hiding, lurking » pentagon

02

❝ T W O ❞

━ you may think you are safe

A week passed, and it seemed to Jinho like he was always with his friends. They would be at the mall, or getting dinner, or it would just be him and Wooseok hanging out in his basement.

On one such occasion, they were all at the park, thanks to Yuto. Everyone was talking over the top of one another, as they were prone to, but Jinho was laying on the grass, letting their conversation buzz over his head. They were trying to decide something; when something was decided, Jinho would participate. As simple as that. He didn't like to shout because he was always drowned out anyway.

"We should play baseball," Yuto said loudly. Jinho cracked an eye open, frowning a little bit when he saw the diminished glimmer in the tall boy's eyes. Usually, when he so much as mentioned baseball, his entire face lit up. Maybe the group noticed this, or sensed that he seemed a little... what? Upset? Tired? Whatever it was, they eventually all agreed to play.

Yuto's game was off. His pitches went all over the place - at one point, Jinho had to actually duck when he was up to bat - the ball bounced right out of his glove, and he tripped on his own feet when he finally got to base. Everyone was razzing him goodnaturedly for it, but he when he was up to bat again, Yanan cheered, "Come on, Yuto, you can do it!"

Yuto finally smiled and he hit a good one; almost a home run - he made it to third.

Later, they all got ice cream and dispersed in pairs or alone. Yanan was trying to keep his double-scoop cone from falling to the ground when Yuto approached him.

"Hey Yanan?" He asked. His tentative tone made Yanan tear his attention away from the cone, the top scoop of which promptly dove to the ground. Yanan didn't seem to notice.

"What's up?" Yanan asked.

"Can we talk?"

Yanan tilted his head, furrowing his brows. "Aren't we talking right now?"

"No, like, away from our friends."

Yanan eyed the sinking sun, then looked back at Yuto. The normally cool and calm boy looked nearly desperate. And behind it all, Yanan saw what looked like panic. It was out of place on Yuto's normally stoic features.

"Where do you want to go?" He asked.

"Um, the playground. Back at the park," Yuto said. Yanan nodded and finally noticed his ice cream, melting on the ground. He just shrugged and tossed the cone in the trash on their way over. The playground was a little ways away from the baseball field they had been playing at, and when they arrived, it was nearly deserted. The sun was just beginning to set as they sat on the swings. Yuto pushed himself back and forth with his foot, the chains of the swing creaking softly. Yanan waited for Yuto to begin talking, studying the boy's solemn face.

"Something's wrong with me," Yuto whispered finally. And the panic in those quiet syllables was so great that Yanan's heart began beating quickly.

"W-What?"

"Something bad is happening to me. To all of us. I-I'm not alone in my body, Yanan, there's something else." Yuto's voice broke and he put his head in his hands.

"What are you talking about? Yuto, are you okay?"

"I'm not! Please believe me," he begged. "Please, please, just say you'll believe me. You need to, I-I don't know what I'll do otherwise."

"I will! I will!" Yanan just wanted Yuto to stop pleading because his chest was aching and he was so confused.

"I tried to hide it, but I can't take it anymore," Yuto said quietly. He lifted his face out of his hands but still stared at the ground. "There's a demon among us." He said it in such a calm tone, even looking directly at Yanan with his guileless but broken eyes, and it made a chill run down Yanan's spine. They were both completely motionless and alone, but the swings' chains creaked. There was no breeze.

"A - a what?" Yanan laughed nervously.

"It's possessed me, I can feel it. Every morning I wake up and I wonder if I did something in the night, because there's - there's terrible messages written on my walls. And sometimes, I just black out but I can feel myself moving, doing something. And it s-speaks to me, tells me t-to d-d-do things th-that I don't want to."

Yuto had been acting strange lately, Yanan knew that. And he also knew that Yuto would never make this up. It wasn't that he wasn't creative, it was just that he was a realist and didn't even like to read fantasy books. For Yuto, everything was logical and tangible. So he wouldn't make this up. And maybe Yanan saw this as his chance.

How many times had he stood off to the side and watched his friends get in trouble or get harassed and how many times had he just let it happen? He'd just let it happen because he was too afraid. And he hated himself for thinking that maybe he could redeem himself.

"I believe you," Yanan said. Yuto looked hugely relieved, straightening up almost as if a weight had literally been lifted off his shoulders. "And I offer myself to the demon in your place." He even held his arms out, not really knowing what the proper demon-possession etiquette was. Yuto looked stricken, lunging off the swing to push Yanan's arms down.

"You idiot! Don't say crap like that!" Yuto hissed.

Yanan expected to feel a gust of wind or a chill or a crow cawing. Instead, he felt nothing besides the strange sensation of his heart twisting as Yuto let out a sob.

"I can still feel it." His voice was quieter than a whisper, and yet it resonated deep within Yanan's bones, chilling the very marrow. Yanan doubted the feeling would ever truly leave. "It's still there." And he slid to the ground, landing on his elbows and knees with his head bowed, hands gripping and pulling at his hair. He began to rock back and forth slightly, his back looking bare and vulnerable in the dark. Yanan hurriedly sat next to him and rubbed his back, pleading with himself to just find the right thing to do, dammit -

"Yanan," Yuto said, the sharp edges of his broken voice muted. "Just make me feel like I'm okay." And his entire body shuddered as he sat up and allowed Yanan to wrap his arms around him. They stayed like that for a long time.

But Yanan found out the next day that it wasn't enough.

a/n: ((((((: