Till Death do we Part
Title: Till Death do we Part
Chapter: 6/?
Pairings: KiHae (Main), KyuMin, YeWook, KangTeuk
Rating: PG-16
Warning: Character Death
Summary: The one thing Lee DongHae hadn't expected to happen that Sunday morning was to die. But that is exactly what happened, and now because of a 'lingering regret', he can't pass on fully. What regret is this? A long-suffering crush on a boy who didn't even know he existed; Kim KiBum. So he is given one week on earth as a ghost to fulfill this regret... Or heaven might not even be an option for him anymore. But with KiBum the only one who can see him, and an experienced ghost hunter on his tail, can he even make the deadline?
A/N: The funeral is here! It took me forever to think of EunHyuk's eulogy... Hope it wasn't too much fail. By the way, in came you haven't noticed by now, none of my work is beta'd, and I'm looking for someone who wouldn't mind beta-ing my work before I post it... So if you catch any spelling mistakes or whatnot, let me know X.X;
Trailer || Chapter One || Chapter Two || Chapter Three || Chapter Four || Chapter Five
Chapter Six:
Naturally, KiBum had looked everythere for the boy that had been following him around for the past few days. Figures that when he’s actually looking for him, DongHae was nowhere to be found. He couldn’t be dead, KiBum had talked to him just yesterday! And YeSung had said the dead DongHae had died over the weekend. So it must be another Lee DongHae. It wasn’t exactly a common name, but that was the only logical excuse.
That didn’t stop KiBum from asking YeSung for a picture of SungMin’s cousin.
Seeing the face listed next to the name ‘Lee DongHae’ in last years yearbook, KiBum had to swallow to ease his suddenly parched throat. It was him. There was just no doubt about it. It was his DongHae that was dead… No, not HIS DongHae, but the DongHae that had been following him around, and kissed him out of nowhere, and had said he loved him. But how was this possible?
He couldn’t find DongHae anywhere. Ignoring the voice at the back of his head that said the next time he saw the hyperactive boy would be inside a coffin, he slipped into an uneasy sleep.
*****
DongHae swung his legs back and forth, watching LeeTeuk walk back and forth on the rooftops above. Another puzzlement was how LeeTeuk could clearly defy gravity and even float if he wanted to, while DongHae was decidedly earthbound. He’d tried flying before, and lets just say it was a good thing he was a ghost or he’d be a pancake right now. And yet he had just watched LeeTeuk effortlessly jump up onto the roof for goodness sakes. Apparently being a spirit guide was more like being an Angel than LeeTeuk had originally explained. DongHae pouted a little. It was so unfair…
LeeTeuk meanwhile, was lost in his own thoughts, pacing over the roof tiles because DongHae wouldn’t stop talking about his funeral tomorrow and while he adored the crazy ghost and all, he needed some time to think by himself. Particularly about his conversation with the boy named KangIn.
**FlashBack**
“You… You’re not normal, are you?”
LeeTeuk tried his best to look amused. “What makes you say that?” Maybe it was the aura that had made KangIn catch on much faster than KiBum was. No offense to the big guy, but KiBum looked the smartest of the siblings, so there wasn’t really any other way KangIn could be asking this now.
KangIn shugged slightly, looking at him sidelong. He had discovered doing so hurt his eyes a bit less. There was an odd, white glow around KiBum’s guest, and when he looked at him too hard it was almost blinding. He’d only seen something like that once. A long, long time ago when he was little. “Well… No offense, but you’re glowing,” He said gruffly.
“Really?” LeeTeuk asked innocently.
“Really.” He was sure of it now. Something was up with this guy. And he intended to find out what.
“And… Have you seen this glow anywhere else?” LeeTeuk asked curiously.
Just then though, DongHae had come bolting ou of KiBum’s room, and ran right by. Seeing him go carelessly through a wall, LeeTeuk sighed and went to follow his charge. “Maybe we could talk again sometime?” He tossed over his shoulder, before turning the corner and vanishing.
