Fanfic: Down the Rabbit Hole [4/7]
A/N: Just another big thanks to my readers ♥ Otherwise nothing much to say about this chapter, hope you like it ^^ I feel like I should've made the chapters longer, like this the story seems dragging on too much, sorry = =
And Happy Birthday to my dearest Muna sowondeul ♥ I wish this chapter had more YeolJong fanservice to be a decent present OTL The next one will, so it'll be late but still <3
Down the Rabbit Hole [4/7]
"Ghosts seem harder to please than we are; it is as though they haunted for haunting’s sake -- much as we relive, brood, and smoulder over our pasts."
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
“Not really,” said Woohyun.
Sungyeol gazed at him, pleading.
“No, no, definitely not,” he shook his head resolutely. “Looks like you'll need to find yourself a new target, this one's obviously wrong.”
“Woohyun.”
He looked at Sungyeol's martyred stare and then back at the photo, frowning a bit. “Maybe - just maybe - we change our appearances a bit when we die or simply-”
“Ugh, Woohyun,” Sungyeol grabbed his arm and jumped up and down. “Don't tease.”
Woohyun let out a sigh, switching between the ghost version of Lee Sungyeol and the one on the polaroid photo laying on the desk. “It's you,” he admitted bitterly. He considered himself a pretty good liar but when it came to Sungyeol he always somehow lost. Whether it was because of the boy himself or because you're simply not yourself around your crush, he did not know.
They were in Myungsoo's house, a pretty nice but somehow unfinished one in the tangle of streets around the World Cup Road, a fourty minutes ride by bus to Sungjong's place. The unfinished showed mostly in the lack of decorations in some parts, as if the owner would get moody every time he'd try to finish them. The others however were overly detailed, just like the desk corner. Photos were basically everywhere, hang onto a string above, under the glass on the desk.
“Thanks.” Despite not really admitting the possibility that the gummy smile on the photo wouldn't be his, Sungyeol needed to be sure. Now that he was sure, it didn't feel like anything changed. But it would change everything if Woohyun answered negatively.
If Sungyeol was obsessed before, now it was complete madness. At first Woohyun would feel annoyed and focus on his own targets. Then he would slowly start being amused, because there was just so much to laugh at in Sungyeol's way of falling in love.
Given the chance, he would most certainly laugh even now. Hands supporting his head, Sungyeol was busy hypnotizing the slender fingers typing on the keyboard and the words coming out on the screen. Sungjong was writing a diary. He hardly ever did that, maybe because of all the schedule and deadlines that stared at him from multi-coloured papers stuck all over the working place.
It didn't start with dear diary nor did he write about things he ate for breakfast and how sunny today is. There were feelings seeping through.
I have been thinking again, it started and stopped, with Sungjong staring into the screen absently.
What am I doing right now, where am I heading. I'm not doubting, I've never been. It's just that lately I'm looking back more often. I thought I've decided not to think about it anymore but it keeps coming back on its own.
These weren't things Sungyeol could understand, unless the feelings start to be more specific. Afraid that he'll see Sungjong cry again, he kept an eye on him, watched his face carefully and protectively.
I know it's stupid to blame myself, but I still do. Why is it that we always realize the importance of things when we lose them? Sungjong paused, hands placed on the keyboard. I loved him. I should have realized it earlier and I should have told him more often.
In the end it was Sungyeol crying. The dry tears stung in the eyes, making him blink ceaselessly.
A cellphone started vibrating on the desk and Sungjong picked it up faster than he could read the caller's name. The moment he'd lean closer the call was already finished with him hearing only Sungjong's worried “Be there in a minute, don't go anywhere okay?”
Sungjong's wasn't himself, he could see that. Opening up his heart just now, it wasn't easy to toss away the thoughts and concentrate. Forgetting to turn off the lights, he left the apartment in a hurry. As he was passing through the streets, he would bump into people here and there, apologizing automatically.
Sungyeol saw it coming. The boy rushing through streets wasn't paying attention to anything around him, he seemed out of place and it was a wonder he still knew where he's heading to. He checked his cellphone and his fingers moved quickly to reply to a text message. The countdown reached zero and the green light turned into red, but he didn't notice.
