Ghosted Chapter 2
Pairing: Reader / Jungkook, Reader / Taehyung (past relationship, friends to lovers to friends)
Genre: College!au, fluff, angst, supernatural drama, smut, friends to lovers, emotional trauma, hurt/comfort
Length: 9, 806k words
Warnings: language, episodes of anxiety, panic attacks, sexual themes in later chapters.
Summary: Living in a world full of things only you have the ability to see, growing up with Jungkook has been your island amidst the chaos. But when your best friend makes an impossible request, your friendship is fractured, and your sudden decision to cut ties and move abroad changes everything. Three years later, Jungkook is thriving at university as he begins his junior year. He’s a star athlete, member of a popular fraternity, and every girl’s ideal boyfriend. He tells himself that he’s long forgotten you and the friendship he never had a chance to mend – that is, until you show up on campus as a transfer student with new friends in tow. It’s been three years, and everything has changed, but the biggest change is you. Your new found determination to use your abilities to help the ghosts you used to live in fear of, no matter how dangerous it might be, makes Jungkook fear he’ll lose you before he has a chance to fix what he broke. College AU.
Disclaimer: Just for funsies, I don’t believe in real-life shipping. But I like to write, and I like fandom, so here we are. Please do not duplicate this work or repost anywhere else without permission.
Read Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Gettis University, and the surrounding town, were as full of creepy feelings and shadows as you’d expected. The strong presence of the otherworld could be felt as soon as you got within a couple of miles of the city limits, and the hot spots you’d passed as you drove through town would likely test your abilities in ways they’d not been tested before.
You paused in the great room of the old house where you’d be living for the next two years. It was a Victorian style home and though light, bright and newly renovated, you’d already felt the presence of something that you’d need to run out before you all slept that night.
You turned when you heard Yeontan’s little nails tapping on the floor behind you. You scooped him up and buried your face in his soft, black and tan fur. “Hi baby. Did you have a good walk?”
“He did,” Taehyung said as he walked in. “It’s good that we have an enclosed garden out back, but he loves the park down the street, too.”
“This house is way too big for two people, Tae,” you said, your tone admonishing. “What are we even going to do with all this space?”
“Well, we need space to set up an office for Namjoon and Chloe, plus the paranormal group they’ve been in contact with here will probably be over. We need extra bedrooms for when my parents visit because now that we’re back in the country, they probably will. And it was the only house near campus that also has a guest house for Joon and Chloe to have their own space.”
“Well, I’ll leave it to you to figure out what you want to do with all these rooms,” you said, knowing he probably did have some kind of plan for them. He’d need an office for himself since he often worked late on photography and art projects, and he liked having a home gym. “I’m glad your mom arranged to have it furnished before we got here. We just need to move in our personal things.”
“Yeah, Joon is sorting boxes outside.” Taehyung closed his eyes and rolled his shoulders. “I’m kind of sensing something here. Dark spirit?”
“A weaker one, but yes,” you answered. “We’ll deal with it after we get Joon and Chloe set up, and then we’ll hang talismans.”
While Taehyung couldn’t see the things you saw, with the rare exception that a spirit was strong enough to break through the barrier of the otherworld, he was sensitive to their energy. It was something that had wreaked havoc in his life before he met you because he didn’t understand why he had such dark and negative feelings all the time. When he’d started getting into trouble and drinking too much, his parents had sent him to England to attend boarding school with his cousin.
You’d known as soon as you saw him that he could feel the spirits that hung around him even if he didn’t know what they were. And so, one day after classes, you gave him one of your talismans and told him that he’d sleep better if he put it next to his pillow. You could tell by his raised brows that he thought you were kind of crazy, but he’d fallen asleep looking at it that night and finally slept better than he had in years.
At first, it had been weird to talk to someone other than Jungkook and Mrs. Kim about your abilities. You kept expecting him to think you were nuts and exit stage left because even your own mother had never believed you. But Taehyung never thought you were crazy. Even when you started exploring your abilities, looking into the resources you’d gotten from Mrs. Kim, and making contact with others whose work lay in the paranormal realm, he’d never acted like you were a burden, and he’d never abandoned you. His support had given you the strength to keep going on an increasingly scary and dangerous path.
While your academic focus was English literature and linguistics, Taehyung was most interested in art, photography and art history. Taehyung’s parents had expected him to return to California and perhaps study art at Berkeley or apply to NYU’s fine arts program. Instead, he’d followed you to Oxford when you were both accepted.
You had the support of a team now as well. During your Oxford years, you’d met Namjoon, a grad student who had been doing research on paranormal abilities as an unsanctioned side project while also studying experimental psychology. His girlfriend, Chloe, had a background in engineering and computer science and a similar interest in recording paranormal activity.
With their help and that of Mrs. Kim, with whom you’d remained in touch, you’d gradually built a network of contacts – people who were able to see the otherworld as you did, sensitives like Taehyung, and those who sought to understand the paranormal world. One of Mrs. Kim’s contacts, an elderly Chinese man named Mr. Lu, also had the ability to use Taoist amulets to banish spirits.
And not just spirits – you’d been stunned to learn that demons also inhabited the otherworld. You finally had an explanation as to how the ghostly man in the library had hurt you that night. While the strongest of the ghosts in the otherworld could also harm you if they gathered enough energy, burning someone with a touch was the specialty of low-level demons.
You had worked hard for the past couple of years to hone your abilities. It was a surprise to find that many of the spirits who inhabited the otherworld were harmless. They neither sought out human contact nor attempted to cause harm; they merely drifted in the remnants of a world that felt familiar to them, or they sought comfort by occasionally observing loved ones who remained among the living.
