I/R 0.1 - Reflection

He doesn’t want to be in this awful place anymore.

Letting his fingers trace the smooth surface of the mirror in front of him, he let out a small smile as he saw the boy in it kicking innocent rocks on his way; he watched as the boy entered a glass door and the scene shifted: he was now looking at the boy inside a café. His lips were hung open a little as he watched the boy ordered and walk towards the table, admiring his perfection as he strode swiftly passed the other tables. Seconds later, the boy seemed to felt his presence and looked straight towards his direction.

He gasped as he felt it again; cold, he thought, as he and the other continued staring at each other for seconds, until a splitting head ache with a pinch of pain in his chest suddenly made him blink, and as he opened his eyes again the connection was already broken.

The pain in his chest worsened, and he let out a tear fall from his eye as his gaze never leaves the mirror. It shows him a bright and smiling teenager, but all he could feel was pain and misery. He was getting more and more hopeless as the days continued to pass, and he couldn’t wait until the time that he could get out and comfort the other.

“But you can’t.” a voice said.

He turns his head and saw a familiar face.

Why can’t I?

“Because you can’t.” replied the other.

Hearing his reply, the boy felt his chest tightened once again. But I want to be with him, Heechul, he thought as he started tracing the surface of the mirror once again, not wanting his gaze to leave the figure in front of him.

“Why?”

He’s the reason of my existence; therefore I was destined to love him and it’s my duty to protect him no matter what.

As the boy continues to stare at the mirror, he became oblivious of the person beside him sighing. Heechul flicks his finger, and then a silver scepter appeared in his right hand. As he was about to lift his hand up however, another hand gripped his and stopped him from doing so. He turned to his side and frowned when he saw his friend shaking his head. Heechul just smiled at him and released his arm from his tight grip.

“Let’s give the boy a chance, Leeteuk.”

It’s him again.

For a second, Donghae felt relaxed, happy even. It is one of those rare times that whenever he looked at the mirror, he would meet those jade-green eyes, and it was already enough to lighten up his mood and he easily forgets his bad day. He gazed outside through the glass wall of the café as he recalled the memory of his first time meeting those eyes.

“Donghae, are you okay?”

But Donghae was too lost in his own world to care, or even hear his Mom at the moment. He continues to stare at the picture he was holding, hugging his knees to his chest as tears from his eyes started falling once again. Sniffing through his red nose, Donghae get up from his bed and marched towards his cabinet and searched for his bag, where he found a pair of scissors and then went back hugging his knees to his bed. Holding the picture with his left hand and the scissor on the right, Donghae was about to cut the picture in pieces when he heard a noise.

Tap.

He shifted his eyes from his hands to the full length mirror at his side.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Donghae’s brown orbs blinked in confusion as he stared at himself on the mirror.

Then it happened.

Donghae’s reflection on the mirror was still the same, but his eyes were different. No, it wasn’t even his eyes. In the mirror the eyes were jade green in color, but Donghae only knew that time that he was terribly shocked and scared, to the extent that he failed to notice that the scissor’s blades were already making its way through his little fingers, drawing blood right here and there. He wasn’t also able to notice that his mother already opened his door and run to his side, and that he was already fainting.

He just knows that he is scared.

Donghae remembered how those eyes haunted him every night, entering almost all of his dreams, heck; even his day dreaming was invaded; worsening his already bad condition from the day after his father died. His mother was worried about his behavior back then, but Donghae was too hurt to care. He felt betrayed that time, because his father made a pinky promise to him that he would watch as Donghae graduate’s and became a father to his own child too.

But for some weird reason, Donghae felt attracted to those eyes.

Donghae would always spend his days clutching a certain picture and a pair of scissors as he stared to his mirror dreamily, waiting to see those pair of eyes once again. But then those pair of eyes didn’t show again. Weeks passed and Donghae’s attitude became worse, to the point that the picture he was always hugging turned into ashes and the pair of scissors to break as he set it on fire one day.

“What are you doing sweetie?” his mother asked him as she saw him burning something at the backyard. But instead of answering, Donghae just stared at her blankly, making her more worried and scared for his only son’s worsening condition.

She sighed and patted his son’s head, before she headed inside their house to prepare dinner. Mrs. Lee was busy boiling some vegetables when she smelled something different in the air. She frowned and followed the weird smell. Then her eyes went wide at the scene before her.

“Oh my god!” she screamed as she found her son’s foot on the fire. She ran towards Donghae and yanked him away from the fire, and then she discovered it was his son’s rubber shoe that was being burnt. With her son in her arms, Mrs. Lee went inside their house while she unties the lace and took off Donghae’s rubber shoes. As she dipped him inside the tub, she was relieved when she found that Donghae isn’t burnt.

“Donghae,” she said sternly, “Do you want Mom to be sad?” she sighed when the little boy shook his head quickly, and then smiled after. “Then avoid hurting yourself okay? Or else I will be sad.” The little boy nodded and she kissed his forehead.

