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Prompt 1 (Mysterious Carolers): Caroling has been a tradition for years, so it’s not really unusual when you hear a soft chorus from outside. What is unusual is that it’s three in the morning, and the moment they start singing you feel a chill in the air. Maybe it’s a holiday song, maybe it’s not, but whatever it is it’s a song you know before--from this life? From another?--and something about this version makes you go cold. If you move to the window, you will find no carolers, but the song is loud enough that you know you should be able to see them. They sing one song, and then there is silence. An eerie chill lingers, and your dreams are haunted by strange voices. You’ll probably never be able to hear that song again without feeling a chill.
When his eyes darted over to see the clock read 3 am, Hyeon really wasn't surprised. Not when he had been messaging family in South Korea for the past few hours. He let out a yawn started to shut down his computer as he had already said his goodbyes and good nights. He was already dressed for bed so after making a trip to the bathroom to brush his teeth he crawled into his bed. He had just manged to get comfortable and the covers just right when he heard the first opening notes of people singing. Hyeon's eyes snapped over to the window even though the curtains were pulled shut, as the voices filtered in.
At first the singing wasn't loud enough to make anything out in particular, only that there were multiple people singing the same thing but slowly the voices raised in volume enough that he could catch a word or two here and there. When a shiver went down his spine he frowned and sat up, pushing the covers down enough that he could move his feet to the floor. The song was so familiar, he knew it but from where? It wasn't a holiday song and it wasn't something he heard recently but he still knew it.
Pushing to his feet the man moved to the window, ignoring the cold of the room and the shivers that kept going down his spine from the singing. Would he recognize it if heard it better? If he saw those singing it? Would the singers be emoting with the song or would they be standing still with deadpan faces like in a choir? As he got nearer and nearer the song became clearer but still it wasn't something he could say for sure the name of even if he felt he could for sure sing along with it.
When he pushed the curtain aside and looked out into the snow covered neighborhood, his eyes went from house to house but there was no one there. The cold feeling grew the longer he listened to the song, something he was beginning to realize was a sad sounding love song, and couldn't see who was singing it. They didn't sound far, nor did they sound like they were on any rooftops. That last thought was mainly due to him having wondered if there might be a group of powered up carolers trolling people at night.
Nothing. The world was empty of people, not even an animal was seen through the window. When the song finally ended the world went quiet and Hyeon held his breath for a minute to see if the singing would return, if a new song would be picked, but no the silence stretched on. He shivered again and closed the curtained, stumbling back to his bed only to change his path to leave his room. He was unsettled and cold and very much did not want to be alone right now. Hyeon made a beeline for Minsoo's room and with no hesitation crept in and slipped into bed with the sleeping man to cuddle up. Of course he would explain why in the morning but he knew his friend wouldn't mind.
Word count: 535
