The Dome (Part 1 of the KaiSoo Fanfic Series)

Chapter X

Jongin finds himself being taken down an unfamiliar street, yet as he studies the buildings and cars and people around him, a feeling comes over him; a feeling that gently whispers in his ears telling him he's been here before. Yoochun told him what that feeling's called before when he sent him to a school from the times of The Origin, but he's so distracted by his fascination he can't remember the name. It's on the tip of his tongue, ready to come out any second, but it's almost as if it's afraid to be spoken. It's as if it does get loose from his mouth, something awful will happen. But he tries not to fret over it too much and just keeps watching.

A small sigh topples off his tongue as he keeps his eyes glued to the screen in front of him, his mind now wondering where this is taking him. The video stops moving when it shows a house with big, wide-open windows. Jongin suddenly feels that feeling again. Nostalgia, that's what it is.

The first thing he notices about the house is how well-kept it is. The plants around it are nicely trimmed and the lush, green grass surrounding it is cut to a perfect length. Jongin thinks whoever lived there must have taken pride in the appearance of their home. The second thing he notices is that while it looks very similar to the house next to and across the street from it, the house he's looking at stands out in its own way.

The movement begins again and leads him toward the door. He continues to look at the house and wonders how amazing it must have been to live in such a beautiful place. But he also knows that beautiful places are the places that hold the darkest secrets. He wonders what dark secrets this house holds. 

The door is opening in the next moment, creating a small creaking sound and then a slightly louder sound as it's shut. After that, he realizes it's quiet inside with only the chirps of birds coming in faintly from the open windows. But after a moment of stillness, he hears the sound of voices coming from a room in the distance, prompting the motion to begin again. Jongin's curious as to who those voices belong to. 

He sees that there is a set of stairs that he figures must lead to more rooms on a second floor, but the video doesn't take him there. It gives him views of a few rooms that have open doors: the bathroom, the laundry, a pantry, nothing too spectacular, he thinks. But then he enters a bigger room, the kitchen, and his body straightens out when he sees two people standing behind the counter. One's taller and appears to be more evolved and grown up; Jongin figures that it must be a parent. The other one is smaller and looks younger; he must be a child. 

But then, a thought stops him and he thinks back at what he's seen so far. The nice yard, the comforting feeling he got when he saw the house appear on the screen: it all feels like nothing he's never experienced before because everything is the same in The Dome. All the living quarters look the same and give off the same rigid feeling. But this house, this house is different and Jongin knows it. 

"It must not be a house," he says to himself, pausing to scan his eyes over the surrounding area again. "This must be a home." The thought makes him smile and Yoochun grins from behind him as well. He's in a home, a real home with different colors everywhere and a family who actually love each other. His thoughts shift back to the people in the kitchen and Jongin studies the screen even more carefully than before. 

"Mom!" Jongin's heart skips a beat at the sound of the voice he heard earlier. "Can't have I just one taste, pretty please?"

"The answer is still no," the female says, smiling down at her son even though her voice is serious. "I've told you that eating raw cookie batter isn't healthy and you don't want to be unhealthy, do you?"

"No, but it's not like I'll only that for the rest of the day," the boy whines, pouting. "Come on, please?? I'll be good and do all my chores tomorrow!"