Spirits and Sidewalks 4/7
TITLE Spirits and Sidewalks 4/7
SUMMARY Jonghyun's just an unfortunate kid. Kibum's just a lost spirit.
CHARACTERS/PAIRINGS [SHINee] Jonghyun/Key.
RATING/WARNING PG-13.
GENRE Fantasy/Romance
( 1) ( 2) ( 3)
AN: Due to some revising, this has reached a longer length and will now be split into 7 parts instead of 6. Yeah I'm always changing the length of my fics. :)
spirits and sidewalks;
Three days into practice and Jinki had told Jonghyun they needed to get him a bow and equipment; it wasn't good etiquette for him to be using someone else's bow, spare or not. After school, they headed to the older part of town, where historical and modern architecture stood allied alongside one another. The bells jingled when Jinki pulled open the door of a rickety looking corner shop, Jonghyun trailing curiously after him.
"You'll want a laminated bow." Jinki noted, eyes scanning the hung weapons, their partners-the arrows-on the other side of the shop. "And it sounds ridiculous," he went on, sending Jonghyun a pleasant smile, "You should try something. See if it chooses you."
For some reason Jinki's words reminded Jonghyun of Kibum's prior admonition, choosing to hunt or be hunted-Jonghyun's choice. There was something confusing him, like he wasn't allowed to focus on the thought. It felt as if his mind were being scrambled to blot out electronic emissions. He turned to Jinki.
"You have to tell me." Jonghyun held an insistent look and fixed it directly onto Jinki.
Jinki blinked back at him, trying to feign naivety. "Tell you what?"
"Everything!" Jonghyun's hands flew up to express the very word, making a wide circle. He dropped them. "Everything."
Jinki eyed him carefully. "Haven't you read that book I gave you?"
Jonghyun checked his pocket for the book, but it wasn't there. Jinki sighed.
"It's all right." He said. "Kibum can't do anything with it yet."
Jonghyun made a puppyish frown. "I had it last period. I don't remember seeing him."
"You probably haven't had it since the first time you met him. Illusions are easy things. I'll show you something." Jinki replied, dismissing the topic. "Close your eyes."
Jonghyun found himself complying as Jinki's unique voice continued to penetrate his ears, somehow, through that endless, watery static, clear and ringing.
"Now," Jonghyun felt Jinki's hands on his shoulders, turning him around. He knew he was facing the wall with the hanging bows. "Picture the wall you just saw before you. Details aren't important; what stands out to you?"
"Uhm," Jonghyun said unhelpfully, eyes squeezed closed tightly. "Two over?"
"From the counter?" Asked Jinki.
Jonghyun nodded, then, "No wait, I noticed the fourth one first." He opened his eyes when he felt Jinki's hands leave his shoulders, watching the shaman take the bow from its stand. "Well, it's certainly the right size. I think it'll do, don't you?"
"What?" Jonghyun said dumbly. "Was that-?" Magic, he wanted to say, but Jinki was talking over him.
"Simply put, yes." Jinki grinned. Jonghyun wasn't so sure he believed him, but he didn't complain because he bought the bow for him, expensive as it was and much to Jonghyun's protesting.
"I can give you a hint." Jinki said, digging up their conversation from earlier. "It's best if you don't try to remember. Kibum's a threat to you."
Jonghyun scoffed-they were the same words as in his dream. "I can't remember even if I try. I don't remember forgetting anything. And it freaks me out."
"Just. Don't trust Kibum."
"I don't." Jonghyun replied, frowning.
He left silhouetted by the low sun, and despite his words, headed immediately towards the train tracks. Kibum was there, as he had hoped, but down at the riverbed below instead of on the bridge. The fey hadn't noticed his presence, which Jonghyun found strange and a bit funny. Jonghyun snickered to himself, staying at the top of the hill where the bridge fanned out, relatively disguised by the bushery there. He took to watching Kibum for a time. It was fascinating. Kibum had an air of distance-regal and ethereal-even when he didn't know he was being watched. Or maybe he did know, but chose not to care. It was perhaps the most inhuman thing of all-and on that thought, Jonghyun quickly realized it wasn't a human he was looking at any longer. The fox spirit's ears swiveled at the sound of a train-the first to use the rails since the accident.
