Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

    Shiiing… Click. Shiiing… Click.

   Felix didn't mind the sound that came every time he fidgeted with the large lock in his hand. It was grounding. The way the outer coat of paint has worn against his fingerprints, the muscle memory of being able to repeat the motion of locking and unlocking it faster than anyone else he knows, it was familiar. Unique, even.

   The bus rattled as it turned the corner. He held onto the railing of the seat in front of him, then went back to staring out into the night. There were never any sounds of crickets, only vehicle exhausts and idle shop sounds.

   If Felix remembers correctly, he pried the lock off from a chain link fence more than a few years ago. It had been wet and foggy that day. Freezing. There were probably a few other people walking along the bridge and side-eyeing him too now that he thought about it. Come on. A preteen dressed in a gray tank top and sweatpants attempting to yank a useless piece of scrap metal out of its place? In the winter? He definitely looked like a street kid.

   Well, they wouldn't be wrong.

   Felix sighed the thought away. It's fine. He liked the thing, so nothing else really matters.

   The bus stopped abruptly again and almost sent his face directly into the row ahead of him. He stopped himself at the last second and decided to just walk the rest of the way, fed up with the horrible transportation.

   It was practically pitch black in this sector of the megacity. The only lights came from the windows high above in skyscrapers, leaving the streets to darkness, and Felix swears he heard paper trash tumble down the road. The whole place felt like hunter's territory; abandoned and dangerous.

   He produced a folded note from his closed fist and read it over again.

  "Our days are set to a count.

   I ask for your help.

  I am losing myself.

  Nobody else has come in so long.

  Assist me, and I will open whatever lock binds you to this city ."

   Sure, did a random note he found a few days ago entice his interest? No. Felix almost ignored the thing altogether, for goodness' sake, thinking it was from some random creep wanting to mess with someone who definitely didn't have the energy to deal with it again.

   But the last line caught his attention and held it for longer than he'd like to admit.

   This would be fine, right? Felix was already getting off the bus and walking down a side street, so there wasn’t much time to turn back anymore. He held onto his jacket and ran down the corner. He'd had enough of the eerie feeling over his shoulder, and was more than willing to enter the address instructed on the note just to get out of the open.

   Soon, he reached a large hotel. It matched the address, its sign perfectly identical to the handwriting of the numbers on the paper. The welcome sign flickered every so often. There was almost a rhythm to the light.

   Felix, his eagerness melting slightly, walked toward the glass doors. He created a little window in the frost with the side of his hand and peered through.

   There was a figure standing behind the reception desk, tapping idly on what looked like a tablet. His posture was relaxed.

   Felix's was tense.

   The figure pushed his glasses up a bit.

   Felix tugged his hood down. He took a nervous step back.

   Was this right? He double, triple, quadruple checked the address, and grimaced after confirming that yes, this is where he was told to go. 

   He could just leave.

   Felix can't leave. The writer was desperate, and so was he.

    Shiiing… Click. Shiiing… Click. Shiiing… Click. Shiiing—

   Felix buried his fear with one final click and pulled the door open.

   The figure looked up. His hands froze from where they were presumably typing something. He gave a smile as Felix warily walked closer.

   "Good evening," the man said warmly. "You must be Felix."

   Felix swallowed. He averted eye contact and chose to focus on the man's name badge. Chan.

   "—but you can call me whatever."

   Felix looked up at him again. A long silence passed as Chan looked him up and down, seemingly trying to read whatever ill intentions Felix didn't have.

   "Sure," Felix replied, very weirded out. "Thanks. I… Is this…?"

   "Feel free to head downstairs. If you're looking for a place to stay, which is what I'm assuming."

   Suddenly, the man's voice was strained. Felix could see his outstretched fingers twitch as he made his way down the hall.

   It was only now that he realized there was quiet music echoing peacefully through the building's speakers. Subconsciously, his footsteps began to match the beat. Felix observed the walls as his pace slowed. There were posters of foreign shows and quotes plastered and peeling, and strange material — some sort of metal? — covering the imperfections in a somehow elegant way.

   That sense of calm disappeared as he entered a large room. The decoration here was very different from the warm lighting and simplistic trinkets in the lobby.

   Here, it was… cold. Distant. Dozens of clocks lined the walls and even the ceiling, and as Felix neared them, he saw that all the times were completely different.

   The urge to leave was sprouting in his mind once more. 

   He flinched as a cuckoo clock suddenly went off right beside his face. Out of nowhere, another person appeared and pushed the bird back in with one slender finger. Felix went completely still.

   The man slowly turned in his direction, as if only just noticing Felix. 

   "You're late," he said in a light, happy tone. He pointed at one of the clocks which read a time that definitely wasn't correct, then waved the joke away with disappointment once he realized Felix probably wouldn't respond well to it. "Did Chan invite you in?"

   "He talked to me when I came inside." Felix replied, deciding it better not to give a straight answer. 

   "That's good. You know… He slacks off as the receptionist pretty often. I always have to gently nudge him back behind that desk all the time. It's honestly become part of my routine around here, hah."

   Felix' demeanor softened a little as he realized the man really did want to talk.

   "I'm Jisung." He said, and held his hand out. Felix took it. The handshake was warm — a welcomed difference from the cold — and peppy. He gave Felix a fun tip of his beret and sent him off down the stairs to acquaint himself with the others.

   "Watch out for Minho! That guy really hates people."

   Felix minded his warning and quickly went down. 

   Lots of photos were strung across the place. It took him a moment to realize the soft and steady click was now from someone's camera instead of Jisung's clocks.

   "Who are you?" A new voice came from behind a desk. Felix's head swiveled in their direction. White lab coat. "Wait. You're…"

   Before Felix could react, the man held up a photo of… him. 

   "Felix." The man breathed. Without a choice, Felix nodded.

   "That's my photo."

   "Obviously."

   He handed Felix the polaroid. Afterwards, he quickly created distance between them again.

   "It's just a one time thing," Lab Coat Guy said, his voice distant, as if the polaroid was a gift between friends.

   Felix's fingers rubbed against the bottom of the strange photo. He acknowledged the other's words. Deciding three people was enough, he went back up the stairs, and classical music filled his ears again as he reached for the entrance handle. 

   It rattled the doorframe when Felix tried a second time. Uneasiness spread around his neck. 

   "Are you kidding—"

   He wrapped another hand around the frozen handle, but it really was no use. He muttered something underneath his breath and turned back around to face the lobby just in case someone tried to sneak up on him. Nothing. He allowed himself half a sigh of relief.

   Has he met the person who sent him the note yet? There were seven, he'd only met three… 

   "The room's not to your liking? That's not good," Chan hummed, suddenly having appeared behind the reception desk again. "If you tell me what's wrong, we can have something arranged for you."

   "Let me out." Felix gritted.

   Chan blinked.

   "What do you mean? It's locked?"

   Felix hardened his gaze as Chan walked over to check for himself. Now, the door wasn't just locked, but completely frozen. It wouldn't even budge an inch. Chan stayed calm, as if this was a normal occurrence.

   "It should be back up in a few days."

   "A few days?" Felix sputtered. "No, that's ridiculous. You're not really going to keep me here for a few days —"

   "Do you even have anywhere else to go?"

   Felix stopped halfway through his rant about the entire thing essentially being a kidnapping after Chan's voice cut through his head.

   "Sorry?" he asked, unbelieving. 

   "I said, do you have anywhere to go ?" 

   Felix felt like he wanted to shrink underneath the other's gaze. Seriously, what was with this guy and eye contact? He resisted the urge to reach for his lock.

    Silence your thoughts. 

   "...No."

   Chan hummed, happy at his correct deduction. He stepped away to give Felix a little bit of space, and even went as far as looking back toward the reception desk a few moments later to feign the fact that he couldn't see Felix's unreadable expression. 

   "Have you met everyone else yet?" Chan asked.

   Felix blinked his emotion away and cleared his throat.

   "Just Jisung." He responded. "And some other guy in a lab coat."

   "Seungmin." Chan corrected gently. "He'd hate for you to call him that, even if it is all he wears. Thankfully you didn't say it in front of him, you know?"

   "Sorry."

   "Don't worry about it, Felix. Just make yourself at home."

   The last sentence held a strange tone to it. 

   "...Okay, sure. Yeah."

   Chan's tone then disappeared as he proceeded to verbally map out the entire building for Felix to use as reference. The bedrooms themselves were on the floors above, there was a game room mainly preoccupied by a boy named Jeongin below, and an elevator that could take you to either within the blink of an eye.

   "How many floors even is the hotel?" Felix asked, recalling how it towered over him.

   "Thirty? The place used to be a skyscraper."

   Felix nodded. 

   "By the way, dinner should be soon." Chan said, checking a watch hidden discreetly underneath his sleeve. "You can meet everyone there."

   "I don't think I should eat with you all this early on." Felix replied. He rubbed the joint of his pointer finger as he spoke.

   "But I'm inviting you. I’m sure you’d find meeting everyone else helpful."

   "Yeah, but…" He didn't have the heart to tell Chan how he felt about the establishment. He thought it was just as eerie as the streets outside; how the mood shifted with each uneasy step and how the tone in everyone's voices — even now — was something he couldn't properly use to guide his interactions with.

   "Sorry," was all Felix could offer in the end. His voice faltered upon realizing this was the second time he'd apologized within the last minute. To his surprise, Chan nodded with understanding and dropped the matter.

   "Then come with me. I can show you where you can sleep for the night until we get this figured out."

   Felix gave a melancholy glance toward the locked door as he turned the corner.

   Chan led him in a different direction — away from the clock room — and revealed a few shortcuts here and there that many of the hotel inhabitants use to get around the winding building easier. They walked through what seemed to be an indoor mall square next, fit with a second floor and abandoned stalls. They'd clearly taken a detour.

   “Is this place bigger on the inside?” Felix asked as he spun around, looking at it all.

   Chan chuckled. “No, no. The hotel is partially connected to the buildings on the street behind us. None of us are technically supposed to be hanging around any of them, but one person always does, and I know he can hear us right now!”

   Felix caught a flash of red hair up in the rafters. Chan’s gaze followed the figure and waited patiently for them to jump down. The impact upon hitting the floor was silent, and the person did nothing but spin his wrist a little as he strode forward to meet them. He looked at Felix with a completely neutral expression.

   Felix noticed that he was wearing all black. The clothes were tight fitting and clearly meant for agility.

   “Hyunjin,” the man said simply. “You must be…?”

   “Felix.”

   “Right. Felix.” He turned to Chan. “What time is it?”

   “Almost nine.”

   Hyunjin glanced at Felix while motioning at the watch. His face still remained straight. “You can trust Chan to tell you the proper time. That’s very important.”

   “Why?”

   Both Hyunjin and Chan looked at him upon hearing it. The latter smiled a little and nodded.

   “Not a lot of clocks around the place. It’s something everyone had to get used to. Come on, let’s not be late." Chan explained.

   Hyunjin snickered. They lead the way, and Felix silently followed after them, trying to commit their mannerisms to memory just in case the information would be helpful later on.

   Hyunjin walked with his head held high and his hands in his pockets, while Chan let his arms swing. The way they made small talk must've meant they've known each other for a long time. Felix wondered what they each used to be before residing in the hotel.

   "What made you come here?" Hyunjin suddenly asked, walking backwards to look at him. His gaze was confident and began to look like he was understanding. "If you don't want to tell me, that's okay too."

   "I was told I could exchange services here," Felix responded, making the contents of the note as vague as possible. 

   Hyunjin turned back around. He was satisfied with the answer.

   The dining hall turned out to just be the communal breakfast room converted into something much more elegant. A long, wooden table sat in the middle of it all.

   There were dents on the floor that alluded to more tables such as this once being here, but had since been removed. Felix wondered if—

   "We used to have other people living here too. A long time ago." Hyunjin stated. He slid past Felix and sat down in what seemed to be his assigned chair.

   "Did they leave?"

   Hyunjin angled the bottom of a butter knife into the wood and kept it upright with a finger. He shrugged, which was enough of an answer to give Felix that fear back. 

   Chan wandered back in from the kitchen with an extra plate in hand.

   "Here, come sit." Chan guided his shoulders to an empty chair. "I'll stand tonight. I'm always sitting at the receptionist desk, so you'll do me a favor with this."

   Silently — and admitting defeat that he'd been tricked into attending dinner — Felix did as he was told. The silverware in front of him was mix-matched from the one parallel to him. Still, it was all cohesive, and even felt homely. Hyunjin and Chan began talking again, and their voices began to echo against the thin walls as if they truly belonged here.

   Would they serve poison? Some substance that only crazy people could enjoy? At this point, Felix had been so hungry for so long that he'd eat anything they served. 

   The doors to the dining hall swung open. Three people entered; Jisung, Seungmin, and…

   The unknown person shot a death glare so strong that Felix immediately wanted to apologize for even breathing in their direction.

   "Good evening to you too, Minho," Hyunjin said idly. 

   "Did you make another crack in the wall? You know that repairs for that take a long time," Chan reminded Minho, putting a hand on his shoulder. Felix thought for sure that Chan would be killed for doing such a thing. Nothing happened. Minho rolled his eyes and made a prolonged sigh, then sat down at the spot farthest away from Felix.

   "You've made some new friends within the last half hour, hm? They don't bite. They're just not used to having anyone new around." Jisung said. He looked toward the other, who was practically fuming in his seat. Chan began whispering in Minho's ear the moment Jisung turned away again.

   Felix felt a very tense energy. He focused on his conversation with Jisung and tried to ignore the heat growing from the other side of the room.

   Seungmin — sitting beside Jisung — placed his cheek on his palm as he watched the spectacle of Minho's clenched fists and twitching eye for what Felix assumed was the hundredth time. 

   "Relax." He heard Chan whisper. "I know you don't want to be here—"

   "I don't ," Minho hissed quietly.

   "This is the only way. We talked about this, remember? Just take it easy. Don't even talk to anyone, if that's what you want."

   At that, Minho groaned loudly, but went silent after. His angry gaze faltered, presumably from Chan's words swirling around in his head.

   Dinner was served. Felix clamped his mouth shut after seeing that it was practically gourmet; steak, potatoes, and some other sides he'd never even seen in real life, but definitely had in television displays on the street. Hyunjin and Chan told him he didn't need to hesitate with eating it.

   So he did. Nobody paid any mind to the way he was holding himself up over the plate, eating it all as quickly as possible. He thought he heard Chan chuckle quietly behind him.

   When was the last time he could eat this much, and for free ? There wasn't even any time to answer the question. He swallowed and kept shoveling food into his mouth.

   Felix scanned the table as he took a sip of water. There were still two empty seats; the one across him and beside it. 

   "I sent Changbin to go bother Jeongin, but they're probably just making conversation right now." Jisung sighed. He twirled pasta around his fork.

   Hyunjin put his spoon down, having already finished eating. "You say conversation as if Jeongin would ever want to talk to someone. The last time I saw him was maybe a week ago. You sending Changbin to get him could've been an execution."

   Jisung smiled to himself. "Yeah. You're right, aren't you?"

   "There's also a dent in the wall near the game room door." Minho said flatly.

   Chan looked at him. 

   "It wasn't me. Seriously. I'm just saying that it wasn’t there last time I checked, so Jeongin's probably having another episode. That, or Seungmin dropped that huge camera stand of his and sent it straight into the drywall."

   Minho chuckled coldly, and side-eyed the said cameraman. 

   "I don't even go down there." Seungmin defended.

   "Exactly. It's a joke."

   "It wasn't funny—"

   "It was to me."

