After all difficulty to tell Hyukjae a truth, there must have been something else to it. To help Donghae to a more regular life in which he would either be free from vulnerability to demons, or even fully release his sense, Donghae's guardian along with Hyukjae had to lead a demon to the light. The task was to lead pure evil to salvation - a game that would put Hyukjae to the test.

The woman slowly nodded, knowing. “It puts you and your guardian on the line. If the demons manage to hurt her, she will disappear, everything will fail and you will fall into the cursed gift yourself.”

“R-really?” Donghae’s voice could immediately be heard from the hall, and Hyukjae slightly flinched at the scarily unbeknown tone of the brunette’s voice. “Will I cause… Hyukjae danger?”

The guardian looked at the floor nervously.

“I’m sorry for never telling you, Donghae. It’s because I didn’t want you to feel guilt.”

Hyukjae huffed silently at the “wise” choice of the guardian, but deep inside agreed with her. Donghae was caring by nature, and telling him such a thing would definitely scare him off socializing. Hyukjae had noticed the other's warm heart behind all those layers of lengthy speculating, and he found out to himself that twirling the man back the other way would be an attempt doomed to fail.

It took a while for the blonde to think through what he had been told, and meanwhile, the woman merely looked at the floor, while Donghae put on his clothes and inaudibly walked into the big, lit up room. As if something big depended on it, he settled himself just as quietly on the floor and crossed his legs. He had been given a pair of dark shorts, a blue T-shirt alike to the one Hyukjae wore and a pair of black socks. His hair was wet and still a bit tangled, and Hyukjae found him adorable that way.

“It’s okay”, Hyukjae said, breaking the silence and making the two glance at him. After all, he could not just leave them like that, when it was visibly clear that they were both battling with awful feelings. Donghae had begun to mean too much to Hyukjae for him to merely throw the man out because of his own pride. “Just let me think.”

That night, Hyukjae fell asleep hearing Donghae’s voice echo from beside the bed, uttering incoherent ramblings. He observed the younger’s fuzzy hairstyle lean against the edge of the bed and pondered how his expression looked like until the world turned dim before the his eyes.

The peace that had occurred as Hyukjae had entered his sleeping state did not last for long, because in his world of black, a sound emerged. In all silence and tranquility behind his lids, appeared a noise that sounded almost like a terrified shriek. Soon, he was debating whether he was dreaming or if he was awake, twisting on the spot before he realized that the cries came from the real world outside of his head.

Tired moans and quick yelps were echoing inside of the room, and Hyukjae promptly grasped that it was indeed his new friend who was uttering things, supposedly in his sleep. But something prevented the blonde from turning his head, as he could sense Donghae being fairly too close. The last thing Hyukjae wanted to disturb his sleep was a sleeping maniac, although he deep inside felt a lump in his throat hearing how the brunette was in inward pain even in his dreams.

Hyukjae counted a few seconds of silence before the voice broke it,

“I might be insane…”

His heart took extra jumps as Donghae’s muffled sobs disrupted the peace of the area. Hyukjae had never heard anyone having night terror, let alone experienced it himself, and so, he mentally hurt by listening to the other’s pleads.

“Don’t hurt me!”

The blonde squeezed his eyes even harder shut and pulled the cover above his head, subduing the voice screeching through the fabric.

“Please…”

Helping Donghae would involve putting his guardian’s safety and his gift on the line. Not helping Donghae would feel as if Hyukjae had failed as a human being. Although Donghae had managed to make him feel awkward brooding over his sense, there was still stronger than sincerity floating around in his eyes.

Hyukjae shot his eyes opened and flew out of his sheets as he realized that for probably one of the first times of his life, he had forgotten to turn on the alarm. He found himself sweaty and almost breathless, and he stood up a bit too fast in his shock. Dizziness and a quickly appearing block for his vision caused him to stumble on his feet and fall to the cold floor, his overarm taking most of the damage as he landed with a painful sigh at the collision between muscles, bones and floor. Except for his own thump against it, he could hear a gasp erupting from behind him, and that was enough to terrify him even more. His bangs tickled his forehead as he rolled over on the carpet, blinking innumerable times to get his vision back, because at that point he could only see red and blue dots covering the world. A male voice approached his sensitive ears and barely a second afterwards; Hyukjae could feel a hand on his shoulder.