Some were nuisance ghosts who enjoyed playing pranks, but they were quite easily dealt with and did little to cause lasting damage. A small percentage fell into the realm of dark spirits – vengeance ghosts who were still angry at their manner of passing were some of the strongest ghosts and could pose real danger to people. Similarly, places that had seen evil acts committed, or mass deaths, were often portals of darkness which attracted demons and dark spirits alike.
Aided by Mr. Lu, you discovered that you had untapped potential to help spirits cross over to the light, as well as the power to harness dark spirits and banish them from the otherworld. Demons were trickier, but you were getting better at dealing with them. It had taken you time to recognize the power you held, but as you got older and it grew stronger, and as you became less afraid, you could feel it inside yourself – a little ball of light that you could coax forward and wield at will.
Learning to wield that power had not come easily. The burn mark on your arm wasn’t the only scar you carried on your body now either; you glanced down and traced the long, jagged mark that ran the length of your left arm from your inner elbow to your wrist. Strong fingers suddenly clasped yours and you looked up to see Taehyung looking at you with worried eyes.
“You can still change your mind about this,” Taehyung said softly. “We both know that being here is dangerous for you. If your friend still cares about you, he wouldn’t want you doing this for him.”
“I’m not just doing this for him, Tae,” you said truthfully. “I’m doing this for me. Because I have regrets about how and why I left, and I can’t keep running away from my past. There’s Jungkook, yes, but also Jin, and Jimin, and Emmie and Robbie. My mom. I ran away from everyone, thinking I was better off alone, and they were better off without me. Now I have to consider how I can merge my old life with my new one, at least enough to repair those relationships.”
“And if you can’t?”
“Then at least I’ll know I tried,” you said with a smile. “I know I can’t go back to how things were, but maybe there’s a way forward.”
Taehyung suddenly pulled you close, wrapping his arms around both you and Yeontan. “You know I’ll help you any way I can.”
Leaning your head against his chest, you nodded. “I know. I just hope your parents don’t hate me for dragging you to yet another university where you never intended to enroll.” It was one of the best universities in the country, and it did have an excellent fine arts program, but it wasn’t even on Taehyung’s radar before you applied for transfer.
“Hey, my parents love you. They credit you for getting me on the straight and narrow path, and even though I told them we’re not dating anymore, I’m certain my mom is still planning our wedding.”
Taehyung’s parents were Hollywood A-listers. His mom had a long film career that had eventually transitioned to television, and she was the popular star of a long running cable drama. His father was an English filmmaker who’d won two Oscars and now spent most of his time on documentaries. Taehyung had no interest in acting or film, but with his fine boned features, dark wavy hair and almond shaped, deep brown eyes, he did a handful of modeling assignments every year that fueled his interest in photography and fashion.
You pulled back and kissed his cheek before lifting Yeontan to give him a lick, making him laugh. “Come on, we should go help Joon and Chloe sort boxes and get things set up. Then I need to have a chat with this little spirit lurking about the place.”
___________________
You woke the next morning feeling refreshed after a deep, dreamless sleep. You and Tae had helped Joon and Chloe set up their equipment in the room designated for their office. Then you’d made up the beds and begun the arduous task of unpacking and organizing personal items. By the time the sun set, you’d been ready to tackle the dark spirit haunting the house.
Like most weak spirits, its energy grew as night fell, and you’d caught it at just the right time before it gathered enough energy to put up a real fight. Still, using your Taoist amulet drained your energy too, and you were exhausted by the time your dinner order arrived. The last task had been to hang talismans at centrally located windows and main entrances, both in the main house and in the guest house, concealing some among the curtains and hiding others behind the artwork that Taehyung’s mother had selected for the house.
Though you still thought the house was too large for you and Taehyung, you couldn’t deny you were happy to have a tranquil bedroom overlooking the garden, and you owed Tae’s mom a phone call to thank her for having it decorated in your favorite colors. The walls were the palest of lavender with cream trim, and the cream, padded headboard of the queen-sized bed dominated the far wall. The light purple of the silk duvet was accented with splashes of cream and sage, and the bed held an array of pillows in similar colors.
Dramatic, arching windows were draped in swathes of delicate cream fabric tied back to let in the light. Comfortable sage armchairs created a cozy reading nook in the corner, and a large area rug in an irregular but complementing color pattern covered the hardwood floor. She’d thoughtfully selected artwork for the walls – an abstract floral design here, a water landscape there. Considering the negative energy that you felt so strongly in town, you knew this space would go a long way towards helping you feel calm, focused and centered.
You’d been too tired the night before to take note of the spa-like retreat that was the adjoining bathroom. Its marble floors and tiles had been warmed up with sage accent colors and a teak wood double vanity, while a claw foot tub sat in front of the large window that faced the far mountains. You eyed the tub longingly before opting for a quick shower, enjoying the rainfall effect.
After drying your hair and applying light makeup, you put on a lemon-yellow sundress, a gossamer thin white cardigan, and clasped your gold locket around your neck. Then you selected the gold watch and earrings Tae had given you for your birthday the week before.
You had one suitcase left to unpack and set it on the bed to sort through its contents – mostly fall and winter clothes that it was still too hot to wear. You paused when you got to the bottom and saw the black hoodie. You’d found two of Jungkook’s hoodies in your room before you left for England. You left one of them in the box that you’d told Emmie to take to him when he returned from camp. The other, you’d thrown into your suitcase a few minutes before you left.
You remembered the night he gave it to you. A few weeks before Christmas during your sophomore year, Jimin’s parents had gone away for the weekend and as he always did when they were away, he threw a party. You were sixteen, and Jungkook had decided it was time to try beer.
Hauling his drunk ass home later that night was quite the experience.
You snorted with laughter as Jungkook stopped beneath a streetlight and did part of a girl group dance that Jimin had dared him to do earlier. But he’d forgotten part of it and had been stopping every few minutes on the way home, trying to remember.
“Damn it,” he said, frustrated as he shook his hips, arms up, and then paused. “Are you sure you don’t remember it?”
