Pheenix

The ticking of the clock is loud. The room is utterly silent.

Mizi stares at it. Specifically, at the numbers blinking past the time they had been allotted. They were supposed to have been released ten minutes ago (though they’d solved the puzzle long before then— anything to avoid the awkwardness lingering in the air) and yet, nothing.

She glances back from the clock to Sua, only to find the girl already gazing at her. Caught, Sua glances at the ground with a frown. She’s got that pensive look in her eyes which means she’s stuck on a particular thought, pondering it until she works it out.

And it’s got nothing to do with the escape room.

It’s both irritating - because she’s clearly not talking about it - and upsetting, because that’s what she normally does. So why isn’t she?

And now Mizi’s just like her, caught on a stubborn thought.

She sighs, leaning back against the wall and staring up at the garish decorations. An escape room had seemed like a good idea, at the time— booking the two of them one room, Hyuna and Luka another, and Ivan and Till in a third. That way, they could battle in teams to solve their room first.

(Till, competitive as always, had originally been pretty sour at being stuck with Ivan— until he remembered that Ivan was topping basically all of his university courses. And was incomprehensibly good at solving Wordle every day.

He’d been much more amenable after that.)

Luka didn’t really seem to care at first - clearly thinking the whole idea a bit stupid - until Hyuna’s competitive streak had shown. Mizi had a feeling he was at her beck and call right now, hurriedly rearranging puzzle props according to her demands.

Either group was probably faring better than Mizi and Sua.

Mizi shuffled uncomfortably, chancing another look over at her. God, this was so weird. She had to say something. Anything.

“It’s strange, right?”

Her voice comes out a bit strained and awkward, despite her best efforts. Sua barely looks at her. “Yeah, I guess.”

Mizi winces. Yikes.

She tries again.

“I mean, we solved it ages ago. Normally the door unlocks and a staff member greets you at the door, but… nothing…” She trails off, because though Sua nods in agreement, it’s obvious she isn’t listening to her in the slightest. She seems lost in her own thoughts.

In the room next to them, something bangs against the wall. They both jump.

It breaks the awkward air, as they both glance at eachother with raised eyebrows. Mizi opens her mouth to say something, but she’s cut off by another loud bang from the other room. What on earth?

“Um… that’s the room Ivan and Till are in, right?” Mizi says with an uncertain smile, brows furrowing. She’s a little concerned (though it’s probably nothing.) She wouldn’t be surprised if they’ve come to blows— those two have a pretty complicated history.

Sua just nods in response, looking mildly curious. Then her nose wrinkles, as if something’s just occurred to her. “Wait… you don’t think…”

“Hm? What?” Mizi waits for her to finish the thought, but Sua’s gone quiet, moving over to the wall connecting the rooms and pressing her ear to it. There’s another thud, softer this time, and Mizi thinks she hears a noise - a groan, or something similar? A- moan, even?

Oh.

Sua pulls away from the wall with a shudder, a sort of horror in her eyes. “Nevermind. It’s… exactly what I thought. Ew.” With a grimace, she quickly moves over to the opposite wall. “Let’s just pretend this isn’t happening.”

Mizi catches her drift, and can’t resist the smirk pulling at her features as she follows after her.

In the short pause, Sua somehow detects it without even looking at her. Her voice is reproachful. “It’s not funny.”

“It’s… a little funny.” Mizi can’t resist the snort that escapes her, as she slides down to sit next to her. Their gazes meet naturally, for the first time in a while. Sua’s brilliant violet eyes watch her with an unamused expression— before there’s a third loud bang from next door, and both their eyes widen.

Mizi can’t help but let out another snort. Sua’s face creases in a little smile, and then she’s snickering too despite herself. As they giggle together, feeling like little kids, Mizi takes in Sua’s face – so free, laughing without a care in the world.

After the giggling fit has left them, Sua sighs, staring off at the opposite wall with narrowed eyes. “God, they’re so gross.”

