Hourglass || pjm ||

02

Seoreoun mameul moti gyeo
jammotdeuldeon eodun bameul ddo gyeon digo
naejeol manggwan sanggwan eopsi
musimhagedo achim eunnal kkaeune

I bobbed my head to the rhythm of V and J-Hope's cover of 'Hug Me' while walking to Johyun's house. It's 10 minutes to 11,almost time to gather for our trip to the museum.

Johyun's house came into view soon after. Scratch that, it was basically a mansion. Everything about the house was larger than mine. The chandelier in the dining hall was no joke too. They had a dancing hall in the basement where we always chilled in, and a pool on the rooftop. Johyun said that her house was designed by the person who had designed the parliament house. Pictures of it could be easily found on the internet.

Johyun's mom, Ms Kim, opened the door for me. She was a decent, dainty and lovable lady. "Nice to see you, Sung Rin, the girls are in the dance hall waiting for you. Heard that you all are going to the museum for some history," she winked, hinting that she knew that wasn't the case. "Have fun!"

I smiled at her and stepped inside the house after taking off my shoes and placing them on the rack. "Sure, Ms Kim," She ushered me in, then went off to bake red velvet cupcakes for us.

In my socks, I made my way towards the dance hall. I have been coming over to Jo's house since young, so I wouldn't get lost. If it was your first time here though, you probably would.

I walked through the long patio, into the living room and turned into the side hall. Every corner of this bungalow had been designed carefully. There were statues and artworks at every turn,giving me an artistic and elegant feel. Other than the two rows of horses along the sidewalk of her backyard, there was a huge painting in the middle of the living room.

The side hall wasn't bad either. It was a trendy, relaxing room, with detailed, eye-catching sculptures. Beanbags were placed on the floor, with a television settled in front of the couches. A white door below the stairs lead to the dancing hall. Before I even turned the knob, I could already faintly hear the loud screams.

"Annyeong chingus! Ready to go on our mission? " I exclaimed enthusiastically as soon as I saw all of my friends gathered in the dancing hall."Rin, we can always drop this trip you know." Yeon Young hinted with a raised eyebrow while the others all nodded.

"Aissshhh, you guys,'' I bumped my elbow with Yeon Young's elbow, "I'll treat you to bingsu after that okay?" They rolled their eyes, muttering an annoyed 'fine'. My smile widened at that. Although my friends put on tough look, they were soft marshmallows on the inside and can be really amiable when you get to know them.

"Enough of your detective stuff, Rin-aah! Do you want to go there or not? I packed enough food and supplies for all of us,especially for pig Jiwoo. They're all in my backpack," Johyun, announced. After packing several more supplies, (as Jiwoo said there would never be enough for her) we left for the museum.

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''We're finally here!" Johyun panted under her loaded backpack.

Standing in front of us was an impressive building with 5 floors. The multitude of windows in the building gleamed like eyes when it caught the sun. We quickly bought our tickets at student price at the counter and entered the colossal museum. The humongous front gates of the museum and the miniature park immediately captured our attention. ''Daebak!'' I managed to utter with my jaw still on the ground.

When we entered the museum, it was even more breathtaking than I imagined. The whoosh of the raw freezing air hit me bluntly in the face the moment I stepped onto the luxurious plush carpet of the museum. We were instantly warmly welcomed with warm greetings from the worker there and she offered us a tour of the museum. Of course, we politely declined as we weren't here to learn history but to find BTS. We quickly made our way further into the museum.

''Hmmm, according to sasaeng fans, BTS was last spotted at the room in which ancient artefacts were placed in. And according to the map of the museum, the ancient artefacts are just right over at level four.'' Yeon Young read from her phone. Together, we made our way to the lift and went to level four. As it was a work day, there was not much visitors at the museum.

We stepped into the dimly lit room at the end of the corridor. It was probably dimly lit so as to not damage the ancient artefacts stored in the glass boxes. The room was deserted and we were the only ones inside. "So this was where BTS was before they disappeared,'' I mumbled to myself.

'' Detective Rin, there's a mysterious lift here." Jiwoo called out to me. I spun around as a rusty lift came into sight. ''Ancient facts: This remarkable lift was dug out somewhere along the shores of Thailand , and has been here for at least 5 centuries, though archaeologists have yet to figure out how ancient people managed to come out with this modern day invention. Step into this lift and experience what it was like for the people in the past to take this lift! Guys, why don't we go into the lift, it might give us a hint or clue." I suggested with exuberance. Well, you never know. Besides, the wound up spring inside of me wouldn't go away.

The others agreed and we pressed a button which stated 'open ' on it and the lift doors slid open. ''Guys, I'm a bit creeped out by this lift? Can we go? It feels really weird and if I haven't remembered wrongly, it wasn't here the last time I came," Yeon Young cautioned us. "Aish, its okay, we're here, besides, what could go wrong?" I squeezed her arm, hoping it'll make her feel better somehow.

We stepped into the lift as the strong scent of rust hit our nostrils. Gagging a little bit, Yeon Young played around with the buttons in the lift. "Yeon Young, there's strange inscriptions on the interior. You better not press anything," I reminded her, but it was too late. Her thumb hit a red button and the lift doors slid close. Panicking, she started pressing all the buttons desperately, hoping for one of the buttons to open the lift doors, but her attempts were futile.

"What about this button?" Jiwoo suggested. She then jabbed a black button and the lights went out in the lift. I felt a drop. The lift became rocky and unsteady, before plunging down with full speed.

"Drop down to your knees!" Johyun warned us. I immediately dropped to the floor, my stomach against the cool rocky surface, hands supporting my body. My friends did the same.

The last thing I felt was Johyun's hands grasping my hand tightly , and Yeon Young's scream, just before I rolled and knocked my head. My eyelids grew heavier and I soon gave into nothingness when darkness came over me.