“Even if I did, I wouldn’t do it in front of Jimin’s drunk friends or here on the street,” you replied. You tugged his arm. “Come on, if we miss curfew your mom is going to kill us.”
“Nah, as long as we’re together, she doesn’t really worry. She knows we’ll take care of each other.”
“It seems like I’m the one doing the work tonight,” you said with a grunt as he leaned into you. “Geez, you are heavy.” Once he hit his growth spurt, making him nearly a head taller than you, he’d also started putting on muscle.
“But you love meeee,” he sang, spinning you in a circle.
You couldn’t help laughing even as you stumbled sideways again. “I think we need to sit and let you sober up a little. We still have about thirty minutes.” Since you were staying at Jungkook’s tonight, and you were only going to Jimin’s house, his mom had extended the curfew until midnight.
You’d reached the halfway point, a large park that connected your neighborhood to Jimin’s, so it wouldn’t take more than ten minutes to get home. The park was well lit and safe as well, rarely home to any spirits. You guided Jungkook over to the swings and helped him sit before sitting in the one next to him.
“Remember when I fell out of this swing?” Jungkook asked as he started swinging.
“Of course. You just had to get as high as possible and then jump.” He still had the mark on his cheek where he’d hit the ground. “Even when we were kids, you were never afraid of anything.”
“I am scared, sometimes,” he said after a moment.
“Really? Of what?”
“Of things that can hurt you. It’s the only thing I’m really scared of.”
You looked over at him to see him staring up at the sky, a lot more sober than he’d been a few minutes ago. “You never told me you were scared before.”
He scuffed his boots against the ground and then pushed off again. “I have this dream sometimes, or a nightmare, I guess. You’re in the water and something comes for you, and I can’t get to you in time.”
You had that nightmare too, which is why you never went near the water after your encounter with the water ghost. “I’m sorry.” It was the first time you’d realized that he was carrying the weight of your personal horrors, and you felt the guilt creeping in.
“It’s not your fault. I just wish I could take it away, you know? Like, I wish I could be the one to see them and you could be safe.”
“I wouldn’t wish that on you, though.” You twisted your swing sideways, back and forth, and then leaned back to look at the sky. The moon was almost full and very bright, and it reminded you of the moon in the storybook you’d read to Emmie earlier that evening.
“I love you to the moon and back,” you murmured, leaning back further.
“I knew you loved me,” Jungkook said, laughing.
“Funny. The moon made me think of that book I read to Emmie earlier.”
“Well, I love you. To the moon and back, and to Saturn and Jupiter, and back to the moon…”
You rolled your eyes. “Okay, okay. I love you too, to the moon and back.” You shivered as you stood up, holding out your hand. “We should get going.”
Jungkook stood and unzipped his black hoodie. “Here, put this on. I’m getting kind of hot anyway.”
You pulled it on and zipped it up. He laughed at you when you had to roll up the sleeves, his nose crinkling in amusement.
As you started walking again, Jungkook said, “I love you to…. infinity and beyond!”
“Shhh, God you’re loud. Please please be quiet when we get to your house.”
You ran your fingers over the soft material as you thought about that night. You’d worn the hoodie home the next morning and you’d just never given it back. It had become a type of security blanket over the years.
You carefully tucked it in a drawer, slipped on your sandals, and went to look for Taehyung. He wasn’t in the great room or the kitchen. Next you checked the downstairs master suite he’d claimed, but he was already up. Grabbing a cup of coffee, you walked past the guest house and out into the back garden where you spotted him sitting, legs crossed in a meditation pose, on a bench near the far wall.
He opened his eyes and smiled at you as you approached him. “Good morning. Feeling better?”
“Much.” You sat next to him and watched Yeontan nosing around the bushes. “I think I’m going to drive to campus and look around, get a feel for any hot spots. Do you want to come with me?”
“I can’t. The guy is coming to finish the water features.” Since water often served to deter spirits, Taehyung had enlisted a gardening company to install a water feature that ran along the walls of the back garden. The work had begun before you arrived; natural rocks had been carefully placed in a design that would create waterfalls flowing into small pools on either side of the garden. “Once they finish up today and get the water going, I think those pools will be deep enough for koi fish.”
“That will be pretty.” It was a lovely garden. Several trees provided shade, the lawn was expertly manicured, and lush flowerbeds and carefully pruned flowering bushes presented a pop of color among the greenery. “The water will make it cooler back here too. We could add a table and some lanterns and hang out here in the evening.”
“Are you okay going by yourself?” he asked, pushing his wavy hair out of his eyes as he whistled for Yeontan. “You could take Tannie with you.”
“Probably a good idea since they’re coming to finish up back here.”
“Hey.” Taehyung reached for a lock of your hair and tugged it gently. “Don’t confront anything by yourself. If you want to wander around, get your bearings, then fine. Just please don’t follow anything or let anything follow you until the rest of us are with you. This place is… dangerous. We need to be really careful here.”
“I know, don’t worry.” You reached for his hand and threaded your fingers together. “Thank you for coming with me, even though I was afraid to ask you. This would be so much harder without you here.”
You collected Yeontan’s leash and other essentials and drove to the main university parking lot, which was central to the sprawling campus. Yeontan trotted happily next to you as you took note of buildings. The Gothic architecture was a sharp contrast to the bright, late summer sun beating down, and you imagined the campus took on an entirely different aesthetic at night.
There were also plenty of hot spots. Dropping pins as you walked, you wondered exactly what type of spirits you would encounter here. You expected the usual vengeance ghosts, but you occasionally got impressions of something much, much darker as you walked. You dropped yet another pin as you passed the building that housed the pool and athletic departments. Mindful of your promise to Taehyung, you didn’t explore further.
