Kibum’s POV

I was already awake but my body doesn’t seem to respond as I continued to lie on my bed. I don’t feel like getting up yet. I just lay in bed and tried to go back to sleep. I was about to fall asleep when I heard a voice.

I groaned and shifted my body in a way that my stomach was touching the bed and I covered my ears with my pillow.

“Hyung... hyung... wake up,” I heard the voice calling me. I could easily recognize that voice anywhere. It belonged to Taemin.

Taemin’s voice was getting louder and louder which only meant one thing, he’s getting closer.

I ignored the voice as I tried to go back to sleep.

“Kim Kibum... your child is calling you. That’s child abuse you know? Neglecting your child is child abuse,” another voice said. I know the owner of that voice. That annoying voice belongs to a person with the name of Kim Jonghyun.

I quickly got up and yelled, “Ya... One- he’s not a minor anymore so stop treating him like one. Two- I’m still sleeping since we have a day off today. Three- I’m not anyone’s mother so leave me alone! I want to sleep. And four- I am not waking up to make breakfast,” I yelled.

I went back to bed and covered my ears with my pillow.

Jonghyun completely ignored what I said as I heard him say, “Mommy Key is almost awake Taeminnie. He’s going to make breakfast soon,” I heard Jonghyun tell Taemin.

“What part of ‘I am not waking up yet’ do you not understand?” I yelled at the loud obnoxious person named Kim Jonghyun.

“The ‘not’ part. You’re going to wake up and make breakfast, right Kibummie?” Jonghyun asked as he took my blanket away from me. I tried to get my blanket back but he just pinched my cheeks and said, “Don’t make Taemin wait. Our makanae is hungry.”

I shook my head and I could feel him go closer to me. He whispered, “If you’re not waking up, you’re making it really easy for me to pounce on you and make your legs go numb.”

Oh... God! I quickly opened my eyes and got up. Jonghyun’s voice was in a joking tone but I know better. He would do that... he already did that.

I got up and sat on the edge of my bed. I looked at Jonghyun next to me and saw his dashing smile. “Aww... You’re up. I wished you stayed in bed,” Jonghyun said with a wink.

“Idiot...” I muttered. I rolled my eyes at him hoping that he sees it.

“But you love me,” Jonghyun said with a stupid grin on his face. “Mommy Key is already awake Taeminnie,” Jonghyun announced with a smile.

I saw Taemin go in my room and said excitedly, “Yay! I can’t wait. It’s my first time and I’m glad we’re all going together.”

I looked at Jonghyun and saw that he was giving Taemin a look. When Jonghyun saw me look at him, he looked at me suspiciously and gave a fake smile. They’re hiding something from me.

I looked at Taemin and he looked away as I tried to meet his eyes.

“Taeminnie...” I called as I tried to look at his eyes. He avoided looking at me. “Taemin... tell me the secret. Hiding secrets from me is bad,” I tried again. I tried to look at him but he just shook his head and continuously avoided meeting my gaze.

Taemin continuously avoided my gaze so I continued and said, “Come on baby... tell me. You don’t love me anymore?” I know that will do the trick.

“Of course I love you! You’re my mommy!” Taemin said looking at me.

There he goes again.  I cannot remember when the whole mommy thing started but for as long as I could remember he has been calling me mommy Key. Curse Jonghyun! It might’ve started when Taemin caught us doing , calling each other mommy and daddy.

“So if you love me, then why are you hiding something from mommy,” I managed to say. I went along with Taemin and looked into his eyes. He is definitely hiding something since he is avoiding looking at me again as he looked everywhere except at me.

“I thought you said that you’re not anyone’s mom,” Jonghyun said with a smirk.

I glared at him and he fixed his gaze elsewhere.

“No you don’t,” I said facing Taemin now. I tried again to make Taemin tell me.

“Yes I do,” Taemin yelled.

Just then Minho walked in my room and said, “What’s taking you so long? The plane leaves in two and a half hours. We still need to eat lunch, pack and get to the airport in time.”