“Are you okay?”

The blonde felt his hair stand on his body as he remembered, dumbfounded, that Donghae was there. He did not dare to say anything until his vision was back and he found the brunette looking at him with eyes big as gulf balls. Hyukjae had a hard time moving, thus, he struggled immensely to sit up. He tried to find a balance, as the usual morning dizziness seemed to have struck him more intensively. Donghae observed him while leaning against his bed edge yet again, his eyes radiating worry as Hyukjae blinked a few times to meet with the other’s gaze.

He nodded, “Yeah I’m just stressed…”

“Why?”

The younger male tilted his head to the side, and Hyukjae wondered if he had even slept on the couch that he had made for Donghae, considering the awkward traces on his skin. A flash of remembrance hit the blonde, and he shifted on the spot. Donghae remained naïve to the action as he seemed to have Hyukjae’s health the midpoint of concern.

Hyukjae gave an awkward attempt of standing up while answering the brunette still on the floor,

“I forgot to turn on the alarm.”

He wandered through the room without sparing Donghae a second glance, and traced the counter with his fingers as he had reached the kitchen. He felt tired and dizzy, and the fact that he had not even looked at his phone did not hit him until he heard the other’s voice ring in his ears from further away,

“Do you even know what time it is?”

Closing his eyes harshly, causing him to stumble yet again, Hyukjae mentally face palmed, but still chose to take out another apple from the refrigerator. He felt too hungry to go back and sleep, anyway. He walked on the cold floor out to the big room, where Donghae sat on the floor, looking up at him with a little smile on his face.

The reason for Donghae even being in his apartment had been thrown out of his mind momentarily. Their glances met, and Hyukjae could swear that he saw a whole universe in the other’s lake-blue orbs.

“It’s 10 am”, he said, flashing the other the screen of his phone that clearly said “10:00” all over the display. Relieved, the blonde sighed and took a bite of the apple against his mouth.

“I didn’t know you had work today”, Donghae mumbled, playing with a little lock on his head, and Hyukjae eyed him. The latter looked down on the floor, “I’m sorry for being a bother.”

“Did you even sleep on the couch?”

Mentioned item seemed quite untouched to Hyukjae’s taste as his gaze travelled over the room to the leftmost wall where the windows and sill resided. The couch was covered with a blanket that was barely the least creased; as he compared it to the last time he had looked at it. He could hear a faint laugh from where Donghae sat, and indeed, his lips were curved up.

“I fell asleep on the floor.”

Hyukjae raised his eyebrows as he found it utterly strange how someone could fall asleep on the floor. He himself could barely sleep on places other than his bed, and possibly on a bus if it was late night. What else went through his head at that point was that he would have to clean the floor later.

“Stand up so you won’t get an ache somewhere…”

The rest of the forenoon until Hyukjae stumbled out on the roads to get to his work consisted of random conversations initiated by the brunette and awkward glances whenever their paths crossed. Hyukjae enjoyed how Donghae seemed to understand his love for order and remained still inside of the apartment, although the blonde considered himself rather scary for making his guest unable to move around.

Before Hyukjae went to work, he promised Donghae that he could show up again if he was being threatened or needed someone to lean on. The blonde suddenly had a reason to say it. After hearing the guardian’s explanation about Donghae’s past, Hyukjae was certain that the brunette had less people to trust. He was a lonely soul who found peace in thinking about things that would mostly remain unknown. Despite his love for socializing, Hyukjae could tell that the other had a hard time sticking to them. That it seemed to declare for his socializing personality did not necessarily equal that he could provide warmth for everyone in long terms. And so, Hyukjae felt like an exception.

They parted outside with the blonde informing that he would have a busy week, and with Donghae hugging him as if that had already been a part of their lives for long.

