THE ANSWER: VIII

THE ANSWER: VIII

Kim Hongjoong doesn’t like the word ‘cult.’ He prefers ‘sect.’ pairing: ateez x fem reader genre: cult au, thriller, angst check warnings on AO3

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After Mingi had told you that it was dinner time, you realized how hungry you’ve gotten. Afterall, really all you had had all day was that coffee from this morning. How you had totally forgotten about lunch, you have no idea.

On the walk back down the stairs, your little group becomes significantly larger. People are pouring out of their rooms and heading in the same direction, toward the cafeteria. To your surprise, a small child sneaks his way around your legs, running ahead of you. Huh, there really are kids here.

With Mingi still next to you, you ask him if the meals are on schedules. “Yeah, but it depends on the day,” he starts, “Everyday, we have scheduled breakfast at seven, though there are mandatory activities before breakfast. Lunch is kind of a fend for yourself thing, there are always snacks out in the cafeteria, but on Sunday we always have a scheduled lunch at noon. Dinner bell always rings at five, and we should be eating by five-thirty.”

“Ah, okay.” You respond, nodding your head as you listen along. You guess it makes sense, with so many people to feed it would be much more efficient to eat all at once at the same time. 

Following the crowd, you make it back to the cafeteria in just a few minutes. Some of the tables are already filling up, and you try to get an idea of how many people are around. It looks to be about forty adults, and maybe… five kids? The operation honestly seems a bit bigger than you had originally thought. 

Mingi and San head to the back of a line that’s starting to form. San takes a second to explain that meals are typically served lunch-room style. He also tells you that there are always two hot meal options, but also cold, pre-prepared foods available. Finally, he adds that you can take as much as you want. You three wait in line together, and Mingi pulls you in front of him so that you can be between him and San. You give him a smile as thanks, appreciating the fact that he still remembers how uncomfortable you can get when you’re too close to strangers. Mingi used to do the same thing all the time in the university cafeteria, putting you in front of him so that you could have all the time and space you needed. 

You move through the line, watching others before copying their behavior. The first thing that comes up on the line is… creamed corn. Okay, makes sense, this is a corn farm afterall. The next few things are other miscellaneous side dishes, and you just grab whatever looks appetizing. The main courses today are… “What is that?” you ask San, leaning a bit closer to the trays of food.

“Looks like paninis!” He grabs the tongs sitting in front of the tray and grabs one, putting it on his plate. “Meat and cheese, probably.” He shrugs at you, moving along. 

From what you can tell, the other option seems to be a soup of some kind and, honestly, that does not seem filling enough. You grab one of the paninis and continue down with San. Mingi, however, moves on without a panini, “I love our chicken noodle soup, but I feel bad for the chickens,” he leaves off, leaning in closer to you to whisper the next part, “this is why we don’t name them.” He sticks his lower lip out for a moment, but he quickly starts smiling once more once he reaches the soup ladle. 

You three continue to the end of the line, finally picking a drink to go along with your meal. All three of you decide on a simple water. Honestly, after that day of touring, you were pretty tired out. You probably should have been drinking water all day, but it hadn’t even occurred to you. 

San leads you to an empty table, plopping himself down on one side of the bench. You take the spot across from San, and Mingi quickly slides in next to you. You’re about to grab your panini when you realize that neither San nor Mingi have touched their food yet. They’re just sitting quietly with their hands in their laps, looking around aimlessly. Confused, you take a look about the room. Similarly, everyone else that’s seated is also waiting. 

“Uh… what are we waiting for?” You whisper to Mingi, looking up at him in question. 

He takes another look around the room before responding. “Hongjoong says a few words before we eat.”

“Oh,” is all you can muster in reply. That’s kind of weird. And by kind of weird you mean pretty weird. Why can’t he ‘say a few words’ while you’re eating? You stare at your panini and realize just how hungry you’ve gotten. Man, it smells good in this cafeteria. Where is Hongjoong?

You look around the room again, and notice that no one remains in the line anymore. Presumably the entire group of people is seated in the cafeteria, waiting for their leader. Even the few children you can see are waiting, sitting patiently and quietly next to their adults. 

Movement catches the corner of your eye and, thankfully, there is Hongjoong, walking through the main door of the cafeteria. He smiles at everyone, observing the room as he makes his way toward the front. Once there, he turns to face the crowd.

“Good evening!” He says, folding his hands in front of him.

A resounding “Good evening” rings about the room, everyone responding to his greeting in unison. You quickly look to Mingi, attempting to give him the most confused face you can muster, but he’s locked on to Hongjoong. In fact, everyone in the room is. You try to survey the people in the cafeteria as sneakily as possible, but you figure the fact that you are, quite literally, the only person moving even a muscle probably gives you away. When you realize this, you quickly snap your head back to the front, to Hongjoong. 

To your shock, he’s already staring directly at you. “As many of you know, we have a guest today.” He brings a hand up to gesture to you over at your table, and the eyeline of every person in the room follows it to you. Not knowing what you should do, you awkwardly give a small wave, trying to conceal how utterly uncomfortable this moment is. Literally every single person in the room has their eyes on you, and you can feel the weight of each individual stare. Why is everyone acting so damn weird all of a sudden? “So I expect everyone to be on their best behavior.” His tone is quite serious. You look back up at Hongjoong, and he immediately establishes eye contact with you. Why does it feel like he’s speaking to you, and not everyone else?

“With that, I have a few more announcements. First off, harvest season is almost upon us, so I hope everyone is prepared for harvest rotations. Again, everyone must participate! This is an all hands on deck situation!” He starts, finally looking away from you and talking to the group once more. He sounds much more upbeat now. “Second, I want to remind you all that the great God above dearly loves each and every one of you! Every second is a blessing, and we have Him to thank.”

Um. Okay? You can’t even try to hide the confusion that crosses your face. Where the hell did that come from? With furrowed brows, you continue to stare up at Hongjoong. To your dismay, he whips his head back towards you and reestablishes eye contact. You immediately try to remove any semblance of emotion from your face, but it doesn’t seem to work. If you didn’t know any better, you would think that, for a moment, he smirks at your reaction. For a split second, you could swear he looks malicious. The moment quickly passes, however, and his expression is replaced with a big smile. “Eat up, everyone!”

With that, everyone turns to their food and starts eating. The room quickly fills with the sounds of people socializing, the din becoming gradually louder. You face forward again, looking at your food. After that disturbing display, you’ve almost lost your appetite… wait, nope, there it is. You pick up your panini and dig in, and, by God, it’s a good panini. So good, in fact, that you hardly notice the new people that have come to stand at your side. 

San hurriedly gathering all his things and standing up is what gets your attention. When you try to look and see where he’s going, you’re met with two familiar faces. Hongjoong and Seonghwa. You hardly notice San slipping onto your side of the bench next to Mingi, entranced watching Hongjoong and Seonghwa sit across from you. Hongjoong takes San’s previous spot, in front of you, and Seonghwa sits to his left, in front of Mingi.

Neither of them have food with them. You’re suddenly uncomfortably self-aware of how fast you were gobbling down that panini, and set what remains back onto your tray, trying to not look at the newcomers.

“Did these two give you a good tour?” You look up as he asks, and his face is still smeared with that giant smile. “How do you like it here?”

You think for a second on your answer. What does he want to hear? On one hand, you don’t want to offend him. On the other, you don’t want him to make up some notion that you’ll be staying even a second longer than you had originally planned. Honestly, at this rate, you might leave even a bit earlier. “They did! It seems like… a nice place to visit.”

As soon as you say it, you regret it. God, that definitely sounds like you want to leave. Trying to save your answer, you give Hongjoong your best fake smile. He simply continues smiling at you, bringing his arms up to rest on the table. You glance at Seonghwa, trying to gauge his reaction as well. He just stares at you blankly. 

Mingi saves you. “Well, she sure likes the food!” He laughs, gesturing to your near empty plate. Everyone bursts into tension filled laughter (well, everyone except Seonghwa), and you are extremely thankful for the diversion.

After the laughter dies down and your table finds itself back in its awkward silence, Hongjoong claps his hands together. “Well, again, you are welcome to stay for as long as you want.” He gives you a quick smile, moving to stand up.

You expect Seonghwa to stand with him, but he remains seated as Hongjoong waits for him. “I don’t think she wants to stay.” He’s staring directly at you, tilting his head as if he’s curious. 

Your eyes go wide and a protest starts rising to your lips. You stop yourself, however, stunned to silence under his glare. “Don’t you want to be saved?” He asks, leaning forward in his seat toward you. He blinks plainly at you, awaiting an answer.

Right as you’re about to respond (with a very confused ‘what?’), Hongjoong grabs Seonghwa by the shoulder and pulls him back, laughing a bit through his words, “Let’s not get into that right now. (Y/n), excuse us.” Even though he’s laughing, you can see his grip on Seonghwa’s shoulder getting tighter. Despite this, Seonghwa stays in place, his glare pinning you to your spot. You can’t look away from him, either. 

San and Mingi remain silent, and, though you can’t see them, you imagine that they both are as uncomfortable as you are. Hongjoong bends at his waist, pulling Seonghwa’s body back further at the same time. He brings his lips to Seonghwa’s ear, whispering something that you can’t make out. Immediately, Seonghwa’s expression breaks, and now he is the one looking shocked. He turns to Hongjoong, eyes wide. “Get up.” Hongjoong says, straightening back up and releasing his grip on Seonghwa’s shoulder. He turns and starts walking away, and Seonghwa scrambles up, quickly making to follow after him.

You watch them go, wondering what the hell just happened. You really could not make sense of anything, from what Seonghwa had said to you to what just happened between him and Hongjoong. You look back down at your plate, realizing that your appetite truly has left you this time. Pushing the tray away, you turn to Mingi.

About a million questions are running through your mind, and it’s impossible to pick just one to ask. Mingi honestly looks just as shocked as you are, still watching the backs of the two that had just left. You glance past Mingi to look at San, who is practically mirroring Mingi.

Considering they’re both as confused as you are, you figure it probably wouldn’t do any good to ask them what had just happened. You hadn’t even realized, but, looking around the room, it seems like a lot of people have already started clearing out. Not many people remain in the cafeteria, and those that do look like they’re finishing up.

