⌜tags」 : nct, taeyong, hypnotized, jeno, strange, orphans

↳ i literally
just had this
dream a couple
nights ago and
it was kinda
weird. anyway,
here you go

07.15.19

✧

   I dragged my dark green suitcase behind me, listening to the wheels hit the cracks between each tile on the airport floor. I trailed behind a bunch of other orphans as they followed signs that pointed to our plane's gate. Jeno noticed my distance from the group and slowed his pace to match mine.

   "Are you okay?" he asked me.

   I looked up to meet his gaze. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just nervous about going to this new orphanage in England."

   "At least we'll all still be together." He smiled, turning his eyes into crescents.

   My friend further along in the group, Gina, pointed to stairs that led to the airport basement. "Down there is another orphanage," she informed us. "I heard it's a really nice place."

   "Why can't we just go there?" I wondered out loud.

   "The one we came from has a sister orphanage in England," Jeno answered for me. "And the house we were in was bought out."

Everyone found a spot to settling down in a wait for the plane to arrive. Low groans of impatience werd heard by the other orphans when it was announced that our plane was canceled and had to be rescheduled for a flight that next morning.

Rain pelted the windows as the sky darkened outside. I glanced to Jeno who was seated next to me as he scrolled through his phone. I put in a pair of earbuds to listen to music and pass time by. Though, something caught my eye before I could lean back and take a nap. Taeyong was wondering around the other side of the area. He looked around the room before quickly traveling up a set of stairs. I was about to nudge Jeno and get his attention, but I saw that he had fallen asleep. Not wanting to disturb his rest, I stood up and started making my way to where Taeyong had disappeared.

Cautiously making my way up the stairs, I saw Taeyong group up a few small Pokémon creatures into a gate while some airport employees helped him. I was confused, but didn't want to get involved. I returned to my seat next to Jeno.

My eyes soon fluttered as I fell into a light sleep.

I wasn't sure how much time had passed, but my eyes reopened to see that the sky was still dark and Jeno was still asleep in the seat next to me. His phone was resting in his hands as if he was in the middle of looking at something before closing his eyes.

There was movement coming from the corner of my eye. I turned my head to focus in that direction as a group of girls creeped up the stairs following Taeyong. My confusion seemed to grow even more. They soon returned after Taeyong and went to a library section of the airport. I watched as Taeyong sat down in a rocking chair and the girls started to circle the bookcases. As other people entered the library section, the girls would trip them, but help them back up. Each time they did this, Taeyong would earn money for it.

I furrowed my eyebrows as I focused on the strange situation. Wanting to figure out what was going on, I quickly went around Taeyong and the girls before sneaking up the stairs. My eyes widened at the sight. The small Pokémon creatures from before had screens on their head, flashing random images to hypnotize people that came closer. I watched as airport employees and girls walked to the gate and were sucked into focusing on the images.

My heart pounded in my chest as I ran down the stairs. My eyes flashed back over to the library section as Gina entered. By the looks of it, it seemed like she was not one of the ones hypnotized by Taeyong's mysterious plan. I carefully joined in the girls circling the shelves, blending into the group. I made my way over to where Gina was, pulling her down behind the shelf.

"What's going on?" she asked me.

"Listen, this sounds crazy," I whispered so the others couldn't hear us, "but Taeyong has this weird and mysterious plan that involves hypnotizing people."

Gina tilted her head to the side while narrowing her eyes at me. "Taeyong? Hypnotizing?"

I sighed, worried she wouldn't believe me. "Let me show you. I'm going to act like I captured you. Play along."

Gina nodded. As we stood up, I held her arm behind her back while directing her up the stairs. Once we were at the top, I dropped her arm as she froze in place. Watching others draw closer and become transfixed on the images was a clear sign people were being hypnotized.

"We have to get out of here," Gina told me. I immediately agreed.

   Thinking quickly, we ran to the window, sliding up the panel and sticking our legs out. The building was curved out in a way we could slide down. It was no longer raining, but the siding was slick with water. All we had to do was avoid the windows so Taeyong wouldn't catch us.

   Once our feet hit the ground, we took of sprinting to the front of the building. A couple of our friends were standing just inside so we grabbed their arms and pulled them to join us.

   "Remember the orphanage in the basement?" Gina brought up. "We need to get there."

   "Wait," I stopped in my tracks. "I have to go back and get Jeno."

   Gina looked at me with worry in her eyes as she tried to catch her breath. "We have to get away. For all we know, Jeno could be turned." Without a second of hesitation, Gina pulled me to the basement.

   A women sat at a desk with purple lipstick and a purple dress. Her glasses were perched on the end of her nose as she concentrated on a computer. Our group of terrified girls came crashing into her desk, begging to be taken into their orphanage.

   The lady, not understanding our urgency, only chuckled. "Just give me a second girls and you'll be signed in. Can I have your names?"

───────

   A week had gone by since I joined the new orphanage. I couldn't help but wonder what happened with Taeyong and the others. We were relocated to a cabin in the middle of no where after the airport lost all electricity and we couldn't be held there any longer. I spent a lot of nights sitting outside and watching the stars, like this one particular night.

   Just then, something rustled in the bushes. My head snapped in the direction of the noise to see Jeno walking up to the bench I was sitting on. I jumped up and ran to him, wrapping my arms around his neck in a hug.

I could hear Jeno sniff, as if he were in tears. "I'm so glad you're okay," he managed to say in a whisper.

I hugged him tighter. "Same to you."

I felt relief in his hold; it was like I could finally relax and find peace after the strange events that went down in the airport. I didn't want to ever let go.

But Jeno eventually did. Briefly, we smiled at each other, but the expression didn't last for long. Jeno grabbed my shoulder and spun me around. His arm hooked around my neck as he clamped a thick piece of cloth over my mouth and nose. The smell of chemicals ran to my brain.

He tricked me, I realized. Taeyong got him too.

But my realization was too late. I struggled to free myself from Jeno's hypnotized hold, but my body grew weaker as the chemicals continue to enter. My eyes fluttered before the world shut down.