WHO ARE YOU?|ATEEZ FANFIC (In Editing Progress)

Chapter 18|The creepy postman at the door

The march through the tunnels was long and exhausting. For at least an hour the path through the underground led them straight through the tunnel and the further they went the steeper the climb seemed to become. Breathing heavily, but not letting go of each other, they moved forward step by step. The ground beneath their feet was slippery. Water was flowing towards them from the direction of the exit, turning the sand on the ground into mud that was difficult to walk on without slipping.

“Be careful.” Hongjoong instructed the group. He carefully placed one foot in front of the other, careful not to walk too fast so that no one slipped.

“My shoes…” Pulling a pout, Seonghwa looked down at his shoes, which had once been black but were now an ugly marsh brown due to the mud and dirt. There was dirt on his shoes, on his ankle and even on his calf, because with every step that Yunho took behind him, some mud from his shoes splashed forward against Seonghwa’s calf, which drove the older one crazy, but he pulled himself together and didn’t shout at Yunho about it. He had already shouted  enough at the members for today, so he didn’t want to do it again over something he could simply wash off as soon as they’d find some water.
“Will this tunnel ever end?” Jongho asked annoyed and tired of walking. He followed Mingi, hanging his head and sulking in exhaustion. Mingi, who walked right in front of Jongho sighed annoyed by the younger boys complaining and turned around his head to look at him.

“Joong is not all knowing. It I’ll end when it-“ suddenly, Mingi felt is feet slipping on the muddy ground and with a shocked gasp he stumbled and fell. Shocked, Yunho stopped his steps and looked at Mingi, who was now kneeling in the mud, dirt splashed over his clothes and his face. He had his eyes squeezed closed and sighed deeply.

“… When it ends..” he finished his sentence, before carefully getting up agaon. The rest of the group, who had noticed Mingi’s fall as well, had stopped and looked at him.

“You okay, Mingi?” Seonghwa asked worriedly and Mingi just nodded.

“I’m fine!” He replied and tried wiping the dirt out of his face with his hand, but it made everything just worse. Yunho shook his head and grabbed Mingi’s hand, before he could make the situation in his face even more worse.

“Coean that later. Let’s keep going.” He said and with that Hongjoong at the front turned back around and continued walking. The rest followed and Jongho was in the back biting his lips, fighting for his life not to laugh at Mingi for falling after telling him to stop complaining. The group walked for another ten minutes, when Hongjoong suddenly stopped and Yeosang, who hadn’t noticed it quickly, accidentally bumped into the older boys back.

“Ouch-“ he flinched and let go of Hongjoongs hand, rubbing his chest, when he noticed why Hongjoong had stopped. A door. They were standing at the end of the long tunnel, looking at a white wooden door. The boys in the back had stopped walking too and looked at the door curiously, not sure if it was locked and that was the reason why Hongjoong wasn’t opening it, or if he was hesitating, because he was scared. Which each of them could’ve totally understand. Hongjoong stared and the doors handle and hesitated to reach out for it. There was no key hole and there also didn’t seem to be a keypad anywhere on the walls around him. Was the door not locked? He was scared to find out. If it was locked, they’d be stuck in this tunnel, surrounded by colourful fabric where they would end up dying without food and water in less then five days. After almost two minutes of just staring at the door, Seonghwa worriedly stepped forward and approached Hongjoong.

“Joong?” Hongjoong flinched slightly, as he had been so deeply in thoughts, he hadn’t even noticed how long he had stared at the door, let alone someone stepping next to him. He looked at Seonghwa a little perplexed, when he realised, why Seonghwa approached him.