Sehun hugged Jongin for five long minutes before hopping in his car and driving away, leaving him alone with Kyungsoo. The older man was ready to start his research, and Jongin was essential for that; he turned around and tugged the doll's hand, heading to the library. "Do you have any memories?" He asked Jongin the very second they arrived. The other frowned, not understanding his words. "Memories? Of course I have them!"

Kyungsoo smiled weakly and shook his head. "I mean before you woke up for the first time." The doll blinked, and then shrugged. "I just remember a warm feeling. I liked it." The doll-maker nodded and sighed, as he walked around, searching for a book. Jongin followed him silently, before he stopped he took a random old book from the shelf. "I don't understand, Kyungsoo. Why did you say I woke up for the first time? Sehun told me that dolls like me are precious and we are born thanks to you."

The doll-maker hummed and nodded, but chuckled when he heard Jongin's next words. "Did you create Sehun, too?" Kyungsoo stared at the doll with a sad glint in his eyes. "No, Sehun isn't a doll, he's human. You aren't." His creation just frowned in concentration as he read the title of a book. "Then we shouldn't be together!" He exclaimed, suddenly worried. Kyungsoo surely didn't expect such reaction, and he started to calm Jongin. "I'm sure no one minds, don't worry about it! I made plenty of dolls, and nobody has ever told me that what I'm doing is wrong."

The human took several books and slowly went to the counter, with the doll following him closely. "Jongin, right now you're just a doll. Your life is based on my dead boyfriend's one, there is nothing real in what you feel." Kyungsoo said those cruel words without stealing a glance to Jongin, who stared, shocked, at his creator. The doll stayed quiet until they returned to the shop with their arms full of books; Kyungsoo didn't mind much his creation, who got gloomy and didn't talk anymore.

When they finally arrived, there was someone at the door, waiting for Kyungsoo to open his shop; it was a young man with blond hair and a rather worried look on his face. "I'm so glad you're h-here!" He stuttered. "You have to help me!" The doll maker nodded hesitantly, as he walked behind his counter and put down his books. "What is it?" He asked, rather curious to know what that man wanted from him. "I know you gave a doll to my friend Wu Fan, but now he has disappeared with that thing and he won't answer to my phone calls!"

Kyungsoo just shrugged, slightly surprised to hear that. "Well, I'm sorry, I haven't seen him since I gave him Tao." The blond man shook his head, in panic. "No, you don't understand… Wu Fan suffers of depression; he has left home without taking his pills with him!" The doll maker just sighed, without knowing what to do in order to help that poor, desperate man. "Look, why don't you call the police?" He proposed. "I'm sure your friend won't get in trouble, just try to ask the police."

Only after some long minutes, the man decided to run outside the shop, leaving Kyungsoo worried and anxious to know what happened to his costumer. "Jongin, come on, you have to answer some of my questions and then I'll start reading those books…" He mumbled, still slightly confused. The doll nodded and the both of them walked to the workshop, where they sat in silence for a few seconds. Kyungsoo took a pencil and a notebook, together with some of his old photos. "Okay, Jongin. I want you to look at these pictures and tell me if you can remember something."

His creation did as he was told, and for some long minutes, he kept quiet. Kyungsoo was shaking, way too nervous and worried, and when finally Jongin tore his gaze from those photos he couldn't help but froze in fear. "I don't remember anything." The doll spoke slowly. Kyungsoo sighed heavily and then groaned; he really didn't know what to do, he had no ideas. He shook his head and pushed away his bad thoughts. "O-okay, then I will show you some objects and you have to tell me if they remind you of something."

But everything Kyungsoo tried to do with Jongin, was a failure. The doll couldn't recognize anything, and so he just decided to start reading those books; he read all day and night about people creating dolls, about magic dolls, that could be transformed into humans. He read about those dolls having grief and sadness with them. The owner of that type of doll was going to have a tragic and lonely life, which was going to end with tears and sobs.

Kyungsoo, however, wasn't satisfied. Where did the doll come from? Why did they appear as human? And why was he able to create such type of doll? He didn't even realize that he was dozing off, and soon he felt asleep on the open books. Jongin slowly carried him to his bedroom and placed him on the soft mattress, before covering him with a blanket; the doll sat on the ground, next to the bed, he rested his head near his creator's face, and stared at the ceiling during the rest of the night. At every whimper of pain from Kyungsoo, Jongin was there to calm him down.

The doll maker kept researching for long days, alternating reading books with all the work he had to do at the workshop; but it was hard doing everything alone, and being with just Jongin didn't help at all. He had to stop painting faces many times, because his favorite creation kept looking at him with shining eyes; Kyungsoo couldn't really concentrate with his stare on the back of his neck. The silence was killing him, and sometimes he wondered if it was worse when Jongin started talking or softly singing.

