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Une femme ĂągĂ©e possĂ©dait deux grands pots, chacun suspendu aux extrĂ©mitĂ©s dâun bĂąton quâelle portait sur ses Ă©paules. Lâun des pots avait une fissure, tandis que lâautre Ă©tait parfait et apportait toujours une quantitĂ© dâeau complĂšte. AprĂšs les longues marches depuis le ruisseau jusquâĂ la maison, le pot fissurĂ© arrivait Ă moitiĂ© plein. Pendant deux annĂ©es, cela se produisit chaque jour, la femme ramenant Ă la maison seulement un pot et demi dâeau. Bien sĂ»r, le pot parfait Ă©tait fier de ses accomplissements. Mais le pauvre pot fissurĂ© avait honte de son imperfection et se sentait misĂ©rable de ne pouvoir remplir que la moitiĂ© de sa tĂąche. AprĂšs deux ans de ce quâil percevait comme un Ă©chec amer, il en parla Ă la femme un jour au bord du ruisseau. Jâai honte de moi-mĂȘme parce que cette fissure sur mon cĂŽtĂ© provoque une fuite dâeau tout au long du chemin jusquâĂ ta maison. La femme sourit et dit : As-tu remarquĂ© le chemin de ton cĂŽtĂ© il y a des fleurs, mais pas de lâautre? Câest parce que jâai toujours su ton dĂ©faut, alors jâai plantĂ© des graines de fleurs, et chaque jour, pendant que nous marchons, tu les arroses, depuis tout ce temps, jâai pu cueillir ces belles fleurs pour dĂ©corer ma table. Sans que tu le sache elles se sont resemĂ©es, alors sois tel que tu es, il nây aurait pas cette beautĂ© pour embellir la maison sans ton dĂ©faut.
Morale de lâhistoire, chacun de nous a ses propres dĂ©fauts, uniques. Mais ce sont ces fissures et ces dĂ©fauts qui rendent nos vies si intĂ©ressantes et gratifiantes. Il suffit de prendre chaque personne telle quâelle est et de chercher le bon en elle.
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⧠word count: 26.1k ⧠genre: angst, hurt/comfort, fluff, paranormal/supernatural au, ghost!jisung ⧠warnings: mentions of death, prominent side character dies early in the fic, depictions of grieving, family member of the reader is sick (itâs dementia-like, though the disease is never named in the fic), family tension/drama (reader has some family members that are not very nice to her), reader has some sleep/physical health issues at one point, reader is just really going through it in this fic for a while ⧠extra info: the readerâs mom in this has early-onset memory issues; i didnât name a specific disease because im not a medical expert of any kind and didnât want to misrepresent any real-life illness in this fic. i combined both my own experiences with my own family members who have had these kinds of illnesses and some research, but i am not an expert and the representation in this fic may not be entirely accurate! ⧠authorâs note: i donât think iâve done a spooky fic like this before? but this one was super fun! also i will say it takes a little bit for jisung to show up, so please be patient when you donât see him in the first few scenes, heâll be there, i promise! ⧠sequel
That night, the rain was still pounding against the windows. Your mom had gone to bed a while ago, but your mind was restless. Something had happened again as you were helping your mom get ready for bed. Your stepdadâs reading glasses, which were on the nightstand on his side of their bed, as they had been since he passed, had fallen off with seemingly no rhyme or reason. Not wanting your mom to get spooked about the house again, you reassured her that you had just bumped into the furnitureâher back was turned when they fellâbut it left you with an uneasy feeling.
âHi, Hyukjun.â You picked up the phone call from your stepdad as you headed back towards your office building from the restaurant youâd taken your lunch break at.
âHi, sweetheart. How are you?â His warm, familiar voice was on the other end as always, though there was something different about it, something you couldnât quite put your finger on from the quality of your phone speaker. Your steps slowed thoughtfully as you listened more attentively, a pit growing in your stomach.
âIâm good,â you answered shortly, suspicion creeping over you. âHow are you two?â
It wasnât that you didnât appreciate hearing from your stepdad, you were on good terms with him. Your father passed when you were a little girl, and your mom continued to raise you on her own, not even considering any romantic prospects until you graduated high school. She and Hyukjun only dated for six months before marrying and had been happily married since. Hyukjun was a mild-mannered divorcee with three adult sons of his own, all of whom were at least a decade older than you, and none of which you were exceptionally close with. When your mom had been diagnosed only five years into their marriage, he began taking care of herâno question and no complaints. With her condition, you were fairly certain that you visited them more than Hyukjunâs own kids did, despite all of them living nearby to your knowledge.
He at least didnât beat around the bush anymore. âSheâs getting worse, Y/N.â
âHow bad?â
âShe thinks the house is haunted,â he admitted. âAnd IâŠâ
âWhat?â You prompted him.
âSheâs been asking for you. I know youâre busy, but if you could visit soon, I think itâd really help her.â
âYeah, I have some time this weekend,â you agreed immediately. âIâll be there.â
âThanks.â
You were arriving at the building then, slowing to a stop outside as you prepared to hang up. âMy break is ending, Hyukjun, Iâve got to go.â
âOf course,â he acquiesced. âHey, I love you.â
âI love you too.â You looked up at the gray storm clouds gathering in the sky above you. âAnd tell Mom I love her, and Iâll be there soon.â
âI will. Have a good rest of your day at work, sweetheart.â
âRight. Bye.â
When your mom and Hyukjun got married, you already had a lease on a small place closer to your job in the city, so your mom sold your childhood home and moved in with Hyukjun. Despite the small twinge of sadness at her selling your childhood home, the place where you, your mom, and dad had all been together, you were happy that she was no longer there by herself. Their home was a quaint two-story, two-bedroom townhome, with well-tended flowerbeds and a porch swing out front. A long time ago, you knew that this house had been your stepbrothersâ childhood home, the three of them sharing what was now the guest room, Hyukjun and his ex-wife occupying the primary bedroom that was now his and your motherâs. Hyukjun had been divorced for many years before he met your mom, you didnât know the exact number off the top of your headâyou werenât sure if you had ever been told.
The snapdragons were in bloom, stalks of purples and blues and pinks, and you squatted down next to one. Feeling a bit like a child, you gently squeezed the sides of one flower to make the âmouthâ of the dragon open, like Hyukjun had shown you one of the first times youâd met, the very first time you ever went to his house. The front door opened, and you looked up to see your stepdad stepping out of the house. You stood up, walking up the three short steps from the sidewalk to meet him on their porch.
âI saw you coming up the street,â he explained, gesturing to the front window. âItâs good to see you, Y/N.â
âHi, Hyukjun.â You hugged him. âGood to see you too.â
âI just wanted to give you a heads up. Sheâs calm, but sheâs not exactly⊠here,â he explained. âI didnât want you to be caught off-guard.â
You nodded in understanding. âOkay. Thanks for letting me know.â
Following your stepdad into the house, he guided you towards the living room at the back of the house.
âHon?â He poked his head into the living room.
Your mom looked up from where she had been reading a book in an armchair, her face breaking into a gentle smile. âOh, Sangwoo, youâre back.â
âYes, I picked Y/N up, just like you asked.â Your stepdad stepped aside to let her see you.
You pushed aside the alarms going off in your mind to give your mother as calm of a smile as you could, approaching her with your hand outstretched. âHi, Mom, itâs Y/N.â
âY/N, hi, sweetie.â She beamed at you, taking your hand that was offered and squeezing it tight. âHow was school?â
âIt was good, I had a good day,â you answered brightly. Looking down at the book in her lap, you asked, âWhat are you reading?â
Your mother had been a Literature teacher for all her life, before her diagnosis forced her to retire many years before she ever wanted to. She would read to you at any opportunity when you were a kid, especially at bedtime. It was always easiest to get her talking now about whatever book she was reading, no matter where her mind was.
âOh, Iâll tell you about it later. First, do you have homework?â
âNo, Mom, nothing today.â
Hyukjun cleared his throat then. âYou must be hungry, Y/N. Would you like something to eat?â
âYes, yes, go get a snack.â Your mother insisted.
âOkay,â you acquiesced, giving her hand another tight squeeze. âIâll be right back after my snack. I want to hear about your book.â
In their kitchen, you turned on your stepdad with wide eyes. âSheâs not just mixing up your names anymore, she thinks you are my dad!â
âSometimesâŠâ Hyukjun nodded, leaning against a kitchen counter. âNot always. She has her lucid days still.â
In the bright kitchen lighting, you could see a certain tiredness in Hyukjun that was new, a pallor in his skin, a hitch in his breaths, a lag in his movements, none of which used to be there.
âWhatâs wrong?â You asked, eyes locking on his. âWith you? You were going to tell me something on the phone, and you didnât. Tell me.â
He sighed, the sound dragging out into a wheeze and then a hacking cough that he covered in his elbow, and you winced just watching him. When heâd caught his breath again, he answered, âThey found a tumor, in my lung. I have maybe six months, Y/N.â
âThatâs it?!â You blurted out. âI-I mean, even with chemo, or radiation, or whatever?â
âIâm notââ
âItâs not treatable?â
He cast a sidelong glance down the hall, at the room where your mother was. âSomeone needs to take care of her. I need to be here, and after Iâm gone, our savings will go towards her care. We canât spend it all on something that might give me another few months.â
âAnother few months with her! With us!â You grabbed his arm, knowing how desperate you sounded. âWhat about your kids? Do they know what youâre doing?â
âNo.â His voice was heavy, but determined. âI know you all donât talk⊠but donât tell them, please.â
His face wavered in your vision as your eyes filled with tears. You tried to swallow them down, but a couple spilled over. âLet me move in, and help. I want to take care of both of you. Please.â
âWhat about your job?â
âIâll figure it out. Donât worry about me. Youâve done enough for me, for us. Let me do something for you.â
âThank you.â
Your work agreed to let you move into a part-time remote position. Most days you were able to get all your done, early even. Not only was Hyukjun there, but a memory care aide named Nayoung came by for an hour three days a week to assist as well.
It had been a month since you moved into the primary bedroom on the second floor, the bedroom that used to be your mom and stepdadâs. You found out that they moved their things into the guest room on the first floor two months ago, when your mom hurt herself on the stairs. It had only been a skinned knee, but Hyukjun didnât want to risk something worse.
That night you laid in bed with your laptop open, desperately trying to finish up a report that was due the next day. Today had been rougher, your mom needing constant redirection and reorientation, not to mention the conversation that you had with your stepdad earlier this evening. Usually after your mom went to sleep, the two of you would watch a movie or a couple episodes of a show, or just have a drink and chat. It was a nice, slow, easy part of your day with just the two of you. But this time as you rooted around the for the fresh tub of ice cream that you had just bought from the store, and called to him over your shoulder asking if he wanted a bowl, you saw him waiting for you with papers in his hand.
One of the errands heâd sent you on today, in addition to groceries, the post office, and the pharmacy, had been to an attorneyâs office. Youâd known that, you werenât stupid. There, you had been handed a large envelope with the law firmâs name embossed on it, and your stepdadâs name typed on a label under that. You didnât inquire as to the contents of the envelope from the receptionist, nor your stepdad when you delivered it to him upon returning home. It was none of your business. But at the kitchen table that night, he showed you the documents that he had drawn up.
Once he passed, you would own his house, the one that you lived in now, as a life estate pur autre vie. For the life of another. Until your mother passed, you would own his house, and could stay here and take care of her. Then, once she passed, the house would go to his sons, your stepbrothers, as heâd always intended.
You sighed and deleted the sentence youâd just written. âStupid, stupid,â you muttered to yourself. Looking at the time, you let out another sigh and rubbed your face in exasperation. âIâm never going to fucking finish this.â
Setting the laptop aside, you pushed your covers off yourself and got out of bed. Keeping your footsteps light, you crept downstairs and into the kitchen to get yourself a glass of water. After drinking a whole glass in the kitchen, you refilled it to bring it back up to bedroom with you. Halfway up the stairs, the sconce on the wall next to your head flickered on, making you pause. Youâd left all the lights off on your way down. Peering behind the frosted glass cover, you reached your hand back there and tightened the bulb. The light stopped flickering, and you looked around at the empty, dark staircase again. Shrugging to yourself, you finished your journey to your room.
Cutting up your momâs breakfast into small pieces, you hummed a song that had been stuck in your head. The sound of something clattering startled your peaceful reverie, and your head snapped up immediately. You darted around the kitchen counter to get your eyes on where your mom was sitting at the kitchen table.
âYou okay, Mom?â You asked, eyes searching her for any signs of injury or distress.
âOh, Iâm fine, sweetie,â she reassured you, pointing at a point on the floor further away from her. You saw that a silver utensil was gleaming up from the tile. âI dropped my fork, thatâs all.â
âIâll grab you another one when I bring your food in, donât worry about it,â you reassured her. âLeave it, Iâll pick it up in a sec.â
Returning to the kitchen, you finished cutting her food, then prepared yours and Hyukjunâs plates. Carrying all three of them in, along with your momâs clean fork, you cocked your head when you saw the fork sitting on the closest edge of the table to the kitchen. Looking at Hyukjun, who had joined your mom at the table in the interim, you said, âYou didnât have to pick up the fork, Hyukjun, I was going to grab it.â
His face betrayed his momentary confusion, looking between the food you just set in front of him, then to the fork on the edge of the table. âThat was there when I came in. I didnât move it.â
As you set your momâs food down for her, you asked, âMom, did you get the fork?â
But her eyes had a familiar far-out appearance, and you knew she wasnât going to be able to answer you. You shook your head at yourself, putting your own plate down and grabbing the dirty fork off the table. Dropping it in the kitchen sink, you then returned to the table to take your seat next to your mother and across from Hyukjun.
You werenât sure why you were awake at first. Everything seemed quiet, but something didnât feel right. Sitting up in bed, you checked the time on your phone. 2:48 a.m. You desperately wanted to go back to sleep, but you couldnât shake the uneasiness in your mind, and so you pushed the covers off of you.
As soon as you were at the top of the stairs, you could hear voices downstairs, your motherâs and your stepdadâs. Your stepdad was clearly trying to keep his voice down, but your mom wasnât, and she sounded distressed.
âSangwoo, Iâm telling you somethingâs wrong with this house! We need to go! Whereâs Y/N?!â She demanded of him.
âSheâs fine, sheâs sleeping. Please, tell me whatâs wrong with the house, and we can try to fix it,â he pleaded with her quietly.
You finally made it to the hallway just outside their bedroom, taking in the scene of your momâs wild, scared eyes and Hyukjunâs desperate concern. âMom, Iâm here, Iâm okay.â
âY/N!â She let out a gasp of relief as soon as she saw you. âOh, youâre okay.â
âYes, Mom, Iâm okay.â You offered her your hand, and she grabbed it tightly. âWhatâs wrong? Why are you up?â
âIâve been trying to tell your dadââ She gestured to Hyukjun pointedly. âBut this house isnât right.â
âWhat do you mean?â
âIt just isnât right,â she repeated insistently. âWhat happened to our old house? We need to go back there!â
You looked at Hyukjun desperately, at a loss for words to explain that she sold it years ago. Thankfully, he took over.
âItâs late, hon. We canât go all the way back to the old house this late at night, especially not with Y/N. Itâs not safe,â he persuaded her gently.
She seemed to relax a little at this. âOh. Right. Itâs late.â
âCan you read me something, Mom?â You requested sweetly.
This finally brought a smile to her features, and she nodded, her grasp on your hand turning tender. âOh, of course, Y/N. Iâm sorry I woke you, sweetie.â
âItâs alright, Mom,â you reassured her, leading her back into their bedroom. âEverythingâs alright.â
Hyukjunâs funeral was quaint. It was kept to family and close friends, and organized mostly by his sons and ex-wife. You didnât mind, your mother was in no shape to organize a funeral, and you were more than happy to step aside and support her through this while they dealt with the details.
Today of all days was one of your motherâs better days, possibly one of the best that sheâs had in a while, and you didnât know if that was better or worse. Better, you decided, so she could say goodbye to him properly. After the small funeral was the wake, held at Hyukjunâs homeâwhich was now your home, you realizedâand was a more open-door affair. Your momâs memory care aide, Nayoung, came as well, which you were glad for. While your stepbrothers and their mother played host more than you, greeting guests as they showed up, chatting and reminiscing with them about all their shared memories of Hyukjun from years or even decades ago, it was still your residence, and you couldnât bring yourself to just stay in a corner. Hyukjun had been your family too, for however brief a period of your life.
You were alone in the kitchen getting refreshments for yourself, your mom, and Nayoung when you sensed that you werenât by yourself. Turning around, you did in fact see your stepbrothers entering the kitchen, followed by their mother.
You offered them all a small, polite smile. âHi.â
âGlad we caught you, Y/N,â the oldest brother flashed you a grin. âYou got a sec?â
âYeah, of course.â
âWe know it must be really tough for you, taking care of your mom by yourself now,â their mother said, her voice coated in an over-the-top sugary sweet sympathy.
You shrugged noncommittally. âNayoung helps.â
The youngest jumped in, âWe just wanted you to know that you and your mom can take as much time as you need to move out.â
âOf course, of course,â their mother agreed. âYou know, a week or two.â
They all nodded and murmured in agreement, focusing the same overeager, empty, sympathetic faces on you that made you feel like you were surrounded by some kind of predator that wanted to empathize you to death. Steeling your nerves, you met all of their eyes in turn as you went to answer.
âWeâre not moving out.â You informed them firmly. âHyukjun left the house to me to keep taking care of my mom. After⊠itâs all yours.â
âAnd weâre supposed to believe youâll just give it to us?â The youngest scoffed, immediately dropping his kind, caring act. All of their faces were somewhere between disbelief and anger.
âNo, he set it up that way. You can get your copies of the papers from his attorney, Mr. Shin.â You brought out the business card for the attorney who drafted the papers. Youâd tucked it into your wallet absentmindedly when itâd been given to you on your initial errand from Hyukjun, and you were glad you hadnât had the time to clean out your wallet since. You set the business card down on the counter between you.
The oldest snatched up the card. âThereâs no wayâŠâ
âWeâre going to fight this. No way the house is yours,â the youngest swore.
The middle son spoke finally, his gaze hard as he glared at you. He practically snarled, âYouâre not his family, youâve never been.â
âIt was good seeing you all again,â you said, no emotion in your voice. Abandoning your three glasses, you scooted around the counter, then around them, heading towards the kitchen door that they had been blocking the whole time. âPlease have all communications about the property go through Mr. Shin. Heâll be able to answer your questions better than I can.â
Crying at a wake was normal. Encouraged even. But you werenât amongst loved ones, remembering someone youâd lost. You were alone, sitting at the top of the stairs in the dark, crying into your arms to muffle your sobs as you tried to compose yourself from the confrontation youâd just survived. Barely. Your hands were balled into fists to keep them from shaking.
âAre you okay?â A quiet voice caught your attention, gentle, then hushed as he seemed to be speaking to himself, âWhy are you asking that? Stupid, stupid.â
You picked your head up out of your arms, quickly wiping the tears that had been streaming down your cheeks as you spotted a young man at the bottom of the stairs. He had dark hair and was dressed in a pair of black pants, a white shirt, and what looked like a black cardigan over the shirt. You didnât recognize him from the wake, but you hadnât greeted everyone, nor did you know all the mourners personally. Many were either family friends of Hyukjunâs from before he met your mother, old colleagues, or distant relations.
Sniffling and trying to right your clothes, you offered him as much of a smile you could muster, âIâm sorry, itâs uhm, been a long day.â
He froze, his eyes locking on yours and going wide. The man looked behind him, as if expecting you to have been addressing somebody else, and upon seeing an empty hallway, he turned back to you and hesitantly replied, âThatâs⊠okay. Are you alright?â
âOh, as alright as I can be, I suppose,â you admitted, dabbing at your eyes with your sleeve again. You werenât sure why you were telling this random man that, but he had spotted you sobbing at a wake, so there wasnât much of a point in covering that fact up. âWere you looking for the bathroom orâŠ?â
âNo, just stretching my legs.â He pushed his hands into the pockets of his cardigan. âIâm sorry for your loss.â
âThank you.â You nodded. âI donât think I saw you at the funeral. How did you know my stepdad? Family friend?â
âYeah, I was around when his kids were growing up.â
âOh, are you a childhood friend of his sons or something?â
âFriend is a stretch, I think,â he chuckled.
You couldnât help but laugh bitterly as well, adding a polite but hollow, âIâm sure they appreciate you coming out to pay your respects.â
As he shifted on his feet, the shadows on his face lessened, letting you see his features better. You furrowed your brow with interest.
âHow old are you? I meanâYou donât look older than me, you mustâve been much younger than them growing up.â
âI-I mean, we werenât very close,â he stammered, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.
Feeling bad about putting him on the spot in this sort of scenario, you offered him a sympathetic smile. âSorry, I didnât mean anything by that. I didnât grow up with my stepbrothers, so I guess itâs a bit hard for me to imagine them having friendsâOh!â
As soon as the words were out of your mouth, you slapped a hand over it, wishing you hadnât said them, especially not to some stranger, who for all you know could turn right around and repeat it to your stepbrothers. That would be the last thing you needed, to give them another reason to hate you, and by extension, your mother.
âThat didnât come out right!â You desperately tried to backpedal, holding your hands out in front of you. âI-I meant that I havenât met a lot of their friends, since our parents got together later in life, andââ
âItâs okay, itâs okay,â he reassured you calmly, taking a couple hesitant steps up the stairs. You scooted over to make room for him to sit next to you on the top step. He pressed himself against the banister, leaving plenty of space between you two. âI didnât mean to, but I heard some of what they said to you in the kitchen.â
âI would normally be upset at you for eavesdropping, but Iâm kind of glad that somebody else heard some of the shit they said to me this time,â you chuckled cynically.
ââThis time?ââ He repeated questioningly. âAre they always like that to you?â
âI donât see them that often. I think the first time I met the middle son was at the wedding, actually,â you said. âThey started spending more holidays with their mom instead of Hyukjun when my mom⊠after her diagnosis.â
âOh.â
âGod, sorry, you donât need to be hearing all this shit.â You shook your head at yourself. âI mean, I donât even know your name.â
âIâm Jisung.â
âY/N.â
âFor what itâs worth, I donât think itâs true. You and your mom are his family, too.â
You messed with the sleeves of your shirt as you stared at the bottom step, gnawing on your bottom lip, ignoring the metallic taste of blood when you broke skin. Finally, once youâd swallowed down the lump in your throat, you replied with a tight, âThanks. And I mean, I understand why they would be upset. Their dad just died and two people who are essentially strangers to them are now living in their childhood home. Of course they feel weird about it.â
âThatâs... gracious.â
âItâs true. And like I said, their dad died, they deserve some grace.â From elsewhere in the house, you could hear your mom calling your name, and immediately jumped to your feet. âSorry, Iâve got to go.â
âI understand.â Jisung nodded to you. âIt was nice talking to you, Y/N.â
âYeah, you too. Thanks for listening, Jisung.â You waved to him over your shoulder as you rushed down the stairs and off in the direction of your motherâs voice.
The next day, you had habitually started preparing three plates of breakfast before you caught yourself. In the first couple days after his passing, it was painfully in the foreground of your mind with everything you did, but this was the first time youâd found yourself going about a daily task and it had slipped your mind. You left the full plate of food in the kitchen to clean up later, and took just yours and your momâs plates to the kitchen table.
âDo you want to go on a walk after breakfast?â You proposed as you ate.
It was something that Hyukjun and your mom did every morning. Sometimes you joined them, but usually you took the opportunity to clean up around the house or get work done in the quiet. Your mother had no trouble ambulating, it was her mind that was going faster than anything else. With Hyukjun no longer here to walk with her, you didnât want her to lose that precious time going out, or the exercise. Not to mention, you needed to get out of the house again.
âOh, Iâd love to, sweetie,â she agreed with a smile, one that you noticed didnât reach her eyes.
âAfter weâre done, Iâll clean up while you get ready.â
As you scooped the extra food into a plastic container at the end of breakfast, you realized the lid that youâd grabbed was the wrong size. Opening the cabinet that contained all the plastic containers, you squatted down with a sigh, mentally preparing yourself to ransack through the absolute mess that greeted you down there. Hyukjun normally kept it meticulously organized, all containers accompanied by their proper lids, but in your rush to clean up after everyone left the wake late last night, you had effectively ruined all of it.
You tried to just look under a haphazard stack of plastic containers, and they of course all came crashing out onto the kitchen floor. You groaned, plopping down onto your butt as you got ready to have to put them all back. But as you went to pick up the first one, an overwhelming, crushing feeling of loneliness and sorrow hit you like a bus, and you covered your face as you started sobbing. The hot tears stung your eyes, every shaking breath you took hurt your chest, and even the task of putting the tupperware back seemed impossible and monumental now.
Rubbing one of your eyes, you inhaled and forced yourself to grab just one container to put back. âCome on, donât have time for this.â
Slowly, you put the containers away, until there was one lid left that had slid much further away from you. You crawled over to it, realizing the shape seemed familiar as you held it in your hands. Standing back up, you fitted it over the container of leftovers you had perfectly.
âHuh.â Your sobs petered out as you looked down at it curiously. âThat couldâve been easier.â
Throwing open the front door, you grunted as you hauled your heavy grocery bags into the home.
âY/N? Is that you?â Nayoungâs voice called out. She had increased the frequency and duration of her visits since Hyukjunâs passing, and today you took the opportunity to do some much-needed restocking of the kitchen during her stay.
âYeah!â You yelled back.
âDo you need any help?â
âNo, Iâm fine!â You hopped on one foot as you tried to wedge your other foot behind the door to close it. âJustâShit!â
The door suddenly came loose, slamming closed even harder than you had opened it. Nayoung came around the corner with wide eyes, looking rather startled.
âIs everything okay?â She asked, taking a couple bags from your hands, looking you over inquisitively.
You looked between your still-raised foot and the door, a bit dumbfounded. You swore you hadnât kicked it that hard. This wasnât actually your house, after all.
âYeah, Nayoung, Iâm okay,â you reassured her, leading the way into the kitchen. âDo you have a window open? There must be a cross-breeze or something.â
âNo, I donât think so.â
It was pouring rain outside, the sky dull and gray, occasionally lit up with flashes of lightning. The constant pounding downpour was interspersed with cracks of thunder that would rattle frames on the walls. The weather was so bad that Nayoung couldnât even make it out, leaving just you and your mom all day. It wasnât so bad, today was a better day for her. She was calm at least, despite the weather, absorbed in her books for most of the day. Maybe a little too absorbed, as it was hard to tear her away for meals or snacks. But you could get your work done and do chores around the house uninterrupted, and once you finished your own to-do list, you were able to sit down in the living room with her and read as well.
After a particularly bright flash of lightning, followed by a boom of thunder that made you feel like you were in a low-level earthquake rather than a thunderstorm, the lights went out entirely. You heard the telltale clatter of your mom dropping her book in surprise as she gasped.
âMom?â You called out to her, both to check on her and so she knew that you were still there.
âIâm okay, sweetie,â she promised. âI just got startled and dropped my book.â
âStay there,â you directed her, pulling out your phone and turning on your flashlight. You could see that her book had skidded some distance away from her, out of armâs reach. âIâll check the breaker. Donât get up, I donât want you tripping over anything.â
âAlright. Be safe.â
Opening the utility closet in the laundry room, you threw your hands up in exasperation as you looked over the circuit breaker. You had no fucking clue what you were doing. Right as you had turned on your phone, fully intent on searching the internet for what the fuck you were supposed to do now, the power came back on all on its own.
âWell, there we go!â You called out through the house, starting back towards your mom. âIâm a genius!â
Upon your return to the living room, you stopped when you noticed one key difference: The book was no longer on the floor. It was on the side table next to your mom. There was no way your mom couldâve moved fast enough to have gotten the book and then sat back down in the time since the lights turned back on.
You sighed gently. âI told you not to get up, Mom.â
âI didnât.â
âThen howâd the book get there?â You pointed to the book knowingly.
âI didnâtââ She looked at it curiously, then at where it used to be on the floor. âOh⊠I guess I mustâve⊠Sorry, sweetie.â
You walked over to rest a hand on her shoulder. âItâs okay, Mom. Iâm sorry if I seemed upset with you. I just donât want you getting hurt.â
She patted your hand. âI know, Y/N. Youâre doing a good job.â
The rain was still pounding against the windows that night. Your mom had gone to bed a while ago, but your mind was restless. Something had happened again as you were helping your mom get ready for bed. Hyukjunâs reading glasses, which were on the nightstand on his side of their bed, as they had been since he passed, had fallen off with seemingly no rhyme or reason. Not wanting your mom to get spooked about the house again, you reassured her that you had just bumped into the furnitureâher back was turned when they fellâbut it left you with an uneasy feeling.
