to brush them off. There was blood under his nails.

Eunhyuk froze.

“Lights out!” The room was plunged into complete darkness.