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Daehwi trudged forward as he left Youngmin’s car parked a few meters away from the gigantic gates of this old, run-down, abandoned-for-many-years mansion that stood in the middle of the forest restricted from the public. He could hear the snickers from Youngmin’s car, but Woojin’s voice stood out. He glanced back at the car, and saw everyone either giving him a thumbs up or simply watching his every move with an amused face.
“I can’t believe you’re making me do this, you bunch of assholes!” Daehwi barked, his voice booming around the place which seemed to startle the night creatures surrounding the place.
“Was that a fucking crow?” he could hear Woojin cry from the car.
“No, that was an owl, you moron,” Donghyun replied, smacking the younger at the back of the head, concealing the obviously scared look on the former’s face.
Youngmin laughed. “You’re gonna be okay, right? I mean you’re the Lee Daehwi.”
“Do you seriously think I’m okay with this whole thing, hyung? If I die tonight, I’m haunting you in your dreams first,” Daehwi replied, annoyance clear in his voice.
“Stop exaggerating. I know you’ve seen and experienced worse,” Daehwi hated how correct Youngmin was. It was true that he’s seen someone- or should he call it something?- worse than anything other people claimed to be the spookiest unhuman like beings on Earth. He even guessed that the rumored headless lady lurking around the equally dead mansion, which made it the hot talk of the town every Halloween, was absolutely nothing compared to the thing he saw last week at his co-worker’s condominium.
He chose not to imagine the thing again.
“Yeah, you’d probably even find the ghost’s face so funny,” Woojin high-fived Youngmin, leaving Donghyun as confused as ever.
Donghyung glanced at them. “Guys, what do you mean by that?”
Although the four of them are the bestest friends everyone has ever known, Daehwi couldn’t get to tell Donghyun what he’s capable of seeing because he knows that the latter loathes anything that had to do with ghosts, spirits, spooky mansions, or people that can see everything. Youngmin and Woojin only snickered before ignoring Donghyun’s question.
“It means that ya’ll should go fuck yourselves for making me do this,” Daehwi scoffed, taking off the itchy horn headband and threw it at the ground.
“Ah, I should stitch that filthy mouth of yours. Should we leave already? I’m getting weird vibes in this place,” Donghyun visibly shivered and claimed it was because of some weird energy around him but Daehwi only casted him an annoyed look because there was nothing around them. In fact, it was just the cold night breeze making him shiver.
Youngmin pushed Donghyun aside so he could clearly see Daehwi from the driver’s seat. “Daehwi, you gotta do this just for one night okay? I swear this is going to be the last time we’re asking you to stay in a haunted mansion. Just promise you won’t bring anything with you when you come back home.”
“Hyung, please just leave. I’m getting annoyed at you already.”
“Awe, I love you too, kid!”
“Don’t get too bored with the ghosts there!” Woojin bellowed.
Youngmin, Woojin, and Donghyun all said their encouragements to Daehwi before driving out of the woods, leaving poor Daehwi by himself in this murderous looking mansion. Adjusting the strap of the plastic black wings attached to his shoulders as part of his get-up from their Halloween party earlier that night, he sighed and eyed the mansion one more time. To say that it was scary was an understatement. It literally looked like those mansions seen in every cliché horror movies but then again, he can’t back out since he’s known as someone who sticks to what he’s dared to do.
He was only dared to stay inside the said mansion for a whole night. Nothing out of ordinary, right? Daehwi pushed the gates open, its creaking, rusty sound resonating around the area. He didn’t have that much trouble making his way inside the mansion since he had his phone with him, using its flashlight to navigate around the area. As per usual, the interior was like any other mansion you see in movies, except that ghosts were disappointingly not present like what he had expected.
He roamed around the area and to the rooms in the second level, looking for a place where he could stay for the whole night. Silence was what welcomed him in every area he went to. No weird footsteps, no whispering of something along with the lines “I’m gonna drag you to hell” or maybe “Get out”, no strange writings on the wall, no rocking chairs moving by itself (not that the mansion had one), no possessed dolls holding a knife, no ghosts jumping out of the closet— in other words, the whole thing about the haunted mansion was a lie, in fact it was boring. Daehwi then decided that everything he heard from people about rare sightings of the headless lady in black or the child still waiting for his headless mother in his room was bullshit.
