It Was Just A Prank (Interactive Fic) - GJYSW (2024)

Chapter Text

It was just a prank.

But the video shows Changbin's hurt face. The way it shifts from innocent eagerness to shock, glancing around in deepening humiliation. No one intended it to be so cutting. Their laughter petered off with concern, and a little bit with annoyance. He couldn't just play along?

He was so ashamed he just took off, out the door without a coat. In Canada, in winter, on a mountain. They felt worse, then.

Wooyoung burst through their awkward huddle, gathered near the door. He'd avoided the prank, then heard the commotion. When they admitted it out loud, it sounded worse. He was furious beyond words. He took off after Changbin.

They vanished deep into the woods. At night.

The fourteen remaining friends feel like there could hardly have been a more horrible moment to be the last they ever see of their friends.

---

It takes a group effort to get together the following year. Some of them have hardly seen each other. Others have grown close.

A small contingent had come out early to set up, make sure everything's working and the beds aren't moth-eaten. For good reason. Hardly anyone's seen the mountain but police since last year.

Hongjoong watches the snow drift by, bus seat rumbling beneath him and earphones in. He's not sure how he feels about returning. It feels wrong to continue as normal, if the tragedy never happened. But it would feel wrong to break the winter tradition, too, when they know that's the last thing their lost members would want. They're been coming up here for years, making even more of a point of it since finishing school and getting busy with college and work and life, seeing less of each other in daily life. It's only the past couple of years the other half's joined them. A fellow friend group, years in each other's peripheries. Gradually merging - primarily, in fact, through the connection of Wooyoung and Changbin. With the loss, the two friend groups had been both intrinsically bonded, and torn apart.

Wooyoung feels like an open wound to Hongjoong. A bit crusted at the edges, sometimes pulled the wrong way and sending a spike of pain. Changbin he knew less well, but he was intensely fond of, too.

Though he'd already committed, pulling up to the trail at the base of the mountain sends a stab of doubt through him. How can they be doing this?

But they do need to heal. Even if he can't muster the effort for himself, everyone's relying on each other, on him, to prove they're still there. To lean on, and maybe even have good times again. They deserve it.

He climbs down hurriedly, before the bus can move on, and a nearby rabbit bolts out of sight into a bush, leaving it quivering with snow. He gazes up the awaiting ascent.

---

Crunching his way up to the main gate, the first thing he sees is an ass, which he laughs at upon identifying it as Seonghwa's. He's squirming and for some reason attempting to scale the wall to one side. Chan, knelt easily on top, awkwardly assists in hauling him up. Chan looks up at his laugh, and once Seonghwa has gained his balance, panting and hugging the snow-covered top, Chan gives a smiling wave.

"Hey!" he greets, then points down. "Gate's busted."

"Oh," Hongjoong calls up, and sends the thing a glance. He can't say he's that surprised, between the cold and the disuse. When Chan deposits Seonghwa on the other side, who looks very relieved to have both feet back on the ground, he leans back down to offer a hand to Hongjoong, grinning sheepishly. Hongjoong looks at it, then back up at him and smiles. "That's too bad," he says, not really meaning it.

It's slippery and steep, but Chan's hands are sure, like he knew they'd be. When he lands, he's greeted not only by Seonghwa but Minho, hovering nearby.

"Ah, really, those guys..." Seonghwa complains softly, vigorously brushing the snow and wet from his clothing, but he's smiling. "Why didn't they warn us?"

"Why didn't theyfix it?" Minho hums.

"Ah, come on," Chan reprimands gently, leaping down himself to join them. "They've been busy setting up for us, they can't think of everything."

Chan beckons and leads them on, down the wide path, banks high and towering with trees on either side. It's mostly dark, the evening drawing in early at this time of winter, and fog leaves a close haze on everything. At least it's stopped snowing. The carpet beneath them gleams through the fog, making it seem brighter than it is.

Seonghwa asks about his journey there, and he asks in turn. Seonghwa starts to say it was fine, and then Minho steamrolls him to point out they'd run into each other at the end and Seonghwa had admitted to him how miserable his trip'd been. Seonghwa looks embarrassed, but kind of pleased.

Behind Chan and Minho's backs, Hongjoong gives Seonghwa a very pointed eyebrow-raised look. Seonghwa flutters his hands in denial but flushes red, laughing flustered in silence. Then he, the traitor, points at Chan's back and returns the overly meaningful look to Hongjoong. It's much more annoying on the receiving end. Hongjoong shoves him, and the pair ahead finally turn at the commotion and they both have to frantically wave them off.

The trees wane, leaving them on the ledge on which the cable car's lower station sits. The view is f*cking breathtaking, deep shadows dipping low then sweeping higher and higher to the pale mountain peaks around them.

And sat in what's very obviously an awkward dead silence, are Yeosang and Jeongin. Yeosang's fiddling with his phone when Hongjoong knows for a fact there's no signal around here, and Jeongin's trying very hard to look fascinated by the view. Chan and Minho both laugh at the sight of them, and the pair jump up, comically relieved at the sight of company. It's not their fault they're both on the shyer side.

"What, no cable car?" Chan calls out, still laughing.

Jeongin looks pained. "I think the others must have taken it right before we got here."

"Isn't that it?" Minho says, leaning on the barrier and squinting into the misty distance.

"Oh, fantastic," Jeongin sighs quietly in relief, while Hongjoong laughs and wraps Yeosang in a hug.

"It's freezing, why didn't you sit inside?"

"Hyung, you don't understand," Yeosang murmurs, looking slightly traumatised. "It was even quieter in there." Hongjoong laughs harder.

They pile onto the seats of the little floating box, and Hongjoong's stomach swoops as it cranks upwards and swings freely on its cable. But it's a familiar enough trip he's adjusted enough to at least enjoy the view a little, on the slow-motion rollercoaster. Minho and Seonghwa, though, are both perpetually terrified of heights. Minho stares solely up at the ceiling, fingers gripping the bench, and Seonghwa stares solely at Minho, intermittently chattering to distract them both. Chan does a better job, soothing everyone, and Hongjoong encourages him. He watches the station grow smaller in the back window, as they detach from civilisation and drift upwards to beyond. Soon, the station blots out to a spec amongst the sea of trees and stretches of rock, in shadow. It starts snowing again. Pretty, until you're out in it.

Sure enough, they arrive in to a rather loudly bickering crowd. Apparently, the group ahead of them never moved on from the upper cable car station.

"Hi," Seungmin is the only one who actually greets them off the vehicle, smiling pleasantly. Behind him, three more are arguing.

"Can we at least just wait until my fingers aren't blue?" Hyunjin's complaining.

"They aren't blue!" Jongho protests, laughing incredulously.

"How would you know? I'm not taking my gloves off just to show you!"

"Hyunjin's right, we'll freeze out there," Mingi says, miserably eyeing the station window. "And it just started snowing!"

Jongho makes a several very exasperated sounds. "It's only going to get colder and darker! We need to get the lodge!"

"It's so far, though..." Mingi protests sadly.

"Have they been arguing this entire time?" Jeongin asks Seungmin incredulously.

"Mm-hm." Seungmin nods pleasantly.

Chan claps, pointedly interrupting with a smile. "Okay, great, well, we're all here now! Argument over, let's get moving!"

Hyunjin groans, Mingi whines, and Jongho sighs in relief. Seungmin laughs at them all.

They pick up their bags and greetings go around, while they shuffle out from the station door into the wind, and Hongjoong thinks they're actually in the clear until Seungmin's gaze falls on the only person he's yet to greet.

"Oh," he says, instead, after a pointed hesitation. How awkwardly is this going to go?

"Hello, Kim Seungmin," Minho replies very evenly. Very awkwardly, then. They sort of stare at each other.

Exes, and new ones. Hongjoong hasn't seen them together since. Their romance had been such an entertaining affair, but Hongjoong suspects the breakup might've had to do with the loss of Changbin and Wooyoung last year. Everyone had flip-flopped between tense with each other and clinging for comfort, it's not surprising it would put a relationship under strain. Especially considering it'd all snowballed from a prank, of all things. Hongjoong doesn't envy them.

Seungmin doesn't continue the conversation, and silence falls. Turning away, Hongjoong meets Chan's eye beside him, and Chan silently cringes and inhales through his teeth. Hongjoong smiles in cringing understanding, but he feels a bit better.

"SO, who's looking forward to this trip?" Jongho loudly blurts out from the front. What a good boy.

"Could be warmer," Hyunjin mutters from beside him.

"Oh, shut up."

Chat resumes, until up near the lodge, Yeosang murmurs, "What's with the police tape?"

Looking uncomfortable, he presses a little closer to Hongjoong's side. He's eyeing a tree up on the bank, a lonely stretch of tape wound around it.

"Well," Chan suggests gently, "they never closed the investigation."

Never found the bodies, that meant. Never found anything.

It's a big mountain. Hongjoong hates to think of what that might mean, what isolated crevice they might've got themselves in to be unable to get back, or get help.

Hongjoong hears a noise. Jeongin, shuddering and trying to look away. Chan's expression creases and he rubs Jeongin's back as they walk.

"It's okay. If they could look down on us, and I'm not saying they are, but... They'd want to see us... still living. Still being us."

"That's right," Hongjoong adds softly, and Chan sends him a grateful glance. "We'll enjoy these few days, and we'll make them happy."

"Yeah," Chan says, smiling.

Windows glow orange through the dark. The lodge is massive, and still mostly unlit, but the main room spills light out over the veranda and onto the snow in the clearing outside. "Finally," Hyunjin gasps and hurries up the steps, Mingi on his heels and Jongho gesturing exasperatedly at their backs. But before they can touch it, the door flies open.

"WELCOME!" Jisung booms. "To mi dojo casa house!"

He's clearly aiming for a spectacle. Chan applauds encouragingly. Hyunjin brushes straight past him. "That's not the line," Jisung," he mutters. "And it's not even your house." And the rest of them trample in after him before Jisung can regain his dignity.