***

No sign from Donghae had been appreciated during the two next days, and Hyukjae began to wonder where his friend was. Since they had exchanged numbers, Donghae had been open to texting once in a while. Through phone was the only place where they did not talk about life’s mysteries and philosophies that made Hyukjae’s head ache, but where he could actually see more of Donghae’s other sides. He liked sending smiley faces, while Hyukjae loathed them. Also, he had a tendency of answering the word “Thinking” whenever Hyukjae asked what he was doing. The blonde merely shook his head, assuming that Donghae was constantly lost in his meditations.

But he remained in all of Hyukjae’s ponderings, and that was a fact.

The tired article editor stumbled out of the newspaper enterprise building, meeting with another night of damp air. He shivered, feeling how the wind crept inside of his loose blazer and tickled his skin, and he held on to the edges of the cloth, bringing it tighter against his body as he wandered off towards the subway. He wanted to get home as soon as possible and rest his head as much as possible. Although the thought of Donghae perchance sitting on the blunt edge before the entrance of his home was constantly in his mind, he tried to shut everything about the brunette away, for Donghae was the last thing he wanted to think about when he was that worn-out.

He held on to a rod as he sat inside of the train, his lids shutting occasionally. The lights flickered in yellow and he found himself half-asleep through the trip to his station, his body lowering with each stop. By the time he had gotten off the subway and was standing on the escalator, leaning over the rail, he realized that sleep was hardly something he would accompany that night either.

A brown-haired girl appeared in front of him, and his gaze flickered at meeting with her glance as her eyes had a particular glow. He recognized her immediately, and her extremely white clothes definitely strengthened his assumption. It was his own guardian, and it worried him.

“Long time no see”, Hyukjae said, still rather flustered at her sudden appearance and not caring if any human being was around the area. The woman smiled lightly to the “welcoming” words, before her glance turned firm,

“I’ve been observing you, and I know everything about this new friend of yours.”

Her voice was rather stern, but the blonde knew that it was merely because the guardians had less fear than any human or spirit. The only thing that frightened him at that point was that she was there.

He began walking normally as he reached the top of the escalator, while the guardian continued,

“He’s in danger right now. You have to run towards your home, Hyukjae, because he’s there.”

Man mentioned had never felt such urge to help someone than he felt at that point, as his feet gained unknown strength and guided him towards the exit of the underground area, his heart pumping harder and faster than long before.

The guardian had disappeared the moment he looked towards the other direction, but honestly he did not mind because all his brain could grasp was the knowledge that Donghae was in peril. His feet would never have taken him that quickly over the ground if there were not something he cared about on the line. Perhaps he was realizing even more just how much Donghae had become something valuable in his life. With each step tapping on the dark earth, Hyukjae mentally prayed that nothing severe had happened, but the consideration of his own guardian needing to tell him about Donghae disregarded that fact completely.

He found himself trying to grasp for the brunette although he was 30 meters away, and he experienced 10 seconds being an eternity before the bruises and deranged clothes finally went detailed to Hyukjae’s eyes. His brown-haired friend lay completely helpless and hurt on the ground, gritting his teeth and his eyes squeezing themselves shut repeatedly. The mystery of why he was alone swirled through the wind, its demons blaspheming every possible witness and Hyukjae landed on the ground, knees first on the gravel beside the agonized male. It was a cloudy night, but nothing compared to the fog covering Hyukjae’s heart.

“Donghae!” He shouted, horrified, as he tried to lift the injured man below his arms. He whimpered slightly, his lips slowly quivered and moved as if they were unsure of what to do. Without hesitation, the blonde propped one foot on the ground and with one tug, pulled Donghae upwards.

“What happened to you?”

The latter was weak in the arms of the other. Fortunately, Hyukjae had been praised with new strength from his shock, making him able to drag Donghae with him towards the entrance of the building. The brunette’s feet scratched against the ground until he seemed to achieve power enough to at least help Hyukjae with the burden of getting him inside, and he struggled to walk along. Hyukjae noticed how the other jumped on one leg, and tried to make him stop.

“It’s not necessary”, he argued, trying to subjugate the other’s loud breaths, as they entered the building. The elder prepared to try taking Donghae up the stairs.

“I’m sorry”, the brunette cried, what was left of strength in his hands clinging on to Hyukjae’s upper body and jacket, and the latter widened his lids. Without giving response to Donghae’s strange words, the blonde continuously assured the other that everything would be okay. They strived up the stairs – both holding on to each other and Hyukjae wondering just how much pain the other had been set out to – and the blonde took out his keys.

