Every Step of the Way - Part One
Title: Every Step of the Way
Fandom: U-KISS, cameos from SS501 and Epik High
Pairings: friendship!KeMaru, SooBum
Word Count: 9,700
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Kevin had been with KiBum through thick and thin, since they were children. He was his protective best friend, the one he could always talk to. What KiBum didn’t know was that protectiveness stemmed from a powerful secret…and soon it would be time to say goodbye.
A/N: Spin-off from Guardian, illustrating Kevin and KiBum’s story from beginning to end. My first attempt at a U-KISS fic, please be gentle ^^;; It’s highly advised to read Guardian before reading this. MASSIVE thanks to renichifreak for the beta!!
It was a perfect day outside, only a few fluffy clouds drifting lazily by. The sky was a deep blue and there was a gentle breeze, birds chirping in the trees. The air wasn’t damp-feeling, and didn’t make his clothes cling to his body uncomfortably. Even the bugs were gone.
So when KiBum’s older brother ‘kidnapped’ him to the park just three streets over from their house, KiBum didn’t complain. Outside was much nicer than listening to mom and dad scream at each other. He didn’t understand many of the words they threw at each other, but it scared him nonetheless. When he asked HyungJoon why mommy and daddy were fighting, he just hugged the six-year-old close and asked him if he wanted an ice cream. Then he’d take KiBum out for ice cream, using all of the coins in his piggy bank to help KiBum forget the fighting.
Even then, his big brother was his entire world.
But his big brother couldn’t protect him from everything.
“I’ll get it!” KiBum called, running after the soccer ball that had rolled into the street. He was closest after all, his hyung at the other end of the small field they’d been playing in.
“KiBum, look for cars!” HyungJoon yelled after him, running on tiny legs. But his little brother’s gaze was focused on the ball just beyond his reach, all his attention on retrieving it.
Only when a frantic note entered HyungJoon’s voice, the older boy yelling at him to move, did he look up and see a car come screeching around the corner right towards him.
Small hands wrapped around his wrists and pulled, KiBum screaming as he landed on his rear on the grass. The car raced by inches from his feet, hitting the soccer ball and sending it sailing. The vehicle didn’t even stop, loud music booming as it continued on.
“Are you okay?” A tiny voice asked, and KiBum looked at the other kid sitting on the ground beside him. He hadn’t even seen this boy come up, wide eyes meeting his as he asked the question again. “Are you okay?”
Then it hit KiBum that this boy had saved him, that he could have died, and the shock dissolved into frightened wails for his brother. HyungJoon had reached them by them and pulled KiBum into a hug, checking him over for scrapes and bruises.
It took about ten minutes to calm the terrified child down. By the time KiBum could see through the tears his brother was wiping away with tissue, the strange boy who’d saved his life was gone.
The incident was forgotten the following day, when his dad left home and never came back.
*********************
“KiBum, come on, you’re going to be late for school!”
Usually KiBum was the first to wake up, not HyungJoon, but it had been a late night. Running around hunting demons was enough to exhaust anyone, no matter how fit they were. Last night had been particularly brutal. They were still cleaning up the remains of that demon nest that had been destroyed a month ago, and last night he and his team had ran into four demons right after the other.
Swatting at his brother’s hand, KiBum grumbled at him before burying his face into his pillow. He didn’t care if HyungJoon had a point, he deserved to skip first class after the beating they’d taken the night before.
Pouting down at his twenty-year-old brother, HyungJoon gave a long-suffering sigh and left the room. He’d given up arguing with his brother when he was half-asleep, he never won anyways. He knew someone that would though.
A minute later, the doorbell rang and HyungJoon grinned widely. The cavalry had arrived.
KiBum enjoyed another two minutes of blissful peace, and had been just about to drift off again when the bed dipped to one side. Swatting blindly to get his brother to leave him alone, he felt long fingers curl around his wrist and put his arm back down, before those same fingers massaged at the back of his neck.
“Hyung, time to wake up. You can’t miss this class, remember? You have a test.”
The gentle voice made KiBum crack one eye open, then close it again. “…I want to sleep Kev,” he mumbled into the pillow.
“I know hyung, but you can’t sleep now. I’ll buy you coffee, okay? With whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles.”
That did sound pretty good. KiBum’s stomach chose that moment to remind him breakfast was in order too, and he flushed as he curled up more under the blankets.
The younger man sitting on the edge of the bed laughed. “Breakfast too. Come on hyung, up.”
“…Fine fine,” KiBum sighed, pushing himself reluctantly up. He could never argue with Kevin for very long, and he felt awake now anyways. Patting at his hair to get it to stay down, he blinked blearily at his long-time best friend.
Kevin smiled back at him, meeting KiBum’s mismatched eyes; one an ordinary black, the other silver. The mark of someone with the Sight. “Hurry up and change hyung, then we can go get you breakfast,” the younger man said happily, clapping his shoulder lightly before leaving the room.
KiBum watched Kevin close the door behind him, yawning. Where Kevin found the energy to be so perky in the mornings was beyond him; the younger man had been just as tired of demon hunting as he had been last night. KiBum knew for a fact that SooHyun, the medium in their demon hunting team and his boyfriend, wouldn’t be waking up until noon.
He envied his boyfriend that extra time to sleep in. But thanks to Kevin, as usual, the day was looking less horrible already.
******************************
A new kid transferred into his class when KiBum was ten. SungHyun, though he’d introduced himself as Kevin, came from America apparently. Some of the meaner kids in the back snickered at his accented Korean, and shot pieces of paper at him when the teacher wasn’t looking. But Kevin never got mad, only smiled over his shoulder at them. It wasn’t the reaction they were looking for, which was crying or yelling, so they got bored and stopped before long.
KiBum didn’t like Kevin that much at first. The American always gravitated towards him, and he didn’t understand why. There were so many other people to be friends with, why him? KiBum wasn’t a ‘make friends’ type of kid. He had his brother, and that was enough for him.
He was still having bullying problems of his own too, and seeing how those kids went after Kevin the first day made KiBum want to stay away from him. He was trying to avoid the attention of those kids, hanging out with Kevin would be bad news.
One day, those older kids caught him waiting for HyungJoon to pick him up after school. His brother was old enough to be in a different school now, so KiBum had to wait an hour each day for his brother’s classes to finish so they could walk home. Their mom was busy with two jobs, why worry her when he was just fine with HyungJoon?
Sitting on the school stairs patiently, KiBum yelped as he was swiped off the back of the head. Looking up to see those four mean faces sneering down at him, he slowly stood up. Yelling for help wouldn’t do anything; no one was around to hear him. Crying would make it worse. So KiBum made his shoulders stiff and clenched his fists in his pockets as they jeered at him, pushing him back and forth. He’d promised HyungJoon not to fight, and he wouldn’t break a promise to his brother.