“They’re guys, they have zero self-control.” Mizi examines her nails— there’s a chip in one, when did that happen? “Don’t know what we expected.” A brief pause. “Though Luka’s not like that, and he’s a guy…”

Sua meets her gaze with a flat expression. With a growing sense of distrust, Mizi remembers all the times Luka had slobbered on Hyuna growing up, and the way he follows her around all the time on campus, and comes to a swift realization.

 “Nevermind.”

Meanwhile…

Next door, an escape room has already been solved— but though the minutes tick by on the clock, neither party has noticed they should’ve been released by now.

They’re rather preoccupied, at the moment.

“What the FUCK is wrong with you?!”

Ivan breathes shallowly, having been thrown against the wall after giving into temptation. Probably not the wisest decision he’s made, but…

Staring up at Till, silver hair decidedly dishevelled, face flushed scarlet and screwed up in a scowl, eyes narrowed in red-hot hatred… he can’t bring himself to regret it. Ivan rubs at the bruise forming on his cheek absent-mindedly, the memory playing on loop in his head.

Entering the escape room. Solving it, together, irritating Till all the while but also making him laugh, at certain points— with a certain surprise to the laughter, like Till hadn’t realized he was capable of making him feel anything other than burning irritation.

Thanks to Ivan’s intellect and Till’s athleticism (sprinting around the room at double speed to slot shapes into places), they’d solved the puzzle lightning fast. Within five minutes, as it happened.

Congratulatory music had played over the speakers as soon as they’d placed the colourful teacups on their specific saucers, completing the final puzzle. Till had glanced up at the clock— twenty-five minutes still to go— and had let out a whoop of victory, certain they’d beaten their friends.

He’d glanced over at Ivan with this sort of- unbridled joy shining in his eyes, lips that were normally so sour and surly around him drawn up into the brightest grin he’d ever seen. He was looking at Ivan with that expression. Not Mizi, not any other girl, him.

Could you really blame him? When Till was so close, standing right next to him of his own volition, giving him a high-five of triumph, grinning at him like that… close enough to count every lash encircling those bright teal eyes…

“Why are you always like this?!” Till is practically boiling over with rage, his words hitting him like the slap of a tidal wave. His face is creased in – disappointment, as well, lips twisting like he shouldn’t have expected any different. “Fucking— say something, Ivan, what the hell!”

His eyes burn with revulsion, and Ivan can sense the restless, bottled-up energy in him, an itching irritation you can’t bear to scratch. Till needs an outlet. He can give him one.

“Do you want to hit me more? You can, if you want.” Ivan tells him with startling clarity, face open and neutral. His hand still raised to his cheek.

“NO, I don’t- I just- god, I want—” Till runs a hand over his face, so frustrated beyond words he can barely speak. So he doesn’t.

His face sets. Eyebrows furrowed together, he looks at Ivan like he’s some sort of alien creature, utterly incomprehensible. “Fine. Fucking— fine. You want to start fights? You want to ruin the nice time we were having? Then I will hit you, if you want it so bad.”

A sort of savage satisfaction settles in the wry twist of Ivan’s mouth. Till’s face contorts into a loathing scowl, as he drags him forward by the collar and cracks his hand straight across his face, as hard as he can.

It’s like a strike of lightning, and as crimson trickles down from Ivan’s lips, and he tastes it on his tongue, he can’t help but smile.

Meanwhile…

Hyuna barely hears the loud thuds coming from next door, and if she does, she doesn’t pay them any heed. She’s far too focused on her mission— she won’t let the others distract her.

“Luka! Go check the music notes next door and tell me what colours they are.” Her brow creases as she examines the puzzle, pressing the buttons that correspond to different musical notes. Finish the melody, finish the melody…

“Blue, green, pink, red.” Luka says promptly, after ducking his head into the previous room. “In that order.”