You notice that one of the stragglers is making his way over to the table, and it takes you a second to recognize that it’s Wooyoung, from earlier. He smiles at you, waving as he approaches the table. As he takes in the expressions of you three, however, his smile drops and his expression changes to one of concern. 

“Are you guys alright?” He asks once he reaches the end of the table, looking from you to Mingi to San and then back. 

This snaps Mingi and San out of their stunned states. “Yes?” Mingi replies, making his affirmation sound more like a question. 

Wooyoung nods, but he doesn’t look too convinced. “Uh-huh,” he looks around the room, seemingly trying to find what has the three of you so flabbergasted. “Anyways, we’re gonna have a bonfire if you guys would like to join us in the plain commons.” 

San perks up at this. “Of course! We’ll be there.” You look to him, and his confused expression has completely left his face, replaced with the cheerful smile you’ve come to know. 

Wooyoung’s smile returns, and he lets you guys know that it’ll be ready in just a few minutes. You return his smile, waving as he turns to go. As soon as he’s left, however, you go right back to being just as confused as before. 

As you’re about to ask Mingi what Seonghwa had meant by his question, San gets up. “I’ll clear these for you guys, if you want to head out.” He says, grabbing his tray and the trays in front of you and Mingi. 

Mingi thanks him, standing up from the bench. He puts his hand out for you, and you readily grab it as you follow suit. The two of you walk in silence back outside. Again, you really want to ask what Seonghwa had meant, but Mingi speaks before you can. “We’re alone.”

Yes, in fact, you two are finally alone. This was all that you had been wanting all day. Yet, in the moment, everything you’ve wanted to say disappears from your mind. You search for a response, and blurt out the first thing that comes to mind. “I really missed you.”

He squeezes your hand in his, a small smile coming to his face. “I missed you, too.”

You almost want to freeze right there in the hall. You two are alone. The realization is finally hitting you, and you want to dig your heels in and refuse to go outside. A gentle silence falls between you two, and you don’t want to go to the bonfire, you don’t want to meet any more new people. You want to spend time with Mingi, and with Mingi alone. You start to hesitate in your steps, until you really do stop.

Mingi goes on for a step, his arm pulling yours upward. He stops, once he feels the resistance, turning to look over his shoulder at you. “Is something wrong?” He asks, looking concerned.

You don’t know where it comes from, but you suddenly feel the tears pricking at the corners of your eyes and your chest tightening. “Hey,” Mingi quickly notices, dropping your hand so that he can fully turn back to face you. Your tears start falling from the concerned tone of his voice alone. He steps back to you, lightly putting his hands on the sides of your arms. “Don’t cry. Why are you crying?” He’s bending slightly, his face level with yours. The pained expression he’s wearing only serves to make the tears come faster.

You don’t even know how to answer him. Why are you crying? Because you missed him so much? Because he left you in the first place? Because you’re going to have to leave him tomorrow? Because your life will never go back to how it was when he was a part of it? There’s too many reasons. He should be asking why you hadn’t cried yet. You only start crying harder when you think, and Mingi starts looking almost scared.

That almost makes you laugh. Not that you had made a habit out of crying in front of him, but, whenever you had in the past, he normally would start freaking out. He had never had the faintest clue how to comfort you. Now, however, he straightens himself back to his full height and pulls you to him, taking his hands from your arms to wrap around you. One finds its way around your waist, while the other goes around your shoulders, his hand cradling the back of your head. 

Instinctively, you wrap yourself around him, letting him hold you in the hallway. Your hands clench the back of his shirt, holding him like you might lose him. With your face in his chest, now you really can’t stop the tears. You really begin to cry now, with noises arising from your chest that you don’t even attempt to stop. Mingi simply holds you, stroking the back of your head in an attempt to calm you down. He murmurs reassurances to you, continuing to let you let it all out. 

After a few minutes, you begin to calm down. Your thoughts become more coherent, and you realize what is actually happening right now. You are in the dark hallway of a commune building, being held by your best friend that had abandoned you for a farm. Trying to compose yourself, you let go of your death grip on Mingi’s shirt and pull yourself back. He lets you go, and, for a moment, you wish he didn’t. When you look up at him, wiping your tears with the backs of your hands, you notice wetness on his cheeks as well. He looks away from you, bringing his own hand up to his face in a copy of your motions. 

You clear your throat, really having no idea what to do now. “Sorry,” you whisper, looking at the floor and trying to memorize the pattern on the carpet over looking at Mingi’s red eyes again. 

He puts a hand on your shoulder, and you look up at him. He’s shaking his head, still not looking at you. With surprise, you realize he’s still crying. He opens his mouth, but nothing comes out. When he looks back down at you, his voice is hoarse. “No, I’m sorry.” It’s so quiet that you can barely hear it, and he pulls you back to him again.

This time, you’re the one to comfort him. His body starts shaking, sobs racking his chest as you hold him tight once more. He’s too tall to put his face in your neck, so he’s pressing into the side of your head, wetting your hair. His hands are clinging to your shirt, holding the fabric tight to your body. 

Your arms wrap around his neck, squeezing him to let him know you’re there. You play with the ends of his hair, trying to calm him as he had you. Your eyes become wet again. You had no idea that Mingi would be so torn up over you crying. 

After the course of another few minutes, Mingi seems to make the same realizations that you had. His grip on your shirt loosens, and he picks his head up, but he doesn’t let go. He leans back to look at you, and then he does let go. He takes his hands out from behind you and brings them up to your face, softly cupping your cheeks. His thumbs swipe under your eyes, drying them easily. 

You two stand there for a moment, your arms around his neck and his hands on your face. You quickly realize, however, that this is not a way that friends stand. You bring your arms down and step back, looking to the ground again. Mingi releases you easily, using his hands to wipe his own remaining tears. 

He clears his throat, looking around the hallway like he’s expecting someone to pop out at him. “We should probably get outside.”

You quickly agree, wiping your face once more and desperately hoping that it doesn’t look like you just bawled your eyes out. 

With that, you two start heading out again.

.・。.・゜✭ ⧖ ・.・ ⧖ ✫・゜・。.

The bonfire goes well. In the open space in front of the main building, there was a large fire and a few of those outdoor folding chairs set up. You and Mingi had claimed two a bit farther away from everyone else, and he had comfortingly held your hand while you two sat in a much more comfortable silence than before. 

As the fire is winding down, you notice San heading toward the two of you. He smiles, asking if you’re about ready to turn in.

Mingi yawns, letting go of your hand to stretch his arms out behind him. 

Honestly, you think you could go a few more hours. You ask San what time it is, wondering why he felt the need to come ask you guys. “It’s 8:45, and curfew is at 9.”

Of course there’s a curfew. It just would make things too easy if there wasn’t. You realize that San is telling more than he’s asking, so you stand. Mingi follows.

Once more, the three of you head into the main building and up the stairs. As you peruse the second floor to reach the next staircase, you notice that many others are entering rooms as well. At the third floor, Mingi takes the lead. He walks only a bit down the hallway before stopping in front of a door. 

“This is my room…” He trails off, looking between you and San. “I’ll see you in the morning, (Y/n)?” 

You smile, giving him a nod as he opens the door. He smiles back at you, before turning into the room and closing the door.

You follow San the rest of the way down the hallway, and up the stairs to the women’s floor. He leads you to your door, opening it once more for you. You look inside, and realize that you don’t have your overnight bag with you. You sigh, not wanting to have to go all the way back down the stairs and all the way back up them. You tell San this, leaning against the door frame with a dramatic hand on your face.

“Oh,” he starts, looking down the hall. “Don’t worry, I had Yunho grab your bag.”

You take the hand from your face, a confused expression gracing it. “Whose that?”

“Me!”

You jump, turning toward the voice. There stands, apparently, Yunho, holding your bag in both his hands in front of him. He extends his arms, presenting the bag to you. You take it, still shocked by his sudden appearance. 

He’s tall. Like, Mingi tall. His hair is a dark brown, slightly textured. He’s smiling at you, and its almost blindingly beautiful. Like everyone else, he’s in the same blue jeans and button down, accompanied by a pair of black suspenders. His sleeves are rolled up to his elbows, and, wow, does he look muscular. What is up with all the guys in this place? You seriously consider it for a second, before remembering that farming is very labor intensive work. His shoulders are so broad you wonder how his shirt even fits him, but that is a matter for another day.

Once more, you realize that you’ve been staring. You quickly look away, thanking him for getting your bag. 

He continues beaming at you, telling you that it’s not a problem at all. 

The three of you stand in silence in the hall, before you clear your throat. “Well, uh, goodnight?” You look between them, waiting for one of them to do something.

San moves first. “Goodnight, (Y/n)!” He gives your shoulder a pat as he walks away, back down the hallway to the stairs.

Yunho is quick to follow, saying his goodnight to you and going after San.

You watch them go before going into your room and closing the door. It’s just how you remember it. You set your bag down on the ground by the bed, opening it to grab your pyjamas. 

After going about your nightly routine, you pull the blankets back on the bed. You plan on distracting yourself for a bit, that is, mess around on your phone, before remembering that San still has it. 

Sighing, you get into bed and make yourself comfortable. You drift off faster than you would have expected, tired after your long day.

← previous || next → || masterlist

THE ANSWER: VII

Kim Hongjoong doesn’t like the word ‘cult.’ He prefers ‘sect.’ pairing: ateez x fem reader genre: cult au, thriller, angst check warnings on AO3

← previous || next → || masterlist chapter word count: 3,304

With that, the three of you make your way back outside.

While you’re happy that you’ve been offered a tour, really the only thing you want to focus on right now is Mingi. Afterall, he is the only reason you had come; and you really don’t think you need a tour of a place where you would be spending hardly two days of your life. On the walk back, San leads the way, leaving you and Mingi to walk shoulder to shoulder.

Not wanting to freak him out, you try to keep your staring to a minimum. This, however, is extremely difficult. Mingi looks pretty much exactly as you remember him. You’ll have to remember to ask him how he keeps his hair dyed that vibrant red in the middle of a farm that supposedly has no outside contact. He’s as handsome as ever, his skin tanned a few shades darker than in the last photo you had seen of him. It must be all the outdoor work. He’s dressed just about the same as everyone else you’ve seen (with the exception of Seonghwa, of course). 

