long-fic; as the world turns, rated pg-15, part one
title: As The World Turns
rating: PG-15
pairing: Jaehyo/Kyung/Zico
genre: Does "AU" count as a genre? \(=w=;;;)/
summary: Jiho just wants to start over with Kyung. But then they meet Jaehyo, and everything changes in a way that might not be for the better. Based on the animanga, Future Diary.
length: 13,787 words
warning: Character death is imminent.
As The World Turns
It’s a warm, sunny day in May, and Jiho’s world is falling apart as he stares into Kyung’s empty, soulless eyes.
This wasn’t supposed to happen, is all Jiho can mutter, over and over again, as he takes shaky steps backwards and away from what used to be his best friend. Deus had said otherwise. Deus had said it would work. Deus had said this. Deus had said that.
He ignores the ground that is literally crumbling beneath his feet as he starts screaming towards the sky. His breathing is ragged when he finishes shouting for a god that no longer wishes to communicate with him.
The world, for Jiho, ends on a Friday afternoon.
---
When he comes to next, he is clothed in the dark, ragged robes Deus had always worn. A familiar-looking mask is by his feet; otherwise, he is surrounded by nothing but the barren wasteland of what used to be Earth. So this is what the world looks like once it has ended, he muses to himself with a wry grin dancing on his face.
For the most part, there is nothing to do as the new God of Time and Space. This is mainly because Jiho has no idea what to do. He knows it is his duty to recreate the world now that it has crumbled away into practically nothing; however, he can’t find it within himself to do so. And thus, this is how he passes the next ten years.
When the eleventh year of his time as God of Time and Space is about to pass by, Jiho is suddenly hit by an epiphany. He is the God of Time and Space. The God of Time and Space. He has control over those two elements, and he is able to mess with the laws of cause and effect. He has the ability to warp reality. What can’t he do?
It is then that he decides that there is only one thing to do. With new resolve, Jiho decides to travel to a new dimension as only one purpose headlines his mind: find another Kyung and help him win the Survival Game.
---
For Woo Jiho, it was supposed to be a weekday like any other. Attend high school. Skip most of the classes with Park Kyung, his best friend. Hang out at their makeshift recording studio for an hour or two. Work on the mixtape together. Eat dinner at the Denny’s down the street from their recording studio. Return home. Greet parents. Update blog. Chat with Deus. Sleep.
What Woo Jiho hadn’t counted on was to be surprised by Deus with the proclamation of a “survival game” to see who was best fit to be the new God of Time and Space. In the morning, on the way to school, Deus had reached out to him. Deus, who he had thought to simply be a figment of imagination, revealed himself to truly be a God. However, Deus’s time left as a deity was quickly running out. In an alternate reality where the nine other candidates were clothed in shadow, Deus introduced the Survival Game with the aim of crowning a new God of Time and Space. The rules? The ten candidates had to kill each other in order to win the throne; the last person standing was the victor.
Woo Jiho hadn’t counted on being named as the “number one” candidate, Deus’s favorite, and he hadn’t counted on that automatically making him a target for the other candidates. He hadn’t counted on returning to his reality, to find that his cellphone - what was once simply a tool for uploading music or updating his blog - was now a Future Diary.
(As Deus explained, “It is now a device that can tell the future, but there are limits.” Woo Jiho was not aware of what those limits were or how exactly his phone could tell the future. All he knew was that his cellphone was typing things that he himself was not typing.)
What Woo Jiho also hadn’t counted on was being greeted by the bloodied corpses of his parents upon his return home. He hadn’t counted on seeing a doppelganger of himself leaning over the bodies. He hadn’t counted on that doppelganger walking over, brandishing a knife, and holding that weapon to his neck.
“Wh-Who are you?” he stammered out. He gulped, and he could feel the cold blade against his Adam’s apple as he did so.
“I am you.” Without waiting for a response, Woo Jiho felt the knife slice through his throat. Then, everything went black.
Woo Jiho’s cellphone blinked as the words [[DEAD END]] flashed on and off. After a minute, the phone seemed to restart itself. Words began to type themselves on screen again.
