When You Were Here ✅

ㅅA Possibilityㅅ

I sat on the bed in the now empty room. My roommates were gone. My friends were gone. Gone. No trace of them. No clues or hints to go off of. How many more of us will disappear? I tugged on my hair in frustration. I hated that I couldn't do a thing. I made up my mind to try and do something rather than watch everyone get picked off or be a sitting duck. Where would I even start?

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I went back to where they last saw Eric. I moved leaves around in hopes there would be something that we missed. My finger brushed against something and I was quick to uncover it. "It's just a plastic bottle..." Even then, it could be a clue. I picked it up then inspected it. It looked normal. I couldn't find the cap. "Maybe it was blown away." I continued to look around but nothing else seemed to be present.

It probably would be best to have it analyzed, but I didn't have connections. I then thought of my mother. I dialed her number then waited for her to pick up. "Chang? Aren't you on your group trip?" "Yeah, but I just wanted to know if you were still in contact with one of you students. There's something I have that needs analyzing." "Oh, her. Yeah, we talk from time to time. I'll text you her number." She hung up then sent the text not too long after.

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"Then shake it." I shook the bottle and looked to see if any signs were present. "Eh, so this was used..." I heard someone knock on the door, causing me to spill a bit of its contents. "Who is it?" "Juyeon." I quickly hid everything in the closet then proceeded to act as normal as I could. "What brings you over here?" "I was just worried about you. What if you were the next target? Plus you're the only one alone in a room..." He made a valid point. "I'm fine. Nothing strange happened around me." He patted my head while smiling. It hurt to see that he didn't know what went on behind the scenes. "What's wrong?" "Huh? I...I'm just worried about our friends." "Me too. I really hope nothing bad has happened."

Juyeon closed the door behind himself, causing me to exhale. Eric was drugged. It was safe to assume the others were too as how else would they have been carried away that easily? I grabbed my bag then set out for the second crime scene. Kevin's scene.

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I circled the entirety of the lake. Nothing. Then it hit me. I took off my socks and shoes then jumped into the water. I looked around for anything suspicious. I couldn't find anything and had gone up for air. I repeated this a few times until I had spotted something. "It wasn't a bottle this time..." I floated for a bit while I thought. The person had used the water to their advantage. I shuddered at the order of events that played in my mind. They could've killed him if they weren't quick enough. I dove back in then quickly moved the rocks apart and pulled it out. It was easy to miss if you didn't look closely.

The sun began to set and the only clues I had were a sleeping drug and some string. The person was very resourceful and seemed to always make a clean getaway. I looked up at the sky then wondered if it was wise to continue searching despite night rolling in fast.

"And the yellow house." Where Chanhee had last seen them before ditching them. Meaning they could've been taken somewhere else. Even then, they could've used something and took it with them. Despite the odds stacked against me, I continued to look around. My phone started to ring and I checked the caller ID. "Sangyeon?" I accepted his call then put the phone to my ear. "Changmin? Are you okay? Where are you? Can you talk?" "I'm fine...What's with the sudden call?" "What's with the sudden call!? Do you know how worried we were hearing that you wouldn't answer the door then having staff unlock it and to see you weren't there!? And you ask-" "I get it. I'm sorry. I just went out for a walk. I was thinking too much and needed to clear my mind."

I had somehow managed to calm Sangyeon down, but had to head back immediately unless I wanted to receive a punishment from the entire group. Sangyeon could be pretty harsh when he wanted to be.

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I looked at Sangyeon who only nodded. "Would you rather Chanhee?" I frantically shook my head. "Now goodnight." I looked at Hwanwoong who was busy on his phone. "Think of it as a win-win. I win as I get a bed to myself and I get away from the cranky lesbian and aggressive dad. It's a win for you as now you're not alone and you're not rooming with Chanhee." "Valid points." I sat on the other bed then looked at him. "What?" "Why do you hate Eric so much?" "The past is the past. Eric is probably dead and gone." "You don't know for-" "Exactly. I don't know. That's why I can say it. He can be dead or can be alive."

I sighed heavily then noticed I had gotten his attention. "You know, I think it's good that this is happening now." I looked at him curiously. "It's giving us the wake up call we need." "Wake up call...?" He nodded then turned his attention back to his phone. "Our friendship has long since been tattered. Yet we act as if everything is okay."