• • ♡ • •

word count: 14.2k

genre: stranger things au, supernatural, angst

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BUSAN, 1984

The sky was dark and it was almost quiet, except for the sound of the gryllidaes chirping in the night. It was starting to get chillier outside, the early autumn weather finally settling in after a hot summer.

It was quiet in the basement of the Seo's house. A little too quiet for a Sunday night. A Monopoly board was sitting on the coffee table and everyone stared at Hyunjin as he rattled the dice in his hand. With three and half pizzas eaten and two two-liters of Coke gone, this game was easily the longest the four of you had ever played.

"God, Hyunjin!" Jisung yelled suddenly, causing you to jump slightly. "Just roll the damn dice."

Hyunjin shot him a look and sighed deeply. He was screwed either way. Once he rolled the dice, whether it be a two or a twelve, he would have to pay a toll. With you nearly owning half of the board, he had a high chance of landing on one of your properties.

Hyunjin shook the dice again and let it drop onto the board. Everyone leaned forward and Hyunjin inhaled a sharp breath. A four and a three, meaning he would land on North Carolina Avenue and have to pay you three hundred dollars.

A smirk spread onto your lips. "Pay up, Hwang," you said, putting your Coke on the floor and holding your hand out for him.

"I can't. I only have twenty dollars," Hyunjin shook his head.

"Sell your properties then," Felix commented from beside him. Jisung was on the other side of him, chewing obnoxiously on his pizza, which was driving Felix insane.

"Like that's gonna do anything," Hyunjin scoffed. "That will literally only give me $120."

"Then, you're out, man," Jisung remarked. "Meaning it'll be your turn to buy next week." Hyunjin shoved him a bit and Jisung laughed loudly.

"Don't get mad at me!" Jisung said. "You're the one who made the bet. Oh, Mr-I'm-Gonna-Win." Hyunjin shoved again and they both laughed.

"Y/N!" your mom yelled from upstairs. "It's a school night!"

You sighed and looked at the boys. "Well, it looks like the party's over, losers," you said. You stood up from the couch and the boys did the same.

They packed up their things then headed up the stairs. You followed after them and walked towards the front door.

"Bye Mrs Seo!" Jisung yelled and you shoved him out of the house. He stumbled and you laughed. "What the hell, man! What was that for?"

"For being so damn loud!" You said then you heard both of your parents scold you for your language. Jisung snickered and you punched his arm.

"You're abusive, you know that?" Jisung whined loudly as he got his bike. He climbed on and looked at you, a smile spreading onto his lips. "I'll see you tomorrow, Y/N."

"All right, Han. Now get out of driveway before you wake my neighbors again," you said and Jisung slightly rolled his eyes. It had happened before and you had gotten an earful from your mother afterwards.

"Bye Y/N!" Felix yelled as he started riding off on his bicycle, Jisung following quickly after him.

"Hey, wait for me!" Hyunjin said as he swiftly climbed onto his bike. He looked at you, cocking his head to the side. "You don't suppose there's any chance I can get out of paying next week, do you?"

You laughed and shook your head. "Nope," you replied. "Now get out of here. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Okay," Hyunjin nodded. Then he rode away on his bike, shouting at the other two to wait. You could hear them laughing from down the street, making you roll your eyes.

You walked back inside and walked through the house. You were about to go down into the basement when you heard your mother call your name. You turned on your heel and looked at her.

"You know how I feel about those boys being here this late on a school night, Y/N," she said and you sighed softly.

"Yeah, I know. And, I'm sorry. We just got carried away," you said. "How was I supposed to know the game would last eleven hours?"

"Eleven hours?" Your mother looked at you, her mouth opening and closing for a moment. Then she shook her head. "Just go clean up downstairs and get ready for bed."

"Okay." You turned back around and went downstairs. You sighed as you realized how much of a mess there was. You swore that next week those boys would help you clean up.

You packed up the game and put it back on the shelf. Then you went around and picked up the trash and put them into the bin. Then you headed upstairs to your room.

Hyunjin gripped the handlebars of his bike as he drafted in front of Felix and Jisung. Due to his long legs, it hadn't taken him long to catch up to them. They all went the same way going home but Hyunjin lived further away.

"See you tomorrow!" Jisung yelled from behind him. Hyunjin came to a stop and looked back, waving at Jisung and Felix as they dismounted their bikes. Felix waved back then Hyunjin started pedaling again.

He had always hated the road he had to go down just to get home. It was narrow and wedged between the woods. The only streetlight was at the end of the road and it was still out from last week's storm. Hyunjin sighed and pedaled faster, practically speeding home.

The driveway was empty, meaning his cousin Minho was working late again at the convention store. Hyunjin came to a stop and got off of his bike. As he laid it on the porch, he suddenly got a cold chill.

Glancing back, his heart jumped into his throat. There was a dark figure standing at the end of the road. It let out a small growl and it crept through the wind, sending shivers down Hyunjin's spine.

He swallowed harshly and quickly dug his house key out of his jeans pocket. Then he went inside, quickly locking the door behind him. He could hear the growls getting louder as he took steps back.

His back pressed against the wall and he glanced over, his eyes finding the phone. He rushed over and picked it up, spinning the dial as he dialed the police. There was a ring then static. Then he heard loud grumbling.

He suddenly felt a burning sensation in his hand and hissed, dropping the phone in the process. He picked the phone up again and saw that the phone had burnt somehow.

In his field of vision, he saw the lights starting to flicker around the house. Then they shut off. Hyunjin dropped the phone and ran to Minho's room, slamming the door and locking it behind him.

He went over to the bed and got onto his. He reached for the rifle that was under the bed, along with the box of ammo. He quickly loaded the gun and waited.

Then everything went silent and Hyunjin could hear his heart pounding. He suddenly heard growling from behind him. He slowly looked back, swallowing dryly.

There was a creature behind him, snarling and growling. The lights started to flicker erratically around the room and he aimed the gun at it. The creature opened its mouth, letting out a loud screech and Hyunjin's eyes filled with fear as it launched towards him.

•••

The morning breeze flowed through your hair as you pedaled your bike down the street. You noticed that the leaves were starting to change color, making a soft smile grow onto your lips. You had always loved fall.

Your school came into view and you slowed down as you pedaled over to the bike racks. Jisung and Felix were already there but you didn't see Hyunjin. You got off of your bike and parked it before walking over to them.

"Where's Hyunjin?" You asked and both boys shrugged.

"He's probably still getting his beauty sleep," Jisung snickered and Felix laughed.

"We have a test in Kang's so I hope he gets here soon," you said and both boys just shrugged again. You sighed to yourself as you heard the school bell ring. "I'll see you guys in third."

"Okay," Jisung replied then you headed towards your class. You slid into your seat in the back and started reading over your notes. You couldn't bear to fail another one of Kang's tests. You would surely be grounded and your social life would pretty much be non-existent. Not that it wasn't already.

The tardy bell rung and your teacher walked into the classroom, shutting the door behind him. "Good morning, class. I hope you studied well last night and before I hear any complaints—." The classroom door swung open, making Mr Kang stop mid-sentence. You were half expecting it to be Hyunjin, but instead it was a lanky boy.

You had never seen him before. He was wearing dark clothes and he had glasses on. His hair was brown and parted messily. But he was actually pretty cute.

"Ah, you must be our new student," Mr Kang said and the boy nodded. "Class. This is Kim Seungmin. He just transferred from Seoul so please make him feel welcome." When no one said anything, Mr Kang cleared his throat and looked at Seungmin. "Right. Why don't you take a seat, Mr Kim."

Seungmin walked to the back and slid into a seat that was a few rows over. "Okay, so as I was saying, I told you all yesterday that we'd be having a test today. So I hope you all studied well last night. And if you've been paying attention during class, you should have no trouble passing this exam."

Mr Kang started passing the tests out and you lightly tapped your pen against your desk as you waited. A thick packet landed onto your desk and you mentally cried. You hated tests more than anything. You were horrible at them and it's like you blanked out as soon as you started.

Your teacher walked back to his desk after he finished handing out the tests. Then he sat down and told everyone to start. You tucked your hair behind your ear and started reading through the test. By the time the bell rung, you barely had half of the test finished.

You packed up your things and handed your test in, then rushed out of the door. You'd be lying if you said you weren't in a hurry but you couldn't be late for second period again. Miss Choi had been patient with you but she warned you that the next time you were late, you'd be given after school detention.

You walked inside of the class just as the tardy bell rung and you sighed in relief. Then you quickly went to your seat and waited for class to start. Class flew by and before you knew it, you were walking into third period. You slid into your desk, flicking your eyes over to the empty desk next to yours.