A particularly hard push threw him off balance, and KiBum landed in the dirt, coughing. Tiny points of pain on his knees and hands made him bite the inside of his cheek, blinking hard to keep the tears at bay. Crying made it worse.
“Leave him alone!” A tiny voice yelled suddenly, and KiBum looked up. That new kid, Kevin, stood not far away, chin up and hands in fists at his sides. “I said leave him alone!”
As predicted, the older boys decided to go after the feistier target rather than the one who stayed on the ground and let them beat him. Kevin took a few hits before running, the boys following him. KiBum watched the corner they’d taken with wide eyes as he sat up, expecting them to come back and finish him off once they’d hurt Kevin more.
But they never came back.
His brother fussed over his scrapes, KiBum lying and saying he’d fallen. The next day in school, the bullies didn’t so much as look at him. They didn’t look at Kevin either, the boy sporting a bruised cheek but otherwise fine.
They didn’t bother him again.
A week later, when Kevin asked to sit beside him in the cafeteria, KiBum didn’t turn him down rudely like he usually did. And with a shy smile the younger boy sat down next to him.
***************************
One thing KiBum always appreciated about Kevin was his impeccable timing.
“Head down!”
Listening to the higher-pitched voice without hesitation, KiBum ducked. A gunshot rang out and the demon behind him was blown to bits.
“Thanks!” he yelled to Kevin, whirling around to face the other two demons. SooHyun was dealing with one of them, silver knife flashing in the darkness.
KiBum took a good look at the second demon, seeing the taint through his silver eye. It was wounded already by a stray bullet, the silver slowly eating away at its flesh. But despite the rotting smell hanging in the air, it was still fighting strongly.
Aiming, KiBum fired just as the demon tried to sneak up on SooHyun. The monster keened loudly, whirling around to face him with red, glowing eyes. A second gunshot blew up its head, and the body fell to the ground to slowly disappear.
Looking up to see SooHyun take care of the other demon, KiBum sighed in relief. “That was close…where did you go?” He asked Kevin. “You disappeared on us.”
“Sorry hyung,” Kevin ducked his head slightly. “I got sidetracked.”
“Well you showed up in the knick of time, as usual,” SooHyun snorted, wrapping one arm around KiBum’s shoulders. “Come on, I think we’re done here for the day.”
“Don’t sense any more?” KiBum asked the medium.
“Nope. Well, I’m not sure. You know I haven’t stopped sensing something nearby for ages.”
“Maybe JungMin was right, and your ability is dysfunctional,” KiBum snorted, and yelped as his side was pinched. Turning around, he proceeded to beat his boyfriend with his bag, Kevin laughing at them both.
“Hey, watch it! That thing’s heavy!”
****************************
Kevin was always there. Whether KiBum needed someone to talk to, if he was in a bad mood, if he was in trouble, or just if he was bored, the younger boy - now teen - always popped up. HyungJoon joked that Kevin must be a telepath, but it was obvious he was glad his little brother had a friend he could count on.
When KiBum woke up one day and his right eye felt like it was on fire, his first instinct was to call HyungJoon in the room next to his own. But when he turned to the mirror and saw the bright, unnatural silver his eye had become, he dove for his cell phone instead.
“….Yeoboseyo?” Kevin sounded sleepy.
“Kev? C-can you come over? Please?” KiBum sounded scared even to himself. No, he wasn’t hallucinating. His eye hurt like a bitch and the black iris had turned pure silver.
“Of course, hyung. What’s wrong?” There was shuffling at the other end of the line as Kevin rolled out of bed and hurried around.
“Just…please get here soon, okay?”
HyungJoon woke up when a burst of pain from KiBum’s eye made the younger brother scream. Their mother was already gone for her job, so it was only them home.
“KiBum?” he called, knocking on his brother’s door. Trying the doorknob, he found it locked. “KiBum! Open the door! What’s wrong?”
“N-nothing! I’m fine!” KiBum yelled from the other side of the door, one hand over his silver eye.
“Why don’t I believe that? KiBum, open the door!” HyungJoon resumed knocking.
Then the sound of the front doorbell ringing grabbed his attention. Casting an anxious glance at his little brother’s bedroom door, HyungJoon hurried to answer it. When he saw Kevin standing on their doorstep, fully dressed and wide-eyed with worry, he blinked. “What are you doing here, Kevin?”
“KiBum hyung called,” the younger explained. HyungJoon frowned but let him in. Kevin wasted no time slipping out of his shoes and running to KiBum’s room. HyungJoon watched as he knocked and spoke quietly, before KiBum wordlessly let him in. The door locked again behind him.
“Hyung?” Kevin watched KiBum turn away from him, one hand still over his eye. “Hyung, what’s wrong?”
“I…Promise you won’t be weirded out?” KiBum bit his lower lip nervously. When Kevin voiced his promise, the older teen turned around to face him. “My eye was killing me when I woke up, and when I checked…”
He lowered his hand slowly, revealing the silver eye. The white around it was a little red from the pain, but otherwise fine.
It should have puzzled KiBum why Kevin didn’t look shocked, or even surprised. He stepped closer to KiBum with an unreadable expression, carefully pushing KiBum’s hair out of the way to see easier.
“…You should hold ice against it, it’s swelling a little,” he said quietly. When KiBum blinked at him in confusion, Kevin hugged him tightly. “We’ll figure this out, okay hyung?”
Nodding mutely, KiBum let himself feel relieved for his best friend as he returned the tight hug. Kevin always knew what to do to make a bad situation better.
Little did he know a small cosmetic change was going to be the least of his worries.
*******************************
Their small group of Seekers met every two days now, to catch up and to mark their progress in ridding Seoul of the last demons. As one of the two in their group with the Sight, KiBum could see the demons’ auras even when they hid in human forms, making him invaluable to the cause. And he liked helping, it made him feel important.
There was one more mystery they talked about on a regular basis, and it was one they were no closer to solving.
A month ago, they’d been visited by a pair of traveling Seekers, HyunJoong and YoungSaeng. Together with their help, and the help of many nameless ‘contacts’, they’d destroyed the demon nest hidden in the heart of Seoul. After that, the two had vanished, and they haven’t seen or heard of them since.
The part that none of them understood was HyunJoong’s special, rose-rimmed eye that saw something different from others with the Sight…and that his partner, YoungSaeng, had apparently died 25 years ago.
Many theories were bounced around, and discarded. After seeing the abilities some of these ‘contacts’ wielded, one idea kept coming up regularly.
Guardian angels.
The Sight was supposedly Heaven’s way of giving the humans something to fight back the demons with. Some of them were of the opinion it was a lousy tool; couldn’t they do better than giving a dozen children in each country a silver eye and nightmares for the rest of their lives as they saw demons inside supposedly normal people?
But what if Heaven had given them more than that? If demons existed, why couldn’t angels?
“I kept sensing something around YoungSaeng,” SooHyun was telling them today. “It wasn’t a demon, but it wasn’t normal either.”
