The first time Donghyuck encountered another alter was when he was ten. The boy was already used to being Dongsook and used that for fun, pretending to be a girl whenever he wanted to. Unfortunately, just because he kept mixing different personalities, something bad happened with his brain. He didn't face any traumatic events, he was a healthy boy indeed. It was just that the mind of a ten-year-old child had a very big imagination. So big that it controlled his mind more than reality.
No one stopped him when he was shifting from one personality to another. Taeyong didn't think it was something to worry about knowing how playful Donghyuck was. But that turned into a problem as Donghyuck began believing that Dongsook actually existed. Just because he was truly believing it, he kept repeating it inside his head and one day Dongsook's personality separated from Donghyuck's all of sudden. The boy couldn't control the girl as he wasn't her anymore. She did everything on her own but the way she did things was the way Donghyuck did it before when he pretended to be her. It was almost as if Donghyuck's created persona became alive. That was when Donghyuck encountered Donsgook. Yet he didn't know that it happened.
The boy thought everything was normal because he had no idea that it was happening to him. Dongsook usually came out when Johnny visited as Donghyuck got dressed in girly clothes and that intentionally invited the girl to come out. Meanwhile, Donghyuck was always with Taeyong. But sometimes Dongsook wanted to see Taeyong too. At those times Taeyong thought Donghyuck was just playing, so he played along with his boy too.
When Donghyuck grew older, during biology class he found about Dissociative Identity Disorder. He thought it was an interesting thing at first but didn't know that he was encountering that himself. It said that person could have multiple personalities but Donghyuck didn't think that Dongsook was his other alter because he truly believed that he was Dongsook himself when he needed to (not that Dongsook had her mind on her own). He missed the fact that it had been so long since he had to pretend to be a girl.
Unfortunately for Donghyuck, he found out it the worst way possible. It happened when accidentally shifted to Dongsook in school. He got a bad grade from his science project and got so mad and emotional he unintentionally gave the path to Dongsook. The girl got scared as she didn't remember getting to school and ran somewhere to hide. She chose the girls' bathroom but was pushed out because of her appearance (she looked like Donghyuck). Dongsook didn't know why other girls wanted her to go to the boys' bathroom when she was also a girl!
They pushed her inside the boys' bathroom and the poor girl faced a mirror for the first time. Well, she knew the mirrors existed. But she didn't see her looking like that before. It was her first time seeing her without any dresses or wigs. She looked like a boy. That was how she interpreted it. Not Donghyuck, but a boy. She didn't know Donghyuck existed.
Dongsook got startled when another boy came in and went to the urinal. She was shocked to see those strange objects in the boys' bathroom but was even more shocked when the boy began unbuckling his pants. Dongsook's face was red when she ran to the first cubicle, slamming the door and hiding her face into her palms.
"Are you okay in there?" the guy asked, knocking on the door.
"Y-yes," Dongsook answered in her usual voice, unaware of what Donghyuck was sounding like. "I'm okay."
"Huh? Why are you sounding like that?" the boy questioned.
Dongsook realized that it was the problem the way she was talking. But she didn't know how else to talk.
"Is your uncle in town?"
Dongsook didn't know what to say. She didn't like to talk to strangers and tell her personal information, especially to boys.
"Uh..."
"Isn't it cool to have a rich uncle?"
"M-maybe."
The boy was talking on his own and little by little Dongsook got comfortable with it. They both were skipping a class, talking with each other through the door. The boy's voice was attractive and Dongsook really wanted to see how he looked like but was too shy.
"What are you doing there for so long?" the boy asked with a laugh.
"Should I come out?" Dongsook asked a bit unsure.
"Why not? It's better to talk with you face to face."
Dongsook hesitated but then finally come out. Her eyes got stuck on the handsome face of the boy and she was sure her mouth was agape.
"Do I have something on my face?" the boy panicked.
"N-no, you're just really handsome."
When Dongsook realized she said it out loud, her face turned red.
"Oh, thanks, hyung."
The honorific triggered Dongsook but she guessed it was because of her appearance. Either way, she found out that the boy was younger than her.
"What's your name?" she asked, gathering the courage.
"I'm Sungchan," the boy smiled.
"What a nice name. I'm Dong-"
"Donghyuck, I know. Everyone heard about you in school. Your story is amazing."
"No, no, I'm Dongsook," the brunette smiled, trying to fix the situation.
"Oh, right. It's your female name," Sungchan nodded. "Which one is more comfortable?"
Dongsook was confused with the female name part but decided to not question that.
"Dongsook."
"Okay, I'll call you Dongsook if you want to."
Dongsook and Sungchan's ways separated that day. The girl couldn't get the bathroom boy out of her head though.
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"Hey! Dongsook!" Donghyuck heard an unfamiliar voice calling for him.
The boy turned around, his eyes narrowing down when he stared at the boy who wore a wide and friendly smile. Donghyuck would think he was normal if not for the female name slipping from his mouth.
