a/n : this imagine was inspired by the MV for ONEWE's newest song called "A Book In Memory" and also an anime that i had finished not long ago called "Death Parade" . hope yall enjoy~~
they were never meant to be together forever. they were just puppets that the puppeteer created to entertain people. for a short time.
but something happened. something that has never happened before.
Yonghoon, Harin , Kanghyun , Dongmyeong , CyA. they were supposed to be emotionless dummies that were controlled by the master. but what went wrong ?
Regulus was a famous puppeteer , everyone in town would look forward to his monthly puppetry.
his shows were always new and unique , never the same one every month. that was what made it more interesting. he had so many ideas , so many wonders. puppetry allowed him to express his thoughts in the most amusing way possible.
Regulus smiled widely as he looked at his first two puppets for his new project. Harin and Kanghyun. Regulus blew the flute to a specific tune which made his two puppets come to life. Harin and Kanghyun stood still with eyes opened wide.
"Harin, you will practise the drums while Kanghyun, you will practise the guitar.". The two of them may look like humans but they were just puppets following their master's instructions.
Regulus nodded his head as he looked at his newly finished puppets, CyA and Dongmyeong. He repeated his actions with the flute as Dongmyeong and CyA's eyes opened slowly.
"Perfect. The four of you will be the stars of my new show. CyA, you play the bass , Dongmyeong will be the one singing. A puppet band show! Everyone will be so amazed by this idea!". Regulus exclaimed as he complimented his own work.
The 4 of them practised the roles assigned to each of them as they waited for Regulus. If a passerby didn't know Regulus was a puppeteer, they would think that the 4 of them were a real life band. But again, Harin , Kanghyun, CyA and Dongmyeong were just dummies following their master's orders.
The talented puppeteer had always been interested in music, he thought this new project was a good platform to showcase the songs he had been composing.
Regulus frowned and shook his head as his puppet band finished their rehearsal.
"something is missing. this band needs something. but what?". Regulus walked back and forth, thinking. The 4 puppets looked at their master and then at each other. Probably confused.. or not , they were just puppets, they can't feel anything, right ?
"aha !!! you four need another member ! i think another vocalist would be great to accompany Dongmyeong. why don't all of you go practise again as I prepare your new friend?". Regulus finally figured his missing piece.
Without being told for the second time, the four 'friends' did as instructed.
Regulus peeked through the stage curtain as audience starting filling into his average-sized hall. he took a deep breath as he looked at the clock. 1 minute more before the show starts.
Regulus cleared his throat before spreading his arms out as the curtains opened. Loud cheerings could be heard. The puppeteer smiled widely and began his show.
"Welcome ladies and gentlemen, thank you for joining our unique show. On this beautiful evening, I would like to introduce to all of you my stars for tonight.". Regulus started.
More cheerings were heard as Regulus stepped aside, revealing his new puppets.
"Yonghoon, our vocalist !". The audience cheered for every single member that was introduced.
"Kanghyun, our guitarist!" "Harin, our drummer!" "Dongmyeong, our vocalist and keyboardist!" "and lastly, CyA , our bassist !".
After briefly enlightening his audience about his new characters, it was finally time for the puppet band to perform.
The first song was called 'Regulus', named after the puppeteer himself.
The audience was silent, everyone was enjoying the wonderful song, sung by such beautiful voices.
The puppet band , named ONEWE , performed a few more songs before the show finally came to an end.
"Unfortunately, the time for us to drop the curtains has come. I would like to thank everyone for coming and I hope you enjoyed the show. Have a very good night!". a second after Regulus ended his speech , the curtains separated the audience from the performers.
Regulus smiled as he read the letters he got from his audience after his show, as usual. The responses were greater compared to his previous ones. Nothing makes an artist happier than people liking their works.
I really love all of your shows. They always make me feel so happy and refreshed. Last night's show was especially great. I felt something I had never felt before. The band that you put together is perfect ! The songs that you let us listen to are precious and wonderful ! I know your shows are usually once every month, but it would be great if you could make this project a special one and hold a few more shows with these stars. I am sure everyone feels the same too ! Thank you again for always entertaining us , Mr Regulus! I wish you the best of health and happiness!
because of that one letter, he changed his mind. Regulus quickly went to the blue room where he usually prepares his puppets for disposal.
"you stars are going to be performing for a few more shows! i knew people were going to LOVE this idea. the responses from yesterday's show just proved this!".