**End FlashBack**
LeeTeuk sighed softly. He had to find out just what was going on here. Maybe one of the higher-ups would know. But first, he could track down JaeJoong. He was supposed to be in Korea around now anyways. JaeJoong had been a spirit guide much longer than him, and he was sort-of dating one of the higher angels. Sort-of, meaning it was an on-off thing. But considering they were in the ‘on’ part of the relationship right now, it wouldn’t hurt to ask.
Looking down at DongHae, he surpressed the urge to sigh again. DongHae was very worried about his funeral. In a way, LeeTeuk wished the funeral had been after the kids week was up. It was always hard on the ghosts to sit through their own funeral and listen to the eulogies. Especially hard to see their own body in the coffin, and LeeTeuk had heard that Hae’s funeral was an open-coffin one. But he couldn’t find it in himself to ask DongHae to stay away. That would be too cruel.
After some time, he joined DongHae back on the ground. After telling him that no, he couldn’t show him how to fly, and no, ghosts weren’t meant to fly in the first place no matter what humans thought, they sat down on the sidewalk. There, they talked more about Heaven, Hell, Earth, and the mystery called the Void as they watched the sun rise in the east.
*****
School passed by painfully slow. KiBum kept an eye out for his stalker the whole day, but when DongHae didn’t appear, his insides twisted painfully. This wasn’t right. How could DongHae have died… And KiBum see him even after his death? It just didn’t make sense. KiBum hoped to have some answers that night, when he went to the funeral.
Finally, school was let out, and for the first time KiBum couldn’t have been happier it had. He tracked down YeSung, who was waiting outside the school gates along with SungMin, KyuHyun and RyeoWook. He understood why SungMin was going, DongHae was his cousin after all, and RyeoWook was probably keeping YeSung company like KiBum himself had been asked to. Most of YeSung’s famly had died, and funerals were a very touchy issue to him because in the recent years he had gone to so many. KiBum was glad RyeoWook was there; that way, he’d be able to search for an answer to his questions without worrying about leaving YeSung alone. But, why was KyuHyun here too?
Walking the short distance to the funeral home, KiBum noticed another boy their age waiting outside the doors for them. “Hyukkie,” SungMin called, and when the boy looked at them, he smiled weakly. Even from this distance, KiBum could see the barely contained tears in his eyes. SungMin ran up to him and gave the teary-eyed boy a warm hug. “How’re you holding up?” SungMin asked him, and he replied with a slight shake of the head. SungMin hugged him again, then looked back at the rest of the group. “This is EunHyuk. He’s DongHae’s best friend.”
“Was,” EunHyuk said softly, voice choked. SungMin patted him lightly on the back.
As they walked inside, KiBum got that familiar shiver down his back. But when he turned around, no one was there. He searched the area with his eyes, but when he didn’t see DongHae anywhere he gave up and went inside.
*****
“LeeTeuk, you can let go of me now,” DongHae gasped, breath cut short by the hand on his collar. “I can’t breathe!”
“Ghosts don’t need to breathe,” The spirit guide answered mildly, checking around the corner to make sure the group had gone inside before releasing his charge. “Hae, you have to be careful. You can’t let him see you at your own funeral, okay? It would be chaotic beyond measure. Understand?”
DongHae nodded. “Can we go inside now?” He asked. LeeTeuk nodded, and they went in through the wall.
Apparently the ceremony was going to start soon. First the priest would say a few words, then there’d be an eulogy by his mother. After that, another one from EunHyuk, then prayers. Then viewing of the body (The thought make DongHae shudder) and people would either leave or stay to talk to his parents. This was going to be hard to sit though. But he felt that he had to. So DongHae and LeeTeuk found a shaded part of the back to stand in. Looking around, DongHae jumped when he saw KyuHyun looking around too. Damn. He was here too? Not only did he have KiBum to worry about, but he couldn’t do anything to bring the ghost hunters attention to him. He didn’t know how it would change matters, but he really didn’t want KyuHyun to know his identity.