Kibum ignored the serpentine vehicle, intently focused on the water he was bent over, uniform sleeves and pants rolled up to his wrists and ankles-oh, thought Jonghyun. Human again. Kibum continued to wade through the water, hands pilfering through sand and rocks, searching. Whatever he was looking for had Jonghyun too curious to merely watch, so he exited his hiding place, jogging down the steep hill and calling a greeting.
Kibum looked up at him, pausing dead still as though he had been caught. "How long were you there?"
"Long enough. What are you looking for? I'll help."
Kibum laughed lightly at him. "You can try, but you won't find it."
"Why not?" Pouted Jonghyun.
A breeze rustled through the high grass, a soft summerish song. Jonghyun never did hear the words leave Kibum's lips, but in that moment, he didn't need to. He knew whatever Kibum was looking for was not something a human could possibly find, or even understand.
"How do you even know it's here?" Jonghyun said rigidly; his thoughts were racing, trying to forget the weird sensation that had suddenly overtaken him.
Kibum looked back at the water in the same silence but made no move to search any longer. Instead, he waded out to the shore. "How did you know I was here?" He questioned. The pensive lilt to his voice unsettled Jonghyun further; he wasn't sure if Kibum was mocking his previous question or not.
"I didn't. I just came."
"Did you?" Kibum bent gracefully over to unroll the cuffs in his pants. Jonghyun noticed how gingerly the fey used his injured hand, compared it to how carefully he spoke.
Jonghyun didn't understand anything. He had no idea what was going on. But right then he made a decision. Who cares if he's in the middle of some fucked up game. "Give me the book back and I'll read it to you. Maybe we can find a cure for your hand."
"What's happened to my hand isn't relevant to any spells." Kibum pointed to Jonghyun's own hand, the one that had been feeling stiff lately-where he had pricked his finger. "Your hand is the same, isn't it? You tricked me again. This time you weren't even thinking and I shouldn't be surprised." Kibum shook his head in his irate way. It was still just light enough outside to see by. "Are you sure you want to read it to me?"
"I said I would." Jonghyun replied, "And I don't lie either."
"That in and of itself is a very large lie." Chuckled Kibum, but he sat beside Jonghyun anyway.
Jonghyun rolled his eyes at him before thumbing the book open. A slip of folded paper fell into his lap, purple and putrid smelling.
"That," said Kibum, somewhere between a hiss and a disgruntled laugh, "is the cause of half my problems."
Jonghyun unfolded the paper without regard to Kibum's words, dropping it quickly when it caught on fire and fell to the grass, scorching the green a deep scarlet before turning to ash. "Not anymore?" He offered.
Kibum shook his head. "Just read." His mood was brash and uninviting, but Jonghyun wasn't going to let it go.
"What is it?"
"It was a spell." Kibum said. "Rather, it was a reversed spell; the spell itself had the location of what I'm looking for hidden within it's directions. Now that you've destroyed it, I know where to look. I already knew it was close..." He trailed off as his eyes skimmed over the shallows of the river.
"I'm assuming Jinki didn't want you to know what that spell said?" Jonghyun asked, turning to the first page of the book.
"The fact that your touch dismantled it instead of locked it is proof that what Jinki wants doesn't matter." Kibum replied bitterly.
"Right." Jonghyun cleared his throat. "Well, guess I'll read now."
He'd always found himself to be good at reading, his voice was easy to pitch and he was quick to skim ahead to know the correct tone to use; though the book was unlike what Jonghyun had expected. Sure, there was the occasional recipe styled spell, usually on a card cut down to size and poorly sewn into the book, but mostly, the book was full of secrets-the type Jonghyun could only just barely grasp, the type Kibum obviously fully understood, and the type that gave Jonghyun a feeling he was making a mistake. They were short stories of history, faery tales, but all of them had cryptic undertones. Why Jinki had wanted him to read it he could not decipher, because none of it held any meaning to him. If it held anything, it was a strange sense of déjà vu so strong it almost knocked Jonghyun over.