“What plane?” I asked. I looked at them and saw that Jonghyun looked like he was going to murder Minho. Minho looked at Jonghyun apologetically and Taemin just avoided looking at anyone.

Jonghyun went to where Minho was and smacked him in the head, “You idiot!”

“Sorry hyung. Onew hyung started to make food since he finished packing already and said that we have to leave in about an hour or so,” Minho said as he earned another smack in the head from Jonghyun.

Minho massaged his head.

“Who’s leaving,” I asked.

“We are,” Taemin asked. “We’re going to the Philippines! We're going to an island called Camiguin. Jonghyun planned it as a surprise for your birthday,” Taemin announced.

Once Taemin finished what he was saying, I saw the look on his face when he told me the surprise. He covered his mouth and looked terrified.

Before anyone said something, I quickly went closer to Jonghyun and gave him a peck on the lips. “Don’t slap my baby. You slap him, I’ll slap you,” I said to Jonghyun. Jonghyun looked at me surprised. “Thanks for the surprise,” I said and kissed him on the lips again.

“Yah... get a room,” Minho yelled.

“Technically we are in a room,” Jonghyun said with a smirk as he continued to kiss me.

“Go make out later, we have a plane to catch,” Minho said.

And with that, Taemin and Minho left my room as I head towards my closet to pack my stuff. Jonghyun was still beside me so I asked, “How many days are we there for?”

“I could only bargain 4 days off from manager hyung so we’re in the island for a few days,” Jonghyun said. “Oh... and don’t bring your whole wardrobe, we can’t miss the flight,” Jonghyun added.

It took me a few minutes to pack my stuff. I packed a few shorts and t-shirts along with my underwear. I also packed my toiletries and sleepwear.

“I’m sort of surprised,” Jonghyun said suddenly.

“Why?” I asked as I saw him check his watch.

Once he saw the time he said, “It only took you 15 minutes to pack everything. You also got dressed and everything within that time. I thought you would take longer.”

“That’s why you shouldn’t underestimate the Almighty Key,” I said with a smirk.

“Ooohh... what will you do to me huh? Are you going to punish me?” Jonghyun asked as he pulled me closer.

Before I was going to answer, I heard a quick knock as Onew came in and said, “There really isn’t time for that, you guys. Food is already ready. Let’s eat so we can go soon.”

Once Onew left, Jonghyun gave me one quick peck on the lips. He took my suitcase with one hand and held my hand with the other as we head outside the dorm.

We ate our lunch quickly and within a few minutes, we were heading out the door. It didn’t take long for the other members to load their luggage. Within 5 minutes, we finished loading the car and began to drive towards the airport.

It took about half an hour to get to the airport. The four of us went ahead and head towards the inside of the airport as Minho parked his car. We brought his luggage with us and went through the airport security.

Moments after, Minho joined us and waited for our turn to get our luggage checked in.

Going through the airport security didn’t take long. It only took about 20 minutes to check in the luggage and go through security since our manager arranged it beforehand. We skipped the long lines and went straight to security and bag check. We still had a few minutes to spare until it was time to board the plane.

We were sitting in the waiting area near our boarding gate.

“You know what I just noticed,” Taemin said.

“What?” I asked.

“We’re still in Korea and there’s barely anyone who recognizes us. There isn’t a mob of fans either,” Taemin said.

“Oh yeah... that’s true,” Minho said.

“Maybe it’s because we didn’t plan it and Jonghyun only decided to buy the tickets last night,” Onew suggested.

“Maybe,” Jonghyun offered.

“It’s just... strange,” Taemin said.

In a few minutes, it was already time to board the plane. The plane ride from Seoul to Manila didn’t take too long and it only lasted for about 4 hours. For the whole 4 hours, I sat beside Jonghyun and pretended to sleep. He held my hand the whole time.

Once we were in Manila, Onew said that our domestic flight to Cagayan de Oro City was boarding in a few minutes. We didn’t go for a washroom break since the connecting flight was leaving soon.

