-C H A P T E R F O U R-

 

Day Two

Who the Hell Are You?

 

 

Donghae

 

 

My watched beeped at midnight, and finally I realized that I’ve been spending too much time on History that I feel like I should reward myself for being able to withstand it until this late at night.

Stretching myself a little to loosen up my tensed muscles, my eyes landed on the Devil Monkey which I placed by the window at the side of my bed, along with the other members of the Zodiac Collection. For a while I smiled at the sight of my almost-complete collection, but then my mind lingered on what happened in Hyukjae’s room earlier on.

            When I think about it now, Hyukjae was acting very, very strange just now, much with him smiling and beaming at me like the way he did. And he even pouted in front of me. For as long as I’ve known him I know pouting is not his thing. He was always the feet-stomping-slash-cursing type. Like I said earlier, he prefers his fist over his brain.

Of course, what am I judging him for? I mean, we haven’t spoken like two normal people for over a year now; it’s usually yelling and screaming when it comes to our definition of a conversation. Maybe he’s always been that way, just that I didn’t know.

Maybe it’s just me who thinks he’s being weird. He did told me he hated plush toys back then, so maybe that’s why he was so willing to give it to me all of a sudden. He was only holding it to annoy me.

            Yeah, maybe it’s like that.

            “You’re the one who forced me to take it in the first place. I never wanted it. The thing is too girly and stupid. No guy in their right mind would want to have it!”

I really hate myself sometimes, that awful grudge-holding part of me at least.

I keep bringing that old stuff up every time we argue, saying bad things about Hyukjae to anybody he knows. I even picked a fight with him for no reason, which is probably why he hates me even more now.

            God I was so stupid.

But then again, it’s better than having my real feelings be known...

 

************

 

After I brushed my teeth, I kneeled on my bed to look at my Zodiac Plushie Collection one last time before I go to bed.

            “Goodnight my precious members of the Zodiac,” I said happily, and even patting them on their heads. Yes, I talk to them before I go to sleep every single night, got a problem with that?

            “Donghae; yah Lee Donghae...”

            “Yes my dears, it’s really late now...”

            “Yah Lee Donghae!”

            “Come one everybody, let’s just go to bed. We can talk tomorrow...”

 

Silence followed suit.

 

            “HOLD ON A ING MOMENT! HOW THE HELL CAN A COUPLE OF PLUSH TOYS TALK?” I screamed, pulling the drapes that covered the edge of my window where I keep all my plush toys. “WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!”

            “It’s me, Hyukjae!” a faint voice replied. “Oh my god, thank goodness you heard me!”

My eyes scanned each of the toys until I could make out where the voice was actually coming from, before I realized that it really is Hyukjae’s voice, and that his voice is coming from the Devil Monkey itself.

            “What the- is it really you, Hyukjae?” I asked.

            “Yes, it is me. You have to believe me!” and as it has been confirmed, the voice really did came from the Devil Monkey.

            “But is that even- wait, hold on just a minute,” I narrowed my eyes and carefully examined the toy, and eventually poking it hard, “You ing bastard! You installed a microphone under here somewhere didn’t you?”

            “No, I did not do such a stupid thing, for god’s sake Donghae stop poking me!”

Well it sounded intimidating like Hyukjae. Wait what am I thinking?

            “I passed out when my fingers got pricked by this pitchfork, and when I wake up I'm already a freaking monkey,” he quickly explained. “From what it looks like, my body must’ve been possessed by whatever spirit that was haunting this toy monkey before me! You heard the weird lady-like voice before right? That’s what I'm talking about!”

For a moment there I just stared at the talking toy monkey, like literally it was talking, his mouth moving up and down and real words actually came out, and I could even understand it. This is too much. This is...

            “What kind of explanation is that?” I said, half screaming.

            “Won’t you just believe me??” Hyukjae retorted desperately.