“Wait, Sungjong-ah!”
People however can't hear ghosts. If they did, Sungjong would have stopped and turn around. But he walked onto the crossing, still busy typing. The first few cars didn't drive out, they only impatiently hooted, probably uttering some curses. In the second lane a truck joined the angry drivers and Sungjong finally looked up. When he became aware of the situation, the boy sped up to quickly finish crossing.
If only people could at least be pushed away by ghosts, Sungyeol wished. But they couldn't and Sungyeol, who was already at the other side of the crossing and saw the car coming from behind the truck very well, felt desperate. By the time they crashed, an absent-minded boy and a careless car, Sungyeol was already buried into the ground, struggling.
All the way down, falling and falling. Out of all possible moments, this was the most important one. Without any hesitation or actually leaving space for feeling depressed and lethargic, Sungyeol found his jar and opened it. The remaining happiness was weak and the way up went a lot slower; it felt as if he was climbing through substance as thick as honey.
Back up time didn't stop, meanwhile an ambulance arrived, traffic was stopped and Sungjong's lifeless body was moved into the car. It would be a lie to say he didn't think about him dying and therefore being able to talk to him, interact. Maybe in sixty years, as an old man but not now. At this moment all Sungyeol wanted was for him to live on. Without any trace of selfishness, he knew Sungjong has a lot to live for.
The ambulance car was fast and Sungyeol had a hard time catching up. As a ghost he couldn't quite just sit in there and let himself be carried, in order to stay inside of the car it took a lot of concentration, but at least it was possible.
Sungyeol was there all the time. When the door opened, when the patient was quickly carried through the hospital's back gate and when they stationed him at the intensive care unit. Despite being glad he's there, it was extremely nerve-wracking. Knowing just a little about medicine he wasn't sure if the situation is actually good or bad but he did understand the sharp monotone sound and the straight line on the monitor that appeared all of sudden.
Everything went fast. In a split second a transparent soul, much similar to the appearance of ghosts, but not quite yet the same, separated from Sungjong's body. Doctors and nurses present in the room took charge of resurrecting the already soulless patient. Sungyeol hold his breath, counting on the medical abilities of those people.
Then the soul looked his way, the blurry eyes meeting his. Gravity was taking its toll, the soon-to-become-ghost dropped down, but his eyes wouldn't avert. Desperately, Sungyeol took a step forward and attempted to grab the soul's arm. To his utter surprise, he succeeded. No air grabbing, he was holding Sungjong's arm tightly, refusing to let go.
The monotone sound changed back into regular beeping. The arm he was holding just a few seconds ago was gone, it slipped back into its shell.
“Okay, he's back,” he'd hear someone say.
Sungyeol soon learnt that there was nothing as tiring as sitting by the patient's bed. Even though ghosts don't need sleep, he was continuously falling into a sort of a coma. At such times he'd wander through the hospital to wake himself up.
Meeting Sungjong's first visitor in the hallway the very same evening was a shock. When the boy passed by, Sungyeol had to turn around. For a moment he would swear it was himself walking into the room, sitting by Sungjong's bed and that had him paralyzed. Looking closer, he found differences but there was no doubt that person was his relative, a brother maybe.
Sungjong was still asleep. The visitor sat there for a while, looking troubled and unsure. In the end he left after hastily scribbling note on a paper torn from a school notebook and putting it on the bedside table.
Internal bleeding and a fractured tibia, the doctors said but Sungyeol would rather hear them say he's going to be all right soon. Time was painfully slow and there wasn't even any Woohyun to while away the time by joking and bothering him whole night.
“Am I dead?”
“No,” Sungyeol replied, still a bit astonished by Sungjong's piercing gaze directed right at him. “Although you almost were.”
He was used to looks, eyes seeing through him yet giving the impression it's him they're looking at. If it was Sungjong it gave him that nice and warm feeling, but not this time. The longer the contact held on, the more scary it became.
“Sungyeol.”
Time stopped. Sungyeol was able to perceive the stifling silence in the room, a smell of carnations on the bedside table and the fresh autumn air coming through the slightly opened window. He understood those, there was nothing unusual nor inexplicable about them. What he didn't get was Sungjong talking to him.