Youâd pocketed the glasses instead of replacing them on the nightstand, and were staring at them on the kitchen counter now, fondly remembering the way he used to peer at you over the lenses as he read the newspaper in the morning and you made sarcastic quips about whatever headlines were on the pages facing you.
âHyukjun?â You said his name into the empty air, uncertainty making your voice waver. After a beat of silence, you hissed, âOf course you werenât going to get a reply, stupid, stupid.â
Trying to gather yourself, you moved to open the freezer, securing the tub of ice cream from inside it. Sitting at the kitchen table with two spoons, you set one in front of Hyukjunâs spot across from you. Glumly spooning some ice cream into your mouth, you barely tasted it as you stared at his empty chair.
âI miss you,â you said softly, not expecting an answer this time. âA lot. Itâs not fair. I know thatâs what your sons think, itâs not fair that it was you and not her. But⊠itâs not fair that we only got⊠so little time with you.â
You sniffled against the oncoming tears, eating another spoonful.
âI wish⊠I wish my mom had met you earlier, I wish you didnât leave us so soon, I wish we got more timeâŠâ You looked down at the tub in front of you, your appetite gone. âAnd I wish I wasnât eating your favorite ice cream by myself.â
You stood back up, taking both spoons with you into the kitchen. Dropping them into the sink to deal with in the morning, you put the ice cream away and shut off the kitchen lights. You left his glasses on the kitchen counter, deciding you would put them back in your motherâs room tomorrow. As you headed up the stairs, you paused at the top step, a memory of Hyukjunâs wake coming back to you. The nice guy who sat with you and listened to you. You really wished you could have somebody to talk to again.
Something in you made you look over your shoulder then, back down at the bottom step. You swore a darker shape was standing there, unclear in the night. Your heart rate spiked.
âHyukjunâŠ?â You whispered, hesitantly going down one more step to try to make out what you were seeing better. The shadow seemed to back up one step at the same time you did that, and another name came to your mind.
âJisung?â
The figure moved closer, a beam of moonlight illuminating half of his shocked face. âYou remember me?â
You shouldâve yelled. You shouldâve shouted at him to get out, called the police, any number of things ahead of what you actually did. Getting even closer, you nodded slowly. âOf course I remember you, Jisung.â
He was still staring at you in disbelief. âAnd you can see me? Again?â
âYes,â you confirmed, standing on the step right above him. âYouâre a ghost.â
It was meant to be a question, but it came out like a statement, like you had known all along, just saying common knowledge.
He swallowed. âYes.â
You peered at the space around and behind him. âIs my stepdad here?â
âNo.â He shook his head. âHe wanted to stay, for your mom. I told him if he stayed, he could get stuck. He decided to go.â
âGo⊠where?â
âI donât know,â he admitted.
âWhat aboutâŠâ You looked up into his dark eyes hopefully. âIs my dad here?â
âItâs just me,â he answered quietly. âIâm sorry.â
âDonât be. Iâm glad heâs not⊠stuck. Either of them.â You breathed out, a mixture of relief and disappointment in your chest. Remembering what he told you at the wake, you asked, âYou used to live here?â
âBefore your stepdad bought it, yeah.â
You recalled the surprise on his face both tonight and at the wake when you addressed him. âYouâre not used to being seen, are you?â
âNo, Iâm not. Youâre the first person whoâs seen me sinceâŠâ He trailed off, biting the inside of his cheek as he seemed to be picking his words. âSince Iâve been like this.â
You nodded slowly, understanding what he meant. âHave you been⊠helping? Picking up my momâs book? And closing the door? And the tupperware lid and the fork?â
Jisung nodded fervently. âI didnât mean to scare you, or make you sad. Iâm sorry. I just wanted to help you.â
âWhat about Hyukjunâs glasses today? Did you knock those off?â
He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. âIt was an accident⊠They were really close to the edge, I didnât want them to fall off and break. So I tried to move them away from the edge, but there was this thunder, and I dropped them.â
You couldnât help but burst into laughter at the mental image of a ghost getting spooked by thunder, slapping a hand over your mouth as you giggled. Jisung wasnât laughing, but he did have a soft smile on his features as he looked at you.
âSorry, sorry,â you were still chuckling as you tried to compose yourself.
âItâs okayâŠâ He assured you. âIâm sorry for dropping them.â
âYou didnât break them, itâs fine.â You looked at him thoughtfully. He was wearing the same thing he was wearing when you met him at the wake, dark pants, dark shoes, a white button-up, and dark cardigan. You tilted your head curiously. âAre you sure my mom hasnât seen you? She swears the house is haunted, you know.â
âI think she can tell that something is⊠off, sometimes. But no, sheâs never seen me.â
âIâm guessing you have no clue why I can see you right now?â You surmised. âThey donât exactly give you a ghost handbook, do they?â
Jisung shook his head. âNo, I donât know.â
âThank you again, by the way. For being so nice to me at the wake.â
âThey really shouldnât have been talking to you like that.â He frowned. âThey have no clue⊠He loved you and your mom so much. You two are his family, too.â
You chuckled sadly. âSo did you actually hear all of it, then?â
âI was already in there when they went in after you,â he confirmed. âI thought you might⊠I could create a distraction in another room if it got bad.â
âDo you do that a lot? Follow me around?â
His eyes widened as he clearly began to panic, shaking his head fervently. âN-Not like that! Only like, in normal places! I mean, like, thereâs not a lot to do when youâre a ghost stuck in a house, and I think youâre coolâOh god, I meant, uhm, I mostly stay on the first floor, promise!â
You couldnât help but giggle again as he had missed the light teasing in your tone. âMostly?â
Jisung visibly gulped. âI woke you up one time, when your mom was having a really bad time in the middle of the night and your stepdad couldnât calm her down. Iâm sorry, I shouldnât haveââ
âJisung, itâs okay,â you tried your best to be reassuring, even as you let out choked laughter. âI donât expect you to sit in a corner for eternity. Thanks for staying in normal places.â
âThanks for not being creeped outâŠâ He muttered, rubbing the back of his neck.
You let out a yawn, covering your mouth with your hand. After it passed, you gave Jisung a sheepish smile. âIf I go to sleep right now⊠will I still be able to see you in the morning?â
âYou⊠want to?â
âYeah.â You smiled and shrugged. âBetter than just talking to my mother, Nayoung, and myself like I usually do every day.â
The corners of his lips twitched as he went to nod. âIâll try to be here in the morning. You should go to sleep.â
âAlright. Goodnight, Jisung.â
âGoodnight, Y/N.â
Halfway up the stairs, you turned back around to see him still standing at the bottom, watching you. You threw back a teasing, âPromise youâll stay on the first floor?â
âCross my heart.â He made an X over the left side of his chest.
âNot sure how much thatâs worth coming from a ghost,â you grinned. âBut I guess itâs the thought that counts.â
In the morning, you sat with your feet dangling over the edge of your bed for an extra few seconds, very calmly contemplating your sanity. You had been spending the majority of your time in this house, talking to nobody else except your mother and Nayoung, who came five days a week for three hours at a time, your only other regular human interaction coming in the form of emails or the occasional phone calls with your co-workers. Was it really so unlikely that your brain was inventing someone new for you to talk to? How could you even determine if he was real or not? Did that even really matter?
With a sigh, you got to your feet and shuffled into your bathroom. Your mom had always been an early riser, something that hadnât changed now, and you had to take care of your own morning routine before she woke up. While the shift in your schedule initially took some getting used to, the daily alone time that you got to devote to your own self-care was something you treasured, and helped you start your day in a good headspace.
Coming out of your bedroom refreshed and in clean clothes, you meandered down the stairs, listening for any signs of life in the rest of the house. If your mom was up, she would at least be moving around her room, if not elsewhere in the house. And then there was the possibility of seeing the ghost again.
Right as you reached the bottom of the stairs, your momâs bedroom door opened, and she poked her head out. You smiled and walked over to her.
âMorning, Mom.â
âHi, sweetie.â She took your arm, looking around the hallway.
âYou okay?â
âDid he go out?â
You tilted your head, keeping your tone light as you asked, ââŠHe?â
âHyukjun,â she answered. âHe usually leaves a note.â
You bit your lip and nodded. âYeah, he had some errands, said heâll be back soon. You can get on him about forgetting your note when he gets back.â
Her features relaxed, and she rubbed your back. âThanks, Y/N. Donât know what weâd do without you.â
There was a knock on the front door then, and you went to go open it up for Nayoung. As she helped your mom with the rest of her morning, you headed towards the kitchen to start on breakfast. A figure was already at the kitchen table, however, his back to you as he sat in the fourth chair that had always been empty for as long as youâd been in the house. Jisung turned around when he heard your footsteps, giving you a small wave.
âMorning,â you smiled and nodded, hoping you didnât look too put-off. You werenât sure if you wouldâve been more surprised if he was here or not.
âGood morning.â His eyes followed you as you continued into the kitchen. From his seat, he could still see you over the kitchen counter. His hands were folded politely in his lap, and he watched you as you started pulling out ingredients for breakfast.
âSo, what do you do all night?â You questioned. âDo you sleep?â
âSometimes. Sometimes I read, or look at the moon, or think.â
âI think Iâd hate being alone with my thoughts for eternity.â You shook your head, bringing down plates from the cabinet.
âItâs not so bad.â Jisung shrugged. âI wasnât much of a talker before anyway.â
âAn introvert?â
âYes.â He tilted his head curiously. âYou donât normally cook for Nayoung.â
You looked down at the plates in your hand and realized that you had grabbed three instead of the normal two. Nayoung always ate breakfast before coming over, so you just had to make food for you and your mom. Youâd done this before, accidentally making a serving for Hyukjun out of habit, but you knew that wasnât what happened this time.
Putting the extra plate back, you said, âNo, I was⊠I think I was about to make you a plate. Felt like I had a guest over.â
Surprisingly, this made Jisung crack a smile. âI appreciate it. Your food always looks good.â
âI donât think itâs anything special.â You shrugged, turning on the stove. âI learned to cook from my mother, we just did it to survive. Hyukjun was a much better cook than either of us.â
âTo survive?â
âAfter my dad passedâŠâ You pursed your lips as you tried to think of how to phrase it, pushing around food in the pan. âShe sort of closed up. My mom gave me a good life growing up, donât get me wrong. But itâs hard being a single parent, and she never really made any friends, she spent all her time taking care of me or working. Then when I moved out, she closed up even more. I was kind of afraid sheâd close all the way up, until she met Hyukjun.â
âI seeâŠâ
You heard footsteps coming from down the hall, and halted your conversation. Nayoung and your mom entered the kitchen dining area just a few moments later, paying Jisung no mind, clearly not seeing him at all.
âY/N, were you on the phone?â Your mother asked as Nayoung guided her to her usual seat.
Nayoung took Hyukjunâs old place beside her.
âOh, yeah, work call,â you fibbed. âSomething urgent, couldnât wait until I clocked in, I guess.â
âThatâs inconsiderate.â
You chuckled, then looked to the aide. âCoffee, Nayoung?â
âIf youâre making some, please.â
âWas just about to start a pot.â
Sitting down at the full table with your food and coffee in front of you, your mother to your left, Nayoung across from you, and Jisung to your right, you couldnât help but smile, an odd sense of peace settling in your chest that hadnât been there in quite some time.
That night, after your mother went to sleep, you traipsed into the kitchen, opening up the freezer. Turning to Jisung with the carton of ice cream in your hand, you said, âI donât suppose you could help me with this?â
âUnfortunately not,â he chuckled.
âFigured I would ask,â you sighed, grabbing a spoon. âCome on, Iâm thinking a movie?â
Curled up in the corner of the couch under a blanket, you had just opened the ice cream when you realized you left the remote on the coffee table out of your reach. Jisung was still standing, seeming unsure of where to sit.
âCan you pass me the remote?â You requested, stretching an arm out towards it but ultimately not reaching it.
âOh, sure, sure.â He picked it up with ease just like you would, handing it off to you.
âThanks.â You turned the TV on. He was still standing, so you gestured to the rest of the empty couch. âSit, Jisung.â
âRight,â he mumbled, taking a seat next to you.
âYou havenât seriously been standing there like that this whole time, have you?â
âI⊠sit sometimes, yeah.â
âGood.â You patted his armâor you tried to pat his arm, but instead your hand hit the back of the couch, a cold shiver running up your arm starting at your fingertips. You jerked your hand back in alarm, eyes going wide. âShit! Sorry! Did I just like, smack your lung or something?â
Jisung laughed hard, his nose scrunching up and his hand flying up to cover his mouth as he giggled. âIâve never thought of it like that. I donâtâI donât think so, no.â
âIt didnât like, hurt, did it?â
âNo. Feels a little weird, like⊠Ah, I donât know how to describe it if youâre still corporeal. But it doesnât hurt.â
âOkay good,â you breathed out. Looking down at the remote in your hand, you frowned thoughtfully. âHow come you could grab this just fine, but I just go through you?â
âIt used to happen with objects, too,â he informed you, reaching his hand out towards the coffee table. The ghost moved it down, his hand effortlessly gliding through the table just like yours had gone through him a few moments earlier. âI can control it now. But for some reason, people, I still canât.â
âThat sounds⊠lonely.â
Jisung shrugged, offering you a sort of sad smile. âHey, I just spent a few decades not being seen or heard by anybody either. Iâll take what I can get.â
âAlright, what are we feeling?â You hummed as you pulled up the streaming service. âGhost movie?â
He gave you a skeptical look. âYou hate horror movies. You made Hyukjun turn all the lights in the house on when he put âSawâ on.â
âAw come on, no laugh? Not even a chuckle? Ironic scoff?â You wrinkled your nose at him.
âIâm laughing on the inside.â
âI was very brave for watching it all, though, wouldnât you agree?â You grinned, grabbing a big spoonful of ice cream.
Jisungâs amused smile was apparent that time. âVery. If I had gold stars to give out, youâd get one.â
âOkay, what about âThe Batmanâ? The one with Robert Pattinson, I literally donât care about the other ones.â
âIâm not sure who that is, but sure.â
âJisung, Iâm about to change your afterlife. Possibly for the worse.â
From when you woke up to when you went to sleep, if you were at home, Jisung was usually around. You found that you didnât mind his presence, if anything it was comforting, he made the house feel less empty than it would be with just you and your motherâand occasionally Nayoung. You had to catch yourself from talking to him when your mom or Nayoung were within earshot, or looking too obviously at where he was standing or sitting when they were in the room. Your evenings that you used to spend with Hyukjun were now spent with the ghost, watching shows or movies, showing him your favorite music, or just talking.
This morning, as your mom bathed herself and Nayoung waited for her in her bedroom, just in case, you had some extra time. Which you were glad for, as you knew you were moving slow, feeling more like a zombie than a functioning human being as you prepared breakfast. You yawned, covering your mouth with the back of your hand before gripping the tomato again and continuing your cuts.
âSo whatââ
âY/N!â Jisungâs cry of warning came before you registered your tomato juice-slickened fingers slipping down the food and under the blade.
You looked down to see crimson red welling up and joining the tomatoâs seeds at the same time you felt coldness on your hands. Jisung had tried to grab you, both too late, and in an ill-fated attempt even if he hadnât been, as his hands went right through yours. You belatedly hissed as your sleep-slogged mind finally registered the pain, made extra by the sting of tomato juice in the cuts. Jisung swore under his breath as he grabbed a kitchen towel instead, wrapping it around your fingers and pressing hard as his other hand knocked the knife out of your uninjured fingers that were still lamely holding it. He reached over to turn the sink on, and pulled you over there by the grip he had on the towel. He couldnât move your hand under the water once he took the towel off, though, staring at you pointedly.
âRight,â you mumbled, putting your fingers under the stream of the faucet to rinse the cuts clean of tomato guts. âThanks, Jisung.â
âWhatââ He was cut off by the doorbell ringing.
You hurriedly ripped off a wad of paper towels to press to your cut, calling out to Nayoung, âIâll get it!â
You knew Jisung was following you, not bothering to keep his sighs quiet as you peered through the peephole firstâhabit. A pit formed in your stomach when you recognized the man standing on your doorstep immediately.
Forcing your features into a pleasantly neutral expression, you opened the door just enough to greet your eldest stepbrother. âGood morning, Seohyuk.â
He fixed you with the same wide, dazzling grin that he always had, one that made you think he should be doing real estate instead of whatever his real job wasâinvestment broker or something. He was in a suit, looking like he had stopped by on his way to work. You bit back the urge to look down at your own lounge clothes and hair still damp from your shower.
âY/N! Good morning!â He was still beaming. âLooking beautiful as always.â
âCan I help you?â You asked politely, stepping onto the porch and forcing him to back up a step off the welcome mat, keeping one hand on the door handle.
He then seemed to have noticed your hand. âAre you alright? Did you hurt yourself?â
âNicked myself with a knife in the kitchen just now. Iâm fine,â you shrugged off his concerns. âWhy are you here?â
âOh my god! We should go in and get that washed out!â His hands fluttered over you with feigned worry, trying to usher you back into the house, put you stayed put, firmly shutting the front door behind you.
âI already washed it out,â you informed him flatly. âWhat do you want?â
The expressiveness immediately dropped off his face, and a cool, suave smirk overtook it as he sized you up. âAlright. Big girl can handle herself.â
âWeâre both adults, Seohyuk, Iâd appreciate it if you can act like one and get to your point.â
âFunny, my dad never seemed to think you were one,â he sneered. âYou were the little princess he never got to have.â
âIf this is all you came for, Iâm going back inside,â you sighed, reaching for the handle again.
âI came to inspect the property.â He finally gave you his reason, holding his chin up. âAs is my right, to make sure youâre not letting it go to ruins. So you have to let me in.â
Right, as if the house couldâve fallen to the wayside and become dilapidated in a week. You turned back to him, meeting his gaze head-on. It was easier like this, just one of them. Especially Seohyuk, he didnât have a temper like his younger brothers, nor did his words cut as deep as his momâs, he was just⊠a jerk. You could deal with a jerk.
âAnd, as Iâm sure you saw when you continued reading the papers, you have to give me at least twenty-four hoursâ notice before conducting any inspection of the property. So, I will see you in twenty-four hours.â You grabbed the door handle again. âGoodbye, Seohyuk.â
You didnât wait for his response, rushing inside and slamming the door shut behind you. You locked it up as quick as you could, not wanting to take any chances.
âYouâre not seriously going to let him come in here?!â Jisung blurted out, wide eyes focused on you. Of course he heard everything again.
As you opened your mouth to answer, Nayoung stepped out your momâs room hesitantly, worried eyes focused on you. You turned to her instead, offering her a reassuring smile.
âIs there anything I can do, Y/N?â She asked quietly. You didnât want to know how much she had heard.
âIâll try to arrange it so the inspection is during your time. If sheâs up for it tomorrow, could you take my mom on a walk? I need to be here, and she really shouldnât be.â
The aide nodded quickly. âOf course, yes.â
Back in the kitchen, Jisung pulled the first aid kit down, and you applied your own bandages to the cuts on your fingers. You could feel his eyes boring holes into your hair as you bowed your head to pay extra close attention to your injuries.
âY/Nââ
âWhat did you want me to do, Jisung?â You hissed, not meaning for it to come out as venomous as it did. âTheyâre entitled to inspect the premises, itâs technically also kind of their house. I wouldâve been in bigger shit if I told him no!â
The ghost was quiet, and when you finally looked up, you saw the hurt on his own face. You sighed, throwing away the bloody paper towels and bandage wrappers. Rolling out your shoulders and your neck to relieve the tension that had built up there, you loosely wrapped your arms around yourself.
âIâm sorry,â you said quietly. âIâm not mad at you, none of this is your fault. Iâm just⊠stressed, and I slept like shit last night. I shouldnât have taken it out on you.â
âItâs okay, Y/N,â he reassured you. âI just⊠hate the idea of you and that guy being in this house by yourselves, you know? I donât trust him.â
âOh, we wonât be alone.â
âI know Iâll be here, but thatâs not the same as having someone who could actually do something.â
âI know youâll be here, and thatâs reassuring,â you replied, an amused smile playing at your lips. âBut thatâs not entirely what I meant.â
âMr. Shin, thank you for coming on such short notice,â you greeted the attorney with a polite bow, welcoming him into the house.
Mr. Shin was an older man, around Hyukjunâs age, with salt and pepper hair, who hastily returned the bow. He wore a simple black suit, white dress shirt, and black tie, thick-framed glasses perched on his nose, and he held his black briefcase tightly to his side. He was exactly as you pictured him from speaking to him on the phone yesterdayâwhen you picked up Hyukjunâs papers, youâd only dealt with his secretary.
âOf course, Ms. Y/L/N, itâs my duty,â he replied briskly. âYour stepbrother has not arrived yet, has he?â
âNo, Iâm expecting Seohyuk in a few minutes.â
âGood, good.â
âWould you like some coffee? Or tea?â
âNo, thank you, I couldnât intrude.â He shook his head fervently. âYour mother isnât home, is she?â
âShe stepped out for a walk just before you arrived. She doesnât need to be here, does she?â
âNo, no, not at all.â He seemed relieved at this news, if anything.
The doorbell rang then, and you smiled at the lawyer. âThat should be him.â
Looking out the peephole first, it was in fact Seohyuk. You opened the door wider than yesterday, offering him a polite smile. âGood morning, Seohyuk.â
âAlright, Y/N, itâs been twenty-four hours, let me in.â He skipped pleasantries entirely, a glare already on his features.
âOf course.â You obliged gracefully, opening the door all the way for him.
He obviously hadnât seen anybody else, as he faltered upon stepping inside and spotting Mr. Shin in the entryway. It was as if a magic spell had been cast on him, Seohyuk straightened up, adjusting his own tie and throwing on his charming smile, offering a hand out to him. âKim Seohyuk, nice to meet you.â
Mr. Shin once again bowed formally, ignoring the hand in front of him. âAttorney Shin. Iâm the lawyer in charge of your fatherâs estate, and Iâll be overseeing this inspection.â
âGreat. Yeah, Iâm glad Y/N remembered to call you like we talked about,â Seohyuk lied through his teeth, keeping his voice casual. âSheâs been a little all over the place with taking care of her mom by herself since Dad passed, so I offered to, but she insisted she would do it since she only works part-time now.â
You clenched your jaw to not call him a piss-poor liar to his face. Or punch him in the face. His âsheâs a mess, but we love herâ tone really irked you. Jisung had been lurking in the corner the whole time with his arms crossed over his chest and chose now to mimic choking Seohyukâit took everything in you not to burst out laughing, but it successfully dissolved the anger that had been bubbling in your veins.
Mr. Shin either didnât believe him or didnât care, as he simply nodded and then looked to the both of you. âIf there are no questions, we will begin in the kitchen.â
The inspection was uneventfulâyou passed with flying colors, of courseâand at the end, you got to see both Mr. Shin and Seohyuk out at the front door simultaneously.
âI will be making note of this in the estateâs file, of course,â Mr. Shin said in closing. âSo as to not intrude on Ms. Y/L/N and her mother too much, inspections are limited to once per year, as you know.â
âWhat?!â Seohyukâs jaw dropped. âTh-Thatâs per person, right? Like, if my brothers wanted an inspectionââ
âIâm afraid not, Mr. Kim. One inspection of the property per year. Unless good cause is shown.â
âGood cause? Like what?â
âIf there is some damage externally that would lead you to believe Ms. Y/L/N has caused similar damage internally, or if she posted pictures to her social media of the inside that showed some damage. Something like that.â
You had to cover your mouth to keep from laughing in Seohyukâs face as his jaw gaped open like a dead fish. After composing yourself, you gave the both of them a cheerful wave. âSo I guess Iâll see you two next year.â
âAnd hopefully not any sooner!â Mr. Shin confirmed, bowing deeply once more.
You closed the door with a satisfying click. Turning back around to Jisung, you finally burst into laughter with him. He pumped his fist victoriously. âGone until next year!â
Holding your hand up, you cheered, âWhoo! Come on, ghost five!â
Jisung whooshed his hand through yours, and the chill zipping up your arm only served to make you more excited. Finally, a win in all this.
3:16 a.m.
You glared at your bedside clock like it was doing this to you personally. Rolling onto your other side, you let out a disgruntled sigh. No matter how comfortable you were, how exhausted your bones and your brain were, you couldnât fucking sleep. Sitting up, you threw your covers off of you and padded out of your room.
In the kitchen, you drank a glass of water, but couldnât bring yourself to go back upstairs to your room. You wandered into the living room, plopping into your usual corner of the couch and pulling your knees to your chest. Turning your phone on, you once again glared at the time like it was invented to hurt you in particular.
3:20 a.m.
You could be doing something better right now, reading a book, laying very still with your eyes closed, meditating, anything but scrolling on your phone.
3:49 a.m.
Had you ever gotten a good nightâs sleep in your life? You couldnât remember in that moment. Your eyes stung looking at the screen, they stung when you closed them, but you blinked it away.
4:17 a.m.
âY/N?â Jisung stepped into the living room. âWhy are you still up?â
âMm, Jisung, hey,â you greeted him dully, setting your phone aside on the arm of the couch. âIâm surprised it took you this long to find me.â
âI figured you were just getting a glass of water or something. I didnât want to bother you. But youâve been out here for almost an hour now.â
You sighed, resting your chin on your knees. âCanât sleep.â
âIs something wrong?â
âI slept for a couple hours, but then I woke up and I just... couldnât go back to sleep,â you sighed.
âStaring at that screen isnât going to help you get back to sleep.â He frowned.
That made you chuckle. âAnd how do you know that?â
âYour mom used to get on your stepdad about using screens too close to bedtime,â he confessed. âSomething about the light keeping your brain awake.â
You smiled as you could imagine that perfectly. âYeah, that sounds like her.â
âCan I do anything to help? Do you want like, hot chocolate? OrâŠâ He trailed off as he was clearly wracking his brain for another option.
âYou want to keep me off my phone?â
He nodded.
You stood up, your fingers tapping over the spines on the bookcases before you grabbed one. You offered it out to Jisung. âRead to me.â
Jisung gently took the book from you, then nodded to the couch. âSure. Lay down.â
âIâm not sleeping on the couch,â you snorted, taking your phone back off the arm and heading for the stairs. Tilting your head indicatively, you said, âCome on, you get to go to the second floor.â
His footsteps were quiet behind you, squeaking some of the same steps that you did as he followed you up the stairs. You opened the door to your bedroom, stepping in first and holding it open to gesture him in as he had stopped uncertainly by the threshold. Closing the door behind him, you then sat down on your bed again.
âHere.â You patted the empty side of the bed for him.
Jisung shuffled over, sitting up against the headboard with his long legs stretched out on top of your sheets. With amusement, you noted that he was no longer wearing his dark shoes, only black socks. You laid back down under your covers again, pulling your blankets up to your chin.
He clicked the lamp on his side of the bed on, and seemed to have read the title for the first time then. âPoems?â
âMy mom used to read to me every night, way past the normal age that you stop doing that stuff Iâm pretty sure. And whenever I got nightmares, or couldnât sleep, Iâd climb into her bed. It didnât matter if I woke her up at two in the morning, sheâd grab one of the five or ten books that were always on her nightstand and start reading to me until I fell asleep,â you explained, readjusting your pillow under your head. âThat was one of my favorites. I figured it was worth a shot.â
Jisung opened the book to the first poem and began reading. His voice was soft and steady, deep and soothing. Despite your want to keep watching him and the focused look on his face as he read, his dark eyes following the words on the page, your own eventually fluttered shut against your will.
When you woke up, Jisung was no longer in your room. The book was resting on the nightstand on that side of the bed, and the lamp was off. Upon entering the kitchen, you saw Jisung standing at the humming microwave. He perked up when you walked in, despite the confused look on your face.
âGood morning!â He said brightly, then gestured to the microwave. âIâm making you hot chocolate. I heard the shower.â
âAnd if my mother had walked in and saw the hot chocolate making itself?â You asked dryly, still rubbing sleep out of your eyes. Your shower didnât do much to wake you up this morning.
