(A/N: World Tour series is back up! To all my Houston readers who left comments in the previous chapter y'all are amazing and I did a little bit more research on my own and discovered that Houston for some reason is known for its escape room?? So I decided to write a chapter on that, but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate the comments you leave me down below, I love to read them and find out what all of you are thinking about! Thanks to one of my Mexican mutuals who was a big help to me and I'll be writing it up as soon as possible!
On another note, I finally managed to post the last chapter of revenge ; mt today and I felt really good about it. I know I'm known more for my fluffy type of stories and revenge was really a sort of leap of faith for me when I first posted it and I admit that I was nervous as hell when I posted the first chapter but I'm so glad that quite a few people supported the book although the ending might have been a bit unexpected. But, I'm so glad to be able to have readers that allow me to explore different genres in myself, and hopefully (fingers crossed) I'll have another mark book in the works soon, which I might either self publish or post here. The plan is to get it started at the end of the year and perhaps get it out by next year? Thank you for continuously supporting all my projects I wouldn't be able to be here without you guys.)
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yugyeom as boyfriend
'Okay let's be honest, you guys are the reason that we're stuck in here,' you called out in the darkness and was desperate to rip off the blindfold that was enveloping your eyes, you hated feeling vulnerable in the dark like this, unfortunately, your hands were chained to the person next to you, making it impossible to walk on your own unless you were guided.
'We all agreed to this,' your best friend and the person who had suggested this ridiculous idea in the first place, Mark hollered from the front and you had to restrain yourself from bursting into an argument with him there and then, because with all 8 of you as blind as mice and having no idea where to go, having a banter with Mark probably wasn't the best idea, for both the peace of the group as well as your blood pressure.
Instead, you turned your senses inward, trying to identify anything that could possibly help you figure out where all of you were being dragged to.
It'll be fun he said you grumbled inwardly, and you thought of just 30 minutes ago where somehow by the sheer force of peer pressure, you had somehow succumbed to Mark's plan to join him and the boys for an escape room session. They had persuaded you with words like:
'Oh come on (Y/N) you're the smartest among us we're dead meat without you,' Jackson pleaded when at first you had refused to sign your name on the paper.
'Yeah,' you glanced warily at the piece of paper as if he had just asked you to sign your final will and testament. 'Smart enough to help you boys with surveillance,' you pointed to the large television which would then be programmed to transmit the footage of the boys in the room which they would eventually be locked in and then later had to escape from.
'Translation,' Mark piped up from the corner of the room as he surrendered his phone to the employee, scrawling his signature on the form. 'She's going to sit here, shaking her legs, laughing while we struggle to get out of the room without any of her help,'
Jackson turned to you, eye brow raised as you glared daggers at your best friend.
'Of course I am...not going to do that to you boys,' you coughed, clearing your throat. 'I'll be giving you very helpful tips, think of it as having someone on the well, outside,'
Jackson seemed placated with your flimsy excuse but Mark came up to you smiling secretively. 'I know you don't want to go with us because Yugyeom is going in,' he whispered.
'Shut up,' you hissed fake punching him in the stomach as he pretended to gasp.
'It's true (Y/N) come on, it's so obvious,' Mark muttered as he took a seat next to you.
'And if it is?"
'Well, then if you don't sign that paper,' Mark said in a soft threatening voice. 'I might... well, I don't know accidentally let something slip,' he said as he pressed a pen into your palm, watching in glee as at first, you turned a burning shade of red then a pale white.
'I can't believe you're blackmailing your own best friend,' you accused him as you turned around to scribble what resembled a signature on the form.
'Don't worry,' Mark tapped you on the head, just like he always did when both of you were younger, just to infuriate you. 'I'll make sure that when all of us are tied together, I'll make sure that you and Yugyeom are together,' he laughed softly, darting out your grasp as you made a move to strangle his long ass neck.
Resigned, you had no choice but to remain thin-lipped and annoyed as the employees, tightened the handcuffs around your wrists, binding you to the rest of the group, and as promised, Yugyeom was right next to you, you barely reached his shoulders and it was all you could do not to blush as they connected both of you, the lock clicking in the mechanism and them returning the keys to the drawer.
'Fun huh?" Yugyeom asked, a wide smile on his face as he brought up your chained wrists.
'Very,' you imbued as much sarcasm as you could into those 2 syllables as Yug laughed aloud, sensing how done you were with the entire situation, as they began to blindfold each of you before leading you down a dark corridor.
Present
And that- you blinked your eyes, still adjusting to the sudden burst of light as they told you to remove the blindfolds- was how you find yourself stuck in a room where it was not only dimly lit but also suffocating with the 7 other bodies in the room.