"What is this even saying?" Jonghyun mumbled when he finished reading the small booklet, snapping it shut and turning to Kibum. The foxen fey's ears were forward in concentration-Jonghyun didn't get it-one moment, he would look human, the next, he'd be seeing the thin, slanted face of a beautiful fox. "And would you stop?"
"Stop what?" Kibum asked.
Jonghyun gave Kibum a look that very clearly said, "Are you serious?" but Kibum didn't catch it.
"Do you know what you're doing?" The fey asked.
"Everything Jinki's told me not too, I think." Jonghyun replied. "Why is he trying to kill you?"
"I'm kumiho," Kibum said drolly. "That's reason enough."
"Is it because what you're after has something to do with me?" Jonghyun's eyes were trained out over the river where a couple of longboats glided over the soft waters, lamps swinging gently from curled wood edges, inhabitants a shadowed blur. He wasn't sure if he was seeing the human realm or the spirit's, and he certainly didn't see Kibum's eyes snap to his profile, sharp and wary.
"Yes." Was Kibum's simple, clipped reply.
Jonghyun snorted at him, highly amused. Kibum, somehow, was glaring at him, tail swishing slowly like an agitated cat. It was then Jonghyun took the time to really look at Kibum-his eyes were a deep gold, and his cinnamon fur looked too soft to be real.
"What are you doing?" Kibum's voice broke through the surreal trance he had fallen into. Jonghyun hadn't realized he'd reached out to touch Kibum, his hand hovering near the fey's cheek, held out to brush against it. But Kibum was human once again.
Feeling his face burn, Jonghyun quickly pulled his hand away. Kibum was still staring at him, possibly even more beautiful than moments earlier. He sighed, breaking their eye contact and the heaviness surrounding them. He stood, hands patting against his plaid uniform pants, ridding them of potential grass stains.
"If I told you to jump off the tracks again, would you?"
"Are you asking me if I'd die for you?" Jonghyun glanced over at the parallel tracks.
Kibum's smile was that same smile he saw when it all started-wicked, but filled with tacit meaning. "Well, would you?"
Jonghyun didn't understand the question or what Kibum was looking for in his answer. "No."
"Good." Said Kibum. "You would say something like that." He turned somberly pleased eyes to the blond. "You just can't remember."
Jonghyun's gaze snapped to his. "Anyone would." He mumbled. "Let me guess. You can't tell me what I don't remember. Only I can. But I don't feel as if there's any gap in my memory."
"There are some things I'll say," Kibum remarked as they trekked back up the hill. He made no comment on Jonghyun's parcel-wrapped bow; he didn't need to. "If you ask the right questions."
"You're just toying with me, aren't you?" Quipped Jonghyun.
"I'm not." Kibum replied resolutely. "Most of the time," he added with a mischievous smile. "It's very simple," Jonghyun felt the static dulling his senses thicken, muffling his perception, confusing him, weighing him down. "You and I and how we're connected. Only you've made it harder for me, you know."
Jonghyun shook his head. "What am I to you? What are you after? What do I have to do with any of it?"
"You." Said Kibum. "You have everything to do with it."
Jonghyun wasn't sure which question Kibum was answering, or if he was answering each one, he just knew-he knew-
"Kibum," Jonghyun said slowly, trailing off. They had arrived at his flat and were once more standing in front of his door. "Am I-" he stopped. No. That was not possible. He wasn't like Jinki or Kibum; he was perfectly normal. Perfectly human.
Kibum's aloof face betrayed no hint of an answer.
"Nevermind." Jonghyun turned to enter his flat, eyes catching the inhuman shadow of the boy he showed his back to.
"It's still the same." Kibum said quietly. Jonghyun looked back at him. "You'll always be the same."