"Coats here! Bags there!" they hear him yelling from somewhere.

Chan and Hongjoong bring up the rear, and both try and let the other go first. Eventually Chan ushers so hard Hongjoong has to break the stalemate with a laugh. The warmth inside washes over him with bliss.

Yunho, in cleaning gloves, smiles from where he's leant on the back of a sofa. "Hey, you made it!"

"Yeah, with some effort," Jongho mutters.

"It's really cold," Yeosang informs him, smiling placidly.

"Hi!" Felix calls, jumping out of the kitchen in an apron. He immediately captures the nearest person - Hyunjin - in a hug. Then he squeezes tighter and Hyunjin chokes in alarm. "Oh, you feel freezing!" Felix exclaims, then promptly abandons him to latch onto the next arrival, appearing to be ready to around the entire troop. Appreciation levels vary.

Hongjoong's eyes shift about the main lodge room, done up with dark wood and an elk bust on the wall. Of those scattered about, he counts one missing.

"Yunho, hi." Hongjoong shifts past the general commotion and reaches up high to pat his shoulder. "Where's San?"

"Oh." Yunho looks around, and his smile saddens. "He didn't come back from cleaning." He gestures towards a corridor. "That way, I think." Hongjoong thanks him.

The corridor is empty. The noisy chatter and play behind him fade. The lodge is fairly luxurious, spread out and full of secrets. But cosy, in dark wood and furs. Familiar. Maybe less so this year.

He turns a corner and finds a figure standing there, motionless at a shelf in the mostly-dark. A dusting rag set down, instead holding something in his hands - a picture frame.

"San?"

San startles, jumping and fumbling the frame - it clatters to the floor.

"Hyung!" he gasps.

"Are you okay?" Hongjoong asks, approaching and smiling at the reaction. He's about to reach down and pick up the thing, but San dives down and swipes it before he can.

They both pause - San realising he now has to set it down in view, and Hongjoong realising he's reluctant to. But finally, hunched guiltily, he replaces it on the shelf.

It's a photo of San, Wooyoung, and Changbin, surrounded by greenery. Wooyoung's arms hooked around both their necks, and pulling an overly sexy expression with a wink.

Hongjoong chooses to smile gently, in reassurance. "When was this?"

"Uh," San says softly. "A few years. A random break when my family wasn't using this lodge, so I invited up whoever was free. It happened to be them."

"It's cute," Hongjoong tells him. Then he smiles and takes his hand. "You've cleaned enough. Come join everyone."

---

San lets Hongjoong tug him back towards the main room, the level of noise increasing to tremendous amounts as they go, head ducked in shame. He's embarrassed, getting caught making himself sad when he was one of the members most excited to maintain their yearly tradition. Maybe some part of him thought things would somehow be normal, the group would be complete. He feels silly, heartbroken all over again, realising that's not going to happen. Including himself and Hongjoong, he counts fourteen heads in the lively main room. But everyone's trying so hard, keeping their spirits up. He would feel bad to bring it down.

So, while he feels like he's forcing it for a while, producing a wooden smile and asking how they've been, the mood actually starts to get infectious. He finds himself laughing at a weird joint joke Jisung and Yunho get caught up in telling. For just that moment, he forgets - and when he remembers, it's not as bad as it could be, so surrounded by friends and light. Despite the hole inside, he can laugh. That's a lot more than can be said of the past year.

They all scatter around the room, across the sofas and pressing close to the fireplace. San ends up squeezed pleasantly between Yeosang and Jisung. Hongjoong, of all places, chooses to scoot up onto the arm of Chan's chair, clearly after more quality time. At least he's pretty shameless about it. Seonghwa would be hopeless even without the whole messy breakup thing.

But on that note, Minho suddenly starts scanning the room, leaning forward on his sofa. He blinks around with a look of confusion.

"Are you okay?" Seonghwa immediately asks, eyes big.

"Where's my... my bag?" Minho mutters, half to himself. "Did I bring it inside?"

"Always with the memory," Jisung jokes weakly and stands. "Is it with the others?"

"No..." Minho frowns over at the rough pile arranged by the stairs, standing. "I had it at the cable car. I must have put it down at the station and didn't pick it back up." At that, he shoots a sharp look at Seungmin.

"What?" Seungmin says, but with a narrowed eye of his own.

Minho sighs lightly, "Well, you obviously distracted me at the station." Maybe it's a joke?

"You're blaming me for you forgetting your bag?"

"Well, you're generally to blame for most things."

Seungmin laughs in disbelief. "Are you kidding me?"

"U-Um," Jisung tentatively interrupts, "What if we... send back a search party? I'm sure your bag is fine, hyung."

"Sure, jagi," Minho agrees easily.

Seungmin huffs. "Okay, you're actually just making fun of me now."

"Are you actually jealous of Jisung?"

Seungmin throws up his hands. "Should I not be? You were all weirdly close since long before we broke up."

"We're not weirdly close."

Seungmin actually kind of laughs. "You are weirdly close! We were the ones dating but I felt like I couldn't compete."

"I had Jisung long before I had you."

Jisung, for his part, looks completely taken aback, frozen with plate-round eyes of mortification. Gosh, that's got to suck, getting caught in the middle like a chew toy. San glances around, wishing someone with some more jurisdiction would do something.

Seungmin's eyes narrow in suspicion. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"U-UM!" Seonghwa jumps up and San could applaud. He wrings his hands awkwardly. "Minho, how about we go get your bag now, before it gets darker?"

Predictably, as soon as his eyes land on Seonghwa, all bravado deserts Minho. He reverts to a schoolboy's awkwardness. Hongjoong thinks it means something. Seonghwa does too, but in the other direction.

"Oh," Minho stammers, very wide-eyed. "That's okay, you don't have to. It's not that far."

"I..." Seonghwa looks so earnest San has to cross his fingers. "I want to."

Minho opens and closes his mouth a bit, ears flushing as he becomes aware of everyone watching. "Oh. Okay, that's fine," he agrees suddenly.

As they slide into coats, San gives Seonghwa a wave and a thumbs out. Seonghwa flushes and hurries out the door. Their figures diminish gradually in the glass panes. The path is familiar. They'll be back soon.

Seungmin releases a harsh breath through clenched teeth. "I'm going for a walk," he says and grabs his own coat.

"Seungmin, are you okay?" Chan asks gently, also giving Jisung a worried glance.

"Yes," Seungmin snaps with a tense glare. Then he exhales carefully. "It's fine, start without me. I'm just going to cool off, I'll be back soon."

"Sure," Chan murmurs, and Seungmin slips out as well.

Awkward tension lingers, in the departure's wake. They all try and exhale. San sees Hongjoong squeeze Chan's shoulder in support. Mingi glances up and Yunho pats the top of his head.

Jisung looks a bit miserable, dropping back down onto the sofa. "Great start, then," he exhales.

"Well," Hyunjin starts, while Felix flops over the sofa to wrap his arms comfortingly around Jisung, "there were always going to be... effects." Everyone knows what the tension of argument really came from.

"It's okay, Jisung," San chips in, offering a smile. "Everyone's still here. All our efforts won't go to waste."

"Right," Hongjoong agrees. "If we all just make sure to listen and pick each other up when needed, we can still have a great time this weekend. For example," he turns to San with no ulterior motives at all, "San, didn't you say your parents just fixed up the guest cabin up the trail?"

"Uh, yeah," San says, a bit startled.

Sure enough, Hongjoong nudges Chan. "Hyung. As the capable eldest here, why don't we go check it out? We can report our findings afterwards."

He looks so very hopeful, smiling.

"Oh," Chan says, blinking. "Sure. Do you know where it is?"

"Uh. 'Up the trail'?"

"How far?"

"...Half an hour?" San suggests. He's not actually sure.

Chan shrugs. "Well, it's a bit of a maze out there, and it's dark, but that's fine. San can come along and show us where it is." He smiles expectantly at San.

Hongjoong opens his mouth, and he and San exchange a startled look.

"It's not that far!"

"I'm sure we can find it," Hongjoong laughs nervously.

"Though, I think a bit of the path might be blocked, you might have to find a way around," San admits.

Somewhat confused, Chan blinks at them both. "...I'm not sure I like our odds of finding it in the dark. Would it be so bad for San to come along?"

"N... No," Hongjoong says, strained, and San would feel bad for him if he wasn't trying so hard not to laugh. He tried so hard and his subject was perfectly oblivious.

"Great, let's go!" Chan says and jumps up, smiling.

While they assemble - Hongjoong acting like he's not dragging his heels in disappointment - San calls to the rest of them, "You guys should find some board games or something! There's some cupboards downstairs." The others consider the idea, muttering some suggestions to each other. Felix springs up with a gasp of, "Oh, my cookie dough!" and runs back to the kitchen. They leave them to it, stepping out onto the porch.

Chan pulls on a beanie, muttering, "Not built for cold," and heads down the steps. Behind his back, San mouths, sorry, hyung. Hongjoong rolls his eyes and murmurs back, "It's fine. He'll catch on at some point." San resolves to try and stay out of the way.

The air is crisp, but the lack of damp makes it not feel as cold as it could, complainers aside. And the night is bright, sky creamy dull and the snow glowing. It's a good evening to set out. They chat as they go, the mood light.

"What did you say about a detour?" Chan asks, when a sizeable blockage looms ahead. A tree has come down off a raised bank along with a whole lot of snow, looking pretty unpassable.

"Yeahhh," San exhales, and points to the bank, more of a small hill, in question. "There's a shortcut through there. It's a bit scary, but I explored it all the time as a kid."

"Through there?" Hongjoong echoes sceptically, peering into the dark. "There's no way a random tunnel could be safe."

"It's not random - it's a bit of the old mines," San explains, leading them in. "So old it'sgotto be safe, right? If it was going to come down it would've by now."