His lashes flutter sleepily, as he wishes they were doing literally anything else. He walks back into the room and takes in Hyuna’s expression, twisted in confused consternation— she always gets too competitive. There was no beating Ivan when it came to intellectual puzzles, anyway. Even Luka knew better than to try pitting himself against him.

“Hyuna…” He says, trying to be gentle about it, as he watches her frantically press blue-green-pink-red, blue-green-pink-red, over and over, becoming increasingly frustrated. “I think…”

“Argh!” Hyuna bangs the table, eyes roving impatiently over the puzzle to see what she missed. “I don’t get it! What else are we meant to do other than input the notes?!”

“I think…” Luka looks over the melody with a mild expression. “You’re meant to add the melody already written, as well. And input the full melody, along with those extra notes.”

Instantly, Hyuna’s face splits open into a wide grin. “Oh, of course! Nice work, Luka!”

Luka smiles- a rare, small smile. “No problem.”

He watches as Hyuna successfully hits each button (in the right order, this time). Ordinarily, Hyuna wouldn’t even make such a mistake – she had quite the razor-sharp intellect – but her competitiveness currently was serving as a double-edged blade.

Because on the one hand, she was incredibly driven and focused. But on the other, she was so stressed about winning that she tended to miss small details, in her search for the bigger picture.

Luka leans against the wall, watching as a hidden drawer containing a key is revealed— and Hyuna thinks out loud, scanning the room’s walls surrounding them. “What does this key unlock… it would have to be a drawer of some kind…”

“We could use a hint.” Luka suggests, idly, and Hyuna’s head snaps to him instantly.

“What?! Of course not! That’s basically giving up!” Her eyes are wide, as if shocked he even suggested it. Her expression melts into a winning smile as she moves forward, taking his hand. “Now come on, help me figure this out. Maybe the keyhole’s in the other room?”

She’s as bright as the sun as she tugs him along— Luka almost has to look away.

…Maybe this escape room wasn’t such a bad idea after all.

Meanwhile…

There’s another long pause, for a while, as the two girls listen to the bangs and thuds coming from next door— accompanied by muffled loud noises and shouting. Ivan and Till were certainly getting into it, weren’t they?

The awkward silence Mizi had thought they were free of settles once more, like an itchy blanket. Sua seems unaware of it, aloof as always (though it could be an act) and it’s making Mizi feel a bit insane, like maybe it’s all on her side.

She decides to bite the bullet, because otherwise all this restless energy is going to make her get up and pace around the room, which would probably just unsettle Sua even more. “Sua?”

Her voice comes out a bit small. Sua’s head snaps to her instantly. “Yes?”

“Just, um… It’s probably nothing, but.” Sua’s eyes are fixed on her, and now that she’s got her undivided attention, she doesn’t actually know what to say. “Are we, you know, okay?”

Her words, uncertain and uncharacteristically nervous, seem to reverberate around the room. Surrounded by neon painted walls and plastic decorations of trees and teacups, Mizi at once realizes how absurd the situation is. She could almost laugh. If she wasn’t so scared.

“Of course.” Sua’s words are quiet and forthcoming, and she watches her steadily. “Why wouldn’t we be?”

Mizi’s words leave her in a rush. “I guess you haven’t really been talking to me and it’s making me worried I did something wrong? You’ve been quiet since yesterday at lunch and I thought it’d be fine today but then the whole escape room it’s just… been awkward? And we’re never awkward, that’s why I like you so much, I feel like I can say anything around you, so I just…” She trails off, abruptly noticing that this is actually making her feel worse rather than better.

Mizi feels hot tears start to prickle at her eyes, and blinks them back hurriedly before Sua notices. “Nothing. It’s probably fine. I just wanted to make sure. Sorry.”

Sua’s silent.

Mizi looks back up at her, trying to gauge her expression, and finds her with wide eyes— absolutely floored. For whatever reason.

Sua feels her gaze and seems to shake herself, reaching out and grabbing Mizi’s hand, lacing their fingers together.