"Hyunjin still isn't here?" You asked Jisung and he shook his head. "Do you think he's sick?"

"I doubt it," Jisung replied as he chewed on a pen cap. "He's probably just playing hooky like he always does." He leaned forward in his seat, placing his elbows on the desk. "Did you guys hear about the new kid? I think his name is Seungmin."

"It's only third period and you've already heard about him?" You asked, furrowing your eyebrows at him and Jisung shrugged.

"The girls in our second period talk a lot," Felix spoke up from behind you. "They were talking about how cute he was." He wiggled his eyebrows at you. "Do you think he's cute?"

"Yeah, he's cute," you replied nonchalantly, shrugging your shoulders. "He's in my first period."

"Is he really?" Jisung asked and you nodded your head. Then the tardy bell rung and the teacher stood from his seat. He closed the door and started his lesson for the day.

In the middle of the class, the principal opened the door and everyone looked at him. "Sorry for the interruption, but I need Y/N, Jisung, and Felix," he said and you slowly felt everyone's eyes turn to you. The three of you quickly got out of your seats and followed the principal out.

As you walked down the hall, you shot Jisung and Felix looks but they just shrugged. The three of you followed the principal into his office. There were two cops standing by the window, who both looked at you as you walked in.

"Have a seat," the principal said. Jisung and Felix plopped down onto the couch and you sat between them. You looked at the cops then at the boys.

"We'll try to make this short so you can get back to class," one of the cops said as he leaned against the principal's desk. He was wearing a Sheriff's jacket with the name Bang broidered on the front. "We need to ask you some questions about your friend Hyunjin."

"Is he okay?" You asked. "Did something happen to him?"

"His cousin has reported him missing," the other cop explained and your breathing hitched. Missing? "Have any of you seen him today?"

The three of you slowly shook your heads. "Right, and when was the last time you saw him?" Sheriff Bang asked.

"Last night," you replied. "He left my house a little after eight."

"What was he doing at your house so late?"

"We have game nights on Sunday," you said and the two cops shared a look.

"Do you think he would run away? Does he have any relatives he would stay with?" The other cop asked. The lettering of his name tag was kind of faded but you could make out the name Park on it.

Jisung shook his head and spoke up. "Minho is all he has. His parents died when he was ten and most of his family lives in Seoul. And he's not close with any of them."

"No girlfriend or anything?" Officer Park asked and you all shook your heads. The officer nodded then looked at the sheriff. "Do you want to get a search party started?"

"Yeah," Sheriff Bang responded then he looked at the three of you. "All right. You three can go back to class."

"What about Hyunjin?" Felix asked. "We can help look."

"Look, kid. Let us handle this," the sheriff said. "Just go back to class and let us do our job. And when school ends, you're all to go home. I don't want you three out there biking around, trying to investigate, and looking for your friend. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes," you all mumbled. The principal then cleared his throat and gestured for you to leave. You stood up first, grabbing your bag and slinging it onto your back. Jisung and Felix followed suit and followed you out of the office.

"So, what are we going to do about Hyunjin?" Jisung asked as the three of you walked down the hall.

You adjusted your bag. "What do you mean 'what are we going to do'?" You said. "We're gonna look for him. I don't care what those cops say. He's our best friend."

"I'm in," Felix spoke up. "But there's no way our parents are going to let us go out."

"Then we'll sneak out," you replied. "We'll meet at the intersection by your houses at eight. Then we'll find Hyunjin."

•••

You pulled your hood up as you glanced up at your window. Then you picked your bike up from the driveway and got on it. You quickly pedaled away from your house and to the intersection. Jisung and Felix were already waiting for you.

"It's about time, Seo," Jisung remarked as you slowed down to a stop. "I've been freezing my balls off."

"Sorry, I had to do dishes," you said then eyed his thin sweater. "But maybe you should've worn something warmer, genius."

"Piss off," Jisung rolled his eyes. "Let's just go before our parents realize we're gone." You laughed lightly and rolled your eyes at him. Then you started pedaling further down the street and the boys followed after you.

You rode down the street leading to Hyunjin's house. You now understood why Hyunjin hated it so much. It was narrow and the streetlight was still out. It was also surrounded by the woods and the growing fog gave off an unsettling feeling.

As you got closer to the dirt path, the streetlight came on and started to flicker. You squeezed your breaks and came to a stop, looking up at the light. It suddenly stopped flickering and went off.

"That's weird," you mumbled. Jisung and Felix came to a stop as you dismounted your bike. You got into your backpack and pulled a flashlight out. Then you looked back at them. "We should start looking."

Both boys shared a look then got off of their bikes. They got their flashlights out and you lead the way into the woods. Jisung clung to you and Felix as you walked further into the trees. The fog was thickening and it was starting to sprinkle.

"Maybe we should head back," Jisung mumbled and you looked at him.

"Not yet," you said. "We have to..." You trailed off as you heard the sound of rustling leaves. Jisung roughly grabbed onto your arm and you yelped. "Would you quit that? It's probably just a bunny or something."

"Or a serial killer who wants to cut off our heads and take our skin," Jisung replied and you cocked your head at him.

"You're being ridiculous," you scolded him. "It's not a serial killer."

"How do you know.."

"Would you two quit?" Felix snapped and you both shut up and looked at him. The rain was starting to fall harder now and you could hear the sound of twigs snapping. Then more leaves rustled.

You swallowed harshly as you shone your flashlight ahead. You suddenly heard something from behind you and you turned around. A small gasp left your lips as you saw a boy. He looked around your age and he was wearing a hospital gown.

You looked down and noticed that he wasn't wearing any shoes. He blinked as you shone the light on his face. Little puffs of white slipped through his lips from the cold weather.

"Are you okay?" You asked and the boy nodded.

"Where did you come from? Are you lost?" Felix asked and the boy just looked at him, not saying a single thing. Felix leaned closer to you. "What's wrong with him?"

Jisung leaned closer and lowered his voice. "What should we do?" He asked. "We can't just leave him here." The three of you looked back at him and you noticed how scared he looked.

You sighed. "Okay. We'll take him to my house. He can sleep in the basement then I'll ask my mom in the morning. She'll know what to do."

"Or we could call the sheriff," Jisung stated. "You can't be serious, Y/N. What if he's a serial killer? He's got one of them faces." He glanced at the boy and you rolled your eyes.

"We can't call the sheriff," you said, making Jisung furrow his eyebrows at you. "We weren't supposed to be out tonight, remember? And if we call the sheriff, he'd call our moms and we'd be in deep shit."

"Dammit, you're right," Jisung mumbled then the three of you looked at the boy. He was staring at you with wide eyes and his hair was starting to stick to his forehead from the rain.

"What's your name?" You asked and the boy just looked at you. Just when you thought he wasn't going to answer you, he spoke.

"Jeongin."

"Oh, well, it's nice to meet you. I'm Y/N. This is Jisung and Felix." The two boys waved as you introduced them. "Let's get out of this rain, okay? Don't worry, we won't hurt you." You offered him a smile and he grinned back.

About fifteen minutes later, you found yourselves in your basement. Jeongin was sitting on the couch, his arms wrapped around his bare legs as he shivered. You walked over to the washer and dryer and pulled out a clean sweatshirt and a pair of pants that belonged to your brother.

"Um, you can change into these," you said as you walked back over and handed the clothes to Jeongin. You pointed over to the bathroom. "There's a bathroom over there."

Jeongin stood from the couch and walked over to the bathroom. The door closed and you looked at the boys.

"This is crazy," Felix said. "You brought a strange boy to your house and we have no idea who he is or where he came from. I mean, he was wearing a hospital gown. That's not normal, Y/N. What if he escaped from some nut house? I say we just tell your mom."

"I second that! I mean, what if he's a serial killer?" Jisung added.

"Will you just drop that? He's not a serial killer!" You said. Before you could say anything else, the bathroom door opened and Jeongin walked out. The three of you watched as he walked over to the couch and sat down.

"All right, Y/N. We're gonna head home," Jisung said. "We'll see you tomorrow." You nodded your head and they both slipped out of the side door. You locked the door behind them and walked over to Jeongin.

"You can stay here for the night, okay?" You said.

"Okay," Jeongin said softly. You grabbed him a blanket from the closet and draped it over him.

"Okay, well, goodnight. I'll see you in the morning." You turned on your heel and quietly headed up the stairs. You managed to make it to your room without being caught and quickly got ready for bed.

Morning came and you hurriedly got dressed for school. Then you rushed downstairs to the kitchen. You grabbed a package of strawberry Pop Tarts and went down to the basement.

