Chapter Text
"...and when i told him to back off, he backed off! ha! what a jerky guy! so anyways, i also broke his teeth..."
it's another quiet day in the neighborhood. the sun cast its orange rays upon lanes of paved streets and rows of houses, the sky slowly turning into shades of blue and pink. it's a peaceful sight, all in all—save for the four teenagers walking down the street and howling with laughter. there's jisuk, subin, jiwoo, and wooin, all clad in their loose and untucked uniforms, languidly strolling along the drive. they're talking about all kinds of things: recent news in the awakened world, mishaps and pranks pulled at school, future mishaps and pranks to pull, and jisuk's embarrassing tales from childhood (courtesy of subin). they mostly talk about tonight's movie night, which they've been preparing for all week. the topic as of now, though, was jisuk defending a cat in an alleyway from a suspicious-looking man. (it's a long story).
it doesn't take long before they all get to jiwoo's house. jiwoo rushed to unlock the door. wooin prodded around the bushes to see if there was another stray cat hiding around today. subin...well, subin did what she always does: crossed her arms and sneered at jisuk.
"broke his teeth, huh? you're breaking grown men's teeth for insulting a cat?" she rolled her eyes and scoffed. "how can you stoop so low, jisuk?"
"the cat didn't deserve that kind of treatment!" jisuk exploded, the calm breeze around them suddenly breaking into a harsh wind. this would be alarming to any normal passerby, but to the four friends, this was a part of normal routine. "did you even see that cat? he was so...so fluffy and adorable, with little gray and brown stripes and that fucking star-shaped mark on his leg...do you think i wouldn't defend such a glorious cat like that?"
from the corners of their eyes, they could already see wooin rubbing his temples. that didn't mean the two would stop.
subin just scoffed louder, though it was obvious she was trying really hard not to laugh. "you're such a childish jock, bitchballs. getting all riled up just for a cat? i bet that cat has better hygienic habits than you, asshole."
jisuk glowered. "don't get so comfortable, dimwit, because you bet i'm not going to fucking punch someone in the throat for you—"
"that's because you're a fucking cat-obsessed dumbass maniac, jisuk—"
"really now? what are you gonna say about these two cat-obsessed dumbass maniacs right beside us?"
before he knew it, jisuk went flying off to the other side of the pavement. "mind your FUCKING business, you dumbass maniac. they're just cat-obsessed dumbasses. you're a maniac."
jisuk grumbled, stood up, and ran to also kick subin in the face—until jiwoo appeared between them and wooin grabbed jisuk by the shoulder.
"that's enough, guys!" jiwoo laughed. he gestured back to the open door. "let's come in."
and into the house they went. they filled the quiet house with their noise like usual, already moving to drop their bags on the couches and on the floor. jiwoo made way to pet his three adopted cats, while subin and wooin made a beeline for the kitchen and their treasure trove of snacks. jisuk, of course, didn't waste any time and kneeled before kayden (in cat form).
"treats for you, my lord." jisuk held up a small packet of paste cat food. kayden eyed it warily, as he did with everything jisuk offered. "a special edition treat. one of a kind."
after much inward debating, kayden swiped the packet of treats from jisuk's hand, ripped it open, and ate it—all while maintaining eye contact with the terrified boy.
jisuk let out a sigh of relief. slowly, he turned his head to see if his friends were watching. he sighed in relief again. good. they were all doing their own thing around the living room.
"hey, you cat-obsessed dumbasses done yet?" jisuk yawned and sat beside kayden on the sofa, secretly placing another packet of treats beside the chonky cat. kayden rolled his eyes. "because i'm really going to watch that horror movie by myself at this point. or are we watching that drama you guys suggested?"
jiwoo excitedly waved a dvd case around. "horror movie first!"
wooin opened a can of soda. "i agree."
"oh, yeah," jisuk fingergunned and went for an easy smile. was that enough to hide the terror slowly eating away at him? "now that's what i'm talking about."
subin snorted and threw her sock at jisuk's face without even batting an eye. "like you wouldn't pee your pants in the first ten minutes of the movie. scoot over, bitch."
jisuk peeled the sock from his face and threw it back at subin. "i would want to, but i'd smell your stinky feet all the way from here."
"what did you just fucking say—"
"my goodness." it's wooin who interrupts jisuk and subin's mma fight. he nonchalantly wedged himself in between them, earning him two (very) stunned looks from both teens. "at this rate the violence you two would display would be more horrifying than the movie itself."
silence. the black cat and the striped brown cat curled up at wooin's feet and meowed innocently. subin and jisuk were left to rage in silence, throwing each other exaggerated ugly glances and vulgar hand gestures every now and then.
the microwave from the kitchen beeps. happy as ever, jiwoo bounces over to them with three large bowls in his hands.
"the popcorn's ready! let's gooooooo!"
