Felix sighed as he walked through the park in a hurry. He'd just finished his dance class for the day, but he'd been held back by his teacher for a few extra hours of polishing – which Felix had requested a few days prior; he'd simply forgotten it was tonight and now, he was late.

Just as he finally walked past the gates of the park, however, a strangely melodic noise caught his attention. He paused, looking around curiously, and eventually found a set of delicate crystal chimes dangling in front of a door a little further down the street, right on the corner. As he approached, he noticed the sign hanging above the door. It was a little hard to read, the paint could definitely use some freshening, but he eventually managed to understand that this was an antique shop.

Curious. He'd walked this street many times before, but it was the first time he ever saw this shop. Was it new?

Something was urging Felix to go in – a calling he couldn't resist.

Well, I'm already late, so at that point...

Despite the late hour, the shop was seemingly still open. He cautiously found his way inside, and he was instantly greeted by the thick scent of humidity, dust, and incense. It was overwhelming in both its intensity and its familiarity, though the latter was a little surprising – Felix couldn't recall ever stepping foot in such a place before.

Still, his curiosity was piqued, and he started roaming the crowded aisles to check out the goods offered. There were all sorts of interesting thing, from some creepy puppets to beautiful paintings to rusting candelabra, and Felix couldn't help but feel... soothed, somehow.

And yet, in the back of his head, there was still an itch he couldn't quite scratch.

Movement a little further in the back caught his attention. Surprised at first, he then realized it was an old woman with wrinkly papyrus skin and yellowing teeth, her sparse strands of white hair pulled up into a messy bun. She was moving slowly, dusting some of the shelves that were filled with so many books Felix kind of feared they'd collapse on her head.

"He- hello!" he greeted, a tad hesitantly.

The woman tensed, before her shoulders went lax. Slowly, she turned around to glance at him, and Felix offered her a hesitant smile.

"It's a lovely shop. Is it new? I've never seen it before," he said, feeling somewhat compelled to do some sort of conversation.

The owner simply offered him a weird smile. "Feel free to look around."

And then she went back to dusting the shelves. Feeling a tad weirded out – even more so because she hadn't bothered answering his question at all – Felix decided to leave her be and keep looking around a little longer. He didn't know what exactly he was looking for, but he did know he was going to find it.

After a few minutes of aimless roaming, something finally caught his attention – a tall, somewhat looming form tucked away in one of the corners, under a thick linen sheet. Figuring there was no harm in checking it out, Felix walked over to it and carefully pulled off the sheet. He inhaled sharply at the sight of the body-length mirror. It looked ancient, with some gold hues peeking through the rust accumulating on its frame. The reflective surface itself was perfectly clean, though, and Felix felt a wave of dizziness wash over him as he met the gaze of his reflection.

It was so strange, how his reflection felt so real. He knew he was looking at a mirror and yet, the clean-cut image almost felt like a tangible copy, and he suddenly felt the urge to check – just to be sure. He took a step forward and, without thinking, pressed his hand against it, leaning closer as stared into his own eyes—

"Ow!"

The distinct noise of glass cracking echoed as a sharp pain flared in Felix's palm, and he instantly pulled away. He gawked at his hand, where an angry, red line with blood beading at the seams now laid. He then looked back at the mirror – where his hand once laid now rested a crack, as if the surface had just caved in, and the protruding edge was tainted with red.

"Oh, dear."

"I- I'm sorry!" panicked Felix, shooting a wide-eyed look at the old woman who'd somehow appeared right next to him. "I didn't mean—I didn't think—I'm sorry!"

"Show me."

He couldn't do much but obey as the woman grabbed his hand and looked at his injury. With a soft sigh, she gestured for him to wait a moment, and she returned a minute later with a bandage, which she carefully wrapped over his wound.

"Make sure to clean it once you get home."

"I'll- I'll pay you back—"

"Don't. You've already paid enough."

Felix blinked a few times as he retracted his now bandaged hand from her hold, a tad confused by her reply. What could she possibly mean by that? She didn't bother with elaborating, however, and simply walked away without sparing him another glance.

It was time to leave, now.

Still feeling bad for breaking the mirror, Felix stopped by the door, glancing at the woman who was now dusting a pile of porcelain plates in the aisle in front of him. She was obviously doing her best to ignore him.

