“I want ice cream!” Six year old Taemin demanded happily to his babysitter Jonghyun. “Mommy said I could have ice cream if I ate all my dinner.” Gleefully the little boy looked at his empty plate sitting on the kitchen table.

“I saw you hiding your carrots in your napkin.” Jonghyun teased, plucking the white paper from the boy’s lap and shaking out half a dozen carrotts.

Taemin pouted. “Carrots are orange and I don’t like orange things.”

Ruffling his hair, Jonghyun gathered up Taemin’s plate, carrots and all. “You know, I really should say no.” His smile said that he was teasing, “but I don’t really like carrots either.”

Taemin cheered, pumping his tiny fist in the air as he wiggled a happy dance in his seat. “Chocolate?”

“Chocolate.” Jonghyun agreed, opening the fridge freezer. It only took a quick look and one small shift of a bag of frozen carrots for Jonghyun to see there was no chocolate ice cream. “Sorry little buddy, no chocolate. We have banana….” He turned a container around peering at the label, “and pistachio, but no chocolate.”

Taemin pouted, bottom lip trembling before he sat up happily, “In the basement!” He said with a baby giggle. “There’s some in the basement.”

Jonghyun sighed, “You would know that, wouldn’t you.” He rolled his eyes and put on a hard done by act. “Don’t do anything silly while I’m gone, or I’ll eat all the ice cream.”

“You’ll get a belly ache.” Taemin said, taking Jonghyun’s words seriously.

Jonghyun laughed, Taemin was just too cute and innocent.

The basement door was located just outside the kitchen, the light switch on the wall just inside the door. Flicking the switch, Jonghyun watched as the lights flickered and then died in a burst of bright light.

Grumbling, he felt his way down the stairs and in the general direction of where he remembered the freezer to be. He considered it an accomplishment that he only bashed his knee twice.

Opening the freezer he found the container of chocolate ice cream sitting at the top. Chuckling to himself, and hearing the sounds of Taemin singing a happy little song, Jonghyun turned around and caught sight of a window.

Standing outside the window, dressed in a red shirt was a little boy who looked about Taemin’s age.

Figuring him to be one of the neighbourhood kids Taemin played with, Jonghyun ignored him and headed upstairs.
Taemin bounced in his seat when he saw Jonghyun return. “Did you bring syrup?”

Jonghyun stared at him in confusion. “You didn’t ask for syrup.”

Taemin pouted. “But we can’t have ice cream without syrup.” His sad eyes made Jonghyun cave.

“Its in the basement isn’t it?”

“Yep, where mommy keeps all the extra pickles and canned yucky thingies.” Taemin made a face as if remembering the taste of those ‘yucky thingies.’

“I’ll be back. Don’t get into trouble.” Jonghyun wagged his finger in a fake threatening manner.

Taemin just giggled.

So back into the dark basement he went, grabbing the syrup quickly from the shelves beside the stairs.

This time when he looked out the window and he saw that the boy was still there, he noticed that there was something on the back of his head.

Shrugging, Jonghyun figured he was playing dress-up, Halloween was getting closer and he knew a lot of children liked to dress up in their costumes and play before the big candy getting night.

Upstairs he found Taemin standing on a chair reaching for a bowl in the cupboard. When Jonghyun scolded him for climbing, Taemin’s lip trembled and Jonghyun cracked. It wasn’t the little boy’s fault he had taken so long.

Settling Taemin back at the table, Jonghyun dished out a bowl of the cold, sweet ice cream before squirting syrup over the little round mounds.

Taemin took one mouthful, scrunching up his nose at the cold.

“What’s wrong?” Jonghyun asked, knowing that Taemin wasn’t quite satisfied with his treat.

“Jonghyun-hyung, will you be mad if I ask for sprinkles?” A hopeful look came over the boy’s face as he drew his little bottom lip in, chewing on it with his tiny baby teeth.

Jonghyun sighed, “This is it Taemin. The last thing. Okay?”

“Okay!” Taemin happily agreed with a little bounce. “Jonghyun-hyung you’re the bestest!!”

Jonghyun fought to hide the grin on his face. He was proud that Taemin thought he was the bestest, although he did know that he called his other babysitter Kibum the bestest when it came to getting what he wanted.

This time the first thing Jonghyun did was look out the window, surely the little boy would be gone by now.

But he wasn’t.

This time Jonghyun noticed he was holding something that looked like a knife. It had to be some really good fake though, because honestly, what parent would let their six year old run around with a knife?

Feeling very uneasy, Jonghyun hurried to get the sprinkles, wondering why on earth Mrs. Lee would keep all these things in the basement if Taemin liked them so much. Although, he thought, because Taemin liked them it would make the most sense.

Taemin stopped his singing and squealed with delight as Jonghyun dumped more than a pile of sprinkles on his slowly melting ice cream. “Its like a magical sundae!” He giggled, patting it with his spoon.

“All it needs is a cherry on top.” Jonghyun said, clasping a hand over his mouth as he realized what he had done.

“Oh please!” Taemin whined. “Please, please, please!!!”

Irritated at himself, Jonghyun descended into the darkness for what he hoped was the last time.

Grabbing the jar of cherries, Jonghyun almost forgot about the little boy.

He was on the second step when he remembered and moved his gaze to the window.

Relief flooded his system as he saw the boy was gone.

His relief was short lived as he realized that the sounds of Taemin’s singing had disappeared. Heart pounding in his chest, Jonghyun ran up the stairs.

The jar fell from his grasp, shattering as soon as it impacted with the floor.

Jonghyun ran to the table and pulled Taemin’s body into his arms.

The little boy’s head fell backwards, further than it should have, showing the gash in his throat.

Fumbling with his cell phone, Jonghyun called Emergency.

Rocking the little boy’s body, tears streamed down Jonghyun’s face.

That was the way the police found him, unable to move the little boy from Jonghyun’s arms until Taemin’s parents arrived and his mother took him into her own arms weeping.

“Now son, can you tell us what happened?” One officer asked Jonghyun calmly, trying not to startle the teenager.

“I was in the basement.” He began, staring straight ahead, “There was a boy, in a mask. Outside the window.”

Both parents looked at the teenage boy in horror, causing him to jerk his eyes back and forth between them. “What?” He asked in a near hysteric voice.

“Jonghyun…” Taemin’s father began, his own voice shaking and choked with repressed sobs, “There is no window in the basement.”

“But…” Jonghyun whispered, eyes wide in horror.

“There’s only a mirror.”

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I know, I know! I've been horrible at updating and responding to your lovely comments!!

I'm sorry! *begs forgiveness* I'll try and catch up a bit tomorrow and see what I can do!

Anyways, loves to you all for sticking around here with me :)

Kat