"What is like to be with Sehun?" Kyungsoo asked, unable to keep his mouth shut. The doll smiled and hummed. "He's very nice to me; he always says that he loves me, and I say it back. When he sleeps he looks really cute. I like him." The doll maker smiled with sadness. "What about me?" He whispered, as he looked at Jongin. He missed so much his boyfriend, but he also knew that what he had in front of him was a mere empty shell. "I like you, too. But…" The doll seemed hesitant, and he continued only when Kyungsoo nodded.

"…Kyungsoo, do you love me?"

He had never heard such a difficult question before. Did he love him? Of course, he had loved so much his dear Jongin, but he couldn't love a doll, a thing; the Jongin he had before his eyes wasn't a person. Then why he couldn't answer immediately? Instead of a reply, he just sobbed; soon his sight got blurry because of his tears, and he couldn't tear the image of the real Jongin asking him the exact thing, but with a soft smile and with his eyes shimmering with love.

"Y-yes." He stuttered. He cried hard when he felt a cold pair of arms around his trembling body, and when he couldn't stand anymore, the doll kept him next to his body. "Why are you crying? Love makes people happy." Jongin muttered against his hair. Kyungsoo shook his head. "Not this kind of love."

During that long week, he kept creating his dolls and crying whenever Jongin hugged him and smiled. He thought he was over his dead boyfriend, but it wasn't anything like that, and on top of that, he really couldn't concentrate. He decided it was better to stop reading those books he had found in the library, and he started to search for something in his attic. He was lucky to find some old broken dolls – terribly creepy and dusty – and a couple of old notebooks. The pages were full of grim photos, and Kyungsoo felt sick every time he had to look at a new picture. There were dead bodies and even more drawings of rituals and much more, and at some point Kyungsoo at to run to the bathroom; when he finished empting his stomach, he turned around and he found Jongin looking at him from the door.

"There is someone."

Kyungsoo brushed quickly his teeth and wobbled towards his shop, with Jongin trailing behind him, and when he finally arrived, he thought he was going to fall on his shaking legs. There was the same man who was searching for Wu Fan, but he was crying hard and another young man was hugging him and sobbing with him. Kyungsoo knew that things, from that moment, were just going to get worse than that. "They found him dead." One of them spoke lowly. "He was found dead in a motel, lying on the bed and he looked so peaceful. And next to him…" Choking on his words, the blond man tried to keep explaining, but he failed and let his friend continue. "Yes, the police found that doll you gave him lying right next to him. T-there is just a problem…"

Kyungsoo gulped. He was frozen there; he didn't dare to move, way too afraid to fall. Wu Fan and Tao looked fine just a few days back and now the man was dead and his doll… What about his doll?

"T-Tao, that doll… It's just not like it looked before. Now it's really just an empty shell… It's just a doll." The doll maker blinked, confused. They were saying that his doll was now a real doll. "Y-you mean… Tao doesn't look human anymore?" The other two men nodded, as they kept crying.

"I don't really know what happened, and we never will. But both Wu Fan and your doll looked s-so h-happy…" The blond man started crying harder than a few moments before. Kyungsoo stood in front of those two friends, frozen, when suddenly his sight got black and he fell on the ground.

When Kyungsoo opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was Jongin. "They showed me a photo of Tao. He looked so peaceful… Don't worry, he's okay now. He won't suffer anymore." The doll maker started crying silently, as Jongin took his hand. "What's happening…?" He sobbed quietly. He was suddenly scared that his favorite doll was going to leave him; he wasn't even his owner, but he was terribly scared to be left alone once again. He couldn't even imagine what he was going to after Sehun's return; he was probably going to close the shop down. Now that he knew what was going to happen to his dolls, he didn't want to let go of Jongin.

"Are you suffering, Jongin?"

His doll was suddenly serious; his eyes shined with humanity and sadness, and for a long moment Kyungsoo thought his boyfriend came back to him, only to make him happy and complete again. "Yes." He whimpered. Jongin nodded and closed his eyes, as he rested his head next to his creator. "Good. Dead people shouldn't come back to life. Let it go, Kyungsoo." The young man stared, baffled, with wide eyes. "Let it go, baby. Forget about me, leave me alone, keep living with someone else, doing something else."

Kyungsoo sat up, slightly scared of those words. "Jongin? Is that you? My Jongin?" The doll blinked, frowning. "What is it?"

The doll maker sniffled, wiping away his last tears. "No, it's nothing, Jongin. I will let it go."

***

When Sehun returned home, he was met with an extremely happy Jongin and an embarrassed Kyungsoo. "I'm really sorry, but I think if it's better if I close this shop. After what happened to Tao, I don't want to make the same mistake again." Sehun was taken aback; he obviously didn't expect that so many things had happened as he was away from home. "N-no, I'd do the same… Did you receive any information about their deaths?" But Kyungsoo simply shook his head.