Not only that, you felt a chilly draft, you didn't know whether you had imagined it but as you looked around the room, it seemed to intensify, fingers running down your back. Eyeing the bookcase, the TV that seemed to glow a luminuous blue, the dark drab walls of the room and the abandoned rocking chair in the corner of the room, you wanted nothing better than to scream and run.
You watched as the guide gave a brief explanation to the group, hoping desperately that someone was paying attention because you certainly weren't eyes too busy darting back and forth trying to look for a way out, hands straining uselessly against the cuffs that connected you with the rest of the group.
'And you'll be able to call us for help,' he said, motioning to the phone which was on the wall, and you wondered if it would be too cowardly to run up to the phone and beg for a way out before the game even began. Sizing up your options, you wanted to act but by the time you plucked up your courage, you heard the door close back with a snap and the lock turned sounding remarkably like a jail sentence.
Watching the door close, you pulled against the cuffs again, looking for a key or some sort of heavy object to break you and the boys apart.
'Hey, hey (Y/N) chill,' Yugyeom said beside you, as he shuffled along, having no choice but to go along with you seeing both of you were physically unable to be pulled apart.
'I-just-urgh,' you grunted a bit as you knelt down, your free hand scrabbling under the creepy television set trying to find a sign of keys anywhere.
There was nothing under there but dust and disappointment which tasted bitter in your mouth as you stood back up. You watched as Jinyoung and Jackson the other pair who had a single free hand, tried their best to search at the other end of the room, everyone else had their hands tied.
'Find anything?' Bam Bam called out just as the speakers blazed out with some classic horror movie tunes. You know... the sound which made your heart race knowing that the killer was right around the corner about to murder you? Yeah... that sound.
You yelped, nearly backing into Yugyeom who laughed, holding you steady, his warm hands making you feel safe momentarily before he let you go.
'It's fine,' he soothed. 'It's just the speaker,' he said, pointing to the small hidden devices in the corner of the rooms which didn't make things any less creepy.
'Hmmm,' you said, eyes darting to the corners as if expecting some sort of spectre to leap out at you.
'GOT IT!' Jackson announced triumphantly as he pulled out the key to the handcuffs from one of the books on the shelf, holding it up like the Olympic torch, before he attacked the handcuffs, freeing both himself and Jinyoung before moving on to the other members.
Relieved to finally have your hands to yourself again, you decided to explore the bookcase for a way out. 'What're we supposed to do again?' you asked to the group, all of them either searching behind the rocking chair and soom even trying to tweak the TV, as if by magic something would appear.
Pushing it seemed to do nothing, shifting the books individually did nothing, so you gave up on those 2 options. Instead, you checked the books themselves. All had mostly worn leather covers, most of them pretty light since they weren't actual books but props with hollow insides.
Brushign your hand against the shelves themselves, you didn't feel anything except... wait, there was something, like a depression at the third shelf. Pressing on it you heard a faint click. Excited, you tried to shift the shelf which budged minutely. Glaring at it in frustration after realising it wasn't going to be moving anytime soon, you searched for something else that would be heavier to be put on it. You glanced at the books which were stacked neatly at the other side of the shelf.
I wonder...
You shifted the books, which together where pretty heavy and this time a louder click was heard and the shelf swung forward with an eerie groan. Leaping away from it, you watched Jackson swing his flashlight around the new passageway you had discovered. The music had seemed to intensify and you were stuck quite literally between a rock and a hard place. The room was safe but the music was really starting to creep you out and a few more minutes of this you would break the speaker against the floor. The passageway was dark and the only source of light that was available to all 7 of you was a measely flashlight.
'I'm going,' Mark said, as he plunged into the hallway without the flashlight causing the rest of you to run after him.
'Jesus Mark,' you panted as he reached the second room. This one was dimmer than the first the only light source and eerie glow of a vintage lamp that for some reason was glowing a poisonous green.
'What the hell?' JB asked, as he squinted up at the symbols which seemed to be painted on the wall. You knew that it was just red paint but it was smeared so artfully on the walls in the shape of a 5 pointed star and the dim lighting was all contributing to your overactive imagination.
'What the hell,' you echoed Jaebum as you tried to catch some meaning from the seemingly random arrangement of objects.
'Is there something we're supposed to do or?' Yugyeom's voice suddenly came from behind you making you yelp slightly nearly jumping into him.
'Don't do that, God,' you choked out as he steadied you for the second time, you seemed extra jumpy today.
'Is there anything down there?" Yugyeom asked, pointing to the smaller compartment below the room.
'It's pretty small, I don't think I'd be able to fit,' Mark said, peering into the small hidden part of the room. Everybody suddenly turned to look at you and as you felt their eyes on them, you came to realise what they wanted you to do.
'Oh no,' you said, backing away from the room hurriedly. 'I am not going in there, ask Bam Bam, he's a skinny legend anyway.
'But you forget that I'm made up of 70% legs, I wouldn't be able to fit there either,' he protested, trying to act all macho about it but you knew he was nearly as scared as you were.