Jeongin was awake and was messing with your walkie talkie. He put it down as you came down the stairs. You handed him the Pop Tarts and sat on the arm of the couch. You watched him as he ate, a small smile growing onto your lips.

"Okay, so, I'm gonna need you to go around to my front door," you said and Jeongin looked up at you. "It's not a big deal. Just ring the doorbell and tell my mom you need help. But you can't tell her you saw us last night."

"No," Jeongin said, his voice almost a whisper. No? Your eyebrows furrowed.

"You don't want help?" You asked confused and Jeongin shook his head. You looked at him for a while. "Are you in some sort of trouble? I-Is someone after you?"

Jeongin's eyes found yours. "Bad people."

"Bad people? Do these people want to hurt you?" You questioned and Jeongin nodded. Then he made a gun with his hand and moved his hand up to his temple. Then he pointed it at you. "Oh."

"Y/N! You're gonna be late!" Your mother yelled from upstairs. "It's time to go!"

"Okay!" You yelled back then you looked at Jeongin. "I won't tell my mom. Just stay here and stay quiet. Don't worry, we'll figure something out, okay?"

"Okay." You grinned at him then grabbed your backpack and headed out of the side door. You climbed onto your bike and pedaled away from your house.

You waited for your mom's car to pull out of the drive before you pedaled back. You walked into the house and went down to the basement.

"Come on. I'll show you around the Seo house," you said and Jeongin looked at you with wide eyes. "Don't worry. My mom left." Jeongin hesitantly stood and walked over to you. Then you lead him upstairs.

You showed him your kitchen then the living room. Then you lead him up to the second floor. You opened the door of your brother's room and Jeongin poked his head in.

"It's so dark," he mumbled and you laughed lightly. You shut the door and lead him to your room.

"Changbin likes dark shit for some reason," you said as you walked in. Jeongin walked around, looking at all of the books on your shelves. His eyes moved up to the photo frames sitting on your dresser. He suddenly stopped, his eyes widening a bit. "What is it?"

You walked closer and Jeongin pointed at a photo of you with the boys. He pointed directly at Hyunjin. "That's Hyunjin," you told him, your eyebrows furrowing a bit. "Did you see him last night?"

Jeongin didn't say anything. You heard the sound of a car door shutting and you ran over to the window. You saw your mom getting out of the car and your eyes widened. You quickly grabbed Jeongin's wrist and started leading him back down to the basement.

The front door opened and you panicked. You ran back up the stairs, dragging Jeongin along. You lead him back to your room and shut the door behind you.

"Y/N? Is that you?" Your mom asked as she heard your bedroom door shut.

"Yeah! It's me, just a second!" You yelled back. You lead Jeongin over to your closet and opened the door. He looked at you with wide eyes. "Please, Jeongin. You have to get in. My mom can't find you. I promise I won't tell her about you. Just please get in."

"Promise?" He asked. "What's promise?"

"It's something you can't ever break...like an assurance to your friend that something will happen."

"Friend?"

"It's someone you'd do anything for," you explained. "Friends don't lie."

Jeongin didn't say anything else as he walked into the closet. You closed the door and the darkness enveloped him. His breathing started to quicken and he backed up. His back pressed against the wall and he squeezed his eyes shut as he slid down it. 

"Papa!" Jeongin cried as two guards dragged him down the hall. He tried to get away, kicking his legs around as hard as he could. But nothing helped.

"Papa! Papa!" His screams got louder as tears streamed down his face. He glanced back and saw the man that he had grown to call his father. He was standing in the middle of the hall now, his hands in his pocket. "Papa!"

The guards dragged him around the corner and down another hall. He started to panic as an all too familiar room came into view. "No! No! Papa!"

The guards threw him into the room and he grunted in pain. He quickly got up and ran over to the door just as it was slammed in his face.

"Papa! Papa!" He beat his fists against the door, hot tears streaming down his cheeks. Jeongin's throat was starting to become hoarse from all of his screaming. He slumped to his knees, sniffling as he lightly beat against the door.

"I just felt weird," you lied straight through your teeth. "With Hyunjin missing and all, I just couldn't sleep last night. And I had a really bad headache. But I know you'd make me go to school anyways."

"Y/N," your mother spoke softly. "I'm not mad." Your eyebrows raised and she smiled a bit. "I get it, honey. You and Hyunjin are practically brother and sister. But I want you to try to go to school. And if you still feel like you can't do it, call me and I'll come get you, okay?"

"Okay," you mumbled then you heard a thump from your room, making your eyes widen. Jeongin!

"Is someone else here?" Your mom asked and you quickly shook your head. "All right, honey. I have to head to work now. So I'll see you later. Remember, call me if you want to come home."

You nodded your head and your mom gave you a quick hug. Then she kissed your head before heading out. You waited until her car was gone then you ran back up to your room. You swung the closet door open and Jeongin slowly looked up at you.

You noticed there were tears in his eyes and you frowned a bit. You sat down in front of him on your knees. "Are you okay?" You asked and Jeongin nodded. "Are you sure?"

A small grin grew onto his lips. "Promise."

•••

"You're out of your mind, Y/N," Jisung said. It was now after school and the three of you were in your room. Jeongin was sitting on the bed and you were all looking at him. "Don't tell me you're being serious!"

"Will you shut up?" You hissed. You spotted the picture on the dresser and walked over. You picked it up and took it over to the boys. "He pointed at Hyunjin. I think maybe he saw him or something."

"Did you see him last night?" Felix asked and Jeongin shook his head. Felix sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "Well, do you know where he is?"

Jeongin stared off blankly and you weren't sure if he was going to say anything. But then he spoke. "Hiding," he said. Felix and Jisung shot you a look.

"Hiding?" You questioned him. "Hiding from what? The bad people?"

"Bad people?" Felix asked. "What bad people?" You shook your head at him and looked at Jeongin.

Jeongin shook his head no and picked up a small toy from your desk. Then he held it out. You took it from him and the three of you looked at it. It was a toy Felix had given to you years ago when he first moved to Busan.

"Demogorgon," Felix mumbled and you gave him a look. He rolled his eyes a bit and walked over to your desk. He placed his backpack down and started digging through it. Then he brought out a thick book and flipped through it.

He slammed the book down onto the desk and the three of you gathered around him. He pointed his index finger at a sketch of a creature. It was two headed and had long tentacle-like arms.

"Demogorgon," Felix repeated. "It's a very powerful demon prince. He lives in the abyss and gave himself the name Prince of Demons. Even mortals knew of his power."

Your eyebrows furrowed as you looked closer. "Wait...isn't this a kid's game?"

"Yeah, dork, you know this is real life, right?" Jisung replied. "It's not your little role playing nerdfest."

"Okay, first of all, it's not a kid's game. It's Dungeons and Dragons," Felix stated defensively. "Secondly, I know this is real life and it's very unlikely that is actually the Demogorgon. But at least it's something to go on."

"It's hardly anything to go on," Jisung replied. "This is dumb. We're telling your mom right now."

You shook your head and stepped in front of him. "We can't tell anyone. Jeongin said that telling people would put us in danger."

"Danger? What kind of danger?" Felix asked, his eyes widening a bit. You made a gun with your hand and pointed it at yourself, then at him. As you pointed it at Jisung, he shoved it out his face.

"No! No! And, no! We're going back to plan A, we're telling your mom!" Jisung shoved his way between you and Felix. He opened the door only to have it slam shut. He tried again but it only slammed shut again.

The three of you looked back. Jeongin was standing now and blood was dripping out of one of his nostrils. "No," he said and Jisung's eyes widened.

"Whoa," you breathed out. Jeongin brought his hand up and wiped the blood away on the sleeve of his sweater. You walked over to the window when you heard the sound of an engine starting. Your mom's car was pulling out of the driveway.  "Okay, my mom is leaving to go get my dad. We don't have much time."

You walked over and grabbed Jeongin's wrist. Then you lead him out of your room and back down to the basement. Jisung and Felix followed you down and they just looked at you.

"I'm gonna make him something to eat," you mumbled. You climbed up the stairs and went into the kitchen. Jisung and Felix came up and you glanced over at them as you started making Jeongin a cup of noodles.

"This is crazy, you do realize that, right?" Jisung said. "I mean, what if he's dangerous?"

"He only shut a door, Jisung. Don't be so dramatic," you replied. Then you turned around and leaned against the counter, folding your arms over your chest. "But I think Jeongin can help us find Hyunjin."

"What makes you think that?" Felix spoke up.

