ISS 2014: for scheska
Title: i can't see anything (but you)
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Bandfic, Sunggyu/Woohyun
Length: 4,343 words
Summary: When a malfunction happens on the set of Last Romeo, INFINITE goes on an unexpected journey -- but no one is more surprised by the end of it than Sunggyu.
Note: scheska, I loved your prompt and I hope you enjoy what I've done with it as well!
To: scheska
From: Your Secret Santa
"Well. This wasn't quite what I was imagining." Sunggyu hefts the weighted sword that has suddenly appeared in his hand.
Howon blinks as a wind trips through the bookshelves, whipping his red cloak up around him in a glorious fashion. "Do you suppose the production crew's taken the Last Romeo concept a bit too seriously? I mean, these are some serious special effects."
Sungyeol snorts. "I doubt even they would have even able to make this come to life."
A minute ago, they'd been standing amongst the bookshelves, looking lonely and sad as the cameras panned around them. A minute later -- well, they were still standing amongst said bookshelves, but it was as though a switch had been snapped off. The sounds of the filming and lighting crew were gone, together with the shouting of the PD and the rousing strains of their latest single blaring through the sound system.
Instead, what is left is a distinctly creepy silence, and the disconcerting sound of wind blowing through the shelves even though there isn't an motorised fan in sight. The ceiling is gone, but the walls stretch high and smooth -- higher than they can hope to scale. There's a moon in the middle of the dark sky. The light scatters and shifts as the wind presumably drives the clouds across the sky.
Howon cranes his neck to look around. "How are they doing this?"
"I knew we shouldn't have agreed to film in that abandoned library," Dongwoo frets, looking quite pale. "Who knows what could have been lurking there? Especially when we ripped up all their books..."
"Unleashing a dark force out for revenge," Woohyun jokes.
Mungsoo is busy swishing out his cloak approvingly. "At least I still look good."
"You can't even see what you look like," Sunggyu protests.
"Myungsoo always looks good," Sungjong says loyally. Myungsoo shoots him a pleased look, and Sungjong beams.
"At least Last Romeo isn't playing on endless repeat in the background," Woohyun says, ever optimistic.
"I'm not so sure that's something to be happy about," Sunggyu mutters. "Seeing as we're about to become last Romeos ourselves."
Sungyeol's examining the dirt on the floor. "Look. There are footprints leading out of this place."
"How do you know they're not just leading us further in?" Howon says doubtfully.
"Into the jaws of the one who awaits us," Woohyun intones, voice hollow behind Dongwoo's right shoulder. Dongwoo moans in agony and hides his face behind his hands.
"Do we really want to follow a set of unknown footprints?" Sunggyu interjects, because someone has to be the voice of reason here, and it certainly isn't going to be his group mates.
As though his words were a cue, the whole room starts to rumble and shake, and books start falling out of the shelves.
"I guess the answer is yes," Sungyeol says, ducking a book that comes flying at him. He rights himself and throws his hand out dramatically. "Ahead, me mateys, into the land of adventure!"
"I don't even want to know how many universes he's mashed together with that one," Howon mutters, but they all follow obediently behind.
~*~
It takes about three hours of trekking through dusty shelves and fallen books for Sungjong to start grumbling.
"It's not that I'm grumbling," Sungjong says -- totally grumbling, Sunggyu thinks -- "but I think we should regroup."
"Is that a fancy word that means 'stop and take a break'?" Sunggyu can't help needling him. "Because you could have just said that."
Sungjong shoots him a look of death. Sunggyu doesn't bother to keep his own smugness off his face.
"Let's all take a break," Woohyun says, stepping in between them. "I could use a breather!"
As the group settles down and looks for a comfortable place to sit, Woohyun sidles up to Sunggyu. "Everything okay?"
Sunggyu squints at Woohyun, then decides he's not the cause of his increasingly foul mood. He sighs. "I just hope the crew finds out what went wrong and gets us out soon. We're only halfway through the MV shooting and we've only got two days to do this."
Behind them, Dongwoo laughs raucously as Howon presumably cracks a joke, lighthearted with the unexpected break. Myungsoo gives him a large push and he topples over, still laughing and twitching on the floor.
Sunggyu turns back and pinches the bridge of his nose. "And then there's the photo shoot for the album jacket, and our appearance on Weekly Idol -- and what made us think it was such a good idea to have a comeback at this time of the year, anyway? We should have put it off another year. Maybe two."
"It figures you'd be worrying about all that," Woohyun says with a grin. He slides his hands across Sunggyu's shoulders and begins kneading lightly, just the way he knows Sunggyu likes it. Against his better senses, Sunggyu leans back into the massage. "Just think of this as an unexpected break... In the middle of filming..."
"...with a bunch of rowdy kids..."
Woohyun laughs. "You're such a mother. They've all grown up now, you don't have to worry about them so much."
Sunggyu turns and levels a dry look at Woohyun. "As if you don't."
"Well, some things become habit after a while," Woohyun admits. "And it's not so bad, doing it toether with you." He seems to want to say something more, but hesitates, hands still warm on Sunggyu's shoulders. "You know -- "
"Dongwoo!" Sunggyu interrupts sharply, his eyes caught by an unexpected movement. "What are you doing?"
Dongwoo looks guiltily at Sunggyu, mouth full of some unknown substance. "Um."
"Where's Howon?" Sunggyu snaps. "Shouldn't he be keeping you out of trouble?" It takes Woohyun's warning hand on his arm and Dongwoo's crestfallen expression for Sunggyu to realise how harsh his words were.
"But Howon was the one who gave it to me," Dongwoo mumbles.
"Where's Howon now?"
Dongwoo points.
They spin around in time to see the surprised look on Howon's face just before he vanishes into thin air. The piece of bread he was eating falls to the floor, with nothing to hold it up. Inexplicably, something white starts to fall from the ceiling, like snowflakes. Sunggyu reaches out and grasps some in his hand; they're flower petals. He stares in shock.
