3rd Person PoV

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"I'm sorry. I'm sorry mother. I... I'm so sorry mother." The child said. The child repeated this over and over again. The child's voice was so soft it was caught between a breath and a whisper. The child scrubbed on hands and knees at the stained floor. Each scrub left the floor creaking and weak with every swipe of the scarlet ruby rag that swiped the puddle of watery blood. The towel was soaked and a tear fell down into the pool and got swept into it as well. The blood was pushed in waves and with every ounce of strength, he child attempted to force it to move and it only returned. Minho could only watch. His body frozen as he stared wide eyed at the crimsoning mess on the floor. The child continued to scrub and repeat that penitent series. It's body trembled and shivered down to the nails. And soon the pool of blood on the floor began to grown. It's crescent spread across the floor seemingly greeted by the black floor boards that almost invited the movement. The blood surrounded the child and loomed for a moment like a shadow. Again Minho found he could do nothing more than be a voyeur. He watched as the blood's watery bright red color slowly traded places with a dark and marooni color and then even darker still till it was nothing more than black as well. It was as though it had become a sea like void. "I'm sorry. I'm... I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry mother." The child repeated once again. It's arms looked bruised and the tiring work was clearly pain staching. And the child only scrubbed more. Was it the child's blood? Or was it someone elses? Minho then noticed the blood had gathered up and was now at his knees. All he could do was stand. The blood continued to lap at the walls of the room as though it were alive. The cracks of the floor boards allowed none to escape and a few droplets of the blood fell from the cieling and met Minho's cheek. He could only force his wide eyes to angle down to see the globular deed rest there on his high cheek bone.

He looked back to the child who now stood, the red blood soaked rag still traped in his clenched fists. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry mother." The child repeated again. Its lengthy dark hair hung scraggly over its eyes and down past its shoulders to the shoulder blades. Minho could feel the tears behind it and the eyes gaping stare that pierced through him. Suddenly, the child's head lolled back and revealed pure white eyes. The smile at its lips left a gap in which could only be seen more blackness. The child's body fell forward into the black liquid that encompassed the room and sunk slowly. The blood had coagulated and had thickened like molasses and in the blink of an eye the liquid had risen to Minho's chin. It was sitting on his chest and swallowing the small of his back. It moved under his arms and divided them among the halves of the room. It continued to rise and danced at his lips. the pungent odour of blood was unmistakable. It danced at Minho's nose and left his eye sockets filled with fear and loneliness. It then pushed itself up over both nostrils. Minho attempted at a final breathe and was met with the blood filling up his lungs. He could feel it spreading throughout his body and filling his finger tips with rage. The flavor was one of murder, malice, and subjugation. And soon the black liquid had reached the cieling. Minho shut his eyes tight quickening his skin. He noticed the coldness of the blood that had become so thick and black. He felt a sense which forced his eyes to reopen in the sea and met the child not a hair from his face. The child stared him dead into his eyes with its blank white eyes. It opened its mouth showing the black inside and then pursed its lips in preperation for a kiss. It placed both its hands on Minho's face and serenely closed its eyes and placed a kiss on his lips. Minho's eyes closed and he felt the black blood rushing out of his back as though the child was blowing it out with his breath from his lips. Then the child floated away sinking into the floor of the sea. He heard the child's voice again. "I'm so sorry mother. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry I... I... I...... hate you."

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"HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUH!!!" Minho gasped for air. He sat up quickly throwing his head towards his knees. He sat straight up and felt his body tingle all over in pain. He continued to gasp for air as he cringed and whinced from the pain. His body had been deadened and the quick movement had shocked it all to quickly.

"That dream again?" Minho thought to himself. He hadn't had that dream in so long. Fourteen years. It had been fourteen years ago that he had last had that dream. He had had that dream for an entire year after he turned four. "But why that dream? Why now after all this time?" He thought to himself. Minho continued to breathe harshly and waited for the pain to stop. Once he had regained a semblance of comfort, he threw off the heavily washed cover of his bead and moved onto the dusty floor. His bed creaked with every movement. It was extremely past its prime and sunken. He'd had it since he had turned four. Since the day the dreams had initially... He slipped over to the shades of his tall window and lifted them. It was winter and all throughout his home it was chilled. He allowed the shallow light to smight his body. It gave no substantial heat to his form (he likes to sleep because he feels a chill of leaving himself exposed to the earth around him).  He slunk to the shower and steadied his breath. He stepped in.

