Chapter 18: the outsider

The cement walls crawled with shadows.

Their looming silhouettes curled into shapes that looked monstrous in nature, whether cast by small groups of patrolling sentries or peculiar machines that took up space in the hallway where there was no more storage available.

The ceiling flowing through the maze of hallways was inset with colourful strips of light. Only one familiar with their purpose would be able to find their way to their destination without getting hopelessly lost.

The Nest was almost abandoned at this time of 'night', save for the sporadic guards marching down well-travelled corridors and the whispering pair that stole through the dark on a mission of their own. Their destination was not fixed, but they knew for whom they were searching. They ducked between each hall, and tucked behind each corner, in pockets of silence for fear of discovery and punishment.

"It should be ahead," Yeosang mumbled, pinching his eyes together in a vain effort to peer through the layers of darkness. His eyes had traced every sign on their way, taking note of each block number not only to guide them forward but also to guide them back the way they came later.

An arm curling around his elbow usually would have made him flinch, but his body seemed already familiar with his companion's presence and tendencies. Yeosang was aware of the other's silent worries, and the best he could do in their restricted mission was lend the younger an arm to anchor himself.

Mingi tried not to stray far from him, but more often than not, sharp sounds of scientists fooling around in passing rooms and the steady footfalls of sentries made him scurry into hiding from instinctual panic. No matter if it meant leaving Yeosang alone in the open.

The younger, who in reality Yeosang had discovered wasn't that much younger than himself, was truly anxious about getting caught. Most likely because after he had been here for over a month, he knew what punishments could await them. Yeosang did not, and he had foregone learning about them in case they were truly bad enough for him to lose his nerve and not even attempt what they were attempting now.

In his moment of distraction, Mingi yanked him behind a corner at the sound of muffled voices. Their connected elbows twisted in an unnatural way when they backed further into the shadow of a strange-looking mechanism that was taped up as in storage.

Yeosang wasn't sure if Mingi had entirely meant to tug Yeosang back with him. Knowing the other may have just panicked once more, Yeosang could have just been dragged along unnecessarily.

From their sheltered position, they both felt safe enough to pause. Those few spare moments allowed their hearts that raced with anxiety to curb their distracted stuttering. The pause also allowed Yeosang and Mingi themselves to listen to the muttered voices, making it easier to pick out strings of words and puzzle them out into proper sentences.

The pair huddled in the shadows exchanged triumphant glances, knowing they had finally found exactly who they were looking for. All of the sounds they were able to overhear came from the slightly cracked door just around the corner they were hiding behind. The voices just beyond carried over to them, every tone echoing from that room was painted with slimy arrogance.

Heavy pitfalls of pacing footsteps accompanied the voices around the corner, seeming pensive in nature. Beyond the arrogant intonation, the hushed and mildly frustrated voices sent spirals of unexplainable uneasiness curling through Yeosang's gut.

Though this was not where his growing uneasiness had begun. That had sprouted earlier in the day when Yeosang had first caught sight of one of the voices' owners.

Earlier on in whatever day it must be today, both Yeosang and Mingi had been smothered with whispers in the common room almost immediately after they emerged from the nightly lockdown. Mumbled whispers blended together in hushed conversations spread throughout the many huddled groups like an infectious disease.

The befuddled pair of newly found friends had no idea what the source of their whispers could be. When they tried to find Eunjung through the crowds to ask her, they found her nowhere in sight which seemed even more peculiar.

The guards themselves remained unbothered despite the unusual behaviour of the gathered subjects. They remained positioned stock still like marble statues carved from stationary pillars with frozen, expressionless forms. Their faceless ivory masks made them seem even less human.

An announcement in the early morning, or what Yeosang assumed was morning, set the rest of them off even more. The whispers ceased the moment the crackle of static erupted from the nearby loudspeakers set into the surrounding walls.

Some higher-level scientist mumbled a test into the microphone out of sight, before clearing his throat and continuing to broadcast his voice over the loudspeaker.

His voice cut into their quiet morning routine so violently that Yeosang nearly jumped. The levels of contempt that even the lower levelled scientists treated their unwilling subjects with barely held a candle to the man who addressed them all now. It caused such an unnatural response in both Mingi and Yeosang, surprisingly, that Yeosang had to ground himself by clutching to Mingi's arm with an iron grip.