"I don't know," you said. "But he knows something. You didn't see the way he looked at Hyunjin's picture." You sighed softly. "I say we go out tomorrow after school with him."

"Okay," Jisung sighed. "We'll go out tomorrow. But if this doesn't work, we're telling your mom."

You rolled your eyes and sighed again. "Fine, whatever." You finished making Jeongin's food then carried it down to him. You handed it to him and he started eating.

Jisung and Felix came back downstairs and you looked at them. Felix walked closer to Jeongin and sat on the arm of the couch. Jeongin looked up at him as he slurped up some noodles.

"Do you think you'll be able to help us find our friend?" Felix asked and Jeongin just looked at him for a while. Then he slowly nodded his head.

"Y/N! Can you come help me with dinner?" Your mom yelled and you sighed. You walked up the stairs with Jisung and Felix following closely behind you. Your mom smiled at the three of you. "Boys, what a nice surprise. Will you be staying for dinner?"

"Um," Felix started. He and Jisung shared a look then he looked back at your mother. "We'd love to, Mrs Seo."

•••

"How do you think Jeongin got his powers?" Felix asked as he shut his locker. The final bell of the day had already rung and the three of you were heading home. "Do you think he was born with them?"

You shrugged. "I don't know. Does it matter?"

"No, I guess not," he replied as you walked outside. "Who are the bad people you were talking about yesterday?"

"Jeongin told me that there were bad people after him, people that wanted to hurt him," you explained while the three of you walked over to the bikes and Felix nodded faintly.

"How do we even know that he can help us find Hyunjin?" Jisung spoke up. He climbed onto his bike and looked over at you.

"We don't," you sighed. "But we'll find out tonight." You climbed on your bike and looked over at Felix as he got onto his. "Let's go."

Jeongin paced back and forth as he waited for you and the boys to arrive. You had told him to meet you near the woods behind your house around 3. You had even given him your watch so he would know.

Jeongin looked around, freezing in his spot when he saw a bunny. It was sitting near a bush, it's little nose wiggling cutely. It's coat was cream colored, just like the one from that day.

Machines beeped as Jeongin stared at the small bunny in the cage. His eyes flicked up to Papa, who was observing from the next room. Papa nodded and Jeongin's eyes watered as he looked back at the bunny.

It was just sitting in the cage, munching on some greens. Jeongin focused as much as he could but he just couldn't do it. He couldn't kill it. After all, it wasn't hurting anyone.

Jeongin yanked the monitor off of his head and looked at Papa, shaking his head. Papa's eyes hardened and his lips pressed into a straight line. He looked over and nodded at two guards. Then the two guards came into the room and grabbed Jeongin.

Just like many times before, Jeongin screamed and tried to get away from them. He kicked his legs but this only made the guards tighten their grips. They dragged Jeongin down an all to familiar hall and threw him into the room.

He quickly got to his feet and before the door could shut all the way, he slammed it back open with his mind. One of the guards flew back into the wall then fell to the ground. The other guard reached for his gun and Jeongin snapped his neck.

He breathed hard as he leaned against the wall. Blood dripped from his nose and ears and he felt weak. Papa came into view, looking at the two lifeless bodies laying on the floor. Then he stepped closer to Jeongin.

Jeongin became rigid as Papa caressed his head. "Incredible," Papa said and tears started streaming down Jeongin's face. Papa slowly picked him up and carried him out of the room and down the hall.

"Jeongin," you said as you slowed your bike down. Jisung and Felix slowed down too as Jeongin turned around. "You okay?" Jeongin nodded his head and you patted the space behind you. "Come on."

Jeongin walked over and climbed onto the bike. You waited until he was ready then the three of you pedaled down the street. The sun was already starting to go down and you all knew you wouldn't have much time.

"Where are we even going?" Jisung asked as he looked at you.

"I don't know yet," you told Jisung. Then you pedaled faster and Jeongin wrapped his arms around you. You tried to ignore it made your heart flutter. The four of you rode down the road leading to Hyunjin's house.

"Wait...stop," Jeongin said suddenly and you slowed down to a stop. Jeongin peered down a dirt path. "There." You started pedaling again and went down the path. The boys followed suit and soon the four of you arrived at Hyunjin's house.

"What are we doing here?" You asked. "This is his house."

"I saw him here," Jeongin said as he climbed off of your bike.

You glanced over at the boys and they just looked at you. You sighed softly and looked back at the house. Your eyebrows furrowed when you saw Hyunjin's bike.

"Wait," you mumbled. You climbed off of your bike and laid it down on the ground. Then you walked closer to the house and onto the porch. You picked up the bike and looked back at the boys. "His bike is here."

"Did he come home then?" Jisung asked as he and Felix climbed off of their bikes. You put the bike back down and walked over to the door. You knocked on the door a few times but no one answered.

"No one's answering," you mumbled. You suddenly heard sirens and you looked back. An ambulance speeded down the road, followed by a few police cars and a fire truck. You looked at Jisung and Felix as they looked at you.

Then the three of you rushed over to your bikes and climbed on. Jeongin got on and the four of you followed after the sirens. They lead you to the quarry and the four of you hid behind the fire truck.

Lights from the police cars flashed as a group of paramedics pulled a body out of the water. They placed the body onto a stretcher and carried him onto the shore. The body was like Hyunjin's, tall and lean, but you couldn't tell if it was him.

"It's not him. It can't be," you muttered, watching as the sheriff removed his hat and stepped away.

"It's Hyunjin," Felix mumbled and his eyes stung as tears welled up. You felt like you couldn't breathe properly so you stepped back and walked over to your bike.

"Y/N...I-I.." Jeongin said as he placed his hand on your shoulder. Your eyes watered as you shoved him off and looked at him.

"Y/N? Y/N what? You said you could help us find him. We were supposed to find him alive," you snapped and Jeongin just looked at you, not saying a single word. "What's wrong with you?"

"Y/N..."

You shook your head and picked your bike up. You climbed on and blinked your tears away. "Come on, Y/N. Don't do this," Jisung said but you ignored him. You pedaled away as hard and as fast as you could, leaving the boys behind you.

You finally made it home and climbed off of your bike, throwing it down on the driveway. You rushed into your house and pressed your back against the door, squeezing your eyes shut as you tried to suppress your emotions.

"Y/N? Is that you?" Changbin asked as he jogged down the stairs. He saw your state and quickly went over to you. "Y/N? What is it? What happened?"

You opened your eyes and tears streamed down your cheeks. "It's Hyunjin," you whispered and Changbin immediately embraced you. You buried your face into his chest and he rubbed your back as you cried.

"I'm so sorry, Y/N," he mumbled as he let you cry into his chest. After a while, you calmed down and pulled away from him, mumbling a small thank you. "I'm your brother, Y/N. I'm always gonna be here for you, okay?"

You nodded and hugged him. "Thank you, Binnie." You pulled away and he smiled softly at you.

"If you need anything, just let me know, okay?" You nodded your head again and Changbin kissed the top of your head. Then he went back upstairs.

You walked through the house and went down into the basement. You tossed your backpack onto the couch and started straightening up a bit, anything to keep your mind off of things.

The door opened and Felix walked in, along with Jisung and Jeongin. Jisung made himself comfortable on the couch, rubbing his hands over his face. You continued straightening up until you heard the sound of radio static.

"What's the weirdo doing?" Jisung asked. You looked over and saw Jeongin sitting at the table, messing with your walkie talkie. You shrugged and went back to cleaning.

"Should I stay or should I go now?" Your attention snapped back to Jeongin as you heard Hyunjin's voice coming through the radio. "If I go, there will be trouble. And if I stay it will be double."

You walked over and sat down at the table. "So come on and let me know. Should I stay or should I go?"

Jisung and Felix came over to the table and you noticed blood dripping from Jeongin's nose. Jeongin held the radio out towards you and you took the radio from him. You pushed the talk button.

"Hyunjin? Is that you? Can you hear me?" You said then pressed the listen button. The three of you waited for an answer but all you got was static.

Felix looked at Jeongin. "Was that...?"

A faint smile grew onto Jeongin's lips. "Hyunjin."

•••

"How are you doing today?" Changbin asked as he walked into the kitchen. It was morning and you were making yourself some breakfast.

You nodded your head a bit. "I'm doing okay."

"Do you need a ride to school?" He asked.

"No, I'll be okay," you replied. "But thanks, Binnie." Changbin came over and kissed your head, then he headed out. You put two pieces of bread into the toaster and waited.

While you were waiting, you heard the doorbell ring. Your eyebrows furrowed as you walked towards the door. You swung the door open and saw that it was Jisung and Felix.