The trip from Manila to Cagayan de Oro City didn’t take too long and the flight only lasted for about an hour and 30 minutes. Once we were in Cagayan de Oro City’s airport, Onew hyung said that we have to take a cab to the boat ferry in which the boat to Camiguin Island was departing from.

We were already inside the cab when I asked, “When on earth are we getting there? Why are we going to a secluded area where we have to take so many transfers and stuff?”

Jonghyun held my hand and smiled. I couldn’t help but smile back. He said, “I chose Camiguin because I heard that the hot springs are amazing and we can celebrate your birthday there, if you know what I mean.”

I couldn’t help but feel the heat coming to my cheeks as I felt myself blush.

Before I could say anything, the cab driver said that we were here. We paid the fare and grabbed our luggage as we head towards the boat. The boats were huge and there were multiple ones.

“Which one hyung?” Minho asked.

“I don’t know. Hold on,” Onew said as he checked his itinerary and once he saw the name of the boat, he began to lead us to where the boat is. We only had a few minutes to spare when we reached the boat since the boat began to move. It gave a loud noise as it signaled that the boat was leaving.

The boat ride was relaxing, as always I sat beside Jonghyun as he held my hand the whole time. Taemin, Minho and Onew sat a few meters away and gave us privacy. Jonghyun and I didn’t exchange many words; we just enjoyed having each other’s company.

I laid my head on his shoulder and rested for a bit. I think I fell asleep since the next time I felt conscious was when Jonghyun shook my shoulders. I heard him whisper, “Sweetie... wake up. We're here. Look! It’s so pretty.”

I opened my eyes and saw the island. It was truly breathtaking. You could clearly see the silhouette of a volcano being surrounded by the island.

“So this is Camiguin,” I whispered in awe.

“Happy birthday sweetie,” Jonghyun said as his lips met mine once again. We continued to kiss when a loud noise was heard once again as we reached the island’s dock. It startled both of us and we pulled away from each other.

Jonghyun gave me quick peck on my lips and smiled.

Once the boat came to a complete stop, we gathered our things and head towards the exit. We were exiting the boat when I noticed that the island was surrounded with sand. I was wearing my favorite sneakers and didn’t bring flip flops.

“I didn’t bring flip flops,” I whispered to Jonghyun.

He just gave me a quick wave and said, “Don’t worry. We’ll just buy one.”

I looked at him as he gave me another reassuring smile. I returned the smile and exited the boat with the other members with Jonghyun by my side.

Once we were out of the boat, the sight in front of me was truly breathtaking. It was more beautiful up close.

We were already out when Onew said, “It’s only 6 in the evening and it’s still bright outside. Why don’t we check in first and begin sightseeing until it gets dark.”

“Sounds good,” I said.

“I’m sort of hungry though. Can’t we just go sightseeing tomorrow and rest today?” Taemin said.

“Yeah... we had a long day today,” Minho agreed with Taemin.

“I guess we can do that,” Onew said.

“So where are we staying?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” Onew replied. “Jonghyun hyung didn’t give me any hotel itinerary,” Onew continued.

“Oh... I think I forgot to book that,” Jonghyun said with an apologetic smile.

“What?” Minho yelled. “Hyung... we’re thousands of kilometers away from home and we have nowhere to stay for the night,” Minho continued.

“Why are you yelling at me? I admit it’s my fault but why are you yelling at me,” Jonghyun yelled back.

 Just then, I felt someone tap my shoulders. I turned to look at who it was and saw a beautiful girl. She had long black hair. She gave a smile and said in fluent Korean, “I couldn’t help but overhear that you have no place to stay. Why don’t you stay in our small inn? Our inn isn’t big, it contains a few huts but it’s decent. It is also close to two attractions of the island: the sunken cemetery and the hot spring called Tangub Hot Spring.”

I looked at everyone and everyone gave a satisfying smile except for Onew.

“I don’t know... maybe we can see if the hotel still has any vacancy,” Onew said warily.

