1984 | choi chanhee ♫

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Y/N POV

If you told me a few weeks ago, I'd currently be stood in my room with a random group of guys in 1984. I'd probably call you crazy. However zoning out into that dissociative spiral was for another time. Snapping out of my thoughts as Sunwoo asked me a question.

"So are you sure this was your exact recall of events?" He read through the crumpled piece of parchment paper where Chanhee had mapped out my exact movements from the night I got stuck here.
"Yes." I sighed at the grave amount of detail I'd tried to exert in order to get back. I was perched on Chanhee's lap, the rest of the boys had already hollered enough over my seating option. However the suggestive glance I received from Kevin was enough to put me off the idea.
"It's got to be something to do with this, surely." Sunwoo grabbed the pale pink alarm clock, dragging it across to us with a wooden scrape.
With a pen, he carefully unscrewed the back panel, taking it off to reveal the complicated mechanisms inside.
"There's no battery." He looked at it with confusion, watching it tick noisily.
"What do you mean? It's literally working." Hyunjae snatched it off the younger boy abruptly, lifting the group of metal clogs grinding their teeth against each other. "The clock is working... without a battery..."
"No, that's scary." Changmin peered over his shoulder in a small fright, watching him toy around with the thin fountain pen.
"You know it's bad when him of all people is saying it's scary." Sunwoo chuckled, shoving the terror child
off Hyunjae from beside him as they sat on top of my bed.

"Aside from this complete sorcery." Younghoon interrupted taking the clock from Hyunjae's hands. "You said something about 10:30pm right? October 30th.. If we throw this clock against the floor at that exact time on that night, it will replicate the events of what happened the night you got stuck."
"That's really smart." Chanhee replied, resting his chin on my shoulder with a subtle raise of his brows. "But what if it breaks?"
"If it ticks without a battery, I wouldn't worry about it breaking." The taller boy smiled back, returning the clock to its place on the bedside table.
"October 30th is the Halloween Prom night. Isn't Cindy hosting the after-party?" Kevin asked looking up to Hyunjae.
"Yeah, she is." He pressed his lips together in response, thinking to himself for a second. "I'm sure we can just slip out for a second, or just not drink as much."
"You're suggesting we be responsible-" Sunwoo almost scoffed in disbelief, a cocky sneer bellowing from his chest. Before anyone could respond, a short yell up the corridor cut the conversation short.

"Y/N!" My Mom called up the corridor, her footsteps approaching the bedroom door, "Is your obnoxiously large group of guy friends staying the night? If so, you can have the living room because I'm going to bed." She yelled momentarily before closing her bedroom door at the end of the hall.
"Are you guys staying?" I asked looking around for a few nods, "We can watch a movie or something?"
"I don't see why not. That's if it's okay with you." Sangyeon reassured, nodding his head with a polite glance to the other boys then back to me.
"Of course it's fine by me, you don't need to check." I laughed slightly, pushing a piece of loose hair behind my ear.
"Just making sure, we wouldn't wanna pressure you." He chuckled in reply, as I began to lead them downstairs.

Their manners were a foreign language to someone from a future society, the most manners 2021 has is mask wearing and people can't even manage that.

Downstairs, I picked up the pile of blankets laying in the corner and placed them in the middle for each of them to snatch. Of course they did, like a pack of wild apes, ripped the fabric from the pile - leaving Chanhee and I to share once again. It was slightly awkward but neither of us really minded. 

There were only 4 channels in the 80s, one of them was playing a lifetime movie marathon - a pathetic drama that all of us eventually found ourselves invested in. When the main characters love interest fatally dies, I couldn't help but let a few tears fall from my eyes. Both of them ruthlessly stripped apart by the cruelty of time and fate.

A comforting arm wrapped around me, accompanied by a soft chuckle. Bringing his hand to my cheek, Chanhee dragged his thumb beneath my eye -  drying my tears and rubbing my shoulder adoringly.
"It's not real." He whispered just below hearing level, his breath lingering over my ear causing me to shiver slightly.
"I know." I smiled bittersweetly, instinctively I warmed to his touch. Cuddling up into his chest through my stiffness and relaxing his arms. My tears had formed a slight damp patch on his shirt, flashing him eyes of concern which he just shook off in an unbothered shrug.

"You seriously can't be crying right now." I heard Sunwoo cackle from across the room, I looked up to see who he was talking to. Eric across the room was balling his eyes out. Hiding his nose and mouth with the fleecy cover, snorting in miserable sobs at the television screen.
"But it's so sad." He wept over-dramatically as the boys continued to make fun of him in his sorrow - throwing cushions and howling sarcastic uwu sounds over to him. I chuckled clearing myself up and immersing myself back into the fluorescent silver screen.

It wasn't long before all the other boys fell asleep at some point, cutely curled up on top of and beside the couches. I found myself fiddling with Chanhee's golden pair of dangly earrings. He looked at me with a sparkling endearment before pecking my lips lightly. I must have flushed a vibrant red across my entire face, judging by the way Chanhee chuckled at me adoringly.

"You know, if you go back. I think we might have gotten ourselves attached to a bit of an emotional rollercoaster , Future." He breathed out in a bittersweet sigh, running his fingers through my hair.
"If I get to go back, how do we know I'm not just stuck? Or this is not just some terrible dream of mine." I shrugged ridiculously, returning a small laugh as I drew circles on his chest.
"It's definitely far from a dream, gorgeous." He replied, planting a kiss on my forehead - my cheeks heating up into a warm rose color at the gesture, as I grinned back at him idiotically.

"Goodnight Chanhee."
"Goodnight Y/N."

As the night closed peacefully, the faint echoes of a storm beckoned in the distance. There was something eating away at the clear sky above, swallowing the stars in greedy bites. Daggers of lightening stabbing into the night sky, their ticking hands flickering in continuous and striking flashes.

Whether or not I was tightly wrapped up in Chanhee's arms, the fear of being snatched away any minute was evident in my shivering and restless state. As I laid awake through all the ruckus battering the window panes, my thoughts raced the wind speeds blowing each and every tree branch outside.

Had I fell in love with the 80s? Was I ever going to get back? Do I ever even want to go back? The only lullaby I needed was the sound of his soft snores, the shallow and elongated breaths he'd take as he slept. Pockets of oxygen filling his lungs and leaving once they'd done their job.  It was a reminder  I was alive and actually in this very moment - there was a real life human next to me, a sleeping pink haired boy - one that could possibly break me forever.

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AUTHORS NOTE

hey again ! guess who's now a graduated and free lady for a few months !

i hope i can get back to regular updates now and that you're all doing okay yourselves ! i hope things haven't been too hectic and i'm sorry for keeping you waiting so long..

have an amazing evening/morning/ middle of the hecking day idk,

sending all my love as always..

clover <3