•🖤•
•🖤•
Nana exhaled deeply as his hands continued to shake, eyes staring at the older who dropped the chopsticks and fell to his knees, looking drained and so weak. The masked boy slowly walked over to the dark haired boy and leaned down.
"A-are you alright?" Nana asked while trying to find his breath. He landed a comforting hand on the center of Jeno's back, softly tracing his fingers along the fabric.
Jeno raised his hands to his face, cupping the sides of his head as he tried to straighten his thoughts. That man had frightened him so badly that his heart was beating abnormally, the initial adrenaline still plagued his body. It felt like he had three coffees in two seconds.
"Yeah..," the word only came out as a whisper, the dark haired now putting his attention onto the hand resting gently on his back, trying to calm himself.
After moments of silence, Jeno slowly got up and Nana followed with him, climbing back onto the couch as Jeno set up the flashlight again. The house suddenly lost its comfort entirely, feeling like there were demons at every corner just waiting to pounce.
Nana contemplated in his head everything that happened, finding it strange how the chopsticks made the monster disappear. It just didn't make sense, he has tried multiple times to use kitchen knives or baseball bats on these things, but nothing ever worked. But then it hit him.
"Wait!" Nana said suddenly, slightly startling Jeno to whom he apologized to. "I think I get it. You got the chopsticks from your dimension and I bet that's why the monster died. Because they usually can't die."
Jeno stared at him with empty eyes as his skin still looked so pale. He then nodded and thought for a moment, grabbing the chopsticks from Nana's bowl.
"Then you should keep these for when I'm not here, alright?" Jeno said very motherly, trying his best to muster a smile but was struggling to do so.
Nana nodded his head, taking the chopsticks as their fingers brushed slightly. He eyed the eating utensil and somehow felt a surge of power. This could work.
"Thank you... and I'm sorry," the younger said softly, landing his eyes back onto Jeno as the older looked up at him.
"For what?"
"For everything. I'm burdening you and I shouldn't be. This is my issue to deal with these monsters, not yours," Nana bit his lip and gave an apologetic look through the rims of his mask.
Jeno shook his head, averting his gaze to the fireplace just across the couch they were sat in. "It's not your responsibility. Just you being able to touch things from my dimension proves that you don't belong here. You shouldn't have to face this alone."
Nana felt something in his chest bubble. He randomly felt the urge to hug the older, but he held himself back. "You're very nice, Jeno."
Jeno snapped his head towards Nana. It had been so long since someone had called him nice. And this was the second time. It made him wonder if it's because Nana isn't involved with his regular life, because he doesn't know his dark secrets and what a bad man he has become, just for the sake of his company.
They sat in a comforting silence as both their minds rolled over thoughts. Jeno glanced his dark orbs in Nana's direction, studying the curvature of his cheeks and how his nose slipped beneath his dark mask.
"I want to try and get you out of here," Jeno said with a stern voice, Nana looking towards him with cute eyes.
"You do?"
Jeno nodded and Nana couldn't help but smile. He got the urge to hug again, but this time he couldn't refrain himself. His arms wrapped around Jeno's shoulders as his body slumped towards the older. He hugged him tightly, feeling Jeno's arms hesitantly rise and wrap themselves around his torso.
The dark haired felt the warmth from the younger from the sudden contact, but in no way did it feel uncomfortable. It was a very sweet hug, and Jeno could almost feel Nana's emotions through it.
"I would love that," Nana mumbled.
•🖤•
It was another day of hard work. The day happened to be Thursday which should be relieving, but knowing that he had both Friday and Saturday ahead of him Jeno couldn't help but feel trapped.
The dark haired threaded his fingers through his soft locks, mind only swarming around one thing. One thing he promised to do for a certain person who happened to be trapped in his piano room mirror. He needed to figure out a way for Nana to escape.
If there was a way for Jeno to get through, there had to be a way for Nana. If he wasn't an entity of that dimension, then there was a way he got in, hence a way to get out. But for the life of Jeno, no ideas seemed to come to mind. The boy should be able to jump through by putting their hands on the glass, but it doesn't work.
