Jungkook zipped his bag up and before he knew it, he was racing down the stairs as quiet as he could. He made sure the tips of his toes touched the solid ground first before his heels as he finally made it down the many steps from the second floor. With no other second left to spare, Jungkook slipped his shoes on and was out of the house as quick as he could. Just the mere thought of having Namjoon figure out that he was leaving for the night, scared him completely. He didn't want to face the older man and believed many things could go wrong from there. Jeon Jungkook was too afraid to face anything and only ran away from his issues in hopes they would clear up on their own.
The moment Jungkook raced out of the house, he felt as if he was sobering up now. Rain poured onto him roughly, drenching his black silk hair and clothes instantly. Just as the lightning began to flash and light up the streets ahead, Jungkook began to regret his decision a bit, but nothing scared him more than his anxiety when it came to confrontation. The silent boy raced down the empty streets to his neighborhood and kept glancing at his phone for directions on where to turn next. With every quick step he took, splashes of the puddles he stepped in, wet the cuffs of his denims with mud.
Warm huffs of his breath escaped into the cold as he breathed heavily. Jungkook tried to ignore the feeling of regret and could tell he longed to return back to safety, but he couldn't turn around now. Jungkook was too determined to avoid Kim Namjoon. As his legs kept pushing him forward, he eventually reached the isolated street after running for quite a while. Once he stepped foot into the ghostly neighborhood, goosebumps formed over his skin as tried not to let his eyes wander for too long in one place.
Jungkook didn't believe in those rumors, of course, how could he? He didn't believe in the paranormal and ignored it as he kept running through the night. Trying hard not to steer his mind away from the pending turns he had to take. With every quick step he took, he eventually began to feel weary; every second his shoe hit a puddle of mud, he felt as if his steps took longer to reach solid ground. The destination stretched further as he kept racing down the path, but the feeling of being stared at suddenly began to rise.
Quickly, he looked at his phone once more to find the next turn when suddenly, his phone switched off. His heart dropped as his mind scrambled around for a thought when it only retrieved the memory that his phone was at least at a full percentage before he ran off.
"Don't do this to me... not now!" Jungkook hissed as he felt himself slowing down. Hoping to turn his phone back on just so he could find his way around. Just as he stopped, the feeling of being watched only grew even more. He couldn't tell where the feeling came from, but all he knew was that it felt as if it came from every direction. The uneasy calling didn't leave him anxious, rather, it left him curious. Normally when he would be stared at in public, he grew anxious. But here he was, feeling curious as to who or what was staring at him for so long.
The lost lamb's heart raced when he looked around at the unfamiliar, every glance he took was quick before he continued to dash down the street once more. Many foreign glares locked onto him like bullets to a target; no matter how quick he moved, he still felt the steel pelt of a bullet strike his body every second. Lightning lit up the streets once more and thunder clashed even closer than the last! At this point, Jungkook couldn't dare to think of stopping right where he stood, his curiosity begged him to look around, but the small side of him that actually gave into the rumors, was shivering along with the rest of his body in the cold rain.
Running for so long felt like hours to Jungkook. It was as if he was running in circles until he finally found the familiar building. With the sight of the hotel falling into his gaze, he sped up and rushed to the entrance, hoping that this place wasn't just another abandoned building that housed homeless people.
Once he raced to the entry of the hotel, he noticed through the glass doors at the entry were bright rays of light coming from the inside. Not another second to lose, Jungkook swung the door open and stepped into the lobby. His eyes scanned the place that seemed as if he stepped into another dimension.
The hotel lobby was clean, bright, and expensive! Gold embroidered designs with red velvet fabric was the base of every rug sitting right over a black marble ground. Ahead were white pillars and golden frames to paintings pinned up at every wall to give the eye something new to look at in every glance. With the bright mood of the lobby surrounding Jungkook, his eyes finally fell onto the grand chandelier right above him. At that moment, Jungkook couldn't believe that this was the inside of such a hotel that didn't look too inviting on the outside.
"This place doesn't look very cheap..." Jungkook thought as his eyes peeled away from the chandelier. "Am I in the right building?" Jungkook thought and before he could try to turn his phone on again to find another place to stay for a cheap price, he heard a bell ring from behind him.
"Welcome to The Raven Hotel!" Called out a voice of a cheery man at a dark wooden vintage desk. He wore a uniform of all red and gold as his face charmed every soul who stepped in through the door.
Jungkook flinched and looked back to see only a charming pale man at the front desk. His lips were full and his shoulders were very broad. With the quick glance he had at the young boy, Jungkook grew nervous and quickly avoided eye contact for more than a second!
"Well don't be shy! I'm ready to set you into a room whenever you are!" Continued the man as Jungkook quickly took another glance at the charming man before looking down shyly. Just then, he pushed himself forward to then meet with him at the front desk. "Welcome to The Raven Hotel, please stay for as long as you desire. We'll make your visit last.... forever."
Something felt wrong with the lobby. As soon as Jungkook stepped in, the goosebumps over his skin didn't go away and the hairs of his neck stood pointing skyward. The uneasy feeling was brought into the lobby; even if the hotel looked inviting, Jungkook still felt a chill run down his spine the second he stepped in.
"H-Hi..." Jungkook spoke softly and kept looking around to avoid staring into the eyes of the daring man. Just as his stares continued to travel, they locked onto the man's chest before him where he found Prince Charming's name tag.