Regulus almost choked on his words when he saw a glimpse of Dongmyeong smiling. he shook his head and chuckled to himself. there was no way his puppets could show reactions like human. he was just imagining things from being too excited, right ?
Regulus brushed the thought aside and prepared for his second show. he wanted it to be as perfect as the first.
as he wished, the hall was filled with audience for the second show, just like for the first one. Regulus greeted the audience with a wide smile before inviting his band for their performance.
the songs this time were more upbeat, allowing the stars to interact with the audience, as rehearsed and arranged by the master.
the audience cheered for ONEWE and Regulus as the curtains closed down for the second time that month.
Regulus was delighted. the responses for his 2nd show was as great as the first. to keep his audience's excitement, he decided to end this project with a third show. the last show.
he headed towards the rehearsal room where his five puppets were in. as he got nearer to the door, he heard a loud laugh. Regulus paused on his tracks. * i never taught any of them how to laugh* . he shook the thought away and took it as his imagination. he had to remind (more like assure) himself that they were just puppets without emotions.
it was the last show for ONEWE , Regulus's puppet band. to end his special project , he decided to let the audience listen to his newest song called , "A Book In Memory".
as Yonghoon hit the last note , applauses were heard. Yonghoon, Harin, Kanghyun, Dongmyeong and CyA stood at the front of the stage and held hands before bowing, as per practised. Kanghyun scanned the crowd and saw some people with tear-stained faces. he wondered what the tears meant.
"good job boys. this project was a great success. now would you guys wait for me in the blue room as I prepare some things.". Regulus ordered.
the 5 friends did as told and went to the room together.
"Yonghoon, what do you think will happen to us after this? Master said this was our last show, right?". CyA asked the tall handsome vocalist.
Yonghoon wrapped his arm around the bassist's shoulder and ruffled his blonde hair. "I am not sure too, but what I am sure of is that all of us are going to be together always.".
Harin nodded and patted CyA's head. "yup, we are band ONEWE afterall, nothing can ever separate us.".
Dongmyeong remembered something and quickly called out his members. "little Star passed me some of our photographs secretly!". Kanghyun smiled widely and took the said photographs. "i wrote a letter to Star the other day after reading Master's book about a machine called a camera! it said the machine is able to capture our real life moments!". The other 3 praised Dongmyeong and Kanghyun as they each took the printed photographs.
Harin carressed the precious photograph before taking out a black book from his suit pocket and kept the photograph in the book carefully.
"what is that , Harin?". the five puppets jumped in surprise at the sudden voice. Harin panicked and hid the book from Regulus behind his back.
Regulus chuckled inwardly and stepped closer towards Harin. being the only experienced human, Regulus saw his obvious actions. he stretched out his hand, signalling Harin to pass him the book. the other four clutched onto their suits tightly.
"it's ju--just a book i found in one of your rooms and i--i thought it was pretty so i took it.". Harin gave Regulus the book as he stammered with his words, afraid that Regulus would get mad at him.
Regulus took the book and frowned. his 5 puppets were acting suspicious. or weird. it felt like he was actually talking to real humans.
Regulus felt uneasy. he took his flute quickly and played another specific tune, a tune to take back the souls he had given to his puppets when he created them.
he hoped that his feelings were wrong, but when the last note was played , his heart sank. the 5 puppets were still standing in the room unaffected.
it was as if there was something in between him and the 5 puppets that would not let the spell pass through.
"no, this is bad.." Regulus mumbled as he looked at the living dummies.
the souls of his puppets were always obedient, never stubborn like this time.
but why? what was his mistake?
Regulus groaned and ruffled his hair violently.
did he let the souls rest in their bodies for too long ?
"your souls, they are beginning to think that they are real humans. they won't let me collect them back.".
CyA blinked in confusion. "what do you mean, Master ? what do you mean we are not 'real humans'?"
Regulus cursed under his breath. he ignored the puppet's question and thought of a plan.
"for my personal study, i will have to put the five of you in different rooms for now.".
Yonghoon, Harin, Kanghyun, Dongmyeong and CyA looked at each other worriedly before following their master's orders. afterall, they were still puppets.
CyA looked out the window from his assigned room. all he could see was white fog. he didn't know how many hours had passed. he didn't know if it was bright or dark outside. the room felt cold. not because of the weather but because of the empty feeling inside him. he missed his brothers.
