Chapter Text
The first mistake Hanbin made was signing a contract to Wakeone Entertainment.
The second mistake he made was calling Junhyeon for help to find a part-time job that he could squeeze into his training time.
Hanbin decides yeah, maybe he should never listen to Junhyeon ever again, because here he is standing outside of what's supposedly called "Seok Matthew's Pizzeria"—the equivalent of a suburban run-down American pizza place, even though they're in Korea. This is the stupidest job he's ever taken, but hey, the pay is really good for a part-time security guard, and he can't turn that down. Plus, it fits perfectly into his schedule, from midnight to six in the morning. Of course, it ruins his original sleep schedule, but Jeonghyeon's offered to trade schedules with him for the week so he can get at least four hours more of sleep before practice.
If Boys Planet itself had been a fever dream, then what had happened afterward had been even more of a wild outcome. Halfway through the third mission, the system rapidly changed, turning to include mentor's votes as well as expand the pick system back to nine. With such rapid changes, the original top nine foundation was shaken greatly, and in the end, the new top nine that followed was nearly nothing like the original one. Junhyeon had made it in a surprise twist, but Hanbin himself didn't, being a top nine contender that ended up as tenth. He didn't mind losing the position to Jay, but it still stung afterward. With Sung Hanbin and Zhang Hao both moved from first and second to eleventh and twelfth, the two had teamed up together along with an investor in Ricky to create an animatronic entertainment service, hiring Kamden as the engineer for their works while having Matthew as their mascot. Most of the bottom nine had joined in as well, helping to chip in, and now the entertainment had multiple locations scattered all over Korea, almost about to go worldwide.
"You know how I used to work at Burger King, right?" Junhyeon chatters over the phone eagerly as Hanbin checks the website on one of Wakeone's fancy computers. "Yeah, there's a new security guard position open at one of Haobin's new locations!"
"Is that what they're calling themselves now?" Hanbin asked, frowning as he read the details of the position. "They really don't care who gets the job so long as that person can stay awake all night?"
"Yeah, just someone who can watch their animatronics and make sure no one breaks into the pizzeria," Junhyeon relays. "It's only six hours, and look at that pay, Christ. If I wasn't in Zerobaseone, I'd take that position right away."
"I'm just not sure," Hanbin murmurs. "They'd really take me? It looks kinda sketchy. And the location is really far away from the city."
"Well, Hanbin and Hao have always been nice to us," Junhyeon points out. "You'll be fine, I promise!" There's some chatter on his end, and Junhyeon shouts back at them before turning back to the phone. "Sorry, I gotta go; Haruto's calling me for dance practice for our comeback. I'll call you again sometime, alright?"
"Sure," Hanbin replies. "I'll let you know if I get the job."
In the end, it had been much easier than expected. Taerae, the one manning the reception for Haobin Entertainment, had nearly started crying at Hanbin's voice. Hanbin missed Taerae dearly, the latter having left Wakeone for Haobin, but Taerae immediately accepted him, voice trembling as he had done so. "I'll start you with one week," he had said, "and then you can decide whether or not to stay after that. You'll get your paycheck, I promise."
The dim lights illuminating the outside of the run-down pizzeria shine in front of Hanbin's face. In the reflection of the dark window, Hanbin can see himself in his new uniform—short-sleeved collared shirt, pants with enough pockets to nearly become cargo pants, two harnesses around his body and leather covering his right chest pocket, the left with a badge embellished with the Haobin logo. Thankfully he wasn't required to wear the hat, and his messy hair exposes his forehead, keeping his vision clear. With fingerless gloves tightened and ready to go, Hanbin stuffs his phone into his pocket and opens the door to the pizzeria.
At once, he's hit with a pungent smell that nearly makes him hurl—it's musty, moist, and awfully humid. Fanning himself and scrunching his nose, he makes his way down the dark hallway until he arrives at the dimly-lit security office, the only source of bright light inside of the pizzeria.
The floors are black and white tile, and there's numerous photos and posters on the walls promoting Haobin Entertainment. A fan is already running, clearing the air inside, and Hanbin inhales the fresh air, moving to the desk that has his cameras on a sleek tablet and some old soda that's already gone flat. There's notices on the table, those of health hazard warnings and multiple other complaints, to which a giant "FUCK YOU" is already scrawled across most of them with black sharpie. There's two doors on both sides of the office with buttons for the lights right outside, as well as a small retro TV that has a battery on the screen that's reading "100%", along with a usage meter.
Hanbin checks his watch to see midnight has just arrived, and he sits down on the spinning chair, holding the sleek tablet in his hands just as the old telephone on the desk goes off, ringing loudly. Hanbin nearly jumps and screams, but he manages to compose himself, scooting over to the desk to press the singular button on the phone before scooting back and listening to the voicemail.
