The perfect gift [Felix centric]

Old bones

I opened the door carefully, making sure not to make too much noise as I headed in.

What I found inside was old furniture covered in thick layers of dust. The room was relatively compact with a small stained-glass window high on the wall, a grandfather clock sitting in the corner of the room. It gave the feeling of an old attic.

With boxes everywhere and white sheets covering various objects. I stepped in, the floor boards creaking under my feet. This was the first room I saw with a wooden floor. Which might not be significant, but interesting nonetheless.

I started searching the room. I knew I wouldn't have much time, probably half an hour before I would return from his meal. So I get to work, checking every corner and under every sheet.

Despite my intense search, nothing. I checked everywhere, except for the big clock. It didn't seem to be working, the pendulum not swinging anymore. I opened the lower door, checking for any cracks or parts that weren't quite right. But nothing, nothing came off, or disassembled. It was just a normal clock. That motivated me to check the upper door. I opened it, the hands weren't moving, I pulled on the moon dial, and it came off surprisingly easily, and behind it, a square dent was revealed, with a mechanism that seemed connected to it.

Upon closer inspection, I noticed the size and shape of the indent were similar to the one of Hyunjin's watch. I take it out of my pocket and carefully place it in the hole. I wait silently for something to happen. I frown when nothing does. Disappointed.

"Maybe if I put the moon dial back, it will work?" I asked myself, and I picked it up, installing it back in its place.

The clock chimed, the parts moving again. The pendulum swung from side to side victoriously.

"Click," I heard a noise, accompanied by one of the floorboards lifting slightly. I approached carefully, intrigued by the new discovery.

I carefully pared inside. It was dark, and I couldn't see far. All there seemed to be was a rusty ladder going downwards. I doubt going there would be a good idea. But before I can do anything else, I hear footsteps approaching, and they get closer and closer. Panicked, I looked around the room for a place to hide. Freaking out when I saw the door handle move.

I descended inside without putting any more thought into it, closing the trap door behind me. Whatever was in there, I doubt it was worse than being captured by one of these guys and put back in that cell, or even worse, being sold to some gross old men.

I sat quietly, listening to the sound of footsteps above me. The man pacing around, the sound of cabinets opening and things getting thrown around, he was frantically searching for me. I covered my mouth, trying to muffle the sound of my weighty breaths. Eventually, I heard the footsteps fading, followed by a door abruptly shutting and getting locked.

I pushed the trap door up, forcing it to open, but to no avail. It wouldn't budge.

"Perfect."

I huffed and threw my arms wildly into the air in frustration.

"This looks great for me,"

I whispered to myself, holding tightly to the iron metal bars of the ladder, the rust leaving residue on my hands. I sat for a moment before it hit me.

"Huh?"

Wait a minute, rust? This was strange. How can there be this much rust down here when the room above is dry and covered in dust? I thought to myself. Although not sure, this made me hopeful of a possible way to the outside, maybe a secret passage, a vent opening, or a hidden sewage system large enough for an adult man to fit through. All of these would be viable options if they could get me out of here. Out of this building and back to my home.

Taking in a deep breath, I blindly descended into the darkness below. One step at a time, mindful not to injure myself, because that's the last thing that I want to happen to me. My chances of escaping with a limp would drastically reduce, I think.

As my feet reached the ground, The feel of solid rock underneath greeted me. It was strange. I wouldn't call it unusual, but it also wasn't familiar. My hand felt around for a possible light switch, and like a blessing, I found one. Relief washed over me when it actually turned on the moment I flipped it. I was grateful for the working light. After all, it was a lot more daunting trying to find my way in the pitch black.

With the lights on, there stood a long corridor made out of concrete, with pipes lining the walls and the ceilings and wires along the wall near the top. The greenish yellow lighting was nauseating, and the buzzing of the leads only added to the eerie ambiance.

"Drip drip"

The sound of a faulty leaky pipe echoed throughout the place. Dripping at short intervals and vibrating through the walls into my ears.

I moved cautiously this time in order to avoid making noise. A drip of sweat ran down my forehead, and I wiped it away instantly. I walked for a while until I finally found something, that was a metal door which hid a room with many stairs behind it. The staircase was in the shape of a spiral and led upwards.

I looked up the staircase, trying to eye the distance to the floor it led to, but it was too dark to determine.

I stepped carefully, climbing upwards into the unknown place.

Bang Chan pov

"Yes, everything's settled, Boss. All we got left is to send them out."

"Haha, I knew I could count on you, young man," a dry and humorless chuckle crackled through the receiver.

"Of course, boss."

"Keep it up, buddy, if everything goes as planned. Our next meeting would be a great opportunity to discuss your future development within our business." His voice sounded hoarse and rough, like someone who's been smoking for a long time.

"Yes, boss, I will personally manage everything to ensure all of our goods get to our buyers in optimal condition."

"Good, then I'll be counting on you."

"Yes, boss!" I exclaimed and hung up. I just barely get to sit back down and relax before another problem shows up in the form of I.N. rudely barging in, gesticulating like a lunatic. I sigh and speak up;

"Back in my day, people used to knock when they came in, but I guess it's not considered trendy these days."

"Someone-lost- I-he-ran-away-I-was-not there-" I.n stuttered to me,

"Excuse me? What? Did Han and Minho decide to leave us behind and go on their honeymoon together?" I chuckled at my snarky remark as I awaited his response.

"No! It's different. It's kind of important."

"Well, don't keep it to yourself." I gestured to him to go ahead and speak.

"This is hard to say. You remember when you scolded me for taking a subject out to play with last time?" The dark-haired boy said, wringing his hands.

"Yeah?"

"And do you remember how I brought it back and everything was fine?"

"Yeah?" I straightened up, leaning forward towards I.n, focused on what he had to say next.

"Well, I did the same thing this time, the taking out to play part, and it kind of ran away, and I couldn't find him anywhere."

At his words, my heart sunk.

"What?"

Hello guys, thank you for reading all the way to chapter 13? I'm not sure. Sorry for not uploading last week. I was feeling sad :( but I'll post again soon, so don't worry!