“You are always sensing something,” JungMin snorted, curled up on the couch beside KyuJong. “Maybe your medium senses were on the fritz as usual.”
SooHyun scowled down at his lap. “I’m sure of it…even now, even now I can still sense something. Not demonic, but…”
KiBum patted his boyfriend’s knee. “Don’t give yourself a headache again. We’ll figure it out eventually.”
“Hope so, this is getting frustrating,” Daniel, their group leader, sighed as he rubbed his temples. “Okay, back to demons. Reports?”
As KyuJong’s team gave in their reports, KiBum nudged Kevin’s leg. “Come help me find a snack or something,” he said, standing. They were getting close to lunch and this meeting was probably not going to end anytime soon.
“Sure,” Kevin smiled widely, getting up and following after him. None of them saw SooHyun watching Kevin with narrowed eyes as they disappeared into the kitchen.
******************************
Kevin had finally convinced him after an hour to show HyungJoon his eye. As the younger teen had said, KiBum couldn’t walk around with sunglasses without his brother asking why. That and the older Kim brother was practically camped out in front of KiBum’s door, not moving until he could find out what was wrong with KiBum.
HyungJoon made up for Kevin’s lack of shock by practically flailing around in a panic (and nearly attempting to drag KiBum to a hospital - what if it was a virus or superbug or something?). After the initial round of panic that had KiBum wanting to hide under his bed for the rest of the day, the older brother directed his attention to less drastic ways of finding out what was wrong with KiBum’s eye.
Searches turned up nothing, and the panicking faded somewhat as KiBum’s eye stopped hurting. It would have been back to normal…if it weren’t for the silver. Kevin was the one to make the suggestion about hiding it with his hair; KiBum needed a haircut anyways.
Life sort of went on as normal after that. KiBum kept his eye covered, and sat down every night with HyungJoon to find just what had happened to him. They even booked a doctor’s appointment to get it checked, an expensive appointment HyungJoon paid for with what measly pay he could get from his part-time job. Their mother didn’t know about KiBum’s condition, and KiBum wanted it to stay that way. The eye wasn’t even hurting anymore, so why worry her?
KiBum was walking home from school a year later, HyungJoon beside him, when he saw the most terrifying thing he’d ever seen, and made him realize his eye wasn’t just a weird mutation.
A man, walking down the street…only in KiBum’s vision, he wasn’t a man. He was a monster, black skinned with fangs and five-inch long claws and glowing red eyes. His entire body glowed, and saliva dripped from his grin.
“Do…Do you see that, hyung?” KiBum stammered, grabbing on to HyungJoon’s sleeve in fright. “That man…what the hell is it?”
“Huh?” HyungJoon blinked at his brother in confusion before turning his attention to their surroundings, looking around in vain. “Who? What are you looking at?”
“That man!” KiBum pointed at the creature’s retreating back. “He’s…he’s a monster! His eyes are red, he’s not human!”
“What are you going on about?” HyungJoon frowned. “He’s normal, KiBum, he looks perfectly normal. What are you seeing?”
Shaking a little, KiBum rubbed his eyes and looked again. It was then he noticed he was seeing the creature through his silver eye only. A…hallucination?
“I…I don’t…” KiBum stared before swallowing. “Sorry, it’s nothing, I’m just seeing things.”
“….You sure?” HyungJoon watched him in worry.
No, KiBum wasn’t sure, but he nodded anyways. He didn’t want HyungJoon thinking he’d gone insane and was hallucinating…although maybe he was.
But the ‘hallucinations’ kept on coming.
**************************
“Is Kevin okay?” SooHyun heard KyuJong whisper to HyungJoon one day, the medium glancing at them in confusion. KiBum and Kevin had just left to buy something at the convenience store, leaving JungMin, KyuJong, HyungJoon and SooHyun in the living room talking.
“Dunno, he’s kinda pale today isn’t he?” HyungJoon frowned, drawing his legs up to his chest. “KiBum said something about him not sleeping well. Maybe he’s catching sick.”
“Hopefully not,” KyuJong murmured, leaning back against JungMin. “He’s been acting weird for a while. Since the demon nest problem.”
“Weird how?” SooHyun perked up at that, frowning at them. Something just felt…off, about Kevin. He’d tried to explain it to KiBum before though, that something just wasn’t right about his best friend, but that had resulted in an argument that had KiBum ignoring him for days. No one said anything bad about Kevin to KiBum.
“He disappears all the time, haven’t you noticed?” KyuJong glanced at him. “He’s on edge more often too.”
“KiBum said he’s been distracted lately,” HyungJoon piped up. The normally oblivious young man was protective of his little brother, and his brother’s best friend.
“That reminds me,” JungMin blinked, glancing at KyuJong. “Do you remember that conversation Kevin was having with HyunJoong and YoungSaeng before they disappeared?”
“The what and the what?” HyungJoon leaned forward, curious. “He was talking to them?”
“Oh yeah…we overheard them talking in the stairwell,” KyuJong frowned. SooHyun watched them all, listening intently.
“What about?” HyungJoon pressed.
“Something about Kevin’s ‘job’…? I can’t remember,” JungMin glanced at KyuJong.
“It was something like that,” KyuJong nodded. “And getting attached.”
“Attached to who?” HyungJoon was confused. “What job? He has a part-time job, doesn’t he?”
“Why would they be talking about that, they don’t even know Kevin,” JungMin whapped HyungJoon off the head, earning a yelp.
“But then-“ SooHyun started, and shut up when the door clicked open, voices flooding in. Instantly that weird sensation at the back of his mind started up again, that same feeling he got when a demon was nearby, and he glanced sharply at the door.
KiBum and Kevin walked in, talking about a video game from the sounds of it as they went to put the bags away.
Attached…there was only one person Kevin was really attached to, SooHyun thought as he watched them with a frown.
Just what was going on?
*********************************
KiBum knew mentioning anything more to HyungJoon about the strange things he’d been seeing would just worry his brother for no reason, and he still wasn’t convinced he hadn’t just lost his mind anyways. But there had never been a chance of hiding it from Kevin.
The first time KiBum flinched away from a monster in the corner of his vision while he and Kevin were walking down the street, the younger man frowned at him lightly.
“Hyung, are you okay?”
“Uh…yeah,” KiBum said, but his eyes kept flickering to the woman with a demonic grin and a snake’s lower body, eyes glowing red. “Just fi-ine.”
“You don’t look fine,” Kevin said quietly.
“I am, it’s nothing, don’t worry about it,” KiBum tore his eyes away from the woman to smile at Kevin, but the motion was strained.
Kevin continued to stare at him even as they headed back to KiBum’s house from school. Finally KiBum couldn’t stand it anymore, giving a shaky sigh before drawing Kevin aside.
“Listen, I know this sounds crazy…but I…I’m seeing things.”
“Things?” Kevin blinked at him, frowning. “Like what?”