Woohyun's voice rings urgently in the silence. "Dongwoo. Dongwoo?"
But there's no one behind them.
Overhead, clouds obscure the moon.
~*~
They spend the next half an hour searching for them. There aren't many places to look -- the place they settled at for a break was a large, empty space, dusted with dirt. Dongwoo and Howon's footprints accompany the other five to the rest point, before abruptly vanishing.
Myungsoo is vocal in his distress. Sungjong is eerily silent. Sungyeol wonders if it's an elaborate joke. But Howon's surprised expression stays with Sunggyu and deep within himself, he knows it wasn't. His stomach rebels at the implications of that thought.
"But they've got to be somewhere," Sungjong keeps repeating.
Sunggyu is tense enough that he barely escapes snapping at their maknae. He doesn't know when Woohyun slipped his arm through his, but the preemptive tightening on his arm stops Sunggyu from saying something he'll regret. He glances at Woohyun, who stares impassively back. Sunggyu breaks the gaze first.
"Let's move on," he says curtly. "We can't stay here." Beside him, Woohyun tenses but doesn't pull away.
Myungsoo looks like he's about to argue, but Sungyeol nudges him on. "He's right. We need to go on."
So they keep walking, picking their way carefully across broken shelves and shattered glass. Some time back, the set -- because Sunggyu can't stop thinking about it as a set, a man-made construct created to serve one purpose, and one purpose only -- began to filter them onto a smaller path, twisted and winding, almost like a maze. Without Dongwoo and Howon, the mood of the group has taken a distinctly sombre tone.
They've joked about it before, of course. That INFINITE is better as a five-person group, or as a sleek six instead of a clunky seven that can barely fit into one van. They've made it work on stage before when one or two members were down because of injury or because of their own incredibly insane schedules. But it's never been permanent; it's never been something they've had to seriously consider.
With only five, the place suddenly seems a lot larger and a lot more sinister.
Suddenly, Sungyeol says, "The landscape's changed." At some point, they left the library behind and are now approaching a ballroom.
"Maybe we're reaching the exit soon," Woohyun says bracingly.
Myungsoo cocks his head to the side. "I can hear music."
"What on earth -- "
But then Sunggyu is hearing it too, and they freeze. The organ creaks and the strings soar, and it's slow and haunting and sounding like a hundred years old, but it's still recognisable.
"It's Last Romeo," Sungjong says, terrified. Only now, the title sounds less like a romantic concept and more like a curse.
"Do we go in?"
"Got any better idea?" But Sunggyu really means, I don't know.
Tentatively, they push the door open. The sudden light blinds their eyes.
When they open their eyes again, Myungsoo is gone.
~*~
Sungjong clings to them after that.
Until they come across the dining table, large and long and cobwebbed, still set up with what seems to have been a lavish dinner, perfectly intact and edible if not for the covering of dust over the entire set up. Only one goblet has been left untouched, gleaming gold in the middle of the table, encrusted with jewels.
They don't notice Sungjong being drawn towards it. They don't notice him reaching out a hand towards the goblet as if possessed. They don't notice him tipping the contents into his mouth, until the goblet clatters onto the floor, and they are down to three.
~*~
About an hour later, Sungyeol speaks. "I've figured it out." They turn to look at him; his face is pale. "It's Last Romeo coming to life."
Sunggyu's voice does not shake. "What?"
"It's the song lyrics. They're coming to life."
"So you're saying it's like a curse?" Sunggyu scoffs, though his heart grows cold. "I don't believe in that."
Sungyeol's eyes are steady. "Believe what you will. Tell me this is a coincidence, then. Or chalk it up to special effects. Even the most advanced CGI can't simulate such a virtual reality."
"So we're supposed to wait around until it picks us off one by one?"
"Maybe it's like an elaborate haunted house, and the staff are grabbing the members away one by one like some kind of April Fools' joke," Woohyun offers weakly, but Sunggyu can tell that he's grasping at straws.
Sungyeol isn't listening to them. His eyes are looking around. "I'm next," he says suddenly. A chill runs down Sunggyu's back.
"Don't say that!" Wooyhun exclaims. "We'll get through this together."
"I'm next," Sungyeol says with certainty. "Look. The sun is rising."
"I won't let you." Sunggyu's voice is tight. On an unspoken cue, both he and Woohyun reach out to hold Sungyeol. Their arms entangle like they do when they're hugging at the end of a concert or after they've won number one on a music program, bursting at the seams with gratefulness and exhilaration -- a huddle of INFINITE. There's no happy excitement now, just a desperation to keep INFINITE together.
"Sunggyu." Sunggyu cranes his head up to look at Sungyeol. Despite the slight tremor in his voice, Sungyeol's face is calm. "Hyung. Thank you for leading the team."
"Stop saying this," Sunggyu says, suddenly scared. "Don't talk like it's the end."
Sungyeol continues like he was never interrupted. "I know we make life difficult for you sometimes. We're all so different, and it's not easy understanding each of our oddities and still trying to keep us together and spur us on to be our best. Thanks for always staying with us, for staying with INFINITE even at the expense of your own dreams."
"Woohyun." The two exchange a meaningful look that Sunggyu can't interpret. "Thank you for being there for Sunggyu." Sungyeol smiles a ghost of his usual smile. "Don't let him do anything stupid."
The sky lightens.
Between them, it's as though Sungyeol is deflating, dissolving between their fingers. Sunggyu clutches on stubbornly, until it becomes clear that he's clinging on only to Woohyun's arms. Sunggyu sinks to the ground.
~*~
"Sunggyu-ah -- "
"I'm not moving," Sunggyu says defiantly, head still buried in his arms. "I'm going to sit here until this place decides it's had enough of me and spits me back out again."
