Playing The Dreams // a Dreamcatcher story

Chapter 25

❝ 𝐈𝐟 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞, 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧. ❞

~

Namjoon rushed in the room. "It's happened more than once now. Look." He jogged slowly with the tablet towards Taehyung. Displeased, Taehyung cruelly snatched the tablet from Namjoon's hands and started to do his own adjustments. He grunted in frustration, strengthening his grip on the device. "Prepare the backup plan."

"But Taehyu---"

"I said do it!"

"It'll take some time."

"I don't care! We need to make this project work whatever it takes. I told you, I can't be humiliated."

Namjoon took one step forward rapidly, grabbing Taehyung's vest. He shoved his face closer. "But what if it isn't only about humiliation? What are you going to do if it costs your life?"

Taehyung gritted his teeth, and whispered, "If it does, then I won't be alive to experience it."

Namjoon shook him harshly. "Are you not considerate of us?! Of your doctors, scientists, engineers, Yoongi, Me?! Think about it!"

"I did before I even recruited you!" He pushed Namjoon off and the whole facility froze, staring at them. The two panted as if they just exited a fight. Taehyung stroked his hair back. "I want this to be ready by tomorrow, is that understood?"

With his fiery glare and devillish eyes, Namjoon nodded in surrender.

"Good." He fixed his vest and turned the moment everyone went back to work.

➳

"SuA unnie?!"

"Yoohyeon! Handong! Thank goodness you're here," SuA panted while weeping out a few tears. "G-Get me out," she murmured. Handong, who had the crowbar, proceeded to unlock the chains.

"How are you here?"

"I.. I don't know. I was at the 'Fly High' music video shooting. The roots, the restraints, they were getting to me until I ended up here. I heard.. Gahyeon too. She must be here, right?! Tell me you found her!"

Yoohyeon and Handong exchanged glares. "Erm, no not yet."

SuA let out a deep sigh.

Crack!

Handong released SuA from the chains. "There." SuA shook her wrists and rubbed it. "Thanks."

"We were thinking. If we were able to find each other, then the other members should be here too, won't they?" Yoohyeon explained while hoping for a positive response. "Yeah, but another thing. You might not believe us but.. We might be in a dream."

SuA's face merged into a confused expression as she stood up, but then turned back normal surprisingly. "Makes sense."

Everyone took a pause to inhale a breathe or two. This situation was nothing like anything they ever imagined. Trying to take in the situation, their bodies started to feel a bit fatigued after all the running and shouting. SuA then stepped forward and walked out the door. "If you're right, the members are around here somewhere. Come on, I reckon it won't be that easy."

"Wait," Handong ran down to hold the elder's wrist, "what about Taehyung?"\

"What about him?"

"You think he has something to do with this?"

Yoohyeon and SuA glared at each other. "Most likely."

With the rain drizzling over the roof, they quickly rushed out to find their other members, having faith they were even there. They kept with them the crowbar in the case of finding the others chained up like SuA was. Yoohyeon stood in between the two and hung her hand on Handong. Each of them showed courageous faces while peeking into each building but deep inside they were no more than a frightened little cat in the face of a tiger.

Yoohyeon's body jumped when her own foot crashed a trashcan by the road.

"Sorry," she apologized after calming herself. "I don't remember the music video set to be this.. Realistic."

"What do you mean? It's been like this, well I mean, it is raining."

"No I mean, there's a change in vibe. It feels more.. Dangerous. Like any moment, something could pounce at---"

Then thunder rumbled in the distance, following by a sound of crashing objects from the distance. Yoohyeon hid behind Handong and SuA. SuA gripped the crowbar and drew it a bit in front of her. "It's probably a cat, or an animal. C-Come on." The rain kept pouring, the pause of rain when they found SuA was momentarily, they were soon drenched with rain. Yoohyeon covered her scalp with her hands, knowing it would not help but kept on doing it anyways.

Then another crash of objects, like alumunium to bricks, and then a faint whisper.

SuA froze in the spot and turned her head to the right, where the sound came from. Yoohyeon knew that with SuA's sudden movements, she wanted to go there. She grabbed her shoulders and shook it. "Unnie, don't go there! Please! Who knows what's--- Unnie!" Yoohyeon kept shouting as SuA moved towards it. She was later shushed. "Do you want to be heard? Yoohyeon, calm down."

Handong, who Yoohyeon held onto, also crept forward. Baffled by their brave appearance, Yoohyeon ran towards SuA, not wanting to be left behind. "D-Don't leave me though!"

Both Handong and SuA hushed her.

"U-Unnie, who do you think it is?"

"I don't know Yoohyeon, just keep low and quiet."

Their legs slowly walked, foot by foot in front of the other. They crouched down and tried to make their presence seem absent, but one mistake, one simple mistake, could cost them all. They traveled light, their feet did not make too much noise when squishing the wet street, but apparently traveling light is not all that matters --- it is the steps you take. Hoping they would even get a glimpse, something plopped into the wet puddle, making an echoing noise through the alley.

SuA and Handong turned to Yoohyeon. "Kim Yoohyeon!" SuA scolded, half whispering, half shouting. Yoohyeon covered her mouth and tried to apologize, but the moment they turned back their attention to the main objective, a giant shadow appeared. "H-Hello?" a call, right in between shouting and normal speaking, entered their ears.

"Someone.. Someone's here," Handong said.

SuA turned and walked two steps forward to the corner of their hiding spot. "Stay put." SuA approached the shadow that stretched from the path on SuA's right. With the rusty crowbar smeared in between her fingers, she gripped it tighter to prepare for what's to come.

"Hello?" the voice echoed again, this time showing some uniqueness in their voice. The three tried to process who might that be but that only distracted them from the truth. With the third call, SuA ran out and pointed the crowbar at the shadowy figure.

Screams came out. Handong and Yoohyeon exchanged looks and immediately rushed to help, but before they managed to even get a foot behind SuA, she exclaimed, "Siyeon!"