As she exited the bathroom, Donghae stood from the tub and fetched his Nemo plastic toy. He started sniffing the moment its familiar material made contact with his skin. “Nemo, they all betrayed me. Dad, h-he said he would watch me grow up, b-but he- h-he left me alone!” he cried as he hugged the little toy.

Just then, he heard a familiar noise.

Tap.

His head immediately jerked upwards and listened.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Donghae’s eyes lay upon the mirror behind him. He stood up and climbs the chair in front of the bathroom sink to be able to look at the mirror. And he smiled when he indeed saw those familiar pair of jade green eyes once again. Though this time, it wasn’t his reflection that he saw. It was another kid about his age. His brown locks were sticking in every direction and his cute pink lips were parted as if he’s in awe.

Donghae, on the other hand, smiled widely as he hugged his Nemo plastic toy more, trying not to blink his eyes.

“What’s your name? Mine is Donghae!” he chirped, waving his hand in front of the mirror. Much to his confusion, the other were just staring back at him and just repeating his actions. He frowned and he then let his finger touch the mirror, wanting to touch the other. As he did though, he felt bits of electricity invading his finger causing him to flinch and lost his balance, thus he fell off from the chair. Luckily he wasn’t hurt.

But the reflection of the other boy was nowhere to be seen anymore.

Years passed and Donghae discovered that as he grows up, the reflection of the mysterious boy also did. He also discovered that the reflection could pop out anywhere, not just in their house, as long as there is mirror or glass involved. Heck, Donghae even saw him once in his mother’s car. It was his first day in grade school; Donghae was busy fidgeting in his seat when he caught a glimpse of the rearview mirror. He was there, looking at him with his green eyes Donghae got already used to. He smiled and waved at him, causing his mother to look at him weirdly, making him blink and lose their connection once again.

There was also one time when their whole class was on a trip at a theme park, and Donghae accidentally walked inside a house full of mirrors. He closed his eyes because he was deep scared, and the silent yet scary eerie of the house was not helping. But then he heard the familiar tapping again and when he opened his eyes, Donghae found himself staring at the mysterious boy once again. Then Donghae realized something weird; out of hundreds of mirrors surrounding him, only one had the reflection of the boy; the one situated in front of Donghae.

Donghae had also given him a name: Kyuhyun. He remembered he saw the name in a bracelet one time they were at the beach, the little accessory laying at the shore. Then he remembered the mysterious boy and decided to name him after the written name on the bracelet.

Kyuhyun, in Donghae’s observation, visits him irregularly; sometime after days, weeks, and even months. He got used to his irregularly regular visit, so he trained himself not to blink for more than 20 seconds so the next time he would see him again it would last longer.

But then there’s Hyukjae.

Hyukjae had been his best friend since he was 10, three years later after his father died, and by learning that information Hyukjae never stopped nagging him to play since then. He was stubborn, yes, but he was another reason why Donghae was able to cope up with his father’s death, together with his mom and of course, Kyuhyun.

“Haeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!”

A ten year-old Hyukjae came storming inside Donghae’s bedroom one day. He opened the door with a loud ‘BANG’ and was about to jump into Donghae’s mattress when he noticed that no one was inside.

“Ehh? Hae? Hae??? Donghae! Lee Donghae!!!” he shouted over and over again. Mrs. Lee was at a business meeting that moment, since she was given the task to continue their small business that her husband left when he died. Scratching his head, Hyukjae then marched towards the bathroom and kicked the door open like the little rascal kid he was.

“Dong- AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!! WHAT WAS THAT THING DONGHAE??? GET AWAY FROM THE MIRROR!!!” he screamed at the top of his lungs as he ran to his best friend’s side and started dragging him away, causing Donghae to blink and suddenly the reflection was gone. “OH MY GOD HE VANISHED!!! AAAAAAAAHHHHHH DONGHAE HE’S A GHOST LET’S GET OUT OF HERE I DON’T WANT TO DIE YET! I STILL WANT TO GET MARRIED AND HAVE A FOOTBALL TEAM!!! LET’S GET OUT! OUT! OOOUUUTTT!!!”

“YAH YOU STUPID MONKEY LET ME GO!!! HE’S NOT A GHOST!!!” Donghae yelled of a sudden, which startled Hyukjae as he stared at Donghae stupidly.

“OH MY GOD YOU CAN SHOUT NOW DONGHAE I CAN BELIEVE IT YOU NEVER TALK TO ME BUT NOW YOU CAN SHOUT NOW I DON’T KNOW YOU EVEN HAVE A VOICE AND—“

“SHUT UP LEE HYUKJAE!!!”

Hyukjae’s voice faltered in an instant.

“Wow!!! That’s cool!!!” Hyukjae said in awe as he listened to Donghae telling him all about Kyuhyun. They were at Donghae’s mattress that time, because Hyukjae once again nagged his best friend about the incident at the bathroom. “When is Kyuhyun coming back?” he asked, and Donghae doesn’t really know how to answer that question. Scratching his nape, the little boy just shrugged his shoulders at the other, telling him that he also doesn’t know when Kyuhyun will appear again.

