Another Fairy Tale /Ateez

Chapter 7 - C is for Compass or Confusion?

First time, I've felt this way before
Meeting a new side of me
Rewinding just like the film

- Ateez, Hala Hala

As soon as these words had left Rory's mouth the clouds darkened and rain started to fall. As soon as the rain touched Yunho's confused face he started smiling and his hair started to change to orange. 

"Oh. We should get inside before we catch a cold.", he laughed and then was gone. Rory looked around but the other boys were gone as well. Meanwhile many life changing questions whirled around in Rory's head. 

Did he ignore her words? Why is his hair suddenly orange? Why is there a 'Beauty' competition for dolphins? 

Before any of these questions made sense a figure appeared before Rory. She wasn't even surprised when she saw the black clothed Jongho in front of her. 

"Who are you?", she asked and stood up. The other Jongho took off his mask. He looked exactly like the Jongho she knew but something told her he was different. 

"I am here to save them.", he said and took out a compass from his jacket. Then he gave it to Rory. 

"Thanks. But why did you give this to me?" 

"This compass leads to Wonderland. Don't let the guys see it. You are the only one who can save them. Wonderland is dangerous and if they reach it, they'll never come back into your world." 

"My world?", Rory asked overwhelmed. "And what is so dangerous about Wonderland?" 

"Wonderland makes them fulfil their wishes. So no one will ever leave it again. If they reach it, they'll never come back into your world." 

"You already said that. But they are dead in my world." 

"Are they?", Jongho asked. "You are the only connection to their world. Make them remember what happened to them and don't let them reach Wonderland. Never." 

"And why are you not doing this yourself?", Rory asked mockingly flipping the compass in her hands over. It was all too absurd to be real. 

"I'm just a guy they don't know. We are the same somehow but the closer we are, the more in danger they will be." 

"That doesn't answer my question." 

"We just want to protect them and give them another chance. Their fate is not in our hands. Our fate is to fight so they can live.", Jongho said and now Rory noticed the other seven guys standing behind him. They all were wearing black and masks but Rory recognized the boys immediately. 

Jongho smiled weakly at Rory, hoping she would understand. He hoped she'd bear it. 

"I'm telling you the most important thing now. You have to make all of them remember. If only one does, no one can get back. They came into this world as 8 and either they will leave it as 8 or die here." 

With that a flash hit the ship and the boys were gone. So was the storm. 

Rory opened her eyes and sat up, shaking Chan's arms of her waist. Her brother only continued snoring and turned  to the other side. Meanwhile Rory tried to organize her thoughts. When she wanted to stand up, something fell from the bed onto the floor. Not even the loud sound could wake up her brother. Usually Rory would have laughed at this but when she recognized the thing, she held her breath. 

The compass. 

Quickly she grabbed it and disappeared into her room. Scared she put it on her desk and put Danbi's necklace next to it. She hadn't realized she wore it yesterday. Not daring to let it out of her sight Rory paced up and down her room. 

"Rory?", her mother asked worried when she entered the room. "Are you okay?" 

"I don't feel so good, Mom.", Rory answered and it wasn't even a lie. Just a look at the compass made her feel sick. Her mother quickly touched Rory's forehead to check. 

"You're burning up. Is that a sunburn on your arms?", her mother asked confused and held Rory's arms up in the air. Indeed, it was red and since Rory's skin was white it was more obvious. Her mother then took a deep breath and looked at Rory in surprise. "Why does it smell like sea in here?" 

"What?", Rory said and breathed in the familiar smell of sea as well. "I used a scent candle to relax." 

Rory's mother believed her lie. "You should rest a bit, sweetheart. I'll call school, okay?" 

Ms. Bang left the room, a confused look on her face, but she didn't ask further and Rory was glad about that. She wouldn't have been able to answer anything. 

Rory couldn't think about resting. Again, she paced up and down her room and now she was really thinking she was going insane. Before, she just thought her mind was playing with her dreams but now it was all too real. The compass, the smell, everything. 

It felt like a bad joke, which turned out to be a real story. 

For a second Rory looked at the Compass a bit closer and saw that it wasn't working. The thought of destroying it came to her mind but she threw it away as soon as it came. Destroying the compass wouldn't solve anything. 

Now panicking a bit Rory pulled her hair and went to the other side of the room, as far away from the compass as possible. She then thought about the possibility of it being real. Just the thought made her shiver. It was scarier to think she could save them, than the fact that she was slowly getting crazy. 

Rory got herself a sheet of paper and a pen. She then sat down in the corner and stared at the compass. Slowly she collected all information the dreams gave her and wrote down the questions she had. 

Why did it smell like sea in here? If they are still alive (which Rory wrote down in capital letters since it was a big 'IF'), then where are they? Are they okay? Lost? On the brick of dying? Rory cancelled these questions since she didn't want to think about the pain they would be going through. 

Rory noticed she wasn't even thinking about the possibility of it being real anymore. She just wondered how she should make the boys remember. 

"As soon as the rain touched Yunho's head, he forgot.", Rory whispered to herself and wrote down another question. "Why are their styles changing all the time?" 

Rory never remembered Yunho having blue or green hair. Or Hongjoong having red one. One time San had to dye his hair pink since he lost a bet but in the end it suited him well. But why were their styles changing? It wasn't a really important question but Rory still thought about it. 

And what did Jongho mean with fighting for the boys? After all, he didn't seem bad at all to Rory but still he had a darker aura. It all didn't make sense. If he was another version of the Jongho she knew, is there another world as well?  

Rory figured there was only one way to find out more. It may sounded stupid to others, but Rory somehow had a feeling it was real. Maybe a greedy part inside of her wanted it to be - maybe it all was a trick of her mind. But Rory wanted to see them again. If it was real, she promised to save them. If not, she had the chance to say goodbye for real. 

Rory didn't know if her heart could take another goodbye. Inside she had the feeling, it would destroy her completely. 

With this fear in mind, Rory took the compass and held it tightly in her hand. As her eyelids started to fall she saw the compass needle slowly moving again. 

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Do you think the Hala Hala Jongho is good or bad?