Chapter Text
Hyunjin became, unsurprisingly, a fixed part of their routines.
It's been three months since the day Hyunjin first appeared (quite literally) in Changbin and Chan's lives, and it already seemed like they were all together from the start. It wasn't hard to fall into a comfortable rhythm: Hyunjin was very curious by nature, spending almost all of his time reading books and searching the internet like Chan taught him to. He helped with the chores, proofread Changbin's essays, and even kept Chan's sleep schedule in check or talked to him when he had trouble sleeping.
Who knew ghosts could whip out some mad pancakes and even be talented in dancing? Not Changbin, that's for sure.
Their whole relationship was what Changbin thinks needed a little work, though. Changbin and Chan had been a, uh, thing, once, but they didn't work out as two, so it naturally fell apart. It wasn't as awkward now as it was just after they broke up, their friendship thankfully prevailing even after all the shit they've been through. However, Hyunjin joining their daily lives changed almost everything about their dynamic.
Changbin learned after many years of pain and repressed feelings that you should always be honest with yourself, so there was no use in denying that yes, he did have a crush on Hyunjin and yes, he didn't know what to do about it.
Chan also seemed really fond of the boy; he was, gratefully, already over the fact that Hyunjin was a ghost, not even flinching anymore when said clumsy ghost suddenly appeared from nowhere. Chan liked to cook and take care of him (of them, but the point still stands), and Changbin knew Chan very well --well enough to be scared of where this was going, because Chan had too many feelings for his own good, cared too deeply and truly about others to not end up getting hurt along the way. Hyunjin just happened to be the one currently at the receiving end of his affection.
In short: they had A Problem. And a big one at that, but that's a whole can of worms Changbin was definitely not ready to open yet.
This brought them to the present situation, where Changbin was cuddling with Hyunjin on their old couch, some random anime that he couldn’t for the life of him remember the name of playing on the big TV. He didn't even like anime that much but Hyunjin gets what Hyunjin wants and therefore here Changbin is, peacefully binge-watching the damn thing with him.
Until the loud crashing from next door scared the hell of them both, that is.
"Good lord, what the fuck do you even do in there?" Changbin screamed at the general direction of their kitchen wall, which was the one shared with their neighbors own living room. He really hoped they would hear him shouting. Changbin didn’t know what the hell they got up to that made such loud noises, but his current guess was competitive pots and pans throwing, or something like that. New sports were created all the time, so he wouldn’t be surprised.
"Are they okay?" And of course, the first thing Hyunjin did was worry about them. He's an angel like that, and Changbin definitely didn't deserve him. The whole world didn't deserve him.
"I sure hope they're not, maybe then we can get some peace and quiet." Sue him for wanting to live in a calm and serene environment. "I’d be so glad if they stopped almost giving me a heart attack with the sudden noises at random times of the day. At this rate, I’ll go bald at thirty."
Hyunjin was quiet next to him, his nose scrunched up in a cute way that made Changbin want to lean down and kiss it. What.
"Changbin hyung, am I scary?" Hyunjin asked then, eyes all big and shiny, and wow Changbin is a very weak man for this ghost. He didn't pay attention to the question though.
"I'm sorry, what did you say?"
"Am I scary?"
A snort left Changbin before he could stop it. Hyunjin was as scary as a kitten, or any other baby animal. He was probably a solid -4 on the spooky scale, which is even lower than Chan, and that's saying a lot.
"Not at all, Hyunjinnie. Why do you ask? Do you want to give me heart attacks too?" Changbin asked, turning back to the anime playing just in time to see a warrior princess of the moon (or something) transforming into her battle form, which was a car.
He turned back to Hyunjin.
"Hyunjin?"
Hyunjin was pouting so hard Changbin got a little worried that his lower lip might fall off. It was very cute, he's not going to lie. It was also a little alarming though because a pouty Hyunjin means a sulky and moody Hyunjin and that could usually mean two things: either someone ate the last Chocopie or Changbin fucked up again. He's betting on the latter.
"It's just that...I'm a ghost, you know? I'm supposed to be scary." Hyunjin whined (cutely) and kicked his legs a little (also cutely). Honestly, there's literally no way Hyunjin could be even slightly scary in this lifetime. Deathtime? Whatever, you get the point.
"Hey, it's okay. You know Chan's not your typical vampire either." Changbin tried, bumping his shoulders lightly into Hyunjin’s.. "And we like him anyway, right? It's the same with you, Hyunjinnie."
His poor excuse of comforting words were bound to fail because Chan is lame and comparing Hyunjin to him was probably not a good idea. Changbin's not surprised when Hyunjin's pout grew even more. This is becoming ridiculous -- they’re in a Serious Situation right now but Hyunjin’s lips are very plump and Changbin was having a lot of trouble concentrating.
"But I want to be scary!"
"Sorry, you're way too cute to do that," Changbin said with a little laugh and a pat on Hyunjin's head. He didn’t want to give the boy some false hope, you know? But that quickly proved to be a Terrible Idea (Changbin had a lot of those) because Hyunjin's eyes immediately pooled with tears and he vanished into thin air, probably very mad at Changbin.
"Hyunjin?" Changbin called his name, still feeling his presence on the couch but not being able to see him. "Jinnie, I'm sorry, hyung didn't mean that."
Changbin sighed, looking at the ceiling. He's such an idiot. "Please don't disappear?" He tried again, receiving only silence as an answer.