"I'm sorry," he simply repeated, hoping she'd at least understand he meant it.

At that, she looked back at him – her expression was somber, her eyes filled with sadness and resignation, and it only made Felix even more confused.

"No," she then said, her voice barely a whisper. "I'm the one who's sorry."

And she went back to cleaning the plates and, feeling a little dizzy again, Felix decided not to linger any longer and left. The moment he stepped outside, he let out a breath he hadn't even realized he'd been holding. He glanced down at his bandaged hand again, his frown deepening.

What the hell happened in there?

.

"Lix! Finally!"

"Sorry, sorry!" With a laugh, Felix settled down at the table. "Got held up for a bit. I asked my teacher for extra hours to polish my solo number for the incoming showcase, but I forgot it was tonight!"

Jeongin rolled his eyes, flicking his nose. "You're such an airhead."

"And you're a clumsy mess, yet do you see me complaining?"

"You say that, but what happened to your hand?" snorted Seungmin. "Let me guess: you tripped and fell?"

"Oh, no! Actually, I accidentally broke a mirror and cut my palm. Hey, did you guys know there's an antique shop on the corner of street? The one across the park, I mean. I've been walking that street for years and I've never noticed it before!"

His friends exchanged strange looks at that, before Minho shrugged.

"Nope, never heard of it. Anyway, what do you want to drink?"

"A strawberry daiquiri, please!"

With a small smile, Minho nodded and got up to go order at the bar. As soon as he was gone, Seungmin engaged him in a conversation about his upcoming showcase, and Felix was more than happy to answer all of his questions – he loved dancing more than anything in the world, after all.

.

When Felix finally got home that night, it was nearing two in the morning. He kicked off his shoes, locked the door, and dropped his bag in his room before making a beeline for the bathroom. He was quick to jump into the shower at last, eager to clean himself up and finally go to sleep.

He hummed under his breath as he washed his hair, a mindless little tune he couldn't quite place the origin of, and he felt himself relax despite the mild sting in his palm. When he finally got out of the shower, he quickly threw on a pair of boxers before grabbing some antiseptic to clean his cut. It was pretty superficial, thankfully, and he treated it in no time.

As he finished bandaging it again, though, a wave of unease suddenly washed over him – he felt like he was being watched. Lifting his head, he quickly looked around, though he almost instantly scoffed at himself.

There's only two windows in this crappy flat, and neither of them are in the bathroom. Where did that even come from?

Feeling a little ridiculous, Felix put away his first-aid kit before moving to stand in front of the sink so he could brush his teeth. As he leaned down to spit in the sink, however, he once again felt uneasy. Slowly lifting his head, all he saw was his shadowy form in the fogged-up mirror.

He stayed still, but the unease only grew.

Without really thinking, he used his hand to wipe the fog from the mirror – and a scream almost instantly ripped out of his throat as he was met with two pale blue eyes rimmed with blood.

The toothbrush clattered on the floor as he jumped backward and fell, hitting his elbow on the counter. The pain was barely even felt in his panicked state, however, and he promptly scrambled to his feet to run out of the bathroom, slamming the door behind him. He leaned against the wall, his heart beating erratically as he panted, trying to make sense of what he'd just seen. After a minute, though, the adrenaline died down, and he could think rationally again.

This is so messed up... What the hell was that?

He wanted nothing more than to hide under his blankets 'til morning came, but he knew he wouldn't be able to rest easy until he had an answer. So, gathering all of his courage, Felix hesitantly opened the door again. The bathroom was exactly as he'd left it, except that the fog covering the mirror was now almost entirely gone.

Ready to bolt at the slightest sign of danger, Felix slowly returned inside. When he finally peered into the mirror, he flinched back at the sight of a looming shadow – only to realize a second later that it was his own reflection. Puzzled, Felix faced the mirror again. Again, it was just his own reflection, his fear and confusion perfectly displayed on its intangible face. A tad shaken, Felix leaned on the counter, letting out a shuddering breath.

What the hell was that...? With a groan, he turned on the sink and quickly threw some cold water in his face. I'm definitely not drunk enough... but I'm probably tired enough to be hallucinating...

Reassured, though still a bit disturbed, Felix quickly finished his business in the bathroom before finally calling it a night.