The apartment was dark and pretty cold because of an opened window, but not colder than outdoors. It had that soggy feeling that fortunately for Hyukjae had not crept its way inside fully. The two tired men entered the tiny, dusky hall, Donghae slightly coughing and the other panicking as he gave his body as support while they wandered carefully into the big room. While Donghae leant against the doorframe on one leg, the blonde rushed to the wardrobe and pulled out a towel to lay it out on his bed. The younger did not notice anything, for his glance was all too tired, and his mind had no plans of reducing the amount of pain he was experiencing it seemed. Hyukjae looked at the injured man, pity drifting in his eyes and survival instincts prickling in his fingers. He stepped forward and his mood dropped with every time his feet touched the floor and guided the brunette to the bed, encouraging him to lie down on the towel.

Donghae sighed; everything above his mouth turning into a frowning mess and his lips separating enough to show every one of his teeth. Hyukjae, as soon as he had helped the agonized one to lie down, ran towards the kitchen to find anything of aid to Donghae. The former had freaked out enough to stumble on the way, and almost fell to the cold kitchen floor before he reached the cabinet where he kept medicine and first-aid related things. He threw the little locker door open, and spotted what he needed soon enough. Light had not seemed coherent to him until he was wandering back into the big room, cursing at how he would barely be able to see anything. He angrily pressed the switch to lit the lamp on the ceiling, and went to sit beside the groaning male, twisting awkwardly on the spot.

“You need to be still”, the blonde urged as he sat down beside Donghae, and took out one of his cotton pads to wet it with wound healing medicine. The younger seemed to cringe a bit at seeing the liquid close up to his face, but Hyukjae could not care less than to clean the injuries of his friend. Hyukjae pressed the pad against a dirty, slightly bleeding area on Donghae’s cheek, and he gave out an incoherent grumble as a response. Happy that he at least had appeared before anything more happened, the blonde asked yet again what had come across Donghae’s path.

“Them- them…”

It was all that needed to be said for Hyukjae to nearly quake in anger, fists clenching at the knowledge that the demons had eventually taken their physical forms and close to beaten Donghae to immobility.

The blonde continued to clean the visible wounds of his friend while he winced now and then. However, he was fully aware that Hyukjae only wanted the best for him. The length of friendship does not necessarily have to be an important factor in how people treat each other, and that was what Hyukjae wanted to prove. He cursed himself for keeping away from deciding whether to try helping Donghae or not, because at that point, aiding him was an obvious fact that he should accomplish.

Hyukjae called his manager at work, desperately begging for a day off – using the lump in his throat to the fullest – and succeeded. He looked at the male below him, contently smiling because he could use his time to take care of Donghae.

A glance thrown behind Hyukjae and a tired mumble saying “Taeyeon”, made the blonde turn his head to meet with the two men’s white clad guardians, both standing beside each other and looking moderately unhappy. The spirit with the black hair, strode forwards until she reached the edge of the bed and crouched to look at the pained male.

“I’m sorry that I cannot heal you, Donghae”, she said, leaning on her arms on the edge. Mentioned man’s eyes were puffy from sobbing and being beaten, and merely the little eye contact between the two seemed to pain the female to the core. She thought that they were losing a battle against the demons, and that Donghae would take his last breath under the surveillance of the misguided spirits, them being the cause of it. Hyukjae had not questioned people long enough to not figure it out already. Somehow it hurt him that she still seemed reluctant towards Donghae ever being free from his pain, yet he felt a miserable guilt creeping upon him, apprehending that he was the way out for the brunette.

But just as sudden, Hyukjae did not feel like an object to the two’s pleads.

He decided on the spot that he would help Donghae, and that he would succeed, despite what it would take from him to try and possibly fail.

“I will help you”, he assured the younger male, eyes deeply fixed on to the others, and a nod that meant the world to them both.

He did not know that it would take much mental preparation to complete the task he was putting himself into. After all, he was a believer, and his competitive gut told him countless times just how much it would benefit his friend it he would make it. His guardian had told him a last couple of encouraging words before she tried to disappear as far away as she could, because the guardians were supportive in every case the human would put herself into. It was their only task as caretaking spirits.

