Journey 8

She was running as fast as her legs can carry... She doesn't mind if passers-by laughed at her silly Power-puff printed pyjamas or if she was running with her fluffy bunny slippers on. The only thing that was on her mind right now was to run away - away from the strange creature that she left on her apartment minutes ago.

"Kyungsoo! Kyungsoo!" Jinri shouted, knocking frantically at the Do's front door. If there was one person who will believe her story, she was sure it would be her best friend. The neigbors peered reprovingly behind their curtains from the commotion she was making, but Jinri had more important matters at hand.

Seconds later Mrs. Do opened the door with a curious expression.

"Jinri, what brought you here at this hour?" Mrs. Do asked, looking at the wall clock behind her: 06: 30 a.m.
"Mrs. Do I need to speak to Kyungsoo please." she said urgently.

Without further ado, Mrs. Do stepped back and let Jinri inside. Jinri knew the house by heart; First she turned right where the staircase was, then turn left and it will be Kyungsoo's bedroom.

She did not bother knocking and barged inside Kyungsoo's room. The door smacked the wall with a booming sound, making the latter sat upright with groggy eyes.

"WHA -?!"
"Kyungsoo! Kyungsoo something happened! He- It - the baby -!"
"Jinri calm down!" Kyungsoo got up from bed and grabbed Jinri's shoulders to support her. Jinri was not aware that she was already crying from fear of insanity... if that's how she would call it.
"I think I'm crazy." Jinri cried.
"You are crazy, silly girl. What happened?"

Jinri wiped her face and took a deep breath.
 

It all started when she woke up and saw a lump of torn clothes beside her instead of Chanyeol.

"Chanyeol!" she shouted alarmingly. Now that she knew that Chanyeol can walk, she feared where could the baby might have gone. She gets up from bed, puts her slippers on, and searches the room inside and out. "Chanyeol!!"

She walked outside the room and searched her living room. Her apartment was dead quiet except from scraping noises from afar. Where the heck would a year old baby can go???

Her next stop was the bathroom. Just like the living room, it gave no presence of the baby. Now Jinri started to panic.

"As soon as I find you, you're dead!" she threatened.

She went to the kitchen and there she found her fridge open. She never leave her fridge open becasue the electric bill will cost high if she did so.

She walked towards the appliance and snapped it shut. How did Chanyeol manage to open its door she doesn't know, but the baby was so dead.

"MAMA!!!"

Jinri turned around - ready to scold Chanyeol - when she was surprised by a kid who literally jumped on her, making her fall backwards. 

"YAAAAHH!!! WHO THE HELL ARE YOU!!!?" she shrieked, trying to push the baby away from her. The kid sat on top of her, grinning from ear to ear at the sight of Jinri.
"I'm hungryyyy." the kid wailed.
"Get off me!" She was getting conscious of the kid over her, and she desperately wished that Kyungsoo wouldn't barge in unannounced or he would start teasing her for ia.
"I'm hungry Mamaaa." the kid repeated.
"I'm not your Mama!"

She finally set herself free from the kid and backed away as far as possible from him. Jinri fumbled her sides and grabbed hold of a broom, pointing it defensively at Chanyeol.

"Tell me who you are before I hit you with this!"
"Chan-yeol."
"What?"
"Chan-yeol."

Jinri let out a shaky laugh.

"Don't you dare fool me kid, Chanyeol's a baby. Not a kid." she snapped.
"But I'm Chanyeol!" Chanyeol defended, standing up and pointing his tattoo.

The broom almost slipped from Jinri's grip. The tattoo was never an ordinary one even for Jinri's eyes. It was a cyan tattoo that glows brightly even when the lights are off, and she knew only one person who has one.

"This is insane." she mumbled, shaking her head at the same time. "You're joking. You're not Chanyeol."
"Mama!!"

And even the word was a proof of Chanyeol's presence. Confused thoughts swam on Jinri's mind, all of them tried to give a logical explanation of what was happening in front of her.

To cap it all, the kid gave a heart-stopping smile that Jinri always sees from the baby Chanyeol. Everything on the kid tells her that it was really Chanyeol... but how??

