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Till Death do we Part
Posted on 2009.01.08 at 15:50
Title: Till Death do we Part
Chapter: 12/14
Pairings: KiHae (Main), KyuMin, YeWook, KangTeuk
Rating: PG-16
Warning: Character Death
Summary: The one thing Lee DongHae hadn't expected to happen that Sunday morning was to die. But that is exactly what happened, and now because of a 'lingering regret', he can't pass on fully. What regret is this? A long-suffering crush on a boy who didn't even know he existed; Kim KiBum. So he is given one week on earth as a ghost to fulfill this regret... Or heaven might not even be an option for him anymore. But with KiBum the only one who can see him, and an experienced ghost hunter on his tail, can he even make the deadline?
A/N: *phew* This chapter was long! Nearly 4000 words! *dies* I should have split it into two X.X; Ah well...
Trailer || Chapter One || Chapter Two || Chapter Three || Chapter Four || Chapter Five || Chapter Six || Chapter Seven || Chapter Eight || Chapter Nine || Chapter Ten || Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve:
As the sun set and darkness fell over the festival grounds, humans and spirits sat in a loose circle, hidden from the rest of the world behind the different stalls. KyuHyun stayed beside ChangMin, and KangTeuk sat across from them. YeSung looked completely and utterly lost, unable to hear even the slightest whisper of what the other humans could, and RyeoWook looked around at the apparently ‘empty’ spaces in the circle, trying to find a shape or body to connect with the faint whispers he could hear and sense in his bones. Only KiBum sat alone, watching LeeTeuk and ChangMin for an explanation.
“First thing’s first. What are you both, exactly?” KiBum asked, deciding to get straight to the point, but they were all distracted when YeSung let out a forlorn sigh. “Don’t get me wrong, I believe you guys and I don’t think you’re senile or anything, but I can’t hear or see whatever it is you are, so how am I supposed to understand what is going on?”
“I can only hear a little as well,” RyeoWook piped up, obviously not wanted to be left out.
“I’ll repeat it for them,” KyuHyun replied, as he was sitting beside the two. YeSung and RyeoWook nodded, watching him expectantly.
LeeTeuk looked around at them all, noting he had their full attention. A light squeeze on his right hand got his attention; glancing over at KangIn, the other gave him a reassuring smile, which he couldn’t help but return before facing the others again. “ChangMin and I are called Spirit Guides. You humans have the habit of referring to us as Angels, which I suppose is also true…”
“So you’re from Heaven?” RyeoWook asked, once KyuHyun had relayed the information to him and YeSung.
“Yes. There are four worlds in total; Earth, Heaven, Hell and the Void. The first three should be already familiar to you; the Void is the spaces in between the worlds, and is considered by us all as a fate worse than Hell. There are only a few ways you can be sent to the Void, and none of it by Heavens doing, I assure you. Even if you were rotten through and through in your life, judgment would never send someone lower than Hell. The Void goes by it’s own rules.”
“Assuming that you’re bringing up the Void for a reason, how can you be sent there?” KiBum asked, frowning lightly. ChangMin looked at LeeTeuk, then decided to pick up where his superior left off. “The most common way used to be by stumbling upon an entranceway by accident. There are rifts leading towards the Void all around your world as well as Heaven and Hell. The most common one is the Bermuda Triangle, which you all should be familiar with.”
“Dozens of ships and airplanes go into the Triangle, and never come out,” YeSung murmured. “Apparently there’s something in the area that makes their equipment malfunction. Everyone just assumed they crashed on the ocean floor, but no remains were ever found.”
ChangMin nodded. “They were taken to the Void, and stranded there. There is no concept of time in the Void; an eternity can pass in there, and it would only be a few seconds in reality, or you could spend an hour lost in the Void and have centuries passed by in our worlds. You never grow old there either, apparently. No one knows for sure; all the knowledge we have is from our old scrolls and books, not from hands-on experience. No one who was sent to the Void has ever returned.”
“Now though, there’s another way to be sent to the Void,” LeeTeuk picked up the story again. “When a ghost is exorcised through unnatural means, they are knocked right out of the equilibrium between the worlds, and into the emptiness we call the Void.”
KyuHyun looked up, frowning. “Unnatural means?”
ChangMin looked at him sadly. “Through your means, KyuHyunnie. Those bullets in your gun aren’t supposed to exist, I have no clue how they first came into human possession, much less mass-producing them. But the only way ghosts are supposed to be sent to Hell is through us Spirit Guides; that’s why we exist. When you shoot ghosts with those bullets, they don’t go to Hell like they should have, but to the Void instead. And no one deserves that, no matter what they’ve done.”
KyuHyun seemed stunned by this new information. “I always thought, by exorcising the ghosts I was sending them to Hell,” He murmured, looking at the gun resting at his feet. ChangMin shook his head. “That’s why I’m so thankful you didn’t get the ghost that killed me.” LeeTeuk looked at the other spirit sharply. “You know each other?” He asked. “We were best friends when I was alive,” ChangMin said, waving the question off.
“I thought I had shot him,” KyuHyun said, frowning. ChangMin shook his head. “Our superior, JaeJoong, saw what happened and informed me when I woke up in Heaven. You nearly got the ghost, but you didn’t, and the poor guy managed to get away before you could notice. LeeTeuk caught up with him later, and sent him through judgment. Unfortunately, killing a human is a grave crime, even if he had no control over it, so he had to be sent to Hell. Poor fellow, he seemed really nice too.”