"Oh, it's you guys," you said and opened the door wider. The boys walked in and you walked back into the kitchen. Your toast popped up and you spread some strawberry preserves on them.

You ate one then carried the other piece of toast downstairs. The boys followed you down and Jeongin looked up at you. He was still messing with the radio again and had been since last night.

"What's he doing?" Jisung asked as the three of you watched him mess with it some more.

"He's been trying to make contact again but it hasn't been working," you explained. You walked over to him and reached for the radio. "It's not going to work. We need to get you to a stronger radio."

"What about the AV club's radio?" Felix asked and you glanced back at him.

"That would work," you said. You looked back at Jeongin and handed him the toast. "First, breakfast." Jeongin took the plate from you and started eating.

After Jeongin was finished eating, you gave him some new clothes to wear. Then the four of you headed out. When you arrived at school, everyone was already inside and the tardy bell had already rung.

The four of you walked into the school and down the halls. Felix lead the way to the science hall and you quickly found the room for the AV club. Felix tried the door, cursing when he saw that it was locked.

Felix looked back at Jeongin. "Do you think you can unlock it...with your, um, powers?"

"Real smooth," Jisung remarked and Felix elbowed him.

Jeongin didn't say anything as he focused on the door. Then the door swung open and you all walked in. Felix shut the door and locked it while you lead Jeongin over to the radio. You turned it on and turned the tuner until you heard static.

"I hope this works," Jisung mumbled. Jeongin sat down in front of it and closed his eyes. Then it became really quiet, except for the sound of slight static.

"Darling you got to let me know," you heard Hyunjin sing and your eyes flicked over to Jisung just as the lights started to flicker. "Should I stay or should I go?"

"Hyunjin! Hyunjin, can you hear me?" You said.

"Y/N? Y/N, is that you?"

"Hyunjin, it's me! We're all here, we're right here!" you said. "Where are you?"

"It's like home...but it's dark. It's so dark and it's so cold..."

The radio started go in and out so you couldn't really make out what he said clearly. The lights flickered erratically and you jumped back when the radio caught on fire. The fire alarm started going off and Jisung quickly grabbed the fire extinguisher.

"Jeongin!" You said. You grabbed him by the shoulders and he looked at you weakly. His nose was bleeding from both nostrils. "Are you okay? Can you walk?"

"Come on, we need to get him out of here," Jisung said after he finished putting the fire out. He walked over and helped Jeongin stand up. Then the four of you walked out of the school.

After you got onto your bikes, you rode back to your house and went down to the basement. Jisung helped Jeongin onto the couch and he laid down. You sat down on the coffee table and looked at him.

"Are you okay?" You asked softly and he nodded. You stood up and walked over to the table. You sat down and watched as Felix grabbed a can of Coke from the fridge. Then he walked over and sat down.

"What was he saying there at the end?" He said. "It's like home but dark and cold."

"I don't know. The radio kept going in and out and I couldn't make it out very well," you replied.

"What does that even mean?" Jisung asked as he walked over and plopped down in one of the chairs. "Like home but dark and cold."

"I have no idea," Felix ran his hand through his hair and placed his elbows on the table.

"Upside down," Jeongin mumbled and everyone turned towards him.

"What did he say?" Jisung asked.

"Upside down," you repeated and looked at the boys. "Jeongin said that Hyunjin was hiding. And he took us to his house, remember?"

"Yeah, but he wasn't there?"

You refrained from rolling your eyes. "Shut up for a minute and listen," you said. "What if he was there but we just couldn't see him? What if he was in another dimension?"

"Like the Vale of Shadows?" Felix said and Jisung's eyebrows furrowed. Felix sighed and got up. He walked over and started digging in his backpack. He grabbed a book and came over, dropping the book onto the table with a light thud.

He flipped through the pages before stopping on a page. He sat back down in his chair and started reading. "The Vale of Shadows is a dimension that is a dark reflection, or echo, of our world. It is a place of decay and death, a plane out of phase, with monsters. It is right next to you and you don't even see it."

"And Hyunjin said it was like home but dark," Jisung said and Felix nodded. Jisung' eyebrows furrowed slightly. "But if this is true, there's one question: how the hell did he get there?"

•••

You looked around as the officiant said his final words. There were a few people crying, which made you a little annoyed. Those people didn't even know him like you and the boys did. Your eyes found Minho and you watched as he stared ahead.

You couldn't help but feel bad for him. Just like Hyunjin, Minho didn't have much family left and he had always been close to Hyunjin. You couldn't even begin to fathom how he must've felt. Losing a friend was one thing. But losing someone who was both friend and family must've hurt like hell.

The officiant stopped talking and everyone took turns saying their condolences to Minho. Then everyone headed to the gathering. Jisung and Felix raided the snack table and you rolled your eyes as they took most of the brownies.

You spotted your science teacher and walked over. "Mr Lim," you said and he gave you a sympathetic smile.

"Hello, Miss Seo. How are you guys holding up?"

"We're doing okay," you said. You glanced over at the boys and saw them stuffing their mouths. You rolled your eyes and looked back at Mr Lim. "Do you have a minute? We have some questions."

"Consider me intrigued," Mr Lim replied. He motioned for you to sit and the three of you sat down. "What can I help you guys with?"

"Well, you know how in Cosmos, Carl Sagan talks about other dimensions, like beyond our world," you said.

"Yeah, sure, theoretically," Mr Lim responded and you nodded.

"Right, theoretically. Well, we've been kind of wondering how someone would travel to those dimensions."

"You guys have been thinking of the Everett interpretation, haven't you?" Mr Lim asked and you all just looked at him. "Okay, so basically, the theory is that there is an infinite number of parallel universes of our world. Meaning there's a world out there where none of this tragic stuff happens."

"Yeah, no. We aren't talking about that," Felix said. "We were thinking of more of an evil dimension. Like the Vale of Shadows. You know the Vale of Shadows?"

Mr Lim nodded his head. "Yeah, a dark echo of our world where necrotic and shadow magic..."

"Exactly," you said. "If a place like that really existed, the Vale of Shadows, how would we travel there?"

"Theoretically," Felix added.

"Well," he said. He grabbed his plate and pulled a pen out of his jacket pocket. He drew two lines onto the plate. "Picture an acrobat standing on a tightrope." He drew a stick figure above the lines and looked at the three of you. "The tightrope is our dimension and our dimension has rules. You can move forwards or backwards."

You all watched as he drew arrows beside the acrobat. "But what if right next to our acrobat is a flea." He drew a little flea beside the acrobat. "Now the flea can also travel back and forth, just like the acrobat. But here's where things get interesting." He drew a double sided arrow between the two lines. "The flea can also travel along the side of the rope. He can even go underneath the rope." He drew an arrow going beneath the rope.

"Upside down," the three of you said in unison.

"Exactly."

"But we're not the flea, we're the acrobat," you said.

"In this metaphor, yes, we're the acrobat."

"So we can't go there?" Jisung asked and Mr Lim shook his head. "Well, is there any way the acrobat can get to the upside down?"

"Well, you'd have to create a massive amount of energy, more than humans are currently incapable of producing, to create some type of tear in time and space. And then," Mr Lim folded the plate and stabbed a hole through it with his pen. "You create a doorway."

"Like a gate?" Felix said.

Mr Lim nodded. "Sure, like a gate. But again, this is all..."

"Theoretical," you answered him. "But what if this gate already existed?"

"If it did, I think we'd already know," he said. "It would disrupt gravity, the magnetic fields, the environment. Hell, it might even swallow us up whole."

After the gathering ended, the three of you went back to your house and you explained it all to Jeongin. He jumped as you stabbed your pen through a folded up piece of paper.

"It would take a lot of energy to create a gate like this," you explained. "But that's gotta be what happened. I mean, how else did Hyunjin end up there, right?"

"Right," Jeongin mumbled.

"Do you know where the gate is?" Jisung asked and Jeongin shook his head. "Then how do you know about the upside down?"

Jeongin didn't say anything and his eyes moved over to Felix, who was pacing back and forth. You looked over and your eyebrows furrowed. "Felix, what the hell are you doing?"

Felix stopped and looked at you. "I need to see your compasses. Right now," he said. You and Jisung stood and gathered all of the compasses you could. Then you dropped them onto the table and you all looked at them.

"What the hell is going on, Felix?" Jisung asked.

"They're all facing north," Felix replied and Jisung gave him a look.

"What's so exciting about that?"

"Well, that's not true north," Felix said and your eyebrows furrowed. Felix sighed. "Are you two seriously this dumb? The sun rises in the east and sets in the west, right? Meaning that"—he pointed forward—"is true north."