"I didn't know there were mines on your mountain," Hongjoong says, still looking unsure.

"There's not that much. They're from the forties or something, abandoned way before my parents bought it."

Unable to not comfort, Chan sighs and wraps an arm around Hongjoong. "It's definitely safe?"

"Definitely," San agrees, unable to help a smile at the sight.

Chan shrugs. "Alright, then."

They tread inside under the squareish opening into the dark. San directs his torch to light up the area; the air rock-cold in a chill unlike the outside but at least out of the wind. He leads them down a short drop to the tunnel, and warns them not to trip over the tracks running through the mine. Hongjoong sticks very close to Chan, and even Chan looks a bit freaked out. San understands, he'd be scared out of his mind in a cramped dark place like this if it weren't familiar.

"Oh." He halts at a narrowed strip, the path blocked by a hefty metal cart set on the tracks.

"Why is that there?" Chan asks, frowning.

"I don't know, I guess they roll around sometimes," San says, bracing. "Help me push it!"

It's heavy as f*ck. He's surprised it's not rusted in place. But with a cranking and scraping, the noises echoing in the rocky space oddly, they wheel it out of the way and squeeze past into the passage beyond.

"Alright, it's literally like two minutes this way," San says and heads on.

Some time after, when his torchlight flickers over a rubble-filled blockage, Hongjoong frowns. "Not this way, then?"

"Oh, no," San agrees. "The mines caved in in some spots ages ago, but there's ways around. Here." He turns the light up a flight of rough stairs to the side up ahead.

Before he can lead them towards it, a weird grinding sound makes them freeze.

"What is that?" Hongjoong whispers, staring back down the path they came from. But the grinding's getting closer and echoing and San realises what it is a moment too late.

He squeaks in fright and they all try to move out of the way but the cart surges out of the dark crunching and clicking over the tracks. Hongjoong jumps back in time but San and Chan both get caught and have to try and grab the thing to stop it, stumbling back until it slows enough they can fall back out of its path without getting mowed down. It continues sliding gently until it hits the cave-in with a dull thud.

"Oh my god, are you two okay?" Hongjoong asks, eyes wide and hands over his mouth.

"Y-Yeah," San says, panting and staring at the back of the cave. "Where the hell did that thing come from?"

"We must've disturbed it when we moved it earlier," Chan says, panting too. "Damn." He squeezes Hongjoong's shoulder, and then San's, sort of checking them both over. "Let's get out of here."

"Yeah," San is quite keen to agree, and rapidly climbs the steps he'd pointed out. But the next level up isn't the exit just yet, still surrounded by darkness and rocky walls.

"Where the hell's the way out?" Hongjoong whines, clearly done with being underground at this point.

"Just this way," San hurries on.

"Hang on," Chan says, and they stop. He's eyeing some very out of place candles, sat dusty and half-melted on an old barrel. When San directs the light his way, it reveals a short alcove with an array of other candles. Stepping closer, Chan picks something up from beside one.

"This is a cigar," he mutters of the stub in his hand. Ashes dust the barrel top.

"Weird place to hang out and smoke cigars," Hongjoong mumbles.

San shrugs. "Tourists."

"What's this?" Chan says, stepping farther in. The torch lights up the back wall - its adornments of bundles of feathers, something like a goat skull, and a freaky painting of simple lines possibly depicting a lanky figure.

"Oh, my god, that's scary," Hongjoong whispers and grabs onto San.

"Yeah," San emphatically agrees and grabs him right back.

"Is this Native American?" Chan wonders.

"Well, it wasn't the miners," Hongjoong agrees in a mumble.

"Okay, let's just freaking go," San whispers and tugs them out.

Just a short walk down the remaining tunnel, and the fresh winter air hits them with relief. He's never been so glad to see trees and snow and the open night sky."I've never noticed that... shrine, before," he mutters. "I don't know if it was always there, or..."

But while he quakes in anxiety, Hongjoong starts giggling.

"That was like a little adventure," Hongjoong says, shivering the tension off.

"Yeah, it was," Chan says, grinning breathlessly.

"We can find another way around when we head back," San assures them, or maybe himself.

"Noo, we know what we're doing now!" Hongjoong protests. "We could get through quickly, beat our record."

"If you say so," San says sceptically.

"Oh, look at that, we are on the right path," Chan hums and nods to a sign reading Cabin with an arrow pointing up a slope.

"Come on, I know my own mountain." Well, maybe mostly.

When the slope levels out, the path passes by a lookout point, the fence overlooking a sea of trees. Hongjoong happily grabs the telescope, though Chan laughs there's no way he can see anything at this time of night.

"The snow makes it brighter!" Hongjoong protests, swivelling this way and that, squinting. Then he pauses and frowns. "Hey, Sannie," he starts with hesitation. "There's no one else up on the mountain right now, right?"

"No, everything's closed to the public."

Hongjoong glances at him with a frown. "I thought I just saw someone on the path ahead."

All their stomachs drop - both the others look at San in alarm. Oh, god, why is he the one responsible here? Damn his parents for buying a mountain, it's way too much responsibility.

San debates himself intensely with fright. "Nah," he eventually firmly decides, reassuring himself. "Can't be. What did you actually see?"

Hongjoong looks relieved at the reassurance despite himself. "Not much. It could've just been an elk or something."

"Definitely, look at this," Chan says, pointing to a large sign. It's for tourists, mostly, with a trio of grand illustrations of the Northwestern Wolf, Grizzly Bear, and Rocky Mountain Elk and a little information underneath. "There's all sorts up here."

"Well, it's a good thing we're not going far!" San says, just to encourage them. "I've never run into anything that scary with my family. The bears are all hibernating, and the wolves keep to themselves."

"Right, yeah, Sannie would know," Hongjoong agrees, wrapping his arms around himself and shuffling back. "Let's keep going, though. I wouldn't mind getting indoors again."

They trudge on, chat hushed in the snow. In a lull of silence, San's surprised when an arm gently stops him - he looks up and finds Chan staring transfixed into the bush up ahead. On a ledge, lit gently in the moonlight, is a beautiful elk, grazing.

They all stare in wonder to be so close, not daring move. Its head lifts, massive antlers raising, and they hold their breath wondering if it's noticed them.

San's only warning is a faint flutter to make him turn before a mass of feathers and two almost demonically round eyes nearly crashes into the side of his head, beak agape and squawking at the top of its lungs. San screams and the three of them scatter, jumping back - San stumbles and lands on his hands. With a rustle of leaves and feathers, the bird vanishes into the branches. The elk is long gone.

"Oh, my god, that scared me!" San whines. Hongjoong laughs at him, helping him up.

"Are you okay, did it hit you?" Chan asks, more worried.

"No, but it could've," San whines, brushing off his hands. They hurt, now, from landing on the thin snow of the hard and mucky trail. "I felt its feathers on my face!"

"You're okay." Hongjoong smiles. "It was just a bird."

Screech.

They freeze.

The hair on the back of San's neck stands on end.

"What the f*ck was that?" he whispers. It was distant, tinny between the trees, but there was something nails-on-a-chalkboard about it.

"You tell us!" Hongjoong hisses back, wide-eyed.

"It was probably just - another bird or something," Chan attempts to reassure them, though even he's frozen whispering too.

"Come on, come on," Hongjoong says, tugging at them. "I'm starting to feel like we're being..." He trails off, then shakes off his own suggestion. San hurries after him, trying not to stare into the bushes too deeply and trying to remind himself this is the mountain he's spent so many holidays on. There's no reason to be afraid.

---

In the kitchen, Felix turns a dial and nothing happens. He frowns, crouching to investigate, but eventually has to concede defeat.

He comes trailing out like a guilty child. "Yunho-hyung?" he calls, wringing his hands in his apron. "I'm sorry, I don't think the oven's working. Did I do something wrong?"

Yunho straightens up. "Oh!" Being the next most familiar with the workings of the place, he's sort of in charge in San's absence. "I don't think we turned the gas on yet. Don't worry, Felix, I'll fix it."

Felix thanks him and disappears back into the kitchen while Yunho scans the crowd.

The room's tension has eased into chatter with the absences. Jisung debates something silly with Jongho, and Hyunjin's telling Jeongin some story while playing with a cushion. Yeosang's presence in either conversation is questionable, staring pleasantly into space. And Mingi's looking curiously back at Yunho.

"Mingi-yah." Yunho raises his brows. "Want to come help me turn on the right switch in the basem*nt?"

Mingi frowns. "In the basem*nt?"

Yunho shrugs. "The lighting's really sh*tty down there."

Mingi would clearly rather stay where it's warm and bright. He's too proud to admit it, and it's pretty cute. "...Okay."

Trying not to smile, Yunho promises, "It'll take like a minute," and they depart the diminished crowd via the downward flight of the vast central staircase that splits into the levels above and below. The lodge is a labyrinth, with more rooms than one family could possibly need. They're not even in the basem*nt yet, just a level down. Yunho crosses a carpeted hall and fishes a torch out of a drawer.

He exhales and takes the opportunity to ask, "Are you doing okay, Mingi?"

Mingi looks startled. "Why- Why would I not be?"

He passes over the torch. "Being back up here. After everything." He'd asked before they left, as well. But the idea is one thing. Physically being back is another.

"Yes," Mingi belatedly answers, anxiously fiddling with the torch. "I mean- Yes. Nothing's wrong, right?"

"Well, no."

"Then... nothing's wrong." Mingi offers this logic and shrugs.

"Yeah," Yunho hums, not entirely convinced. "Just - if it gets too much, tell me, okay?"

"Why - what do youthink?" Mingi asks, and Yunho stops in surprise where he'd tried to move on. "About coming back?"

"I think," Yunho waves a hand vaguely, put on the spot, "a lot of the others were really relying on it. They're really grateful we, and everyone, could make it."

"Okay. Andyou?"

He deflates.