“Am I the only one here who’s still totally lost?” YeSung complained. RyeoWook put one hand over his boyfriends mouth to hush him. “Okay, so ghosts that KyuHyun kills are sent to the Void,” KiBum summarized, glad the ghost hunter hadn’t succeeded in shooting DongHae. And from the look on KyuHyun’s face, he wouldn’t be too quick to wave that gun around anymore. “Can we get back to DongHae now? What happened to him earlier?”
“I was getting to that,” LeeTeuk said, sighing. “Ghosts are pure spiritual energy. As such, they aren’t the best when it comes to dealing with emotions. They’re prone to huge mood swings, and the longer ghosts stay on this Earth, the more negative and destructive their emotions become. When that starts to happen, ghosts become what we call poltergeists instead, and poltergeists are dangerous to everyone around them, ghost or human. So we Spirit Guides generally give ghosts a week on Earth before judgment, and watch over them to make sure they don’t hurt anyone.”
“And what a fabulous job you were doing,” YeSung muttered through RyeoWooks hand. KangIn reached over and smacked him off the head, earning a muffled yelp.
“Anyways,” LeeTeuk continued, pointedly ignoring YeSung’s snide remark. “DongHae is reaching the end of his week, so he’s naturally going to be a bit unstable these next few days. It’s strange though…. He seems to have much more control over what he does than most ghosts.” He pointed to the fish shape in the ground. “No ghost I’ve ever guided, and I’ve been at this for longer than your grandparents have been alive, has ever had the self-control to actually move things around of their own will without something exploding. Besides the tree branch falling,” He amended, eyeing the fallen wood. “DongHae seems to have a habit of breaking wood. But honestly, I’m surprised at his control.”
“So why did he run off?” KiBum asked softly.
“He’s probably spooked. I explained to him about the whole poltergeist issue, but he doesn’t seem to realize that the amount of control he has over himself is extraordinary. I think he’s scare to hurt someone; if I were him right now, that’s what I’d be worried about.” LeeTeuk turned his gaze to KiBum. “He wouldn’t believe me if I told him. It’s too late now, but tomorrow could you find him? He needs to know, he won’t hurt anyone.” KiBum nodded.
“What can we do?” RyeoWook whispered. ChangMin shrugged, looking at LeeTeuk, who looked just as clueless. “Well… Just keep this to yourself for now?” LeeTeuk asked them. KyuHyun relayed the request, and YeWook nodded.
“Alright then,” LeeTeuk sighed, standing. “I need to inform JaeJoong about all this. He’ll probably know what’s going on anyways, and know what’s going to happen, he always does, but it won’t hurt to tell him once again.” ChangMin stood as well. “I’ll go with you,” He said with a smile. KyuHyun opened his mouth to protest, but ChangMin shook his head slightly at him. “Don’t worry KyuHyunnie; we’ll talk again. There’s so much I want to tell you. But now I have to leave. Just do me a favor, and be careful who you shoot from now on?” He asked.
Then, both he and LeeTeuk disappeared. KangIn looked startled to see them vanish into thin air, RyeoWook looking around as though he too sensed the spirits were no longer with them. Wordlessly, the group got up and made their way out form behind the stalls, KyuHyun hiding his gun again. Exhaustion wore them all down; so much had happened in so little time, it was tiring to think about.
“There you guys are!” A voice shouted. They looked up, to see EunHyuk and SungMin approaching. SungMin promptly went to KyuHyun, who forced a smile on his face so he wouldn’t worry the bunny boy. “We looked everywhere for you guys,” EunHyuk complained, as they started towards the gates. “Where were you?”
“On one of the roller coasters,” KiBum lied for them.
“Really? How many times did you guys ride it? You looked like you’ve been through Hell and back!” RyeoWook smiled faintly, wondering if EunHyuk would ever find out how close he was to the truth.
*****
KiBum was up early the next day, same as always. But his mind wasn’t on school; he wondered where DongHae was. Knowing how fast ghosts could move, he supposed DongHae could be several cities away by now, but there was also the slight chance that he was still in this one. KiBum hoped so. DongHae was running out of time, and he needed all the time he could get if he was going to catch up to the ghost boy.
When KangIn got up, thanks to his obnoxiously loud alarm clock, the first thing he did was look into KiBum’s room. His younger brother was always on his way to school by the time the elder woke up, but something told him today would be different. But as usual, KiBum wasn’t there. About to leave and get ready himself, KangIn noticed something in the corner of the room. KiBum’s school bag was still there. Had he forgotten it? That hadn’t happened since pre-school. Or perhaps… KiBum wasn’t going to school today.
“LeeTeuk,” KangIn called, wondering if the spirit was listening. There was no response; LeeTeuk was either not listening for him, or just busy. Most likely the latter.
*****
“How far is he?” KiBum ran alongside the spirit, wondering how far LeeTeuk was going to take him. He knew he was right to ask the other for help locating DongHae; he was LeeTeuk’s charge after all, and KiBums guess that the two would have some sort of connection had proved to be right.
“At the other end of the city,” LeeTeuk replied, running without a problem beside the human. Being a spirit had its perks. “Don’t worry, we’re not going to run the whole way, but if you want to catch the subway that will bring you there, you’ll need to hurry it up.” KiBum nodded, panting slightly as they raced down towards the downtown core. He ignored the looks he was getting for running and talking to thin air, not caring about the consequences.