An idea then suddenly popped in his mind. The only likely way for Jeno to get in and out of that dimension is for something that lives there to be touching the glass. Maybe, just a possibility, he could get another person to touch the glass for both of them.
Like a monster.
Jeno shivered at the thought of seeing one of those creatures again, wanting to throw that idea out the window.
He groaned and tried to focus on his work, but his brain just didn't want to cooperate.
"Jeno," a harsh voice suddenly said, scaring the man from his daze to look up at the person.
And standing there was none other than his boss, giving him an evil grin through those pearly white teeth. Jeno gulped a breath down, not liking that look and hoping he didn't screw something up again.
"My paperwork you did was excellent. I wanted to talk to you for a moment. Do you mind?" the boss said, gesturing a hand towards his office while keeping strict eye contact with Jeno.
Jeno nodded, not wanting to but also knowing there was no choice. He followed his superior into the room, his boss closing the door behind them in an eerie manor.
"Please, take a seat."
He did as told, sitting on the soft cushion that he had gotten used to over the many times he's sat in this horrid room. His boss sat right across from him at his desk, not moving his gaze away from Jeno's which made him falter a bit.
"So, I thought I would update you on something," his boss began, folding his hands as he leaned over the wooden piece of furniture. "I've come up with an idea, but I need your help."
Jeno felt a sinking feeling in his gut, not liking the sound of what his boss was going to say. He knows his tactics, and this was one he used a lot in order to rope the dark haired into something he really didn't want to be entangled with.
"And what would that be, sir?
The boss smirked evilly as he leaned closer if that was possible. Jeno felt his back glued to the chair as he kept eye contact.
"I want you..," Mr. Na started, his grin growing wider and his lips turning upwards into an evil smile,
"to kill Wong Yukhei."
The words didn't quite make it into Jeno's brain at first, thinking he misheard his boss or something. But they were crystal clear as they escaped his boss' lips.
"I... but..." Jeno was now breathing heavily. This was just some sick joke, right?
"Do it for me. And you don't have to come in Saturday if you do. I want you to find a way to follow through with this, and don't get caught or chicken out," the boss said as his eyes narrowed, giving an angry look towards Jeno that made his head hurt.
He felt like crying on the spot. This wasn't happening. This wasn't happening. This wasn't happening. This-
The door behind Jeno swung open suddenly, a man walking through as he held papers. It was Donghyuck.
"Here's the papers you asked me to fill out- Jeno?"
Their eyes locked for a moment and Jeno was giving the younger a look of desperation, one that called out for any type of help. But Donghyuck didn't seem to catch on. He looked at the dark haired with concern before he handed over the papers, bowing and then leaving the room.
"Also," the boss said immediately which caught Jeno's attention. "Tell anyone about this and I'll have your head."
Mr. Na smiled evilly as he slowly stood up, circling around the desk to become in close proximity with Jeno. The dark haired stiffened as he cranes his neck to look at his boss, not knowing what he was doing.
"If you fail to do this..," the boss started, leaning down with his hand now on the back of Jeno's chair. He got right into the man's face, making him flinch.
"You don't even want to know what will happen."
•🖤•
Jeno grabbed his laptop and charger, walking over to one of his closets and grabbing a lantern. It was a battery powered one, so hopefully it would last Nana a while when he's not around.
He walked over to the light switch in the piano room, turning on the bright chandelier light as it lit up the once dark room. He smiled to himself and walked up to the mirror, placing the things by his feet and gently placing hands on the mirror.
It only took a few seconds before he felt his hand sink through and come in contact with another hand, startling him a bit but nonetheless picking up the items and walking through. It was hard to hold back his smile when he came face to face with a grinning Nana.
"Hey," Jeno said and flashed him his signature eye smile.
Nana replied with a small "hello" and eyes the things that Jeno had brought with him.
