This didn't make any sense. It was something Hoseok just couldn't comprehend. This had to be a nightmare, right?

Why else would Taehyung be standing there, at the roof's edge?

"Tae, get away from the edge! Please!" Hoseok was too afraid to step any closer. It wasn't his fear of heights that prevented him from approaching the one so dear to him. He was terrified that he might make the wrong move and cause Taehyung to fall. Or maybe closing the gap between them would cause Taehyung to feel cornered enough to make the leap."Please come to me!"

But Taehyung looked so calm as he stood there."I have to get down," he said so smoothly."This is quicker than the stairs, you know."

Hoseok didn't understand."You don't have to get down quickly! We can go down the stairs together!"

"I can't do that. He said I have to hurry." Taehyung's gaze flicked just a bit to the side before returning to Hoseok.

"Who?" Looking to the side, Hoseok felt as if he'd almost jumped out of his own skin with fright. There, a few paces to his right, was Taehyung. It was him but not him. A double.

The Taehyung double wore a wicked expression, a smile that could only hold cruel intentions."It's the fastest way down, and there's no time to lose," the double spoke with an airy tone.

"Don't listen to him, Tae! There's plenty of time! There's no rush!" Hoseok didn't know what was going on, but he needed to play into it to convince Taehyung to come to safety.

But it wasn't going to work. Taehyung looked at his double then at Hoseok before turning around."For a long time, I thought no one else could see him. He was in my head, always telling me things. He tells me when I'm wrong, when I'm a burden or a bother. He tells me what people think of me. And he's told me how to fix it."

"What he's telling you isn't true!" Taking a small, shaky step toward the edge, Hoseok extended his hand toward Taehyung."You're not a burden! You're not a bother! He doesn't know what people think of you! I think--no, I know you're a wonderful person! Stepping off the edge isn't going to fix anything! He's lying to you!"

"He'll say anything to you to sound like the better person," the double said with a scoff."Do you really believe him? With how annoying you are, do you believe for a second that he actually wants you to stick around him? Hurry up and jump. The world will be better for it. Everyone has had enough of your pestering."

Taehyung sighed and finally some emotion came into his expression. He always tried to hide it, but if Hoseok was seeing the double, that meant his mask was broken. He couldn't hide his emotions anymore because they were seeping out."I'm sorry, Hyung." The sadness appeared in his eyes more than anything else."I can't listen to him and know what he says anymore. This is the only way I know to make it all go away."

"Tae, no!" Rushing to the edge, Hoseok reached out both hands, but his movement was in near-perfect sync with Taehyung's lean."Tae!!" His hands gasped at air, and he couldn't look down. The sound would haunt him forever.

And with the disappearance of Taehyung's double, Hoseok's was born, whispering in his mind.