Finally they reached the stairs leading down underneath the city. KiBum raced down, pulling out his subway pass. It really wasn’t his, it was KangIn’s, but KangIn wouldn’t need it today and KiBum hadn’t wanted to waste time in line waiting to pay for the pass.
As the noises of the moving subway reached them, LeeTeuk suddenly paused, looking up as though he’d heard someone calling his name. Holding back a sigh, he followed KiBum to where he was waiting for the next subway. “Listen,” He said, fighting to get himself heard over the noise. “Take the subway down to the very last stop on the green line, alright? When you get out, turn right and walk down to the EA Games building, on your left. Take the elevator all the way to the top floor, then find the stairway to the roof. He’s up on the roof, be careful not to spook him or you’ll have another chase on your hands.”
“You’re not coming?” KiBum asked, looking at him confusedly.
LeeTeuk shook his head. “No. You have to do this alone, KiBum. He would never listen to me anyways.” The subway train arrived, screeching to a halt in front of them as the doors opened. “Good luck,” LeeTeuk called as KiBum walked inside, the doors closing behind him. There was a rush of air, and the screech of moving metal, and the train was gone.
*****
“Where is everyone?” SungMin asked, frowning as the bell rang for classes to start. Both KiBum’s and KyuHyun’s desks were empty. KyuHyun being absent was odd enough, since he was already proving to be a straight A student, but KiBum was never absent, even when he had fevers or colds. RyeoWook shifted nervously in his seat, having a good guess why they were absent, but did as ChangMin had asked and kept his mouth shut.
“According to YeSung, KangIn’s not in class either,” SungMn continued, frowning. “Did they catch sick?” He looked at RyeoWook questioningly. “Maybe,” The younger replied weakly.
Class passed by without any word from the missing two students. When break came, RyeoWook and SungMin were surprised to see YeSung and EunHyuk walking into their class, sitting down beside them as the other students left. “KiBum and KyuHyun too?” EunHyuk asked, frowning. RyeoWook and YeSung exchanged glances, something that didn’t go unnoticed. “What’s up?” SungMin asked, frowning.
RyeoWook shrugged helplessly, but they’d gotten EunHyuks attention. “You two look suspicious,” He said, narrowing his eyes at RyeoWook, who has having the most trouble looking unsuspicious. YeSung patted his boyfriends hair, seeming to think for a moment, then stood up. “Come with us,” He said, dragging RyeoWook out of the room. “W-what are you doing?” RyeoWook whispered nervously.
“What does it look like I’m doing?”
“Oh no,” RyeoWook said, paling. “ChangMin’s gonna kill us, isn’t he?” YeSung just laughed
*****
“I wonder if you can hear me,” KyuHyun murmured, the wind blowing his hair into his eyes though he made no attempt to fix it. “I’m glad that you’re happy, and safe. Have you been watching me all this time? I hope I didn’t disappoint you.” His fingertips brushed along ChangMin’s grave, watching the sunlight shine off the stone.
“Do you know how strange you look? I think that old woman walking through gave you a wide berth for a reason.” KyuHyun jumped slightly, looking up and around. A shimmer in the air beside him got his attention. “ChangMin?” He asked softly.
“The one and only.” ChangMin sat down beside KyuHyun. “How are you coping? According to Jae, visits from the dead can be slight traumatizing.”
“Slightly?” KyuHyun murmured, but the corners of his lips twitched up. He had missed talking to ChangMin like this, like best friends should. ChangMin’s death had been his push to be a better hunter, and it had also been the reason why he’d shut out other people. The first to break that barrier had been Zhou Mi, a Chinese necromancer-in-training. Unfortunately, their goals had been the opposite, and because of that there had been many tense moments and arguments, until they broke up and KyuHyun returned to Korea.
The second to reach his heart had been SungMin. He wasn’t sure why, but there was something revitalizing about the other, and KyuHyun hadn’t felt so happy since before ChangMin died. Though he was slightly alarmed about the boys tendency to worship the color pink, it had nothing on Zhou Mi’s habits of bringing back those who should stay dead. He was relieved Zhou Mi had never tried to bring back ChangMin; that was one thing KyuHyun would never tolerate.
“I’m doing well,” KyuHyun finally replied, looking at where he could faintly see ChangMin’s outline beside him. “Won’t you get into trouble for being here?” He asked, wondering how ChangMin was able to keep coming back over and over without any consequences. ChangMin shrugged. “I’m not supposed to talk to you, rules and all, but I figured last night was a lousy closure and Jae can forgive me this one time.” He looked at KyuHyun. “You know, I won’t be able to come back to see you again,” He said softly.
“Rules,” KyuHyun murmured, nodding in understanding. “Just… Are you happy now? Are you at peace?” He asked, looking down.
ChangMin watched him without replying for a long moment, before smiling and carefully placing his hand on the others shoulder. “Yes. I’m content. How could I not be?”
“KyuHyun?”
Both human and spirit looked up and behind them. SungMin stood at the entrance to the graveyard, looking at KyuHyun with a faint smile. “I thought I’d find you here,” He commented, walking up to them and sitting down beside them. The elder male was completely oblivious to ChangMin’s presence, though when he passed by where the spirit sat he sneezed slightly and shivered.
“What are you doing here?” KyuHyun asked, frowning. “School’s still in session.”