"So what? The compasses are broken or something?" Jisung asked.

"Do you even know how a compass works?" Felix asked. "Do you see a battery pack on this? No, because it doesn't need one. The needle is automatically drawn to the earth's magnetic north pole."

"Okay, so what's wrong with it?" You asked.

"Well, that's what I couldn't figure out," Felix said. "But then I remembered that you can change the direction of a compass with a magnet. If it has enough power, it can disrupt the magnetic field. Then I was thinking about what Mr Kim said about the gate. It would have so much power."

"It would disrupt the magnetic field," you replied and Felix nodded.

"So, do you think if we follow the compass' north, we can find the gate?" Jisung asked.

"That's exactly what I think," Felix responded. "I say we go back out tomorrow. We follow the compasses and then we find the gate. Then we find Hyunjin."

Jeongin felt his heart drop as he watched you all nod in a mutual agreement. The next morning, the four of you left after breakfast and started following your compasses.

Jisung and Felix walked ahead while you and Jeongin stayed behind. "How much further?" Jisung asked. The four of you had been walking for what seemed like forever.

"I don't know," Felix replied. "It tells direction, not distance. That's not how a compass works, genius."

Jisung sighed and glanced back. His eyebrows furrowed when he watched Jeongin wipe his nose on his sleeve. "Do you think he's acting weird?"

Felix looked away from his compass and lifted an eyebrow at him. "You're asking if the weirdo is acting weird?"

"I don't know," Jisung replied then glanced back again. "He's just acting weirder than usual."

Felix looked at him for a little while then looked back at his compass. Jisung stuffed his hands into his jacket pockets and hummed lightly as they walked along the train tracks.

"Y/N," Jeongin said and you looked over at him. "We should turn back."

"Turn back?" You questioned. "Why?"

"I'm tired," Jeongin mumbled and you pursed your lips for a second.

"I'm sure it's not much further. Just hold on a little longer," you said and Jeongin nodded once. You glanced at him as he looked away, brushing his hair out of his eyes.

The four of you continued down the tracks then hiked through the woods. At some point, Jisung's humming became annoying and Felix yelled at him to shut up. You came upon a junkyard and Felix stopped.

He looked around, his eyebrows furrowing. "Oh no," Felix mumbled and you gave him a look.

"What do you mean 'Oh no'?" Jisung asked.

"We're heading back home," Felix replied and Jisung's lips turned into a scowl.

"And you're just now realizing that?" Jisung questioned him accusingly and Felix narrowed his eyes at him. "Aren't you supposed to be some sort of compass genius?"

"Shut up!" He snapped. He shook his head. "It doesn't make sense. It's like something is moving it."

Realization struck Jisung and he looked back at Jeongin. "More like someone," he spat bitterly and your eyebrows furrowed. Before you could say anything, Jisung walked over and grabbed his wrist. There was fresh blood smudged onto the sleeve of his sweater. "I knew it! You've been messing with the compasses the whole time!"

"What are you talking about? That's old blood," you shook your head. "Right, Jeongin?" Jeongin just stared at you, his eyes watering a bit.

"Why did you do that? You were supposed to be helping us!" Jisung yelled and Jeongin flinched.

"Hey! Stop! You're scaring him!" You said and Jisung rolled his eyes.

"Stop being so naive, Y/N! He didn't want us to find Hyunjin!" Jisung yelled. "He's probably known where the gate is this whole time. But instead of telling us, he just made us run around like a bunch of fools."

All eyes turned to Jeongin, whose lip quivered. "It's not safe."

Jisung rolled his eyes again and looked at you. "This is bullshit! I knew he didn't know what the hell he was doing! We should've just gone to your mom in the first place."

"Guys," Felix said but Jisung kept talking. "You need to wake the hell up, Y/N! If he knows where Hyunjin is, he's just letting him die. For all we know, he's the monster."

"Guys!" Felix yelled, making you both look at him. "Where's Jeongin?" You turned to look at Jeongin but he was gone. And you couldn't find him anywhere. It was like he just disappeared.

•••

"Jeongin!" You yelled as you walked through the forest, Jisung and Felix trailing closely behind you. The three of you had been looking for nearly two hours now and you still hadn't found him.

"This is ridiculous. Where could he be?" Jisung mumbled and you refrained from smart-mouthing him. You wanted to blame him for losing Jeongin but honestly, it was all of your faults.

You kicked a pebble with your shoe and watched it skid across the ground. Felix suddenly put his arm in front of you. "Isn't that the new kid?" Felix asked and you furrowed your eyebrows. He looked ahead and nodded his head. You followed his gaze and saw Seungmin standing at the edge of the cliff, throwing rocks into the quarry.

"Hey! New kid!" Jisung yelled. Seungmin turned, his eyes widening when he saw the three of you. He lost his footing and suddenly fell back. You screamed and ran towards him, Jisung and Felix following your actions.

You looked over the edge and gasped when you saw Seungmin floating in the air. He slowly started to come up until he was gently dropped into the ground.

"Are you okay, man?" Jisung said and Seungmin nodded. He looked over, his eyes widening. You looked over and saw Jeongin. He suddenly fell to the ground and you rushed over to him.

Jeongin panted lightly as he stood in the upside down. He heard small ticking sounds and he slowly turned towards it. His breathing quickened when he saw a hunched over figure in the distance.

The ticking continued as he started walking towards it. It was moving it's head, almost like it was eating something. Jeongin could feel his heart beating against his ribcage as he approached the creature. He hesitantly reached out towards it, his hand shaking in the process.

As soon as his fingers made contact, the creature turned around and growled, screeching at him. Jeongin screamed and turned around and ran from it.

Alarms started to wail as Jeongin continued to scream, his fists banging on the side of the tank and blood dripping from his nose and ears. A large crack started forming in the wall and doctors started running away.

Papa stared in amazement as the crack got bigger, ignoring the chaos that was occurring around him. The alarms were getting louder and more frantic. But Papa didn't care. He only cared that he had made history.

"Jeongin!" You said and Jeongin weakly looked at you, tears forming in his eyes. "Jeongin, are you okay? Why are you crying?"

"I'm sorry," Jeongin choked out and your eyebrows furrowed. "The gate. It was me. I opened it. I'm the monster."

"No," you shook your head at him. "You're not the monster, Jeongin. You just saved him." You both looked over at Seungmin, who was now standing with the help of Jisung and Felix.

You looked back at Jeongin, smiling at him. "You saved him." You gently grabbed his arm and pulled him up, engulfing him in a hug. "You're not a monster, Jeongin."

Jisung and Felix glanced at each other then looked at Seungmin, who was dusting his jeans off. "Yeah, can someone tell me what the hell just happened?" Seungmin said and you looked at him.

"Our badass friend here just saved your life, man," Jisung said and Felix shot him a look before whacking his shoulder. Jisung winced, glaring at Felix, who ignored him. "Anyways, I'm Jisung. You're the new kid, yeah?"

Seungmin raised an eyebrow at him, glancing down at the hand he was reaching out. He hesitantly shook it. "Seungmin."

"This is Felix," Jisung said, motioning over to the blonde beside him. Seungmin nodded then looked over at you and Jeongin. He walked over and Jeongin looked up at him.

Seungmin reached his hand down. "Thank you...you saved my life," he said and Jeongin faintly smiled at him.  You stood up and dusted the dirt off of your jeans. Then you helped Jeongin stand.

"Okay, but seriously, what are you doing here alone? Don't you have friends yet?" Jisung joked and Felix whacked his shoulder again. Seungmin didn't say anything, making Jisung frown a bit.

"Sorry," Jisung muttered and Seungmin just shrugged it off. "Do you want to hang with us?"

Seungmin looked at him for a little while before nodding his head. "Sure, why not?"

The next day, all of the boys were at your house. Felix was upstairs rummaging your kitchen for snacks and Jeongin was messing with your walkie talkie again. You weren't sure what exactly he was doing but you decided to just let him be.

Felix came down the stairs, a bag of chips in his hands. "Where the hell is Jisung?" He asked, shoving a handful of chips into his mouth. You shrugged, glancing over at Seungmin, who was looking at all of your board games.

"He's probably running late," you said, watching as Felix plopped down on the couch next to Jeongin. Felix rolled his eyes and stuffed more chips into his mouth.

Suddenly, the radio started to cut in and out and you could hear Jisung. You rushed over and grabbed the walkie talkie from Jeongin. "Bad...coming.."