[[I buried the bodies in the backyard. There was a rustling sound in the bushes as I was piling dirt over the corpses, but it turned out to be a cat. I killed it as well, and threw it in with the three other dead. Then, I took a bath and went to sleep.]]
And Jiho took over in place of Woo Jiho.
---
For Jiho, the first day of the Game goes just as expected. Like last time, Kyung comes up to him the day after and admits that he is a Future Diary user. When Jiho also admits likewise, the two make the same promise as before. “Allies to the end,” Kyung states with a cheesy grin. He holds out one hand in an effort to shake Jiho’s; his other hand adjusts the lensless glasses sitting atop his nose.
“Right,” Jiho shakes the other boy’s hand slowly. “Friends forever and all that jazz.”
The two mutually decide to avoid actively seeking the other candidates out. “It’s too much trouble, and I don’t really want to be a god.” Kyung shrugs as the two are walking to their recording studio. “I just want to live, you know? There’s still so much I want to do with my life.”
Jiho chuckles. “Like what?”
“I don’t know. Have sex?” Kyung sticks out his tongue as the other boy shoves him from the side.
“You’re an idiot.”
“It’s alright; we’re both idiots, so it evens out.” The shorter of the pair grins widely before a cough sounds behind them. They turn around to lay eyes upon a foreigner with smiling eyes. The foreigner has dyed hair that looks unnatural and is dressed sharply in a suit. Despite his cordial-seeming facial features, there is an ominous aura about him that makes Kyung take a step back.
The foreigner coughs again before gesturing to the taller of the pair with his hand outstretched, as if asking for a handshake. “Pardon me, but are you Woo Jiho?”
Jiho knows exactly who the foreigner is; the slightly accented Korean is a painful reminder of his past. He attempts to shake his head before realizing too late that Kyung was right to take a step back and keep a distance. Soon, the foreigner is closer; there is only a foot of space between them.
“I’ll take your hesitation as a positive indicator. Salutations, I am the Fourth candidate for Deus’s position. My name is Nichkhun Horvejkul.” The foreigner retrieves something that resembles a tape recorder with one hand, and reveals a small pistol in the other. “But I suppose introductions are unimportant at this point in time. After all, you are going to die soon.” At this, Nichkhun opens his eyes; he stops smiling and an oddly-shaped smirk takes its place instead. “That’s what my Future Diary says anyways.”
Jiho grimaces slightly as he hears both his phone and Kyung’s beep. He doesn’t need to be a psychic to know that the words [[DEAD END]] are starting to flash. However, because of the beeping sounds, Nichkhun hesitates in releasing the safety on his pistol. The hesitation is enough for Jiho to grab Kyung’s hand, high-kick the weapon-wielding man’s hands, and run away.
“And so the game begins,” Jiho murmurs. He looks back at his best friend, who has worry etched on his face, before turning forward with newfound determination. “I’ll get us through this; I promise. We did it together once. We’ll do it together again.” Kyung stares at him, the worry now replaced by confusion. Jiho simply allows half his mouth to curve upwards into a smile before stating louder, “We’ll live.”
---
This is the first time the situation diverts from the expected to the unexpected. While they are running away from the Fourth, Kyung suggests heading into a coffee shop located in a back alley; Jiho had thought they were going to run into a nearby restaurant instead. He’s tentative, but Kyung doesn’t know why he would insist on running into the well-known Italian restaurant instead of the out-of-the-way coffee shop. (Jiho knows why; he knows they’ll live for sure if they go into the well-known Italian restaurant. He knows the events that will transpire there. He knows nothing about what could transpire in the coffee shop.) Something holds him back from spilling everything to Kyung right then and there; something stops him from whispering quiet hopes in the form of just trust me; therefore, biting his tongue, Jiho allows Kyung to lead him into the coffee shop.
It is here they observe a young male whispering the lyrics to a long-forgotten ballad while standing at a podium. He rocks on the balls of his feet, all skin and bones, physical appearance full of both sharp edges and lithe curves. Jiho feels his heart skip a beat. He looks to his left and notices that Kyung is also staring awestruck at the singer on stage. They come out of their stupor when the male on stage finally finishes singing and flashes the two of them a smile. It’s electrifying, and, in a moment, Jiho’s mind is blank; he can’t remember why he and Kyung had stumbled into the coffee shop in the first place.