“I could ask you the same,” SungMin replied, drawing his knees up to his chest and looking at the tombstone in front of them. “Seems like an odd time to visit graves. But that’s okay. I understand now. EunHyuk took more convincing than I did, but that’s not surprising.”
“What are you talking about?” KyuHyun said, frowning.
“Well, let’s just say YeSung’s horrible at keeping secrets.”
ChangMin groaned and hit himself on the forehead. “I knew this would happen,” He murmured darkly. KyuHyun looked over at him, confusing SungMin. “What’s wrong?” He asked, wondering what KyuHyun was looking at, because obviously the elder couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary.
“Nothing,” KyuHyun lied, looking back at SungMin as ChangMin sighed. “So… Are you surprised?” He asked. “How much did YeSung tell you?”
“Me and EunHyuk. Well, EunHyuk wanted to know more about DongHae, so he didn’t really get to explain much about you, so…” SungMin fiddled with his pink shirt. “I was rather hoping you would answer my questions.”
“You’re not scared?”
“Scared? Why would I be? Your ghosts have nothing on DongHae’s alien stories, or did you forget exactly who my late cousin is?”
*****
“So what happens to you when this is all over?”
LeeTeuk swung his legs back and forth from his perch on KangIn’s bed. Mrs. Kim had offered him a cup of tea when he’d walked in, but obviously the spirit had to decline. “I’d bring DongHae through judgment, obviously. Then when that’s done, I’d go back to helping over ghosts. My work never ends.” He sighed, looking up at KangIn.
“You’ll still come back to visit though,” KangIn said firmly, as though it was already decided.
“KangIn, it’s against the rules.”
“Who cares about the rules.”
“Doesn’t it even remotely bother you that I’m your elder by several centuries?”
“No.”
“Or that I’m, what’s that word, dead?”
“Not really.”
“I give up,” LeeTeuk groaned, flopping back onto the bed and staring up at the ceiling. The bed shifted under him and he found himself looking up at KangIn instead, that smug and childish grin on his face. “So that means you will visit, right?”
“You’re going to get me in so much trouble,” LeeTeuk murmured.
“But the question is, is it worth it?”
LeeTeuk resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “Babo. You already know the answer to that.” KangIn laughed, and leaned down to kiss his very own angel.
*****
The wind blew through his hair lightly as KiBum carefully closed the door to the roof behind him, trying not to make a sound. The rooftop was abandoned, save for himself and the male sitting on the edge of the building, staring up at the sky with sadness on his face. KiBum gradually make his way over, hoping he could get there before DongHae could turn around.
Luck wasn’t with him. DongHae glanced around idly at the faint sound of footsteps, then froze as he saw KiBum. KiBum stopped walking too, not walking to spook him. “What are you doing here?” DongHae whispered, but the sound of his voice reached KiBum clearly.
“I need to talk to you,” KiBum said firmly, but he didn’t move, seeing how DongHae was poised to launch himself off the building at the slightest movement, and while the ghost could easily make the fall and run off, KiBum obviously couldn’t do the same. “Please, Hae. Just listen to me, alright?”
DongHae didn’t look too convinced. KiBum sighed and sat down where he was, not moving. “See? I’m not coming any closer. You don’t have to do this, DongHae. You’re not a danger to anyone.”
“Yes I am!” DongHae exclaimed, but KiBum could see how LeeTeuk was right. Even though his voice had been raised, and he looked about to cry, there was no trace of the buffeting wind from the day before. “I’m going to be a poltergeist, and I can hurt people! Like I nearly killed KyuHyun!”
“KyuHyun’s fine,” KiBum pointed out. “A bit banged up, but nothing to warrant a hospital visit.”
“That’s besides the point! If you hadn’t-“ He choked up, stopping for a moment. “If you hadn’t called to me, I might have seriously hurt him, KiBum.”
What happened to ‘KiBummie’? KiBum wondered faintly. DongHae wasn’t using his cute nickname for the other anymore. He seemed to be trying to distance himself even more, though if he moved much farther he was going to go right off the rooftop edge. “But you didn’t. No ghost has ever done that before, DongHae. You’ve got control over it.”
“Not enough,” DongHae ground out through clenched teeth. He didn’t understand why KiBum was being so insistent. He had never even known DongHae before Sunday, and he obviously didn’t like him the same way DongHae did. “Why do you even care?” He asked, turning around to crawl over to the human boy. “What am I to you?” The ghost approached KiBum until they were almost nose-to-nose, looking into each others eyes. “Do you love me?”
KiBum blinked, caught off guard. “I…” His voice caught in his throat. Did he love DongHae? He didn’t know. KiBum could answer all the math or science questions you could throw at him in the blink of an eye. He knew the school textbooks inside and out, knew every famous name and moment in history, but he couldn’t answer DongHae’s question quickly enough, the most important question of all.
“…Though so,” DongHae said with a bitter smile. He stood up again, walking backwards towards the roof edge. “Well, you don’t have to worry about it much longer. After tomorrow at midnight, I’ll be out of your life forever.” He paused on the edge. “Don’t look for me anymore. It’s better this way. Goodbye, Kim KiBum.” Spreading out his arms like wings, he closed his eyes and fell backwards, disappearing.
By the time KiBum had looked over the edge to the ground many stories below, DongHae was gone. Feeling wetness on his cheeks, He rubbed at it slightly, only to find that it was tears. Siting back and looking out across the city, he felt a dull aching in his heart, and finally knew the answer to DongHae’s question.
