Chapter Text
Jihoon has always prided himself on being logical and calm in any given situation, but he felt like he reached his limits this time. Falling through a mirror was something he never really worried about because it was not real. Or was it?
His screams echoed as he was dropping down a narrow space, but his descent was impossibly slow, like gravity worked differently here. As he reached lower and lower, there was more light, until Jihoon could make out paintings and furniture that were levitating in the air. It was so surreal that Jihoon was convinced that he must have slipped and hit his head hard.
The last thing he knew was him cleaning out his grandpa’s attic after the funeral, going through boxes and boxes of photo albums, clothes and even some toys. His grandpa was kind of a hoarder, and Jihoon even found his old baby clothes stashed away with all of his drawings from kindergarten and other knick-knacks. There was also a huge, ornate mirror at the back of the room with gold trim that was way too beautiful for Jihoon not go over to check it out properly. However, his foot got caught in a stool on his way, and then he was falling forward with his hands outstretched, waiting for the impact that never came.
Instead of banging his head into the cool glass surface of the mirror, he somehow fell through it, and he has been falling ever since.
It could have been hours or just mere minutes, but Jihoon finally saw the bottom of the tunnel, and as his speed significantly slowed, instead of a sharp impact, he landed on his feet gently.
Looking around, he was in a strange oval room with a high ceiling and checkered tiles. There were five doors surrounding him, but the only furniture was a glass table with a small, rusty key and a vial of pink liquid on it. It was suspicious to say the least.
“Hey! Is anybody in here?” Jihoon yelled, although he was clearly the only person in the small room.
Still, he remained motionless as he waited for an answer or at least sounds of movement from behind one of the doors. However, there was nothing, only the sound of his own breathing.
With his lips pressed together, he went around the space, trying to open the doors one by one, but they were all closed. He went back to the table and reached for the key, but it was too small for the keyholes of all the doors, making Jihoon feel defeated and annoyed.
His look slowly wandered over the other item on the table, the vial with the suspicious pink liquid. Upon closer inspection, there was a small label hanging on it, with the words ‘drink me’ in elegant, cursive letters.
“Is this some kind of joke?” Jihoon scoffed as he looked around the room again, trying to spot the hidden cameras that had to be around somewhere. There was just no way that this was reality.
Still, there were no traces of anybody else there, nor any other hint at how he could escape the room.
He ended up picking up the vial with immense distrust, uncapping it cautiously and trying to decipher what the liquid was by smelling it. It had a cloyingly sweet aroma with fruity undertones, but it didn’t help much to figure out what exactly it could be.
Still, his desperation outweighed his cautiousness, and he took a small sip of the liquid. Besides it being overwhelmingly sweet, Jihoon did not feel anything at first. Then slowly, his body started to tingle, and after a blink, the doors seemed taller.
Jihoon looked around in utter confusion, then he noticed that the table seemed higher too. Before, it reached his hips, but now it came up to Jihoon’s chest, and the key on it seemed slightly bigger, too.
It took him a while to put two and two together, but Jihoon realised that not the things were the ones that got bigger, but he got smaller.
“What the actual fuck,” he murmured in bewilderment as he inspected the vial even more closely.
He somewhat hoped that more information would appear on the tab, but it was still the same two words staring back at him almost mockingly.
Not seeing any other options, Jihoon grabbed a key from the table before drinking more of the pink potion, each gulp shrinking him by a head. By the time the last drop was gone, Jihoon was but a few centimetres tall, and the once tiny key was huge and heavy in his hand.
From this viewpoint, the room seemed extremely spacious and wide, and the new perspective helped Jihoon spot another door that he had not seen previously. It was a lot smaller than the big ones that he tried to open before, but with his new height, it towered over him as he stepped in front of it, dragging the key behind himself.
It had a huge keyhole right in the middle of its wooden surface, seemingly perfect for the key in his hands. Jihoon wasted no time manoeuvring it inside, then he had to use all his power to turn the key in the lock.
“C’mon, c’mon, c’mon,” he grunted until the key yielded and turned with a sharp click.
The door automatically creaked open, too, and Jihoon was blinded by the light coming from the other side. He suddenly got second thoughts about crossing the threshold into the unknown, but it was as if the place felt his hesitation, because he felt the previously stale air turning almost restless. At first, he only felt a gentle breeze on his face, but it became a gale unnaturally fast, pulling Jihoon’s small body to the other side, none too gently.
No matter how Jihoon screamed and trashed, the wind picked him up as if he were a lone autumn leaf, spinning and throwing him around. He was absolutely terrified of being dropped, especially since the only thing he could see around himself was clouds, making him believe that he must have been thousands of feet above the ground.
