The Treasure Club | ATEEZ

Chapter Two | Sea of Memories

After 11 hours on a plane, my legs were a bit more than just wobbly. I leant against my suitcase to help me walk to the car. I was finally here, I could hardly believe it. For years, all I wanted was to come back here, to come back to them. It took 8 years to convince my parents to let me come back to Korea but it was worth every second if it meant I could see my friends again. The airport was huge, I could hardly take it in all at once. My parents couldn't leave their jobs to come to Korea but, lucky for me, my aunty moved here ages ago and said I could stay with her. She waved me over with a huge smile.

"Oh, my lord! Look at you kiddo! I thought you were like twelve this year." Aunt Ara was barely thirty but acted like a seventy-year-old grandma. She's always napping, snacking or complaining that her memory and body is deteriorating. 

"You sent me a ten-year-old birthday card last year," I laughed as I got into the passenger side. Aunty Ara chucked my suitcase in the back and soon we were flying across the highways into the bustling city of Seoul. It was just as I had remembered, although that wasn't much in the eyes of a child. Aunt Ara pulled up to her apartment block, she lives on the fifth floor. The apartments are quite modern, and most likely cost a fair amount. Thinking about it, I actually have no idea what she does for work. 

"Alright, your room is on the left. Mine is down here if you need anything or just scream if you're dying. You know the rules, I don't actually know what they are. Ciao," and with that, she disappeared into her room. Cool, thanks, Aunty Ara. 

I went into my room and saw it was pretty much empty except for a bed, bedside table and an empty bookshelf. The closet was built-in and I had my own bathroom attached. I piled all my stuff into a corner, deciding to deal with it later and flopped onto the bed. Stretching my aching muscles, I groaned and checked my phone. I had a few text messages from Mum and Dad that I quickly replied to. Truth was, I came back to Korea to find the friends I made in primary school, but I hadn't talked to them since then. It was a fool's hope that I would even meet them again but I figured it was worth a try. I know they lived in this neighbourhood, but goodness knows what happened after over ten years. 

It was only three in the afternoon, so I got up and headed to the front door. The least I could do is get used to the area, that would help in finding them later.

"I'm heading out for a bit Aunty!" I knocked on her door as I walked past, just in case she worried where I had gone. I stepped out into the hallway, everyone's apartment doors lining the walls. Imagine if one of them lived here, that would be like a dream. I couldn't help but snort at the thought, and quickly moved to the elevator. The doors slid open and I stepped inside, pressing the ground button and leaning against the back railing. I stood in the dead silence as the elevator moved downwards, I knew there was a bookshop nearby, should I stop by there first? The elevator slowed to a stop, at level two. 

The doors slowly opened, it was really like a dream. A boy stood there, shoulder bag slung across his shoulder. He had a baseball cap pulled over fluffy red hair, a soft face with sharp eyes. He stepped into the elevator and stood on the opposite side to me. I couldn't place it, I knew him from somewhere.

"E-excuse me-" I started to ask him but he gave me a long look before raising his phone to his ear.

"Hey, when are you getting there?" The boy sounded rushed like he was late. Whoever was on the phone answered and the boy huffed. "Wooyoung, I couldn't care less about what you're wearing, just hurry up." 

The elevator doors opened and he rushed out. I stood there in shock... Wooyoung. There's no way, right? If he's talking to the Wooyoung I know then he must be...

"Are you getting off, dear?" An old lady was standing at the doors, waiting for me to move.

"Ah, yes, sorry." I quickly scrambled after Jongho. He couldn't have gotten far, I can still catch up. I looked left and right down the streets, but I couldn't see him. When in doubt, go left. I raced down the sidewalk and looked down every alleyway until I saw his baseball cap rounding a corner down a side street. I followed him, but damn was he moving fast. I was already running as fast as I can. After a while, he slowed down to a normal pace as he stepped onto a crowded sidewalk.

"JONGHO!" I yelled out, once I came within shouting distance. He spun on his heel to face me as I jogged until we stood face to face. He looked confused, most likely wondering how I knew him. I was puffed out but he was impatient so I didn't keep him waiting.

"My name's Y/N L/N. Please tell me you remember me?" 

__=__=__

The next thing I knew, Jongho was pulling me down street after street. He had the biggest grin on his face.

"I knew it! I told them all you'd come back! I knew it!" Jongho kept repeating the same thing as I tried to match his pace. He explained to me that everyone was still friends, the crew was the same as ever. They all went to a nearby high school, and I was so happy to learn that it was the same one I enrolled in. 

I have no idea how he managed to keep talking without having to catch his breath even after running. I was struggling, very much. When we finally came to a stop outside a sketchy looking building, in a dark street on the outskirts of the city, I was gasping for breath. Jongho simply slapped me on the back.

"Did you not work out or something? It wasn't even that long of a run," he laughed at me, "Come on." He opened the door of the building and stepped inside. 

I could barely breathe but I didn't want to stay out on this sketchy street for long. The building itself looked very much abandoned, as did everything around it but I could hear people... or maybe that was just rats moving about.

I followed Jongho into the building and kept quiet as an eery silence fell over the whole place. Much like the outside, the inside wasn't flash and graffiti lined the walls, floor and even the roof.

"Don't worry, our place doesn't look like this," Jongho sighs. The dust was thick, I didn't want to reply with anything but a nod. I wondered why they were even hanging out in a place like this, surely they would only attract trouble around here. I flinch as I hear people yelling nearby, Jongho places a hand on my arm and we fasten our pace. We enter a stairwell and go up until we reach the fourth landing. My legs are burning, but the adrenaline is pushing me forward, this has to be a dream, surely? 

Jongho leads me to a door halfway up through the corridor we walked into. The door looks better than all the others, but it had scratch marks over it like it was trying to blend in with all the other ruined doors. Jongho held the door open as I took in the room. I couldn't believe my eyes, it was awesome. The walls were clean, with no graffiti anywhere. There were couches propped around a TV, a billiards table, and a bookshelf teeming with books. A nice rug stopped the ugly concrete from showing, the room was just super cozy. In one corner, there was also some gym equipment.

"Who the hell is this?" A guy stood up from the couch and I finally realised there are others in the room. The guy that spoke was glaring at me with pure hatred, he had blue hair that was tied back and had a smaller build. Two guys were also on the couches, one was very tall with strawberry blonde hair styled in an undercut, and the other had long blonde hair with a denim bucket hat pulled over it. There was another guy with dark hair leaning against the pull-up bar that another boy dropped off to look at me.

It was all very intimidating.

"This," Jongho steps beside me, "Is our new recruit and entry to the annual 'Black Jack' contest."

All of them looked shocked at Jongho's statement and the guy with blue hair looks me up and down.

"They will die in the first round."

Die?! What the hell have I gotten into?

"Probably," Jongho agrees, "But it is y/n, they'll be fine,"

At least Jongho believes in me.