When Yeontan got tired, you picked him up and followed a group of students chattering away with each other about classes beginning soon, upcoming mixers and welcome back activities. Soon you found yourself at a park that abutted a large, sparkling lake. You didn’t need to get too close to sense something in those waters, and so you kept a healthy distance as you turned your attention to the group playing baseball in the field.
And then you saw him. Jungkook wore loose black shorts, a white t-shirt, and a backwards black baseball cap as he stood with a group waiting for their turn at bat. From the people talking around you, you learned that it was just a friendly game between rival fraternities, which explained the number of girls hanging around.
This was your chance to talk to him – to let him know you were here. To explain why you had left. Seeing him again brought a wave of longing, and with it the familiar anxiety you felt when you thought of him.
“Oh, such a cute dog!”
You turned to see a very pretty girl about your age wiggling her fingers at Yeontan. Her dimples flashed when she smiled, and her eyes were such a clear shade of blue that you wondered if they were contact lenses. Her auburn hair was tied up in a ponytail, and she held a sign supporting Pi Kappa Alpha.
“I’m Sera,” she introduced herself. “And who’s this?”
“Yeontan,” you replied. “And I’m y/n. You can pet him if you want. He’s very friendly.”
“Are you new here?” Sera asked, scratching Yeontan’s head. At your surprised look, she nodded at the brochures sticking out of your open bag. “I recognize the welcome package.”
“I’m a transfer student from Oxford,” you confirmed, shifting the wiggling Yeontan in your arms. “We just got here yesterday.”
“Are you off campus? I’m in the Alpha Omicron Pi house.”
“We have a house – the old Victorian on Elmhurst Street.”
“Oh, I noticed they were renovating that house this summer. I grew up here,” she explained. “My parents live three streets over from you. That’s a big house – did you move here with friends?”
“My… friend, Taehyung, came with me,” you said. You weren’t dating anymore, but your relationship with Tae had fallen into something between friend and boyfriend, a kind of ambiguous realm you both were still feeling your way through. “And two other friends, Namjoon and Chloe, are living in the guest house.”
“That’s cool that you all came here together. I guess this will be a big change from Oxford. Hey, so tomorrow there’s a big welcome back picnic happening here around noon. My sorority is co-hosting. Why don’t you and your friends come? I can introduce you around.”
Your eyes drifted back to the field to see Jungkook up at bat. As expected, he hit the ball with a loud crack and took off running around the bases, making it to home before the outfielder had even retrieved the ball. He high fived a guy on his team who you recognized as Jimin when you saw his profile. Someone shouted Jungkook’s name and he suddenly looked in your direction.
Slipping your sunglasses back on, you let your hair fall to cover your profile. “I have to get going, but I’ll ask my friends about it when I get home.” With a wave at Sera, you turned and began walking back to your car as quickly as you could without drawing too much attention to yourself.
“Hope to see you tomorrow!” Sera called after you.
______________________________
Jungkook ran the bases with ease and did a shimmy on home base before high fiving Jimin.
“Such a showoff,” Jimin said with a laugh.
Jungkook grinned and glanced over at the crowd watching when he heard his name called, waving at Jimin’s girlfriend, Ayeong, and her friend Erin, who was waving her Pi Kappa sign enthusiastically. Then a girl in yellow caught his attention. He froze as the girl turned her face away before he could see her clearly. She was holding a small dog as she talked to Sera from the A O Pi sorority. Then she was hurrying away.
Jungkook didn’t realize he’d started walking in her direction until Jimin caught his arm. “Where are you going? You’re pitching.” Jimin followed his gaze, a troubled expression on his face. “I know that girl kind of looks like…”
Jungkook cut him off. “Let’s get back to the game.”
He tried to concentrate on the rest of the game, but he was agitated now, and pissed off. He’d promised himself two years ago that he’d stop looking for you in crowds and chasing the shadows of girls who looked even vaguely like you. That girl might have the same hair, and she might’ve been wearing one of those dumb, useless little sweaters you always liked, but she wasn’t you.
The problem was that now his head was full of you, and he did his best to push you back out like he always did when something reminded him of you. His team won, but he didn’t enjoy the victory, and he was silent in the car as Jimin drove back to the house they’d just moved into with Jin, who was enrolled in the theater program as a grad student.
“I’m glad you finally got permission from your coach to move off campus,” Jimin said. “I guess it helps that you’ll be living with family, so he trusts you not to get too wild or slack off on training.”
Jungkook leaned forward and turned up the radio, a signal that he didn’t want to talk.
Jimin sighed but fell silent. When they pulled up to the house, he jumped out and headed inside to find Jin had started painting the living room. He went straight through to the kitchen, ignoring his brother’s greeting.
“Hey, the least you could do is pick up a brush and help!” he heard Jin yell after him.
Jungkook got a bottle of water from the fridge and took a long drink. He could hear Jimin talking to Jin now.
“There was a girl at the game who looked kind of like y/n,” Jimin said in a low voice. “Plus it’s that time of year – you know how he gets.”
“Her birthday was last week, and his is coming up soon,” Jin said. “Not that he’s ever in the mood to celebrate it anymore anyway.”
Jungkook ignored them as he walked back into the living room and picked up a brush. “Let’s get this finished. Remember we have to go early to pick up the coolers and ice for the picnic.” He and Jimin belonged to the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity, and they were co-hosting the welcome back picnic with the A O Pi sorority.
He let Jimin and Jin talk and concentrated on painting. He wasn’t going to think of you anymore and that was that. You hadn’t been back to the U.S. in three years – the last he’d heard from his mom, you opted to attend Oxford University. You’d cut everyone out of your life, and he wasn’t going to waste any more of his time thinking about the past.
That night he dreamed of you.
He stood at the edge of the lake, wading in when he saw you drifting further out in front of him. It always happened the same way; you would smile and stretch out a hand to him, and then you disappeared beneath the surface. And no matter how many times he dove under the water looking for you, you were just gone.
