Heechul pushed himself up out of bed. He hadn't slept that long in awhile, his work keeping him busier than usual over the past couple weeks. Not that he minded, it kept his mind off...things. Better busy and distracted than idle and obsessed, he figured.

He made his way to the bathroom and the shower so that the water could heat up. After he mindlessly brushed his teeth he stepped underneath the scalding shower, letting it burn his skin and relax all of his tensed muscles. After a long week of work, he would admit that it was nice to have a day off. Even if he didn't have anyone to spend it with.

He stepped out of the shower, drying off in the still steamy bathroom. As he stood in front of the mirror he dropped his towel and knocked the brush he had been reaching for off of the counter. In the middle of the mirror, clear as day, was a broken heart drawn in the steamed up mirror.

Heechul frantically erased the heart with his towel, and scurried out of the bathroom, not bothering to brush his hair, and hurriedly dressed.

It wasn't possible, he knew that. There had been nobody else in his apartment. There hadn't been anybody else in his apartment for a long time, not since it had happened.

But the image of the drawn on broken heart was burned into his eyes, and he felt his heart still beating too quickly. He needed to get out, yes, that was it. He needed to get out and have fun.

Dialing Leeteuk's number he tried to calm his heart, and succeeding to some extent. His mind frantically tried to come up for an explanation of what could have drawn the shape, but he didn't have a logical reason.

After a day out with Leeteuk he felt much better, and invited him back to his apartment to make dinner for him. It had been awhile since they had spent time together, and it was good to be able to catch up. He opened the fridge to get out the ingredients for the dish he wanted to make and when he did he couldn't help but let out a small shriek of terror.

He reached in and pulled out the container that was in the middle of the shelf. On top of it was a sticky note signed '-Geng' and when he opened the container he immediately recognized the dish; Beijing fried rice.

"Heechul, Heechul is everything ok?" Leeteuk asked, coming into the kitchen from the living room where he had been sitting.

"What? Oh, yes, everything is fine. I just dropped something," Heechul explained, hoping the fact that he was trembling in fear wasn't too noticeable as he threw the container of rice into the garbage can, sticky note and all, and proceeded to pull out the things he needed to make dinner while Leeteuk told him about his family reunion that he had went to recently.

Heechul only half listened, nodding and grunting where appropriate. He could hardly keep it together to make dinner, he was shaking so badly.

There was no explanation for how the rice could have gotten into his fridge. No one else had a key to his apartment, and the thought of someone breaking in just to mess with him terrified him.

After Leeteuk left he locked the door behind him and headed to his bedroom to change into pajamas before he was going to collapse on the couch and watch TV. As he passed through the kitchen the container sitting out on the counter with the sticky note caught his eye. He hesitated before he threw the rice back in the garbage and took the bag out. He took the trash out to the garbage room at the end of the hall and went back to his apartment, triple checking the locks to make sure that the door was indeed secure.

He sat down on the couch, pulling his knees up to his chest and hugging them close.

"Nobody was in here, nobody was in here," he repeated again and again to himself, but to no avail. There was no reasonable explanation aside from the fact that somebody kept sneaking into his apartment to mess with him. He didn't know what was more terrifying, that, or the other option.

He the TV and flipped through the channels until he settled on the news.

"Just tonight a man was hit by a car. It was said that the man suddenly ran out into moving traffic..." the newscaster said in a clear voice.

Heechul hit the power button before he could hear anymore.

It couldn't be. This was all too weird. The drawing in the mirror, the rice, the accident. It was like he was reliving that day all over again.

"I can't believe you did this to me, Heechul!" Han Geng screamed at him.

Never in the five years of their relationship had he seen Han Geng that angry. Then again, he had never given him a reason to be angry before.

Suddenly the images of the girl flashed into his head. Short, cropped brown hair with a nice body.

"It was just ," Heechul defended himself, though it was a pitiful excuse.

"Just ? Are you seriously saying that Heechul?"Han Geng asked, his tone accusing.

"I'm sorry," Heechul said, and he knew just how pathetic it sounded.

"Sorry isn't going to cut it," Han Geng said and then grabbed his coat and stormed out the door, slamming it behind him.

By the time Heechul decided to go after him it was too late. He stepped onto the street to be met with the site of Han Geng mangled into the front of a car.

Heechul hid underneath the blankets. His eyes shut tight with fear. He didn't know how much more of this he could take as his body trembled.

The dream was awful.

That was all Heechul really wanted to remember as he finally woke up, tangled in his blankets and covered in a thin sweat.

He moved to the bathroom and the shower, stepping in. He tried to rid himself of the image of Han Geng following him. He had known that Han Geng was following him, yet every time he tried to turn to see him the figure that wouldn't leave vanished.

The shower didn't help, though, because every time he closed his eyes he saw Han Geng's face, heard his voice, felt his touch.

For a brief moment when he stepped out of the shower he though he saw Han Geng, casually leaning up against the sink with his arms crossed. It was just like how he used to wait for him to get out of the shower after a long day at work when he was feeling  a little impatient.

Dressing in his bedroom, every time he looked up he thought he saw Han Geng doing something he used to do. Rummaging through his drawers in search of something to wear, plopping down on the bed and giving a toying smile to Heechul.

But then it wasn't just Han Geng he was seeing, no, he was seeing himself. He watched as suddenly a ghost of himself tangled with the ghost of Han Geng on the mattress, just as they had done countless of times.

Heechul fled the room with a shriek, running to the kitchen and pouring himself a glass of water and gulping it down quickly. He let his head fall back against the cool door of the refrigerator as he leaned against it.

"Heechul," a distantly familiar voice called and when Heechul turned his head to the side he saw Han Geng standing there. Though, now Han Geng was more solid than the ghost in his bedroom.

Han Geng approached, slowly, hesitantly. When he was close enough he extended a hand, lightly brushing his fingers against Heechul's cheek, who trembled no longer out of fear, but out of longing. Han Geng was no longer a ghost to him anymore, he was as real as he had been when he was living.

"Hannie," Heechul breathed before he tried to lunge himself at Han Geng, attempting to wrap his arms tight around his waist so that he could hold him again. He failed, though, and fell straight to the hard kitchen floor.

"Hannie!" he screamed this time, his voice desperate and pleading as he curled into a ball with his back against a cabinet, his arms hugging his legs tight.

He started to cry as he heard the laughter. It was one of Han Geng's laughs. It was the mocking one. The one that told him he had just been pranked.

And Heechul cried, the tears never stopping as he didn't know what was real and what wasn't anymore. Whatever grip on reality he had had after Han Geng's death was gone, and he was left somewhere in between. He didn't know if Han Geng was dead or alive, or if he was dead or alive. He couldn't tell the difference between the feeling of the hard floor or that gentle brush of fingers against his cheek. He didn't know anything anymore, and as he cried realization dawned on him.

He probably never would.