   Chan loudly cleared his throat. He gave both of them a stern look, then went back to picking at his plate.

   "You're also running out of film—" Minho began, but Seungmin no longer gave him the pleasure of acknowledgement. He diligently followed Chan's instruction to focus on his own food. 

   But strangely enough, Felix didn't sense any real grudges between the two. Seungmin seemed used to Minho's personality, and Minho's comment wasn't meant to leave a lasting impression. Every verbal jab he tossed around the room dissipated into the air moments later.

  They were all friends. Felix leaned back into his seat and soaked it all in for a while.

   "See?" Jisung said, having read Felix's thoughts. "Nobody bites."

   Seungmin and Jisung excused themselves early, the former quickly saying that work called and the latter finally deciding to check on the others before Jeongin really did kill someone. Hyunjin gave them a lazy wave just as the door closed.

   Dinner ended after Minho stacked his plate on top of the pile Chan was holding out to him. His demeanor really had calmed down between an hour ago and now. He looked at Felix with a significantly milder expression, very similar to Hyunjin's, and spoke.

   "Watch out for yourself."

   Felix didn't know what to say to that. He cautiously brought the spoon up to his mouth a final time. Chan had given him an exception to continue eating until he was satisfied, and so Hyunjin graciously offered to stay to keep him company while the dishes were being washed.

   “Are you sure it’s okay?” Felix had asked, to which Chan responded, “Of course. It’d be cruel if I didn’t, right?”

   He had no idea why Minho stayed. It looked like Hyunjin was at a loss too, with the passing glances snuck in his direction every few moments. 

   With himself being the only center of focus in the room, Felix’s shoulders closed in more to shield himself from their gazes. Minho huffed with amusement and stood up, muttering an almost humiliated goodbye. His kimono jacket almost seemed like a cape behind him as he exited the room.

   Felix pushed his plate away, finally finished. Hyunjin immediately caught his attention with a hand on his shoulder.

   “There’s something we need to talk about,” he said softly. “It’s important.”

   “Sure.” It would be foolish for Felix to reject conversation.

   “Who sent you here? Nobody just… enters. The decorations and stuff make that pretty obvious, I think.”

   Felix took a breath. He studied Hyunjin’s expression and took note of the way his hand rested, not gripped, his shoulder. Although he was the most visually intimidating, he was the only one who sat next to Felix during dinner without any prejudice.

   “I don’t know who they are.” He admitted. “All I was given was this note—”

   “That’s all I need to hear.”

   Felix looked back up, frozen from where he was about to reach for the proof. Hyunjin removed his hand and stood up. He quickly grabbed Felix’s arm and yanked him up, murmuring rushed words of something the other couldn’t decipher.

   They went through the same shortcuts Chan showed him. Hyunjin pushed the button to call the elevator. Felix was utterly lost. He was about to comment on it, but was pulled into the elevator before the words could even leave his mouth.

   “This is the only place without cameras. I’ll make this really quick. I sent that note out. We need your help. I need your help.”

   His jagged sentences proved that the desperation was real.

   “Something is happening to everyone in the hotel, Felix. They’re going insane. The cracks in the lobby walls aren’t from time, they’re from random episodes of derangement. People aren’t acting like themselves.”

   He grabbed Felix’s shoulders, causing the other to flinch.

   “Why choose me?” Felix asked shakily. Hyunjin shook his head.

   “I didn’t. I had no idea if anyone would even answer my call.”

   Felix didn’t say anything after that.

   “Please, Felix. I’m sure you don’t get it, but… My offer at the end of the note, it still stands. It will always stand, as long as you—”

   “Okay.”

   Hyunjin looked up from where his head was hanging. His expression — suddenly full of emotion — went from shock to euphoric relief. He hugged him.

   “I want everyone back.” Hyunjin whispered. “For all of this to stop. Can you do that?”

   “...Yes.”

   The doors to the elevator opened. Hyunjin sighed and nodded his head, then left Felix alone.

   Well, not exactly. The hallway which the elevator opened to was a normal hotel hallway. Hyunjin went down one end and entered what was presumably his room. Felix went down the other.

   It was as if this floor was completely untouched by years of residence. The paint was perfect. Felix’s gaze lingered on each door as he passed them. 142, 143, 144… All empty.

   He settled on the one all the way at the end of the hall. 165. He turned the knob and went inside, and was met with the newfound and wonderful smell of hotel. Felix was then drawn to the bed. He slowly approached it and, after assuring himself that it definitely was okay because Chan offered, lay down. Felix couldn’t help but let out a big breath of comfort.

   He took the lock out of his jean pocket. Hyunjin's note slipped out in the process and landed on the sheets.

   Felix was offered something he couldn't refuse: a way out of the city. A way past the walls that felt like waves of a tsunami. Nobody had gotten a chance to do that in a million years. Why wouldn't he accept? The work he was being asked off felt impossible now, sure, but it would be worth it in the end. He could leave his miserable life behind and go somewhere better.

   There was a book he read once as a kid, staying in the library to keep out of the cold. It talked about large oceans and birdsong. 

    Shiiing… Click.

   The winter felt longer than ever, and Felix began to compare the hotel bedroom to the beanbags in the library. Here, he wouldn't be kicked out. Right?

   He sighed and held the lock above his head, spinning it back and forth between his fingers.

    Felix leaned against the chain link fence, looking down to the river below. Ice chunks floated in the rapids and crashed against the metal bridge. Still, everything felt silent.

   Now that Felix thought about it, he was definitely lost in his head that day. 

    A couple down the bridge were bent down. Felix leaned back and saw that they were putting a lock on the fence. They stood up and tossed the key into the river.

   Love. That's what it was.

   He stared at his sneakers and noticed there was another lock right in front of him. New, pristine. Something built inside of him, and so in a fit of who knows what emotions, he tore it off.

   Felix almost dropped it on his face. He flinched and sat up on the bed, not wanting to risk it happening again.

   How would he solve Hyunjin's problem? He doesn't even know what caused it in the first place. Something drove him to accept his plea. Was it the offer? Maybe he was just desperate.

   Felix shook his head to rid himself of doubt. He had to figure it out. 

    Click.

   He'd figure it out.

   Someone shouted, followed by the sound of mass hitting the wall. Felix shot out of bed, stuffed the lock and note back into his pocket, and ran out of the room.

   By the time he could register that yes, it was Hyunjin himself who'd screamed, Jisung and Chan were already running down the hall to his room. Chan swung the door open and immediately began coaxing Hyunjin to relax.

   Jisung stayed by the door. He looked at Felix for a second, his face stained with worry.

   "It's happening again."

   "What? What is?"

   Jisung pointed to his head. "That… thing. The bug in his head. Chan, did he hurt himself this time?"

   Felix gently pushed past to see properly, and saw the other two on the floor, one lying down and the other kneeling beside him. Chan looked over his shoulder and shook his head. He grabbed Hyunjin's wrist to prevent him from moving, then continued to murmur something.

   Jisung pulled Felix away and closed the door.

   "They've got it under control. Thank goodness Chan was nearby."

   "Is it painful?"

   "It depends. Sometimes, he'll seek someone else out to hunt, or just inflict it on himself. It's a gamble."

   Felix rubbed his palm. He did notice Jisung ran slower, which could now be attributed to fear.

   "...Is it just Hyunjin?" He asked.

   Jisung opened the door to Felix's room and ushered them both inside. It was only after taking a deep breath that he answered.

   "Only Hyunjin's is this severe. We have him swap rooms every week so we can search it for any weapon he might've found or unknowingly made during an episode."

   Felix sat down and stared at his lap.

   "I'm sorry you had to see that," Jisung said softly.

   "No, don't apologize. Now I know what's going on if it happens again."

   Jisung nodded. "I can tell you more, if you'd like."

   Information. Felix needed that.

   "Please."

┌── •✧• ──┐

   Felix dug his nails into his palm, trying hard not to give in to exhaustion. 

   Maybe he should've slowed down during dinner. Now, he was sitting next to the toilet underneath nauseating white lighting, wishing he could teleport back to his bed and just pass out.

   But no, of course not. He had fallen asleep first, then woke up to the feeling of needing to throw up.

   He wiped his face and willed himself to stand. Upon successfully doing so — not even being able to register the fact that he'd stumbled into the wall — he sucked in his breath and tried to remember what led him here.

   "Elevator… Hyunjin… Ugh." He muttered, purposefully leaving the word "dinner" out of the mix.

   There was probably water on the counter in the bedroom. Felix opened the door and searched around in the slightly less nauseating lighting and found a bottle. He downed it in seconds.

   He crushed the plastic in his hands, then dropped it into the bin.

   Jisung told him more about the episodes, and how they differed from person to person. Some would hide themselves for days on end, some would actively search others out—

   The image of Hyunjin walking through the halls with dangerous intent was definitely terrifying.

   But one thing remained the same: there was anger behind each episode. An aura so palpable that it would immediately be obvious whenever someone was going through it.

   Hyunjin's scream wasn't out of fear. It was out of frustration. The way the sound repeated in Felix's mind helped him to hear the grit in his throat and the low, strong tone of rage.

   He definitely did not want to be on the receiving end of that.

   Felix groaned from the pain and finally lay back down. He buried his face in the pillows for a second, but couldn't breathe. He settled for staring at the painting on the wall instead.

   Tomorrow. He'd start investigating tomorrow. 

┌── •✧• ──┐

   Jisung appeared next to Felix as he went down for breakfast.

   "Did you sleep well?" He asked. 

   "I've slept better."

   Jisung sadly clicked his tongue. He shrugged it off and talked about what he did after their long conversation last night. Something about a game match with Jeongin? He couldn't really make out the words.

   "The kid is a master at strategy games, man. I'd honestly warn you to not bet with him since— Oh, Minho."

   Minho in question was standing opposite down the hall. He gave them an incredulous look, as if making small talk was something crazy. Jisung kept walking, forcing Minho to join them.

   Felix subconsciously held his back up a little higher in hopes to impress him. It was ignored.

   "You kept making noise last night, you know." Jisung prodded his shoulder. "Can't you at least play golf in the mall or something? Not in the hotel, and not at four in the morning?"

   "Wasn't it you who didn't allow entry into any other building?" Minho huffed.

   "That wasn't meant to be a rule for this long. It was temporary, even Hyunjin goes in there every other day and I don't say no—"

   "Hyunjin likes to throw knives and shoot arrows."

   Jisung rolled his eyes. "And you don't?"

   Minho smiled cryptically. "No. I just play golf."

   Felix couldn't stifle his laugh quick enough. He covered his mouth with a palm and stared straight down the hall again, pretending the joke wasn't still floating around in his head.

   "See? He found it funny. You're so strict, Jisung."

   "I'm not—! I'm not being strict. Just play golf somewhere else where we don't have to worry about repair costs!"

   Minho scoffed and opened the doors to the dining hall. Chan was already there, setting the table.

   "Morning." He greeted them. "Hyunjin won't be joining us today. I told him to sleep."

   The sound of keys jingling on his belt drew Felix's mind to another conclusion; that he locked Hyunjin inside just in case the episode flared up again. Chan's smile was still warm and genuine. Felix would have to figure out who to trust, and fast.

   Jisung and Minho sat down.

   "So is it just the four of us this morning—" Jisung began, but was interrupted by Seungmin coming out of the kitchen in the same white coat with a glass of juice in hand. He cautiously sipped it, and the whole room fell into silence.

   "What, did I do something? You're all staring at me." Jisung managed to say after a few seconds.

   "I just felt like looking at you." Minho stated. 

   "How flattering. That means a lot, coming from you," he spat.

   "Your hair is still messed up." Seungmin offered, then sat down in his normal spot. At that, Jisung's face flushed and he quickly ran a hand through his hair, muttering something about why nobody had bothered to say anything before.

   Chan placed a plate of eggs down. "It is just the five of us. Changbin is who knows where, and Jeongin said he'd eat later. Can one of you bring him food in case he was just saying that?"

   "Probably still playing that video game he found…" Jisung muttered. Minho smiled.

   " Somebody's in a good mood." Seungmin said. He handed Minho an identical glass of juice.

   "I'm just thinking. That's all."

   "Stop."

   "Stop thinking? Let's put you in my situation and see if you can stop thinking ."

   Chan placed a special order down in front of Seungmin, then sat down beside Felix. He asked the same respectful questions of whether the bedroom he'd picked out was okay, if he'd slept well, if Jisung had bothered him too much.

   "I didn't! Seriously, everyone here has some kind of grudge against me."

   "I'm fine." Felix assured Chan, and split his egg in half. He was careful not to mention how he had spent the entire night tossing and turning, uncomfortable to say the least, and maybe woke up to go throw up again after that. It's not like he remembers the details anyway.

   "That's good," Chan breathed. "Just let me know if there's anything else I can do for you."

   "I will," Felix responded, with full intention to do the exact opposite.

   Chan smiled and went back to his plate. The clinking of everyone's silverware was a dissonant melody. With no Hyunjin by his side influencing how fast Felix was eating, he was able to control his pace better and hopefully not get another stomachache.

   He didn't want to break the silence with a question or comment. Felix focused on his breakfast and silently ate it.

   He was honestly growing to enjoy the silence. Back in the city, noise was impossible to evade. There were people around every corner, shouting empty threats at others or at him , and cars blaring a warning to get out of the road before someone got run over.

   Still, the silence now had a new connotation. It was peaceful, but now there was something different. Uneasiness, as if simply standing up too fast would draw a predator to his exact location. Unpredictability, as if any sound that wasn't the whirring of a conditioner or creaking of the floor could piss someone off.

   Regardless, he was strangely calm.

   He shot a glance at Minho through his lashes. Jisung said that he can crack the walls with his golf shots, and Felix didn't want to imagine what else he could damage with a swing of his club. 

   Minho had to have felt someone's gaze on him. He looked at Felix with a blank expression.

   "It was nothing," Felix immediately defended himself.

   "What was nothing?" Jisung chirped. "Actually, never mind. I just wanted an excuse to talk, so I will. You're all so stuffy today."

   Seungmin ignored the hand that had placed itself on his back. It wasn't until Jisung started happily rocking him forward and backward that he put his glass down and closed his eyes, clearly willing himself to not punch the guy.

   "Hey," Chan said, interrupting Jisung's monologue, who then immediately retracted his hand and went back to his eggs. "What were you trying to say, Seungmin?"

   "I think Changbin took my film."

   "Did he really?"

   "Well, obviously Minho wouldn't do it. He's too lazy. I've already told Jisung to keep his hands and face out of my office."

   Chan grimaced at the last comment, and Felix made the connection that Jisung definitely still went inside.

   "It's probably down in the game room then," Chan said, wanting to move on from the topic and the fact that he knew about the little secret.

   "Hah, that lion's den?" Jisung laughed, having caught on to Chan's save. He smacked Seungmin's back again. "Have fun finding your film!"

   "Jeongin's episode is probably over. You should be able to go in." Chan continued.

   "But you never know for sure." Minho added. "He could still be in the middle of it. Remember last time? It lasted like… four days."

   Jisung leaned forward. " Or he really just wants to play that game." 

   "What even is he playing? I'm tempted to just close the game room off until his obsession goes away." Chan took a sip of water.

   Felix's eyes darted back and forth between each speaker. Soon, they began to talk way too fast, so he just listened instead.

   "I wouldn't do that…" Seungmin said. He was now sitting to Minho's left, far from Jisung. "It tones down his episodes and keeps him distracted. If he's not hurting any of us, then I don't see a problem."

