Rating: PG13
Warnings: Horror themes.
Summary: The Dong Bang apartment has become too crowded. When more living space is needed, the boys will ask the company for new living quarters. When they arrive at the destination they are met with their dream house, however, will that dream turn into a nightmare once obscure things start happening in that house?
A/N: Sorry for the long wait. I offer you the third chapter as peace offering :). Finally something scary is happening!!
“Please take care of the dark spot over there”, Yunho pointed his finger at a particularly humid-looking part on the roof. The house had been paid and the most important repairs were to be taken care of that day. This was the first time Jaejoong, Junsu and Yoochun got to see the house and they were delighted at the sight of it. Yoochun had to be pried away from the piano and Jaejoong hated the kitchen curtains as Yunho had predicted. Junsu had begged their manager to allow them to have boats in the boat house but he said no. They were already installing all security systems around the house; it would be terrible if they had a member drown or be kidnapped while canoeing by rabid fangirls.
Yunho was in charge of the outer repairs while Changmin took to the task of checking the electric installation. Some cables were too old to use now and would prove risky if they were to connect their electric appliances. Jaejoong was off buying new curtains (after yanking off the old ones as soon as he saw them) and various buckets of paint for the house. They tried to make Junsu go with him but the lead-singer quickly scampered not wanting to be bothered during his “shopping quest” so the young man was sitting in the living room watching a soccer game while Yoochun moved boxes from the car to the house and tried in vain to get Junsu to help.
“Su-yah, please, these are too heavy!” Yoochun whined as he dragged a particularly large box through the front door and towards the staircase. Meanwhile Junsu didn’t take his eyes from the TV.
“I’ll be there soon Hyung, there’s only fifteen minutes left - Oh, Goal!!...Crap! He missed!” Junsu stood up from the couch but plopped back down in disappointment. Yoochun stared disbelievingly at the soccer enthusiast and sighed in defeat, continuing the long way up the stairs with the heavy box.
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Yoochun left him alone after his favorite team missed that goal. Seeing as his team wasn’t winning and the soccer match was almost over Junsu decided to go help the older man with the boxes. He had to admit he felt a little guilty for not helping but after trying to paint the outside of the house and tripping over a bucket of paint, resulting in wasted paint and adding a new chore: cleaning his mess, he decided to stay out of his hyungs and the workers’ way. But carrying boxes shouldn’t make a mess right? With that in mind he followed Yoochun out to the car.
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Jaejoong parked the car just outside the house’s driveway to avoid the spray of paint, dust and other nasty things that would stick to the sleek black paint of his car. He opened the trunk and took out the big bag of things he had bought. Balancing the bag on one hip he dragged out a folded, metallic and black, pliable chair. They would have to replace all the chairs in the kitchen so the extra one would match so that one would have to do meanwhile. He put the chair down and leaned it against his leg while he closed the trunk, and grabbing it back up, he started towards the house.
The door was open, Yoochun had just gone in carrying a box with difficulty, so Jaejoong just made his way into the kitchen where he dropped the bag on the table and set the chair next to the others. He rummaged through the bag until his fingers touched cloth. He pulled the material out of the bag that was still filled with extra nails, screws and other materials he was asked to buy, as well as a couple of snacks.
The curtains were a deep, reddish wine color with a very subtle pattern in a darker shade of the same color. The brown haired man made his way to the sink, placing the curtains roughly in their place and smiling in triumph as the result was quite likeable. Now he just had to install them properly.
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Yoochun grunted as he cautiously dropped the box he was carrying on the floor. The box contained his precious keyboard and he wasn’t about to damage it more since Changmin tripped with it and proceeded to kick it. Seeing as all the boxes were out of the car he dragged himself downstairs and into the kitchen where he saw Jaejoong, one knee on top of the sink, trying to install the curtains himself but failing miserably.
Yoochun went to the fridge where they had stored a six-pack of beer they bought earlier, took one and sat on one of the chairs around the kitchen table. The black-haired man was just opening his beer when a crash was heard followed by a curse and some exasperated breathing. Yoochun looked amusedly at his Hyung, who now had the curtains in his arms instead of against the window.
“Chunnie… help me”, the oldest whined while he wiped sweat-drenched bangs away from his eyes.