Mizi’s face turns a delicate pink, just briefly wondering if this is something friends do, y’know, platonically, as Sua brings her face awfully close to hers. Mizi notices how the violet darkens in elegant arcs throughout her shining eyes, that there are pretty shades of indigo circling her pupils. “I’m sorry. Really sorry, Mizi.”

It takes her a second to process, utterly absorbed in how Sua’s dark lashes frame her eyelids, noticing for the first time that she has faint freckles dusting the slope of her noise. When she finally does, she goggles at her. “Wait, what?”

Sua’s tongue darts out to wet her lips, seeming as nervous as Mizi is. She’s normally so put-together. “You know how…” She hesitates, and Mizi sees the internal battle flicker across her face.

One side appears to win, and Sua relents with a sigh. She looks like she’s given in completely, like anything that happens now is going to be her fault and hers alone— and she’s made peace with it. “You know how guys are always flirting with you?”

Mizi blinks, not anticipating that course of conversation. “Yeah?”

It’s pretty irritating, honestly. Sometimes when she’s sitting with Sua or Hyuna on the grass, on campus, random university boys come up to them – vaguely unwashed-looking boys, mostly, not even cute guys – but it’s not just her they flirt with. They’ll hit on anything with legs, so Mizi doesn’t understand where this conversation is going.

Sua’s expression is raw, and vulnerable. Mizi experiences a keen sense of not wanting to mess this up, because she’s never seen her like this, and maybe never will again. “See, I don’t care about those guys, because they’re all assholes.” Yeah, exactly. “But you know that girl who came up to you? When we were at lunch, yesterday?”

Right, yes. This lovely, gorgeous girl had come up to them, with blue curling hair in waves past her shoulders. She’d chatted to them both, and she and Mizi had exchanged Instagrams. It was a lovely spontaneous interaction— she’d never made a friend in that way before.

“Yeah? She was nice.” Something occurred to Mizi. “Oh, right, I should send you her Insta handle. Pretty sure she just gave it to one of us for convenience.”

“No, Mizi. No.” Sua squeezes her hand, expression almost pitying. Not insecure, just- disappointed. Her point is going completely over her head. “That girl was giving her Instagram to you. Not the both of us.”

Sua is looking thoroughly like a kicked puppy now, and Mizi has no clue why. “Makes sense you didn’t notice. This whole time I thought…” An unhappy sigh. “Whatever. I guess it doesn’t matter.”

Mizi latches onto her words with the ferocity of a hunting dog. “Of course it matters!!” She’s utterly confused, but she hates seeing Sua so upset. “Alright, so— that girl was hitting on me then? I didn’t even realize. It’s hard to tell, sometimes, with girls.” A pause. “Guys are way more obvious about it. Makes them easy to ignore.”

That makes Sua laugh, for some reason, and Mizi brightens. That was a step in the right direction. After a second, she continues, not wanting to move on just yet. “So… what did you mean by ‘this whole time I thought?’”

Sua stills. Instantly looks sorry she’d even said anything. Her expression cuts through Mizi in a way she hadn’t expected.

“Sorry. You don’t have to talk about it.” Mizi says, a bit awkwardly. Her gaze flits away, and Sua’s hand feels cold in hers all of a sudden.

“No no! No. You just surprised me, that’s all.” Sua says quickly, and she slides her hand out of Mizi’s grip. She sounds a bit surprised, stressed-out, as if not expecting Mizi to catch on so fast.

That happens, a lot, people assuming she’ll just forget about little details like that. Comes with the territory of being a pretty girl. Mizi hopes dearly Sua doesn’t think of her like that, like some ditzy bimbo. Surely not.

The silence weighs down on them again, for a moment. Sua’s wiping her palms off on her skirt, like they’re sweaty. Is she that nervous? Is that why she let go of her hand? Mizi has so many questions.