But it had come too late.
Chapter: 12/14
Pairings: KiHae (Main), KyuMin, YeWook, KangTeuk
Rating: PG-16
Warning: Character Death
Summary: The one thing Lee DongHae hadn't expected to happen that Sunday morning was to die. But that is exactly what happened, and now because of a 'lingering regret', he can't pass on fully. What regret is this? A long-suffering crush on a boy who didn't even know he existed; Kim KiBum. So he is given one week on earth as a ghost to fulfill this regret... Or heaven might not even be an option for him anymore. But with KiBum the only one who can see him, and an experienced ghost hunter on his tail, can he even make the deadline?
A/N: *phew* This chapter was long! Nearly 4000 words! *dies* I should have split it into two X.X; Ah well...
Trailer || Chapter One || Chapter Two || Chapter Three || Chapter Four || Chapter Five || Chapter Six || Chapter Seven || Chapter Eight || Chapter Nine || Chapter Ten || Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve:
As the sun set and darkness fell over the festival grounds, humans and spirits sat in a loose circle, hidden from the rest of the world behind the different stalls. KyuHyun stayed beside ChangMin, and KangTeuk sat across from them. YeSung looked completely and utterly lost, unable to hear even the slightest whisper of what the other humans could, and RyeoWook looked around at the apparently ‘empty’ spaces in the circle, trying to find a shape or body to connect with the faint whispers he could hear and sense in his bones. Only KiBum sat alone, watching LeeTeuk and ChangMin for an explanation.
“First thing’s first. What are you both, exactly?” KiBum asked, deciding to get straight to the point, but they were all distracted when YeSung let out a forlorn sigh. “Don’t get me wrong, I believe you guys and I don’t think you’re senile or anything, but I can’t hear or see whatever it is you are, so how am I supposed to understand what is going on?”
“I can only hear a little as well,” RyeoWook piped up, obviously not wanted to be left out.
“I’ll repeat it for them,” KyuHyun replied, as he was sitting beside the two. YeSung and RyeoWook nodded, watching him expectantly.
LeeTeuk looked around at them all, noting he had their full attention. A light squeeze on his right hand got his attention; glancing over at KangIn, the other gave him a reassuring smile, which he couldn’t help but return before facing the others again. “ChangMin and I are called Spirit Guides. You humans have the habit of referring to us as Angels, which I suppose is also true…”
“So you’re from Heaven?” RyeoWook asked, once KyuHyun had relayed the information to him and YeSung.
“Yes. There are four worlds in total; Earth, Heaven, Hell and the Void. The first three should be already familiar to you; the Void is the spaces in between the worlds, and is considered by us all as a fate worse than Hell. There are only a few ways you can be sent to the Void, and none of it by Heavens doing, I assure you. Even if you were rotten through and through in your life, judgment would never send someone lower than Hell. The Void goes by it’s own rules.”
“Assuming that you’re bringing up the Void for a reason, how can you be sent there?” KiBum asked, frowning lightly. ChangMin looked at LeeTeuk, then decided to pick up where his superior left off. “The most common way used to be by stumbling upon an entranceway by accident. There are rifts leading towards the Void all around your world as well as Heaven and Hell. The most common one is the Bermuda Triangle, which you all should be familiar with.”
“Dozens of ships and airplanes go into the Triangle, and never come out,” YeSung murmured. “Apparently there’s something in the area that makes their equipment malfunction. Everyone just assumed they crashed on the ocean floor, but no remains were ever found.”
ChangMin nodded. “They were taken to the Void, and stranded there. There is no concept of time in the Void; an eternity can pass in there, and it would only be a few seconds in reality, or you could spend an hour lost in the Void and have centuries passed by in our worlds. You never grow old there either, apparently. No one knows for sure; all the knowledge we have is from our old scrolls and books, not from hands-on experience. No one who was sent to the Void has ever returned.”
“Now though, there’s another way to be sent to the Void,” LeeTeuk picked up the story again. “When a ghost is exorcised through unnatural means, they are knocked right out of the equilibrium between the worlds, and into the emptiness we call the Void.”
KyuHyun looked up, frowning. “Unnatural means?”
ChangMin looked at him sadly. “Through your means, KyuHyunnie. Those bullets in your gun aren’t supposed to exist, I have no clue how they first came into human possession, much less mass-producing them. But the only way ghosts are supposed to be sent to Hell is through us Spirit Guides; that’s why we exist. When you shoot ghosts with those bullets, they don’t go to Hell like they should have, but to the Void instead. And no one deserves that, no matter what they’ve done.”
KyuHyun seemed stunned by this new information. “I always thought, by exorcising the ghosts I was sending them to Hell,” He murmured, looking at the gun resting at his feet. ChangMin shook his head. “That’s why I’m so thankful you didn’t get the ghost that killed me.” LeeTeuk looked at the other spirit sharply. “You know each other?” He asked. “We were best friends when I was alive,” ChangMin said, waving the question off.
“I thought I had shot him,” KyuHyun said, frowning. ChangMin shook his head. “Our superior, JaeJoong, saw what happened and informed me when I woke up in Heaven. You nearly got the ghost, but you didn’t, and the poor guy managed to get away before you could notice. LeeTeuk caught up with him later, and sent him through judgment. Unfortunately, killing a human is a grave crime, even if he had no control over it, so he had to be sent to Hell. Poor fellow, he seemed really nice too.”
