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

Chapter 17|Eight makes one team

“I’m starting to think we’re walking in circles,” Yunho said, who had been walking with Hongjoong through the labyrinthine corridors underground for what felt like an eternity. He scratched the back of his head thoughtfully as they stood for the third time at an intersection that had that ugly mold stain on the ceiling in the shape of a banana. Frustrated, Hongjoong stopped and shook his head.

“What the hell is this?” He walked to the nearest door, of which there were dozens in these hallways and one of which had brought the two of them into this hallway in the first place, and turned the doorknob. Without success. He had already tried this several times, but every door he tried to open has been locked.

“We’ll never get out of here like this! And we won’t find the others either!” It was enough to make you tear your hair out. He had known that going into that cave would be a trap. Of course it was, but what other choice did they have? Annoyed, Yunho sat down on the floor and rubbed his forehead.

“So… the doors are all closed. The elevators are all either closed or not there and there is no other way out.” He gathered the facts they had collected on their labyrinth tour and Hongjoong nodded with a blank expression.

“It looks like it.” Yunho exhaled in frustration.

“Sounds like great conditions,” he said, looking up at Hongjoong, who was still looking around.

“There has to be a way out of here. We always end up in these bastards’ traps and yet somehow we always manage to find a way.” Shrugging his shoulders, Yunho grimaced.

“If you think of something, let me know. My head is buzzing.” He closed his eyes and tried to relax. He rubbed his forehead with his thumb and index finger and sighed slightly. It didn’t do much good. The air in these underground passages was thin and Yunho found it difficult to think clearly in her situation. Hongjoong looked at the younger man in frustration and walked towards him, leaning against the wall next to Yunho and sliding down until he sat cross-legged next to Yunho. He gently placed a hand on Yunho’s shoulder.

“Are you okay?” He asked worriedly and Yunho sighed. He opened his eyes and shook his head.

“Nothings okay. We are totally lost and have no idea where our friends are. I still don’t understand how we lost them in the first place! San was right in front of us and the others were just a little behind us. How could they just disappear?” Hongjoong shrugged his shoulders helplessly and looked dejectedly at the ground.

“I doubt there is a logical explanation for this, Yunho.” He said and Yunho hummed quietly in agreement.

“You’re probably right… I just hope they’re all okay.”

“Me too.” Yunho sighed and looked up at the ceiling. They had to find a way out of here so they could find the others and especially Wooyoung. Hongjoong kept his eyes lowered and frowned thoughtfully. He couldn’t help but wonder if it was his fault that they had lost the others. If they had thought this plan through more carefully, he might have decided differently. It should have been immediately clear to him that this tunnel into the dark depths of the island’s interior was a trap. He had probably already known this somewhere deep down, but the desire to find and save Wooyoung had blinded him and he had not hesitated for a second. But if Hongjoong was honest, he probably would have ventured into the tunnel even if he knew it was a trap. For Wooyoung. He sniffed in frustration and was about to suggest that they should get up and continue searching when suddenly a strange smoky smell hit his nose and he frowned in surprise.

“Hm?” He looked up in confusion, and Yunho also turned his gaze questioningly in Hongjoong’s direction.

“What is it?” He asked as Hongjoong picked himself up from the ground and sniffed the air.

“Do you smell that?” He asked. Somewhat confused by this question, Yunho raised his nose and took a deep sniff of the air. Indeed. Frowning, he stood up.

“What’s this smell?” He inhaled the strange smell deeply through his nose again and then shook himself, slightly disgusted by the stench.

“Smells like someone set fire to a gas station.” He grumbled and Hongjoong nodded in agreement.

“It really does smell like gasoline. And like fire. But where is that coming from?” He turned around to look for the source of the unpleasant smell. From the smell alone he couldn’t tell where the fire was, but when he turned in the direction they had just come from, he saw a thin cloud of smoke rising towards the ceiling.

“Over there!” Hongjoong stretched out his arm and pointed to the smoke. Yunho immediately turned around and hesitantly took a step back. Fear grew in his chest at the sight of the smoke. So there really was a fire somewhere.

“What do we do now?” He asked Hongjoong nervously, who hesitated for a moment and stared at the smoke. A strange tingling feeling ran through his left hand and pinched the scars of his burn. The heart in his chest immediately beat faster at the thought of fire and everything in him told him to turn around and run away quickly, but he still hesitated. He stared down the hallway while Yunho next to him nervously looked between the smoke and Hongjoong when the smoke suddenly diminished again and the smell also faded slightly.

“Strange.” Hongjoong muttered with a questioning expression when he suddenly heard something.