Jungkook woke in a cold sweat, gasping, heart pounding. He switched on his bedside lamp and sat up, glancing at the clock to see it was nearly four in the morning. Running his hands through his hair, he breathed deeply and willed his heart rate to slow.
He hated that fucking nightmare. He could tell himself all day long he wasn’t going to think of you, but then this would happen. He told himself that you were fine, wherever you were. If something terrible had happened to you, he would have heard about it from your mom or his mom. Your life wasn’t his business anymore.
Jungkook was sleep deprived and cranky the next day as he helped set up for the picnic. Students were arriving on campus now, and there were a lot of mixers and activities planned for the next week, many of which he was expected to help with because Jimin was a social butterfly who kept volunteering you both.
Ayeong and Erin were there as well, and he did his best to avoid Erin, whose crush on him was starting to make him uncomfortable. He didn’t want to hurt her feelings, but he didn’t want a girlfriend and she definitely wanted a boyfriend. The last person he had seriously liked was Grace, and they’d broken up before senior year started. Since then, he’d kept his relationships casual – maintaining his grades and baseball took up most of his time anyway.
An hour into the picnic, he was sitting in a shaded area with Jimin and Ayeong when a little dog ran up and panted at his feet. He smiled as he leaned over to pet the little ball of black and tan fluff. “Hey, little guy, who do you belong to?”
“That would be me – sorry.” A tall man with dark wavy hair approached holding a leash. He leaned down to clip it on the dog’s collar. “He doesn’t usually run away like that, but I think he’s excited about all the new people.”
“Cute,” Jungkook said with a grin as he scratched the little dog behind the ears. “What’s his name?”
“Yeontan,” the man replied with a smile. He held out his hand. “And I’m Taehyung.”
Jungkook shook his hand. “I’m Jungkook. This is Jimin, and that’s Ayeong.”
Taehyung’s smile faded. “I should get back to my friends.”
He was leaning down to pick up the little dog when Sera joined them. “Hey, it’s Yeontan!” She stroked the dog’s head and looked over at the man holding him. “Let me guess – you must be Taehyung?”
“Have we met?”
“No, but I met Yeontan at the game yesterday when I met your girlfriend.”
“Ah, you must be Sera.”
“So where is y/n? I haven’t seen her yet.”
Jungkook’s head shot up at the name. “Y/n?”
“Oh, there she is!” Sera waved at a girl who walked over to join Taehyung.
Since your eyes were on the dog, you didn’t notice him at first. “Oh, thank God. Bad Tannie!” You reached for the small dog and dropped a kiss on his nose. Behind you were two more people – a tall man with silver blond hair, and a woman with long, brown hair threaded with blue streaks.
It was a surreal moment seeing you again. You were wearing a dark blue, silky sundress and what looked like the same thin white sweater he’d seen you wearing the day before. Your wavy hair was held back from your face with little clips, and your gold locket hung around your neck just as it always had. The little dog yapped and licked your cheek, making you giggle, and you smiled up at Taehyung, who placed an arm around your waist.
“Oh, shit,” he heard Jimin mutter next to him.
That got your attention and when you glanced over to see him, you froze. Your eyes held his for several moments. Then you took a deep breath and said, “Hi, Jungkook.”
Sera was looking between you, her expression curious. “Do you know each other?”
When Jungkook didn’t answer, Jimin said, “We all went to school together until y/n left for boarding school senior year.” He stood up and walked over to give you a hug. “It’s nice to see you again.”
You smiled at him gratefully. “I’m happy to see you, too. I was going to call or something, but we’ve only been here for two days.”
Jungkook felt his jaw clench. He said nothing as Jimin introduced Ayeong, who seemed uncharacteristically shy as she greeted you and Taehyung.
“This is Namjoon,” you said, gesturing to the blond man. “And his girlfriend, Chloe.”
“I heard you guys moved into that big old Victorian house,” Sera said to Taehyung. “I was telling my mom about it when I talked to her last night. She’s an interior designer, so she was interested in how it had been updated.”
“You should come by some time,” Taehyung told her.
The way Taehyung kept looking between you and him told Jungkook that he knew who he was. That meant that you’d known he was here before you came. You’d probably seen him at the game yesterday and you’d still scurried off rather than talk to him.
He watched Sera lead you and Taehyung away, introducing you to other friends. You looked over your shoulder at him, but he averted his eyes rather than meet your gaze.
Jimin cleared his throat and looked at Namjoon and Chloe. “Are you students here too?”
Namjoon shook his head. “I met Tae and y/n at Oxford – I was in a psych grad program there. Chloe and I are researching paranormal activity, so we tagged along when we heard they were coming here.”
Jungkook felt Jimin looking at him again.
“Huh. Well, that’s interesting. It’s supposedly the most haunted campus in the country, so good luck with that,” Jimin said.
Namjoon and Chloe wandered over to join the group of people you were talking to.
“Are you alright?” Jimin asked quietly.
Jungkook tried to swallow down the hot anger he could feel building. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Do you guys know who that is?” Ayeong asked incredulously. “That’s Taehyung Kim. As in, son of actress Jinah Park and Oscar winning director John Kim. He models for big designers a few times a year – he has a verified Instagram account, too.” She tapped on her phone for a minute and held it out to Jimin.
Jimin scrolled silently for a few seconds. “He’s also a photographer?”
“Yeah. I think he’s had at least one showing in New York under the name Vante. It was a photo of your friend that got me interested in photography – about two years ago?” She took the phone back and scrolled for a minute before handing it back to Jimin. “That one. He called it The Sighting, and it still gives me the chills when I look at it.”
Jimin looked at it and then handed the phone to Jungkook. He took it and looked at the photo, a landscape shot of you next to a river. You were in profile, but the angle showed a haunting, pensive expression on your face as you stared across the water, arms folded across your midsection, your hair lifted by a breeze.