But she has a feeling she needs to let Sua collect herself, and then speak.

So she waits.

Meanwhile…

Till’s out of breath, covered in a sheen of sweat, surrounded on all sides by fluorescent plastic decorations— and yet he’s never felt better.

Maybe this is just what he needed.

He has Ivan pinned against the floor, face blooming with fresh bruises. Till roughly pulls his head back by the hair before punching him square in the nose, feeling the sharp crack sound throughout his whole body.

Ivan lifts a hand to his nose, letting out a low groan, the sound reverberating around them. Before Till can decide how he feels about that they’re moving.

Ivan shifts below him, trying to get out from under his heavy grip, pushing up against him. They roll around on the floor, each trying to pin the other down, and Till grunts— pushing Ivan’s face into the ground, trading childish jabs and quips all the while.

Ivan grins at him, wiping at blood smeared across his lips. “I thought you could hit harder than that.”

“Shut up!”

Panting, Till swings for Ivan’s pretty-boy face, but he ducks out of the way, using the momentum to roll them over. Ivan’s powerful fist connects with Till’s cheek— “Fuck!” landing a solid hit, the force carrying his head back, and Till grimaces, grappling to push him off.  

“I thought the idea was,” Till gets out, glaring at him as he shoves him off, rolling them over again, as they bang into the wall with a thud. “That I was going to hit you, not the other way around!”

The only response he gets is Ivan’s dry chuckle as they grapple with eachother on the ground, bruises blooming on both sides, practically wrestling at this point—

“What the hell- did you just BITE me?!”

“No?”

Till avoids that dangerous mouth as best he can, the fang hanging from Ivan’s lips glinting under the lights— he doesn’t want to be savaged, thanks very much.

Till yanks back Ivan’s hair by the root – Ivan makes a strangled noise – and grins wildly, sending his fist flying up his chin in a brutal uppercut, with all his strength. As Ivan falls backwards, thudding against the wall, he grabs at Till’s back— and he’s pulled in close.

They both breathe, together, Ivan sprawled against the wall with his hair falling in his eyes, sweat beading on his forehead- Till effectively straddling him, hands around the small of his waist trapping him there.

It’s not exactly a comfortable position to take a breather in. Till tries to struggle out of his hold, but Ivan’s got him in a vice grip, grinning down at him with a glint of red in his eyes – bastard – and Till gives in, at least for the moment, slumped against the wall.

Meanwhile…

A question has been broiling in Hyuna for a long while now, surging up like a hot geyser as she finally gives in, jaw clenching.

“Why haven’t the doors opened? We solved the puzzle ages ago, and it’s been more than forty minutes since we started!” Her eyes narrow. “This escape room wasn’t meant to be any longer than half an hour— I don’t like this one bit. Luka, help me force the door.”

Luka heaves a sigh, shoulders slumping as he acquiesces with grace.

They both heave at the door (Hyuna more than Luka), slamming their shoulders into it with gusto, but it’s immovable. Calling the “hint” phone for help produces nothing but an endless ringing tone, echoing around the room uselessly.

“Argh!” Hyuna slams another fist into the door, feeling panic start to rise. She really doesn’t like being confined in spaces like this— brings back- bad memories. “Shit! There’s- what are we even supposed to do?!”

“Lets just wait it out.” Luka says softly, bringing an arm around her shoulders, but she shakes it off instantly. Luka’s brow creases, ever so slightly. “Hyuna- think it through. They’ll likely let us out soon, but all we can do is wait.”

He brings his arm back up around her shoulders again, waiting.

After a moment, Hyuna gives in, shifting away from the door, and letting him guide her back down towards the floor. She’s stiff, all over, her prosthetic leg jumping on the ground nervously. She spares a glance at it, as if remembering what happened the last time she was trapped in an enclosed space.

“Hyuna.” A low, soothing voice.