"Please believe me Kyungsoo, I'm telling the truth! The kid said he's Chanyeol, but he can't be Chanyeol!" Jinri pleaded in defense of her sanity. Maybe it was all because of Kyungsoo's weirdness. Maybe she hangs out too much with him that's why she's also adapting the weird effect of him. That's right! It's all because of Kyungsoo!
"I believe you Jinri." Kyungsoo said seriously. He was not grinning, no sly smirk tugging from his lips, not even the usual malice glinting in his eyes. For 19 years Jinri knew this look: Kyungsoo really did take her seriously.
"T-thank you." she said gratefully. Jinri couldn't thank God enough for giving her a best friend like him. She was so thankful to have Kyungsoo on her side. What she mean was, who else would support and believe her despite of how lunatic her story was? If it was Amber or Luna who will hear this they will just shrug her off. But Kyungsoo? He was a different person. Right?

Kyungsoo nodded appreciatively.

"The Apocatapians had predicted this already. Sometimes they communicated with me through my dreams, sometimes through flashes of visions I had during the day. They said the people can grow unhumanly Jinri. That's why I believe you."

Jinri doesn't know what the heck would she reply from Kyungsoo's statement. That must have mean that Kyungsoo believed his non-existent Apocatapians, not Jinri's words. Jinri's words, for Kyungsoo, was a proof of the Apocatapians' claim. Not a proof of Jinri's experience.

"Let's go and see the unhumanly creature. I'll get dressed first." 

That was when Jinri noticed that Kyungsoo was only wearing a horrible, skin-toned boxers and rainbow socks, and she did not even notice that Kyungsoo was also wearing a black necktie on his bare chest.

"What's the necktie for????" she blurted.
"I read from a book that it is appealing to women. Effective isn't it?"

*Heck no.*

After Kyungsoo got dressed - with the black necktie partnered with an animal-print shirt this time - the two of them went back to Jinri's apartment.

Kyungsoo was the first one who entered the room, holding his hand warningly before Jinri can enter.

"First rule is to never provoke the unhumanly creature. Their cries are worse than a banshee." he whispered.

Jinri tried hard not to roll her eyes. Kyungsoo was the only person that believes her right now, and it was not a smart move for her if she will turn him down. But it was hard work for her.

"Okay." she managed to reply.
"Oh Apocatapians of the Hunderworld, hear me! Reveal this unhumanly creature to your noble servant, bless me with your spiritual powers of enlightenment! Bring...."

While Kyungsoo was saying his mantra with eyes closed, Jinri saw Chanyeol walking in front of Kyungsoo, staring at him with interested eyes.

"....reveal him to me, oh Apocatapians! Free this creature from the mystical bonds of spirirts!!" Kyungsoo ended dramatically. He opened his eyes wide and there stood Chanyeol in front of him. For Kyungsoo, it was all thanks to his mantra why Chanyeol was standing in front of him right now. Therefore, he looked pleased from the "result of his mantra".

"Now let's get down to business. Chanyeol, is that really you?" Kyungsoo asked. His eyes strolled below Chanyeol's throat, where the tattoo glowed brightly in front of them. Kyungsoo's eyes grew bigger than his big eyes can carry, and he pointed at the tattoo with shaking fingers. "THE MARK! HE HAS THE MARK!"
"What mark?" Jinri asked.
"The mark of a mystical creature! He's a descendant of the Flumoberries!!!"

Jinri bit her lip and decided not to comment. But Kyungsoo remained unfazed. He quickly brought a pen and paper and laid it on Chanyeol's lap.

"Write your name." he ordered the kid.

Chanyeol willingly obliged. Jinri watched the kid write the name without mistake, just like when she watched the baby Chanyeol did last night. After the kid was done, Kyungsoo compared the new handwriting with the baby Chanyeol's writing last night.

"It's a match!" Kyungsoo exclaimed.

And despite of Kyungsoo's extremely weird words, Jinri had something to believe in from what he said:

The kid was really Chanyeol.

I'm really thankful to all my patient subscribers and silent readers for keeping your faith in this fic. I want to make faster updates for all of you but my school works keep on getting the way. :| Please bear with me for a while guys, 'kay? hehe. I love you all! MWAAAA!