The Sighting was a good name for the photo, and he wondered what you had seen that day. After a moment of hesitation, Jungkook went to the thumbnail view of Taehyung’s Instagram page. It was full of you.
Some of the photos were more artistic and some were just little snapshots of happy moments. It was obvious that you had spent most of your time with Taehyung over the past three years, and that anger he’d felt earlier came rushing back. You couldn’t be bothered to let him know you were alive, but you could take cooking classes and adopt a puppy with the perfect Taehyung.
He carefully passed the phone back to Ayeong before he did something crazy like hurl it into the lake.
When Ayeong was distracted by a friend she was talking to, Jimin scooted his chair closer. “Seriously, the level of anger you’re repressing right now can’t be healthy. Can you please just talk to her? Maybe she had a good reason for not coming back until now.”
“I’m not interested,” Jungkook replied.
“You are so full of shit right now,” Jimin said evenly. “You told me that it was your fault she left to begin with. You were going to fix it, you said. Well, here’s your chance.”
“She’s not my fucking problem anymore, and I don’t care,” Jungkook snapped back. “So drop it.”
A quiet gasp made them both look up to see you and Taehyung standing a few feet away. You stared at him, a flush creeping up your neck betraying your emotions. There was something in your eyes that made him feel small in that moment because he knew he’d hurt you.
Without a word, you turned and walked away towards the lake. Taehyung shot a furious look in his direction before following you.
Jungkook spent the remainder of the afternoon battling conflicting emotions. He was mad at you, but he was also mad at himself for still getting angry about something he’d spent two years telling himself was over and done with. He was hurt that you’d just shown up like this with no warning and with new friends, evidence of how you’d replaced him.
He was also confused about why you’d come to this university when you had to know how dangerous it was for you. Jungkook couldn’t see or feel what you saw and felt, but here at Gettis, he occasionally got an uneasy feeling. It was enough that he’d hung a talisman at the window of his dorm, and he’d put up more at the house he shared with Jimin and Jin.
And now you were down by the lake like one of his nightmares come to life. As mad as he was, he was also fighting the urge to physically drag you away from the water. You’d been down there for an hour with Taehyung, Namjoon and Chloe. Thinking about what Namjoon had said – that he and Chloe were interested in paranormal activity – he had to wonder if you’d deliberately chosen to come here because you were looking, too.
He reminded himself again and again that it wasn’t his business, and what you did shouldn’t concern him now. He dredged up his anger to dispel the fear that curled in his stomach when he watched you walk to the end of the pier and lean down to touch the water before looking back at Chloe, who was looking at something on a tablet.
Jungkook guessed he had an answer – you were definitely here looking for something, and you displayed none of the fear that he’d expect, either. And somehow that scared him.
He was still sitting and watching you when Jin arrived.
“I guess Jimin called you,” Jungkook said.
“Where is she?” Jin asked.
He nodded down to the lake.
_____________________________________
“The readings here are insane,” Chloe said. “Look at this, Joon.”
“I see it.”
You closed your eyes and pushed out with your mind, searching. You heard the water ripple a few feet away – it could be mistaken for a fish, but you knew it wasn’t. Taehyung knew it too and crouched behind you to wrap one arm around your waist.
“Even after everything I’ve seen you do, these water ghosts are still the scariest,” he admitted as he anchored you.
They used to be the most terrifying to you as well, but you didn’t feel the same fear you used to feel when standing near the water. You were still scared, at least a little, and very alert to the danger. However, if it hadn’t broken you the night you went down to the lake alone three years ago, you supposed it wouldn’t now.
You could feel that Jungkook was still watching you, too. You didn’t need to look at him to know he must be wondering what you were doing down here. After all, the same fears that haunted you used to haunt him as well.
You’d been so nervous to see him, but once you were standing in front of him, you couldn’t deny the burst of happiness you felt. He looked the same in some ways, but there were little changes you committed to memory; he’d grown a bit taller, and he’d filled out even more. He’d lost the remaining roundness in his face, replaced by defined cheekbones and a sharp jawline. His hair no longer swept across his forehead, hiding his eyes, now replaced by an off-center part that exposed his strong brow.
You’d both grown up during these three years, though it was clear that he’d nursed a deep anger toward you. Maybe you deserved it, but it still hurt to hear him refer to you as a problem – one that he didn’t want to be a part of anymore.
“Y/n?”
You looked over to see Jin standing on the pier next to the lake edge. Taehyung released you as you stood and took a few tentative steps in Jin’s direction, wondering if he was angry, too.
Then he held his arms open, and you felt tears rush into your eyes. You closed the distance and wrapped your arms tightly around him. He just held you for a couple of minutes, petting the back of your head like he used to when he knew you’d had a bad day. His tall, solid presence instantly calmed you.
“I’m sorry,” you whispered.
“I’m maybe a little mad, but I missed you too much to show it right now,” he said. “I’m glad you’re back.”
You finally pulled back and wiped your fingers under your eyes before looking up at him. “I thought you were still in L.A.”
“I was there for a couple of years. I did a couple of commercials, had a few walk-on roles. Mostly I just saved money so I could apply to the theater program here. I finally got in.”
“I’m so glad you’re here,” you said, squeezing his hand.
“What are you doing down here?” Jin asked. He looked concerned as he glanced at the people behind you. “This lake can be dangerous from what I’ve heard.”
You quickly introduced him to Taehyung, Namjoon and Chloe. Jin raised his brows when you mentioned that you were living with Tae, but he didn’t comment.
“Tae and I both transferred from Oxford,” you explained. You debated how much to say, but then added, “Namjoon and Chloe are working on a research project related to paranormal activity. There’s no better place for that than here, so they decided to come with us.”
“I see.” He looked out at the water for a moment and then held out his hand. “Come walk with me.”