Yoochun groaned in response and leaned his head on the table using his arms as a pillow, “Sorry Hyung, I’m beat! Get Junsu to help you. He said he was helping me with the boxes but he disappeared; probably went to watch TV again”
The brown-haired male huffed but went to search for Junsu while Yoochun contently nursed his beer. He checked the living room, but Junsu was nowhere to be seen. The TV was on though, this time showing a baseball match, so he walked up to it and turned it off while shaking his head. He walked out the sliding doors towards the back lawn and scanned the terrain, not spotting Junsu anywhere. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Yunho coming down the ladder set against the wall to reach the room.
Jaejoong walked up to the leader and held the ladder for him. “Have you seen Junsu? I need him to help me set the curtains”
Yunho took out a handkerchief from the back pocked of his jeans and wiped his brow before answering Jaejoong. “He didn’t come outside, ask Yoochun or Changmin”, he said before jogging towards the trees that separated their house from the one next door.
Jaejoong stared at Yunho’s retreating back perplexed but shrugged off the leader’s weird behavior and went back inside.
“Jae-hyung! Should I put the extra nails in the garage?” Yoochun asked him, holding the box of nails in his hands.
The eldest pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index finger and sighed. “Yes, and the rest of the things too, please Yoochun. Junsu hasn’t gone into the kitchen?”
“Not since you left, why don’t you go upstairs and ask Changmin? Maybe Junsu is annoying him”, the younger man suggested.
Jaejoong nodded and made his way upstairs, making the stairs creak with hurried steps, while Yoochun made his way to the garage.
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Yunho tore his gaze away from the workers impermeabilizing the roof for a moment; they were almost done anyway, and looked down towards the embankment. They would have to paint that one too. The wood had soaked up the water and the paint, swelling up and making the paint chip. His eyes caught some movement to his right and he thought he saw something shift between the tall trees dividing their house from the next property. He thanked the workers for their hard job and made his way down the ladder.
Halfway down he felt somebody hold the ladder and once down he realized that somebody was Jaejoong.
“Have you seen Junsu? I need him to help me set the curtains”, he asked Yunho.
The leader took out his handkerchief and wiped his brow, taking that small moment to think of Junsu’s whereabouts. The day was cloudy but the heat was still present with a bit of humidity thanks to the proximity to the river.
“He didn’t come outside, ask Yoochun or Changmin” he replied finally, and noticing the shifting in the trees again, he broke into a light jog towards them.
Their backyard was big, he was surprised they got the house so cheap, but he reached his destination in no time. When he got there, however, whatever it was that was moving there was already gone. “Maybe it was a cat” he thought, but just as he was about to go back to the house, a shuffling in the bushes made him turn back towards the noise.
In front of him stood a girl that seemed to be no older than twelve years old. She had a pair of big eyes, a small mouth and black, straight hair with straight bangs held in two pig-tails that rested just under her ears. She was wearing a pretty dress that was navy with white polka dots. He noticed the girl was barefoot, and had a couple of scratches from branches adorning her bare arms and legs.
He broke into a smile and tried to approach the girl, but the latter just stepped back; small hands clutching at the skirt of her dress tightly.
Yunho stopped advancing and instead crouched in front of the girl so that they could be at eye-level.
“Hello there. I found a doll in my house the other day, perhaps it’s yours?” he asked.
The girl nodded shyly and kicked her right foot back and forth, seemingly expecting the young man to say more.
“I don’t have it with me right now, why don’t you come in while I search for it? My friend could prepare you something to eat”, he offered kindly but the girl just shook her head no and retreated some more.
“Wait! I’ll bring it here to you if you’d like that”, Yunho tried and the girl nodded, smiling.
Throwing one last smile at the girl he ran back to the house. He went through the sliding doors, across the living room and was just halfway up the stairs when Changmin and Jaejoong came running down the stairs, almost running him over if not for his fast reflexes making him step out of their way.
“Don’t run in the stairs! Where are you going?” he asked puzzled.
“We heard a scream, it sounded like…” Changmin started explaining, urgency in his eyes, when there was another scream.
The three exchanged wide-eyed looks.
“…Junsu”, Yunho whispered.
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Yoochun was humming a tune as he made his way to the garage. He needed to start composing soon if they wanted to put out a new album that year. He kicked the door open and went to the metallic cabinet on the wall where the pegs, screws and nails were stored. He pulled out the drawer meant for the nails and dumped in the contents of the box he was carrying. He stopped humming for a moment and was about to leave when he heard something.
THUMP.
THUMP.
