Please Return To Rightful Owner

Part 23

"I'll never let you go." The actress passionately declared on the television.

Sniffles were heard across the living room. Dokyeom was covering his mouth with wet tissues as Seungkwan dabbed his eyes with Minghao's shirt.

I leaned on Vernon's arm as he snuggled me closer to him.

"I'm sorry. But I have to leave. It's for the best." The actor said as he disintegrated into dust.

Suddenly, sobs were breaking out throughout the room.

"No! No!" The actress begged, stumbling on her knees.

Why are we even watching this for 'movie night'?

I could see Jeonghan attempting to put a halt to the waterfall from his eyes. Woozi too?

I looked up to Vernon who was covering his mouth with pure distress. I sighed as I prayed for a change of scenery.

"Come ba-"

Suddenly, the television went pitch black along with the rest of the room. We were completely in a dark black box.

Well, I guess that's one way to change the scenery.

"Oh! Come on! What if he came back or something?!" Hoshi exclaimed on my right.

I tightly gripped onto Vernon's shirt as he embraced me assuringly.

"What if he came back as a spirit?" Dino questioned to my left.

It felt as if I was closing my eyes but I wasn't. The darkness was literally real.

"Okay. Okay. Let's stay calm!" Seungcheol panicked.

"Seungcheol, I think you need to stay calm." Jeonghan countered as everyone started moving.

I heard the rustle of clothes moving.

"Hey! You're stepping on me!" A furious Minghao yelled.

"Who do you think you're called 'hey'?!" Jun fired back.

"Get your butt out of my face!" Mingyu groaned.

"Only if you would move your long legs, giraffe!" Dino argued.

Chatter was scattered throughout the living room as everyone was upset with their limited use of vision.

"Sura, let's just wait." Vernon said to my right.

"Okay. Don't leave me." I replied as I held onto his arm tightly. Vernon softly patted my head.

"Okay! Okay! Everyone just stay put!" Seungcheol commanded.

The commotion did not come to a halt. Everyone was still shoving and pushing according to the sounds and the rustle.

"Maybe we should just stay still." Jeonghan suggested quietly.

Suddenly, everyone paused. The commotion died down as there were no more sounds of rustling. I could already see Seungcheol rolling his eyes.

"Okay, let's just stay calm and not move until the power comes back on. I'm sure it won't be gone for long." Jeonghan softly comforted.

Everyone went back to their original positions.

Seconds and seconds passed. Minutes and minutes slowly crept by. It all felt like a whole day.

I placed my head against Vernon's chest hoping a spark of light would appear. Vernon patted me softly on the back.

"Okay! You know what! It's been probably an hour by now! How much longer is this gonna go on for?!" Seungkwan yelled in frustration.

"Don't complain! I'm the one who has to smell your armpits!" Wonwoo scoffed.

"Well, too bad!" Seungkwan muttered.

"Okay, okay. It won't be too bad if the power doesn't come back on. We can just sleep here for the night. The sun will rise in probably 6 hours or so." Seungcheol comforted.

"You mean we have to stay in this position for like six hours?" Dino questioned in disbelief.

"It's only for a while. Hopefully, the power will turn back on by then." Jeonghan explained.

Everyone sighed in frustration. This is gonna be a long night.

As time went by, I felt Vernon's chest rise slower and slower. He must've fell asleep.

"Is anyone still awake?" Wonwoo called out.

"I am." Woozi called out.

Wonwoo chuckled, "You know, in movies, this is where the killer starts killing everyone one by one. What if that's why we're the only ones still awake?"

Chills ran down my spine. A killer?

"Yah. Don't say such things." Woozi groaned.

"But who knows. I could be right." Wonwoo snickered.

"Whatever. I'm going to sleep." Woozi scoffed.

A killer in our house? Images started popping in my head. Like the one from scary movies.

I clenched onto Vernon's shirt tightly. It's not real, Sura. It's just something stupid. No killer is in our house. Everyone is just asleep not dead.

Just calm down. Think happy thoughts.

My eyes started becoming heavier and heavier as I started drifting off into Vernon's scent.

THUD!

I shot my eyes open to the sudden disturbance.

What was that noise? No, it can't be. A killer? An intruder? I slowly started lifting myself off of Vernon's chest as he grumbled.

I felt goosebumps forming on my arms. I felt my hands slightly shake due to the ominous sound. I could even hear my own shaky breathes due to the silence of the quiet night.

I gently placed my feet from the sofa to the ground, careful not to hit a random body. My feet successfully landed on the soft rug.

I took a deep breathe. Calm down, Sura. You're just spooked out because of Wonwoo.

Suddenly, a cold touch slightly touched skin of my feet. Shudders shot up my spine.

"AH!" I yelled out from the sudden touch.

I quickly jumped back onto the sofa and clenched onto Vernon's shirt.

"Huh? Sura? What's wrong?" Vernon awakened with a surprise.

Then, the darkness disappeared as the lightbulb lit up the room. Everyone started acknowledging the sudden change of events.

"The lights!" Seungkwan exclaimed as he rubbed his eyes.

"Quick! The drama!" Dokyeom started frantically looking for the remote.

Mingyu grabbed the remote next to him and turned on the television.

The sudden image of the actor appeared on the screen, "Don't forget. I'm always with you."

That was the last image before he faded away. The last scene was the actress crying on her knees in the middle of a grassy field.

"Are you KIDDING me?" Seungkwan groaned.

"So, he just leaves?" Hoshi scoffed.

"For 16 episodes. 16 episodes!" Dokyeom ruffles his head in frustration.

I finally let out a deep breathe.

So, no killer. Thank God.