Hell Hole

Chapter Twenty.

"Hello, Ma'am," Felix spoke as He bowed, walking into the hospital admission room. He strode towards the front desk, leaning against it. His bones had been aching terribly ever since He and Kirana had gone and investigated Jugyeom Studio. In fact, He had made a call sometime the day after to get in for a check-up.

"Hello, Mister," The Woman at the front desk spoke, typing onto her computer obnoxiously, "Do you have an appointment?"

"Ah, Yes," Felix murmured, nodding his head, "It should be under Felix Lee." He teased the back of his hair, stepping back and forth on the balls of his feet awkwardly.

The woman glanced up momentarily, typing in the name, "Ah, Yes. Doctor Bang is currently running late as of now," She murmured, "go take a seat in the waiting room."

"Thank you!" Felix exclaimed, grabbing for an anti-bacterial mask as he walked beside her desk. He scampered down towards a chair in the room, adjusting the mask to for his face.

A portrait in the corner of the room caught his eye, making his way closer to it instead of sitting himself down. He grasped the frame, holding it close to his face.

Five of the men from the studio He had searched a while back stood in a straight line, accompanied by another Male that looked far too familiar. He flipped the frame around, reading off the names in his head.

Changbin Seo, Kibum Choi, Christopher Bang, Minho Lee, Jisung Han, And...

Seungmin Kim.

Felix scraped through his mind, swallowing once He realized who he was. Kim Seungmin. He had gone missing a few months before, and He was the first reported case in the train of disappearances.

It couldn't have been a coincidence that he was with those men. There was no way. It just wasn't-

"Ah, I suppose you're Felix, It's nice to see you again." Chris talked from behind him, pressing against him closely, "That's a picture of when we volunteered for Senior care."

Felix swung around, dropping the frame back onto the desk in a desperate attempt to set it back down, "Ah," He bowed, meeting the Man's bleak eyes, "I see."

"We go once a month," Chris muttered, fixing the mask upon his face, "would you like to join us?"

"What?" Felix twisted his fingers into his sleeve, shaking his head, "Doctor... Do you know anyone of the name, Seungmin?"

Chris stiffened, cracking his knuckles one by one, "Of course, He used to live at the studio apartments I live at." He sighed, "We were both at the Orphanage Kichun when we were younger as well..."

"That's the name of this building though?" Felix pondered aloud, his eyebrows furrowed.

"I named it after that place to spread hope to those who were like me," Chris spoke lifelessly, "we were all once at the orphanage, except for the new people to our studio..." A smile quivered onto his lips.

"Everyone?" Felix interrogated, his lips agape in dismay.

"Yes, Mr. Seo was the owner... And it's cliché but He was like a father to Jisung, Kibum, Seungmin, Minho, and I." He fell further into a trance as He reminisced, "We all turned out like him. A wonderful man..." His voice broke, sounding like an offcut child. It was as if He switched, his eyes shining through with sadness, "Sometimes I wonder how I would've ended up without his guidance, I wish I-" His lips twitched, snapping out of it, "We better get you checked up before I have another appointment," He hurried passed the front desk, "I wouldn't want to keep anyone waiting."

"Why did you cut yourself off?" Felix prodded soon after, following after him feebly.

"You're very interested in me, let's just talk about your physical health instead of my past, Officer Lee.."

"Ah... I'm sorry."

   Chairs scraped and Glasses flittered together.

Jeongin took a seat infront of Hyunjin, settling against it.

"What would you like?" Hyunjin asked, licking over his lips, "We could share some knife noodles and Kimchi?"

"Ah, that sounds wonderful," Jeongin beamed, tapping the table with his fingernails, "We can split the check- would you like some Soju?"

"I did promise to take you drinking," Hyunjin tittered, calling over a waitress and ordering for the both of them.

They stayed silent for a moment, Hyunjin piping up once again, "What is He to you?"

"Who?" Jeongin whipped back, nipping on the inside of his cheek.

"Chris," He said with a duh, setting his chin on his palm, "You seem quite fond, yet scared of him..."

"I'm not scared of him," Jeongin claimed instantly, his eyes broad, "It's just..."

"Is He a stalker?"

"It seems so from everywhere He pops out at," The boy whimpered, the waitress setting the bottle of soju on the table, "Thank you." He nodded towards the woman.

She scampered away as soon as she mumbled a quick, "You're welcome," returning to work.

Hyunjin poured the liquid into two shot glasses, sliding one over to Jeongin, "Are you two seeing each other?" He asked glumly.

"In a way," Jeongin sighed, downing the shot, "We've slept together a few times-" his cheeks flushed, covering his face with his hands, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to just say it like that!"

"That's alright," Hyunjin snickered, his voice rumbly with joy, "I'm just surprised, from what I've heard you have a girlfriend."

Jeongin's mouth clamped shut, awkwardly shrugging, "Yeah... About that."

Hyunjin gasped, catching on right away, "So you're cheating on her?" He downed his drink, "Y'know, moving here must not have been a good idea for you."

"Moving into this studio hasn't been a good idea for neither you or me..." Jeongin trailed, the waitress setting down their food on the table, "Moving into there has changed me ever since the first week..."

"Did something happen?" Hyunjin asked faintly, grabbing a pair of chopsticks and twirling it into the noodles, "I said you looked that same as you did before to be nice but..." A temperate smile tugged on his lips, "Your eyes are duller than anyone else's, even the others at the studio- and even when you're happy, Jeongin."

"After watching that performance with you," Jeongin poured another glass, pushing what he said behind, "I realized we're quite similar." He tilted his head back, washing the Soju down his throat.

Hyunjin tilted his head, "And why's that?"

"We're both from the same town, " Jeongin spoke out drearily, "Were you raised by a single mother?"

Hyunjin nodded, "Yes."

"Me too," Jeongin took a bite of kimchi, washing it down with another shot.

"Really?" Hyunjin looked down at him, "You..." He sipped down another shot, "I thought you had a smooth life."

Jeongin's eyes bluntly bore into the Male, "But that being said, Hyunjin..." He spoke out gradually, "We need to get out of here before something happens."

He had finally come to his senses.

"What do you mean?" Hyunjin grimaced, his chopsticks falling from his fingers with a loud clank that bounced through the restaurant, "You're talking nonsense..."

"Everyone is apprehensive about each other in there," Jeongin averts his gaze to his lap, "you start to wonder why that is..." His eyes narrowed, continuing;

"I get countless nightmares whilst living in there that I've never thought I would experience before," his lips trembled, "Ones where I do excruciating things to other people." He broke down, tears brimming his eyes, "I'm scared.." He uttered weakly, looking up at Hyunjin. Their eyes correlated, "I'm so scared of myself and everyone else in there, Hyunjin. . ."