Matchmaker: BOOK I [Y/N X KAI]

✨ Chapter 52 ✨

"Well, then what are we waiting for? Let's find him!" I tell him.

We walk around the school for a while when I pause and turn to him "Alright, how do we track this guy down?"

"Hello there" A voice pops up from our back. I turn around when I bump into him. Ack!

Ah. This must be Mr. Byun Baekhyun.

"Whom were you trying to track down?" he asks.

"Um, hi there. I guess you're Mr. Byun? I was just wondering if you might be able to help us?" I say politely, and maybe a lot awkwardly.

"I've helped many in my times. It remains to be seen if you’ll be one of them," he rolls his eyes.

Wait what?

I push Yeonjun away and whisper to him, "Are you sure this is our guy, Yeonjun?"

"Yep. I'm absolutely sure! Baekhyun hyung might be a little..eccentric. But I can promise that he knows this school better than anyone else!" Yeonjun whispers back to me.

"What are you guys hissing about?" he growls in a an annoyed tone.

I turn around and smile at him, "So, Baekhyun, aren’t you a janitor yoda? You're going to guide on this journey with mystical wisdom, aren’t you? You're..not going to try and ride on my back, are you?"

He rolls his eyes, "Ask me what you will."

File this under: Weird stuff I didn't expect to be doing as a wedding planner.

"We were wondering if you might know where an old time capsule might've ended up?" I say with a smile, but deep inside, I'm dying in embarrassment. Cool down, Niki. This is no big matter, this just sounds like the weirdest question anyone ever asked in centuries.

Baekhyun glares at me in a way that confirms my doubt even more. I don’t know what to say.

"Um, it..was made by a couple in the eighties who went here?" I add. Baekhyun still stares at me with a frown. No, Niki, this addition isn’t helping.

"Actually, they're getting married today, here, so, uh.." I look up at him, "Time is of the essence."

He actually looks like he's taking me seriously for a moment. He nods, "The secrets of this school have been passed down from janitor to janitor for as long as I can remember. The ever changing layout is a carefully guarded secret, and only the worthy may know of it."

Of all the weddings I've been to so far, this one's definitely shaping up to be the strangest one.

"Answer this riddle, and you shall find what you seek," his voice deep, like he's an actual old wizened mystic.

I was supposed to be managing the wedding events, looking on the guests and ensuring the arrangements are properly done. But here I am, sometimes running up to my ex, sometimes fixing family crisis and sometimes fixing riddles too. Wow, life.

"Sure, tell us the riddle!" I say.

He clears his throat, "I'm filled up, however never go down. Go too deep and you may drown. Sometimes I'm cold, but the other times I'm not so bad. Most never see me before they grad."

"Huh, what could that mean?" Yeonjun gasps.

"The answer's probably, um..I don't know, stress?" I shrug.

"Hmm, I don't know if that makes any sense. It has to be something else," Yeonjun taps his chin.

"What about pressure?" I ask. Okay, I'm just randomly saying things now. I can't think so much.

"Stress and pressure are almost the same thing. And it's not like you don’t see it before graduating. So, I'm not so sure if that's it," Yeonjun sighs.

"It’s not," Baekhyun says. Wow, thanks Baekhyun.

Yeonjun repeats the riddle in his mind while drawing imaginary circles with his fingers. Man, he's really trying hard. How do people even do that?

"Oh, what about a pool?!" Yeonjun suddenly exclaims. Well, exactly! That makes perfect sense. It's filled up with water, you can drown in it. It's usually but not always cold. This got to be it.

"You're brilliant, Yeonjun!" I state.

Baekhyun tosses his head, "You've passed the test. Now you can go and find what you seek." saying so, he mysteriously retreats into the odd wizard janitor shadows from which he came.

"Okaaay..I guess we're on our own to get to the pool," I glance at Yeonjun.

"Well, that's actually the part I'm stuck on. We don't actually have a pool, there isn’t a swim team or anything.." Yeonjun says confusedly. Oh wow. So Baekhyun played us. He just wasted our time babbling about a non-existing pool. I swear, this will be the first and last time I take advice from a mysterious janitor wizard.

"So, I guess this is a lost cause.." I let out a sigh and prepare to go back.

Yeonjun stops me by grabbing my hand, "No, wait! There's a rumour about a secret pool that gets passed down from all the upperclassmen. But I've never seen it."

I gasp, "There might be a secret pool at your school and you've never tried to find it? What kind of teenager are you?"

"A smart one, duh," he rolls his eyes, "You see, I'm trying to get into a good college. I'm not going to let something like that get into my record."

Woah, I respect it. I don’t fully understand it, but I respect it.

"So? What are we going to do?" I frown.

"Well, I do know about a door that's always locked up and no one's ever allowed inside.

"So you're willing to risk your spotless record for this very worthy cause, huh?" I chuckle.

"Nope. If we get caught, know that I'm blaming it all on you," he tosses his head. Wow, the attitude of this kid.

"Deal done," I laugh. A secret door, this school has a freaking secret door.

I follow Yeonjun's lead and get in front of a door, only to realize it's already unlocked.

✨ To Be Continued ✨