“Do you hear that?” Yunho hesitated and remained silent to listen to what Hongjoong heard. They both remained silent for a moment. Hongjoong had his eyes closed and his eyebrows furrowed, listening intently while Yunho stood there with a questioning expression on his face. He shook his head.

“I don’t hear anything-“ he was about to say when suddenly a noise echoed through the hallway that made Yunho’s words get stuck in his throat. Shocked, he widened his eyes and looked at Hongjoong, who was staring at him, slightly nervous.

“What was that?” Yunho asked uncertainly when the sound suddenly repeated itself. Hongjoong paused and turned towards the hallway from which the sound came. It sounded like something coming from a human, a moan or a sob. It became louder and seemed to be getting closer to the two of them, which immediately put them on alert. Yunho took a step back and stood ready to flee, while Hongjoong clenched his fists and looked tensely down the hallway. They both held their breath when suddenly two people turned the corner at the back of the hallway. Hongjoong felt his heart flutter with joy when he saw who was standing there.

“S-seonghwa…?” He muttered, staring in disbelief at the black-haired boy at the end of the hall. Was that really him? It had to be him! Hongjoong knew those brown almond eyes all too well. He had spent enough time getting lost in their sparkly beauty over the last three weeks when he talked to Seonghwa at night and the stars reflected in them. Yeosang was walking next to Seonghwa, his face swollen with tears. He was clinging to Seonghwa’s arm, sobbing. Seonghwa tried to comfort him with calm words, but it didn’t really help. As Seonghwa exhaled in frustration and looked ahead, he suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. Yeosang, who was abruptly pulled back by Seonghwa’s sudden stop, stopped crying for a moment and looked at Seonghwa in confusion.

“What-“ he whimpered quietly, then he saw Seonghwa staring straight ahead and turned his head in confusion. When he saw the two figures standing at an intersection at the other end of the corridor, his eyes widened and a hint of a smile crept onto his lips.

“H-hongjoong? Yunho…?” Yunho started to beam with joy when he recognized the two and raised his arm to wave to them.

“Hyung! Yeosang‼” he shouted loudly and immediately a weight was lifted from both of their hearts. They seemed normal! Close to tears again, Yeosang let go of Seonghwa’s arm and ran off towards Hongjoong and Yunho.

“YUNHO‼!” he shouted happily as he ran towards the tall black-haired man, who spread his arms and, when he reached him, welcomed Yeosang with a firm, warm hug. Yeosang jumped, wrapped his arms tightly around Yunho’s neck and sobbed.

“You’re okay!” He clung to Yunho, who wrapped his arms around Yeosang’s waist and lifted him off the ground. Hongjoong looked at the two of them with relief and patted Yeosang on the back when he saw Seonghwa limping towards them out of the corner of his eye. Hongjoong immediately turned to him and looked at him worriedly. His right leg, where Seonghwa had the weak ankle since the snake bite, was limping slightly and Seonghwa had big tears forming in his eyes. Smiling gently, Hongjoong stretched out his arms and walked towards Seonghwa.

“Is everything okay?” He asked carefully, Seonghwa sniffed and shook his head, whimpering in despair.

“W-we… We couldn’t do anything…” Tears rolled down his cheeks and he let out a bitter sob, which gave Hongjoong a stab in the heart. What was going on? They were both completely distraught. With questioning eyebrows raised, Hongjoong closed the distance between Seonghwa and himself and gently pulled the older man into his arms. Seonghwa burst into bitter tears and buried his face in the crook of Hongjoong’s neck. Hongjoong gently stroked his back, without fully understanding what was going on. These were not tears of joy because they had found each other again. Something had happened. As Yunho rubbed his face against Yeosang’s head, he frowned as a strange smell hit his nose. He smelled of smoke and gasoline.

“Yeosang,” Yunho put the younger back on the ground and released the hug slightly. Hongjoong and Seonghwa also separated from each other and Hongjoong turned to Yeosang and Yunho. Yunho looked questioningly at Yeosang and took one of his mint-colored strands of hair in his hand to sniff it again.

“Why do you smell like a gas station?” Yunho asked, puzzled, and then looked at Yeosang’s face. His pretty face was covered with traces of soot and his tears left thin marks on it.

“Y-yunho…” Yeosang whimpered and hid his face back in Yunho’s chest to cry out desperately, when Hongjoong shook his head and looked at Seonghwa.

“What’s wrong with you two?” he asked worriedly. Seonghwa hesitated, sniffed and wiped the tears from his face before taking a deep breath and lowering his gaze.

“We found Wooyoung.” He then said and the two looked at Seonghwa with horrified eyes.

