ateez - in his mind

six

San and Mingi both leaned in to read what it was that had Jongho so concerned. The big bold letters at the top of the article couldn't be mistaken, even though neither of them believed what they read. It felt like both were having an awful prank pulled on them. Pure disbelief.

"A volcanic eruption? Here?" Mingi eventually said. He looked to Jongho, hoping that it wasn't true. But his expression remained cold, telling Mingi that it was, in fact.

"Also, why do these people predict the destruction to be so high?" San asked while moving away from the laptop. Jongho looked down and sighed out of worry. Even he found this news difficult to believe.

"From what I read, there's a small mountain less than an hour away from here. It's been causing low-range earthquakes for a while now; except they've recently been growing in strength. I guess it gives them reason to believe that it's going to erupt," Jongho explained. The other two still had many more questions but they decided not to ask, not until more information was released. Besides, there was another question that San needed to ask Mingi.

The two friends went back to their game, Mingi clearly having more experience and beating San through every race. However, San refused to admit this and blamed his awful Mario Kart skills on the old remote. They had a nice time together, but both of them were still clearly bothered by the news from Jongho.

"Hey, can I talk to you about something?" San asked Mingi after they finished the Rainbow Road track. Mingi nodded and put his remote down, the TV screen now showing that Mingi won first place. He could see the hesitation from San and waited patiently for him to talk.

"Last night I was hanging out with my older brother Yunho, listening to random peoples' thoughts for fun. When we got to the last person I suggested that I try listening to the farthest person possible, and we both thought that it was a good idea. Except, the voice I heard was pretty terrifying, the voice was super deep and all I heard it say was a bunch of random numbers. I don't know what it means, but it's been bothering me ever since."

Mingi nodded as San told him the story, and he turned off the console once he was finished. This had been a bit of a crazy day for him, his new friend can read minds and heard a scary voice, and now the whole city may end up having to evacuate because of a strange volcanic eruption. It took a minute for him to respond while he gathered his thoughts.

"Have you tried to hear it again? What if the numbers ended up being significant?" Mingi asked before placing his hand on San's shoulder. San shook his head.

"I guess it wouldn't hurt to try again..." San mumbled. Mingi nodded then went to the kitchen to grab a pen and paper for writing the numbers down. When he sat back down next to San, it was obvious he was scared.

"Hey, if it gets too scary, just remember that I'm right here and that nothing bad is going to happen," Mingi said reassuringly. San looked down and nodded. He would be alright. He closed his eyes, feeling comfort from Mingi's hand now resting on his. After a few minutes of searching, San was able to hear the inhumanely deep voice once more.

"I found it."

Mingi nodded his head, even though San couldn't see him he felt the need to reassure him in every way possible. He asked San if he could hear the same numbers, receiving a nod in return.

3 8 1 1 9 1 2 8 4 6 6 0

San jumped when he exited the mind of the mystery being. The voice was still just as terrifying as the previous night, but San was grateful for the presence of both Yunho and Mingi. Mingi left once again to grab San a glass of water and a small snack. As he was returning to where he sat, San looked over at the paper with the twelve numbers written on it.

"What do you think they could mean?" asked San, looking up at Mingi with confusion. They clearly weren't a phone number or any known math constant. It was nice to have the numbers written out, however they were of no significance if they couldn't figure out the meaning behind them. It was as though they were trying to solve a puzzle without receiving any rules. Rather than Mingi, it was Jongho who spoke, walking out from his room.

"I will be back tomorrow," he said. Mingi turned to him in surprise, not expecting Jongho to be standing there.

"Where are you going?" questioned Mingi.

"Well, it seems as though I have yet another investigation to conduct. I'm going to stay with Yeosang tonight. I should be back before dinner tomorrow," Jongho stated. Without letting Mingi ask any more questions, he left the house wordlessly. Silence ended up taking over, both boys having more questions now than ever before.

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A/N: Double update today~~