However, they were not prepared when Hyukjae’s question was answered five minutes later.

Donghae was busy changing his shirt in pajamas inside his bathroom when a voice suddenly resounded throughout the whole house.

“HHHAAAEEE!!!”

Thinking that his best friend would just nag him with his s, Donghae just rolled his eyes and ignored him.

“DONGHAE!!! KYUHYUN IS HEREEE!!!”

Upon hearing Hyukjae’s last line, Donghae immediately stepped out from his bathroom, only to find Hyukjae holding the lids of his eyes. Said boy turned to him and grinned. “Hey, Donghae! Look! I’m holding my eyes so Kyuhyun won’t vanish!” he said as he laughed happily. However, he frowned when his friend didn’t move an inch. “Donghae?”

Donghae couldn’t believe it. Kyuhyun made an appearance twice today.

Sitting beside Hyukjae, Donghae realize he’d been holding his breath for a while, that’s why his best friend laughed hard when he sighed loudly.

“Hey Hyuk, look at this.”

Donghae gets up from his friend and started doing random movements. Hyukjae widened his eyes as he saw that Kyuhyun was copying exactly his best friend’s movements.

“Whoa cool! Let me try! Let me try!” he screamed in excitement.

“Don’t let your eyes blink or Kyuhyun would vanish!”

“Aye, aye, Fishy!”

Then Hyukjae started dancing like there’s no tomorrow. However as he turned to the mirror, he saw Kyuhyun wasn’t doing anything. He stopped and frowned. He then tried to just raise his hands but nothing happened. “Yah Hae, why Kyuhyun isn’t moving?” he asked as he walked near his best friend.

“I don’t know.” Donghae admitted.

Then something hit Hyukjae. A train? No, just an idea.

“Hae, stand up.”

“Why?”

“Just do it.”

Confused, Donghae stood up from the mattress. Hyukjae then stood behind him and held both of his arms. Then he started moving Donghae’s hands like that of a clock. And Kyuhyun was indeed moving the same.

“Kyuhyun is so unfair! He’s only copying your moves! Not mine! He’s only reflecting yours!” Hyukjae whined.

“So, Kyuhyun’s my reflection only?”

“Hmm. Yeah.”

Donghae blinked at his best friend—

“DONGHAE DID YOU JUST BLINK YOUR EYES?! LOOK KYUHYUN IS GONE NOW!” Hyukjae screamed, looking shocked and hurt as he pointed towards the mirror.

“B-but—“

“YAH DONGHAE FIRST KYUHYUN WAS BEING UNFAIR NOW YOU WANT TO KEEP HIM TO YOURSELF AS WELL?! HOW DARE YOU FISH—“

“Sweetie?”

Both of them turned to their side and found Mrs. Lee smiling softly at them. They looked at each other and shrugged their shoulder, and then run towards Mrs. Lee and hug her tight.

Oh well, they can talk about Kyuhyun later.

“Sir?”

Donghae blinked, and he mentally slapped himself for drifting in his own thoughts again, before turning to his side and smiling at the waitress. “Yes?” he asked.

“Here’s your order, sir.” The waitress smiled at him before placing a brown paper bag with his order on the table. He bowed as the waitress left. Taking a last glance at the mirror where he saw Kyuhyun’s eyes earlier, Donghae let out a sigh as he stood up and walk towards the exit.

CRASH!

Donghae’s legs stopped walking abruptly as he spun around to see what was going on. People were gathered around at one side of the café, and just then he saw that one of the glass walls was broken. Is there an accident? He thought inwardly as he joined the group of people surrounding the—

This- it- h-he can’t be..

Donghae stared wide-eyed at the familiar boy who's lying on the floor. His brown locks were sprawled as the white cloth covering his body was hanged loosely. His eyes started searching for any damages, but found none, as if he wasn't lying on thousands of sharp shards of glass in the first place.

But his body was faster to react than his brain, and in seconds the unconscious boy was already within his arms, and he can’t help but to stare at his face once again just to see that he’s not dreaming. Donghae blinked many times, to the point where an old lady smacked him with her hand bag as she glared at him.

“Stop being a ert and bring him to the hospital, young man.”

The teenager nodded stupidly, his ordered food was long forgotten as he left it on the floor and ran towards the exit, carrying the boy in his arms. However, he didn’t bring him on the hospital like the old lady ordered, but instead Donghae dialed a certain person as he strode towards the familiar street leading to their house. He was already opening the gate when the person answered.

“’Sup, fishey?” a familiar voice said.

Placing the unconscious body on his bed slowly, Donghae brought his phone between his shoulder and ear to keep it from falling. He stared at the boy.. and he know it's impossible, but he could feel like this boy... is the broken mirror itself.

“You need to come here, now.”

“Huh? I just came home Donghae! I don’t have energy to play right now!”

Donghae sighed.

“Hyukjae, Kyuhyun is here.”

Irregularly Regular

Chapter 0.1 - Reflection

September 20, 2013 - Posted at 11:38 PM