Hyukjae stared angrily at the wall as Donghae had fallen asleep on the bed, the softest piece of blanket the blonde had been able to find, covering the injured one’s body. Taeyeon, Donghae’s guardian, had told Hyukjae that the demons could be lured out while Donghae was asleep and dreaming. Hyukjae remembered how the younger had yelped and whined in his sleep a few nights earlier and had realized that night terror apparently was something regular for the brunette. A sad sigh had erupted from the guardian’s throat as she had explained how the demons were constantly haunting him, and yet again told how they had drawn near Donghae the latter year of his life.

Deceptively, being exposed to demons was not something usual, since most people did not die with hatred in their hearts, and the misguided spirits could not attain to a human easily. It only happened when the sixth sense was about to reach a person, and the demons managed to control it. Highlighting that the demons never could know that someone was getting the sense without observing closely, the number of people who were vulnerable to demons was low.

Hyukjae pitied the fact that Donghae could have been just like him.

The blonde threw a glance over at the younger’s sleeping face. At the moment, he seemed pretty calm, and did not put his bruised body out for too much restraint. He lay on his back with his head tipped to the side, his nose poking towards the wardrobe of the room. His lids were firmly closed and his lips slightly separated, letting the ounce of air he was breathing pass through both mouth and nose. Hyukjae adored that face and the peace it seemed to radiate. The blonde’s nerves almost clutched at the knowledge that the beautiful sleeping man would soon twist and turn in disturbance, and that whimpers and sighs would spoil the silence that had been spread throughout the room during the hour.

Hyukjae was tired to the point that his orbs occasionally rolled back, but was prepared to struggle until all evil had vanished from Donghae's sight. It was 1.42 AM when the brunette began sighing from his place, and Hyukjae reacted from where he lay, his stomach on the floor and his head on his arms as pillow.

A sting seized him; a twist in his stomach telling him that the time had come, and he palmed the floor to lift himself upwards.

Taeyeon appeared before Hyukjae could sit up, and she smiled with effort, thanking him that he was willing to put his own sanity on the line to help Donghae. The blonde uttered a mere, “Of course”, before she paced over the carpet and dropped to her knees beside the bed to lean over the edge. Hyukjae, with hands on his stomach, watched the black-haired spirit whisper things to the male.

“They are here Donghae… Tell them to appear, tell them to show themselves…”

A twitch from the young brunette made Hyukjae widen his eyes in amazement. It was silent in the area, yet there was a rather different aura radiating from it. The guardian kept on urging Donghae to let the demons free, with intentional breaks now and then to analyze the process. It was not until Donghae began responding that Hyukjae became honestly terrified.

“Come out then”, he mumbled into silence, soon followed by the exact same sentence in a clearer manner. Hyukjae could feel the air starting to stir a bit from the usual, and that was when he finally propped himself up on two feet.

“Remember that we are trying to lead one of them to the light”, Taeyeon said, her hand resting on the sleeping male’s cheek as she eyed Hyukjae while the middle of the room began looking foggy, “They will either be disturbed in our good way, or think of a solution to end our attempt. All you have to do is do what you’re good at, Hyukjae, I believe in you-”

Before she could finish what she was about to say, a purple-like swirl appeared from the haze. That was one of the few times Hyukjae had experienced seeing colors emerge from the spirits entering the area. The swirl divided itself smoothly, and it did not take long before Hyukjae could distinguish eyes out of the dark mass, the gazes full of venom and heart wrenching noises appearing from every movement made until the purple swirls turned black and rushed immediately towards the sleeping brunette.

Hyukjae was tremor by the entrance of the misguided spirits haunting Donghae, and it took a few seconds of helpless staring at the suddenly moving body and hearing tormented yelps erupt from Donghae’s throat before the blonde got his ability to speak back.

“Do you belong here?”

He watched as the black packs of smoke enlarged. A screech could be heard from Donghae, his legs slightly kicking at the spot,

“Are they real?”

