“CHOI SEUNGHYUN! NOT AGAIN!”

A mini heart attack woke Daesung up, the loud scream still ringing in his ears. It felt like nails on chalkboard, tearing a hole in his ear drum. His heart was going wild, beating at ten times its normal speed, anxiously trying to prevent another attack. His body shot up into a sitting position, hiding his body behind the duvet, desperately wishing he had controlled his curious reflex to check out the source of the disturbance.

In the doorway stood a middle aged woman, though she looked more like an evil witch than a woman. Her whole aura was on fire, like she had come straight from hell and was out to recruit some new blood to take back with her, enslaving all the unfortunate souls that crossed her path. This was one hell demon you did not want to wake up to, yet they were fresh out of luck.

“We had a deal, young man! You know very well what this means!!” she shrieked, spewing her poisonous words into their own private little universe, out all the happiness, replacing it with blood freezing hatred and negativity. It was as if the room was being taken over by a black cloud of doom, crushing all hopes and dreams that lay in its way.

Daesung could feel Seunghyun tense up beside him, Seunghyun that wasn't fazed by anyone. It didn't help the debilitating anxiety that was building up in his gut. He didn't know the exact details of what was happening, but whatever it was, it was beyond bad. He could feel the world was ending, and no matter how much he tried to push the feeling away, there was no escaping it, it was all around them. Scared, he glanced at Seunghyun, who looked back at him petrified.

“Daesung-ah, go.” he whispered.

Although the words had reached Daesung's ears, their meaning didn't register in his brain, so he just stared back at him, baffled and afraid.

“Just go, please. Go! NOW!”. This was the first time Seunghyun had raised his voice at him. It was not a good feeling, but he could hear Seunghyun's voice was strained, coming from a place of complete terror. That didn't make him feel better though.

This time he had heard him clearly, reaching for his boxers in a panic. He could feel he had put them on backwards, but that wasn't important now. In a frenzy, he picked up what he hoped were his clothes, ducking behind the witch as he set a new world record for 100 meter sprints.

When he reached the outside, he had yet to find his shirt in the bundle of garments he was clenching under his arm. It required talent to dress while on the run, he had found out, talent which he did not possess. As he looked over the quiet neighborhood from the topmost step, envying the surrounding palaces for their lazy, laid back Sunday morning atmosphere, he realized that if he could see them, they would be able to see him. He quickly ducked down and crawled down the stairs, hiding behind a tree as he pulled on a T-shirt that wasn't his. He was only wearing one shoe. He had a vague recollection of picking up both his shoes, but somewhere along the way the other one had fallen victim to the war. Although he didn't relish the idea of walking home on only one shoe, there was nothing that could make him go back up there.

With every step his heart ached like it had never ached before, it was as if there was a string linking their hearts together, and the further he tried to go, the harder the pull. He hated leaving Seunghyun alone with that awful, spiteful woman. He wasn't one to judge people by their cover, but this time he was going to make an exception. There was not one redeeming quality about that spawn hell had coughed up, pure evil was what she was. He couldn't understand how such a beautiful person could share half his genetic make up with that monster. He had to take after his dad. His poor dad. He couldn't help but agree with Seunghyun in not understanding what his father saw in her. Maybe it had just been wishful thinking, his father's feelings wanting to see something that wasn't there. Or maybe it was they that were missing something. No. He was not going to do this. He was not going to make excuses for her, she didn't deserve that.

The longing to go back and help Seunghyun fight the hell beast got stronger with every added inch he put between them, but the only thing he could really do was obey Seunghyun's request and stay out of it. It wasn't his battle, though it felt like it was. He would only make things more difficult for Seunghyun if he butted in, and besides, he wasn't sure he had the courage to stand up to that root of all evil.

He cursed out loud. Normally, he religiously refrained from the use of curse words, it was just how he was raised, but if there was ever a moment to break that rule, that would be right now. It made him feel slightly less helpless. He was starting to see where Seunghyun was coming from, with his gloomy outlook on life and his lack of faith in people. Growing up in the netherworld, overseen by the demon queen herself, it was a wonder he had any love to give at all. But Seunghyun was full of love, Daesung could feel it, he just didn't know how to access it. It was trapped deep down inside him, guarded by vicious hell hounds, barring everyone entry, even Seunghyun himself. Or perhaps especially Seunghyun.

Daesung came home to an empty apartment, his mom had already left for work. In part he was relieved, for his mom would smell the worry on him and grill him until he cracked, but he was also disappointed, because he needed her right now, it was too heavy a burden to carry all by his lonesome. Biting his lower lip until it split open, he composed a text message. He held his breath as he sent it, hoping it would find its owner alive and well. He paced up and down the length of the living room. No answer. He tried calling, but the phone was turned off. Maybe his mother had grounded him, taking away his phone privileges. His heart took an extra beat, the fridge. He prayed Seunghyun had cleaned the fridge door, the thought of his mother finding it in the state in which it had been was beyond mortifying.