Kibum's words struck Jonghyun like a chime, resonating heavily through his mind. Kibum just gave him a small, unreadable look before he hopped over the railing, heedless of the seven story drop.
"Sweet dreams."
Jonghyun heard the echo of Kibum's voice like a haunting melody, and they followed him to the beat of heart and into his slumber.
Jonghyun did dream that night. He was in the same place, feet repeatedly cleansed by cold, sabrine water. The only difference was the giant statue of the dragon. It was crumbling, its grip on the crystal slowly loosening. Jonghyun watched for a time, the dissolving sand occasionally leaking from the stone dragon's bent joints, glinting delicately in the distant sun.
Jonghyun felt a warmth close by. Taemin was sitting beside him in the sand.
"Hold out your hand." The boy said. Jonghyun obeyed and Taemin did nothing else-his hand, he noted, was the same stony black as the statue-and as he tried to make a fist, he found he couldn't. When he looked back at the statue, the crystal slipped out of its disintegrating grasp, crashing into the ocean. Oh, he thought, but there was nothing to follow up the remark.
"I told you not to remember." Taemin spoke, a disinterested frown overcoming his pleasant features. "You never listen. It'll be your downfall one day, if it hasn't already."
"This is my dream, isn't it?" Jonghyun snapped back. "I can remember what I like."
Taemin's light laughter echoed incandescently about them. "All right then, who am I to stop you?"
Jonghyun forced his hand to close, gritting his teeth through the pain, and when he opened his palm again, the crystal was nestled within his curled fingers.
Jonghyun watched the sparkle of the marble-it was extremely attractive, lights dancing through it as if enchanted by their own reflection-as if the crystal was alive and beckoning.
"I don't know." He said after a lingering quiet, nothing but the shore's tide filling the moment with a static sound. "I didn't even know I'd forgotten."
"You likely haven't." Taemin replied. "This is, after all, just a dream."
previous | next
AN: More Taemin. \o/
Uhm, a bit shorter than usual. Sorry. I had to cut it off somewhere decent. The next chapter will be quite a bit longer. Anyways, more JongKey in this chapter. Be happy! ♥
SUMMARY Jonghyun's just an unfortunate kid. Kibum's just a lost spirit.
CHARACTERS/PAIRINGS [SHINee] Jonghyun/Key.
RATING/WARNING PG-13.
GENRE Fantasy/Romance
( 1) ( 2) ( 3)
AN: Due to some revising, this has reached a longer length and will now be split into 7 parts instead of 6. Yeah I'm always changing the length of my fics. :)
spirits and sidewalks;
Three days into practice and Jinki had told Jonghyun they needed to get him a bow and equipment; it wasn't good etiquette for him to be using someone else's bow, spare or not. After school, they headed to the older part of town, where historical and modern architecture stood allied alongside one another. The bells jingled when Jinki pulled open the door of a rickety looking corner shop, Jonghyun trailing curiously after him.
"You'll want a laminated bow." Jinki noted, eyes scanning the hung weapons, their partners-the arrows-on the other side of the shop. "And it sounds ridiculous," he went on, sending Jonghyun a pleasant smile, "You should try something. See if it chooses you."
For some reason Jinki's words reminded Jonghyun of Kibum's prior admonition, choosing to hunt or be hunted-Jonghyun's choice. There was something confusing him, like he wasn't allowed to focus on the thought. It felt as if his mind were being scrambled to blot out electronic emissions. He turned to Jinki.
"You have to tell me." Jonghyun held an insistent look and fixed it directly onto Jinki.
Jinki blinked back at him, trying to feign naivety. "Tell you what?"
"Everything!" Jonghyun's hands flew up to express the very word, making a wide circle. He dropped them. "Everything."
Jinki eyed him carefully. "Haven't you read that book I gave you?"
Jonghyun checked his pocket for the book, but it wasn't there. Jinki sighed.
"It's all right." He said. "Kibum can't do anything with it yet."
Jonghyun made a puppyish frown. "I had it last period. I don't remember seeing him."