"It's so we can research how to get you out of here. And this lantern is for you to keep," Jeno said while noticing the other's confused gaze.
They set up the lantern in the living room, sitting on a different couch this time that sat against the wall. It just felt more comfortable than risking a creature appearing behind them again. Jeno opened the laptop and plugged it into the wall, a little disappointed that the outlet didn't work. Good thing it was already fully charged.
Nana leaned in closer to get a better look of the computer screen, fascinated by the electronic that he's never been able to use before. He slightly flinched at the bright light but his hazel eyes adjusted in no time.
Jeno began typing into google about mirror dimensions. It was so neat when it pulled up multiple sites to help them figure this whole thing out. Nana was genuinely intrigued.
"So... have you ran into any more um... monsters?" Jeno suddenly questioned, the younger diverting his eyes to Jeno's face as he took a second to interpreter the question.
"U-uh... not today, no. I've been on guard with my chopsticks though," the honey haired said while grinning, whipping the chopsticks out of thin air and pretending to attack something.
Jeno just chuckled and shook his head, finding the other's actions cute. Wait, what?
Shaking his head, the raven haired focused back onto his computer, clicking the first link that was based on "mirror mythology."
He scrolled through the site, eyes glancing over words at lightning speed as he took everything in. And what he found was interesting, but didn't help them at all.
"It says here that mirrors are dimensions to a parallel universe that traps negative energy. It also describes that the reason we can't step into this world, is because there is still good in our souls," Jeno said from memory, looking at Nana who took in al the information as well.
"But... you're good. You haven't shown any signs of being evil," Jeno continued, rubbing both his temples as he tried to piece this mystery together.
Nana shrugged with his eyebrows scrunched. "I don't know. Maybe it's wrong? Because even if I am evil I sure get scared of evil things," the boy sweat dropped and hoped that he really wasn't a demon like those scary things.
And idea suddenly came to Jeno's mind, clicking a new tab and beginning to violently type. Nana moved his gaze back to the screen, watching the words fill the once empty search bar.
"How to get trapped in a mirror."
Sadly, no results came up. At least, none that would actually assist them into getting out of this place. But Jeno wasn't going to give up that easily.
"How to get out of a mirror."
A singular website appeared in front of the both of them, the appearance looked secluded and the title didn't give much leeway. Even though ominous, Jeno still clicked the link that brought him to an unknown page.
They stared as the features of the website loaded, the theme being black and blood red along with occasional white. It looked like some type of cult joining website.
But the header was promising.
"Trapped in a mirror? Wanting to get out? I'll show you..," Jeno murmured aloud, fingers scrolling downwards to get to the next section.
"First, you have to meet your match. Face them in the mirror and smile. Smile like you mean it, and don't falter. The second you falter, you will become even more trapped," the dark haired man ran a hand in his hair before continuing.
"Second, you must make contact with your match, weather it's touching their hand through the glass or anything of the like. And lastly, you must concentrate really hard. Feel their negative energy and let it pass through you, then taking all the positive energy and twisting it inside as you release it behind you. And before you know it, you're out of the mirror."
The two men sat there dumbfounded, not really knowing how to interpret all that information. It didn't make too much sense, like what was a match? Was it a lover or something? Jeno just didn't know. And to make it more confusing, he's the one who can pass through the mirror when they both touch the glass, not the other way around. Something just wasn't adding up.
"It's so weird..," Nana said as his eyes scanned over the laptop. "I get this weird feeling that this doesn't apply to us."
Jeno looked confusingly towards the younger, giving him a look that told Nana to elaborate.
"You see where it says negative energy? And the website before... it said that negative energy gets trapped in the mirror. What if..," Nana traces his finger on the laptop screen, then turning to see Jeno's face.
"What if... that negative energy is those monsters?"
Jeno's eyes slowly widened at the thought, everything slowly starting to make sense.
But what Nana said next really scared the crap out of him.
"And what if those instructions are for the monsters instead?"
🖤🖤🖤