When Heechul looked out the window of his apartment and saw an image of Geng reflected on the moon, he merely raised the can to his lips and gulped down another swig of beer.

"Yah, Heechul ah! Pull yourself together!"

"I'm drunk," Heechul declared loudly, "so go away. You're jusht a harrushination - that'sh why I can - hic - see you in the sky."

"Of course you're drunk," groaned the apparition on the moon, "you're not making any sense at all!"

"Shaddup Kyung," he slurred, swinging the can of beer around dangerously, "I make perfect shense!"

"That's a lie, and you know it. You never make any sense when you're drunk. Where you are right now - you don't even know, do you?"

"Hah! HAH! I know better than ANYONE where I am now! I - I'm not even - hic - in da weal world!" When he saw that one of Hankyung's eyebrows was trying to escape his forehead, he continued. 

"I'm in - hic - I'm in a fic! I'm not shuposhed ta be pining over you right now! It'sh da Miinah promotions! I'm shusposhed to have gotten over you ahready!

"Therefore I have deduced that I am in a fic! A Hanchul fic, written by a fail Petal who has no sense of chronology! We ain't even ah-llowed ta swear, cos her mother won't let her swear either! Don't ya see, Kyung? We're in a fic."

Heechul's vision blurred for a moment, and when it returned to normal a moment later he found himself strangely compelled to say something. "You look like Zack Fair," he stated seriously, and then the drunken Cinderella burst into a fit of laughter, sloshing his beer all over the floor. Ryeowook was sure to throw a fit later; Heechul wasn't sure if he cared.

"That," deadpanned the lunar projection, "just proves that I'm right."

"Noooo you're not! You're jusht - hic - a vision! You're not even real!" Heechul slammed his beer can onto the ledge as he pushed the window open, jabbing furiously at the moon. "YOU HAVE NO POWER OVER ME, KYUNG!"

Satisfied that he had proven his point, he slumped over, buried his face in his arms and started to sob.

"Oh Chullie..." The hallucination's voice had softened, in that way Kyung's voice always did when Heechul was drunk out of his mind. If he wasn't busy crying his eyes out, he'd probably notice that Geng was reaching an arm out, almost as if he was trying to escape the moon and become real. "You see, this why you're not allowed to drink without me there to cook hangover soup."

"We have Wookie for that now," he hiccuped sadly. "Cooking, I mean. And we have Hyuk and Hae for dancing. They've replaced you in everything, Kyung. They don't need you anymore."

"Chullie..."

"Leave me alone, Kyung." Turning, Heechul slid down the wall, curling into a ball on the ground, his voice merely a whisper. "I just want to be alone."

There was silence as the moon slowly but surely returned to normal.

Hiding his face in his hands, Heechul wept.


Somewhere in China


Han Geng opened his eyes, blinked, then wiped at the dampness on his face. His phone rang not long after.

"Hello? ... Mum?"

"Geng ah, how did today go? Did Xi Zhe listen to you?"

He shook his head before remembering that he was on the phone. "No Mum. He was drunk. Very drunk. He compared me to a video game character."

He heard his mother sigh on the other end. "Tomorrow is the last full moon for this month, Geng. Try again tomorrow, hm? Xi Zhe will hear you out eventually."

"Yes Mum." Silence. He found his mouth opening of its own accord. "Mum? Why did we have to be descended from Chang Er?"

There was silence on the other end of the line, too. "... I don't know, Geng. I don't know."

"Bye Mum. I love you."

"Love you too, Geng."

Hanging up, Han Geng stared blankly at his phone before closing his eyes. He had one more connection to make before resting for the night.


Back in Korea


"Hey. Hey, Donghai!"

"Hankyung hyung?" Donghae blinked sleepily. Why was the moon talking to him again? 

"No, it's me, your conscience, remember? Hankyung's form - I take Hankyung's form when I need to tell you something about Heechul."

"Oh. Hello, conscience. You were right about the last time, by the way. Thank you for suggesting I cooked lunch for Heechullie hyung."

"Don't mention it. Listen, you need - we need to go visit Heechul hyung again. He's been isolating himself recently. I'm worried about him." 

Donghae yawned, rubbing his eyes. "Okay, conscience. But can we do it tomorrow? I'm sleepy."

"Of course we can. Good night, Donghai. Sleep well." 

"G'night, conscience, same to you too... Oh wait, if you're me and I sleep well, then wishing you pleasant dreams doesn't make much sense, does it....?" Frowning slightly, Donghae buried his head in his pillow. He was asleep within seconds.

Relieved that his dongsaeng was so gullible, Han Geng faded away from sight.