HELLISH, atz

hellish ; one

wooyoung, in a desperate attempt to escape his overbearing parents, moves into a new apartment complex and meets his rather strange flatmates.

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contains:
profanity, horror, gore, death, interactive chapters, mentions of mental illness/suicide, mild sexual content, mentions of blood.

(black background advised)

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Wooyoung pressed his head against the window of the backseat of the taxi he was currently in, trying his hardest not to release the elongated sigh threatening to bubble out his lips. His eyes were sore from fatigue, his throat dry from overexertion and thirst, and at that moment he wanted nothing more than to just to shut himself out from the rest of the world -- forever.

But the sound of the public vehicle's tires crackling over the concrete wouldn't let him drown in the slumber weighing on his bones. The low pop song droning from the taxi's radio reminded him of the oh-so-familiar music he'd heard playing from one of his mother's main fashion branches in Gangnam, and Wooyoung exhaled bemusedly at the memory.

He couldn't afford to think about his mother -- his parents, for that matter. He was on a mission after all to free himself from the tight leash they'd had him ensnared in. Him even being inside this taxi all alone on his way to his new apartment was proof enough that he didn't need their money or their constant surveillance to survive.

He was gonna be fine on his own. He was fine on his own. And that wasn't going to change anytime soon.

The taxi driver, a stout middle-aged man with thin eyebrows, swiftly exchanged eye contact with him from the rearview mirror. He was nearing a much steeper road lined by bushy trees, so it was understandable when he started slowing down.

"Do I still need to go on?" The man asked as his eyes surveyed the road quite warily. "Doesn't even look like there's civilisation up ahead..."

"Just stop right there," Wooyoung replied, already unbuckling his seatbelt. Yes, he'd already been informed about the minimal but extra distance he'd have to cover once he reached the rusted sign titled Yonghwan Avenue, but he hadn't imagined a road pushing further into unknown destinations ahead.

Whatever, Wooyoung thought as he stepped out of the taxi, hauling his two suitcases out of the vehicle. Yet still, the driver kept his eyes on him, and his stare was beginning to irritate Wooyoung.

"You got someone to pick you up?" The driver asked.

"Yes." Wooyoung curtly nodded and paid the man his cash, not really in the mood to chat further.

"Really? I don't see any car anywhere."

Wooyoung stared upwards at the ashy clouds and the burning orange skies. It was nearing evening time, but the breezy atmosphere did next to nothing to cool the anxious beads of sweat dotting his neck.