'Well, don't look at me,' you said, while the rest, seeming satisfied with Bam's lame excuse turned to you again, their eyes this time expectant.
'The sooner you do this, the sooner we can get out of here,' Jinyoung pointed out in his deep baritone voice of his.
'B-But, you can't, you're not really e-expecting me t-to, you are, aren't you?" you glared at the boys in the dim light as they stared at you brazenly, while you threw your hands in the air. 'Fine, I'll go, but if I get dragged by spirits then you guy's will have to live with the guilt of my death,' you warned before squeezing into the hidden compartment, your hands scrabbling for anything that could be found.
Finally, grasping on what felt like a book, its spine soft and worn, you pulled it out successfully and without delay scrambled out of there, eager to be out of the claustrophobic space as soon as possible.
'Here,' you tossed the book to Jackson who was still dutifully holding the flashlight.
'It looks like its some sort of code,' he said, flipping it open to the middle, where it was splattered with what disturbingly looked like blood stains.
'No shit Sherlock,' Mark muttered over his shoulder as he scanned the book, his dark eyes flicking towards the 5 pointed star wondering if there was any connection.
'Here,' Jinyoung pointed out, his head now joining Mark and Jackson's as all three of them poured over the book.
'Hey JB?" Jinyoung called out to the leader who was studying the mural on the wall with s a mixture of apprehension, disgust and fascination on his face. 'See if there's anything you can press or draw on the diagram,'
Running his fingers along the blood red streaks, he felt a sudden obstruction as his fingers went along one of the corners. 'Does this count?" he asked, index finger pointing at the spot.
'Can you press it?" Jinyoung asked from the other side of the room.
He applied pressure on it and it made a faint beeping noise. 'Was it supposed to do that?' JB asked nervously now it was him backing away from the wall.
'Well,' Jinyoung frowned as he joined his bandmate. 'No,' he said pressing the buttons in a random order before it beeped alarmingly again.
'There's an order for it,' Mark piped up as he joined all of you and pressed the buttons in an order which to you seemed unseemingly random but probably made sense to him.
There was a faint hiss and a click as the gate to the next room was unlocked. You waited, prodding Mark forward, if anyone was going to have to get their face torn off by zombies it was going to be your best friend.
The new room led to a flight of creaking stairs with the landing being decorated with the body of a severed doll as its one blue eyes stared at you eerily as if following you all the way up.
Eager to be done with, you were the third one up and suddenly, a cold draft of air hit your shoulders, making you shiver.
'Here,' a voice behind you whispered and you felt something soft and warm nudge against your arm. It was Yugyeom's jacket and suddenly you were glad for the lack of light in the room as it disguised your blush.
'Um, I'll be fine, besides you're probably cold too,' you handed it back to him but he wouldn't take no for an answer. 'Nah, I'll be fine,' he said firmly, shoving his jacket back in your arms which you accepted sheepishly.
Pulling your arms through the jacket you found it wonderfully warm although it did end far past your hands, since Yugyeom had much longer arms than you. You were about to turn around to thank him for his chivalry again but of course Jackson had to choose that moment to burst your romantic bubble by calling your name out frantically.
'(Y/N), (Y/N),' he said, running to you like his feet were on fire. 'There's a body in the other room,'
'WHAT?!" both you and Yugyeom shrieked to the point where both of your voices cracked, something which on any occasion would have made both of you laugh, but laughing was way way down on the things you wanted to do while stuck in a horror themed escape room.
'I mean I mean,' Jackson put up his hands to stop both of your voices from causing even more chaos. 'There's a body, like a fake one in the other room and she's half slaughtered and it's,' he shivered unable to go on. 'And the only way out is through a door and it's locked, like old fashioned lock and key type,' he explained further, preventing you from jumping into more far fetched conclusions.
'Well, get the key then???' you said, exasperated, hand on your hips.
'Yeah well,' he scratched the back of his neck the habit he had when he was nervous or anxious. 'The key is sort of under the corpse, between this piece of wire mesh and you're the only who has a...' he pointed to the top of your head indicating the bobby pins you had which you had to pin up your fringe.
'So you basically want me to sacrifice my bobby pin so you can form some sort of hook so you can get this key?" you asked.
'Well, I mean if you could get it for us too it'd be great,' Mark interjected, grinning widely.
'Shut up Mark,' you sighed, unpinning your fringe, letting it sweep over your eyes as you handed the pin to Jackson, whose long delicate fingers immediately got to work on it reforming your hair clip into some sort of hook.
'Done,' he said triumphantly after a few minutes of labouring away at the pin, holding it up for everyone to admire his handiwork.
'Well, since you have the pin, you might as well be the one that has the honour of retrieving the key,' Mark said in an almost cheerful voice as he pushed Jackson back into the room with you and Yugyeom following, Yugyeom's jacket still warm and comforting on your shoulders.
