The sound of mobile ringing, stirred the three guys awake, each looking at the culprit who dared to disturb their most needed rest. Realizing something, Siwon d around the floor, trying to locate his mobile which had been ringing continuously. Sitting upright, getting out of the warmth of the comfortable duvet, he turned off the alarm he had set earlier, ‘’.

“Seriously”, Kyuhyun grumbled from beside, “It’s Sunday!”

“Hey, I forgot to turn it off before going to sleep. I usually wake up to take a jog in the par-”, Siwon stopped speaking at the glare directed his way by the youngest. “What”, he asked giving back the stare, not one to back out of a fight. Their childish silent duel was interrupted by the sound of Donghae getting out of bed.

“Good morning”, he greeted sweetly, as he headed to the bathroom to relieve himself.

A jab on his stomach had his attention back, “He’s awake because of you”, Kyuhyun complained, as Siwon rubbed the sore spot on his abdomen. “I thought he would sleep in regardless, being injured and all” he replied.

The morning was slow and uneventful, with Siwon making pancakes for breakfast, his way of apologizing for his mistake. Donghae found it painful to walk even after taking the medicines, grimacing every now and then as a slight tinge of pain ran up his body. Kyuhyun had been eyeing Donghae throughout the breakfast, but didn’t point it out, preferring a silent and calm breakfast.

Siwon starting cleaning up the kitchen after they had completed their breakfast. Donghae was still seated, staring blankly in front of him when Kyuhyun went away to bring his medicines. Out of nowhere the spirit appeared in front of him, startling him. Shocked by the intruder he couldn’t utter a single word, just stared at the spirit, watching its skull turning into a messed up face, still unrecognizable.

 “Still stuck?” It spoke in a hushed voice. “Be quick! I’ve already waited for too long.”

Donghae got confused on hearing the absurd words, thinking maybe he heard wrong, “What?”

Siwon turned around, “Did you say something?” Donghae looked at Siwon, then back in front of him, only to see that there was nobody. “Nothing”, Donghae replied timidly, shrinking back in his seat.

Kyuhyun returned with the tablets and handed them to Donghae. “Thanks”, Donghae replied as he took the medicines with some water. “Quit worrying your lips”, Kyuhyun voiced out gently, “or else you’ll injure them”, he said and placed his hand on Donghae’s shoulder, his thumb caressing lightly to make him relax.

Siwon who had just finished his task, sat across the duo at the dinner table with his gaze lingering on Donghae. “Something bothering you?”

Donghae shook his head, “No”. ‘Nothing makes sense’ he thought as he looked away.

“You can’t keep this to yourself”, Kyuhyun replied, as he squeezed his shoulder lightly. “We want to help, we need to know what happened.”

“I don’t know where to begin. I don’t even know what is real or a dream anymore”, Donghae spoke his voice trembling, as he shut his eyes, holding back tears. He squeezed his eyes shut tightly, when he felt a presence behind him and a faint laugh echoing in his ears.

“We saw it too”, Siwon spoke up, “Back in the forest. We know it’s something inhuman”.

Donghae opened his eyes that were red with unbidden tears, “Forest? You saw it too?” he questioned, a bit surprised.

“Yes. When we came searching for you, we found you by that oak tree”, Siwon replied. “We tried to stop you from digging, but you were really persistent and violent, so I…” he trailed off pointing to the small bump on his head.

“Punched you”, Kyuhyun continued, “I already told him that. He forgave you”. “I did”, Donghae asked a bit reluctant. “You didn’t”, Siwon tensed up. Immediately he kneeled on one leg and rubbed his palms, “I’m really sorry. Really sorry”. Donghae shook his head, “Its fine. Must have been a solid punch because it hurts so badly”, he said with a small pout. Siwon leaned forward towards Donghae, bringing his face near his temple, “Let me kiss it to make it better.” Kyuhyun pushed him away, “Okay enough. We are discussing something important here.” Siwon nodded his head repeating, “Right, right”, returning back to his chair.

“So you saw that stranger too?” Donghae asked, fear slowly settling in his bones.

“Stranger”, Siwon and Kyuhyun spoke in unison, “No”. “It was just a gust of wind, stopping us from taking you away”, Kyuhyun explained. “Which begs the question, why the dusty wind attacked us so suddenly. It’s not as if it attacked us as soon as we reached you?”

“Ah!" Siwon exclaimed, "Could it be because of that string. He had those black lines on his face”. He turned to Kyuhyun as he pointed at Donghae, “and after I cut off the string tangled in his grip, it slowly disappeared and then we were engulfed by that wind thingy”.

Kyuhyun nodded slightly, as if agreeing to the sequence of events. “It didn’t attack us beyond the ground too”, he thought aloud. “There were these red marks on the surrounding trees around the oak tree”, he explained to Donghae, “It sort of, I think, kept the dusty wind within the bounds and protected us”.

“Also when the dust disappeared, the oak tree was almost destroyed. Only half of it was upright”. Siwon perked up, “Does this mean we already got rid of the ‘stranger’?” Kyuhyun and Siwon both looked expectantly waiting for his reply. “Nothing happened after that. It’s been quiet”, Siwon said.

Donghae who had been attentively listening to their narration shuddered. 'Strange things haven't stopped', he thought. “What does it mean?” he asked, which left his friends confused. “At the hospital, it was there.” Donghae replied as a stray tear fell. “It said I have unfinished work and I am the only one who can finish it”. He was practically shivering as his body was taken over by fear. “And now even when I’m with you I can still see it and hear it”, he held his head, tugging at his own hair. “What am I supposed to do?” he asked in frustration, voice sounding both unsure and helpless.

Siwon looked at him sympathetically as Kyuhyun hugged him, consoling him. “We’ll find a way”, he said. Siwon turned to Kyuhyun, his eyes guilty of voicing out his optimism as he mouthed sorry. Kyuhyun just shook his head, ‘It’s not your fault. It’s none of our fault’, he thought.

“Should I tell him”, Siwon asked hesitantly to Kyuhyun who was still hugging Donghae. Upon his approval he broached the topic, “I have to tell you something”. He continued as Donghae slowly parted away from Kyuhyun wiping his tears, “I’ve been searching for a guy who claims to be a specialist of these things”, he vaguely waved his hands, “paranormal, unnatural, psychic stuff. He calls himself 'Leeteuk' and I’ve heard he helps out people like you who are suffering from these things.” He took his mobile off the kitchen counter and scrolled through his contacts, “I already got his number. Should I ask for his help?”

Donghae had stopped crying and was warily looking at Siwon, “Would it be a good idea. You don't really know him, right?"

"Yeah, all I know about him is hear-say. I couldn't find any details about him online. Luckily a colleague who had mentioned about him in the past gave me his contact number".

"He is right you know", Kyuhyun spoke up as he stood stuffing his hands in his jeans. "He could be an impostor or worse a Shaman". Donghae glanced at Siwon waiting for what he had to say next.

Siwon creased his forehead, "Wouldn't it be better if he were a Shaman? We are dealing with something invisible."

“I don't trust Shamans", Kyuhyun relented, "But we should use all the help we can get. This isn’t something we can handle on our own or involve the police. We’ll only get ridiculed if we do the latter. Why not try our luck”. “It’s only a call away”, Siwon continued.

Donghae reluctantly agreed to the idea, though involving some stranger in his personal issue was bothering him. After a few missed calls, Siwon’s call was finally answered. He tried to explain that a friend of his is encountering strange things. But before he could indulge in details, to their surprise the person on the call had agreed to meet them the same day, sending them the time and address details via text. “That was fast”, Kyuhyun remarked.

The meeting was to be held at 5 pm at Hapch