Daehwi steps inside the last room on the left in the second floor. It was the only room that has a decent looking bed that he thought he can sleep on. He scanned the whole room using his phone’s flashlight to make sure there weren’t any big rats or cockroaches around the bed area and slowly reached for the lamp’s switch to light up the whole room.
Daehwi thought his soul left his body when he all of a sudden noticed a dark figure sitting on the other side of the bed. He had his back on Daehwi, head lowered like what a son would do after being scolded by his mother. Daehwi cursed out loud, almost stepping on the small rat squeaking on the floor as he moved back, hitting his elbow on the bedside table on the process when he fell on his butt. He hissed in pain and held his throbbing elbow. He looked up and the figure was nowhere to be found.
Ah, I’m getting crazy. Daehwi only laughed at himself, and thought that he was probably imagining things. He turned around, ready to push himself off the floor, when he noticed a pair of black school shoes in front of him. He traced the figure and came face to face with a tall boy wearing a uniform from a school he recognized from his own town. He was staring back at Daehwi, confusion present on his small face, as the latter sighed in relief.
“Fucking hell, you scared me to death!” Daehwi squeaked, pushing himself from the moldy wooden floor. “I thought you were a ghost for a second! Damn you, I almost broke my elbow!”
“You could see me?” The boy asked Daehwi, astonishment present in his voice.
Daehwi huffed. “Yes, because I have eyes. What are you even doing here in the darkness? You nearly gave me a heart attack earlier!” Daehwi put a hand on his chest to calm his beating heart from the utter surprise before moving to pat the dust off the bed. “Oh, wait. Are you also here because of some bet with your friends? I, too, am a victim of that. I’m tasked to stay here for the whole night. Halloween parties really are the shittiest,” he continued and sat down.
The boy only stared at him. “What? Am I right? Or do you think I’m a ghost trying to be friendly with you?” Daehwi couldn’t hide that fact that he felt so relieved that he could possibly spend the night with this cute boy—definitely not a ghost or an evil spirit, thank God— instead of wallowing himself with silence and boredom. Did I call him cute? Daehwi shook the thought away from his mind.
“I’m the ghost here,” was the boy’s only reply. Daehwi almost snorted and looked at the boy in front of him. He looks nothing like a ghost if his healthy looking skin and think brown hair styled perfectly on top of his head, sparkling eyes under the orange light from the lamp, and pink, plump lips, were any indications. He even looked more human than Daehwi with his neat uniform.
Daehwi gave the stranger a once-over, ignoring the boy’s previous reply. “What the fuck are you supposed to be?” Daehwi questioned.
The boy shrugged. “Uh…myself?”
“And that’s supposed to be scary?”
“I’m a scary person.”
“And I’m straight,” Daehwi deadpanned, looking at the boy straight in the eyes. The latter was obviously caught off guard and was later replaced by a confused look on his face at the former’s out-of-blue statement. “Oh, I thought we were stating lies.” Daehwi couldn’t hide the fact that the school boy was extremely cute.
“Do you normally say something like that to strangers?”
“Nope. Only when I’m bored,” Daehwi yawned. “Look, I hope the two of us will get along since it seemed like we’re both here because of some bet. You can stay here if your comfortable with sharing a room with me, or you could…I don’t know, find another room? I’ve decided to stay here so if you’ll excuse me, I need to get some sleep so I have enough energy to strangle my friends when I get back.”
The boy moved to sit on the opposite side of the bed, not caring about the dust and cobwebs he was sitting on. “You really talk too much and you’re giving me a headache. I didn’t even know ghosts could get headaches.”
“Well, you have to get used to it because you’re spending the whole night with me.”
“Who said I’m spending the night with you here?”
“Then leave. The door is wide open for you.”
“Can you keep quiet for a second? My ears are ringing.”
Daehwi craned his neck so he could see the boy clearly. He decided not to answer the boy for a while, silence and the faded chirping of crickets enveloped the whole place. “So what’s your deal? You’ve been telling me that you’re a ghost. I mean, no offense but I look more like a ghost than you do.”
“What you are supposed to be then?”
Daehwi glanced at his cheap black outfit and wings. “Eh, I don’t know. A cross breed between a vampire and an angel I think?”