Once everyone was seated, the priest came forward. He had the kind of voice that made DongHae want to fall asleep. Ugh, couldn’t his mother have chosen someone better? Half-listening to the priest describe the accident and shooting that had ended DongHae’s life, his attention went to the group of people from his school instead. Eunhyuk was crying again. His heart tightened at the sight. Poor Hyukkie… YeSung was tight-lipped and tense; obviously he didn’t like funerals too much. RyeoWook seemed to be caught between crying himself and comforting YeSung, and then eventually settled for both. KiBum was paying great attention to the priest. SungMin was sniffling, and KyuHyun patted his knee slightly, eyes still scanning the building for that hint of movement, a ripple in the air or an echoing voice, anything that would give DongHae away. DongHae kept himself very still incase, and he felt LeeTeuk doing the same beside him.
His mother went up, and DongHae was suddenly finding it hard not to cry. She looked so torn. Her words nearly ripped him into pieces. She spoke of his fathers death a few years ago, and how DongHae had never really moved on from that. She talked of her own guilt, how she shouldn’t have been so hard on him, and how great of a person he had been. After accidentally referring to him in the present tense several times, she had to be escorted away in tears.
DongHae’s eyes followed EunHyuk as he got up and walked to the front, almost as if in a trance. He held index cards in his hands, of all the points he wanted to mention, but as he finally got up there, he didn’t even look at them, just slip them into one pocket. He didn’t need them, because he knew what he was going to say.
“A wise man once said, he who fears death never truly lives. DongHae didn’t fear it. He disliked death, especially the death of his father, but never once did he fear it. To him, it had always been that next step in living, and though he was sad for his fathers departure, he knew he had gone to a better place.
“Because he didn’t fear death, DongHae lived like most of us would never dare. It was the thrill of the moment, the idea of doing things just because he was alive. He didn’t worry about what the next day would hold, or even the next minute. He truly lived, without worry. I’ve always envied him for that carefree attitude, the one that could appreciate life so much, with all its negative sides, even with death at the end of it.
“We were best friends for years. I still remember the first time I saw him. It was the middle of the night, and he’d been sitting outside with a telescope that didn’t work properly, in the middle of winter, trying to see if he could spot a UFO in the sky because apparently there had been a sighting in America that day. Even when he never saw that UFO, he wasn’t sad, just said he’d have to look a bit harder next time. I thought he was crazy, and when I told him so he just laughed. It was the most uplifting sound… If you’d ever heard him laugh before, you know what I mean.
“Life with him was always an adventure. Every day brought something new. He was amazing, uplifting, and the best friend anyone could ever ask for. And I’m happy that the person he chose to be his best friend was me. And even though I miss him, and I wish every second of the day that he could come back, that I could see him just one last time… I won’t let myself stop living. None of us should. If not for ourselves, for the boy who showed us all how to live life on the edge, how to live in the moment and not worry about what the future holds. Death may have taken him, but he went without fear, and because of that he never stopped living.”
EunHyuk smiled through the tears flowing freely down his cheeks. “I know he’s happy now, wherever he is. He’s back with his dad, and one day we will all see him again. I know it.
“So until then, I’m not going to say goodbye. Just… See you later, DongHae.”
*****
Everyone clapped at the end. SungMin hugged EunHyuk as he returned to his seat, all wobbly-kneed and crying. KiBum watched them all, wondering just who DongHae had been before all this. Eunhyuk had talked about him with such reverence… It made him wonder what it would have been like to be DongHae’s friend too.
The priest led them all in the prayers, praying for DongHae’s spirit to find rest. The word ‘spirit’ caught KiBum’s attention. Spirit… That was crazy…. But what else was there to explain it? DongHae was dead, so then the person he was talking to the past few days was either a very clever imposter, or… A ghost?