“They probably don’t since it’s the major hotel in the island and most tourists stay there. You would need to book a room at least 24 hours in advance,” the girl explained.

“Yeah hyung. We should just stay in her inn. It’s not like we have any choice,” Minho said.

“Yeah... by the way what’s your name,” Taemin asked.

“You speak good Korean,” Jonghyun complimented.

“Thank you. The employees in our inn must study various languages to help our business going. Korean is just one of the languages I learned. My name is Clara Mae,” the girl said with a smile.

“Thank you so much for telling us about your inn. If it wasn’t for you we wouldn’t have a place to stay,” Minho said as he glared at Jonghyun.

Jonghyun didn’t say anything and avoided meeting anyone’s eyes. I grabbed his hand and gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. I looked at him and he gave a sad smile. I smiled at him and saw him smile back.

“Follow me,” Clara Mae said as we head away from pier.

We took our luggage and followed Clara Mae. We followed her as we continued to walk for a good 10 minutes until the sight of the pier disappeared. We were slowly approaching what seemed to be a villa of huts.

The other members stayed quiet. All you could hear was our footsteps as we approached the villa of huts.

“There are no receptionists after 6 so you would have to check in tomorrow. However, you can use hut number 3 for tonight,” Clara Mae said as she gave us a set of keys.

I looked at her wrist as she gave us the keys and noticed a tattoo that’s similar to Jonghyun’s. I couldn’t help but feel a bit jealous. I shook my head and brushed that coincidence aside. There is no connection between Jonghyun and Clara Mae. Jonghyun is mine and I’m the one he loves.

I was too absorbed with my internal babble that I didn’t notice that Clara Mae already left. “Guys... did you find that odd?” Onew said as we head towards hut number 3.

“What do you mean hyung?” Taemin asked.

“We didn’t check in and there’s already a room waiting for us,” Onew explained.

Before another member spoke a word, we arrived at the hut. The hut was bigger than I expected. It was a straw house with two double beds and a mini kitchen.

“How will we sleep?” Minho asked.

“Why don’t we just put the beds side by side and try to squeeze in,” I suggested.

“That might not be a bad idea,” Jonghyun said as he arranged the luggage on one side.

“Okay...I guess we can all squeeze in the bed. Can we go find food though? I’m hungry. Mommy... Taemin is hungry,” Taemin said as he looked at me with puppy dog eyes.

Sometimes I wish he would just grow up and stop calling me mommy. I’m only two years older than him. At the same time, I cannot say no to him. Taemin is too cute.

I heard Minho sigh and said, “I’ll go with you. Maybe there’s a restaurant or food nearby.”

“Wait... I think we should just rest for tonight and go outside tomorrow. It’s pretty dark and you might get lost,” Onew hyung said.

I looked outside and noticed that the night sky became drastically darker than it was before.

“But I’m hungry...” Taemin said. He approached me and clings onto my arms. “Can we find something to eat... please...” Taemin whined as he continued to tug onto my arms.

“I’m hungry too,” Minho said.

“I just don’t think it’s safe to walk around in the dark when you’re not familiar with the place,” Onew reasoned.

“What do you suggest? Are we not eating until tomorrow?” Minho said in annoyance.

“We can buy food the first thing tomorrow as soon as the sun will rise,” Onew tried to reason with Minho. “I just don’t think we should wander the area when it’s pitch dark outside especially after what I overheard from some locals,” Onew hyung continued.

I saw Minho glare at Onew and said, “First of all, we’re staying in a hut instead of a hotel room since a certain person forgot to book us a room. Second... I get agitated easily when I’m hungry and now you’re suggesting that we don’t eat until tomorrow. I don’t mean to be rude hyung but I need food... unless you're willing to put up with my irritability.”

“Why what have you heard hyung?” Taemin asked.

I looked at Jonghyun, who was standing beside me, and noticed he became oddly quiet.

“I just don’t think it’s a good idea to wander tonight Minho. I hope you understand. I overheard some locals while we were riding on the boat and they were talking about some urban legends,” Onew hyung explained.