I slightly shook my head as I pick his up and placed in on my palm, watching the way the expression of the toy monkey changing as it continue to blabber some more explanations. I thought about how strange Hyukjae was acting right now...the pouting...the creepy smile...

            So the guy I saw earlier was not Hyukjae...but some spirit? And the talking toy monkey in my hand now is Hyukjae?

This is one seriously sick joke.

            But then it hit me.

            “What do you know about Friday the Thirteenth?”

The real Hyukjae would know what I'm talking about.

            “You mean Fishy Go Wee right? We were watching that movie in the middle of the night and you peed in your pants because you got scared. That’s why we called it Fishy Go Wee; since you still piss in your pants every single time ewe watch it. Which reminds me, do you still take a piss when you watch that? I mean, that was like when we were five, right?”

That does it. The toy monkey really is Hyukjae.

            “Of course I’ve stopped! I stopped peeing in my pant when I was six damn it! Quit bringing that up!” I said, flushing.

            “Yeah, but I suppose you stopped watching horror movies too, right?” monkey-Hyukjae snickered, smirking that very much recognizable smirk that only Hyukjae could pull off. God, I never thought such a smirk would look so good on the Devil Monkey, but then again, it is called the Devil Monkey.

So what if I don't like horror movies, it was all in the past anyway. I don't piss in my pants anymore.

            The smirk finally disappeared, and Hyukjae sighed. “You have to believe me, this is really me, Hae,”

I completely forgot the urge to squeeze the monkey-Hyukjae to death when I saw how desperate it looked and how it called me by what Hyukjae used to call me when we were little. From that point, I just knew.

            Though it is strange, this is the real Hyukjae. Hyukjae is the only one who knows about Friday the Thirteenth, or should I say, ‘Fishy Go Wee’ because only the both of us knew that I would never watch a horror movie unless Hyukjae is within radar. And only Hyukjae calls me by the name Hae, not even my mother calls me by that nickname.

Well, that was when we used to be friends, that is.

            “There, there,” I cooed, caressing Hyukjae’s head with finger gently. “Don't worry, we’ll figure something out, okay?”

I smiled when Hyukjae lifted his cute monkey head to look at me, that big adorable cartoon-monkey eyes staring back innocently at me as I add, “I believe you,”

            As confusing as it might be, now is not the time for me to freak out. Hyukjae needs my help.

            “Which reminds me...”

 

*************

 

            “Hey Hyukjae, how’s your report card?” Siwon asked, peeking over the fake Hyukjae’s shoulder to get a look of his grades.

Hyukjae looked up and beamed at his classmate, shrugging his shoulders. “Just average, I suppose,”

            “Hell no, your marks must’ve been awesome. Mine dropped a little so think this is going to go bad on my records,” Siwon said, frowning a little.

            “Oh come on, once we start working nobody’s going to care about our grades baby,” Hyukjae purred, leaning on Siwon's arm.

            “W-what?”

            “Forget studying. If I were you I’d start working out on my muscles in the gym- oh...you’ve got some fine abs here Siwon-ah,” Hyukjae  purred again, his hand sneaking up under Siwon's shirt, feeling his friend’s chiselled belly.

            “Yah Lee Hyukjae, what the hell are you doing? That’s disgusting!” Class perfectionist Seohyun yelled, looking at Hyukjae disapprovingly.

            “Oh shut up you ugly hag, look at yourself in the mirror before you call someone disgusting!” Hyukjae snapped back.

Even if I'm just watching through the small crack of their classroom door, I couldn’t help but shudder at the sight. What kind of person goes around sneaking their hand up another man’s shirt??

            “What’s up with Hyukjae?” I heard his class mate ask, and now that I realize it, fake Hyukjae really had caused a great deal of a scene. His classmates are all talking about him now. Not good. I have to do something, fast.

            “Donghae you have to stop whatever my body is doing! God my reputation! Siwon is never going to look at me the same way again! Oh my god he’ll be preaching to me every single morning now, Donghae do something!!”