Luka’s arms come up around her, careful – seeing if she’ll flinch away – but she melts into it, and he holds her gently, with a loose grip. He runs a hand idly through her hair, the brown tresses cascading down her shoulders, and waits for her to speak.

He can feel there’s something on her mind. And he knows exactly what it is.

He was there too, after all.

“Sorry, Luka. Thanks, for- this.” Hyuna sighs, her shoulders finally slumping. “I thought I was over it all… but…” She trails off, seeming to not want to finish her thought. Forcing herself to relax, and unstiffen, she takes Luka’s hand, turning his palm over, examining the bluish tint to his fingernails. “You took your meds today, right?”

Deflection. Alright, he can do that. “Yes.”

“That’s good. Your fingers just look a bit blue, that’s all.” A brief pause, as she runs a light finger down the middle of his palm— eliciting a pleasant shiver down his spine. “And you’re sleeping alright?”

“Yes.” Luka’s fingers close around hers, holding her hands in his. She squeezes his hand, gently, and he squeezes back. “But I have a feeling it’s not me you should be worrying about, Hyuna.”

That might’ve been a touch too honest. Maybe she’s not ready yet. But as Hyuna heaves a heavy sigh, settling into his arms, he has a feeling she’s ready to talk now.

Meanwhile…

The tension in the air is heavy, pressing down on them at all corners.

Mizi isn’t kept waiting too long.

“Today and yesterday… I’d thought you flirted with that girl right back.” Comes the quiet admission. “And I guess it was weighing on my mind, because I didn’t think…” She swallows. A brief pause— she’s deliberating over her words. “I don’t know, I thought…”

“That I was straight?”

The words echo around the room.

It’s the first time either of them have ever even brought up sexuality around eachother before. It’s just… never really come up. The topic is unfamiliar, and feels tense for a reason she can’t explain.

Sua looks relieved, that she didn’t have to say it out loud. “I don’t know. Like I said, it doesn’t matter, because you weren’t flirting with that girl anyway. So it’s fine.”

Mizi’s world narrows down to a single point. Sua in the lens, with relief evident in her expression, hands knitted together in paradoxical anxiety. There’s no way.

Sua’s words about Ivan and Till from earlier echo in her brain. “God, they’re so gross.”

A quiet horror enters Mizi’s expression, and she stiffens, all over.

Oh god.

Her best friend is homophobic, and she never even realized.

Sua has noticed the panic in her eyes, which is now mirrored in hers. “What? What is it, are you okay? Mizi?” She seems to go over her words in her head, trying to see if she’s said anything amiss, utterly confused.

Praying she’s wrong about this, Mizi watches a realization dawn on Sua in real time.

“Mizi.” Sua says urgently, until she meets her eyes. “Mizi.”

Mizi drags her gaze up to meet hers, reluctant. “Mizi. I’m not homophobic.”

Oh god, is she so easy to read? Mizi wilts like a flower, relieved beyond words— sagging back against the wall. Sua’s face is so open and honest she doesn’t feel the need to question anymore, knowing it’s the truth. “You really scared me for a second there, Sua.”

“Sorry.”

The situation is absurd beyond words, and Mizi lets her head thud against the wall, letting out a dry laugh. “We really lost the plot there, didn’t we?” 

“Yeah…” Sua sighs, sounding relieved too, but in a different way. As if she just barely avoided disaster, and is shocked she managed to avoid it. Mizi’s hand snakes over to find her hand again, shyly, and their fingers lace together once more.

Mizi wonders if it means anything, petals of hope unfurling inside her. As she turns and sees the soft smile on Sua’s face, with a tenderness she’s only ever seen directed at her, she wonders even more.

Meanwhile…

Hyuna’s words are shaky and hoarse in a way that makes him feel physically ill.

She’s normally so strong, so positive, able to turn the darkest of situations into some stupid joke, in a way that makes nothing seem that serious.

She’s like a pale shadow of her usual self, right now. Uncertainty doesn’t suit her. He hasn't seen her like this since-

Well.