“Ugh, I-” he stuttered. Talking when no one was listening was easy, but suddenly he needed to think about what to say. “You can see me?”
Sungjong nodded, eyes widened and pupils moving fast in confusion. His heart beat faster, the monitor gave it away. Shaking his head and rubbing eyes was perhaps meant to chase off Sungyeol, unfortunately he was no product of the boy's imagination.
The rising indicator probably called a nurse who came to check the situation and interrupted the awkward meeting of the ghost and the living.
“Can I- can I ask a question?” Sungjong addressed the nurse adding some substance into his drip feed. “Is it possible to have like,” a short glance at Sungyeol awkwardly standing there, “hallucinations or something?”
“You are most likely just tired because of the medications,” explained the nurse, calming him down a bit. “But you should see a specialist if the problem persists.”
The best Sungyeol could think of was to just disappear. Considering Sungjong's health it was the best solution for the time being, not to mention he needed time to think himself. One part of him wanted to stay, talk to him, assure him he's real, even though not exactly living. The other one was afraid and not very sure itself, about what's real and what's not.
Woohyun yawned. It was taking too long and he was already thinking about finding better entertainment. Fortunately Kim Sungkyu posed for the last time and they called it a day, everyone exchanging polite “you've worked hard” and wrapping it up.
“You came out well, hyung,” Myungsoo commented while scrolling through the photos they took today.
Sungkyu looked at them impartially. “Hm, they're fine. Do something with the colours though, it looks too dark.”
“Dark was the concept you know...”
“I don't like it, so do something about it, okay?” Sungkyu patted the photographer's shoulder. “Going for a lunch with the team, wanna join us?”
Myungsoo sighed. “Sorry, hyung. Friend's in a hospital and I promised to fetch a few things for him.”
“Okay, see you then.”
Deciding to stick to Myungsoo in a split second, Woohyun watched Sungkyu walk away. He shadowed the boy, following him to Sungshin Women's University Station and heading together towards a familiar way. Through the main street, taking the second turn left and they reached Sungjong's apartment.
Woohyun was faster, effortlessly flying up to the seventh floor. Lights on in the hallway took him by surprise, wondering how could someone be there if the hospitalized one is Sungjong.
“God you scared me, what are you doing here?”
Another ghost sat there in front of the computer, staring at the screen. Sungyeol didn't even twitch when he spoke, sitting there and looking like a heap of misery. Although appearing calm on the outside, inside was an ongoing fight.
“Is it true that Sungjong got hospitalized?” Woohyun waved his hand in front of Sungyeol's face, trying to gain his attention. “What happened?”
“Car accident,” the contemplating ghost answered curtly.
“Why aren't you there then?”
“I don't want to scare him.”
Woohyun raised eyebrows, perplexed. “Scare him? How would you-”
“He can see me,” clarified Sungyeol. “I have no idea why is that and what should I do about it.”
They heard a sound of a key unlocking the door and soon Myungsoo walked into the living room, looking around. That made Sungyeol finally move, observing the situation.
“He almost died there,” he continued explaining while Woohyun stared at him, unable to speak. “His soul was already dropping down when the doctors brought him back. Do you think he'll now see ghosts because his soul was present in our sphere for that short moment?”
Despite knowing a lot of things and almost always having an answer ready, Woohyun had no idea either. He has never heard of a person seeing ghosts, at least not on their end. In the human world there were a lot of stories about such incidents but those were just tales, Woohyun believed.
Myungsoo's hand reached out for the laptop, diving into Sungyeol's body without knowing. Turning off the light, he was ready to leave.
“You stay here,” Woohyun decided.
Reluctantly, Sungyeol obeyed. Last thing he wanted to do was cause an uproar and worsen Sungjong's condition. Although he didn't like the idea of Woohyun doing that in his stead, if the boy is able to see all ghosts roaming around they can't keep him away from them and there was still the slight chance that it's only Sungyeol he's able to see.
With the laptop gone, he couldn't stare into the screen anymore. Yet he still saw the last words Sungjong typed before he was interrupted by the fated call. I loved him. I should have realized it earlier and I should have told him more often. I wish I could see him again, at least once. Then I'd tell him.