“You found him?!” Hongjoong asked, his eyes lighting up with joy, but Seonghwa’s expression remained depressed and sad. Hongjoong had a bad feeling and Yunho also noticed that something was wrong.

“What about Wooyoung?” he asked.

“Why isn’t he with you? Where is he?” Sniffling, Yeosang stretched out his arm and pointed down the hallway from where they had just come.

“I-there was a fire… we were able to run away but… He and Mingi are still here…”

“Mingi?!” Yunho quicklxran past Yeosang. He headed in the direction Yeosang had pointed, not wanting to wait a second longer to see Mingi again, when he ran past Seonghwa and Hongjoong and Seonghwa suddenly grabbed his arm and held him back.

“Yunho, don’t!” Seonghwa cried out desperately, holding Yunho tight. Yunho stared at Seonghwa desperately. He could see in Seonghwa’s eyes what he was trying to tell him, why he shouldn’t try to find them, but he couldn’t accept it. That couldn’t be. They had to be fine! He lowered his gaze and shook his head. He had to see it for himself. With a jerk, he tore himself away from Seonghwa’s grip. He turned around and wanted to leave, heard Seonghwa calling his name behind him, when suddenly one of the doors opened right next to them and someone stumbled into the hallway, followed by black smoke and sparks. Frightened, the boys moved away from the person who collapsed on the ground in front of them, coughing loudly. Yunho rushed to the door behind which the flames raged, he grabbed the door and slammed it shut with force, locking out the fire.

“Damn it!” the person on the ground cursed and the four boys looked at him skeptically. His face and clothes were completely dirty and his hair was charred by the flames. Groaning in frustration, he got up, brushed the dirt off his pants, and when the four boys saw his face, they gasped.

“JONGHO!” Confused, Jongho looked up and first saw Hongjoong’s face, which looked at him with concern and joy, then his gaze wandered over Seonghwa and Yunho and finally to Yeosang. He felt a rush of joy rising within him, but it was suppressed by skepticism and fear. He took a step back and looked at the four cautiously.

“A-are… Are you normal..?” He asked, almost looking scared, which confused Yeosang and the others. Why was Jongho afraid of them? Yeosang cautiously took a step forward and looked questioningly at Jongho.

“What do you mean?” Jongho shook his head and took another step back. He didn’t trust this. Just a moment ago he had thought he was seeing his friends and he was sure it was them, but there was something very wrong with them and before he realized what was happening, flames were racing towards him. He wouldn’t be that naive a second time.

“Jongho, what’s wrong with you?” Yunho asked worriedly and Jongho hesitated. He took a close look at the four of them, looking into their eyes, hoping not to see the same cold eyes he had just seen. Yeosang looked at him with a mix of joy and confusion, while Hongjoong, Seonghwa and Yunho looked worried. None of them looked at him the way he was being looked at. They were okay! A smile flashed briefly on Jongho’s face before it faded and Jongho shook his head. They had no time for a happy reunion.

“We… We have to get out of here.” Jongho said suddenly and looked around.

“Where is the exit?” Hongjoong shook his head cluelessly.

“We haven’t found one yet. And first we have to find the others-“

“Forget the others! They’re totally crazy.” Jongho interrupted the older man, shaking his head vigorously. Hongjoong pulled a skeptical face.

“What are you talking about?” he asked and Jongho pointed to the door behind him.

“Mingi and Wooyoung! They just tried to turn me into fucking fried chicken!” Seonghwa and Yeosang looked at each other hesitantly before turning back to Jongho with questioning faces.

“That… That can’t be.” Seonghwa said dejectedly and Jongho frowned.

“What do you mean?” He asked and Yeosang lowered his gaze before taking a deep breath.

“We… we saw them surrounded by flames. There was no way for them to escape, they never survived that.” Yeosang explained, but Jongho just shook his head. He knew what he had seen and it had definitely been those two.

“They must have escaped then, because I just saw them quite alive. And murderous.” Yunho shook his head in disbelief.

“Are you telling me that Wooyoung and Mingi, our friends, are running amok down here?” Yeosang, Seonghwa and Jongho looked at each other hesitantly. Yeosang still couldn’t quite believe that Mingi and Wooyoung had survived that storm of flames, but if Jongho had really just seen them, then they must have made it. Relief filled him, even though the fact that the two of them were here trying to burn her alive somewhat dampened that feeling. Seonghwa looked at Hongjoong, who was still waiting for an answer to his question, and nodded, looking dejected.

“With matches and gasoline, but yes. They almost got me and Yeosang too but we escaped just in time.” Yunho shook his head.