“Am I the only one here who’s still totally lost?” YeSung complained. RyeoWook put one hand over his boyfriends mouth to hush him. “Okay, so ghosts that KyuHyun kills are sent to the Void,” KiBum summarized, glad the ghost hunter hadn’t succeeded in shooting DongHae. And from the look on KyuHyun’s face, he wouldn’t be too quick to wave that gun around anymore. “Can we get back to DongHae now? What happened to him earlier?”
“I was getting to that,” LeeTeuk said, sighing. “Ghosts are pure spiritual energy. As such, they aren’t the best when it comes to dealing with emotions. They’re prone to huge mood swings, and the longer ghosts stay on this Earth, the more negative and destructive their emotions become. When that starts to happen, ghosts become what we call poltergeists instead, and poltergeists are dangerous to everyone around them, ghost or human. So we Spirit Guides generally give ghosts a week on Earth before judgment, and watch over them to make sure they don’t hurt anyone.”
“And what a fabulous job you were doing,” YeSung muttered through RyeoWooks hand. KangIn reached over and smacked him off the head, earning a muffled yelp.
“Anyways,” LeeTeuk continued, pointedly ignoring YeSung’s snide remark. “DongHae is reaching the end of his week, so he’s naturally going to be a bit unstable these next few days. It’s strange though…. He seems to have much more control over what he does than most ghosts.” He pointed to the fish shape in the ground. “No ghost I’ve ever guided, and I’ve been at this for longer than your grandparents have been alive, has ever had the self-control to actually move things around of their own will without something exploding. Besides the tree branch falling,” He amended, eyeing the fallen wood. “DongHae seems to have a habit of breaking wood. But honestly, I’m surprised at his control.”
“So why did he run off?” KiBum asked softly.
“He’s probably spooked. I explained to him about the whole poltergeist issue, but he doesn’t seem to realize that the amount of control he has over himself is extraordinary. I think he’s scare to hurt someone; if I were him right now, that’s what I’d be worried about.” LeeTeuk turned his gaze to KiBum. “He wouldn’t believe me if I told him. It’s too late now, but tomorrow could you find him? He needs to know, he won’t hurt anyone.” KiBum nodded.
“What can we do?” RyeoWook whispered. ChangMin shrugged, looking at LeeTeuk, who looked just as clueless. “Well… Just keep this to yourself for now?” LeeTeuk asked them. KyuHyun relayed the request, and YeWook nodded.
“Alright then,” LeeTeuk sighed, standing. “I need to inform JaeJoong about all this. He’ll probably know what’s going on anyways, and know what’s going to happen, he always does, but it won’t hurt to tell him once again.” ChangMin stood as well. “I’ll go with you,” He said with a smile. KyuHyun opened his mouth to protest, but ChangMin shook his head slightly at him. “Don’t worry KyuHyunnie; we’ll talk again. There’s so much I want to tell you. But now I have to leave. Just do me a favor, and be careful who you shoot from now on?” He asked.
Then, both he and LeeTeuk disappeared. KangIn looked startled to see them vanish into thin air, RyeoWook looking around as though he too sensed the spirits were no longer with them. Wordlessly, the group got up and made their way out form behind the stalls, KyuHyun hiding his gun again. Exhaustion wore them all down; so much had happened in so little time, it was tiring to think about.
“There you guys are!” A voice shouted. They looked up, to see EunHyuk and SungMin approaching. SungMin promptly went to KyuHyun, who forced a smile on his face so he wouldn’t worry the bunny boy. “We looked everywhere for you guys,” EunHyuk complained, as they started towards the gates. “Where were you?”
“On one of the roller coasters,” KiBum lied for them.
“Really? How many times did you guys ride it? You looked like you’ve been through Hell and back!” RyeoWook smiled faintly, wondering if EunHyuk would ever find out how close he was to the truth.
*****
KiBum was up early the next day, same as always. But his mind wasn’t on school; he wondered where DongHae was. Knowing how fast ghosts could move, he supposed DongHae could be several cities away by now, but there was also the slight chance that he was still in this one. KiBum hoped so. DongHae was running out of time, and he needed all the time he could get if he was going to catch up to the ghost boy.
When KangIn got up, thanks to his obnoxiously loud alarm clock, the first thing he did was look into KiBum’s room. His younger brother was always on his way to school by the time the elder woke up, but something told him today would be different. But as usual, KiBum wasn’t there. About to leave and get ready himself, KangIn noticed something in the corner of the room. KiBum’s school bag was still there. Had he forgotten it? That hadn’t happened since pre-school. Or perhaps… KiBum wasn’t going to school today.
“LeeTeuk,” KangIn called, wondering if the spirit was listening. There was no response; LeeTeuk was either not listening for him, or just busy. Most likely the latter.
*****
“How far is he?” KiBum ran alongside the spirit, wondering how far LeeTeuk was going to take him. He knew he was right to ask the other for help locating DongHae; he was LeeTeuk’s charge after all, and KiBums guess that the two would have some sort of connection had proved to be right.
“At the other end of the city,” LeeTeuk replied, running without a problem beside the human. Being a spirit had its perks. “Don’t worry, we’re not going to run the whole way, but if you want to catch the subway that will bring you there, you’ll need to hurry it up.” KiBum nodded, panting slightly as they raced down towards the downtown core. He ignored the looks he was getting for running and talking to thin air, not caring about the consequences.