Above him, he hears Woohyun sigh. "We're going to need water soon. Or food. And maybe some rest would do us good. What if it rains?"
Sunggyu doesn't shift. This place can go fuck itself, he thinks viciously. A raindrop falls on his arm, and then another one. And so can the weather.
"All right then. Budge over."
Sunggyu looks up, horrified, to see Woohyun settling down beside him. "What are you doing? You're going to fall sick!"
"So are you," Woohyun points out reasonably, as a few more raindrops settle on Sunggyu.
"At least I take vitamins," Sunggyu retorts.
"Because you fall sick so often."
"As we both will, sitting in the rain like this."
"Then at least we'll fall sick together."
Sunggyu stares at Woohyun in disbelief, but the other just smiles amiably back at him. Around them, the raindrops are falling more heavily, big fat plops of water.
"Come on," Sunggyu finally grumbles, getting to his feet. "I won't be responsible for you getting a fever from this ridiculousness. You're always such a pain in the ass when that happens." He sticks out a hand to help Woohyun up. Woohyun breaks into a smile and takes it, politely not mentioning that Sunggyu is always the grumpier one when sick.
They start off at a slow jog at first, but are forced to pick up the pace when the rain begins coming down harder. Sunggyu chases after Woohyun's back, one hand grabbing his left rib as they pound through the terrain. (Let it never be said that Sunggyu is old, he's just overworked and overtired, that's all.)
"Is there no shelter here?" Sunggyu yells between pants.
"It looks like there might be something ahead," Woohyun calls back, gesturing to a dilapidated structure ahead of them, towards their left. To call it a shack would be generous, but Sunggyu is feeling quite charitable right now.
They burst through the door and enter a room -- and that's all it is, a single room with a lone table in the centre. But there's a roof over their heads, and Sunggyu, drenched as he is, is not complaining. At least it's the middle of May and not the freezing cold of December.
Woohyun runs a hand through his hair and attempts to shake out some of the water in it. Sunggyu decides he's had quite enough of his outfit and rips off his cloak, saying a silent word of apology to the coordi noonas as he stretches the cloak on the floor and sits on it. Woohyun side-eyes him but then joins him on the cloak.
They sit quietly for a while, their harsh breathing the only sound in the empty room.
"Are you cold?" Woohyun says abruptly.
"Not with your arm burning into mine." Woohyun's higher body heat has always been a running joke between them. Woohyun swats him, and they settle into silence again. Sunggyu is the first to voice what they're both thinking. "Do you think we'll make it out of here alive?"
Woohyun's brown eyes look back at him squarely. "I don't know." Woohyun's been nothing but honest with him since they'd met, and he appreciates him for it.
And Woohyun's the only one he can be entirely honest with -- not Sunggyu the perfect leader, not Sunggyu with his quick-witted variety personality, not Sunggyu the main vocal with the beautiful voice -- just Sunggyu, with his anxieties and insecurities like anyone else. He lets himself fall against Woohyun, tipping his head to nestle in the crook of Woohyun's neck. "I'm scared."
He feels rather than hears Woohyun's breath hitch. Tentatively, Woohyun's arm comes up to circle around his shoulders. "Sunggyu-ah -- "
They've sat like this before, but this is the first time it's felt so -- electric. Feeling emboldened, Sunggyu tilts his head up to look squarely into Woohyun's eyes. Woohyun looks back, lips slightly parted and breaths coming faster. Another "Sunggyu-ah" falls from his lips, and it's like a prayer.
Sunggyu doesn't realise he's leaning closer and closer to Woohyun until they've toppled over. Sunggyu winds up slightly on top of Woohyun, with both hands braced on the other's broader chest, which is heaving quietly under his touch. Woohyun's eyes are locked on his, wide and scared. Sunggyu wonders what he sees in his. Lust, pleasure and reckless abandonment? He doesn't care anymore. If they're on stolen time, he's making the most of it.
"Is this okay?" he whispers.
Woohyun swallows. "Yes," he breathes.
Sunggyu tilts his head downwards and their lips meet. Woohyun's lips are pliant and gentle under his, parting easily as Sunggyu licks his way into his mouth. Their breaths are hot on each other. Under his hands, Sunggyu feels Woohyun's heart beating so rapidly it feels like it might stutter out of his chest. He himself is inflamed, heady with the rush, unsure about what he's really asking but hearing the unconditional answer in every gasp and moan Woohyun makes.
Woohyun's hands rise up to tangle in Sunggyu's hair, needy and insistent. They curl around his neck and draw Sunggyu nearer. Sunggyu yields, letting Woohyun lead the kiss.
By the time they finally draw back, Woohyun's lips are dark and swollen. There's a simmering heat in his eyes as they trail down Sunggyu's face, falling on his mouth. Sunggyu's breath catches and his tongue automatically comes out to wet his lips. Woohyun makes a strangled groan and his gaze snaps up to Sunggyu's again.
And suddenly his expression shutters, and Woohyun is pushing Sunggyu off and scrambling up. Tumbling to the floor, Sunggyu barely even has time to wonder what went wrong.
"It seems that the rain has stopped," Woohyun says briskly, eyes not meeting Sunggyu's. "I think we should get moving again."
"Woohyun-ah -- " Sunggyu says, because this is not how he wanted to end their first kiss, but Woohyun is already moving swiftly to the door. "What's wrong?"
Woohyun pauses at the door for a long time. Just as Sunggyu thinks he's going to answer, he says something else instead. "The doorknob's gone."
"What?"
Woohyun spins around, agitated. "There was a doorknob here when we entered. Now it's gone."
Sunggyu is torn between confronting Woohyun about what's just happened and looking for a way out, but Woohyun's stiff posture and closed expression makes the decision for him. He'll get nothing out of Woohyun when he's in a mood like this. Ignoring the sudden hurt in his heart, Sunggyu gets up to his feet.