Jisung visually deflated, looking around guiltily. âOh. RightâŠâ
âItâs sweet, Jisung, thank you,â you added with a smile, watching his shoulders relax. âYouâre very sweet. I just donât want to give my mom a heart attack.â
âOf course.â He was smiling again too. âSorry.â
Sitting halfway down the stairs with Jisung, you stared blankly at the front door. Dinner had been difficult for your mom tonight, and with no Nayoung at that meal, you had to do it all on your own. She was asleep now, and you held your head in your hands. Jisung was quietly sitting beside you, resting his elbows on his knees as his laced and unlaced his fingers in front of him. This was probably one of the best parts about having Jisung around. Despite being practically omnipresent at this point, if you didnât want to talk, he didnât talk. If you wanted to chat, he would talk to you about anything, but if you wanted utter silence, he would let you sit in utter silenceâhe just wouldnât let you do it alone.
You felt nearly suffocated by the house in that moment, but you couldnât leave your mom alone.
âCan you go outside?â You lifted your head to ask Jisung.
âNot very far,â he answered as if you were asking any other piece of trivia about him and his predicament.
âThe porch swing?â
âYes, I can go there.â
âDo you want to? Now? With me?â
He chuckled softly. âWhen have I ever told you no?â
It was a warm night, which you were glad for as you were only in your sleep shorts and a t-shirt as you sat on the wooden porch swing with Jisung. Holding the chain next to your head with one hand, you peered out at the nighttime around you, glad to be out of those walls finally.
âPretty moon,â you commented, looking up at the silver half-moon above you.
âMhm,â Jisung hummed his agreement.
âAnd stars,â you added, taking in the twinkling dots all around the moon.
âMhm.â
âPretty stars,â you clarified.
âMhm.â
Looking at Jisung out of the corner of your eye, you kept the same tone of voice as you said, âPretty garbage can.â
âMhm.â
âJisung?â
âMhm?â
âYouâre not listening to me.â
âHuh?â
âWhat are you thinking about?â
âUhm⊠nothing.â He coughed. âPretty moon.â
âMhm.â You hummed back in the same sing-songy tone that he had. âI wish I could touch you.â
âHuh?â He spluttered out.
âJust feels like a nice moment to rest my head in your lap, donât you think?â You looked over at him, meeting his dark eyes.
He looked down at his legs, then around him in what you would almost call an attempt to avoid your gaze. âWell⊠we could put one of the pillows on the swing where my lap is, and you can rest your head there and pretend itâs me.â
âThat wonât be uncomfortable for you?â
âNo, Iâll be fine,â he promised. âJust make sure itâs not too far over here, I donât want to make you cold.â
After you settled onto your back with your head on a pillow, right on the edge of where Jisungâs thigh started, you could see Jisung and the porch roof directly above you. The corner of his mouth twitched as he looked down at you, and you smiled back up at him.
âCan you push the porch swing?â You requested.
âSure,â he agreed, and you felt the swing gently push off backwards then sail forward.
You rolled your head to the side to be able to look at the moon again.
âCan I askâŠâ You poked your tongue on the inside of your cheek. âHow did you die? If you want to tell me, you donât have to.â
Jisung sighed. âI donât know. I went to sleep one night and when I woke up, I wasnât in my body anymore.â
You felt your eyes widen involuntarily. âSeriously? You werenât sick or anything?â
âI felt fine,â he confirmed. âI didnât even realize until I couldnât grab the handle to open my bedroom door and leave. My hand just went through it. When I turned back around to my bed, I saw myself lying there. I thought I was still dreaming.â
âGod... Iâm sorry, Jisung.â
He shrugged, his fingers messing with the edges of the pillow that your head was on. âIt couldâve been worse. It didnât hurt, I wasnât dreading the end or anything.â
You reached for his face, despite knowing that it wouldnât work, holding your hand up as if you were cupping his cheek, hovering right on the edge of where your skin passed through each other. âDoes that... I always feel cold when I try to touch you. Is this warm? To you?â
âI never notice that Iâm cold until I touch you.â He hesitantly put his hand over yours. âLike when youâve been outside during winter for so long that you donât even feel temperature anymore. And then you step inside again and you can suddenly feel just how cold you are because everything else is so warm.â
âIs it⊠I donât know, nice?â
âItâs⊠a lot,â he admitted. âItâs not bad, but I can never warm up.â
âOh.â You took your hand back, resting it on your stomach.
âItâs late,â he said quietly. âAre you tired?â
âNo, but I should probably head to bed.â You sat up reluctantly.
Only a few minutes after saying your goodnights, you were at the bottom of the stairs again, searching for Jisung. You found him in the living room.
âCan you read to me?â You asked, fidgeting with the sleeves of your shirt.
He chose a book off the shelves and followed you upstairs wordlessly. Back under your covers again, you listened to the sound of his fingers running over the edges of the pages, folding back the cover of the book before he started reading. It wasnât the same book of poems as last time, instead you fondly recognized it as one of your favorite books from when you started reading novels as a kid, about a young girl who went on a grand fantasy adventure with all sorts of magical creatures. In the back of your mind, you thought to yourself that you were a little disappointed that youâd be asleep before the end, when she finally came home to her mother in the real world. That had always been your favorite part.
âDo cameras work on you?â You asked Jisung as you kneeled by one of the flowerbeds at the front of the house. It was early in the morning, and you made sure to keep one headphone in your ear so that any passerby who did happen by on morning walks or jogs would hopefully just think that you were on a phone call.
âDonât know,â he shrugged, sitting on the porch swing. âI think I wouldâve found out if I was in the background of any Kim family photos over the years.â
Curious, you took out your phone, opening up the camera and pointing it at him. The sun hadnât fully risen yet, but in the low light you could see the porch swing just fine, seemingly rocking along on its own on your screen. Taking just one picture, you paused your weeding to look at it from your camera roll. Again, you definitely couldnât see Jisung sitting on the porch swing like you could with your own two eyes, but there was something going on in the picture this time. The air seemed to shimmer and distort in the vague shape of a person sitting in the photo, exactly where he was in real life. You zoomed in on the fuzzy edges that nearly turned into shadow, squinting as you tried to make out whether the distortion was in the image file itself or part of Jisung somehow.
âWell?â Jisung questioned, tilting his head.
âI got... something.â You stood up, walking over to show him. âItâs not what I see when I look at you. I see, like, a person.â
âOh.â His face fell as he looked over the photo of the strange figure.
âI think itâs cool,â you tried to cheer him up. âVery mysterious, you know.â
He gave you a half-hearted smile. âThanks, Y/N.â
âI get why youâre bummed, though. Itâs probably been a while since youâve seen yourself, right? I never see your shadow or your reflection. Can you?â
âNo, I canât.â He shook his head. âItâs⊠I have my dadâs nose, and my momâs smile. I just thought that even if I couldnât see them anymore, itâd be nice to see the parts of them that are in me.â
You blinked back the tears that were pricking at your eyes. âI know what you mean. My dadâs mom was alive when I was younger, and she always said I looked just like him. I used to sit on my bathroom counter in front of the mirror with an old picture of him from when he was a kid for hours to try to see it too.â
âDo you look like him?â He asked quietly.
âDonât you see it? I look just like my mom,â you laughed and shook your head.
Jisung chuckled softly, rubbing the back of his neck. âYeah, I know. I wasnât going to spoil your connection to your dad for you.â
âIt makes me happy to know that my grandmother saw my dad when she looked at me anyway.â You permanently deleted the photo youâd taken of Jisung. âIâm sure you have something else from your parents that you donât need a mirror for, though. Like, for me, when I laugh really, really hard, I start wheezingâitâs honestly an awful soundâand clutch my sides and stomp my left foot. My dad would laugh with his whole body like that too. I didnât even know until my mom pointed it out a few years ago out of the blue. I sneeze like Hyukjun now, too. Donât even know how I picked that up in such a short time. I was dusting the other day and when I sneezed, I realized it sounded just like him.â
âReally?â He laughed, a real one this time.
âYeah,â you smiled fondly at the memory. âIâm sure youâve got lots of pieces of your family in you other than your nose and your eyes, Jisung.â
The ghost held your gaze, his dark eyes that you tried to imagine belonging to some ambiguous father of his that you could never recall, smiling up at you with a smile that matched a memory of his mother you didnât have. Even if you would never know them, you remembered them in that moment for him.
You chewed on your bottom lip as you leafed through the large tome of local genealogies in front of you. At first you were worried that Mr. Shin would have questions for you as to why you wanted information on the deed of the house, primarily who had owned it before your stepdad bought it. But instead, he simply had his paralegal fetch the information from the previous title search theyâd done when drafting the documents for Hyukjun. You took the list of names with you to the local library, where they kept an archive of all sorts of birth, death, and marriage records, including genealogies of local families.
Kim Hyukjun had purchased the home from a husband and wife, the Parks, decades before you were even born. The Parks were the first owners, and despite neither of their names being Jisung, you figured he must be related to them in some way to have lived there before Hyukjun bought it; their son, a nephew, grandson, something.
You finally found a married couple whose names matched, and eagerly read on for their children. They had one child, a son, Park Jisungâdeceased.
âFound you,â you whispered to yourself, tapping the name in the book. Taking a picture of all the relevant information, you shut the book and returned it to its place before taking down another one, death certificates.
Finally landing on Jisungâs, you read with bated breath and a morbid curiosity. It started with all the normal stuffâname, age, date of birth, addressâand you skimmed on, trying to find the thing that you really wanted to know. But as you got to the end, and desperately re-read again from the beginning, more carefully this time, you realized there was no cause of death listed. They must not have requested an autopsy. As your chest deflated, you shook your head at yourself. What would knowing even change now? You took a quick note of the cemetery listed before shutting the book.
The informationâor lack thereofâthat youâd gotten from the library was still on your mind when you returned to the house. Nayoung was sitting at the kitchen table, and looked up from her phone when you came in.
âAh, Y/N, how were your errands?â She asked, clearly noticing your empty hands.
âFine,â you gave a non-committal answer. âWhereâs my mom?â
âSheâs taking a nap in her room. Sheâs been asleep for about fifteen minutes or so.â
âGood.â You glanced at the time on the stove. âYou can head out for the day. Thank you, Nayoung.â
âIâll see you all tomorrow, then.â She stood up and flashed you one more bright smile before showing herself out.
A few moments later, you heard the sound of the front door locking after her, then Jisung entered the room from that direction. He stopped next to you.
âSo whereâd you go today?â He asked curiously. âYou didnât pick anything upâŠâ
You sighed, taking a seat at the kitchen table. âLibrary. They didnât have what I needed.â
âWhat book were you looking for?â
You grimaced at yourself, picking at your nails uncomfortably as you braced yourself to tell the truth. âI wasnât checking out a book. I was⊠I was looking up stuff in the archives, about you.â
Jisungâs eyebrows shot up in surprise. âMe?â
âIâm sorry, I was nosy and shouldnât have done that without talking to you first,â you apologized. âIâm sorry.â
âY/N, youâve got a ghost living in your house,â he reminded you frankly. âNormal personal boundaries arenât really applicable here.â
âI⊠guess thatâs one way to look at it.â
âAnd I mean, all you did was look in the archives, right?â
âYeah.â
âThatâs fine.â Jisung sat in his chair next to yours, leaning forward towards you eagerly. âWhat did you find out?â
You chewed your lip nervously. âNot much. I know your full name is Park Jisung. Your parents didnât have an autopsy done, so we still donât know why you⊠passed. I know where they buried⊠you, though.â
He kept looking at you expectantly, waiting for you to say more. But that was all you had. When he realized that you were done, his face fell, and he let out a breath, sitting back in his chair.
âOh.â He nodded slowly.
âIâm sorry, Jisung.â You instinctively reached for his hand that was resting on the table. You did a double-take when your hand didnât impact with the wooden tabletop under him, though, but with him.
Jisungâs hand was cool to the touch, but solid, yours didnât just slip right through it like usual. You stared down at your hands as you readjusted your grip in disbelief.
Your ghost was similarly bewildered, eyes locked on your hands as he squeezed yours back. âAre youâŠâ
âYeah, I can actually touch you!â You laughed in amazement.
He looked up from your hand to your eyes, lifting his other hand towards your face. âCan IâŠ?â
You nodded, not trusting yourself to speak, or even breathe, in that moment.
Jisungâs fingertips gently caressed your cheek, his eyes filled with wonder as he murmured, âYouâre so warmâŠâ
âAre you⊠you know, cold? Is it like before?â
âNo, itâs-itâs nice,â he said, clasping your hand with both of his now. âThank you. For letting meâŠâ
âOh, sure, yeah,â you cleared your throat awkwardly, looking around the kitchen.
âItâs funny, itâs one of those things you take for granted until you canât do it anymore.â
âWhat?â
âTouch people.â He squeezed your hand softly. âI used to complain when my mom would kiss me, or my friends would give me hugs. Now⊠I canât believe Iâm holding someoneâs hand again.â
You patted his arm, at a loss for words, but hoping that you could give him some kind of comfort in the moment. It sounded like a heartbreakingly lonely existence. You couldnât imagine what you would do if you could never hug your mom again, or even bump into strangers on the trainâsmall things that reminded you that you were real, that you took up space.
You felt your heart truly shatter when Jisung leaned over, pressing his forehead to your linked hands, and you saw his shoulders shake with quiet sobs.
âOh, Jisung,â you whispered, scooting your chair closer to gently stroke his dark hair. âItâs okayâŠâ
Tonight had been rough. This was the third night in a row that you had gone in circles trying to calm your mother down from a frightened state, afraid that every creak of the house settling, gust of the air conditioning rustling a curtain, or wind blowing a tree branch outside was a ghost. Despite being aware that your house was actually inhabited by a ghost, you knew it wasnât Jisung doing any of those things.
You had finally gotten her back to sleep at almost one in the morning, and shut her bedroom door behind you with a sigh. Shuffling into the kitchen, you stopped in the middle of the room, rubbing a hand over your face as you just stared blankly at the countertop. You couldnât even remember what you had come in here for.
âHey,â Jisung called for your attention softly, his quiet footsteps approaching from behind you. âDid you want water? Hot chocolate?â
âUgh, I donât even know,â you groaned, turning around and burying your face in his shoulder. âIâm so fucking tired, Jisung.â
âThen letâs get you to bed,â he suggested, trying to usher you out of the kitchen, but you didnât budge.
Looking up at him, you sniffled, âThis is the third night this has happened⊠I donât know if I can⊠What if I canâtâWhat ifâWhat am IâWhat if I canât do it by myself? What if I canât take care of her like she needs on my own? Sheâs only going to get worse and Iâm⊠Oh God, Iâm tired.â
Tears streamed down your cheeks now as you felt an exhaustion from deep within. You felt it in every fiber of your being, in your bones, deep in your chest. You couldnât remember a time when you didnât feel worn out like this.
Jisungâs eyes widened as his hands frantically fluttered over your arms and shoulders, clearly unsure of where to settle as he went to try to comfort you. âAh, Y/N, oh, no. Oh, God, Iâm so sorry that you feel so tired. Youâre doing so good.â He squeezed your shoulders. âYouâre not alone. I know it can feel like that, but youâve got Nayoung, too. Your stepdad left a fund to pay for your momâs care, right? You can use that to have Nayoung here more if you need her to, canât you? Iâve heard her ask if you want to adjust her scheduleâŠâ
âYeah, she has,â you nodded, the admission only making you cry harder. âI justâI donât want to think about needing more help, about needing Nayoung more, because that really means that sheâs getting worse. But I canâtâShe needs more than me.â
âIâm so sorry, Y/N,â Jisung said, his own eyes shining in the dim light. âI wish I could make everything better for you.â
You gave him a shaky smile, the best you could muster in the moment, patting one of his hands that were still holding you by the shoulders. âI know. Thank you, just having you here to listen to me means a lot.â
He wiped at your tears with his thumbs, his hands shaking slightly as he gently cradled your face. âLet me help you however I canâyou know, without freaking your mom out. You can take care of your mom and Iâll take care of you. Please.â
It was all you could do to nod your head in his hands. He let out a breath of relief.
âCome on, letâs get you back to bed.â He wrapped an arm around your shoulders, guiding you out of the kitchen successfully this time.
At the top of the stairs, you stopped and grabbed his hand, pleading, âDonât leave me, Jisung.â
He chuckled lightly, lacing his fingers with yours. âWhere could I even go? Iâm stuck here.â
âI mean, you always leave after I fall asleep,â you explained. âDonât go this time.â
He nodded, using the index finger of the hand that was holding yours to trace an X over his heart, pulling your hand along with it. âI wonât leave you.â
You fell asleep curled up under your covers, Jisung reading a book of short stories to you, one of his hands resting on your head, fingers gently carding through your hairâa silent reminder of his promise that he would still be there in the morning.
When you woke up, you felt terrible. Not only because of how poorly you had slept lately, but all of your joints and muscles ached, your sinuses felt like they were stuffed up with concrete, your throat was scratchy and sore, and it felt like someone had turned the thermostat up to a million degrees. You winced as you rolled over and threw the covers off of you, already feeling that your sheets and clothes were damp with sweat. Groaning and clutching your head, you involuntarily coughed, having to prop yourself up on your elbow to avoid choking on your own mucus. Gross.
âYouâre sick,â Jisung said from the other side of the bed, his voice sympathetic. Youâd forgotten that he was even there, actually.
Sitting up, you tried to look as normal as possible, shaking your head. âNo, just had something in my throat.â
You winced at the sound of your own voice; it sounded almost as bad as you felt.
âY/N, you sound awful,â he pointed out. âAnd you were tossing and turning all night.â
âIâm fineââ
âY/N.â He was giving you what could only be called a stern pout. âWe just talked about this last night.â
You opened your mouth to argue again, but faltered at the intensity of his gaze. Letting the tension fall from your shoulders, you grabbed your phone off your nightstand. âIâll see if Nayoung or another aide can stay all day.â
Jisung finally smiled at that, standing up and moving to leave the room. âIâll make you breakfast before your mom wakes up.â
You watched him walk to your door, and instead of grabbing the handle to open it, walked right through it. That must be why you were never woken by the sound of the door when he would leave in the middle of the night before.
Once Nayoung arrived, you hauled yourself out of bed and to the doctorâs office. As soon as you got back, you trudged right back upstairs. From the living room, you could hear the sounds of your mother and the aide chatting. In your room, you shrugged off your jacket and had just grabbed the hem of your shirt when Jisung appeared through the door.
âSo what didââ
âAh!â You yelped, yanking your shirt back down and whirling around to stare at him incredulously.
âSorry! Sorry!â Jisung sputtered out, covering his eyes.
âKnock! I know you can!â You yelled, gesturing at the door with exasperation. âWhat is wrong with you?!â
âI didnât thinkâIâm sorry!â He fully backed up and out of your room through a solid wall, still covering his eyes.
A few moments later, you heard soft footsteps accompanied by creaks on the stairs. Nayoungâs voice came next, âY/N? Are you okay?â
âOh, yeah, Nayoung, Iâm fine,â you called back. âJust stubbed my toe getting dressed.â
âAlrightâŠâ She didnât sound like she believed you, but apparently wasnât going to press the issue. âI have another visit to make today, so another aide from the service will be here in the afternoon to take over from me. Her name is Hyesoo.â
âOkay, thanks for letting me know.â
âIâll say goodbye when I leave.â
âThanks.â
You heard her retreat down the stairs, and finished getting changed in peace. Sitting down on your bed, you then heard a soft knock at your bedroom door.
âCome in,â you replied, crossing your arms over your chest.
Jisung stepped through the door, averting his eyes to his feet guiltily. âSorry...â
âForget about it, Jisung,â you sighed, flopping all the way under your covers. âIâm too sick to be mad at you.â
âWhat did the doctor say?â He asked, perching on the edge of your bed.
âItâs just a cold, but he said that all the stress Iâm under isnât helping,â you huffed, fluffing up your pillow under your head. âHe gave me some meds, theyâre in my bag.â
Jisung picked up your tote bag from where youâd dropped it by your nightstand, handing it to you. âIâll get you some water to take them with.â
After heâd left the room, you set two of the bottles on your nightstand, and tucked the third in the drawer. Your ghost came back soon with a glass of water, and you eyed him suspiciously as he gave it to you.
âNobody saw the floating glass of water?â You questioned, sitting up to be able to properly take a sip.
âYour mom and Nayoung were in the backyard,â he confirmed, watching you knock back the pills. âAre you hungry?â
You shook your head, shuffling back under the covers. âSleepy. That doctorâs visit took a lot out of me.â
âTake a nap.â
âWill you wake me up before Nayoung goes?â
âSure. But sleep right now.â
You were faintly aware of Jisungâs cool hand resting on your head as you let yourself get swept away by sleep.
Blinking your eyes open, you were greeted by the inky blackness of your ghostâs eyes first. Jisung was laying on top of the covers on the other half of your bed, cheek resting on his hand as he gazed at you. You rubbed the sleep out of your eyes as you rolled onto your back, suddenly feeling much warmer under the intensity of his eyes.
âThe other aide just arrived, Nayoung is getting ready to leave,â he informed you quietly.
âMm,â you grunted in acknowledgment. âThanks.â
âHow are you feeling?â
âStill feel like shit,â you admitted. âThe doctor did say the meds wouldnât start working until the second or third dose.â
You heard footsteps coming up the stairs, and both you and Jisung went quiet. There was a soft knock at your door.
âY/N?â Nayoung said your name quietly.
âYes, Nayoung?â You replied.
âIâm heading out. Hyesoo and your mom are in the living room. Thereâs an extra serving of lunch, would you like me to bring it up for you?â
You were hungry now, and against your instincts, agreed, âIf you donât mind.â
âOf course not. Iâll warm it up for you, give me a few minutes.â
You stared up at the ceiling bitterly, trying to swallow down the uncomfortable, shameful bile rising up in your body. You donât have to do everything yourself, you can accept peopleâs kindness, you can let people help you. This was exactly what you were getting upset with Hyukjun for doing, putting others before himself at the detriment of his own health. If you didnât take care of yourself, your mom wouldnât have any family left to take care of herâonly Hyukjunâs fund to pay for more aides.
âY/N, Iâm setting it down outside your room,â Nayoungâs voice was back outside your door, startling you. You hadnât even heard the stairs this time. âI made you some tea, too. I hope you feel better. See you tomorrow.â
You were out of your bed and opening the door before Jisung could. Nayoung was still on the top step, and looked over her shoulder, clearly a little startled. You looked down at the plate of food and steaming mug of tea, recognizing it as Hyukjunâs favorite coffee cup. Tears suddenly filled your eyes, but you didnât move to hug her, knowing that sheâd be visiting more elderly and possibly immunocompromised patients today. Instead, you stayed put in the doorway, giving her a small smile.
âThank you, Nayoung.â You couldnât string together any more words than that, but she seemed to get it anyway.
She beamed back at you, her young features holding a gentle understanding and wisdom. âYouâre welcome. Rest well, Y/N.â
After getting ready for sleep that evening, you were sitting with your feet hanging over the side of the bed, taking your next doses of medications. You took the two on the nightstand, then pulled open the drawer to fish out the one that you had put away earlier. The nap youâd taken earlier had thrown off your sleeping pattern, you werenât near tired enough despite the time.
âY/N?â Jisung lightly touched your shoulder. âEverything okay?â
You were staring at the orange pill bottle in your hands, gnawing on your bottom lip. âWhat if I canât see you?â
âWhat?â
âHe gave me stuff to help me sleep.â You looked up from the bottle to your ghost. âBut what if I take it and I canât see you anymore?â
Jisung sat down next to you, shoulder-to-shoulder, and took the bottle from you. He turned it over in his hands as he spoke, âYou could see me before you started having problems sleeping, right?â
You thought about this for a moment, then slowly nodded, relieved.
âAnd even if you took these and couldnât see me anymore for some reasonâI would rather you be well than see me,â he said, pushing the bottle back into your hand and wrapping your fingers around it. He held your eye contact sincerely. âOkay?â
You swallowed the lump in your throat and nodded. âOkayâŠâ
Jisung watched silently as you opened the bottle, shook one out into your palm, closed the bottle back up, and knocked the tablet back with some water. He stood up to move to his usual spot against the headboard, grabbing the book that was sitting on the nightstand. You crawled under the covers, watching him open the book to where he left off.
âJisung?â
âYes?â He turned his gaze from the pages to you.
âWill youââ You sniffled, rubbing at one of your eyes as you yawned. âWill you just lay with me?â
âOh. Sure.â He closed the book back up and set it aside, then laid down on top of the covers facing you. âDo you want the lamp off?â
âMhm⊠pleaseâŠâ
He reached behind him to turn the light off, plunging the room into darkness. You could barely make out the outline of him from a strip of moonlight filtering in from a gap between the curtains. Your eyes were getting heavier, and you desperately fought to keep them open, just in case this was the last time you could see him.
âGoodnight, Y/N,â Jisung murmured. He crossed his finger over his heart. âIâll see you in the morning.â
âGoodnight, Jisung,â you managed to mumble back as your eyes fluttered shut.
When you woke up, you were face-to-face with Jisung, his eyes shut this time, eyelashes resting delicately on his cheeks. You wouldâve almost felt bad for what you were about to do, but you didnât think that ghosts actually needed sleep, so you threw your arms around his neck, burying your face in his chest.
âY/N?!â Jisung squeaked, freezing up under you. âWhatâsââ
âI can see you!â You cheered victoriously, your voice muffled by his shirt.
He let out a sigh of relief, one of his hands tentatively patting your back. âAnd a good morning to you, too.â
It was a couple weeks later, and you were all better. Just in time for winter, too. You let out a huff as you heaved your groceries up the porch steps, your breath coming out as a puff in the cold air. Unlocking the front door, you grinned when it was immediately opened for you, Jisung on the other side. He closed it behind you, taking your hat off you and brushing stray snowflakes from your hair, his brow furrowed in concentration. You mouthed a âthank youâ to him, well aware of the sounds of your mother and her new evening aide, Hyesoo, in the kitchen already. He just smiled and murmured âYouâre welcomeâ back.
âOh, Y/N, back already, dear?â Hyesoo greeted you brightly as you walked into the kitchen. The two of them were playing cards at the kitchen table. Hyesoo was an older woman, closer to your mom and Hyukjun in age, but insisted on you calling her by her first name nevertheless.
âYep, just had one stop to make today!â You informed them, putting your bags onto the kitchen counters. âI think the snow kept everyone away, too.â
âIt was snowing?â Your mom questioned, the disapproval clear in her tone. âYou didnât walk all the way there, did you?â
âI wore all my layers, Mom, promise,â you chuckled, beginning to unpack the groceries. âAnd my snow boots!â
âIâll put those away,â Hyesoo insisted, setting her cards down and standing up. âYou go warm up, weâve got a fire going in the living room.â
âWell, I do have some work to get done before dinner...â You said sheepishly. âThanks, Hyesoo!â
You took the stairs two at a time up to your room to get your laptop, then ran back down to sit in front of the fire with it. Opening up your email first, you were unsurprised when a familiar figure sat down beside you, holding his hands out towards the flames. You hummed to yourself as you answered a couple emails, marking some under your to-do list to deal with later, getting the easier ones out of the way first.
âUgh, not him again,â Jisung complained from next to you, having been reading them over your shoulder. âDecline!â
You elbowed him with an eyeroll, whispering under your breath, âHeâs my boss, I canât decline a meeting with him.â
âHeâs not technically your boss.â
âOkay, supervisor. Still, I canât decline a meeting with him.â
âTheyâre never about anything important.â
âYeah, thatâs every meeting ever.â
âHeâs just doing it to talk to you. Itâs an abuse of power.â
âWeâre working on a project together and heâs actually in the office and Iâm not. He gives me updates. Itâs helpful.â
Jisung made a âhrrmphâ sound, pulling his knees to his chest as he opted to stare into the fire instead. You looked at him out of the corner of your eye, mild amusement on your features.
âWhat? Are you jealous or something?â You teased. âHeâs like, married with three kids. Have I not mentioned that? He just doesnât know how to use computers so he makes everything a video call meeting.â
âOh.â
âJealous, jealous...â You said in a sing-song voice. âI already spend almost 24/7 with you, what more could you want?â
You had meant it to be rhetorical, but you swore Jisungâs mouth opened, about to answer, when Hyesoo walked in.
âHey, Iâm going to start on dinner, unless you had something planned?â She pointed to the kitchen over her shoulder.
âNo, no, go for it,â you waved her off. âI have to take a call anyway. If Iâm late, start without me.â
âWerenât you just on one?â
So you hadnât been as quiet as youâd hoped.
âYeah, different department,â you fibbed quickly, getting to your feet and bringing your laptop with you.