Yeosang had barely caught Mingi's mumbled comments over the loud announcement that demanded all attention. Yeosang barely caught the younger's voice as he commented under his breath that announcements such as this were rare, but not unheard of in the time he'd spent here. From what Mingi had heard from the passing comments of the far more experienced subjects, such announcements usually held a strong likely connection with extra testing to be done for the day.

Regular testing was usually at least twice a week for each person, so Yeosang wasn't sure why these particular days needed to be spent taking more. He didn't even know what some of these peculiar tests were even for so he had no explanation or even guess as to what could prompt them to have to do more.

Mingi was unable to grant him any more answers, as the extent of his knowledge wasn't that far compared to others who had been in the Nest far longer.

Thankfully, as if a silent answer to his prayers for clarity, the obnoxious voices from another table were audible over the ongoing prattle of some scientist over the loudspeaker. The voices were complaining audibly and almost intentionally, as Yeosang knew that the nearby guards would no doubt be able to hear them as well. Most likely it was an act of rebellion to show that in some ways the scientists would never be able to break their spirits and make all of them constantly conform. It gave him some hope for others, but hope alone wouldn't save them.

"Who is visiting this time?" One voice echoed with a note of visible disdain in their tone.

Another replied, "I hate it when those idiots visit from the outside world, always thinking they are so high and mighty just because they sponsor the Creators and will never have a hatching of their own. All of them, despicable."

"It's like they visit now and again just to flaunt their money and power, always coming to check the progress of the tests like we're all specimens growing in stupid little Petri dishes." That particular voice was followed by the unmistakable sound of someone spitting in yet another display of their hatred and disapproval.

Yeosang tried not to glance in their direction, though he agreed with what a few of them were saying. He wasn't quite as brave as they were, considering that the guards carried moderately sized rods with other weapons that held similarities to firearms and the subjects in no way had any advantage of winning.

Speaking of which, out of the corner of his eye he thought he saw one of the guards, with its faceless expression unchanging, place a delicate hand on its belt where several of the unpleasant weapons hung and take a single step forward. The guard seemed to have been in the direct line of the voices' owners' eyesight, and the simple movement was enough for the disgruntled complaints to cut off like the abrupt scratch of a record. It looked like the bravery Yeosang had previously admired had been short-lived and only a hollow shell of what it was supposed to be.

Even though their attempt to publicly display their disagreement had faltered, Yeosang had already gathered the worthy information he needed from their knowledge.

Apparently, the break in routine for the day could all be pinned on some visitor from the outside world that had come to 'check their progress.' Someone who was important enough to the Creators to be called a sponsor, and to have access to the same highly secure, highly secretive place where they were currently hiding masses of kidnapped people and the secret to one of the most unbelievable mysteries the world had never seen.

This appeared to be what was happening now. If other subjects could deduce that announcements were connected to the appearance of new people and sponsors then Yeosang would have to trust them.

An important stranger, wealthy enough to aid in the Creators' cause, was popping in for a "check-up" as if it was as simple as walking into a candy store and glancing over all the newly prepared chocolates to see if any were to your liking.

It felt suspicious somehow, but that may just be Yeosang's inner radar for danger spinning erratically in both fear and confusion.

Why today of all days? Yeosang and the others had no access to a calendar or any other way to tell time so he couldn't pin down any importance to whatever today could be. A pitiful voice in the back of his mind chanted Jongho's name as if to peg the visit on whatever the other was doing on the outside. Yeosang clutched onto that feeling of hope almost as tightly as he was gripping Mingi's sleeve.

As the loudspeaker continued to drone on without pause, clearly audible once more now that the disdaining voices had been silenced. Mingi pried Yeosang's grip from his sleeve and instead transferred it carefully to his own opposite hand. Their hands folded together simply as if they just knew where their fingers were meant to fall, and Mingi tucked their joined hands into his pocket. Both to keep their silent form of comfort hidden from the judgemental stares of fellow 'inmates' that could disapprove of their closeness and to keep their joined hands together with some shred of warmth.

The action was purely platonic in nature, but there were some people who would just never be convinced no matter what was explained to them. So instead, they both internally agreed to avoid such confrontation.

The arrogant-sounding scientist over the loudspeaker spoke about exactly what both Mingi and the other subjects had mentioned. There was some higher-up sponsor coming in to check in with their progress, and they were all being scheduled for additional tests after the guard rotation that would happen within the next hour. Though his parting words made not only Yeosang and Mingi confused, but also the entirety of the red common room who glanced among each other worriedly.