“That can’t be true. Why would they do that?” he asked, not wanting to believe that his friends could do something like that. Why? What could have made them do that? Something wasn’t right. Seonghwa understood what Yunho meant, but just shook his head cluelessly.

“I don’t know it.”

“It doesn’t matter.” Jongho urged and walked towards Yeosang, grabbed his wrist and then looked back at Hongjoong.

“We have to find a way out of here before they come back!” Hongjoong hesitated.

“What about San?” He asked. They couldn’t just leave without him after all. Jongho sighed in frustration.

“He’ll be here somewhere! If we’re lucky we’ll find him on our way out, but we can’t stay here. And I doubt this door will hold for much longer.” He pointed to the door, which, without them noticing, had slowly started to smolder and become increasingly unstable. When he looked at Hongjoong again, he nodded slightly hesitantly and cast his gaze down the hall.

“Then let’s quickly find an exit.” He said and then ran ahead without further hesitation, followed by the others, looking for an exit.

~

“WOOYOUNG!” San’s voice echoed throughout the massive cave. Exhausted and tired, he wandered across the grass that covered the floor of the entire cave, never stopping calling out the names of his lost friends, hoping that someone would answer him. He couldn’t say exactly how long he had been in this cave. After losing his friends in the dark tunnels and entering a door into an elevator that then took him down at frightening speed and dropped him out in this cave, he didn’t waste a second and started looking for his friends. He had walked the cave wall around the meadow several times, feeling around and searching for secret passages, but found nothing except a huge door that he couldn’t open without a password. A cold breeze blew through the grass and goosebumps spread across San’s arms. Frustration began to spread within him and he ran his fingers through his blond hair in anger.

“Come on…” he cursed quietly to himself and looked around searchingly.

“You must be here somewhere.” Frustrated, he turned in the direction of the elevator shaft. The elevator was still not there. Immediately after San got out of the elevator, too stunned by the grassy landscape that lay before him, he had paid no attention to the elevator and when he turned around angrily again, it was already too late and the elevator was gone.

“GUYS?!” Once again, no one answered his calls. Exhausted and frustrated, San sat down in the dead grass and looked down at the ground. What should he do now? There was no way for him to escape and there was no one there to help him. He didn’t know the password for the door. A four-digit code made up of numbers. How would San know that? He was stuck here. Without a way out, he would most likely starve to death. He sighed and put his hand on his stomach. His stomach was already rumbling. San hadn’t eaten anything since the last meal on the Illusion, and that must have been over twenty-four hours ago. He was hungry and his throat felt dry from thirst. There wasn’t even water in this cave. He pulled his knees up to his chest, wrapped his arms around his legs and laid his head on his knees in frustration. He gave up. What else could he do? Hopelessness filled him and he felt his eyes glaze over. If he had known that he had seen Wooyoung for the last time before he went with Seonghwa and Hongjoong, he wouldn’t have gone and would have stayed with Wooyoung and the others in the camp instead. He wouldn’t have let Wooyoung leave the camp alone, which might have even prevented Wooyoung from being kidnapped. Then the boys wouldn’t have entered the tunnel, wouldn’t have gotten lost in the darkness, and San wouldn’t be alone now. After being with seven other boys for three weeks straight, it felt uncomfortably quiet to be without them. There was no one with him to talk to. No one to lean against when he was exhausted and drained. And what was he? He was so tired… When he suddenly heard a quiet ‘bing’ in the distance, he raised his head, his eyes wide with shock.

“Is that…?” He turned his head and gasped when the red and gold light from the elevator shaft shone at him. The elevator was back! He immediately stood up and wanted to run to the elevator, saw his way out there, when he saw five people running out of the elevator and hurrying towards him. He narrowed his eyes in confusion.

“Guys?” He muttered as he recognized the faces of the five boys. They were Hongjoong, Yeosang, Seonghwa, Yunho and Jongho, all running towards San wih panic on their faces and not slowing down even when they were almost right in front of him.

“SAN RUN!” shouted Seonghwa, limping as best he could behind the others, and San grimaced questioningly. His confusion didn’t even leave room for the joy he felt at seeing his friends again. At least… Most of them. As they reached him, San saw the elevator doors close again and the elevator go up again, when Hongjoong grabbed his wrist as he passed by and pulled him with him, away from the elevator shaft.

“Get out of here quickly! They’re coming!” Still completely confused by his friends’ strange behavior, San ran with them.

“What’s going on? What are we running from?”

“Wooyoung and Mingi are on the loose!” Jongho replied and San looked at him in shock before looking back at Hongjoong.