It was useless --he knows he hurt Hyunjin's feelings, and that's totally how you should treat the person you have a crush on, right? Changbin sighed again.
He'll have to talk to Chan.
------
It takes Changbin three full days to come up with a plan. He and Chan met in a café right after the whole Hyunjin Spooky Accident (as Changbin's calling it) happened, so they could discuss damage control without the possibility of Hyunjin overhearing it. Hyunjin had been missing since that day, but they knew he couldn’t actually leave the apartment, so he’s there. Somewhere.
It was also kind of easy to spot him sometimes: he always bumped on things scattered around their living room and Chan saw their PS4 controller floating in the air one time, but Hyunjin still refused to make himself visible to them. Who knew ghosts could be so stubborn?
So, seeing the situation wasn’t going away on itself, Changbin and Chan came up with an idea.
Changbin knew Hyunjin was still sleeping in his room these days, and that was a vital part of his plan. On the following night, close to bedtime, Chan left to the library to search for some music theory books he wanted, and Changbin deemed it the perfect time to execute his scheme. He called Chan on the phone just like they planned at the café beforehand, talking louder than necessary so Hyunjin could hear him even if he was in another room.
"I wish you were here, man. Without Hyunjin’s presence, I'm so easily scared when I go to sleep." Changbin sighed, clearly acting, and Chan laughed at him on the phone. "I’d probably freak out if I even saw my own shadow. I just hope no ghosts come out to scare me tonight." It didn’t sound convincing at all. There was a reason he was a musician, not an actor.
Just as Changbin predicted, Hyunjin acted as soon as he finished his sentence. Hyunjin dropped Gyu from where the plushie was placed on his highest shelf and Changbin fake-screamed so loud he thought he could rival their neighbors. He should be getting an award for this.
"H-Hyunjin? Is that you? This isn't funny!" It was very funny, actually, but Changbin will be damned if he laughed and ruined the whole thing now that it's working perfectly.
It was a bit hard not to roll his eyes at Hyunjin’s attempt, though. The ghost was so clumsy that Changbin knew exactly where he was when he started to approach the bed --he tripped on a stray shoe on the floor and hit what was probably his knee on Changbin's dresser, letting out a hiss. Changbin let it slide in order to keep the act going.
Hyunjin suddenly made himself visible and jumped on him, Changbin actually startling for a moment at the unexpected attack. He let out a gasp and a very manly scream right after, scrambling to get out of bed. If Chan asked, he'd never admit that 50% of his reaction was completely legit.
"Hyunjin!" His voice broke a little, and that was also not part of his acting skills. "Holy hell, you scared the soul out of me."
Hyunjin was too busy giggling on the bed, his face scrunched up in an endearing way. Changbin was so, so whipped. He’d fake being scared for the rest of his life if it meant the ghost would be happy like this all the time.
"Your face was so funny, hyung!"
Changbin got back on the bed and started tickling Hyunjin, making the boy squeal and squirm around trying to throw Changbin off of him. He was surprisingly strong for a ghost --or Changbin was just small, that was a possibility too. Changbin stopped when Hyunjin was already out of breath and with tears in his eyes from laughing, kneeling on the bed and watching as the ghost recomposed himself.
"How did you get so good at this? Did you read a book on how to scare people or something?" Changbin asked, pretending to be shocked. The second phase of the plan was praising Hyunjin for scaring him, as a sort of positive reinforcement. They knew very well how much he preened under compliments.
"No..." Hyunjin turned his gaze to the comforter on the bed, cheeks reddening.
"Oh? So I guess you're just that talented in scaring people."
"Am I? Really?" Hyunjin was looking at him so earnestly that it made Changbin's insides melt a little. It sounded like he couldn’t believe he was getting praised for being scary. He wasn’t scary, though, but that was not the point.
"Well, my heart is beating really fast right now, so yeah I think you’re definitely very scary." It was beating fast for a whole other reason though. Changbin grabbed Hyunjin's hand and placed it in his chest anyway. "Can you feel it?"
"Yeah!" Hyunjin giggled again, proud of his accomplishment. "I'm sorry though."
"It's fine, baby. Let's make a deal, okay?" Hyunjin's cheek flared with red at the pet name and Changbin mentally slapped himself for letting it slide. That was what he sometimes called Hyunjin in his mind, it wasn’t supposed to slip out. He kept talking like nothing happened and he didn't just call Hyunjin "baby". "We'll make a "scare board" for you, and every time you manage to scare either me or Chan we'll give you a golden star so you can glue it there, and show it to others, okay? Sounds good?"
The "scare board" idea was, of course, Chan's. It sounded stupid and childish at first but after a few minutes of discussing it, they decided it might not be so bad. They didn't have any close friends they could invite over and introduce Hyunjin so the ghost probably wouldn't have anyone to show his golden stars to, but it's the thought that counts, right?
"Yeah!! I have so many ideas, hyung, but I'm not telling!" Hyunjin sounded so excited that Changbin was actually a little apprehensive now. He could certainly expect a lot of jumpscares from now on. What if the plan backfired and Hyunjin became actually scary?
"Okay, I won't pry. Just try not to do it too regularly, or you'll end up killing us." Wait, that didn't sound right. "Killing me, actually, because Chan is already dead. You get the point, though."
They both smiled at each other until a loud banging on the neighbor's wall scared them both and made Hyunjin grab Changbin for dear life.
"FUCKING HELL!"