“I just— I don’t get it.”

Luka’s hand moves to her hair, combing her scalp soothingly, and she closes her eyes, leaning into his chest. “It’s been years since I’ve even- even been in an elevator. I thought I’d never have to feel like this again. I just— I can’t—” She struggles for the words, feeling panic start to grip her again, and Luka feels it as it comes.

“It’s alright. It’s okay.” He cuts off her train of thought, murmuring reassurance in her ear, as she shakes silently in his arms. “They’ll let us out soon, and then you probably won’t have to feel this way again. It’s just a freak accident-”

“But so was back then, Luka!” It’s an outburst, a frightened string of words that mean much more to Hyuna than they ever will to him. She turns to face him, and she’s already so pale with anxiety, her expression pulled taut like a fraying rope.

 Luke winces— probably not the best choice of words.

Watching him, Hyuna weakens again, voice quieting. “I know, I know it’s not the same, but- I don’t know.”

“I feel the same as we did then, right now.” A choked sob. "And- and you're fine. You're not— even affected, right now. Which is great, but- it makes me feel like something's wrong with me, like—"

Hyuna. Hyunwoo. Luka. Metal walls. Smeared scarlet. A help button, pressed over and over. Ear-splitting alarms, red and blue lights, playing on repeat in Hyuna’s head.

Luka mutters a soft curse word, taking in how tortured her eyes are, before lifting his arms to encircle her entirely, her head pressed into his chest, as if shielding her from the world. He feels pathetic with how useless he is. He doesn’t know what to do.

It’s normally Hyuna in his position, Hyuna protecting them both from the world. Bullies in middle school. Standing next to him at every doctor’s appointment. Clutching onto his icy hand like a lifeline in the E.R, when his heart was weakly pulsing, stopping and starting again.

“I’m so sorry.” Luka murmurs, into the softness of her hair. They pull eachother closer. He doesn’t know what she needs, but he can offer his body, physical comfort and warmth— that’s all he knows how to do, after all.

Meanwhile…

The door swings open with a loud ding. Mizi has the startled realization of feeling like she’s in a microwave.

“Oh my god I’m so sorry, I got like no sleep last night and I ended up falling asleep at my desk!!” A panicked young girl with dishevelled brown hair stands next to them, clad in her blue staff uniform. “Congratulations on solving the puzzle- you didn’t even need any hints!”

She then turns rather guilty, digging about in her pockets for something. “Sorry if I, um,  negatively affected your experience… I have coupons? If you want to come again?”

She holds them out with an appropriate amount of sheepishness, and Mizi and Sua look at eachother with matching grins. “Yeah, sure. We’ll take them.” They’re both in agreement about coming back and repeating the experience— without all the weirdness.

“Though…” There’s a brief pause, as Sua’s expression turns thoughtful. “Have you checked on our other friends yet?”

“No! I was just about to.” The girl says, straightening her uniform, smiling at them brightly. She tilts her head to the side. “Why?”

“Um… no reason.” Sua says reluctantly. “But just so you know, for the room next door— you might want to knock first.”

Mizi stifles a giggle, as the girl sends them a bemused expression. “Sure! Alright, I can do that.”

They follow her outside into the corridor. Mizi prepares to cover her eyes as the girl knocks on the door, not wanting to scar herself for life if their friends are less-than-clothed.

Briefly, she wonders if she and Sua should’ve warned them beforehand, as this might get the two banned for life.

The door creaks open… revealing the back of Till who’s straddling Ivan on the floor, still fully clothed, thank god. Mizi breathes a sigh of relief.

Until Till turns towards the door, and they see a ripe bruise swelling on his face, and how his features are drawn together in a scowl. “Hold on, I’m not done with him yet.”

Till proceeds to pull back his fist and punch him across the face with a satisfying crack. Ivan makes a pained noise as his head snaps to the side, and Mizi sees his face for a second, appearing utterly blissed-out despite the blood leaking from his nose, and the various scratches and bruises littering his features. What the hell?