However, the wind stopped as quickly as it came, and for one horrid second, Jihoon was hanging in the air before his body plummeted harshly. This fall was nothing like the leisure descent from before; it was quick and unforgiving, and Jihoon felt the sharp sting on his skin when he landed in a big body of icy-cold water.
The harsh waves were dragging his body around as he tried to stay on the surface, but all his efforts were futile as the current pulled him under. He was kicking his legs and flailing his arms to try to reach the air to no avail.
The lack of oxygen burned his lungs, and although he desperately fought to stay conscious, his vision became spotty, and then there was only darkness.
🃏
Jihoon woke with a start, doubling over himself and coughing up water. It was nothing short of a miracle that he did not drown, and he only started taking in his surroundings once he was able to free his lungs from water and replace it with air.
He was at a narrow, sandy beach that stretched between the water and a thick forest, which looked quite intimidating from where Jihoon was sitting. He looked around, but there was no one besides him, and there were no sounds either that would indicate that anyone could be nearby.
To say that Jihoon was completely and utterly lost would have been an understatement. He had never been the outdoorsy type, always preferring to stay inside his room, lost in his own head as he worked on new lyrics and melodies. He never made friends in school who he could have hung out with, and since his grandfather died, there was no one to drag him out for a walk in the nearby park either.
So yeah. Jihoon and nature? Not a great combination.
Nonetheless, he had to do something, go somewhere, as the other alternative was spending the night on this beach, which was not exactly inviting. He had enough sand stuck on him as it was; there was no need to roll around in it more.
Jihoon dusted himself off the best as he could before letting out a loud, suffering exhale and walking headfirst into the forest. The underbrush was dense and somewhat sharp, and Jihoon was grateful that he decided to wear his jeans this morning instead of his usual sweatpants or shorts. He could only imagine all the different kinds of rashes he could have gotten from the strange plants in this strange world.
On the other hand, Jihoon wasn’t even sure if this was reality and not a bad trip from whatever drugs he inhaled in the attic. Being high off his mind would have been a logical explanation for all that has happened to him so far.
As he finally cut through the bushes, Jihoon expected dirt paths and the usual rocks and trees that you can normally find in a forest. What he did not expect, however, was the checkered tiles under his white sneakers, nor the pink trees with almost translucent leaves that let in the sunlight. It was nothing like the dark, intimidating woods that he saw from the beach, as if he arrived in yet another universe.
He spotted a signpost a few metres ahead, and for the first time since he found himself in this nightmare, he felt a sliver of hope. Even a rookie wayfarer like Jihoon could read a sign, and at least he would finally learn where the hell he was.
His excitement, however, was rather short-lived, because the inscriptions he saw upon jogging up to the post were all useless. One arrow was pointing to the right, saying, ‘this way’, another one pointing to the left said, ‘not this way’, and yet another sign showing the right side read ‘wrong way’.
Jihoon both wanted to scream from frustration and wail from helplessness, and as the two emotions collided inside of him, he let out a dying whimper. He had no idea where he was, he felt alone, he was scared, and all he could think about was how truly and utterly fucked he was.
He slumped down at the base of the signpost, completely drained and defeated, when he heard the soft rustle of leaves. The sound definitely came from above, but as there was no wind, Jihoon was positive that something or someone was out there.
In any other case, he would have run away screaming, assuming that he had been targeted by a serial killer, but after the day’s happenings, his only thought was ‘how much worse this could get?’.
“Hello? Who is there?” He called out with a surprisingly steady voice as he scanned the trees above.
For long moments, there was only silence, then the rustling started up again. Jihoon was craning his neck, looking around with growing unease before he finally spotted something on one of the lower branches.
It was a mouth without a face, the lips forming a smug grin with a row of sharp, white teeth that became more and more visible, the wider the smile got. Jihoon’s confusion only grew as he watched other parts of this creature materialise from thin air: a glowing pair of yellow eyes, a purple, striped tail, long, slender legs and arms, a torso and finally a head with purple ears on top of dark purple hair. The complete creature looked like one of those catboy fanarts Jihoon often saw on tumblr, not that he was searching for them, of course. That’s just how tumblr was. Or at least that’s what Jihoon has told himself when he liked a few pretty artworks. One can appreciate art, thank you very much.
This did not mean, however, that Jihoon was prepared to see a real-life catboy, which prompted his incredibly sophisticated reaction:
“What the actual fuck.”
“Hello to you too, stranger,” The boy smiled at him, yellow eyes glinting with mirth. “You seem rather lost.”
“Well, duh. This place really should work on its signpost game; these things are supposed to let you know where you are or where you’re headed,” Jihoon huffed, wearing his sassiness like a protective layer to hide his anxiety.