“Hey,” the male states, a hint of bashfulness coloring his cheeks. He walks off the podium and towards the shop’s counter. As he leans on it slightly, he cocks an eyebrow. “I don’t think I’ve seen you two in this cafe before.”
A shorter male with thick-framed glasses stands up from a chair that was hidden behind the counter. “Oh, newbies? Nice! It’s nice to meet you two.” He grins, and it seems to reach all the way up to his ears. “I’m the son of the owner; the name’s Taeil.”
The young male from earlier straightens his posture before allowing a small smile to break out on his face. “And I’m Ahn Jaehyo, a friend of the son of the owner.” Taeil shoves him slightly and mumbles something that sounds like, “That’s not a proper introduction,” yet Jaehyo can’t help but laugh lightly as he shoves Taeil back. Jiho feels his heart clench and it takes him a moment to pinpoint exactly why (because it reminds him of himself, it reminds him of Kyung, but most importantly - it reminds him of the other Kyung).
“O-Oh, well, I’m Park Kyung... But you can just call me Kyung.” Jiho feels Kyung elbow him in the side before he introduces himself as well.
“And I’m Woo Jiho... But I’d like it if you just called me Jiho.” He attempts to smile, but he finds that he can’t. He’s left with only the painful reminder of why he had traveled to this dimension nagging him.
Taeil interrupts his thoughts as he places his arms on the countertop and rests his head atop it. “What brings you two here to Stardom Cafe? We’re not exactly the most renowned, so it’s always intriguing to hear the reasons behind people coming here.”
“I - we... Oh.” Kyung’s carefree expressions begins to darken as he turns towards the door. His eyes then match Jiho’s, and the two exchange glances full of mutual anxieties. The Fourth is still out there, looking for them. They shouldn’t be relaxing and talking aimlessly in Stardom Cafe; they should be looking for a proper place to hide.
“We were playing a game of ‘hide and seek’ and decided this seemed like a good place to hide.” Jiho chuckles weakly before scratching his head. Jaehyo’s eyes seem like they’re imploring him to say something more, and it’s bothersome. He trains his eyes to focus on table legs, on the pastries sitting inside the display case, on the floor - on anything other than Jaehyo’s piercing gaze. “Is there any place we could hide? Just for a little while?”
Taeil laughs awkwardly as he looks up at Jaehyo. “This sounds like a pretty serious game of hide and seek,”
Kyung mimics the other man’s laugh before nodding. “It’s a life or death matter.”
“Well, in that case,” Taeil shuffles around behind the counter before coming out with a ring of keys. “The one with a star unlocks the door over there.” Taeil nods his head to his right before dropping the keys into Kyung’s palm. “There are stairs behind it that lead to our basement. I live here with my father, so there are a couple rooms and basically just interesting things down there.” He ruffles Kyung’s hair before staring at Jiho with a playfully stern glance. “Just make sure to not mess up anything... Oh, and don’t mess with my fish.”
“Fish?” Jiho raises an eyebrow.
“I keep a mini-aquarium of sorts.” Taeil shrugs before gesturing to the large glass window that looks out onto the street. “I think I see a guy coming in this direction though. You should probably hurry and hide.”
Without another word, Jiho and Kyung walk briskly to the door Taeil had pointed to earlier and unlock it. Jiho looks back once, only to catch Jaehyo staring in their direction with an unreadable expression decorating his face. As he hears the bell of the coffee shop ring, however, Jiho turns forward and shuts the door without a sound.
---
After what feels like hours (hours spent tensely sitting on chairs, eyes switching from observing Taeil’s miniature aquarium to observing their cellphones), Jaehyo unlocks the door and walks into the basement. Jiho and Kyung look up in unison as the lanky individual shrugs nonchalantly and answers their unsaid question. “We redirected the foreign guy elsewhere. The coast is clear for you two.”
Jiho lets out a breath he didn’t realize he had been holding as Kyung mumbles, “Hallelujah.”
“Is there... Something more to this ‘hide and seek’ game than you guys are letting on?” Jiho stiffens in his seat as Jaehyo walks closer to them, left eyebrow raised. Jiho is confident that there wasn’t a person like Jaehyo in the last Survival Game, but there’s still something about Jaehyo that makes him uncomfortable.
