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Aliens. UFOs. Other shit like that. Did they exist? NASA was looking into it, governments will vehemently deny any such existence. But one Lee Minhyuk was adamant that there was life on others planets. Or just floating around in space without a care in the world. That how he was trying to be. However, seeing as that was a goal that he couldn't achieve, he decided to pursue another dream of his: finding aliens and capturing them on camera. He also decided to drag along six of his closest friends with him, most of them unwilling.
"Minhyuk, bro. It's fucking hopeless."
The group had been trekking through the woods for the best part of two hours now, and it seemed that they had gotten lost and most likely walking in circles. Of course Minhyuk insists they aren't but the large 'X' Changkyun had carved into a random tree stump two hours ago said otherwise. That and carrying around cameras and other film equipment was tiring and most of the group was exhausted. Minhyuk, however, was just as energised and enthusiastic as he had been when they first set off. (Or when they first started doing shit like this, 2 years ago.)
"No it's not, Jooheon! You just have to believe." The grey-haired man said, not looking back but rather up at they sky. He held a mini camcorder in one hand, ready to capture any extraterrestrial activity at any given moment. Which didn't seem soon. But Minhyuk's hope was unwavering, unlike that of his friends.
Kihyun and Hyungwon rolled their eyes simultaneously at his statement. Minhyuk could really be exasperating at times, most times. For a 24-year-old, he sure had the imagination, and energy, of a young kid. It would be endearing, if they weren't balls deep in the woods at almost 7pm.
Hyungwon rubbed his eyes. He was tired, as usual, and would rather be at home in bed. That was where he was hiding before Minhyuk dragged him out of his sweet bed and into this hell of a forest. The man was suffering.
“We have more chance of finding Bigfoot.” He groaned, dragging his feet dramatically across the ground, leaves flying away from him.
He felt an arm drape around his shoulders and found Jooheon next to him, a wide smile on his face. Oh boy.
“Bigfoot? Isn’t that you, hyung?” He laughed, his signature eye smile making an appearance. Hyungwon only rolled his eyes as everyone else snickered.
"I think Hyungwon will agree when I say this - remind me never to agree to come on these pain-in-the-ass ‘adventures’ ever again." Kihyun huffed, kicking away a rotting branch that got caught on his shoelace. There was a half-hearted grumble of agreement from the man beside him.
"I never asked you to come." Minhyuk scoffed, turning to face the man behind him. He gave the other a mirthful smirk before saying, "You came by your own free will. All because you wanted to spent some time with me~"
Kihyun could've smacked him right in his face.
Could've. Would've. If he wasn't so fucking tired. Instead, he simply sighed and waved the other off. He had no energy to argue. But Minhyuk had the energy to wink and blow a kiss.
“That was for the aliens, not you.”
God, give me the strength to kill him.
Behind the rest trailed Changkyun and Hoseok, silently observing the nature around them. Truthfully, Hoseok was becoming uneasy seeing as it was growing dark. Shit happened in the woods at night. Bad shit. The kinda shit that got you killed.
Changkyun on the other hand was deep in thought. Aliens had to be real right? Why would the universe be so vast, so damn big, for there only to be life on Earth? Surely, there would be life out there? But that begs the question, why would aliens come to Earth? They can't have any reason to come here, for their technology must greatly surpass ours? What would they gain from coming here?
"It isn't hopeless."
He, along with the others, got snapped out of their thoughts by the eldest. Hyunwoo looked up from the large camera he was holding and blinked at the group. He touched his face and asked, “What? Is something on my face?”
“No…” Hyungwon said, a confused look on his face, “You just suddenly spoke up after so long.”
“Oh...it’s just Jooheon said it was hopeless. I don’t think it is.” Hyunwoo explained, giving a thumbs up to Minhyuk.
This caused everyone to burst into laughter. Hyunwoo was so unintentionally funny and he didn’t realise it. Everyone was doubling over but the eldest didn’t understand what was so funny. Even so, seeing everyone laugh was contagious and his eyes shut and he let out a soft chuckle.