As you walked around the perimeter of the lake, you noted that Jin put himself between you and the water.
“Can you really see ghosts?” he finally asked.
You stopped and stared up at him. “Did Jungkook tell you?”
“No,” he said. “You forget how many times over the years you slept over. I can’t even count how many blanket forts I built for you two on the living room floor once you were too old to share a bedroom, and if you remember, I usually slept on the couch. I heard you two talking more than once.”
“And you believed it?” you asked doubtfully.
“No, not at first. I thought you two had overactive imaginations because of what happened to you at the lake that time which, I admit, was hard to explain. But then I saw how you were after the library fire, and after that night we found you at the lake, I guess I wondered.”
You sighed and looked out over the water. “Even my mother doesn’t believe me, Jin. The only people I could talk to were Jungkook and Mrs. Kim.”
“So, it’s true.”
You nodded and met his gaze. “The otherworld is real, though not many people are aware of it. Some people are sensitive to that negative energy – Taehyung, for example. He can’t see them, but he can often feel their presence. And then there are people like me, who can see and interact with them.”
“Then why would you come here?” he asked. “This place even gives me the creeps sometimes. You used to jump at every shadow that crossed your path, and now you’re strolling near the lake looking for what? Water ghosts?”
“More than one,” you replied. “I was trying to feel them out and see how many are out there.”
He looked at you incredulously. “For what purpose? I remember hearing you and Jungkook talk once about how they sometimes followed you. Isn’t this dangerous for you?”
“They recognize me as part of the otherworld, so yes, they often follow me,” you replied. “But I haven’t wasted these last three years, Jin. I’m still learning, but I’m able to use my power in ways now that I couldn’t even comprehend before. And with all the hot spots here, I think this will be a good place for me to test my abilities.”
“So what you’re telling me is that you and your team of ghostbusters over there are here to look for dangerous ghosts,” he said. His laugh turned into a groan, and he wiped a hand down his face. “You and Jungkook are going to give me gray hair before I’m thirty.”
“Please don’t say anything to your mom,” you told him. “I don’t need her or my mom thinking I need a psych admittance.”
“That’s debatable,” Jin muttered. “Jungkook is too mad and stubborn to admit it right now, but he missed you too.”
You looked back over at the water. “He made it clear I’m not his problem anymore, and he’s right. He was kind of trapped in that world with me for ten years. I don’t blame him for opting out.”
“Is that why you left?”
You shrugged but didn’t answer.
“Stubborn, the both of you,” he said with a sigh. “He waited for you to come home that first year and then he tried to forget you. Do you know he hasn’t celebrated his birthday since you left? Like clockwork, August rolls around and Jungkook is a walking wound for a few weeks, snapping at everybody. He can push you out of his head, but he’s never been able to push you out of his heart, y/n, even if he thinks he did.”
Tears blurred your eyes as you stared at the water, and you forced them back. “I can’t force him to listen to what I have to say, Jin. Maybe he’s right and it doesn’t matter anymore.”
________________________________
Jin spent the afternoon trying to reason through everything you’d told him before abandoning reason. That evening he called his mom and asked if she had Mrs. Kim’s contact information. If his mother was curious as to why he needed it, she didn’t say anything. She simply told him that she’d look for it and send it to him later.
When he got off the phone, he saw that Jimin and Jungkook had walked in with the pizzas they’d picked up.
Jimin looked at him curiously. “Why do you want to talk to Mrs. Kim? I don’t think I’ve seen her since before your grandmother’s funeral.”
“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe because y/n is here hunting ghosts. From talking to her this afternoon, I think she probably still talks to Mrs. Kim, and I’d like to know exactly how worried I should be.”
Jimin gaped at him. “Wait, what? She really sees ghosts? I thought Hanna and Lily were full of it when they started that rumor back in elementary school.”
Jin looked at Jungkook and then back at Jimin. “You didn’t know?”
“No.” He shot an accusing look at Jungkook. “Did you know?”
Jungkook was staring at Jin. “What do you mean she’s here hunting ghosts?”
“I mean exactly that. There are multiple water ghosts in that lake, by the way, so I’d advise you both to stay out of it.”
Jimin still looked stunned. “Water ghosts.” He visibly started. “Wait, is that what happened to her at the birthday party? And why she wouldn’t go near the lake again?”
“Apparently.” Jin grabbed a plate and loaded three slices of pizza on it.
“But then why would she be down at this lake if she thinks it’s full of water ghosts?”
“See, she seems to think that she can fight them now or something. She said she’s still learning, but it sounds like she’s here to test her learning curve by hunting ghosts in one of the most haunted places in America. And I can’t believe I just said that out loud.”
Jin watched his brother while eating. Jungkook stared at the pizza on his plate, brow creased. He might try to hide it, but Jin could see he was worried.
Jimin was still trying to put all the pieces in place. “That fire at the library was always weird. Was that a ghost? Because it would explain why she stayed locked up in her bedroom if it was. And those lucky talismans? I noticed you hung a few up here, Jungkook. I thought they were just things you got from your grandmother.”
“They’re not lucky talismans,” Jungkook muttered. “They keep away spirits. Things feel weird here sometimes, so I hung them up just in case.”
“I can’t believe you guys didn’t tell me about this,” Jimin said with a reproachful look. “I wouldn’t have told anyone, you know.”
“Can we please talk about something else?” Jungkook pushed his plate away and stood up.
“Hey.” When Jungkook looked at him, Jin said, “I don’t know what happened between you and y/n three years ago, and I get that you’re still mad, but I’m going to need you to pull your head out of your ass and help me out here. Because she’s still family even if you’re mad at her, Jungkook. I need you to help me make sure she doesn’t get hurt or worse doing whatever it is she’s planning on doing here.”
