Chapter Text
"The quest is to be liberated from the negative, which is really our own will to nothingness."
Changbin wakes up, startled by a voice echoing in his head.
His brain feels foggy, like someone draped a sheer curtain over it. He stares at the ceiling, letting the remnants of sleep fade. Turning to his side, he reaches for his phone but it’s not on the nightstand. That’s when he notices he isn’t in his room. He quickly sits up, scanning the unfamiliar space as panic sets in. Nothing in the room looks familiar, yet somehow, it feels like home.
Changbin freezes.
There is someone lying beside him, their body hidden beneath the blanket. The same blanket covering him.
His heart pounds as he wonders who it could be. The last thing he remembers is being in Hong Kong with the guys, wandering the streets in the middle of the night. He remembers entering a shady shop, the one he hadn’t wanted to go into, but Jisung and Felix had insisted.
That’s all he remembers.
What the hell is going on? Was this a prank? Something the guys set up? Were they filming some kind of show, and he just forgot? Maybe he fell asleep in the middle of it.
Moving as quietly as he can, Changbin lifts the covers and slides out of bed, trying to piece things together. He searches for his phone, crouching to check under the bed. As he moves toward the dresser, his eyes catch his reflection and he falters. Slowly, he steps closer to the mirror. His feet drag across the thick carpet, and when he stops in front of it, his breath catches. His eyes widen so much his eyebrows nearly vanish under his hair.
“What?” he croaks.
In the mirror, he sees the person on the bed begin to stir. Changbin’s breath stutters as he watches Hyunjin wake up, stretching his arms above his head.
But Hyunjin looks different. Just like Changbin looks different.
“Changbin?” Hyunjin yawns, rubbing his eyes. “What are you doing in my room?”
“Hyunjin,” Changbin says carefully, “we’re not in your room. I don’t know where we are.”
He moves closer to his bandmate, and that’s when Hyunjin really takes in his appearance.
“Why do you look like that?” Hyunjin asks, throwing off the blanket and rushing toward him. His confusion mirrors Changbin’s.
“I don’t know. I woke up to a weird voice in my head,” Changbin tries to explain. “Then when I was looking for my phone, I saw my reflection. I don’t know why I look like this.” He pauses, then adds, “You look different too.”
Hyunjin gives him a disbelieving look and rushes to the mirror. He stares at his reflection and then turns around. Their eyes lock as they both try to make sense of it all. They’re still themselves, yet they appear different. They look older.
Changbin can't determine exactly how much older, but they resemble more mature versions of themselves. Changbin’s hair is still the same length, but now there are greys sprinkled throughout. As he observes Hyunjin, he also notices that Hyunjin’s hair is much longer, sticking out from his ponytail. It feels strange to see this older version of Hyunjin.
What the hell is happening? And where the hell are they?
Changbin’s eyes finally land on a phone tucked under the pillow he had been sleeping on. He quickly picks it up and freezes.
“Hyunjin, look at this,” he says, eyes glued to the screen.
Displayed on the lock screen is a photo of him and Hyunjin… kissing. Their hands are held out, showing matching rings.
Changbin’s breath catches. He slowly lifts his left hand.
Sure enough, there’s a ring on his ring finger. When did that get there?
“What the fuck?!” Hyunjin is suddenly beside him, mouth agape.
“This has to be a prank. This is all a prank,” Hyunjin mutters, his voice trembling as he looks down at his own left hand.
Changbin wants to cry, wants to scream, but he holds himself together for Hyunjin, who looks just as panicked.
Friend.
That’s all they were. Not a married couple kissing on a lock screen.
Before either of them can process anything, the room begins to shake. Objects tumble off the dresser one by one as the trembling intensifies. It feels like a force is pulling them back. Changbin’s body grows heavy.
Then, everything goes dark.
——————-
Changbin groans as he opens his eyes.
“Changbin, thank god you’re okay.”
His eyes flutter open to see Chan looking down at him, concern across his face.
“Hyunjin is awake too,” Jisung calls from somewhere nearby.
With Chan’s help, Changbin slowly pushes himself off the ground. Where did Chan come from? And when had he ended up on the floor?
“Where’s Hyunjin?” The question slips out before anything else.
Had he just had an incredibly vivid dream? One where he was somewhere else with Hyunjin? Where they were… married? His pulse races as he glances down at his left hand.
No ring.
He exhales in relief.
“You both fainted at the same time. We were so worried. What happened?” Felix steps closer, concern clear in his voice as he looks Changbin over.
“I don’t remember anything…?” Changbin replies, still staring at his hand. His thoughts are spinning. It had to be a dream. Nothing else.
“Changbin!” Hyunjin’s breathless voice cuts through the air as he rushes over, eyes wide and bewildered. He stops in front of Changbin, eyes darting from his face to his own hand.
“What just happened?” he asks, and Changbin wishes he had an answer.
A headache throbs behind Changbin’s temples. This is beyond confusing.
“Jinnie, what the fuck?” he mutters.
They stare at each other, blinking in mutual disbelief, their minds racing.
Just then, a man enters through the side door, his expression puzzled as he takes in the group.
“What are you doing here? You shouldn’t be here right now.” His voice rises with each word, but none of them can understand him. It’s a language none of them speak.
