Jongwoon awoke surrounded by an unending blackness. His body felt strangely weightless, but when he looked down, his eyes were unable to perceive even the outline of a shape in the lightless space. Carefully he stood up and began to walk around. There seemed to be a flat floor of some sort but no unseen obstacles blocked his way as he wandered. It was silent and the darkness never seemed to end. However, just as he was about to despair of ever finding a way out, a little orb of bright light appeared hovering before him. As soon as he extended a hesitant hand and touched it, a blurry scene unfolded beneath him. Looking down he could see his unconscious body lying on a white hospital bed, hooked up to various medical machines. Crowded around the bed was his family and friends, tears dripping down the cheeks of many. Even his cocky hyung Heechul was crying. Shocked, Jongwoon stared at his body on the bed. He almost couldn’t recognize himself covered in bandages and festooned with wires and tubes.

This can’t be… am I dead? Jongwoon thought. He tried to take a closer look but he was frozen in place. Down below, a doctor entered the room and greeted Jongwoon’s parents and brother. Jongwoon tried to listen but the voices sounded like they were coming from far away and he couldn’t make out what was said. Instead, he watched as the words sent expressions of shock and sorrow across his parents’ faces. His mother’s legs gave out and she clung to her husband who looked on with the empty eyes of despair. Heechul punched the wall and stormed from the room, guilt and pain flashing in his reddened eyes. Jongwoon struggled with all his might against the invisible force holding him back. He wanted, no, he needed to go comfort his family, to tell them that he was right there and okay. Something imperceptible snapped and then he was there in the room, standing next to his mother. He tried to touch her, to reassure her, but his hand passed through her shoulder. Stunned, Jongwoon tried to reach out to his brother Heechul, who was sitting collapsed against the wall just outside the room. This obtained the same results. Distressed and frustrated, he floated around the hospital. He soon realized that he could pass through walls and objects and when he passed through machines they went haywire, frightening all the nurses. But no matter what he did, he still couldn’t contact any of his family members.

“I can’t be dead… This can’t be happening…” Jongwoon muttered over and over again. Dazedly, he decided to head back to his and Heechul’s apartment. Walking up the steps everything seemed so normal and for a second Jongwoon thought that the accident had been a bad dream. But as he touched the doorknob a sudden shock coursed through him. He fell to his knees, gasping at the intense throbbing pain and was quickly reunited with the darkness.

One Month Later…

The sting of betrayal was still fresh in Kyuhyun’s mind as he made his way up to his new apartment. He found the door next to the golden numbers 413 and slowly inserted the key into the lock. I need to get away from my past and start anew, he thought to himself as he entered the place that would be his new home.

 It’d been a little over a month since Kyuhyun found out that his girlfriend had betrayed him. He clearly remembered the night he walked into their shared apartment and found her making out with another man. At that moment, his heart had shattered into a million pieces. Kyuhyun loved her unconditionally, and had given her everything he had. But she did not reciprocate these sentiments. She had never felt the same feeling. It was like a horrible nightmare had transplanted itself onto reality, a reality that Kyuhyun just couldn’t grasp.

Stacking all of his boxes in the living room, Kyuhyun sighed. This was his place now. A new home. A home that didn’t have her in it. A new him. A him that didn’t need her. Well that was the plan anyway. Shaking his head to try to clear it, he migrated towards the bedroom and unpacked the box with all the things he would need the next day. He plopped himself down on the bed, lacking the will to unpack anything else. Instead, Kyuhyun just lay there, his soul empty, his heart still broken.

 <>

The alarm rang loudly, echoing through the unfurnished apartment before Kyuhyun slammed a blind hand down on the snooze button. Groaning, he rolled out of bed and scrambled to brush his teeth and make sure his hair was somewhat decent. As soon as he was appropriately attired and ready, he made his way towards the little café where he worked.

To keep the last few months from replaying in his head, Kyuhyun threw himself into his work with a new rigor. He swept the floor before being asked, cleaned even the tiniest of spots, and even helped cook (to the dismay of some of his coworkers).

As he tended to the register, Kyuhyun noticed one of his coworkers wasn’t his usual self. Normally cocky and confident, his face was now devoid of any emotion and his eyes were slightly puffy and tinged red around the edges. Even though Kyuhyun didn’t know him that well, it struck him as odd.

“Uh, hyung… is there something wrong?” Kyuhyun asked his co-worker, who turned around and glared. His nameplate glimmered as it caught the light and Kyuhyun read the name HEECHUL etched in bold letters.

“What is it to you? Just leave me alone.” Heechul stalked away from Kyuhyun and into the staff-only area. Staring at the door that led to the staff area, Kyuhyun sighed and continued with his work. Looks like someone’s in a foul mood… aish, I shouldn’t be saying that. I am too.

<>

 Once Kyuhyun’s shift was over, he raced back to his apartment. The apartment had quickly become his sanctuary as he finally got everything unpacked and organized. Putting the last piece of furniture into place, he sighed in relief. Finally… I’m done. Suddenly, a memory of her flashed in his mind. He remembered buying their apartment together and how excited they had been. He wondered then if it was actually only himself who had been enthusiastic the whole time. Shaking the thought aside, Kyuhyun decided to head to the grocery store. He couldn’t continue living on instant ramen after all.

As he returned from his grocery shopping, Kyuhyun heard a rustling coming from the small balcony that connected to the living room. Pulling open the sliding balcony door he found a young man leaning serenely against the railing, looking towards the city.

“Omigod! Who the heck are you? This is my apartment!” he shouted, shocking the young man who flinched as he turned around to face Kyuhyun.

“Huh? I thought this was my apartment…” His voice trailed off.

“W-well, I own this one so I think you went into the wrong one.” Kyuhyun said, a bit perplexed. I thought I locked the door. Guess I have to be more careful…

“I’m sorry… but I could swear I’ve been here before…” The young man edged around Kyuhyun, trying to get back into the building but instead he somehow managed to trip on his own foot and ended up crashing through the glass balcony door and towards the ground, where he hovered about a centimeter above the floor. Looking up, he saw the glass door perfectly intact with most of his legs on the other side. “Oh… well, this is quite a predicament.”

A stunned Kyuhyun stood there with his mouth open and eyes bugging out. Slowly he stepped backwards, not entirely sure what to make of the situation. “W-w-what is going on here? Just what the heck are you?”

Scratching his head, the young man shrugged in response. “Honestly… I don’t know.”