"You probably haven't had it since the first time you met him. Illusions are easy things. I'll show you something." Jinki replied, dismissing the topic. "Close your eyes."
Jonghyun found himself complying as Jinki's unique voice continued to penetrate his ears, somehow, through that endless, watery static, clear and ringing.
"Now," Jonghyun felt Jinki's hands on his shoulders, turning him around. He knew he was facing the wall with the hanging bows. "Picture the wall you just saw before you. Details aren't important; what stands out to you?"
"Uhm," Jonghyun said unhelpfully, eyes squeezed closed tightly. "Two over?"
"From the counter?" Asked Jinki.
Jonghyun nodded, then, "No wait, I noticed the fourth one first." He opened his eyes when he felt Jinki's hands leave his shoulders, watching the shaman take the bow from its stand. "Well, it's certainly the right size. I think it'll do, don't you?"
"What?" Jonghyun said dumbly. "Was that-?" Magic, he wanted to say, but Jinki was talking over him.
"Simply put, yes." Jinki grinned. Jonghyun wasn't so sure he believed him, but he didn't complain because he bought the bow for him, expensive as it was and much to Jonghyun's protesting.
"I can give you a hint." Jinki said, digging up their conversation from earlier. "It's best if you don't try to remember. Kibum's a threat to you."
Jonghyun scoffed-they were the same words as in his dream. "I can't remember even if I try. I don't remember forgetting anything. And it freaks me out."
"Just. Don't trust Kibum."
"I don't." Jonghyun replied, frowning.
He left silhouetted by the low sun, and despite his words, headed immediately towards the train tracks. Kibum was there, as he had hoped, but down at the riverbed below instead of on the bridge. The fey hadn't noticed his presence, which Jonghyun found strange and a bit funny. Jonghyun snickered to himself, staying at the top of the hill where the bridge fanned out, relatively disguised by the bushery there. He took to watching Kibum for a time. It was fascinating. Kibum had an air of distance-regal and ethereal-even when he didn't know he was being watched. Or maybe he did know, but chose not to care. It was perhaps the most inhuman thing of all-and on that thought, Jonghyun quickly realized it wasn't a human he was looking at any longer. The fox spirit's ears swiveled at the sound of a train-the first to use the rails since the accident.
Kibum ignored the serpentine vehicle, intently focused on the water he was bent over, uniform sleeves and pants rolled up to his wrists and ankles-oh, thought Jonghyun. Human again. Kibum continued to wade through the water, hands pilfering through sand and rocks, searching. Whatever he was looking for had Jonghyun too curious to merely watch, so he exited his hiding place, jogging down the steep hill and calling a greeting.
Kibum looked up at him, pausing dead still as though he had been caught. "How long were you there?"
"Long enough. What are you looking for? I'll help."
Kibum laughed lightly at him. "You can try, but you won't find it."
"Why not?" Pouted Jonghyun.
A breeze rustled through the high grass, a soft summerish song. Jonghyun never did hear the words leave Kibum's lips, but in that moment, he didn't need to. He knew whatever Kibum was looking for was not something a human could possibly find, or even understand.
"How do you even know it's here?" Jonghyun said rigidly; his thoughts were racing, trying to forget the weird sensation that had suddenly overtaken him.
Kibum looked back at the water in the same silence but made no move to search any longer. Instead, he waded out to the shore. "How did you know I was here?" He questioned. The pensive lilt to his voice unsettled Jonghyun further; he wasn't sure if Kibum was mocking his previous question or not.
"I didn't. I just came."
"Did you?" Kibum bent gracefully over to unroll the cuffs in his pants. Jonghyun noticed how gingerly the fey used his injured hand, compared it to how carefully he spoke.
Jonghyun didn't understand anything. He had no idea what was going on. But right then he made a decision. Who cares if he's in the middle of some fucked up game. "Give me the book back and I'll read it to you. Maybe we can find a cure for your hand."
