The Sound of Grief

 

He was in hysterics when the police finally arrived. His tears overflowed with no end in sight and he told him what had happened through his sobs.

 

“We were supposed to meet in the park and go to the movies together, but Minho told me he wanted to talked to Key, my best friend, alone for a little while first. I thought it was fine, since they're dating and all. But then Key started to get angry, I could hear his voice raising above how loud he usually talks, and that made me wanna pay attention to what they were saying.

 

'I'm tired of hiding our relationship, Min. I thought I could do it for you because I love you, but I really can't take it anymore.'

 

“Minho hugged Key and asked him for a little more time,

 

'Please, Key. I—we, aren't sure how everyone will take it. What if, what if they take me away from you?'

 

Was he crying? Minho was shaking all over; I think he knew what was coming.

 

'I want to break-up.'

 

Key sounded tired and sad. I could feel myself getting sad too, they were in love. Why couldn't they be together? Then I felt something coming from Minho. He'd been quiet for a while after Key broke up with him, but then he said something ridiculous.

 

'You're breaking up with me for him, aren't you? You want Taemin instead. You've always wanted him. You've only been just settling for me. It's true isn't it?'

 

Key doesn't say anything. Even if I had been in a place to say something, I was completely speechless. But it wasn't true. It couldn't have been true. Key and I were just friends,” Taemin started to cry loudly and hyperventilate, before anyone could get him to settle down, he started his story again, “But Key never told him it wasn't true. And then Minho got so angry, I had never seen him so angry before. I was scared for myself. I thought he was going to hurt me for sure if I went back there, but then he did the unthinkable and lunged at Key. He took him by the neck and squeezed his throat as a butcher would a live turkey. Key's eyes started to roll back into his head and I could see only the whites of his eyes. He'd been killed so fast, I hadn't time to react and stop Minho. I—I—I'm next.” His words turned incomprehensible and one police officer had to shake him a few times to get him to focus again.

 

“But where is he now? Do you think he'd go back home to the address you gave us earlier?” They asked him gently.

 

“He's here now...waiting for you to leave so he can—can—” he trailed off into sobs again and sunk to a crouched position and hugged his knees.

 

“--do you copy?” A voice on a radio nearby came through, and captured our attention. “I repeat, the family at this address doesn't know a 'Minho,' they've got one kid who's supposed to be out with his friend. Over.” The police officers on standby took in the information slowly and turned to question Taemin about the information he'd given them, only to be alarmed by the sight of the boy attempting to strangle himself! His face was completely red, veins surfacing on the plain of his forehead, up his neck and down to the arms and hands denying him oxygen to breathe. His mouth was agape but there was a laugh hanging soundlessly on his lips as everyone, in awe, beheld the spectacle. Then came the sound of a gunshot, and Taemin falls to the ground, his body limp and unmoving.

 

The black fades to the white ceiling of a hospital room.

 

Taemin finds himself strapped down, so that all movement save that of his head was restricted.

 

“Taemin Lee,” he realizes he isn't alone in the room, “You are hereby under arrest,” and the officer so read him his rights dutifully, “Anything you say can and will be held against you in a court of law--” Taemin cut him off with a dark and menacing laugh.

 

“The boy is no longer with us. Even if he was, he didn't kill Key; I did. Me, Minho! Haha!” And Taemin shook with laughter and struggled against his restraints. “Killed them both. What's the sentence for the murder of a mind?” And he cackled so loudly it would resound and haunt that hospital and my memories forever.

 

~~~

 

I had been lucky when Taemin woke up from being Minho, his other self. It always disorients and winds him. I recovered enough from my almost murder and dialed the police. I wheezed out my location and, to my relief, they found us.

 

Taemin was so out of it, he hadn't even realized I had lived. I guess in his eyes I really did die. Unable to speak, for my windpipe had been just about crushed, the police listened to what Taemin had to say and he gave them the address to his own home and couple of them went to investigate it.

 

I had been aware of Taemin's alter ego for year now. Been friends with Taemin for five years and in love with Minho for two of those years. At first it scared me. Taemin just fell to his knees, stood up and suddenly reintroduced himself as “Minho.”

 

How long had I thought he had been just playing around? They had entirely different personalities, but I had thought it was all Taemin for quite some time. One day, Taemin confessed to me after he'd switched to Minho and we had been dating ever since. It was great. I loved him and he loved me.

 

The day I realized they really were different people was the day I decided to greet Taemin with a kiss on the lips. He was so horrified and angry with me; I wanted to die. But then, Minho came out to dry my tears and he told me never to mistake one for the other again. And then he left and Taemin passed out from the suddenness of it all, I supposed. When he came to, he just smiled at me that smile I'd grown to love and I decided that this was okay. I couldn't have Taemin's heart, but I could have Minho's and still have my best friend.

 

And was okay for a couple of years. But after many months of secrecy I had grown tired of hiding it. It made perfect sense to hide it: Minho was a guy and I was a guy, his parents could never approve, not to mention he was the ulterior personality of my best friend, whose parents had no idea he existed. But I was selfish. This is all my fault. I broke Minho's heart and flipped a dangerous switch in his mind. While he had his hands wrapped tightly around my throat, I had the fleeting thought that this too was fine.

 

But then Taemin came back and so did my will to live. I hadn't known Taemin was aware of our relationship or even Minho's existence. I watched, not believing my eyes, as Minho killed my best friend. I fainted at the thud of Taemin's body dropping to the ground.

 

I stood outside of Taemin's hospital room, clad in my own clinical attire, listening to him be arrested.

 

“I killed them both,” he said and I couldn't help the grief that wash over me and spilled down my face. “What's the sentence for the murder of a mind?” And he laughed and laughed, even the sound of the police sirens couldn't drown out his dry and spiteful cackle. I thought for a second, the second before they shut the door to the police car, that he sounded sad.





[A/N]

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