            “I'm on it!” I snapped, pushing the monkey-Hyukjae back into my pocket as I made my way into Hyukjae’s class.

            “Hey Hyukjae, I just heard!” I yelled to get his classmate’s attention, “Are you alright?”

I heard some whispers and murmurs, whatever it is that they’re saying, I'm pretty sure I got their attention now. I cleared my throat in subtlety before heading towards Hyukjae to drag him back to his seat.

            “I heard from your mom that you were sick, and that this morning you took the wrong medicine?” I said out loud, obviously on purpose so that his classmates would hear.

            “Wrong medicine huh? Well that explains it!” I heard one of his classmates say, and the rest of them started laughing and diverting their attention from us.

            “What are you talking about? I’m fine!” the fake Hyukjae said, frowning. I could tell that he was annoyed.

I faked a laugh and held his face firmly before continuing, “Your temperature is rising up a bit isn’t it. Oh my god!” I screamed dramatically. “You’re really sick...”

            “What the hell is wrong with you, I said I'm-”

BONK!

            “Oh my god, Hyukjae’s passed out! I better take him to the infirmary!” I screamed, dragging the now unconscious Hyukjae out of his classroom.

            “I could’ve sworn I heard a loud ‘bonk’ just now,” Siwon told his friend, which the friend simply shrugged to and continued chatting with his other friend.

 

*************

 

            “I can't believe you head-butted me just now,” Hyukjae told me as I rubbed my throbbing forehead as soon as we settled his body on the infirmary’s bed.

            “Like I have any other choice, knocking you out using my head is the only option just now,” I replied, looking at the red mark on Hyukjae’s forehead. “Now what do we do?”

Hyukjae wriggled in my pocket in an attempt to get out, which I gladly helped him to it by handling him in my palm. “Well, I passed out when we exchanged our bodies, and since my body is already passed out now and nothing happens...”

            “Maybe we should try poking you with the pitchfork?” I suggested, thinking that it was the only thing left to do.

            “You read my mind,” Hyukjae said, grinning cutely- okay stop that Donghae. You only find it cute because he’s a Plushie now, so stop it.

            “Well I learned it from Kibum,”

            “What?”

            “Nothing,”

I grabbed hold of the monkey-Hyukjae and poked him on the forehead hard; maybe a little too hard since all I could hear is screaming and when I finally stopped, red spots were clearly visible on Hyukjae’s forehead, and the monkey-Hyukjae’s head were a bit crumpled due to the amount of force I’ve applied on hitting poking Hyukjae’s head just now.

            “Great, now both my body and soul are injured thanks to you,” Hyukjae wept.

            “Oh shut up, that’s the least of our problems right now. You’re still a monkey!” I lashed out at him, frowning. “That obviously didn’t work, so now what?”

            “What didn’t work?”

Leeteuk hyung walked into the infirmary, probably after a few minutes of serenity with a glass of red wine judging from the bright red colour of his lips. Seriously, I'm surprised this guy made it out of med school. Romance novels, liquor and spending wee hours into the night at night clubs with girls who are probably ten years younger than him; seriously, its either he really is a genius like how my brother says he is or just an idiot.

            I opened my mouth and closed it again, trying to figure out the best way to explain the situation the moment I noticed that Leeteuk's gaze fell on the unconscious Hyukjae, and then the Devil Monkey clutched in my hand.

            “That toy...”

            “Err, this...”

            “Tell me exactly what happened, whatever it is I’ll believe whatever you say,” Leeteuk hyung suddenly said, sounding alarmed and he closed the door behind him and even locking it in the process.

For a few moments I hesitated a bit knowing that what I'm about to tell the school doctor is something totally ridiculous that even I'm still having a hard time to digest myself. But looking at how Leeteuk hyung seems to know what sort of a mess that I have here in my hands I decided to just tell him the whole story.