   " Well, that's bad parenting ," Jisung said at the same moment Minho muttered, " It's like a metaphor. "

   "Then just leave him alone for now, I suppose. Ignore everything I said." Chan massaged his temple. "Seungmin, if you go down there, bring him a plate and tell him I want to talk."

┌── •✧• ──┐

   This time, it was just Felix and Minho sitting at the table. Chan —  as always — went to clean up, Seungmin went back to his work, and Jisung said that the clocks needed polishing.

   "You're doing good," Minho said flatly, staring at him from across the table. "Better than I am."

   "What do you mean?"

   "I noticed it this morning in the hall. Something's changed about you, Felix. You adjust quickly, don't you?"

   He was probably talking about the fatigue that left Felix with no energy to keep his guard up, if not the fact that he felt the smallest bit more comfortable with everyone. Felix allowed himself to agree with a nod.

   "It's honestly kind of humiliating for me. This is only your second day here, and you're already sliding yourself to fit with the puzzle pieces which are everyone else. Flexibility. Did Hyunjin invite you here?"

   "...No."

   "Don't lie, Felix."

   "I'm not."

   Minho let it go. He folded his jacket over his arm, called out a goodbye in the kitchen's direction, then silently shut the door.

   Felix, left with a strange sense of being read all too well, stood up too. He followed the noise of a sink running and entered the kitchen. Chan turned the water off just as he had entered, and was holding a cloth in both hands. He tossed one to Felix.

   "Good timing. Come help me."

   Wordlessly, Felix went to stand next to him. He picked up a coffee mug and wiped it dry, then moved onto a glass cup. Then a plate, another plate, a bowl…

   "Hyunjin will be fine, so don't worry. He slammed his head into the wall."

   Felix froze. Didn't Chan say that he was fine?

   "I didn't tell Jisung because I didn't want him to worry. I'm usually awake late at night, and my room is currently near Hyunjin's. Telling anybody else could send them spiraling into panic." Chan sighed. "It's happened before."

   "Is there anything I can do to help?" Felix needed to talk to Hyunjin. He could give him guidance on what to do. 

   Chan placed a cup upside down onto the mat. "Unfortunately, you can't really help someone who's passed out in bed, right? But I'll let you know if anything comes up."

   "Sure."

   Chan rinsed the sink and tossed whatever was left into the trash below.

   "How long has all of this been happening?" Felix asked. He handed his cloth back, and Chan hung it over the water spout.

   "For a while now. I can't give you an exact date. Time just doesn't feel like something we need to keep track of anymore."

   "You can't just… leave?"

   Chan chuckled. He looked at the ground, then back at Felix with a bitter expression.

   "What can I say? The door's locked."

Chapter Text

   Felix paced around his bedroom. With the newfound information that all seven — eight, including him — were stuck in the hotel, he decided to focus on nothing but figuring a way to help Hyunjin and escape. Was it some sort of signal in the building that sent out invisible waves? Some illness that Felix could catch? Why wouldn't Jeongin show his face, and where did Changbin disappear off to?

   Maybe he could go into the mall and see if anything was there. Jisung said that anybody could go in now. Felix didn't exactly want to refuse an offer as gold as that. 

   He stepped out into the hall, and was immediately greeted by Seungmin walking out of his room. There was a plate in his hand. 

   "I'll wash it. Don't tell Chan," he said quietly, with a lilt of humor in his tone. "Actually, come with me."

   He followed Seungmin into the elevator and pressed the first floor button for him. Classical music began to play from an old speaker somewhere in the ceiling. Felix turned around and watched the streets outside from the window, and really began to wonder why nobody could just leave. After all, you could break the glass and jump out, right?

   Seungmin peeked into the dining hall, then dashed across it. 

   "Close the kitchen door, quickly, quickly—"

   Felix swung it back towards the frame, only stopping it at the last second to make sure it closed silently. He turned back around to see Seungmin running a bit of water to rinse his plate off.

   "Does Chan not want you eating more?"

   "No, I can eat as much as I want. Just not in my bedroom. Crumbs."

   Felix couldn't say he could relate to that experience. He kept a lookout through the small window in the door.

   Seungmin opened the fridge. He pulled out a ceramic container of something served earlier that morning. He took off the lid and piled pasta onto it, then put it into the microwave.

   "For Jeongin. Not me."

   Felix listened to the whirring noise fill the kitchen, and got nervous at how loud it was. Their food operation could be blown if anything was even above speaking volume.

   "So." Seungmin began. He put his hands in his pockets and leaned on the counter. Felix braced himself for another question. "You have dyed hair."

   Felix felt his ears begin to heat up. 

   "...Yeah. It's…" His hand went up to touch his hastily-done blond job. "It's been like that for a while, I think. Maybe a few years or something. It’s long, I know."

    Felix stuffed whatever he could grab from the convenience store into his jacket while the cashier was distracted; talking to another customer. At some point, he went to the next aisle and grabbed a box of hair dye, thinking it was food. He had gotten caught immediately after that and was forced to drop all his heavy items as he dashed through the bell-tripped door. There was nothing left in his arms except for the box.

   He would need to go back to that store anyway, so dying his hair to hide his identity seemed like a good enough idea.

   "It looks good. I was thinking I could do mine too. Red, like Hyunjin's," Seungmin mused in a whisper.

   "You have dye?"

   "We have bleach."

   Okay. Felix wasn't that stupid. 

   "That," he began firmly, enunciating each word. "Is not a good idea."

   Seungmin smiled as if he knew what he was talking about from the beginning. He turned around half a second before the microwave went off and took the plate out, then handed it to Felix.

   "I thought this was for Jeongin."

   "It is. But I also need to look for my film while I'm there, and I'm kind of busy today. I'd really appreciate it."

   With a sigh — how did everyone here keep tricking him into doing their bidding — Felix relented and followed Seungmin back into the elevator. Thankfully, he pressed the button this time.

   The game room was dimly lit. Felix could tell it used to be an arcade in the past, with the machines still in their places. A few were on and running, but many had been unplugged.

   "Jeongin," Seungmin called out in a sing-songy voice. He took the plate from Felix and walked ahead of him, leaving the latter to slow his pace and look around.

   If it weren't for the television and couches scattered somewhat nearly near the door, Felix really would've assumed it was an arcade from a normal running hotel. 

   There were game cartridge boxes laying around the floor, looking like they were accidentally kicked from a barely-standing pile next to the television stand. Felix couldn't see well in this lighting. He'd probably make the same mistake.

   "Come on, Jeongin. There are cameras everywhere in the building, and we all know you haven't left this room in forever. Come eat."

   Felix bent down to inspect a newspaper clipping from a business he'd seen plastered all over the billboards. He had to squint to make out the words. 

   "Chan made you that pasta you like. Shame you weren't there this morning." Seungmin crooned. 

    MISSING CHILD , the headline read. RETURN REWARD: THIRTEEN MILLION WON.

   Felix's gaze darted down to the rest of the article.

   "Ah, seriously," Seungmin sighed, and the rest of his sentence was spoken at the same time Felix read the name.

    YANG JEONGIN.

   He blinked. Once. Twice. Then after that, he stopped blinking for a long time, and looked around. A figure seemed to have materialized on one of the couches with a newspaper over their head. As if the lighting wasn't already second to pitch black. He looked back to the paper and flipped through it.

    HWANG HYUNJIN.

   BAHNG CHAN.

   KIM SEUNGMIN—

   "What's that?"

   Felix's head snapped up to where Seungmin was standing above him, pasta still in hand. He looked curiously at Felix before noticing the figure sleeping on the couch. Seungmin walked over and tapped his shoulder. Once. Twice.

   Felix rushed to put the newspaper back how he found it.

   Three times. Seungmin peeled the newspaper that served as a sleeping mask off their face, and Felix was surprised to see a kid his age resting peacefully. There was a game controller in his lap and a hand close nearby.

   "He sleeps like the dead." Seungmin commented. He placed the pasta on the coffee table and squatted down to search through a large cardboard box.

   Felix watched the domestics of it all; a kid sleeping on what could've been a living room sofa with his brother digging around for a second controller, not caring about how much noise he was making. Except it wasn't that. It was a missing person, no, two missing people in a busted-up hotel in the worst part of the city.

   He saw Seungmin pocket a film box and stand back up. 

   "Well, at least we know he's not in an episode right now. I'll try to drag him up for dinner."

   And with that, Felix was more than ready to leave the game room.

┌── •✧• ──┐

   He sat on the edge of his bed and thought hard. Three out of seven people in this hotel were being looked for at one point. That meant that they didn't just materialize into existence when the hotel went bankrupt. They were real people, they had stories. Did they remember those stories, or did they want to ignore them?

   A third possibility tapped Felix on the shoulder and presented the idea that maybe they didn't want to tell him about it. That was most probable.

    Shiiing… Click.

   Felix remembered being on the street once, nervous and scared, and brought the lock out of his pocket. He was almost shot for it. They must've thought it was a switchblade.

   He scoffed. A scrawny kid would not be threatening a grown man with a switchblade, no matter how desperate he was.

   At least, not that man specifically.

   There were no clocks, but it had been a long time since breakfast. Felix heard Seungmin arguing about the No-Jisung-In-My-Office rule again, so it would be safe to say he was talking to the one and only and that they'd be there for a while. 

   Felix got up and walked toward Hyunjin's room. There was no telling he would be done with his episode, or even conscious, but he had to try. So quietly, he knocked.

   "Felix." Hyunjin's muffled voice came. The proximity of his voice could entertain no idea except the one where he was leaning on the opposite side of the door. "Nice to hear from you."

   "Yeah. Um…" He stuttered over his next words for a second. 

   "There aren't any cameras on the second floor for privacy reasons, just the first floor and basement. Did you need something? Or did you just come to talk?"

   "It's a mix of both."

   "Go ahead."

   Felix lowered his voice. "I went into the game room earlier. There were newspapers lying around, and a few of them had… names on them. Names of people in the hotel."

   He thought he heard Hyunjin sigh.

   "Mm… Choi Yeonjun? Choi Soobin? Those names?"

   Felix hesitated, processing new information that even more people used to live in the hotel. Were they like them? "No. It was you guys. Seungmin, Jeongin… Chan. Everyone was listed as missing and had huge sums of money as a return reward."

   He paused, took a breath, then continued.

   "I don't understand it. Everyone seems so… normal? I know you said it's not like that at all, but now that I've seen the newspapers and know that you all used to live out there in the city… How do you live like this ? Trapped in here, with no contact from the outside world."

   "Well, I feel dead inside sometimes," Hyunjin laughed, trying to make a joke out of the suddenly somber conversation. "But it's mostly just in hope that someone would finally take pity— No, that they'd somehow understand this ridiculous situation we're in. Does that make sense?"

   It made sense, but if the note had come to Felix even a day before, his mood and situation wouldn't have aligned in a way that would make him accept. That’s how unlikely it was. 

   Still, Felix was here.

   "It's childish, isn't it? Hoping for something as unlikely as that? But still, I didn't have a choice. I'm seeing everyone I know rot away in front of me, and I don't even know who. I'm sure Seungmin's already gone; he just feels different, even if he seems like a perfectly normal young adult—"

   Hyunjin took a breath.

   "That's crazy. He's almost twenty. It felt like he was only fourteen when I met him."

   "You've been in here for that long?"

   "No, I knew him before that." Hyunjin whispered. Felix's heart sank a little as he finally cemented the fact that they had lives once. "Time flies."

   Felix couldn't offer up anything as a response, except for a sober hum of agreement. He leaned his shoulder on the door.

   "Don't think badly of Chan, Felix. I asked for him to lock the door."

   "Why?"

   "I'm sure the others have told you by now. What happens during an episode, I mean. I don't want anyone else to get hurt."

   "Anyone else?"

   Hyunjin went silent. Felix went back to the names he'd mentioned earlier; Yeonjun and Soobin. He stared at his dirty sneakers, feeling something he didn't know how to name.

   "If I could apologize to them, I would, Felix. But since you're here, there's a possibility I won't have to ever again. Like I said, you need to—"

   "Help us," they said in unison. Felix thought Hyunjin smiled.

   "Exactly. I trust you, so trust me. Trust me and Chan."

   "I will, Hyunjin."

   "Hyung."

   Felix paused.

   "...Hyung," he parroted quietly. Felix could practically feel the softness in their voices. 

   “Make sure you eat well, okay?”

┌── •✧• ──┐

   In the soberness of the conversation, Felix had completely forgotten to ask him who he was before the hotel. He sighed and began back down the hall.

   Hushed murmurs came from a stairwell that had previously been closed off. Curiosity got the better of Felix, so he took a quick detour to walk in its direction. After the voice was no longer distorted by cement walls, he recognized that it was Minho, who was talking to himself.

   "Quit it, quit it! It's fine. Seriously, it's fine! It's fine, it's…"

   Felix swallowed. His hand lingered on the doorframe.

   "You're holding on, aren't you?" A tense chuckle. "Yeah. You are. So quit it ," he gritted forcefully. 

   There was a loud echo as if Minho had slammed his palm against the metal railing and held onto it. He made a grunt of annoyance.

   Felix stepped back from the stairwell and went back to his room. Did Minho go missing too before he came to the hotel?

   He groaned. He needed answers. It was already late into the day, and he'd still gotten nothing that could help. It'd be too risky to make the trip back to Hyunjin's room now with Minho in earshot. Felix conjured a mental whiteboard and began listing everything he knew.

   One, three of seven were significant enough to someone else to have been formally listed as missing. 

   Two, Hyunjin and Chan could be trusted. Hyunjin was the one who took the initiative to protect others from himself, and Chan was nothing less than providing.

   Three, things could go south at any moment. He had thought that Hyunjin would at least be stable enough to hold on long enough to prove himself capable of assistance, but he had an episode the same day. It wasn't his fault, and Felix definitely wasn't blaming him, but still.

   Four, Seungmin had cameras and countless photos. He had information. Felix could use that. He would just have to enter Seungmin's office, snoop around, and maybe pocket a few key pieces or at least commit them to memory.

   And that's how he found himself hesitating at the doorway of said office, his eyes darting around every few seconds to make sure he was truly alone. 

   He stepped inside and immediately took note of how many more photos were piled neatly onto the desk. There was a file cabinet near the corner as well, and Felix beelined for it. He shifted to get onto his knees and carefully put a hand under the handle. It opened silently.

   There were alphabetical dividers for everything, ranging from a log of complaints about Minho's golfing to repairs on the hotel. Felix decided to double check everything and circled back to A. After opening the top cabinet and encountering the C divider, a faded piece of paper caught his eye.

    Choi Soobin. Full name, photo, and information. The whole deal. He pulled it out and began skimming the first few lines of information.

    Age: Eighteen.

    Past affiliations: Completely unaware of self-history. 

   Felix kept reading.

• Devotes himself to helping around the kitchen and keeping everything clean. 

• Often banters with Beomgyu and Changbin.

• Doesn't talk much about self.

• Consider the possibility of either premature signs of a long-term episode, or

   The last bullet point stopped there, presumably having been proved true just as it was written. Felix envisioned the scene of this Soobin person having an outburst just as the pen hit paper, and Seungmin having to stop writing his file and run out to help. Maybe that was when the accident happened…

    Blunt force injury to the head and torso; dated 1039.

   Okay. He assumed the numbers to be the days since Seungmin entered the hotel for the first time. After all, beside Chan's watch, there was nothing which could properly tell the time or day.

    Bedridden from 1039–1042. 

   How hard did this guy hurt himself? Felix glanced back at the doorway.

    Voice lessened in volume from 1042–present. Demeanor changed considerably; more reclusive and hard to find. More time spent on the second floor, rising from a 30% average during the waking day to a 65%.