“What?! You found Wooyoung?!” He asked and Hongjoong shook his head.

“No time to explain! They’re on our heels and trying to burn our asses!” San didn’t understand Hongjoong’s words. What was he saying? Wooyoung and Mingi were the ones they were running from? But… They were their friends?

“What?!” Yeosang, who was already exhausted from all the running, caught up with Hongjoong and San and looked questioningly at San.

“Is there an exit somewhere?” He asked. San hesitated, still not fully understanding what was going on, and looked to the other end of the cave, where the large door was that he had found earlier but had ruled out as an exit because he didn’t know the code.

“There’s a door back there, but-“

“Door sounds good! Come on!” Yeosang hurried forward without letting San finish. Without looking back, they ran across the gray lawn, over to the locked door and then stopped in front of it, completely exhausted. Taking a deep breath, Hongjoong propped himself up on his knees, gasped and cleared his throat. When he stood up again, he took one last look back in the direction of the elevator shaft before turning to the door and walking a few steps toward it. He grabbed the doorknob, turned it around and shook the door, but nothing moved. Growling, he shook the door again before letting go in frustration and turning around.

“Locked!” he cursed and San, who was breathing deeply in exhaustion, ran his hand through his blond hair and nodded.

“If you had waited a second before running over here, I would have told you that the door can only be opened with a code.” He pointed to the keypad that was attached to the rocky cave wall next to the door, with a small display that had space for four digits and below that the keyboard with the numbers from zero to nine. The boys stared at the keypad in horror.

“We need a code?!” Hongjoong asked as Yeosang groaned in frustration and leaned against the door.

“Fantastic. How are we supposed to know the fucking code?” San shook his head cluelessly.

“I don’t know it. It’s nowhere written in this cave, at least I haven’t seen it yet.”

“And we don’t have time to look for it! Those two could come at us any moment-“ Yeosang didn’t get to finish his sentence as the words got stuck in his throat and he gasped in terror.

“Guys..” the others turned around in shock and all backed away a little when they saw the two figures standing in the grass just a few meters away from them. They both looked at the boys with blank eyes. Wooyoung stood a little closer than Mingi, holding the black mask of a Halateez in his left hand and the box of matches in the other, one of which he held between his fingers. San felt his heart flutter with joy when he saw Wooyoung. A smile crept onto his lips and he took a step forward.

“Wooyoung-“ he wanted to go towards Wooyoung, but Hongjoong, who noticed it in time, grabbed his wrist and held him back.

“San don’t!” He held his arm tightly and San looked at him in confusion. Hongjoong looked at him with a fear in his eyes that San simply couldn’t understand.

“They’re our friends!” He interjected, completely confused as to why he should stay away from them, as Seonghwa took his hand from beside him. San looked at him in confusion and Seonghwa shook his head with a depressed expression.

“There’s something wrong with them. They.. don’t seem to be quite themselves.” The eldest whispered and then looked hesitantly over at Wooyoung and Mingi. San followed suit and looked at the two of them searchingly. He saw what Seonghwa meant. They both seemed a little like they were sleepwalking, like they weren’t quite right with themselves. But still. They were still their friends! And whether they threatened them or not, there had to be something they could do to help them! San looked over to Yeosang and Jongho for help, hoping they saw the situation a little differently than the two eldest, but the way Yeosang stared nervously at Wooyoung and Mingi and didn’t move an inch, as if he was frozen in place, and the way Jongho held a protective arm in front of Yeosang , told San that they had also given up on the two of them. Yunho, who was standing next to Hongjoong on San’s left side, seemed hesitant about the two as well. He looked at Mingi with desperate eyes, as if he wanted to feel joy about seeing him, but he was too afraid to do so. San lowered his gaze and shook his head.

“That’s not right…” he murmured, then looked up again and looked at the two of them seriously.

“Wooyoung… Mingi… Can’t you hear me?” They looked at him, their eyes empty and cold. There was no reaction from them, as if they really couldn’t hear him or as if they were able to ignore him. Hongjoong sighed quietly.

“They can’t hear us, San.” He whispered and San pulled a face in despair.

“We have to be able to do something!” He pulled his wrist out of Hongjoong’s grip and took a few steps towards his two friends when Wooyoung suddenly lit the match and held it out to San. San immediately stopped dead in his tracks and the boys behind him gasped in shock.

“San!” Hongjoong shouted, but San ignored him. He stared at Wooyoung intently, as if he was trying to somehow free him from his trance through eye contact. Wooyoung stared back coldly while the match slowly burned down in his fingers.

