mechanical | xiuchen

one.

Jongdae was barely sure if it was daytime when his eyes fluttered open, staring up at the wide expanse of an unfamiliar ceiling.

It was not a gross tan color like the ceiling in his room at home, which he'd endlessly stare at in the mornings when he didn't want to get out of bed.

It wasn't a pure white like the fancy hotels he thanked god he stayed in alone.

It was dark. It was old. And it was definitely not part of any place that he'd seen before.

A wave of alarm hit him before long, and he sat up, scanning the room. It was just his luck that he hated nothing more than rib pain, because that's exactly what he got when his body jerked upright.

All he could really do was hiss in pain and hunch over as he looked around at an almost completely empty cabin room.

Where the hell am I?

Squinted now, his eyes swept over to a large, clouded window to his left.

His heartbeat picked up a little at the full realization that he really did have no recollection of this room whatsoever. His memory may not be the best, but he thought this constituted a certain level of concern.

Leaning over cautiously as to not disturb his fragile ribcage, he wiped the condensation off of the window, looking out at his foggy surroundings.

What he could tell for sure was that he was somewhere in a forest. Which forest was lost on him, as was pretty much everything else, come to think of it.

His mind was cloudy like the dark morning outside. How could he have gotten there? The more he tried to remember, the less he felt like he knew. He patted down his pockets one by one, looking for, but not finding his phone, which sent an additional surge of panic through his body.

What the hell was going on?

Looking back out at the trees through the window, he realized he at least recalled being in the forest, but any memories slowly faded out into nothing like an old song.

Like an elderly man, he got up slowly, his limbs aching. It felt like he hadn't walked in months.

And maybe he hadn't, because when he first tried walking, his limbs gave out, and he crumpled into a pile of confusion, fists balled up on the creaky wood floor, leaving nail prints on his palms.

Fear was starting to really get a hold on him, but he pressed on. He exhaled heavily as he pushed himself onto his legs once more, and though his knees wobbled, he stayed up.

Finally, he was able to walk more steadily. It took a minute or two of practice in small circles, but he and his body were able to become familiar with each other again.

His phone. He needed his phone.

Only then did he find it in him to make his way down the long, wooden staircase.

Each stair creaked almost severely as he made his way down, but they didn't feel unsteady. Just kind of old.

The stairs led him to a large living room sitting in the center of the wooden cabin, the design looking a little old-fashioned. As he looked around, for whatever reason, the unsettled feeling in his chest calmed a bit. It felt safe somehow.

But then, he saw tufts of hair peeking out from the top of one of the chairs, and he realized he was not alone.

His heart skipped a beat before jumping into his throat. What was he supposed to do? When he listened now, he could hear soft breathing coming from the person. From the slow, steady pace of it, he could tell they were asleep.

His feet seemed to be rooted to the ground. Judging from the height of the chair and the barely peeking out wisps of light orange hair, the person was somewhat short.

For several minutes, he stood there, trying to calm himself with gentle sounds, like the stranger's breathing and the muffled bird's singing outside.

After a while, he felt calmer, but still couldn't bring himself to move, lest he see this sleeping stranger's face.

Then, suddenly, as he was beginning to zone out, he heard an abnormally loud inhale, and realized that he was going to see their face anyways because they were waking up. Panic struck him, but his body was so frozen, running was not an option.

The stranger stood up, and Jongdae, somewhere in his frantic state, noted that they were male, and, in fact, somewhat short.

The figure turned around slowly, and goosebumps traveled across Jongdae's skin as he felt himself staring into a striking face.

And unbearably beautiful, glowing, blue eyes.