He stands in front of the mirror, staring at his own reflection.

Smile. Come on, smile. A voice whispered in his ear, and his lips twitched upwards a little.

Smile, smile, smile, smile. His lips curved upwards into what seemed like a forced smile. 

This can't do, come on Eli, smile brightly. Not smile forcefully.

This time, the smile that came out was bright. But it was so fake at the same time, that all Eli wanted to do was to smash the mirror into pieces, pieces that will no longer be able to reflect this smile. 

"Eli, we're leaving in ten minutes!" Soohyun yells through the locked door of Eli's bedroom.

"Okay, Soohyun-hyung! I'm coming out soon!" Eli responds in such a bright tone, a tone that was the exact opposite of what he felt now, that he wants to break down and just cry, cry at himself. 

He still smiles brightly, however. 

He's not sure why he smiles now, because the smile on his face is not really a smile. It's more of a protective shield than anything else.

And then, something deep inside his heart told him why.

He smiles to protect himself from being hurt any more. he smiles to keep his friends, his family, and most of all, s from suspecting that he is anything but happy.

He smiles; a sad and hollow smile, in an effort to heal the gaping wounds in his heart.

And then he turns away from the mirror, and leaves his room, with his lips curled upwards in an imitation of a bright smile, one that deceived everyone around him, everyone that he knew, all except for himself. Only he himself, could see through his own deception.

Just how much longer, how much longer can he keep up with this facade, before someone notices?

That was the one question, that even Eli himself couldn't answer.

Mwehehehe~ How was this one-shot? (: