1984 | choi chanhee ♫

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

Y/N POV

Ducking under the crushed velvet curtain hung over the store front, a piercing creek stuttered as the crooked barn doors were pushed open by all 12 of us. It was a tiny little shack, decorated in gold tassels and astrological murals. A myriad of twisting corners and random dead end staircases.

Through a pane of glass, a dimly lit room could be observed - the bizarre lady shown on the website hunched over a crystal ball, firmly holding the hands of an earlier client and inhaling deeply. Quietly as possible, we stood and watched from outside.

However a sharp opening of the lady's eyes caused us all to jolt abruptly as she looked over to us with alarm. Excusing her client, she scuttled over to the door busily - pulling the handle open with a harsh squeak. Curiously, she grabbed my hand and Juyeon's who was stood by me.

"Esmerelda, please excuse my previous client, there's something not right here." She turned back to us after her worker replied a swift  "Yes Wonda" with a faint tremor in her voice, "Do come in." She guided us into the darkened room, looking up to us as the group arched around her diminutive table in the center of the room.

"Palm. Y/N right?" Wonda held her clasped hands out, observing the way I nodded when I slipped my hand into hers.
"That's right ma'am." I replied shortly, growing nervous as she reopened her hooded lids with a sharp exhale.
"You seem about right, however you boy, come here." She pointed out Juyeon again. The dark haired boy gulped nervously crouching down next to me. As she held his palm, something in her vision caused her to frantically stagger backwards from where she sat.
"You're not meant to be here." She gasped obscurely, however all of us knew what she meant - a cautious glance at her employee sent her running out immediately, turning so she could speak to us individually.

"It's a long story." I sighed as she chuckled steadily.
"I've got time Y/N." She smiled in endearment, tucking one of her wirey hair strands behind her ear and leaning forward on the mahogany table comfortably.

Beginning to go through the entire time travel story once again was starting grow frustrating; you'd miss out one minor detail and sound like some crazy daytime drinker. I mean, you travelled through time. The second you say that you're bound to be labeled as likely to be clinically insane.

As she nibbled the end of hair, her eyes widened in thought as I spoke.
"You shifted time." She held my hands with a wondrous tone glinting at her voice, as if she had found something in her vision. "When you dropped the alarm clock, it was by accident and at a specific time. It's incredibly rare this happens however you were caught in a time that was neither present, past or future - causing you to fall back in time."
"Really-" I began, however I was cut off by her slamming her hands on to the table, landing with a resonating smack. The entire group jumped back, exchanging skeptical glances amongst ourselves.

"There's something missing..." She glared at us with beady eyes, craning her neck across the group.

"You." She halted at Chanhee, apprehensively holding on to his forearm with his bottom lip between his top teeth in nerves. "Come here."
Scooting across for him, he sat beside me with a fretful glance. I gently smiled, reassuring him to reach out his palm to her. He jerked slightly as she eagerly snatched his ring decorated palm between her own.

"Your energy is presently empty." She squeezed her eyes shut with immense thought, her brows wrinkling at the top of her nose bridge. "You know that." She added, opening her eyes sympathetically, as he nodded vacantly.

Extravagantly, she leaped from her seat and wandered to a high bookshelf dotted across the back of her room. With her index finger she scanned across the golden engraved labels, her finger scraping against the leather quietly. Pulling out the book she wanted with a irritated grumble, she flicked through the pages - wetting her thumb to separate the pages. She grabbed the thick rim of her glasses and brought it back to the table.

"You see.." She began, looking up to the pink haired boy for his name.
"Chanhee." He replied bluntly as she turned her nose back down to her book briefly. The worn pages were stamped in a faded type writer font, the paper tinted a dark amber with age.
"Because you've changed your present fate and travelled forward as a result. If you travel back to 1984 now, you risk getting trapped in time as you don't have a physical body to go back to." She announced, watching each of our faces drop gauntly at her theory.

"Is there anyway we could go back with Chanhee?" Sunwoo chirped from back of the group, in reply Wonda pressed her lips together with a brief sigh.
"The only way I could think of is Y/N going back with you. However you'd need to find a way to send her back without you guys getting stuck in the midst." She replied as we nodded along compliantly, "A way you could do that is catching the exact time again that's neither past present or future. 10:30."

"As in if we went back now, I'd have to live my life in the 80s until October 30th at 10:30." I asked slightly alarmed by the idea.
"It's the only way to get him back safely." She nodded to Chanhee with a cautious shrug, flinging her book with a soft slam.
"So we go back." I said turning to the others, as they looked back obliviously.
"Are you sure?" Sangyeon eyes held a hint of concern at the idea, "You could get stuck yourself."
"I'd rather bring Chanhee back alive, than worry about getting stuck in another era. At least we're still living, even if that means having to flick through space and time." I replied shortly hugging my knees, as a cool breeze blew through the small room we'd been cooped into.
"It's a dangerous game. But Y/N I'd do it, it's worth a shot more than sending them back with almost all odds on him disappearing." Wonda added, clasping her fingers together wisely, "If I ask you all to leave, can I ask you two to stay behind?" She gestured to Chanhee and I - looking between each other and sharing an unsure nod.

The other boys were hesitant on leaving, dragging their feet along the carpet in donkey-like plods and closing the door with a jarring slam.

"What's going on here? There's an energy between you both." She held out her palms for the last time, cautiously slipping our hands into her own - we shared a glance as she deeply inhaled.
"It's romantic?" She swiftly opened her eyes once again with a chuckle, "You missed the part of the story didn't you?"
"Uhh, yeah." I laughed shyly, reassuring me with a light squeeze of my hand, she smiled warmly.

"You've got nothing to worry about, from what I can see. My vision is telling me the universe brought you together for a reason, so keep that in mind." She spoke gently, letting go of both our hands and shooing us jokingly, "Now go, you've got things to be doing." With a giggle the both of us left with a brief thank you, running out of those worn down barn doors with a violent swing.

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AUTHORS NOTE

finally, gosh this chapter was difficult to articulate .. i had such an exact vision in my head but it proved difficult putting it on a page..ಠ_ಠ i'm happy with it as of now we'll see how i feel in a few days about it tehe.. <3

anyways i hope you're having a lovely weekend or whatever part of the week you find yourself reading this in.. stay safe and stress-free ..♡︎

sending my love always..

clover <3