"What's he saying? Bad coming? That doesn't even make sense," Felix said and you shrugged. He sighed. "The dumbass is probably out of bounds." He grabbed the radio and pressed the talk button. "Jisung? We can't understand you! You're out of bounds."

"They're coming! They know about Jeongin!" Jisung said and you looked at the boys, your eyes widening. "The bad men are coming!"

"Dammit," you said. You pulled on your hoodie and grabbed your bag from the table. "We gotta go. Now." Felix and Jeongin stood from the couch as you started heading out of the house. The boys followed you out and you grabbed your bikes. "C'mon!"

"Oh shit," Felix muttered and you cursed under your breath when you saw the amount of white vans parked in the front of your house. You climbed onto your bike and Jeongin climbed on behind you.

"C'mon!" You said as a bunch of men got out of the vans. One was wearing a suit and staring straight at all of you. "Go! Go! Go!" You started pedaling away from your house and Felix followed your actions.

"Tell Jisung to meet us at Park," you said and Felix nodded. You pedaled as fast as you could, Jeongin keeping his arms secured around you.

"Jisung, do you copy? Meet us at Park, over," Felix practically yelled into his walkie talkie.

"Copy that. I'm on my way," Jisung said. Felix glanced behind him and cursed when he saw that the vans were gaining on them. As they approached Park, Jisung joined them.

"Do you mind telling us what the hell you've been doing all day?" You yelled and Jisung rolled his eyes. "How is it that they know?"

"How the hell would I know, Y/N? Do we have to talk about this right now?" Jisung groaned and you rolled your eyes at him. Jisung glanced back. "I think we lost them."

Felix glanced back and his eyes widened. "No, we didn't! C'mon!" They turned the corner and started pedaling faster. Out of nowhere, a van turned down at the far end of the street and speeded towards them. "Fuck!"

"Shit. Shit. Shit," Jisung panicked. Jeongin narrowed his eyes at the van, focusing all of his energy on it. He tilted his head back and the van suddenly flipped over them. You all watched in amazement then glanced at each other. and continued pedaling away.

You rode all the way to the junkyard, panting heavily as you dismounted your bikes. "Holy fuck, did you guys see the van flip?" Felix said, running his hands through his hair.

"No, Lix, we missed it," you rolled your eyes at him.

"Dude, that was awesome," Jisung said as he walked over to Jeongin, who was sitting on a crate. He crouched down to his level. "I'm sorry about the other day, Jeongin. You were just trying to protect us."

Jeongin nodded. "Friends don't lie. I'm sorry, too."

"Who the hell were those people?" Seungmin asked. You sighed and told him everything—from the night you found Jeongin to the bad men to the gate. "So what are we going to do now? We can't go home. We're fugitives."

"Well, I used my compass and tracked the gate to the Busan Lab. That's where I was this morning," Jisung said. "That's also how I knew they were after Jeongin."

"Jeez," you ran your hand through your hair. You didn't have a clue about what you were going to do. Neither of you did. A weird sound caught your attention and you looked at the sky. A helicopter was coming your way, making your eyes widen. "Hide!"

You all shoved your bikes under a bus and ran inside. You ducked as you heard the chopper go over you. "Shit," you muttered, placing a hand over your racing heart. You looked at the boys. "Stay down."

The boys nodded and you all listened carefully. You noticed the helicopter started to get quieter and you sighed in relief. It was quiet until you heard static coming from your walkie talkie, making you jump.

"Y/N? Y/N, are you there?" You heard your brother ask, making your eyebrows furrowed. "Y/N, it's an emergency. Please answer."

"Is that Changbin?" Jisung asked, his eyes widening a bit.

"Yeah," you went to press the answer button but Jisung stopped you. "What the hell, Han?"

"What if it's a trick?" He asked and you pursed your lips at him. "What if the bad men took him and they're trying to get to us?"

"You think too much," Felix remarked and Jisung glared at him.

"He makes a point though," Seungmin muttered and you all looked at him. His eyes widened and he ducked his head a bit. "I'm just saying. We don't know what these people are capable of."

"Look, kid. We know about the boy. We can help you but you've gotta pick up," a familiar voice said. You recognized the voice as Sheriff Bang's. "Are you there? Over."

"What the hell is he doing with the Sheriff?" Felix asked and you shrugged. "Should we pick up?"

"I'm not sure," you said as you stared at the walkie talkie. You stared for a little while before bringing it closer to you and pressing the talk button. "I'm here. We're all here, over."

"I'll come to you," Sheriff Bang said. "Where are you guys?"

"We're at the junkyard. They've got choppers out so we're hiding in a bus," you said.

"I'll be there in ten. Stay there and stay down."

Ten minutes passed and you saw the sheriff's truck pulling into the junkyard. The sheriff got out of the vehicle and walked closer to the bus. He climbed up the steps and onto the bus. The five of you stood up and just looked at him.

"Let's go," Bang said and you all rushed to his car. Bang drove you to Hyunjin's house and you all get out. Minho and Changbin ran out of the house and Changbin hugged you tightly.

"You had me so worried, Y/N," Changbin said and you smiled a bit.

"I'm fine, Binnie," you said. Changbin looked over at Jeongin, his eyebrows furrowing.

"Are those my clothes?" He asked and you laughed nervously.

"Let's get you guys inside," Bang said and all of you went into the house. You stopped in your tracks when you noticed that there was Christmas lights everywhere and the alphabet was hand painted onto the living room wall.

"What the hell," you mumbled.

"All right," Sheriff Bang said as he made himself comfortable on the couch. "I'm going to need you guys to tell me everything you know." So you did.

You told them everything. You told them about the night you found Jeongin and the bad men. You told them about his powers and how you made contact with Hyunjin. You told them about the upside down and the demogorgon.

"This gate, is it near a big water tank?" Sheriff Bang asked and Jeongin nodded.

"How do you know that?" Jisung asked and the sheriff just continued to look at Jeongin.

"He's seen it," you said and Sheriff Bang nodded.

"So, this upside down, can you find Hyunjin again? Is there anyway we can talk to him?" Minho asked and Jeongin nodded again.

A few minutes later, you all found yourselves surrounding Jeongin at the kitchen table. Jeongin's eyes were closed and all you could hear was the static from the walkie talkie.

Jeongin suddenly opened his eyes and you noticed the tears forming in his eyes. "I'm sorry," he whispered as he looked down. "I can't find him." Jeongin stood from the table and went to the bathroom.

He closed the door and turned the faucet on. He splashed his face with cool water then looked at his reflection. The tub caught his attention and he turned around.

"What's wrong with him?" Changbin asked.

"He's drained," you explained to them. "When Jeongin uses his powers, he gets really tired."

"Well, what do we do? How do we make him better?" Minho asked.

"We don't. We just have to wait a little bit and try again."

"The bath," Jeongin said suddenly and you all looked at him. "I can find him in the bath."

"Bath?" Minho questioned.

"The isolation tank," Sheriff Bang said and Jeongin faintly nodded his head.

"What's an isolation tank? And how the hell do we build one?" Changbin asked.

Jisung and Felix looked at each other and smirked. "Mr Lim." The two walked over to the phone and Jisung dialed your science teacher's phone number, despite it being nearly ten o'clock on a Saturday.

Jisung hung up a few minutes later and looked at Minho. "Do you still have that kiddie pool?" He asked and Minho nodded. "Okay, good, cause we're gonna need it. We also need a lot of salt."

"How much is a lot?" Sheriff Bang asked.

"Fifty pounds."

The sheriff nodded his head once. "I know where we can find it."

•••

"This will keep it dark for you, like in your bath tub," Minho said as he wrapped duct around a pair of safety goggles. " You're really brave, you know that? Hyunjin is the only family I have left. Everything that you're doing for him...thank you."

Jeongin faintly smiled at him. "I'm gonna be there the whole time, okay? You don't need to be afraid, okay?" Minho handed him the goggles. "Ready?"

Jeongin lightly nodded his head and stood up a little straighter. "Ready."

The two of them headed back to the gym, where the pool was set up. With the help of Mr Lim, you and the others had spent a good amount of time to build a do-it-yourself deprivation tank.

Jeongin took his shoes off and peeled his socks off. He then grabbed the goggles and made his way over to the pool. He carefully climbed in and sat down. He placed the goggles over his eyes and laid back, making his body float in the water.

The lights started to flicker and Jisung grabbed your arm. "What's happening?" Minho asked when the lights suddenly shut off. The walkie talkie started to static.

Jeongin opened his eyes and he took a deep breath when he saw that he was in the upside down. He looked around and saw a cute little fort.