"Uh, hello? Hello, hello?"
"Anthonny!?" Hanbin half-whispers, voice cracking. His fellow ex-Wakeone was working at Haobin's!?
"Uh, I wanted to record a message for you to help you get settled in on your first night." Anthonny's voice is tinny over the old phone, and Hanbin listens intently. "Um, I actually worked in that office before you. I'm finishing up my last week now, as a matter of fact. So, I know it can be a bit overwhelming, but I'm here to tell you there's nothing to worry about. Uh, you'll do fine. So, let's just focus on getting you through your first week, okay?"
"Did no one tell him it was me?" Hanbin murmurs to himself, continuing to listen.
"Uh, let's see, first there's an introductory greeting from the company that I'm supposed to read. It's kind of a legal thing, you know." There's some paper wrinkling in the background, and then Anthonny clears his throat. "Um, 'Welcome to Seok Matthew's Pizzeria. A magical place for kids and grown-ups alike, where fantasy and fun come to life. Haobin Entertainment is not responsible for damage to property or person. Upon discovering that damage or death has occurred, a missing person report will be filed within 90 days, or as soon property and premises have been thoroughly cleaned and bleached, and the carpets have been replaced.'"
Hanbin frowns as he listens to the legal jargon, and Anthonny continues on, peppy voice full of exhaustion. "Blah, blah, blah. Now that might sound bad, I know, but there's really nothing to worry about."
"Sounds like bullshit," Hanbin mutters.
"Uh, the animatronic characters here do get a bit quirky at night, but do I blame them? No." Anthonny pauses, as if he's thinking about what to say next. "If I were forced to sing those same stupid songs for twenty years and I never got a bath? I'd probably be a bit irritable at night too. Still kinda freaky that Haobin decided to make them after some of their friends, but I wouldn't know. So, remember, these characters hold a special place in the hearts of children and we need to show them a little respect, right? Okay."
"After our friends, right." Hanbin recalls seeing on the website that the four animatronics at his current location were named after some of Haobin's closest friends—Yujin, Gunwook, Ricky, and Gyuvin—but he didn't know that they would look like them too. As if to make sure, he flicks open the tablet, the camera system coming on as soon as he makes eye contact with the screen. It immediately starts on the show stage camera, and there he can see the animatronics—three of them, all of them eerily similar to Yujin, Ricky, and Gyuvin in appearance.
"So, just be aware, the characters do tend to wander a bit. Uh, they're left in some kind of free roaming mode at night. Uh... Something about their servos locking up if they get turned off for too long," Anthonny elaborates. "Uh, they used to be allowed to walk around during the day too. But then there was The Bite of '87. Yeah. I-It's amazing that the human body can live without the frontal lobe, you know?"
"I don't wanna know that," Hanbin mutters, starting to feel chills crawling up his back. Something about all of this felt very, very wrong.
"Uh, now concerning your safety, the only real risk to you as a night watchman here, if any, is the fact that these characters, uh, if they happen to see you after hours probably won't recognize you as a person. They'll pr- they'll most likely see you as a metal endoskeleton without its costume on. Now since that's against the rules here at Seok Matthew's Pizzeria, they'll probably try to...forcefully stuff you inside a Seok Matthew suit." Anthonny pauses, swallowing loudly through the receiver. "Um, now, that wouldn't be so bad if the suits themselves weren't filled with crossbeams, wires, and animatronic devices, especially around the facial area. So, you could imagine how having your head forcefully pressed inside one of those could cause a bit of discomfort." He pauses again. "..and death."
Death!? Hanbin runs through what Anthonny has just told him again in his mind, trying to process that information as Anthonny continues. "Uh, the only parts of you that would likely see the light of day again would be your eyeballs and teeth when they pop out the front of the mask... ew. Yeah, they don't tell you these things when you sign up." He laughs, clearly trying to lighten the voicemail, but his voice is still trembling. "But hey, first day should be a breeze! I'll chat with you tomorrow. Uh, check those cameras, and remember to close the doors only if absolutely necessary. Gotta conserve power until six. Alright, good night!"
The phone goes dead with a click, and Hanbin leans back on his chair, trying to process everything that Anthonny had just dumped on him. Anthonny, his friend, was working here. At a run-down animatronic pizzeria with animatronics named and shaped after his friends. At a place where the animatronics could run around freely at night and kill any human they saw in sight. Hanbin shudders at the thought of being stuffed in a suit. There's not much he can do—he can't just run out now, especially not when the animatronics could see him. The only logical thing left he could do was wait out his shift and protect his office. The metal doors and power generator, along with the high pay, were starting to make sense. "Goddamnit, Taerae," Hanbin cursed under his breath. "Why didn't you say anything!?"