"What do you want, cunt?" Donghyuck barked, getting sick of people who were picking on him because of his tough life as a nephew of the mafia head.
The boy's face showed a bit of a shock which Donghyuck found satisfying.
"Stop bothering me if you don't want me to write you in my uncle's Death Note."
Donghyuck walked away, leaving the boy standing there like a statue. The brunette was happy to scare another bully away, so he got confused when the boy came back to him in a minute.
"You're Donghyuck now!" the boy smiled as if he won a jackpot. "Did your uncle leave the town?"
Donghyuck couldn't really understand the motive of the boy. First, he had never seen this tall ass tree before. Second, other bullies were already making fun by this time while this one was just acting friendly. Third, what the hell was he even talking about?
"You don't seem to remember me, hyung. I'm Sungchan, we met each other in the bathroom when you were practicing to be Dongsook."
Donghyuck thought the boy named Sungchan was joking, so he made sure to not show any emotions, to make the joke die. The brunette was sure he never met this boy in the bathroom, especially while practicing to be Dongsook. It's been so long he did that.
"It happened right or... Am I just imagining it?"
Donghyuck walked away without saying anything. He didn't know which one of them was crazy. Was it Sungchan for imagining something that didn't happen or was it another of those times when Donghyuck feels like his memory has gaps?
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Donghyuck and Dongsook both had memory gaps, forgetting things the other person did but sometimes, recalling it as if it happened to them too. Dongsook knew what to do in the bathroom she needed to do her business without even knowing where that information came from. Meanwhile, Donghyuck was giving himself a manicure, somehow knowing what to do.
The weirdest part of the personality switching was that one person was befriending Sungchan while another pushed him away. Just imagine how confusing it was for Sungchan.
Another problem – girls were maturing faster than boys. Dongsook, although still naïve, was already crushing on Sungchan while a future to be gay like Donghyuck didn't care about any other relationships past friendship yet. Especially when you're fourteen.
Donghyuck found it questionable while there was a strange feeling in his stomach whenever he saw Sungchan. He also kept receiving other feelings, like suddenly becoming shy or feeling a will to cry. It was freaking weird.
Dongsook, on the other hand, sometimes felt courageous when someone picked on her. Once she slapped a kid because the latter called her a bad word. She knew she would never do that but Donghyuck would.
"Hey, Donghyuck or Dongsook," Sungchan appeared out of the thin air, scaring Donghyuck. "Can we talk?"
Donghyuck got used to Sungchan's presence but still questioned why the boy was so annoying. He motioned for Norenmin to go to the cafeteria without him and turned to Sungchan. The latter took Donghyuck by his arm and led to the empty classroom.
"I really adore you, hyung, so I want to help you," Sungchan went straight to the point. "My mom is a physician and I think she can provide you help."
"I don't need any help," Donghyuck shrugged. "Do I look sick?"
"No, you're not sick," Sungchan shook his head. "At least not physically."
"I'm not mentally sick either."
"Do you remember what happened yesterday?" Sungchan changed the topic, at least Donghyuck thought he did.
"No, because he didn't do anything."
"That's what I'm talking about, hyung! We did! We hung out yesterday and ate ice cream together."
Donghyuck chuckled.
"You're the one who needs your mom's help."
Sungchan took a deep breath, "Hyung, you have multiple personality disorder."
It took long for Sungchan to prove that he was right. Donghyuck avoided him, thinking that the boy was crazy. Meanwhile, Sungchan decided to film Dongsook and once showed it to Donghyuck. The brunette didn't remember saying anything Sungchan showed in the video. He wanted to say that it was just a person who looked like him, but knew that it was impossible. It was him in the video, not someone else.
With that Donghyuck agreed to visit Sungchan's mom and got diagnosed with a dissociative personality disorder. Both of the Jungs told Donghyuck to say it to Taeyong but the boy was scared that his secret would make their life harder than it already was. So he decided to hide it not to cause any problems to his dad.
Mrs. Jung told that Donghyuck was fortunate to have a good personality of such a great person like Dongsook and not some violent serial killer. The girl wasn't causing any mess and was peaceful. Donghyuck, however, thought that it would be cool to have a personality of a maniac. But then it would be way harder for him to open up.
There was this one time when Donghyuck thought about erasing his true personality and give full control to Dongsook. If that was possible, he wouldn't have to pretend. He already forgot how did it feel to dress up as a girl as he considered that as something childish from the past. He didn't know that Dongsook was meeting Johnny instead of him and thought that his uncle hadn't visited him for years and that was how he fell out of that cross-dressing habit.
Mrs. Jung said it was impossible although Donghyuck thought she was telling lies. She was a good woman but kept so many secrets from Donghyuck when he was sure he should know everything about Dongsook. It was about another person in his body, he sure needed to know that!
Sungchan was the one who got a great idea. He suggested for the two personalities to meet and talk. Donghyuck thought it wasn't logically possible when Dongsook was in him. Sungchan, however, looked to the situation from the other point of view as he thought about both personalities filming a video message to one another.