You could hear the soft footfalls of Jisung following you, and at the top of the stairs, you turned around to put a hand on his chest, satisfied that Hyesoo wouldnât be able to see you here. Jisung pouted, looking down at the hand you had on his chest.
âWork call,â you whispered, gently pushing him back. âWait downstairs. Please.â
He nodded, not looking very happy about it, but descended the stairs anyway. Itâs not like there was anything that happened on your work calls that Jisung couldnât hear, but you didnât want to risk a floating object in the background, you looking over at Jisung, or otherwise reacting to him in any way during one of your work calls. It was just easier to concentrate without him there.
The call with your supervisor once again really couldâve been an email, but you didnât mind catching up with him after you got through the two or three minutes of real work conversation that you had. He was a younger guy, and had been one of the people that you were friendlier with when you actually worked in the office full-time. He filled you in on how his three kids were doing, as well as his wife, who you would always chat with at office social events. He asked about how your mom was doing, and you did inform him that she needed aides in two shifts now, to which he reminded you that if you needed to adjust your schedule or workload, that could be discussed. You appreciated that, but if your workload was any lighter, you wouldnât be employed, and you needed money. The fund from Hyukjun paid for your motherâs medical care, but you still needed to cover the rest of your living expenses like food, utility bills, incidentals, and yourself.
âAnd you know those staff dinners that get put on your calendar arenât just to say we invited everyone,â your supervisor added. âYou really are wanted there. We know itâs difficult with your mom, but everyone still talks about you.â
You smiled to yourself. âThanks. Her evening aide is going to be staying the night a few days a week now, so I might be able to make it out one of these days.â
âNo pressure, Y/N. Just wanted to let you know,â he leaned back in his own office chair, and seemed to take a glance at the time for the first time in a while. âSorry, Iâve kept you for a while.â
âItâs fine, Mr. Choi,â you reassured him. âI always enjoy our chats. Give your family my best, will you?â
âOh! Iâm late for dinner!â He suddenly shot up straight in his chair. âThanks, Y/N. Iâll talk to you soon!â
âGoodbye, Mr. Choi,â you chuckled, hanging up the call.
Closing your laptop, you went back downstairs to the kitchen to see your mom sat at the table, reading a book. Jisung was sitting in his chair across from her, and turned around expectantly at the sound of your feet. You poked your head into the kitchen to check on Hyesoo, who looked like she was still cooking.
âHi, Mom,â you announced your presence to your mother, coming around the table to her seat.
She looked up at you with a smile, her eyes clearly focusing on you. You wrapped your arms around her shoulders from behind, resting your cheek on the top of her head. She held onto your arms with one of her hands, squeezing gently.
âWhat are you reading?â You asked, trying to glean any information from the pages that were opened in front of you.
âOh, this was Hyukjunâs favorite book,â she explained, closing it on her finger to let you see the cover. âI was thinking about him todayâŠâ
âI think I read that in a Lit class I took in undergrad,â you commented. âI never knew it was his favorite.â
âFunny enough, it was your fatherâs favorite too.â
âHere I spent my whole life thinking âGoodnight, Moonâ was Dadâs favorite book,â you snickered, referencing the answer he had given you when you were a kid, one of the many childrenâs books you had at the time.
âWell, he didnât really want to tell you about this sort of book when you were that little, I think.â
âCan you let me know when youâre done with that book?â You requested. âI think Iâd like to reread it.â
âOf course.â
Hyesoo came into the dining area then with three plates, and you let your mom go to take your seat. Your mother set her book aside as dinner was set in front of her.
âDid you look at the mail today, Y/N?â Your mom asked.
âI skimmed it, threw out the junk,â you shrugged, taking a bite of your food. âWhy? Did you?â
Your mom mustâve had a very good day today. She usually didnât bother with things like the mail at all.
âDid you see that Seohyukâs getting married?â
âYeah, again,â you snorted. This was marriage number three, if you were up to date on your stepbrother lore. âIâm surprised we even got an invite.â
âY/N.â Your mother said your name sternly.
âSorry,â you mumbled. Clearing your throat, you kept your tone more neutral as you said, âYeah, I saw. Good for them.â
âWhat do you think?â
âAbout what? I just said good for them?â
âGoing.â
You looked at her incredulously. âLike, to the wedding?â
âHeâs family, Y/N.â
âHyukjun was family,â you didnât mean to snap at your mom like you did, your voice filling with vitriol. âTheyâre just three assholes that Hyukjun had the misfortune of being related to. We donât owe them shit.â
âY/N!â Your mother gaped at you.
Hyesoo and Jisung had both been silently watching the two of you go back and forth, and you suddenly became aware of the presence of two others in the room again. You took a deep breath in, looking over at the aide.
âSorry,â you muttered, pushing your chair back from the table. âGood food. Iâm not hungry anymore.â
âY/N, sweetie, can weââ
You ignored your momâs pleas to talk, scraping off your plate into the garbage and putting your dishes in the dishwasher before storming upstairs. Flopping onto your back on your bed, you stared up at your ceiling fan.
When you heard a knock on your door some time later, you rolled your eyes, but called out to Jisung anyway, âCome in!â
Your door handle turned and opened, revealing not Jisung, and not even your mother, but Hyesoo. She paused at the doorway, obviously aware that you hadnât been expecting her.
âMay I come in?â She requested.
You sat up straight on your bed, nodding. âSure.â
Hyesoo came and sat beside you, leaving a polite distance between the two of you. âI donât want to overstep, Y/N⊠But I imagine thereâs some stuff that has happened between you and your stepbrothers that your mom doesnât know about?â
âYeah, lots,â you scoffed. âThey hate us. Theyâve always been rude to me, but ever since Hyukjun left us the house⊠itâs just gotten worse.â
âWhenâs the last time you saw or talked to one of them?â
You breathed out. âUh⊠probably when Seohyuk came to inspect the property a few months ago now. Mom didnât even know it happened, Nayoung took her for a walk.â
âHyukjun was family to you, right? Thatâs what you just said.â
âDoesnât meant his shithead sons have to be my family,â you retorted. âThey said to me, at his wake, that my mom and I werenât his family. Like, how awful do you have to be?â
âHyukjun saw you as his family. His wifeâs daughter,â she said slowly. âDo you think, your mom might see Hyukjunâs sons the same way? Iâm not saying you have to. But consider your momâs feelings for a moment.â
You took a deep inhale, trying to separate your thoughts from your own swirling emotions in that moment. âI⊠I didnât think of that.â
It was then that you saw she had something in her hands, and she held out two small pictures to you. One was the wedding invite, a picture of Seohyuk and his fiancĂ©e smiling on the front. The other was of a young man around Seohyukâs age, the image grainy, as it was clearly older and taken on film. It was undeniable who this was, thoughâHyukjun.
âYour mom was showing me some photo albums earlier, when she saw the wedding invite,â Hyesoo explained. âShe didnât say it, but donât you think he looks so much like his dad?â
You swallowed the anger in your throat, eyes tracing over the two photos, the similar smiles, the way their crowâs feet crinkled, their noses, cheekbones, and jawlines. It was hard not to see Hyukjun in his eldest son now.
âYeah, he does,â you agreed.
âNobody is saying you have to go to the wedding and be best friends with your stepbrothers,â she said. âOr at least, I'm not saying that. But it might be a good idea to think about why your mom would want to go. Those âassholesâ are living, breathing pieces of Hyukjun that are still walking around. Theyâre his sons, and maybe she wants to feel connected to him by connecting with them.â
âHe was such a good guy,â you reached for the picture of Hyukjun, holding it between your fingers. âHow did he raise three absolute fucking jerks?â
âA mystery weâll never be able to solve.â Hyesoo clicked her tongue. âIâm about to help your mom get ready for bed, do you want to talk to her before?â
You sighed and nodded. âYeah, let me do that.â
She handed you the wedding invite as well, standing up from your bed. âSheâs in her room. Let me know when youâre done.â
Steeling your nerves, you knocked lightly on your momâs bedroom door. âMom? Itâs Y/N.â
âCome in, sweetie.â
You opened the door quietly, immediately spotting her sitting on the corner of her bed, as if she had been waiting for you. Sitting down next to her, you took her hand, squeezing it.
âIâm sorry, Mom,â you started. âI shouldâve listened to you instead of being rude and talking to you like that. I was only thinking about my feelings about Seohyuk and them, and not yours. Can you tell me more about why you want to go to the wedding?â
âI-I know you and your stepbrothers havenât gotten along, sweetie,â she prefaced her reasoning. âBut⊠When I think about the fact that Hyukjun wonât get to see this⊠Even if he did see the first two, you know.â
The both of you snickered a little at that, bumping your shoulders together affectionately. You held the two pictures out to her just like Hyesoo had done to you.
âI get what youâre saying, Mom,â you leaned your head against hers, looking at the nearly identical visages of Seohyuk and Hyukjun. âI miss him too. If this will make you feel closer to him, or that youâre honoring him or something like that, then we should go. Iâll support you.â
âThank you, Y/N.â She ran a thumb over the picture of Hyukjun.
âWhat do you want to do for your birthday?â You asked Jisung, searching the table for your next puzzle piece. Your mom had gone to sleep and the two of you were putting together a jigsaw puzzle in your relaxing time before your own bedtime.
Jisung dropped his own puzzle piece that he had been trying to place, staring at you from across the coffee table. âMy what?!â
âYour birthday. Itâs next week.â You finally fished an edge piece out. âWhen I looked up the genealogy stuff, it had your birthday on there.â
âI mean, I figured thatâs how you knew, but I didnât think youâd actuallyâI donât know, Iâm surprised.â
âWhat? Itâs probably been a while since youâve celebrated it, right?â You put your puzzle piece down. âWe donât have to do anything if you donât want to, I just figured it might be nice.â
âNo, I-Iâd like that,â he smiled softly. âJust donât get me a cake with an accurate number of candles in it, please.â
âI think thatâd get more candle wax on it than frosting.â You wrinkled your nose, making him roll his eyes. âAre you telling me I have to plan it? I asked you what you want to do.â
âJust you remembering is enough to make my birthday feel special this year, Y/N.â Jisung reached across the table to grab your hand. âI donât really care what else happens. But Iâll think of something, promise.â
One week later, and Jisungâs birthday lined up with a night that Hyesoo was staying over, so you couldnât use the living room, as she slept on the couch whenever she stayed. So the two of you retreated to your bedroom after dinner. Closing the door behind you, you turned to Jisung with your arms crossed, narrowing your eyes at him.
âYou still havenât told me what you want to do for your birthday,â you reminded him, tapping your foot. âAnd your birthdayâs almost over.â
âI know what I want,â he reassured you. âBut you need to change into your pajamas first, soââ
And with that, he stepped back and through the wall, out of your room. You begrudgingly changed from your casual daywear into your pajamas, then called for him to come back in. Your ghost popped back in immediately, heading towards his side of the bed. You watched him suspiciously as he sat down and grabbed the book on the nightstand. Instead of turning on his lamp as he would usually do, though, he reached over to the lamp on your side of the bed and clicked it on, then offered the book out towards you.
âI want you to read to me tonight,â he requested.
âThatâs it?â You frowned.
âThatâs it,â he confirmed. âYou can sing me âHappy Birthdayâ too, if itâll make you feel better.â
You took the book from him and sat down against the headboard, pulling your covers over your lap. Jisung laid down on top of the blankets, looking up at you, waiting. You sighed and shook your head, fondly brushing some of his hair out of his face.
âHappy Birthday, Jisung,â you said, opening the book to where he had left off when heâd been reading to you.
âI canât believe youâre actually going,â Jisung grumbled, handing you a lid to the plastic container.
âMe neither,â you sighed your agreement, snapping the container shut.
Today was finally the day of Seohyukâs wedding. You, your mom, and Nayoung had just finished up lunch, and the aide would be helping her get ready while you got yourself dressed. Your ghost had made his distaste of the situation plenty clear.
âYou couldnât just send money and a card?â
âMy mom wanted to go, and she doesnât have another daughter to go with her,â you put the leftovers into the fridge. âI wouldâve looked like a bitch sending her with an aide while I stayed home. And felt like a bitch.â
âCanât believe that guy has even found three people who wanted to marry him.â
You laughed heartily at that. âMe neither. Itâs got to be the money. Investment brokers make good money, right?â
âTo fuck if I know,â your ghost snorted.
âAnyway, stay here while I get ready.â
Jisung saluted you, making you chuckle a little as you left the kitchen. The dress code was cocktail, unfortunately for you, meaning that you had to dress in the nicest outfit youâd worn since Hyukjunâs funeral. Most of your day-to-day wear was lounge clothes lately. After putting on your outfit, and doing your hair and makeup as well, you did a final once-over in the mirror, honestly a bit surprised at yourself.
Walking back downstairs, you could tell that Nayoung was still helping your mom in her room, so you looked around instead for Jisung. You saw his dark head of hair sitting on the couch in the living room, and started that way. He turned upon hearing your footsteps, jaw actually dropping when he spotted you.
âYouâre going to catch flies like that,â you teased, pushing his chin back up as you stopped in front of him.
He looked up at you with wide eyes instead. âWoahâŠâ
âGood woah?â
Jisung nodded, standing up and offering you a hand. You gently placed yours atop it, and he lifted it to twirl you around, making a giggle bubble out of you.
âGreat woah,â he confirmed. âSo not fair you look like this for that assholeâs wedding.â
âItâs not for him,â you scoffed. âItâs for me.â
âStill⊠I think the bride is going to get jealous.â
âOh my God.â You rolled your eyes, putting your hand over his mouth insistently, despite you being the only person in the house that could hear him. âYouâre awful, you know that?â
He was obviously grinning behind your hand, eyes crinkling up with a mischievous twinkle. You sighed and dropped your hand from his mouth.
âSo not fair to be that cute when Iâm trying to be mad at you,â you huffed, pinching one of his cheeks.
âOw,â he pouted, covering the reddened skin once youâd let go.
You heard your momâs bedroom door open, and her and Nayoung came out a moment later. You walked over to give her a hug.
âMom, that dress is so pretty,â you complimented her.
âOh, Y/N,â she cupped your cheek. âYou look so beautiful, sweetie.â
âYouâre really beautiful, Y/N,â Nayoung added quietly.
âOh, thank you,â you brushed down your outfit. âThank you for your help, Nayoung. We should be good to go, I think.â
âYes, yes, we need to get going!â Your mom clapped her hands together. âDonât want to be late!â
After putting your mom to bed following the reception, you crept out of her room with your heels in hand. Jisung was at the bottom of the stairs, clearly waiting for you. He held his hands out to take your shoes from you, following you upstairs.
âSo how was the wedding?â He asked, stopping outside your door to let you get changed inside in peace.
âOh, it wasnât bad, actually,â you answered him as you got undressed. âI think everyone was on their best behavior because it was a wedding, you know?â
âThatâs good.â
âSeohyukâs wife is actually really nice,â you informed him, chuckling in disbelief. âI hope he treats her right. And if not, I hope sheâs got a good pre-nup.â
âDid your mom have a good time?â
âOh yeah, she tore up the dance floor.â
âReally?â
âYup.â Finally in your pajamas, you called out, âYou can come in.â
Jisung materialized through the door, and went to put your shoes away for you that he was still holding. âIâm glad you two had a good time.â
âMe too.â You plopped into bed, feeling the exhaustion of the night hitting you all at once. âIâm almost glad that I went.â
âAlmost?â
âIâm still thinking about how I couldâve spent all night in my pajamas instead of getting hit on by Seohyukâs best man.â
âSeriously?â
âMhmâŠâ You yawned and pulled your blankets up over you as Jisung sat down against the headboard and robotically grabbed the book on the nightstand.
âWas âfuck offâ not clear enough for him?â
âDidnât tell him to fuck off,â you shrugged.
âWhat?!â
You winced and rubbed your ear. âLoudâŠâ
âSorry, sorry,â he quieted his voice down again.
âI was bored, and he wasnât a jerk about it or anything,â you explained simply, closing your eyes and pushing your cheek against your pillow. âStill wouldâve rather been here in my pajamas with you, though.â
âOh. OkayâŠâ Jisung took a deep breath, opening the book up to pick up where heâd left off in the story.
You were putting leftovers from dinner away some nights later as Hyesoo dispensed your momâs medications for the upcoming week. You knew your worry was written all over your face. Your mom had been having so many good daysâso many lucid daysâlately, but today was bad. She asked you why you werenât at school multiple times, refused to eat, and had another fit over the house being haunted. You were putting her plate of food away right now, entirely untouched.
âIt was stupid,â you sighed. âFor me to think she was getting better. I know her diagnosisâsheâs only going to get worse.â
âThere will be ups and downs, Y/N,â the aide reminded you gently. âThe important thing is to not blame yourself for any of it.â
You sighed. âYouâre right. Thanks, Hyesoo.â
âYou donât have work to do after this, do you?â
âA little bit. Youâre staying the night, right?â
âYes, I am.â
âGood, good.â
âYou know, Iâve been doing this for a while, dear,â she said kindly, shaking out a few pills. âAnd while I donât know everything, I do know you canât run yourself into the ground trying to take care of them. Or else there will be nothing left of you, and then how will you take care of her?â
âI know, it was hard to focus on work today, thatâs all.â
âI meanâIâve been with you all for some time now, and when was the last time you hung out with your own friends? Or went on a date? Youâre a beautiful young lady, youâre doing the world a disservice staying cooped up in here all the time.â
You laughed and shook your head. âReallyââ
âIâm being serious! Just think about it, dear. I promise, taking some time to keep living your life now wonât be the end of the world. This way, youâll have a support system when you need it.â
You nodded in understanding, putting the leftovers away with robotic movements as your brain continued turning over her words.
Just about a week after that conversation with Hyesoo and you were fixing your hair in the mirror when a gentle knock came at your bedroom door. You called out to the person as you continued messing with your hair. âCome in!â
Jisung phased through your door. âDinnerâs ready, are youââ
He stopped his words as he seemed to take in what you were wearing, tilting his head with a curious frown. âYou got changed?â
âIâm going out for dinner,â you told him, leaning over to focus on putting your earrings in.
âOut? Like, a work thing?â
âNo, Iâve got a date.â
âWhat? With who?â He sputtered, then collected himself a little. âI meanâThis is the first Iâve heard of it. How did you meet them?â
âHis nameâs Dongmin. I met him at the wedding last week.â
âWait, donât tell me heâs the best man you were talking about?â
âHe gave me his number.â You shrugged. âSo?â
âI thought you didnât even like him?â
âWhat does it matter to you?â You crossed your arms.
âWhat do youâ? Of course I care if youâre going on a date with some creepy guy who you donât like.â Jisung ran a hand through his hair.
âI reached out to him, Jisung.â You didnât know why you were getting so defensive, why you felt so on edge at the moment.
He crossed his arms. âWhy did you hide it from me?â
âI didnât hide it from you,â you scoffed. âI donât have to tell you everything.â
âYeah, but this isââ
âWhat? This is what?â
He held his hands up in surrender, looking away from you. âNever mind. Hope you have fun.â
âYeah, that wasnât passive aggressive,â you snorted, grabbing your phone. âYouâre just pissed because Iâm the only person you can talk to all day but I get to actually leave this stupid house and hang out with people other than you.â
âWhat the fuck are you talking about?â Jisung glared back at you, raising his voice to match yours. It was quite possibly the most venomous youâd heard the normally soft-spoken ghost be towards you. âYou leave the house all the time, you always talk to your mom or her aides. I donât give a shit.â
You checked the time on your phone, setting your jaw. âI need to go. I donât have time for you to keep avoiding what youâre actually trying to say.â
âOh, right, Iâm the only one avoiding,â he retorted sarcastically.
âLalala! Not listening! Too busy avoiding!â You said in a purposefully childish, loud, and sing-songy voice, plugging one ear as you threw your door open and slammed it shut behind you.
The lights in the house were dark when you got back. Good, you didnât want to face Hyesoo like this. It was already going to be bad enough risking running into Jisung. Hopefully he was still pissed at you and would stay scarce. Taking a deep breath to dampen your sobs for a few moments, you unlocked the front door and opened it as quietly as you could. No paranormal force on the other side opened it for you this time. Hyesooâs light snores could be heard from the living room, but other than the sleeping aide, the house was eerily silent. You locked up behind you and started up the stairs, but couldnât even bring yourself to make it all the way to your room. You all but collapsed at the top step, letting your tears stream freely again as you cried quietly into your hands, hunched over your knees.
That was a fucking disaster.
âY/N?â
You opened your eyes back up at the soft, familiar voice. Jisung was at the bottom of the stairs, hands in the pockets of his cardigan.
âOh, Jisung, hey.â You didnât bother wiping your tears this time as you greeted him. He hesitantly shifted his weight from one foot to another. You patted the spot next to you for him. âDĂ©jĂ vu, huh?â
He sat down next to you on the top step, deep frown on his features. âWhat happened?â
âUgh, guy was an asshole,â you sniffed. âLike, I thought he was really nice and everything, but as soon as he realized I wasnât going home with him, he turned into a jerk.â
âHe didnâtâŠâ
âNo, he just said a bunch of rude stuff. Called me a bitch, a whore who was just using him for his money or whatever.â
âY/Nââ
âAll that, I didnât really care about,â you admitted, curling your hands into fists and digging your nails into your palms as his words came back to you. âIt was what he said about my mom that really pissed me off. Essentially said I should just put her up in a home and get on with my life. I about threw a punch in the middle of the restaurant.â
Jisung let out a light chuckle at that, but the humor in his features didnât last long. He scooted closer to you, tentatively wrapping an arm around your shoulders. âIâm sorry it didnât go well for you.â
You shrugged, leaning against him and resting your head on his shoulder. âI donât know what I expected, really. He was Seohyukâs friend, of course he was going to be an asshole.â
Jisung wasnât warm, but you found his cool embrace comforting enough, the steady pressure of his arm encircling you, his sturdy body supporting you as he let you lean against him.
âIâm sorry, for getting upset at you earlier,â he apologized quietly. âYou didnât have to tell me where you were going, and I shouldnât have reacted like that.â
âI wasnât being very fair either,â you replied. âIâm sorry too.â
âBut⊠Why did you go out with that guy? I mean, if he had been nice, would you have⊠Would heâŠâ Jisung stopped, apparently frustrated at not knowing how to phrase what he wanted to ask. âWhy not me? I know that sounds so pathetic, but thatâs all I wanted to ask you before.â
You squeezed your eyes shut tighter, biting your bottom lip against the emotions rushing up in your chest at his words. âJisungâŠâ
âIâm not⊠imagining all this, right? I mean, thereâs something here, Y/N. A-A connection.â
âWhat kind of relationship can you even have with a ghost?â You asked sadly.
âMaybe the kind you need now.â He grabbed one of your hands, holding it tightly in your laps between you.
âIâm going to get older, Jisung,â you reminded him calmly, despite each word piercing your chest like a knife. âNot to mentionâI wonât be here forever. Like, in this house. I donât own it. Iâll have to leave once she⊠Iâll have to go. I canât stay here.â
âDoes everything worthwhile in life have to last forever?â He murmured, his voice practically begging now. âTell me you didnât think about me while you were on that dateâŠâ
Your breath hitched in your throat. âI canâtâŠâ
âYou did? Think about me?â
âThe whole time,â you admitted. âEven when it was going okay, I was thinking about you.â
âY/NâŠâ
You looked up from your entwined hands, realizing that you were gripping onto him maybe even harder than he was you. Meeting his dark gaze, you blinked away a few more stray tears.
You finally let out a shaky breath and nodded. âUntil itâs over, you and me.â
A smile overtook his features as he rested his forehead against yours. Readjusting your hand to cover the back of his, you moved his index finger to his chest, tracing an X over his heart. Your ghost watched your movements fondly, echoing, âUntil itâs over, you and me.â
âDo you have anything left here thatâs yours? Hair in a locket under a floorboard or something?â You questioned, looking around your room.
âWhat? No,â Jisung scoffed.
âFigured Iâd ask.â
The two of you were brainstorming. Jisung really wanted to be able to go somewhere out of the house with you, but the best ideas you had of course came from popular ghost media.
âYour stepdad kept a lot of the original house fixtures when he bought it. Maybe one of those,â your ghost suggested.
âIâm not carrying a faucet around in my purse,â you replied frankly. âNot to mention, Iâm not allowed to damage the house while I live here. My stepbrothers could sue me for anything thatâs not exactly how it was when Hyukjun left it.â
âWhat aboutâŠâ Jisung walked through the closed door, and you could hear the squeak of the stairs as he went down them. A few moments later, he went back up them, then came through the door again. He held out something in his closed fist towards you.
You stretched out your hand palm-up, and he opened up his fingers to drop a small piece of metal into it. It had some weight to it, and you turned it over in your hand to get a better look at it. It looked like a knob to a cabinet or drawer, in the shape of an eight-pointed starburst. It wasnât familiar to you at all, it didnât look like he had taken it off any place in the house that you could tell.
You looked up at him with a furrowed brow. âWhereâŠ?â
âItâs one of the original knobs that was on the cabinets in the kitchen,â he explained. âYour stepdadâs first wife wanted them all replaced when she moved in. He put them in a box in the laundry room closet and they havenât been touched since. I doubt your stepbrothers even know about them. She probably thought he got rid of them.â
âThese were on the cabinets when you lived here?â
âYep.â
You pocketed the cabinet knob. âCanât hurt to try.â
Once youâd given your mom and Nayoung your goodbyes, you headed for the front door. Jisung was right behind you, looking positively giddy as he watched you put your shoes on.
Patting your pocket again to reassure yourself that the cabinet knob was in there, you stepped down from the porch and onto the walkway. After nodding politely to a jogger going by, you looked around hesitantly at the empty space on either side of you.
âJisung?â You said quietly.
âIâm here.â He appeared next to you, beaming down at you. âIâm here.â
The two of you had never gone past the porch swing, not even down to the flowerbeds you had continued to tend to. You grabbed his arm to pull him down with you as you squatted in front of the snapdragons that had just come back into bloom. Pride and bittersweet nostalgia welled up in your chest as you looked at the flowers that used to be Hyukjunâs hobby.
âDo you know the secret with these?â You asked Jisung.
âNo?â He replied, tilting his head.
You reached out to gently squeeze the sides of a pink flower, making the dragonâs âmouthâ open and close. âYou can make their mouths open and shut.â
Jisung watched you fondly, then tried it on another bloom. He giggled. âThatâs kind of fun, actually.â
Standing back up, you continued to the end of the houseâs short walkway, stopping on the sidewalk.
âThis is the furthest Iâve been in⊠a while,â he said, eyes shining.
âWeâre still in the lay lines of the propertyâŠâ You kept your hopes guarded. âI donât want to call it a success yet.â
Walking down the sidewalk, you kept your eye on Jisung the further you got from the house, waiting for him to hit some invisible barrier and disappear entirely, or at least flicker or something else to indicate that he was losing his connection to the house. But he looked⊠normal. Fine.
When you were a full three blocks away from the house, Jisung grabbed your hand, lacing his fingers with yours.
âWould you stop looking at me like Iâm going to die again?â He joked.
âSorry, sorry,â you sighed. âI just⊠canât believe it. How do you feel?â
âFine. Great!â He grinned.
You'd never seen Jisung in direct sunlight before, only ever the lights of the house, sunbeams that filtered in through curtains and windows, or moonlight at night. You were surprised at how⊠normal he looked. His skin had a lifelike rosy tint to it in places, his hair shone and reflected a dark brown at some angles, and he didnât have any sort of ghostly pallor to him. The only thing that didnât change were his eyes, still as dark and enrapturing as ever, his pupils melting into his irises.
âSo where are we going?â He asked, swinging your linked hands.
âYouâll see.â You squeezed his hand before letting it go, hearing the sounds of other people around the corner that you were about to turn.
The destination you had in mind wasnât very far, which was good, because your shoulder was getting tired carrying your tote bag. Veering off the sidewalk at a seemingly random place, you walked through a gap between two bushes. Jisung followed you diligently, keeping whatever questions he had to himself. The path underfoot was overgrown with grass and clover, only a path to a keen observer, or those who already knew it was there.
Finally, you ducked around a large tree and emerged at a clearing in front of a small pond. Jisung looked around in wonder as you proudly put your hands on your hips.