Once the prayers were over, most people got up to leave. A few stayed behind to talk with the parents, or to take a look at DongHae and say their final farewells. KiBum followed SungMin and the others up to the coffin, laying with its lid open at the front of the room. Almost too scared to look inside, KiBum hung back until everyone else had gone to say goodbye. Finally he couldn’t delay any longer, and took a deep breath to steady his nerves before walking up to the coffin and looking down.
He found himself looking at the face of the boy who had followed him around since Sunday. DongHae’s eyes were closed, lips slightly parted and skin a paler tinge than KiBum recalled. His hair was arranged neatly around his face, and he was dressed in a black suit, hands folded over his heart. KiBum imagined under the clothing a roll of bandages, and a small hole underneath where the bullet had pierced his body, stopping his heart and cutting his life short.
He looked like he was just sleeping. For one crazy moment, KiBum wanted to return the kiss he had gotten on Sunday, to see if it would wake DongHae up like it had for Snow White. But he knew he wouldn’t wake up, his lips turning blue in death and body cold and unmoving. DongHae was never going to wake up. And though KiBum was sure he had never known DongHae in life, he couldn’t stop the faint prickle of tears at the back of his eyes. It hurt, to see the boy who had looked so lively the day before so still. It hurt, for reasons he couldn’t understand and wasn’t sure if he wanted to.
Turning away from the coffin, he let his eyes roam to the back of the funeral house. Seeing two figures standing near the back, his eyes focused on the shorter male and he froze. It can’t be. It just can’t be.
The male in question looked up, and straight into KiBum’s eyes. The brown orbs widened in surprise, and he took off down the hallway, his companion looking after him in surprise.
“I’ll be right back,” KiBum murmured to YeSung, and walked briskly across the room. Once he was out in the hallway, he broke into a run, chasing the figure darting out of sight. It was time to get answers. Rubbing away the wetness from his eyes, he took off after the ghost of a boy named Lee DongHae.
Chapter: 6/?
Pairings: KiHae (Main), KyuMin, YeWook, KangTeuk
Rating: PG-16
Warning: Character Death
Summary: The one thing Lee DongHae hadn't expected to happen that Sunday morning was to die. But that is exactly what happened, and now because of a 'lingering regret', he can't pass on fully. What regret is this? A long-suffering crush on a boy who didn't even know he existed; Kim KiBum. So he is given one week on earth as a ghost to fulfill this regret... Or heaven might not even be an option for him anymore. But with KiBum the only one who can see him, and an experienced ghost hunter on his tail, can he even make the deadline?
A/N: The funeral is here! It took me forever to think of EunHyuk's eulogy... Hope it wasn't too much fail. By the way, in came you haven't noticed by now, none of my work is beta'd, and I'm looking for someone who wouldn't mind beta-ing my work before I post it... So if you catch any spelling mistakes or whatnot, let me know X.X;
Trailer || Chapter One || Chapter Two || Chapter Three || Chapter Four || Chapter Five
Chapter Six:
Naturally, KiBum had looked everythere for the boy that had been following him around for the past few days. Figures that when he’s actually looking for him, DongHae was nowhere to be found. He couldn’t be dead, KiBum had talked to him just yesterday! And YeSung had said the dead DongHae had died over the weekend. So it must be another Lee DongHae. It wasn’t exactly a common name, but that was the only logical excuse.
That didn’t stop KiBum from asking YeSung for a picture of SungMin’s cousin.
Seeing the face listed next to the name ‘Lee DongHae’ in last years yearbook, KiBum had to swallow to ease his suddenly parched throat. It was him. There was just no doubt about it. It was his DongHae that was dead… No, not HIS DongHae, but the DongHae that had been following him around, and kissed him out of nowhere, and had said he loved him. But how was this possible?
He couldn’t find DongHae anywhere. Ignoring the voice at the back of his head that said the next time he saw the hyperactive boy would be inside a coffin, he slipped into an uneasy sleep.