“But they do, silly! If you want to go this way, you should follow this path, and if you need that way, then go in that direction!”
“That is extremely unhelpful, but joke’s on me for expecting anything else from this weird place,” he muttered under his breath before looking up to address the stranger again. “Do you know where we are?”
“Oh, why, I do!”
Jihoon only stared at him, waiting for the boy to continue, but this was seemingly all he wanted to say, judging by his ever-present grin and the lazy swish of his striped tail.
“Care to tell me where that would be?” He prompted, trying to keep his impatience out of his tone.
“I could do that, but that would take the fun out of everything!”
“Do I look like I am having fun?” Jihoon snapped, but the boy did not seem phased by his anger the slightest bit.
“What a grumpy little creature you are,” the catboy tutted, which only ruffled Jihoon’s nerves more.
“Fine, don’t tell me then. Can you at least point me towards the exit?”
The catboy took several long seconds to consider his answer, meanwhile assessing Jihoon with open curiosity and amusement. He radiated the kind of unsettling energy that made the fine hairs on Jihoon’s nape rise, along with a tingling feeling of unease down his spine.
“Look for the cherry bombs, and they will show you the way.”
“What does that supposed to mean?” Jihoon frowned, but the boy only yawned and stretched his lithe body that gradually became invisible again.
Jihoon watched helplessly as the catboy’s body disappeared until only his sharp grin was visible.
“Sweet, sweet cherry bombs that go boom! Don’t eat the cherry bombs!”
With that, the last part of the boy also vanished, and Jihoon was left with even more questions than before.
🃏
Jihoon ended up randomly picking a path, his sneaker squeaking on the tiles, the sound almost harmonising with the chirp of birds. On the second thought, there were no birds anywhere he looked, which only marked one more weird thing on his already lengthy list of strange matters.
After walking for what felt like an hour, he finally picked up more sounds than his footsteps and the invisible wildlife. He stopped dead in his tracks to listen, and sure enough, there was violin music coming from nearby, along with the clinking of what Jihoon assumed to be porcelain cups.
Could that be civilisation? The thought made Jihoon’s heart race excitedly in his chest, ready to break away from this nightmare.
He wasted no time hurrying towards the sounds, parting bushes and tree branches in his way until he ended up in a small clearing. It took Jihoon a moment to take in everything in front of him, from the small cottage in the background to the long table in its front yard and a few people around it.
The music Jihoon was hearing came from a floating violin that played on its own, and every new sound made a colourful musical note appear around it, as if they were in a cartoon world. Jihoon’s brain had a hard time processing the view, so his eyes automatically glided away from the scene to inspect the tea party and its guests instead.
The table seemed about two metres long, covered with a colourful cloth, and it could seat at least ten people comfortably. However, there were only a party of three around it now, sitting on mismatched chairs and stools, all of them in weird garbs, talking or rather yelling over each other.
The person at the head of the table was wearing a green suit with a tall, green hat, and he was gesticulating wildly, with a teacup in his hand, sending drops of liquid flying around with every movement. His eyes were narrow, but sharp, even with all that gold glitter on his eyelids and undereye, giving him a sort of mad look.
Mad Hat Guy was talking to the boy in a fuchsia jacket on his left, whose most striking feature had been his round, mouse-like ears on top of his brown hair. He also had a sharp, pointy nose and thin mouth, and he looked like he was seconds away from crossing over to dreamland from the way his eyelids were drooping.
Last but not least, there was a third man, dressed in a blue and red jester outfit that attracted Jihoon’s gaze with its vibrant colours and gold details. He was wearing a matching hat as well, with tiny bells on it that gave a soft tingling sound whenever the guy moved even the slightest bit. His silky hair reached his shoulders, and it turned from midnight black into ashy blonde at the ends. His eyes were a deep shade of brown, and they scrunched up adorably when he laughed at something that Mad Hat Guy said.
Normal was not the first word that came to Jihoon’s mind upon seeing the small group, but he was seriously running out of options for help, so with a deep breath, he decided to approach.
“Uhm, excuse me?” He called out, and as they all turned towards him, the music suddenly stopped, creating a rather awkward atmosphere.
“Oh? Another guest? Did you invite him, Junnie? Cheollie?” Mad Hat Guy asked, looking back and forth between his companions and Jihoon.
“No, I uh- I’m lost and looking for some directions?” He said, which came out more like a question under the heated gaze of the Mad Hatter.
“Ease up with the glare, Soonie. You are making him nervous,” the jester chided, before turning to Jihoon. “What’s your name, sweetheart?”
