Chapter Text
The cave was half hidden in the forest.
It wasn't as if it was particularly hard to see - in fact, Keonho would bet that the others would have spotted it too if they were there with him.
But they weren't. Which was a problem.
Ever since he had woken up that morning on June 6th, Keonho could not shake the dread that had clung to him after his sleep.
The feeling stayed with him like a second skin as he brushed his teeth, showered, ate breakfast, laughed at Martin about his sweater, and danced loudly while singing CORTIS' new single at full volume, annoying James and Juhoon who were still half-asleep in the living room.
For some odd reason, all his mind went back to was the unease pooling in his stomach, and the constant subconscious thought that something bad was going to happen today.
Keonho remembered how he had ran to grab his phone charger and earbuds, sticking them in his hoodie pocket before leaving the dorm. Seonghyeon had looked at him weirdly; they were only going to be out for the day, and his phone had been plugged in all night. But the nagging feeling in his gut told him that it was better to be safe than sorry.
The area of the shoot was located at a large forest clearing; the lush canopy of trees and verdant growth of flora had the perfect aesthetic for their new concept. It had taken the group all day to record their scenes, and now the sun was beginning to set.
Keonho was on standby, wrapping himself tighter in his leather jacket. The air had a chilly bite to it, nipping his nose and ears virulently. His eyelids felt heavy - exhaustion settled over him slowly as he continued standing in front of the woods, waiting for his crew to wrap up the filming of others.
That was when he saw it; a small, but well-trodden footpath, snaked between large trees, beckoning Keonho to follow.
"I'm gonna go look through the woods for a while," he said loudly, waving at his manager before briskly following the path. Any rejections his manager may have had went unheard, for Keonho was quickly entangled in the alluring displays of nature.
Taking his phone out, he snapped a few pics of the trees, finding the scenery quite beautiful. By the time he was done, 10 minutes had passed - meaning that he would probably need to head back before his next scene.
He turned towards the path and began walking along it when he heard it.
Intense, screeching and headache inducing, the awful squawk that had the misfortune of gracing his ears sounded close - terrifyingly close. The feeling of dread pooling in his body intensified, but instead of turning away, he walked towards the sound. I mean, what if it was an injured bird or an hurt animal? It would need help, right?
Keonho jogged in the vague direction he had heard the noise, not bothering with the footpath anymore. His footsteps crackled as he moved, the light of the setting sun illuminating his figure.
It was only when his surroundings became a muddle of bark and trees that he stopped moving. As he slowly rotated, taking in the differences from the forest he had seen before, his eyes caught on a seemingly vertical wall of moss.
"What the..." he said out loud, walking closer. He realised that the moss was covering not a wall, but a large rock of sorts.
The noise came again. This time, Keonho was 100% certain that the source was this giant landform - but did he really want to go check it out?
Moving to the right, he stayed far away but tried to look at the rock from a different perspective; that was when he saw an opening.
Like, a literal opening.
"Oh my god," he whispered, observing closer. "That's a cave?!"
Gulping, he felt shivers run up his spine as he realised what he had just witnessed. In a forest, where there are normally trees and not rocks, was a cave.
He needed to check it out.
His feet began to move, each step slow and filled with reluctance.
Oh god, I shouldn't be doing this alone.
Nodding, he turned away from the cave, resolute in what he needed to do.
I'm only going in there with one of the members!
🖤🖤🖤
His phone read 02:43, June 6th when he woke up, his gasps and heavy breathing cutting through James' snoring. Juhoon felt a tear roll down his eye; this was the second bad dream he'd had in a row. Sighing, he observed his roommate carefully, making sure the boy was still asleep before slipping out of their shared room.
Rubbing his face with his hands, he padded across the hallway to the living room, intending to collect his thoughts on the sofa - but the sofa wasn't there.
Oh yeah, we threw it out.
Juhoon sat on the floor instead, his back against the wall, head kneeling on his drawn-up knees.
He doesn't remember the dreams.
He never does.
All he remembered every time was the momentary terror coursing through his body, adrenaline spiking as he is pulled back into consciousness, into the familiar darkness of his room. And every time, his face would be wet.
It was embarrassing.
Some shuffling from the darkness of the hallway made Juhoon jump, but he sighed in relief as he realised it was only Martin, with two cups in hand.
"Again?" Was all the leader needed to say as he sat next to him, handing him the warm milk.