*****
DongHae swung his legs back and forth, watching LeeTeuk walk back and forth on the rooftops above. Another puzzlement was how LeeTeuk could clearly defy gravity and even float if he wanted to, while DongHae was decidedly earthbound. He’d tried flying before, and lets just say it was a good thing he was a ghost or he’d be a pancake right now. And yet he had just watched LeeTeuk effortlessly jump up onto the roof for goodness sakes. Apparently being a spirit guide was more like being an Angel than LeeTeuk had originally explained. DongHae pouted a little. It was so unfair…
LeeTeuk meanwhile, was lost in his own thoughts, pacing over the roof tiles because DongHae wouldn’t stop talking about his funeral tomorrow and while he adored the crazy ghost and all, he needed some time to think by himself. Particularly about his conversation with the boy named KangIn.
**FlashBack**
“You… You’re not normal, are you?”
LeeTeuk tried his best to look amused. “What makes you say that?” Maybe it was the aura that had made KangIn catch on much faster than KiBum was. No offense to the big guy, but KiBum looked the smartest of the siblings, so there wasn’t really any other way KangIn could be asking this now.
KangIn shugged slightly, looking at him sidelong. He had discovered doing so hurt his eyes a bit less. There was an odd, white glow around KiBum’s guest, and when he looked at him too hard it was almost blinding. He’d only seen something like that once. A long, long time ago when he was little. “Well… No offense, but you’re glowing,” He said gruffly.
“Really?” LeeTeuk asked innocently.
“Really.” He was sure of it now. Something was up with this guy. And he intended to find out what.
“And… Have you seen this glow anywhere else?” LeeTeuk asked curiously.
Just then though, DongHae had come bolting ou of KiBum’s room, and ran right by. Seeing him go carelessly through a wall, LeeTeuk sighed and went to follow his charge. “Maybe we could talk again sometime?” He tossed over his shoulder, before turning the corner and vanishing.
**End FlashBack**
LeeTeuk sighed softly. He had to find out just what was going on here. Maybe one of the higher-ups would know. But first, he could track down JaeJoong. He was supposed to be in Korea around now anyways. JaeJoong had been a spirit guide much longer than him, and he was sort-of dating one of the higher angels. Sort-of, meaning it was an on-off thing. But considering they were in the ‘on’ part of the relationship right now, it wouldn’t hurt to ask.
Looking down at DongHae, he surpressed the urge to sigh again. DongHae was very worried about his funeral. In a way, LeeTeuk wished the funeral had been after the kids week was up. It was always hard on the ghosts to sit through their own funeral and listen to the eulogies. Especially hard to see their own body in the coffin, and LeeTeuk had heard that Hae’s funeral was an open-coffin one. But he couldn’t find it in himself to ask DongHae to stay away. That would be too cruel.
After some time, he joined DongHae back on the ground. After telling him that no, he couldn’t show him how to fly, and no, ghosts weren’t meant to fly in the first place no matter what humans thought, they sat down on the sidewalk. There, they talked more about Heaven, Hell, Earth, and the mystery called the Void as they watched the sun rise in the east.
*****
School passed by painfully slow. KiBum kept an eye out for his stalker the whole day, but when DongHae didn’t appear, his insides twisted painfully. This wasn’t right. How could DongHae have died… And KiBum see him even after his death? It just didn’t make sense. KiBum hoped to have some answers that night, when he went to the funeral.
Finally, school was let out, and for the first time KiBum couldn’t have been happier it had. He tracked down YeSung, who was waiting outside the school gates along with SungMin, KyuHyun and RyeoWook. He understood why SungMin was going, DongHae was his cousin after all, and RyeoWook was probably keeping YeSung company like KiBum himself had been asked to. Most of YeSung’s famly had died, and funerals were a very touchy issue to him because in the recent years he had gone to so many. KiBum was glad RyeoWook was there; that way, he’d be able to search for an answer to his questions without worrying about leaving YeSung alone. But, why was KyuHyun here too?
