Chapter Text
“So I’m pretty sure this place is actually haunted.”
“What?”
Wonshik winced at Hakyeon’s tone. It was the same tone he used when he found one of them slacking off during practice. Or when someone had drunk the last of his banana milk. “Uh yeah... you know that ghost girl in the hallway? Apparently the actress called the PD saying she had a family emergency and couldn’t make it—“
“So you’re telling me,” Wonshik’s mouth snapped shut. Hakyeon’s voice was calm, almost frighteningly so, “that we’re running around an empty school with an actual sprit of unknown origin?”
“...Yes...”
“One that could potentially be malicious?”
“...Yes...”
A overwhelmingly familiar scream echoed down the hall, startling the pair.
Hongbin ran into the room, panting and paled faced. “What the hell was that? I could hear that from outside—“
Before he could even finish, Hakyeon was sprinting in the direction of the sound, his fear of all things spooky disappearing in the face of his boys being in danger. Wonshik spluttered, fumbling with his flashlight before chasing after him.
“Wait!” Wonshik glanced back to see Hongbin hot on his heels. “Wonshik what’s going on?”
“There may or may not be an actual ghost running around,” he explained between pants. He saw Hongbin’s eyes widen, yeah that seemed like a pretty appropriate response. “We need to find— hyungs!”
Wonshik let out a relieved sigh at the sight of Jaehwan and Taekwoon being fussed over by Hakyeon. They both seemed winded and a little jumpy, but looked no worse for wear.
“For real hyung, we’re fine.” Jaehwan insisted, running his hands through his hair. “The actress scared the crap out of us,” Wonshik swore he heard Taekwoon mumble a low “speak for yourself” below his breath, “but we’re fine. Just the usual adrenaline rush from a bad ghost prank.”
“That wasn’t an actress,” Hakyeon said bluntly. Assured that they were unharmed began to look around the room. Searching for anything that could be put of the ordinary. If there really was a spirit hanging around they had to be on guard. “Have any of you seen Sanghyuk anywhere?”
“What do you mean that wasn’t an actress?”
“We thought he was with you.”
Hakyeon ignored them, focusing all his energy on scoping his surroundings. He couldn’t feel anything strange, and the only living energies he was picking up where the other members. Distantly, he heard Wonshik and Hongbin briefing the other two on their predicament, but he was too lost in the ebb and flow of the spiritual energies to really pay attention. He needed to find Sanghyuk before—
There he was. Hakyeon could practically see Sanghyuk in his mind’s eye, the bright light of his energy twinkling like a small star in the darkness. He was moving down a hallway just a room or two down.
Directly towards something that was distinctly notalive.
“Hyung! Wait!”
Jaehwan’s cry went unheeded as he left the room. The thing was starting to move towards Sanghyuk now. Hakyeon gathered every ounce of magic he had, the very air around him brimming with power. If anyone could see him, he was sure his eyes were slate grey right now.
He was just outside the hallway when he heard it.
Not a gasp or a scream of terror.
But laughter. Honest to god, full out laughter.
Hakyeon screeched to a halt right at the entryway, too taken aback by what he was hearing to do anything.
Eventually the lighter trailed off into barely controlled giggles. He heard the unmistakable ring of Sanghyuk’s voice saying, “I’m sorry,” before dissolving into another fit.
“What?” Hakyeon looked back to see Wonshik mirroring his own confusion. The others piled in behind him. “What’s going on?” He received his answer in the form of Sanghyuk emerging from the hallway, arms wrapped around his stomach in a futile attempt to quell his laughter.
“I feel so bad,” he said as he wiped away a tear. “I completely ruined the joke.” He turned back to the hallway, Hakyeon was about ready to swoop in and pull him away, but all he did was bow deeply, apologetically. “I’m so sorry!” He repeated before looking back to them with a crooked grin, completely at ease.
No one said anything, unable to believe the incredulity of it all.
It was a sound from the hallway, eerily like the scrape of dragging footsteps, which snapped Hakyeon out of his daze.
“Of course you’d find this funny,” he grumbled under his breath. He reached for the sleeve of Sanghyuk’s jacket, tugging him away from the hall. “Come on, you have the flag, which means our mission is done. I want to get out of here and into a warm bed as soon as possible.”
Sanghyuk smirked that awful smirk that bespoke of endless teasing in the immediate future, but he allowed Hakyeon to guide him out. “Hey! Did you ever see the ghost you were shaking hands with earlier?” He yelled when Hakyeon swiped at his neck, ducking away from his reach to hide behind Jaehwan.
“Shut up. Let’s get out here, please. I’m sure the staff is just as eager to get home as we are.”
No extra persuasion was needed to herd them out. Sanghyuk stayed close to Jaehwan, happily recounting his solo adventure, and Jaehwan made sure to smile and nod at all the right moments. The rest chuckled lowly at his seemingly boundless energy.
Just before they left the room, Jaehwan sent Hakyeon a look over Sanghyuk’s head. Hakyeon waved it off with a deft hand; he could handle this part just fine on his own.
Once he was sure they were gone, only barely able to hear the happy lilt of Sanghyuk’s voice, Hakyeon allowed his power to wrap around him. Slate grey eyes narrowed at the figure standing at the entrance of the hall, her long, thready strands of dark hair covering her face.