“Put it out.” San ordered him, but there was still no reaction from Wooyoung. Seonghwa clenched his hands into fists and squeezed his eyes shut. Anger flowed through him. He was angry at the Halateez for messing up his friends so much, at himself for allowing all of this to happen by leaving with Hongjoong and San. When he opened his eyes again and looked at the match in Wooyoung’s hand, which had almost completely burned out and was about to burn Wooyoung’s finger, he growled quietly to himself and marched towards the two.

“Seonghwa, what are you doing?!” Hongjoong asked in panic as Seonghwa walked past San.

“I’m fed up with this bullshit.” He released his fist and held out his hand flat, then swung his arm wide and the next moment a loud slap echoed through the cave, followed by the sound of a body falling to the ground. Frightened, San held his hand over his mouth, not really able to grasp what had just happend. Yeosang, Yunho, Jongho and Hongjoong were just as shocked. They stared at Seonghwa with widened eyes, then at Wooyoung, who sat on the floor, one hand protectively placed over his cheek, which was all red from Seonghwa’s slap and throbbing with pain. The match in his hand had gone out when he fell and lay completely burned on the floor next to Wooyoung. Shocked and confused, Wooyoung looked at Seonghwa when Mingi suddenly stepped forward to Seonghwa and reached out a hand to him. Seonghwa backed away and reflexively swung his hand again. His hand hit Mingi’s face with a resounding smack and immediately Mingi backed away, eyes wide open, staring at Seonghwa. Wooyoung’s eyes filled with tears and he sniffled quietly.

“W-what was that for…?” he whimpered as Seonghwa turned to him, boiling with anger, and took a deep breath.

“You still ask that?! You two should be glad that I’m not going to hit you again after what you did to us! You almost killed me and Yeosang, and Jongho too, when we were just trying to save your stupid asses! Be glad I’m even still looking at you!” he shouted at Wooyoung, who just looked at the older one, confused and slightly scared. Tears ran down his cheeks, while Mingi just stood there, unable to say a word in confusion and shock. When Seonghwa was about to continue ranting, Hongjoong stepped forward quickly and put a calming hand on Seonghwa’s shoulder.

“Hwa…” He said quietly and Seonghwa looked at him angrily.

“What?!” Hongjoong hesitated and looked at Wooyoung and Mingi. Both were completely distraught and totally confused. They didn’t seem to understand what Seonghwa was saying and what he meant, as if they didn’t even know what they had done. As if they had just woken up from a deep sleep and couldn’t remember the dream they had.

“Enough. They’re awake, Seonghwa.” He said quietly and in a calm voice.

“You brought them back, they’re back with us.” Seonghwa took a deep breath, tried to control his anger and looked away from the two confused boys.

“I-i’m sorry…” he heard Wooyoung sobbing and felt guilt rising in him. His hand was sore from the two slaps he had given out. He had hit them. He had hit Wooyoung and Mingi and then shouted at them. Hongjoong could see Seonghwa running his shaking hands through his black hair, looked again at Wooyoung and Mingi, who were both surrounded by their hesitant friends, then turned to Seonghwa and gently took his hands.

“Hey, it’s okay.” He whispered, but Seonghwa shook his head, sniffling.

“I overreacted… I-“

“You brought them out of their trance, Seonghwa. You probably saved them and us.” He spoke kindly to him and tried to calm him down, while behind him San knelt on the floor next to Wooyoung and looked at him worriedly.

“Is everything okay, Woo?” he asked. Wooyoung just stared at the floor in front of him, breathing in and out shakily as a few memories slowly flooded in. He could remember being locked in chains in a dark room and he remembered how the Halateez had forced him to wear the mask, but after that everything was just black. He had no memories of how he got here and what Seonghwa meant when he said that he and Mingi had tried to kill them.

That… I would never do that to you…

He thought desperately and wiped the tears from his face. Then he nodded.

“I’m fine…” He murmured and then pulled himself up from the floor with San’s help. Yunho stood a little distance from Mingi, who had his gaze lowered and his eyes closed.

“I’m sorry…” Mingi whispered. Like Wooyoung, he didn’t really know what he was apologizing for because he had no memory of what Seonghwa had talked about, but he could smell the smoke and gasoline on his clothes and knew that Seonghwa wouldn’t just yell at them, let alone hit them.

“I’m so sorry.” He said again, this time on the verge of breaking out into tears and Yunho exhaled sadly.

“Mingi…” He approached Mingi, who desperately raised his hands and held them in front of his face so that no one could see his tears. He sobbed as Yunho spread his arms and hugged Mingi tightly. He hugged him and stroked the back of his head tenderly.