"I think... a lot of the others were really relying on it," he repeats with a puff of humour. "I don't know. I've been avoiding thinking about it. I'd rather just make sure everyone else is alright as possible. I guess we'll see if it does more harm or good."

"Right," Mingi says, as Yunho finally turns and leads them on. "It wouldn't be... much harm, though, right?"

"No," Yunho sighs. "Just more tears and therapy."

"That's not very encouraging. Not like the hyungs' positivity train."

Yunho huffs. "I don't think they know what else to do."

He doesn't even know where half the corridors down here lead, but he successfully opens a door to concrete steps leading down to unfinished walls and around a corner into darkness. Mingi flicks a light switch as they pass, and mutters, "Oh, itissh*tty," when a tinniest bulb in the world comes on halfway down the room, illuminating only a spot of floor underneath.

"Yep. That's why we need that thing, and a second pair of eyes."

Mingi clicks the torch, and a sliver of the equally maze-like basem*nt lights up. Shelves and piles of crates divide up the room, and it's all too easy to look too closely and imagine the shadows between the shelves taking form and shifting. Yunho ignores it all, but Mingi looks jumpy, scanning the torch as far as he can.

"It's so creepy in here," Mingi nearly whines.

"It's just because it's a basem*nt. It's still San's lodge, remember? Come here, help me find the valve. It'll be next to the gas metre, big box on the wall."

Mingi creeps over and together, they scan the many pipes lining the walls. Suddenly Yunho hears a sucked breath and his light disappears.

"Did you hear that?" Mingi whispers, trying to see into far corners.

"No?" He listens for a moment. Then he says, "You're just creeped out, Mingi. Can I have my light back, please?"

With a final suspicious glance about, Mingi redirects the light. A moment later, this time, they both hear the faintclang.

"That sounded like something falling - or, footsteps!" Mingi whispers in panic.

Yunho sighs, "We're in a basem*nt, it's just pipes," and finally locates the box, and beside it a pipe with a valve, turned off. He grabs the lever and starts twisting.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Mingi whispers nervously.

"Yes, I've done this before with San," Yunho sighs. He manages to wrench the valve to the 'on' position, but just as he straightens and whoops in victory a much more distinct clang rings out.

"What was that?" Mingi whispers, whipping around.

Yunho frowns. Itwaspretty loud.

"Um," is all he has time to say before it rings out again, louder.

If something explodes on his watch, it'll mean hell for San. He starts shuffling closer.

"Where are you going?" Mingi exclaims.

He shrugs. "I've got to take a look. It's not like it's actually something scary. Give me the torch if you're not coming."

Mingi gives a faint whine, then comes shuffling after him.

The noise repeats on a slow rhythm, and gradually gets louder.

"Aren't there are doors, down here - like, doorsoutside?" Mingi whispers.

"Yeah,lockedones," Yunho whispers, sounding more assured than he feels. Locked - unless someone broke in.

It's coming from near the steps they came down but around a corner, down a different basem*nt corridor. Maybe this isn't such a good idea. He inches closer, with Mingi's fingers clenched on the back of his sleeve and the torch shifting the shadows ahead.Bang. BANG. Maybe it's a boiler, or--

Someone in a ski mask and hulking rags lunges around the corner at them.

They both scream - Yunho turns and bolts, dragging Mingi with him, and hears the pounding footsteps coming after them. Their light goes wild, giving flashes of vision and making everything shift. He glimpses something long and flat leant on a wall and with a stop to let Mingi get ahead, Yunho grabs it and pulls it down by the top, and it smashes to the floor in their wake. His heart jumps when he hears a low grunt behind them, showing just how close the cloaked figure had been to them. They're in a corridor and he's afraid it's a dead end but then he sees stairs, adoor- they race up, shoes slapping the concrete and Mingi slams into the door, wrenching the handle, but it doesn't budge beyond rattling.

"f*ck!" It's locked. Just like Yunho said.

They have no escape and the masked man has them cornered. He's a terrifying black shape in the dark and Mingi turns the torch on him as he drifts nearer. Yunho has a hand on Mingi's shoulder, keeping himself slightly in front and strongly considering attempting to ram the door down for any chance at all - when the masked man makes a sound.

"OooOOOooOOoo..." comes from beneath the mask. Kind of raspy and pitched intentionally low. It sounds... not very scary at all, actually.

Mingi's brows knit together.

"...Oh," Yunho says, realising.

"Wow!" Jisung says, pulling off his mask and hood to reveal his mouth open in pleasant surprise. "I got you guys GOOD!"

They process this revelation, mouths open.

"...Jisung?!" Mingi squawks, flabbergasted. "Why- Why would you do that?" He actually sounds upset.

Jisung waves his hands around in frantic excuse and the sleeves of his oversized monk outfit flap around. Now they see him properly, he looks ridiculous. "I- There's all this cool movie stuff laying around! You know San's Eomma used to make shorts and things? How could I not take advantage?"

Yunho is so done with this. He sags against the door. He's actuallysweatyfrom all that running. "I can't believe this."

"Oh, come on, hyung, it was funny."

Yunho sighs. To the ceiling, he admits, "It was maybe a little funny."

---

As they come piling out of the basem*nt, Yunho has to ask, "What the hell were you even doing down there?"

"Oh yeah!" Jisung tugs off his monk's cloak, somewhat dishevelled underneath, and pulls out of it - a board? "San mentioned there were board games down here, and the others started talking about Ouija boards, and look what I found!" Climbing the stairs, he calls out, "Hey, guys!" and brandishes the thing.

"I can't believe San's family actually has a Ouija board," Jongho huffs.

"I can believe San's family has a Ouija board," Hyunjin says. "They're rich, if it's a famous brand you can probably find it in here if you search hard enough."

A cold draft makes Yunho shiver, and he glances at the main door to find it wide open, with Jeongin leaning out, peering over the porch into the darkness outside.

"Hey, what are you doing, letting all the warm air out?" Yunho laughs.

Jeongin recedes, looking discomforted. "Just wondering when the others might be back. Maybe we shouldn't have let Seungmin-hyung go alone..."

Yunho understands his hesitance. But unlike last time, there isn't a snowstorm, and everyone knows where they're going.

"I'm sure he'll only be another few minutes, Jeonginnie," he hopes.

"A Ouija board?" Mingi is meanwhile wondering, high and faint. "Isn't it... Don't really scary things happen because of those?"

"Only if you don't stay in control," Jisung assures him, poising his fingers in a zen position. He's passed the board to Hyunjin, who leans over the couch and dabbles his fingers up Mingi's arm.

"And only if you believe it," Hyunjin whispers, and laughs when Mingi gasps.

"Doyoueven believe it?" Jisung asks, plopping down on the arm of a chair.

Hyunjin shrugs. "Well, yeah. In general. I'm not sure about these things, but..."

"Jisung, I didn't thinkyou'dbelieve it," Jongho sighs.

Jisung spreads his arms grandly. "Who am I to question the unknowable energies of the world?" He laughs, then adds, "Really, though, I've just helped run these things a few times. It's fun, that's all I know."

"You promised you'd show me properly!" Hyunjin complains.

"I will!"

"Mingi-hyung, don't worry," Jongho tells Mingi, rolling his eyes. "When it turns out to be gibberish or just saying whatever cliché things we expect it to, we'll know for sure it's stupid."

"Spoilsport," Jisung gasps.

"You don't have to play," Yunho tells Mingi seriously. Especially after Jisung's unhelpful fright. Mingi looks perfectly petrified.

"But what if you awaken something?" Mingi murmurs frantically to him. Yunho sighs.

Felix shuffles across a couch and takes Mingi's hand, brows creased in sympathy. "It's okay, Mingi-hyung, I don't want to play either. I'll stay with you out here."

"Oh, Felix," Yunho remembers, thumbing at the kitchen. "Try the oven again, it should be working now."

Felix springs up with delight. "Really? Thank you!"

"...I'm not sure about playing either," Jeongin says cautiously.

"Are you sure? I wanted to see you get scared, In-ah," Hyunjin coos, reaching for him. Jeongin makes a noise of disgust.

"I'm just not sure some things should be messed with," he explains.

"What about you, Yeosang-hyung?" Jongho asks.

"Um," Yeosang starts cautiously, and Yunho thinks for sure he'll refuse, expression as unreadable as ever. But then he says, "It's just.. a game, right?"

"Yeah, basically," Jisung agrees, and Hyunjin moans and smacks his arm for not playing along.

"I guess I'll play, then," Yeosang says, looking not as assured as he sounds.

Jisung pumps the air. "Great! Yunho-hyung, where's a good spot to play, if we're leaving these guys alone?"

Yunho considers. "There's an office-y space upstairs with a round table? That might work."

"Let's go!" Jisung cheers. Yunho squeezes Mingi's shoulder in parting. Mingi's eyes follow him uncertainly as he ends up leading the pack upstairs Bickering resumes quietly behind him.

"Do you even know how to set it up?" Hyunjin's muttering.

"What do you mean set it up, what's there to set up, you just put the pointer on the board, why do you have such little faith in me--?"

"I don't know, you usually find a way to mess these things up--."

"What the f*ck--?"

---

The Ouija board is fine. It's just a game. It's just a brand and some mind games to make you feel like you're communicating with things that aren't there.

...And if anything does happen, Yeosang's with four of the other guys. They'll definitely protect him.

They're currently arguing. "Of course you should be the medium, this was your idea!"

"I've never done this before, I'm just going to freak out and make the answers biased!"

"That's not how it works, someone who hasn't done it before should do it so the answers are unbiased!"

"Well, it's not going to be me!"

"Yeosang," Yunho breaks in, looking pained. "Why don't you try?"

"As the medium?" Yeosang asks, slightly horrified.

"Oh, that's a great idea!" Jisung chimes in, lurching to his side of the table. "A nice, neutral medium - the ghosts won't mind you at all!"