Hyunjin flinches at the man’s sudden appearance as he strides toward them.
From his tone alone, it’s clear they need to leave. Not wanting to cause trouble in a foreign country, Chan bows and apologizes in English while gathering the group. Felix, Jisung, and Jeongin rush out, followed by Minho, Chan, and Seungmin.
Changbin and Hyunjin are the last to leave, but just as they reach the door, the man grabs them.
“You touched it, didn’t you?” His grip lingers before he lets go. His gaze sharpens. “I can see it. Your auras have changed to blue. Now, you must figure out your true path.”
Before they can say anything, he holds out his hands, revealing two matching bracelets. Without hesitation, he slips one onto each of their wrists.
Panic rises in both of them. They have no idea what he just said or why he gave them these bracelets. Heart pounding, Changbin bolts out the door, Hyunjin close behind.
The man watches them flee, shaking his head. A woman behind the counter steps forward, watching the scene unfold.
“You fool, what did you do?” the man asks, his voice laced with irritation.
“Nothing,” the woman giggles, covering her mouth with her hand. “I just gave them the little nudge they needed. They’ll figure it out on their own.”
The man’s expression darkens as he turns to her, arms crossed.
“And if they don’t? You know they’ll be stuck forever.”
The woman smiles, unfazed.
“Too bad then,” she says simply. “That just means they were never meant to be.”
——————-
Changbin and Hyunjin stare at the bracelets the man had given them. They were identical, simple silver bands with an hourglass in the center. Changbin has no idea how the man managed to slip them on so quickly. The bracelet sits snug against his skin, firm but not uncomfortable.
"I think the shop had something to do with what we experienced. It gave me the heebie-jeebies the moment we walked in," Changbin says, frowning at the memory.
When they first entered, a chill ran down his spine. He remembers the woman behind the counter staring at him, an old lady straight out of a horror movie, the kind with an eerie, knowing smile on her red lips. It wasn’t the shop itself that unsettled him. It was her.
Hyunjin stays silent, still fixated on the bracelet.
"Why do you think he gave us these? What was he yelling about?" Hyunjin finally asks. "I think that man knows something. We should get a translator tomorrow and get some answers from him."
Changbin blinks, impressed. "Jinnie, when did you become so smart? Must’ve been after marrying me." He teases, trying to lighten the mood.
Hyunjin rolls his eyes but doesn’t argue.
Taking a picture of the shop, they start heading toward their hotel, which isn’t too far. Across the street, the rest of the group waited at the crosswalk for them.
——————-
"No way," Changbin exclaims, staring in disbelief.
He, Hyunjin, and the translator their manager found are standing in front of what should have been the shop, but it isn’t. It’s a restaurant.
"Are you sure this is the right place?" Hyunjin asks, frowning at the picture on his phone.
Everything around it matches perfectly, the street, the signs, even the cracks in the pavement. But the shop itself is gone, replaced by something completely different.
"Something fucked up is going on here. What do we do?" Changbin turns to the translator. The man looks just as puzzled as they are, glancing between the picture and the restaurant.
"I haven’t seen anything like this personally," he says, "but I’ve heard stories. Tales about random shops appearing in the middle of the night and vanishing by morning. But those are just urban legends, meant to scare people."
That explanation doesn’t reassure Changbin at all. If anything, it makes his stomach turn. Because whatever the translator is describing isn’t just a story, it’s happening to them.
"Fuck, what do we do?" Hyunjin asks, sounding completely drained.
"Well… there’s nothing we can do," Changbin mutters. "I guess we just chalk it up to one hell of an acid trip and move on. We haven’t experienced anything weird since last night, so maybe… maybe we both just had the same dream."
Even as he says it, he doesn’t believe it. How could he? He and Hyunjin didn’t just have similar dreams, they were in the same world, together. That wasn’t normal. That wasn’t something you could explain away.
Feeling frustrated and disappointed by the lack of answers, they turn back toward their hotel, wanting to forget about the entire thing. They were leaving tomorrow to go home, and Changbin couldn’t be more thrilled to leave.
——————-
"And, once having said yes to the instant, the affirmation is contagious."
"Not again." Those are the first words out of Changbin’s mouth as he sits at a dining table, a laptop in front of him. He looks around and realizes he’s in a kitchen this time but Hyunjin isn’t there.
Just then, he hears loud footsteps, and Hyunjin rushes into the kitchen.
"Changbin, oh, thank god. I thought I was alone this time." Hyunjin clutches his chest, letting out a sigh of relief.
"How did we get here again?" Changbin asks, his voice edged with frustration. This was getting more messed up by the second.
"I don’t know. I was getting ready to go to sleep, and then suddenly, I was in the restroom with some product in my hand." Hyunjin looks at him, eyes wide, on the verge of tears. Changbin wants to do the same.
He walks over and takes Hyunjin’s hand, leading him to a chair.
"Sit down. We’ll get out of this, so don’t worry. I’m here with you." Changbin squeezes Hyunjin’s shoulder, trying his best to reassure him. Pulling up another chair, he sits as close as possible, mind racing with possibilities. They needed clues, anything to figure out where they were and why this kept happening.