"Thanks." Taking a sip, he exhaled.
"Your hands are shaking," Martin whispered, putting his own hand on Juhoon's for a moment to still it.
"It's fine," he dismissed, looking at Martin's eyebags. "Why are you awake?"
His friend grimaced before answering. "I'm working on the track for the single, but I accidentally deleted a section and it took me two hours to recover it..."
He shouldn't have laughed; Martin had obviously been struggling. Nonetheless, he let a giggle pass through, making the leader smile in turn.
"Maybe stop tinkering with our music past midnight, silly."
"I can't help it! You know me," Martin sipped his own milk, then leaned back against the wall. "Wanna talk about it?"
"About what?"
"You know..." he gestured emptily.
"... I don't remember it."
"The nightmare?"
Juhoon shook his head. "It must have been distressing though, if I woke up crying."
Patting his shoulder, his friend moved closer, their thighs now touching, shoulders knocking together. "Wanna know something I heard?"
Juhoon nodded, his face now fully turned towards the latter.
"Nightmares that you can't remember are foreshadowings of your future stress."
"Seriously?"
"Mhm. So, make sure you watch out!"
"I don't believe that," he scoffed, making Martin pout.
"It's true!"
"Right..."
"Hey, I'm just tryna warn ya," he put his hands up in mock resignation.
Laughing, Juhoon finished the rest of his milk and got up, putting the mug in the sink. "We really should get some sleep."
Martin had gotten up too, now grabbing a crinkly packet from the cupboard. "Catch!" He threw a sweet at Juhoon, who eyed him suspiciously. "It's to help you sleep!"
"Since when do sweets help with sleeping?"
"Since I said so!" Martin laughed, his teeth brightening the room. "Good night, Jjujju."
Face softening, he sighed. "Good night, TinTin." The nickname started off merely as a joke - a parallel of Juhoon's common nickname 'Jju' being turned into double by his leader - but somehow, it became the only name that came out of his mouth when adressing Martin recently.
Now laying back in bed, the sweet wrapper being turned over in his hands, Juhoon could not fathom why his heart felt like it was about to spill out of his chest.
Morning arrived far too quickly - in fact, only five hours later was Juhoon shaken out of bed, Seonghyeon grinning at him slyly. "Morning hyung!"
"Morning," he growled, sitting up. James had already exited the room, most likely in the toilet, while he could hear Martin moving around the hallway.
"Where's Keonho?" He asked, voice gravelly.
"He's still in bed... why?"
Juhoon shrugged, now getting up. "He's not making much noise, that's all."
That changed after 10 minutes had passed; their maknae was alive and kicking, being very loud. Almost too loud. As if he was overcompensating.
"Omg, SHUT UP, Keonho," James groaned, his hoodie pulled low on his face.
"Seriously, Jjami, lighten up!" The boy replied, now lying down on the floor.
Juhoon shuffled towards him, looking at him carefully. "What's wrong with you?"
"With me?" Keonho pointed at himself. "Nothing, why?"
Shaking his head, Juhoon got up and gladfully ate the toast that Martin had handed him. The small smile the leader had given him held the memory of the night. Juhoon grinned back.
"You look energised," Martin said, leaning over the countertop.
"Don't get offended, but you look like shit."
"Geez, man, you gotta stop with the cussing!"
"I'm sorry, but it's true! At this rate, I'm going to confiscate your laptop."
"You can't do that."
"Oh, but I'm sure Manager-nim can. Once he hears about your late night producing-"
"Oh guys, stop flirting, please!" Seonghyeon whined jokingly, gesturing to Juhoon to pass him the milk.
Keonho came over, his face surprisingly sullen. "Can I have a piece?" He asked Martin, who immediately handed him the plate.
"Seriously, are you okay, Keonho? You look off today," Juhoon whispered in the boy's ear as he took a bite of the toast.
"This toast is great,"
"Keon..."
"I'm fine, Hyung," he glared, going back to eating. Juhoon chuckled and left the boy alone, going to get dressed.
Now in the car, they all settled in their seats. Seonghyeon already had his headphones on, moving to the beat of whatever track he was listening to. Martin and James were both engrossed in conversation.
Juhoon had been sat next to their maknae, who was looking out the window. He remembered seeing the boy dash back into their dorm, grabbing what looked to be a cable of wires - his phone charger - and some lip balm. He knew he shouldn't have bothered him, but rage baiting the younger boy was quite funny.