→ next chapter
And Happy Birthday to my dearest Muna sowondeul ♥ I wish this chapter had more YeolJong fanservice to be a decent present OTL The next one will, so it'll be late but still <3
Down the Rabbit Hole [4/7]
- Fandom: Infinite
- Pairing: YeolJong, WooYeol, MyungJong
- Genre: supernatural, AU, romance
- Rating: PG-13
- Words: 2,441 this chapter; 16,919 in total
- Summary: Which includes two ghosts roaming freely between the Underworld and the world of the living and a group of five humans which attract these two stalkers although they do not know about them, mostly.
"Ghosts seem harder to please than we are; it is as though they haunted for haunting’s sake -- much as we relive, brood, and smoulder over our pasts."
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
“Not really,” said Woohyun.
Sungyeol gazed at him, pleading.
“No, no, definitely not,” he shook his head resolutely. “Looks like you'll need to find yourself a new target, this one's obviously wrong.”
“Woohyun.”
He looked at Sungyeol's martyred stare and then back at the photo, frowning a bit. “Maybe - just maybe - we change our appearances a bit when we die or simply-”
“Ugh, Woohyun,” Sungyeol grabbed his arm and jumped up and down. “Don't tease.”
Woohyun let out a sigh, switching between the ghost version of Lee Sungyeol and the one on the polaroid photo laying on the desk. “It's you,” he admitted bitterly. He considered himself a pretty good liar but when it came to Sungyeol he always somehow lost. Whether it was because of the boy himself or because you're simply not yourself around your crush, he did not know.
They were in Myungsoo's house, a pretty nice but somehow unfinished one in the tangle of streets around the World Cup Road, a fourty minutes ride by bus to Sungjong's place. The unfinished showed mostly in the lack of decorations in some parts, as if the owner would get moody every time he'd try to finish them. The others however were overly detailed, just like the desk corner. Photos were basically everywhere, hang onto a string above, under the glass on the desk.
“Thanks.” Despite not really admitting the possibility that the gummy smile on the photo wouldn't be his, Sungyeol needed to be sure. Now that he was sure, it didn't feel like anything changed. But it would change everything if Woohyun answered negatively.
If Sungyeol was obsessed before, now it was complete madness. At first Woohyun would feel annoyed and focus on his own targets. Then he would slowly start being amused, because there was just so much to laugh at in Sungyeol's way of falling in love.
Given the chance, he would most certainly laugh even now. Hands supporting his head, Sungyeol was busy hypnotizing the slender fingers typing on the keyboard and the words coming out on the screen. Sungjong was writing a diary. He hardly ever did that, maybe because of all the schedule and deadlines that stared at him from multi-coloured papers stuck all over the working place.
It didn't start with dear diary nor did he write about things he ate for breakfast and how sunny today is. There were feelings seeping through.
I have been thinking again, it started and stopped, with Sungjong staring into the screen absently.
What am I doing right now, where am I heading. I'm not doubting, I've never been. It's just that lately I'm looking back more often. I thought I've decided not to think about it anymore but it keeps coming back on its own.
These weren't things Sungyeol could understand, unless the feelings start to be more specific. Afraid that he'll see Sungjong cry again, he kept an eye on him, watched his face carefully and protectively.
I know it's stupid to blame myself, but I still do. Why is it that we always realize the importance of things when we lose them? Sungjong paused, hands placed on the keyboard. I loved him. I should have realized it earlier and I should have told him more often.
In the end it was Sungyeol crying. The dry tears stung in the eyes, making him blink ceaselessly.
A cellphone started vibrating on the desk and Sungjong picked it up faster than he could read the caller's name. The moment he'd lean closer the call was already finished with him hearing only Sungjong's worried “Be there in a minute, don't go anywhere okay?”
Sungjong's wasn't himself, he could see that. Opening up his heart just now, it wasn't easy to toss away the thoughts and concentrate. Forgetting to turn off the lights, he left the apartment in a hurry. As he was passing through the streets, he would bump into people here and there, apologizing automatically.
Sungyeol saw it coming. The boy rushing through streets wasn't paying attention to anything around him, he seemed out of place and it was a wonder he still knew where he's heading to. He checked his cellphone and his fingers moved quickly to reply to a text message. The countdown reached zero and the green light turned into red, but he didn't notice.