“Like…” KiBum pushed his hair back with one hand, closing his eyes. “Like people with bat wings, and glowing red eyes, and fangs and claws. They’re ordinary people, but when I look at them, I see…I don’t see a normal person. I see monsters. I’m losing it, aren’t I? I’ve gone insane.”
Kevin frowned at him, glancing around before returning his gaze to KiBum. “When did you start seeing them?”
“You think I’m crazy don’t you,” KiBum cracked one eye open at Kevin, wincing.
“I didn’t say that hyung,” Kevin shook his head. “When did this start?”
Why was Kevin even humoring this madness? “I don’t know, I guess…about a month ago? What’s even weirder, if I close this eye-“ he tapped beside his silver eye, hidden by his hair, “-they look normal again. It’s like I can only see the monsters in this eye. Maybe I should go see a shrink or something.”
“Nothing’s wrong with you,” Kevin shook his head, touching KiBum’s shoulder lightly. “We’ll figure this out, okay? But if you see any of those people again, tell me, okay? Or call me.”
“Why are you being like this, you’re scaring the creep outta me Kev,” KiBum groaned. “It’s just my imagination.”
“Maybe…but let’s be careful just to be sure, okay hyung? Let me know if you see something, two people can figure this out better than one.”
“Kev…”
“And if you’re seeing monsters inside them…don’t let them catch you alone.”
***************************
Maybe this was getting a little out of hand, SooHyun had to admit to himself a few days later. But he was worried, and if there was something off about Kevin, he had to figure out what. He took KiBum’s safety seriously…so just who was KiBum’s best friend, really?
So when Kevin had left early for an ‘appointment’, SooHyun had excused himself and followed as discreetly as he could. He could trace that strange aura he got from Kevin from a mile away. His medium skills weren’t dysfunctional like the others always said; the reason why he was always sensing something nearby, was because Kevin was always nearby.
So far the younger man didn’t seem to suspect he was following, but then again, he’d been very distracted lately. SooHyun kept a few people behind, watching Kevin cough into his hand every now and then.
Then a figure came up beside him, and SooHyun blinked as he recognized one of HyunJoong and YoungSaeng’s ‘contacts’ from cleaning up the demon nest. Alexander, wasn’t it?
The two went down a side alley, and SooHyun followed them. They went a few alleys away from the main streets before stopping, SooHyun staying around the corner so they wouldn’t see him and trying to listen in.
This Alexander…had the same weird energy as Kevin and YoungSaeng.
“You can’t keep doing this,” Alexander was saying, worry in his eyes and voice as he put both hands on Kevin’s shoulders. “I mean, look at you Kev, you’re practically wasting away!”
“Please, I just need a little more time,” Kevin’s voice was so quiet SooHyun almost missed it. “He still needs me here, just another few months.”
“Kevin, he’s not a kid anymore. He doesn’t need you to be by his side every second of the day like before…you only think he does because you don’t want to leave.” Alexander stopped when Kevin started coughing again, waiting until the fit eased. “You’re pushing yourself too hard…I can give you more time, but only a little more. You’ve been here far too long Kevin.”
“I can’t say goodbye yet,” Kevin sniffed a little. SooHyun cautiously looked around the corner, seeing Kevin’s head down as he rubbed at his eyes. “I just can’t.”
“This is your first charge, isn’t it,” Alexander asked quietly. When Kevin nodded, the older man sighed and hugged Kevin tightly. “We all have to say goodbye eventually.”
Kevin hugged Alexander back tightly, soft sniffles reaching SooHyun where he was hiding. The medium drew back slowly, more confused than ever.
Why would Kevin…have to say goodbye?
**************************************
KiBum was tempted to brush Kevin’s words off as his best friend being too polite to tell him he was completely off his rocker. These monsters were just in his head, why would he have to be careful not to be alone with one of them? Aside from scaring himself half to death…
Walking home from the convenience store late at night, KiBum turned onto a small street he used as a shortcut, and suddenly wished he’d taken Kevin’s advice a little more seriously.
It was one of the monsters….eating the stomach of a young girl, her insides splashed out across the street in a gory mess. KiBum couldn’t move, frozen in place and heart in his throat.
Just in his imagination…just in his imagination…to prove it to himself, KiBum closed his silver eye.
…The monster was still there. And looking right at him, blood dripping from a snarling mouth.
“This isn’t real,” KiBum whispered, then jumped when the creature growled at him, wings rattling before it lowered itself to all fours, skittering across the ground towards him like some sort of disjointed spider. KiBum scrambled backwards, turning and running for his life.
It was right behind him, he could hear it. Why was no one else around? There had to be someone, anyone!
KiBum scrambled to pull his cell phone out, fingers flying over the dialpad. The first thing he should have dialed was 119, he knew that. But instead, his thumb pressed down on the speed dial for Kevin’s phone.
How his best friend was going to help him from where he was probably asleep at home was beyond him. But he had to at least warn Kevin…warn him these things were real, and were all around them.
The monster swiped at his legs and KiBum went down with a yell, the open phone clattering to the ground in front of him as he felt himself being dragged backwards. A scream tore from his lips as pain laced up one leg.
“Cover your head!”
He didn’t have time to register the shout before there was a loud bang, and the creature attacking him shrieked in pain. KiBum looked up to see someone walking towards him, gun out and aimed.
The monster reared up and attacked the newcomer, KiBum covering his eyes as two more shots rang out, from different directions. There was a loud shriek, and then nothing.
When KiBum looked up, the monster was gone. Instead, a young man was standing in front of him, crouching next to him in worry. “Are you okay?”
“Hyung!”
KiBum’s attention snapped away from the man in front of him. “Kev?”
Hands were pulling him up into a sitting position, and Kevin hugged him tightly. “You’re okay, thank God!”
“Kev, what are you…doing here?” KiBum winced at the throbbing pain in his leg, hugging his friend back just as tightly and burying his face against the younger teen’s shoulder.
“He brought us,” spoke a voice KiBum wasn’t familiar with. Looking up from over Kevin’s head, KiBum blinked in confusion at the older man who’d stopped next to the man with the gun. He had a friendly face, they both did, but KiBum didn’t understand what was going on.
“Kevin, who are they?” KiBum asked, looking at his best friend who was still hugging him tightly. Belatedly he realized his silver eye was uncovered, quickly ducking his head and closing that eye.
“You don’t need to do that,” the man who’d saved KiBum’s life said with a smile. He looked around KiBum’s older brother’s age. About to ask him who the hell he was, KiBum’s words dried in his mouth when the other man pushed back unusually long bangs, to show a silver eye. The exact same silver eye as KiBum’s own.
“My name is KyuJong, and this is Daniel hyung. You’re KiBum, right?”
“…Kev, just what is going on?” KiBum murmured, looking at the younger teen. He glanced down at his leg then, and realized the pain he’d been temporarily distracted from was entirely gone. There was no injury or anything.
“They’re going to help,” Kevin beamed at him, hugging KiBum close again. “I told you, we’ll figure this out together.”
