KissTheDream: Sorry for the wait. I was... uhh... studying. vixx tv is sooooo addictive <3

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Despite the ridiculous event of the previous day, when Leo had been way too close and way too violent, Jaehwan slept like a baby the whole night. He woke up to the sight of glittering golden sunlight bathing his spacious room and reflecting itself off the bare square mirror. Kicking his blankets away, he practically waltzed to his desk and took out the contract Leo had given him on their first meeting.

It was obvious Jaehwan needed to find something that would help him win this ridiculous game he was playing with Leo. Even though Jaehwan’s initial plan had failed, somehow the beautiful sunlight all around him gave him hope. He flitted through the contract, racking his head to find a gap in the rules, to dig up something Leo did not foresee. As though he was studying for one of his exams, he read the contract through once again; then read it a third time; then read each section, slowly. He even read parts out loud, just in case his mind skipped some important detail.

And then he remembered.

No, he didn’t find any flaw in the contract. It was obvious Leo had, ridiculously enough, spent an insane amount of time and effort for covering every possible scenario that might arise while the two room together. (The contract even went as far as to state that “in the event of death of either party by natural or unnatural cause, the terms of this contract will no futher apply.”)

But Jaehwan did remember something even more important.

In a flash, Jaehwan’s day, that had started so brightly, shattered to pieces. His eyebrows furrowed; his huge lips curled inwards; he gripped the paper tighter, to the point of ripping it.

How the hell did I forget THAT?!

Because of all the madness with Hongbin, somehow Jaehwan had forgotten what he had spotted as odd about the contract from the very start - back on that day when he first met Leo in the café.

Like a hurricane, Jaehwan thundered out of his room and through the eccentrically decorated flat. Without so much as a “good morning”, he kicked the door open and crashed into Leo’s room.

Leo just regarded him calmly, long legs folded under his desk, earphones around his head. Music hummed from them, some monotonous electronic tune that would instantly set Jaehwan to sleep, if only he wasn’t as mad as he was.

It took a few seconds for Jaehwan to find breath.

“Do you mind telling me how you knew my name?”

Only then did Leo show enough civility to remove his headphones. His eyes were almost bored.

And that apathy, too, drove Jaehwan nuts.

Even though Leo obviously knew what the contract said, Jaehwan still waved it in his face.

“My name.” Suddenly, his throat ran dry. “It’s typed here. TYPED. TYPED!!!”

Leo just blinked, and Jaehwan kicked a wall in frustration.

“Yah, do you even hear what I’m saying?!” He took a deep breath. “I never told you my name until we met in that café. But you had written the contract beforehand.” Anger surpassing fear, Jaehwan stepped closer, slamming his hands on Leo’s desk. Still perfectly composed, Leo eyed him from the other side.

Jaehwan couldn’t help but take a second to wonder how the hell Leo managed to look so good at nine in the morning, with bed hair, eyebags and cat pajamas.

… wait a sec… CAT PAJAMAS?!

Jaehwan blinked rapidly to ward off what he thought must be an illusion. But even when he rubbed his eyes, the two cute black-and-pink cat ears were still there, perched on top of Leo’s hoodie.

I knew he was a weirdo, but… oh god, is he a ert too?!

Circling around Leo like a biologist observing a strange new species, Jaehwan searched for a tail on Leo’s bottom pajamas. Sure enough, there was one.

Perhaps thinking Jaehwan was done ranting, Leo turned back to his laptop and attempted to put his earphones back on.

“Wha – I’m not done with you!!!” yelled Jaehwan, grabbing Leo’s arm just below the shoulder. He could feel little hills of hard flesh beneath. Well, SOMEONE has been working out. Jaehwan felt an odd urge to knead them with his fingers.

“How did you know my name?” Jaehwan repeated. Leo’s lack of reaction somehow made Jaehwan feel he was overdoing it, even though he knew his anger was perfectly justified. “Did someone pay to room with me, as some kind of prank? Or are you a stalker??”