Kyung doesn’t seem to harbor any negative feelings towards Jaehyo, however, so he answers Jaehyo’s question with another question. “What makes you think that?” His voice trails off at the end, nervous chuckling taking its place instead.
“Call it a hunch, but the foreign man who greeted Taeil and I didn’t seem like he was playing a game. He sounded almost threatening.” Jaehyo furrows his brows before continuing. “I mean, I know we just met, but I consider every customer who walks into Stardom Cafe to be like family. I feel like only kindred spirits gather here, if that makes sense, so--”
“You have a really nice voice.” Jiho bursts out all of a sudden. Kyung seems shocked by the sudden topic change, and to be honest, Jiho is a little shocked by his own gall as well. It is a necessary outburst, however; he gazes over at Kyung, who nods once after getting over his own initial confusion.
There is no need to get Jaehyo, a perfectly nice stranger, involved in this.
With that in mind, Jiho continues speaking. “Kyung and I enjoy composing and rapping in our free time. What do you say to recording a song together? A voice like yours deserves to be shared with the world, don’t you think?”
There is a pregnant pause that hangs in the air before Jaehyo lets out a sigh. Jiho notices another small smile creeping on the tall male’s face before he opens his mouth to respond. “What are you guys? The heads of a record agency or something?”
“Not really.” Kyung nods slowly. “But we do upload our mixtapes to a popular website for undiscovered artists, and they do get hot responses.” He smirks. “We’re pretty damn famous, for underground rappers, I mean.”
“Your modesty is enticing,” Jaehyo rolls his eyes. “I regret to inform you two, however, that I don’t have the time to hang out with you guys. I’m a law student at Sungkyunkwan; in fact, I should return home to study soon.” As he turns around to begin going up the stairs, Jiho and Kyung stand up to follow him out. However, before Jaehyo can turn the doorknob to the cafe, Jiho places his own hand over Jaehyo’s to stop him.
“You seem to really like singing.” He mutters.
“I really like singing.” Jaehyo nods in agreement as he echoes Jiho’s words, slight tension evident in his voice. “My parents, on the other hand, don’t.” With that said, Jiho relaxes his grip and Jaehyo turns the doorknob, allowing the three of them to enter the cafe once more. Taeil greets the three of them lightheartedly before Jaehyo wordlessly walks out of the cafe.
“We should get going too,” Kyung states as he stares at Jaehyo’s retreating figure. “It’s getting late. Our parents are probably worried.”
Jiho tenses at the last statement before nodding slowly in agreement. “It was nice meeting you, Taeil.”
“Same to you guys.” Taeil waves farewell as the pair leave the store. “I hope you win your ‘hide and seek’ game.” When the door closes shut, he adds, “I’d like to challenge you guys to a game too.”
---
“I must say, I’m surprised at how easy it was to dodge that Nichkhun guy.” Kyung stifles a yawn as he finishes his comment. The two are currently walking to school and checking in with each other’s status in the Survival Games. “I wonder if it will stay this easy.”
Jiho shrugs before looking to his left and right. “We’ll see.” Anxiety floods through him now that it is day two of the Survival Games. In the past game, the Fourth was killed sometime during the second day. This poses a challenge for Jiho; he knows he has to kill the Fourth, but he doesn’t know how he should go about accomplishing this now that things are moving at an unexpected pace. Frowning, he takes out his cellphone and checks what his Future Diary reads for the day.
[[I attended school today... Oh. That was unexpected. Fuck, I have to get Kyung out of here. He can’t see this. I have to protect him.]]
He lets out a grunt of frustration. The entry was too short and too vague; it was pretty much unhelpful save for the indication that something bad was going to happen during school. After everything that transpired the day before, Jiho isn’t sure whether or not his diary entry indicates the arrival of a Future Diary user. And if so, which one? “Be on high alert while at school, Kyung.”
“You don’t have to tell me twice.” The other male shakes his head before showing Jiho his own entry for the day.
[[The girls in class are especially rowdy today. There are some new transfers, and they are pretty attractive. We also got a new teacher, but I didn’t get to see his face before Jiho tells me to head straight for the cafe again after that. Alone. Why alone?]]