“It’s okay. It wasn’t you.” He said. Wooyoung looked at the two of them dejectedly as San gently took his hand. He turned his head to the blond boy, who gave him worried looks and tilted his head slightly to the side.

“It wasn’t your fault, okay? The Halateez somehow messed with your heads, it was not your choice to attack us.” He pulled Wooyoung into his arms, while Jongho and Yeosang also approached hesitantly. Yeosang approached San and Wooyoung and gently stroked Wooyoung’s back.

“I’m glad you’re back.” He said. Wooyoung pulled away slightly from San’s embrace and looked at Yeosang, who had a bright smile on his lips.

“The role of the villain just doesn’t suit you.” Wooyoung grinned and nodded slightly.

“I… I would never have done anything to you of my own free will, please believe me.” He murmured as Yeosang grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him slightly.

“We know.”

“Hey guys.” Hongjoong suddenly interrupted the boys, they turned to him and looked at him in confusion when they saw the concern and panic in his eyes. He stared past them in the direction of the elevator and took a shaky breath.

“We have a problem!” He raised his arm and pointed his finger in the direction he was staring in such fear. The boys turned around in panic and were shocked when they saw what was making Hongjoong so panicked. On the other side of the lawn, from the elevator shaft, flames burned through the dead grass and came towards the group of eight faster than they would have liked.

“Oh shit.” Jongho cursed, rushed away from Mingi and Wooyoung to the keypad and ran his hand through his black hair in agitation.

“We need the damn code!” Yeosang shook his head desperately.

“But we don’t have a code!”  He said.

“And there are four digits. Does anyone know how many possible number combinations there are? It could take hours to find the right one!” The boys gathered around the keypad in a panic and started to think.

“Should we just start with four zeros?” Yeosang asked, but Hongjoong shook his head.

“It won’t be that easy.” He said. Jongho growled to himself, pushed Yeosang, who was standing right in front of the keypad, to the side and stood in front of it himself. He started pressing the keys with his finger.
“What are you doing?!” Hongjoong asked and Jongho just shook his head.

“We don’t have time for discussions, the fire is getting closer.” Without allowing any further discussion, he typed in four zeros. A red light lit up next to the display and Jongho made a frustrated clicking sound with his tongue.

“Come on.” He continued typing stubbornly and the boys around him watched him nervously. The more combinations Jongho typed in, the more desperate the boys became. They urged Jongho to hurry up with typing, which was anything but helpful and only stressed Jongho out even more. He typed as fast as he could, entering combination after combination and when he was almost at the hundredth combination, he stopped and groaned in frustration.

“This won’t work!” He cursed and turned around to look at the flames. They had now overrun half of the meadow and were towering high. The temperature in the cave was rising with every minute.

“We have to try something else! This is taking far too long!” Jongho said as he turned back to his friends, who just looked at him scared and shaking their heads.

“We don’t have any other plan!” Seonghwa said and Hongjoong nodded.

“Come on, I’ll carry on,” he said. Jongho just sighed, moved a little to the side and made room for the older man, who quickly took Jongho’s place and continued to enter number combinations. San looked nervously at Hongjoong and occasionally looked back, keeping an eye on the flames that were getting closer and closer.
“Faster, Hyung,” he urged and Hongjoong grumbled in annoyance.

“Don’t stress me out.” He replied in an irritated tone of voice before typing in another number combination. Wooyoung watched him nervously. He wanted to help his friends, but he also had no idea what the number combination was that they needed to open the door. In addition to the guilt that plagued him, he now also felt useless. Frustrated, he lowered his gaze with a sigh of joy when he suddenly noticed something between the gray blades of grass on the ground.  He frowned in surprise and crouched down to pick up what was lying there. Mingi noticed it and looked questioningly at Wooyoung.

“What are you doing?” he asked. Wooyoung stretched out his arm and reached between the blades of grass for the strange, black object.

“There’s something here.” He said before picking up the object and looking at it. His eyes widened when he recognized what he was holding in his hand. The mask. It was the black face mask that the Halateez had pressed onto his face before he lost consciousness. Mingi also recognized what Wooyoung was holding and gasped.

“Wooyoung… Put that away!” He ordered the younger boy, but he hesitated and stood up from a crouch, still holding the mask. Mingi immediately went to Wooyoung and put a hand on his shoulder.

“That thing is dangerous, Woo. Please put it away.” He said.

“Just a moment.” Wooyoung replied and turned the mask over so that he could look at the inside of the mask. When he saw a small white fabric label inside the mask, he was taken aback. Mingi also hesitated and narrowed his eyes slightly.