âHyukjun and I came out here a couple times, when he and my mom first got together,â you explained. âBonding stuff. Iâm happy I remembered where it was.â
âI thinkâŠâ Jisung slowly turned around in a circle, still taking it all in. âI think my friends and I used to swim here in the summer. And when the pond would freeze in the winter, weâd skateâŠâ
He walked over to the largest tree nearby, fingers tracing over the bark that had endless initials carved in it, until he squatted down by the base. âYeah. I didnât recognize the streets when we were walking over here, butâŠâ
You joined him by the tree, watching as he pointed out a cluster of initials, seven in total, ending on PJS. âThere you all are,â you said quietly. âI didnât even know this was here.â
âTheyâre probably all old men now,â Jisung chuckled, a laugh that you could tell was forced.
You reached for his hand, holding it with both of yours. âItâs okay to be sad that you didnât get to grow old with your best friends, Jisung. I know youâre the one that passed away, but have you mourned them yet? All your friends and family that you didnât get to see grow old?â
âDamn it.â He shook his head. âI didnât want to make you all sad on our first real date.â
âIâm dating a ghost,â you pointed out, running your thumb over the back of his hand. âI think a little doom and gloom comes with the territory.â
âTo answer your question, I havenât thought about it like that,â he sighed. âI always felt bad that I left them, that they had to mourn me. But I never⊠grieved the fact that I lost them too.â
âI donât want to make you sad on our date, either,â you panicked a little at the shadow that had fallen over his features, moving to wrap an arm around his shoulders and hug him. âIâm sorry!â
Jisung laughed a real laugh this time, hugging you back. âItâs okay, Y/N. Itâs better than feeling guilty for something I had no control over.â
âWell, thatâs true.â
âI honestly hadnât even thought about coming here with them in so long⊠Really, itâs nice to remember them all again.â
You let go of him to reach into your tote, pulling out the large picnic blanket youâd brought with you. âHow about instead of the both of us making each other sad, you tell me a bunch of fun stories about your friends while I enjoy the picnic food I packed?â
He pecked your forehead, taking the blanket from your hand. âDeal.â
The pond had become one of yours and Jisungâs favorite spots to go when you could find time between work and your mom. The two of you could get out of the house together without risking you getting some very strange looks in public. Sometimes you brought a picnic, sometimes books or a crossword puzzle or deck of cards or just laid on your blanket and tried to find shapes in the clouds. Every so often, youâd get someone coming by walking their dog, or a gaggle of kids cutting through from one of their backyards to another, but nobody ever paid you much more attention past a âhelloâ or âlovely afternoon, isnât it?â
After submitting a big project at work, you finally had some free time again. As long as your mom was having a good day today. Sheâd been more sensitive to you leaving the house lately on her bad days, and while the aides promised that she always calmed down eventually, you hated causing her so much stress if it was avoidableâerrands were one thing, but a date with your ghost boyfriend that already haunted your residence could take a raincheck.
You looked in the living room first, then the dining area and kitchen, and frowned thoughtfully when you couldnât find your mother and Nayoung. Turning around, you were greeted by Jisung, who pointed to the backyard knowingly.
âTheyâre in the back drinking lemonade,â he informed you. âSheâs having a good day.â
âOh, good. Thanks, Jisung,â you let out a breath of relief, giving him a kiss on the cheek as you passed by on your way back into the living room.
Opening up the door that led onto the back porch, you immediately spotted your mom and Nayoung sitting beside each other on two rocking chairs, a pitcher of lemonade between them as they overlooked the small backyard. Their conversation stopped when they heard the door open, both of them turning to look at you over their sunglasses.
You held your hands up defensively. âWoah, I feel like I just interrupted somethingâŠâ
âYes, you can go, sweetie,â your mom said knowingly.
âWhat?â
âYou finished your work and are checking on me to see if you can go out.â She took a sip of her lemonade, pushing her sunglasses back up and settling back into her chair again. âIâm telling you Iâm fine, and you can go.â
âNayoung?â You turned to the aide. âEverything okayâ?â
âWeâre fine, Y/N!â Nayoung waved you off with a smile. âReally!â
âAlright, alright.â You surrendered, backing up towards the door again. âIâll be back before Hyesoo gets here.â
âWhat day is it, Nayoung?â Your mom asked.
âWednesday.â
âYou know, my memory isnât the best, remind me, when does Hyesoo stay the night?â
âMondays and Wednesdays.â
âHm.â Your mom tsked. âInterestingâŠâ
Nayoung didnât add anything further, but giggled as she took another sip of her lemonade.
âYou two are nuisances,â you scoffed and shook your head, finally heading back inside.
You beelined for your bedroom, finding your ghost already sitting on your bed clearly waiting for you.
âOh yeah, sheâs having a great day,â you snorted in lieu of a greeting, grabbing your usual tote bag. âThat new medication her doctor put her on is doing wonders. I might have to have him cut her off.â
âI think sheâs a lot of fun,â Jisung snickered. âEarlier, when you were on that work call, she was telling Nayoung about your third-grade science fairââ
âAhh!â You cut him off by planting two hands over his mouth, eyes going wide with mortification. âOf all the things she remembers, thatâs what sticks around?! Are you kidding?â
His shoulders were shaking as he let out muffled laughter behind your hands, and he eventually collapsed backwards onto your bed. Your hands dropped from his face as you stayed upright, allowing his laughs to echo freely in your room.
âIf youâre going to keep making fun of me, weâre not going out.â You crossed your arms. âIâll bury your cabinet knobs in the backyard, and your soul will really be stuck here forever.â
âYouâve got to stop being so cute when you pout, and Iâll stop teasing you.â He was still chuckling as he sat up and reached for you with two hands. With an eyeroll, you let him pull you into his lap and wrap his arms around your waist.
âThis isnât fair, I canât find out embarrassing stuff about you unless you tell me,â you huffed, well aware you that you were still pouting.
âI always answer your questions. You just donât ask me that stuff.â
âWell now I will.â
âAnything else you need to pout about?â
You let out a deep breath, your face relaxing a little bit. âNo. Done for now I think.â
He cupped your cheek, leaning in to press his mouth to yours. Like everything else, Jisungâs lips were cool as they meshed with yours. Not uncomfortably so, he wasnât quite an icicle, just unlike any human youâd kissed before. You put your hand over his on your cheek, remembering when even that used to be a far-away impossibility.
You left him with one more kiss on the tip of his nose before asking, âAre you ready to go? Mom and Nayoung gave me the okay.â
He started playing with your fingers, eyes focused downwards as he spoke. âI actually wanted to ask if we could maybe go somewhere else today?â
âSure. Where were you thinking?â
âI donât want to be a bummer or anything butâŠâ
âWhat is it?â
His throat bobbed up and down as he swallowed. âYou wrote down the cemetery, right? When you went to library and looked up the genealogies and stuff about me. You said you wrote down where my parents buried me?â
âYeah, I still have it,â you confirmed, cradling the back of his head as you patiently waited for him to finish asking what you knew he wanted to ask you.
It took him a few inhales and exhales to ask, âCan we go?â
âOf course.â
This was officially the furthest you and Jisung had gone from the house together. Heâd gone with you on errands a couple times beforeâthe post office, library, things within walking distanceâbut you had to get on a train for this. You were a little nervous that he might not be able to go this far, even with the cabinet knob safely tied onto a leather cord and tucked under your shirt. So far, the only limit youâd discovered to his leaving the house was timeâsix hours or so seemed to be the magic number. Youâd found that out on a particularly lazy day, when you were looking up at clouds together and suddenly his lap disappeared from beneath your head. Heâd apparently popped back up in the foyer with the first headache heâd experienced in decades. Since then, youâd been more careful to keep an eye on the time when you brought him with you.
But he sat comfortably through the whole ten-minute train ride at your side as if he were any other passenger. The car that you were in wasnât full, meaning that you had a row to yourself, leaving an empty seat next to you for Jisung. After arriving at your stop, you had another five-minute walk until you finally arrived at the cemetery.
âThis is where my parents are from,â Jisung stated as you passed under the metal archway at the entrance. âThatâs probably why they didnât choose somewhere back in town.â
A winding path went through the center of the land, smaller pathways breaking off into other areas. It was a big cemetery, gently rolling hills dotted with headstones, grave markers, elegantly carved statues, all sorts of tributes to loved ones. The two of you took a meandering pace, eyes scanning all the names for just one. You looked around the property warily, now extra aware of being a public nuisance somewhere so sacred. You especially didnât want to risk disturbing any mourners who might be here. But you couldnât spot anybody except yourself and Jisung, maybe because it was the middle of the day in the middle of the work week.
âThere,â Jisung announced, his gaze locked on something in the distance, while you had been looking at markers much closer. He grabbed your hand and pulled you with him as he rushed across the cemetery.
You stopped in front of a simply shaped granite headstone with a carved border. The name at the top read âPARK JISUNGâ and under it, a birthdate and death date that were familiar to you. It was the epitaph that was new to you, however.
âTHERE WILL ALWAYS BE LOVE
CROSS OUR HEARTSâ
Jisung reached a finger out, tracing over each letter in âLOVE.â He said, âI always wanted to know what they wrote. What they said about me. How they wanted to remember me forever.â
âItâs lovely. They love you a lot,â you replied quietly, resting a hand on his back.
He looked over at you hopefully. âYouâre talking in present tense. Are theyâŠ?â
âThe records I looked at didnât list them as deceased when I was looking for information about you, but I donât know how often itâs updated,â you informed him. âI didnât look any further into them, I was only trying to find out what happened to you.â
âDo you think two more headstones could fit there?â He gestured to the empty space beside his own.
You took the seemingly random question in stride, genuinely contemplating it. âProbably, yeah. Or one big one would fit better, like the couples that get buried together.â
Jisung had a satisfied smile on his face as he nodded. âYeah, one big one. Thatâs it.â
It dawned on you then what he was thinkingâhis parents had most likely reserved the plot next to his for themselves once they passed, and since it was still empty, they were still alive.
âThank you.â He took your hand, lacing your fingers together. âFor coming out here with me. This must be the weirdest date youâve been on.â
âVisiting my boyfriendâs own grave with him?â You tilted your head back and forth contemplatively, a teasing lilt in your tone. âMm, yeah, definitely up there. But Iâm glad that you wanted to do this with me, Jisung. I canât imagine what this feels like for you.â
âIâm ready to go,â he declared, looking up at the blue sky above you. âItâs such a nice day, isnât it?â
âIt is,â you agreed, fondly admiring his little one-eyed squint against the sunlight.
Back home that night, you shook one of your sleeping meds from the bottle, setting it down on your nightstand as you went about getting ready for bed. Your ghost was already sat against the headboard, his legs covered by your blankets, hands folded over the book in his lap as he waited for you. Finally ready, you knocked back the tablet with a gulp of water and climbed under your covers. Jisung rested one hand on your head, thumb stroking over your forehead, but after an abnormally long period of silence, you opened one eye to peer up at him.
He was just gazing down at you tenderly, and you fought the instinct to cover your face, instead reaching over to tap the cover of his closed book.
âArenât you supposed to be doing something?â You complained in jest.
âSorry, I was just thinking,â he responded, still not moving to open the book.
âWhat about?â
âMy epitaph. âThere will always be love.ââ
âItâs nice.â You bit back a yawn.
âYeah. I was thinking about how they probably meant it like their love for me will persist, and proof that I was here and was loved and loved others when I was alive will persist.â
âI like that, Jisung. I think thatâs what they meant.â
âAnd⊠there was no way they couldâve known this when they picked it, but I was thinkingâŠâ Your ghost paused, dark eyes enrapturing you in that moment that you didnât even think about breathing. âAbout how even after I died, you somehow found me.â
You grabbed the book from his lap, reaching behind you to blindly put it on your nightstand. Jisung immediately understood, turning his lamp off and leaving the room in darkness as he slipped the rest of the way under the covers. You buried your face in his neck, tangling your fingers in the hair at the back of his head as you simultaneously pressed yourself into him and pulled him as close as possible. He wrapped his arms around you tightly, digging his fingers into you hard enough to make you feel real, which you were glad for.
âIâm going to bring you with me,â you choked out past the tears rising in your eyes. âWhen itâs time for me to leave. Iâll bring all the cabinet knobs, a chunk of the foundation, whatever will make it work. Fuck my stepbrothersâIâll pay whatever damages. If you wantââ
âOf course I do.â He didnât even let you finish that thought, and you could hear the tremble in his voice. âBut weâve never been able to get around the timeâŠâ
âIâll figure it out for us, Jisung.â You pulled back just enough to show him as you drew an X over the left side of your chest. âCross my heart.â
He took your hand from your heart, kissing the back of your fingers tenderly. âWe knew it was going to be like this. We promised.â
âWe said âuntil itâs over,ââ you argued. âI donât want it to be over yet.â
âItâs not,â he agreed. âBut I donât think itâll be our choice when it is. Not everything worthwhile has to last forever.â
âJisungââ
âWeâll try everything,â he assured you, squeezing your hand. âIâm not giving up on you, Y/N. You and me, until you hand the keys over and close the front door behind you.â
âYouâll be coming with me when I do that, Park Jisung,â you declared, your voice cracking over his name.
He wrapped both arms around you again, tucking you under his chin. âOf course.â
‷ sequel | masterlist
#park jisung x reader#nct dream x reader#nct x reader#bjnet#park jisung imagine#nct dream imagine#nct imagine#nct fluff#jisung x reader#park jisung fluff#jisung fluff#jisung imagine#nct dream fluff#i: jisung#writing#text#mine#f: pur autre vie#sungie#bias tag#*100
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Alignement de pierre la perspective donne lâimpression que quelquâun lit dans lâeau, une illusion optique.
La vie est Ă peu prĂšs semblable ; elle paraĂźt dâune certaine maniĂšre, mais sous la surface, elle est complĂštement diffĂ©rente.
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Karma signifie action. Ainsi, les choses changent par lâaction, non par la priĂšre, ni par le souhait.
âKarma means action. So things change through action not by prayer, not by wish.â
â Dalai Lama
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⧠word count: 17.6k ⧠genre: fluff, a sprinkle of angst & hurt/comfort, paranormal/supernatural au, ghost!jisung, established relationship, sequel to pur autre vie ⧠warnings: mentions of death, prominent side character dies prior to the beginning of the fic, depictions of grieving, more family tension/drama (yeah those assholes are back lol) ⧠extra info: this is the sequel to pur autre vie, it cannot be read as a standalone. you must read pur autre vie first! ⧠authorâs note: oops i once again fell in love with a couple and cannot let them go! so hereâs a sequel! i meant to post this a lot closer to the original but ended up getting stuck on some scenes and took breaks to write some other things, but itâs finally here and i rlly like how it turned out!!
âThe house,â he sighed, rubbing his face. âDo you want it?â
âLike, Hyukjunâs house? The one that you just got?â You clarified. âI appreciate the offer, but I donât have the money to buy a house.â
âNo, no, you can have it,â he sounded and looked absolutely defeated.
You narrowed your eyes at him, immediately suspicious. âWhatâs wrong with it?â
Your stepbrotherâs face screwed up as if he just ate a lemon; he clearly didnât want to tell you the reason. âAll the renters said itâs haunted,â he finally blurted out.
You shifted uncomfortably in your seat, looking around the coffee shop that you were at. Your eldest stepbrother had asked to meet with you, and you couldnât imagine that it was anything goodâcertainly not just to get coffee and catch up. You hadnât ordered anything, wanting to be able to make a quick escape if needed.
Seohyuk usually didnât request a meeting with you. If he wanted to talk to you, he typically called to tell you he was going to stop by on his way to or from work, or just dropped by unannounced. Thatâs why you were extra on edge. You had arrived early, and kept checking the time every two minutes or so.
Finally, you saw him walking in, and thankfully he was alone, not accompanied by either of his younger brothers or his mother. Seohyuk was much easier to handle on his own. You made eye contact with him, but didnât wave or make any move to stand up and greet him as he arrived at your table. He sat down across from you, looking rather disheveled. His hair was unkempt as if heâd been running his fingers through it all day and hadnât looked in a mirror to fix it, his tie was loose and askew, his dress shirt crumpled, and his suit jacket that you knew he typically wore to work was missing entirely. He was also pink-cheeked and seemed to be trying to hide how heavily he was breathing, as if he had run here and didnât want you to know.
âGood afternoon, Seohyuk,â you said politely, opting not to comment on his appearance.
He cleared his throat. âGood afternoon, Y/N.â
âDo you have a concern with the house? Or is this a question about possessions?â You decided to just be direct. Those were pretty much the only two things he ever contacted you about.
When your mother passed away six months ago and you moved out of her and Hyukjunâs house, the property had gone to your three stepbrothers. Which meant that your life since then had been a seemingly endless string of inquiries over you âdamagingâ the home while you had lived there, or you âstealingâ stuff that was ârightfullyâ theirs when you moved outâi.e., items that were actually your motherâs, but they tried to claim were Hyukjunâs.
âThe house,â he sighed, rubbing his face. âDo you want it?â
You couldnât hide your surprise, your carefully neutral expression falling right off your face. âWait, what?â
âDo you want the house?â
âLike, Hyukjunïżœïżœs house? The one that you just got?â You clarified. âYouâre... trying to sell it to me? I appreciate the offer, but I donât have the money to buy a house.â
âNo, no, you can have it,â he sounded and looked absolutely defeated.
You narrowed your eyes at him, immediately suspicious. âWhatâs wrong with it? What could you have done to it in six months?â
âNothing! Nothing!â He pleaded. âItâs pretty much the same, we actually fixed up some of the wiring, stuff like that. Weâve tried to rent it out, but nobody will stay.â
âYou canât keep your renters?â
âWeâve had four different tenants, none of them lasted longer than a month.â
âWhat? Why? Itâs a great house.â
Seohyukâs face screwed up as if he just ate a lemon; he clearly didnât want to tell you the reason.
âCome on, I already know somebody died in the house,â you scoffed. âWhat is it?â
âThey all said itâs haunted,â he finally blurted out. âAnd I mean, you know itâs an old house, it creaks and stuff sometimesâI tried to tell them that. They said the lights would flicker, so we replaced the bulbs. Cold spotsâWe had a guy look at the A/C, he said it was fine. Then it was things disappearing from one room and reappearing in another room, and they swore nobody who lived there moved them. One couple said they started on a jigsaw puzzle before they went to bed and when they woke up, it was all put together.â
You slowly nodded, very carefully controlling your facial expressions as you tried to figure out what reaction you should be having to this. Skepticism? Curiosity? Unease?
âAll of your tenants said stuff like that happened?â You clarified.
âEvery single one,â he confirmed. âAnd it got worse with each new one. The first one moved out after a month. The second, two weeks. Third, a week. The last one only lasted three days.â
You squinted at him suspiciously, crossing your arms over your chest. âAnd why do you think I would want to live there?â
âIâm not a superstitious man whatsoever,â he adjusted his tie a bit, âbut after all this, I went to the house myself to see what was going on.â
âWhat, did you bring a Ouija board or something?â You joked, sitting back in your chair.
âI felt ridiculous bringing it in, but yes.â
You knew you were giving him the most incredulous look ever, but he went on with his story anyway.
âI sat down with the board in the living room and asked if there was a spirit in the home. Something cold touched my hands, then the pointer moved to yes.â
âPlanchette.â
âHm?â
âItâs called a planchette,â you corrected him dryly.
âRight.â
âSo what happened next?â
Seohyuk continued, âI asked if it was your mother first. I figured that was most reasonable, since she had justâŠâ
âPassed away in the house right before all this started happening?â You filled in for him.
âYes. But the⊠planchette moved to no. So then I asked if it was my dad. Again, no.â
âI still donât see how this leads to me taking the possibly haunted house back from you,â you reminded him, desperately suppressing your giddiness.
âLook, I asked if it was an evil spirit, and it said no.â
âWhy would an evil spirit tell you it was evil?â
âIt hasnât hurt anybody, or damaged anything, or done anything bad at all!â Seohyuk was practically begging now. âI mean, Iâve been thinking about it: you lived there for two years while you took care of your mom, and nothing like this happened that whole time, right?â
âNo, I canât say anything like this happened,â you tepidly agreed.
âThe spirit must have been there the whole time you were there, and it only started doing this stuff once you left. I think if you go back, it should⊠calm down.â
You let silence hang in the air for a few moments, holding his eye contact, admittedly enjoying seeing him squirm under your gaze as he seemed to realize how crazy all of that sounded. Finally, you sighed, âI donât know, Seohyuk, my new place is closer to my jobâŠâ
âI will pay you to take it at this point. We canât rent it, or sell it, this has become an absolute nightmare.â He clasped his hands in front of him, quite literally begging now.
âAnd youâll stop harassing me about our parentsâ possessions?â
âYes, yes.â
You pretended to contemplate this again, despite your mind being made up from the very beginning. After another agonizingly long bout of silence, you asked, âHow much?â
When your mom was first put on hospice over a year ago now, you had started preparing to leave hers and Hyukjunâs houseâand trying anything and everything to bring Jisung with you. You knew that once she passed, your stepbrothers wouldnât give you much time to get out, so you had to make all your preparations long before then so you could vacate at the drop of a hat. Packing, cleaning, deciding what of your motherâs you were going to keep and what you would be donating, figuring out how to move your ghost boyfriend from one parcel of land to your new apartment.
First youâd tried taking all of the original kitchen cabinet knobs with you, but after fourteen hours, he still blipped back to the house. When a contractor was over doing some repairs, you pocketed a chunk of brick and tried thatâsix hours. A piece of the foundationâten hours. Cabinet knobs, brick, and foundationâthat was the longest, a full twenty-four hours; you had an overnight errand to run for your mother and tried it then.
You eventually branched out in your search for a way to move Jisung, checking out all sorts of books from the library and staying up late reading blog posts. But no matter what sort of herbs, metals, crystals, or recitation you tried, you could never beat timeâhe was always eventually, frustratingly, pulled back to the house.
And now here you were, in front of the house again. The flowers had seen better days, looking a little sad as you stopped to inspect their wilting petals and sandy dirt around them. You frowned to yourself, putting that near the top of your mental to-do list. The windows of the two-story townhouse were dark, and the porch swing looked like it had been sanded and re-stained along with the rest of the porch.
Turning the key in the lock of the front door, you heard the familiar click of the mechanism and wrapped your hand around the door handle. You pushed it open, slightly disappointed when you didnât hear the usual creak of the hingesâthey must have been oiled since you left. The house was quiet and dim, and you shut the door behind you.
Looking around expectantly, you called out into the seemingly empty home, âJisung? Come on, I know itâs youâAh!â
A weight suddenly crashing into you from the solid wall on your left cut you off, and you immediately recognized the cold arms wrapped around you.
âY/N,â Jisung murmured under his breath, almost as if he didnât believe it. âY/NâŠâ
âJisung.â You squeezed him back, burying your face in his neck. âOh, Iâm back, Jisung.â
âYouâre really-Youâre really here?â He pulled back to hold your face with two hands. Jisung was just like you remembered, dark hair, dark eyes, his black cardigan and white shirt, and you were sure if you looked down, heâd have the same black pants and shoes as well.
You nodded, jangling the keys in your hand. âThe house is mine. For good this time.â
âYou didnâtââ His face looked both pained and touched. âHow much did they charge you?â
âThey paid me,â you informed him with a laugh. âTurns out itâs really hard to sell a haunted house around here.â
Jisungâs eyes widened as a plainly guilty look overtook his face, and his voice had poorly feigned obliviousness in it. âA⊠whaaatâŠ? PfftâŠâ
âSince when have you been such a paranormal menace, Park Jisung?â You shook your head at him but couldnât keep the amusement out of your tone. âReally, finishing peopleâs puzzles while theyâre asleep, moving stuff aroundâWere you trying to make them move out?â
âI didnât like any of them.â He crossed his arms. âThe first ones fought every day and were just a bother, the second ones just worked all the time and when they were home all they talked about was their boring jobs, the third ones were just boring, and the fourth oneââ
ââWas here for three days, how could you possibly have known if you liked them or not?â
âI knew,â he insisted. âHe stepped on one of the flowerbeds when he was bringing in boxes and didnât even care!â
âYou actually did a Ouija board with Seohyuk?â
âI wasnât going to, but I figured maybe I could get him to pick less shitty tenants,â he huffed. âI was thinking about spelling out your name, but I thought that mightâve been pushing it.â
âHe already thinks Iâm a little weird for taking the haunted house back, Iâm glad you didnât push our luck,â you said, cupping his cheek with one hand and kissing the other.
âYouâre really back?â Jisung asked quietly, placing his hand over yours on his cheek.
âIâm home, Jisung,â you promised, tracing an X over the left side of your chest. âCross my heart.â
In bed that night, you listened to Jisungâs even breathing, slowly drawn even closer to sleep by the circles his fingers traced on your back. His breath suddenly hitched and shuddered, as if suppressing a sniffle.
âJisung?â You said his name quietly, already beginning to turn over to face him.
âIt was so hardâŠâ His face was tear-stained, and his lower lip trembled as he tried to talk. âGoing from actually being somebody with you back to⊠nobody seeing me, or hearing me. Walking right through me. Iâd done it for so long before you, I thought I could do it. But this timeâŠâ
âJisungâŠâ You couldnât do much more than murmur his name. As soon as youâd reached out for him, heâd already thrown himself into your arms. You cradled his head to your chest, pressing a long kiss to his hair.
âI was so lonely,â he admitted, curling his fingers in your shirt. âI mean, Iâve been alone, but itâs never felt like-like that.â
âShh, shh,â you soothed his sobs, gently rubbing a hand up and down his back. âIâm sorry, Jisung. Iâm so sorryâŠâ
He seemed to be trying to collect himself, wiping at his eyes as he lifted his head. âIâm sorry, Y/N. It mustâve⊠They kicked you out so soon after your mom passed. You didnât even have time to grieve her.â
âIt was really difficult, yeah. Especially because I didnât have you,â you said softly, stroking his hair. âI didnât have anybody. Felt like I was invisible, too.â
He shuffled up higher to sit up against the pillows, wrapping an arm around you, and you let him pull you under his chin. You leaned your head against him, your eyes misty. After a few blinks, the tears subsided again. Youâd practically cried yourself dry in the past six months.
âI went to a grief support group the hospital holds once a week,â you continued, picking at your nails. âIt helped, I guess, getting to talk about it with other people who were in the same sort of thing as me.â
âGood. Iâm glad you found something to help.â He laced his fingers with yours, holding you even tighter. âI couldnâtâI hated the idea that you were going through all of that alone.â
âWeâre not alone anymore,â you reminded him. âOkay?â
âYeah, okayâŠâ Jisung kissed your temple. âThank you.â
âFor what?â
âComing back.â
âThank you for waiting again.â
âYou look very cute,â Jisung complimented you as you readjusted your outfit, poking the tip of your nose for good measure.
âThank you,â you responded quietly, conscious of the other people nearby.
Content with your clothes, you looked around for the right person, and happened to spot a girl around your age standing further back and admiring the view as well. You and Jisung were at a riverside park that afforded a nice view of the city skyline across the water. The kitchen cabinet knobs were the easiest for you to carry about in your day-to-day life, and you found that two would usually cover Jisung for a full day out pretty well. Youâd had one of the starbursts turned into a ring and another into a pendant that hung from a matching silver chain. The other six stayed in one of your tote bags in case you had something longer planned.
Approaching the girl with your phone in hand and already open to the camera, you offered a friendly smile. âHi, Iâm sorry to bother you, but would you mind taking a picture of me?â
âOh, sure!â She agreed, taking your phone from you.
Moving back to the railing, you posed as if you were any other visitor, resting an arm on the handrail as you smiled for the camera. Jisung took his usual cue, stepping into your side and wrapping an arm around your shoulders. He did his best to jostle and move you as little as possible, assimilating to your position instead. The girl did a countdown before she took a few photos, and you made sure to make them each a little different, smiling, peace sign, poking your cheek. As always, Jisung did each changing pose with you.
After a few, you relaxed back out of your pose. âThank you so much!â
âHere, look at them and make sure theyâre good,â she said, handing your phone back. âI think something might be wrong with your camera, thereâs this blur or something in the previews. It wasnât showing up when I was shooting, but as soon as I took a picture, it was there.â
You took your phone back, looking at your pictures at an angle that she couldnât see. And sure enough, Jisung was in all of them, hazy apparition and all.
âThese are great, thank you!â You told her brightly, clicking your phone off.
She didnât seem that invested in your strange phone camera phenomenon that was occurring, so she just gave you a skeptical look before shrugging. âOf course. Have a good day.â
âYou too.â
Closing the front door behind you, you then stepped out of your shoes before heading for your living room. You were still wrapping your brain around this really being your home now. You flopped down onto the couch, Jisung beside you, and pulled your phone out to review the pictures from earlier.