“Are they even a thing?” The boy eyed his black wings. “I mean, a vampire and an angel?”
“Hey, at least I’m trying to look scary unlike you who thought wearing your school uniform was scary,” Daehwi rolled his eyes. “You could’ve dressed up as your report card. That shit’s pretty scary.”
“I’m an A+ plus student,” the boy immediately replied. Daehwi stopped dusting off the dust from the bed sheets and gave him a stinky eye.
Daehwi turned off the flashlight and set down his phone on the table beside the king-sized bed. He took a quick glance on the boy who stayed still from his spot, his eyes not leaving Daehwi’s as if he’s searching for something. Daehwi shifted and cleared his throat. “As what I’ve said before, you could stay here if you want or maybe find another room if you’re more comfortable with probably spending the night with the rumored headless lady or her child.”
“They don’t exist,” he deadpanned.
Daehwi lifted an eyebrow and turned his body to fully face the unknown boy, an amused smile slowly creeping on the former’s face. “Oh, what do you know?”
“I’ve been living here for the past year, Mr. Vampire-who-looks-nothing-like-a-vampire—“
“Hey! My looks were supposed to look like an angel—“
The boy let out an audible sigh. “Are you going to ignore what I just said? I just told you that I’ve been living here for a year now. You’re supposed to get creeped out, or I don’t know, leave the mansion screaming?”
Daehwi, the boy who was known as someone who could see all the unhuman creatures of darkness, grew tired at this healthy-looking boy’s confession of being a ghost. The former thought there was no way he was a ghost. With a defeated sigh, he said: “Okay. Whatever. Just prove it to me then.”
Just like that, the boy stood up from his spot on the bed and began walking to the other side of the room and much to Daehwi’s horror—eh, not really—he watched the boy walking through the brick wall that had become blackened with age. The boy disappeared without any trace and Daehwi had the urge to laugh at himself because he can’t believe that for the very first time since forever, he had a civil conversation with something like him.
It was a new thing for Daehwi to actually hold a long conversation with them and he suddenly felt stupid for not believing him in the first place.
But…he doesn’t look dead to me.
“You’re still here?” Daehwi felt a shiver down his spine when the boy whispered on Daehwi’s right ear out of nowhere.
“Holy—hey! Don’t ever do that again!” Daehwi cried in absolute surprise with his hands rubbing his ear and watched the boy—or ghost for that matter—watching him from beside the table.
“I told you I’m a ghost.”
“But you don’t look like one to me!” Daehwi threw his hands in the air in disbelief. “I mean, you’re supposed to be…transparent? Normal ghosts are supposed to be transparent and can’t stay in the same room as humans for more than 10 minutes! Let alone hold long conversations with us! Ghosts can’t….talk?”
“What about in the movies? Ghosts can talk to people.”
“They’re all bullshit. They create anything that might catch the public’s attention and to tell you the truth, everything they made about ghosts, spirits, demons, angels and the like are all false.” Daehwi shook his head because he’s getting out of the topic and continued, “And you’re not an evil spirit either because they are ugly, with their mouths wide open, raven black eyes and pale skin! And they’re pure evil. I mean, you’re…you’re not a ghost!”
“Well, maybe I’m a new type of ghost? I’m not really sure about this whole thing but maybe you just found a new type?”
“That’s bullshit.”
“Are you telling me that you’re an expert about beings like me?” The boy questioned, slowly walking to Daehwi’s spot in which the latter moved back in reflex.
“No. But I’ve seen a lot of things but not something like you.”
The boy stopped walking, or maybe hovering was the right word, and stared at Daehwi in confusion. “Nope. You probably missed a new type of ghost that could talk and bicker with humans.”
“Again, that’s bullshit.”
“Well it makes more sense to me,” Daehwi eyed the boy, slowly accepting the fact that maybe he did miss this kind of ghost before. Maybe this school boy is a new type of ghost or spirit or whatever he is that doesn’t look like the typical ugly-looking creatures of the darkness. But at least to Daehwi, the boy looks so real, like your typical young boy who was also dared to stay inside the haunted mansion for some giggles.
It seemed like he wasn’t talking—or bickering— with a ghost.
“What’s your name?”