“Come on hyung... you don’t really believe in those stuff do you?”  Minho asked.

“I don’t normally believe in those things but for some reason I feel strange. The girl was strange. Our situation is strange. Why isn’t there a receptionist after 6? Have you ever wondered about that? Why do we have a room without paying first? Don’t you find any of this strange?” Onew speculated aloud.

It became quiet for a few seconds as I heard a loud tik-tik sound.

“What was that?” I asked. I could feel goose bumps form on my arm.

I guess I was the only one who heard it because no one seemed to be startled by the noise. “Don’t be ridiculous hyung. Urban legends are called urban legends for a reason; they are legends... a myth, something that isn’t true. I’m hungry and I need my food. If you want to stay here then stay here but I’m going to find food,” Minho said as he head towards the door. “Are you coming with me Tae or are you staying?” Minho stopped by the door as he looked towards Taemin’s direction.

“I’m coming hyung...” Taemin said as he joined Minho.

“Is anyone else coming with us?” Minho stopped by the door and asked.

We shook our heads ‘no’ and before they shut the door I said, “Stay together and don’t separate okay?”

I heard the door shut as Minho and Taemin left the hut.

“Do you believe the urban legends?” Onew asked.

“How can I believe in the urban legends when I don’t even know which urban legend you’re talking about,” I explained. I didn’t say it out loud but I’m starting to believe that urban legends could be true.

“I thought you were afraid to go out because you believe me,” Onew hyung said.

“I guess I’m just tired from jet lag that I don’t really feel like walking,” I explained.

“How about you Jong?” Onew asked.

“Key stayed so I stayed,” Jonghyun explained as he gave me another peck on my cheek.

“What is the urban legend about anyways?” I asked.

“From what I overheard, this Island has a few locals called manananggal. Apparently, they are pretty females during the day and by night; they shift into hideous beings that is capable of separating its torso from the rest of its body. They have huge bat-like wings that could fly in the night sky to search for its victims. When the mananaggals are flying, you could hear a tik-tik sound and the fainter the sound, the closer the manananggal is. The locals said something about the tik-tik sound is for tricking their prey into thinking that they are far when in fact, they are really close. They are similar to the western mythology of a vampire but manananggals mostly prey on pregnant women to the hearts of the fetuses or the blood of someone sleeping,” Onew explained.

“You know hyung, you need to minimize watching horror movies,” Jonghyun said.

“I guess but regardless, I don’t want to go anywhere tonight,” Onew said.

It was quiet once again when I heard another loud tik-tik sound. “Did you guys hear that?” I asked.

“I heard it earlier too,” Onew said.

So I wasn’t the only one who heard it earlier.

“Could it be the manananggal?” I asked no one in particular as I become anxious. “What’s taking them so long,” I asked in fear.

“Maybe a manananggal ate them,” Jonghyun said jokingly.

“That’s not funny,” I said.

“Okay... I’m sorry. That was uncalled for,” Jonghyun said.

“It’s almost an hour since they left,” Onew said in fear.

“I’m sure they’re fine and eating somewhere,” Jonghyun tried to reassure us.

Tik tik... I heard the sound once again. But this time, the sound was fainter than before. “Shh... do you hear that?” Onew hyung asked.

“Don’t joke like that hyung,” I said as I listened closely. I could hear the faint tik-tik sound. Does that mean a mananaggal is near?

“I hear it too,” Jonghyun said.

“Where are you going?” I asked as I grabbed Jonghyun’s hand when he was heading towards the door.

“I’m going to see if there really is a mananaggal,”Jonghyun said as he gently freed himself from my grasp.

“Don’t do that. If the sound of their wings is faint then that means they’re close by,” I said as I tried to hold Jonghyun’s hand once again. I failed. Jonghyun walked away from me and walked towards the door.

“Do you really believe that sweetie? I’m just going to check if it’s there,” Jonghyun said as he opened the door.

“Jong don’t...” I tried to stop him.