            “I’m sorry,” Leeteuk hyung managed to utter as he pressed on the bridge of his nose as soon as I told him everything. He sighed and apologized once more, drawing out a bottle of soju from his drawer.

            “Hyung, alcoholic drinks aren’t allowed on school properties!” I yelled as I made an attempt to yank the green glass bottle out of my hyung’s hand, which Leeteuk hyung simply nudged away and took a long gulp.

            “I should’ve just finished the whole bottle of red wine while I was at it with Youngwoon in his office just now, damn,” Leeteuk hyung said, taking another gulp of the drink.

            “Wait, Youngwoon? As in Kim Youngwoon, our school principal?” I asked, dropping my jaw as Leeteuk hyung nodded and set the empty bottle aside.

            “How do you think I manage to get away with everything, huh?” the doctor grinned cheekily as he turned to look at monkey-Hyukjae. Another sigh escaped his thin lips, and I just sat there, staring at him as I waited for a logical explanation.

            “I suppose I should be responsible for all this, being that I gave the toy to Hyukjae,” he said. And then I remembered that the Devil Monkey itself was actually given to Leeteuk hyung too.

            “The person who gave this to me...” Leeteuk hyung reached for a photograph of him with two of his friends in his college days and handed it to me. I never took notice of the people in the photograph, but now that I look at it I could recognize that the person on the left side was Leeteuk hyung, looking extremely young with that boisterous smile on his face.

            “Hyung, you look...young!” I said in awe and I noticed that Leeteuk hyung’s face fell when I said that.

            “Well what do you expect? I was in college!” he snapped at me. I laughed because I know how Leeteuk hyung is really sensitive about his age.

I then shifted my gaze to the man...err, woman...no wait, man next to Leeteuk hyung, and stared at him for a while, thinking just how on earth can a man be so pretty?

            “That’s Heechul, a hoobae of mine in med school,” Leeteuk mused, smiling as he took the photograph from my hand. “The one next to him is Hangeng, a Chinese bloke who is also my hoobae, though the three of us studied in the same year,”

            “You studied in the same year?” I asked, and Leeteuk chuckled as he nodded.

            “I always thought I was the smartest in my batch but it turns out these guys were a lot smarter. Heechul especially,” Leeteuk's eyes twinkled as he gazed at the photograph before giving it back to me. “Heechul’s always the first one in the Dean’s list, and despite his genius brain he loves doing stupid gags when he sees it on TV. He’s a bit of a diva too, and god he’s a devil when it comes to drinking,”

I scoffed. Like he’s really the one to talk, I thought as I stared at the empty bottle of soju on the table.

            “That Heechul, he’s also a bit too naughty too- and yes, naughty in that way- but he’s a very skilled surgeon, and pretty too,” Leeteuk said, laughing at his last statement.

            “Well he is pretty, he almost looks like a woman,” I said as I stared at Heechul’s face. His smile was boisterous like the other two next to him, but there was something more mischievous about his smile, and it was somewhat diva-like too.

            “Well, he’s the one inside Hyukjae’s body now,” Leeteuk hyung stated, “Don't get him wrong, I might say some pretty bad stuff about him but Heechul is one of my closest friends, very cheerful at times and really fun to be with,”

            “Then how come he’s-”

            “He died half a year ago,”

I paused and looked up to see Leeteuk's face. “Something went wrong in a surgery...I don't know, maybe some virus infection or something but he got sick pretty badly, and died a short time after,”

 

            “Heechul-ah!”

            “Ah, Jungsoo hyung, you’re here at last,” Heechul uttered with a faint smile on his face.

Leeteuk grabbed hold of his hand and squeezed it tightly. “Hold on, alright? You’ll be fine!” he said, squeezing the younger one’s hand a little tighter.