That was what they did. The first one was Donghyuck. He didn't know what to say to Dongsook, even when he was left alone in the room. He kept on awkwardly looking at the camera, thinking how would Dongsook feel about this.
"Well... My head is empty. I don't know what should I say to you. But... I hope you're happy and thank you for being part of me, I guess... Gosh, this is so awkward, Sungchan, I'm done!"
It was Dongsook's turn to talk in front of the camera. However, it was hard to know when she will appear as Donghyuck couldn't control the switching. The boy spent the whole day at Sungchan's place, informing his dad, of course, until Dongsook finally appeared. The reason for that was the makeup kit Mrs. Jung showed to Donghyuck. Dongsook quickly took over control as she was excited to look at makeup.
They told the same thing about multiple personalities to Dongsook as well and the girl was left to speak to the camera.
"Hi, Donghyuck. How old are you? Am I older or younger? I can't believe we're sharing the same body. It's so weird but also amazing!" Dongsook was excited. "I got a little bit scared when once I woke up looking like a boy. But you're handsome. Or should I say we're handsome... oh, it's confusing."
When Donghyuck was watching the video, he couldn't help but notice how similar were the actions and the way Dongsook was speaking. It was the same as Donghyuck had done years ago but more realistic. It was weird how the voice and facial expressions of the girl were different from Donghyuck's although the boy was looking right at himself.
When Dongsook was looking at Donghyuck's message, she was smiling at adding "It's okay" whenever Donghyuck felt awkward. She also seemed very excited to meet Donghyuck through the screen and both Jungs were certain that Dongsook wasn't a threat for Donghyuck.
"Dongsook is your age and introvert," Mrs. Jung told Donghyuck after a week of research. "She usually comes out when there's something that she's interested in. Just like makeup or dresses. Sometimes she does it when you get too emotional. For example, anxious or scared. When that happens, you forget to breathe properly and your blood pressure drops. That's when Dongsook takes over your body. Also, you must know that Dongsook gets tired pretty fast and she's weaker than you. Just when she is too much exhausted, you'll change back to yourself."
"How can I control it?" Donghyuck wondered. "I don't want her to come out whenever she sees dresses or kittens. Can I even communicate with her?"
"You can write letters or film yourself. But you can also try to catch her feelings."
"How?" Donghyuck frowned.
"When one of you takes control of the body, another one isn't completely gone. Right now, Dongsook is still here. She's far, but she's still here. If you talk to her, she might hear and even answer you or maybe you can feel her answer without words."
Donghyuck tried to communicate with Dongsook but didn't get any answer. The only thing he knew about Dongsook was that she was responsible for the way the boy's heart reacted whenever he met Sungchan. He was sure he liked boys but wasn't crushing on his doctor's son. However, Dongsook did.
"Hey, Sook, you like Sungchan, right?" Donghyuck asked, looking at himself in the mirror.
He waited for a couple of minutes, either expecting to hear Dongsook's answer in his head or get it because of racing heart or butterflies in his stomach. It was the latter – Donghyuck felt that weird feeling in his stomach again and knew he was right.
Donghyuck was curious how did Dongsook feel when she was in love.
But he got to experience that himself.
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Donghyuck and Dongsook began sharing their feelings and also some of their thoughts. It was helpful but also annoying. Donghyuck didn't like the way he felt Dongsook worrying over the smallest things. The hard Math test – Dongsook was panicking. Donghyuck was biting his nails - Dongsook was freaking out that the manicure she had done was ruined. Donghyuck was trying out a cigarette – Dongsook begging him to stop.
It was almost as Dongsook was sticking her nose to Donghyuck's life for too much. It could be said the same about Donghyuck too as he also bothered Dongsook. BUT Donghyuck believed that he had priority over his body more than her.
Donghyuck asked if there was a medicine to stop Dongsook from interfering in his personal life. Mrs. Jung said it was and Donghyuck didn't even hesitate before buying it. He bought a lot and hid it in his room so his dad won't find out. He took those pills every day, weakening Dongsook and gaining more power over his body.
By the time Donghyuck was nineteen, he was able to live without Dongsook. There were times when she slipped but the boy was fast to push her back and she couldn't fight back. Johnny never properly visited them and Donghyuck wasn't forced to pretend nor to let Dongsook out again. So, when the uncle did, Donghyuck was so lost and scared of what he should do. It was a good idea to let Dongsook out so that she could handle everything easier, but Donghyuck didn't want to equalize them again.
Donghyuck had to use his acting skills and also try to be feminine as much as possible. He stopped taking big doses of the medicine, letting Dongsook slip in his mind from time to time to help him with his behavior. Dongsook helped Donghyuck to recreate the girl, telling him what to do and what he should avoid. It was like Dongsook was passing her words through Donghyuck without having full control. Donghyuck liked what they were doing because it worked. No one caught him yet.
Well, until they accidentally shifted in the middle of the robbery and... right in front of Mark.