'Seokjin' was the name engraved into a gold tag. Once Jungkook found the man's name, he felt a bit relieved and was able to form sentences. However, he was still a little anxious to talk to someone new.
"Hello, tough weather isn't it? I swear the rain really pushed business back for us! The weather forecast for this whole week will be nothing but rainstorms! I guess the cold is among us now," The man by the name of Seokjin stated. The sound of his calm voice soothed Jungkook a bit more while he continued to speak. "It's good to see someone... it's been quite a while. I guess since the rain started a few days ago, getting customers to stay was becoming very rare."
"Yeah... I-I uh.... I didn't know this place was open... the... the place really looked abandoned..." Jungkook spoke nervously, staring at the desk and fidgeting his fingers with one another.
"Ha! Same thing I said but Master says he'll have it look more inviting when the storm is over. Oh the many times I told that man to get it done, he always tends to put it off!"
"Master?"
"Oh! That's the owner of the hotel of course. Well, he likes to be called Master, but that's a little too weird isn't it?" Seokjin joked around and let out a laugh, bringing his hand down against the desk repeatedly. The more the charming man continued to speak, the more comfortable Jungkook felt. But, not enough to engage in eye contact just yet.
"Oh... well.. I hope he gets it done soon. Anyway, how much is just the night for? I hope to stay until sunrise, will it come out cheaper? This place looks very expensive."
"Until sunrise? You will only be here for about six hours... How about a whole stay? I can upgrade you for three days minimum!"
"N-No, just until sunrise is fine..."
"Hmm..." Seokjin hummed and tilted his head at the sight of the boy. Just as his eyes scanned Jungkook a bit longer, he turned around and reached for a room key. "I don't usually do this, but I can tell you've had a very long day..." the beautiful man spoke as he then turned around and slid the key across the desk towards the young man. "Seeing the way you come in here; shaking from the cold outside, I can't help but to feel bad if I charged you for just a six hour stay!"
"P-Please, you don't have to-"
"Go on, take it. You won't stay here long anyways, I doubt the Master will say anything about this. Business has been very slow lately!"
"Oh..." Jungkook whispered softly as his gaze locked down onto the key Seokjin slid over to him. The uneasy feeling returned but he dismissed it as he reached for the key and held it in his hand after. As he continued to stare at the key, he finally looked up at the man and bowed. "T-Thank you..."
"Don't mention it! Have a great stay."
Jungkook's eyes fell forward as he walked down the hall to the nearest elevator. He couldn't believe how kind the man was especially when business was slow! The kind act was enough to warm him up as he approached the elevator. Just beyond the hallway far from the front desk, the hall became colder by the second. This made Jungkook hug himself as he held up the key to see the room number on the ribbon.
"It was warm just a minute ago..." Jungkook thought as he looked back once more at the front desk to find that Seokjin was no longer there. "I guess I can't ask him about it..." the boy added on.
Slowly, his finger rose to the button and pressed the arrow pointing upwards since his room number was on the sixth floor. He assumed it was better to be put on the first floor since business was slow, but he couldn't argue given that this room was free to him for the night. Jungkook stepped into the elevator once the doors caved open and quickly pressed the button to the 6th floor. Abruptly, a song began to play in the elevator. It wasn't like any other elevator jingle, it was a slow but eerie tune that didn't seem to ease the boy at all.
🎶put your head on my shoulder- paul anka (slowed n reverb) 🎶
"Not even the elevator gets fixed? That 'Master' needs to get so much work done here..." thought the boy as he waited to reach his floor. After a while, the doors finally opened on the sixth floor as the music kept playing on. Flickering lights from the long hallway were enough to make Jungkook stand in the elevator a second longer. Nothing could be heard but the creepy music from the elevator now accompanied by his heavy breathing. As the lights carried on to flicker, Jungkook quickly stepped forward before the doors to the elevator closed and the music coming from it faded as it traveled down to the lobby.
"There are many things that need fixing here..." Jungkook spoke in silence as he let out a sharp breath, catching onto the scent of the strong alcohol mixed with tea from earlier. "Just until sunrise... then I won't need to stay in this abandoned place anymore. It's freezing here!" Jungkook said aloud. Once he reached the door to his room, he eyed the broken lock and held onto the key in his warm hands. "It's broken... like every other thing in this place..."
Just as Jungkook continued to eye the broken door lock, a shiver ran down his spine. This time, it was an unfamiliar feeling compared to before, he now felt as if someone or something was staring at him closely. The boy let out a sharp exhale as his body froze in place. He longed to go back to the lobby to return the key now, he also regretted every decision that led him to where he stood, but of course, he couldn't help but to stand there and stare at the lock until he could gain control of his hands once more. The cold around him doubled and his ears were full of a static noise as if he was having a sleep paralysis. But the scary part of this was, he was awake to bear it all.
"We will be more than happy to set you into another room on a warmer floor, if you desire."
With the sound of a gentle and soft voice erupting from right behind him, Jungkook finally fought back the endless punctures of needles pushing against his skin to move. As his eyes finally locked onto the figure behind him, his gaze met with a man dressed in only black clothing. The unknown man was covered from head to toe in a black charcoal attire. His leather gloved hands latched onto a long staff with a raven statuette on the top and his mysterious face hid behind a plague doctor mask.