Yeosang's not entirely sure that's a compliment. He turns beseechingly to Jongho, his last lifeline. Jongho just sighs, and leans in, mumbling so they won't hear.

"I'm sorry, hyung. I would volunteer, but they'll just end up yelling at me for somehow sabotaging it by force of scepticism," he says apologetically. "Just humour them. Say the spirits aren't interested or whatever."

So, Yeosang somehow finds himself spokesperson, and very freaked out about it.

"Come on, one finger each," Jisung demands, and they each press a forefinger to the planchette. "Not too hard, gotta give the spirits some room. Go ahead, Yeosangie-hyung."

They're all waiting for him. He stares down at the board, the rustic set of letters and numbers. He opens his mouth.

"Hello, spirits," he begins. "I hope you're having a good day."

Hyunjin only doesn't smack him because he's too far to reach, but the sentiment is there. "Hyung!"

"Did you want me to be rude to them?" Yeosang whispers back, aghast.

"It's okay," Yunho soothes them all. "Carry on."

"Are there any spirits around who would like to, um... talk to us?"

Yeosang's breath hovers in his lungs, eyes on the planchette. Then, he swears it starts to sort of... drift, under his finger.

"Oh, come on, who's moving it?" Jongho sighs.

"Oh my god, I don't think anyone is!" Hyunjin gasps under his breath. "Where's it going?"

After a moment of wavering in place, Yeosang feels the planchette take a route with more purpose, landing on -

"'H'?" Jisung whispers. Then -

U... R... T.

"'Hurt'?" Hyunjin echoes, captivated. "It was hurt?"

"Does it feel hurt, or is that a request?" Yunho huffs.

"Hurt how?" Yeosang dares ask the room. He feels Jongho's silent eye roll to him for actually buying in, but he can't help it. His stomach flutters.

A... L... W... A... Y... S.

Hyunjin makes a faint noise. "It's always in pain?"

"Can we... help you?" Yeosang asks hesitantly. If this gets too intense...

L... I... B... R... A... R... Y.

"The library?" Yeosang echoes.

"We can help it through the library?" Jisung mutters in confusion.

"Why would it have to do with the library, in the lodge?" Yeosang asks in a whisper, trying to make the connection. "When did you die?"

It drifts to a number - 1 - but then goes: Y... E... A... R.

They all stare down, the indicator hovering still over the 'R'. They're all thinking the same thing.

"A year?" Yunho echoes, deathly quiet. Then, when all they can do is stare at each other's frozen faces, he shakes his head and faintly kind of laughs. "This isn't real."

"There's no way," Jisung agrees, shaking his head. "Lots of people... die. Like, one year ago, too." He's staring intensely at Yeosang, almost accusatorily, and oh, god, because Yeosang's the medium, he has to receive the brunt of their emotions.

"Ask it who it is," Hyunjin says quietly.

Yeosang can't do anything but. And he can't stop thinking about... someone in particular. If there's... any way to make contact with him again...

"Who is this?"

F, it lands on first and both relieves and confuses them. But then it goes to, R... I... E... N... D.

"Friend?" Yeosang gasps - slightly wetly.

Hyunjin has the hand not on planchette cupped over his mouth. Jisung looks pale and withdrawn. Jongho's jaw is clenched, like he's conflicted. And Yunho - Yunho takes his hand off the planchette and sits back in his chair.

"Who's doing this?" he asks, looking around the table. "This isn't funny."

"Hyung, no, put your finger back!" Jisung whispers, wide-eyed. "Don't you know the rules? It's really dangerous to break the circle without closing it properly."

"Maybe we should stop," Hyunjin whispers.

"What if we can find out what happened?" Yeosang inserts desperately. "What if this is our only chance?"

They all waver at that. Their friends, lost and alone. Yeosang would do anything to help. Anything to make up for it. Exhaling, Yunho replaces his hand.

"What happened one year ago?" Yeosang asks desperately. "How did you die?"

He thinks it won't work for a second. Then it creeps to K, then very rapidly darts between I-L-L-E-D.

"Killed?" Yeosang repeats in horror.

"Oh, god," Hyunjin whispers.

No one speaks, silenced. Yeosang whispers, "Can you tell me your name?"

The planchette trembles.

He drops his voice even further. "Wooyoung-ah? Changbin-ah?"

BANG. The whole table jolts, the planchette skids off and hits a nearby shelf, and Yeosang's chair gives a screech when he jumps back.

Silence settles.

Game over.

Yeosang doesn't know how to begin processing this. He still hasn't, when -

"This is you," Yunho says, eyes raising. And Yeosang's... maybe never heard him this mad. "Isn't it, Jisung? You and your pranks and cleverness... I can't believe this."

Jisung's eyes lift to Yunho's, widening. "Wh... What?"

"Was this supposed to be...funny?" Yunho says, with an echo of a friendly smile sitting disbelieving and dangerous. "Or was this somereally weirdway to try and help us?"

"Hyung..." Jisung breathes, horrified. "Why... Why would you think that?"

"Because it's always you!" Yunho hisses. "Like twenty minutes ago, downstairs, you pulled this same sh*t, scaring the sh*t out of us! Mingi was terrified!"

Yunho glances around the table, as if expecting support. But god, Yeosang can't even process this argument, can't imagine - what? The floor's dropped out from under him already at this entire situation, he can't even follow an accusatory train of thought.

"Hyung, this was my fault," Hyunjin tries to intercept desperately. "I'm the one who wanted to play..."

But neither Yunho nor Jisung, now visibly near tears, break eye contact.

Jisung whispers, "Hyung - don't you think I would give anything to speak to them, too?"

Yunho shakes his head. "Yeah, I know. That's why I can't believe this. This is bullsh*t." He stands and stalks right out of the room.

The room stays quiet in his wake. Jisung remains frozen, eyes fixed downward, breaths audibly shaking and getting shorter.

"Jisungie..." Hyunjin breaks the silence as gently as he can, thick with guilt. "I'm so sorry. I didn't think... I shouldn't have..."

"It's okay," Jisung whispers.

"Jisung..."

Jisung pushes back his chair, head bowed so Yeosang can only catch a sliver of his upset face. "It's fine, I'm okay, just... leave me alone."

He stands and rushes out of the room, too. "Jisung!" Hyunjin moans and runs after him.

With that, it's just Yeosang and Jongho, alone at the table.

Yeosang wrings his hands, then brings them in to his chest. He's not sure where to look. He's not sure what to feel.

"Hey," Jongho says quietly. "It's not your fault."

Yeosang looks at him. Whatever Jongho sees in his face makes him sigh.

"It's not," he insists. "Damn, we never should have played this."

"Was Yunho was right?" Yeosang whispers. "Was it someone just playing?"

"Honestly... I don't think anyone at this table could've done that," Jongho says, shaking his head. "I can't really blame them for reacting so badly, but... I'm not saying I believe it, but I don't think it was intentional."

"You mean you think it was all in our heads?" Yeosang whispers, pulling back.

Jongho sighs. "Maybe? I mean... Jisung-hyung was right, we're all desperate for answers."

"But the table," Yeosang says. "It moved - the planchette flew across the room."

Jongho shrugs. "Maybe someone kicked it by accident in fright."

"What about the library?"

"What about it?"

"It said we could help, through the lodge's library!" Yeosang says. "...Somehow."

Jongho looks at him. Takes a breath. "Listen. We can take a look. But if there's nothing there, and I mean beyond what your freaked out mind might tell you, we have to... move on with our evening. That's it."

"And what if there is something?" Yeosang says.

"Then..." Jongho inhales, shrugging. "...We deal with it if it comes to it."

---

Hands clasped over the railing, Hongjoong tentatively leans over the side of a wooden footbridge.

"Whoa, this is pretty," he breathes. Far below, water crashes down a short drop and swirls around the bridge's supports. Snowflakes fall fluffy around them, in the river's gap between the dusted trees.

"A real winter wonderland," Chan says from beside him, smiling.

"Come on, I thought you guys wanted to hurry up!" San calls back from the far side, stepping off the bridge. He's whining slightly, like a child.

"Coming!" Chan calls to him. They catch each other's eye, and can't help laughing a little in poor San's expense.

They can't be far, now. San confirms it. "We'd better not be," he grumbles. But after all the excitement of the mines, it doesn't seem so bad out, even if that weird noise had them on edge for a moment, but they didn't hear it again, so-

They hear it again. They halt abruptly. It's tinny with distance, the screech, but it scrapes into Hongjoong's ear canals in an unsettling manner.

"Ignore it," Chan exhales. "We're in nature, there's always going to be weird sounds we don't know."

That's well and good - though Hongjoong starts to swear he feels eyes on his back - until they're passing a bank of snow and hear a distinct crack just through the trees. Hongjoong jumps and gasps.

"That sounded like a person!" he hisses.

"What did?" San asks, looking around.

Chan gets sick of them and just cups his hands and calls up, "Hello? Someone there?"

When nothing happens, he reaches down, grabs a rough lump of snow off the ground, and flings it up into the trees of the bank. Out of sight, they hear it explode, tinny.

A moment of a thudding in the snow is their only warning - then a vicious crown of antlers surge out of the bank followed by the heavy body of an elk, diving right through their group, knees and hooves level with their heads. A scream rips out of Hongjoong's throat along with the others' and they all throw themselves aside, ending up on the ground.

Thudding hoofbeats fade as the creature vanishes again into the trees on the other side.

"You okay? You okay?" Chan asks rapidly of both of them, leaning out to lay a hand on them each.

Hongjoong groans in response and holds his elbow. "I never want to see a hoof that close again."

"I normally love nature, I swear," San moans. "I've hiked on this mountain loads, but they're crazy tonight!"

There's nothing to do but pick themselves up and keep going. Thinking, after all this, the wildlife has surely reached the limit of craziness.

A heavy grunt - then a heavy clatter of hoofbeats land on the path ahead of them. They all shriek, but the elk - the same one? - flies off down the trail around the corner.