   Denied an offer of help from Hyunjin, dated 1051.

   Denied an offer of help from Jisung, dated 1057.

   Denied an offer of help from Chan, dated 1063.

   Disappeared, dated 1064.

   The file stopped there. Felix dug around for the Choi Yeonjun file, but not before a rap on the doorframe caught his attention.

   "Doing some reading?" Seungmin asked. He didn't make any move closer. Felix just stared back. The paper clearly in his hand felt like it was burning his fingertips. Upon seeing what file Felix was reading, Seungmin continued.

   "Take the Yeonjun one too. It'll probably be helpful."

   Moving as slow as an animal trying to avoid capture, Felix did that. He didn't allow himself to face his back to the other, so he stepped back closer to the wall and looked through the cabinet from there. He carefully sifted through loose papers before finding the correct file.

   "Fold them and put them in your pocket. It's better to hide them from the others. And don't worry about creasing it either, I have copies."

   Felix, although confused, followed his instruction. 

   "Were you the one writing these?" He asked.

   "It's in my office, isn't it?"

   That was enough of an answer for him. He walked out of the office and began up the stairs again, only to be called out to.

   "Time is running out." Seungmin said. Before Felix could ask what he meant, he closed the door on him.

┌── •✧• ──┐

   "Evening, Felix," Jisung said cheerfully. He had a small bowl of chips in his hand, and was about to enter his room. Felix thought of Chan's no food rule again. He didn't say anything. "Anything new?"

   "Not really. You?"

   Jisung shrugged. "Does finding Changbin doing who knows what in the mall count? No? Then nothing I find worthy of talking about. It's getting boring, if you ask me. Very stuffy. Want one?"

   He held the bowl out.

   "I'm good. I just have a question."

   Jisung popped a chip into his mouth. "Shoot."

   "Can anybody really go into the mall?" 

   He sighed. "Ah, seriously, that Minho guy. Yes , you can. Don't mind what anybody else says. I'm in charge of that thing; where people can and can't go for safety reasons and electricity saving purposes. Do as you please."

   "Thanks."

   Jisung loudly ate a chip. He gave Felix a distracted "mhm," and went inside his room. Felix closed the door to his own, then breathed a sigh of relief. He unfolded the Yeonjun file.

    POST-MORTEM LOG.

      Pre-dating file was destroyed on 871. Updated version dated 912.

    Age: Eighteen.

   Past affiliations: Refused to share.

• Often found in the lobby or hanging around someone else. (Most notably: Chan, Hyunjin, Jisung, Kai, Taehyun.)

• Verbal.

• Quick to action.

   Denied help from Jisung, dated 819.

    Denied help from Changbin, dated 826. Lashed out.

   Well, that part was new. Felix came to the conclusion that having an episode meant mental reclusiveness. A flared ego? At least, that was the only thing that made sense.

   Suffered an episode lasting from 826–834. Inward. 

• Monitored by Chan and Soobin. Returned with minimal injury.

   Refused dinner, dated 834.

   Felix couldn't imagine missing a meal ever again after what he had on the first night. The thought of throwing up then re-entered his mind, and he slowly began to understand.

   Suffered an episode lasting from 836–838. Inward.

• Snapped wrist. Torn ankle.

   Suffered an episode lasting from 871—871. Outward.

• Hunt lasting 871–871.

• Locked in bedroom from 872–880.

• Returned with minimal injury.

   Hunt?

    "Hyunjin likes to throw knives and shoot arrows."

   Surely it wasn't like that.

   The sound of humming echoed outside Felix's bedroom. The intonation of the melody meant it was Jisung, since nobody else Felix heard in the hotel hums as high as he does. He felt the urge to bury the files in the cabinet below the television.

   "Ah, Chan." Jisung said.

   "Is that a bowl?"

   "No."

   Felix put the papers away, just in case. He tidied his room and fluffed the pillows. A knock came a moment later, and he allowed entrance.

   "You doing okay?" Chan asked. 

   "Yeah, I'm good. Just trying to fix everything up since I didn't like how messy it was."

    Trust him. Just trust him, Hyunjin said you could trust him.

   Chan smiled. He decided to help Felix with realigning the comforter, then went to tie the trash bag.

   "It's a nice change of pace to see someone who's tidy. Anyone besides Seungmin, I mean. You should see the game room…"

   "I have," Felix replied, the image of scattered game boxes and missing newspapers littered across the floor reappearing in his mind. "It's definitely—"

   "Something," they said at once.

   "At least you met Jeongin, yeah?"

   "He was asleep."

   Chan tied the top of the trash bag into a practiced loop. "Of course he was. …By any chance, did you talk to Hyunjin? Okay. Then he must've told you about this too, right?"

   He gestured toward the keys. Again, Felix nodded. Chan put a hand up to his forehead as if trying to push presumed stress straight out the back.

   "Whatever he said about it, ditto. It's just a safety precaution."

   "I understand." Felix thought about what it must've been like for Yeonjun to be locked up for almost a week. Was it a group decision to isolate him, or was there a leader who decided it? "How long is Hyunjin going to be in there?"

   "Hm."

   Chan walked back out of the bathroom with another trash bag. 

   "You talked to him earlier, so he must be fine. I suppose I'll let him stay in his room for as long as he wants. It gives him time to think, and one less instigator every dinner." Chan laughed. "That last part was a joke."

   "I know," Felix said softly, used to everyone's demeanors. "I know. Thinking about what?"

   "A lot of things. Private time to think of a plan or use his absence as an excuse to just sleep in. But usually just resting. The kid really does hurt himself sometimes. It's probably a mixture of all three this time."

   Felix wanted to ask about Yeonjun and Soobin, but was struggling to find a way to bring it up without making it obvious that Seungmin caught him digging around in his drawers. He sifted through his memory, and came up with a very good idea.

   "There were table leg dents on the dining hall floor. Did other people really live here?"

   Chan put the trash back down on the floor — not like there was much anyway — and sat on the edge of Felix's bed. He looked up at the ceiling, which left Felix worrying about if he had stricken a nerve or a long-buried memory.

   "Sorry. If it's too much, just pretend I never asked."

   "That's okay. I'm just finding a way to word it properly. Give me a minute, yeah?"

   "Sure."

   Felix hesitantly sat down next to him and studied his form. He had his hands supporting his weight from behind, and his head was tilted ever so slightly to the left as if he was reminiscing now. His eyes were closed, which Felix was thankful for. He didn't know what he'd do if he was caught staring.

   Chan spoke after a long silence.

   "There used to be a lot of us. Maybe thirty. Seungmin could probably tell you the exact number, but all I remember about everyone was how tight-knit they were. Meals felt like a middle school cafeteria. Every hall was occupied by at least three or four people. They'd always whisper when someone older came along. It was like an inside joke. I used to be a 'gossiper' too—" He quoted the air. "—But now, I'm the oldest. I get gossiped about."

   He chuckled quietly, and picked at his nails.

   "People just started leaving. Some would come back and stay for a while, but then the doors locked. It locked for a long time; when it was just everyone here and five other guys. Thankfully, there was no in-fighting. At least not until episodes began to happen."

   Chan winced at a memory that seemed to play in his head.

   "I won't say who threw the first punch. It'd give you a reason to be biased against them."

   Felix remained still, silently thankful at Chan's thoughtfulness. He leaned back a little too.

   "It kinda got bad from there. People started to get hurt, obviously, and everyone began to drift. Jisung and I make it a goal to always eat together, but even that is beginning to fail. If we all drift, then it'll be more distant, and people will begin to find more and more annoyances in each other. See what I'm getting at?"

   "Mm."

   "That's why Hyunjin and I knew something was special about you. Yeah, cliche. But the door only opened to you , Felix."

   "I'll try," Felix said, knowing full well the promise of assistance Chan would try to ask of him. "Really. I… I didn't even know this place existed. It's all crazy, but I'll try."

   He looked at Chan, who was already looking at him. Felix took the note out of his pocket.

   "Did you help Hyunjin write this?"

   "Mm…" Chan read off with a confused expression. "No. He only told me about it after he'd done it. Why?"

   "How did he get it out onto the streets if nobody can leave the hotel?"

   "There's a hole in the first floor washer room that only I have access to. The two of us send messages out in hopes that somebody will come across them."

   "What other stuff did you send?"

   Chan shrugged. "I tell Jeongin and Minho to write their anger down on small slips of paper, and then I throw it through there. I used to burn them up. Hyunjin likes to throw out short excerpts of a story he swears he'll never finish during our lifetimes."

   "I didn't know he writes."

   "There's a lot of stuff you still don't know." He dropped a hand on top of Felix's head. "But it's fine. Like Minho probably said, you're flexible and pick up fast. I'm sure you'll figure it out."

   "Surely you're not that confident in me."

   "Don’t lose trust in yourself. That’s sometimes the only thing we can do." Chan ruffled Felix's hair and stood back up, grabbing the trash bags as he walked back out into the hall. "Catch you later."

   Felix found himself absentmindedly waving back.

┌── •✧• ──┐

   He had never seen anyone else in the hotel go up to any floor above the second. Felix figured there might be a key detail or something he was missing that could be discovered, but didn't want to risk getting caught on the camera he was now glancing at every so often.

   He yawned. His conversation with Chan must've made his brain work overtime that night, because it felt like he didn't get even a wink of sleep.

    Shiiing… Click. Shiiing… Click.

   Felix turned the lock over in his palm as he waited for the elevator to come. When it did, he pressed the button for the first floor and went to find Seungmin. The hallways looked a little warmer now; maybe Chan changed the light settings?

   It seemed everyone was still awake, regardless of the currently horrible hour of night. Felix could hear Jisung's voice echoing from the dining hall. He tried to make out his conversation — something about limiting Jeongin's time with the games — but the sound faded as he shut the door behind him and went down the cement stairs.

   Seungmin's office was halfway between the first floor and the basement; a strange sort of connector between the two. Felix could assume the game room was no longer than a minute long walk away. He clutched the files on Yeonjun and Soobin and hesitantly knocked on the door.

   A quiet conversation he had only just realized was there went silent. A new voice whispered something incomprehensible, then it was followed by the sound of footsteps. 

   Seungmin greeted him at the door. The first thing Felix noticed about him was that he wasn't wearing the white coat. It was folded on the back of his chair. His gaze drifted to a man in a suit leaning back on the desk, and Felix almost jumped.

   "You can come in, Felix." Seungmin stepped aside. "I don't think you've met Changbin yet, have you?"

   Changbin gave him a casual two fingered salute.

   "Felix! I've been busy doing inspections and stuff. Sorry to introduce myself to you on your third day. I'd have come sooner, but our golf player is making quite a mess in the basement halls, and that stuff doesn't fix itself."

   Where did Minho even have the space to play golf? Surely it wasn't about getting the balls into their scoreholes. Judging by the cracks, it was most likely about the force of each swing.

   "I'm honestly surprised he hasn't killed one of us with a shot yet," Seungmin commented quietly. He ushered Felix to the side and kept a hand on the arm which was holding the files. He gripped Felix a little tighter, and Felix understood that he shouldn't take the files out with Changbin as an audience.

   "I will forever hate the day he found the clubs to begin with. He hasn't done anything with it during an episode, so I don't have any good reason to confiscate them, but—" Changbin sighed and stretched his arms. "You never know."

    It's a gamble , Felix thought, repeating Jisung's words. 

   "Anyway, I've got to get back to it. I'll see you around, Lix."

   Changbin patted Felix on the shoulder and fist bumped Seungmin. With only two left in the room, they were finally allowed to speak freely.

   "Okay. Questions about Yeonjun, I suppose," Seungmin whispered as he peered through the crack in his door one last time. "But before I do, how'd you sleep?"

   "Horribly."

   Seungmin nodded, lost in thought. Felix took it upon himself to lead the next part of the conversation.

   "What do you mean he hunted people?" Felix took the file out and held it near his chest. 

   Seungmin locked the door. "It's not that simple, Felix. I've been trying to figure out what makes outward episodes happen ever since Chan first got it. So far, there's nothing I can do but log everything in hopes of finding a pattern or a cause."

   "Please just answer the question."

   "He thought everything was a game. Yeonjun wasn't aware of what he was doing. When people go through an episode, it's like they black out. Just like that—" He snapped his fingers, and Felix flinched.

   He looked down at Yeonjun's photo. It was candid; a frozen moment of him sitting on a couch in what looked like the game room, with radial blur still weak enough to show his features well. He was looking directly at the lens with a smug smile, and Felix couldn't imagine him any other way. He returned his gaze to Seungmin, whose lips were in a straight line and whose eyes were faded of the fourteen year old kid that used to live inside him.

   "I'm sure the answer is obvious, Felix. But if you really need more information, don't trust anyone. Not Hyunjin, not Changbin, not Jisung, and definitely not me. Nobody."

   "But you gave me—"

   "I only gave you those papers so that if I have an episode and I really do lose myself for good, then someone else can continue my work. Do you really think it was me who was logging all of this from the beginning? You're my insurance."

   Felix's hand stiffened. He swallowed his spit and countered.

   "But if there's two of us actively working, then we can ensure that something actually gets done with your research. We can catch something the other might've missed, or…!"

   "Felix—"

   "Yeonjun was eighteen. Eighteen! You're older than he ever was, we can't let another person suffer the same—"

   "Felix!"

   The room went silent. Seungmin collected his composure and walked past Felix to search for a photo.

   "Interference just leads to disaster. We treaded the line too closely with Soobin. You know what happened to him, Felix, he disappeared. I can't just go up and ask Hyunjin if he needs help with his injuries. I can't tap Jeongin on the shoulder and offer assistance when he can't calm down. Do you understand? We're all on our own. They all… have their own lives.”

   The gears in Felix's head began to click. He stayed silent and held Seungmin's eye contact a little longer. The latter looked down and muttered something under his breath as he collected more photos. He bent down and started writing.

   "I don't expect you to get it, honestly. But know this; you are walking on broken glass, and it's still shattering. People are obviously going insane. Everyone is hiding it. Even me. Hyunjin probably threw me under the bus with that detail. He probably started to hate me ever since I… Nevermind."

   Felix wanted to say that no, that wasn't true, and that they had talked only a little while before about everything. Hyunjin definitely still cared, he just… Didn't say anything in fear of hurting him.

   Chan was right. They were drifting.

   Seungmin took Felix's hand and pressed a small stack of polaroids into it. With one quick glance, he could see it was photos of Yeonjun and another boy — Soobin, presumably — in different scenarios and on different days. Felix noticed the deep scar that ran up on the underside of Seungmin's forearm.

   "Study those. Tell me if you can see even a hint of malice, because those were all taken hours before their respective episodes."

   "You have a scar."

   Seungmin laughed bitterly. "Astute observation. It's more reason for you to notice things more."

   "But—"

   "Jisung will probably be back in a few minutes to bother me again, so you should go. Come back if you have any questions. Actually, just figure it out yourself. I'd probably be useless in the end. Don't tell anybody else about this."

   "Wait, what do you mean the end—?"

   "Seungmin!" Jisung sang. Seungmin gave Felix a commanding look and sent him out.

┌── •✧• ──┐

   Photo one was of Yeonjun sitting back at the dinner table, plate half-empty. He was halfway through a yawn. Nobody else seemed to notice.

   Felix brought it closer to the light of his bedside lamp. He squinted.

   There was the curve of a smile on his lips, something he hadn't noticed before. His posture was relaxed. If Felix didn't know any better, Yeonjun could've just been at a dinner party with school friends.

