whispers in the dark : txen-

:hearsay

"Okay okay– but what actually happened??" I tried to intervene with an assertive Beomgyu who was currently ranting about this whole "chased through the forest by a group of zombies" situation, most utterly confused about what he was talking about because it doesn't make any sense to me. The situation itself seems way too unrealistic to be real, but it's way too detailed to fail to intrigue me.

I look over at a group of boys sitting in a circle around me, as well as a girl named Sooha who I can call my best friend. We're both pretty much attached to the hip so it's not surprising that we're here stuck at the boys' place– Ah, correction: Jake's place. It's our usual hangout spot whenever we're gaming or studying because his place is the closest to food because there are literal restaurants at the bottom floor and across his condo, but because it's the cleanest amongst all the boys'. I turn to look at them and can't help but feel confused at how they're NOT gasping in awe or overdramatically reacting in aghast. I've known these boys for so long and trust me this is the quietest I've seen them. Either they're a) scared b) they know something-

Yeonjun, who's sitting beside me just snickers quietly, leaning close to my ear and whispering: "Pfft.. he sounds so funny.. I kinda feel bad since he thinks it was all real?". I glance at Beomgyu, unsure, before hearing what Yeonjun has to say. "What do you mean?" I questioned him in pure curiosity.

"Weeeeelll we kinda pranked him.." he whispered, "We pranked him into thinking he was being chased by a group of zombies when actually it was us... and of course, with Niki, Jake, and Jay's help, even if it was Sunoo's idea, to begin with– we pretty much kinda chased him through the forest. I'm kinda surprised he believed us–"

I grumble at this, whacking his arm with an angry pout on my face. "Why would you–!!". But before I could say anything, the lights to Jake's house started flickering and when he got up to fix the circuit, the lights flicked off and we could see nothing but a dark abyss before us. The moon was shining through the windows ever so perfectly, and we could make out each other's faces, but that wasn't enough for us to actually see and avoid tripping over each other.

Standing up, I trip and follow Jake, but only to trip over Soobin's long legs, hearing him groan in pain. "Oof! Sorry- sorry–" I sigh and go to follow Jake, turning my flashlight on. I hold onto his sleeve tightly and head to the kitchen with him to find the electrical system and see which wire short-circuited. I stay close to him, Beomgyu's words getting into my head, suddenly feeling a chill wind pass by me as if an apparition is lurking around me. Now it wouldn't be ethical of me to cower away and hide in Jake's arms (which I could simply and easily do as of right now), so I just stand still and hurry to try and find the switch for the lights.

But then again, how did I, me, who quietly does her own thing and sleeps all day, get involved with such a facetious situation?

~Flashback~

Currently getting out of school, I walk back to my apartment and text my parents that I'm coming home, Sooha standing beside me reading a book in her hands. I smile at this and shut the book, "You know, that isn't due in a month..". Pushing her glasses up, Sooha smiles shyly and shrugs, "Well, I wanna get it done.. Plus the story's really intriguing so why not?"

I could just laugh at this. My best friend always had her face stuck in the books and she could do nothing but read. It's quite incredible that she's actually able to do this because when I try to study, one small distraction like a bird at my window could easily pulverize my focus. So much for having the attention span of a goldfish.

On the way to the cafe to get some bubble tea with Sooha, I received a text from my best friend, Yeonjun. Swiping up to the text, I raise my brow, thinking what this could be about again.