"What's happened to my hand isn't relevant to any spells." Kibum pointed to Jonghyun's own hand, the one that had been feeling stiff lately-where he had pricked his finger. "Your hand is the same, isn't it? You tricked me again. This time you weren't even thinking and I shouldn't be surprised." Kibum shook his head in his irate way. It was still just light enough outside to see by. "Are you sure you want to read it to me?"
"I said I would." Jonghyun replied, "And I don't lie either."
"That in and of itself is a very large lie." Chuckled Kibum, but he sat beside Jonghyun anyway.
Jonghyun rolled his eyes at him before thumbing the book open. A slip of folded paper fell into his lap, purple and putrid smelling.
"That," said Kibum, somewhere between a hiss and a disgruntled laugh, "is the cause of half my problems."
Jonghyun unfolded the paper without regard to Kibum's words, dropping it quickly when it caught on fire and fell to the grass, scorching the green a deep scarlet before turning to ash. "Not anymore?" He offered.
Kibum shook his head. "Just read." His mood was brash and uninviting, but Jonghyun wasn't going to let it go.
"What is it?"
"It was a spell." Kibum said. "Rather, it was a reversed spell; the spell itself had the location of what I'm looking for hidden within it's directions. Now that you've destroyed it, I know where to look. I already knew it was close..." He trailed off as his eyes skimmed over the shallows of the river.
"I'm assuming Jinki didn't want you to know what that spell said?" Jonghyun asked, turning to the first page of the book.
"The fact that your touch dismantled it instead of locked it is proof that what Jinki wants doesn't matter." Kibum replied bitterly.
"Right." Jonghyun cleared his throat. "Well, guess I'll read now."
He'd always found himself to be good at reading, his voice was easy to pitch and he was quick to skim ahead to know the correct tone to use; though the book was unlike what Jonghyun had expected. Sure, there was the occasional recipe styled spell, usually on a card cut down to size and poorly sewn into the book, but mostly, the book was full of secrets-the type Jonghyun could only just barely grasp, the type Kibum obviously fully understood, and the type that gave Jonghyun a feeling he was making a mistake. They were short stories of history, faery tales, but all of them had cryptic undertones. Why Jinki had wanted him to read it he could not decipher, because none of it held any meaning to him. If it held anything, it was a strange sense of déjà vu so strong it almost knocked Jonghyun over.
"What is this even saying?" Jonghyun mumbled when he finished reading the small booklet, snapping it shut and turning to Kibum. The foxen fey's ears were forward in concentration-Jonghyun didn't get it-one moment, he would look human, the next, he'd be seeing the thin, slanted face of a beautiful fox. "And would you stop?"
"Stop what?" Kibum asked.
Jonghyun gave Kibum a look that very clearly said, "Are you serious?" but Kibum didn't catch it.
"Do you know what you're doing?" The fey asked.
"Everything Jinki's told me not too, I think." Jonghyun replied. "Why is he trying to kill you?"
"I'm kumiho," Kibum said drolly. "That's reason enough."
"Is it because what you're after has something to do with me?" Jonghyun's eyes were trained out over the river where a couple of longboats glided over the soft waters, lamps swinging gently from curled wood edges, inhabitants a shadowed blur. He wasn't sure if he was seeing the human realm or the spirit's, and he certainly didn't see Kibum's eyes snap to his profile, sharp and wary.
"Yes." Was Kibum's simple, clipped reply.
Jonghyun snorted at him, highly amused. Kibum, somehow, was glaring at him, tail swishing slowly like an agitated cat. It was then Jonghyun took the time to really look at Kibum-his eyes were a deep gold, and his cinnamon fur looked too soft to be real.
"What are you doing?" Kibum's voice broke through the surreal trance he had fallen into. Jonghyun hadn't realized he'd reached out to touch Kibum, his hand hovering near the fey's cheek, held out to brush against it. But Kibum was human once again.
Feeling his face burn, Jonghyun quickly pulled his hand away. Kibum was still staring at him, possibly even more beautiful than moments earlier. He sighed, breaking their eye contact and the heaviness surrounding them. He stood, hands patting against his plaid uniform pants, ridding them of potential grass stains.