One hour later, they've verified that there's no other way out. The door is impossible to open from the inside, the windows are sealed shut, and the only implement within the room is a lone, rickety table with two glass vials on it. Sunggyu examines them with curiosity. He had written them off as abandoned bottles at first, but they're clearly new, gleaming and untouched. One is filled with blue liquid, the other is red.
"Should we take the blue pill or the red pill?" Sunggu says, trying to crack a joke to lighten the atmosphere. As soon as the words leave his mouth, though, he knows. He stares at Woohyun who's frozen as well. "What if it's the only way out?"
He lifts one of the vials, but then Woohyun's hand is closing on his, urgent and desperate. "No. We're not taking this risk."
"I don't care if it's poison," Sunggyu says softly, repeating his lines in their title song. "I will gladly take it."
"Stop playing around like this," Woohyun snaps. "It's fine if you want to experiment with my feelings, but don't experiment with your life on the stakes!"
Realisation hits Sunggyu. "You're not an experiment to me." Blindly, he sets the vial down on the table and reaches around to grasp Woohyun by the shoulders. "Hyun. I am not just playing around with you. Is this what you were thinking?"
Woohyun avoids his eyes. A cold feeling washes over Sunggyu. "Or are you -- are you playing with me?"
Woohyun whips his head up at that, a look of horror on his face. "No! How could you ever think that?"
His raw honesty and the rushing sense of relief that follows it is enough to make Sunggyu crack a smile. "I'm glad to know, then."
Woohyun flushes. "You are so silly sometimes."
"That makes two of us."
They smile stupidly at each other.
Sunggyu almost hates to break the moment, but he reminds Woohyun softly, "We still need to get out of here."
They speak at the same time. "I'll do it then." "It's my song lyric."
"Together," Woohyun decides. "We'll do it together." He swipes the blue bottle and uncorks it.
There's a horrible sinking feeling in Sunggyu's stomach at the thought of Woohyun putting himself at risk like this. Looking at Woohyun, he sees the same tension mirrored in his eyes.
"Any kind of darkness loses its strength in front of you," Woohyun recites. "I only need you."
"So romantic," Sunggyu jokes, because the fear might consume him otherwise. What if he's the only one left standing?
"You can go solo then." Woohyun flashes a grin at Sunggyu's startled expression. "What? It's written all over your face."
Sunggyu feels his heart swell up with warmth and affection. What could he have done to deserve someone like Woohyun, who knows him inside and out, who reads him easily and still professes to love him? His eyes travel over Woohyun's face, searching, imprinting, memorising. He takes in Wooyhun's dark eyelashes, the little freckle at the side of his nose that never goes away, the curve of his jaw. The love shining in his eyes, the trust. He doesn't want to forget it. He may never get the chance to again.
"Let's go, then."
They down the contents of their vials.
~*~
"All right, we'll take the dance shots next! Everyone, please get ready."
Disoriented, Sunggyu blinks rapidly. Somehow he's slumped against a wall, decked out in the black leather outfit they're supposed to use for the dance portion of the music video. He swipes at a wet patch on his shirt and chin -- ugh, he's drooled in his sleep again.
Around him, his members are stretching, limbering up and getting ready for another bout of intense filming. No one looks like they've just come from a nightmarish journey through a forbidden library while trapped in the curse of Last Romeo lyrics coming to life. (Though Sunggyu has to admit it sounds rather ridiculous when he thinks about it.)
"I hope this ends soon," Howon mutters. "There're only so many times I can look tragically filled with angst."
"I hate the solo cuts," Myungsoo mumbles dismally. "I never know what to do with my hands."
Sunggyu opens his mouth to ask, then shuts it. Maybe it never happened. Maybe it was the dumplings he ate late last night. He really should learn never to eat anything Nam Woohyun cooks...
Woohyun. Sunggyu's chest gives a painful twinge. If there's one thing he regrets from it being a dream, it would be the expression on Woohyun's face right before they left the dreamscape. At least he still has the memory. And will always have it, he promises fiercely.
"I’ll be the last man who still fights for love against the rest of the world." It's Woohyun's distinctive voice. Sunggyu turns around, intending to tease him for practicing his lines when they're taking dance shots, but the utter seriousness on Woohyun's face stops him.
Woohyun says, "So I guess you won't be leaving INFINITE for your solo career just yet." A pink tongue darts out and wets his lips. Involuntarily, Sunggyu follows the movement, and Woohyun's lips curve into a knowing smile. Sunggyu's eyes snap up to see an entirely rakish expression on Woohyun's face. He leans in to Sunggyu, whose heart is beating so fast he thinks he might be having a heart attack (or at least a Hyun-attack) and drops his voice. "What do you say to taking the rest of the afternoon off with me? We could tell them we're composing a new song together."
"Would we be composing a new song together?" Sunggyu asks breathlessly, hardly daring to believe it.
Woohyun waggles his eyebrows. "Well, I can think of some sort of music we could be making."
Sunggyu punches him, because someone as greasy as Woohyun deserves to be punched.
But four hours later, when the overnight filming wraps up and INFINITE bundles into the car, tired but exuberant, Woohyun and Sunggyu make their excuses and disappear.
"Song-writing?" Sungyeol snorts. "As though we didn't know what was going on."
"I bet you they snogged in the shack," Sungjong says unconcernedly. His grin turns wicked. "Maybe even more."
Myungsoo covers his virgin ears. "Don't say things like that!"
"Pay up," Howon says, whipping out his little notebook. "That will be 50,000 won for you, Sungyeol, and 80,000 won for Myungsoo."
Dongwoo gives a tiny snore from the back of the van, blissfully unaware of the underhanded dealings in his group.
And ten kilometres away, in a private recording studio, Sunggyu and Woohyun are breaking another curse together. The curse otherwise known as Dongwoo's Paradise rap.