He’s wearing blue jeans and a white button-up, complete with a pair of black suspenders. His collar is decorated just as San’s is, with that same little symbol. The realization makes you uneasy. San’s proclamation as the symbol as the ‘Sign of the Answer’ really is not sitting well with you. Along with the fact that literally every single other person you had cared to look at was also wearing one. It does not seem normal. It almost gave you religious vibes, which is absolutely not what you want to have gotten yourself into. 

Disregarding the hourglass, Mingi looks perfectly himself. Granted, he is acting a little awkward next to you. He’s standing probably a foot away from you, when your Mingi used to give you piggyback rides to class. No matter how many weird looks or jealous stares the two of you got, he would never deny your request for a ride. Now, he’s acting like you two have never met.

Occasionally, you glance over and catch him looking at you. Each time, he quickly whips his head back forward, facing San’s back. From the glimpses of his face, he really looks… well, confused. You have absolutely no idea why he’s acting so strange, or why he seems confused. Your dread only continues to build.

Once you’re all back outside, San turns back to you two and claps Mingi on the back. “What should we show her first?”

Mingi looks startled by the fact that he’s been asked a question. He looks at San like he just told him that ghosts are real, his eyes going wide and his eyebrows shooting up. “Uh,” he mumbles, looking around. “Maybe the ch-”

“The animal barn! Why didn’t I think of that?” San exclaims over Mingi, startling the poor man even further. Gazing out past them, you take in the layout of the farm more closely. There’s the large building behind you, another decently sized one to the left, facing directly towards the road, two barns next to each other, one behind the other (you wouldn’t know there was two from this angle, but you knew from the drive in), a small building directly across the path from the building behind you, and a few scattered sheds.

San notices your account, smiling, “Don’t worry, you’ll get to see everything!”

An awkward smile is all you can muster in response. To be honest, you really do not care to see everything. You just want to talk to Mingi. But San starts off across the path, making his way toward the barns. 

You and Mingi follow, and it really isn’t all that far of a walk. It hardly takes you two minutes to be standing between the two barns. Their entrances face each other, the doors swung wide open, giving you a pretty good view of the interior of both barns. The one to your left looks like an equipment barn, while the one to your right has the unmistakable smell of an animal barn. 

San looks to make sure that you two are still behind him, and waves you excitedly towards the entrance of the animal barn. For a moment, you take stock of your life. Is going into this disgusting animal barn really worth it? From what you can see now, probably not. The floor is nasty, the odor is unmistakably animal, and really, this is not what you had agreed to. 

Unfortunately, San and Mingi just go straight on in, leaving you with only one real option. You follow them in. To the right, the first thing you spot are horse pens. While there’s a considerably long row of pens, there are only three that are populated. Taking it all in, you realize that there are actually a lot of empty pens. To the left, there seems to be an indoor chicken coop. At least, that’s what it sounds like. And there really doesn’t seem to be that much else, in the case of animal inhabitants.

Further into the barn, you can see a couple people hauling hay bales. They’re too far away to really get a good look at them, but San has your back.

“Hey! Wooyoung, Jongho! Come here!” He calls out to them, beckoning them to join you guys near the front of the barn.

The two start making their way over to you three, and you remain awkwardly planted to your spot. How many people were you going to be introduced to today? Again, Mingi was truly the only person you cared about on this entire farm. Whatever, you just hope that Mingi and you will have some alone time, and soon. You’re dying to ask him so many things. 

Wooyoung and Jongho reach you three, one of them smiling widely at you and the other merely glancing at you. “Is this (Y/n)?” The smiling one asks, looking between San and Mingi. “It’s so great to meet you, welcome! I’m Wooyoung.” He sticks his hand out to you.

You respond in the affirmative, taking his hand and shaking it while taking him in. He’s also not very tall. His hair is dyed a dark blue, so dark that you can really only see the color when the light hits it right. He’s dressed in nice clothes, nicer than you would expect from someone throwing hay. Similarly to Mingi, he’s wearing just a plain button-up, the sleeves rolled to just below his elbows. His skin is glistening at the brow, slightly damp. As to be expected by the point, you spot the hourglass on his collar.

San takes in the exchange, piping up once you two finish shaking hands. “Wooyoung is in charge of all our meals! He runs the kitchens.” Wooyoung shyly grins, scoffing a bit. “And this ray of sunshine is Jongho, who is our lead farmer.” San gestures to the other man, who gives him a bit of a sarcastic smile. 

“Nice to meet you.” He says flatly, also reaching his hand out for yours. Again, you take the opportunity to take him in. In the nicest way possible, he looks like a farmer. From what you can see, he looks incredibly strong. His frame is sturdy, and his grip on your hand is almost enough to crush your fingers. Similarly to Mingi, his hair is dyed bright red. His skin is tanned, and he’s dressed entirely in work clothes, from cargo khakis to a moisture absorbing t-shirt. You can’t exactly help noticing how well it clings to his torso, accentuating the tone of his body. 

He must catch you looking, because he’s smirking when you look back up to his face. He scoffs, dropping your hand and crossing his arms in front of him. Embarrassed, you mutter a greeting to him as well. 

“If you don’t mind, San, we’re in the middle of something.” Jongho turns and gestures to the giant stack of hay that remains in the back of the barn. 

San shakes his head, “No problem at all, just thought I’d introduce you to the newbie!”

With that, Jongho turns and starts walking back. Wooyoung smiles again at you, reaching out to pat your shoulder a couple times. “Welcome again.” He jogs away to catch up with Jongho, saying something you can’t quite make out.

Wooyoung’s goodbye makes you pause for a second. Come to think of it, so had the way San said goodbye to the two of them. The newbie? Welcome? They were almost making it sound like you were going to be staying. To some extent, you were, but only for a night. Why were you even getting a tour and being introduced to people, anyways? It seemed, quite literally, useless.

Mingi pulls you out of your thoughts by grabbing your hand. Seemingly, he’s suddenly gotten over the awkwardness between you two. He points to the horses and drags you to them, stopping in front of the first horse. He excitedly tells you their names; ‘Spud,’ ‘Carol,’ and ‘Baby.’ They’re all quite tall, beautiful horses. They must all be related, for they all share the same, shiny brown coat. “They’re all draft horses, for doing farm work.”

He then pulls you to the chickens, and his behavior is starting to remind you of whenever you two would go exploring anywhere together. Once, for some ecology class he was taking, Mingi had been tasked with going to an aquarium for homework. Of course, he had brought you along and two made a day of it. You can still remember how his favorite part had been the shallow pool, where you could put your hands in and touch the creatures. Everytime a tiny stingray would pass by, he would stick his hand in, only to pull it out at the last second, squealing about how he was scared. He had looked at you with his big eyes and asked you to do it with him, saying it would give him confidence. You stuck your pinky out to him, telling him to grab on. You locked pinkies and waited. The next time one of the fish came around, you submerged your hands together, pinkies clenched. Mingi had tried to pull his hand out, but, with you anchoring him in, he ended up stroking the skin of the stingray. He had immediately started giggling and, as soon as your hands left the water, he asked to do it again. 

But that was then. Now, Mingi is holding a chicken up to you as it jerks in his hands, trying to free itself. He’s presenting it to you like you’ve never seen a chicken before, telling you to look at how skinny it is under the poof of its feathers (while simultaneously smooshing down its feathers on one side of its body). Farm boy Mingi had never been something you imagined, but, clearly, the farm life was suiting him well. 

Once Mingi gets worn out chasing chickens around (he had wanted to show you each one), San decides that you three should move on in your tour. You step out of the barn and are immediately thankful for the fresh air. Though you had gotten semi-used to the horrible stank of the animal barn, the clean air is a blessing. San continues walking over to the machinery barn, and gestures for you and Mingi to join him. 

Though the barn has the same exterior as the animal barn, the interior is vastly different. There’s poured concrete floors, fluorescent lighting, and finished walls. On either side of the barn, there are lines of farm vehicles, from tractors to pick-up trucks to four-wheelers. They’re all lined up pristinely. They hardly even look used. 

Well, most of them, anyways. To your immediate right, there’s a huge combine harvester that has clearly seen better days. That’s what you assume, at least, from the sight of the man hanging half inside of its engine and the various curse words streaming out of the compartment. 

San laughs, walking over and tugging on one of the guy’s feet. “What?” He responds, kicking his foot out to ward off San’s hand, but otherwise not making any move to emerge. 

“Do you want to meet (Y/n)?” San asks, dodging the man’s foot.

“I gue- son of a bitch, just a second.”

You look over at San, who is still smiling at the bottom half of this new man. Then you look over at Mingi, who is also looking at you. He gives you a knowing smile, like you’re in for something good. 

After a few seconds or so, you can finally see the top half of this man. He pops up and slips down off the front of the combine, before turning to face you. Despite his face and hands being covered in what you can assume to be grease, he’s absolutely stunning. He grabs a rag from the ground in front of the machine, trying to rub his hands free of residue. He quickly gives up.

Sticking his hands up, he plainly shows his dirty hands to you. “I’d shake your hand, but I don’t want you to have to deal with this filth. I’m Yeosang.” 

“I appreciate the gesture. I’m (Y/n).” You respond, smiling lightly at him.

Mingi tells you that Yeosang is a sort of mechanic around here, but that he normally doesn’t have much to do. Yeosang gives him a sarcastic smile in return, thanking him for his appreciation of his job.

“I’m technically in charge of the other mechanics, I normally don’t get my own hands dirty,” he explains, “but someone decided to not come do his job the one day of the year we make sure the combines will start.” Yeosang’s eyes squint and a frown forms on his face as he thinks of the offender. “So here I am.”

You giggle, taking the moment to observe Yeosang. He’s dressed similarly to how Jongho was dressed, in clothes meant to be worked hard in. His front is splattered with black grease, and his hands are absolutely covered in it. On his face, there are patches here and there from where he has swiped. His hair is long, similar to San’s, though entirely white-blonde. At least, you’d imagine it’s that color when it’s clean. Again, he is not much taller than you, but he is clearly built under his shirt. Not wanting a repeat of the Jongho situation, you quickly move your eyes back to his face. 