"What the hell?" Chan whispers.

"They're scared of us," San whispers. "It'll be long gone in a second - but why does it keep coming back?"

But as they continue, they hears noises. A scraping, cracking, then an animal's desperate wail, from somewhere nearby in the bush. With exchanged frightened glances, they don't need to speak to want to hurry on past the commotion. But when they scoot on up the trail, they round a corner and see... stillness. Mostly. Something in a heap twitches, up ahead on the path.

"Is that... the elk?" San breathes. As nothing happens, they creep closer.

Antlers glisten aloft. But something's very wrong. The elk lays awkwardly out of the treeline, a front leg hooked over a fallen log along with its stretched neck, mostly limp.

Aware of their presence, its limbs jerk a little in place but it doesn't get anywhere. The reason why becomes rapidly apparent.

Its neck israked. Blood glistens in the rivets of ripped away fur and skin.

"Oh, god," Hongjoong whispers.

Chan's mouth hangs slightly open. "Jesus."

"It's dying," Hongjoong says. "Slowly."

"I know it's horrible, but don't get too close," San warns, stood at a wide berth. "It could freak out and hurt you."

"Can we help it?" Hongjoong whispers.

"What, like... put it out of its misery?" Chan asks.

"Yeah." Hongjoong looks at Chan.

Chan wavers, hesitating. "Well- I- Well-."

Brows pursed, clearly feeling so bad he's obliged, Chan creeps closer by a step, then another. The thing hardly seems to notice him, twitching erratically.

"Be careful!" San whimpers from behind them. "I don't know if it's a good idea..."

"Hey," Chan whispers softly to the beast, hands raised awkwardly. "It's okay, uh..."

One moment, the dying elk is draped over the log. The next, its entire body whooshes into the forest with a crunch of unseen undergrowth, yanked away by a shadow.

They all scream and fly back, bolting with a flood of adrenaline.

"WHAT WAS THAT?" Hongjoong shrieks.

"I DON'T KNOW," San shrieks back.

"SAN, GO!" Hongjoong shoves him, when San tries to glance back. He hears cracking in the undergrowth, somethingcoming after them.

"This way!" Chan shouts back, indicating an animal trail shortcut they can climb to the path above. He surges up, pulling San then Hongjoong up by the arm behind him, then races up the trail. All they can do is tread in his dashing footsteps. Through bracken and weeds, they haul themselves up, getting mud under their nails.

They stumble out onto the path - Chan glances back to make sure they're all intact and they keep running.

The cabin. It emerges from the dark, wooden boards and roof, and they race up the steps and along its porch. Nearing the door, San's just fumbling out the key from his pocket when Hongjoong's foot slips from under him and he hits the porch with a shriek. Chan stops and ducks back to grab him, but he hears a metallic clatter. San just dropped the keys before the door in his panic, but they're just in reach for Hongjoong. He lunges and grabs the keyring just as Chan pulls him up, jamming the key in the lock and turning it, and they all come tumbling in - Chan slams the door after them.

The darkness inside is a relief. Dry, and still.

They all sag where they stand, gasping for breath and eyeing the door, but nothing appears in its window.

"Oh, my god," San wheezes.

"That felt... close," Hongjoong pants, a hand on lungs burning. "Was it a bear?"

"Yeah," Chan says, lingering by the door to keep watch. "Must've been."

"I thought bears hibernate!" Hongjoong gasps at San.

San wavers. "Well," he starts. "They stock up on food to hibernate, right? So that means if you meet one in winter, when the food's gone all scarce... it's going to be a really, really hungry one."

Hongjoong shivers. "Jesus."

"Well," Chan raises his hands placatingly, moving away from the door's window, "we're alright now, we're safe. It has its... elk, it'll forget about us."

"Right," Hongjoong sighs, rubbing his arms. "I guess we just... hang out here for a while. Be nice if it wasn't so freezing, though." His sweat from running is going cold, and it's unpleasant.

"There should be a fully stocked fireplace," San at least offers, heading to a lightswitch. "Maybe even some food."

"Marshmallows?" Hongjoong hopes.

"Maybe." San flicks the switch - with a brief flash of light, the overhead bulb goestinkand dead.

They all blink up.

"The bulb blew," Hongjoong notes.

"Maybe it was the fuse?" San suggests hopefully.

"It was the bulb," Chan informs him, very surely.

San sags. "Well... fire, it is."

They set about the task. San's from the countryside, and Chan's from, well, Australia, so both are completely convinced they know what they're doing in lighting the stove. Hongjoong mostly just laughs at them from the sofa. It's a good thing there's plenty of kindling, as they repeatedly burn through what they light as it fails to generate enough heat to catch the logs. This creates much bickering.

Hongjoong suddenly becomes aware of an absence of an intrusion in his pocket. "Oh, sh*t," he says, and pats himself down. Then rises, scanning the sofa and the floor.

"What is it?" San asks, turning.

"Ah,come on," Hongjoong sighs, sagging. "My phone. It must have fallen out while we were running."

"What about when you fell just outside?" Chan suggests.

Hongjoong hurries over to the door's window hopefully and shines the torch through. "I don't see anything," he says, hand going to the handle.

"Uh- I don't think it's safe to go look outside right now," Chan hastily interrupts. "With the bear and all."

"Or whatever it was," Hongjoong mutters, withdrawing, that screech still lingering in his mind. It might not be connected, but what could even make that noise?

"Maybe we'll find it on the way back," San suggests, trying to cheer him up.

"Doubt it," Hongjoong says. "There's a lot ofway back." He groans and slumps back on the sofa. "It had such a pretty case on it..."

"Oh, hey, look!" San says suddenly, turning back around. In the conversation's distraction, the stove's little window went from a sad view of a tiny flame eating another round of kindling to being engulfed in roaring fire. "At least we've got one thing going for us!"

Chan sighs in relief. Hongjoong gladly leans in to warm his hands. Chill dissipating, San soon rises with a sigh.

"Alright, I'm going to go look for that food in the back. But uhh, like... I'm not really sure where it is or what I'm gunna be doing with it, so..." San makes a very all-encompassing gesture, avoiding their eyes. "Entertain each oth- I mean, yourselves- for a while." He awkwardly turns and marches off down the cabin's shadowed hallway.

Chan watches him in bemusem*nt for a second. Hongjoong has to use everything he has in him to not burst out laughing at San's subtlety. He didn't exactly get the romantic midnight stroll he was hoping for, but things could be worse.

Chan rises from the threadbare carpet by the stove and brushes himself off, then pauses. "Is that a gun?"

Hongjoong turns to follow his gaze. "Really?" Sure enough, there's a rifle mounted on the wall near the door.

"It's not loaded, though, right?" Chan wonders nervously, lifting it down and sliding back the chamber. "Oh, damn, it is."

Hongjoong hums and pushes himself off the sofa for a look. "Hm, I guess it's for situations like we just had getting here."

"Oh, right."

"It won't shoot, though." Hongjoong points. "Safety's on."

"Oh," Chan looks relieved. "That's good."

"Not a fan?" Hongjoong teases, as he returns to the firelit sofa's warmth.

"Definitely not," Chan exhales, replacing the rifle back in its holder. "Doesn't mean I'm not a good shot, though."

Hongjoong laughs. "Sure you are. You going to keep standing there getting cold, or...?"

"Oh!" Chan scoots back over to join him, taking the spot at his side. They watch the fire, listening to San's distant clattering of cupboards.

"You know," Hongjoong starts, glancing over at Chan's profile, "You were pretty heroic out there."

Chan's brows fly up. "Heroic?"

"Yeah. You kept us on track the whole time, gave us the shortcut. Neither of us are any good under that sort of pressure."

"Uh- I mean- Th- Thank you?" Chan stammers, smiling flustered. "Sorry, normally my bunch would be making fun of me by now, I don't really know how to react." Hongjoong laughs at that. "But you- I've always thought of you as kind of a leader of your group, you could have handled it just fine."

Hongjoong shrugs and leans back on the cushions. "Sure, I can lead them. But I know for a fact when something jumps out and scares us all sh*tless I fall apart. Just like San, and Mingi. Sometimes Yeosang, and..." He trips over himself. "...Wooyoung." After an awkward halt, he inhales and shrugs. "Seonghwa's out too; Yunho and Jongho are our only hope."

A little softer, Chan responds, "Yeah, our group has a bunch of scaredy-cats, too. I mean, I'm one of them, normally. But if I feel like someone needs help, it just... overrides, I guess."

Hongjoong looks at him for a moment. Then he smiles. "I guess that's why I didn't, then."

"Huh?"

Hongjoong shrugs. "I just knew you'd be capable enough on your own."

"Yah," Chan protests, and Hongjoong giggles.

After a long pause, Chan mumbles, maybe half to himself, "I never even thought of this mountain as dangerous, until..."

"Yeah, I know," Hongjoong murmurs, saving him from finishing. Glancing over, he can tell by Chan's distant gaze he's starting to sink down memory lane, so he swallows and starts, "At least it's not so cold toni--."

"What do you remember?"

Hongjoong halts. They haven't talked about it directly since it all went down.

"It's... a blur," he half-lies, sinking back against the sofa. "...What do you remember?"

"I remember that stupid prank," Chan murmurs.

The police, after they'd got the full picture, had told them not to worry about the prank. That seeing as there was no malicious intent, the important thing was simply that Wooyoung and Changbin had gone out into the snowstorm and hadn't come back. It didn't matter that some petty social thing had occurred beforehand. So they'd all kind of shut up about it.

"Yeah," Hongjoong murmurs.

Chan goes on, looking into the fire. "Honestly, I just... can't believe myself. I can't believe I went along with it. I thought it would be funny, being so cruel to Changbin. I'm the hyung, everyone listens to me. If I had told everyone to stop... we wouldn't have lost them."

