Number 9 |jaewoo|

7

It wasn't long before Donghyuck fell asleep after countless rounds and versions of card games. While playing, he had updated Jungwoo on everything from that day to this current moment, so much that he still had a hard time processing everything. He was laying in the bunk below Donghyuck, who was snoring away. Jungwoo pulled out the handkerchief from his pocket. He just stared at it and imagined Jaehyun's face.
"I can't keep him out of my mind" Jungwoo thought, and then put the small piece of cloth against his face to feel it. "But why?" he kept thinking.

Jungwoo grew too fidgety. It was as if they've been in there for an eternity. When he sat up, he watched the door. There was silence mixed with the faint humming of the dim lights and Donghyuck's slow breathing. He had no idea what time it was, or if it was even day time anymore. It didn't feel right. Something was wrong. Getting up and leaving the handkerchief on the bed, he stepped up the ladder to take a peek at Donghyuck, sleeping soundly on his back with the covers tossed aside. Why would he be sleeping if it was still day time?

Exactly.

Jungwoo had an idea. It was risky, but he just needed to know if his other friends were alright upstairs. He took another step higher and reached his arm out to the pocket which contained Donghyuck's ID card. The tanned young man was in a deep sleep. He carefully pulled it out with two fingers and stepped down to the floor with ease. Jungwoo soon found himself at the electric door. On it was a rectangular screen with a camera. He swallowed and showed the bar code on Donghyuck's card, and it made a low beep. The door immediately slid open, revealing the dark hallway. Jungwoo looked back one last time before stepping over the threshold.

At the end of the long dark hallway was a red exit sign. When the door shut behind him, he was left in the dark alone, and he followed it. His feet hitting the cold floor made echoes. "Just follow the light," Jungwoo whispered.

"Do not go into the light," the same far off voice in his head spoke. Come to think of it, the voice sounded a lot like Jaehyun's.

He made it to the exit sign and opened another door which led to many flights of stairs. Jungwoo went up, up, up until he reached ground level. Going down more dim hallways like a mouse, Jungwoo peeked through every office window. Nobody was inside. The lights were off. It was eerily quiet. Way too quiet. He remembered the way to the orchard, and when he arrived at the glass entrance, it was pitch black outside. "It's so late," Jungwoo whispered again.

"It's not too late... come back to me." The voice in his head went on. He was convinced that it was Jaehyun's.

Jungwoo found himself in the second floor now. The halls were still barely lit, with no room occupied. He only saw tiny dots blinking from the computers inside. Where was everyone? Did Taeyong lie? No, he's too kind to lie, Jungwoo thought. Where was Jaehyun? And everyone else? Where were his friends? Those strangers?

Jungwoo felt like he was in another world. But then, he remembered: the meeting room. He went across the long, winding hall to the place where Taeyong kissed him. He pressed his ear against the door and heard no voices. He cracked it open, surprised that it was unlocked. Just darkness.

"No, this can't be." Jungwoo shook his head, now in fear. He needed to wake Donghyuck up. Jungwoo ran as fast as he could, retracing his steps.

Eventually, he found the saferoom again and ran inside. "Hyuck!" Jungwoo yelled. He went up the ladder and shook him until he jumped up. "Huh? What happened?" Donghyuck said, rubbing his eyes.

"I'm sorry," Jungwoo was out of breath, which didn't make sense to him. "I took your card and explored the building. Nobody is here!"

Donghyuck scowled, but seemed lost. "What do you mean? Why would you leave?"

"I needed to know. I'm so sorry I took it." Jungwoo handed it back.

"You said nobody is in the building?"

"Yes!"

"That makes no sense." Donghyuck sighed. Jungwoo moved out of the way and let his friend hop down. Donghyuck put on his shoes quickly then took Jungwoo's hand. "Listen. Whatever you do, do not let go of me, okay?" Donghyuck instructed. The blond nodded, his hair bouncing.

They went off, and Donghyuck led the way. Jungwoo proved him right when he saw how late it was outside and how empty the halls seemed. To get this all figured out, Donghyuck brought him to the small security room which, surprisingly, everything was still running. He shut the door behind him and bent over to the computer. "Okay, let me just sign in to get this thing going." He said, typing his information. When the live camera footages popped up on each screen on the wall, Donghyuck was shocked to see that all the cameras showed empty, dark rooms. All except for one: the observation room.

"Where could they have gone? Can't you rewind it?" Jungwoo asked.

"I could," Donghyuck eyed the screen the black screen. "But I'm more interested in this. Why the hell is this one offline when everything else isn't? Damn it, it's not letting me put it back online."

"Do you think everyone's in there? It doesn't sit right... if so, why turn the cameras off?"

"You read my mind." Donghyuck rolled his tongue against his cheek and quickly signed out of everything, annoyed. He grabbed Jungwoo's wrist. "Let's go."

Together, they stormed down to the observation room; the room where Jungwoo met Taeyong after he woke up. When they arrived at the door, they both listened closely, and heard several voices talking. Without any warning, Donghyuck told Jungwoo to stay behind him as he scanned the door and it slid open. They stepped into the mini office with the one way window. "Oh my god," Donghyuck gasped. "They're all inside."

Jungwoo took a closer look through the window and saw the seven remaining friends in the big square room with strangers. They all stood alongside the wall. Taeyong stood right in the middle with someone- or something- standing erect before him. And then there was Jaehyun, not too far behind, blocking the view. He looked at the glass window and Jungwoo thought they locked eyes. "Jaehyun... Taeyong... what are you doing?" Jungwoo asked, hoping that he could trust them.

Donghyuck was tired of it already. "That's it. I'm going in."

"What? No! It's too dangerous!"

"They should have been done already. And it looks way too suspicious in there. I'm going in." Donghyuck scanned the next door leading to the crowded room.

"Fine. I'm coming with you." Jungwoo grabbed his arm and followed him.

Soon, in a matter of seconds, the door went up and they were both revealed. The crowd standing inside glanced over at the two new guests. Their friends stood in shock, while Jaehyun blinked twice when he noticed them. "Jungwoo?! Why are you both up here?" Jaehyun cried.
Donghyuck pushed past him. "We want an explanation. Why is the building so dark? And why are all of the cameras offline? What the hell is this?" He looked at all of his friends including the strangers in black suits. Jungwoo remained beside Donghyuck. That's when he met eyes with the thing in the middle of the room. And he held his breath.

That person, that thing, looked exactly like him.