The four of you stand in a somewhat awkward silence, glancing from person to person, waiting for someone to say something next.

Yeosang takes one for the team, “Well, I’m going to get back to this.” He points behind him to the combine engine. “Good to meet you, (Y/n).” He smiles, giving you a tiny wave and a nod before turning and hoisting himself back up onto the combine.

Since you can see pretty much everything in the barn just from the front, San states that you have probably seen the extent of it and starts leading the way back outside. “What do you think we should show her next, Mingi?” San asks, looking out across the open space. 

“Uh,” Mingi starts, hurriedly looking around for somewhere interesting. “We could show her the apartments.”

“Good thinking!” San exclaims, setting off toward the first building that you had been in. You’re beginning to notice that San always seems to be quite upbeat. You three quickly are able to cross the open space and are to the door once more in just a couple minutes. Walking in for the second time, San heads for the right and the stairs that you had noticed earlier. “Everyone has their own room, and each floor has three bathrooms,” San starts, taking the first couple steps up the stairs. “There’s five floors total, and 25 rooms each, but not all the rooms are filled!”

The top of the stairs turn to the left and open into a hallway. It’s pretty drab, like most apartment complexes you’ve seen in your life. You can see that, at the end of the hallway, there is another set of stairs leading up. About halfway to that end, the hallway branches off on either side, presumably to reach more rooms. 

San leads you down the hallway, continuing to explain how things work. There’s a coed floor, a female floor, and a male floor. People can pick where they’re most comfortable. Couples of the opposite gender are allowed to live together, but only on the coed floor. Married couples with children can take larger apartments on the top floor. 

That one takes you by surprise. “There are married couples here? And children?”

San turns and looks at you like you’d grown a second head. “Why wouldn’t there be?”

You shrug, not really knowing why it had surprised you. Thinking back to when you were in the cafeteria, you can’t really remember seeing anyone that looked to be at marriage age. Honestly, everyone looked to be in their twenties. And you could not recall seeing a single child. But, if San says so... 

You reach the end of the hall, and walk up the next flight of stairs. The next floor is quite similar to the previous, and San lets you know that this is the male floor. At the end of this hallway, there is another set of stairs. Again, you three make your way to it and head up. San explains that this is the woman’s floor. 

San starts prattling off rules and information again. Men are allowed on the women’s floor and vice versa, but only between the hours of 9 A.M. and 9 P.M. Couples of opposite gender are welcome to spend nights together, but they must take empty rooms on the coed floor. 

You find yourself wondering, again, what the point in telling you all of this was. You are going to be staying here for literally one night, not the rest of your life. Why San felt the need to tell you this was absolutely beyond you.

San stops in front of a door near the opposite end of the hallway, near the next staircase going up. He opens the door, saying that this is where you’ll be staying tonight. “Unless… you two want to stay together?” He raises his eyebrows, smirking a little bit.

Despite not looking to see Mingi’s reaction, you know that the poor boy must be beet red. A strangled sound comes from him, and he quickly starts sputtering about how your relationship isn’t like that. “Yeah, not at all,” you add, bringing a hand up to scratch at your neck. 

San laughs at your reactions. “Well, I just thought I’d put it out there!”

You continue feeling awkward regardless. To try and relieve yourself, you stick your head into the room to take a look around. It’s quite simple, there’s a bed you would probably guess is full-sized in the back left corner, and a bookcase (that’s entirely empty) on the right wall. To the right of the door, there’s a desk with a small lamp. There is a window on the back wall, and you notice that the sun has already started setting.

Has it really been that long since you arrived? You hadn’t even eaten lunch, but it seemed like the day was drawing to a close. As if on cue, a bell rings throughout the facility. It makes you jump, and you quickly turn to San and Mingi once more, looking for an explanation. It sounds exactly like a school bell, indicating the change of the period.

Mingi giggles at your reaction, already reaching to grab your hand once more. “Dinner time!”

← previous || next → || masterlist

pairing : Choi San x (f) reader

genre : angst , fluff (squint like really hard lol)

summary : all you needed was his love.

ib: pretty flower , @zurimochi

wc : 1.3k || warnings: mentions of blood and death

first, it started off with just a cough, you being the naive person you were, just assumed it was a seasonal cold and it would go away eventually; at least that's what you told yourself. but the vomiting started, that's when you began worrying. you weren't throwing up food or anything of that sort, but instead, it was flower petals. and that's when you found yourself at the public library, searching through multiple books, trying to figure out what was going on with you. then you saw it, what had been said to be your condition.

a few weeks passed and your coughing wasn't so bad as before, you were starting to believe that maybe it was just a seasonal cold and you were being a bit dramatic. that was until you found yourself throwing up again, but instead of petals, it was an entire flower; a rose at that, one of your favorite flowers. and the sizes would differentiate, they started off small and then became bigger as the time passed on. you swore you were able to feel a growing sensation inside your lungs; which was making it hard for you to breathe at times, the pain was just unbearable.

you were sitting in your living room, a glass of warm tea being held in your hands. your apartment wasn't too small or too big, which left you with enough comfortable room since sometimes you found yourself to be claustrophobic, but it always gave you enough space for all of your personal belongings and house decor. the ending credits for The princess and the frog played on your TV screen, you tended to watch Disney movies whenever you felt upset or if you were sick, they always made you smile and laugh, putting you in a better mood. reaching out your arm to grab your remote, that was sitting on the glass table in front of you and your sofa, so you were able to change the movie, you suddenly heard your doorbell ring and then a knock afterward.

sitting down your glass of tea on the table gently, you slid on your bedroom shoes, you didn't like the way the tile floor felt against your bare feet, you made your way over to the door. pushing yourself onto your tiptoes to look through the peephole, you did this out of caution. unlocking the deadbolt on the door, then the lock on the door handle, you twisted and pulled the knob opening up the door, to be greeted with a pleasant and sweet smile from your neighbor.

you didn't look quite presentable today, you honestly just planned on trying to relax most of the evening; if you even could, these symptoms you had were starting to become a horrid pain. you were still dressed in your night clothes, which honestly just happened to be a pair of shorts and usually an old tank top in the back of your closet. leaning against the door frame you returned the smile to your neighbor. "Hello, San. it's nice to see you again... I hope you enjoyed your tour, I heard about it on twitter and elsewhere." The man let out a chuckle, using his least dominant had to push his away from his face in a backward motion. "It's nice to be back and Thanks... I did enjoy it.. the fans were sweet as always" nodding in response to his little rant, you stepped aside from the door, with what was hopefully enough room for him to come through, given his much bigger body frame and height compared to yours. "Would you like to come In? I could make you something" "That would be great" San walked into the familiar apartment, making himself comfortable like he usually did, you didn't mind though.

you'd barely even made it to the kitchen section of your apartment before you felt the need to cough again, knowing trying to hold it in wouldn't be the best idea, so you let it out. this cough was harsher than the ones before and it hurt like hell, you held your hand to your mouth as you did so noticing this time there was blood, you were coughing up blood. panic began washing over you, making you totally forget that there wasn't just you in the home. having heard all the noise Choi found himself waking to where you were, worry filed his facial expressions when seeing the sight in front of him. you'd been laid out on the floor, there was some blood on your hand and what looked to be like small petals of a flower, Choi was confused about what was going on and he wasn't sure what to do. 

you weren't sure how long you'd been passed out exactly, but whenever you woke up you found yourself in a hospital room, looking around the room you saw your neighbor, sleeping on the small couch beside your hospital bed. he looked peaceful, making a small smile form on your lips. a knock was heard at the door, that was closed before it was being opened by; who you assumed was the doctor with test results since she was holding a clipboard to her chest. the woman gave you a smile before she spoke to you, in a soft and calming manner. "Hello, Miss l/n. I'm doctor Chavez, I'm here to talk about the condition you may have" you felt your heartbeat race, which appeared on the screen that kept track of your heart rate, the doctor thought; to calm you down and assure you, which lowered the racing of your heart, but not too much. "The symptoms you are having are the form of a rare disease, the Hanahaki disease.. is what it's called. It's when one is facing a one-sided love, and I believe miss l/n, that is happening to you." 

one-sided love, that's all that played throughout your head when the woman left, but you just didn't understand, who didn't love you the same way you loved them. then it clicked, it was San. you'd loved him for as long as you could remember even before he became a member of Ateez. you loved his smile when he would stay at your apartment for hours and binge-watch both his and your favorite shows together when he would sometimes bring you along with him on tour or to his performances but with all of that you couldn't help but feel sadness wash over you every time he introduced you as just a friend. maybe it was better off telling him, to let yourself free of any more pain to come. "Choi San.." his gaze turned onto you, he knew you only called his full name when something was important; like at this moment. his hand held onto yours, but out of concern and pity. "Yes sweet?" you always loved when he called you names like that, they made your heart warm. your eyes looked into his, yours filled with sadness and love. "i.. i love you Choi San, not as a neighbor, not because of your fame, and not as a friendship kinda love. and I've wanted nothing more than for you to love me in the same way I do you, but as I see it now that will never happen." Tears had already begun forming as your eyes never felt his. he opened his mouth to speak "y/n.. i.." you put your finger to you lips shushing him before you continued speaking. "I hope one day you realize how much I love you, but until that day comes.. ill wait, even if it may mean I'll never recover" those were the last words you told him that day, and the last words he'd ever hear from you again. as he watched your eyes close and a smile form on your face, the one that always made his day, tears swelled in his eyes and streamed down his cheeks, but he felt his own heart drop when he heard the flatline. you were gone, and all you needed was for him to love you.

reblogs are very appreciated <3

navigation

THE ANSWER: XI

Kim Hongjoong doesn’t like the word ‘cult.’ He prefers ‘sect.’ pairing: ateez x fem reader genre: cult au, thriller, angst check warnings on AO3

← previous || next → || masterlist chapter word count: 4,337

The silence in your room is deafening. You remain on the bed, trying to work through what had just happened in your mind.

Seonghwa had just told you he wanted you dead and threatened to beat you. You’re presumably locked in this small room, with absolutely no escape. You’re stranded in the middle of nowhere, your car gone and lacking the allies that could help you escape. The leader of this place also threatened your life, and must be clinically insane. 

