“Sungmin-ah, I want you to tell me something.” I told him quietly, trying not to wake Hyukjae up. He had fallen asleep right next to me on the couch in the middle of a movie we had been watching together. My best friend looked up from the book he was reading, silently telling me to continue. “How did you go to their world?”

“I met the Devil, Hyukjae’s father. He took me there.” Sungmin answered and turned his eyes back to the book. But I wasn’t satisfied with that. I wanted to know why he went there. And what was his connection to Hyukjae. And who was this Ryeowook nobody wanted to talk about?

“Why?” I asked.

“You mean, why did he take me there?” I nodded. Sungmin smiled faintly. He put the book mark on the page he was reading and closed the book. “Should we let him sleep? It’s a rather long story.”

“Alright.” I said happily before carefully standing up. I gently pushed Hyukjae’s head up so he was resting against the back of the couch. He wouldn’t be happy to wake up with a sore neck. We then left him there in the living room and went to our bedroom. I closed the door silently behind myself and turned to see Sungmin already sitting on the bed.

“Sit down. And don’t fall asleep. I’m not kidding when I say the story is going to take a while.” I laughed at him and jumped on the bed. He scolded me playfully for making the bed creak. “Although you’re still skinny, the bed might break under us if you keep doing that.”

“You think it’ll break just because I jumped on it?” I asked, faking to be shocked. “I think it’s practically impossible since me and Hyuk have been–“

“You definitely don’t have to tell me that!” Sungmin cut me off and raised his hands over his ears. I giggled and told him to begin with his story.

“Alright. I think I should tell you about Ryeowook first.” My face lit up. Finally! “He’s the reason why everything happened. I was in the hospital with him when I met the Devil. Ryeowook was dying, you see…”

---

It was the first time I really cried over my best friend. The lithe boy was lying under a white blanket with wires attached to his body and a respiration apparatus was jutting out of his throat. His family had already left. They were devastated and couldn’t stand watching their son dying.

I, on the other hand, insisted to stay. I wouldn’t leave Ryeowook’s side now. I had promised the other to stay by his side, no matter what happened.

And I wouldn’t break that promise.

The doctor had explained Ryeowook’s parents the situation of their son. His vision still worked, but his body was otherwise completely immobile. And he would never recover. It would be only a matter of days before his heart would stop beating.

I shuddered at the thought of hearing the long high-pitched sound of the electrocardiograph. I knew it was inevitable, but there was really no way I could be prepared to hear it.

Sitting outside the room, looking through the window at my best friend, I thought of my own life. I was 15 now, Ryeowook only 14. And dying, after which I would be alone. We had been friends as long as I could remember.

I must’ve fallen asleep at one point as I suddenly jerked my head up, wincing at the pain on the back of my neck. The first thing I did was to check on Ryeowook. I entered the room only to sigh as I heard the peeping go on a regular phase. Ryeowook’s eyes were closed and he was breathing slowly, his chest rising only barely – it was hard to see if one didn’t concentrate only on it.

I walked over to his friend and touched his hand although I knew the other wouldn’t return to my touch. But I clung to the hope of Ryeowook still being able to feel my hand on his. I sat down on the chair just a feet away from the bed and let the peeping sound lull me back to sleep.

“Poor boy.” My head shoot up at hearing someone talk in the room. The voice didn’t belong to anyone I knew. And I had become ridiculously protective over my best friend. I found myself staring at a tall man, clearly over 50, wearing old-fashioned black cloak, standing right next to Ryeowook’s bed on the opposite side of where I sat. I was dumbfounded to see the man caress Ryeowook’s cheek and didn’t really know how I should react.

“Don’t be afraid of death, my son.” The man spoke.

“Son?” I exclaimed and stood up from my chair. The man jumped and turned to see me standing now right next to the bed. I was furious because of what the old man said, whereas the old man seemed to be trying to figure out just what was going on.

“Excuse me?” The man asked. Everything in him screamed of how stunned he was. And I didn’t find any particular reason for his reaction.

I frowned. “You just called him your son.” I stated while observing him. Beside his awful fashion-sense – or the complete lack of it – there was absolutely nothing that could tell me anything about this man. And it made me nervous.

“You can see me?”

“What?” I asked. Okay, now it was me who was absolutely confused.

“You’re not supposed to see me.” The man spoke, still looking stunned beyond everything. My body was immobile as the man slowly rounded the bed and approached me. “You really do see me…” He was standing right before me now. I stared hard at him, my eyes were just mare slits. But then he reached his hand out to touch my cheek and I panicked.

“Don’t–“ I snarled and slapped his hand away. “–touch me!” I wanted to back away but something kept my feet planted on the floor. Why was this man here anyway? I really tried to move my legs but nothing happened and my mind began racing. It was like the connection between my brain and legs had been cut off.

“My, my… I’ve never met a human who could see me.” He said and reached his hand towards my face again. I tried to hit it away again, but my hands didn’t move anymore! My eyes moved frantically between his fingers and his face. I tried to flinch away from his touch but couldn’t. The touch felt disgusting.

“Who are you?” I asked, relieved to know I could still speak.

“I should ask you the same thing.” The man said with a dangerous smile. His hand was still touching my face, his thumb was moving against my cheek. I wanted him to let me go. I wanted to run. And I wanted to take Ryeowook with me. I wouldn’t leave him with this man!

“Are you related to this boy?” The man asked and finally turned his face away from me. But seeing him look at Ryeowook didn’t really ease my nerves.

“Friend.” I corrected him. I didn’t know why I spoke to him. It felt like my mind and body did as he wanted rather than what I wanted.