The water pelted his body and allowed him to abosorb the heat from it. The steam that arose from his chest he imagined taking the stress with it and evaporating into the cieling. A technique for dealing that he had learned from his personal "specialist" who he met with to help him with his "stresses." Once he felt like he was close enought to godliness, he stepped out of the shower and threw on a pair of dark gray pants, black and silver shoes, and a tall coat that came down to his shins with strings hanging down to the chest and silver buttons. He refused a shirt thinking to himself this would be more comfortable and at the very least, y for his new boyfriend.

He moved towards the door and exited the dark and dank apartment of his and into the extended hall conjoining all the other tenants' rooms and sashayed out of the building and onto the street. He needed to get to his boyfriend's high school. 

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Approximately 45 minutes later...

"Taemin!" Minho yelled out as he approached to gates tot he high school in flightly shoes. Janggok Taemin was Minho's latest... only boyfriend in his entire life. He met him reporting to the high school on his 18th birthday to officially receive recognition from them for having passed high school. He hadn't expected anyone to actually be there, but Taemin was and he was hard at work studying for his next semester of school. Minho couldn't help, but find interest in the boy for his steadfast determination. Taemin told him that he had been studying voluntarily after all! Minho volunteered his services and after a week of studying Taemin had kissed him. since then, he and Taemin had been stuck to each other like glue.

"Hi yeobo!" Taemin yelled back earning several glares from the surrounding students and a teacher or two entering the school. They were always displeased with Taemin and Minho's energy and cheerfulness in the morning, but more than anything, appalled at the sight of two men engaged in such "revelry" together.

They met each other half way on the ice cold side walk and hugged each other tightly. "How did you sleep babe?" Taemin asked with the most cheerful voice.

"Just fine" Minho replied clearly lieing.

"Don't lie." Taemin replied. Unfortunately, somehow it was always all too simple for Minho's lies to be read by Taemin. "What happened? You know when you lie it just makes me worried because you felt it was worth lieing over."

Minho replied with a click of his tongue. "Fine. I had a bad dream."

Mimicking his lover, Taemin also clicked his tongue. "Is that all? Why was that worth lieing over? Do you really want to go to hell over something so small? What hapeed in this dream that makes it worth that huh?" Taemin said.

His best friend Key had apparently been raising him well, Minho thought. "It was one I hadn't had since I was four or five. I had had that dream for that whole year straight and so it bothered me that I had it again. There... was a kid and he was cleaning. He was cleaning blood."

Taemin said absolutely nothing. In fact, if Minho had have been aying close attention, he'd have noticed that even Taemin's heart fell silent for just  a moment. "That's morbid. I don't wanna hear that one again." Taemin finally replied, murdering the awkward silence he'd given birth to. Minho hadn't noticed it.

"Well you asked!" Minho said pinching Taemin's cheeks which made the younger smile.

"Stop! I have to go inside before the bell rings! Sto~p!" Taemin laughed out.

"Alright. I'll let you go. But only for now. Remember, me and you have a date tonight!" Minho said slowly backing away. Taemin nodded in agreement also backing away noting the silent agreement that the day had officially begun and the time to move on had come. The both of them moved their seperate ways and so the day progressed.

Minho walked down the street merrily noting the sky's lackluster grey color. He always enjoyed the winter. Not for the snow, Christmas, or the nights by the fire, or any commercial justification like that. His outlook had a tendency to be positive... but morbid. He thought of the winter time as the death of an old year, old ways and ideas, the death of the earth, and the return to suffering. But that was really just so that the rebirth could come. So that the plants and trees could be revived and the suffering of people could just get out of the way. So those people could enjoy their Spring and Summer as it should be. When asked what happens to the snow when it melts, others might have said, "It turns to water." with a face asking what the other person could possibly believe. Minho would have answered Spring time and happiness without hesitation. See that? Positive... but most definitely a little morbid.

As Minho moved about realizing that today he didn't have to go to work for several days, he decided rather than go home and wait for Taemin to come out of school, he'd find a place to sit out of view and enjoy the crazy look of the clouds. The way that, in the winter time it always seemed they'd been cut out by the hands of a deformed child. The way it appeared they wanted to release rain, but didn't. They looked just like repression to him and reminded him that winter could be worse. That he could be feeling every bit of the clouds' release, but they refused it to him. He walked about for another 10 minutes staring upwards before he bumped into someone.

