Chapter Text
Prologue
“Bogo shipda! Bogo shipda,” The Korean lyrics blasted through Quinn Hargrove’s car speakers at a volume that would make most people wince. Since Quinn’s goal was to drown out their own thoughts, it was perfect. A brief remembered moment of the Spring Day choreography flashed through their mind and they smiled as they continued to sing. The wet road rushed beneath their tires as they drove, keeping a careful eye on the other cars as they drove.
They really shouldn’t be driving right now. They knew this. They should have called Jen and had her come pick them up after what they’d learned. But all they could think of at the time was getting away. As Spring Day ended and moved on to Transformer, Quinn took a second to wipe the damp tracks of tears from their cheeks.
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Quinn gasped for breath as they pushed themself out of the warm water. What the fuck? Hadn’t they just been driving? Did they black out? There was shouting from behind them, and they turned quickly to look. They nearly fell over when fabric tangled around their legs. They wiped water from their face and then stared in shock at the young man that was staring up at them from the water. “Baekhyun?’ Quinn muttered. The young man, who looked very much like one of the Exo members, was scrambling away from them, calling for his brothers.
It was then that Quinn noticed the other men in another section of the room. The entire space seemed to be mainly made of wood, and was decorated in candles and flowers. The other five men were shirtless, and had their hair pulled up in visibly traditional hairstyles. Quinn started backward, confused and disoriented. As they turned around again, trying to get a better sense of the space, they spotted a girl hiding behind the rocks. “Lady!” she gestured for Quinn to come to her, and they decided quickly that getting out of there was probably the smart thing to do.
They pushed their way through the water, and climbed up on the rocks, allowing the girl to pull them away. She spoke quickly, her voice high with panic and her movements frantic as she pulled the struggling Quinn through some kind of cave structure and then out into the open air. “You didn’t come outside for so long, I was worried!” she told Quinn, still pulling them along. “Then the Princes started bathing, and I couldn’t even go in to get you. This is just insane. Hurry up! Let’s go!” Quinn pulled them both to a stop and put their hand to their head, trying to fight the dizziness that threatened to pull them under. “You’re feeling okay now, aren’t you?” the girl asked, finally turning to look at them.
“I’m sorry, who are you?” Quinn asked, squinting at her face. They didn’t recognize the girl at all. The sun felt incredibly bright, and their clothes were way heavier than they had any right to be. “I don’t understand how…” Quinn pressed their hands to their head, trying to get everything to stop spinning. It felt like it was getting worse.
“What do you mean?” The girl’s voice kept getting higher, and it was just making Quinn’s headache worse. “How do you not know me?”
“Where am I?” Quinn asked, hoping that would get a better answer.
It didn’t. “What do you mean you don’t know where this is? This is the largest washing area in Songak.” Quinn let their eyes follow her gaze as the steam that had been surrounding them finally wafted away enough for them to see further than a few feet. There were people all around them. Many in various stages of undress, cleaning themselves in the warm pools of water that stood amongst the rocks. All of the clothing was distinctly traditional Korean, as were the hairstyles on the few people who had their hair done.
“Oh, I see,” Quinn muttered. “I must have died.” They couldn’t hold out any longer and collapsed to the rocks below. A sharp pain shot through their head, and then they knew no more.
Somewhere in the cosmic spaces, a thick file was pulled from a shelf. “Let’s see if we can fix this mess.”