The announcement had ended with a small sentiment of sorts. The scientist paused for dramatic suspense before speaking lowly into his microphone, "Like a mother bird teaches her hatchlings to fly, so will we teach you our ways. Outsiders seek to steal our hatchlings away, so we will extend our talons to war."

It sent ominous chills down Yeosang's spine, and he subconsciously curled his hand deeper into Mingi's own. That meek voice that said it was Jongho was now a booming echo of certainty that made Yeosang beam into his collar. He was extremely proud of his best friend and the progress the other had no doubt made. Clearly, Jongho was doing something right if the Creators had become unnerved enough to feel that security was threatened and that they needed to console their 'hatchlings'.

Mingi scooted over from the edge of the bench, drawing closer into Yeosang's side as movement began to take place across the red common room. Guards began to break away from their stationed positions in such synchronization that there was no doubt that they weren't entirely human or even human at all. Teams of three guards began approaching tables one by one to round up groups and separate them, each then breaking away to lead subjects down their designated hallways.

It seemed like the guard rotation had been moved up. Perhaps because the visitor was strict on time or something similar.

No one approached either Mingi or Yeosang at first. They just continued to sit in silence, unmoving. They acted as if any movement would draw attention to them, and chose to remain like a stone in their places. Both were already dreading the moment they would be forced to separate.

Yeosang had already spotted a pair of guards leading Eunjung, the kind woman he'd met on his first day, into one of the dark corridors with two other unfamiliar subjects walking on either side of her.

With a spare glance over her shoulder, she caught Yeosang's worried gaze and sent him a comforting smile. The hidden message was silently begging him to go willingly and not get himself in any trouble. He found it sweet that she worried for him even though they were barely familiar with each other, but still he returned a small nod of understanding to ease her conscience.

His gaze was drawn away from her parting form when Mingi's hand fell away from his own and the younger began to get to his feet.

A crew of four blank-faced guards was waiting in front of the tightly knit pair, two of them already stepping away as if just expecting Mingi to follow. A stab of fear punctured Yeosang's chest. He hated that they could sneak up on them so easily when they were unaware, and he hated that they wanted to take Mingi away from him.

To not cause any sort of scene, Mingi did eventually trail after them but not until he shared a reassuring look with Yeosang. Not only to reassure the older but also to reassure his own fearfully pounding heart.

The other pair of guards waited patiently in place, but Yeosang wasn't a fool to ignore the casual hand that rested on their long rods. He found his own footing and followed after his armed guides, most of his fight and anger towards the guards dwindled without Mingi next to him so he didn't dare try anything out of the ordinary. Without support at his side, his limbs felt like jelly and his mind was muffled.

That didn't mean that his gaze didn't follow Mingi as the other was being led to one of the far exits on the opposite end of the common room though. He was so distracted with making sure Mingi was alright that he nearly crashed directly into the back of one of the guards in front of him.

They seemed to notice his distraction though obviously, they had no way to display their annoyance at it. The guards fell back a few steps until they were on either side of Yeosang, their presence already urging him to get moving before they even had a chance to prod him with their loaded guns. Yeosang began to walk between them, only able to throw one more glance over his shoulder but Mingi had already vanished.

Being one of the last few to be led away, Yeosang could pick apart unfamiliar faces easily as they all paraded past him with hurried steps each accompanied by pairs or trios of guards. He knew none of them by name, but still found companionship among them. It seemed others felt the same as Yeosang received a few barely noticeable nods of acknowledgement from some who passed him.

Because he was leaving after a majority of the crowds, Yeosang was able to catch the sliver of movement out of the corner of his eye from above where any subjects would be able to access. It made him tilt his head up to one of the balconies that stuck out from above the main floor of the common room. Only the scientists had access to those balconies, which they had called 'viewing decks' from what Yeosang had overheard in his tests, but even then they rarely ventured onto them.

Maybe that was why he was able to catch the foreign movement so easily. His gaze was quick to catch onto two rigid figures that scanned over the scene below with vague interest. It was almost as if they were looking for someone in particular.

Yeosang's eyes narrowed both loathing and repulsion when his blurry vision recognized the head scientist as one of them. He was a ghoulish man with unnaturally pale skin and hair that appeared brushed with soot. A pair of thin, red-rimmed glasses framed his equally dark eyes, giving them a glint of a bloodshot appearance.

