Monsters and Men

There were three people who joined them ten minutes later, all of them sitting next to Haneul.

One of them was very tall, with cotton-candy blue hair and a stoic face. The shortest had tall hair, and the one who wore all black, like Haneul, had platinum blond hair that fell into his eyes.

“Blue boy is Seunghyun, Mohawk is Youngbae, and blondie is Daesung. They’re all like me, they’ve got powers.” Haneul crossed her arms. “So, the reason you’re all here is because you boys are friends with Myungsoo and so, are in danger. There’s a ghost named Lee Hyori who’s after people, and Myungsoo is at the center of it all. You’ll want to look out for yourselves.”

Daesung piped up, “There’s a few of us missing. Seungri and Jiyong are out, looking for information, and Boa is searching for Hyori’s grave.” He winced, rolling his shoulder.

Flashing him a knowing look, Haneul demanded, “Is your scar hurting you again?” The blond man smiled sheepishly, and the girl sighed, running her hand through her hair. “I told you that it’d be fine if you wanted to stay home for this one. I mean, last time…”

“Last time, I was careless,” Daesung interrupted. “Last time, I let myself forget how dangerous they are. I won’t forget it this time.”

Sighing, Haneul pursed her lips as she rested her head on her hands. “Suit yourself. But don’t come crying to me if you get killed,” she grumbled.

“I’ll be sure to haunt you forever,” he teased.

Sunggyu, the eldest of Myungsoo’s friends, suddenly interrupted, “What, exactly, is happening here? Can you at least explain who you are and why you know about this?” He paused. “Whatever this is.” His voice was low, but Haneul could hear him.

Her eyes snapped to him, and she smirked. “You haven’t exactly been listening, have you?” she asked dryly. “We’re here to make sure you don’t get your sorry killed by whoever’s after your friend.”

“We have powers. Just like Haneul,” added Youngbae. “Actually, only Daesung has the one who can see ghosts, just like Haneul.”

Although Sungjong still seemed skeptical, he knew that he believed more than he should. The girl knew about Hwayoung, and for him, that was more than enough proof. “So, what can the rest of you do? Is it… as broad as ‘seeing ghosts,’ or is it more specific?” he drawled, raising one eyebrow in question.

Seunghyun crossed his arms, leaned back in his seat, and, in his baritone voice, explained, “We all have some psychic power. There’s something about our bloodline or some , and we get our powers from there. Not sure how powers are assigned, but all of us got ‘em. Those of us who have siblings, our siblings got ‘em, too.” He paused, as if in thought. “Me, I can leave my body in my sleep, people call it astral projection, I think. Youngbae can know everything about a person by just touching them or about a thing by just touching it, and Seungri can see the past, or something that has happened to someone in the past. Haneul’s siblings, Boa and Jiyong, can hear thoughts and see warnings of death.” He looked up again, towards the boys.

“Prove it,” blurted Sunggyu.

There was a pause between the psychics. Youngbae stood, putting his soda down on the table. He looked reluctant, but he walked around the table and demanded, “Come here, kid.” He reached his hand out.

Hesitant, Sunggyu placed his hand on top of Youngbae’s palm.

“What’s happening?” Hyungsoo muttered to Haneul, leaning forwards from where he was standing behind her chair. Hwayoung, who held a place behind Sungjong’s chair, also looked up, looking to Haneul as an explanation.

At the same time, Myungsoo leaned over to her and asked, “Can he really see everything about someone by… by touching them?” His voice was soft, quiet, and he seemed almost hesitant to ask, like Youngbae’s power was too unbelievable, even though he knew that she had the ability to talk to the dead.

With a smirk on her face, she nodded. “Yeah. I’ve seen him do it. He’s the one who found out about… all of us. He met Jiyong in school. The instance he shook Jiyong’s hand, he knew everything about him… his powers… he knew about me and Boa, too.” She watched as Youngbae closed his eyes, absorbing all the information that Sunggyu was giving him.

“That’s pretty cool, knowing someone can know everything about you. Isn’t it?” the younger brother mused. “I mean, having that kind of power could help you find out things about people, right?” Myungsoo’s eyes fixed on Sunggyu, who was watching Youngbae intently.

From the other side of Haneul, Daesung scoffed. “It’s torture for Youngbae. He knows everything about someone. He shares lives with other people. It’s like he’s lived every single life that he’s absorbed through touch. Everyone he’s ever made physical contact with… he’s lived their lives up until the point he touched them. All in a single moment,” he replied bitterly, his eyes filled with remorse for his friend.

Both of the Kim brothers suddenly looked horrified. “That’s terrible.” Myungsoo’s voice suddenly held so much sympathy for Youngbae. “I’m… I’m sorry for even thinking that it was a gift.”

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