"Oh! I'm sorry guy! I hope you're not-" Minho began. He stopped once he looked down at the spiky haired kid who lay there on the sidewalk rubbing the back of his head and whining silently over his ruined cigarette. "Oh, never mind. You should be fine. At least I can rule out brain damage."

"Yah!" The man stood dusting his behind off from the dirt. "Is that any way to treat someone you basically assaulted for no apparent reason?"

"No, but then I'd have to be speaking to a person in order to behave that way. Not a dinosaur!" Minho retorted sharply.

"Yah!" Jonghyun shot back again. Minho truly had a dark place in his heart for Jonghyun. Shortly after he met Taemin, he met his best friend Key and as a result of dominoe effect, Key's boyfriend Jonghyun. He submitted to the idea of being nice when either Key or Taemin were around, but not in privacy like this. The boy was always up to no good. He smoked, he drank, he constantly skipped school which apparently he wasn't doing for once considering he was in uniform. He probably just slept in. As for his attitude, he was the poster-child for rebellion and Minho didn't even try to count the number of laws he might have broken and that he knew Jonghyun had broken. Minho was exceptionally bright, and that meant he could spot a bad influence when he saw one. He was looking at one and for all his brains couldn't see what Taemin and Key saw in him that made him acceptable in their circle. "You're always so mean to me behind closed doors Minho! You're two faced!"

At that, Minho felt himself turn on his heel. "Wait! C'mon, you know I'm kidding!" Another thing Minho couldn't figure out, was why no matter how distant he was to Jonghyun, Jonghyun treated him as though they were the best of friends. It had gotten so far that Minho had let go of his previous idea that he was just devious and really believed that Jonghyun just liked his company.

"Ugh! What is it!? Don't you have school to get to or something to burn down?" Minho said despondently hoping that jonghyun would stop following him like a puppy.

"You know that hurts! I was going to school! I just... got caught up at home! Besides, I can afford to miss today. I'm gonna be a famous singer one day. I don't need math and biology to do that!" He replied. "Can't I come with you!? Please!?"

"No." Minho replied concisely. Jonghyun took the moment of slow pace Minho had created to say that to him and jumped in front of Minho with his famous puppy pout. Minho had seen it work on Key several times and decided the best way to defeat it would be to avoid it. Now here he was facing it down.

"PLEEEEEEEEASE!!!" Jonghyun said stamping a foot and exaggerating the scream slightly.
 

"Ugh. You can't come. You're in your school uniform. How quickly do you think you'll get pegged by the police like that huh?" Minho said back, noting that it was probably the most he'd ever said to Jonghyun at once. He felt really weak under Jonghyun's puppy gaze.

"Don't worry about that!" Jonghyun continued with a whiny voice to match. "I always carry spare clothes just in case I decide to ditch half way through the day. Stylish of course. If I'm gonna do something like that and dissappoint the teachers who don't get to look at me, I'll make sure I do it in style and make my baby happy!" He said in one big mouthfull.

Minho released a single sigh and just kept walking. Jonghyun followed and when Minho turned into a nearby corner store he walked in, took his time searching for nothing, then walked back out five minutes later with Jonghyun following in flashy accessories, a tiedye shirt, skin tight jeans with a tear on one knee, and a tan leather jacket with no sleeves. minho wondered how he made winter look so good on him, but wouldn't admit it to Jonghyun. Minho continued his walk with Jonghyun following and lighting another cigarette smoking it with greatful ease.

The pair walked about for a while this way. Minho leading while Jonghyun followed with the most satisfied smile on his face as though this were just wonderful quality time with a father figure and his child. Every now and then Jonghyun would compete for the lead... and lose. But he was just as satisfied behind Minho as he was in front. After too long though, the silence got to him.

"I'm yo~urs! I'm not just saying that! I'm yo~urs! I'm trying to show you baby!" he began to sing perfectly.

"Do you have to?" Minho quickly said cutting him off.

"I can't help it! It's been quiet too long." Jonghyun said throwing his arms into the air stretching and breathing the brisk air deeply as though it were refreshing. More likely he found it just as bracing as Minho did. He might come out without a shirt in the winter too if it weren't for the fact that he'd seen Minho do it first and wouldn't be called a copy cat.