_________________________
Jungkook tried not to think about you, but after Jin’s revelations, your new ghost hunting hobby was damn near all he could think about. Telling himself it wasn’t his problem anymore was one thing when he thought you had the sense to steer clear of the otherworld, but it was harder to convince himself when he was worried you were actively seeking out trouble.
Jin had mentioned that your boyfriend was a sensitive – someone who could feel but not see the spirits. He supposed that explained how you ended up together, and he obviously supported your newfound insanity. He still couldn’t believe you’d gone down to that lake and touched the water, knowing that it was full of water ghosts. As long as he lived, he’d never forget the force with which that ghost had yanked you into the water all those years ago, and that was only one ghost. Even though Taehyung had been anchoring you, he knew that would be useless if multiple ghosts came after you at once.
Jin had called Mrs. Kim and left her a long voicemail, but he hadn’t heard back from her yet. It had been two days since he’d seen you at the picnic; Jin had gone to visit you at your new house, but Jungkook had refused to go. He still felt confused, his emotions too raw to deal with you.
Jungkook wasn’t in the mood to go out, but Jimin dragged him down to the pool in the athletic building that afternoon.
“You need to work off some aggression,” Jimin said. “I’m tired of you snapping at everyone, and so is Jin.”
They hit the locker room first to change and then walked to the pool room. Once classes started, it would be in use more, but it was peaceful at the moment. Jungkook set his bag down on a chair, noting one other bag there, though no one was around. Then he saw your gold locket.
“Is that someone in the water?” Jimin suddenly asked.
Adrenaline rushed through him as he scanned the water and finally saw the dark shape at the bottom of the pool. “No.”
Jungkook hit the water and dove deep, fear giving him the extra push he needed to reach you within seconds. He jerked you into his arms and swam up. When he surfaced and started pulling you to the side, he was relieved to hear you coughing.
You clung to the side and coughed again before wiping your face.
Jungkook was livid as he climbed out and then lifted you out of the pool. “Are you out of your mind?”
You pushed your hair back and looked at him. “I wasn’t drowning – at least, not until you surprised me, and I inhaled water coming up.”
Jungkook barely controlled the urge to shake you. “You were at the bottom of the fucking pool, y/n! Are you fucking crazy?”
“Don’t curse at me,” you suddenly shouted back at him. “I can swim just fine now. I didn’t need you to jump in and play hero.”
“Whoa, okay you two need to calm down,” Jimin suddenly cut in. “If you weren’t drowning then what the hell were you doing at the bottom of the pool? Because the last time we saw you, you were scared to death of water.”
You walked over to your bag and pulled out a towel, wrapping it around yourself as you faced them. “I learned to swim more than two years ago. Sitting at the bottom of the pool is something I do to practice holding my breath. I like to see how long I can stay down there.”
“What if something was down there?” Jungkook asked, jaw clenched.
“I’m not stupid,” you shot back. “There was a water ghost here, but I got rid of it yesterday. It’s perfectly safe to swim here now.”
His attention was suddenly caught by the long, jagged scar on your left arm. He didn’t even have to ask to know you had gotten hurt doing something dangerous. Something like you were trying to do here. Jungkook thought his head was going to explode. “Are you listening to yourself? Are you trying to die on this campus?”
“What’s going on?”
He turned to see Taehyung coming from the direction of the bathrooms. He didn’t look happy to see Jungkook there, and in his current mood, the feeling was mutual.
“Nothing,” you said. “I want to go home.” You slid your shorts on and pulled a t-shirt over your head before fastening your locket around your neck.
Jungkook held out an arm to stop you from walking by him. “I thought Jin had to be wrong when he told me you were here hunting ghosts. Because that’s just crazy any way you want to look at it, and there’s no way you’d be stupid enough to go looking for that kind of trouble. Right?”
You stared up at him, and the stubborn tilt of your chin made his heart sink. “I think I’m not your fucking problem anymore, Jungkook. So whatever I am or am not doing, you don’t need to worry about it.”
Watching you walk out with Taehyung, he wanted to hit something. He settled for kicking his bag off the chair and then sat, raking his hands through his wet hair. “Fuck.”
Jimin sighed and sat next to him. “Maybe yelling at her isn’t the way to go, Jungkook. She’s not a child, and we have no idea what she’s experienced the last few years. It’s obvious that she’s not the same girl we knew who was afraid of everything, and maybe she has reasons for that.”
Elbows propped on his knees, he clasped his hands behind his head and tried to calm down. “You have no idea what kind of danger she’s putting herself in, Jimin, because you found out about this a couple of days ago. I lived with it for ten years. What she’s doing? She could die.”
Jimin stayed quiet for a minute. “I can’t pretend like I understand because I know I don’t. You two have ten years of secrets – that’s a lot. But it doesn’t change the fact that she has her own secrets now. Three years of secrets, to be exact, and the only way you’ll be able to understand who she is now is if she’ll talk to you about them. I’m just saying yelling won’t accomplish anything.”
Jungkook stayed by the pool when Jimin left, thinking over his friend’s words. Talking to you without getting angry seemed an impossible task at the moment. It would require him to dig at the wounds you’d left him with, to forgive you and ask for forgiveness in return. You had years of hurt and issues to hash out, and frankly, he didn’t know if he was ready for that.
His other option was just to stay away from you, but now that you were back, he didn’t know if he could do that either. And beneath it all, there was his deepest concern – how to keep you safe while he was figuring it out.
A/N – Hope you liked the update! I also updated the Ghosted playlist if you want to check that out. I put a link in my Master Fic List. My asks are open if you have any questions about the story, and I’ll work on getting Chapter 3 up as soon as I can. Yoongi and Hobi will be introduced in the next part as the U.S. liaison to y/n’s ghostbusting team, Hobi rather reluctantly lol.
Tag List: @ggukkieland @jikooksgirl19 @waves-and-woods
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