Heechul simply laughed, although it was as weak as it may sound, it was easy to recognize just how bitter his laugh was. “Hyung, it’s too late,” Heechul said, wincing a little at the pain in his nerves. “Come on, you came in second after me in the Dean’s list, I'm sure you would know just how bad the situation is. Or else you might as well just repeat,”

            Leeteuk let a tear fell onto his cheeks, because despite the annoying sarcasm even when he’s on his death bed, Heechul was right. The fact that Heechul is still able to speak at the moment can already be considered as a miracle.

            “Hyung,” Heechul muttered weakly.

            “Yes? I’m right here Heechul-ah, what is it?”

Lifting his thin shivering arm, Heechul pointed at a toy monkey high up on his shelf cringing as he did so. “Take that toy after I die, and give it to your students.” He said, coughing soon after.

            “What for?” Leeteuk asked, motioning the nurses to call in the other doctors as Heechul's coughs were getting worse. “Are you planning something? Even after you’re dead?”

            “Just do it, god damn it! I'm dying here can't you see?” he hissed and Leeteuk flinched. It’s amazing to find Heechul still intimidating despite his current state.

Heechul took a sharp intake of breath and pulled the oxygen mask off his face before turning to his sunbae. “Take it, and give it to your students. Do you understand,” he said. “Make sure you find the youngest bunch! The happy-go-lucky kind and young, you got it? If you don't I’ll haunt you till you won’t even get a chance to taste the life of a real man or a husband for that matter!”

            “Yah, dying or not you’re still younger than me!” Leeteuk barked, frowning. Heechul glared at the older one and nudge his head at the machine settled next to his bed, beeping like crazy as his blood pressure began to decrease.

Leeteuk panicked and shouted for the doctors to come sooner, and felt Heechul's frail hand gripping his arm tightly before he fell unconscious.

            “I’ll do it Heechul! Yah Kim Heechul I’ll do as you say so just stay with me!”

 

            “And Heechul died on that very day,”

Leeteuk wiped a tear that escaped his eyes, and I just stared at him with monkey-Hyukjae resting on my lap. Although that does sound like a sad, tear-jerking story but I just don't find it sad at all.

“I'm sorry,” I said, not even bothered to add in a tiny bit of sympathy as I said it. “But that was nowhere near touching at all, hyung,”

 Hyukjae gave me a look and even poked me with his pitchfork, stating how insensitive I was. I gave him a come-on-you-know-that’s-the-most-ridiculous-death-wish-ever look and he rolled his big cartoon monkey eyes.

            Leeteuk chuckled and shook his head, “It’s understandable. Back then I never knew what Heechul was actually talking about, but well... now it’s obvious,” Leeteuk leaned in to look at Hyukjae, patting his soft monkey head gently. “I'm sorry I got you guys into this mess, I was desperate to get married so...”

            “We get it hyung,” I cut him off.

            “I have to say, your friend must be one heck of a tough devil, being that his soul still lingers in this world,” Hyukjae finally said.

            “I kind of agree,” I added. “I mean, he must have some unfinished business then,”

Leeteuk stared at the talking toy monkey on my lap and then at me who was talking to it as if it’s the most normal thing in this world. “Did the toy just talk?” he asked. “So that really is Hyukjae?”

            I nodded and Leeteuk sighed. “I’m heading to the bar after school, this is too weird for me,” He said, looking at the photograph again. “But right now we better figure out how to get you guys back to normal,”

            “There’s no point in trying,”

The drapes were pulled and Hyukjae, or should I say Heechul, stood there smugly, rubbing his red forehead as he stared at the rest of us.

            “Only I know how to return things back to normal and I won’t tell any of you anything until I’m done with my business,” he said, a mischievous smirk spreading across his face.

 

 

**************

 

Whew! That’s a long update isn’t it? Kekeke

I hope you guys enjoyed it nonetheless :3

i'll reveal what Hyukjae and Donghae really were back then in the next chapter. Right now it's time we bring the real devil out :D  

 

-Ily