Finally, Monday morning had arrived. It had been the most excruciating 24 hours in recorded history. Time had stood still. He had spent most of the night staring at the clock. It ticked, but its hands refused to move to the rhythm, holding back time. Without so much as a wink of sleep, he finished his paper route in record time and rushed off to school.

It was still dark out when he arrived. The parking lot was completely empty, even the janitor's car was sound asleep in the comfort of its own home. The gate was locked, so he just loitered around, kicking rocks. His foot was sore, the scratches it had sustained on its bare crusade yesterday smarted, but he ignored it. He tried calling Seunghyun for probably the millionth time, but no luck. He had been trying every five minutes or so since he came home, sometimes not even lasting the whole five minutes. He knew it was useless, but it soothed his trembling heart, only for a split second, but that was better than nothing. However, every time he heard that monotonous computer voice announcing the absence of the number's owner, his heart would sink deeper and deeper into the bottomless abyss that had opened up in his gut.

He waited. And then he waited some more. The janitor showed up. He opened up the gate, but Daesung decided to wait for Seunghyun out here, that way they could steal some private time before class to discuss what had happened after he left. After winning the sidewalk in a staring contest, the students started showing up, one by one. Every so often one of them would throw a 'hey' his way, he did appreciate it, but he was in no mood to respond, so he just nodded with a forced smile. As the last stragglers hurried towards the main door, the bell rang. He just stood there, watching them disappear into the building. He was afraid to ask himself the question that burned in his chest, where was Seunghyun?

One of the hall monitors shooed him inside, so he had no choice but to leave his post. Maybe Seunghyun had taken another route to school, maybe he had missed him in the crowd of students storming the gate, maybe he had jumped the wall at the back. Daesung tried to hold on to the last ray of hope, only to have it ripped out of his hands at seeing Seunghyun's seat empty. It was the kind of emptiness that had a presence, distracting him the whole day, preventing him from hearing a single word the teacher was saying, much to the annoyance of both his teacher and his classmates.

Every recess he called Seunghyun, it was becoming like a ritual, or a nervous tick. His phone was still off. He started to wonder whether his mother had thrown it away, cutting off all communication. The thought was too scary to entertain, switching his focus to Seunghyun's empty chair. He had to come to school eventually, right? It was illegal to bar children from going to school, wasn't it? He fantasized about anonymously turning Seunghyun's mother in to the authorities, but figured it would take more than a day of absence to get a reaction.

At the end of the endless day he waited until all his classmates had left before standing up and venturing over to Seunghyun's chair. For the longest time he just stared at it, feeling the emptiness take over. When it became unbearable, he tempted fate and sat down. He had half expected the building to collapse, but nothing happened. He was sitting in Seunghyun's thrown. It was such a strange feeling. It felt like he was an imposter, trying to steal Seunghyun's identity by filling the void he had left. But instead of the void being filled, it doubled in size and intensity. Imitating Seunghyun, he stared blankly out the window, just as he had done the first time he saw him. It seemed like a lifetime ago. As he started replaying their little romantic comedy before his mind's eye, the corner of his real one caught something. He gasped. He would recognize that silhouette anywhere, although it wasn't quite as nonchalant as it used to be, walking back and forth in front of the gate. Daesung jumped up and ran outside.

“Hey, beautiful.” Seunghyun said, clearly trying to put up a brave face, only his face was too drawn to fool anybody. Daesung wasn't the only one that hadn't gotten any sleep last night. He wanted to throw himself into his arms, but it was as if his shoes were nailed to the ground.

“Listen, I don't have much time.” Seunghyun started, he was so edgy it was unsettling. Daesung had never seen him like this. “I have to take care of something, so I'm going to disappear for a little while and you won't be able to reach me. Don't worry though, I'll be back, I promise.” he assured him. Glancing over his shoulder like someone was after him, he squeezed Daesung's hand briefly. Daesung wanted to squeeze it back, but by the time his hand reacted, Seunghyun's hand had already let go. A nearby car hooted impatiently. It made Seunghyun jump. He looked at him like he wanted to say something, but instead he just sent him a bad imitation of an encouraging smile. A brief kiss on the nose, and he was gone.

Daesung wanted to tell him not to leave, that whatever it was, they could face it together, but no sound came out and he just watched him as he got into the car and was driven away. He stared in the direction in which the car had disappeared, his mind blank.