   He brought another photo up to compare them side by side. This one depicted him sleeping — well, attempting to — on someone's lap with his hands interlocked. There was annoyance in his furrowed eyebrows, but it was nothing less than playful. 

   The third photo was an alternate perspective of the second. It was Soobin holding an outstretched hand over Yeonjun's throat with his mouth half-open as if murmuring a friendly threat. There was blur around his hand, which suggested this photo was taken after the second, and that Yeonjun had finally slapped it away. Felix could already imagine the "knock it off."

   They looked peaceful. Happy, even, in a situation like theirs. Felix felt longing.

   No, he wasn't lonely.

   He put all three photos down on the stand and took a breath. There were still a few more to look through, but he just needed a second to process it all.

   There was a chance that those two were missing people as well. Soobin didn't remember anything about his past, Yeonjun apparently refused to talk about it, and it's not like Felix can just ask them. He'd probably have to go back to the game room and scrounge through the newspapers.

   He considered going in while Jeongin wasn't there, but the chances of Jeongin leaving the room was very small and he didn't want to get caught anyway. Maybe the kid was nocturnal, or something. Felix could go during the day?

   He pocketed the thought for later and went back to analyzing the photos.

   The fourth photo was of Soobin readying himself to flick what looked like Jisung's forehead. He had a silly grin on his face, but Jisung's own expression was one of almost genuine terror.

   There was something written on the back.  

   Felix turned it over.

    Cameras. Sorry. Can't say everything I want to. Keep your voice down next time, someone will overhear. I will help you. 

   Fifth photo. It was a near-identical duplicate of the third. He flipped it over and read it with increasing desperation.

    I can't tell you anything else. Nothing else I know. But Taehyun left me with one piece of information. Vital.

   Sixth and final photo. Felix made sure there wasn't any surveillance in his room, like Hyunjin assured him. Once confirmed, he read it.

    It's one of us.

┌── •✧• ──┐

   Somehow, Felix found himself passed out on the floor a while later. It was pitch black. He groggily got back to his feet and flicked on the bathroom light to check himself in the mirror.

   He did forget to eat for almost the whole day, so sudden lack of food probably messed with his system again. Felix hung himself over the sink and closed his eyes. At least there wasn't a rising feeling in his chest, but a slight burning in his throat. He cleared his throat and rubbed it. It was definitely the orange juice. Acid. 

   Felix sighed, remembering he hadn't had such a sweet drink in forever — and made a mental note to water it down tomorrow morning. Wasn't it enough to be in this situation as is? Can't he get one good night of sleep?

   Speaking of water, a glass of it would probably do him good. Felix silently stepped out of his room and took the stairwell. He didn't trust the elevator to work smoothly this time of night.

   He passed Jisung's clocks. Jisung was helping in other parts of the hotel, and so many of the clocks were paused for now so he could save their runtimes.

   The calming music playing through the speakers kept him awake as he felt around in the dark until reaching the cold, metal handle of the dining room door. He was about to push it open if it weren't for hushed voices from the other side.

   "I'm trying ," came Minho's shaky voice. "Just— I didn't mean to. Okay? I didn't mean to, seriously, I—"

   "I know." Chan responded.

   "If I had told Soobin to stay in the hotel that day, would he have still…"

   "Don't beat yourself up over that. That was over a year ago. Focus on what's going on right now, and what we can change about the future. We can't bring him back. There's no point in trying to change the past, Minho."

   At that, Minho took a deep breath. He made a noise as if nodding.

   "I think it was me who hid Seungmin's film," Minho said quietly. 

   Chan chuckled. "Well, he found it in the end, didn't he? It's fine."

   "I wanted to drop by his office earlier and ask for a few photos, but apparently I'd caught him at a bad time. He was busy scribbling something down. It was probably a new log."

   "Are you surprised?"

   "No. But I'm just saying, he's been in there a lot lately. Don't you think he and Hyunjin—"

   Something collapsed, writhing in pain. Chan said something under his breath. No longer able to hold back his concern and foolishness, Felix burst into the dining hall and saw — illuminated by candlelight — the scene of Minho suddenly yanking himself out of Chan's grip. The former reached for a knife on one of the cutlery sets and wielded it. His gaze dangerously met Felix's.

   Chan noticed his presence. He screamed at Felix to get out, but was interrupted by Minho lunging at him. They slammed into the table, and it dislodged from its place. The vase of flowers tipped over and crashed onto the hardwood floor.

   "You— I never should've ever spoken to you tonight," Minho gritted, his voice tainted with unfiltered aggression. He swung aggressively. "I'll—!"

   Chan shoved him back, although doing so in a way that would only make Minho stumble for enough time to grab the knife out of his hand. Felix stared at them. Alarms began to blare in his head. He wanted to help, but a weight dragged him back.

   Minho scoffed as if his original demeanor had returned to him. He flicked his wrists, completely willing to throw punches instead. Chan held his eye contact and yelled something at Minho. 

   Felix didn't register a single word. He took a step forward, but Chan immediately barked him back. Minho threw himself forward. Chan spun on his heel, grabbing the other's forearm, and swiftly pressed him against the table. He kicked the knife away. 

   It landed at Felix's feet.

   "Let go of me! You really have no idea— Don't bother saying useless words to my face—"

   "I'm trying to help you, Minho." Chan responded, resisting the other's thrashing. "We're getting closer, there's hope . Don't give up now!"

   Felix wondered if he should even be hearing this conversation. Minho continued spitting insults, ones meant to hurt, but Chan was completely unfazed. In fact, he called for Hyunjin .

   Wasn't he still in bed? Actually, his isolation might already be done.

   "Felix, seriously. You should go." Chan said.

   "Hyunjin told me to—"

   "Felix!" Chan yelled. "You will get hurt if you stay here. Back to your room."

   "You can't just— No, that's ridiculous!" He picked up the knife and held it away from Minho. He felt his mind begin to clear.

   "Felix, you're… You're still a kid. Please."

   What did that have to do with anything? Chan was struggling to keep Minho restrained. The former shot a gaze of authority at Felix.

   "I'm not —" Felix hissed. "Going back to my room like I've been grounded. Minho just tried to kill you. Unprovoked. Either you tell me how I can solve this, or literally anything that gives me an ounce of good information, or I'm not holding up my end of the deal."

   One of Minho's hands got loose. He clawed at Chan's chest, but Felix ran over and grabbed it midair. Now closer to Chan, he continued talking.

   "We have a deal , Chan. Remember? I will help you, but that goes two ways. Tell me more about what's going on, then I can serve you better."

   Minho growled at them, but it was now in vain. It was harder to move with two people holding him down. Felix glanced at him for a moment, then looked back at Chan.

   "So what will it be?"

   Chan blankly stared at him for a second. After a second, he sighed and nodded.

   "Get my keys."

┌── •✧• ──┐

   "Where's Minho?" Hyunjin asked, finally able to join everyone at breakfast again. He twirled a fork between his fingers as Chan placed a plate down in front of him with one extra egg. Hyunjin hummed with satisfaction and popped the yolk.

   "Getting some rest," Chan replied, and left it at that. 

   He didn't even have to glance at Felix. Both dragged a resistant Minho into a room on the third floor for secrecy and promised — tried to, it's hard to have a conversation with someone who wasn't in their right mind — to bring whatever was left over from breakfast. Afterward, Felix walked away without a word and immediately drew Chan into telling him more about what he needed to know. The conversation lasted practically the entire night, apparently, as now Felix couldn't stop yawning. He took the glass of water provided to him and added half to a new cup, alongside an equal part amount of orange juice.

   "You called out for Hyunjin earlier," Felix asked. "Is he all good now?"

   "We were talking before I met Minho in the dining hall, actually. He said he was feeling better and that he wanted to find a way to help you as soon as possible. Has he not come up to you yet?"

   "No. Maybe he knocked on my door while I was asleep, because I didn't hear him."

   "It'd be a good idea to talk to him in the morning then."

   "You look miserable," Jisung commented idly, bringing Felix back to reality.

   "I am," Felix responded, then clamped his mouth shut, embarassed at how fast and honestly he responded. "I mean, I just didn't sleep well."

   "Yeah, me neither. Horribly for the past few nights." He took a coffee mug from Seungmin and practically inhaled it. Hyunjin chuckled quietly. "At least your room isn't next to someone who mutters the entire night through."

   "I do not ," Seungmin said, once again finding himself a target of morning remarks. Hyunjin looked at him for a moment.

   "Do so."

   "The walls are thick. It's a good hotel, it's supposed to be noise proof. You're hearing things."

   "Dunno, 'Ugh, I hate how hard this is ,' and 'Who even wrote this part of the file?' sounded pretty vivid to me at the time."

   Felix paid extremely careful attention to how fast he was eating. He was almost tempted to turn away from Hyunjin as he ate the rice and meat on his plate, but the happiness of simply seeing him, an ally, overpowered the idea.

   Chan had arranged for an eighth seat to be placed at the table, between Hyunjin and Changbin's places. The latter seemed more interested in the activities on the other side of the table, appropriately so, as he sent humorous comments between bites. Felix couldn't help but smile at a few.

   Hyunjin, however, kept his gaze downward and barely looked at the others.

   "Did you ever get to talk to Jeongin?" Seungmin asked. He put his glass down and turned to Chan.

   "Every time I went, he was asleep. I didn't want to disturb him—"

   "You should!" Jisung chimed, pointing a fork at him. "The kid needs to be disciplined, taught, and shown proper manners, especially with…"

   "I'll come with," Felix said quickly. He needed to go down to the game room anyway. This was the perfect excuse to do so. His trust in Chan was wavered by the photos Seungmin had given him, but he had still given valuable information. "I wanted to take a look at the place again. Is that okay?"

   "Sure." Chan responded, picking up on the subtext. Felix smiled in response, and went back to eating, finally zoning back into Jisung's rant about good parenting and setting a good example.

   "You're not even a year older than he is!" Changbin shouted playfully. "Who are you to talk about parenting? Besides, look at yourself. You barely do anything around the hotel except stare at your clocks and bother Seungmin."

   " I'm just saying. " He put his palms up in defense. "And no, I do stuff too! You're just never here to see me work—"

   "Oh, blah blah…"

   "Chan, tell him I do work—"

   "Can't. I'm at the reception desk all morning and you always wander around from noon until night, so this isn't really looking good for you, in my opinion." 

   Jisung stage pouted. Changbin muttered an "Hah, outnumbered," then repeated it to make sure it was heard loud and clear.

┌── •✧• ──┐

   “Things have calmed down since you arrived.”

   Changin poured two glasses of water, and handed one to Felix. He took a long, prolonged sip, then proceeded to lean on the kitchen counter. He looked at Felix with a gentle expression. 

   Felix wasn’t expecting that. He stared into the water for a while before responding,

   “I thought it would be the opposite.”

   “Why’s that?”

   “I’m a newcomer. I probably freaked everyone out, right? Chan told me that the door never opens, but here I am. And Minho’s been staying away from me ever since I arrived.”

   Changbin took another sip. “Hopefully someone’s told you that he’s just like that with unfamiliar people.”

   Felix shrugged. He clicked the lock open and shut in his palm, inadvertently counting the seconds as well. Upon realizing this, he tried to look up to see if he really had aligned his fidgeting to the passing seconds, but there wasn’t a clock in sight.

    “Batteries are hard to find,” Changbin had said in passing. “That’s why Seungmin’s job as an archivist is so important.”

   It was also a constant reminder that time was still running out. Felix needed to learn as much as possible and relay it to Hyunjin.

   “Changbin,” he began timidly. “What’s your workload like?”

   “Here? It’s mostly just routine checks to make sure the building is still in shape. If there are any accidents, everyone goes to me. What made you curious?”

   Shoot. 

   “Minho. Everyone says he likes to play golf.” Felix replied. At that, Changbin stage-sighed. 

   “You should come with me sometime when I do a check-up. You’d definitely learn some stuff.”

   “Sure.”

┌── •✧• ──┐

   “Felix, you really do look half asleep,” Jisung said softly as he wiped the glass cover of one of his clocks. Felix yawned. He stood up and stretched, readying himself to leave.

   “Sorry. You were probably busy here, right? I’ll go back to my room.”

   “I mean, you can stay if you want. Who am I to stop you? Chan would probably get mad if I kicked you out anyway.”

  Jisung laughed. Felix watched how tenderly he attended to the clocks, especially a neutral-toned cuckoo one that stood out from the rest. 

    "Jeonghan made this one for me." Jisung reminisced with a smile. "He gave it to me on the first anniversary of me being here."

   "Cute." Felix had responded.

   Jisung quietly sang a melody. Felix flexed his fingers and decided to go on his way to meet Chan.

┌── •✧• ──┐

   "Jeongin, I'm coming inside."

   Chan opened the door to the game room and turned on a light switch Felix hadn't noticed the first time around. In the better lighting, Felix saw just how large the place was; the vastness of the floor area compensating for the low ceiling. The room wasn't square at all. It looked like a labyrinth. If a labyrinth was occupied by a teenager and his games.

   Chan bent down to one of the couches and lightly shook Jeongin's shoulder. It looked like he hadn't moved since the last time Felix came, but the lack of a controller on his lap, the pasta plate now being gone, and his black overcoat tossed onto the floor begged to differ.

   "Oh, finally, you're awake. Do you want anything to eat?"

   Felix silently moved away from them and backstepped to the television stand, then began to eye the papers by his feet. He saw the one from last time — untouched, who would even think it was out of place — and let his gaze flicker between the different headlines. 

   LOCAL ACTOR GONE MISSING.

   —was followed by a name Felix had definitely seen on the credits of a charity theater performance when he was a kid. He ignored it. Wen Junhui wasn't in the hotel anymore and therefore no longer important. Maybe he'd go check out his file later or something just to see if there was a pattern like Seungmin had told him.

   Felix snuck a glance at a half-awake Jeongin, then stooped down to look through one of the newspaper paragraphs.

   Did Chan know that the culprit was one of them? Was Seungmin even telling the truth?

    Hwang Hyunjin, a volunteer at— The school name was scribbled out, but the hangul felt familiar. 

   — Disappeared on…

   Well, that was a long time ago.

    First-hand accounts retell a series of events that go as stated: his arrival on campus, a short conversation with the student Kim Seungmin, followed by both of their disappearances before the end of the school day.

    Police have still yet to find either, but the search goes—

   Scribbled out, alongside the date of publication Felix knew was far in the past. He folded the paper — finally, something useful — and walked back to Chan.

   Jeongin was sitting on the couch, halfway through taking his overcoat back and putting it back on. He was making cheerful conversation before noticing Felix. Once he did, his cheerful smile turned almost hollow.

   "Who's that?"

   "I'm Felix," he managed to say with minimal stuttering. "I just got here."

   Jeongin laughed. "You just got here? No, you didn't. The door's locked, right, Chan? Chan?" 

   His laugh faded once Chan reiterated that Felix was telling the truth. 

   "You're kidding." 

   "I'm serious, I promise."

   "But— That door never opens. Don't tell me you just walked in, because if you did…" His voice went silent once he noticed both Felix and Chan were still looking at him. "Okay. Could you explain?"

   Felix nodded. He changed his story a little bit so as not to throw Hyunjin under the bus. He didn't know if Jeongin could be trusted. "I was walking on the street that day. It's still cold out there, and it was dark, so I wanted to find an abandoned building or something to spend the night in. I saw the yellow lighting from the lobby and mistook it for someone's can fire. The door really just opened."

   From the corner of his vision, Felix saw Chan bite the inside of his cheek. He had no idea what the other thought of the story.