Finally they reached the stairs leading down underneath the city. KiBum raced down, pulling out his subway pass. It really wasn’t his, it was KangIn’s, but KangIn wouldn’t need it today and KiBum hadn’t wanted to waste time in line waiting to pay for the pass.
As the noises of the moving subway reached them, LeeTeuk suddenly paused, looking up as though he’d heard someone calling his name. Holding back a sigh, he followed KiBum to where he was waiting for the next subway. “Listen,” He said, fighting to get himself heard over the noise. “Take the subway down to the very last stop on the green line, alright? When you get out, turn right and walk down to the EA Games building, on your left. Take the elevator all the way to the top floor, then find the stairway to the roof. He’s up on the roof, be careful not to spook him or you’ll have another chase on your hands.”
“You’re not coming?” KiBum asked, looking at him confusedly.
LeeTeuk shook his head. “No. You have to do this alone, KiBum. He would never listen to me anyways.” The subway train arrived, screeching to a halt in front of them as the doors opened. “Good luck,” LeeTeuk called as KiBum walked inside, the doors closing behind him. There was a rush of air, and the screech of moving metal, and the train was gone.
*****
“Where is everyone?” SungMin asked, frowning as the bell rang for classes to start. Both KiBum’s and KyuHyun’s desks were empty. KyuHyun being absent was odd enough, since he was already proving to be a straight A student, but KiBum was never absent, even when he had fevers or colds. RyeoWook shifted nervously in his seat, having a good guess why they were absent, but did as ChangMin had asked and kept his mouth shut.
“According to YeSung, KangIn’s not in class either,” SungMn continued, frowning. “Did they catch sick?” He looked at RyeoWook questioningly. “Maybe,” The younger replied weakly.
Class passed by without any word from the missing two students. When break came, RyeoWook and SungMin were surprised to see YeSung and EunHyuk walking into their class, sitting down beside them as the other students left. “KiBum and KyuHyun too?” EunHyuk asked, frowning. RyeoWook and YeSung exchanged glances, something that didn’t go unnoticed. “What’s up?” SungMin asked, frowning.
RyeoWook shrugged helplessly, but they’d gotten EunHyuks attention. “You two look suspicious,” He said, narrowing his eyes at RyeoWook, who has having the most trouble looking unsuspicious. YeSung patted his boyfriends hair, seeming to think for a moment, then stood up. “Come with us,” He said, dragging RyeoWook out of the room. “W-what are you doing?” RyeoWook whispered nervously.
“What does it look like I’m doing?”
“Oh no,” RyeoWook said, paling. “ChangMin’s gonna kill us, isn’t he?” YeSung just laughed
*****
“I wonder if you can hear me,” KyuHyun murmured, the wind blowing his hair into his eyes though he made no attempt to fix it. “I’m glad that you’re happy, and safe. Have you been watching me all this time? I hope I didn’t disappoint you.” His fingertips brushed along ChangMin’s grave, watching the sunlight shine off the stone.
“Do you know how strange you look? I think that old woman walking through gave you a wide berth for a reason.” KyuHyun jumped slightly, looking up and around. A shimmer in the air beside him got his attention. “ChangMin?” He asked softly.
“The one and only.” ChangMin sat down beside KyuHyun. “How are you coping? According to Jae, visits from the dead can be slight traumatizing.”
“Slightly?” KyuHyun murmured, but the corners of his lips twitched up. He had missed talking to ChangMin like this, like best friends should. ChangMin’s death had been his push to be a better hunter, and it had also been the reason why he’d shut out other people. The first to break that barrier had been Zhou Mi, a Chinese necromancer-in-training. Unfortunately, their goals had been the opposite, and because of that there had been many tense moments and arguments, until they broke up and KyuHyun returned to Korea.
The second to reach his heart had been SungMin. He wasn’t sure why, but there was something revitalizing about the other, and KyuHyun hadn’t felt so happy since before ChangMin died. Though he was slightly alarmed about the boys tendency to worship the color pink, it had nothing on Zhou Mi’s habits of bringing back those who should stay dead. He was relieved Zhou Mi had never tried to bring back ChangMin; that was one thing KyuHyun would never tolerate.
“I’m doing well,” KyuHyun finally replied, looking at where he could faintly see ChangMin’s outline beside him. “Won’t you get into trouble for being here?” He asked, wondering how ChangMin was able to keep coming back over and over without any consequences. ChangMin shrugged. “I’m not supposed to talk to you, rules and all, but I figured last night was a lousy closure and Jae can forgive me this one time.” He looked at KyuHyun. “You know, I won’t be able to come back to see you again,” He said softly.
“Rules,” KyuHyun murmured, nodding in understanding. “Just… Are you happy now? Are you at peace?” He asked, looking down.
ChangMin watched him without replying for a long moment, before smiling and carefully placing his hand on the others shoulder. “Yes. I’m content. How could I not be?”
“KyuHyun?”
Both human and spirit looked up and behind them. SungMin stood at the entrance to the graveyard, looking at KyuHyun with a faint smile. “I thought I’d find you here,” He commented, walking up to them and sitting down beside them. The elder male was completely oblivious to ChangMin’s presence, though when he passed by where the spirit sat he sneezed slightly and shivered.
“What are you doing here?” KyuHyun asked, frowning. “School’s still in session.”