'W-Wait I never agreed to this!' Jackson protested his voice getting higher pitched as all of you entered the room, with the rest of the members standing as far away from the 'corpse' as possible.
It was actually just a human model, like the fake ones that you usually saw in the science lab with all the fake organs and stuff but just ten times more gruesome, with blood dripping out of several places where the internal organs should have been and one of the eye seemed to have landed on the floor, its glassy blue iris turning up to face the group as if daring you to come any closer.
'I am NOT going near that thing,' Jackson insisted, as he pushed the makeshift hook to someone, anyone else to take over the job.
'Jeez hyung,' Yugyeom rolled his eyes to the ceiling and, stepping away from you, he took the hook, and stepping forward, careful to avoid the glass eye, not because he was afraid of it but because he didn't want to step on it and fall flat on his face.
Crouching down, he tried his best not to look up at the cadaver which was smiling creepily upon him as he got on his hands and knees reaching out with the hook, his long arms definitely giving him the upper hand. He was about to reach the key when, he must have tripped some sort of sensor because blinding lights began to flash and the skeleton started... to... move, jerking back and forth wildly, as if some sort of evil spirit had possessed it and the sounds of shrieking and screaming poured out from hidden speakers, the sound making you scream which only added more confusion to the din as all of you pressed your palms to your ears to try and block out the awful sound.
2 minutes passed and all was quiet. Yugyeom reached up, grinning like a fiend as he held the piece of metal in his fingertips, not the least fazed by the moving corpse which now remained inanimate.
'Get me out of here please,' you groaned, pushing against the door desperately.
'Chill,' Yugyeom chuckled, inserting the key into the lock, as you could hear Youngjae whining to be let out as well.
Another hallway greeted you and you felt like tearing your hair out as the frustration began to spill over, did this damned game have no end? Yugyeom went in first and cried out excitedly: 'Guys we're going to have to jump down, there's a ladder thing we can use to climb down,' Yugyeom announced to the group as all of you clamoured for the exit, watching as Yugyeom's dark mop of hair went down.
Tieing his jacket, firmly around your waist, you followed him, palms sweaty with excitement and eagerness to be OUT of there. In your over excitement, you might have slipped on a rung as your foot gave way suddenly, and you suddenly felt yourself free-falling, scream lodged in your throat you were too surprised to say anything. Although you knew the distance between the ladder and the floor was relatively short, you were still going to have several angry bruises waiting for you. Closing your eyes, you gave yourself to fate until you landed thankfully not on to the hard cement floor but Yugyeom's arms as he laughed at your clumsiness. Blushing, you scrambled to escape his grasp but not before you could feel the heat rushing to your face as you felt his arms cradling you like a baby to his chest and the bare skin of your waist against the warm palm of his hands as he cushioned your fall.
'I-um,' you were blushing a bright fiery red, like the sunset as you stood up, brushing yourself off.
'Sorry about that,' you muttered, as Yugyeom shook his head. 'It's fine, I didn't want you to hurt yourself,' his voice uncharacteristically soft.
Thankfully, the awkward silence between the both of you were not prolonged as your best friend crashed the party quite literally by climbing down with a smile. 'See? Wasn't too bad now was it?" he asked looking to the both of you and sensing the wall of tension that was so thick he would need a chainsaw to cut through it.
'Hmmm,' was all you said in reply while Yugyeom gave a more animated reply, throwing himself into conversation with Mark as the rest of the members came down, doing his best not to look at you.
All of you safe, sound, and you still embarrassed walked ahead of the group as you heard the voices of the boys recalling the game enthusiastically, Bam Bam was teasing Jackson about how scared he was to approach the corpse and you could hear his voice reply, annoyed.
Reaching the car, you sighed in relief, as you saw that the boys were still a few metres away from you, it would give you a few minutes to collect your thoughts and regain your composure. Fiddling with Yugyeom's jacket you debated whether to give it back to him later or now...
'You can give it back later if you're still cold,' his voice surprised you from behind and you jumped slightly, still nervous from the escape room.
'I-um-no, I'm good thanks,' you said, shedding the jacket and handing it back to him.
'You sure?" he asked as he accepted the jacket from you, slinging it across a shoulder.
'Yeah,' you replied, mentally trying to communicate to Mark to get his ass here NOW and get the car started.
You heard the familiar click as the doors of the car unlocked, allowing you to go in. Relieved, you were about to head in before Yugyeom tugged at your arm insistently.
'Yeah?" you turned around to face him, wanting nothing more than to dig your grave right here right now.
He hesitated momentarily before sweeping your fringe out of your eyes, smiling. 'I'm glad I caught you,' he whispered, breath warm against your ice-cold cheek, grinning before getting into the car.