***

Before him was the face of Jae-noona. Of that much he was certain. But what Tao still didn’t like, was the fact that he couldn’t smell her scent, felt no warmth and saw nothing in her eyes. This was Jae-noona, but she wasn’t either. Not entirely, not really.

Feeling weary, Tao stepped back as much as was possible, smacking the hand away Jae had offered him.

“What’s wrong with you, noona? You’re not yourself,” he remarked, Jae still looking at the hand he had rejected. She trembled visibly, as if she was raging inside, as if she was about to have a temper tantrum and this scared him. Jae was never like that, there was pure rage in her eyes now.

“Why did you do that?” Jae asked, though her voice was clearly not her own. “Why did you reject me? Why would you? I just want to play!” Tao covered his ears when she started screaming, the mirrors shattering into pieces, the ghosts shrieking and shouting along with her.

When he looked up, Jae was gone, and in her place was a little, blonde girl with anger in her eyes. “I wanted to play,” she repeated, her grip on him tightening. “I wanted to play!” she shouted at him as Tao felt the air leaving his lungs.

“Why do you deny me the opportunity to play?!” the ghost child shouted as Tao gasped for breath, struggling in her grasp. It may have been due to his lack of oxygen, but Tao thought he saw black spots appear in front of him. They came in wisps at first, when all of a sudden the influx of air nearly burned his lungs. The last thing he heard was the ghost child screaming bloody murder before the blackness engulfed him.

“Hyung? Tao-hyung, wake up!”

The voice felt like a far away dream, but when he opened his eyes properly, Tao was staring Kai in the face.

“Hyung? Yah, hyung, no time for sleeping, are you okay?” he asked as Tao was still dazed.

“Kai? Is that really you?” he mumbled.

“Of course it’s me, hyung, who else do you know that can teleport?” he asked and Tao slowly woke up. “What happened to you, hyung? You’re a doll!”

“I…I know,” Tao breathed, sitting up right. “I’m happy to see you, Kai, but how did you find me?”

The youth shrugged. “I was wandering around the house when I heard someone screaming. At first I thought it was Jae-noona, but then I saw that creepy ghost and you were there, so naturally I had to save you. What are you even doing in the house, hyung? I thought you were terrified of these things!”

“Long story,” Tao muttered, stretching himself.

“I bet it is,” Kai poked him a few times. “What are you even made of? Wood?”

“Porcelain, I think…ugh, does it matter? We have to find someone that can turn me back!”

“Good luck with that, hyung, how are we going to find a person like that? Not to mention that I’ve been trying to find a way out, too,” Kai explained, looking exhausted.

“Same here, but I’m really worried about Jae-noona,” Tao mentioned. “Have you seen her or caught her scent?”

“No, but I can barely sense anything in this place. I can hardly smell you, hyung, though maybe it’s because of your size now,” Kai mentioned, poking him again.

“Aish! Stop that! Just because I’m made of porcelain now doesn’t mean that poking doesn’t hurt, so stop it!” Tao whined, scratching his head and hating how firm it felt.

“Sorry, hyung, but you’re so small…”

“Just focus on what we have to do, okay?” Tao cried out. “You can teleport, so why can’t you teleport out of here?”

“You think I’d still be here if I couldn’t do that, hyung?” Kai snapped back. “I would have tried to find everyone and get everyone out. This place is so confusing and every time I try to get out of the house I keep ending up in another room,” he sighed. “You wouldn’t believe the things I saw in some of the rooms, hyung.”

At this, Tao lifted an eyebrow and gestured at himself. “I think I can imagine, Kai,” he remarked as Kai winced a little.

“Sorry,” he apologized. “But, what now, hyung?”

“What else can we do? We still have to look for Jae-noona and find a way to escape, so let’s try and do that!”

“But, how? You’re the size of a hamster, hyung,” Kai pointed to which Tao pouted.

“More reason to stop talking and go do what we have to do! Come on, let’s go!” Tao urged.

Kai relented and did as his hyung told him to do. Teleporting whenever Tao told him to teleport, which often led to nowhere. Tao continued urging Kai on, not wanting to give in just yet. They kept moving and moving, hopelessly wandering around the house. If Tao had paid closer to attention, perhaps he would have noticed that there was something amiss with Kai’s teleporting, how stiff and unnatural it seemed. Perhaps he would have also noticed the invisible strings that made his younger brother move.

If only Tao didn’t accept his current status as a doll as easily. Maybe then he would have realized that he was being played with, exactly like a toy would be.
The ghost girl watched in amusement at her new toys, whispering things to Kai, keeping Tao’s flame of hope alight, revelling each time when she saw it diminish just a bit. She wondered when her new toy would realize he was being played with, but for now, she’d enjoy the fun.

=== BAD ENDING: NOT A REAL BOY ===

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