“I’ll be back for you baby. Don’t worry,” Jonghyun said as he kissed my forehead and head outside the hut.

“Hyung... what are we going to do?” I asked Onew

“Come here...” Onew said as we huddled in the middle of the bed.

“What about Jonghyun, Minho and Taemin?” I asked as I could hear my voice waver.

“I knew this trip was a mistake. We should’ve just gone to Jeju Island or something but Jonghyun insisted to come here,” Onew mumbled.

I didn’t understand what Onew hyung was trying to say. Is he implying that this was Jonghyun’s fault? Minho and Taemin were still not back, when I heard two voices scream. “Was that Minho and Taemin?” I asked Onew.

“Kibum... whatever you do listen to me carefully. It’s just you and me. We can survive until the next sunrise and take the first plane to Seoul but whatever you do, do not open the door under any circumstances. I’ll be here with you,” Onew said as he held me closer to his body.

He put his arms around me and secured my trembling body in his embrace.

“How about the other members?” I asked Onew as tears began to fall.

“The screams earlier seemed like Taemin and Minho,” Onew said as tears slowly formed around his eyes. “They’re gone,” Onew continued as I felt his tears on my arms.

“No they’re not. They’ll be back soon. Jonghyun will be back too,” I tried to reason when deep inside I could feel that Onew might be right.

“Jonghyun has been acting strange lately. You know that tattoo he recently got, the beautiful girl from earlier had the exact same one. I think he may be one of them,” Onew concluded.

“Hyung don’t make stuff up. I’m getting scared,” I said as tears continued to fall.

I guess I wasn’t the only one who noticed the tattoo the girl had from before. Thinking about the possibility of Jonghyun being one of them brought shivers down my spine.

“Please Kibum... just trust me on this one. Just don’t open the door and stay here with me. We can get through it. It’s almost sunrise, just a few more hours,” Onew hyung pleaded as I could feel his embrace got tighter. “It’s almost sunrise,” I heard Onew mutter.

I looked at Onew hyung and his tears never seemed to stop. He looked scared, he looked devastated and he looked tired but he continued to hold me in his embrace as I could hear him mutter some reassuring words to the both of us.

My state was similar to Onew hyung. My tears never seemed to stop. I was scared, I was devastated and I worried about the other members. Were they okay or is Onew hyung right?

“Kim Kibum... I told you there’s no such thing to worry about. Look and see for yourself. There are no manananggals out here,” I heard a voice say.  I could easily identify that voice from anywhere, it belonged to Kim Jonghyun.

I looked at the door where Jonghyun’s voice came from, and then I looked at Onew who was sitting and holding me close. “Don’t open the door,” he whispered. “It’s just a trick,”Onew warned.

“Come out here... I found Taemin and Minho too,” the voice continued.

I freed myself from Onew’s embrace as soon as I heard that Taemin and Minho were found. “Don’t open the door,” I heard Onew hyung yell as he tried to restrain me from going to the door but I was faster than he was.

I got to the door faster than Onew could restrain me once again. As soon as I opened the door, everything went too fast. Then there was nothing.

*****

“Breaking News! The bodies of Minho, Taemin, Onew and Key from SHINee were found at Tangub Hot Spring.  Jonghyun’s body is yet to be found. The bodies that were found have its body parts dismembered. The torso and limbs has been dismembered from the body. It has been reported that the hearts of the members are also dissected from the body. Locals from the area believe that an urban legend called the manananggal did this to the idols...”

The newscaster was cut in the middle of her sentence when the television set was switched off.

“Sorry it turned out this way,” the man said to no one in particular as he stared at the blank television. “Whether you believe me or not, I really did love you. I just love the idea of immortality much more and I was willing to pay for its price,” the man continued to say to the blank television screen.

The man got up from the sofa and headed towards the washroom sink. He began doing his daily routine as he prepared to go outside. Before he takes a step outside of his apartment, he made sure that no one would notice that Anghel Joey was once called Kim Jonghyun, the late vocalist from the deceased idol group called SHINee.