   "There's no beating that, I guess," Jeongin said lightly. He sighed and stretched back on the couch. For a moment, Felix saw Yeonjun. "If you say so."

   "Jeongin, I also want to talk to you about something. It's not about the games."

   Jeongin blinked. After a moment, he smiled and began to follow, dragging Felix along. "Sure, I'll meet you outside in a few minutes?"

   Chan agreed and left the two alone. Jeongin tipped his weight onto one foot as he saw him out, cooing cheerful words and friendly promises, alongside a "turn off the lights, please!"   His smile dropped the moment the request was carried out.

   "I don't do well with liars, Felix," Jeongin murmured in a low tone. His eyes flashed in the dim lighting, and Felix's whole body seemed to shatter.

   "I'm not lying," he responded quietly.

   "And why would I believe that? You've given me no reason to trust you. You come here one day saying that you just so happened to encounter and enter the most run-down building on a garbage street. Sure."

   The newspaper in his pocket stained like blood. Felix resisted the urge to hold a hand up to cover it, knowing it would only attract more attention.

   "I'm not the dangerous one here. There's a routine that we all follow, and you're the outlier. I can bet there's an ulterior motive you have that you're too scared to admit too, isn't there? I'll even do you a favor and say it aloud for everyone to hear."

   The red light of a camera in the corner began to blink.

   "Wait—"

   Jeongin eyed him. "Scared?"

   "No," Felix said, and stopped there. He couldn't tell Jeongin that everything they were saying would reach the culprit's ears. "You can't. It's complicated."

   "That has never stopped me before."

   "It's stopping you now," he said timidly. Jeongin tilted his head down.

   "Repeat that."

   Felix froze.

   "I have good intentions." He replied instead. "Ask Chan; he'll tell you that I've been helping out in the kitchen and sweeping the floor when he needs it. I haven't interfered with anyone's activities. I haven't even stolen anything — check my room!"

   "Do you really think I haven't already done that?"

   Jeongin took a step forward. He was ever so slightly taller than Felix.

   "You're lying," Jeongin whispered mockingly. He reached for something in his chest pocket. "If you really had nothing, then explain this."

   He produced a small piece of paper which was folded and aged. The words POST-MORTEM at the top. Yeonjun's name, folded in a way that only the bottom half could be seen, but it was more than enough. 

   Jeongin wasn't at breakfast because he was searching Felix's room.

   "Cute. You think history lessons will save you? You really think that finding out about Yeonjun, Soobin, or any other person that has set foot in this hotel will save your skin? Answer me truthfully, Felix. I will give you one chance."

   Felix didn't say anything. He knew every word was being recorded, and he didn't want to reveal any of his allies to Jeongin. 

   "Nothing to say. How predictable—"

   Chan opened the door again, confused as to why Jeongin hadn't come out yet. The latter responded by pulling Felix underneath his arm as a friendly gesture, then whispered something into his ear.

   "I'll leave you with a final question. Even if you manage to figure everything out, how will you stop me?"

   He patted Felix's back and smiled.

Chapter Text

   "Hyung!" Felix called from down the hall. Hyunjin pressed the delay button and let him run into the elevator. "Thank goodness. It's Jeongin."

   Hyunjin blinked. At first, he was going to greet Felix normally, but the other’s rushed tone stopped him. "What?"

   "The culprit, it's—"

   "Hold on, culprit ?"

   Felix nodded, out of breath. He proceeded to explain everything that had led up to this point; how Seungmin had given him a secret note about there being a culprit in the first place, the fact that Jeongin had searched his room, and the newspaper clipping about Hyunjin himself still in his pocket.

   "Hyung, you… You used to volunteer at a school. I know that now," Felix said desperately. "Seungmin was a student too. The person trapping you in this hotel and preventing you from leaving, it's Jeongin. "

   The elevator door began to open, but Hyunjin pressed another button to send it to the basement and buy more time.

   "How do you know any of this?" He asked Felix.

   "He threatened me. He thinks I'm trying to do something bad to all of you because the door happened to open for me! I promise I'm not, really, but he thinks the reason I had Yeonjun's file was because I was trying to find dirt on—"

   "Quiet."

   Hyunjin's demeanor perked back up as the door opened. The hallway it revealed was unoccupied. He looked down both directions before taking Felix's wrist and pulling him into an unoccupied office. It was only there that he let go and allowed the conversation to continue.

   "If you're right about this," Hyunjin whispered tensely. "Then you have to be very careful about the security camera microphones. Jeongin's episodes are not to be underestimated, do you understand? From this point forward I don't want to see you anywhere near him."

   Felix nodded. "But how can we stop him? This is torture, isn't it? He can't trap you here!"

   "He already has, Felix. Focus on trying to answer your first question." He paused for a second. "Wait, Seungmin helped you?"

   "He did! He said—" And Felix cut himself off. Seungmin told him to trust nobody, and here he was revealing everything to another person and directly disobeying. He bit down on his tongue.

   "He said what? Felix, this is important."

   "I…"

   Hyunjin suddenly held a palm out to silence him. They listened as the sound of footsteps came closer then passed by, and it was only after another minute that he put his hand back down.

   "What did you mean when you said Seungmin was gone?" Felix asked quietly. Hyunjin's lips fell into a line.

   "Please, Felix, not this again…"

   "What do you mean? I have to know."

   And he wanted them to make up, but he wouldn't say that. Not now. It wouldn't help his case.

   "It's not something I want to talk about." Hyunjin replied.

   "Hyung, you have to! We— I need every piece of information I can get my hands on—"

   "I know." Hyunjin closed his eyes and took a breath. "But there really is nothing more than what I told you before. Seungmin's changed ever since we got stuck here, so I never see the side of him that's actually a kid. It's like grieving.

   "I'll just be honest. It's my fault things are the way they are between us. That's it. I don't want to think about what I could've done differently, so I just… Let's just focus. Okay? Jeongin snuck into your room and knows what you're trying to do. Does he know I'm the one who gave you that note?"

   "No, I didn't say anything."

   "Good." Hyunjin seemed to relax a bit. His tone sobered. "Don't ever say anything about that note to anybody else. Aside from Chan, not a single thing."

   "Is there anything we can do to try and stop Jeongin?"

   "We'd have to know why he's doing it first. None of us did anything wrong toward him — we all practically fawned over the kid the entire first year he was here. What other possibilities are there?"

   "But you said his episodes were scary too. What if… What if his memories during each episode retained themselves and built up over time?"

   "No, that couldn't be it. Jeongin was sober when he spoke to you. That means he knows what he's doing."

   Hyunjin double checked to make sure nobody was standing outside the office. He began running a finger against the books on the shelf, clearly trying to look for something specific. Felix waited until he pulled a leatherbound journal out.

   "This should be it." Hyunjin said. He leafed through the papers, an expression of confusion slowly starting to grow on his face.

   "What?" Felix walked over. "What's wrong?"

   "The pages are empty. I swear they weren't before. This was meant to be a log of the past beginning from the two hundred mark. Why is it…?"

   Felix nervously glanced back at the door before returning his attention to Hyunjin, who was now scouring the shelves for another volume. Again, blank. Replaced.

   "Nobody ever goes into this office," Hyunjin muttered underneath his breath. "Why would Jeongin hide all this information? There's nothing harmful about having history logs—"

   "The numbers on the files, are they supposed to be dates?"

   Hyunjin blinked. "...Yeah. Since Jeonghan was the first person here, he started keeping track of the dates with numbers instead of the traditional way. He only started doing it because he only thought of making logs a few weeks after his arrival, and he had already forgotten the date. It's the same with all the entries in the journals because every other logger on the team followed his example. Now it's just Seungmin in charge of these."

   And like that, it clicked. Jeonghan already began having issues with keeping his connection to the outside world ever since he came to the hotel. Everyone who has ever set foot into the building had gotten so used to the monotony of their new routines that it was getting harder to stay connected to their past lives.

   "Jeongin wants everyone to lose their sense of time." Felix whispered.

┌── •✧• ──┐

   Felix ran up the stairs with a speed he didn't even know he could reach. If every log in that office had been replaced with something blank, then Jeongin was already halfway to success. The only other place that still had numbered logs was Seungmin's office. If he could get there in time and somehow hide the files somewhere else, then at least one of Jeongin's ropes on them all could be cut.

   Trying to make everyone lose their only connection to their past lives meant that Jeongin's end goal was to trap everyone forever, including Felix. 

   Before parting ways moments before, Hyunjin told Felix that he would try and alert Chan. They had agreed to not tell anyone else in case they were Jeongin's agents. Hyunjin had run and taken the elevator, while Felix opted for a safer tactic, albeit longer. He now pushed his way past a door and held his gaze on Seungmin's office door.

   Felix burst in. Seungmin looked up from where he was sitting at his desk. Upon seeing how out of breath the other was trying to hide, he stood.

   "What happened? Why were you running?"

   Felix shut the door behind him and forced a smile. "I just needed another file. Do you have anything on Jeonghan?"

   "Jeonghan?" Seungmin raised a brow. "Where did you learn about Jeonghan?"

   Felix nonchalantly stuck his hands in his pockets. His fingers rubbed against the newspaper. 

   "I was talking to Hyunjin about the other people who used to live here," he said smoothly. "Because of the floor dents in the dining hall. He talked about history and stuff, and how Jeonghan was the first to start making logs. I felt like it'd give me more information on all this."

    Please, just one file. One file on anything. 

   Seungmin turned to the bottom cabinet and started looking through it. 

   Felix wanted to tell him about everything. He knew Seungmin's abilities would assist in making something work against Jeongin. But Hyunjin didn't want to endanger him again, and Felix didn't want to disobey his orders, so he bit down on his tongue. 

   "What happened to Jeonghan, if you know?" he asked, trying to get his mind to drop the idea.

   "He was able to leave. He wanted to stay and help us out, but we all suggested he go back to what he really wanted, especially Jisung. Here." 

   Seungmin handed him a folded piece of paper. Felix unfolded it. There, clear as day, was a date of important events surrounding him; identical formatting to Yeonjun and Soobin's files. He put it next to the newspaper clipping.

   "Is Hyunjin doing good?" Seungmin asked quietly. Felix blinked.

   "...Yeah, he is. Why? Did you not get to talk to him earlier?"

   Everyone sat at the same table for at least an hour that morning. Felix realized that they hadn't spoken to each other then. And it was like that on the first night too. Come to think of it, had Seungmin ever spoken to Hyunjin during his time here? 

   Seungmin didn't make eye contact. He pulled out what looked like a few extra files out of the cabinet and folded them to fit better in Felix's pocket.

   Was it fear? Worry? Why did these two avoid each other? Felix wiped his face of any expression of investigation as he took the new files. There was a tenseness in the air as Jisung knocked on the door.

   "I ran into Hyunjin in a rush just now. He looked stressed." he said through the door. "Seungmin, let me in!"

   He and Felix shared a look before relenting. Seungmin opened the door to find Jisung with worry melted in his eyes. He didn't step inside the office, which Felix noticed Seungmin was very surprised about.

   "I also found out Minho's in an episode. Did either of you know about this? Why didn't you say anything?" 

   At this, Seungmin glanced at Felix. His face contorted into something unreadable — "why wouldn't you tell me that?" — for a moment.

   "I didn't want to worry you guys," Felix said immediately, half truth and half cover up. "It happened suddenly last night. Everyone would've been asleep, and…"

   "Both of us were awake. You know we sleep late, Felix." Seungmin said. 

   "Right." Jisung added. "But surely it wasn't just you who found Minho, right?"

   "...Chan was there too." He admitted, having no other choice.

   Jisung hummed. He readjusted his collar as he spoke. 

   "There you go. That makes more sense. Anyways." He waved a palm in the air. "You went down to the game room earlier, right? Hopefully Jeongin wasn’t still sleeping."

   Felix swallowed and nodded.

   "Finally, a moment where he isn't glued to a screen."

   Seungmin agreed tensely. Felix knew it was out of doubt, not confirmed suspicion like his. 

   "But Felix," Jisung continued in a gentle tone. "Hopefully Seungmin isn't bothering you too much."

   "I'm not. " Seungmin jutted in.

   "He's always hanging around your office, isn't he? A secret hideout, or something. Ah, those days…"

   "You aren't even that much older than me." Seungmin closed his eyes to draw patience. "Remember why you got banned from this room."

   "Distracting you isn't even that big of an issue!"

   Felix took a small step back as the others bickered. It went on for a few minutes before Jisung raised a palm and the room fell silent again. Using this authority, he spoke.

   "Okay, sorry. The real reason I came is because I wanted you to check up on Hyunjin. To be honest — and sorry for saying this while you're in the room, Felix — the silence between you two…" Jisung let the rest of his sentence wilt. 

   Seungmin suddenly looked a bit uncomfortable. 

   "Felix, could I just have a moment?"

   And with that, Felix was guided to the exit and onto the other side. The door clicked behind him.

   He knew better than to eavesdrop, but with everything going on, Felix decided to listen in. Perhaps then he could find out why both sides of the tension — Hyunjin and Seungmin — refused to talk about their issue. Whatever that issue was. Their voices were muffled but still easily understood.

   "Jisung, this isn't your business." Seungmin said.

   "Chan talked about this; if there's been an argument, then you have to talk it out. We can't risk tension in a situation like ours, Seungmin. You should know that."

   A pause.

   "It's been almost three weeks of this." Jisung murmured. "What even happened between you two?"

   "Don't push it."

   "Seungmin—"

   "I said, don't push it."

   Felix stared at the floor.

   "You know everyone else sees what's going on too. You act like it's just between you and Hyunjin, but it's not. Remember Dino? This stuff is dangerous . Even more now since Felix is here."

   "I'll work it out."

   "You've said that countless times," Jisung said quietly. 

   "I have other things that need to be done. There's people to be tended to—"

   "One of which is Hyunjin—"

   "This is what I mean when I say you distract me!"

   The sudden volume of Seungmin's voice made Felix flinch. He moved a little ways away from the door.

   "I'm trying , Jisung! I'm trying to log every day to make sure we don't lose our only tie to the lives we used to live, I'm trying to make sure we all survive, I'm shouldering all of this—" His voice cracked. "So that one day, we can go home. Do you ever think about that? No! Because all you do is—"

   Chan, who had just come down the stairs, drew Felix's attention away from the argument with his presence alone. The two looked at each other for a while in silence as they listened.

   "I'm trying to keep everything together in here too! Chan and I; we try to organize at least everyone's meals together. Half of these people don't even show up," Jisung responded bitterly.

   "I go!"

   "I know you go! I'm telling you that none of our efforts will succeed if all you do is think about your own work and argue!"

   "Look at yourself," Seungmin responded dangerously. 

   Chan stood beside Felix and placed a hand on his shoulder. Felix assumed he talked with Hyunjin and that he was up to date on everything, and so he gave one of the extra files to him just in case his own were compromised. Chan took it and put it in his chest pocket.

   "See where this leads you." Jisung hissed. 

   All of a sudden, the door swung open. Jisung eyed Chan up and down before angrily storming back up the stairs. Seungmin was left standing in the middle of the room. His eyes were redder and his hands were in tight fists. Before Chan could even speak, he pointed past their shoulders, instructing them to leave.

┌── •✧• ──┐

   The rest of that day came and went as if nothing happened. Felix bid his goodbyes to the others, ate plenty of dinner, and asked Hyunjin if he could sleep in his room, to which the other graciously agreed. He found out Hyunjin was a deep sleeper that night, as Felix woke up in the middle of the night feeling exhausted, which he attributed to a nightmare about being trapped and the unfamiliar bed.