.

The next morning, Felix woke up dead tired. He'd completely forgotten about yesterday's incident until he almost tripped on the pile of heavy books he'd left in front of the bathroom door a few hours earlier (so maybe he'd been just a bit paranoid, but who could blame him, really?).

He felt so silly, now. Laughing a bit to himself, he removed the books and went inside. He took a quick shower, brushed his teeth, put on some makeup to hide the bags under his eyes, and when he looked up – no scary, ghostly eyes staring back at him, as expected.

I really have to stop reading those horror books online...

Shaking his head, Felix went to the kitchen to grab himself a quick breakfast. He had classes to attend again, and he couldn't afford to be late, no matter how tired he felt. As such, he could only curse to himself and give up on breakfast when his toaster suddenly went wild and burnt his toasts – he had no time to make more, he'd simply grab himself a coffee on the way.

Grabbing his stuff in a hurry, he used the stairs to go faster and, upon reaching the lobby, he bid a good day to his elderly neighbor before heading out. He walked for about five minutes before reaching his favorite coffee place, where he promptly ordered his usual.

When he arrived to pay, however, he realized he'd forgotten his wallet.

Oh, come on!

"Don't worry," chuckled the barista, a nice guy named Jisung, whom Felix had befriended a few months back. "I'll cover for you – just this time, though."

"Oh, thank you! You're saving my life, man!"

With a nod, Jisung went to prepare his order. While Felix went to stand at the counter, though, he couldn't help but look up at the mirror hanging over the counter – it was there so the people in the backroom could know when customers showed up.

Horror filled his veins when he saw a distorted shadow looming over the shoulder of his reflection.

Spinning around, he was met... with nothing. There was no one behind him, the café practically empty since it was so early in the morning. He kept on glancing around, almost expecting someone to appear out of nowhere, his fingers twitching with anticipation—

"Felix? You good?"

"Y- yeah!" He snapped out of it, turning back to the counter where Jisung was now gazing at him with a worried look. "I'm fine, sorry. Didn't get much sleep last night, I'm afraid. Thanks again for the coffee, though – I'll pay you back!"

Jisung waved him off with a smile. "Don't worry about it, Lix. Have a nice day!"

"You too!"

Felix completely shoved the weird hallucination to the back of his head as he focused on getting to his class in time – his teacher would definitely have his head if he showed up late again.

.

"—et trois et quatre! Good! Very good! Take a five-minute break, everyone!"

Felix heaved out a small sigh as he relaxed from his position, his soles resting on the floor once more as the familiar burn in his legs lessened just a bit. To this day, he still didn't understand what had compelled him to take ballet classes – every time he wondered why he stayed, he couldn't come up for an answer other than he didn't want to quit.

Don't take him wrong, he loved ballet – but it was always an additional workload, and, at the end of each class, he never felt entirely satisfied, as if he was... missing something. He never could put his finger on what, though, which only left him sore, tired, and frustrated at the end of the day.

(Felix dreamed of becoming a dance teacher and, one day, opening up his own dance studio. For that to happen, however, he needed to be a jack-of-all-trades, so to speak – he had to be capable of dancing in different styles, from hip-hop to waltzes, and everything in between. It was quite demanding, but he loved learning new styles of dancing. It was his passion, after all, and no amount of soreness, exhaustion, or frustration would ever take that away from him – in the end, he knew it'd all be worth it.)

Felix was in the middle of stretching to keep his muscles warm, his feet placed in parallel to the mirror, when he heard it – the sound of shattering glass, that is. His head instantly snapped up, his eyes going wide as he saw large cracks marring the mirror, with a shadow looming right over him, as if trying to break free.

He scrambled away with a startled yelp, instantly earning the attention of the few other students around.

"Felix? Are you okay?" asked worriedly Sana. "Did you stretch wrongly?"

"No, it's the... mirror..."

He trailed off as he glanced back to the mirror wall, only to find it in perfect condition. Not a single crack in sight and, most importantly, no threatening shadow hiding in it. He let out a short breath, shaking his head.

"No- nothing. Sorry."

He got back to stretching, making a point of never looking back at the mirror. Even when he felt a familiar unease grow in the pit of his stomach, he ignored it and focused on his stretching.

.

"What the fuck did you put in my drink yesterday?"