Dongmyeong laid his head on the table in front of him as he flipped his diary. every single one of them had secretly kept a diary of their memories with each other.
he was worried. Harin must be lonely without his diary that was confiscated by Regulus. Dongmyeong closed his diary and stood up. he walked towards the window. the scenery was exactly the same as CyA's. he sighed and wrapped his arms around himself.
Kanghyun looked at all the books around him. Regulus knew he loved books. he had been reading secretly all these while. but no matter how many books he could read, Kanghyun felt like something was missing. he covered his face with his palms. his brothers. they were missing.
the fact that he had to hurt his puppets pained Regulus. it was his fault they had to go through all this. but it was for their own good. puppets had to stay puppets no matter how human they seemed. there were just too many complications. complications that could hurt his puppets more than now.
Regulus scanned his room and his eyes landed on the book that he took from Harin. he wondered why Harin wanted to hide it from him.
Hello Diary, my name is Harin. i am a drummer as what my master told me . yesterday was the first time i got to meet my master , Mr Regulus and also my new friend, Kanghyun. he is a guitarist. but he also likes to read books. he would secretly go to the room with master's books and read them while master is working on his project. Kanghyun is really smart. oh, he also found this book so he gave it to me. i decided to write some things that i remember for my own keep. that is all for today, byebye Diary.
Regulus was amazed. he genuinely didn't know his puppets could construct sentences so quickly even though they have only lived for one day. he quickly flipped to the next page.
Hello Diary , Harin is here again. today Mr Regulus introduced two more new friends to me and Kanghyun. their names are CyA and Dongmyeong. our new friends are so cool, CyA plays the bass and Dongmyeong sings. Mr Regulus said the four of us will be a band for his new show. after introducing us to our new friends, the four of us continued practising what master asked us to. that is all for today , byebye Diary.
Hello Diary , Harin is here ~ yesterday night was the show that Mr Regulus had been planning for a few days. Yonghoon's voice is really beautiful no matter how many times i've listened to it during practice. i believe the audience agreed with me, Mr Regulus came into the blue room and said that we are going to perform a few more shows. he was doing an expression, if i remember correctly, Dongmyeong said it was called smiling. Mr Regulus was smiling because something good happened. Dongmyeong taught us how to smile after he tried imitationg Mr Regulus's expression. it was interesting to learn something new. i think that is all for today , byebye Diary.
*so i wasn't imagining things. Dongmyeong really smiled* Regulus thought to himself and flipped to the next page.
Hello Diary , Harin is here ! we just finished performing for the 2nd show. this time, i think i felt something sparked inside of me. on the left side of my chest. it actually felt good. it gave me a rush of energy. i was able to have fun tonight because of this. Yonghoon was able to mix around with the audience as we rehearsed with master. he learned a few things as he interacted with the crowd. just like Dongmyeong, Yonghoon taught us something called 'laughing'. he said the audience did it when they were having fun. so it was a good reaction to something. each of us tried to laugh. it was fun learning and it was more fun because i was with my brothers. that is all for today, byebye Diary.
Regulus closed his eyes trying to process everything. all it took was about 12 days for the souls of his puppets to be so attached to one another. he would usually let the souls sit in his puppets for about 5 days, not more than that. but Regulus doubt that was the only factor, the souls of his puppets this time were special. they were different. they could learn by themselves as if they were humans. they hang out together like brothers as if they have known one another for years. spending time around humans made them more..... human.
his thoughts were interrupted when the screen before him detected movements by his puppets.
Harin walked around his assigned room. it was big but empty. he scanned the room and saw a long body mirror at a corner. Harin got curious and approached it. without his diary, there was literally nothing to keep him entertained.
he looked at his own reflection and wondered about Regulus's words. "we look the same though. we look like everyone else in the hall. what did master mean? we aren't real... humans ?". Harin worded out his confusion as he examined his features carefully.
as Harin got more immersed , something else in the mirror caught his eyes.
"Ka--Kanghyun?!". he turned around to look behind him, but it was empty. Harin frowned and looked back into the mirror. Kanghyun's reflection was looking back at him.
Harin held the mirror and scanned it front and back to check if it was a machine. but all he found was nothing. no, it was not a machine. it was something greater. something... magical!
Harin smiled widely as he called out Kanghyun's name. the Kanghyun in his mirror flinched as he noticed Harin too. Harin got more excited when he saw Dongmyeong and CyA's reflections too.
