I Came Back For You

SUMMARY:

They tried to get Hyunjin to forget this town and Felix. He'd played their game long enough. Now he's back to find out what happened to him once and for all. His skills in magic will help.

A Comment I received on this chapter on AO3, which made me happy:

This is so super interesting and hyunlix is my favorite! Your ideas are brilliant!

- fruitstripes

31 Days Of Halloween (Stray Kids): October 2023

Story Seven:

I Came Back For You

Hyunjin adjusted his jacket hat and the over-ear headphones. He hadn't been to this town in sixteen years. He'd turned twenty-five this year and he'd gained ample experience about the paranormal.
A train left the station to his left, and another arrived behind him. Another arrived behind him. He spit his gum in the trashcan and headed for the car dealership next door to pick up his rental.
He'd been too young to remember anything but the woods...
Those woods.
They looked unassuming, innocent, just trees.
He itched for a cigarette. No smoking with the patch.
"Felix Felix Felix, where are you, Felix?" He said in English. He'd spent some time in Australia, getting a feel for the place, and a little of the accent had seeped into his already accented American one.
He shook his head and went to town. It felt strange ordering food as an adult. FElix's Mom had sat them at the diner booth and asked them what they wanted.
"I want a Philly cheesesteak, grilled bread, and chili on the side," he said.
He ate and ran over his plan again. Ingredients, check, location, check. People had tried to distract him over the years, try to get him to forget Felix and this town. He'd played their game so they'd stop watching him like a hawk. Tonight, hopefully, he'd find out what happened to him beyond a child's inventive memory.

Twirling a bottle of water, he surveyed his motel room. Bed by the window, table behind him, bathroom around a partition with sink outside. He took a sip of water and sat it on the table. If he took a nap now he wouldn't get a hangover from the adrenaline rush he'd feel tonight. The sheets were softer than he'd expected and freshly laundered. It took no time at all for him to fall asleep.

An owl hooted outside the remains of that house, the one he and Felix had visited the day he'd disappeared. Whisps of memory replayed on the foundation and the adrenaline he'd mentioned began to pump. He let out a controlled exhale.
"This place is creepy," child Felix said.
"No, it isn't. It's cool," Child him argued. "I'm going inside."
"No wait. I'll- I'll go with you. So- So you don't have to be alone."
Child him held Child Felix's hand the whole time they explored the abandoned house in the woods, and then they met him: Chan.
The whisp children disappeared and he snapped his fingers, something he should've already done. A protective shield formed a dome around him including under the ground beneath him.
"Oh, my gosh," a deep voice said.
Those eyes, squinted in an excited smile, only could be formed by one person."
"Felix?" He knew enough not to trust anything at first.
I can't believe you're here," Felix said. "You're still taller than me." He pouted.
Hyunjin inhaled slowly and out the same. "LIx... why are you here and not out telling the world you're alive?"
"Because I'm not."
He flinched because the voice had come from behind him. Felix stepped up beside him on the border of his shield. While the other Felix had short black hair, this one had blond hair, longer in the back and only long enough to cover his ears and forehead in the front. A stylish mullet? "Wh-What do you mean you're not?"
"I'm like... alive, but- You know, we'll discuss this later. Right now I'm going to exercise this demon again. You'd think it'd take a hint after this many years, but nope." He threw a bottle that exploded by black-haired Felix's feet. He screamed and the sound became an inhuman howl.
It cowered and covered its face. "Not so tough when you can't the energy out of children, are you? He recited the Latin prayer to exorcise evil and the demon became black smoke and dispersed into the ground.

"You're staring at me," Felix said.
"You're alive."
Most people would think the forest sound right now would be crickets, but it was a type of frog that only came out during spring. He chewed his bottom lip and thought, "Yes brain. Thank you for supplying that useless piece of information.
Felix gave an awkward smile and he was blushing. This was him. Definitely him. The real him.
"I can explain. It had to happen this way. I'm sort of... connected to the ground, the building foundation, also, and the surrounding perimeter. Kind of like... a ghost, but I'm alive. It's my anchor and drawing in every for magic... being full allows me to leave?"
"And I naturally drain the energy kind of like... food? So... I always end up here eventually. This is my land literally. The land is me and I am it?" He made a noise in frustration.
"Does that make sense?"
Hyunjin nodded. He took Lix's hand and felt his shield relax at the familiar touch. "What happened to you Lix? Did... Chan... that guy do this to you?"
His eyes widened. "No no no no no. This... is a good thing. That demon nearly the life out of me that night. Of course, you don't remember. Chan his the memory and sent you home so you'd be safe."
"He did what?" Anger surged through his veins, heating him up in the cool night air.
"Yeah. If you couldn't remember for long enough for Chan to exorcise the demon then it couldn't track you. Then your parents moved and Chan thought it better not to drag a second kid into this mess. He gave me an anchor to keep living and taught me magic." He inhaled as an adoring gaze took over his face.
"And now you're here. You came back for me. I can leave even if I eventually end up back here, but with it being you?" He shrugged. Maybe he can make a new anchor and I can do things differently."
"It helps that you know magic too. Hyunjinnie, you know magic. Remember when we used to play pretend and-" His expression blanked and then he seethed. It's a good thing we don't actually want to blow up half of or set fire to half of what we imagined or there'd be nothing left."
A laugh bubbled out of him. God, he'd missed him. He'd been the one person who'd never told him, "Oh, you're too loud, too weird, you're something else." They had always tried to contain him and change him. Which is why he left. "So... Chan's the good guy?"
"He is. He really is. And he's such a mom it's kind of ridiculous. Oh, and he lives in a tree." He snickered.
"And a car and a tent." He's a Nomad, so I'm constantly having to track him down. When he's on my land it's not a problem, but when he isn't..." He sighed. "Let the search begin."