But that's a story for another time.
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Bandfic, Sunggyu/Woohyun
Length: 4,343 words
Summary: When a malfunction happens on the set of Last Romeo, INFINITE goes on an unexpected journey -- but no one is more surprised by the end of it than Sunggyu.
Note: scheska, I loved your prompt and I hope you enjoy what I've done with it as well!
To: scheska
From: Your Secret Santa
"Well. This wasn't quite what I was imagining." Sunggyu hefts the weighted sword that has suddenly appeared in his hand.
Howon blinks as a wind trips through the bookshelves, whipping his red cloak up around him in a glorious fashion. "Do you suppose the production crew's taken the Last Romeo concept a bit too seriously? I mean, these are some serious special effects."
Sungyeol snorts. "I doubt even they would have even able to make this come to life."
A minute ago, they'd been standing amongst the bookshelves, looking lonely and sad as the cameras panned around them. A minute later -- well, they were still standing amongst said bookshelves, but it was as though a switch had been snapped off. The sounds of the filming and lighting crew were gone, together with the shouting of the PD and the rousing strains of their latest single blaring through the sound system.
Instead, what is left is a distinctly creepy silence, and the disconcerting sound of wind blowing through the shelves even though there isn't an motorised fan in sight. The ceiling is gone, but the walls stretch high and smooth -- higher than they can hope to scale. There's a moon in the middle of the dark sky. The light scatters and shifts as the wind presumably drives the clouds across the sky.
Howon cranes his neck to look around. "How are they doing this?"
"I knew we shouldn't have agreed to film in that abandoned library," Dongwoo frets, looking quite pale. "Who knows what could have been lurking there? Especially when we ripped up all their books..."
"Unleashing a dark force out for revenge," Woohyun jokes.
Mungsoo is busy swishing out his cloak approvingly. "At least I still look good."
"You can't even see what you look like," Sunggyu protests.
"Myungsoo always looks good," Sungjong says loyally. Myungsoo shoots him a pleased look, and Sungjong beams.
"At least Last Romeo isn't playing on endless repeat in the background," Woohyun says, ever optimistic.
"I'm not so sure that's something to be happy about," Sunggyu mutters. "Seeing as we're about to become last Romeos ourselves."
Sungyeol's examining the dirt on the floor. "Look. There are footprints leading out of this place."
"How do you know they're not just leading us further in?" Howon says doubtfully.
"Into the jaws of the one who awaits us," Woohyun intones, voice hollow behind Dongwoo's right shoulder. Dongwoo moans in agony and hides his face behind his hands.
"Do we really want to follow a set of unknown footprints?" Sunggyu interjects, because someone has to be the voice of reason here, and it certainly isn't going to be his group mates.
As though his words were a cue, the whole room starts to rumble and shake, and books start falling out of the shelves.
"I guess the answer is yes," Sungyeol says, ducking a book that comes flying at him. He rights himself and throws his hand out dramatically. "Ahead, me mateys, into the land of adventure!"
"I don't even want to know how many universes he's mashed together with that one," Howon mutters, but they all follow obediently behind.
~*~
It takes about three hours of trekking through dusty shelves and fallen books for Sungjong to start grumbling.
"It's not that I'm grumbling," Sungjong says -- totally grumbling, Sunggyu thinks -- "but I think we should regroup."
"Is that a fancy word that means 'stop and take a break'?" Sunggyu can't help needling him. "Because you could have just said that."
Sungjong shoots him a look of death. Sunggyu doesn't bother to keep his own smugness off his face.
"Let's all take a break," Woohyun says, stepping in between them. "I could use a breather!"
As the group settles down and looks for a comfortable place to sit, Woohyun sidles up to Sunggyu. "Everything okay?"
Sunggyu squints at Woohyun, then decides he's not the cause of his increasingly foul mood. He sighs. "I just hope the crew finds out what went wrong and gets us out soon. We're only halfway through the MV shooting and we've only got two days to do this."
Behind them, Dongwoo laughs raucously as Howon presumably cracks a joke, lighthearted with the unexpected break. Myungsoo gives him a large push and he topples over, still laughing and twitching on the floor.
Sunggyu turns back and pinches the bridge of his nose. "And then there's the photo shoot for the album jacket, and our appearance on Weekly Idol -- and what made us think it was such a good idea to have a comeback at this time of the year, anyway? We should have put it off another year. Maybe two."
"It figures you'd be worrying about all that," Woohyun says with a grin. He slides his hands across Sunggyu's shoulders and begins kneading lightly, just the way he knows Sunggyu likes it. Against his better senses, Sunggyu leans back into the massage. "Just think of this as an unexpected break... In the middle of filming..."
"...with a bunch of rowdy kids..."
Woohyun laughs. "You're such a mother. They've all grown up now, you don't have to worry about them so much."
Sunggyu turns and levels a dry look at Woohyun. "As if you don't."
"Well, some things become habit after a while," Woohyun admits. "And it's not so bad, doing it toether with you." He seems to want to say something more, but hesitates, hands still warm on Sunggyu's shoulders. "You know -- "
"Dongwoo!" Sunggyu interrupts sharply, his eyes caught by an unexpected movement. "What are you doing?"
Dongwoo looks guiltily at Sunggyu, mouth full of some unknown substance. "Um."
"Where's Howon?" Sunggyu snaps. "Shouldn't he be keeping you out of trouble?" It takes Woohyun's warning hand on his arm and Dongwoo's crestfallen expression for Sunggyu to realise how harsh his words were.
"But Howon was the one who gave it to me," Dongwoo mumbles.
"Where's Howon now?"
Dongwoo points.
They spin around in time to see the surprised look on Howon's face just before he vanishes into thin air. The piece of bread he was eating falls to the floor, with nothing to hold it up. Inexplicably, something white starts to fall from the ceiling, like snowflakes. Sunggyu reaches out and grasps some in his hand; they're flower petals. He stares in shock.