“I could ask you the same,” SungMin replied, drawing his knees up to his chest and looking at the tombstone in front of them. “Seems like an odd time to visit graves. But that’s okay. I understand now. EunHyuk took more convincing than I did, but that’s not surprising.”
“What are you talking about?” KyuHyun said, frowning.
“Well, let’s just say YeSung’s horrible at keeping secrets.”
ChangMin groaned and hit himself on the forehead. “I knew this would happen,” He murmured darkly. KyuHyun looked over at him, confusing SungMin. “What’s wrong?” He asked, wondering what KyuHyun was looking at, because obviously the elder couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary.
“Nothing,” KyuHyun lied, looking back at SungMin as ChangMin sighed. “So… Are you surprised?” He asked. “How much did YeSung tell you?”
“Me and EunHyuk. Well, EunHyuk wanted to know more about DongHae, so he didn’t really get to explain much about you, so…” SungMin fiddled with his pink shirt. “I was rather hoping you would answer my questions.”
“You’re not scared?”
“Scared? Why would I be? Your ghosts have nothing on DongHae’s alien stories, or did you forget exactly who my late cousin is?”
*****
“So what happens to you when this is all over?”
LeeTeuk swung his legs back and forth from his perch on KangIn’s bed. Mrs. Kim had offered him a cup of tea when he’d walked in, but obviously the spirit had to decline. “I’d bring DongHae through judgment, obviously. Then when that’s done, I’d go back to helping over ghosts. My work never ends.” He sighed, looking up at KangIn.
“You’ll still come back to visit though,” KangIn said firmly, as though it was already decided.
“KangIn, it’s against the rules.”
“Who cares about the rules.”
“Doesn’t it even remotely bother you that I’m your elder by several centuries?”
“No.”
“Or that I’m, what’s that word, dead?”
“Not really.”
“I give up,” LeeTeuk groaned, flopping back onto the bed and staring up at the ceiling. The bed shifted under him and he found himself looking up at KangIn instead, that smug and childish grin on his face. “So that means you will visit, right?”
“You’re going to get me in so much trouble,” LeeTeuk murmured.
“But the question is, is it worth it?”
LeeTeuk resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “Babo. You already know the answer to that.” KangIn laughed, and leaned down to kiss his very own angel.
*****
The wind blew through his hair lightly as KiBum carefully closed the door to the roof behind him, trying not to make a sound. The rooftop was abandoned, save for himself and the male sitting on the edge of the building, staring up at the sky with sadness on his face. KiBum gradually make his way over, hoping he could get there before DongHae could turn around.
Luck wasn’t with him. DongHae glanced around idly at the faint sound of footsteps, then froze as he saw KiBum. KiBum stopped walking too, not walking to spook him. “What are you doing here?” DongHae whispered, but the sound of his voice reached KiBum clearly.
“I need to talk to you,” KiBum said firmly, but he didn’t move, seeing how DongHae was poised to launch himself off the building at the slightest movement, and while the ghost could easily make the fall and run off, KiBum obviously couldn’t do the same. “Please, Hae. Just listen to me, alright?”
DongHae didn’t look too convinced. KiBum sighed and sat down where he was, not moving. “See? I’m not coming any closer. You don’t have to do this, DongHae. You’re not a danger to anyone.”
“Yes I am!” DongHae exclaimed, but KiBum could see how LeeTeuk was right. Even though his voice had been raised, and he looked about to cry, there was no trace of the buffeting wind from the day before. “I’m going to be a poltergeist, and I can hurt people! Like I nearly killed KyuHyun!”
“KyuHyun’s fine,” KiBum pointed out. “A bit banged up, but nothing to warrant a hospital visit.”
“That’s besides the point! If you hadn’t-“ He choked up, stopping for a moment. “If you hadn’t called to me, I might have seriously hurt him, KiBum.”
What happened to ‘KiBummie’? KiBum wondered faintly. DongHae wasn’t using his cute nickname for the other anymore. He seemed to be trying to distance himself even more, though if he moved much farther he was going to go right off the rooftop edge. “But you didn’t. No ghost has ever done that before, DongHae. You’ve got control over it.”
“Not enough,” DongHae ground out through clenched teeth. He didn’t understand why KiBum was being so insistent. He had never even known DongHae before Sunday, and he obviously didn’t like him the same way DongHae did. “Why do you even care?” He asked, turning around to crawl over to the human boy. “What am I to you?” The ghost approached KiBum until they were almost nose-to-nose, looking into each others eyes. “Do you love me?”
KiBum blinked, caught off guard. “I…” His voice caught in his throat. Did he love DongHae? He didn’t know. KiBum could answer all the math or science questions you could throw at him in the blink of an eye. He knew the school textbooks inside and out, knew every famous name and moment in history, but he couldn’t answer DongHae’s question quickly enough, the most important question of all.
“…Though so,” DongHae said with a bitter smile. He stood up again, walking backwards towards the roof edge. “Well, you don’t have to worry about it much longer. After tomorrow at midnight, I’ll be out of your life forever.” He paused on the edge. “Don’t look for me anymore. It’s better this way. Goodbye, Kim KiBum.” Spreading out his arms like wings, he closed his eyes and fell backwards, disappearing.
By the time KiBum had looked over the edge to the ground many stories below, DongHae was gone. Feeling wetness on his cheeks, He rubbed at it slightly, only to find that it was tears. Siting back and looking out across the city, he felt a dull aching in his heart, and finally knew the answer to DongHae’s question.
But it had come too late.