But hey, at least you’re not dead, right? You let out a single, wry chuckle. 

Trying to quell the panic starting to course through your body, you attempt to think rationally. There are people that know where you are. You told Jungeun and Haseul that you would be back today. They have the farm’s address. When you don’t let them know how it went by tonight, they’ll have to know that something is up. They know that you’re not the type of person to just leave them hanging.

Your boss also knows where you are, somewhat. You had told him that you would be gone for the weekend. When you don’t show up for work tomorrow, with absolutely no notice, he’ll know that something happened. Knowing your boss, though, he probably wouldn’t even notice you hadn’t shown up until one of your coworkers asked where you were. He’s going to be too busy admiring ‘Adam’ for the next few days. You roll your eyes thinking about that man’s obsession with decor. Who would want to stare at two nude portraits while drinking a coffee? 

You sigh. Even if your boss doesn’t notice, and even if Haseul or Jungeun doesn’t worry when they don’t hear from you, they will definitely know that something is wrong within a few days. Hopefully they wouldn’t come to find out what’s happening for themselves, though. You shudder, thinking of one of your poor friends coming looking for you and finding herself in the same exact situation. No, hopefully they would be smart enough to get the cops. Hopefully.

You hang your head. What the fuck are you supposed to do until then? What do you do until someone notices that you’re missing and comes to find you?

Rationally, you figure that you should probably go along with whatever happens. If they think that you’re being obedient, then they have no reason to hurt you. However, the thought of even pretending to follow along turns your stomach. There’s no way in hell that you would give Hongjoong that satisfaction. 

Even though you don’t know much about him, you’ve seen enough cult documentaries to assume some things about his personality. He must be a narcissist, with an insane God complex. He’s clearly charismatic, gaining the loyalty of nearly fifty people (if that’s truly how many members there are). From your own first meeting with him, you remember finding him handsome, and maybe even a little charming. The way his voice flows so smoothly captivates people, like he plans every conversation he has while also making it feel effortless. Hongjoong must be smart. Insanely smart. 

You wonder for a second if he believes the things he preaches. He’s crazy either way; but whether or not he truly believes these delusions he has determines how crazy. If he honestly believes what he tells these people, that would make him less disturbing. If he doesn’t, however, and he’s merely leading these people on for fun… 

He’s fucking sick. Either way, you don’t want to obey him. He’s convinced too many people of his lies, he took Mingi from you. 

Fuck, you had kind of forgotten about Mingi. What’s he doing right now? His chores? He thinks that you’ve left him. How will he react when he finds out that you’re still here? Is he so far gone that he’ll be happy that you’ve been locked up and are being held captive? Or will he know it’s wrong? Fuck, you don’t even know. 

That begs the question, will Seonghwa (and, presumably, Hongjoong) even tell anyone that you’re still here? Or will they just keep it a secret until they eventually kill you? Are they going to kill you? Would they even have reason to? You do suppose that Hongjoong did say he would kill you… but he didn’t exactly say under what circumstances. Plus, Seonghwa had said plain to your face that Hongjoong wanted you alive.

But why? What’s stopping him from just killing you now? The sick excitement of recruiting another person to worship him? His giant ego wanting another person under his command? It’s probably something like that.

By God, you’re not going to give him that satisfaction. 

All you have to do is survive the next few days until someone notices your absence. That shouldn’t be too hard.

Picking your head up, you take in the room once more. It looks exactly the same as you had left it. You stand, walking to the window to gaze out at the field. There’s still no one that you can see. Where did everybody go? Turning your attention to the frame of the window, you try to find the lock. Not that you would be able to get out through the window, considering the four story drop, but you look nonetheless. It would be nice to get some fresh air. 

Unfortunately, you can’t locate the lock. You put your hands underneath the fame and push up. attempting to get the window to slide. It doesn’t budge. Figures. 

You move on to take in more of the room. Your clothes are still littered around the floor, flung about from your frantic searching earlier. You wonder if you’ll be given clean clothes to match everyone else’s. Probably. If you ever end up leaving this room again.

You sit back onto the edge of the bed, leaning your arms back to hold yourself steady. Your eyes naturally find the desk opposite of the bed, and you’re surprised to see something new. A book.

Had that been there when you tore your bag apart earlier? Or had someone come in while you were at breakfast? Or was it when you had tried to leave? 

Whenever it got there, a sinking feeling in your stomach tells you that you already know what it is. The black binding looks just the same. 

You stand and take the few steps to the desk, pausing in front of the chair. Looking down, it’s just what you think. THE ANSWER. It looks exactly like the copies in the chapel, a black cover with silver embossed details. Picking the book up, you debate opening it up.

On one hand, reading it and knowing just what sort of crazy this place is might be beneficial. On the other, you don’t want to read some brainwashing cult material. Reading the book would also mean showing interest, which is the opposite of what you want to do. You weigh the options in your head. 

Glaring down at the book, you drop it back onto the desk. It lands askew, no longer looking pristine in its position. No way in hell are you reading that thing.

A sudden bell rings out through the hallways, startling you. Instinctively, you turn toward the door, but, of course, nothing has changed. After the bell finishes ringing, you strain to listen for people. The fact that you still haven't seen a single person (other than Seonghwa) since San and Mingi left you alone is getting to be a bit creepy.

Still, you know they all must be around somewhere. When you don’t hear anyone outside the door, you turn back to the window. Outside, you can finally see people pouring into the door below you. From all different directions there are people moving toward the building. For a moment, you try to find Mingi, but you fail to spot his red hair in the crowd.

Flopping back onto the bed, you wonder when your lunch will be.

.・。.・゜✭ ⧖ ・.・ ⧖ ✫・゜・。.

Lucky for you, it’s not too much later. Maybe thirty or so minutes after the bell had originally rang, a knock comes at your door. It startles you once more, making you sit up straight toward the door.

On the bottom half of the door, a slot slides open. It opens from the outside, and it’s probably about ten inches wide and four inches tall, and only about a foot and a half off of the ground. You get off the bed to investigate.

You walk to the door, crouching in front of it. You keep your distance, not wanting anything from the outside to be able to reach you, as you move to be eye-level with the opening. You’re greeted with another pair of eyes staring right back at you, spooking you. You stumble back, landing on your butt and fully sitting on the floor now. 

The eyes crinkle up in a smile, “Hey, (Y/n),” A somewhat familiar voice says through the door. “It’s Wooyoung!” He leans back to show more of his face, bringing a hand up to give you a small wave. 

Stunned, you do the same. “Hello, Wooyoung.” 

“I brought you lunch!” He smiles, leaning off to the side to grab something that you can’t quite see. He lifts up a tray, heaping with food. “I’ll slide it through, please grab it so it doesn’t fall.” He makes eye contact with you, nodding a bit before coaxing the tray through the slot. You reach your hands out, grabbing the end and accepting the food.

“Thank you,” you resume eye contact with Wooyoung as soon as you can. As satisfying as it would have been to simply let the tray drop, this place has good food. And you had totally forgone breakfast. Your stomach lets out a grumble as you look down to the serving. Wooyoung must have gotten you a serving of everything, there’s so much food on the plate.

“Don’t mention it!” Wooyoung smiles again, waving his hands as if to brush off your gratitude. “If you remember, I work in the kitchens, so it’s really no big deal.”

Right, Wooyoung is in charge of food. Not being able to resist anymore, you grab a bread roll and start eating. Wooyoung continues to watch you through the door, scooting backwards to rest his back onto the door opposite yours. 

You make it through a few sides before your mind starts to think rationally again. “Say, Wooyoung,” you set the tray to your left, moving it away from you. “Does Hongjoong know you’re here?”

Wooyoung giggles. “Well, he was the one that asked me to feed you… so yes.”

You nod, scrunching your face up. “So there’s no chance you’d open the door for me then, huh?”

“Sorry, no.” 

Continuing to nod, you turn your attention back to your food. At least you tried. Damnit, Wooyoung is a good cook. 

You finish eating in silence, Wooyoung sitting across from you the whole time. Shortly thereafter, he leaves, letting you know that he’ll be back with dinner later. 

Before he can get too far, you call out to him, “Wait, wait, Wooyoung,” you hear his footsteps stop and then backtrack to your door. He opens the slot in the door once more, peering in at you in question.

“How can I use the restroom?” 

Wooyoung cranes his neck down the hallway, seemingly looking for something. “I can send Seonghwa up if you need to.” He turns back toward you, looking concerned.

“Why- why Seonghwa?” You’re not too eager on the thought of seeing him again. Especially not on the thought of him chaperoning you to the bathroom. 

“He’s the only one allowed to open the door- well, besides Hongjoong, of course. Would you rather I got him?” Wooyoung continues to stare at you with genuine concern.

Wow, that’s somehow even worse. “No, I’m good for now. Thanks, though.” You give Wooyoung a tight smile, appreciating that he seems like he really wants to help you. His concerned look breaks to return a smile.

With that, he really does leave, and you listen to his steps become inaudible as he walks away.

.・。.・゜✭ ⧖ ・.・ ⧖ ✫・゜・。.

Waiting for the dinner bell is almost torture. Seriously, when was the last time you had to entertain yourself with absolutely nothing for almost five hours? Your only option for enrichment is the book sitting on the desk, and you’re loath to read it. Instead, you switch off between pacing around and reclining on the bed. Is this how zoo animals feel?

Sure enough, however, the dinner bell eventually rings out through the building, and you know that Wooyoung will be back soon. If you’ve made it this long, surely you can wait a few more minutes… 

But, damn, do those minutes sure drag on. You try to picture what must be going on in the cafeteria below you. Is Hongjoong giving some weird speech? Is he talking about you? Fuck, seriously, does Mingi know that you’re still here? You’ve been trying to not think about Mingi for the time being, but the thought of him sitting at a cafeteria table, eyes glued to Hongjoong, gripping onto his every word… 

You shudder. Yesterday’s dinner was creepy enough, you can’t even imagine how weird things will get once Hongjoong isn’t actively trying to not scare you away. Clearly, he’s given up on that notion now, but you still wonder. Will he keep up a bit of a front? Or let the curtain fall entirely, all at once? 

