Chapter Text
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In which curiosity nearly killed the cat and the satisfaction was not worth it
The classroom windows at KISE were large, spanning from top to bottom and Joshua thinks it was a mistake on the architecture’s part. It was easy for Joshua to become captivated by whatever was happening outside, rather than focusing on the dull events inside the classroom. Whoever designed the classroom either had an imagination bypass or had the colour palette of a depressed cat lady in her late 40s, as the drab grey walls could drive anyone to insanity. And god forbid you try to take a nap—sitting in the tan desk and chair combination has been known to cause chronic back pain by the age of 15.
However, he wouldn’t complain, considering he is one of the few who finds solace sitting by the expansive window. Often finding himself lost in thought during lectures, Joshua thinks he can let the lack of adequate design choice go.
Today, as he sat by the window, he watched the brewing storm break the clear blue sky.
It was still early in the morning when the tumbling greys, smoky, silver clouds started stirring above the bright landscape of the countryside. His lecture hadn’t even started yet when the thunder rumbled roughly and the pungent scent of rain wafted in through the open window.
“Settle down, please, settle down,” monotoned Mrs. Sweeney, his teacher. Joshua watched as she stalked over towards the window, shutting it harshly. Her thinning dark hair was pulled into a sleek bun, some pieces were sticking out haphazardly and Joshua wondered if that was her receding hairline calling for help. Her hands anxiously rubbed at her grey pencil skirt, an awkward attempt at smoothing the wrinkles.
She surveyed the class with sharp eyes, her forehead wrinkling in concentration and lips pursing in annoyance. She waited until everyone was seated, looking as inspired as a used tea bag, she started attendance. Joshua already felt his mind slipping into a daydream, the window quickly grasped his attention as the pitter patter of rain splashed the clear expanse.
He shut his eyes. Blurry, fractured memories floated around his brain in a tornado of shards. Faces of people he’s never met and memories of things he’s never seen. Sometimes, Joshua felt like his mind was a puzzle. Except the majority of the pieces were missing. Or blurry. Or, if he focused hard enough, completely blank.
But today…today a blurry shard passed through his peripheral, and he could barely make out the image it portrayed. He scrunched his eyebrows in concentration.
Only a smile. A smile that extended all the way to the eyes and struck Joshua deep in his soul.
It was bright.
Warm. Warmer than a summer in July. It coated Joshua in an odd sense of comfort. Joshua basked in the blurry memory, inviting the feeling the smile ignited in him.
Suddenly, he felt a burn on the back of his neck. His eyes blinked open, blurry as they adjusted to the fluorescent lighting of the classroom. Mrs. Sweeney was still taking attendance and Joshua was slightly thankful that he hadn’t got caught dozing off.
The warmth coating his neck spread, making Joshua unable to brush it off as some random occurrence. Furrowing his brows, he turned around slightly to find the cause of this sensation.
He surveyed the class, wondering if someone was just fucking with him. He wouldn’t be surprised, he’s had his fair share of bullies at this school. However it was the first time they were bold enough to try something during class.
His gaze passed over rows of heads. Everyone was either dozing off or whispering to their neighbour about something or another.
Maybe he imagined it?
Giving up his search, Joshua turned around until his gaze caught sight of a figure in the back of the classroom.
A tall, orange haired boy lounging at the back of the classroom. His face was sharp, all long lines and cutting edges. Joshua genuinely thinks that if he ran his finger on his jawline he’d get a paper cut. The boy was preoccupied with his phone– Joshua belatedly wondered how he snuck it in– typing urgently. As if feeling Joshua’s staring, he looked up and stared straight at him.
Joshua has never seen eyes that particular shade of blue before– teal like the smooth pieces of sea glass he’s found at the beaches back in LA– and warm. Unnervingly warm for such a cold shade. Something flickered across the boy’s expression as their eyes locked. Confusion?
Before he could decide what to make of it, Mrs. Sweeney’s shrill voice caught his ear, ” Hong Jisoo?”
Joshua jolted, turning around quickly to look at his teacher. “Here! And it’s Joshua.”
Mrs. Sweeney shrugged and ticked off his name. Joshua rolled his eyes, it’s been two years and his teacher still refused to call him by his preferred name. The burning sensation of eyes on him flared at the back of his neck and Joshua turned around.
The mysterious boy was nowhere to be found.
Joshua’s eyebrows crinkled in confusion. Now he may not pay attention to every little thing going on around him, but he thinks he would know if someone new showed up in their class. And even moreso, it felt like he was the only one perturbed by the sudden appearance of the guy. Even Mrs. Sweeney didn’t seem bothered by the appearance.
Joshua licked his lips, turning back to the window. The sky was an anxious swirl of droplets, the grey clouds looming for days now. He wondered about this foreboding weather and what it means. He wondered who the cute boy was at the back of the class.
It’s not really his business anyways, Joshua thought. Best to not concern himself.
Curiosity killed the cat
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“Oh you have got to be shitting me,” Joshua cursed under his breath. The cold air settled into his skin and goosebumps spread up his long skinny arms. H is pajama pants and t-shirt do little to shield him from the chill of the dark school.