"In that case next time you'll know better and go to school!" Minho said back with more frustration than he realistically had. He looked back to see Jonghyun's face and it appeared he knew that it didn't bother Minho as much as he says. Then Minho turned back around and saw the corner of the street they were walking on. It sent chills down his spine. Why did it send chills down his spine? And then he also realized, this was somehwere he'd never been before. He hadn't the lsightest idea how he'd come here or where he was.

"Jonghyun." Minho said. He waited a moment and noting Jonghyun's lack of response he continued. "Jonghyun!" Again no response. Minho huffed. "Jong!"

"Ye~s!" Jonghyun came back in a sing song voice. Jonghyun liked it better when Minho called him "Jong" because it made him feel as though the two were closer to friends.

"Where are we?" Minho continued pretending not to notice Jonghyun's satisfaction.

"You mean you don't know where this is?" Jonghyun said with surprise. Minho turned to look at him refusing to give him an expression of confusion. Instead he allowed his silence to answer for him. "I thought you were going this way on purpose! But I guess you really don't know huh? This is near that house." Jonghyun stated matter of factly as though that explained enough to understand.

"What does "that house" mean?" Minho finally replied.

"The haunted house. There are a lot of stories about it. I can't believe you haven't heard at least one! Like, they say that there was a nice family living there, but then the mom died and strange things began to happen. Of course they also say there's a magical dragon in there so I wouldn't take all of them so seriously." He added the last part in with a tongue sticking out admitting to his joke.

Minho waited for him to be serious, but when Jonghyun stopped waiting for him to respond and moved his attention elsewhere as though the conversation were over, he finally spoke. "You can't be serious? What could possibly be going on in that house huh? Ghosts?" Minho said with a mocking tone. 

"Some say there are. No one lives on this entire block or the adjacent one because they said they could hear a woman's screams every night at exactly two-thirtyseven in the morning every day." Jonghyun replied in a spooky tone.

"Are you serious? Two whole blocks vacated behind a childish rumour?" Minho continued mocking the idea. He scoffed and then kept walking, but as soon as he started walking he felt as though he was about to cry. He couldn't figure out why. He looked up and noticed the stop sign at the corner. He decided he would at least go to it and peak around the corner for himself. As he continued to walk the Stop sign seemed to grow taller and loom over him watchfully. And as he got closer it bent over and looked directly at him as though the red color glared and dared him to move closer. Minho closed his eyes and walked quickly to the corner. He stopped when he reached the curb and looked back at the sign only a foot behind him and beat himself mentally for being bothered by such a sundry and plain item as that. Then he turned his head and looked down that road. All the homes looked normal from what he could tell. They seemed simple and cookie cutter style. He wondered to himself what could make anyone uproot themselves from a nice neighborhood like this one.

"Do you see it?" Jonghyun said leaning over his shoulder so close their cheeks shared heat, but didn't brush.

"See what?" Minho replied in a demeaning tone. "All I see is a perfectly fine neighborhood abandoned by overly superstitious people."

"Not that. The house! Down there at the very end on the opposite side." Jonghyun replied. Minho took note of the fact he hadn't denied the people being superstitious.

Minho squinted and in the distance he saw it. One house that just didn't fit the bill. It was covered in over grown ferns. It was victorian style and alot larger than all the others. It also took up a larger plot of land. A few windows were broken... or at second glass, just filthy. Minho couldn't quite say. It practically screamed haunted house. All the same, just because it looked spooky didn't mean it had to be haunted. "Yeah, I see it. I could see why it would make property values go down over here, but not why it would make people abandon their homes. I could see a ghost story or two popping up behind it, but not a cult pf believers. Just ridiculous." Minho stated plainly. He then turned to Jonghyun stuffing his hands in his coat and puffing up his cheeks as though he were relieving them of some stress. "I'm leaving before I catch the disease."

"Now what fun is that!? If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were scared Minho." Minho glared at him for that. "I'm just saying, anyone can peek around the corner. You didn't even get close."

"I'm not scared of a house." Minho said plainly and began walking away.

"I bet you are!" Jonghyun yelled after him with a grin on his face. Minho stopped in his place. "I bet that you can't spend an entire night in there! If you can do that, and come back with your story, then not only will I admit there's no ghost and you're not scared, but I'll spread the story aaaaaand I'll do whatever you tell me to for a month."

Minho raised an eyebrow without turning to allow Jonghyun to see it. Then he his heel. He called to Jonghyun from where he stood, "For a whole month?" he repeated.