Woohyun's voice rings urgently in the silence. "Dongwoo. Dongwoo?"
But there's no one behind them.
Overhead, clouds obscure the moon.
~*~
They spend the next half an hour searching for them. There aren't many places to look -- the place they settled at for a break was a large, empty space, dusted with dirt. Dongwoo and Howon's footprints accompany the other five to the rest point, before abruptly vanishing.
Myungsoo is vocal in his distress. Sungjong is eerily silent. Sungyeol wonders if it's an elaborate joke. But Howon's surprised expression stays with Sunggyu and deep within himself, he knows it wasn't. His stomach rebels at the implications of that thought.
"But they've got to be somewhere," Sungjong keeps repeating.
Sunggyu is tense enough that he barely escapes snapping at their maknae. He doesn't know when Woohyun slipped his arm through his, but the preemptive tightening on his arm stops Sunggyu from saying something he'll regret. He glances at Woohyun, who stares impassively back. Sunggyu breaks the gaze first.
"Let's move on," he says curtly. "We can't stay here." Beside him, Woohyun tenses but doesn't pull away.
Myungsoo looks like he's about to argue, but Sungyeol nudges him on. "He's right. We need to go on."
So they keep walking, picking their way carefully across broken shelves and shattered glass. Some time back, the set -- because Sunggyu can't stop thinking about it as a set, a man-made construct created to serve one purpose, and one purpose only -- began to filter them onto a smaller path, twisted and winding, almost like a maze. Without Dongwoo and Howon, the mood of the group has taken a distinctly sombre tone.
They've joked about it before, of course. That INFINITE is better as a five-person group, or as a sleek six instead of a clunky seven that can barely fit into one van. They've made it work on stage before when one or two members were down because of injury or because of their own incredibly insane schedules. But it's never been permanent; it's never been something they've had to seriously consider.
With only five, the place suddenly seems a lot larger and a lot more sinister.
Suddenly, Sungyeol says, "The landscape's changed." At some point, they left the library behind and are now approaching a ballroom.
"Maybe we're reaching the exit soon," Woohyun says bracingly.
Myungsoo cocks his head to the side. "I can hear music."
"What on earth -- "
But then Sunggyu is hearing it too, and they freeze. The organ creaks and the strings soar, and it's slow and haunting and sounding like a hundred years old, but it's still recognisable.
"It's Last Romeo," Sungjong says, terrified. Only now, the title sounds less like a romantic concept and more like a curse.
"Do we go in?"
"Got any better idea?" But Sunggyu really means, I don't know.
Tentatively, they push the door open. The sudden light blinds their eyes.
When they open their eyes again, Myungsoo is gone.
~*~
Sungjong clings to them after that.
Until they come across the dining table, large and long and cobwebbed, still set up with what seems to have been a lavish dinner, perfectly intact and edible if not for the covering of dust over the entire set up. Only one goblet has been left untouched, gleaming gold in the middle of the table, encrusted with jewels.
They don't notice Sungjong being drawn towards it. They don't notice him reaching out a hand towards the goblet as if possessed. They don't notice him tipping the contents into his mouth, until the goblet clatters onto the floor, and they are down to three.
~*~
About an hour later, Sungyeol speaks. "I've figured it out." They turn to look at him; his face is pale. "It's Last Romeo coming to life."
Sunggyu's voice does not shake. "What?"
"It's the song lyrics. They're coming to life."
"So you're saying it's like a curse?" Sunggyu scoffs, though his heart grows cold. "I don't believe in that."
Sungyeol's eyes are steady. "Believe what you will. Tell me this is a coincidence, then. Or chalk it up to special effects. Even the most advanced CGI can't simulate such a virtual reality."
"So we're supposed to wait around until it picks us off one by one?"
"Maybe it's like an elaborate haunted house, and the staff are grabbing the members away one by one like some kind of April Fools' joke," Woohyun offers weakly, but Sunggyu can tell that he's grasping at straws.
Sungyeol isn't listening to them. His eyes are looking around. "I'm next," he says suddenly. A chill runs down Sunggyu's back.
"Don't say that!" Wooyhun exclaims. "We'll get through this together."
"I'm next," Sungyeol says with certainty. "Look. The sun is rising."
"I won't let you." Sunggyu's voice is tight. On an unspoken cue, both he and Woohyun reach out to hold Sungyeol. Their arms entangle like they do when they're hugging at the end of a concert or after they've won number one on a music program, bursting at the seams with gratefulness and exhilaration -- a huddle of INFINITE. There's no happy excitement now, just a desperation to keep INFINITE together.
"Sunggyu." Sunggyu cranes his head up to look at Sungyeol. Despite the slight tremor in his voice, Sungyeol's face is calm. "Hyung. Thank you for leading the team."
"Stop saying this," Sunggyu says, suddenly scared. "Don't talk like it's the end."
Sungyeol continues like he was never interrupted. "I know we make life difficult for you sometimes. We're all so different, and it's not easy understanding each of our oddities and still trying to keep us together and spur us on to be our best. Thanks for always staying with us, for staying with INFINITE even at the expense of your own dreams."
"Woohyun." The two exchange a meaningful look that Sunggyu can't interpret. "Thank you for being there for Sunggyu." Sungyeol smiles a ghost of his usual smile. "Don't let him do anything stupid."
The sky lightens.
Between them, it's as though Sungyeol is deflating, dissolving between their fingers. Sunggyu clutches on stubbornly, until it becomes clear that he's clinging on only to Woohyun's arms. Sunggyu sinks to the ground.
~*~
"Sunggyu-ah -- "
"I'm not moving," Sunggyu says defiantly, head still buried in his arms. "I'm going to sit here until this place decides it's had enough of me and spits me back out again."