"Why, hello to you too. How was my day? It was great, thanks for asking."

"Minho, I'm serious," snapped Felix, unamused. He was just about ready to drop dead in his bed the moment he got home. "Did you put something in my drink yesterday?"

"No, Lix, of course not. Why do you even ask that? You've made your opinion on drugs quite clear, and I've always respected it. Just because I use from time to time doesn't mean I'd impose it on anyone else, let alone my friends. That'd just be fucked up."

"I..." That was true. Minho liked to enjoy himself from time to time, but he'd never insisted on Felix consuming anything, and he knew deep down that his friend would never do him dirty like that. "Sorry. I don't... I don't really know what's come over me. I think I'm just tired."

"Okay... Well, you should get some sleep tonight. You have a free day tomorrow, right? Just enjoy and take some time to relax, for once."

"Hmm, you're right. Sorry again."

"It's alright. But Lix? You know you can tell me anything, right?"

"Yeah, I know. Thanks."

"Sure thing. See you later, Lix."

"Later!"

Felix sighed as he put his phone away, just as the elevator reached the fifth floor, where he lived. Going through the same routine as always, he didn't even bother changing into more comfortable clothes before letting himself fall on his bed.

In a matter of minutes, his breathing evened out, and he fell asleep.

.

His back is turned to Felix, a familiar silhouette the freckled boy can't quite place. He's tall, his long, dark hair tied in a ponytail, his entire body cladded in white and bathed in a dimming light. He's too far for Felix to make out his face, spinning and dancing to a music only he can hear.

.

Felix woke up with a start.

It was dark. How many hours had passed? He didn't even remember falling asleep, nor could he remember what he'd just dreamt about. Someone dancing...? He really was driving himself mad with work, that much was certain.

Shaking his head, he got up and went to turn on the light so he could find his pajamas. As his hand fell on the switch, however, a shiver ran down his spine – it took him a moment to notice the distant, barely audible melody echoing somewhere in the background.

As soon as he turned on the light, the melody stopped. Blinking a few times, he then shook his head, slapping his cheeks a few times. The walls in the complex were thin, he was probably just hearing one of his neighbors' TV or something of the sort.

Get a grip, Lee Felix!

Quickly getting changed, he was about to get back into bed when he suddenly felt it – the urge to go into the bathroom and look at the mirror. He froze for a moment, the need so intense it almost felt like his heart was being pulled at by iron strings, but he managed to shake it off.

Just go back to sleep already!

Turning off the lights, he pointedly ignored the urge and went back in bed. Slipping under the covers, he closed his eyes as tightly as possible, forcing his breathing to even out as he tried to focus on something else—

A hand stroking his cheek made him freeze.

He gasped, shutting his eyes with so much strength it'd surely result in a nasty headache. He didn't want to open his eyes, he just wanted to go to sleep and forget about everything, but the hand was still there, cradling his cheek with a gentleness that didn't suit the coldness of the touch.

He couldn't bring himself to turn around, his limbs completely unresponsive and, eventually, it became too much.

He opened his eyes.

Familiar, pale blue eyes stared right back at him, except they weren't rimmed with blood this time – they were crying blood. With a muffled scream, Felix managed to rip himself away from the morbid entity's touch. In his haste, he got tangled in his sheets and fell right out of the bed. The pain reverberating through his back was enough to snap him out of his shock, and he practically threw himself at the light switch. Turning it on, he spun around to face his bed... and only found a complete mess of tangled sheets.

"I'm going insane," he murmured, his fingers trembling as he ran a hand through his messy hair. "What's happening to me...?"

But of course, no one answered – because there wasn't anyone in there other than him, as it should be. In the end, though, Felix slept on the couch, too shaken to settle down in bed again.

.

He's a prince, that much is obvious. His clothes are made of the finest silk, decorated with dozens of little crystals and linings made of pure silver. Felix still can't see his face, but he's ready to bet that the prince is really handsome.

He's still dancing. So graceful, so mesmerizing. Felix can't bring himself to look away.

.

.

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PSYCHOlOGICAL HORROR, MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH, SELF-HARM, A BUNCH OF OTHER TRIGGERING STUFF! PLEASE BE MINDFUL OF YOUR OWN LIMITS BEFORE READING THIS!