He eyed the machine tiredly. The dull blue glow illuminated his face and definitely brought out his eyebags. He wonders if the universe is playing cruel jokes on him, watching with disbelief at the Monster lodged in between the glass of the machine.
All he needed was this stupid energy drink so he could finish up this damn assignment without plucking his eyes out or repeatedly slamming his head against his desk. Irritation sparked deep in Joshua’s chest and he kicked the vending machine. It rattled loudly, even with all that fuss, the drink still didn't budge.
Groaning, Joshua shook the machine in a fit of frustration. The clanging echoing loudly in the empty school hallway. The Monster finally dropped doing with a loud plunk and Joshua huffed, “Fucking finally.”
“Is someone there?”
A voice called out from down the corridor. A flurry of curse words on the tip of his tongue, Joshua grabbed his monster and hid behind the vending machine.
Monitors patrolled the hallways every so often, but luckily Joshua never had the pleasure of meeting them on his late night rendezvous to the vending machines. Being caught past curfew was basically a death sentence at KOSE. One strike and you are immediately scrubbing toilets with the janitor for a month. It was a cruel and unusual punishment– Joshua belatedly wondered if it was in violation of child labour laws.
“Hello?” The voice called out again and Joshua prayed to every divine being in the sky that the monitor would think it was some rats rattling around.
His prayers went unanswered.
Footsteps echoed in the corridor. Panic clawed at Joshua’s chest. Breathing harshly, Joshua could hear his heart nearly beating out his chest. Maybe if he stayed still enough, the monitor would just pass right by him. Hiding in plain sight worked for animals in the wild, why couldn’t he do it too?
Covering his mouth to quiet his breathing, Joshua watched as a pair of white sneakers approached the vending machine. Closing his eyes, Joshua waited in anticipation.
“ Σκατά , I’m going crazy here,” The voice mumbled and Joshua watched as the monitor turned on his heel.
Relief flooded through him and laughed quietly at himself. Joshua peeked out from his hiding place, wanting to make sure that the monitor was completely gone.
The monitor was almost completely down the corridor, not even once looking back at the vending machine. But what peaked Joshua’s curiosity was the light hair that seemed to glimmer in the moonlight from the windows.
It was against the dress code to dye your hair. It was a rule in KISE's code of conduct or some bullshit. They say it's to promote “professionalism” but Joshua just thinks that his principle has the whimsy of a decomposing body.
Squinting, Joshua tried to make out the colour. Maybe he was hallucinating? With his lack of sleep and reliance on sugary energy drinks, he wouldn’t be surprised if he was gaslighting himself into seeing things that weren’t there.
Light orange hair. Orange hair?
Joshua has never seen eyes that particular shade of blue before– teal like the smooth pieces of sea glass he’s found at the beaches back in LA– and warm. Unnervingly warm for such a cold shade.
Joshua blinked as the memory resurfaced.
Mystery boy?
Coming out of his hiding spot, Joshua watched the boy turn the corner. Why was he out and about past curfew? What was that word he said? Why was he so concerned if someone else was around?
Joshua licked his lips.
He should go back to his dorm. Attempt to finish his assignment. More than likely pass out two minutes in.
Joshua turned on his heel and made his way back to his room.
–
Out in the middle of fuck nowhere, Joshua thinks he’s lost his goddamn mind.
The woods are ominous and foreboding. All the animals out of sight and the air is thick with no breeze to stir up the lingering humidity from the rainfall. Joshua wraps his arms around his stomach, flicking his eyes to the upper branches afraid of what might be watching him
The pathway was wet, a light rain trickling down from the sky. The mud stuck to his shoes as he walked making a gross plopping sound everytime Joshua picked up his feet. Joshua wondered, half hysterical, if this is how he was going to die.
Following a random stranger out into the woods.
Joshua outdid himself with this one, honestly.
The mystery boy walked through the woods with confidence, fast paced and weaving intricately in the rows of trees. Joshua nearly lost him multiple times which he could not even begin to describe that kind of panic.
Joshua followed him closely, careful not to step on any sticks or stray leaves as to not alert his presence. He doesn’t know what compelled him to even entertain this horrendous idea. It was likely the dangerous concoction of energy drinks and Xanax he had earlier this week. Or maybe it has something to do with his past obsession with Goosebumps books as a kid. The deep seated curiosity coiling in his gut was definitely to blame, but Joshua always had a hard time seeing himself as the cause of the precarious situations he put himself in.
That's what landed him in Korea anyways.
Mystery boy stopped abruptly. Joshua quickly ducked behind a tree as the boy looked behind him suspiciously. Breathing a sigh of relief, he calmed his heart. He hadn’t been caught. Cautiously, Joshua peeked out from behind the tree. Mystery boy had turned back around to survey the clearing he skirted the edge of.
Joshua watched curiously as the boy placed a hand in front of him as if feeling the air around him. He shut his eyes and started mumbling some odd words. Joshua licked his lips, eyebrows furrowing trying to decipher what the boy was saying. It certainly didn’t sound like English, and all though he wasn’t exactly fluent yet in Korean he could tell it wasn’t that either.