   Hyunjin decided to let him sleep in. Now almost noon — according to Chan's watch, that is — Felix followed Chan to the third floor.

   "Minho, we're coming in."

   Felix followed Chan into the bedroom. There, lying down and facing away from there, was a pile of blankets he could only assume Minho was under. He was still, which meant that the episode had ended.

   "How long do they usually last?" Felix whispered. 

   "Anywhere from an hour to a week, in more extreme cases. Minho's are fairly short." Chan whispered back. He sat down on the edge of the bed and shook him slightly. "You awake?"

   Felix thought he heard a quiet mumble. 

   "Does your head hurt?" Chan asked. 

   Felix wanted to suggest coming back later, but he knew not to question Chan's methods. He wondered how Chan felt about Jeongin now. Maybe he could ask later, as long as they were in a spot that wasn't being monitored.

   He looked around the room. It was practically identical to his own, except the layout was completely mirrored. The painting was different and there wasn't a crack in the paint where the wall met the floor.

   Minho slowly turned over to face the others. He squinted because of the light in the hall, and Felix took it upon himself to go and close the door. Once he returned, Chan was already halfway through helping the other sit up. Felix offered Minho a caring expression.

   Nobody spoke for at least a minute. Felix understood why.

   "I'm sorry." Minho whispered. 

   "It's okay," Chan said comfortingly.

   "No, I really should apologize." He looked up at Felix. "Ever since you got here, I've been nothing but rude. I probably attacked you last night too."

   Felix wanted to excuse it, but the fear of seeing Minho wield a knife with intent to harm was a bit more than terrifying. He nodded in acknowledgement. 

   "You've been having episodes less and less. That's always a good thing in the end. None of us need to remember yesterday, okay?" Chan smiled.

   "...Yeah. I'll try. I guess it's just hard."

   "It's definitely hard."

   Minho smiled to himself at that. He fidgeted with his hands, and Felix could see that he was tapping out a melodic pattern.

   "But thank you. Both of you." Minho shook his hands out. "I think I was able to stifle the episode a bit more since Chan was talking to me right as it happened. If I said anything hurtful during it, please don't take it to heart. I'll try to do better."

   Chan chuckled. "Don't worry. You've been regularly coming to mealtime each day, so that's definitely progress."

   "It's the least I could do to keep everyone from falling apart. Sorry for making it hard on you."

   "You set an example."

   Felix timidly raised a palm. "Speaking of drifting… What happened between Hyunjin and Seungmin? I just happened to overhear something."

   Chan and Minho exchanged a look. The latter seemed as if he didn't want to be the one to make the decision. Chan thought about it for a moment, then returned to Felix.

   "It really isn't my business, but yeah. You should know," he began gently. "Seungmin had an episode a few weeks back. He and Hyunjin got into a huge argument right before then while everyone else was somewhere else. We couldn't intercept them in time."

   "Changbin has access to the entire security system. He knows everything about everyone. You could rewind the tape and—"

   "Minho." Chan warned.

   Felix looked between the two. Did Minho know about the note, the operation, everything else? 

   They left Minho to rest more, but seeing Changbin jog in their direction meant that he definitely wouldn't be able to. Changbin greeted them before sliding into the bedroom. Felix heard his happy voice and Minho's somewhat relieved one, then turned to Chan.

   "Have you seen Jisung at all?"

   "Not since yesterday," Chan responded somberly. "If an argument gets out of hand, I try to let it calm down a little bit before interacting with whoever was involved. Sure, it eats up some time, but it's better than accidentally making it worse."

   Felix thought about it for a second. Chan was always looking out for everyone else. He cleaned Felix's room with initiative, he manned the reception desk without complaint, and he even cooked everyone's meals every day.

   "You make good food," Felix said absentmindedly. Upon realizing what he said — and how childish it made him sound — his eyes widened with embarrassment.

   Chan chuckled. "Thanks. I'm happy you like it."

   "...Is that what you did before all of this?"

   Chan opened the stairwell door and followed him down the stairs. "No. I don't really remember what I was. I've been here for a long time. Sorry to disappoint, Felix."

   "Sorry for asking," Felix replied, deflecting the apology. "Maybe one day you could go back to it; find out what you used to do."

   "Is that what you want for yourself?"

   Felix held onto the railing as he went down. He imagined Minho muttering to himself, but shook the thought away. "I don't know. I wasn't really anything before this. Not anything I’m proud of, anyway."

   He shivered. But a twisted hotel was better than nothing, right? How ridiculous it was to consider staying for even just a moment.

   "Well, do you want to be something new?" Chan asked, snapping him out of his stupor.

   "Like what?"

   Chan shrugged. "What do you like?"

    Not having to stand in the rain , Felix thought. Having a warm place to sleep. Decent food, or just someone to eat with.

   "I like a lot of things," he chose to say. 

   "Then you have a lot of options."

   Felix watched as Chan unlocked the door to the mall plaza. He'd only been here twice. The second instance was to accompany a smiley Changbin to see if there really was a water leak below the old clothing stall — they were there for hours but eventually found it — and the whole place still felt very unfamiliar. There were exposed rafters and what looked like skateboard marks on the stair railings. The whole place looked like a great place for agility practice, which is probably why Hyunjin liked to hang out here.

   "How much does Minho know about all of this?" Felix asked.

   "Not everything. Hyunjin and I try not to tell anybody about it, because we could stress them out too. Severe emotion often leads to an episode."

   "...So that's why Hyunjin's are the worst. Because he's doing all of this," Felix whispered. 

   “He really does care about everyone, Felix.”

   A wave of pity washed over him. Felix felt horribly bad for him now, and so decided to help out in even the little ways too. Chan didn't have episodes — or any signs of one — as often as Hyunjin did. Felix deduced that he probably didn't know everything either. There must be a hierarchy of information. 

   Chan flicked his wrist to stretch it, and Felix recalled something he said on their first day.

   "Why do you hide your watch under your sleeve? I always see you readjust it so that it's not seen."

   Chan's silence made it seem like he was debating between replying or not. He decided on an affirmative, in the end.

   "Jeongin told me to."

┌── •✧• ──┐

   Felix had gotten used to the classical music playing through the speakers. He kept his silhouette small as he took the elevator back up to his room. Upon arriving, he hesitated for a moment before opening the door, listening to hear whether his stuff had been searched through again. The bedsheet he’d left in a specific position before leaving was the same, so he relaxed and sat down.

    “Jeongin told you to do that?” Felix asked, beginning to formulate a new plan in his mind that didn’t include Chan. He held onto his composure. “Why?”

   “It was over a year ago, and I don’t remember. I find myself forgetting a lot of things.”

   “No, there must be a reason. Please try to remember. It could be useful.”

   “I don’t think so. We were hiding during one of Hyunjin’s outward episodes — seven twelve, the date — and at the last second before we had to run, Jeongin told me to hide that watch and never let anyone see it ever again.”

   Felix blinked. He thought it was a lead, but apparently not. Chan, on the other hand, looked as if he was still thinking about it.

   “Why does that stand out to you?” Felix asked.

   “It was the first thing any of us had ever heard Jeongin say.”

   Then that meant Jeongin had come to the hotel with intent. How ironic for him to be the one with ulterior motive. But why that? Why tell Chan to hide his watch?

   Chan could be the accomplice. 

    “Jeongin had only been here a few weeks before that day.” Chan explained. “He was really timid. Wouldn’t talk to anyone except Jisung and Kai, and even then, that was on certain occasions. The fact that Hyunjin had an episode — and an outward one at that — so quickly after his arrival… It definitely left a mark on his mind.”

   “And the door was already locked by then?”

   Chan nodded. Felix took note of that, and said his goodbyes. Hopefully he was telling the truth. At this point, Felix would have to triple check everything said to him or even heard in passing.

   Before he even arrived back at his room, he had decided to keep his distance from everyone. People were definitely lying to him. Felix would be on his own, but he could trust himself. He had to.

┌── •✧• ──┐

   Felix turned over in bed and yanked on the lamp rope to turn it on. The sudden light made his vision go black for a second, and so he lay there trying to adjust.

   Seungmin's stack of photos was hidden underneath his pillow, alongside the photo of himself from the first day. Felix turned it over in his hand. It was almost creased on the bottom, but other than that, perfectly intact. He looked at himself.

   A photo taken from the security camera feed. Felix breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn't being stalked, at least, not traditionally. He considered trying to get into the security room, but it would take too much time; something he didn’t have enough of.

    But to save Hyunjin, Minho, and anybody else who wasn't against him, Felix would need to shut all the noises out. Focus. 

   It was getting stressful. Even after a few minutes of the bedside light being on, Felix's head still ached with the weight of everything he had to do. He let his hand drop into the mattress and closed his eyes to try and go back to sleep.

   Restlessness kept him awake. Awake. Awake. Five minutes. Ten. Fifteen. 

┌── •✧• ──┐

   Blurry. Someone was screaming at him, so he yelled back. Hands on his arms. Someone's silhouette standing over him. Shining a light in his face—

   "Felix!"

   Felix shook awake. He was half in Hyunjin's arms, half in Chan's. Inches above the floor.

   "Felix, you're not in danger. Just take a second."

   "What…"

   He was then adjusted to sit against the wall. Every movement sent a shock of pain through his legs and into his torso. He blinked a few times, trying to understand what happened. Chan and Hyunjin were looking at him with a concerned expression. The latter murmured something.

   "Make sure he didn't crack a bone or anything. Is there any water in here?"

   "Grab a cup from the bathroom sink. The kitchen's far." Chan whispered. "And it's still late."

   Felix's knuckles felt ice cold with a throbbing pain. He tried his best to open his eyes and see where he was; was he still in the bedroom? The acoustics sounded different. Maybe he was just delirious. Someone held the rim of a cup to his mouth and he drank it.

   "Slowly. Chan, please shut the door."

   Footsteps echoed into the distance for a moment and returned. Yeah. Still in his bedroom. Felix pushed the cup away from his mouth. He was greeted with Hyunjin's gentle expression.

   "Does anything hurt?" He asked, to which Felix barely shook his head.

   "It's an episode. Inward, thankfully. For the most part." Chan explained. There was a new bruise growing below his eye, which he didn't attract attention to. Felix winced. 

   He shouldn't accept help. Not now. There were other things to be done, this time could be spent doing something actually productive—

   "Don't get up, you'll hurt yourself."

   Without any other choice, Felix gave up. He let his eyes shut and listened to their conversation.

   "Hyunjin, how did you even get here so fast?"

   "I had to talk to him about something. It was urgent."

   "You couldn't have waited?" Chan's tone was genuine.

   "No, it… It was personal. Not about all of this. It was about Seungmin. He deserves an explanation, Chan."

   "Yes, but…"

   "Isn't that what we're trying to prevent? Drifting, and misunderstandings? I don't want him to get the wrong idea. I want him to know."

   Felix groaned quietly, surrounded by mild pain. He opened his eyes and locked his gaze with Hyunjin, urging him to continue. Chan relented.

   "You probably noticed we haven't spoken to each other. Felix, it was an argument about time." Hyunjin chuckled bitterly. "Stupid, huh?

   "He spends a lot of time in his office. Working himself to death. I tried telling him that he should just take it easy every once in a while, like Jisung does with Jeongin, so that he doesn't lose himself. I thought it'd work, but it only made him even more mad."

   Felix observed Hyunjin's expression. It was somber.

   "We first arrived at the hotel together. Package deal, Beomgyu liked to say. Seungmin didn't know anybody else, so I was his middleman for communication. I knew everything about him. And he was observant, so I ended up knowing everything about everyone else too. After Jeonghan left, I recommended he take up the logger role so that his skills could be put to good use."

   "It did," Chan commented quietly. 

   Hyunjin nodded ever so slightly. "It did. But it's all he ever does now. He avoids talking whenever he doesn't need to. I'm afraid Minho had more of an influence on him than any of us ever did," he joked sadly. "He's been here for so long, and he's changed so much."

   "Haven't we all?"

   "I was horrible back then, so hopefully, yes. But my point is that — this is hard to say, Felix, so forgive me if it doesn't sound right — I ask too much of Seungmin. I'm not his brother, and I don't have a right to boss him around anymore."

   Hyunjin took a breath.

   "He had an episode that day. Lashed out. It's my fault, I started it all."

   "It's not," Felix said quietly. Hyunjin looked at him as if he had forgotten he was speaking out loud. "Neither of you. He wants to dye his hair."

   Chan was beginning to nod, but a confused expression quickly filled that gap.

   "Red," Felix explained in a croaky voice. "Like yours."

   It was silent for a long time. Chan got up to get him another glass of water, and during that downtime, Hyunjin asked Felix a question.

   "What are you talking about?"

   Felix shook his head. "He's not avoiding you, hyung. He just doesn't know whether you're upset with him or not."

   "Upset with him— No, why would I—"

   Hyunjin slowly got up to his feet. He bid Felix a quick goodbye and quickly left the room just as Chan returned. Felix took the water refill from him and tried to force the pain in his hands out. 

   Maybe he could rely on these two after all.

┌── •✧• ──┐

   Jisung gave Felix a fist bump upon entering his room. He sat down on the edge of the bed and started retelling everything that had happened that morning, from Minho's gentler demeanor to Chan's tangible relief.

   "Changbin sat next to me today, since Seungmin wanted to sit next to Hyunjin. It's good that they've made up."

   Felix thought about how Jisung himself had stormed out yesterday. Had Seungmin moved seats for two reasons, the second one being to avoid being near Jisung? 

   "It's good that everyone was able to attend breakfast then," Felix responded from where he was laying in bed. He was instructed to lay low and stay in his bedroom, so he did just that.

   "Definitely. Even Jeongin!"

   Felix's hands tensed. He offered a smile. Last time he checked, the photos and extra files were still under his pillow, so he moved a hand to nonchalantly check. 

   "We saved food for you too, Felix. Chan said to meet him in the kitchen whenever you felt ready to come downstairs. No rush, of course. Well, kind of a rush. You should get there before one of the others beats you to it."

   "I'll try."

   "Good." Jisung yawned and patted the mattress before standing. "I'll be going then. See you around, okay?"

   Now alone, Felix pulled a small notepad out from the bedside cabinet and sat up. Hyunjin passed him the notepad the night before for him to use "however he wished" — as pointed as the suggestion was — so Felix wrote down everything he knew.

   He still needed to find a way to the security room so that if anyone disappeared or did something weird, he could have a visual log to go back on. Felix underlined Changbin's name. He'd look for him later.

   He got up and took the elevator down to the first floor. Changbin had said in passing that he would be in the mall all day, so Felix headed there with intent to ask a few more questions about the building complex. The two grew a bit closer within the last few days anyway. It wouldn't be weird.

   From the elevator's glass walls, he could see everything outside. So close, yet so far. Nobody could see him from here. Nobody even liked to hang out in this part of the city.

   Felix ignored the remnant throbbing in his skull and pushed the mall doors open. They were heavier than he imagined — or maybe Chan and Changbin were just used to the weight — so it took him a few seconds longer to get inside. 

   The mall was bright as always. He called out Changbin's name a few times, but there was no response. Felix checked underneath the stairs. Maybe the leak was back?

   It was sealed perfectly. 

   Confused, Felix re-entered the hotel and asked Seungmin if he had seen Changbin. He replied by saying he hadn't since yesterday.

   Since yesterday?

   Felix asked if he had made up with Jisung. Seungmin responded simply in the negative and walked off. 

    Shiiing… Click. Shiiing… Click. Shiiing… Click. Shiiing…

    "Don't go anywhere near Jeongin." 