“Wait, Sungjong-ah!”
People however can't hear ghosts. If they did, Sungjong would have stopped and turn around. But he walked onto the crossing, still busy typing. The first few cars didn't drive out, they only impatiently hooted, probably uttering some curses. In the second lane a truck joined the angry drivers and Sungjong finally looked up. When he became aware of the situation, the boy sped up to quickly finish crossing.
If only people could at least be pushed away by ghosts, Sungyeol wished. But they couldn't and Sungyeol, who was already at the other side of the crossing and saw the car coming from behind the truck very well, felt desperate. By the time they crashed, an absent-minded boy and a careless car, Sungyeol was already buried into the ground, struggling.
All the way down, falling and falling. Out of all possible moments, this was the most important one. Without any hesitation or actually leaving space for feeling depressed and lethargic, Sungyeol found his jar and opened it. The remaining happiness was weak and the way up went a lot slower; it felt as if he was climbing through substance as thick as honey.
Back up time didn't stop, meanwhile an ambulance arrived, traffic was stopped and Sungjong's lifeless body was moved into the car. It would be a lie to say he didn't think about him dying and therefore being able to talk to him, interact. Maybe in sixty years, as an old man but not now. At this moment all Sungyeol wanted was for him to live on. Without any trace of selfishness, he knew Sungjong has a lot to live for.
The ambulance car was fast and Sungyeol had a hard time catching up. As a ghost he couldn't quite just sit in there and let himself be carried, in order to stay inside of the car it took a lot of concentration, but at least it was possible.
Sungyeol was there all the time. When the door opened, when the patient was quickly carried through the hospital's back gate and when they stationed him at the intensive care unit. Despite being glad he's there, it was extremely nerve-wracking. Knowing just a little about medicine he wasn't sure if the situation is actually good or bad but he did understand the sharp monotone sound and the straight line on the monitor that appeared all of sudden.
Everything went fast. In a split second a transparent soul, much similar to the appearance of ghosts, but not quite yet the same, separated from Sungjong's body. Doctors and nurses present in the room took charge of resurrecting the already soulless patient. Sungyeol hold his breath, counting on the medical abilities of those people.
Then the soul looked his way, the blurry eyes meeting his. Gravity was taking its toll, the soon-to-become-ghost dropped down, but his eyes wouldn't avert. Desperately, Sungyeol took a step forward and attempted to grab the soul's arm. To his utter surprise, he succeeded. No air grabbing, he was holding Sungjong's arm tightly, refusing to let go.
The monotone sound changed back into regular beeping. The arm he was holding just a few seconds ago was gone, it slipped back into its shell.
“Okay, he's back,” he'd hear someone say.
Sungyeol soon learnt that there was nothing as tiring as sitting by the patient's bed. Even though ghosts don't need sleep, he was continuously falling into a sort of a coma. At such times he'd wander through the hospital to wake himself up.
Meeting Sungjong's first visitor in the hallway the very same evening was a shock. When the boy passed by, Sungyeol had to turn around. For a moment he would swear it was himself walking into the room, sitting by Sungjong's bed and that had him paralyzed. Looking closer, he found differences but there was no doubt that person was his relative, a brother maybe.
Sungjong was still asleep. The visitor sat there for a while, looking troubled and unsure. In the end he left after hastily scribbling note on a paper torn from a school notebook and putting it on the bedside table.
Internal bleeding and a fractured tibia, the doctors said but Sungyeol would rather hear them say he's going to be all right soon. Time was painfully slow and there wasn't even any Woohyun to while away the time by joking and bothering him whole night.
“Am I dead?”
“No,” Sungyeol replied, still a bit astonished by Sungjong's piercing gaze directed right at him. “Although you almost were.”
He was used to looks, eyes seeing through him yet giving the impression it's him they're looking at. If it was Sungjong it gave him that nice and warm feeling, but not this time. The longer the contact held on, the more scary it became.
“Sungyeol.”
Time stopped. Sungyeol was able to perceive the stifling silence in the room, a smell of carnations on the bedside table and the fresh autumn air coming through the slightly opened window. He understood those, there was nothing unusual nor inexplicable about them. What he didn't get was Sungjong talking to him.