Above him, he hears Woohyun sigh. "We're going to need water soon. Or food. And maybe some rest would do us good. What if it rains?"
Sunggyu doesn't shift. This place can go fuck itself, he thinks viciously. A raindrop falls on his arm, and then another one. And so can the weather.
"All right then. Budge over."
Sunggyu looks up, horrified, to see Woohyun settling down beside him. "What are you doing? You're going to fall sick!"
"So are you," Woohyun points out reasonably, as a few more raindrops settle on Sunggyu.
"At least I take vitamins," Sunggyu retorts.
"Because you fall sick so often."
"As we both will, sitting in the rain like this."
"Then at least we'll fall sick together."
Sunggyu stares at Woohyun in disbelief, but the other just smiles amiably back at him. Around them, the raindrops are falling more heavily, big fat plops of water.
"Come on," Sunggyu finally grumbles, getting to his feet. "I won't be responsible for you getting a fever from this ridiculousness. You're always such a pain in the ass when that happens." He sticks out a hand to help Woohyun up. Woohyun breaks into a smile and takes it, politely not mentioning that Sunggyu is always the grumpier one when sick.
They start off at a slow jog at first, but are forced to pick up the pace when the rain begins coming down harder. Sunggyu chases after Woohyun's back, one hand grabbing his left rib as they pound through the terrain. (Let it never be said that Sunggyu is old, he's just overworked and overtired, that's all.)
"Is there no shelter here?" Sunggyu yells between pants.
"It looks like there might be something ahead," Woohyun calls back, gesturing to a dilapidated structure ahead of them, towards their left. To call it a shack would be generous, but Sunggyu is feeling quite charitable right now.
They burst through the door and enter a room -- and that's all it is, a single room with a lone table in the centre. But there's a roof over their heads, and Sunggyu, drenched as he is, is not complaining. At least it's the middle of May and not the freezing cold of December.
Woohyun runs a hand through his hair and attempts to shake out some of the water in it. Sunggyu decides he's had quite enough of his outfit and rips off his cloak, saying a silent word of apology to the coordi noonas as he stretches the cloak on the floor and sits on it. Woohyun side-eyes him but then joins him on the cloak.
They sit quietly for a while, their harsh breathing the only sound in the empty room.
"Are you cold?" Woohyun says abruptly.
"Not with your arm burning into mine." Woohyun's higher body heat has always been a running joke between them. Woohyun swats him, and they settle into silence again. Sunggyu is the first to voice what they're both thinking. "Do you think we'll make it out of here alive?"
Woohyun's brown eyes look back at him squarely. "I don't know." Woohyun's been nothing but honest with him since they'd met, and he appreciates him for it.
And Woohyun's the only one he can be entirely honest with -- not Sunggyu the perfect leader, not Sunggyu with his quick-witted variety personality, not Sunggyu the main vocal with the beautiful voice -- just Sunggyu, with his anxieties and insecurities like anyone else. He lets himself fall against Woohyun, tipping his head to nestle in the crook of Woohyun's neck. "I'm scared."
He feels rather than hears Woohyun's breath hitch. Tentatively, Woohyun's arm comes up to circle around his shoulders. "Sunggyu-ah -- "
They've sat like this before, but this is the first time it's felt so -- electric. Feeling emboldened, Sunggyu tilts his head up to look squarely into Woohyun's eyes. Woohyun looks back, lips slightly parted and breaths coming faster. Another "Sunggyu-ah" falls from his lips, and it's like a prayer.
Sunggyu doesn't realise he's leaning closer and closer to Woohyun until they've toppled over. Sunggyu winds up slightly on top of Woohyun, with both hands braced on the other's broader chest, which is heaving quietly under his touch. Woohyun's eyes are locked on his, wide and scared. Sunggyu wonders what he sees in his. Lust, pleasure and reckless abandonment? He doesn't care anymore. If they're on stolen time, he's making the most of it.
"Is this okay?" he whispers.
Woohyun swallows. "Yes," he breathes.
Sunggyu tilts his head downwards and their lips meet. Woohyun's lips are pliant and gentle under his, parting easily as Sunggyu licks his way into his mouth. Their breaths are hot on each other. Under his hands, Sunggyu feels Woohyun's heart beating so rapidly it feels like it might stutter out of his chest. He himself is inflamed, heady with the rush, unsure about what he's really asking but hearing the unconditional answer in every gasp and moan Woohyun makes.
Woohyun's hands rise up to tangle in Sunggyu's hair, needy and insistent. They curl around his neck and draw Sunggyu nearer. Sunggyu yields, letting Woohyun lead the kiss.
By the time they finally draw back, Woohyun's lips are dark and swollen. There's a simmering heat in his eyes as they trail down Sunggyu's face, falling on his mouth. Sunggyu's breath catches and his tongue automatically comes out to wet his lips. Woohyun makes a strangled groan and his gaze snaps up to Sunggyu's again.
And suddenly his expression shutters, and Woohyun is pushing Sunggyu off and scrambling up. Tumbling to the floor, Sunggyu barely even has time to wonder what went wrong.
"It seems that the rain has stopped," Woohyun says briskly, eyes not meeting Sunggyu's. "I think we should get moving again."
"Woohyun-ah -- " Sunggyu says, because this is not how he wanted to end their first kiss, but Woohyun is already moving swiftly to the door. "What's wrong?"
Woohyun pauses at the door for a long time. Just as Sunggyu thinks he's going to answer, he says something else instead. "The doorknob's gone."
"What?"
Woohyun spins around, agitated. "There was a doorknob here when we entered. Now it's gone."
Sunggyu is torn between confronting Woohyun about what's just happened and looking for a way out, but Woohyun's stiff posture and closed expression makes the decision for him. He'll get nothing out of Woohyun when he's in a mood like this. Ignoring the sudden hurt in his heart, Sunggyu gets up to his feet.