âWhat do you think, Sungie?â You hummed, scrolling through your camera roll.
He scooted in closer to you, wrapping an arm around your shoulders and using that hand to switch between the pictures himself. He clicked his tongue contemplatively, zooming in on his âheadâ in one of the photos.
âCan you tell Iâm winking?â He asked, squinting at the screen.
You giggled. âNot quite.â
âI like the first one and this one.â
âMe too.â You started doing a little bit of color balancing to the pictures.
âAre you hungry, baby? You didnât get anything while we were out.â
âOh, sure,â you replied absentmindedly.
âIâll get you something to eat.â Jisung kissed the top of your head before standing up, and you heard his footsteps recede into the kitchen.
Content with the pictures, you opened up Instagram and got ready to draft a new post. You chose the two pictures that you and Jisung liked, then typed out your caption: âwent to the river today.â
Youâd just hit post when Jisung came back in with a plate of food for you. Setting your phone aside, you accepted the plate with a smile. âThanks.â
âYou posted them yet?â He asked, sitting back down and turning his attention to a partially-assembled jigsaw puzzle.
âJust did,â you confirmed, turning your phone back on to check your notifications. âAll the usual stuff so far.â
You hadnât set out to post pictures with your ghost boyfriend, much less make a hobby of it. When you went out, you used to be extra careful not to get him in any photos, actually. Then, when your mom was put on hospice, in her moments of lucidness she started giving you errands to run for her. She always asked for you to take pictures of yourself on all of the excursions she sent you on. She said it was because she couldnât go with you, she wanted to be able to hear about it and see it so she could feel like she had gone with you.
At first, you hated every errand she sent you on. You didnât want to leave her side for even a second, anxious to even use the bathroom, just in case you missed the moment she passed. But youâd begrudgingly accept the tasks, as they were usually things like âI want to drink this rare tea before I die,â or âI want to eat a sweet from this bakery before I die.â You only realized what she was doing when they started to become errands like âI always wanted to watch the sunset at this view, wonât you go and take a picture for me?â At the time, you were still anxious that you would miss the moment, but in hindsight you felt overwhelmed with the knowledge of how loved you were, that your mom was still taking care of you in whatever way she could, even then.
Jisung would almost always accompany you on these errands, at least for however long he could. You tried to take nice pictures to show your mom wherever you went, and of yourself in those places, asking strangers to take pictures of you if you felt it appropriateâusually if she had sent you to some more touristy place. It was while someone else was taking your picture in front of some field of flowers of all places that you cracked under all the stress and burst into tears. Jisung stepped in to comfort you at the same time the older man had taken another pictureâhe realized that youâd started crying immediately after taking the picture and consoled you as well. Later, when you actually looked at the picture, you realized that Jisung had been captured in the photograph, a dark figure reaching towards you as you turned away from the camera to cover your face, seemingly turning into him. After that, the two of you decided to take more pictures together intentionally.
Having nothing better to do with the pictures, you shared them on your social media, figuring that nobody would naturally assume it was a real-life ghost. They didnât, of course. Most people thought it was some kind of continued photography or photo-editing project. You didnât expect it to draw in the outside audience that they did, though. Everybody had a different interpretation of the pictures. Some thought they were just meant to be spooky and look like a ghost, others thought the blur represented something, whether that be grief, a former relationship, mental health struggles, it really was endless. You, meanwhile, continued posting your pictures with your ghost boyfriend.
Putting your phone back down, you picked up a puzzle piece as well. You lost track of how long the two of you had been in peaceful silence, the only sounds that of the cardboard pieces sliding across the table and clicking into place when someone knocked on the door. It was a quick succession of knocks, and you and Jisung paused to look at each other.
âAre you expecting a package?â He asked.
âNo.â You furrowed your brow. They knocked again, prompting you to get to your feet. âNeighbor maybe?â
When you peeked out the peephole, you spotted a woman standing there, smoothing out her designer clothes. She fixed her hair as she looked around almost nervously. You were tempted to not answer, except something about her seemed familiar, so you unlocked the latch and cracked open the door enough to show yourself, but not too wide.
âUhm, hi?â You greeted her, keeping your tone light.
âHi,â she immediately focused a bright, friendly smile on you. âY/N, right?â
âYes. YouâreâŠ?â
âChaeyeon, Iâm Seohyukâs wife.â
âOf course.â You nodded and smiled politely, looking around uncertainly.
âItâs okay that you didnât immediately recognize me, we only met the one time and itâs been a while,â Chaeyeon reassured you.
âYes. Itâs nice to see you again.â
âYou too.â She was still smiling at you, and there was an awkward pause as you didnât have anything to say back. Chaeyeon said, âIâm sure youâre confused why Iâm here. Thereâs a book that Seohyuk was trying to find in his fatherâs things the other day and we havenât been able to locate it. Neither of his brothers nor my mother-in-law have it, and itâs not on the list of things that we sold or donated. Would you mind checking to see if you have it?â
âMy mom had a lot of books, itâs possible it got mixed in,â you agreed mildly. When she was still standing there a beat later with her expectant, shining eyes, hands clasped over her purse in front of her, you stepped back slightly from the door. âUh, do you want to come in while I look for it?â
âThank you.â She followed you in, and you closed the door behind her.
âIâm sorry Seohyuk sent you all the way out here and got you involved,â you said as you led her into the living room where the bookshelves were. Jisung was still sitting on the couch, and narrowed his eyes at Chaeyeon suspiciously. You shot him a warning look behind her back to behave. The last thing you needed was him spooking her or making you react in some socially unacceptable way in front of her.
âI asked to come. He was going to stop by on his way to work, but I had some errands to run, so I figuredâŠâ She trailed off wistfully. âI havenât seen you since the wedding, you know.â
Unsure of what else to say, you replied, âYeah, itâs been a while.â
âHereâs all her old books that I still have. Whatâs the title?â You asked, then paused after she read off the title from her phone. âWait, that one?â
âYes, is there a problem?â
You did your best not to outright roll your eyes, but didnât entirely hide your annoyance at Seohyuk already going back on his agreement to stop harassing you over your respective parentsâ things. âI know that book. Itâs nice, actually one of my momâs favorite authors. Itâs in my room, wait here.â
Upstairs, you werenât surprised that Jisung had followed you.
âHeâs a dick,â he scoffed.
âMm-hm.â You grabbed the book off your dresser. âWhatâs new?â
âTell her no.â
âIâm tired, Jisung,â you sighed. âIâm tired of fighting with him about this stuff all the time. I have plenty of things to remember my mom and Hyukjun by. I meanâI have their house. If he really wants this book, he can have it. Iâm done.â
Your ghost looked down at you sadly. âHe did this the whole time you were gone too?â
âPretty much, yeah.â You headed for the door. âI canât keep her waiting.â
Descending the stairs and turning into the living room, you were pleasantly surprised to see Chaeyeon pretty much exactly where you left her. Not that you wanted to assume the worst of her, but it definitely had crossed your mind that Seohyuk had sent her here as part of some plot, no matter how nice she had been so far. But she was still in the living room, seemingly reading the spines of your collection of books, hands still on her purse.
She turned when she heard your footsteps. âYou have so many books. Have you read all of these?â
âMost of them. Or had them read to me. My mom was a Literature teacher,â you explained. You held the book out to her. âHere.â
âThanks, Y/N, Seohyuk will be reallyââ She accepted it, gently opening the clothbound front cover, and her eyes landed on the cover page. âThe noteâŠâ
âYeah, it was Hyukjunâs wedding gift to my mom,â you confirmed flatly.
âKeep it.â She immediately offered the book back to you.
âHuh?â
âIt was a gift from his dad to your mother. I get why he wants it back, but it should be yours. Iâll talk to him.â She stepped forward to pick up your hand, putting the book into it. âI promise.â
You took it back with two hands, holding it to your chest. âThank you. You really donât have to go through the trouble.â
Chaeyeon smiled softly. âAre you busy?â
You couldnât help your surprise, blinking at her. âRight now?â
âMy nail appointment isnât for another two hours. Would you like to get some tea?â
âUhm, sure,â you accepted, despite Jisungâs wide, dumbfounded eyes.
Sat across from Chaeyeon in a teahouse, you blew on the surface of your steaming tea, tapping your nails against the side of your cup. Her fingers were elegantly wrapped around her cup, large diamond ring glinting from her left hand as she took a sip.
She set her tea down and gave you a sheepish smile. âIâm making you nervous.â
âWas it obvious?â You chuckled awkwardly, continuing to hold your own drink.
âYouâre very tense.â
âSorry, I guess Iâm just surprised that you would ask me to get tea with you.â
âYouâre family, too,â she said kindly, and you were straining your ears to try to find any hint of insincerity, sarcasm, or malice in her tone. She really seemed genuine in her sentiments.
âI think the two of us have a pretty tenuous connection there,â you pointed out.
âI know, but since your mom passedâOh, how do Iââ She fretted for a moment, unfolding and re-folding the napkin in her lap then tucking her hair behind her ear. ââŠDo you have anyone else?â
You had to refrain from looking at Jisung, who was occupying the spot next to you, still observing Chaeyeon closely. âAh, no, not really.â
âNeither do I,â she confessed. âI mean, I have Seohyuk and his family, and theyâre wonderful. But my own parents have passed, and my little sister, too. She would be around your age, actually.â
âIâm so sorry, Chaeyeon,â you said genuinely.
âI know weâre not related by blood, by any stretch of the imagination, but I hope we can at least be friends. If youâd like.â
âWait, seriously?â Jisung retorted doubtfully.
You fidgeted with the starburst ring on your finger as you thought about Chaeyeonâs words. âI donât want to be rude since youâre being so nice to me, but can I just askâWhy? Why youâre being so nice to me? I mean, I canât imagine that Seohyuk has been saying anything good about me to you. No disrespect to your husband.â
âIâve gathered that you all donât get along very wellâŠâ She acquiesced. After taking another sip of her tea, she continued, âI was only able to meet my father-in-law once. Seohyuk thought weâd have plenty of time to get acquainted after the wedding.â
You winced as you put your tea down, an apology already on your tongue before you could stop it. âIâm sorry, Hyukjun asked me not to say anything to them. I-I still donât know if I did the right thing, I canât imagine what it was like for themâŠâ
âThere was no wrong choice, Y/N.â She reached for one of your hands. âIt was a terrible, impossible situation for everyone involved. There was no decision you couldâve made that wouldâve spared everyoneâs feelings. Itâs okay. Donât be sorry for honoring his wish.â
You looked down at your hands on the tabletop between you two, then back up at her. âI interrupted you, sorry. Continue.â
âI only met Hyukjun one time, but he was fantastic, he really was. And Seohyuk always talks about how amazing his dad was, you can tell he was his heroâstill is.â Her voice and her features held a fondness that you had never seen on display for your stepbrother before; you were genuinely stunned for a moment. âWhen Seohyuk and I started dating and we were talking about our families, he finally got around to the fact that his dad remarried, and his new wife has a daughter that his dad just absolutely adores. The way he said it, I thought you were a little kid at first, and then he mentioned you had a job.â
You couldnât help but laugh along with her at this information, the first youâd ever heard of this.
âAnd he kept bringing it up every so often. That Hyukjun adored you and your mom,â she went on, giving your hand a gentle squeeze. âI sort of thought that if thereâs this person who was apparently adored so much by the man that my husbandâthe man I love and adoreâlooked up to and loved, that Iâd very much like to meet her.â
âMy mom would have loved you,â you said softly, feeling your eyes fill with tears. âI mean, I know you met her at the wedding, and you were so lovely to her then, but if you had been able to really know herâGod she would have loved you.â
âOh, Y/N, I didnât mean to make you cry!â Chaeyeon gasped, opening her purse and bringing out tissues to start dabbing at your eyes for you.
âItâs okay, really,â you assured her, letting her clean up your face anyway. âI thinkâI think Iâm crying because you reminded me of her.â
She sat back on her feet. âReally?â
âYeah, yeah.â You laughed, mostly at yourself you were pretty sure. Chaeyeon was absolutely beaming at you now, and you took another drink of your tea as Jisung rested a cool hand on your back. âI know you have to go to a nail appointment after this, but would you mind if I visited you and Seohyuk sometime?â
âAnd Seohyuk?â She repeated, obviously not expecting that.
âI have something to give him back.â
âI already told you, you should keep the book,â she insisted with a shake of her head.
âOther than the book.â
âOh, then of course.â
âI still donât know why you like coming to work with me,â you sighed, pulling on your jacket.
Jisung grabbed your bag for you, which had the other cabinet knobs you werenât already wearing in it. âDo you want me to stay here?â
âI didnât say that.â You slipped the bag onto your shoulder. âI just donât get how sitting around watching me work at the office is any more interesting than sitting around here all day.â
âAll the dishes are done, laundryâs folded, and I dare you to find a speck of dust in this house.â
âYes, Jisung, youâre the perfect house husband,â you said, an amused smile playing across your lips as you went to unlock the front door. âAlso not what we were talking about.â
He held the door open for you, following you out and waiting on the porch as you locked up. âI miss you when youâre at work. Is that so horrible?â
âNo,â you chuckled, pocketing your keys and starting your journey to work. âI miss you too, Sungie.â
After your mom passed, your work had let you take as much time as you needed to both grieve and deal with your hasty change in living situation. Once you were ready, you slowly started a new hybrid scheduleâcoming into the office for a full day twice a week and working from home part-time the rest of the work week.
Your first stop after dropping your bag off at your cubicle was usually the breakroom. This morning, it seemed as though somebody had brought in donuts, and you spotted a familiar figure already hunched over them, carefully selecting one.
âGood morning, Sungchan,â you greeted your coworker brightly.
The tall man shot up straight, spinning around in place, his ID badge hitting him in the face in the process. He brought a hand up to grab his lanyard and lay it flat against his chest again as he gave you a crooked, breathless smile. âOh! Morning, Y/N!â
âSorry, didnât mean to scare you,â you laughed, grabbing a mug from the cabinet to start on your morning cup of coffee.
ïżœïżœïżœNo, itâs okay, I was just so focused, I guess.â He pointed to the box behind him, âMr. Choi brought donuts for everyone.â
âI see. What kind are you going to get?â
âI donât knowâŠâ Sungchan sucked in air through his teeth regretfully. âThey all look really good.â
âPick two and we can split them.â
âReally?â He asked you, his big eyes shining at you.
âReally.â
âWell, which one do you want?â
âI donât care, you pick.â
Sungchan made his selections, and carefully cut them into precise halves before letting you pick your pieces of each.
Loading your two donut halves up onto a napkin and grabbing your coffee mug, you gave him a single nod. âPleasure doing business with you.â
âThanks, Y/N!â He beamed. âIâve got to go, I havenât checked my email yet.â
âUgh,â you wrinkled your nose at the thought. âEmailsâŠâ
Sungchan darted out of the breakroom, leaving just you and your ghost. You took a bite of one of the donut halves, washing it down with a long sip of your coffee. Average chain donut.
âI know youâre pouting, Jisung,â you hummed under your breath. âHeâs new, he needs people to be nice to him.â
âI know, I donât think youâre flirting,â Jisung replied, leaning against a wall and crossing his arms. âI think heâs going to think you are.â
âToo bad for him, then.â
Another one of your coworkers wandered in then, still yawning and rubbing sleep out of his eye. Shotaro looked around the breakroom expectantly. âSungchan said there were donuts?â
âOnly if you like sugary cardboard,â you informed him, dropping yours in the trashcan on your way out.
At your cubicle, you started your computer up, the sound of Sungchan clacking away at his keyboard on your left filling your ears. You took your own lanyard with your company ID out of your tote bag and set it on your desk. The ID gave you access to certain areas of the building, and while technically all employees were supposed to be wearing them at all times, nobody except brand-new employees actually followed that rule. Jisung sat in the chair at the empty cubicle to your right, kicking his feet up on the desk and humming to himself.
Shotaro finally joined your small pod of six desks at his spot across from you, and you noted that he didnât have a donut with him. You tapped your fingers along to the melody that Jisung was humming.
âHey, Shotaro, did you see that email that Ms. Kim sent?â Sungchan asked.
âDude,â Shotaro groaned. âOneâI just sat down. TwoâTake some notes from Y/N, donât check your email until 9:30. I promise, youâre going to be so much happier.â
âBut itâs already 9:10, I meanââ Sungchan let out a distressed huff, running a hand through his hair. âWhat do you do for thirty minutes?â
âGet your coffee, fill up your water bottle, chat with people in the breakroom, chat with people by the copy machine, finish any work you didnât get to yesterday, tidy up your desk, literally anything except open your email,â you listed off some ideas for him, just beginning to turn your own computer on.
âWhy?â
âBecause if I read an email before 9:30, and it pisses me off, Iâm going to be pissed off all day,â you snorted. âItâs for everyoneâs good.â
âIâm so glad youâre in the office now,â Shotaro sighed happily. âThis is the kind of wisdom I missed out on when I started and you were still remote.â
âYeah, youâre lucky I came back in at all.â
Jisung sat up in his seat, something clearly having caught his attention across the floor. âBe right back.â
You glanced up from your computer screen to see where he was going, and immediately spotted what he had: Two supervisors who also worked on your floor, Ms. Kim and Mr. Han, walking towards Ms. Kimâs office as they had a hushed conversation. They were at about the same rank as your supervisor, Mr. Choi, and with regards to work, there was nothing remarkable about them. They werenât overseeing any of your projects, you really only knew of them in passing. But they had caught Jisungâs interest, and by extension, yours, because they had begun something of a will-they/wonât-they romance a couple months ago. You never encouraged Jisungâs snooping on your colleagues, but he needed to entertain himself somehow, and you made sure not to divulge anything he told you that wasnât already part of the office gossip zeitgeist in conversation to your coworkers.
A few minutes later, Jisung was practically running back to you, narrowly darting around some of your other coworkers in his haste. You could see some of them shiver and look around in confusion at the sudden breeze that had blown by with seemingly no reason, peering up to try to find the air conditioning vent that must be around. Letting out a small sigh and keeping your eyes on your computer screen, you readjusted in your seat and scooted over to make just enough room for Jisung to hop up on your desk.
He happily squeezed in next to your keyboard, swinging his legs as he was clearly buzzing with news. âTheyâre finally doing it. Theyâre going on a date!â
âHm.â You had to keep your reactions small, but felt a smile tugging at the corners of your mouth.
âI know! Ms. Kim is really worried because she doesn't want anybody here to think differently of her, but Mr. Han was just over the moon that she finally said yes! And you could tell that Ms. Kim was excited, too, obviously.â
You grabbed a notepad on your desk, scribbling a note to Jisung. âWhat kind of date?â
âThey havenât figured that out. Ms. Kim got a call before they could finish talking and Mr. Han left her office so she could take it,â he sighed, clearly disappointed.
âCliffhanger...â
âHey, Y/N, does this email sound like, professional enough?â Sungchan asked, poking his head around your shared cubicle wall and through Jisungâs arm. Your ghost jerked his limb away from your coworker with a miffed look as you ripped the paper off your notepad and tossed it in your garbage can.
âLet me take a look,â you offered, going to scoot your chair over at the same time Jisung moved out of your way, back to his empty cubicle.
âDo you have a vent blowing right on your desk or something?â Sungchan shivered for dramatic effect. âI swear the air temperature dropped like ten degrees as soon as I crossed into your cubicle.â
âCold spot!â Shotaro declared, his finger jabbing at the two of you from over the cubicles. His eyes followed a moment later. âWhat did I tell you?â
You scoffed, trying to skim the email in front of you again, âYou were serious about that?â
âWhat? What is he talking about?â Sungchan looked between the two of you nervously.
âShotaro thinks the office isââ
ââOur office is haunted,â Shotaro got up from his chair to lean forward and hiss dramatically, as if the alleged ghost was going to get him just for saying so.
Jisung, meanwhile, gasped and looked around with mock fear on his features. âA ghost! Where?!â
âYou guys are ridiculous.â You shook your head.
âWhat did I do?â Sungchan pouted, obviously assuming that you were talking about him and Shotaro.
âYou put a smiley face in your email, Sungchan,â you retorted, hitting the backspace with no mercy. âAnd you canât end every sentence with an exclamation mark. The period button exists for a reason. Use it.â
âBut I donât want to sound meanâŠâ
âOne. You get one exclamation mark per email. And no smiley faces.â
âOkayâŠâ
âFine, everybody ignore Shotaro,â your other coworker threw his hands up as he fell back into his seat, letting the chair roll away from his desk before he scooted up again. âBut when the ghost starts deleting important emails and writing in toner on the copy room wall that itâs going to kill us all, I will say I told you so.â
âHey, thereâs some ideasâŠâ Jisung nodded along as if he were actually considering this. You shot him a look out of the corner of your eye.
âYour talents are wasted here, Shotaro. You should really be writing horror novels that exclusively take place in office buildings,â you told him, rolling back over to your own desk.
âAh! Lunch break!â Jisung cheered as the two of you exited the building into the sunny, mild day.
âYeah, youâve been really hard at work,â you teased him under your breath, starting on the familiar path to a nearby park that you usually took your lunch at. It was typically pretty empty at this time of day, and you found that you could freely talk to Jisung there, a single headphone in for plausible deniability.
âI wish you had an office,â he sighed. âSo we could actually talk to each other.â
âI used to,â you said, plopping down at a picnic table. âBefore I moved in with my mom and Hyukjun, when I was still full-time in my old position.â
âWait, really? What was your old position?â
âMr. Choiâs position.â
âSo Mr. Choi is in your office?â
You grabbed your lunch from your tote bag. âHasnât been my office in years. Itâs his office.â
âButâWhyââ Jisung frowned. âYou havenât said anything before.â
You shrugged. âHavenât had a reason to bring it up, I guess.â
âYouâre back now, though.â
âI couldnât do that job anymore when I chose to help my mom and Hyukjun. Mr. Choi has been a great supervisor; thereâs no point in them firing him just to put me back there now. I wasnât expecting them to keep an office empty for me for years.â
Your ghost was quiet as he seemed to ponder this.
âBesides, if I had that job again, Iâd have to be at the office every day,â you pointed out. âAll day. No free time like I have now.â
âOh.â His nose wrinkled as he presumably imagined what that would be like. âMr. Choi can keep the office.â
âSo are we doing bets on what sort of dateââ
âWhy is he here?â Jisung frowned and crossed his arms, focusing a suspicious glare behind you.
It was then that you heard footsteps approaching you, and you turned to see Mr. Choi coming down the sidewalk, seemingly not by accident as he focused a friendly smile on you as soon as you spotted him. He lifted his hand in a wave of greeting, and you returned the gesture, watching with interest as he stopped next to your picnic table.
âHi, Y/N,â he said brightly, and you noticed a brown paper bag in his other hand. âSorry, were you on a call?â
âJust finished.â
âWell, would you mind if I join you?â
âNot at all, Mr. Choi,â you indicated to the seat across from you.
Jisung moved from his spot with a sigh, sitting next to you instead as your supervisor sat down. Mr. Choi opened his sack lunch to bring out a bento box and small juice box, making you smile into your next bite of food.
âCute,â you commented, pointing to the colorful vegetable slices that had been cut into star and heart shapes in one section of the container.
âMy wife makes all these elaborate lunches for the kids to bring to school,â he began to explain, and though you almost expected him to be sheepish about having a childish-looking lunch, unveiling crackers in the shapes of cartoon characters, instead he just looked fond and proud. âAnything they donât eat goes in my lunch the next day.â
âYou get the scraps?â You couldnât help but snicker.
âYeah,â he laughed as well.
âI donât think Iâve ever seen you take your lunch out of the office if it wasnât a business lunch, Mr. Choi,â you said knowingly.
âAh, was I obvious?â He chuckled, pulling on one of his ears nervously.
âI know you value our free time and want us to as well, so I donât think this is work-related, right?â
âTangentiallyâŠâ The older man popped a star-shaped cucumber in his mouth. âI just⊠wanted to check in with you, Y/N. I hate calling people into my office for bad reasons, much less something like this. Very⊠confrontational.â
âI get it.â The corner of your lip twitched with a smile. âIâm alright, actually. Still taking things day by day. I miss her a lot, but it doesnât feel like Iâm⊠suffocating anymore.â
âGood, thatâs good to hear.â
âIâm nervous, Sungie,â you admitted, taking a deep breath to try to calm your erratic heart.
âYouâll be fine, baby,â he reassured you, grabbing your hand and squeezing it gently. âYouâve dealt with him before.â
The two of you were on the way to your eldest stepbrotherâs house, at the invite of his wife. Chaeyeon had reassured that Seohyuk wanted you to come over, which only knotted your stomach even more. You could deal with Seohyuk being an ass, but you werenât used to him being⊠friendly. At least not without being in front of your parents.
You squeezed Jisungâs hand tighter, trying to focus on the familiar coolness of it. âI know. But what if Iâm nice because I think heâs being nice, and end up revealing something that heâll just use the next time he decides to be cruel?â
âHey, hey, hey,â Jisung smoothed his thumb over your hand as he hushed your anxious thoughts. âYouâre just returning something; nobody said you have to pour your heart out to him.â
âYouâre right, youâre right.â
Double checking the address Chaeyeon sent you, you watched the house numbers go down and down until you were finally in front of 1174, your destination. You gave Jisungâs hand one last squeeze before letting it go and starting up the short driveway to their front door.
The black painted door swung open hardly a second after you had knocked, the familiar, beaming features of Chaeyeon greeting you.
âHey, Y/N!â She threw her arms around you. âYou made it!â
âHi, Chaeyeon,â you timidly hugged her back. âGood to see you again. Thank you for inviting me over.â
âOf course, come in.â She grabbed your arm in a gentle but firm grasp, pulling you in after her. Jisung barely slipped in before she closed the door, to your amusementâhe couldâve easily walked through it.
Chaeyeon had brought you into their living room, where her husband stood up from his seat on their leather couch. Seohyuk kept his hands behind his back as he nodded to you politely.
âY/N, hello.â
âHey, Seohyuk,â you nodded back, nearly suffocating in the tension already.
After an awkward, heavy pause, Chaeyeon piped up, bubbly as ever as she asked you, âSo, you said you had something, Y/N? To give back?â
âYeah, yeah.â You cleared your throat, reaching into your tote bag. In a small pocket separate from your cabinet knobs and other things, were two small rectangles. Taking just one more second to look at the top image, a photograph of Hyukjun when he was younger, you handed both that and the other paper out to Seohyuk.
âI found these the other day, tucked into one of my momâs books,â you explained quietly. âI think she was using them as a bookmark.â
âWhatâsâŠâ He brought out the other image from behind the first, his voice trailing off. It was his and Chaeyeonâs wedding invite, and you knew he was seeing exactly what you and your mom had seen before as he held them side by side.
âYou look just like him,â Chaeyeon murmured, touching the wedding invite in awe. She looked up at you with a smile, âThank you.â
âI donât know what you think about my mom, or really what your guysâ relationship with her was like in your eyes,â you continued. âBut to her, you were family. I wish she had been in better shape to be able to show you that, and I know she did too.â
âIâm sorry.â Seohyuk looked up from the pictures to you, a painfully sincere look on his face.
âFor what?â
âI never told you that, genuinely, after your mom was diagnosed, or after she passed. Iâm really sorry, for everything youâve been through.â
You bit your bottom lip and nodded. âMe too. Iâm sorry I didnât tell you about your dadâs diagnosis, even if he told me not to. Itâs still⊠You didnât get to prepare.â
Something distantly beeped from an adjoining room, and Chaeyeon briefly squeezed her husbandâs shoulder and murmured a hushed âbe right backâ before slipping out of the room.
âIt sucked, yeah,â he admitted hoarsely. âIt mustâve been hard on you, taking care of the both of them by yourself. Especially Dad, Iâm sure he didnât want anything spent on himself, he wanted everything saved up for your mom, right?â
âYeah, the memory care aides could only do so much for late-stage lung cancer.â
âThank you. For taking care of him and being there for him when we werenât.â There wasnât a trace of sarcasm or bitterness in his tone, just a honeyed warmth that nearly left you shell-shocked.
âI know you already know this, but your dad was just a really, really great guy,â you spoke past the lump in your throat as memories of your stepdad bubbled up. âIâm happy I got to know him for as long as I did. My dad died when I was young, and I didnât have Hyukjun back then but sometimes it really felt like I did. Just felt like heâd always been there.â
âIâm sorry.â He repeated, setting the pictures down on the coffee table in front of him.