“Ugh, I-” he stuttered. Talking when no one was listening was easy, but suddenly he needed to think about what to say. “You can see me?”
Sungjong nodded, eyes widened and pupils moving fast in confusion. His heart beat faster, the monitor gave it away. Shaking his head and rubbing eyes was perhaps meant to chase off Sungyeol, unfortunately he was no product of the boy's imagination.
The rising indicator probably called a nurse who came to check the situation and interrupted the awkward meeting of the ghost and the living.
“Can I- can I ask a question?” Sungjong addressed the nurse adding some substance into his drip feed. “Is it possible to have like,” a short glance at Sungyeol awkwardly standing there, “hallucinations or something?”
“You are most likely just tired because of the medications,” explained the nurse, calming him down a bit. “But you should see a specialist if the problem persists.”
The best Sungyeol could think of was to just disappear. Considering Sungjong's health it was the best solution for the time being, not to mention he needed time to think himself. One part of him wanted to stay, talk to him, assure him he's real, even though not exactly living. The other one was afraid and not very sure itself, about what's real and what's not.
Woohyun yawned. It was taking too long and he was already thinking about finding better entertainment. Fortunately Kim Sungkyu posed for the last time and they called it a day, everyone exchanging polite “you've worked hard” and wrapping it up.
“You came out well, hyung,” Myungsoo commented while scrolling through the photos they took today.
Sungkyu looked at them impartially. “Hm, they're fine. Do something with the colours though, it looks too dark.”
“Dark was the concept you know...”
“I don't like it, so do something about it, okay?” Sungkyu patted the photographer's shoulder. “Going for a lunch with the team, wanna join us?”
Myungsoo sighed. “Sorry, hyung. Friend's in a hospital and I promised to fetch a few things for him.”
“Okay, see you then.”
Deciding to stick to Myungsoo in a split second, Woohyun watched Sungkyu walk away. He shadowed the boy, following him to Sungshin Women's University Station and heading together towards a familiar way. Through the main street, taking the second turn left and they reached Sungjong's apartment.
Woohyun was faster, effortlessly flying up to the seventh floor. Lights on in the hallway took him by surprise, wondering how could someone be there if the hospitalized one is Sungjong.
“God you scared me, what are you doing here?”
Another ghost sat there in front of the computer, staring at the screen. Sungyeol didn't even twitch when he spoke, sitting there and looking like a heap of misery. Although appearing calm on the outside, inside was an ongoing fight.
“Is it true that Sungjong got hospitalized?” Woohyun waved his hand in front of Sungyeol's face, trying to gain his attention. “What happened?”
“Car accident,” the contemplating ghost answered curtly.
“Why aren't you there then?”
“I don't want to scare him.”
Woohyun raised eyebrows, perplexed. “Scare him? How would you-”
“He can see me,” clarified Sungyeol. “I have no idea why is that and what should I do about it.”
They heard a sound of a key unlocking the door and soon Myungsoo walked into the living room, looking around. That made Sungyeol finally move, observing the situation.
“He almost died there,” he continued explaining while Woohyun stared at him, unable to speak. “His soul was already dropping down when the doctors brought him back. Do you think he'll now see ghosts because his soul was present in our sphere for that short moment?”
Despite knowing a lot of things and almost always having an answer ready, Woohyun had no idea either. He has never heard of a person seeing ghosts, at least not on their end. In the human world there were a lot of stories about such incidents but those were just tales, Woohyun believed.
Myungsoo's hand reached out for the laptop, diving into Sungyeol's body without knowing. Turning off the light, he was ready to leave.
“You stay here,” Woohyun decided.
Reluctantly, Sungyeol obeyed. Last thing he wanted to do was cause an uproar and worsen Sungjong's condition. Although he didn't like the idea of Woohyun doing that in his stead, if the boy is able to see all ghosts roaming around they can't keep him away from them and there was still the slight chance that it's only Sungyeol he's able to see.
With the laptop gone, he couldn't stare into the screen anymore. Yet he still saw the last words Sungjong typed before he was interrupted by the fated call. I loved him. I should have realized it earlier and I should have told him more often. I wish I could see him again, at least once. Then I'd tell him.
→ next chapter