You’re guessing the former. Hongjoong will probably try to lure you in slowly, feeding you somewhat rational ideas before the all-out crazy ones. That’s his vibe. You’re guessing he knows that if he were to just throw people into the deep end, he wouldn’t have much success. 

Another knock comes at your door, but this time you’re ready. Time flies when you’re thinking of Hongjoong, apparently. You get off the bed and take the few steps to the door, squatting down before sitting. You cross your legs as the slot opens up again, and you can spot Wooyoung’s familiar face once more.

“Hi!” He greets you, making himself comfortable on the opposite side of your door. 

You smile, mostly out of the relief. He had come back like he said he would. Not that you really doubted him, but, hey, this isn’t exactly a place where you would imagine many promises are kept. “Hello,” you welcome him back. 

“As promised,” Wooyoung says, turning to look to his left side and reaching to grab something, “I brought dinner.” He holds a tray up in front of him. Again, it’s overflowing with different types of food. He starts sliding it through the slot, and you graciously accept it. 

“Thank you,” you smile at him once the tray is entirely on your side.

He shakes his head again like he had earlier when you thanked him. “Don’t mention it! Can I get you anything else?” He asks, returning your smile. 

You glance down at the tray. There's way too much food for one person to reasonably consume, so you shake your head. Looking back up at him, he’s still smiling. “You missed a good service.”

You pause, your smile faltering. Did something happen? Something bad? Wooyoung quickly notices your confusion. “Did you start reading The Answer? Services probably won’t make much sense until you’ve read it. I’m pretty sure they put one in here for you…?” He asks, trailing off. “If not, I can get you one!” 

You quickly shake your head. “No, I have one… but I haven’t started reading it yet.” You’re honest with Wooyoung. You can’t imagine that he would blame you. 

He nods, but his smile fades. “You really should read it, you might not be chosen otherwise.” 

… More codewords. “Chosen?” You ask, hoping that you’ll actually get an explanation for once. Why can’t these people just use normal language? It may not be as fun and mysterious, but it would sure help you out.

“During your ceremony,” He starts, gazing in at you, “you might not be chosen to stay with us if you disrespect God by ignoring His Answer.” 

Oh. So that might be even more cryptic. Your ceremony? Ceremony for what? What’s supposed to happen at this ceremony? Chosen? Chosen by God? Stay with them? As in, if you aren’t chosen, you get to leave? About a million questions flash through your mind as you process what Wooyoung just told you. Things in this place just keep getting weirder. 

Even though you’re sure you look sufficiently confused, you nod to Wooyoung like you comprehended a word he just said. “Ah, okay,” is all you can think to say, staring down at your food again. 

And, with that, Wooyoung and you lapse into a slightly uncomfortable silence. It’s definitely not a comfortable one, but it isn’t so bad. As he had earlier, he scooches against the opposite door and watches you eat through the slot. 

Once you’ve had your fill, you let him know and hand the tray back to him. He takes it, smiling and bidding you a goodnight. You do the same, before standing and resuming your previous boredom. 

You turn your head toward the desk, glaring at the askew book. Despite what Wooyoung said, you’re not going to read it. Anything you learn about this place will be against your will.

.・。.・゜✭ ⧖ ・.・ ⧖ ✫・゜・。.

After watching the sun set outside of your window, you decide that sleeping would be better than this mind-numbing boredom. You’re starting to need to use the bathroom, but you’re going to hold off on that for literally as long as humanly possible. The thought of having to have Seonghwa or Hongjoong escort you to the bathroom is the last thing you want. 

You change into your pajamas from last night, seeing as you had only packed one pair. Throwing the blankets back, you crawl into bed and pull them over you. 

Despite having all day alone to think, your mind is still too preoccupied for you to really relax. You’re literally being held hostage by a religious cult. Why do these things happen to you? Why did your best friend have to join a cult? Why couldn’t he have just decided he hated his life, changed his name, and moved away to Europe or something? 

How had Mingi even heard of this place? Who recruited him? How did he end up here, looking up to Hongjoong like he saved his life? You want to give Mingi the benefit of the doubt, but seriously. How did he let this happen? Mingi had never been the most serious or sophisticated person, but you still think that he would never have been stupid enough to fall for a cult’s bullshit. He might be a little naive, but not this naive, right? Is Mingi really the type of person to be manipulated so easily? 

You don’t think so. Not your Mingi, at least. The Mingi you knew was always inquisitive in class, always questioning why things were the way that they were. He found deeper meanings in everything, in everyone. You have to believe that it would have been extremely difficult to feed Mingi such obvious lies and propaganda and have him simply believe them. Something had to have happened. But wouldn’t he have told you? Well… maybe not. Considering his disappearance. Still, you think that if Mingi had a traumatic experience, it would’ve come out somehow. But there was nothing when he left, and there’s nothing now. He’s just… different. Inexplicably, Mingi fell into the clutches of some psychopath. 

You can’t take not having the answers. You make a mental note to make sure you have a serious conversation with Mingi as soon as possible, not that you imagine that will be anytime soon. Again, you wonder if Mingi knows that you’re still here. Is he upset? Does he miss you? Is he alone right now, like you are? 

Your heart aches. You can’t truly blame any of this on Mingi. You cringe as you remember your outburst from this morning. Why had you yelled? Why had you blamed him? It’s not even his own fault that he’s here. It’s Hongjoong’s. 

You don’t know how he did it, but he stole Mingi out of your life. Hongjoong convinced him of his lies. He tore your best friend away from you and fundamentally changed him as a person. That rat bastard is lucky you don’t have a weapon. 

You’re sure you could probably take him with your bare hands, he’s pretty scrawny looking. Seonghwa would be the issue, him and his ability to throw you across rooms and whatnot. Wait, why hadn’t you thought of this before? Surely if you attacked one of them, that would count as self defense. They’ve locked you up against your will and also threatened your life. 

But you roll your eyes to yourself. There’s no way you could kill someone. You probably couldn’t even attack someone either. At least not at your current level of desperation. Maybe if you’re physically threatened…

You shake your head, ridding yourself of the thought. You shouldn’t plan on harming anyone, even if they are maniacs. That honestly makes the idea even more dangerous. You doubt Seonghwa would hesitate to end you if you threatened Hongjoong, despite his wishes to keep you alive. The best way to stay safe right now is to wait it out until someone realizes that you’re missing. 

Suddenly, there’s another knock on the door. You quickly sit up, shrinking back in the bed. Who the hell is here to bother you at night?

You’re quickly answered as the slot in the bottom opens, “(Y/n), it’s Yunho. Are you awake?” He whisper-yells into your room. 

Quickly ridding the blankets off of yourself and getting out of bed, you move to sit in front of the door for the third time today. Peeking through the slot, you’re greeted by a big smile. 

“Good!” He exclaims, his voice returning to normal volume. “I just wanted to let you know that we’re all so happy you decided to stay.” He beams through the slot, looking as innocent as ever.

Huh, is that what Hongjoong is telling people? That you decided to stay? Funny. Real funny. “Yunho,” you begin, not able to hold back your response, “does it really look like I want to be here? I’m locked in this room.” You blink at him, waiting for his response.

He just laughs. “Well, you did disrespect Hongjoong’s wishes and try to leave.” He shrugs at you, tilting his head to the side. “But you’ll be out soon! Almost all of us start in one of these locked rooms!” He lets out another giggle with the last statement.

“How reassuring.” Sarcasm drips from your response. 

Yunho doesn’t seem to catch on to it. “Right! Hongjoong says your future with us is bright!” 

Uh-huh. Totally. “Great.” You say in perhaps the plainest voice you can muster. You don’t want to sound interested or encourage Yunho any further. 

“Well, anyways,” he keeps smiling at you despite your response, “Seonghwa is here for you.”

“Wha-” you’ve barely gotten a sound out when the lock on the door starts jingling, and Seonghwa’s legs appear at Yunho’s side. The door quickly opens, smacking you in the process. The doorknob hits you square in the forehead, sending you sprawling onto the floor. 

Seonghwa shoves the door open, despite it hitting your lower half and resisting. He towers over you, the judgement evident in his face. 

“Ouch!” You yell up at him in frustration, bringing a hand up to your forehead despite the pain receding quickly. What a dick ass move. 

He simply keeps staring down at you, watching as you prop yourself back into a seated position. “How pathetic,” he gives you a pitiful smile that quickly changes to one of amusement. “Get up.” 

You’re still too shocked by his sudden appearance to even wonder why he’s here. You’re apparently too slow to respond to his command as well, as he soon reaches down for you. “I said get up.” He wraps a hand around your upper arm, heaving you off of the floor until you’re standing. 

He gives you a once over, smirking at your pajamas. “How cute.” He mutters, his other hand comes up to grab the hemline of your shirt, toying with it for a moment. His fingertips graze the skin of your stomach, their coolness sending a shock down your spine. He stares down at his hand, watching his fingers slide the fabric around. 

Seonghwa’s hand is quickly gone, however, and his face loses all traces of an expression. He not-so-gently pulls you to the door, yanking you behind him. You stumble around Yunho, who has stood up and is now leaning against your door frame. 

“Hold on,” you wriggle in Seonghwa’s grasp, trying to slow his stride down the hallway. “Where are we going?” 

He doesn’t stop despite your efforts. “Do I need to carry you again?” His voice is stern as you continue to dig your heels into the floor. 

“Where are we going?” You ask again, not responding to his question. 

Seonghwa finally stops, turning his head toward you. “Will you walk like a big girl if I tell you?” He fake pouts at you, speaking to you like you’re a child. 

“That’s hard to answer at this point,” you tell him honestly. If he tells you he’s taking you to be fed through a woodchipper, you’ll probably continue to resist. 

Seonghwa rolls his eyes at you. In one motion, he releases your arm and wraps his arm around to your other side as he bends to bunch your knees in his other arm. Before you know it, he’s picked you up and is carrying you down the hallway again. At least this time he didn’t throw you over his shoulder. 

You sigh. “Where are we going?” You ask again, glaring at the side of Seonghwa’s head.

“To Hongjoong.” 