Till pulls himself off Ivan and dusts off his clothes with the air of a job well done, blowing on his bruised knuckles. Ivan, meanwhile, staggers to his feet with several bruises and a clear light-headedness, steadying himself against the wall.

Ivan smiles at them brightly. “Sorry about that. Don’t worry, no bodily fluids got on the escape room.”

“Yeah, bet you would’ve liked that though, wouldn’t you.” Till says, witheringly, with a context they apparently lack. Ivan just shrugs at him in response, looking rather pleased with himself.

“If this is you two, I don’t even want to see what Hyuna and Luka have gotten up to.” Sua says with an air of utter disdain. The poor brunette girl just glances between all of them with increasing concern, eyebrows drawing together.

“I hope you en-joyed?-”Her gaze catches on Ivan, clearly limping along, and her brow creases. “…your experience. Sorry about the delays.” She manages to breeze past the oddness with startling efficiency, and guides them down to release the last of their friends.

Mizi feels a less ominous sense of dread this time as the door is unlocked and creaks open, because the most responsible of them all would surely be Hyuna. Well, apart from when her temper gets the best of her.

They find the two huddled together in a corner, whispering about something. Most noticeably, Luka’s holding her, Hyuna leaning back against his chest – there’s a glint of wetness shining in her eyes – and as soon as the door opens, she flinches, jumping up and away from him.

Luka slowly gets up behind her, as she smiles brightly at them, weak all over with sheer relief. “Hey guys! How’d you go with the puzzles? We finished ours in ten seconds flat.”

Mizi and Sua exchange glances of concern. “We did… alright.”

Hyuna takes in the bruises covering Till and Ivan, the blood still smeared across Ivan’s upper lip. “Holy shit. What happened to you, Ivan?”

“Till did.” He says with a small smile, which seems to piss off Till quite a bit.

“Only because you kissed me, you asshole!” Till shoves him away, and though he’s scowling, his scowl changes halfway to a laugh when Ivan’s momentum carries him straight into the wall with a thud. Mizi realizes, distantly, why the walls kept on thudding in such a fashion.

Sua frowns - she was half-right, then. She places a hand on Till’s shoulder, turning him towards her and speaking quite seriously. “You may be one of the only good ones left here, Till.”

Till levels her with a look of absolute confusion. “What?”

The employee clears her throat, and they all turn to her. “If you’re all, um, finished… Free vouchers and coupons! Here. And please don’t tell my supervisor. Thanks.” She holds out the strips of papers, which are taken, and ushers them outside with great haste.

“Though she gave us free vouchers, I get the feeling she doesn’t actually want us to come back.” Hyuna remarks with a grin that seems a little less forced, now, and Mizi snorts, pointing over at Ivan (who is purposefully walking diagonally to run into Till) and Till (who is shoving Ivan off the sidewalk).

“Well, yeah. I’m surprised those two didn’t kill eachother in there.”

“Eh. Fine line between love and hate.” Hyuna watches them with curiosity not unlike a scientific researcher examining a specimen. Luka sighs, lagging behind, seeming tired out, and Hyuna catches his hand and pulls him along. They exchange a gentle smile, tinged with pure relief.

Mizi watches them and their hands, before looking at Sua, walking right beside her. They're walking close together.

Mizi walks a little closer.

Their feet move in unison, one after another down the pavement. Their hands touch once on accident and flinch away, sending a shock down her spine. They touch again, accidentally-on-purpose, a little slower.

Then when they meet a third time, their fingers lace together quite intentionally, twining two into one in a firm grip.

They both smile off to the side, unable to make eye contact, faces warm.

And they continue down the sidewalk, an unlikely group of friends, on their way to get kicked out unceremoniously of whatever establishment they enter. (It’ll be Ivan and Till’s fault, probably.)

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