🎬
needless to say, watching a horror movie was not a good idea.
what was the proof? ah, yes. picture the following:
there is popcorn stuck on the ceiling. it's a wonder how it got there, because the ceiling of jiwoo's house is really, really high. the cats are cowering in jiwoo's lap. speaking of jiwoo, he was now ousted onto the floor along with wooin and subin. well, it looked like it was only him and wooin now, because subin was standing while holding a pot in her hands and using a blanket as a cape. oh, and jisuk? jisuk was crouched on the sofa with the life sucked out of his eyes. let's not forget all four of them (more like just jisuk and subin, actually) screaming bloody murder every now and then, with subin punching jisuk as a "stress-induced coping method." here is also a highlight reel of the memorable events that the friends have experienced at varying times of the film:
take one — ten minutes into the movie
jisuk gnawed on his nails. i'm not going to be afraid. i'm not going to scream. i'm the fucking yoo jisuk, man. i can do this. i've left people unconscious before. i've passed advanced tests and am already at the top of the food chain. i've survived my sister's wrath in the early mornings when i accidentally use her toothbrush. i can—
a small jumpscare slaps all of them in the face.
"—FUCKING SHIT THIS FUCKING BULLSHIT OF A MOVIE IS FUCKING INSANE. TURN IT OFF, TURN IT THE FUCK OFF I SWEAR ON MY LEFT PINKY TOE I WILL PUNCH A BITCH INTO THE FUCKING MOON TURN IT OFF YOU MORONS OH MY G—"
take two — bathroom break
subin held a can of soda in her hand. she tightened her hold on it as she squirmed in place.
"shit." she turned to her friends. "uh, you guys."
jiwoo (bless seo jiwoo, a literal angel) immediately paused the movie. "yeah? are you okay?"
subin flashed them a shaky smile. "i gotta go to the bathroom. haha. wait for me?"
the three boys glanced at one another. jisuk seemed to be saying something with his eyes, because it was widening and squinting rapidly. jiwoo nodded in understanding. wooin just sighed and held his head in his hands.
finally, jisuk turned to subin. "you need to go with someone."
subin made a face. "what the fuck—"
"do not fight with me, lee subin. this is serious," jisuk said. subin could already see wooin's shoulders shaking from laughter. jiwoo was looking away and trying not to laugh. "you saw how the monster almost got the little girl in there, right. right? answer me. i know you're my archnemesis but i can't let you fucking go like that, man. i myself will kill you, not a cheap discount monster in a costume from the convenience store."
"you know that those type of monsters don't exist in jiwoo's house, right—"
jisuk squinted. wow, he was really leaving no room for arguments.
subin sighed. "fine. let's go."
the two got up and cautiously went to the bathroom, sure to open every single light possible on the way. when both of them scream high and loud enough that only dogs could hear them because one of the cats brushed against their legs, let's just say wooin and jiwoo weren't recording it with their phones and nobody ever witnessed that.
take three — turning point of the horror movie
at this point they (the "they" in question: yoo jisuk and lee subin) were all more than ready to leave. it would be a perfect time to shut down the movie now and curl under the covers of jiwoo's bed upstairs, but no, the movie just had to be so interesting. why can't they just skip this part and bear the pain of not knowing how this movie ended forever?
"i hate this," said jisuk, as he reached for more popcorn. "i hate it so much. please. i want to peel my eyes out," he whined even more, popping open a can of soda. "please. make it stop."
"shh," said jiwoo, his eyes glued to the screen, hand also reaching out to get some popcorn from the bowl jisuk held. "be quiet."
both subin and wooin glared at jisuk to further amplify jiwoo's statement. jisuk just rolled his eyes and threw the popcorn in his mouth.
they watch the characters move around on screen. they peel their ears open for the dialogue coming out of the characters' mouths. they breathe through their nose to calm their rapid hearts—one, two, one two, breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out.
a crash and bang, and the monster's face appears wide up on the screen. here are the reactions from our beloved:
"HOLY FUCKING SHIT I'M GONNA DIE. I'M GONNA DIE I'M GONNA FUCKING ASCEND RIGHT NOW. GOODBYE IT HAS BEEN NICE KNOWING ALL OF YOU—" that was jisuk,
"BITCH I WILL SLAUGHTER YOU! WHO MADE THIS MOVIE. WHO THOUGHT IT WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA TO DO THIS SHIT. COME FIGHT ME RIGHT NOW I WILL SKIN YOU ALIVE!" subin,
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" jiwoo,
and no words came from wooin, except numerous bags of chips flew in multiple directions, and all the cans of soda in their hands exploded.
🎬
buckets of tears and lots of excessive screaming later, the horror movie was finally done.
"wow." jiwoo breathed out. all the lights were now back on. the carpet was a battlefield of crushed chips and empty wrappers. they were all soaking wet with soda thanks to wooin's panicked burst of power earlier. the credits rolled in front of them as jisuk and subin were passed out on top of each other. "that was nice!"
wooin coughed. there were still wisps of black and red energy surrounding him, but they were slowly dying down now. "sorry for the mess. i freaked out."
jiwoo smiled and patted wooin's shoulder. "it's okay! now, uh..." he made his way to look at the sleeping subin and jisuk. "hm. hey, you guys, wake up."
subin groaned and moved around, kicking jisuk in the butt in the process. jisuk's eyes shot open.