“There’s something written on it.” He said and moved his face a little closer to the mask so he could read what was written on the fabric label. The writing was slightly smeared by sweat and tears, but what Mingi realized was that they didn’t seem to be letters.

“Are those… numbers?”  Wooyoung gasped and looked ahead at his friends, who were still desperately entering number combinations, to no avail. When the strength in his hands left him, Hongjoong growled once and turned away from the keypad in frustration.

“It’s no use!” he walked away from the keypad and towards the door, where he grabbed the doorknob again and shook it angrily.

“Come on! Open it, you damn door!” Seonghwa and the others looked at him in despair.

“Hongjoong, that doesn’t work. The door won’t open without the number code,” Seonghwa said in a dejected voice, but Hongjoong didn’t listen. He pulled and tugged at the door until he finally didn’t have the strength to do that either and he exhaled in despair.

“COME ON!” Silence fell over the group and for a moment it was quiet. Seonghwa looked at Hongjoong worriedly. The younger boy was at the end of his strength. He didn’t know what to do and how to get the boys out of here safely. Without the door code they wouldn’t be able to get out and with the flames coming ever closer, it would be their fate to burn alive here if they didn’t think of something. But Hongjoong’s head was blank. He had no more ideas. He had barely made it past the two hundredth combination and there were still over nine thousand possibilities. It was impossible to make it before the flames reached them. Close to tears, Hongjoong closed his eyes and sank to his knees. He leaned his forehead against the massive door and bit his lip to keep from bursting into miserable tears. Seonghwa couldn’t bear the sight of the desperate leader.  He sniffed and walked towards Hongjoong, crouched down next to him and put a hand on his shoulder.

“Joong-“ he wanted to start to encourage Hongjoong, when a loud noise suddenly made him jump up in shock. Hongjoong also jumped up when he heard something click in the lock of the door. The doorknob turned automatically and the next moment the door opened as if by magic.

“What the…” Hongjoong and Seonghwa staggered backwards away from the door so as not to be hit by it as it opened, when Hongjoong’s gaze wandered over to the keypad, where he saw Wooyoung, who was standing there with the black mask of a Halateez in his hand, one finger still on the keyboard.

“What did you do?” he asked, astonished. Confused, the rest of the group turned to Wooyoung, who hesitantly held up the mask and swallowed nervously.

“The code… it was in here.” He said. Shocked, Hongjoong ran over to Wooyoung and took the mask from his hand.

“Where?” he asked. Wooyoung pointed with his finger at the small fabric label that was sewn into the mask and actually.

1117

That was the code?

“How did you know that?” asked Jongho somewhat skeptically. Wooyoung immediately shook his head.

“I-I didn’t know. I just saw the numbers in there and thought that if anyone had a number code for a door like that, it would be a Halateez.” He explained. His friends looked at him skeptically and Jongho folded his arms in front of his chest, which made Wooyoung slightly nervous.

“Why didn’t you come with that sooner?” Wooyoung shrugged nervously.

“I just discovered that, I-“

“Stop it.”  Seonghwa walked up to Wooyoung, took his hand, and then gave Jongho a serious look.

“The door is open. That’s important now. Now let’s get out of here!” He intertwined his fingers with Wooyoung’s and looked at him once again with a gentle smile, which Wooyoung returned with a relieved smile before they both walked past the door and looked into the tunnel that opened behind the large door. The corridor was lined with colorful cloths that fluttered slightly in the light breeze that blew through the tunnel and were lit by lanterns that were lined up on the floor and led the way into the tunnel. Seonghwa and Wooyoung looked nervously at Hongjoong, who hesitantly took a few steps forward.

“Hyung?” Yeosang asked nervously. He wasn’t sure if it was a good idea to just walk into a strange tunnel again without knowing where it would lead them.

“We have no other choice.” Hongjoong answered, knowing exactly what Yeosang was worried about. He turned around and held out his hand to the mint-haired boy.

“We all hold each other’s hands and under no circumstances let go.” Slightly hesitant, Yeosang stepped forward and took the hand that Hongjoong held out to him, then turned around and looked at Wooyoung, who was standing right next to him. Wooyoung looked at Yeosang a little nervously. He saw that Yeosang was hesitating, as if he wasn’t sure if he trusted Wooyoung enough to take his hand. To Wooyoung’s relief, Yeosang finally held out his hand and Wooyoung took it with a relieved smile. Seonghwa took Yunho’s hand, who was already holding Mingi’s hand tightly. Jongho and San hung at the back of the line, with San going last. When Hongjoong was sure that they were all holding on to each other, he took a deep breath, turned towards the tunnel and started walking. The rest of the line followed and they walked all together into the unknown.