As the main man in charge of monitoring their tests and commanding the other lower-level scientists, he was a cold villainous type of person. He treated each of the subjects he was able to monitor directly with vivid interest as if they were less of a human person and more an intriguing puzzle or science experiment.

Yeosang had been lucky that he'd only been in close quarters with the man once. Even so, the experience was hard to forget. The man had only been standing in the doorway during one of Yeosang's earlier tests when he had just arrived, but it felt like his entire presence was surrounding him with a choking fog. There was just something so unsettling in the man's aura that made every hair on Yeosang's body stand on end.

The other man beside the head scientist was entirely unfamiliar. He had a strange gleam in his eyes but Yeosang couldn't be certain because of the distance between them. That gleaming gaze of contempt and intrigue swept over other subjects as they were escorted from the common room below, and Yeosang quickly ducked his head when their gaze turned in his direction. Their burning gazes seemed to pass over the twin guards on either side of him and climb up his back, sending tingles of discomfort up his spine.

The stranger was sharply dressed from what Yeosang had seen. He wore a grey vest, with a smoothed suit jacket and slacks to match. That fiery gaze of intrigue had passed fluidly over others without pause, as if curious but not curious enough about any particular person to linger on them for long. At least that was the repeated pattern until the man spotted Yeosang.

Yeosang was only able to see from a sliver in the corner of his gaze because he was too afraid to turn and face their eyes head-on. However, he still managed to catch when the sharply dressed man leaned away from his reclined position against the railing and instead straightened up with his arms crossing over his chest. A few words were said to the scientist next to him, but his gaze didn't leave Yeosang's back once as his small entourage continued towards the approaching doorway into the maze of hallways.

It felt like his back was about to go up in flames with how intensely he felt the man's gaze there. It remained even when Yeosang and his guards approached the dim hallways that were looking more and more welcoming as some sort of shield from the stranger's stare. Yeosang subconsciously picked up the pace of the steps, and while the guards hadn't been expecting it, it only took them a half-second to readjust to the quicker pace.

The yawning mouth of the hall was an inviting and promising seclusion that Yeosang could hide within. He had never felt this particular kind of fear before, but he promised himself that he would never feel it ever again.

It felt like the well-dressed man had recognized him somehow, but it didn't seem possible when Yeosang was certain that the two of them had never been introduced.

The cold, secluded darkness of a room that Yeosang had been calling 'home' for the past weeks or however long seemed to be calling out to him. The seclusion it promised was just another form of safety at this point, and Yeosang was willing to go anywhere to get away from this stranger and the danger bells that rang like doom trumpets in his head.

If the guards were confused or even curious as to why Yeosang breathed a hefty breath of relief once they were marching through the stone corridors they didn't show it. He had never been so relieved to be away from the common room, and he almost expected them to show some signs of surprise at his bizarre behaviour. However, they remained masks of pure stone, and Yeosang supposed it was better that way.

His room was only mere footsteps away, but he wasn't able to hide away in it because of the sudden appearance of a scientist that came to collect him for his additional testing. It made Yeosang want to curse at the top of his lungs, but with no way to protest between the armed guards, he was forced to abandon any thought of retreating to his perfectly safe room.

Yeosang's heart felt heavy with dread and he couldn't stop himself from glancing around nervously while scientists flitted around him performing different tests. It was like he expected the stranger to pop out of nowhere, or at the very least someone else coming to bring him to them.

That was how Yeosang spent most of his day: flitting between strange tests and different check-ups that took up hours of his time.

He hadn't heard from Mingi at all yet and hadn't seen him since the short time they had together in the morning. Yeosang knew better than to ask anyone about him though.

When he was finally released from the constant testing and dropped off at his room with its neutral grey walls and scarce furniture, Yeosang relaxed.

He was given a bed, a dresser filled with replacements of his same red outfit that was accented with red leather, and a scratched-up desk in his tiny box of a room. Yeosang found the desk pretty pointless as there was nothing for him to do with it. There was no paper or pens tucked away in its drawers, so it remained as a scuffed waste of space that sat in the corner collecting dust.

The lights were already out in the hallways and he'd only been back in his room for around twenty minutes or so. Yeosang's only light source within his own room was the small square, orange light set into the floor just to the left of the single door to the hall. It acted as an emergency light so he wouldn't accidentally bump into any of the sparse furniture placed within because there was no way he would get any windows to do the job.