"they must have been looking at the mirror too! is there a way for us to meet each other ? if we can see each other then...." . Harin cut his own sentence as he touched the mirror with his delicate fingers. his fingers sank into the mirror, bringing him into another place.
Harin stumbled over his own feet as he entered another room through a portal from the mirror.
a few seconds after, Harin heard thuds behind him.
"Harin, Kanghyun, CyA!". Dongmyeong exclaimed with teary eyes and ran to his 3 brothers to envelop them into a hug.
"i missed you guys so much..". CyA cried as he carressed Dongmyeong's back.
Kanghyun looked around the new room as if he was searching for something.
"Yonghoon is not here yet. did he not look into the mirror? we have to find a way to make him come here and be together with us.". Kanghyun said as he walked around the room cautiously.
as the four of them were searching for ways to get in touch with their missing brother , Kanghyun suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest. he fell down and knocked over a table, catching his brothers' attention.
"Kanghyun! Kanghyun! are you okay?". Harin was the first one to run towards him. Harin gently held Kanghyun's head and placed it on his lap.
Dongmyeong and CyA quickly went beside Kanghyun. CyA gasped when he saw a tiny dot of light moving over Kanghyun's body. the light moved upwards and as it reached the blue-haired puppet's chest, CyA realised what was happening.
"guys.... we were tricked. that portal, i'm sure it is trying to force the souls out of us.".
Harin and Dongmyeong immediately looked at their weak brother.
"no, please , Kanghyun can't just leave us like this, please." Dongmyeong sobbed as tears rolled down his flawless cheek.
Kanghyun managed a small smile and reached out his hand to cup Dongmyeong's face. "so this was what tears meant. sadness.". he breathed out his last words as his eyes closed slowly.
Dongmyeong hugged Kanghyun's soulless body and cried. CyA and Harin were trying to process everything that just happened. they were dumbfounded. energyless.
Dongmyeong held his 2 brothers' hands after he had calmed down and squeezed them tightly.
"i can feel the pain. it is my turn now. thank you for everything, Harin , CyA. if Yonghoon ever come here , please tell that to him too.".
Dongmyeong's big bright eyes fluttered close. his now soulless body leaned onto CyA's shoulder. CyA let out a loud sob once as he hugged Dongmyeong.
"Harin , please don't leave me first. please, i don't want to be alone.". CyA mumbled.
Harin patted the shorter boy's head before clutching his chest.
"sorry CyA.... i don't want to leave you alone but my time has come..". Harin groaned. CyA gently put down Dongmyeong as he rushed towards Harin. he held Harin tightly and buried his face into Harin's warm chest. "thank you for being the best brother ever.". CyA mumbled in between his cries as Harin too, closed his eyes slowly.
CyA's cries echoed the big room as he sat there with three soulless bodies. not just anyone's , but his brothers'. CyA lied down beside Kanghyun's body and closed his eyes as he felt pain in his chest. "our last night together, goodbye...".
Yonghoon hummed to one of the songs that they performed during the show. A Book In Memory. it was one of his favourites out of all songs. the lyrics and melody were all beautiful.
Yonghoon smiled as he flipped through his diary of memories with his 4 brothers. even though he joined them late, he enjoyed every single moment he spent with them. Yonghoon can't wait for them to be together again and create more memories together.
he closed his diary gently but it slipped out of his hands when he heard a loud shattering sound.
Yonghoon stood up to see what happened but he lost his balance when he felt a sharp pain on his chest. he groaned as he fell down kneeling on the floor. the words Yonghoon wanted to say got stuck into his throat. his eyes closed slowly before he could say anything.
Regulus felt a tear flowed down his cheek after the last soul was retrieved. it pained him for hurting his puppets.
Regulus wiped his face as flipped Harin's diary onto the next page. the last page.
Hello Diary, Harin is here ! tonight was our last show as master said. i don't know what will happen next but i hope ONEWE can be together forever. i love being with my brothers. i am grateful to Star for capturing our best moment together. i hope we can have more fun together after this. byebye Diary.
Regulus let out a soft sob as he carressed the photograph on the last page of Harin's precious diary.
a/n : i hope yall enjoyed and loved this imagine >~< i was excited when i got the idea to write this, i tried not to rush my writing. anw,, if you have not listened to A Book In Memory by ONEWE , what are you waiting for ;)
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