Stay Away (Taeyong x Reader) <NEW!>

Gateway Found // Chapter 1

The ember glow of dusk swept across the town of Onyx. Shadows have begun to grow deeper, accompanied by unwelcomed gushes of biting cold air. The wind travelled through the trees at such a speed where one could hear its sound, almost like a sinister whistle. No one would dare to go outside around this time. Most would stay nestled inside their homes with the familiar comforts of a fireplace or a mother's home cooked meal. Yet, with this seemingly calm spring night came a sense of dread. An ominous sense that was felt by every soul alive that night. Somehow, everyone knew that this night would mark the end of tranquility for this small town. Soon these unspoken fears would burst into reality and the town of Onyx would never be the same again.

At times where the wind would seem to slow down one could hear the marching footsteps, laughter, chatter of a group of young men. 21 men to be exact, known to the people of Onyx as the group called ''NCT''. They were the talk of the town. 21 attractive, enthusiastic, talented, rambunctious guys that would make everyone's head turn. In many ways, they were the soul of the town itself. Admired, respected and loved by everyone, the old and the young. On this night they were heading towards the Northern Woodlands, popular for camping trips and such. And so the NCT boys brought along camping gear, food, a couple guitars, the works. As they walked through the dense, endless sea of trees and shrubs they came across a small forest clearing. Perfect to set up camp!

''Hey! Can some lend me a hand with this tent?'' Mark cried out to the rest of the group. ''These tent poles are not going to hold up with these strong winds tonight...''

Jaehyun walked over to Mark's tent set up, examining it, noticing the flaws immediately.

''No wonder you're struggling, the tent is upside down man!'' ''And the poles are not even attached to anything.'' Jaehyun broke into a fit of laughter, Mark and the others soon joined in.

Eventually, all the tents were set up and the boys were sitting around a campfire with the nightime stars looking upon them. While most were busy talking, eating and even singing one of them wandered away from the group and began walking to the edge of the forest clearing. That person was the leader of NCT, Taeyong. As much as he loved being everyone else, sometimes he would seek out places that were a bit more quiet. Tonight was no different. In complete darkness he stood there, he did not fear it. As he looked up at the full moon he heard hurried footsteps coming towards him.

''TY! What on earth are you doing here?'' Ten yelled out as he ran towards Taeyong.

''Just taking in the scenery Ten, that's all.''

''Well then you must have the best eyes in the world, or you must be an owl. It's pitch black out here! Hell I'm surprised that I was able to find you here.'' Ten remarked, Taeyong stayed quiet.

''You sure you're okay man?''

Taeyong took a deep breath before answering. ''I-i don't know. Something feels off tonight. I can't explain it.''

''Give it a try.''

''I can't, Ten. Something just feels wrong. You know this place, you and I especially, we have been here many times before. In broad daylight, at midnight and I never felt like this before. Tonight, the sky seems darker, it's colder, I can't even hear a single cricket. Can you?''

''I mean, It is a bit quieter than usual but that could just be a coincidence. Come on, let's go back to the guys, Johnny and Mark about to start an epic rap battle! And when I say epic, I will be the judge of that.'' Ten said proudly.

Taeyong chuckled and nodded his head in agreement. Just as they were about to return to the campsite, Tayeong felt the urge to look back. He did and in the moonlight, in between the tall blades of grass he saw something. He began to walk back.

''Taeyong? Dude, what are you doing?''

Taeyong bent over and picked up a small gold key. He lifted it up, Ten looked at it with a face of confusion.

''S-someone probably must have dropped their house key or something. Come on TY lets go.''

''It does not look like a normal houskey to me Ten...''

Taeyong scrubbed some dirt away from the key. ''Look! Something is engraved in the key.''

''Well, what does it say?''

''No idea, I have never seen letters like these before. Some ancient language perhaps?'' After staring at the key for a few more seconds, suddenly and without explanation, Taeyong felt an irresistible urge, a flood of curiosity, he wanted to know what door this key could open. He took a few careful steps further into the forest. Ten, who had given up on returning back to the others, reluctantly followed Taeyong.

A few minutes of silent walking passed. Ten walked anxiously, thinking about what Taeyong said earlier. Their eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness, strange shapes began to come into view.

''Ten! Ten! Look at this!''

Ten jumped in shock. ''JEEZ! Scared the hell out of me man! What is it?!''

The moonlight illuminated something strange... it looked to be an ancient portal, or gateway. It looked decrepit, dirty, covered in strange symbols.

''Ten, bring the others! They got to see this!''

Ten ran back in excitement to tell the others what they had found. As excited as they all were, it didn't make sense. They have all been in this forest before, they know it inside and out. Surely they would have noticed the ancient portal... right?

''So you mean to tell me that we have been here 100 times before, and no one has ever noticed this portal just chillin over here?'' Lucas said jokingly.

''Guess so, maybe it got built recently?'' Mark replied.

''No wayyy! Look at it! It's so old, it must have been built maybe a 1000 years ago!'' Jaemin said.

''Aaah so it's nearly as old as Mr Moon Taeil!'' Ten said laughing to himself.

In response, Taeil threw a stick against Ten's head. ''NOT FUNNY TEN!''

''Come on it was! Oh well, lets just go back and we will check out the portal again in the morning.'' The rest agreed and they were all slowly making their way back to the campsite. After all, it was getting late.

''Wait!''

They all turned around to see that Taeyong was still standing in front of the portal. Fixated. There was a moment of silence until Taeyong said: ''What if the key opens this portal? The key hole looks like it's the perfect size for it.''

Ten looked concerned while the rest of the boys were confused. ''Key? What key? What were you two doing over here?'' Ten ignored the questions and walked up to Taeyong. His eyebrows were furrowed, his hands were sweaty and cold.

''Taeyong. I don't think that's a good idea. Lets just leave it alone.''

''Why not Ten? This thing probably just some sort of decoration anyway, might as well just see if the key fits. What's the big deal?''

''Remember that weird feeling you had before? Yeah! Now I have it too! Seriously Taeyong, that thing looks evil as hell. It will probably curse us or something. Lets just go!''

Taeyong turned around to make eye contact with Ten and then looked back at the key resting in his hand. Ten let go of some of his tension, he thought that he had convinced Taeyong not to do it. He was wrong. It practically happened in slow motion. As if he was being controlled by some sort of supernatural force, Taeyong swiftly turned around and twisted the key into the lock, almost in a panic.

Ten screamed at Taeyong to stop but it was too late. The rest of the boys stood there frozen, confused and almost frightened by the behavior of not only Taeyong but also Ten.

Then it happened. Everything around them began to shake as the portal opened. In a split second, before the boys could even comprehend what was happening, there was a blinding flash of light and they all disappeared. The portal then closed and also disappeared. As if it was never even there in the first place. The only thing that was left behind was that one small, gold key.