"Ya, Keonho, seriously, did something happen?" He heard a loud sigh. "You can tell me, you know. I won't judge," The boy whipped his head around.
"Is something wrong with YOU, today? Why do you keep asking me that?"
Juhoon dipped his head as an apology, and looked in the other direction, trying not to laugh at his outburst.
"I- sorry, hyung. I'm just... I don't know."
"I was just messing with you, it's fine." Offering a small smile, Juhoon opened his book, a small 200 pager. He was on page 54, and hoped to get to at least 80 by the end of the journey to the music video shoot.
🖤🖤🖤
"Seongie, please come with me!" Keonho was pouting, his arms folded as he pleaded his friend to come along with him to the grotto.
Seonghyeon tutted, playfully shoving the younger teen. "I'm not done filming yet, you idiot. I'm just on standby-"
"SO COME WITH ME WHILST YOU'RE STILL ON STANDBY!" he yelled, taking Seonghyeon's arm and dragging him towards the tent's exit.
"Yah, Ahn Keonho, what if it's danger-"
"SEONGHYEON, COME HERE," a voice yelled. Keonho immediately dropped his friend's arm, glaring at the direction of the command. Hyeon grimaced, sending him a sorrowful look.
"I'm sorry, Keonho. I'll come with you after..."
Keonho smiled. "Don't sweat it, go finish up." As Seonghyeon left, Juhoon entered the tent, his part of filming now done for the day.
"Hey, Keon," he greeted, immediately sitting down and pulling out the crisps he had packed in his bag earlier. "Are you feeling better than this morning?"
He narrowed his eyes. "I told you, I feel fine. I've felt fine today." Juhoon shrugged, opening the packet and helping himself to its contents.
As Keonho watched his hyung eat, a sly grin entered his face, and a sinister twinkle shone in his eye.
"Jju-hyung," he called, sitting in front of him.
"Hmm?"
"I went on a walk earlier-"
"Shocking."
"-and I found this random cave in the middle of the forest!"
Juhoon immediately sat up. "A cave?"
Keonho nodded. "It was covered by some trees and branches - but it was so cool! It looked like a villain's lair."
"Did you go inside?"
"..."
Juhoon plopped another crisp in his mouth. "Wow," is all he said.
Fidgeting with his hands, Keonho added, "Well, I'd love to see what's inside - if someone came with me to see." He smirked.
Snorting, Juhoon teased, "What, you didn't go in because you were scared?"
"I WASN'T SCARED!"
"You totally were."
"I was not!"
They sat in silence for a few moments, Keonho stealing a crisp from the packet and eating it.
"Well, you need someone to go with you, right?"
He nodded eagerly. "I asked Seonghyeon but he still has filming to do, and who knows where the other two are." He waited for a beat longer, observing Juhoon's face.
"Well," he said, getting up and throwing his empty packet in the bin. "What are we waiting for?"
Keonho grinned. "Jju-hyung, have I ever told you how much I love you?"
🖤🖤🖤
Despite being nervous that Keonho was taking him on a wild goose chase, he had been standing in front of the proposed cave in no time. It was quite strange, seeing such a landform in the woods, but he digressed.
"Well?" Juhoon asked.
"Wait. There was this weird noise before coming from the cave, but I haven't heard it at all now."
Shrugging, he said, "Let's just check it out."
Walking in, the moss covering the outside of the landform didn't stop it's extent there, as the green slimy plant managed to place itself on the inside walls too, leaving barely any of it blank. Juhoon was afraid to touch any of it, but his counterpart managed to get his greasy fingerprints all over.
"Don't touch it!" He told Keonho, voice reverberating in the space. "There might be bugs..."
"It's okay, Hyung. If a bug comes I'll make sure to shield you," he smirked. What a brat. "Besides, I didn't think the cave would be this small. I'm just checking for secret walls or anything of the sort."
It was true that the grotto seemed rather narrow in size; though there was plenty of room for Juhoon and Keonho to roam, it didn't seem appropriate enough to house any evil supervillains, that was for sure.
"You've been watching too many kdramas," the older boy muttered, looking at the ceiling. There was nothing of interest up there, either.
"I just don't understand where that weird noise came from," Keonho brought up once more, now kneeling at the back wall. "It must have come something in here. I mean, now that I think about it... the screech was kinda robotic. Maybe metal-y?"