After reading Kyung’s entry, Jiho feels all the hairs on his body stand up on end.
“Why would you tell me to run off by myself, Jiho?” Kyung cocks his head to the side.
The teen in question shakes his head before muttering, “That’s a good question.” A question he now knows the answer to.
---
As Kyung’s Future Diary entry had revealed, there are two new students that had just transferred into their homeroom class.
“Hi, I’m Lee Minhyuk.” The blonde-haired one bows as he stares without expession at the class before him. He is dressed casually but well, and the girls clamor over the fact that he isn’t wearing the school-enforced uniform. “I’m not really sure what else to say except that I like dancing...?” The girls shriek especially loud over this and begin to raise their hands this way and that, all the while shouting questions at the blonde boy.
The other student has a cheerful demeanor about him as he greets the class. “Hello, I’m Kim Yukwon. I’m Minhyuk’s best friend, and I also really like dancing.” As he continues to grin, the girls begin to fret over his red locks and charming smile.
Kyung whispers to Jiho, “We should befriend them. With Jaehyo, the two of them, and the two of us, we could probably form a boy band or something, don’t you think?”
Jiho nods slowly and does not offer any other response. He knows the two teens before him very well, and what he knows makes his blood run cold.
“Kyung, do you remember what you asked earlier? About me telling you to run off by yourself?”
“Yes?”
“The moment the bell rings and indicates school is over, I want you to run to Stardom Cafe for asylum.”
---
The minute the bell rings to signify the ending of the school day, Jiho immediately gets up from his seat and asks the two new transfer students to follow him into the hall. Kyung is confused, but he slowly gets up and leaves the room as he had been asked to by Jiho earlier.
From Kyung’s point of view, Jiho has been acting oddly ever since the day the Survival Games were first announced. He supposes it’s to be expected; it would be more surprising for Jiho to act completely normal after such a proclamation. Still, Kyung has a nagging feeling at the back of his head that tells him Jiho is hiding something from him. As his friend, however, Kyung knows he shouldn’t pry unless absolutely necessary. Everyone should be allowed a few skeletons in their closet after all.
He is rattled from his deep thinking when he bumps into someone’s chest. “Oh, sorry - oh!” Kyung manages a smile as he sees who he has walked into. “Good afternoon, Jaehyo. I was actually just making my way to Stardom Cafe to pay you a visit.”
Jaehyo waves in greeting as he brushes invisible dust off himself. “Oh? What for?”
“Do I have to have a reason for visiting a friend?” Kyung rambles off the top of his head.
“‘Friend’?”
“Didn’t you say Stardom Cafe customers were like your family?” Kyung grins amiably. “I mean, if you’d rather I call you a brother, then that’s fine too.”
Jaehyo’s expression seems doubtful until it changes into one of amusement. “No, it’s alright. Okay, ‘friend.’” The two exchange smiles for a moment until Jaehyo starts walking again, in the direction Kyung had just come from.
“Where are you headed to?” Kyung asks. Even though Jiho had told him to seek safety within Stardom Cafe, he supposes it would also be fine if he simply follows Jaehyo, right?
“I’m... Visiting my girlfriend. She’s two years older than me, and she volunteers at a plant nursery.”
Kyung stops walking. “You have a girlfriend?”
Jaehyo shrugs before continuing his pace. “Yeah, we’ve been going steady for almost a year now. She’s... She’s great.” Kyung catches up to Jaehyo again and observes the way Jaehyo’s eyes seem to soften when talking about his girlfriend. There is something about the way his eyes look that makes Kyung’s heart hurt from a pang of jealousy, but Kyung shakes his head afterwards. This doesn’t make any sense; why would he be jealous of Jaehyo having a girlfriend?
All of a sudden, Kyung stopss in his tracks again. “Wait, did you say a plant nursery?”
Jaehyo nods. “Yeah, I think it’s located near a high school --”
“It’s probably the one down the block from my school. We should be passing my school on the way to the nursery...” Kyung’s voice trails off. Maybe, as they pass by, Kyung could check up on Jiho.
Why did Jiho tell him to run off by himself anyway?