He walked towards it. "Hwang Hut," he mumbled as he got closer. He pushed the curtain aside and saw Hyunjin laying down on the ground. Jeongin kneeled beside him. "Hyunjin."

Hyunjin's eyes opened a bit. "Minho is coming for you. Just wait a little longer, okay?"

"Hurry."

Hyunjin's eyes closed and panic rose up in Jeongin. "Hyunjin? Hyunjin!" He started to vanish, as well as the fort. Jeongin stood up, looking around frantically. "Hyunjin! Hyunjin!" He collapsed onto the floor, bringing himself into a fetal position.

Jeongin suddenly sprung up from the water, yanking his goggles off. He was breathing heavily and blood was dripping from his nose. You wrapped your arms around him from the side of the pool.

"It's okay. It's okay," you shushed him. The lights flickered back on and Sheriff Bang got to his feet.

"I'm gonna go get Hyunjin," he said as he looked at Minho. "I don't care what it takes. I'm gonna find him."

"Well, I'm going with you," Minho said and Bang looked like he wanted to protest. "No, Chan. He's the only family I've got left. I'm going."

Chan sighed. "Okay," he said. He looked at Changbin. "Take care of the kids until we get back." Changbin nodded and you all watched as they left.

"C'mon, lets get you dry," you said and helped Jeongin out of the pool. You grabbed a towel and wrapped it around him, smiling at him. He tiredly smiled back.

You all walked over to the bleachers and sat down. Jeongin leaned his head on your shoulder and you ignored the flutter that started in your heart.

You don't know how long you sat there. "What's taking them so long?" Jisung suddenly asked. He stood and walked down the bleachers. He started walking across the gym.

"I don't know. Where are you going?" Felix asked.

"To the cafeteria. That lunch hag is hiding her chocolate pudding. I know it," he replied and Felix rolled his eyes.

"Wait, hold up, I'm supposed to watch you pricks. We need to stay together," Changbin said, standing up as well.

"Then come with me," Jisung turned around. "Jeongin needs stamina anyways. C'mon. It'll be our great pudding adventure."

"That's the corniest thing you've ever said and I've heard you say a lot of shit, Han," Felix said as he stood up and walked down the bleachers. "He's right though. Jeongin does need stamina."

So that's how you all found yourselves walking to the cafeteria. You and Jeongin sat down at one of the tables while the others raided the kitchen.

"Y/N! We found the pudding!" Jisung yelled and you rolled your eyes.

"Y'all need a new hobby." Changbin walked out of the kitchen, shaking his head. He heard a car door shut from outside. "That's probably them. I'll be back."

You nodded and Changbin headed outside. He stopped in his tracks, his eyes widening when he saw a bunch of vans parked outside the school. Busan Lab was embroidered on the side in big black letters. Before they could see him, Changbin ran back inside.

"You feeling any better?" You asked Jeongin, who just shrugged.

"What's pudding?" Jeongin asked.

"Pudding? It's like a goo you eat with a spoon," you said and Jeongin nodded. "Don't worry. After all of this is over, you won't have to keep eating junk food like a dog. My mom can make you whatever you like."

"I'd like that."

You smiled at him. "I was also thinking. Once you're not a secret anymore, my mom can get you your own bed and you can stay with us. They'll take care of you and can be like your new parents. Changbin will be like your new brother."

"And you'll be my sister?" Jeongin asked.

"No," you replied quickly and Jeongin's eyebrows furrowed. "It's different."

"Why is it different?" Jeongin questioned you and you sighed.

"I don't know. It's dumb," you said.

"Y/N," Jeongin said and you looked at him. "Friends don't lie."

"I don't know," you shrugged. "I was thinking maybe we could go to the snowball together."

"Snowball?"

"It's this cheesy dance they have in the gym where you dance to music and shit. I've never been but I know you don't really go with your brother. You go with someone you kind of like."

"Like a friend?"

"Well...not a friend...someone like a..." You stared at him for a little while before leaning closer to him, pressing a soft and quick kiss onto his lips. His cheeks flushed as you pulled away, a small smile growing onto his lips.

Changbin suddenly burst through the door just as the boys walked out of the kitchen, their arms full of chocolate pudding. "They found us," he said. "We gotta go. Now."

The boys dropped the pudding onto the table and you all left the cafeteria. You ran as fast as you could through the hallways. "How did they know where we are?" Felix asked.

"I don't know but we need to split up," Changbin said and you nodded. Seungmin went with Changbin and the rest of you went around a corner.

"Shit!" Jisung yelled when a group of guards came down the far end of the hall. You turned another corner, cursing under your breath. They were surrounded. A lady pulled out her gun and pointed it at Jeongin.

Jeongin narrowed his eyes at he stared at the woman. Their flashlights started flickering and you noticed that blood was streaming from the woman and the guards' eyes. The guards suddenly fell lifelessly to the floor, as well as Jeongin.

"Jeongin!" You yelled, kneeling next to him. You shook him lightly. "Something's wrong with him! He won't wake up!"

"He's just drained," Felix said and you shook your head. "We gotta go, Y/N!"

"Leave him!"

You jumped, looking up to see a man in a suit. You recognized the man as the one who was in front of your house.

"Step away from the child."

"No! Stay away from him!" You screamed at him. Guards suddenly grabbed you and the boys. You all fought against them, trying to get away but nothing helped.

The man stepped closer to Jeongin, gently grabbing his face and shaking him. "Jeongin. Jeongin, can you hear me?"

Jeongin's eyes slowly opened. "Papa...?"

The man smiled a bit. "Yes, it's your Papa."

"Get off of me!" Jisung yelled as he tried to get away from the guard. "Let go of him, you bastard!"

Jeongin looked over at you and the boys, frowning. Then he looked back at Papa, whining softly. "You're sick, Jeongin. I'm going to take you home so I can make you well again. All of this will go away, so no one else gets hurt."

"Bad," he mumbled and Papa's smile dropped. "Bad." He looked over at you. "Y/N. Y/N!" The lights started to flicker erratically.

"Blood..." Felix mumbled and you looked at him confused. The wall started to move, almost like something was on the other side, trying to get out. You heard growling, making your eyes widen in horror. "Shit! It's the demogorgon!"

The creature roared loudly as it burst through the wall. The guards let you go and started shooting at it. Papa let go of Jeongin, staring in both amazement and horror at the demogorgon.

Jisung rushed over to Jeongin and picked him. "Let's go!" You and Felix followed them down the hall and into one of the classrooms. You shut the door while Jisung laid Jeongin on one of the tables in the back.

"Shit! Shit! What are we going to do?" Felix panicked and you ran your hands through your hair out of frustration. You suddenly thought of Changbin and Seungmin, who were somewhere in the school.

"Damn, what about Changbin and Seungmin?" you said and Felix just looked at you. Outside of the classroom, you heard various gunshots and the screeches from the demogorgon.

The sounds suddenly stopped and you looked at Felix and Jisung, who looked just as scared as you. "Do you think it's dead?" You asked and before they could answer, the door was thrown off of its henges and the demogorgon came into the classroom.

The three of you backed up as the creature started stalking towards you. "Holy shit," Felix said. "What do we do? What do we do!"

The demogorgon roared at you as it stepped closer to you, making you wince in fear. The creature abruptly flung backwards and into the chalkboard. Jeongin walked towards it and you stepped forward. "Jeongin, no!"

You flew back, landing on the floor, wincing as your back hit the cabinets. Felix and Jisung glanced back at you in shock then looked back at Jeongin, who was standing in front of the demogorgon now.

"No more," Jeongin said. Then he reached his hand out. The demogorgon screeched at him, reaching its own hand out. Jeongin turned back to look at you. "Goodbye Y/N."

Jeongin looked back at the creature and narrowed his eyes at it. The demogorgon screeched loudly, making you cover your ears. Jeongin screamed as he used all of the energy he could muster. The lights started to flicker again and the screeches got louder.

Particles started to come off of the creature, almost like ashes from a fire. All of a sudden, the demogorgon disintegrated into a million particles.  You stared in shock, tears streaming down your face.

The particles started to vanish and you gasped when you didn't see Jeongin. "Jeongin!" You yelled as you stood up. You ran towards the board, more tears streaming down your face. "Jeongin, where are you? Jeongin!"

You couldn't stop the tears that streamed down your cheeks. You collapsed onto the floor, a sob escaping you. Jisung and Felix came over and wrapped their arms around you.

You just couldn't believe it. He was gone.

—— ♡ ——
part two is in the works. but it will take some time as i have a job and other responsibilities.

please refrain from commenting things like "i need part 2". be patient as i take great pride in my writing and never rush the process.
thank you.