One hour later, they've verified that there's no other way out. The door is impossible to open from the inside, the windows are sealed shut, and the only implement within the room is a lone, rickety table with two glass vials on it. Sunggyu examines them with curiosity. He had written them off as abandoned bottles at first, but they're clearly new, gleaming and untouched. One is filled with blue liquid, the other is red.
"Should we take the blue pill or the red pill?" Sunggu says, trying to crack a joke to lighten the atmosphere. As soon as the words leave his mouth, though, he knows. He stares at Woohyun who's frozen as well. "What if it's the only way out?"
He lifts one of the vials, but then Woohyun's hand is closing on his, urgent and desperate. "No. We're not taking this risk."
"I don't care if it's poison," Sunggyu says softly, repeating his lines in their title song. "I will gladly take it."
"Stop playing around like this," Woohyun snaps. "It's fine if you want to experiment with my feelings, but don't experiment with your life on the stakes!"
Realisation hits Sunggyu. "You're not an experiment to me." Blindly, he sets the vial down on the table and reaches around to grasp Woohyun by the shoulders. "Hyun. I am not just playing around with you. Is this what you were thinking?"
Woohyun avoids his eyes. A cold feeling washes over Sunggyu. "Or are you -- are you playing with me?"
Woohyun whips his head up at that, a look of horror on his face. "No! How could you ever think that?"
His raw honesty and the rushing sense of relief that follows it is enough to make Sunggyu crack a smile. "I'm glad to know, then."
Woohyun flushes. "You are so silly sometimes."
"That makes two of us."
They smile stupidly at each other.
Sunggyu almost hates to break the moment, but he reminds Woohyun softly, "We still need to get out of here."
They speak at the same time. "I'll do it then." "It's my song lyric."
"Together," Woohyun decides. "We'll do it together." He swipes the blue bottle and uncorks it.
There's a horrible sinking feeling in Sunggyu's stomach at the thought of Woohyun putting himself at risk like this. Looking at Woohyun, he sees the same tension mirrored in his eyes.
"Any kind of darkness loses its strength in front of you," Woohyun recites. "I only need you."
"So romantic," Sunggyu jokes, because the fear might consume him otherwise. What if he's the only one left standing?
"You can go solo then." Woohyun flashes a grin at Sunggyu's startled expression. "What? It's written all over your face."
Sunggyu feels his heart swell up with warmth and affection. What could he have done to deserve someone like Woohyun, who knows him inside and out, who reads him easily and still professes to love him? His eyes travel over Woohyun's face, searching, imprinting, memorising. He takes in Wooyhun's dark eyelashes, the little freckle at the side of his nose that never goes away, the curve of his jaw. The love shining in his eyes, the trust. He doesn't want to forget it. He may never get the chance to again.
"Let's go, then."
They down the contents of their vials.
~*~
"All right, we'll take the dance shots next! Everyone, please get ready."
Disoriented, Sunggyu blinks rapidly. Somehow he's slumped against a wall, decked out in the black leather outfit they're supposed to use for the dance portion of the music video. He swipes at a wet patch on his shirt and chin -- ugh, he's drooled in his sleep again.
Around him, his members are stretching, limbering up and getting ready for another bout of intense filming. No one looks like they've just come from a nightmarish journey through a forbidden library while trapped in the curse of Last Romeo lyrics coming to life. (Though Sunggyu has to admit it sounds rather ridiculous when he thinks about it.)
"I hope this ends soon," Howon mutters. "There're only so many times I can look tragically filled with angst."
"I hate the solo cuts," Myungsoo mumbles dismally. "I never know what to do with my hands."
Sunggyu opens his mouth to ask, then shuts it. Maybe it never happened. Maybe it was the dumplings he ate late last night. He really should learn never to eat anything Nam Woohyun cooks...
Woohyun. Sunggyu's chest gives a painful twinge. If there's one thing he regrets from it being a dream, it would be the expression on Woohyun's face right before they left the dreamscape. At least he still has the memory. And will always have it, he promises fiercely.
"I’ll be the last man who still fights for love against the rest of the world." It's Woohyun's distinctive voice. Sunggyu turns around, intending to tease him for practicing his lines when they're taking dance shots, but the utter seriousness on Woohyun's face stops him.
Woohyun says, "So I guess you won't be leaving INFINITE for your solo career just yet." A pink tongue darts out and wets his lips. Involuntarily, Sunggyu follows the movement, and Woohyun's lips curve into a knowing smile. Sunggyu's eyes snap up to see an entirely rakish expression on Woohyun's face. He leans in to Sunggyu, whose heart is beating so fast he thinks he might be having a heart attack (or at least a Hyun-attack) and drops his voice. "What do you say to taking the rest of the afternoon off with me? We could tell them we're composing a new song together."
"Would we be composing a new song together?" Sunggyu asks breathlessly, hardly daring to believe it.
Woohyun waggles his eyebrows. "Well, I can think of some sort of music we could be making."
Sunggyu punches him, because someone as greasy as Woohyun deserves to be punched.
But four hours later, when the overnight filming wraps up and INFINITE bundles into the car, tired but exuberant, Woohyun and Sunggyu make their excuses and disappear.
"Song-writing?" Sungyeol snorts. "As though we didn't know what was going on."
"I bet you they snogged in the shack," Sungjong says unconcernedly. His grin turns wicked. "Maybe even more."
Myungsoo covers his virgin ears. "Don't say things like that!"
"Pay up," Howon says, whipping out his little notebook. "That will be 50,000 won for you, Sungyeol, and 80,000 won for Myungsoo."
Dongwoo gives a tiny snore from the back of the van, blissfully unaware of the underhanded dealings in his group.
And ten kilometres away, in a private recording studio, Sunggyu and Woohyun are breaking another curse together. The curse otherwise known as Dongwoo's Paradise rap.
But that's a story for another time.