"... what on earth are you talking about?"
"It didn't sound very animal-like, if I re-imagine it in my head."
"Maybe you need to give your imagination a break..." Feeling his phone vibrate, Juhoon pulled it out of his pocket. All he needed to see was his Manager's name pop up to know they were going to get their asses handed to them.
"Oh shit," he whispered. "Manager-nim's freaking out, asking where we are."
"Oops..." Keonho grimaced, making a funny face.
"Let's head back."
"But Hyung-"
"There's nothing here, Keonho!" Begrudgingly, the 17 year old slowly made his way to the cave's entrance (and exit) with Juhoon right on his heels.
Until the horrid sound disgraced their ears once more.
"AAH!" Juhoon clapped his hands over his ears.
"Woah, it was wayyy louder than before," Keonho goggled, looking around frantically.
"OKAY, WE'RE LEAVING RIGHT NOW," Juhoon sputtered, almost jogging until a hand on his wrist tugged him back. Shouting in protest, the 18 year old turned to face Keonho, about to scold him, when he realised the boy wasn't looking at him at all. Confused, he followed his friend's line of sight... and couldn't breathe.
Because on the back wall, the earlier moss was gone. In it's place? Two protruding white hands. That were glowing.
"Oh, fuck." Juhoon murmured before intense shaking startled both teens, dust floating through the air.
The exit to the cave had now conveniently sealed, courtesy of the earlier shaking, with more rock. How incredible.
"Are we st-stuck in here?" stuttered Keonho, nerves getting the better in him.
"I don't think that's the main thing we should be questioning," Juhoon barely managed to say as he observed a floating screen flashing above the two hands. "What the fuck is that?"
"I don't wanna find out," his friend gulped, now shaking. Juhoon moved closer, tightly grasping his dongsaeng's arm.
"Ahn Keonho," he whispered.
"What?"
"No, it says Ahn Keonho," Juhoon said again. "That... screen."
Whipping his head around, Keonho confirmed that it indeed said his name. "Why does it know my name? Is this a prank?"
Juhoon hadn't thought of that possibility. "I don't know."
"If this is a prank I swear I'm going to kill someone... wait, it says your name now too."
"How lovely..."
The hands had stopped glowing now, the eerily-bleached tone giving them a statue-like quality. The screen now shifted to small writing - writing that Juhoon couldn't read unless he moved closer.
"Can you read that?" He asked Keonho, regretting it as he realised the boy's eyesight was the worst out of everyone in CORTIS.
"Nope."
"I figured... should we move closer?"
"Hyung... do you have a death wish?!"
"It's probably a prank, like you said!" Juhoon looked into Keonho's eyes, seeing the fear. "Just, stay behind me." Each step felt agonising as the pair inched towards the cave's back wall. Standing 1 metre from the screen and hands, Juhoon swallowed his outward terror once more as his eyes scanned the screen.
Good Evening, Kim Juhoon and Ahn Keonho
Please do not be afraid. I am not here to scare you, but rather offer you both an opportunity. It would do you both well to consider me on this.
My name is Handy - as can be seen by my hands. What I am specifically is none of your concern, however I will tell you that my being contains many powers and abilities that most of your kind deem fictious.
After having been in slumber for the past 2000 years, it is with great pleasure and gratitude that I owe to you for waking me up. Because of this, I present to you the chance for you both to visit some alternate universes where you can learn about the lives of your alternate selves.
There is a catch, of course. But allow me to walk you through how this will work:
"This is definitely a prank," Keonho said, staring at the screen incredulously. "Someone's obviously set this up - these hands must be a prop!" The teen immediately touched the white hands under the screen, expecting plastic, only for them to feel warm... and skinlike.
"Handy? Is that seriously the best name they could give..." Juhoon murmured, also expecting this to be a joke set up by their teammates and crew.
Don't believe me?
"THE WRITING'S GONE!" yelled Keonho, now seeing the three new words written out.
Juhoon scoffed. "Of course we don't believe you, this is incredibly bizarre and seriously... seriously... Keonho?"
His words trailed off at the end as room suddenly lit up, bright white lights and blank walls staring back at him. The screen and hands remained on the wall, but now there was not even a little trace of the forest cave they had once been in.
The worst part? Keonho was no where to be seen.
Oh fuck.