   Jeongin had messed with Jisung, and by association, Chan. It was manipulation. He was trying to fool everyone . Changbin was already gone .

┌── •✧• ──┐

   "Chan, please." 

   Felix stood in front of him. The elevator closed in their hesitation.

   "I can't go down there alone. Hyunjin said it himself, it's too dangerous. Come with me, please."

   "Felix, you were explicitly told to stay away from Jeongin."

   "Changbin is missing !"

   "Can you really assume so fast?"

   Felix was getting desperate. "Is it likely to be anything else? Jeongin is manipulating all of us. He'd start by picking us off one by one, right? We just need to find something that we can use against him."

   Chan shushed him, then spoke in a quieter tone. "We'd be going in blind. What are you even looking for?"

   "There were newspapers about his past. His bounty: thirteen million. There's got to be information there. Leverage! We only have one chance to do this while Jeongin's not in the game room."

   The next few stressful minutes consisted of sneaking through shortcuts that wouldn't be caught on camera. Felix slowly pushed the game room door open and scanned the darkness for anything mildly human-shaped. Once he made sure there was nothing, he went inside and shone a pocket flashlight onto the floor. Chan kept watch.

   Both were thinking the same thing. Jeongin, a shy and silent kid suddenly attempting to pull this mastermind plan on people who were all older than him? It seemed too ambitious.

   Felix bit down on his lip as he accidentally kicked down a pile of game cartridges. He bent down and sifted through newspapers. Countless names and useless headlines passed straight through his mind, only a few reiterations of Hyunjin and Seungmin's story stopping him for a quick moment.

   Chan shifted his footing in the corner of Felix's vision. Hyunjin would definitely kill them for being down here right now.

   The sudden light change of an arcade machine shutting off made Felix flinch. He forced himself to ignore it and keep searching.

   His hands began to shake. The more time they spent in this room, the more nervous he became. It seemed like the newspapers had been switched out, but Felix inched closer to the couch Jeongin would often sleep on and swiped his hand underneath it to make sure he didn't miss anything.

   He latched onto a piece of paper. Filled with sudden tenseness, he pulled it out and shined his flashlight on it. This issue of the paper was annotated with a pen.

    Yang Jeongin, the childlike handwriting said. Journal beginning 691. 

   The diary was a goldmine. It spoke of history that all lined up with what Hyunjin and Jeonghan had said, proving that both were trustworthy. It talked a lot about random things, even down to the dinners the meal team had served.

   But then it began to list dates.

    693: Jisung approached me and he talked about his past life. He said he used to be a singer. He performed at small community events.

   It would explain Jisung's constant humming. He thought back to the notes he had made for him on their first night. The handwriting seemed familiar.

    697: Chan has a watch from outside. He let me try it on, but my wrist is too small for even the slimmest setting. I still like it.

   But why would he tell Chan to hide the watch if he thought it looked good?

   699: Kai keeps talking to me. Soobin and Jisung tell him to leave me alone, but he doesn't listen. It's not that bad. I'm older than him.

    Felix resisted the urge to smile. He knew what that satisfaction felt like.

   702: Kai disappeared.

   707: Taehyun and Soobin like to sit with me at mealtime. They're quieter. I prefer it to the loud tables. Tomorrow, they'll eat lunch in the lobby to save time and go back to their duties. I want to join.

   Everybody was obsessed with time, weren't they? Chan's watch… 

   708: Taehyun and Soobin talked about how everyone is tense. They seem scared. I want to help, if it's possible. Beomgyu talks about leaving, but he wants to help too. 

   Jisung's clocks…

   709: Jisung keeps trying to warm up to me. He says I can help him with something, because Kai is gone.

   The handwriting looked sloppier. Rushed. 

    710: Beomgyu left.

   Jisung had at least thirty clocks. Chan said there were around thirty people. 

    711: I feel calmer. I don't think it's right.

   Jisung only really took care of one clock. A cuckoo clock. Each clock represented one person. Many of them were stopped. Dead. Gone.

    712—

   The date Jeongin had to hide from Hyunjin's episode. The date he spoke out loud for the first time.

    712: IT'S JISUNG

   Felix flipped to the next page. Empty. Next page. Empty.

   Empty.

   Empty.

   Empty.

   Someone placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

   "You know, I thought I got rid of every log in the building," Jisung hummed into Felix's ear. "Shame. I always tend to miss things."

   Felix stared straight down at the floor. His mind raced, full of every single thought and nothing at all.

   "Jeongin played his part well. He's a good actor. It's fun to see people pretend to be something they're not. Isn't that right, detective ?"

   Felix didn't answer. He let his eyes wander over the words again. 712. 712.

   After seeing his silence, Jisung frowned. "You're no fun. Fine. If you aren't in the mood to entertain my comments, then enlighten me on this. How did you not figure me out at the beginning? I thought you were supposed to be famous all across the city and past the walls. You're… Quite bad at your job. Or maybe you were too stuck on the hospitality of everyone in here that you reverted to what you were before the city leaders grabbed you off the streets. It's possible, for someone like you."

   "You're bluffing. You don’t know anything about me.”

   Jisung chuckled. "Your showy display of a cold front isn’t helping your case. Get up, detective. I don't kick someone who's already kneeling."

   With no other choice, Felix got to his feet. All of his proof was still located deep in his pockets. Jisung would have to tear him apart to reach any of it.

   "I'll give you credit. I admit I didn't know who you were at first either. But fortunately for me, you told me everything, out of your own free will."

   Felix resisted a change of expression. Jisung saw this and exhaled.

   "I don't cause episodes, Felix. I reach into people's minds and take what I want from them. Like Jeongin." Jisung said. He walked circles around Felix, taunting him. 

   "You're overconfident in your own skills—"

   "Oh, drop the act, will you? We both know your hands are shaking as if you're back in that winter cold.” Jisung spat.

   Felix eyed the door. He could still make a run for it, if there was a proper opening. He moved his gaze away from the exit and tried to retain his expression. 

   "Speak, detective. We have time."

   Felix scoffed. 

   "What have you done with the others?" he asked, keeping his tone sharp and quick. "Those clocks you're obsessed with, they're lifespans, aren't they?"

   Jisung laughed loudly. "No, of course not."

   "Then what are they?"

   "It wouldn't be fun to tell you, would it?"

   Fine.

   Jisung's clock was the cuckoo clock. He was subject to something. If Felix could get his hands on it and destroy it, then… 

   "Thinking, detective?"

   "No, I'm just resting," Felix responded sarcastically. Jisung huffed in amusement.

   Felix looked back at the door. It was a clear path between him and there, as long as Jisung wasn't armed. He considered multiple ways to lose him through the winding halls. None were to his satisfaction, not yet. He needed more time.

   Ironic.

   His plan is risky. Everything was risky. Felix was used to it.

    “Kid, never come back!” The shopkeeper screamed at him. Unfortunately, for both of them, there was no other corner store nearby that Felix could easily take from. Felix sustained a few injuries that night, and the week after, the month after. Maybe it was foolishness that kept driving him back, or maybe he just didn’t care about the consequences of being caught. He needed something. He’d get it.

  “Empty your pockets.”

   Felix let Seungmin’s photos fall to the ground, alongside the folded files and newspaper clippings. He kept his head low, using his long hair to sell an impression of defeat and hide one of preparation.

   He kept the lock. 

   Before Jisung could say anything else, Felix punched him square in the jaw and booked it toward the exit. Shouts followed his steps as he bolted the door shut with the flashlight and ran up the stairs.

   The hallways were completely dark. The lights had been shut off. It didn’t bother Felix — he was able to memorize the layout of the hallways — so he started for the clock room. 

   He got there moments later and started feeling around for the odd shape of the cuckoo clock. Before he could register the fact that he already had his hands on it, somebody tackled him. A familiar fighting style told him that it was Minho who was currently digging his elbow into his stomach. Felix retaliated by shoving him onto the tile and scrambling back to his feet. With nothing but sound cues to guide his next moves, he pried the clock off its hinges and went silent.

   He listened as Minho tried to find him. His heart wanted to throw itself out of his throat with each footstep the other took.

   "It's over," Minho hissed into the dark. "Come out. Now!"

   His voice, strained and furious, shook the walls.

   Felix moved across the room and around Minho’s back before getting past the doors and kicking the handle off. He forced himself to block out Minho’s voice and accepted the apology he knew would come from him later on.

   Jisung would be out by now. Felix tried opening the door to the stairwell, but it was locked. Of course. In a split second after hearing someone down the hall, he made the decision to detour into the mall and find a different way to a higher floor.

   The mall was dimly lit. Felix weaved a way through the shadows, using the dim yellows as only a guide to make sure nobody was tailing him. He didn't account for an arrow being shot at him from above, barely grazing his face. Blood was drawn as Felix looked up and saw Hyunjin aiming again. 

   A flash of emotion tried dragging Felix down. 

   Ignored. He was trained to always be in control. Hyunjin jumped down and started chasing him.

   Felix darted for the other side of the main floor, skidding to his knees to avoid a last minute shot. The arrow drove straight into the drywall behind him. He felt his tongue bleed with how hard he was biting down on it, willing himself to a state more than silent. 

   Felix could see Hyunjin nearing. He wasn’t swinging aggressively like Minho, but he was calm. Collected. There was something off about his posture.

   Felix heard the door he’d entered through open and close, and he ducked down farther beneath the register desk. 

   “Come on, detective,” Jisung said with annoyance in his voice. His tone somehow felt weaker; desperate. Felix glanced back at the clock in his hands. “The entire hotel is awaiting your death. Your allies are gone since you revealed everything about them!"

    No other choice. Focus. You were trained. You're not a coward!

   You're not a coward.

    “Is this really what you want?” Jisung continued.

   Through the reflection of a small mirror, Felix could safely keep an eye on Hyunjin. He was looking around for where Jisung’s voice had come from. Upon registering a visual command Felix unfortunately couldn’t see, Hyunjin began to walk forward again, and Felix readied himself. 

    “There’s always two ways in and out of any given building.” Changbin explained as he fixed the water leak. “For the mall, it’s one behind us, and another a little farther down on the wall covered in posters.”

   Fairly difficult dash to get to the latter? He could do it.

   “You threw a pretty good punch. But you’re still scrawny.”

   Felix kicked a metal stand off-balance and used the distraction to start running in the other direction. Every inch of fear crawling along his body translated into adrenaline. He almost slipped, but was able to push his way through the door and back into the hotel. Felix mentally revisited the map of the hallways and began heading toward the elevators.

    “Seungmin, there’s one photo that confused me when you first gave it to me.”

   “Which?”

   “When I first got here. It’s the one of me outside the hotel, right before entering. Why’d you take it?”

   Seungmin clicked his pen and put it down. “Well, for starters, you’re the only person who even gave the entrance any time of day, so I knew something was weird about it. I also needed to retain your curiosity in me so that I could talk to you one-on-one.”

   Felix put his hands in his pockets.

   “There’s something else.” He said.

   “Go ahead.”

   “You trusted me. You probably had no choice, but you believed I had the power to do at least something. Thanks for that.”

   “I’m not going to stop fighting, Felix. I want to see this to the end.”

   "...Me too."

   The music that had once played through the halls was gone.

   "Detective," Jisung called out sweetly, his voice droning out. "Is running really all you're going to do?"

   The elevator walls are made of glass. Felix silently moved down two more halls and called one to his floor. The clock under his arm was starting to piss him off. Constant ticking. A reminder of his location. A bomb.

   "Hyunjin," Jisung said in a commanding tone. Felix could only assume he'd been found. 

    Risk. Risk. Shiiing… 

   Felix readied the lock in his free hand. The moment the elevator opened, he bolted inside, hit the button for the highest possible floor, and immediately began slamming the hunk of metal against the glass in hopes to crack it. Once.

   He needed to destroy the clock. 

   Twice.

   Jisung was somehow connected to the clock, regardless of whether he would admit it or not. 

   Three times.

   Somebody was running toward him. The glass finally shattered with an anger-fueled strike. Night wind blew into the elevator, just as Hyunjin slammed Felix's face into the sharp edges, causing it to create an even bigger hole. 

   The last thing he saw before the doors closed was Jisung's silhouette.

    “Chan, thanks for all the food you make.” 

   He smiled. “All of a sudden again? Why, are you hungry?”

   “No! I just wanted to say it.”

   Even in the academy, they wouldn’t serve cadets anything better than edible. Felix would miss his cooking after this was all over.

   The elevator began to rise. Each ding; one floor, three seconds. 

   Felix propped himself up off the ground with his cut palms and stared at Hyunjin. The latter's demeanor was cold and unknowing, as if Felix was just another stranger. He blankly looked at him.

    Ding.

   "Come on," Felix muttered as he got back to his feet. "Snap out of it."

    Ding. Floor two.

   Felix got to his feet. He picked up the clock and compared its size to his forearm. It would fit. He held it tightly in his arms. 

   Floor five.

   "You're so close!" Felix continued, buying time. "I've almost done it. I'm… sorry for lying to you about who I was But it means a lot, everything you did. Hyunjin, please just…"

   Floor nine.

    Not high enough.

   The clock would fit through the hole. So would a person.

   "In all honesty, the only reason I took this case was because I wanted something out of it, and that was to get past the walls. But that doesn't matter to me anymore.

   “Everyone looked happy. Yeonjun and Soobin looked happy . You looked…!"

   Felix's face stung with blood.

   "Hopefully it can all go back to that once this is over. Everyone can live something good! You don’t have to go back to the real world and worry about taxes if you don't want to, or something. I know I wouldn't,” Felix said bitterly as the last of his sentences fizzled out.

   Floor thirteen.

   Hyunjin, bearing nothing but his fists, looked ready to attack again. Felix hugged the clock in his arms; held their futures in his hands.

   “Sorry for making this hard on you.”

    Ding.

   “You probably won't remember me after this, huh?"

   Silence. Dangerous silence that boiled hotter by the second. Hyunjin stepped closer.

   "I thought so."

    Ding.

   Felix chuckled, his smile curving into the beginnings of a sob. “Well, you kept your side of the promise too, in a way. Offering me a way out of the city. I won’t have to go back to that stupid academy ever again.”

    Ding.

   He blinked, and tears fell onto his hands. Felix found it amusing; when was the last time he was able to cry and not be punished for it? He looked back at Hyunjin, whose eyes were completely devoid of all the memories he had made with him. Gone. 

   Felix studied his face. He could imagine a smile on it again, or a blurry idea of the expression he would have after snapping out of the episode. 

    Ding. 

   So high that the city lights felt like eyes upon him. So high that he couldn't even see the ground. So high that the shard of glass that had just slid and fell underneath his feet would never be found.

   The ringing in his ears died out.

   Felix took a step back toward the gaping hole between himself and freedom. He looked up — his salty tears mixing with painful blood — then nodded.

   “Do it, hyung. It's okay."

   And without another word, Hyunjin pushed him out of the elevator.

   He didn't know how much he was sweating until the relief of the cold wind began to fill his ears. Felix would break more than just the clock. The tense feeling of falling wrapped itself around his back like a blanket.

   He'd have completed his goal. They'd be happy. His job was done, but he earned a little more than just objective success. Maybe if things were different. If he could experience what it was like to live here before everyone’s lives fell subject to forced time. He could've annoyed Yeonjun with Soobin, or helped Jeonghan out with logging.

   Had anybody even really known Jeongin before he was controlled? Why did Jisung even do any of this? Too many questions that couldn't be answered, and didn't need to. Focus on the present , a phrase he’d heard once too many times.

   Felix opened his eyes.

   The stars looked beautiful.