Viridescence | Yunho

༻ 25 ༺

"If you are the sun in the tropics, burn all of me."
- Jungle by Cix

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"Where are you going?" Yunho calls out while Jihyun storms away with her head ducked. She can't let Yunho find out that was her first kiss. Who has their first kiss at the age of twenty two?

She climbs up the stairs, automatically losing speed from fatigue. This is when Yunho finally uses his long legs to his advantage to take two steps at a time, catching up speedily. "Why won't you wait for me?" he pants.

"Because..." she drifts off, thinking of an excuse. When nothing comes to mind, she races back up the stairs again. She giggles slightly when she hears Yunho groan behind her before his footsteps follow. They finally reach the bottom of the next staircase leading to the newest floor. "This is it," she announces while waiting for the taller to catch up. His stamina has clearly gone downhill incredibly after being trapped in a little cell for so long.

"It...sure...is," he whispers while gasping for breath. Jihyun chuckles a little seeing his entire face matching shades with his fluffly pink hair. "We'll go slower now if it helps," she smiles. Yunho also straightens up. "Thank you."

They slowly and steadily ascend the new flight of stairs, lined with the same red carpet. The upper floor is barely visible. Only a bit of the royal blue wall can be seen.

They finally reach the top and Jihyun starts to soak in their surroundings like a sponge. The walls are a plain vibrant blue colour, and the floor is lined with tiles like the previous floor, but this time it's white marble instead of light green. The familiar hints of gold are still peeking out in the small details of the decor, just like every floor. She looks to the left and then to the right, seeing nothing but a seemingly endless array of doors and windows.

Her first instinct is to approach a window and observe the view. Just as expected, they're pretty high up now and trying to jump or climb from here could be fatal, especially considering how weak and malnourished the pair currently are. She stares out to the empty green fields past the mansion. They really are in the middle of nowhere. All she sees is a long driveway, the main road being too far for her too even find.

The sky is obscured by a thick layer of fluffy clouds, all matching the marble tiles underneath them: glowing white with a few bits of grey. This floor feels considerably cooler than the others, but it might just be an illusion from the cold toned walls and floor. Even the lights on this floor are back to the clear crystal, resembling shards of ice hanging from the ceiling. If each floor was a separate country, this one would definitely be Antarctica.

Jihyun turns around to find the adorable giant patiently waiting for her to finish her survey on the surrounding area. Seeing as he simply awaits her instruction, she automatically takes the lead. "Let's try opening every single door until we find an unlocked one!" she ambiguously instructs.

He tilts his head in confusion by the simplicity of the plan, but decides it's easy enough so he turns to the left of the hallway. Jihyun turns to the right and immediately gets to work. There is no large staircase leading to a higher floor like from the other floors, so she assumes that if there's something to find, it'll be here. Although she fears it'll be well hidden in a locked room. If that's the case, which it most likely is, she'll have to construct a much more elaborate plan to find her proof.

When she reaches the third locked handle, she freezes. Should she be prioritising finding proof to get this gang arrested when she's in charge of escaping? Her goal has changed ever since Mingi and Wooyoung have been dragged here too. She can no longer simply do her job while waiting to be rescued. She's the only one with the skill and knowledge that is in the position to find an escape route. Finding the gang's drug stash should be the least of her worries.