The brunette was somehow still asleep, but both Hyukjae and the guardian had a feeling that it would not last for long. Hyukjae willingly gave it another shot,

“I’m asking you; do you belong here, in this world?”

Incoherent groans were appreciated from the black spirits, and they emerged in shapes more human-like as the time past. Hyukjae praised himself for not having the lights turned off, as he barely dared moving.

“Do you belong in this world of venom, cruelty and sins?” He asked, trying to put more roaring into his voice as the demons began transforming faster; physical forms of the black spirits were being taken. At that point, they were not only looking at Donghae, but also hurting him. The hair strands of the brown bangs were being flicked away as a hand hit the forehead, and before Hyukjae knew it, the tension had been entirely disturbed. Donghae screamed in the midst of black spirits turning to poltergeists, and shot his eyes opened in a horrific manner, staring up at the ones both mentally and physically paining him.

Hyukjae wanted to cry at the sight, but found no time. An object flew through the room – the blonde recognized it as an empty vase of his – and hit the wall before the scatters fell on to Donghae’s right, covered leg.

“Are you the sin? Are you the viciousness? Is that all you want to accomplish when there is so much more to it?” Hyukjae pleaded, seeing how the demons stared furiously at the brunette as they threw the cover off, bringing the vase’s scatters to his body to rip scars on it. Donghae noticed his guardian and his friend in the room, and his glance managed to pierce through Hyukjae’s head only by a half second.

“Cruelty is all you’re being exposed f-for”, the blonde began, adverting his gaze from Donghae as he found it painfully distracting. Nevertheless, he got caught up again, as he noticed how one of the black spirits buried the edge of a vase strew into Donghae’s stomach. The skin was ripped with devotion, letting red liquid flood behind. The brunette yelped, his body recognizing that sting as the highest degree of pain, helplessly struggling and being unable to get away from the grips of the demons. Hyukjae forced himself to be strong despite the weakness appearing in his body and the need of retching crept its way into his mind.

Taeyeon made his sentence hers, “You’re being exposed to cruelty, and how are you supposed to find out what’s out there, when you only know one thing?”

The room glowed with white light at the same time it was shadowed by creatures that the normal human eye could not distinguish. Hyukjae tried to think among the screeches of evil and pained yelps of the victimized one, while every other impression from the surroundings remained regular. The lamp was still on, the fan in the kitchen was still spinning and passing off a slight, constant sound; technically, everything was like it was supposed to be, but then again, one could never know what could not be sensed.

A movement by a black spirit was shed with hesitation, and Hyukjae caught it like an owl. All that mattered was to snap as fast as you could to not cause Donghae more pain, which Hyukjae seemed to understand without being lectured. Any uncertainty, and something could go awfully wrong. Hyukjae prayed that his guardian had found a good place to hide.

Donghae’s heart wrenching whimpers and growls remained continuous as the two others tried to aid him with the strongest words they could momentarily find.

“Do you believe that you are real, or do you only want to believe that you are real?”

“Do you want to experience the feeling of purity, or do you want to keep paining those that already feel that way?” The guardian continued with a stern voice. Considering her glow, which inch by inch was extending, Hyukjae could tell that something was happening.

“Do you want to believe that you are real, per honesty?"

A pressure went intruding to Hyukjae's nerves. A black spirit swirled around angrily, completely losing its attention towards Donghae and dived towards the blonde, but only going through him.

"Do you want to feel how it is to have a true heart?”

The only thing Hyukjae could appreciate before he fainted was the guardian’s hand in his, and another yell that fell too incoherent to his ears.

***

The next day came, regardless. They wandered carefully – considering Donghae’s injured leg – to the particular beach where their first night of encounter had mostly taken place, and gazed at the waves closing in. A tiny crab fell visible to their sight, floating innocently among the small rashes of the water, and Hyukjae carefully hit Donghae’s shoulder with a little smile on his face.

They knew what they believed in, even though they had not chosen to believe in it. The complexity of truth is that we will never acknowledge it all.

Thus, the shore remains out of reach.

le endeu~
this was my first attempt on supernatural, and even though it probably kinda escalated fast and shet, i was still very passionate about it and i loved writing it!<3 THANKS FOR READING!!:*