ALL FOR SHOW
Summary: It was like being at a crossroad of heaven and hell. You were given a chance to look at heaven and hell. One had futures, the other didn’t. You chose the one with futures, because you see yourself in them. But after going in, you realize you are actually in hell. After all, that’s all for show.
Characters: Cho Kyuhyun, Choi Sooyoung, Lee Sungmin
Ratings: PG-13, profanities and some violence.
Cho Kyuhyun thinks he is lucky, with wealth, health and now, a soon to be love life.
The girl he was currently chatting with is a freshman from Psychology, and wow, did he already love the way the conversation was going.
They had then chatted for a while, gave a brief introduction about themselves and went on to talk about anything under the sun. They clicked, and Sooyoung asked for his number. It felt weird to him, a girl asking for his number, but that was supposed to be the way, and that was the Cho Kyuhyun he knew.
It was a lunch meet 4 days later, and it was then that he decided that he would take that leap, make her his. Her laughter sounded like bells which rang continuously throughout lunch. As they left, he felt envious eyes around when she hooked arms with him, laughter never ceasing.
He asked her out one Friday night, preparing his confession speech. He had Hyukjae and Henry know the cue to launch the fireworks, and taking cover before getting caught and even rehearsed his lines with Donghae, until Donghae could even memorise the whole thing. They sat at the roof garden of his hostel, held her hands, and sang the song he composed for her a few nights ago. It ended with a ‘I love you’, before asking her to look at the sky. It was after 2 minutes of nothing that Kyuhyun has decided to give his buddies a call, scolded a list of profanities at them, before fireworks shot through the sky. Sooyoung nodded at him, tears brimming, before they locked into an embrace.
After that, everything was too fast. She was already cohabiting with him, and they have done the deed countless times. Not like he minds, because, who says no to good sex? Today was just after one of those sessions, those thinking sessions that made his head hurt. He disliked it, for it made him doubt his relationship, and himself. Sooyoung is a terrific girl, he doesn’t want to let her down. However, he can’t shake off the uneasy feeling he has been getting, that paranoid feeling that something was going to happen, something bad.
Cho Kyuhyun was his façade that was never meant to last. It was a last resort, because he wanted Lee Sungmin to be dead, that pathetic Lee Sungmin who never gets the girl, and gets rejected every damn time. He had spent a fortune to look like his best friend, to take his identity, to be like him. It was most unfortunate that they had met with an accident while on a road trip, and the real Cho Kyuhyun had died then. They were burnt before recognition, and the doctors kept saying how lucky he was. That day 3 years ago, a plastic surgeon was asked to do a surgery to rectify his facial damages and injuries. He showed him a photo, claiming that the guy on the photo was him. They said he was lucky, and yes, he felt it too.
Being Kyuhyun was something he always wanted. Kyuhyun always got the girls, without lifting a finger, because they all flock to him. To them, he was always Cho Kyuhyun and his guy friend. At that time, he knew no one would know, he had mastered him, read him like a book, and now, he is living as him. The girls, the lifestyle, it was something that he could never get as Lee Sungmin. That secret will forever be with him till the day he dies, and as of now, he is contented being Cho Kyuhyun. He felt the uneasiness rush across him again, but brushed it off once again, going back to sleep.
By 6pm, Sooyoung was back from her grocery shopping, and he was already wide awake, staring at a mirror, looking at himself, yet, not so.
“Kyuhyun! Dinner’s ready!” That melodious voice floated into the room like music to his ears. He decided to give up figuring himself, and greeted her at the stairs landing his the widest smile he could muster.
Dinner was done, and if he could add, food fit for the king. However, it could feel the alcohol giving him a hard knock on the head. Sooyoung had warned him to go slow on the XO chicken, knowing his low drinking limits, but he insisted, and finished the whole dish. His body was hot at touch, and he was seeing doubles.
“Sooyoung-ah, I don’t think I am feeling too well. I am going to bed first.” He slurred, balancing himself as he took small steps towards the stairs. He stumbled, falling on the landing, and saw Sooyoung, walking towards him, smile still plastered on her face, whispering, “Let me help you, Lee Sungmin.”
He jolted awake, unsure if everything that happened was a very bad nightmare. The bed felt right, it was definitely his room. He heaved a sigh of relief, mild chided himself for panicking, before trying to move his hands, only to find them bounded to the side of the bed. The panic rose again, as he struggled to break-free.
“Sooyoung! Sooyoung! Are you alright? Where are you? Answer me please!” He screamed, eyes blurred with anger, anguish, fear and despair. The darkness of the room engulfed him as he stared straight in front of him, hoping Sooyoung could somehow appear in front of him. His anger soon morphed into fear, a lot of fear.
“Oh, shut up Ming, you are giving me a headache.” That voice, that voice that sounded like him, that voice that he had spent 6 months to imitate, to ensure that it sounded as natural when he talks, to throw everyone off their suspicion.
“Kyuhyun...”
Sooyoung’s giggle bounced off the walls in the darkness, like a witch’s laughter, sharp and malicious, almost like a shriek, so loud it feels like she was just beside him.
“Kyuhyun, look, I am really sorry. I didn’t mean to take your identity, to leave you there. I called you, you didn’t answer. I thought you were dead. I could only walk a few meters before I collapsed, and someone brought me to the hospital. I didn’t want your parents to be sad, I have no parents, no one would care. It was why I became you. I had no ill intentions. I know I went too far by being you for too long, I am sorry, but please, let me go!” His voice trembled, arms shivering. He could feel their presence in the room, but it was hard to pinpoint their exact location. He was full of fear now, and he knows they could feel it too.
“I would have forgiven you for leaving me at the scene, if you didn’t use my name to deceive the people I care the most, to deprive me of the one thing I wanted, parental love. My parents showed so much love on their son after the accident, only that he isn’t exactly their son. Do you know how hard it is to play the dead person? Everyone thinks you are dead, and they think I am dead. How can I be dead? I am breathing the same air as you, you bastard. You stole my identity, threw me to fret of myself, while you lived life as me. Thank goodness I had Sooyoung. Don’t be surprised, but my revenge was plotted by her. This was all her doing. I am actually shocked you didn’t remember Sooyoung. Remember that girl you used to bully in kindergarten? Yes, that girl. She’s here now, taking her revenge. We just happened to be finding for the same person.”
He gulped as Sooyoung’s giggle echoed the room again, and he felt a presence even closer. This time, he could feel someone next to him and something on his head, a gun. “Oh hell, no, Kyuhyun, listen to me damn it! IT’S NOT MY FAULT! I FUCKING DIDN’T MEAN IT! I will give you back your identity, just put the fucking gun down and let me live, please!” Kyuhyun let out a low laugh, shoving the gun harder onto his temple. Sungmin knew his time was up, and he started weeping, it was a losing battle, he was going to die, either way.
“Just shoot me, quick…”
He heard a loud bang, a soft goodbye, before blacking out, forever.
“Jung, I was about to conclude this as a suicide, as one the surface, the victim had looked like he pulled the trigger on himself. The fingerprints belonged to a Cho Kyuhyun, which is our victim. However, something didn’t quite match here. There was another set of fingerprints on the door, which belonged to a Choi Sooyoung. She is a deceased, died 13th April 2012. About 3 months ago. We believe they are probably cohabiting, however, someone reported seeing her yesterday night, around 1am, leaving with Cho Kyuhyun. Furthermore, our victim TOD is between 10pm to 11pm. This doesn’t make sense does it?” The medical examiner, a guy a mid-twenties, asked his partner.
“Frankly Jaejoong, I think that is up to us to figure out.”
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