Walking the short distance to the funeral home, KiBum noticed another boy their age waiting outside the doors for them. “Hyukkie,” SungMin called, and when the boy looked at them, he smiled weakly. Even from this distance, KiBum could see the barely contained tears in his eyes. SungMin ran up to him and gave the teary-eyed boy a warm hug. “How’re you holding up?” SungMin asked him, and he replied with a slight shake of the head. SungMin hugged him again, then looked back at the rest of the group. “This is EunHyuk. He’s DongHae’s best friend.”
“Was,” EunHyuk said softly, voice choked. SungMin patted him lightly on the back.
As they walked inside, KiBum got that familiar shiver down his back. But when he turned around, no one was there. He searched the area with his eyes, but when he didn’t see DongHae anywhere he gave up and went inside.
*****
“LeeTeuk, you can let go of me now,” DongHae gasped, breath cut short by the hand on his collar. “I can’t breathe!”
“Ghosts don’t need to breathe,” The spirit guide answered mildly, checking around the corner to make sure the group had gone inside before releasing his charge. “Hae, you have to be careful. You can’t let him see you at your own funeral, okay? It would be chaotic beyond measure. Understand?”
DongHae nodded. “Can we go inside now?” He asked. LeeTeuk nodded, and they went in through the wall.
Apparently the ceremony was going to start soon. First the priest would say a few words, then there’d be an eulogy by his mother. After that, another one from EunHyuk, then prayers. Then viewing of the body (The thought make DongHae shudder) and people would either leave or stay to talk to his parents. This was going to be hard to sit though. But he felt that he had to. So DongHae and LeeTeuk found a shaded part of the back to stand in. Looking around, DongHae jumped when he saw KyuHyun looking around too. Damn. He was here too? Not only did he have KiBum to worry about, but he couldn’t do anything to bring the ghost hunters attention to him. He didn’t know how it would change matters, but he really didn’t want KyuHyun to know his identity.
Once everyone was seated, the priest came forward. He had the kind of voice that made DongHae want to fall asleep. Ugh, couldn’t his mother have chosen someone better? Half-listening to the priest describe the accident and shooting that had ended DongHae’s life, his attention went to the group of people from his school instead. Eunhyuk was crying again. His heart tightened at the sight. Poor Hyukkie… YeSung was tight-lipped and tense; obviously he didn’t like funerals too much. RyeoWook seemed to be caught between crying himself and comforting YeSung, and then eventually settled for both. KiBum was paying great attention to the priest. SungMin was sniffling, and KyuHyun patted his knee slightly, eyes still scanning the building for that hint of movement, a ripple in the air or an echoing voice, anything that would give DongHae away. DongHae kept himself very still incase, and he felt LeeTeuk doing the same beside him.
His mother went up, and DongHae was suddenly finding it hard not to cry. She looked so torn. Her words nearly ripped him into pieces. She spoke of his fathers death a few years ago, and how DongHae had never really moved on from that. She talked of her own guilt, how she shouldn’t have been so hard on him, and how great of a person he had been. After accidentally referring to him in the present tense several times, she had to be escorted away in tears.
DongHae’s eyes followed EunHyuk as he got up and walked to the front, almost as if in a trance. He held index cards in his hands, of all the points he wanted to mention, but as he finally got up there, he didn’t even look at them, just slip them into one pocket. He didn’t need them, because he knew what he was going to say.
“A wise man once said, he who fears death never truly lives. DongHae didn’t fear it. He disliked death, especially the death of his father, but never once did he fear it. To him, it had always been that next step in living, and though he was sad for his fathers departure, he knew he had gone to a better place.