"what the fuck did you do, subin." he said. jiwoo chuckled to himself and hauled jisuk up. "jiwoo, no, put me down. i just—subin, what the fuck did you do." jiwoo was trying to drag jisuk to the bathroom now. "did you just put your foot in my ass, subin. answer me. answer me i will make your death quick and painless. answer me, lee subin—!"
wooin sat on the sofa. he and subin made eye contact. subin yawned after that.
"i'd kick his ass again if i had to."
🎬
the clock hit eight once they've all managed to clean their mess up. jisuk and subin (much to their dismay) threw the wrappers and other pieces of trash out, jiwoo dried the floor, and wooin cooked a quick meal of instant noodles so they wouldn't have to solely thrive on junk food. after a fast wash and a warm dinner, the four friends were sprawled out on the couches again, flipping through dramas to watch and petting the cats with gentle hands.
"should we start with this one?" jiwoo asked, stopping on a cheesy-looking drama with all the tropes in the world mashed into sixteen episodes. well, no one could really say that, but the thumbnail was enough to prove it. "i think it's somewhere on the list we wrote earlier! and the reviews were really good...i think?"
"hmm— hold on," subin said. she was currently hunched over a notepad, a comforter draped around her shoulders like a cape, furiously scribbling down something and flipping pages over and over. "that's living snow, right? it's generally good, but some people say it sucked. the special effects were a bit too much."
jisuk threw a piece of popcorn in his mouth, snorting. (which earned a disgruntled complaint from subin and wooin, claiming that the drama hasn't even started yet!) "did you guys seriously browse through every website with reviews for these dramas? and wrote it down? i don't think you've ever put this much effort into...i don't know, fucking schoolwork."
wooin pointed a piece of candy at him. "you were there writing down reviews with us."
"oh, and it has a jumpscare." subin added after a while, though the boys doubted that review was there. she had that crazed glint in her eye that suggested this: " we don't want poor jisuk to be scared again, right?"
"right!" jiwoo chimed in, already flipping through selections again. wooin nodded earnestly, but he was just as amused as subin to see the irritated look on jisuk's face.
fuck you, he mouthed, and when subin began to laugh, threw a pillow right at her face and smothered her with it.
after meticulously carding through half of every drama ever made in history, they settle with a light rom-com called star of lover. it had twenty-one episodes, each one lasting for about forty minutes to one hour. the four of them even brought out a calculator to compute the time they needed to watch the whole thing in one sitting.
"alright!" subin clapped, stealing jisuk's popcorn and throwing it at him when he glared at her. "judging by the time we're starting and the length of each episode, we'd probably finish this at...six in the morning!"
"awesome!" jiwoo cheered, as he scooped up cat kayden in his lap. kayden sighed and looked like he just visibly went through the five stages of grief all at once. "let's get started!"
wooin grabbed the remote and pressed play. this is where the most heartbreaking and tear-inducing hours of their lives began.
🎬
there are balls of tissues crumpled up on the floor. three bowls of popcorn were now emptied, as well as twelve cans of soda. and five cans of pringles. and two whole tubs of ice cream. if the horror movie launched them into an abyss of terror every five seconds, then this heart-wrenching drama slowly drained it out of them like how one would drain water used to cook ramyeon into the sink.
the credits now rolled. jiwoo was sprawled out on the floor like a starfish, silently crying his eyes out as the cats sympathetically meowed in return. after minutes of laying quiet and unmoving, he croaked out, "we should've just watched another horror movie..."
the teenagers on the sofas were a different story. poor subin had to offer her shoulders to the two other boys (namely: yoo "i'm a strong and healthy man and i am fully grown to withstand the 54 emotions that i can and will experience during this drama" jisuk, and "stop being so dramatic jisuk this is literally just a drama" wooin) literally heaving their lungs out like there was no tomorrow. if there were another person with them in the house right now they would've heard jisuk crying all the way to the attic. and wooin...
subin discreetly held her phone up to record the two as she tried hard not to burst into fits of laughter. "wooin. hey, wooin. man, why are you crying this hard?"
wooin gently punched subin's shoulder, still sobbing and breaking down like he just went through three divorces. "he shouldn't have left her without saying goodbye! i—hic—this is so sad. this is so sad. she can't even see him again...why would he abandon her like—hic—like that? subin this is unfair. this is so unfair..."
at the last syllable, wooin let out an even more massive wave of tears. demonic subin just threw her head back and downright barked with laughter.
"you're all insane, i swear," she huffed, brushing the tears of laughter from her eyes. jisuk and wooin ignored her and cried on each other's shoulders instead. jiwoo was probably asleep on the floor at this point. with a last sigh, she looked over to kayden sitting by the window. the sun was already shining through.
"would you and the other cats kill us if we came over tomorrow and did this again?" subin asked the chonky cat, eyelids already fluttering shut. before kayden could even look in her direction, subin slumped beside wooin and jisuk (who were still crying) and started snoring.
kayden huffed. if anyone heard him say "yes, and i'll make sure you die a quick and painless death," in his deep and human voice, they would be too sleep-deprived to tell.