Leo’s mysterious talkability from the day before was all gone. Brushing off Jaehwan’s hand, he pulled his huge headphones back on and refused to look away from the screen.

“Fine.” Jaehwan said. It wasn’t fine, but what could he do? “Weirdo. Freak.” But provoking Leo yielded no more result that yelling did.

Only then did Jaehwan glance around the room.

The place was a tiny, cramped one – much smaller than his own room. (“Why the hell didn’t you take the bigger room?” asked Jaehwan, not even expecting an answer. Not that he got one.) Thanking the heavens, Jaehwan noted with relief that there was nothing markedly weird (or erted) in the room. In fact, save for its size, the room was much like his own, if a bit messier. The wine-stained shirt lay on the floor, among a heap of dirty clothes.

Come to think of it, the wine stain was a rather unusual colour. Unlike the usual shade of purple that winestains become after a few days, this one was a dark brown.

“You drink some rare, fancy wine?” Jaehwan eyed Leo from head to toe. Even in those ridiculous cat pajamas (Jaehwan was still trying to process the fact Leo was actually wearing that), Leo had an aura of royalty. “Yup. I bet you do.” Jaehwan chuckled a little. “Wish you could lend me some, so I don’t have to drink the crap that I usually do.” He remembered the taste of Hakyeon’s beer, and the very thought caused his stomach to flip.

Idly, Jaehwan sat on Leo’s bed, gazing around the room. Maybe he would find something to give him an advantage in beating Leo?

That’s when he heard a low meow. Behind the bed, he spotted a small cat, hungrily devouring some mushy red-brown stuff from a bowl.

“I didn’t know you had a cat.“ Leo was quiet as a corpse. Goddamit, I’ll go insane too, sharing a flat with him. I’m already talking to myself like a madman!

“Here, kitty kitty~!” called Jaehwan in his cutest, sweetest, most aegyo-infested voice, hoping the feline was, at least, more amicable that Leo. As things stand, the cat is more likely to reply me than HE is.

But the cat just meowed at him again, continuing to in the food.

“Yah, do you even feed the poor kitty?” Jaehwan asked. “The thing looks as though it hasn’t eaten for a month.” He squinted at the red-brown broth, and his stomach flipped again. He glared at Leo accusingly. Jaehwan truly loved animals. “What crap are you even feeding it? Ever heard of Whiskas?”

Finally, Jaehwan got bored of bothering Leo. (He did consider poking him in the ribs or tickling him, just for fun, but was afraid Leo might bite his hand off.) Just as he entered his own room, trying to think of ways Leo might had learnt Jaehwan’s name (Did I ever appear in a newspaper? Maybe I met him as a kid or something?) his phone vibrated in his pocket.

“Hey, wanna check out Hongbin’s place?”

Jaehwan’s breath caught in his throat, heart skipping a beat. “He’s back??”

“No, ” deadpanned Hyuk, “I just wanna make sure he isn’t, like, sick or something. I called him about a billion times and he never picked up a single call. That’s weird.”

Jaehwan almost told him that his roommate, by default, barely talked at all, which was waaaaay more weird than what Hyuk had said. But Jaehwan didn’t know Hyuk well enough to confess what kind of “game” he had gotten into.

“All right! Want me to come out right now?” asked Jaehwan, picking up his usual cheerful attitude.

Hongbin’s house was one of those semi-detached monstrosities that look more like Lego blocks than places for people to live in. Barren and minimalistic, it was more of an atomic shelter than a living space. Leo could fix It, though,  Jaehwan found himself thinking. He could add a few antique details, mismatched, of course, and somehow the place would suddenly become beautiful. There were many things Jaehwan could complain about regarding his "ideal roommate"– hell, he could complain all day and night. However, Leo’s taste in decoration was indisputable – even thought Jaehwan was fairly sure he was the only person, apart from Leo himself, who appreciated it.