---
“Your recording studio is out back? Do you know how shady that sounds?” Yukwon asks, but his tone is one that sounds more excited and jubilant than anything else. Minhyuk is silent the entire time as he follows beside their new found acquaintance, Jiho.
“It’s not that easy getting a recording studio, okay?” Jiho sticks his tongue out before messing with Yukwon’s hair. He spares a glance to Minhyuk before letting an easy smile take over his face. After a few minutes of walking, they arrive at a shack that holds sporting equipment for the school. “Oh, wait, I left my recording equipment back indoors. Could you guys wait inside here while I go back and get it?”
Yukwon and Minhyuk nod in unison before Jiho gives them both a thumbs up. “Great! Just... Make yourself comfortable, I guess.” His easy smile is soon coupled with easy laughter as he leaves the two alone.
“Jiho seems like a nice guy, huh?” Yukwon sighs contentedly as he rummages around the shack.
Minhyuk begins to do some stretches in place as he observes his surroundings nonchalantly. “Too bad we have to kill him.”
---
“Hey, Jaehyo, do you mind if we stop by school for a sec?” Kyung gestures to the open gates leading to his high school. “I want to check up on Jiho and see if he needs any help or something.”
“Not at all.” Jaehyo shrugs. The two have been conversing so naturally that time seems to have flown by. Eventually, they reach Kyung’s high school, and thus their current state of affairs.
“Thanks.” Kyung’s face shows his gratefulness as he runs through the school gates, Jaehyo trailing behind him at a much slower pace. He runs through the hallways, ignoring some teachers’ cries of “slow down” and “no running in the hallways,” before running straight into a door that has been left wide open.
Jaehyo, who has watched the whole thing from afar, cackles in amusement before wiping an imaginary tear from his eye. “That looked like it hurt.”
“Well, it kinda did.” Kyung groans as he picks himself up and peers curiously into the open entrance. What he sees makes every cell in his body freeze in place. There, talking to his school principal, is the Fourth. “Shit.” He swears. It is a barely audible curse, but it is apparently enough for Nichkhun to turn his head sharply and match glances with him. A chilling smile curls across Nichkhun’s mouth before opening to reveal teeth.
“Salutations again,” he greets, eyes crinkling at the corners as he smiles wider.
“Oh, so you know Park Kyung?” asks the principal, delight in her voice. “You should ask the boy to show you around, if you’re not busy.”
“That sounds like a good idea,” Nichkhun stops smiling as his eyes opened to reveal a glare. “Especially since I’ll be teaching here very, very soon.”
“Shit, shit, shit.” Kyung turns around, ready to run, when he bumps into the skinny frame of Jaehyo.
“You look like you’ve seen a ghost. What’s wrong --”
“There’s no time to explain. We need to get a move on.” Kyung’s mind begins racing a million miles a minute as he grabs Jaehyo’s hand and pulls him aside, gesturing with his head at the open door. “W-We have to warn Jiho that the ‘seeker’ is here,” Kyung stammers as he then begins to tug Jaehyo away from the open door. Jaehyo’s face turns solemn as he allows himself to be dragged away.
“Kyung, I think your phone is beeping. It might be Jiho looking for you; you should probably pick it up.”
Kyung scoffs, “I highly doubt it,” but proceeds to flip open his phone regardless. Inside, his Future Diary begins typing a message by itself.
[[Turning left at the end of the hallway, Jaehyo and I find the stairs. Going up, we run into a dead end. Turning back, we run into the Fourth. DEAD END.]]
“Shit.” The shorter boy swears under his breath. “Well, if left is out of the question...” He proceeds to turn right, Jaehyo following hot on his heels. Kyung feels his heartbeat become less erratic as he pulls Jaehyo into an abandoned classroom. Noticing his cellphone has stopped sounding, he flips open his phone again to reveal a new message.
[[Turning right at the end of the hallway, Jaehyo and I find a long hallway filled with empty classrooms. We hide in Room 622, but peer out the classroom windows to find Jiho moving about outside.]]
“Kyung,” Jaehyo begins. “There’s something you two are refusing to tell me.” It isn’t an open-ended question; it is a statement of finality. More than anything, it is a statement that causes a tremor of fear to ripple through the younger boy.