"If I told you to jump off the tracks again, would you?"
"Are you asking me if I'd die for you?" Jonghyun glanced over at the parallel tracks.
Kibum's smile was that same smile he saw when it all started-wicked, but filled with tacit meaning. "Well, would you?"
Jonghyun didn't understand the question or what Kibum was looking for in his answer. "No."
"Good." Said Kibum. "You would say something like that." He turned somberly pleased eyes to the blond. "You just can't remember."
Jonghyun's gaze snapped to his. "Anyone would." He mumbled. "Let me guess. You can't tell me what I don't remember. Only I can. But I don't feel as if there's any gap in my memory."
"There are some things I'll say," Kibum remarked as they trekked back up the hill. He made no comment on Jonghyun's parcel-wrapped bow; he didn't need to. "If you ask the right questions."
"You're just toying with me, aren't you?" Quipped Jonghyun.
"I'm not." Kibum replied resolutely. "Most of the time," he added with a mischievous smile. "It's very simple," Jonghyun felt the static dulling his senses thicken, muffling his perception, confusing him, weighing him down. "You and I and how we're connected. Only you've made it harder for me, you know."
Jonghyun shook his head. "What am I to you? What are you after? What do I have to do with any of it?"
"You." Said Kibum. "You have everything to do with it."
Jonghyun wasn't sure which question Kibum was answering, or if he was answering each one, he just knew-he knew-
"Kibum," Jonghyun said slowly, trailing off. They had arrived at his flat and were once more standing in front of his door. "Am I-" he stopped. No. That was not possible. He wasn't like Jinki or Kibum; he was perfectly normal. Perfectly human.
Kibum's aloof face betrayed no hint of an answer.
"Nevermind." Jonghyun turned to enter his flat, eyes catching the inhuman shadow of the boy he showed his back to.
"It's still the same." Kibum said quietly. Jonghyun looked back at him. "You'll always be the same."
Kibum's words struck Jonghyun like a chime, resonating heavily through his mind. Kibum just gave him a small, unreadable look before he hopped over the railing, heedless of the seven story drop.
"Sweet dreams."
Jonghyun heard the echo of Kibum's voice like a haunting melody, and they followed him to the beat of heart and into his slumber.
Jonghyun did dream that night. He was in the same place, feet repeatedly cleansed by cold, sabrine water. The only difference was the giant statue of the dragon. It was crumbling, its grip on the crystal slowly loosening. Jonghyun watched for a time, the dissolving sand occasionally leaking from the stone dragon's bent joints, glinting delicately in the distant sun.
Jonghyun felt a warmth close by. Taemin was sitting beside him in the sand.
"Hold out your hand." The boy said. Jonghyun obeyed and Taemin did nothing else-his hand, he noted, was the same stony black as the statue-and as he tried to make a fist, he found he couldn't. When he looked back at the statue, the crystal slipped out of its disintegrating grasp, crashing into the ocean. Oh, he thought, but there was nothing to follow up the remark.
"I told you not to remember." Taemin spoke, a disinterested frown overcoming his pleasant features. "You never listen. It'll be your downfall one day, if it hasn't already."
"This is my dream, isn't it?" Jonghyun snapped back. "I can remember what I like."
Taemin's light laughter echoed incandescently about them. "All right then, who am I to stop you?"
Jonghyun forced his hand to close, gritting his teeth through the pain, and when he opened his palm again, the crystal was nestled within his curled fingers.
Jonghyun watched the sparkle of the marble-it was extremely attractive, lights dancing through it as if enchanted by their own reflection-as if the crystal was alive and beckoning.
"I don't know." He said after a lingering quiet, nothing but the shore's tide filling the moment with a static sound. "I didn't even know I'd forgotten."
"You likely haven't." Taemin replied. "This is, after all, just a dream."
previous | next
AN: More Taemin. \o/
Uhm, a bit shorter than usual. Sorry. I had to cut it off somewhere decent. The next chapter will be quite a bit longer. Anyways, more JongKey in this chapter. Be happy! ♥