1.2 | The Night and Its Stars ⌜ yeosang ⌟

FIVE | DARK MATTER

Juyeon. 

He stalked forward, the light of the dance studio highlighting the return of his false smile. Behind him, Yeosang stopped at the doorway, leaning a foot against the wall. He did not bother with appearances unlike his twisted counterpart. He watched Minni unabashedly, eyes slitted like a predator on the prowl, in wait for the pounce.

"Impressive performance," Juyeon said with a nod, dropping his hands back to his side. 

Minni rushed to gather her belongings, eyes wide. "I...I didn't know someone else had reserved the studio. Sorry, I'll get out of your way."

Juyeon held up a hand in protest. "No, don't worry about it. You know that's not why we're here."

If it weren't for the glimmer of humor in his eyes and the tension in his shoulders, she would have thought this was a friendly visit from his warm smile. Yeosang was significantly harder to read. Tense always seemed to be his default.

She couldn't help but wonder how he got dragged into this. Because as violent as he could be, he was far from the scheming type, always electing to solve his issues in a more hands on manner from what she knew. 

Her heart dropped and she stood straighter. "If this is about what I heard that day, I didn't say anything."

"–Yet," Yeosang cut in from the door, jaw tight. 

Juyeon ignored him, the humor draining in favor of something more solemn. "The Night–I'm sure you've heard of it. We're a part of it."

Both Min and Yeosang seemed stunned by the reveal. The latter straightened stiffly, teeth bared. "Juyeon, what the fuck are you doing?"

Minni froze like a cornered animal playing dead as the air in the room became heavy. There was a clear sense of hierarchy, a sick sort of power at play. Juyeon did what he wanted, got what he wanted.

And how dare a mere king crowned by violence, bloodthirsty as he was, curse a god among men? The god in question straightened his crisp collar, face twisting into a glower that betrayed his true self under the glamour.

"Don't worry about it. Remember our talk." Minni's eyes fell to him as he spoke, the warning in his voice sending a shiver up her spine. His black gaze slid, like a knife on velvet, as he refocused his attention on her. "You know about it, right? The blog?"

She bundled her arms over her chest, nerves frayed. "Yeah...who doesn't?"

"Good." He nodded, satisfied with her answer. "I'm asking you to join it."

Her eyes widened then clenched shut. There was a flash behind her eyelids, the tattooed images of an anonymous blog post and the spiteful scream of a dead girl. Something stirred within her, weeks of stress rising to the surface.

"Did you write it?" Her voice quivered despite herself. When she did not get an answer, she cast her gaze upward to two pairs of unmoving dark eyes, ravenous black holes that were pulling her apart and threatening the fabric of her universe. "Did you do it?!"

Juyeon laughed even as his eyes narrowed, sickly saccharine and entirely fabricated. "Min, what on earth are you talking about?"

In the corner, Yeosang had gone pale and his frown deepened.

Her gut twisted. "You know exactly what I'm talking about."

He sighed then, like the patient parent dealing with an unruly child. "Just answer me, Min."

Her name from his lips felt wrong. All of it did, from his seemingly calm demeanor to Yeosang's sudden decline in mood at her subtle mention of Somin.