All of a sudden, blinding light crossed Joshua’s eyes and he winced. He quickly brought his arm up to block the light and squinted from behind it to make out what was going on.
Almost a glittery sort of magic formed from out of thin air, the trees and grass swirled as the surrounding area transformed. A dalliance of wind gusted in a flurry, swirling around the clearing it picked up leaves and sticks. Joshua hugged the tree he was near, feeling like Dorothy being swept away by a tornado.
The mystery boy seemed unperturbed, standing with his arms crossed and hair blowing beautifully. Slowly an object started to form out of thin air, the glittery magic tracing from the boy’s feet and up Joshua could make out the shape of a ship.
A ship?
A large spacecraft hovered slightly over the once empty clearing. Joshua is pretty sure he’s seen the thing in one of the Star Wars movies he was forced to watch with some friends in LA.
Joshua quickly made a reminder to himself to schedule an appointment with his therapist for this weekend. Joshua wonders how she is going to rationally explain this fucked up situation Joshua got himself into. Honestly, she might just cart him off to an insane asylum because who the hell would believe this Sci-Fi bullshit going on.
Joshua isn’t even grasping it and he is watching this all unfold with his own two eyes.
Steam blew out from the ship as a ramp slowly casted down onto the ground. Behind it were three…people? Honestly Joshua has never seen people this unique looking– aside from mystery boy– they all looked like a cross of human and alien. Honestly, Joshua shouldn’t be so surprised considering they just appeared out of thin air in a Star Trek spacecraft.
Joshua’s attention quickly latched on the bulky one on the left. Joshua thinks his one arm alone is the size of Joshua’s leg. His bicep was the size of Joshua’s head for sure. Hopefully they didn’t want a fight, because all of them looked relatively stacked and Joshua had the combat experience of a newborn child.
The middle one spoke and Joshua couldn’t comprehend a single word being said. It was that weird language that mystery boy was speaking in earlier. It sounded like some weird alien language, but some of the words sounded so familiar Joshua just couldn’t understand it.
Mystery boy nodded and held up a weird box with a symbol stuck on the top of it. Joshua squinted at it and gasped quietly.
On the fourth floor of the West Wing was a janitor closet that no one has ever seen in use. No janitor ever walked in or out and it remained locked at all times. It was rumoured by the students that KISE collected alien technology found during their space trips and stored it there. Joshua wasn’t really a big fan of rumours, although he did believe in aliens so it wasn’t all too farfetched to him.
But now, looking at the box that clearly held the KISE symbol, Joshua realized just how much shit he was in.
His school stole some ancient alien technology, the aliens came back for it, and now Joshua is about to get royally screwed over if these weird beings find him.
Joshua watched as the mystery boy stepped on the ship, idle conversation wafting between the creatures. They were leaving. That’s good. They are leaving! They got what they came for, Joshua wasn’t found, and he can go back to his dorm like nothing happened.
Joshua breathed a sigh of relief.
He hadn’t noticed the one on the left looking in his direction so intently. The creature caught the rest of his crew’s attention, pointing vaguely towards Joshua’s hiding spot. Silence fell amongst the group as they listened intently for any other sign of life.
Shallow breathing reached the middle one’s ears and he licked his lips. Closing his eyes, he mumbled softly under his breath.
The surroundings were quiet. Joshua could hear his breathing echo. Joshua grew still, noting the sudden silence and lack of movement from the clearing. Panic struck his body like lightning, why hadn’t they moved yet? Anxiety clawed at his stomach like a savage animal, goosebumps creeped up his arms and the hairs on the back of his neck stood at attention. Biting his lip, he chanced a look at the clearing.
His breath caught in his throat as he made direct eye contact with the mystery boy. His teal eyes bore into his soul and Joshua felt like he was stuck, he barely noticed how the other three had vanished into thin air.
His thoughts suddenly felt slow, thick and murky like he had just come out from underwater. He forced his gaze away from the mystery boy. Whipping around in a panic, Joshua tried to get his feet to move. Fear clenched his heart in a vice grip, he watched as the grass and leaves that reached towards him. They wrap around his ankles, rooting him to this spot.
He quickly wrapped his arms around himself, itching up and down causing nasty red streaks to cover his arms. The shackles on his ankles caused an uncomfortable itch and tears welled up in his eyes.
He was caught.
Cold tendrils rested on his back. Joshua breathed harshly, the rapid beating of his pulse against his ribs . He felt like he was going to vomit. His hands shook violently as the clutched at his bare arms, hoping to give himself some kind of comfort. He hung his head submissively, clenching his eyes tightly, hoping that if he acted passive he could get out of this situation.
A hand clasped at his jaw, jerking his face up. The fingers felt like a vice grip that dug into his cheeks. J oshua shuddered violently, flinching harshly as cold metal pressed against his neck. It broke skin slightly, leaving a slit of red dripping down to seep into his shirt. Tears slipped down Joshua’s cheeks unwillingly and he forced himself to face the music.
He opened his eyes to the four aliens looking at him with varying degrees of hostility. The middle one with vibrant red hair and icy blue eyes stared straight into his soul.
He hissed.
“Who are you?”