Part Two
Fandom: U-KISS, cameos from SS501 and Epik High
Pairings: friendship!KeMaru, SooBum
Word Count: 9,700
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Kevin had been with KiBum through thick and thin, since they were children. He was his protective best friend, the one he could always talk to. What KiBum didn’t know was that protectiveness stemmed from a powerful secret…and soon it would be time to say goodbye.
A/N: Spin-off from Guardian, illustrating Kevin and KiBum’s story from beginning to end. My first attempt at a U-KISS fic, please be gentle ^^;; It’s highly advised to read Guardian before reading this. MASSIVE thanks to renichifreak for the beta!!
It was a perfect day outside, only a few fluffy clouds drifting lazily by. The sky was a deep blue and there was a gentle breeze, birds chirping in the trees. The air wasn’t damp-feeling, and didn’t make his clothes cling to his body uncomfortably. Even the bugs were gone.
So when KiBum’s older brother ‘kidnapped’ him to the park just three streets over from their house, KiBum didn’t complain. Outside was much nicer than listening to mom and dad scream at each other. He didn’t understand many of the words they threw at each other, but it scared him nonetheless. When he asked HyungJoon why mommy and daddy were fighting, he just hugged the six-year-old close and asked him if he wanted an ice cream. Then he’d take KiBum out for ice cream, using all of the coins in his piggy bank to help KiBum forget the fighting.
Even then, his big brother was his entire world.
But his big brother couldn’t protect him from everything.
“I’ll get it!” KiBum called, running after the soccer ball that had rolled into the street. He was closest after all, his hyung at the other end of the small field they’d been playing in.
“KiBum, look for cars!” HyungJoon yelled after him, running on tiny legs. But his little brother’s gaze was focused on the ball just beyond his reach, all his attention on retrieving it.
Only when a frantic note entered HyungJoon’s voice, the older boy yelling at him to move, did he look up and see a car come screeching around the corner right towards him.
Small hands wrapped around his wrists and pulled, KiBum screaming as he landed on his rear on the grass. The car raced by inches from his feet, hitting the soccer ball and sending it sailing. The vehicle didn’t even stop, loud music booming as it continued on.
“Are you okay?” A tiny voice asked, and KiBum looked at the other kid sitting on the ground beside him. He hadn’t even seen this boy come up, wide eyes meeting his as he asked the question again. “Are you okay?”
Then it hit KiBum that this boy had saved him, that he could have died, and the shock dissolved into frightened wails for his brother. HyungJoon had reached them by them and pulled KiBum into a hug, checking him over for scrapes and bruises.
It took about ten minutes to calm the terrified child down. By the time KiBum could see through the tears his brother was wiping away with tissue, the strange boy who’d saved his life was gone.
The incident was forgotten the following day, when his dad left home and never came back.
*********************
“KiBum, come on, you’re going to be late for school!”
Usually KiBum was the first to wake up, not HyungJoon, but it had been a late night. Running around hunting demons was enough to exhaust anyone, no matter how fit they were. Last night had been particularly brutal. They were still cleaning up the remains of that demon nest that had been destroyed a month ago, and last night he and his team had ran into four demons right after the other.
Swatting at his brother’s hand, KiBum grumbled at him before burying his face into his pillow. He didn’t care if HyungJoon had a point, he deserved to skip first class after the beating they’d taken the night before.
Pouting down at his twenty-year-old brother, HyungJoon gave a long-suffering sigh and left the room. He’d given up arguing with his brother when he was half-asleep, he never won anyways. He knew someone that would though.
A minute later, the doorbell rang and HyungJoon grinned widely. The cavalry had arrived.
KiBum enjoyed another two minutes of blissful peace, and had been just about to drift off again when the bed dipped to one side. Swatting blindly to get his brother to leave him alone, he felt long fingers curl around his wrist and put his arm back down, before those same fingers massaged at the back of his neck.
“Hyung, time to wake up. You can’t miss this class, remember? You have a test.”
The gentle voice made KiBum crack one eye open, then close it again. “…I want to sleep Kev,” he mumbled into the pillow.
“I know hyung, but you can’t sleep now. I’ll buy you coffee, okay? With whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles.”
That did sound pretty good. KiBum’s stomach chose that moment to remind him breakfast was in order too, and he flushed as he curled up more under the blankets.
The younger man sitting on the edge of the bed laughed. “Breakfast too. Come on hyung, up.”
“…Fine fine,” KiBum sighed, pushing himself reluctantly up. He could never argue with Kevin for very long, and he felt awake now anyways. Patting at his hair to get it to stay down, he blinked blearily at his long-time best friend.
Kevin smiled back at him, meeting KiBum’s mismatched eyes; one an ordinary black, the other silver. The mark of someone with the Sight. “Hurry up and change hyung, then we can go get you breakfast,” the younger man said happily, clapping his shoulder lightly before leaving the room.
KiBum watched Kevin close the door behind him, yawning. Where Kevin found the energy to be so perky in the mornings was beyond him; the younger man had been just as tired of demon hunting as he had been last night. KiBum knew for a fact that SooHyun, the medium in their demon hunting team and his boyfriend, wouldn’t be waking up until noon.
He envied his boyfriend that extra time to sleep in. But thanks to Kevin, as usual, the day was looking less horrible already.
******************************
A new kid transferred into his class when KiBum was ten. SungHyun, though he’d introduced himself as Kevin, came from America apparently. Some of the meaner kids in the back snickered at his accented Korean, and shot pieces of paper at him when the teacher wasn’t looking. But Kevin never got mad, only smiled over his shoulder at them. It wasn’t the reaction they were looking for, which was crying or yelling, so they got bored and stopped before long.
KiBum didn’t like Kevin that much at first. The American always gravitated towards him, and he didn’t understand why. There were so many other people to be friends with, why him? KiBum wasn’t a ‘make friends’ type of kid. He had his brother, and that was enough for him.
He was still having bullying problems of his own too, and seeing how those kids went after Kevin the first day made KiBum want to stay away from him. He was trying to avoid the attention of those kids, hanging out with Kevin would be bad news.
One day, those older kids caught him waiting for HyungJoon to pick him up after school. His brother was old enough to be in a different school now, so KiBum had to wait an hour each day for his brother’s classes to finish so they could walk home. Their mom was busy with two jobs, why worry her when he was just fine with HyungJoon?
Sitting on the school stairs patiently, KiBum yelped as he was swiped off the back of the head. Looking up to see those four mean faces sneering down at him, he slowly stood up. Yelling for help wouldn’t do anything; no one was around to hear him. Crying would make it worse. So KiBum made his shoulders stiff and clenched his fists in his pockets as they jeered at him, pushing him back and forth. He’d promised HyungJoon not to fight, and he wouldn’t break a promise to his brother.
A particularly hard push threw him off balance, and KiBum landed in the dirt, coughing. Tiny points of pain on his knees and hands made him bite the inside of his cheek, blinking hard to keep the tears at bay. Crying made it worse.