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THE ANSWER: VI

Kim Hongjoong doesn’t like the word ‘cult.’ He prefers ‘sect.’ pairing: ateez x fem reader genre: cult au, thriller, angst check warnings on AO3

← previous || next → || masterlist chapter word count: 2,180

The knock scares the shit out of you, to say the least. You jump up, almost throwing your phone out of your hands. However, once you comprehend that you’re the out-of-place one in this situation, you set your phone down and turn to the window, rolling it down.

Through the now open window, you can see the person that had knocked. You quickly give him a once over, taking in the stranger. The first thing you notice about him, truly, is how handsome he is. His face is round, yet sculpted, with catlike eyes that hold an almost mischievous glint. His hair is pulled back in the front and longer in the back, sporting a light under-dye. He smiles at you, bringing a hand up to wave. “Sorry for startling you! You must be (Y/n), right?”

For a moment, you’re confused. How in the world did this stranger know your name? It quickly passes, however; as you realize that they must not get very many visitors. Your arrival had probably been anticipated by most of the people living here. You don’t realize that you’re still staring at him until he clears his throat a bit and smiles once more to you. “Oh, sorry, yeah, I’m (Y/n)...” you leave off, wondering what you should say, “is it alright if I park here?”

He chuckles at your response. “Its perfectly fine. If you’re ready to go, I can bring you inside.” When he finishes his sentence, he raises himself up to his full height, and you’re able to take in his outfit. He wears a simple button-down tucked into loose pants, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. The sun shines brightly down onto him, and a glint near his face catches your eye. Fixed onto his collar, he wears an enamel pin. Its two triangles, one a reflection of the other. Their points meet in the middle, creating an hourglass shape. Realizing, once again, that you have been staring for an entirely inappropriate amount of time, you tear your eyes away from the pin and turn back into your car. You unbuckle your seatbelt and unplug your phone from the auxiliary cord, before opening your door and stepping out.

The stranger smiles at you again, gesturing for you to follow him as he starts toward the nearest building. It has a simple enough exterior, gray siding with multiple windows. If you didn’t know better, you would think it looks almost like an apartment building. You don’t really have much of a chance to take in any more of the outdoors, as you are quickly to what appears to be the front door. As the man starts to pull the door open, he stops. “Where have my manners gone? I haven’t even introduced myself. My name is San. Choi San.” He extends his free hand, waiting for you to shake it. You oblige, smiling. 

After the handshake, he pulls the door open and steps aside, allowing you to go first. He then steps in, allowing the door to shut behind him. The room you’ve entered into is what feels like a lobby. There’s some wide open space, with a set of stairs to your right and a hallway to your left. Ahead of you, there’s a couple couches, and some tables with chairs set up around them. The overhead lights aren’t on, but the multitude of windows let in enough natural light for it to be welcoming enough. San turns to the left and starts heading down the hallway. 

“This is just a formality, but do you happen to have your phone on you?” He asks as he continues to lead you through the hall. You tell him you do, bringing your hand up to show him the phone in your grasp. “Ah, see, we are off the grid here, so there’s no phone usage allowed. If you wouldn’t mind, I’ll hold onto your phone until you leave.”

You two reach the end of the hallway, at least, that branch of it. It turns off to the right, and you assume you’ll be heading down their next. The request for your phone does weird you out a little bit. How was Mingi texting you if they were supposedly ‘off the grid?’ San notices your hesitation and assures you that your phone will be safe with him. He reaches his hand out, palm up, waiting for you. After a few more seconds, you hand your phone over to him. They probably just didn’t want some outsider exposing their little haven to the rest of the world. It’s not that weird that they wouldn’t want you to have your phone. He slips the phone into one of his pockets, and then the two of you turn right and head down the next hallway. 

“We have all been so excited to have a visitor,” San glances to look over at your face. “It’s pretty rare that we get them.” You look back at him, not really sure what to say. You weren’t exactly excited to see ‘everyone,’ moreso just ‘one.’ As you two continue down the hall, you try to think of something to say to fill the silence.

For whatever reason, your mind is still a bit fixated on the pin attached to San’s collar. “Can I ask what that symbol means?” You point to the pin.

San’s eyes light up at your question. At the mention of the pin, he seems so suddenly excited. “It’s the Sign of the Answer.” He smiles widely at you.

Again, you have no idea how to respond to that. What the hell does that mean? The Sign of the Answer. An amount of dread curls itself up into your stomach. You force a small smile to your face, nodding at San. The silence envelops you two again, but you’re soon to a door at the end of the hallway.

Well, less of a door, its actually an archway. Probably three feet wide and open to the ceiling, it opens into a gigantic room. The room is full of tables and people, and you can quickly discern it to be a cafeteria. To your surprise, it actually seems like there’s a lot of people living here. Even if everyone was in the cafeteria, which you knew they weren’t, considering the people outside, there had to be at least 40 people. 

Everyone seemed to be milling about casually, there wasn’t any actual food to be seen. Once the initial shock about the amount of people wears off, your mind snaps back to the reason you had come. You quickly look about the room, desperately trying to find Mingi in the sea of people. After what felt like an eternity, you spot him. 

His hair is still red. He’s sitting with another man, the two of them laughing together. Your mind doesn’t really take in the other man, merely the existence of Mingi is enough to overwhelm your senses. Before you know it, your feet are moving on their own and you’re practically running to him. You can hear San following behind you and it feels like it takes you forever to reach Mingi.

You call out to him when there’s only about ten more feet remaining between the two of you. You watch his head turn, and the emotions crossing his face. For a brief second, he looks terribly lost. However, the expression is quickly replaced with what you know to be joy. He stands up from the table, facing you and opening his arms wide.

You can’t help yourself. You do run the last couple feet into his arms. Your arms fly up around his neck, locking together behind him. Similarly, his arms wrap around your waist and he crushes you to him. Before you know it, you’re in the air, twirling around with Mingi. Your senses are completely overwhelmed with him. Mingi. It’s like every bone in your body is calling out for him, like your very cells are each filling with him. Your head is resting on his chest, his shirt soft beneath your cheek. He smells like laundry detergent and maple, a bit different from how you remember. You can feel his breath brushing across the top of your head, and hear a small laugh coming from him. His arms squeeze you tighter as he stops spinning and sets you down, not letting you go. Your hands behind his neck reach up to grasp some of his hair, your fingers weaving between the threads. 

What finally breaks the two of you apart is the laughter coming from behind Mingi. The both of you pull away, awkwardly untangling yourselves and turning to face the sound of the laughter. The man that Mingi had been sitting with is now standing, San at his side. The man stops laughing, and you take him in. 

He’s short. Probably taller than you, but barely. He’s honestly quite handsome as well. He has light brown hair, short in the front, undercut on the sides, but flowing down in the back, longer than his shoulders. His face is longer, sharper, and his eyes have a depth to them that makes him feel wise. He seems to be watching you just as closely as you’re watching him, taking in your every movement and reaction. You look to his outfit, and he is dressed relatively similar to everyone else. Simple farm chic. One thing stands out, however, and that is the large pendant necklace he’s wearing. It’s almost impossible to miss, probably a couple inches tall, it’s the same symbol that’s on San’s pin. 

The man continues watching you as San beckons you closer to the two of them. “(Y/n), this is Hongjoong. He’s the leader here.” 

Hongjoong reaches his hand out towards you. “It’s so nice to finally meet you, (Y/n). Mingi has told us so much about you.”

You take Hongjoong’s hand, expecting another handshake. To your surprise, he brings your hand up to his lips, pressing a kiss onto your knuckles. 

For the third time today, you are absolutely dumbfounded. Is everyone here just kind of… weird? When Hongjoong lets go of your hand, it takes everything in you to not ask why the hell he just did that. However, as the dread from earlier makes itself known in your stomach once more, you decide it’s probably best if you don’t offend anyone here. You do walk back to where you had been standing next to Mingi before, though. “It’s good to meet you, too. Uh,” you leave off, wondering what to say. “How long have you guys been running this place?”

“About three years, now.” Hongjoong’s eyes meet yours. “You’re welcome to stay as long as you’d like.”

Awkwardly, you smile at him, thanking him for his welcome. Not that you planned on taking him up on his offer, anyway. You’re about to ask if you and Mingi can go somewhere to talk privately, but you’re interrupted by another man coming up from behind you. He shoves himself between the gap of you and Mingi, bumping your shoulder and almost sending you stumbling. “What the he-”

You’re cut off by the new guy’s voice. “Hongjoong, I need to speak to you privately.” He stops directly in front of Hongjoong, his back facing you. He’s tall, not as tall as Mingi, but getting up there. To your surprise, he’s not dressed like everyone else. Its like he’s dressed in an entire suit. You look over at Mingi, giving him a look. What was this dude’s issue? Mingi’s eyes just go wide, shrugging his shoulders to you. 

“Seonghwa, is that anyway to treat our guest?” You can’t see Hongjoong, but you can hear the scolding in his tone. He almost sounds like a mother, trying to keep her cool as her kids are acting out in the grocery store. Seonghwa quickly spins around, giving you a once over. You give him one right back. He is wearing a suit. Adorned with a sash, pins, and medals. Nearly all of them display some form of the hourglass. His hair is jet black, undercut on the sides but long on the top. You barely have a chance to comprehend how pretty his eyes are before he rolls them, sighing and crossing his arms. 

“Nice to meet you, (Y/n).” He wheels back around to face Hongjoong. “Seriously, we need to talk.”

“Well,” Hongjoong steps out from behind Seonghwa, reestablishing his smile from before, “you’ll have to excuse us, then. San, Mingi, why don’t you give (Y/n) a tour of the grounds?” His gaze turns to Seonghwa, clapping a hand onto the man’s shoulder and pulling him to turn and face you once more. Seonghwa gives you another uninterested look, huffing as him and Hongjoong start making their way past you and out of the cafeteria. 

“You’ll have to excuse Seonghwa, he doesn’t really warm up to new people very fast.” San steps back closer to you and Mingi, watching the two of them go. “Shall we start that tour?”

