LOLOL ^ ^ ^

“Afterschool, then. I’ll be inside near the main entrance,” was exactly what the damn kid said to him, right?

So where the hell was he?

If this isn’t “afterschool,” then God strike me down!

He slumped down against the wall, hidden from view by the outstretched trophy case.

He absently played with his wrist watch.  

He tapped the face of it to forcefully make the time go by faster so he could go home.

It was 4:30 now. Minho had a feeling of regret in his stomach.

Minho didn’t have much experience with girls, but knew just enough that he hated flakes.

And Taemin was a guy. He couldn’t still be…getting ready?

Ok, he decided. I’m going to give you five more minutes, Lee Taemin. Just five. I will make sure to kick your puny little tomorrow. The thought of revenge pleased him as he laid his head against the trophy case.

He took a little detour to dream land.

~~~

Later…

Something prodded his head. It reminded him of a woodpecker. Or something. Humming bird? Whatever. Some sort of annoying bird.

Feeling half awake and asleep at the same time, he threw a lazy arm over his head to warn it off. He felt himself lapsing back into his dream when it poked him again.

“Stooppp ittt,” He mumbled. Hearing his own voice seemed to wake him up as he drew his head away from the hard metal of the trophy case with a jerk. He wiped the drool that was running down his cheek with a swipe of his sleeve and opened his eyes.

“OH SHI—

“SHH,” she said, putting a finger to his lips.

That was frikkin scary. The person’s face was right in front of him. Her eyes were staring down at him like…Those scary Japanese girls!

She cautiously looked around them before removing her long slender finger from his puckering lips. She tasted sweet. Minho couldn’t help himself.

He rubbed his aching eyes before looking at the person again.

Oh. right.

“Hi, ,” he said, realization hitting him like a speeding bus. Why did he have to dress so girly? But what Taemin was wearing was far from girly. He wore a black overcoat that just happened to fit his slender and curvy body perfectly. He wore too-small jeans and the same tattered sneakers. On his head was a black beanie that pushed his fringes past his eyes, making his pupils shine eerily beneath them.

Taemin’s face was shocked and innocent. “What?”

“What time is it?”

“Almost eight,” he smiled happily to see that his hyung came to meet him.

“EIGHT? AS IN EIGHT O’CLOCK?”

“The one and only…”

“You said afterschool…”

Taemin nodded, wondering what Minho was getting at.

“What are you doing four hours late?!”

“B-but hyung,” he was surprised at the sudden anger within him. “This is afterschool…”

“AFTERSCHOOL MEANS AFTERSCHOOL!”

“…I guess we did it differently at my other schools…”

Damn straight! He snarled, “You better run real far, little boy.”

Taemin hesitated. “N-NO!” He stamped his foot a second too late, but still managed to pull it off.

Minho was having a hard time suppressing a grin. His mouth twitched. The boy learned quickly.

But let’s see how much more he knows.

And with that, Minho stood up with an angry tremor. But the menacing effect was a little off since Minho’s head rush caused him to totter off balance. But Taemin bought it. He quickly crawled away from him before breaking off into a run.

The fastest runner in Seoul Middle School gave the boy 10 seconds. No, I better make it 30. He counted off before sprinting after him like a predator.

The school looks a lot different at night. It seems more…exciting. The way the dim lights casted off shadows against the lockers instead of the normal sunlight intrigued him.He boosted his run, panting slightly. He watched as the lockers shimmered with every step he took, and absorbed the sound of each of his footsteps bouncing off in every direction. So weird to be making the only footsteps in this usually crowded hallway! I feel so…MIHGTY!

Within a few seconds he could hear Taemin’s own frantic footsteps sounding throughout the hallway. He smiled as he caught up to him easily, trailing behind him at an effortless pace. He grinned back at Taemin when he glanced fearfully back behind him, narrowly missing a trash can before turning back in horror.

Minho is so damn scary when he’s in the zone, Taemin thought to himself. He just wanted to stop. He was panting heavily and was scared to death; his heart pounded against his ribs. This was too much.

And that was when Lee Taemin, the new student who was so unfamiliar to the new school, fell victim to a dead end.

And Minho had herded him there.

His back faced the athlete when he approached him. Minho did not know the thoughts that were running through the young boy’s mind as he took teasingly slow steps towards him.

~~~

The fourteen-year old’s fists were tiny balls of white at his sides.

I dug my own grave. I brought you here for a reason because I thought I made my first friend here. I really did, Choi Minho. But it turns out you’re no different than them.

His heart raced as Minho approached him. Why did he have to be such a tease? His looks alone were enough to mess with Taemin’s mind. The way he would glare at him with those burning eyes of his, and the way he would give that crooked grin when Taemin amused him. It made him feel angry at himself but at the same time, each of his gestures and smiles seemed to make him feel weightless.