“Leave him alone!” A tiny voice yelled suddenly, and KiBum looked up. That new kid, Kevin, stood not far away, chin up and hands in fists at his sides. “I said leave him alone!”
As predicted, the older boys decided to go after the feistier target rather than the one who stayed on the ground and let them beat him. Kevin took a few hits before running, the boys following him. KiBum watched the corner they’d taken with wide eyes as he sat up, expecting them to come back and finish him off once they’d hurt Kevin more.
But they never came back.
His brother fussed over his scrapes, KiBum lying and saying he’d fallen. The next day in school, the bullies didn’t so much as look at him. They didn’t look at Kevin either, the boy sporting a bruised cheek but otherwise fine.
They didn’t bother him again.
A week later, when Kevin asked to sit beside him in the cafeteria, KiBum didn’t turn him down rudely like he usually did. And with a shy smile the younger boy sat down next to him.
***************************
One thing KiBum always appreciated about Kevin was his impeccable timing.
“Head down!”
Listening to the higher-pitched voice without hesitation, KiBum ducked. A gunshot rang out and the demon behind him was blown to bits.
“Thanks!” he yelled to Kevin, whirling around to face the other two demons. SooHyun was dealing with one of them, silver knife flashing in the darkness.
KiBum took a good look at the second demon, seeing the taint through his silver eye. It was wounded already by a stray bullet, the silver slowly eating away at its flesh. But despite the rotting smell hanging in the air, it was still fighting strongly.
Aiming, KiBum fired just as the demon tried to sneak up on SooHyun. The monster keened loudly, whirling around to face him with red, glowing eyes. A second gunshot blew up its head, and the body fell to the ground to slowly disappear.
Looking up to see SooHyun take care of the other demon, KiBum sighed in relief. “That was close…where did you go?” He asked Kevin. “You disappeared on us.”
“Sorry hyung,” Kevin ducked his head slightly. “I got sidetracked.”
“Well you showed up in the knick of time, as usual,” SooHyun snorted, wrapping one arm around KiBum’s shoulders. “Come on, I think we’re done here for the day.”
“Don’t sense any more?” KiBum asked the medium.
“Nope. Well, I’m not sure. You know I haven’t stopped sensing something nearby for ages.”
“Maybe JungMin was right, and your ability is dysfunctional,” KiBum snorted, and yelped as his side was pinched. Turning around, he proceeded to beat his boyfriend with his bag, Kevin laughing at them both.
“Hey, watch it! That thing’s heavy!”
****************************
Kevin was always there. Whether KiBum needed someone to talk to, if he was in a bad mood, if he was in trouble, or just if he was bored, the younger boy - now teen - always popped up. HyungJoon joked that Kevin must be a telepath, but it was obvious he was glad his little brother had a friend he could count on.
When KiBum woke up one day and his right eye felt like it was on fire, his first instinct was to call HyungJoon in the room next to his own. But when he turned to the mirror and saw the bright, unnatural silver his eye had become, he dove for his cell phone instead.
“….Yeoboseyo?” Kevin sounded sleepy.
“Kev? C-can you come over? Please?” KiBum sounded scared even to himself. No, he wasn’t hallucinating. His eye hurt like a bitch and the black iris had turned pure silver.
“Of course, hyung. What’s wrong?” There was shuffling at the other end of the line as Kevin rolled out of bed and hurried around.
“Just…please get here soon, okay?”
HyungJoon woke up when a burst of pain from KiBum’s eye made the younger brother scream. Their mother was already gone for her job, so it was only them home.
“KiBum?” he called, knocking on his brother’s door. Trying the doorknob, he found it locked. “KiBum! Open the door! What’s wrong?”
“N-nothing! I’m fine!” KiBum yelled from the other side of the door, one hand over his silver eye.
“Why don’t I believe that? KiBum, open the door!” HyungJoon resumed knocking.
Then the sound of the front doorbell ringing grabbed his attention. Casting an anxious glance at his little brother’s bedroom door, HyungJoon hurried to answer it. When he saw Kevin standing on their doorstep, fully dressed and wide-eyed with worry, he blinked. “What are you doing here, Kevin?”
“KiBum hyung called,” the younger explained. HyungJoon frowned but let him in. Kevin wasted no time slipping out of his shoes and running to KiBum’s room. HyungJoon watched as he knocked and spoke quietly, before KiBum wordlessly let him in. The door locked again behind him.
“Hyung?” Kevin watched KiBum turn away from him, one hand still over his eye. “Hyung, what’s wrong?”
“I…Promise you won’t be weirded out?” KiBum bit his lower lip nervously. When Kevin voiced his promise, the older teen turned around to face him. “My eye was killing me when I woke up, and when I checked…”
He lowered his hand slowly, revealing the silver eye. The white around it was a little red from the pain, but otherwise fine.
It should have puzzled KiBum why Kevin didn’t look shocked, or even surprised. He stepped closer to KiBum with an unreadable expression, carefully pushing KiBum’s hair out of the way to see easier.
“…You should hold ice against it, it’s swelling a little,” he said quietly. When KiBum blinked at him in confusion, Kevin hugged him tightly. “We’ll figure this out, okay hyung?”
Nodding mutely, KiBum let himself feel relieved for his best friend as he returned the tight hug. Kevin always knew what to do to make a bad situation better.
Little did he know a small cosmetic change was going to be the least of his worries.
*******************************
Their small group of Seekers met every two days now, to catch up and to mark their progress in ridding Seoul of the last demons. As one of the two in their group with the Sight, KiBum could see the demons’ auras even when they hid in human forms, making him invaluable to the cause. And he liked helping, it made him feel important.
There was one more mystery they talked about on a regular basis, and it was one they were no closer to solving.
A month ago, they’d been visited by a pair of traveling Seekers, HyunJoong and YoungSaeng. Together with their help, and the help of many nameless ‘contacts’, they’d destroyed the demon nest hidden in the heart of Seoul. After that, the two had vanished, and they haven’t seen or heard of them since.
The part that none of them understood was HyunJoong’s special, rose-rimmed eye that saw something different from others with the Sight…and that his partner, YoungSaeng, had apparently died 25 years ago.
Many theories were bounced around, and discarded. After seeing the abilities some of these ‘contacts’ wielded, one idea kept coming up regularly.
Guardian angels.
The Sight was supposedly Heaven’s way of giving the humans something to fight back the demons with. Some of them were of the opinion it was a lousy tool; couldn’t they do better than giving a dozen children in each country a silver eye and nightmares for the rest of their lives as they saw demons inside supposedly normal people?
But what if Heaven had given them more than that? If demons existed, why couldn’t angels?
“I kept sensing something around YoungSaeng,” SooHyun was telling them today. “It wasn’t a demon, but it wasn’t normal either.”
“You are always sensing something,” JungMin snorted, curled up on the couch beside KyuJong. “Maybe your medium senses were on the fritz as usual.”
