The Man Who Could Not Stop Time (Monsta X Fanfiction)

Chapter Twenty Three: Time to Dance

We were warped to the house in November of the previous year.

"Alright, so-" Hyungwon was starting to say, but he heard movement in a room.

"Whose there?" I heard an older man call from the hallway. He walked into the living room, and looked us all up and down.

'Oh shit, this is trespassing!' I thought. It was good he hadn't seen us time travel into the house, but we could get into trouble just for being here.

"Oh, are you here to view the house?" The man asked, brightening up.

I let out a sigh, glad that we had appeared during an open house. Otherwise we would be in huge trouble.

"Yes, we've pretty much seen all of it." Hyungwon came forward to speak for all of us, "We'll contact you later if we're interested in leasing."

"Alright..." The man seemed disappointed we were leaving so soon.

We exited the house and Jooheon turned to Shownu, "Where's the competition being held?"

Shownu let out a sigh, visibly annoyed. "It's going to be held at Starship."

"That's all the way across town!" Minhyuk gasped, "It's going to take at least an hour to walk there!"

"That's why I was going to tell Hyungwon to go back in time earlier, but here we are and it's..." Shownu looked down at his watch, "9:05! I might not have time!"

"There will be time." Hyungwon waved off Shownu's anger. "We just have to hurry. Come on, we'll get a taxi."

The group ran towards the street and we all tried to flag down a taxi. We would have to take at least two cars because there were six of us. Shownu eventually succeeded in getting a taxi and he hopped in; Changkyun, Jooheon, Minhyuk and I crammed. Hyungwon stood outside of the car, because there weren't enough seats.

"Find your way there." Shownu said, closing the door to the taxi and leaving Hyungwon on the side walk. He looked shocked that we were leaving him behind, "Starship entertainment please. I'll pay double if you get us there quickly.

The taxi driver sped through the streets of Seoul, nearly killing us in a car crash five times before arriving at the entertainment building.

We rushed out of the car, Shownu handing the driver money. There was a huge group of hopefuls standing outside of the building.

"I should be just getting here." Shownu said, the nervousness palpable in his voice. He looked at his watch and I checked mine as well, 10:01. "If we're lucky, I should be able to catch myself in time..."

I looked through the crowd and along the sidewalk, searching for Shownu.

"There I am!" Shownu yelled to us, pointing to a man dressed exactly like him that had just entered the building, "Shit! We're too late..."

Shownu looked upset, rubbing his temples and pacing back and forth.

"It's going to be okay. We'll get in another way." I said, putting a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

Shownu looked me in the eyes, and he seemed to calm down. He sighed, "You're right... there is another way in... but you guys might not love it..."

I stared at the large dumpster in front of us. The smell of the trash made me wish even more that we had caught current Shownu before he could get into the building.

"If someone props us up, I think Areum and I should be able to get into the building." Shownu said to Jooheon and Changkyun.

The both exchanged looks, "W-what do you mean prop you up?"

"Well..." Shownu looked at the closed dumpster. "You're going to have to help us get in the window right here." He pointed to the convenient open window that was above the trash bin. To get in you would have to be standing on the trash.

"Someone will need to keep watch too."

Jooheon stepped back to keep watch while Shownu motioned for Changkyun to come forward. "Get on your hands and knees." Shownu said, "We're going to have to use you as a step to get onto the dumpster."

"Gross." Changkyun muttered before doing as he was told. Shownu went first, stepping on Changkyun's back to climb onto the closed dumpster. Once Shownu stood on the dumpster, he turned and motioned for me to come along.

"Come on Areum." Shownu said, holding out his hand to help me.

"Sorry." I muttered to Changkyun before stepping onto his back and taking hold of Shownu's hand to get up.

"Okay, you guys can both keep watch now." Shownu said to Changkyun.

Shownu helped me get into the window first. It was just out of my reach, so he had to lace his hands together as a step to give me a boost first.

My heart raced as I pulled myself up and into the window. I was worried people would be in the room and we'd get caught, but luckily it was just a broom closet.

I sighed with relief now that I was in the building.

Shownu came next, I could hear some creaking from the dumpster as he jumped up and grabbed onto the frame, pulling himself in.

'Wow, he's really strong.' I thought, watching Shownu pull himself into the closet.

Once he was in the room, the broom closet seemed much smaller. We were pressed up against each other, which I didn't really mind. Shownu was looking into my eyes, and I stared back at him, sad that I would have to let him go soon.

He said, "I-I'll need a disguise."

The janitor's uniform was luckily still in here, and he took the hat and coat to put on over his stage outfit.

"Ready?" I asked him.

He nodded.

I reached for the handle of the door, but I felt Shownu grab onto my wrist and pull me into a hug before I could turn the knob. I was surprised at first, but hugged him tightly. I enjoyed the warmth of being in his arms, and was worried I wouldn't feel this again.

He pulled away from the hug and put a hand on my cheek, giving me a passionate kiss. I wrapped my arms around his neck, kissing him like it would be the last time.

But time wasn't on our side, and Shownu needed every second he could get.

I pulled away first, "We should get going." I said. "You've got a show to catch."