Alone Together [RIIZE]

6. After School Discoveries

"This must be the place." Sungchan murmured, looking at his phone. The address that Sohee had given him led him here - to a small hole-in-the-wall, two-story building sandwiched between a pet shop and a hotel.

A sign on the front read "Lee-ave It To Us" and the smell of coffee wafted from inside. He peered into the window to see Sohee and the group from earlier, arguing about something around a booth table.

Walking through the door, he was immediately almost run into by a man scrambling with six different colorful drinks. Someone hollered something from the kitchen and Sohee perked up to listen, before shrugging and continuing her conversation.

Sungchan thought Sohee would notice him come in first, but actually Shotaro did. Shotaro seemed like he was already looking for him, eyes locking onto his almost immediately.

Shotaro waved him down excitedly, which caught the others' attention. Sungchan weaved through the tables and walking patrons to their booth, unsure if he should sit or stand.

"Hey, Sungchan. Glad to see you survived the day, dude!" Seunghan grinned, clapping Sungchan on the back. Sungchan chuckled nervously as Sohee got up from her seat and pulled them along, psst the other tables and patrons.

"Okay, he's the last one! Upstairs we go!" She waved them over to a side door that lead to a stairwell. They went up the stairwell as Sohee continued debating with Eunseok, pushing open a door to reveal an apartment.

This must be where she lives, Sungchan thought. Her parents must own the cafe downstairs.

A man with dark hair cleared his throat and Sohee turned around quickly. He tutted and waved his finger at her, narrowing his eyes. "Hey! No boys in your room, Sohee!" Her father scolded, making her pout.

"Dad! They're my friends! What do you think I'm doing with six boys?" She argued, putting her hands on her hips.

"Five boys." Someone piped up quietly.

Sohee gasped and corrected herself. "OMG, sorry! I meant five boys and Eunseok."

"You know the rules, young lady. You're lucky your Papa doesn't have you working a shift today, the cafe's busy." Her dad argued back, tying his dark, curly hair back and going back to typing on his laptop.

Sohee rolled her eyes playfully and turned around, gesturing for them to follow her. "Fiiiiine... we'll go hang out somewhere else."

Anton quickly swiped something from the living room table and Sungchan saw it in the corner of his eye. He looked around to make sure he didn't get caught, only to meet his eyes.

The two stared each other down, daring the other to move. But Anton looked more amused than anything, putting the a tiny scented candle down with a huff and sulking away, back outside.

What the hell did he want with that anyways? Sungchan wondered. He wondered why Anton would steal something as stupid as a candle. And from a friend, no less.

But he didn't say anything. Not when the group spontaneously hopped on a bus and rode it to a stop near the woods. Not when everyone seemed to know where they were going apart from Sungchan, whose intrusive thoughts were telling him that they were going to kill him and hack his body up onto little pieces despite knowing that they weren't gonna do that (probably).

They walked through the woods for a while together, the only sound between them being Sohee humming an old SHINee song to herself.

Actually, he didn't even say anything when he saw an old freight train chugging slowly by in front of an abandoned house in a grove. Unruly vines grew on the doorway and when Sungchan looked in the distance, he could see a crystalline lake.