It took a good minute or two for the group to settle into a comfortable silence, with just the rustle of leaves and chirping of birds to be the soundtrack of their journey. They were still lost, yes, but nobody seemed to mind. Sometimes it was good to get lost in the forest with the boys.
The silence was broken, however, by a low humming noise. A humming noise that was accompanied by a warm, golden glow.
Minhyuk stopped dead. Could this be what he was looking for? Did all of this persistence pay off, finally? His heart was pounding and his head was spinning. Oh, and he stopped breathing.
“Oh shit, hyung! Breathe!” Changkyun hissed, patting slightly on the older’s chest.
That seemed to work and Minhyuk exhaled heavily, before flailing his free hand in the direction of the light. “Do you guys see and hear that too?” He asked in a whispered voice.
His grin widened when everyone nodded. Good. He wasn’t losing his mind, unlike people have insisted. Finally the day had come when Lee Minhyuk finds aliens!
“Okay, follow me. Slowly. We need to be quiet and not draw attention to ourselves.” He motions for his friends to follow behind him and he turns on his camera. He nodded at Hyunwoo who also turned the larger camera on.
The groups slowly followed the source of the glowing light and find themselves staring at an open field. They concealed themselves behind bushes and tried to keep themselves hidden as they made sense of the scene before them. It was very bright once they got close up, and the humming noise was a lot louder.
Upon closer inspection, the light was coming a large pattern on the ground. Minhyuk could only compare it to a transmutation circle seen in the Full Metal Alchemist series. The pattern was a cube within a circle. The writing in the circle was something none of them could read. Most likely an alien language. The humming. It was a mix of chanting and singing. And it didn’t sound so low, but rather high in tone. It reminded Kihyun of a female choir. It was hauntingly beautiful.
Minhyuk squinted to try and get a better look at these aliens. Female aliens? They were clad in flowing white fabric, that blew elegantly in the wind. The twirled and circled around the glowing pattern on the ground in a sort of dance. They had hair like humans and limbs like them too. The male was bewildered. They didn’t look like the aliens in movies.
The cameras weren’t doing much good in recording for static engulfed the screens. The sound equipment wasn’t faring good either, only picking up crackling sounds. Minhyuk only tutted in frustration as Hoseok and Jooheon tried to fix the never-ending problems.
“Minhyuk hyung?”
Minhyuk managed to pull his eyes away from the unusual scene to glance at the person who has called him. Beside him, Changkyun was wide-eyed, his eyes gleaming with fascination. Minhyuk would have pinched his cheeks if they weren’t in such a bizzare situation.
“Yeah?” He whispered, being careful not to be loud enough to scare the ‘aliens’ away.
“These ‘aliens’...aren’t aliens I don’t think….” Changkyun says, pointing towards the dancing figures. “They look like human females.”
The older male contemplated this, pursing his lips and staring out at the ‘aliens that resembled human females’. The more he thought about it, the more he believed Changkyun. He wanted to believe that they were extraterrestrials from outer space, but he was skeptical. And disappointed. Damn. I really wanted to find aliens. Fuck you aliens.
“But…” Changkyun continued, drawing Minhyuk’s attention to him once more. “They’re still from space...I think...I mean...the text within that circle...it’s not in hangul. And Hyungwon hyung doesn’t think it’s any script used on Earth.”
Minhyuk frowns, not understanding how this could be. How could beings from space not be aliens? How could humans exist in space? Shit, no-one’s been to Mars yet.
“Then what are they?” He asks himself more than anyone.
“Ever heard of ‘Space Witches’?”
Minhyuk looks up in shock, never expecting to be face-to-face with a ‘space witch’. Or find that the rest of these so-called witches had focused their attention on his group. The one in front of him, way up close, had glowing marks on her face and eyes to match. Mesmerising, albeit a little creepy.
“N-No...but it all makes sense now….” Minhyuk manages to stutter out. He was lying, because it didn’t make any damn sense at all. But he feared what would happen if he angered a group of witches from outer space.
So Lee Minhyuk didn’t find aliens. But himself and his friends did encounter space witches. And what happens next is, well, a Secret.