Hongjoong sighs, and turns to him. "Hyung. Everyone contributed to our actions that night. But no one is responsible for what happened, because no one wantedthat to happen. Did you?"

"What? No!"

"Then it's not your fault. We all had our- Well-." Hongjoong falters, looking away. "...I was the one who told Wooyoung to go check the bags upstairs. I got rid of him because he said something about the prank being... pretty assholeish. If he'd been there, he could have stopped Changbin from running outside. And neither of them would've..."

Chan frowns and shuffles closer, laying a hand on his shoulder. "If it's not my fault, it's definitely not yours. You cared, so much for them. If you could've stopped them, you would've."

Hongjoong sniffles. "You would, too."

Chan looks miserably at Hongjoong's misery. "I'm really sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up..."

"No, no, it's okay, it's good to... talk. I'm glad you told me you felt like that, I didn't know." He pauses, then stares properly into Chan's eyes. "But, youarea good hyung, hyung."

Chan makes a vague motion and looks away. "Maybe to some..."

"No, hyung." Hongjoong reaches over and firmly grabs Chan's hand. "You're a good hyung tome. Don't you trust me to know what's best for my group? Okay, maybe I'm a little biased, but..."

Chan looks startled. "Biased?"

Hongjoong decides to grab this bull by the horns. He kind of laughs, rubbing the moisture from his eyes. "Yeah. Biased. Come on, I'm only human."

"What... What?"

"Not sure how my attempts to get you alone were too subtle for you. My fault."

"...Why?"

Hongjoong shrugs, half smiling half avoiding his gaze. "Maybe I wanted to spend time with you."

Chan blinks, frowning non-comprehendingly. Then his eyes slowly widen. "Oh. Oh. When you said the two of us should come up here, you meant...?"

Chan trails off, staring and brows high in shock. Trying not to laugh, Hongjoong raises his brows and spreads his hands. "I meant, the two of us should come up here. Granted, we probably would've had to turn around at the mines, but... I think it still would've been nice."

Chan processes all of this for a long moment. Finally, he says, "...Sorry."

Hongjoong barks a laugh. "It's okay." When Chan silently continues to look struck dumb, Hongjoong goes on, "It's probably a good thing San's here, after all, right? We can just move on, if you're not interested, don't worry."

To his surprise Chan blusters up, waving his hands, "No, no, I didn't say that, I'm just..." He stares into space, looking like he's been given a formula to solve. "...Re-evaluating...a lot of things right now."

"Fair enough," Hongjoong laughs, turning away and trying not to feel too self-conscious. He feels extremely exposed right now, but... it's Chan. What's he going to do, be mean about it?

Finally Chan, musters up, "This isn't so bad, though. I mean... we have the whole weekend, right?"

"To re-evaluate?"

"No, I'm finished with that- Wait, no, that sounds too final- I mean- To just... be."

Hongjoong lifts his head, surprised. "Together?"

Chan, smiling sort of apologetically, shrugs. "...Yeah. I mean, I might need a minute to catch up, but... It's not like I'm... unavailable. To you."

Hongjoong looks at him and lets elation flow through him for a moment, head leant in his hand. Then he says, "And to think I heard from your boys your flirting was slick."

"I- It is when I'm not caught off guard!" Chan defends himself, flushing. Clearly, this is a subject of pride.

"Oh, really?" Hongjoong reclines. "Let's see it, then."

Chan flushes harder. "I- I- You're putting me on the spot!"

Hongjoong laughs and pets his arm. "Relax, hyung. There's lots of time."

With a final puff of indignation, Chan does relax. He settles back into the sofa, and, heart light, Hongjoong's hand is still on Chan's arm. He's about to make use of it, when--

Smash-clatter.

They both jump. While Hongjoong's still gathering his wits, Chan calls out, "San?" Half teasing, half worried. Which would be gratifying, if not for in almost the exact same moment San shrieking:

"What the f*ck was that?"

They exchange more bewildered looks.

"Did you do something?" Hongjoong calls next.

"N... No..."

They hear his creaking footsteps down the hall as he goes to investigate. Then a pause. Then San calls, "It's... It's hyung's phone!"

Chan and Hongjoong stare at each other. Then Hongjoong frowns -"What...?" - and rises, just as San comes tottering back into the room, holding the device as if it were a bomb.

"It came through the window," he murmurs, stunned. "Smashed right through. There's glass all over the bedroom floor."

Hongjoong takes it. It's his phone. Pretty case and all. Slightly roughed up but - with a click, it still works.

Chan catches up, and they all stare down at it.

This thing interrupted his damnmoment.

"Animals don't throw phones," Hongjoong says flatly.

"What if it's something worse?" San whispers.

Hongjoong sighs. "San, the only things moving on this mountain right now are animals, and people." He looks at them both, waiting for them to get it. When they don't, he says, "Theothers. They must have followed us out. Trying to scare us with stupid..." He gestures pointedly with the phone. "I know they love their pranks, but of all the dumb things..."

He trails off with a sigh and marches for the door.

Chan raises a hand and starts with uncertainty, "Hongjoong-."

Hongjoong grabs the handle and flings open the door. Behind him, San squeaks in fright.

"Alright, who the hell is out there?" Hongjoong calls out. Nothing moves but the bushes and tall trees in the shifting wind, but he feels distinctlywatched, so he goes on. "Come on, I already know you're there! This is ridiculous, do you know how dangerous it is out there? Or was the 'bear' you, as well?"

When no one slinks abashedly into view, Hongjoong throws up his hands at the night at large, at the audience he knows is there somewhere. "Just get in before you freeze to death, idiots!" Withdrawing, he pulls the door closed behind him. "I can't believe how stupid they are."

"Wow," Chan says from the couch, looking both touched and like he's trying not to laugh at the drama of it all. "Well, I hope they listen. Sannie, do we have hot chocolate or anything for when they arrive?"

"Uh, no, but I found some like kit-kat ba--?"

Glass explodes behind Hongjoong and the world wrenches out from under him when an iron grip wraps in his hair and his body jams in the window frame with an explosion of pain.

Too rapid to feel the bite of remaining glass shards, he squirms and screams in panic as the two-handed force enacting on his body twists him until with a scrape he bursts past the frame and into the night air and the glow of the cabin retreats from sight. Chan and San could only watch in paralysed horror, and it's the last thing he sees in the window of light.

---

"What if it really was Wooyoung and Changbin communicating with us?" Yeosang breathes, as they creak down a passage in the lodge.

"What do you mean?" Jongho sighs.

"I mean, we've all heard stories of Ouija stuff actually working, sometimes."

"Yeah. In movies."

They pass a dark window to the night outside.

"Jongho. The movies must be based on something."

"The people believe it because of the movies--" Jongho cuts himself off with a hiss and starts over. "Just - don't get your hopes up, okay, hyung?"

Yeosang falls silent, turning another corner. Jongho's right. But he can'tnot. It's too late. His heart leapt at the potential contact and hasn't stopped racing in desperate elation since.

"This is it," he sighs, rounding into the library. It's small, obviously, not even being the family's main home, but rustically ornate.

"What are we meant to be looking for?" Jongho asks, glancing around, and Yeosang knows why. It looks exactly the same as usual.

"I... don't know. Maybe--."

Something hits him in the back.

He jumps and whirls - the heavy book in question hits the floor with a bang.

Yeosang stumbles and grabs Jongho's arm. "Did that just fly off the shelf?"

"Maybe it just fell," Jongho mumbles, but even he doesn't sound entirely certain. They creep closer. Yeosang's too nervous to touch the book, so Jongho leans down to scoop it up, and finds the gap it must have fallen from. But he stops. "Is something back there?"

"What?" Yeosang dives forwards for a look. A button. Set into the wall, hidden behind a book. A book that just leapt off the shelf on its own.

"Oh my god, I think this is what the spirit wanted us to find," Yeosang whispers.

"It might not do anything," Jongho reminds him.

Before he can lose his nerve, Yeosang reaches up and jams a finger on the button.

Something clicks. Then a great scraping, and they both jump back in alarm. The entire bookshelf wheels back, sliding behind the one beside it - behind it, is a dark space.

"Holy sh*t," Jongho blurts out, startled.

"This is an actual secret passage," Yeosang breathes, wide-eyed.

"Well, if anyone's house was going to have one." Jongho shrugs. "If only Yunho was here." He glances back at the door. "Maybe San would've told him about it."

"Maybe even San's family don't know," Yeosang says. "This lodge is really old."

"Yeah," Jongho hums. Then he goes to take a step forwards.

Yeosang grabs him in fright. "What are you doing?"

Jongho raises his brows. "Taking a look?"

"I- Well-" Yeosang eyes the looming dark room and swallows. "Okay, together."

They step down onto the dusty floor within, and on first glance it looks like a simple storage room. A couple of non-fancy shelves with some boxes on them. Drifting in, they peer around. Could something to help the spirit's pain be hidden in here?

Yeosang's eye catches on a sort of card, laid haphazard on a shelf. The colours seem out of place, so he picks it up for a look. He pauses when he sees his own smiling face. Then many others, scattered over the page.

It's a sort of... collage. Various photos - some solo, some in groups - together making up their entire friend group. All sixteen of them.

Yeosang's breath catches when he realises only Wooyoung's and Changbin's pictures are encircled in red. Then he realises they're not circles - they're hearts.

"What...?" he whispers, freaked out, and is about to turn and show Jongho when he turns it over and finds something written on the back. In the same inky red pen, letters jagged.

SO MANY DOLLS TO BREAK. CRACKED OPEN THERE'S RED INSIDE. WILL THEY ALL BLEED THE SAME AS TWO?

Yeosang feels faint. Silently, he turns and shoves the board at Jongho. He doesn't want to look at it anymore.

"What's this?" Jongho asks, frowning, and Yeosang sees in his face the exact moment he reads the words.

"It's a sort of... death threat," Jongho murmurs. Then he frowns up at the room. "But why is it in here?"