He was already used to the nights spent in silence where he was left to brood over his thoughts in the comfort of himself. He couldn't seem to fall asleep in the singular bed most nights, which was why he spent a lot of his time in there thinking. Surrendering to sleep made him feel terrifyingly vulnerable, and he wasn't fond of the feeling.

So he sat on the cold floor with his legs tucked neatly underneath him, ready to distract his thoughts and spend yet another night awake.

But even then, his eyes drooped on their own. His mind was too misty from the desire to sleep that staying awake was a war of its own. And just this once, Yeosang found himself listening.

Maybe he had weakened himself over time, but his body's desire for the embrace of sleep was impossible to ignore. It was uncomfortable where he was currently resting against the freezing stone walls, and he knew somewhere in his rational mind that he would surely feel cramped the next time he awoke. But his sleep-deprived consciousness made his decision for him.

His mind only had to dip a toe into the darkness before his mind was dunked into it. His eyelids fell in one smooth movement as if the singular, taut string that held them open had been severed.

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The tiniest shuffling of nervous feet alerted his senses when he became aware of things around him once more, and Yeosang shot away from the wall in a fight or flight response. His half-asleep limbs felt numb and the aches that came from sleeping against the solid stone screamed in protest of his frantic moving.

The door across from him had been cracked open just slightly, and all at once, the sight made Yeosang breathe a breath of relief and recognition. He knew only one person that it could be.

"You need to stop sneaking around after hours, what's gonna happen if you get caught?" Yeosang whispered scoldingly, though secretly he felt relieved to have a familiar visitor. He forced himself to untuck his legs and tugged his nearly forgotten blanket further around his shoulders to help ward off the creeping chill. He wasn't sure when he had grabbed it, but it was most likely done subconsciously when he was still in dreamland.

Mingi peeked his head through the doorway with a sheepish smile, "I haven't been caught yet."

Yeosang stumbled to his feet, having to balance his numb limbs against the wall to straighten up to even have a chance of walking without falling flat on his face. Not willing to drag the extra weight of the blanket, he regretfully dropped its warmth back onto the edge of the unused bed and met Mingi out in the hallway.

They both aided in clicking the door shut silently behind Yeosang's exiting form, leaving the smallest sliver to keep it open but not seem like it had been opened if some higher up happened to pass by while they were away from it.

"What's the matter? Even if I'm glad to see you, I keep telling you to only risk seeing me at night if you really need me." Yeosang raised a scrutinizing brow as Mingi pulled him into the shelter of a dark alcove that provided enough of a cover in the darkness that even if someone were to pass by, they would remain unseen.

Mingi didn't answer him immediately, preferring to peek carefully around the next turn to make sure no one was approaching silently. Though he still turned to face Yeosang when the older changed tactics and began tugging on Mingi's sleeve impatiently.

"Did you see the visitor?"

Yeosang shuddered visibly in response, which was all Mingi needed to understand Yeosang's opinion of the man.

"During a few of my tests, he dropped by with the Head. The guy didn't say anything but I could tell he knew who I was for some reason." Mingi spoke with a hushed lilt as if the man they were conversing about could appear around any corner next to them. "And if I'm being entirely honest," Mingi's voice dropped, "He was kind of familiar to me too. I'm not sure where I've seen him before but I know him somehow."

Yeosang curled his index finger around one of Mingi's pinkys in a small gesture of comfort. A pitiful attempt at easing some of Mingi's confusion, but still a comfort nonetheless.

Mingi had then whispered an elaborate recounting of how he had heard the head scientist, or as Mingi liked to refer to him 'the Head', and the strange visitor pass by his room whilst talking amiably. Some of their words had caught Mingi's attention, and the younger claimed that something told him that they were definitely planning something. Thankfully the younger knew better than to chase after hunches alone, and as soon as the voices had faded from outside his room, Mingi sought out Yeosang for backup.

All of that led them to their current predicament.

Huddled in the shadow of expensive, advanced equipment tucked around the corner from an occupied room that housed two of the most intimidating men Yeosang had ever come across. All that Mingi and Yeosang could do was wait almost silently with bated breath, as the visitor and the head scientist continued to exchange highly classified words.