"Everything is kept private, but just for now. I saw a couple of pictures of the motel where they found the bodies, and some people came to me saying it was my fault." He explained, as he shrugged. "I'm really sorry, Sehun. I should have warned you…" The younger man smiled softly. "It doesn't matter, my mom would like to have my help in her shop. I'm just worried about you!" Kyungsoo chuckled weakly, glancing at his shop; he had already thrown away everything. "I just realized a couple of things."

Sehun saw his sadness and decided it was better to stop asking things. Kyungsoo looked like he had just experienced death in person. His shop was empty, and so were the doll maker's eyes.

***

In a small amount of time, Kyungsoo opened a small pastry shop. He worked a lot, and eventually, Wu Fan and Tao's death was forgotten; however, he couldn't forget Jongin. In fact, every time he saw Sehun with his doll, his heart ached and his eyes were full of unshed tears. Even thought he couldn't forget about his dead boyfriend, he found someone else to love; Joonmyeon was lovely, gentle, and he was always so sweet with him. With him, he had finally found what seemed happiness and he felt content with the older man.

Kyungsoo eventually found the courage to marry him, many years later. He, Joonmyeon and Sehun got old, but the doll was still the same; Sehun, too, found someone else. He understood that he couldn't find any satisfaction and love in a doll, but he didn't want to abandon Jongin in a dark alley. He kept him next to him, and he cherished his company; he slowly started to see his doll as a friend, and Jongin was happy – as much as a doll could be.

Kyungsoo cherished his moments with Joonmyeon, but as time passed, he got older and weaker; he got sick, so much that he couldn't move from his bed. He still wanted to do so many things, and his lover was incredibly sad to watch him dying so slowly. But Joonmyeon had to work hard, so that he could help Kyungsoo, and he decided it was better if there was Jongin next to the sick man.

The ex doll maker spent his painful days with his favorite doll, and he had never felt so happy in a long time. His disease had slowly torn away his soul and everything he loved in his life, but with Jongin, he felt young and complete once again.

"Jongin, you were so nice to me… I didn't deserve you, back then…" He murmured, as his eyes closed slowly. The doll caressed his hair, and for the first time Kyungsoo felt something different; he opened his eyes and stared at Jongin. His dark eyes were shiny and the ex doll maker knew he was staring right at his real soul. "Kyungsoo, you were so lovely with me… But now your time has come." Jongin muttered. The man started to cry silently, as a smile found space on his mouth. "It's really you…"

"I have never left you alone in during these years, Kyungsoo."

He kept crying as he closed his eyes once again. "W-what will happen to you…?" The other kissed his forehead. "I'll leave this world together with you, because you are my most beloved person." Kyungsoo smiled, sobbing quietly; he searched for his lover hand and when he found it, he squeezed it, too scared to let Jongin go away without him. "T-this happened to Kris and Tao, too, am I right? Tao loved him…" Jongin kissed the man's cheek and he smiled softly. "Yes, but it doesn't matter anymore. Let it go, Kyungsoo. I'll be there with you."

The man suddenly felt tired. He sighed, content, and he felt Jongin's lips on his own; even though all he saw was darkness and he was dying, his soul felt colorful, lively and strong as it left his body.

***

Sehun arrived hours later.

He was late, it was his turn to look after his friend and he surely didn't expect to see something like that; when he entered Kyungsoo's bedroom, he had to stop himself from screaming. Jongin was an empty shell, and so was his dear friend: he was no longer breathing. He started crying when he saw that Kyungsoo was smiling, and he seemed to understand something.

He had unconsciously hurt him for years, just because he had loved Jongin. It wasn't important anymore, because Kyungsoo looked like he had finally found his peace. "I'm sorry I was so selfish. You were my best friend, and I hurt you. I deserve to feel this guilty." Sehun walked near the bed and sat, taking out his mobile, to call Joonmyeon. Both Kyungsoo and the doll were empty shells for a long time, and their bodies were going to be like that forever; but he knew that, in the end, their souls had met again to be together. Sehun knew they were fated lovers, and he was glad that nobody could divide and hurt them. Joonmyeon, too, knew that there was a special place in Kyungsoo's heart only for Jongin; it was well hidden, but it was there. Sometimes it felt horrible, because he knew that in the end, he was never who Kyungsoo wanted him to be. Sehun didn't want to, but he had to say those hurtful words.

"Joonmyeon? He's fine, he's happy. He's gone with Jongin."

I'm sorry you had to wait months to read this last update. I'm glad you guys have read this fanfic, thank you very much.

Please don't be sad, because this isn't necessarily a sad ending. 

Thank you again, and please let me know what do you think of it!