Onew hadn’t always been invisible.

He remembered the first time he’d materialized. He’s been waiting in the dark and nothingness, merely an consciousness until his name had been called.

“O-Onew.” He’d heard a voice whisper between sobs. “Are you there?”

In that moment he realized his true purpose, why he had been waiting, floating in the void for so long. He felt his heart break and wanted nothing more than to comfort the crying child who desperately needed him.

Without knowing how he knew what to do he whispered back the name that was floating around in his head.

“Jonghyun? I”m here.”

Everything went white and suddenly he felt warm arms embracing his now corporeal form. He looked up with his newly formed eyes into the pure face of a child. His eyes were wide and curious, his cheeks stained with tears, and his nose a little runny, but Onew thought he was beautiful all the same.

“Onew.” Jonghyun whimpered into his shoulder. “Don’t leave me.”

They spent the rest of the night together, curled up in Jonghyun’s bed as Jonghyun whispered into Onew’s ear about how his parents were fighting again and it was scary. Onew hugged him close and promised to always be there for him. Jonghyun would never have to be alone again.

The next morning Jonghyun learned the truth, that Onew was no normal friend. It was when he tried to introduce him to his mom. At first she made a strange face at him, eventually giving a small wave and saying “Hello, Onew.” to the space on Jonghyun’s left.

“Mom, he’s over here.” Jonghyun said with an unsure voice as he pointed to his right where Onew clearly stood.

“Of course he is.” His mom gave him a wry smile and went back to washing the dishes.

The two boys looked at each other and Onew shrugged, motioning for them to go back upstairs and play games.

The neighborhood kids couldn’t see Onew either, so soon enough Jonghyun decided it was best to not play with them. He didn’t like the faces they made when he mentioned something Onew liked, or asked Onew what he wanted to do.

However, this did nothing to affect his happiness. Onew was like no friend he had ever had before. He never got tired or bored when they played, he always had new ideas, he never made fun of Jonghyun for anything, and most importantly, he was always there for him when he needed him.

One of the worst days of Jonghyun’s life was when his parents sat him down before his first day of school.

“You know this school is only for...well...real kids.” His father mumbled uncomfortably.

“Onew cannot go with you. You must leave him at home.”His mother said with a stronger voice, more concerned about her son being seen as ‘abnormal.’

Tears welled up in Jonghyun’s eyes before he could answer back.

“Onew is my friend.” He gulped. “He said he’d always be there.”

His father walked over to pat him on the back.

“Big boys don’t need friends like Onew.” he said more sternly than before. “Big boys have real, uh, big boy friends. You want to be a big boy, don’t you?”

Jonghyun had never been more conflicted or more hurt.

After the talk he went upstairs to his room, locking the door and sitting down on the floor by his bed to cry. He hid his head in his arms and rocked back and forth.

“Jonghyun?”

He peeked out from between his arms to see Onew holding out a tissue.

“Go. Away!” He raised his voice. “You’re a liar!”

Onew’s face fell and he quickly knelt next to his friend, reaching out an arm to gently touch his shoulder, but Jonghyun pushed it away.

“What’s wrong? Please tell me. It hurts me to see you sad.” Onew said in a small voice, but Jonghyun was beside himself with tears. So he waited and gave his friend time to calm down.

“Dad...said,” Jonghyun blubbered. “That you aren’t a...real friend...He said...we can’t...go to school together. You said you’d always be with me!” Overcome with emotion he howled and tucked his head into his arms again. The tears refused to stop.

“Jonghyun, please listen.”

Jonghyun felt Onew’s warm arms encircle him, but he felt too weak to push him off.

“I am a real friend, and I’ll always be here for you.” He heard him whisper into his ear. “But your dad’s right. I’m not like other friends. Only you can see me. And I’ll only be here as long as you need me. At some point you may find someone else. And when you no longer need me I’ll fade away.”

Onew clutched him tighter. “I don’t want to leave you, Jonghyun.”

Soon enough the other boy lifted his head from his arms and embraced his friend. They clung to each other, both shedding tears until they finally calmed down and fell asleep tangled in each others’ arms.

That was the day Jonghyun learned to lie, to never tell the whole truth. Onew’s continued existence was a secret that knew he’d take to his grave.

Even though he left for school every day with his friend at his side Jonghyun stopped mentioning Onew around others. They figured out ways to communicate between them without directly speaking in public, because they knew it would only draw unwanted attention to Jonghyun.

And it hurt, it hurt so much. The times they spent together were the best he’d ever had, but he couldn’t share them with the people in his life because he knew now that they wouldn’t understand. When his parents were home they had to keep their conversations soft or lie about being on the phone with a friend from school.

Onew and Jonghyun did everything together, and Onew couldn’t have been happier. He finally understood his true purpose, to support his friend through his entire life. They were inseparable, or so he thought.

When Jonghyun started to whisper to Onew late at night about the boys at school he thought were cute Onew initially brushed off his feelings of doubt. There wasn’t anything wrong with his friend being attracted to other people, he’d still always need their friendship.

Onew loved Jonghyun, but he wasn’t attracted to him, couldn’t be attracted to him. It was a part of his nature.

The first time someone asked Jonghyun out on a date he said he didn’t mind if Onew came. He didn’t actually go on the date with them, but he stayed in the general area, always being available in case something went wrong. And when Jonghyun was dumped a couple months later he was there to comfort him, to promise him that it wasn’t his fault, that there wasn’t anything wrong with him. Because Jonghyun was sensitive. He took everything personally.

Time passed and soon they were in college going to parties and losing sleep over exams. Onew stood faithfully by his friend's side as he stressed over his future. Jonghyun had a couple more boyfriends, but nothing serious until Kibum.

After a couple months of them dating he asked Onew to stay home for the first time.