SooHyun scowled down at his lap. “I’m sure of it…even now, even now I can still sense something. Not demonic, but…”
KiBum patted his boyfriend’s knee. “Don’t give yourself a headache again. We’ll figure it out eventually.”
“Hope so, this is getting frustrating,” Daniel, their group leader, sighed as he rubbed his temples. “Okay, back to demons. Reports?”
As KyuJong’s team gave in their reports, KiBum nudged Kevin’s leg. “Come help me find a snack or something,” he said, standing. They were getting close to lunch and this meeting was probably not going to end anytime soon.
“Sure,” Kevin smiled widely, getting up and following after him. None of them saw SooHyun watching Kevin with narrowed eyes as they disappeared into the kitchen.
******************************
Kevin had finally convinced him after an hour to show HyungJoon his eye. As the younger teen had said, KiBum couldn’t walk around with sunglasses without his brother asking why. That and the older Kim brother was practically camped out in front of KiBum’s door, not moving until he could find out what was wrong with KiBum.
HyungJoon made up for Kevin’s lack of shock by practically flailing around in a panic (and nearly attempting to drag KiBum to a hospital - what if it was a virus or superbug or something?). After the initial round of panic that had KiBum wanting to hide under his bed for the rest of the day, the older brother directed his attention to less drastic ways of finding out what was wrong with KiBum’s eye.
Searches turned up nothing, and the panicking faded somewhat as KiBum’s eye stopped hurting. It would have been back to normal…if it weren’t for the silver. Kevin was the one to make the suggestion about hiding it with his hair; KiBum needed a haircut anyways.
Life sort of went on as normal after that. KiBum kept his eye covered, and sat down every night with HyungJoon to find just what had happened to him. They even booked a doctor’s appointment to get it checked, an expensive appointment HyungJoon paid for with what measly pay he could get from his part-time job. Their mother didn’t know about KiBum’s condition, and KiBum wanted it to stay that way. The eye wasn’t even hurting anymore, so why worry her?
KiBum was walking home from school a year later, HyungJoon beside him, when he saw the most terrifying thing he’d ever seen, and made him realize his eye wasn’t just a weird mutation.
A man, walking down the street…only in KiBum’s vision, he wasn’t a man. He was a monster, black skinned with fangs and five-inch long claws and glowing red eyes. His entire body glowed, and saliva dripped from his grin.
“Do…Do you see that, hyung?” KiBum stammered, grabbing on to HyungJoon’s sleeve in fright. “That man…what the hell is it?”
“Huh?” HyungJoon blinked at his brother in confusion before turning his attention to their surroundings, looking around in vain. “Who? What are you looking at?”
“That man!” KiBum pointed at the creature’s retreating back. “He’s…he’s a monster! His eyes are red, he’s not human!”
“What are you going on about?” HyungJoon frowned. “He’s normal, KiBum, he looks perfectly normal. What are you seeing?”
Shaking a little, KiBum rubbed his eyes and looked again. It was then he noticed he was seeing the creature through his silver eye only. A…hallucination?
“I…I don’t…” KiBum stared before swallowing. “Sorry, it’s nothing, I’m just seeing things.”
“….You sure?” HyungJoon watched him in worry.
No, KiBum wasn’t sure, but he nodded anyways. He didn’t want HyungJoon thinking he’d gone insane and was hallucinating…although maybe he was.
But the ‘hallucinations’ kept on coming.
**************************
“Is Kevin okay?” SooHyun heard KyuJong whisper to HyungJoon one day, the medium glancing at them in confusion. KiBum and Kevin had just left to buy something at the convenience store, leaving JungMin, KyuJong, HyungJoon and SooHyun in the living room talking.
“Dunno, he’s kinda pale today isn’t he?” HyungJoon frowned, drawing his legs up to his chest. “KiBum said something about him not sleeping well. Maybe he’s catching sick.”
“Hopefully not,” KyuJong murmured, leaning back against JungMin. “He’s been acting weird for a while. Since the demon nest problem.”
“Weird how?” SooHyun perked up at that, frowning at them. Something just felt…off, about Kevin. He’d tried to explain it to KiBum before though, that something just wasn’t right about his best friend, but that had resulted in an argument that had KiBum ignoring him for days. No one said anything bad about Kevin to KiBum.
“He disappears all the time, haven’t you noticed?” KyuJong glanced at him. “He’s on edge more often too.”
“KiBum said he’s been distracted lately,” HyungJoon piped up. The normally oblivious young man was protective of his little brother, and his brother’s best friend.
“That reminds me,” JungMin blinked, glancing at KyuJong. “Do you remember that conversation Kevin was having with HyunJoong and YoungSaeng before they disappeared?”
“The what and the what?” HyungJoon leaned forward, curious. “He was talking to them?”
“Oh yeah…we overheard them talking in the stairwell,” KyuJong frowned. SooHyun watched them all, listening intently.
“What about?” HyungJoon pressed.
“Something about Kevin’s ‘job’…? I can’t remember,” JungMin glanced at KyuJong.
“It was something like that,” KyuJong nodded. “And getting attached.”
“Attached to who?” HyungJoon was confused. “What job? He has a part-time job, doesn’t he?”
“Why would they be talking about that, they don’t even know Kevin,” JungMin whapped HyungJoon off the head, earning a yelp.
“But then-“ SooHyun started, and shut up when the door clicked open, voices flooding in. Instantly that weird sensation at the back of his mind started up again, that same feeling he got when a demon was nearby, and he glanced sharply at the door.
KiBum and Kevin walked in, talking about a video game from the sounds of it as they went to put the bags away.
Attached…there was only one person Kevin was really attached to, SooHyun thought as he watched them with a frown.
Just what was going on?
*********************************
KiBum knew mentioning anything more to HyungJoon about the strange things he’d been seeing would just worry his brother for no reason, and he still wasn’t convinced he hadn’t just lost his mind anyways. But there had never been a chance of hiding it from Kevin.
The first time KiBum flinched away from a monster in the corner of his vision while he and Kevin were walking down the street, the younger man frowned at him lightly.
“Hyung, are you okay?”
“Uh…yeah,” KiBum said, but his eyes kept flickering to the woman with a demonic grin and a snake’s lower body, eyes glowing red. “Just fi-ine.”
“You don’t look fine,” Kevin said quietly.
“I am, it’s nothing, don’t worry about it,” KiBum tore his eyes away from the woman to smile at Kevin, but the motion was strained.
Kevin continued to stare at him even as they headed back to KiBum’s house from school. Finally KiBum couldn’t stand it anymore, giving a shaky sigh before drawing Kevin aside.
“Listen, I know this sounds crazy…but I…I’m seeing things.”
“Things?” Kevin blinked at him, frowning. “Like what?”