"Maybe the ghost put it here so someone would find it," Yeosang whispers, trying not to throw up.

"...I think," Jongho says slowly, staring down at the haunting image, "We need to go and find someone. Maybe everyone."

"Jongho, is someone dangerous up here with us?" Yeosang whispers. "Right now?"

Jongho hesitates a long second, looking at him. Finally, he says, "Better safe than sorry. Let's go sort this out."

---

Jongho leads them out, prickles of fear making him extremely aware of where Yeosang is at all times, an irrational fear warning him to keep an eye or something might happen to him. Well, maybe not entirely irrational.

If he can do nothing else, he can keep Yeosang safe. He's too innocent, he'll need protecting. They all know that.

They probably never should have come back up the mountain. But if they hadn't, maybe they never would've uncovered these clues, if that's what they are. So long as everyone else is alright, they can just gather them and leave. He hopes those who went wandering outside are back by now.

The lodge is a maze and they're not back to the main halls before they hear something and freeze.

"Was that someone screaming?" Yeosang whispers, staring towards a door.

It comes again. "Is that Jisung?" Jongho says.

Yeosang darts away and opens a door. "Jisung-ah? Where are you, are you okay?!"

Jongho sees the moment Yeosang goes stiff, and abruptly gets yanked inside the room with a scream and the door slams behind him.

"Hyung!" Jongho barks and slams right into the door after him, but it's locked. How is it locked?

He hears Yeosang cry out, noises of struggle inside, and adrenaline floods him. He reels back, plants his back foot and slams the other into the door right next to the handle - it BANGs and shudders with the wallop but doesn't budge. He kicks again, then again - the door busts open and he stumbles off-kilter into the dark inside. It's gone silent inside and for the split second he's aware of it that should worry him.

Then he spots Yeosang's form limp on the floor nearby and lurches after him while searching for the threat.

But before he's entirely got his balance, a hand grabs him from behind and another shoves something hard over his nose and mouth - a mask, hard and plastic, and he hears a hiss as something releases and a weird smell engulfs his nostrils and he realises he's not breathing air but something else.

Jongho's struggles are already weakening by the time he has his bearings, knees crumbling from under him. He watches Yeosang's unconscious body, and sheer wordless panic fills his mind that he's leaving him alone, with no protection. Then fog fills his head instead.

---

Hongjoong rips out through the cabin door window.

A vision of his terrified face lingers in Chan's mind.

Chan's heart leaps to his mouth.

"HEY!"

He slams into the wall and rips the rifle off its holder and flings open the door, nearly tumbling down the steps outside.

His shoes clink - glass litters the ground.

"What the f*ck?" he shouts, spinning away, but he hears shouting, cries for help, carrying through the trees and takes off pelting down a track, rifle clutched in his hand.

"HYUNG!" he hears San scream in panic, racing down behind him and catching up, right on his footsteps.

His feet pound the ground and each breath is a blast of ice, tearing past trees and dodging corner. A fallen tree half-blocks the way and he ducks it without pause, calling out again - a moment later hearing a distant cry he really hopes was in response, and shouts an answer just to encourage Hongjoong to keep calling out.

He can't lose Hongjoong. If he loses track of Hongjoong now, he just knows - he'll never see him alive again. No more than Changbin or Wooyoung.

A river cuts his momentum and he halts - the path leads around, probably winds to a bridge, but- He hears another distant scream. That'd take too long.

Large broken pipes bulk up the river - he leaps to the first. Edges to the next, and leaps to another, nearly careening off into the ice water. He saves himself with a final slippy jump, landing barely in the mud on the other side. He glances back to find San making the same progress with a face of intensive focus and he's glad. He takes the track and keeps running.

"HONGJOONG!" he calls out. But this time there's no response.

How is Hongjoong so far away already? It sickens Chan, makes his feet fly faster.

Bears don't grab people out of buildings. Those weren't teeth - those were hands. If it's not some kind of wildly unlikely escaped orangutan or something - it had to have been a person. A freakishly strong, freakishly fast person.

Chan doesn't care. It doesn't matter what or who it was - what matters is, if he can keep up, it can't pause to hurt Hongjoong.

Bushes seem to disappear ahead of them, and skidding, they nearly overbalance are a sudden drop, on a ledge above a slope of snow.

"Where did they go!?" San shouts in panic, because there's no path down, spinning around and listening desperately.

Chan scours the landscape of trees and calls out again. Something distant below twitches in the dark.

He jams the rifle's scope to his eye. Everything looks different in the close-up, scrolling wildly past wet leaves and snow, but then he glimpses squirming movement - locking on, it's Hongjoong, desperately crawling on the ground, clawing away from something, and Chan glimpses his panicked face - then, as he watches, he flinches as if grabbed and he's dragged screaming out of sight. Chan didn't have time to try and see what was dragging him and he could murder himself for it.

"He's down there!" Chan shouts back to San and leaps to his feet, searching for a way down. Nearby, slopey clefts of land lead vaguely downwards, and it has to be a better option than the sheer slope. He jumps down and to the next, overdoing it and sliding until he grabs a wedge of bracken and continues the scramble, getting wet with snow and hands growing frozen.

Another, more distant scream rings out just before he hits the bottom.

"f*ck-f*ck-f*ck," Chan pants, and hits the ground running. Now they're on a rocky trail, the path cut from between high banks and thoroughly forgotten, strewn with rocks and fallen branches to slip on or get caught by. Chan leaps over a log and ducks one of its branches, San's footsteps pounding behind him. "Hongjoong!"

He barely notices trees thinning as they race up the incline of the track - until suddenly the night sky opens up overhead and they're at the verge of the treeline, with another sudden drop in front of them and some kind of skinny old structure towering out of the ground ahead.

There's no path down, and the slope is pretty far but not as sheer - he hopes for the best. As stable as he can, he scoots off the top, and the snow under him flattens wet and he skids, faster and faster past more rocks and broken bits of trees, and he's terrified a foot's going to catch on something and he'll overbalance and crack his head open. A drop looms - f*ck, he hadn't seen this from above - but there's a bit of an old metal fence sticking out at the drop and he twists and grabs it, dropping the rifle in the process and halting so hard his arm nearly pops out of his shoulder. He hangs there, processing he's not dead and the ground's hopefully not so far he'll break his ankles on dropping. He does, weightless for a split second, then to his surprise he hits wood and not dirt. He's alright, as he discovers, but at a sound he looks up and finds San slipping down after him with a frightened look, and when he flies off the ledge Chan catches him before he can smack the floor headfirst.

"Okay?" Chan pants, holding him by the shoulders, and San frantically nods and shoves him on, too out of breath to speak. Chan takes the hint and realises - they're on a wooden platform but rifle is not, having tumbled down to the ground below facing the wooden opening of a rickety, abandoned building. There's no time to question it - Chan eases himself over the edge and drops down, snatching his rifle off the ground while San lands behind him with much more control this time - and that's when another cry rings out, echoing in the wooden walls of the place.

"He took him in there!" Chan calls back to San. "Come on!" He races through the doorway and finds himself in the snow-covered clearing between various abandoned, rickety buildings - but on the other side he actually sees Hongjoong being dragged through the snow, panting and clawing the ground in panic. It's only a glimpse before he vanishes into the tallest building, the one Chan'd seen from afar, and the door slams after them, but they're so f*cking close Chan's heart leaps and he pounds after them, calling out. He flings open the door and races inside, and is instantly disorientated by the dark and the walls and floors around him after all the snow and wind. "Hongjoong!?" he shouts, hoping for some sense of direction, and he gets it:

"HYUNG, HELP!"

"HOLD ON!" Chan shouts back and takes off along a banister and down a set of stairs. Hongjoong's sounds echo and bounce and Chan hates it, but with a wild glance around the rocky space below he thinks they're coming from a hewn tunnel - is this another part of the mines? - and dives down it, wondering if he's about to get himself completely lost until he flies out the other side into a dramatically open space with a glimpse of the sky far above and a very old lift in front of him at the top of a very deep drop.

On the old rusted lift, someone's lying.

With a sharp noise, they race over to him. Hongjoong doesn't move.

He's covered in scratches, blood smushed and half-wiped off with the flight there, a significant pool of it thickening under his hairline, and his cheek's purpling with an awful bruise.

"H-Hyung," San murmurs, reaching out but afraid to touch.

"Hongjoong-ah..." Chan whispers, frozen beside the lift, about to try and feel for a heartbeat and horrified at the need to, when Hongjoong shifts, slightly.

His eyes crack open, terrifyingly unfocussed but alive.

"H... Help..." he breathes, voice rough from screaming.

"Okay, it's okay, Hongjoong," Chan breathes, with relief, reaching out and already planning how they're going to carry him back while avoiding the maniac who did this--

The instant before he touches him, there's a crack overhead and the whole lift jams downwards - then drops.

Chan shouts - Hongjoong drops into the dark from under his hand - and the contraption bursts into crashing and cranking, bits breaking apart. Even the platform they're on shakes and they fall backwards out of the way.

"HYUNG!" San screams, scrambling back to look over the edge and Chan follows.

It's dark. It's dark, deep hole. How deep, they can't tell. There's no way down. It's just a hole in the ground. A mine shaft.

"Oh my god," San gasps. "Oh my god. He's okay, right? He's alive?"

Chan can't answer, gaping down with a hand clamped on San's arm, just in case.

"Oh, god." San reels back, hands going over his mouth. "I don't understand..."

Chan hears something from above and his head snaps up.

The lift's shaft reaches up a few levels higher. He can make out the very top. There, silhouetted in the sky's light, a distant figure stares down at them.

"There!" Chan whispers and jumps up.

He puts it together. The crack he heard before the lift fell. Someone broke the cables from above. Intentionally.

Even if Hongjoong's gone, the sh*thead who grabbed him is still here. Chan raises the rifle and flicks off the safety.

Please choose one:

1. Take The Shot / 2. Do Nothing