Something was pounding on the basement door and the hits started getting more desperate as the seconds went by. Yoochun hurried to open the door, but it was locked. Looking around, he spotted the keys hanging from one of the hooks in the garage. Quickly grabbing them and trying to find the right one with shaky hands he finally inserted the right key and opened the door, coming face to face with a screaming Junsu.
Momentarily stunned he couldn’t do anything as Junsu ran past him. After coming to his senses, however, he went after the wild-eyed man, grabbing him by the waist. Junsu let out another startled scream before turning around and when recognition replaced the look of raw terror in his eyes he latched his arms around Yoochun’s neck and buried his face on the older man’s shoulder.
Yoochun ran his fingers through Junsu’s hair , shushing sounds and “It’s alright now” being whispered into the younger man’s ears as Junsu’s shaking became less and less violent.
That’s how the other three found Junsu and Yoochun when they made their way into the garage startled and panting.
“What happened?” Yunho asked, visibly concerned.
“I don’t know, when I came down he was pounding on the basement door. It was locked, so it took some time to get him out. When I opened the door he was screaming like a mad-man” Yoochun explained.
“I’ll go make some tea”, Jaejoong announced and went back to the house first.
“Come on, Su, Let’s get you some tea”, Yoochun gently guided Junsu’s shaking and hiccupping form back into the house.
“I’ll be right there, there’s something I need to do. Could you close that door, Changmin?” Yunho asked and followed the other two.
“Sure, Hyung”, Changmin replied and grabbed the keys.
Changmin walked to the basement door and stood there for a minute looking into the darkness. It wasn’t possible, he thought, finally closing the door and locking it using the key. The door could only be locked from the outside and that was only possible by turning the key. What the hell happened?
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Yunho ran up the stairs, mentally wincing at having reprimanded his members for the same action, and dived into the boxes Yoochun had carried up. Opening several until he found his bag, he took said item out and rummaged through it. His fingers finally made contact with thread, cloth and buttons. He found the doll.
Running back down the stairs he peeked into the kitchen and sighed in relief when he saw Junsu drinking his tea; a little color returning to his cheeks. He sprinted to the backyard and into the trees.
“Sorry for making you wait, here’s your…”
Yunho stood in front of the bushes; a perplexed look adorning his face, doll hanging limply at his side.
The little girl was gone.
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“Where did you run off to, Yunho-Hyung?” Changmin asked.
Yunho looked at his dongsaeng distractedly as he entered the kitchen. He didn’t know why but he had hidden the doll before going into the kitchen. “Nowhere.”
“What happened, Su-yah?” Jaejoong asked softly once almost all color had returned to Junsu’s face.
Junsu looked at his mug of tea for a moment before answering. “I was helping Yoochun-hyung carry the boxes. I followed him out to the car and he went ahead of me while I grabbed a box to carry. When I got back into the house the door to the garage was open so I thought he was taking the last boxes down there so I went to the garage. I couldn’t find him there so I went into the basement but the door closed behind me and … I panicked.”
“Wasn’t the door locked, Hyung?” Changmin asked him with a frown, but Junsu shook his head no.
“Well, we all get scared by the dark once in a while, good thing Yoochun was there to get you out Junsu” Yunho muttered and patted Junsu on the back..
“Y-yeah”, Junsu replied weakly and went back to staring at his mug.
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He didn’t tell them the real reason why he was scared. He just couldn’t. It wasn’t just the darkness, Junsu was not afraid of the darkness. When the door closed behind him he got startled, dropping the box he had on his hands. The box went down the basement stairs with a series of soft thuds but when he stepped down to retrieve it, he started hearing things. Heavy breathing. He could hear it as clearly as if somebody was breathing over his shoulder, just next to his ear. He scrambled back to the door, hearing the lock fall into place just as he reached it. He pounded on it, slowly at first, then with more urgency until he was suddenly screaming and kicking the door with all his might. In the back of his mind, during those agonizing minutes, he realized no one would hear him scream.
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Now we're talking eh? I'm sorry for the long wait, I've been blocked forever. This chapter took me a week to write. A WEEK. Most of it was written tonight but still... I'm sorry to every person I owe a fic to. I'm super mega blocked (this took a whole week as you can see) please forgive me ;_;
HELP ME NAME THE GIRL! Korean names would be greatly appreciated ;;
Also, this was written and posted on the spot. It hasn't been edited or anything so if you spot random "omfg, go jump off a cliff" mistakes please tell me so I can change them :)
I hope you enjoyed this chapter~