"For a whoooole month!" Jonghyun repeated yet again.

"How about, instead of saying that, we just make it that you go to school that entire month. No skipping, ditching, or even getting in trouble. And you have to cut the dye out of your hair!" Minho yelled back.

"No way in HELL I'm cutting out the dye! You can have the rest of that only if you complete your end of the deal!" Jonghyun said back playfully.

"Deal." Minho stated. He then moved back in the direction of the curb and Jonghyun. He looked up and watched the stop sign as it sat there plainly. He couldn't help, but feel it was waiting for him this time. Once he reached the curb he turned and looked at the house once again. Frozen. Minho's body froze and then slowly a convulsion over took his body from the head first.

"Minho! Minho!? ARE YOU OKAY!? MINHO!?" Jonghyun screamed after him, but it was as though Minho had moved elsewhere. He fell to the ground in a big heap and convulsed. "MINHO!"

Minho's eyes closed and before he knew it, he'd fallen asleep. The last thing he remembered seeing was the stop sign. It looking down on him with authoritative and proud posture commanding him to lie still.

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Minho had found himself standing in front of the house at the corner. "What am I doing here!?" he yelled. He looked around at the untamed lawn area. He then heard a beating noise. He looked to his sides and saw nothing. He turned and saw nothing behind him. No street, nor homes, nor even trees or sky. No horizon at all.  He turned again and looked up to see a frightened looking woman beating on the window at the second floor. She was screaming. Calling out to him. But he couldn't hear her voice. And just as he began to try and look at her face, something grabbed her from behind. A shadow. It turned her and slapped her. Then it threw her head back into the window breaking it and sending the glass flying at him. He dodged the glass and rant owards the door of the house without thinking, half looking for shelter, and half looking for someway to save the woman. He grabbed the rickety door knob and shook the handle. The door stuck itself, but opened with a struggle.

Minho's heart was beating and his breathing had quickened. He was in a panic. He threw himself inside the door and turned and closed it. He was now able t hear the woman's screams on the other side of the door. "I'm coming! I'm coming Mrs. Lee! I'm gonna save you!" He yelled. Then it occurred to him. He knew no Mrs. Lee. So where did that name come from? He had no time to think when he heard a thud on the floor above and the screaming stop. He turned to find steps to ascend but was met with a hole. He fell in screaming. his hair fell the wrong way as he fell and his body felt as though it were flying upward in the wrong direction. As though gravity had reversed its logics. He squeezed his eyes as tightly shut as he possibly could to fight the awkward feeling in his stomach that made him sick. When he opened them the feeling was gone.......

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Minho blinked several times before he realized he had just had a dream. He was... where was he? He looked around and took note of the white walls with paintings that lacked any personal flavor. He was at a hospital. He realized it when he looked down and saw the bed he laid in. "How did I get here!? What happened to me!? I fell! No... I was with Jonghyun and... something. I don't remember... We were... doing something... what was it!?" He thought to himself.

Minho saw the door open and impulsively he laid back down and pretended not to be awake. He let his eyes stay open just enough to see what was going on. Taemin, Jonghyun, Key, and a doctor had walked in. Each looking pleasantly relieved. Taemin spoke first.

"Jonghyun, how could you bring him here!? What if he saw... I mean, do you know if he can pay for this? And why didn't you call me first? He has narcolepsy! He just needed to be still for a while!" He said in a tizzy.

"I'm sorry! I didn't know what to do! He passed out, started acting like he was having a siezure and then fell asleep! I didn't know it was narcolepsy! I don't even know what that is!"

"Both of you calm down." The doctor cut in. "It's fine Taemin. I won't charge him for this, but only because of you guys okay? This once. You did the right thing Jonghyun. Narcolepsy is a mental disease that can make one fall asleep under certain stresses or for no apparent reason. He'll be fine when he wakes up, but there's a possibility he'll be in a daze for a moment. Then he'll be okay. When he wakes up come and get me and we'll let him go home okay?"

"But doctor-" Taemin began, but Key stopped him placing a hand on his shoulder and just nodded to the doctor. The doctor exited leaving the trio standing in the room.

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OKAY! This was definitely supposed to be a one shot, but I came up with like so much back story and plot stuff as I typed, I decided to extend it and make it another story! Hope you guys like it! Tell me what you think so far!