House of the Nefarious

Chapter 9

I let out a startled shriek as my hand was violently yanked back. Sushi had darted out of my bag, and with a flick of his tongue the flower went up in flames.

I stared at the now burnt flora, startled by the sight of a small cloud of purple gas floating up from its remains.

"Hold your breath now," Hoseok ordered, removing his hand from around my wrist and pinching his nose instead.

I wasn't totally sure where Sushi breathed from, so I covered his mouth with my finger. Holding my breath wasn't one of my strong suits so I was hoping that the stupid purple gas would dissapear.

"You can breathe now," Hoseok muttered cautiously. I didn't even wait a second before I allowed my lungs to greedily consume the air.

I think I had developed a new appreciation for oxygen.

"What was that?" I asked the distraught man beside me.

"Nothing good." His brows were drawn tightly together and he bit his lip anxiously.

"We should go, I need to consult the library."

"We've only been here an hour and a half and you want to leave because of a flower."

His nervous gaze flattered and was replaced by something much cooler. "Yes Seoyeon, what you almost touched was a whispering daisy. They're harmless to everything but humans. If you had touched that," he mimicked the cut throat motion, "You'd have been poisoned."

"So the whispering was real?" I questioned. That must've been what inner me wanted me to see but the question was why.

He solemnly nodded. "Yes, I've become accustomed to it over the years, so I don't hear it anymore. They shouldn't be growing in the garden of purgatory though, it's much too damp."

A body jumped out from behind the bush and I let out a startled yelp. "What are you guys doing?" Yerim asked, a frown making its way onto her face when she noticed the tense atmosphere.

"I was almost assassinated by a plant," I explained.

She looked at a loss for words and I gave her a friendly pat on the back. "Well why don't we head to the welcome ball!"

Now it was my turn to look confused. "I forgot about that," Hoseok sighed. "Minhyuk was dead set on throwing a welcome ball for the exchange students."

I hadn't noticed before but Yerim had managed to change out of her uniform and into a white dress and even Hoseok was wearing black dress pants and a white shirt, though I was pretty sure that was his usual style.

I was about to walk in there looking like a whole clown.

"I have a spare dress you can borrow Seoyeon," she said as if reading my thoughts, and I watched in bewilderment as a green dress was pushed along the grass towards us.

She stooped down, picking the fabric up in her left hand and petting the grass with her right.

"The plants like me," she explained sheepishly, brushing off the dirt that clung to her hands.

She was emitting an orange hue and I assumed it had something to do with her embarrassment.

"Where does one get changed in a garden?" I joked, hoping to make her feel more comfortable.

"Where else would you go but behind the trees," she replied, looking confused that I would even ask such a question.

I let out a sigh, hoping that nudity wasn't a social norm here. I shot her a grateful smile and took the dress from her, before moving behind the nearest tree.