“Because he didn’t fear death, DongHae lived like most of us would never dare. It was the thrill of the moment, the idea of doing things just because he was alive. He didn’t worry about what the next day would hold, or even the next minute. He truly lived, without worry. I’ve always envied him for that carefree attitude, the one that could appreciate life so much, with all its negative sides, even with death at the end of it.
“We were best friends for years. I still remember the first time I saw him. It was the middle of the night, and he’d been sitting outside with a telescope that didn’t work properly, in the middle of winter, trying to see if he could spot a UFO in the sky because apparently there had been a sighting in America that day. Even when he never saw that UFO, he wasn’t sad, just said he’d have to look a bit harder next time. I thought he was crazy, and when I told him so he just laughed. It was the most uplifting sound… If you’d ever heard him laugh before, you know what I mean.
“Life with him was always an adventure. Every day brought something new. He was amazing, uplifting, and the best friend anyone could ever ask for. And I’m happy that the person he chose to be his best friend was me. And even though I miss him, and I wish every second of the day that he could come back, that I could see him just one last time… I won’t let myself stop living. None of us should. If not for ourselves, for the boy who showed us all how to live life on the edge, how to live in the moment and not worry about what the future holds. Death may have taken him, but he went without fear, and because of that he never stopped living.”
EunHyuk smiled through the tears flowing freely down his cheeks. “I know he’s happy now, wherever he is. He’s back with his dad, and one day we will all see him again. I know it.
“So until then, I’m not going to say goodbye. Just… See you later, DongHae.”
*****
Everyone clapped at the end. SungMin hugged EunHyuk as he returned to his seat, all wobbly-kneed and crying. KiBum watched them all, wondering just who DongHae had been before all this. Eunhyuk had talked about him with such reverence… It made him wonder what it would have been like to be DongHae’s friend too.
The priest led them all in the prayers, praying for DongHae’s spirit to find rest. The word ‘spirit’ caught KiBum’s attention. Spirit… That was crazy…. But what else was there to explain it? DongHae was dead, so then the person he was talking to the past few days was either a very clever imposter, or… A ghost?
Once the prayers were over, most people got up to leave. A few stayed behind to talk with the parents, or to take a look at DongHae and say their final farewells. KiBum followed SungMin and the others up to the coffin, laying with its lid open at the front of the room. Almost too scared to look inside, KiBum hung back until everyone else had gone to say goodbye. Finally he couldn’t delay any longer, and took a deep breath to steady his nerves before walking up to the coffin and looking down.
He found himself looking at the face of the boy who had followed him around since Sunday. DongHae’s eyes were closed, lips slightly parted and skin a paler tinge than KiBum recalled. His hair was arranged neatly around his face, and he was dressed in a black suit, hands folded over his heart. KiBum imagined under the clothing a roll of bandages, and a small hole underneath where the bullet had pierced his body, stopping his heart and cutting his life short.
He looked like he was just sleeping. For one crazy moment, KiBum wanted to return the kiss he had gotten on Sunday, to see if it would wake DongHae up like it had for Snow White. But he knew he wouldn’t wake up, his lips turning blue in death and body cold and unmoving. DongHae was never going to wake up. And though KiBum was sure he had never known DongHae in life, he couldn’t stop the faint prickle of tears at the back of his eyes. It hurt, to see the boy who had looked so lively the day before so still. It hurt, for reasons he couldn’t understand and wasn’t sure if he wanted to.
Turning away from the coffin, he let his eyes roam to the back of the funeral house. Seeing two figures standing near the back, his eyes focused on the shorter male and he froze. It can’t be. It just can’t be.
The male in question looked up, and straight into KiBum’s eyes. The brown orbs widened in surprise, and he took off down the hallway, his companion looking after him in surprise.
“I’ll be right back,” KiBum murmured to YeSung, and walked briskly across the room. Once he was out in the hallway, he broke into a run, chasing the figure darting out of sight. It was time to get answers. Rubbing away the wetness from his eyes, he took off after the ghost of a boy named Lee DongHae.