Ivory (Sequel to Porcelain)

Chapter 8: The Basement

"Kwangmin, we are on an important mission here! Why are you eating at a time like this?!"

Kwangmin turned around, looking very guilty. He stood in front of the fridge, his mouth full, his hand inside a deep plastic container housing stacks of light orange squares. He swallowed and then said, "What? I'm hungry. Donghyun made kimchi pancakes last night. Want some?"

"No I do not want some! Have you forgotten the reason we're here? We have to hurry!"

"Of course not! I just thought perhaps we would search better if we were well-fed." Kwangmin put the container back in the fridge (not neglecting to snag a few of the pancake squares for himself, of course) and then closed the door. "Let's get to it then."

"It's about time," I mumbled to myself, following him out into the hallway.

It felt very weird being in Donghyun's house without Donghyun there. It wasn't just about me feeling guilty for sneaking around...it was just a strange feeling. But maybe it had nothing to do with Donghyun's house at all. Earlier, I kept feeling like we were being watched or followed. Kwangmin, of course, had tried to "nicely" tell me that I was imagining things, but that didn't make me feel any better. There was still something vaguely there, something that just didn't feel right.

When we made it to the door to the basement, Kwangmin reached inside his pocket and pulled out an ordinary-looking silver key. I looked at it in mild surprise. "That's it? I was expecting something a bit more...ancient and magical-looking."

"I know right, you'd think he'd get something fancier since he's so secretive about this room all the time."

I nodded in agreement, then fixed my eyes with anticipation on the doorknob as Kwangmin fitted the key into the lock and then began to turn the door. He swung it all the way open with a loud creak, and then the two of us just stood there gazing down at the shadowy darkness below.

I half-expected Donghyun to pop out of nowhere and yell at us for invading his secret area, and I also half-disbelieved that we were doing this at all. There we were, standing before the room with so many questions and secrets, and yet I still couldn't believe it. It just had been too easy. The stealing of the key, the escape from school... Rather than making me feel better, the simplicity of it unnerved me.

"Come on," Kwangmin said, extending his leg over the threshold.

"Wait!" I cried, grabbing his arm. "Isn't it too dark? What if we trip down the stairs?"

"I've got you," Kwang said, grabbing my hand. "Don't be scared. There's a light switch at the bottom of the stairs."

I instantly became flushed. "It's not that I'm scared, it's just..."

He chuckled and stepped down onto the first step, leading me along with him. The light from the open door behind us wasn't nearly as bright as I would've liked, but it pierced the darkness enough for us to see the outlines of each stair in front of us. We descended slowly and cautiously, and the further down we went, the colder the air became. I actually started to shiver and wish I'd run upstairs and gotten a jacket from my bedroom before we started downward.

"Cold, right?" came Kwangmin's voice in the quiet dark.

"Yeah," I breathed, my voice echoing slightly. It was strange to hear my voice out loud after only hearing nothing but silence and the sounds of our feet landing on each wooden step.

"It gets warmer once the stairs end," he reassured me. "It's actually really cozy."

"I thought you'd never been down here," I said.