“Don’t ever come near us again,” he hissed. “This is your only warning.”
The sprit didn’t answer, didn’t so much as move. Instead it dissolved into the shadows, melting away like it had never been there in the first place.
Hakyeon glared into the darkness for a little longer. It had a heaviness, a sense of foreboding that assaulted his senses with how unnatural it felt. He wanted nothing more than to leave.
When nothing else happened, he did just that.
That night, if he was a little clingier with his hugs, a little more deliberate with his touches, then they pointedly didn’t mention it.
+++++++
It was only a few weeks later when Sanghyuk would discover the truth.
To their ever-growing awe (and a little exasperation), he still remained as un-phased about spirits and demonic entities as he’d always been.
In fact, they swore it almost got worse.
+++++++
“You’re kidding me, right Hyukkie?”
“Uh.” Sanghyuk stuttered, breaking out of his doze as Jaehwan fluttered into his room completely unannounced. It was past midnight, what could he want? “No…?” he drawled, unsure what exactly he was denying. Worst came to worst, he could always find a way to pin it on Taekwoon.
“After everything we’ve gone through over the last five years, you’re telling me ghosts and demons don’t freak you out? Not even a little bit?”
Oh, he thought, they were on this again. Maybe going to watch that new horror flick was a bad decision after all.
“Nope,” he said, giving it an extra pop. “Ghosts aren’t scary and— forgive me if I’m generalizing— but every demon I’ve come across is not all they’re cracked up to be.”
Jaehwan’s nose twitched, a sign he was annoyed. “Hyukkie, I hate to break it to you, but the demons you’ve met are the exceptions to the rule. Most of them kill people.”
“And?”
“What do you mean and?”
“How is that any different from everything else we’ve come across?”
“Sanghyuk.” Oh, he wasn’t using nicknames anymore. This was serious now. “Being killed is not a good thing. Being horribly tortured before hand is even worse. Ghosts and demons do that kind of stuff.”
And Sanghyuk got it, he really did, but he was not about to back down. “Look, there are stories about the fae outright murdering people over things so petty it’s frankly baffling. So have dragons and angels and the merfolk, but you don’t see me looking over my shoulder, wondering if you guys are planning to off me in the dead of night.”
Jaehwan snorted. “You sure about that? I’m pretty sure Taekwoon falls asleep plotting various ways to get you out of his hair.”
Sanghyuk gave him a Look. “Hyung. It’s Taekwoon.”
“…Ok I’ll give you that one.” He leaned forward, narrowing his eyes. “But my point still stands; you need to stop mocking restless spirits. Hollywood may get a lot of shit wrong, but for once, those movies about hauntings and demons aren’t far off.”
Sanghyuk shrugged nonchalantly, Jaehwan had to resist the urge to strangle him. “I’m not saying being careful is a bad thing— we’ve come across enough genuinely nasty stuff to ever think otherwise, but I think hysterical paranoia is a little much.”
“Really?” Jaehwan didn’t sound convinced.
“Really. I mean people kill other people. Cats and dogs can too. Heck, so could a really dedicated duck if it put its mind to it.” He said it so simply, so logically, that Jaehwan was at a loss for how to respond because damn it all he had a point. “Ghosts and demons really aren’t that special, so why should I be any more scared of them?”
Jaehwan stared at him for a few long seconds before frowning. “I really hate it when you make sense.”
“Oh?” Sanghyuk smirked, raising a teasing eyebrow. “Did I finally make an argument so airtight that even silvertounge fae Lee Jaehwan can’t talk his way around it?”
“Don’t give yourself that much credit. Your argument is valid, but that doesn’t mean it’s right.”
“Really?”
“Brat. Just promise you won’t actively mock the spirits ok? I’d really hate to have to... you know, plan your funeral in your twenties. That shit’s expensive.”
“I make no promises.” Sanghyuk laughed at the answering look he got from Jaehwan. Riling him up was too much fun. “Ok, ok. I promise to at least try?”
“Thank you.” Without further argument, Jaehwan leaped forward and pulled back the covers, making Sanghyuk squawk as the cold air rushed in. Soon enough, Jaehwan was snuggled into his side with a happy sigh. “Now enough talking.” He threw an arm and a leg over him, trapping Sanghyuk in an embrace that was more for warmth than anything else. He dutifully ignored the hissed “heat leech” before continuing. “It’s late, I’m about to pass out, and you’re warm. So please, shut up and go to sleep.”
Sanghyuk rolled his eyes, but didn’t push his silly hyung away. Not that he could in their current position.
At least, not without hefting Jaehwan over the side of the bed. But he was in a good mood, so he allowed him to have his way.
For now.
“I told you we should have gotten that heater looked at before winter set in. I don’t know how you survive in that ice block you call a room.”
“Ah! Less talky, more sleepy.”
++++++
He knew he promised not to do it, but he just couldn’t resist. It was way too much fun.
Besides, he smiled wryly; he promised he’d try, not that he’d stop.
Sanghyuk burst through the double doors, the sharp crack of metal against plaster ringing loudly in everyone’s ears. “Hey ghouls!” he yelled fearlessly, his voice carrying down the empty halls of the abandoned building. “I hope you’re ready, because the boys are here!"
“Sanghyuk please!”