“A close one, I see.” He said and turned back to me. “But I do not understand how or why you’re able to see me.”

“Why wouldn’t I see you?” I snarled at him. I would’ve wanted to insult him, tell him was in a need of help if he seriously thought he was invisible or something, but I couldn’t.

“I don’t need any help, thank you for your concern.” The man said. My eyes widened. Had I spoken aloud? “No, you didn’t say anything.”

“What the hell?!” I exclaimed and suddenly felt my body move against my will. Soon I found myself sitting on the chair where I had been sitting on just a moment ago. The man was right there, in front of my eyes, leaning his bodyweight on the arm rests of the chair. His face was mere inches away from mine. I couldn’t breathe nor could I tear my eyes away from his.

I swear they flashed bright orange.

“Who are you?” I gasped silently.

“You’re going to have to figure it out yourself.” The man whispered into my ear. He moved his other hand to my neck. Horror clouded my mind as I felt his strong fingers enclose around my neck, putting pressure on my throat.

My vision begun to swing as he pressed against my windpipe. And suddenly I felt my stomach twist. I wanted to throw up, I really did. But I couldn’t.

‘This is it.’ I thought. ‘I’m going to die.’

One single tear rolled down from the corner of my eye before I out.

Once I woke up again, I felt weak – much weaker than I had ever felt. The whole place was dark. I couldn’t see a thing. I moaned as I tried to sit up from where I was lying. My head was aching, a dull pain on the back of my head.

“It was time for you to wake up already.” I froze on my place at hearing the voice. I recognized it easily to be the voice of the man that had been there at the hospital.

“Where am I?” I asked out of reflex. “Where’s Ryeowook?”

“He’s going to be with us soon. But until then there are things you want to discuss with me.” His voice came from somewhere close. I kept still although my mind was screaming at me to find a way out of the situation. But without being able to see anything, how could I find my way out?

“I will not turn on the lights.” The man spoke. His voice was getting closer and closer to me.

“What do you want?” I asked.

“The question is, what do you want?” Shivers went through me. His voice was just a whisper and he blew hot air into my ear. I felt him move and suddenly I found myself staring into bright orange eyes right before mine.

“I-I don’t understand.” I stuttered, feeling embarrassed by the proximity of the man. The whole situation was horrible.

“Your best friend is dying. You’re going to lose him soon.” The man spoke. I swallowed.

“What do you want from Ryeowook?” I asked.

“I want nothing from him.” The man said. I could practically hear him shrug. “I’m not interested in him. But you on the other hand… You’re the first human who has seen me.” All I could do was stare at his glowing eyes. “You still haven’t realized who I am, have you?” He asked mockingly. “I’m the one you humans call the Devil.”

“What do you think I am? A stupid kid?” I was surprised to hear my voice. I was absolutely furious. “Those things do not exist. You’re a maniac who almost killed me and then kidnapped me! You’re going to be in deep when the police find you!”

The man laughed, his laughter filling the room. I snapped my mouth shut when he stopped abruptly and a sharp pain spread on my cheek. He had hit me, with open palm, right across my face. My hand automatically reached up to sooth the pain.

“You say I’m not real, huh?” He seemed to be considering my words. “What should I do to make you believe me?”

Suddenly bright lights lit up the room. I had to close my eyes at the brightness, squishing them shut and hiding under the back of my hand. It took me a while to get used to the light, which I understood was coming from torches on the walls. The room we were in was small, about the same size as my own bedroom. The walls were made out of black stones, there were no windows, and the only piece of furniture in the room was the cold and hard bed I was sitting on.

The lights didn’t really impress me as I had seen that trick many times on the TV, but the next thing the man did had a major impact on me. When I finally focused my attention on him, he took a step to the side and my mouth fell all open.

Ryeowook was standing there, right next to the man. The old man placed his hand on Ryeowook’s slim shoulder, pulling my best friend closer to himself. Anger flared up in me as I cast a deadly glare in the direction of the man.

“Get your dirty hands off him.” I spat at him. But I was surprised to hear Ryeowook answer me.

“Hyung, don’t anger him.” He said with a weak voice. I stared at him with wide eyes. He smiled at me but I was just too confused now. How was he here? And how could he be standing there? The last time I saw him, he was lying on the hospital bed, ready to die.

“Impressive, isn’t it?” The man asked with a victorious smile on his face. Ryeowook didn’t pay much attention on him, but asked for a permission to come closer to me. The man nodded and released his hold on Ryeowook’s shoulder.

Ryeowook took the few needed steps to me and immediately wrapped his thin arms around me. I returned the hug, clinging on him tightly.

“Hyung, I won’t be here for long.” Ryeowook whispered into my ear. Tears threatened to escape my eyes but I willed myself to keep my feelings under control. I expected Ryeowook to pull away when he loosened his grip on me but instead he moved to rest his forehead against mine. “I will be waiting for you, hyung.”

“Wook, I–“

“Please, don’t. I want you to be happy and live your life. This path was chosen for me, I cannot change it.”

“Kim Ryeowook, it is time.” The man spoke silently. Words cannot describe how much I hated him for breaking us apart. Ryeowook stood up and backed away from me until he was standing next to the man again.

“Sungmin-hyung, I love you. Don’t give up.” He said and flashed me the smile I had always loved so much… and then he vanished into the air. I cried out his name as his body slipped away until I couldn’t see him anymore. The tears finally fell from my eyes but I didn’t care. I had the right to show my weakness. I understood I would never see him again.

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