There were a lot of things Daniel disliked.
"Wasps."
"Mint chocolate chip ice cream."
"Leaving his friends and family for a notoriously callous and corrupt industry at the tender age of thirteen."
He decided that waiting to be tased in a tiny storage closet with his shoulders brushing against a stranger was pretty high on his list. Maybe not higher than the last one, though.
Huening Kai gave him a questioning look. "What did you say?"
"Oh, I... I wasn't-" Daniel turned pink. "Narrating my thoughts helps me calm down," he admitted, hanging his head in defeat.
Kai laughed, reaching a hand out to comfort the boy. "Don't worry; it was a sasaeng that got tased. We'll be fine."
The corners of Daniel's lips tugged at a smile.
***
Ding.
They paused their hand games, looking up at each other.
"You think...?"
Kai scrambled to his feet. "Yep. Someone's coming," he confirmed, peeping through the window.
"Ready when you are." Daniel stood, grabbing his backpack.
The door flew open, flooding the storage closet with light.
"Take that!" Someone shouted, tossing a hand full of granular salt at the boys.
Daniel jumped, holding on to Kai as tiny white crystals rained down upon them.
Jin looked genuinely surprised to see people in the closet.
"What are you doing?" He asked, cocking his head to the side.
Kai shook his head, breathing heavily. "Hyung, did you just throw salt at us?"
"Uh... yeah, sorry. It's all I had on me." Jin closed his Ziploc bag of salt, tucking it away. "You guys aren't supposed to be on this floor, right?"
Daniel nodded, feeling slightly queasy after the scare.
Jin smiled. "Good boys. Never listen to what the staff tells you."
The lights in the hallway suddenly flickered.
Daniel glanced around anxiously. "What was that?"
Jin wiggled his eyebrows. "A ghost."
Kai rolled his eyes. "There's no such thing as-"
The lights went out completely.
"Kai hyung?" Daniel whispered into the darkness, slightly panicked.
"I'm right here." He felt the boy put a steady arm around his shoulder.
Jin pulled out his phone, turning on the flash. "Great. You probably angered the ghost," he said humorously.
He led them to Suga's studio.
"Aye Yoongi ah! Got a spare flashlight?"
Suga and Beomgyu rotated their chairs to face the door, each holding one.
"Yep." Suga tossed a third over. "You have any idea what caused the blackout?"
Kai observed Jin's smug expression.
"Nope," he answered before the older could bring up the paranormal.
Suga looked at Daniel, a glint of recognition in his eyes. "You're that kid from I-Land... Darron?"
"Daniel," he bowed happily, pleased that Yoongi half-remembered him.
J-Hope and Taehyun stumbled into the room. "Yoongi, do you have-"
"A spare flashlight? Yeah." Yoongi gave J-Hope his.
Jin paused for a moment, sniffing the air. "What's that smell?"
They all closed their eyes, inhaling deeply. Daniel detected a faint, sweet aroma lingering in the air. His mind immediately went to Jin's ghosts, and he clung nervously to Kai's arm.
"Smells like... roses?" Beomgyu guessed.
Taehyun covered his nose with his shirt. "Is it just me, or is it getting stronger?"
He was right. The scent was very noticeable now. Daniel's head spun as the flower's fragrance flooded his senses.
"Let's get out of here." Jin scanned the room. "I don't like this."
Taehyun's knees buckled. Hoseok and Beomgyu grabbed him by the wrists before he fell.
"Go, go! Try to hold your breath!" Jin urged, shoving them out the door.
The group staggered into the hallway, dazed. All the lights came back on, only to start violently flickering.
"Run!" Jin commanded, breaking out into a sprint.
The six boys followed, everyone periodically turning to check if Taehyun was still with them. Daniel squinted, shielding his eyes from the strobing lights as they dashed through the hallways. The fresh air almost immediately cleared his head. Yoongi ushered them into an empty office as the hallways plunged into darkness once again.
"Is everybody here?" Hoseok clicked his flashlight on, taking a headcount.
They nodded, huddling together on the floor.
Beomgyu protectively cradled Taehyun, gently massaging the boy's wrists. "Tae, are you okay?"
"Yeah. I just felt dizzy for a second," Taehyun replied, tilting his head back to rest on Beomgyu's shoulder.
Nobody in the room looked convinced.
"Seriously, I'm fine," he smiled tiredly.
Jin, Yoongi, and Hoseok exchanged wary looks. They pulled out their phones, clearly texting each other.
The lights came on again, but nobody attempted to leave the room.
"Do you believe in ghosts now?" Daniel whispered to Kai, making himself comfortable against his chest.
"Ghosts aren't-" Kai stopped himself, lightly hanging his arms over Daniel's shoulders. "Maybe they do exist. But I don't think they want to hurt people."
Beomgyu snorted. "A wise answer, 'dongsaeng.' Congrats, you're officially a hyung now." He lightly stroked Taehyun's hair.
It was still relatively early in the afternoon, but Daniel was exhausted. He yawned, resting his eyes for a moment.
Jin suddenly stood up, still looking at his phone with an unreadable expression. "It should be safe to leave now."
Kai grabbed Daniel's backpack as Beomgyu gently woke a sleeping Taehyun. The ensemble trudged back to the elevator.
Ding.
The metal doors slid open.
RM and Heeseung rushed out, fretting over their members. "Are you guys okay?"
They nodded, squeezing into the elevator. Daniel slightly swayed back and forth, still half-asleep. Heeseung grabbed his upper arms to steady him.
"Did you find it?" He heard Jin ask Namjoon.
He watched the leader nod through bleary eyes. Their voices became muffled as he yawned again.
Ding.
The elevator revealed the lobby. The older boys were still conversing intently, their words a blur to Daniel.
He tugged at Heeseung's arm, ready to go home.