“I know you’ve always come along to protect me, but Kibum and I are getting along really well, and it feels weird to have you there. I don’t mean it in a bad way, please understand.”

He looked up at Onew with his big round eyes, and even as he felt his heart shatter Onew agreed. Of course, it was ridiculous that he continued to follow his friend on his dates, no one else did this with their friends. He knew Jonghyun’s parent’s relationship had made him wary about dating at first, but he was grown up now and could handle himself.

When Jonghyun and Kibum started to get closer and Onew noticed the edges of his reflection in the mirror begin to blur he didn’t say anything, because it hurt too much. It hurt because what he wanted most of all was for Jonghyun to be happy, and if his friend grew so close to Kibum that he no longer needed him then that was what was best.

The more Onew faded away the less Jonghyun remembered him, and the times Jonghyun did a double take because he had looked through Onew at first glance tore at his heart.

What happened to him when Jonghyun could no longer see him, when his purpose no longer existed?

On Jonghyun and Kibum’s one year anniversary Onew decided to be sneaky and follow them along. He wanted to know for sure that he was entrusting his friend’s soul to the right person.

At the restaurant he stood as far away as he could still see and hear the conversation without being caught.

As he watched the couple kiss sweetly over the table and laugh together good heartedly Onew felt surprisingly at ease. This was a good thing, this was best.

He sighed shakily, realizing what this meant for him. He’d either have to return to the darkness or live the rest of his life alone. Could he even die? He didn’t want to know.

A sudden hand on his shoulder made him jump a mile.

“What the- Oh my god.”

Onew turned around to see that the hand on his shoulder was attached to a different person than Jonghyun. He looked into the face of a dark-eyed boy around his age. The boy was was tall and thin and had short black hair that was carefully tucked behind his ears.

“Sorry to freak you out.” The boy almost whispered. He had leaned in towards Onew so they could hear each other over the loud restaurant. Time seemed to slow down around them

“Who are you?” Was all Onew could think to blurt out.

“I’m like you. I am- well was- Kibum’s friend.”

Onew could only stare.

“It’s ok, I couldn’t believe there was someone else like me either, but I first noticed you when these two went on their first date.” He jerked his thumb in the direction of Jonghyun and Kibum.

“There’s something about your aura that feels different. I thought you were a danger to Kibum at first, cause you kept staring at them, but then I put two and two together. Come on, let’s go outside, it’s too loud here.”

Taemin took Onew’s hand softly and led him out of the restaurant. Onew followed silently, unsure of what to do.

Once in the quiet alley next to the restaurant Taemin flopped down on the ground to lean against the brick wall and motioned for Onew to join him.

“Where did you come from?”

This was the most pressing question in Onew’s mind. Was Taemin really the same as him?

The other boy’s eyes widened in shock in response to the question.

“The darkness.” he whispered.

Onew nodded, confirming the shared experience.

“What do you think happens to us now? You’re fading too, right?”

Taemin looked away.

“I was trying to start things out on a good note.” He mumbled, “But if you want to get right to that then okay.”

He shifted to face Onew.

“Basically I have no idea, but I figured if we stuck together we’d have a better chance of surviving this?” His voice was uncertain, wavering a little at the end.

He needed Onew to want to join him. They were the same, they had to stick together.

And so they did. After the initial conversation Onew found it easy to warm up to Taemin, and they both clung to each other for support.

The two of them shared stories of their friends and of their life, the challenges of being invisible, and the joys of their friendship.

Jonghyun and Key soon moved in together, making it easy for the pair to stay close and watch over their friends until their time came to an end.

As soon as Onew felt the end coming he called out for Taemin who soon appeared feeling just as unsettled.

"It's time." He winced.

They hugged each other tightly as they both felt their entire existence dissolving. Onew cried, but Taemin held back tears. Both were terrified. They didn't want to leave the place that they had called home for so long.

"No matter what happens next we'll go through it together." They had promised, but neither was sure if this promise would be possible.

Onew chanted in his head, "Please, please, please, please." He was hoping for a miracle, anything but the darkness that both he and Taemin feared.

As the last pieces of them dissolved they both closed their eyes, fearful of what would happen next. Onew stopped crying. Taemin stopped breathing.

And then suddenly a blinding light forced their eyelids apart and they saw each other's true form for the first time.

Taemin's neck was long and swanlike, his hair cascading down his shoulders in various shades of color that changed as he moved his head. Onew's chest was broad and sturdy, his eyes kind and smiling, and his arms warm and inviting. The two of them joined hands.

"What is this place?" Taemin said in awe.

Onew's mouth was hanging open as he looked at the paradise surrounding them.

"What did we do to deserve this?"

"Honestly, at this point I don't even care, let's just enjoy it while we can." Taemin started to run, pulling Onew with him.

They ran through flower covered fields and across a small stream, smiling happily. As they slowed down to a stroll Taemin settled next to a pond to sunbathe as Onew collected flowers to make a crown for his friend. He knelt at Taemin's side and brushed his long hair behind his ears to position the crown on his head. Taemin closed his eyes to shield them from the sun and Onew opened his mouth to speak.

"I don't know where we are, and I don't know where we're going, but I'd like to spend the rest of my time getting to know you better. You're not a replacement for Jonghyun for me, you're different, and you're special, and you matter."

Taemin's hands found Onew's shoulders and he opened his eyes to look down at his friend.

"I wouldn't have it any other way. You already know what you mean to me."

Onew felt it too, what it meant to have someone like him by his side. He wanted to protect and comfort Taemin, but he also knew that Taemin would protect and comfort him as well. He would always have a hole in his heart from the friendship he missed sharing with Jonghyun, but he and Taemin had just turned a fresh page in their lives.

They had no idea what would happen to them next, but as long as they had each other that was okay.