“HI!” yelled Hyuk, throwing his tiny scrawny body at Jaehwan so that the two friends almost tumbled to the ground.

“I already rang the doorbell, ” said Jaehwan, after Hyuk finally let him breathe. “If Hongbin’s in there, he isn’t answering.”

“Maybe he’s drunk?” suggested Hyuk.

“For four full days? Not likely.”

Hyuk fiddled with the hem of his shirt, just like he always did when he was nervous. “Do we, uh, ask the neighbours?” Hyuk was quite awkward with people – especially strangers.

“Sure, I’ll do it.” Jaehwan approached the ugly little building. Hongbin lived in the right half, so Jaehwan walked up to the doorway on the left.

The woman who swung the door open was a red-faced housewife, loose strands of blonde hair falling out of her bun. “Yes? Who are you? If one more person asks me to embrace Jesus or buy traditional tea I swear I will-”

“No, no, no,” said Jaehwan with a smile, “I just wanted to ask about my friend. The boy who lives next door to you. I’m Jaehwan, by the way, and that idiot is Hyuk.” Hyuk promptly kicked him in the shins.

For a second, the woman froze, confused. “Oh.”

Jaehwan waited politely while she fixed her bun.

“That nice-looking boy, Wonbin, was it? Lee Wonbin?”

“Lee Hongbin.” corrected Jaehwan.

“Right, right!” The woman eyed Jaehwan with a kind of pity. Curious, Hyuk peered behind Jaehwan’s shoulder.

“I’m sorry, kid, but he moved out a few weeks ago.”

Jaehwan just stood there, mouth open. Whatever he was expecting, it wasn’t this.

“Oh.” was all he said.

“Do you know when exactly he moved?” piped Hyuk from behind him.

The woman halted, face concentrated. “About… three weeks ago?”

Jaehwan’s jaw dropped. WHAT??

“Are you… are you quite sure, m’am?” Hyuk seemed to be pushing past his awkwardness with strangers for the sake of getting answers.

“Yes.” The woman was now firm. “Exactly three weeks, in fact.”

“Right…” It felt as though Jaehwan had eaten a huge pile of stones, which were now pulling his stomach downwards. “Thank you for your time.”

When the door shut, Hyuk and Hongbin stood in some kind of disappointed silence.

“You… you don’t think… he moved without telling us?” asked Hyuk, vocalizing what both of them were thinking.

“No way.” said Jaehwan. But his voice didn’t sound so sure. “We saw Hongbin at least five times since then. He would’ve told us. He would’ve told us for sure!”

“Moving house is kind of a big deal.” agreed Hyuk, but his voice was just as weak. “He wouldn’t have kept quiet about it. We’re his best friends, aren’t we?”

Jaehwan started chewing on his fluffy bottom lip. I always thought so, thought Jaehwan, but maybe it wasn’t the same for Hongbin? Jaehwan never really thought about it.

But then, he recalled with a sudden vividness how deathly pale and deathly scared Hongbin had looked in that video message, and how Hongbin’s last scream echoed in his ears for hours.

Hurriedly, he said goodbye to Hyuk and practically ran down the street to a semi-deserted park – a perfect place for a phone call.

“Hellooooo?” said Hakyeon’s voice, adding extra sass to the word. “I was just about to call you. Wanna drink tonight?”

“Maybe later, ” said Jaehwan. He could practically see Hakyeon cross his arms and pout. “I need you sober right now.” said Jaehwan. “Later, I promise to treat you to dolbaeki. Deal?”

“Woah, for real?? That’s a deal!” squealed Hakyeon instantly, already celebrating. “What do I have to do?”

“Just sit down and listen.

“… Oh. Okay.” Hakyeon replied.

“… Do you like scary stories?”

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KissTheDream: I'm going to Block B's concert. For real. I'm not even kidding.

I feel like the ruler of the universe.