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THE ANSWER: III

Kim Hongjoong doesn’t like the word ‘cult.’ He prefers ‘sect.’ pairing: ateez x fem reader genre: cult au, thriller, angst check warnings on AO3

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chapter word count: 2,238

After you two had finally found a way to contact Mingi, you brought Jungeun back to the restaurant where you had had brunch so that she could get her car and saw her off. You had taken the piece of paper with you, as that’s where you had jotted the phone number that Mingi’s mother gave you.

Once you were finally back to your apartment, it was nearly 5 p.m. The day had been a long one, but at least you had accomplished your only goal. Luckily, you didn’t have work the next day, and you knew that you would be able to stay up all night talking to Mingi.

That is, if you ever worked up the courage to message him. 

Currently, you were starting at the blank chatroom you started with the new Mingi contact in your phone. You couldn’t decide what to say. There was so much to ask, so much to explain, and so much to talk about. You have absolutely no idea where you’re supposed to start. Introduce yourself like he forgot about you? Ask what the hell he thinks he’s doing, running away to live on a commune? Just text him like you normally would? There were too many options. It was all too much.

You groan, locking your phone and setting it down. You lean back into your couch, bringing your hands up to rub your face. You had not anticipated what you would do when you actually got Mingi’s number. You hadn’t even thought of it. How could you not think about what you wanted to say to him first? Sighing, you propel yourself up and off the couch and head into your kitchen area.

Your apartment wasn’t grand by any means, but at least it wasn’t a studio. There was an open kitchen-living area, a single bedroom, and a single, full bathroom. The kitchen was nothing special, it hardly had cooking space, but it was enough to sustain you. Making your way to the fridge, you open it and bend to see inside. You spot a sandwich that you had made to take to work yesterday, but had forgotten about in the morning. Stupid morning shift.

You grab the sandwich and pull off the plastic wrapping that you had covered it in, throwing it away before heading back to your couch. Rather than think about what to say to Mingi, you decide to flip the TV on and try to pay attention to whatever the first thing that comes on is. This does not work.

You go straight back to thinking about what you should say to Mingi while inhaling the sandwich in your hands. For a brief second, Mingi escapes you as you try to remember how long its been since you ate this morning. Seven hours? Six? AH- Who cares? You need to think of something to say to Mingi. Anything. 

Unfortunately, your mind just keeps running in the same circles. There are pros and cons to everything that you could possibly say to him. Finishing off your sandwich, your brain presents you with a rather disturbing thought.

What if Mingi thinks its weird that you found him? Creepy, even? For goodness sake, you had found his mother’s phone number on his school profile. You had to admit, you would probably think it was weird if you were in his position. A worse thought comes to mind immediately after.

What if Mingi doesn’t want to hear from you?

These thoughts are enough to scare the shit out of you. You don’t want to scare Mingi away immediately after you get him back. You can’t do anything to risk losing him again. So how the hell are you supposed to contact him?

You lost the ability to form a coherent thought. Picking up your phone, you take note of the time. You’d been thinking for an hour. And your deliberations were going nowhere. You unlocked the phone and were, once again, greeted with the sight of the blank chatroom. Sighing, you exit out and open the phone, scrolling to Jungeun’s name and selecting the ‘call’ button.

She picked up pretty quickly. Embarrassed, you thought that she had probably been expecting you to overthink and need to call her. Jungeun always knew that you were that type of person. “Hey, (y/n), how are you?”

You bite your lip, thinking for a moment what you should say to her. “I’m scared to text him,” is what you decide on.

“Why?”

“What if he thinks its weird? What if he doesn’t want to tal-”

“That is absolutely not what is going to happen,” Jungeun plainly states. She sounds so sure of herself that you are stunned into silence, waiting to hear what she will say next. “(Y/n), I love you, but you overthink way too much sometimes. Mingi will love to hear from you. Simply tell him that you’ve missed him and want to get back in contact. The worst that will happen is he will ignore you. And, if he does, that’s entirely his loss.”

Your silence continues. You know that all of what Jungeun just said is true. The little pep talk actually does a lot to motivate you, so you quickly thank her and hang up the phone.

You’re still nervous, but you will just follow her advice. Jungeun was right, he will really like to hear from you. And, if he doesn’t, then that’s his problem. 

Immediately after hanging the phone up, you open your messages app back up and go back into the empty conversation with Mingi. Without overthinking it, you type out a quick message.

Hey, Mingi, its (y/n), from school. I hope you’re doing well, I was hoping you might want to catch up a little bit. I miss you. 6:27 P.M.

The sound of the message being sent rings out in your living room. No going back now. You continue to stare at your message, trying to make sure that you didn’t make any typos or grammar mistakes. There’s none, from what you can tell. 

You sit in the chatroom for the coming minutes waiting for anything. A read receipt, a typing notification, a response, anything. Absolutely anything would be better than this mind-numbing silence. Sighing once more, you lock your phone again and turn your attention to the TV. You hadn’t even realized it, but Grey’s Anatomy had been playing for, presumably, this entire time. You find it almost ironic how the situation you’re in right now is one fit for a melodrama. Mingi had hated these kinds of shows, always wondering why someone would want to be sad on purpose. 

You wonder if he knew how upset his leaving had made you. Had he even thought of you when he left? Why didn’t he ask you to come with him? Had he been forced? Was he in danger? Did he hate you? Did he leave so that he wouldn’t have to see you anymore? Ugh- you shake your head to clear it of these thoughts. No, Mingi had simply not thought about how hurt you would be… but that in itself hurts, too.  How could he not have considered your feelings?

You unlock your phone again to stare at the chatroom. Still nothing. How long is this gonna take? You hadn’t even thought about the waiting period. You turn your phone’s notification volume almost to the max, not wanting even a second to go by where you are unaware that you had received a message. You lock the phone once again.

.・。.・゜✭ ⧖ ・.・ ⧖ ✫・゜・。.

Somewhere along the way, you had fallen asleep on your couch, waiting for a response. In your defence, it had been a very tiring day. Still, you had awoken because of your familiar notification sound, indicating that you had received a text. Thank God you had turned the volume all the way up.

Hurriedly, you pick up your phone (it had fallen onto the ground) and flip it over, unlocking it to find that it had still been locked on the once empty conversation. Now; however, it had your message accompanied by one more. 

(Y/n)!? Its great to hear from you! I’d love to catch up, but you’re probably sleeping. Text me in the morning. 2:20 A.M.

Forget texting him in the morning, you were going to respond to him right here and right now. Without really thinking about it, you shoot him another message

Mingi, you would not believe how hard I’ve been looking for you. Are you alright? 2:21 A.M.

You’re fully awake now, sitting up on your couch and not-so-patiently waiting for Mingi’s response. The minutes trickle by, and Mingi doesn’t respond. Soon enough, its 2:41 and it doesn’t seem like Mingi will be responding at all again tonight. 

Fulfilled that you had at least gotten some sort of response from him, you decide that its probably alright if you go to sleep. At least you know he’s alive. You haul yourself off of your couch and head to your bedroom, quickly changing into some pajamas that you had scattered about the floor, and hopping into bed. Surprisingly, it didn’t take long to fall asleep.

.・。.・゜✭ ⧖ ・.・ ⧖ ✫・゜・。.

The constant alarm that you have set on the alarm clock wakes you up at 8:30 sharp. Instantly, your thoughts turn to Mingi and you briefly wonder if you had hallucinated him texting you back last night. Looking around, you realize that you must have left your phone in the living room, as it isn’t on the nightstand where you normally would rest it. 

You hurriedly pull your blankets off of you, eager to get to your phone; and, by extension, Mingi. Once you’re out of bed and into the living room, you’re able to spot your phone right where you must have left it, on one of your couch cushions. Excitedly, you grab it to check your notifications. Sure enough, Mingi had responded.

I’m doing great. Loving life. How are you? 5:30 A.M.

Jeez, what was Mingi doing up at 5 A.M? And, come to think of it, why had he been awake in the middle of the night last night? Your confusion quickly is replaced with joy, however. Joy that you had found Mingi, joy that he was apparently doing alright, and joy that you could finally talk to him again. 

I’m relieved that you’re alright. What have you been up to? 8:34 A.M.

Did that seem weird? Was that a weird thing to say? Hopefully not. This time, it doesn’t take Mingi long at all to respond.

I live on a commune now! I know that may sound strange, but its honestly so wonderful here. The community is amazing. Did you graduate? 8:36 A.M.

Of course, you had known about the commune. It still seemed odd to you, though. What the hell had inspired him to drop out of college and quit society? It just didn’t feel to you like something that your Mingi would have ever done. Thinking of a way to keep the conversation on the topic at hand, you respond.

I graduated, yeah! If you don’t mind me asking, what made you join? 8:39 A.M.

You internally cringe at how weirdly formal you’re being. This is nothing like how you and Mingi used to interact. He seems so stiff, almost like he needs to give you perfect responses. A few minutes pass and Mingi still hasn’t responded. Without even thinking about it, you hit the dial icon next to his contact name, and your phone is ringing. 

You bring it up to your ear and listen to the dial tone. If he picked up, you wouldn’t even know what to do. If seeing his picture yesterday had evoked such a reaction in you, what would hearing his voice do? Unfortunately, your question is never answered. He doesn’t pick up, and his voicemail isn’t set up, either.

Sighing, you go back into the chatroom and see that Mingi had texted you again.

Sorry, can’t really talk on the phone right now. To answer your question, it was the people. 8:45 A.M.

There’s that awkward, stiff tone right now. Mingi would have never sounded so formal with you. It was so weird to interact with him in this way. And that answer. What the hell does that even mean, ‘the people?’ You’re almost becoming a little frustrated with Mingi. Why couldn’t he talk on the phone? Ugh.

I see. What’s it like there? 8:46 A.M.

This time, you hardly have to wait a second before Mingi replies.

Do you want to come check it out? We love visitors. 8:46 A.M.

Huh? Come check it out? Mingi was already inviting you to come visit, despite you two only being in contact for, what, 10 hours total? Was he that eager to see you? Why hadn’t he reached out himself, then? Or… was this a ploy. Were you going to be invited to visit and then not be able to leave? 

No. Mingi wouldn’t do that. He would never put you in danger. Still, though, you decide that you should probably think about it before giving him a definite yes or no. Afterall, you have a job to worry about. 

Let me get back to you on that. 8:50 A.M.

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