The head scientist's voice was edged with a foreign accent, one that made his vowels sound elongated and irregular to Yeosang's ears. Not only that, but his natural way of speaking made him sound increasingly arrogant. He always formed sentences and spoke as if he was always going to be the superior one. His voice would sometimes incline at the end of sentences with a snobbish tone, and he looked down on the minions who worked for him as if they were all lesser.

However, for the first time to this strange overdressed man, he made sure to think through his words and he controlled his tone to the point that he sounded almost completely different. For the first time, he addressed someone else as if they were an equal.

That realization itself was enough for Yeosang to finalize his opinion of this stranger.

The man in the grey suit was directly connected to the higher-ups, maybe he even was one, and he was woven deep into the web of malice and dark intentions that moulded the Creators.

Having him here was like inviting a sly fox into a den of flightless chickens. In a matter of survival, this man brought nothing good to their table.

Mingi put a hand over his own mouth when Yeosang accidentally stepped on his toes, successfully preventing his small gasp from being heard even by chance. Yeosang glanced at him apologetically, scooting a little further away to prevent it from happening once more. Mingi had to grip his wrist in alarm when the voices grew louder and more clear as if the conversers had drawn closer to the doorway.

"This truly is troubling news, though not unexpected," That was the head scientist's voice, "Mark has always been our wild card. We knew the risks when we brought him under our wing, and we also knew that our insurance would never keep him in line for long. He's a slippery one. However, giving away confidential information to those we've declared enemies is risky even for him. Thankfully he has enough sense to not reveal who in their webs is a spy. If he was so willing to throw our plans away that easily, no connection of his would be able to save him and that kid from the Creators' wrath."

The stranger huffed an almost dark laugh, his voice like the rest of him was deep and resounded like an echo through to those listening, "I almost feel bad. They're sticking their noses into something they don't fully understand. They're so busy running around in circles trying to be the heroes that they don't even realize how vastly their pitiful resistance is outnumbered. I doubt even with Mark's help they'll even come close to stopping the generations of work the Creators have put into their grand plan."

The head scientists spoke up once more with obvious contempt, "They're practically helpless children compared to our leaders, I don't think we have much to fear from them. They stand no chance against the Creators. We will bring about the new age."

Yeosang and Mingi huddled closer together hearing their shared, dark laughter. The temperature around them seemed to have dropped, even though such a thing was impossible. And even though they didn't fully understand whatever the intimidating pair was prattling on about, the hidden meanings behind their words sent shivers down both of their spines.

They listened in once more with vivid interest when the conversation took a different turn.

"On a separate note, how is that deal going for you?" The scientist's voice was slightly muffled as if he'd ventured farther away from the door again.

The stranger huffed in what Yeosang guessed was exasperation, "I may have to try more extreme measures. He's adamant about refusing every time but with the help of the Nightingale I'm sure I'll be able to get the message across that I am most definitely serious."

"What do you plan to do when he accepts?" Came the immediate reply.

Yeosang had a bad feeling about the use of 'when' instead of 'if'.

The intimidating businessman chuckled to himself as if it was some sick joke that only he was privy to, "I'll steal his most prized possession out from under him, with maybe a few marks to remember me by. Who knows, if he becomes desperate enough maybe I could turn him against those he cares for, further breaking their trust. I already know that he is keeping our conversations a secret from the rest of them, but I wonder how long it will be before everything comes crashing down around him."

Mingi tapped Yeosang's shoulder frantically and together they slunk away like a pair of Siamese cats into a few of the long shadows that stretched between the crossroads of some hallways. Yeosang was grateful that Mingi had made the executive decision to abandon their search for information, even if the information they did get their hands on made no sense.

Both of them were becoming increasingly tenser the longer they listened in on the high-ranking, scheming pair on the other side of the wall. Staying any longer would have cost Yeosang some of his sanity, and in a place where every second of that counted, he couldn't afford to lose his composure.

Though that in itself was far more difficult to keep intact.

The echoes of their laughter followed Yeosang even after Mingi left him alone once more in his assigned room encased in both cold and darkness. Dread was so deeply inset into his gut that he felt queasy and the phantom echo of their words plagued him, making it even more difficult for him to allow himself to sleep. 

He didn't think he even managed to blink that night, stuck in a loop of dread, sickness, and silent anxiety.

Everything felt like one long drawn-out nightmare.

And no matter how hard he tried, he could never find a way to escape it.

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its a longer one, oops

♡ thanks for reading ♡