The first thing he does is press both door buttons, seeing the metal come down with a loud bang. The usage meter on the TV spikes up, and Hanbin notices his power has already gone down to almost sixty percent. With no choice but to flick the doors back up, he presses the lights next, illuminating the door area with a loud buzz as they flicker, electricity clearly overdue. Turning them both off, he goes back to the cameras, deciding to take a look around. Yujin, Ricky, and Gyuvin are all still there, synthetic hair and wide eyes staring straight into nothing. Hanbin flicks around different cameras, watching his power usage as he makes note of the important ones. There's ones right outside his door for the east and west hallways, the kitchen's camera is broken and relies on audio only, and the pirate's cove has an "OUT OF ORDER" sign. When he flicks back to the show stage, it's all static, and Hanbin freezes. What does that mean!?
He jumps to the dining area camera and nearly drops the tablet. Standing hidden by the shadows is Ricky, silhouette unmistakable in the light, face hidden but still moving nonetheless. He twitches slightly on screen, perfectly robotic, and it takes all of Hanbin's willpower not to scream. He forces himself to put the camera down, noticing how fast the battery is draining, and checks the time. Six hours had never felt more longer than anything in his life.
"What the hell were you thinking, Junhyeon?" Hanbin sighs to himself. If there's one good thing he can get out of this, it's that he's definitely gonna be able to stay awake on the job, now knowing he could potentially die for it. He watches the power as he glances back at the camera, but already Ricky has moved on, and Hanbin follows him next to one of the back rooms, where an empty Seok Matthew suit lays in the shadows. The lack of eyes and the painted skin that's supposed to mimic Matthew makes Hanbin shudder. Just the idea of being stuffed in that makes him want to cry.
Placing the camera down, Hanbin checks his watch, and to his horror, it's barely been an hour. He's already almost down to fifty percent, and if he wanted to keep preserving his power to last five more hours, he would have to keep it tight. He turns off the cameras, tries to turn off the fan to no avail, and checks the lights sparingly on both sides, even though Yujin nor Gyuvin have moved from their spots on the stage. He decides to keep this routine up for the rest of the night, trying not to stare endlessly at his watch. First night a breeze, my ass.
At some point during three, he checks the left light, only to nearly scream when Ricky's standing right there, towering over him. In animatronic form, Ricky is at least a whole head taller than Hanbin, larger in size as well. His hair is as perfectly gelled as ever, but his metal face is covered in scrapes and his paint is wearing off, revealing hard metal underneath. His eyes, a wide bright purple, stare down right at Hanbin, and the smell coming off of his outfit is enough to nearly make Hanbin hurl. In a panic, Hanbin slams his hand on the left door button, shutting the image of animatronic Ricky out of his sight, and he stumbles back into his chair, trying not to cry from terror.
That's Ricky. That's Ricky. Why the fuck does it look so much like Ricky? What the fuck is wrong with Hanbin and Hao? What the hell what the hell what the hell—
There's a rapid banging on the door that he had just closed, and Hanbin backs away even further, scooting back as the wheels of his chair scrape across the tile floor. He tries to calm himself down, closing his eyes and mentally counting as he takes in slow deep breaths, trying his best to ignore the banging on the door. He keeps doing this until it stops, and then he flicks the light right outside of the door. Ricky's shadow is gone, and Hanbin opens the door and checks to see that Ricky's back in the dining area with his camera.
The rest of the night goes something along the lines of that, with Ricky's animatronic form occasionally coming to the door and Hanbin closing it every time, trying not to cry. When six finally hits, there's a bell that rings throughout the pizzeria, along with a stock sound of kids cheering, and Hanbin nearly falls to the ground and sobs in relief. He places the tablet back on the desk, sees that he's managed to make it through the night with only five percent left in the generator, and walks toward the front entrance where the sun is already up and the doors are open for him to leave through. Before he goes back out, however, he moves to the pirate's cove, where he knows one animatronic is still missing.
Swallowing his nervousness, he approaches the curtains, pulling them open and shining his phone's flashlight in, nearly screaming at the sight. Inside is Gunwook, body parts torn and falling apart, along with a scarred eye that's stained red as if it actually were bleeding. The animatronic doesn't move, but Hanbin still slides the curtain shut regardless, and runs toward the front entrance to leave and call the manager to pick him up.
Questions fly around in his mind, some directed to Sung Hanbin and Hao, some directed to Taerae, some for Anthonny, and most importantly for Junhyeon as well. As he waits for the manager to pull up, he glances back at the pizzeria one more time, and his heart sinks at the realization that he still has four more nights to go.