“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Kyung stammers. He adjusts the glasses sitting on the bridge of his nose before pointing at the windows. “But I think we’ll find Jiho if we look out there.”
Jaehyo does not push the subject as he and Kyung make their way to the windows. They cautiously peer out and notice Jiho pulling a wagon filled with a lot of miscellaneous items. “What is he doing?” the older of the two mumble. For Kyung, that is a question he is slightly afraid to find the answer to. However, gulping down his fears, he turns to the boy beside him and shrugs. “I don’t know, but we’re about to find out. Come on.”
---
As Jiho approaches the shed that encases Minhyuk and Yukwon, he slows his steps and stops pulling the wagon behind him. Instead, he begins to pile everything in the wagon into his arms. With some effort, he reaches the equipment shack and kicks the door shut. He places everything in his arms gingerly on the floor, before tuning out the muffled cries and shouts coming from inside the tiny building.
“Fuck, the First got a jump on us.” Minhyuk swears as he kicks at the metal door from inside. It is a futile effort that only causes him to curse at the pain coursing through his right foot.
“Minhyuk, does this mean...” Yukwon swallows thickly as he mimics a slicing motion across his throat.
The two boys are completely still as they notice the small window located near the roof open a crack. A small tube snakes its way into the equipment shed, just high enough to be out of reach. It is then that the blonde-haired one sits down on the ground and begins to laugh.
“Yeah, Yukwon. It does.”
---
Carbon monoxide poisoning. That is the plan Jiho had concocted. It is the easiest way to kill the transfer students without having to actually get his hands dirty. As he stares at his make-shift piping connecting a carbon monoxide leak in the school building to the equipment shed, he apathetically takes his phone out from his pocket.
[[I waited patiently for the slow deaths of the Seventh and Eighth to happen. However --]]
“Jiho, what are you doing?”
Jiho nearly jumps out of his skin. He turns around at the familiar voice to see Kyung and Jaehyo running up to him, both slightly out of breath. “Kyung? Jaehyo?”
The two stare questioningly at each other before gawking at the set up surrounding Jiho and the equipment shed. “Jiho, what are you doing?” Kyung repeats. This time, his question is posed in a tone that is barely above a whisper.
Jiho hesitates as he looks back at the equipment. For now, it seems like the transfer students are unconscious. It is still too early to know whether or not they are definitely dead, however. This doubt causes Jiho to tell Kyung a lie. “Nothing, really. Don’t worry about it. Let’s head on over to the recording studio.” He manages a smirk as he tilts his head in Jaehyo’s direction. “I see you brought over Jaehyo. Is he going to sing with us today?”
“I didn’t --” Jaehyo’s voice is cut off when Kyung suddenly shouts out loud.
“Wait!” interrupts the spectacled boy. “I forgot to tell you, but Nichkhun is here. At our school. Right now.”
Jiho stills. “The Fourth? Where the hell did he come from?”
“I’m not sure, but he’s here. He’s going to be a teacher here, apparently.” Kyung groans as he turns around to face the school. “We are so fucked.”
“Well, he can’t exactly start shooting his gun in the middle of class.” Jiho allows a devilish smile to spread upon his lips as he catches Kyung’s eyes with his own. “We’ll just have to kill him before he kills us.”
Kyung feels a shiver run up his spine at the other male’s words. “What happened to not actively seeking out the candidates?”
“Well, technically, the Fourth sought us out first.” Jiho shrugs as he stands up and gestures to the direction opposite of the equipment shed. “But let’s sort out a detailed plan of action at the studio, alright?”
“Did you guys forget I was here?” Jaehyo mumbles suddenly. Jiho’s ear twitches as he turns to face the thin-framed individual.
“K-Kind of,” Jiho stammers.
“Shit.” Kyung hisses. “We didn’t want to get you involved, but --”
“Do you mind if we tell you a story?” Jiho finishes. His expression is no longer good-natured; he still cannot be a hundred percent sure of whether or not Jaehyo is friend or foe.
Jaehyo looks thoughtful for a moment before he beckons Jiho to come closer to Kyung and him. “Only if I can tell you a tale in return.”
>>>