“Like…” KiBum pushed his hair back with one hand, closing his eyes. “Like people with bat wings, and glowing red eyes, and fangs and claws. They’re ordinary people, but when I look at them, I see…I don’t see a normal person. I see monsters. I’m losing it, aren’t I? I’ve gone insane.”
Kevin frowned at him, glancing around before returning his gaze to KiBum. “When did you start seeing them?”
“You think I’m crazy don’t you,” KiBum cracked one eye open at Kevin, wincing.
“I didn’t say that hyung,” Kevin shook his head. “When did this start?”
Why was Kevin even humoring this madness? “I don’t know, I guess…about a month ago? What’s even weirder, if I close this eye-“ he tapped beside his silver eye, hidden by his hair, “-they look normal again. It’s like I can only see the monsters in this eye. Maybe I should go see a shrink or something.”
“Nothing’s wrong with you,” Kevin shook his head, touching KiBum’s shoulder lightly. “We’ll figure this out, okay? But if you see any of those people again, tell me, okay? Or call me.”
“Why are you being like this, you’re scaring the creep outta me Kev,” KiBum groaned. “It’s just my imagination.”
“Maybe…but let’s be careful just to be sure, okay hyung? Let me know if you see something, two people can figure this out better than one.”
“Kev…”
“And if you’re seeing monsters inside them…don’t let them catch you alone.”
***************************
Maybe this was getting a little out of hand, SooHyun had to admit to himself a few days later. But he was worried, and if there was something off about Kevin, he had to figure out what. He took KiBum’s safety seriously…so just who was KiBum’s best friend, really?
So when Kevin had left early for an ‘appointment’, SooHyun had excused himself and followed as discreetly as he could. He could trace that strange aura he got from Kevin from a mile away. His medium skills weren’t dysfunctional like the others always said; the reason why he was always sensing something nearby, was because Kevin was always nearby.
So far the younger man didn’t seem to suspect he was following, but then again, he’d been very distracted lately. SooHyun kept a few people behind, watching Kevin cough into his hand every now and then.
Then a figure came up beside him, and SooHyun blinked as he recognized one of HyunJoong and YoungSaeng’s ‘contacts’ from cleaning up the demon nest. Alexander, wasn’t it?
The two went down a side alley, and SooHyun followed them. They went a few alleys away from the main streets before stopping, SooHyun staying around the corner so they wouldn’t see him and trying to listen in.
This Alexander…had the same weird energy as Kevin and YoungSaeng.
“You can’t keep doing this,” Alexander was saying, worry in his eyes and voice as he put both hands on Kevin’s shoulders. “I mean, look at you Kev, you’re practically wasting away!”
“Please, I just need a little more time,” Kevin’s voice was so quiet SooHyun almost missed it. “He still needs me here, just another few months.”
“Kevin, he’s not a kid anymore. He doesn’t need you to be by his side every second of the day like before…you only think he does because you don’t want to leave.” Alexander stopped when Kevin started coughing again, waiting until the fit eased. “You’re pushing yourself too hard…I can give you more time, but only a little more. You’ve been here far too long Kevin.”
“I can’t say goodbye yet,” Kevin sniffed a little. SooHyun cautiously looked around the corner, seeing Kevin’s head down as he rubbed at his eyes. “I just can’t.”
“This is your first charge, isn’t it,” Alexander asked quietly. When Kevin nodded, the older man sighed and hugged Kevin tightly. “We all have to say goodbye eventually.”
Kevin hugged Alexander back tightly, soft sniffles reaching SooHyun where he was hiding. The medium drew back slowly, more confused than ever.
Why would Kevin…have to say goodbye?
**************************************
KiBum was tempted to brush Kevin’s words off as his best friend being too polite to tell him he was completely off his rocker. These monsters were just in his head, why would he have to be careful not to be alone with one of them? Aside from scaring himself half to death…
Walking home from the convenience store late at night, KiBum turned onto a small street he used as a shortcut, and suddenly wished he’d taken Kevin’s advice a little more seriously.
It was one of the monsters….eating the stomach of a young girl, her insides splashed out across the street in a gory mess. KiBum couldn’t move, frozen in place and heart in his throat.
Just in his imagination…just in his imagination…to prove it to himself, KiBum closed his silver eye.
…The monster was still there. And looking right at him, blood dripping from a snarling mouth.
“This isn’t real,” KiBum whispered, then jumped when the creature growled at him, wings rattling before it lowered itself to all fours, skittering across the ground towards him like some sort of disjointed spider. KiBum scrambled backwards, turning and running for his life.
It was right behind him, he could hear it. Why was no one else around? There had to be someone, anyone!
KiBum scrambled to pull his cell phone out, fingers flying over the dialpad. The first thing he should have dialed was 119, he knew that. But instead, his thumb pressed down on the speed dial for Kevin’s phone.
How his best friend was going to help him from where he was probably asleep at home was beyond him. But he had to at least warn Kevin…warn him these things were real, and were all around them.
The monster swiped at his legs and KiBum went down with a yell, the open phone clattering to the ground in front of him as he felt himself being dragged backwards. A scream tore from his lips as pain laced up one leg.
“Cover your head!”
He didn’t have time to register the shout before there was a loud bang, and the creature attacking him shrieked in pain. KiBum looked up to see someone walking towards him, gun out and aimed.
The monster reared up and attacked the newcomer, KiBum covering his eyes as two more shots rang out, from different directions. There was a loud shriek, and then nothing.
When KiBum looked up, the monster was gone. Instead, a young man was standing in front of him, crouching next to him in worry. “Are you okay?”
“Hyung!”
KiBum’s attention snapped away from the man in front of him. “Kev?”
Hands were pulling him up into a sitting position, and Kevin hugged him tightly. “You’re okay, thank God!”
“Kev, what are you…doing here?” KiBum winced at the throbbing pain in his leg, hugging his friend back just as tightly and burying his face against the younger teen’s shoulder.
“He brought us,” spoke a voice KiBum wasn’t familiar with. Looking up from over Kevin’s head, KiBum blinked in confusion at the older man who’d stopped next to the man with the gun. He had a friendly face, they both did, but KiBum didn’t understand what was going on.
“Kevin, who are they?” KiBum asked, looking at his best friend who was still hugging him tightly. Belatedly he realized his silver eye was uncovered, quickly ducking his head and closing that eye.
“You don’t need to do that,” the man who’d saved KiBum’s life said with a smile. He looked around KiBum’s older brother’s age. About to ask him who the hell he was, KiBum’s words dried in his mouth when the other man pushed back unusually long bangs, to show a silver eye. The exact same silver eye as KiBum’s own.
“My name is KyuJong, and this is Daniel hyung. You’re KiBum, right?”
“…Kev, just what is going on?” KiBum murmured, looking at the younger teen. He glanced down at his leg then, and realized the pain he’d been temporarily distracted from was entirely gone. There was no injury or anything.
“They’re going to help,” Kevin beamed at him, hugging KiBum close again. “I told you, we’ll figure this out together.”
Part Two