Minho was sauntering over to him at an agonizing pace; to Taemin, it was like awaiting the guillotine.

Just finish me off already!

But Taemin’s body was not as ready and strong-willed as his brain. He felt it convulse as his knees trembled beneath him. He felt himself going hot and cold at the same time. This is not happening, he prayed.

He quickly bent down and hugged his knees. With a shuddering breath, he felt himself die.

~~~

“I won’t do it again; I won’t run a marathon for as long as I live. I won’t ever shoot a hoop or kick a ball or ANYTHING. I’ll move to America and eat hamburgers and get fat and I won’t hurt anyone. I won’t get married; I’ll be so fat and immobile that I’ll only be a danger to myself. I won’t ever hurt anyone again.”

Taemin was tired of hearing Minho prattle away. He lifted his head from the third year's lap.

“EEK!” Minho jumped in alarm at the sudden movement.

Taemin felt something wet on his cheek. He touched it carefully with his fingers. It was ice cold and was on the wrong side of his face for it to be his own drool.

Was Choi Minho crying?

He looked up to see that…Yes. A most definite sign of tears. His eyes were bloodshot and his nose was tinged pink. Just how long had he been out?

Minho, on the other hand, was supremely shocked at the maknae’s sudden revival. He rushed over to him and embraced him in a tight hug; causing tears of surprise and happiness to escape his eyes once again and onto the young one’s black jacket.

“Hyung!” Taemin said as Minho started to shake his body back in forth in happiness. He then picked him up off of his feet, gripping him in a massive bear hug.

“LET GO!”

“Sorry,” he laughed and dropped him back to his feet. “I thought...”

“I was dead?” he finished. “Yeah. How long was I out?” He asked, tousling the dirtiness of the floor out of his hair. He spoke as if he asked how the weather was outside.

“About 10 minutes.” Minho’s voice was grave and was genuinely worried. Taemin was surprised and looked up at the older boy to see that he was scared.

He felt the only thing he could say was, “I’m…sorry.”

“No!” he retorted, as he walked off and grabbed his head in his hands. He looked distressed. “I shouldn’t have done that.” Minho could not bring himself to look at the fragile, thin, and innocent boy who stood before him. He was just so…breakable.

My china is stronger than him!!!

Taemin smiled sadly at his apology. “No, Minho. It was my fault for getting scared. You didn’t mean it…right?” he tested him. If he did, then he’d take those words back.

“Oh, sweet shisus, NO!” He looked apologetically at him. “I was only joking.”

“Oh, ok,” he beamed. Minho suppressed the urge to go back up to him and squeeze the life out of him again.

But, of course, that would probably break him. In half.

“So, what should we do now?” the small boy wondered, twiddling his thumbs.

Minho opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by a sudden disturbance.

There were footsteps! And they were coming right to them!

~~~

~“Yeobosayo? YAH?! Are you there?”~

“Neh. I’m checking it out right now. You think some rotten kids snuck in?”

The voice on the hand-held radio cackled. ~”Hah! Not possible. We locked up at 8. Well, hurry up. I’m hungry.”~

The security guard sent another message before pocketing the device. “Ok, I’m going to shut the lights off first so I don’t have to go back and forth. That’ll scare the kids, right?”

He waited. There was no answer on the other line, so he pulled the heavy switch.

The hallway lights went out immediately.

The guard shivered. He took his radio out again. “Ok, the lights are off.” There was no answer.

“Is anyone there? Leetuek-ah? HELLO? This is Shindong to Leetuek!! I repeat, the lights. Are. Off!!! HELLO?!!?!”

He dismissed the radio, feeling goose bumps rise on his sweaty skin. He wiped his brow furiously and switched on his flashlight. It flicked feebly before shining completely.

These are about to go out. I need to restock on batteries, he reminded himself.

He walked towards the hallway near room 205, the area where suspicious activity was suspected.

He hugged his elbows.

Stop that, now. You have a family waiting for you at home, big guy. The thought made his knees buckle. That’s right. He had a family. At home. And he was here, alone in the dark, in a supposedly haunted school. His eyes widened.

What if—

“STOP!” He screamed at himself out loud. You WILL make it home with a nice dinner, waiting for you on the table.

He took a deep breath and continued on.

Room 201…Room 203…

He stopped at the corner. His damn light was flickering. He was shaking uncontrollably; the flicking light from his flashlight swerved everywhere.

And that was when he saw a flash of something from his inaccurate light shining. He gulped and walked forward.

Tell my wife that I love her with all my heart.

His shoes squeaked beneath him. He was panting like a dog. He shone the small circle of light everywhere before turning back around.

But he stopped in his tracks. There definitely is someone here. Or something.

He choked back a scream. He walked closer, inching closer to room 205 and shone the light downwards.

And that’s when he saw it.

A GHOST BOY! His mind immediately flashed to The Grudge.

IT WAS TOSHIO!!!!