âYou already said that, Seohyuk.â
âI know, but I have more stuff to apologize for.â
âLike what? Did you hire someone to secretly egg the house while Iâve been here or something?â You tepidly joked.
âNo, no.â He chuckled and shook his head. âWhen my parents got divorced, it was good. Like, a good thing for everyone. We didnât want our parents to get back together or anything. Our mom had boyfriends here and there, you know, but Dad never even dated. So when he, seemingly out of the blue, got married to this random woman who also had a daughter that he pretty much immediately accepted as his own, after he spent his whole life raising three sonsâas Iâm saying it, I can hear how asinine and juvenile this isâit felt like he was just getting himself a new family. Like weâd been replaced.â
You blinked at him, slowly nodding as you actively chose to empathize with him instead. âIâm sorry it felt like you and your brothers were pushed out. That must have hurt. Did you talk to your dad at all?â
âNot in any productive way. And really, you donât have to apologize. I need to apologize,â he tapped his chest insistently. âWe were all grown men in our twenties and thirties behaving like children because our dad was finally living his own life and getting married. It was unacceptable the way we treated you and your mom. Especially you, we were downright cruel to you sometimes, and Iâm extremely sorry for that.â
âSeriously?!â Jisung finally spoke, harshly spitting the word out. âAfter everything they did to you? He thinks he can justââ
âI⊠really wasnât expecting this when I came over. Uh, thank you.â You knew your surprise was evident on your features, there was no sense in hiding it in your words either. âI hope you donât mind my asking⊠Why the change of heart?â
âMy wife brought up a good point to me the other day.â He pointed to the doorway that Chaeyeon had disappeared through, a sheepish half-smile on his face. âWe were jealous because Dad loved you so much. But he never loved us any less, he just always had more to give. Iâd like to actually get to know his other kid that he spent his last few years with.â
âI⊠Me?â You pointed to yourself hesitantly.
âYeah, you,â he laughed with a light air of teasing, though this time it didnât feel mocking. âWe were out of line at Dadâs wake. Of course you two were his family, anybody could see that. Iâm sorry for all that, too.â
âHe did so much moreââ
âThanks, Seohyuk,â you cut Jisungâs angry ramble off, offering your stepbrother a calm, genuine smile.
Seohyuk let out a sudden, loud, raucous sneeze, throwing his elbow up to catch it as he turned away from you.
You snickered fondly. âYou sneeze like him.â
âI do?â
âYeah.â
âI never noticedâŠâ He lowered his elbow slowly. âDoes that mean that I sneeze like a dad?â
âDonât worry, I do tââ
Something had tickled your nose just then, and you were cut off by the both of you sneezing, nearly identical in volume.
Chaeyeon poked her head back in then, âMy God, was that a grenade or you two sneezing?â
You couldnât help but laugh, Seohyuk giving a couple airy chuckles too.
He gestured to the room where Chaeyeon was, âItâs almost dinner, would you stay and eat with us?â
âI have plans tonight,â you informed him, already thinking of the movies that you and Jisung were going to watch when you got back home.
âAnother night? If you want to, no hurt feelings if youâd rather notâI havenât made myself seem very appealing to hang out with.â
You contemplated this a moment. Your ghost took your pause as an opportunity to let you know his opinion, a loud sigh from behind you. You nodded, ââŠI could do next weekâMonday.â
âMonday!â Seohyuk repeated enthusiastically, clapping his hands once. âYes, Monday, we can do that. I get home from work at six, uhm, Chaeyeon, will you have appointments that afternoon?â
âNothing after three.â Chaeyeonâs eyes were sparkling in the warm light from the nearby stylish floor lamp.
âI work in the mornings on Mondays,â you said. âWhat time should I arrive?â
âSeven? Yeah, dinner should be ready by then,â Seohyuk talked himself through it, flitting his wide, hopeful smile between you and Chaeyeon.
âOr you can get here closer to five and we can hang out first,â Chaeyeon offered to you.
âOr that too!â
âIâll have some errands to run, seven will probably be the bestâŠâ You were still wary of spending so much time here at once.
âSeven it is,â Seohyuk confirmed fervently.
âWhyâd you say yes?â Jisung questioned as you pulled a blanket over your laps later that night.
âMm?â You hummed inquisitively, settling into the corner of the couch. âTo dinner at Seohyuk and Chaeyeonâs?â
âYeah. He was terrible to you, baby. Why even bother?â
You continued humming thoughtfully this time as you tried to piece together all your errant sentiments and feelings about it. âBecause heâs making an effort, so I want to, too. And itâs like I said before, Sungie⊠Iâm just tired of fighting with him. Itâs so exhausting holding onto all that.â
He was still pouting thoughtfully, brow furrowed. You nudged his side teasingly, âBesides, Iâve got you to hold all my grudges for me.â
Your ghostâs face relaxed just in the slightest as he pulled you closer to plant a kiss on your cheek. âWell, I still donât forgive him. On your behalf or mine.â
âOh yeah?â
âYeah.â He rested his head in the crook of your shoulder, wrapping his arms around your waist. âWorst six months of my life or afterlife without you.â
You leaned back against the arm of the couch to let him sprawl out on top of you, running a hand through his hair. âThatâs fair, I suppose. But I donât think I can really ask him to apologize to you.â
âHe already believes the house is haunted, I bet you could get him on another Ouija board,â he mumbled. âSay you heard a weird noise or something.â
âYou really want him back in our house so soon?â You laughed, still playing with his hair.
âNo,â he huffed.
âAre you ready to pick the first movie yet or are you still sulking?â
âA couple more minutesâŠâ
You were rushing. You were running late this morning, somehow, and it was only when you got to your bus stop that you realized youâd forgotten your tote bag.
âWhew! Right on time, huh, Sungie?â You looked around breathless at the empty bus stop. Too empty. Jisung wasnât there, and he didn't pop up like he normally did if he wasn't immediately visible. Then you realized the distinct lack of weight on your shoulder.
âShit!â You patted your pockets fervently for any spare knobs. You didn't even have your ring or bracelet, having taken your jewelry off in order to shower this morning. Just as you were contemplating running back for Jisung, your bus pulled up, and your decision was made for you. He would just have to stay home today.
Walking into work, you felt weirdly lonely, despite your two desk buddies immediately finding you when you arrived on your floor.
âY/N!â Sungchanâs head was easily visible over the other personnel around him.
Shotaro was in tow, of course, and they fell into step on either side of you. âY/N! Yes!â
âGood morning?â You squinted at them. âIs it? Should I be concerned as to why youâre so energetic this early?â
âShotaro thinksââ
âDude!â Shotaro scolded Sungchan, reaching behind you to smack him on the shoulder. âTact? Hello?!â
âOh, I would love to see how youâre going to do this with tact,â Sungchan scoffed back.
âSo I should be concerned,â you surmised dryly, heading straight for the breakroom.
âNo! Iâm just glad youâre back!â Shotaro said brightly. âBecause I have a theory.â
âAbout?â
âThe office ghost.â
You held his eye contact for a silent moment before turning back to making your coffee.
âListen, I swear, our office is haunted. And I think the ghost has a crush on you or something.â
You squinted at him, taking a slow sip of your coffee. ââŠWhat?â
âWell, I started keeping a tally every time something spooky happened for the past monthââ
âOh God, okay,â you sighed and rubbed your face.
âAnd I noticed a pattern. Thereâs pretty much no spooky stuff that happens on Tuesdays and Fridays. When youâre not here!â
âMaybe the ghost only works part-time, too,â you snorted.
âListen, Iâm telling you, somethingâs going to happen today now that youâre back,â Shotaro declared.
âAlright, whatever.â You shook your head. It being this early in the morning was bad enough, but you were going to have to go the whole day without Jisung, which meant itâd be dreadfully boring as well.
Back at your desk, you unlocked your computer and avoided your email, instead pulling up a report that you had been working on for the last few weeks. After putting the finishing touches on it, you sent off copies to the printer, and slowly stood up. Youâd have to present it at a meeting right after lunch today, which was why you couldnât try to sprint back home on your break to fetch Jisungâthat would risk being tardy for your meeting.
In the vacant copy room, you leaned against the wall next to the machine printing off your report, crossing your arms over your chest and closing your eyes. Stupid presentation. One of the best parts of working remote was no longer having to present to a conference room full of people on your work. Now you didnât even have Jisung here to cheer you on. You wondered how your ghost was faring home alone. You were sure he was keeping himself busy like he did before the two of you ever metâreading books, watching TV. Maybe he was even working in the garden in the backyard. The two of you had been working on livening up Hyukjunâs flower beds again after theyâd been poorly tended to for so long while you were gone.
You let out a huff. Youâd so much rather be home with Jisung in your garden, or at least have him here with you.
âMm?â A confused noise came from elsewhere in the room, and you immediately opened your eyes and looked over towards the doorway, expecting to see one of your coworkers there coming to make copies of their own. But the door was still closed. Quickly looking around the room, you realized that you werenât alone, though.
Jisung was looking around the room equally bewildered. You blinked at him in disbelief.
âY/N? Baby?â He stepped towards you. âI thought you forgot all the knobs?â
âI didâŠâ You whispered, reaching out to wipe some dirt off his cheek. âHowâŠ?â
âI donât know.â He took your hand, rubbing circles into your palm with his thumb. âI was in the backyard weeding and then I was here.â
Remembering when you first experimented with bringing him out of the house with the cabinet knobs, you asked, âHowâs your head?â
âFine.â
Someone turned the doorknob to the copy room then, and you dropped your hand from Jisungâs, turning back towards the printer that you were waiting on. Shotaro entered with some papers, heading towards another machine to start making copies.
âHey, is it just me, or is it way colder in here than normal?â Your coworker questioned.
âHuh?â You hadnât even noticed.
âItâs normally the hottest room in the building, especially with the printers goingââ He gestured to the machines that you two were standing at. âBut Iâve got goosebumps.â
âMaybe they finally fixed the A/C in here?â
Shotaro squinted up at the ceiling panels. âI donât think thereâs a ventâŠâ
âMaybe youâre sick.â
âOffice ghost,â he declared triumphantly. âWhat did I tell you? Youâre back, the ghost is back. It likes you.â
Jisung giggled at this as you rolled your eyes, trying to suppress your fond smile for your ghost.
âOr maybe it hates me and thatâs why itâs only haunting me specifically,â you suggested sarcastically, making Jisung laugh even harder. âHave you everââ
âShh!â Shotaro suddenly cut you off harshly, glancing around wildly.
âWhat?â You looked around too, wondering what exactly he was doing. Jisung had also stopped laughing at the sudden shift in tone, also peering around curiously.
âDid you hear that?â
âHear what?â
âI swear, I just heard a guy laughing,â Shotaro insisted.
Suppressing your panic, you coolly offered a solution, âYou probably did. The walls are really thin here.â
âIt didnât sound like anybody who works here.â
âYou know how everybody in this building laughs?â
Shotaroâs face fell, and you felt a little bad for raining on the guyâs parade. âWell, noâŠâ
Your reports had finished printing, and you grabbed all the papers from the tray, securing them in your arms. Patting your office friend on the shoulder, you gave him the best words of encouragement that you could in the moment, âIâm sure the office ghost like you too, Shotaro.â
Jisung nodded solemnly, opting not to say anything this time as he followed you out. You opened the door widely, pretending to struggle with the stack of papers in your arms for a moment so that your ghost could slip out with you. With Shotaro apparently hearing him for a second, you didnât trust that there wasnât some slim chance that he could accidentally get clipped by it somehow.
You toured around your floor of the office, dropping off copies of the report to each employee who would be attending the meeting so they could review it beforehand. Jisung silently shadowed you until you had dropped off all your copies except one and ended up in a newer part of the floor with rows of empty conference rooms. You ducked into one, locking the door behind you.
âHow did you get here?â You kept your voice just above a whisper, patting down your pockets again, just in case you had a cabinet knob or spare piece of foundation or something that you had somehow forgotten about in there. Nothing, of course. âAnd did Shotaro just hear you?!â
âI donât know!â Jisung threw his hands up, then grimaced. âMaybe?!â
âKeep your voice down!â You reminded him emphatically, gesturing for him to calm down.
He slapped a hand over his mouth with a sheepish wince, immediately switching to an even quieter whisper than yours, âSorry⊠Not used to whispering.â
âI know.â You leaned against the wall, pursing your lips thoughtfully. âWhat exactly were you doing before you showed up here?â
âWeeding, like I said.â
âWait, you had dirt on your face. You never get dirty.â
Jisung looked down at his hands, as if expecting to see them caked with even more dirt. They were clean, but that did nothing to help the uneasy feeling growing in you.
âIt didnât feel like when I would get yanked home.â Your ghost scrunched his nose thoughtfully. âWhen we were still figuring out the knobs and stuff. I mean, my head feels fine.â
âWhat about when I bring you with me usually?â
âNo, itâs likeâŠâ He sighed as he couldnât seem to find the right words, and switched trains of thought. âWhat were you doing? Before I showed up?â
âExactly what you saw me doing. Waiting for my stuff to print,â you shrugged. âAnd thinking about how much I missed you, I guess.â
âYeah, thatâs what it was like.â
âLike what?â
âI got this feeling like someone had called my name, but I didnât hear anything.â
You sighed and checked the time. âI need to get ready for my presentation this afternoon. Youâve got to stay quiet today, Sungie. Iâm sorry.â
âI understand.â He nodded. âIâll be on my best behavior.â
âFor once,â you teased, pecking his cheek.
Your presentation went over fine, and after, you headed for Mr. Choiâs office, knocking on the open door to get his attention.
âAh, Y/N, come in,â he waved you in with a smile. âHow can I help you?â
âHi, Mr. Choi.â you offered a faint smile back. âUhm, Iâm not feeling very well. I just wanted to see if I could leave early today?â
âYou did look a little distracted during your presentation.â He nodded sympathetically. âYes, go rest. And if you need to stay offline tomorrow, by all means, please do.â
âThanks.â
Rushing to close out your programs and turn your computer off, you gave Shotaro and Sungchan hasty goodbyes before fleeing the building, Jisung on your heels.
âHow do you feel?â You checked in with him quietly as you speedwalked down the sidewalks.
âFine. Good.â He kept his voice down.
The two of you were silent until you made it home, where you grabbed your bag from the hook by the front door and took it into the living room, dumping the contents onto the floor. Immediately, you picked out the six that you kept stored in there. You jumped to your feet to run up the stairs and into your bathroom, where the other two were sitting exactly where you left them on the sink. Taking them back downstairs to show Jisung, you dropped back down to your knees to set all eight together, letting out a sigh. You knew you didnât have any with you today, but the whole time that you were at work, there was still some non-zero chance that maybe you just hadnât checked your pockets well enough, maybe one was somewhere, you couldnât be absolutely sure until you saw it with your own eyes. And now you did.
âWhat the hell is going on?â You whispered.
âTry going down the street?â Jisung suggested. âWithout anything?â
You held your hands up to show that you werenât holding anything as you left the houseâaloneâand began walking down the street. You were far out of the lay lines of the property, at the end of the block, when Jisung popped up next to you.
You stared at him in shock. He stared back.
âDid you do that on purpose?â You asked. âAt all?â
âI donât know. Did you?â
âHow would I have done that?â
He shrugged. âHow would I?â
âIt canât be my clothes or anything, I just got like this whole outfit in the past couple months,â you huffed, still trying to brainstorm.
âY/N, I thinkââ Jisung looked at you with wide eyes. âI think itâs you. I think Iâm connected to you somehow.â
âIâm home!â The words were hardly out of your mouth when Jisung popped into the foyer.
He looked startled, barely sticking the landing as his head whipped around, a book in his hand. Your ghost let out a huff as he found his footing, closing the book on his thumb. âI wish youâd stop doing that. I was upstairs reading.â
âSorry, Sungie.â You pecked his cheek, hanging your bag up. âIâm not trying, honest.â
Jisungâs annoyance quickly faded as he leaned down to kiss you. âI know, baby. Iâm not mad, it just spooks me every time.â
âA ghost getting spooked,â you repeated humorously, walking further into your house.
âIâll start on dinner.â
âOh!â You stopped at the bottom of the stairs. âChaeyeon called me on my way home and asked if they could drop the baby off, by the way. Apparently Seohyuk has a last-minute work thing and they couldnât find anybody else to watch her.â
âAh. Okay.â
After getting out of your work clothes, you found Jisung in the kitchen again, wrapping your arms around his waist and pressing your cheek to his back. âThank you. I know itâs got to suck being here alone all day and then having people come over.â
Since the debacle with Shotaro hearing Jisung at work, youâd been erring on the side of caution and leaving Jisung home when you went to work. It made your days lonelier, and you knew he hated it too, but it was just too hard to bring him out to the same place over and over like that. Especially when you had a paranoid coworker quite literally ghost-hunting constantly.
On top of that, you hadnât had to bring a single cabinet knob with you anywhere in order to bring Jisung along in the time since, seemingly confirming his suspicions. He was no longer anchored to the house.
âI havenât met the baby yet,â his voice sounded like he was forcing pep into it. âIâm looking forward to it.â
When Chaeyeon had given birth, you visited the new parents and baby at their house, leaving your ghost at home for the brief meet-up. This would be the first time the family came to your place.
âTheyâre not staying, at least,â you reminded him. âChaeyeon and Seohyuk. Theyâre just dropping SooSoo off and then picking her up after.â
âHow long is she going to be here for?â
âA few hours. Donât worry, Iâll hold her,â you teased.
Jisung snorted lightly, continuing to chop the food. âGood idea.â
Your ghost stayed upstairs while Chaeyeon and Seohyuk brought SooSoo in, handing her and all her supplies off to you. After giving you the rundown of all the basics, they rushed back out with final goodbye pecks on the cheek to both of you. You laughed and waved them off, shutting the door behind the couple.
Upon hearing the front door close, you saw Jisung hesitantly peeking down the stairs. You chuckled, âCoast is clear, Jisung.â
âI canât believe thatâs really him.â He shook his head, taking the babyâs bag off your shoulder for you.
âWho, Seohyuk?â
âYeah,â he confirmed. âHe was like⊠nice to you. Actually nice.â
âI keep telling you heâs been trying.â You walked into the living room, gently bouncing SooSoo in your arms.
âYouâre good with her,â Jisung said, coming to stand next to you.
âYou think so?â You beamed, playing with the babyâs tiny fingers. âThis is the first one Iâve held.â
âDo youââ He cut himself off, staring at SooSoo with wide eyes. He slowly moved to the left, then the right. You watched his movements with confusion. He looked at you, disbelief clear on his face. âCan the baby see me?â
âWhat?â You looked down at her, seeing that it did appear as though her eyes were focused on a spot in the air over your shoulder where Jisung was. He moved to the right, and the babyâs eyes tracked him. He then moved to your left shoulder, and they once again followed. She continued watching him as he shifted back to hovering over your right shoulder, and you were really beginning to think that this wasnât a coincidence.
You furrowed your brow. âHuhâŠâ
Jisung clapped his hands directly in front of her face, and she flinched and blinked.
âOkay, okay,â you chastised him, pushing his hands away from her face. âThis didnât happen when the Kims were little, did it? Itâs not like a âkids can see ghosts betterâ thing, right?â
âNo, they had no clue I was there. Babies, children, adults. Nobody ever did this.â
âLooks like youâve got an imaginary friend, SooSoo,â you chuckled, gently tapping the tip of her nose.
âIâm not imaginary, just incorporeal,â he scoffed, but nevertheless reached around you to adjust her blanket for her.
âDo you think it has something to do with everything else?â You asked quietly. âShotaro heard you, we donât need the knobs anymore, now SooSoo can see youâŠâ
âI donât know.â
âRight. No ghost manual.â
Jisung stayed put as you sat down on the couch, readjusting the baby in your lap. You didnât love the pensive look still on his features, especially when he didnât seem to notice you patting the spot next to you in an invite for him to join you.
âSungie?â You called for him quietly. âEverything okay?â
âI was thinkingâŠâ He looked at SooSoo, then held your gaze, obviously conflicted. âDo you want kids someday?â
âOh.â You knew exactly where his mind had gone. âI-I donât know. Definitely not right nowââ
âBut in the futureââ
âI said I donât know, Jisung,â you reiterated. âBut what I absolutely do know, is that I love you. Okay? Can that be enough for now?â
âOkay. Yeah.â He nodded, finally joining you on the couch, wrapping an arm around your waist and pressing a kiss to your cheek. âI love you too.â
Chaeyeon and Seohyuk finally came back long after SooSoo had gone to sleep, and just before you were about to follow her lead, nodding off in a corner of the couch. Jisung stopped gently rocking the babyâs carseat when the doorbell rang, shaking your shoulder to make sure you were fully awake. You nodded, reluctantly getting to your feet as he wordlessly took off upstairs. Opening the front door, you greeted the couple, covering your mouth as a yawn escaped. You all chatted about the event as they gathered their daughter and the baby bag from the floor in front of the couch.
Chaeyeon parted the blankets around SooSoo, then rooted around through the bag that was on her husbandâs shoulder. âDid she have her pink elephant when she came? I thought she did, but I donât see itâŠâ
âOh, yeah, yeah.â You peered around your living room, unable to see the stuffed animal as well. âI think it might be in my room, hold on.â You held up a finger for them to wait a moment, heading for the stairs.
Jisung was already on the ground with his head and arm under the bed when you walked in. You lightly pushed the door closed behind you as he scooted back out, victoriously holding a small, pink, stuffed elephant above his head.
âThank you, Sungie,â you said quietly, reaching out for the toy. Except he jerked it out of your reach at the last second, holding it above his head with a teasing glint in his eye. You narrowed your eyes at him, continuing to whisper, âI donât have time for this.â
âAlright, alright,â he snickered, setting the elephant down in your waiting palm. He used his other hand to grab your wrist, pulling you closer and pecking your forehead.
You looked up, leaning in to kiss him when you heard the creak of a floorboard right outside your bedroom door.
âYou need some help inâ?â Seohyuk cut his own question short as he knocked on your slightly ajar door, causing it to swing open. âOh, sorry, I didnât realize you had companyâŠâ
You froze, staring between the two of them as you realized that Seohyukâs gaze was focused directly on Jisung. Immediately, you panicked, reeling back from your ghost as you tried to stay calm, process what the hell was going on, and manage the real-life façade of whatever Seohyuk must be thinking. The further you stepped away from Jisung, the more certain you were that Seohyuk could see him, his eyes flicking between the two of you very deliberately.
âOh, no, itâs fine, uhm, Seohyuk, this is⊠my friend Jisung. I told him he could stop by whenever to borrow a book, I didnât realizeâŠâ You trailed off awkwardly, scratching the back of your neck as you shuffled even further away from your ghost.
It was Jisungâs turn to look at you incredulously, clearly upset now at being introduced as your âfriend.â You cleared your throat awkwardly, gesturing between them. âJisung, this is my brother Seohyuk.â
âItâs a pleasure to meet you,â Seohyuk flashed him a brilliant smile as he offered a hand for him to shake.
You watched with bated breath as Jisung seemed to debate doing this for a moment, then took it. To your relief and bewilderment, Jisungâs hand didnât go through Seohyukâs, and they shook⊠normally.
Seohyuk then pointed at the elephant in your hand. âEllie and I will see you downstairs, Y/N.â
You meekly held the toy out for him to take without another word. He headed out of the room, and you nearly collapsed as soon as he was out of your sight. But you didnât have time for that yet.
âIâm sorry, just go to the pond, Iâll come get you when theyâre gone, okay?â You told Jisung in a hushed voice before he could voice any of his complaints at being called your friend, surprise at Seohyuk seeing him, or anything else. You had to get your family out of the house first.
He let out a short sigh, but nodded. âAlright, alright.â
You walked him down the stairs and to the front door, keeping a polite amount of distance between you two, well aware of the two pairs of eyes watching you from the living room. Opening the front door, you gave Jisung a courteous nod. âAlright, uh, bye, Jisung.â
âYeah, uhm, goodnight, Y/N.â His eyes darted between you and over your shoulder, and you could tell it was taking everything in him not to habitually kiss you goodbye.
âNice to meet you, Jisung!â Seohyuk called out from the living room.
âUh, yeah, you too!â He replied, giving a final wave over his shoulder before departing.
You nearly slammed the door shut behind him, taking a deep breath in to calm yourself down before turning around.
Seohyuk grinned at you as you walked back into the living room. âFriend, huh?â
âOh my God, shut up.â
âIâm just saying⊠he didnât leave with a book.â
âOh, youâre the worst!â You huffed as he burst into laughter.
Chaeyeon shook her head, handing SooSooâs carseat to her husband.
âI swear, you two bicker like real siblings now,â she commented, wrapping an arm around your shoulders protectively. âSeohyuk, leave her alone.â
âWhat? You didnât see them, Chae, it wasââ
âDrop it.â
âFine, fine.â He held his free hand up, still with the same shit-eating grin.
âWeâre going to get out of your hair now, hon,â Chaeyeon declared, squeezing your arm. She then looked at Seohyuk pointedly.
After giving the three of them your final goodbyes at the door, you closed it and locked it up behind them before dashing to the front window. Through a small crack between two blinds, you watched them load up Seohyukâs new, sensible SUV before pulling away from the curb. Once you were certain they would be several streets away, you threw on a pair of shoes and ran out the door. Despite how dark it was, you knew the way to the pond by heart.
When you first entered the clearing, you couldnât see your ghost, and your heart jumped to your throat. You took out your phone, shining the flashlight around everywhere. âJisung?!â You cried out.
âRight here.â He appeared in front of you. âThat still works, apparently.â
âGod, what the hell just happened?!â You took his hand, marching back home with him in tow.
âI donât know.â
âI mean, Seohyuk not only could hear you, but see you and touch you?!â
âI know.â
âWhat the fuck is going on?!â
âI donât know.â
You lifted his hand that you were hold up, shining your flashlight directly on it. He didnât look or feel any differentâcool to the touch, and he had always had some color to him. With your fast, anxious pace, it didnât take you long to get back home, dragging him back inside.
Just in the foyer, you stopped and indicated for him to stay right there. Holding up your phone with the camera open, you took a picture of Jisung without even looking at the screen. The suspense didnât last long, as you swiped to view the image, nearly dropping your phone in shock. Instead of the normal shadowy glitch in frame, your ghost was staring right back, his dark eyes wide open as he looked past the camera directly at you.
You wordlessly turned the phone around to show him. He reached out towards the screen, then pulled his hand back, resting his index finger in the center of his chest.
âTh-Thatâs me?â He asked hesitantly. âRight?â
âYeah, Sungie,â you replied hoarsely. âThatâs you.â
âWhat the hell is happening?â
You bit your lip and shook your head. âI donât know. I donât fucking know.â
âDo you feel okay?â Jisung asked abruptly.
âHuh?â You hurried to swallow the bite of food that you had just taken. âYeah, Sungie, I feel fine. Itâs not that hot yet.â
You had taken advantage of the cool spring day to do some much-needed weeding in the gardens, and were taking a break to eat the lunch that Jisung had just made for you. He took a sip of his lemonade before setting the cup down on the porch step beside him. Another new development: he could eat and drink now. He wasnât necessarily hungry or thirsty like you, but he enjoyed food again.
âI donât mean the weather, I meanââ He ran a hand through his hair as he took a minute to try to piece his words together. âAll this thatâs been happening. Iâm definitely tied to you now, not the house. But I donât want⊠to be⊠taking anything from you. Your soul, or life force, or whatever. I donât know whatâs going on, but if you feel any worse for it, thenââ
âNo, God, no,â you reassured him, putting your plate aside to scoot closer to him and wrap an arm around him. âI feel just fine, I promise.â
âWould you tell me if it was making you feel worse?â
âI would tell you if I didnât feel good, yes, but whether or not that would hypothetically be connected is an entirely different question.â
He sighed, wringing his hands between his knees. âIâm just worried, Y/N. And scared. I donât know whatâs happening to us and I donât like that.â
âI donât like not knowing either,â you agreed quietly. âBut itâs not hurting me, okay? And itâs not hurting youâWell, other than when you stubbed your toe the other day.â
âHow was I supposed to know it was going to do that?â He whined, grabbing his foot through his shoe.
Yet another new thingâJisung could feel physical pain again. Before, the only sort of harm he would come into was his headaches if he was going from the house for too long and got pulled back. Now, if he wasnât careful to go through an object, he could hurt himself on it just like you. Bruise and all.