Jihoon hated that the nickname made him blush, and he instinctively started to scowl at the man who seemed more entertained than intimidated by Jihoon. Well, not many people felt threatened by Jihoon, mostly due to his height, until they learned the hard way that Jihoon could pack a punch.
This jester guy was lucky Jihoon was in dire need of help, so he could not allow himself to throw hands or do anything other than bow slightly and offer his name to the group.
“I’m Jihoon, and I came from Seoul. I don’t know how I ended up here, and I need help getting back. Could you please point me towards the right direction?”
“Hah, and they call me mad!” The guy in the hat snickered and nudged the jester with his elbow. “You hear that, Cheollie? Seoul! Even I know that it’s a made-up place!”
“It’s a real place!” Jihoon snapped, angered by the Mad Hatter’s dismissiveness.
“I think you’re lying, and you are here to ruin my unbirthday party!” The guy accused Jihoon.
“What the hell is an unbirthday party?” Jihoon snorted, already regretting starting this conversation. He would have been better off just walking around, and he would have ended up somewhere eventually.
Somewhere with fewer crazy people, preferably.
“An unbirthday party is a celebration on a day you were not born!” The dormouse-looking guy, Junnie, supplied helpfully, now looking slightly more awake.
“Oh well, then it’s my unbirthday too,” Jihoon rolled his eyes, but his attitude did not seem to register with the others, especially with the Mad Hatter, who instantly looked more excited.
“Why didn’t you start with that! Come, come sit with us! The only better thing than an unbirthday party is two unbirthday parties!” He gestured to one of the many empty chairs around the table.
Jihoon hesitated for a second, weighing his options. He could play along with this bunch of weirdos in hopes of getting any useful information from them, or he could politely decline the invitation and try his luck wandering around. The second option was really tempting, but at the same time, Jihoon feared the consequences of angering the Mad Hatter again. Sure, Jihoon could defend himself in a fight, but nothing was simple in this strange world, and Jihoon learned to always expect the unexpected. So, albeit with reluctance, he sat down on the chair the jester had pulled out for him right next to himself.
“You came just in time for the cake, Jihoonie!” The Mad Hatter nudged him, as if they were old friends.
As if on cue, Junnie snapped his fingers, and a three-tier cake appeared with a poof in the middle of the table. Its layers were uneven and covered in every colour of the rainbow, with way too many crooked candles covering almost the whole cake. It looked almost as crazy as the Mad Hatter.
“A very merry unbirthday to us, Soonie and Hoonie!” Soonie sing-songed. “Come on, Hoonie, make an unbirthday wish!”
Without much fuss, Jihoon let himself be pulled up from his seat and towards the cake, until he and the Mad Hatter were standing on opposite sides of the table, with the unbirthday cake between them.
Junnie and Cheollie were also standing and clapping, while singing ‘A very merry unbirthday to you, Soonie and Hoonie!’ over and over again, making Jihoon feel like he was in a fever dream. He blew out the candles almost on autopilot, and the only wish that came to his mind was to find his way back home and forget about this nightmare.
“Okay, cake time is over. Now I want to see magic!” The Mad Hatter clapped excitedly. “Cheollie, do the thing!”
“Your wish is my command,” the jester bowed dramatically, then leapt up onto the table with his arms spread out.
Jihoon watched him with mild curiosity, not really a fan of magic shows generally, but instead of the textbook bunny-in-the-hat trick, the jester conjured up cherries in his palms. They looked like real cherries except for the part where their stems were sparkling, and as Cheollie threw them into the air, the cherries burst with a loud pop.
Cherry bombs.
The sight of the cherry bombs popping in the air made Jihoon recall the catboy’s words from earlier: Look for the cherry bombs, and they will show you the way.
Was this what he meant? Was he supposed to trust this man with guiding him home? Well, not like he had any other leads that he could follow, so he might as well just ask, right?
Predictably, the Mad Hatter soon got bored with the little magic show and started pestering Junnie for more tea, which gave Jihoon the opening to talk to the jester.
“So, uh, this is going to sound weird, but a purple catboy told me that you can help me to get home.”
“Oh, so you met Shua,” The jester grinned.
“Well, he did not introduce himself, but I suppose there are no other catboys besides him?”
“Not purple ones,” he nodded with a hum.
“Let’s not get stuck on technicalities. Can you help me or not?” Jihoon crossed his arms expectantly.
“Oh, I don’t know. Can I?” The jester tilted his head with a theatrical pout.
“Even if you can’t just spit it out and stop wasting my time!” Jihoon snapped.
“Aren’t you a feisty one,” he teased. “Let’s say I can help. What will you give me in exchange?”
“What do you want?” Jihoon frowned, not liking where this was going.
“A kiss.”