âShotaro misses you, by the way,â you informed him. âHe was lamenting the lack of office ghost activity lately.â
âFunny enough, I kinda miss him too,â Jisung admitted. âItâs so boring being stuck here all day now.â
âMr. Choi put another dinner on our calendars next week, you knowâŠâ You said cautiously. âDo you want to come?â
He blinked at you. âLike⊠on purpose?â
âYeah, itâs open to significant others too. Weâre pretty certain everyone can see you now,â you reminded him, thinking of all the cashiers, strangers in public, and neighbors that had interacted with Jisung at this point.
âIâYes, okay,â he agreed happily, looking down at his lap.
âGood, youâll need lots of practice.â
âPractice for what?!â
âSooSooâs birthday party next month.â
Down the street from the restaurant that you were supposed to meeting your coworkers at, you stopped Jisung on the sidewalk. Fixing his collar, you reminded him, âOkay, Sungie, remember, youâve never met these people before. You canât say stuff that youâre not supposed to know.â
âI know, I know,â he huffed, but stayed still as you messed with his hair too.
âHow long have we been dating?â
âThree years.â
âWhere did we meet?â
âThe library.â
âWhat do you do for a living?â
âIâm a⊠freelance⊠graphic designerâŠ?â He answered uncertainly, watching your face with each syllable.
âYou have got to be more convincing than that.â
âI barely understand what that is!â He replied indignantly. âWhat if they ask me questions?â
âYou just have to say that your clients make you sign NDAs so you canât say anything about your projects!â You said. âOr pick a different job, I donât know! Something thatâs easy to talk around. I just donât want you getting asked questions that are hard to answer.â
He shook his head. âThis was a bad idea. I shouldnât have come.â
âNo, youâre my boyfriend and I want to introduce you to my coworkers.â You took his hand, lacing your fingers together. âI want you here. Iâm not going to keep you locked up forever.â
Jisung took a deep breath, squeezing your hand tight. âAlright, okay. Letâs do it.â
Pushing the door open, you immediately spotted the table of your coworkers in the corner, waving to them as you walked over. Mr. Choi stood up to greet you, giving you a one-armed hug. His wife stood up as well, kissing your cheek.
âSo good to see you, sweetheart.â She was absolutely beaming as she drew back and moved her expectant gaze to Jisung next to you.
You inhaled, starting the introductions. âThis is my boyfriend, Jisung. Jisung, this is my supervisor, Mr. Choi, and his wife, Dahyun.â
Mr. Choi shook Jisungâs hand, broad grin on his face. âNice to meet you.â
âYou too, sir,â Jisung coughed over the crack in his voice, giving him the best bow that he could in the cramped space of the restaurant.
You were the last ones to arrive, and Sungchan thankfully scooted over to make room for you at the very end. Hastily doing introductions between everyone, you then started looking over the menu with Jisung.
âSo, what do you do, Jisung?â Sungchan asked from your other side, taking a sip of his drink.
âOh, Iâm uh, Iâm a freelanceâŠâ Your ghost trailed off, and you squeezed his knee under the table to think of something fast before you would have to. âPhotographer! Sorry, this menu just looks so good, I zoned out. Iâm a photographer, yeah.â
Well, not the worst choice in the world.
Shotaro perked up from across the table. âOh! Do you help Y/N with all those crazy pictures she posts?â
Jisung nodded hastily, latching onto the life preserver that your coworker had unknowingly thrown him. âYes, yes I do.â
âTheyâre really cool,â Sungchan complimented him. âIs it all photo editing or is some of the effect practical?â
You looked over at your ghost to gauge if he was going to need your help on this one. He was frozen as he was clearly wracking his brain for how to answer, so you decided to swoop in.
âSome of itâs practical,â you answered for him. âBut itâs a proprietary technique so he really canât say much more than thatâŠâ
Sungchan held his hands up in surrender. âAh, okay.â
âDo you have your own account?â Shotaro asked eagerly, bringing his phone out. âShe never tags anyone.â
âSo stingy with the credit,â Sungchan clicked his tongue and shook his head.
âNo, I donât,â Jisung hastily replied. âIâm not really into that sort of stuffâŠâ
âHow do you get clients then? If youâre a freelancer but you donât have social media?â
âWellâŠâ
Seeing that he was panicking again, you smoothly took over, âWord of mouth. Heâs just that good.â
Your coworkers seemed both impressed and satisfied, nodding to themselves and each other. âCool, cool.â
As a waiter came around to start taking everyoneâs orders, you patted Jisungâs leg under the table, reassuring him that heâd passed the first part of the gauntlet. He grabbed your hand, rubbing his thumb over your knuckles.
As soon as the front door clicked shut behind you, Jisung let out a guttural groan, sinking to the floor against the hallway wall. He dropped his face into his hands, shaking his head.
âHow do you do it?â He bemoaned.
âDo what?â You chuckled, hanging your purse up.
âTalk to that many people for so long.â
âAw, my poor introverted ghost.â You pouted sympathetically, squatting down in front of him.
âI had friends when I was alive. A bunch. I saw them all the time. Every day!â
âDeath changed you, Sungie.â
âUghâŠâ
You stroked his hair. âSo, do you not want to go to SooSooâs birthday party? Itâs fine if you donât, I havenât told them Iâm bringing a guest yet, I was waiting to see how tonight went.â
Jisung lifted his head up just enough to rest his chin in his palms, squishing his cheeks up. âNo, I had fun. I just⊠need to get used to people again. Iâm not used to having to talk to people who arenât you. I want to go to the birthday party with you. Especially since those people will be there.â
âIâm glad you had fun.â You smiled, gently tweaking his cheek. âRule one, you canât call them âthose people.â At least not to their face.â
âFine.â
âReady, baby?â Jisung asked as you turned the corner onto Seohyuk and Chaeyeonâs street.
âMhm,â you responded, looking over at him skeptically. âAre you ready?â
âTheyâre family,â he replied seriously.
You snickered, leaning over to peck his cheek. âI almost believed you, Sungie. Good job.â
âJust donât leave me alone with Hyukjunâs ex-wife,â he begged, breaking his facade.
âI wonât, I wonât,â you assured him. âSeohyuk says his momâs been going to AA, though, and Joohyuk has been in anger management counseling ever since his wife left him, and that Minhyuk has totally mellowed out after experiencing empathy for the first time when he tried ayahuasca in Peru last month. So who knows, they might be better.â
âWhat a family,â he scoffed. âCanât believe youâre dating a ghost and youâre like, the most normal one.â
âDebatable.â
âOkay, one of the most normal ones.â
You nodded towards the approaching house. âGet it out of your system now, thereâs the front door.â
A serene smile spread across his face. âIâm done, and Iâm perfectly nice now and will not bring any of that up for the rest of the afternoon.â
You had barely finished knocking when the front door swung open, Seohyuk on the other side. Your stepbrother immediately went to hug you. âHey, Y/N. Glad you could make it.â
âHi, Seohyuk. Wouldnât miss it.â You patted his back. âCanât believe sheâs a year old already.â
âI know,â he sighed wistfully. Letting you go, he turned to Jisung, mischievous glint in his eye. âIâm Seohyuk, Y/Nâs brother. Jisung, right?â
âYes, itâs great to see you again.â Your ghost accepted his handshake.
You mouthed âcool itâ over Seohyukâs shoulder at Jisungâs way too enthusiastic greeting, and he immediately reworked his expression, relaxing his face a bit more. Seohyuk stepped back and gestured you two inside, closing the door behind you. He guided you further in, pointing to where Jisung could put down the gift bag he had been carrying.
Chaeyeon spotted you from where she had been chatting with a few other guests, excusing herself before darting over to you, throwing her arms around your neck. âY/N!â
âChaeyeon!â You laughed, hugging her back. âWe just got tea last week.â
âYes, I know. Doesnât mean I canât be excited to see you now.â
You turned around to where Jisung was awkwardly standing a couple steps behind you and latched onto his arm, dragging him over. âChaeyeon, this is my boyfriend Jisung. Jisung, this is my sister-in-law Chaeyeon.â
She was absolutely cheesing as she turned to Jisung, stacking both hands over her chest as she was trying to contain her excitement. âCan I hug you? You can say no, Iâm a hugger, but itâs fine, I totally get it.â
âUhm yeah?â Jisung agreed before nearly being bowled over by Chaeyeon. âOh!â
You covered your hand in an attempt to stifle your laugh. The hug was fleeting, as Chaeyeon let him go and grabbed your arm again, her face turning serious. She leaned in, lowering her voice conspiratorially, and you had to strain your ears to hear her over the noise of all the other partygoers and children playing.
âOkay, so drinks are in the kitchenâno alcohol since Jieun is recovering, you know. We didnât think it was necessary since itâs a kidâs birthday anyway. You already know, donât ask Joohyuk where his wife is. And Minhyuk⊠for your own sake, donât ask about his trip to South America unless you want to hear him talk about the spiritual benefits of psychedelics for two hours straight,â she debriefed you quietly. âHere, Iâll introduce you guys to some of my friends from the mom pilates class that I attend; theyâre cool, I promise!â
With that, Chaeyeon took off, leaving you to catch up. You grabbed Jisungâs hand, chuckling as you followed after your sister-in-law.
Later in the party found you sat on the couch, chatting with two of Chaeyeonâs mom-ilates friends. Jisung emerged from the kitchen where he had been getting plates of food for the both of you, looking flustered as he dropped into the empty spot next to you.
âFinally,â you commented, accepting your plate from him. âWhat took you so long? Was there a line for the pretzels?â
âMinhyuk cornered me,â he groaned, covering his face with one hand. âI didnât even ask about Peru, I told him you were waiting but that just made it worse. As soon as I brought you up, he started saying something about how when he was tripping, he realized how terrible they all were to you, and he started crying? I really donât think heâs okay, like mentallyâŠâ
You let out a sputtering laugh, rubbing Jisungâs shoulder sympathetically. âSounds rough, Sungie.â
âLeechan!â One of the moms suddenly barked out her sonâs name, shooting to her feet. She shot you an annoyed look before stomping off to grab a boy from a tussle that had broken out.
The other mom that had been with you let out a sigh as she calmly finished her last bite of cake before setting her plate down and getting up as well. âRyujin! Thatâs it! Weâre going!â
âRemember how you asked me if I wanted kids?â You asked Jisung quietly, making sure to turn your head so only he heard you.
âMhm?â His voice wavered.
âYeah, no,â you scoffed. âIâll be Aunt Y/N for the rest of my life, thanks.â
He snickered, rubbing your back. âThatâsââ
Jisung suddenly froze, his eyes going wide and snapping down to the floor in front of the couch. You looked down to see what had startled him, immediately spotting your niece clambering over his feet and attempting to climb up his legs.
âSooSoo, your Uncle Jisung is not a jungle gym,â Seohyuk chastised his daughter lightly, scooping her up in his arms.
The toddler giggled, babbling as she still reached her chubby little arms out towards your ghost.
âDo you want to hold her?â Your stepbrother offered.
Jisung looked at you hesitantly. You chuckled, reaching for his plate on his lap. âDo you, Sungie? Itâs okay if you donât, but I can hold your plate for you if you want.â
âSure?â He opened his arms as you moved the food, clearing the way for Seohyuk to deposit the birthday girl there.
âRelax, Jisung,â Seohyuk laughed. âShe wonât bite. Probably.â He perked up and turned around as his name was called from across the room. âYeah, coming, Mom!â
That left you, Jisung, and SooSoo. You poked your nieceâs belly, making her laugh, the sound ringing through the air like bells. She reached for Jisung again, this time succeeding in grabbing the chain that was hanging around his neck and yanking on it. He jerked forward with it in surprise.
âAh, gentle, sweet,â you reminded her, fishing the rest of his necklace from under his collar. He was able to sit up straight again as SooSoo was fascinated by the starburst pendant, which matched the ring on your own finger.
âSheâs soâŠâ
âBig?â You suggested humorously, playing with the single tuft of hair tied up on top of her head that reminded you of a leek. You were thinking about the first time you saw her after she was born, when she was just a few pounds, compared to now.
âLittle,â Jisung finished, his voice quiet but filled with awe.
You looked at him a little funny, scooting in closer to continue your conversation at a lower volume. âYou were there when the Kims were all babies, werenât you?â
âYeah, but I wasnât really there,â he murmured. âAnd they were kinda⊠I donât know, boring. They were babies, they didnât do anything. I donât think I learned their names until they could talk.â
You laughed much louder than you had been talking, drawing a couple passing glances. Burying your face in Jisungâs shoulder to muffle yourself, you were easily able to picture a disinterested, aloof ghost Jisung turning up his nose at a âboringâ baby Seohyuk asleep in a crib. As tears eked out the sides of your eyes, you felt your ghost drop a kiss to the top of your head, the curl of his smile evident.
That night, you were happy and bone-achingly tired, but some part of your brain couldnât seem to get the memo. With a sigh, you opened your nightstand drawer, rooting around for your bottle of sleeping meds.
Jisung shuffled out of bed. âIâll get you a glass of water.â
The bedroom door opened, stairs squeaked, and distantly, in the dead silence of the house, you could hear the kitchen faucet. Then, the stairs squeaked again, and Jisung closed the door behind him. As you sat up to accept the cup from him, you squinted at him inquisitively.
âDid you use the door?â
He looked back at the door, blinking hurriedly as he belatedly realized what happened. âYeah, I did. I guess I was practicing so much to make sure I didnât walk through anything in front of your family that I forgot.â
As he climbed back into bed, you knocked back the pill and set your water aside. Ruffling Jisungâs hair, you smiled at him fondly, feeling your chest swell. âThank you, Sungie. I love you so much. I know that all this must be so hard and scary, and youâve been doing so much for me. Really, thank you.â
âAh, Y/N,â he chuckled nervously, ducking his head. He picked up your hand, though, playing with your fingers as he spoke, eyes focused on your entwined hands. âThank you. Iâm⊠You made me real. I know we donât know for sure whatâs going on, but thatâs what I believe.â
âReal?â You echoed tentatively.
His hand phased through yours, a chill zipping up your arm, then he turned solid again, fingertips skimming over your pulse point on your wrist. âIâm not human again. I-I donât know if I ever will be. I donât want to get our hopes up. But Iâm more than I was before you.â
You grabbed his hand, wrapping yours around the back of it and closing all of his fingers except his pointer. âYouâre enough for me no matter what you are, Jisung.â You lifted your hands to your chest, drawing an X over your heart. âIf we woke up tomorrow and you were incorporeal again, youâd still be the love of my life.â
âYouâre the love of my life and afterlife.â Jisung pulled your hands over to him, drawing one leg of the X on âlifeâ and the other on âafterlife.â âCross my heart.â
âNo fair pulling the afterlife card,â you teased, using your other hand to drag him into a kiss.
He kissed you unhurriedly, caressing your cheek with the back of his fingers. When you broke away for air, he squeezed your hand, tender gaze tracing over your features. âGuess Iâll always love you more, then.â
âNuh-uh!â You retorted childishly, even as you were beginning to struggle with keeping your eyes open.
âGetting sleepy?â He asked smugly.
âMaybe.â
âLay down, Iâll read to you.â
âFine, but you didnât win.â
âAlright, alright,â he hummed, reaching for the book on his nightstand. Settling down under the covers, you let your eyes close as Jisung began reading. Your ghostâs deep voice gently started lulling you to sleep as he kept one hand clasped with yours, resting over your heart.
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Ernest Hemingway disait que, dans nos moments les plus sombres, nous nâavons pas besoin de solutions ni de conseils. Nous cherchons simplement un contact humain : une prĂ©sence calme, une douce caresse. Ce sont ces petits gestes qui deviennent nos ancrages, nous aidant Ă rester Ă flot quand la vie semble trop dure. Nâessaie pas de me changer ni de porter ma douleur. Ne repousse pas mes ombres. Accompagne-moi dans mes tempĂȘtes intĂ©rieures. Sois cette main ferme vers laquelle je peux me tourner lorsque je chercherai mon chemin. Ma douleur mâappartient, et moi seul peux la porter. Mes batailles relĂšvent de ma responsabilitĂ©. Mais ta prĂ©sence me rappelle que je ne suis pas seul dans ce monde parfois effrayant. Câest un signe silencieux que je mĂ©rite dâĂȘtre aimĂ©, mĂȘme lorsque je me sens brisĂ©. Dans ces heures sombres oĂč je perds mon cap, seras-tu lĂ pour moi ? Pas comme un sauveur, mais comme un compagnon. Tiens ma main jusquâĂ lâaube et rappelle-moi ma force. Ton soutien silencieux est le plus beau cadeau. Lâamour qui mâaide Ă retrouver qui je suis, mĂȘme quand je lâoublie.
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all mirages cast real shadows.
kentucky route zero, 2013-2020/georgia o'keeffe, twilight canyon, lake powell, utah, 1964, todd webb/the archive of alternate endings, lindsey drager/house of leaves, mark z. danielewski/sunset, matthew cusick/letters from the hole, everything everything/the museum at purgatory, nick bantock/kentucky route zero, 2013-2020/andrei tarkovsky on the set of the sacrifice, unknown/heart: the city beneath, grant howitt and christopher taylor/the forgetting room, nick bantock/urge to mean (anything) ii, leo wijnhoven/in the dream house, carmen maria machado/kentucky route zero, 2013-2020/the beginner's guide, 2015/underdark: plein air paintings from caves, tomas honz/colossal cave adventure, willie crowther and don woods/season: a letter to the future, 2023/software greatman, everything everything/invisible cities, italo calvino/annihilation, jeff van der meer/the beginners guide, 2015/where the water tastes like wine, 2018/the unfortunates, b.s. johnson/house of leaves, mark z. danielewski/the painting that includes all paintings, richard siken/waiting for godot, samuel beckett
#pers#signal to noise#webweaving#inspired by my beloved novembers tsh webweave <3. this was fun to pull together#ive been meaning to pull together a list of signoise inspirations this is by no means all of them#but i had like. a majority of these just on hand and theyre mostly from texts i consider important to signoise#there were a few that i just couldnt fit in. but cest la vie! my poast ^
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La montagne nous donne le courage nécessaire pour entreprendre des aventures
Et des lieux magiques qui nous aident à découvrir qui nous sommes.
Avec tout notre respect
Escape the choas đïž !.
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C'était en 2002, à Aix-en-Provence. L'homme que j'aimais n'était pas du matin. Chaque fois que je dormais chez lui, il se tournait vers moi au réveil et murmurait : "Bonjour... café ?". Alors, nous sortions rapidement pour rejoindre une terrasse sur une petite place, prÚs d'une fontaine. Et ce premier café était aussi le premier instant romantique de notre journée.
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cross my heart ⧠[teaser]
⧠teaser word count: 1201 | full fic: 17.6k ⧠genre: fluff, a sprinkle of angst & hurt/comfort, paranormal/supernatural au, ghost!jisung, established relationship ⧠warnings: mentions of death, prominent side character dies prior to the beginning of the fic, depictions of grieving, more family tension/drama (yeah those assholes are back lol) ⧠extra info: this is the sequel to pur autre vie, it cannot be read as a standalone. you must read pur autre vie first! ⧠estimated release: wednesday, december 18, 2024 6:00 p.m. eastern time
You shifted uncomfortably in your seat, looking around the coffee shop that you were at. Your eldest stepbrother had asked to meet with you, and you couldnât imagine that it was anything goodâcertainly not just to get coffee and catch up. You hadnât ordered anything, wanting to be able to make a quick escape if needed.
Seohyuk usually didnât request a meeting with you. If he wanted to talk to you, he typically called to tell you he was going to stop by on his way to or from work, or just dropped by unannounced. Thatâs why you were extra on edge. You had arrived early, and kept checking the time every two minutes or so.
Finally, you saw him walking in, and thankfully he was alone, not accompanied by either of his younger brothers or his mother. Seohyuk was much easier to handle on his own. You made eye contact with him, but didnât wave or make any move to stand up and greet him as he arrived at your table. He sat down across from you, looking rather disheveled. His hair was unkempt as if heâd been running his fingers through it all day and hadnât looked in a mirror to fix it, his tie was loose and askew, his dress shirt crumpled, and his suit jacket that you knew he typically wore to work was missing entirely. He was also pink-cheeked and seemed to be trying to hide how heavily he was breathing, as if he had run here and didnât want you to know.
âGood afternoon, Seohyuk,â you said politely, opting not to comment on his appearance.
He cleared his throat. âGood afternoon, Y/N.â
âDo you have a concern with the house? Or is this a question about possessions?â You decided to just be direct. Those were pretty much the only two things he ever contacted you about.
When your mother passed away six months ago and you moved out of her and Hyukjunâs house, the property had gone to your three stepbrothers. Which meant that your life since then had been a seemingly endless string of inquiries over you âdamagingâ the home while you had lived there, or you âstealingâ stuff that was ârightfullyâ theirs when you moved outâi.e., items that were actually your motherâs, but they tried to claim were Hyukjunâs.
âThe house,â he sighed, rubbing his face. âDo you want it?â
You couldnât hide your surprise, your carefully neutral expression falling right off your face. âWait, what?â
âDo you want the house?â
âLike, Hyukjunâs house? The one that you just got?â You clarified. âYouâre... trying to sell it to me? I appreciate the offer, but I donât have the money to buy a house.â
âNo, no, you can have it,â he sounded and looked absolutely defeated.
You narrowed your eyes at him, immediately suspicious. âWhatâs wrong with it? What could you have done to it in six months?â
âNothing! Nothing!â He pleaded. âItâs pretty much the same, we actually fixed up some of the wiring, stuff like that. Weâve tried to rent it out, but nobody will stay.â
âYou canât keep your renters?â
âWeâve had four different tenants, none of them lasted longer than a month.â
âWhat? Why? Itâs a great house.â
Seohyukâs face screwed up as if he just ate a lemon; he clearly didnât want to tell you the reason.
âCome on, I already know somebody died in the house,â you scoffed. âWhat is it?â
âThey all said itâs haunted,â he finally blurted out. âAnd I mean, you know itâs an old house, it creaks and stuff sometimesâI tried to tell them that. They said the lights would flicker, so we replaced the bulbs. Cold spotsâWe had a guy look at the A/C, he said it was fine. Then it was things disappearing from one room and reappearing in another room, and they swore nobody who lived there moved them. One couple said they started on a jigsaw puzzle before they went to bed and when they woke up, it was all put together.â
You slowly nodded, very carefully controlling your facial expressions as you tried to figure out what reaction you should be having to this. Skepticism? Curiosity? Unease?
âAll of your tenants said stuff like that happened?â You clarified.
âEvery single one,â he confirmed. âAnd it got worse with each new one. The first one moved out after a month. The second, two weeks. Third, a week. The last one only lasted three days.â
You squinted at him suspiciously, crossing your arms over your chest. âAnd why do you think I would want to live there?â
âIâm not a superstitious man whatsoever,â he adjusted his tie a bit, âbut after all this, I went to the house myself to see what was going on.â
âWhat, did you bring a Ouija board or something?â You joked, sitting back in your chair.
âI felt ridiculous bringing it in, but yes.â
You knew you were giving him the most incredulous look ever, but he went on with his story anyway.
âI sat down with the board in the living room and asked if there was a spirit in the home. Something cold touched my hands, then the pointer moved to yes.â
âPlanchette.â
âHm?â
âItâs called a planchette,â you corrected him dryly.
âRight.â
âSo what happened next?â
Seohyuk continued, âI asked if it was your mother first. I figured that was most reasonable, since she had justâŠâ
âPassed away in the house right before all this started happening?â You filled in for him.
âYes. But the⊠planchette moved to no. So then I asked if it was my dad. Again, no.â
âI still donât see how this leads to me taking the possibly haunted house back from you,â you reminded him, desperately suppressing your giddiness.
âLook, I asked if it was an evil spirit, and it said no.â
âWhy would an evil spirit tell you it was evil?â
âIt hasnât hurt anybody, or damaged anything, or done anything bad at all!â Seohyuk was practically begging now. âI mean, Iâve been thinking about it: you lived there for two years while you took care of your mom, and nothing like this happened that whole time, right?â
âNo, I canât say anything like this happened,â you tepidly agreed.
âThe spirit must have been there the whole time you were there, and it only started doing this stuff once you left. I think if you go back, it should⊠calm down.â
You let silence hang in the air for a few moments, holding his eye contact, admittedly enjoying seeing him squirm under your gaze as he seemed to realize how crazy all of that sounded. Finally, you sighed, âI donât know, Seohyuk, my new place is closer to my jobâŠâ
âI will pay you to take it at this point. We canât rent it, or sell it, this has become an absolute nightmare.â He clasped his hands in front of him, quite literally begging now.
âAnd youâll stop harassing me about our parentsâ possessions?â
âYes, yes.â You pretended to contemplate this again, despite your mind being made up from the very beginning. After another agonizingly long bout of silence, you asked, âHow much?â
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Dernier souffle dâautomne
Dans l'air tiĂšde s'envolent les feuilles dorĂ©es, Comme des murmures dâun passĂ© oubliĂ©, Chaque brise emporte un rĂȘve fanĂ©, Dernier Ă©cho dâun amour envolĂ©.
Les arbres se dĂ©nudent, gardiens silencieux, TĂ©moins du dĂ©part, du silence des cieux, Tes pas se perdent sur les chemins glacĂ©s, Et mon cĆur se fige, par lâabsence blessĂ©.
Lâautomne te suit, dans son manteau lĂ©ger, Ses couleurs sâĂ©teignent, dans un ciel blessĂ©, Et je guette, en vain, un signe, un retour, Mais lâautomne emporte les restes de lâamour.
Sous le voile du crĂ©puscule roux, Je laisse partir, malgrĂ© moi, tout de nous, Dernier souffle dâautomne, dernier soupir, Dans les bras du vent, je te laisse partir.
#poÚsie#poÚme#poÚme français#textes en poÚme#french poetry#poÚme court#automne#poÚsie automnal#vie#astuce#astuces
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Dick : J'ai lu un jour que nous devrions dire Ă nos enfants vous devez ĂȘtre vraiment fiers de vous au lieu de : je suis si fier de vous, car cela leur apprend Ă devenir intrinsĂšquement motivĂ©s plutĂŽt que de leur apprendre que leur valeur vient du fait de plaire aux autres.
Tim : Mes parents ne me l'ont dit que lorsque j'ai merdé
Dick: I once read that we should tell our kids, "You must be really proud of yourself" instead of "I'm so proud of you" because it teaches them to become intrinsically motivated rather than teaching them that their value comes from pleasing others. Tim: My parents only told me that when I fucked up.
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It was a good run.....
Here's to next year
#i was really hoping i'd get to keep an airship....c'est la vie....#this text made me sad ajdkfkflglhjj#one last doodle for the event!#fallen london#horticulture hell#oc: alex#my art
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11/12/2024 âïž
Went to see RenĂ© Magritte today :) Have a collection of not necessarily my favourite works of his but of the ones I photographed best đ
#:) = with a cherished friend who may not want to be doxxed#Magritte continues to be the only bitch in the Western artistic canon who truly understands me#is that me in the middle low-key cosplaying Evening Falls? yes yes it is#please compare & contrast w The Human Condition in the top left...#I'll have to revisit this post once I work out how to add captions (not alt text) to images so as to title the paintings#vignettes de ma vie#voilà c'est moi#René Magritte#art non#paintings
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MĂȘme s'il me faut lĂącher ta main. Sans pouvoir te dire "Ă demain". Rien ne dĂ©fera jamais nos liens. MĂȘme s'il me faut aller plus loin. Couper les ponts, changer de train. L'amour est plus fort que le chagrin. L'amour qui fait battre nos cĆurs, va sublimer cette douleur. Transformer le plomb en or, tu as tant de belles choses Ă vivre encore. Tu verras au bout du tunnel, se dessiner un arc-en-ciel. Et refleurir les lilas, tu as tant de belles choses devant toi. MĂȘme si je veille d'une autre rive. Quoi que tu fasses, quoi qu'il t'arrive. Je s'rai avec toi comme autrefois. MĂȘme si tu pars Ă la dĂ©rive. L'Ă©tat de grĂące, les forces vives. Reviendront plus vite que tu ne crois. Dans l'espace qui lie ciel et la terre, se cache le plus grand des mystĂšres. Comme la brume voilant l'aurore, il y a tant de belles choses que tu ignores. La foi qui abat les montagnes, la source blanche dans ton Ăąme. Penses-y quand tu t'endors, l'amour est plus fort que la mort. Dans le temps qui lie ciel et terre se cache le plus beau des mystĂšres. Penses-y quand tu t'endors, l'amour est plus fort que la mort.
Françoise Hardy đ€
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