“I’m Jinyoung. Bae Jinyoung.”
It was almost three am when Daehwi felt the atmosphere of the room grew colder. He could hear the rustling of the leaves and the branch of the tree tapping on the window outside. The squeaking of the rats became more audible from underneath the wooden floor, with the cockroaches and other insects crawling on his body making his skin and the inside of his stomach shudder in disgust.
Daehwi cursed because being crawled on by these filthy insects felt worse than actually seeing a ghost or spirit that goes by name of Bae Jinyoung. Daehwi was lying on the bed, his black coat underneath him because the dust on the bed just wouldn’t come off. He looked around and the boy, Bae Jinyoung, was nowhere to be found.
After hours of talking, since Daehwi was absolutely curious about Jinyoung’s case, he found out that Jinyoung isn’t entirely dead. Jinyoung had told him that his body was in a coma for the past 2 years because of a car accident that happened when he and his friends decided that it would be fun to steal his dad’s car and drive around the neighborhood without adult supervision. None of them were professional drivers, and soon enough they found themselves driving in the highway in the middle of the night.
Jinyoung said it was a very thrilling experience, being able to do the things he wasn’t supposed to with his friends but unfortunately that fun, rebellious night turned into a tragedy when his friend lost control of the car and hit the incoming 18 wheeler truck from the other side of the road. Jinyoung, being the person sitting in the passenger seat, was the one who got extremely injured given the fact that the truck hit the right side of the car.
Everyone was badly injured, though Jinyoung was the only one who was fighting for his dear life. His friends only got broken bones and multiples stitches, and he…well, he got a serious head injury and has been in a coma for the past 2 years.
It was even a miracle that he got to survive the accident because everyone thought he or even his friends would die from such tragedy. But now that the miracle happened, all they have to do right now is wait for Jinyoung to wake up from being half dead.
It was supposed to be a very memorable night because it was his graduation day after all. Surely it became something the people around him wouldn’t forget, but not for the reason they’d hope for.
Jinyoung was full of regrets but he can’t do anything to correct what they did that night. Being in a coma gave Jinyoung’s spirit the ability to roam around Earth. Daehwi had asked him about the reason why he’s been living in this haunted mansion for a year and the latter only replied that he found the place nice because it was quiet and away from noisy people.
“I’m a naturally loud person, you know,” Daehwi commented halfway through Jinyoung’s explanation.
“Yeah, I could tell. You even gave me a headache earlier. But to be honest, it was refreshing for me to feel that again after such a long time,” Jinyoung chuckled, playing with Daehwi’s plastic black wings that left lying on the floor.
“And you’re wrong by the way.”
“About what?”
“About you being a ghost, Jinyoung. You’re just a spirit who has the ability to roam around because you can’t move on into the afterlife. Because you’re not dead,” Daehwi smiled.
The hospital was so full of people crying over their dead loved ones, and of course spirits lurking around every corner of the place, and the sight and sound made Jinyoung’s head ache. The mansion was the complete opposite of the hospital and he only goes there when he feels like visiting his own body and his family taking care of them there.
It was a sad truth but Jinyoung thought it still wasn’t his time and he’ll probably roam for another year or two.
“Oh, still not sleeping?” Daehwi heard Jinyoung asked from the other side of the bed.
“You’re back,” the younger got into a sitting position and faced Jinyoung. “I really can’t sleep. The bed’s too gross. How about you?”
“We don’t sleep, Daehwi.”
“Oh,” Daehwi mentally smacked his head. Of course they don’t sleep, you moron!
“Yeah.”
“So how’s your visit in the hospital? Did the doctor say anything about your condition?” He could hear Jinyoung’s tired sigh and he watched the latter crossing his legs and playing with his fingers.
“I’m still in a coma. Nothing new. I just went there because I wanted to see my parents.”
Daehwi could feel the heavy tug in his chest and he felt bad at Jinyoung that he had to suffer like this at a very young age. It was his first time meeting a spirit that isn’t from a dead person so Daehwi felt sadder at the fact that Jinyoung’s probably not going to wake up very soon—or not at all.
That possibility made Daehwi shudder.
“Do you miss them? Your family I mean,” Daehwi glanced at Jinyoung whose facial expression turned into something Daehwi couldn’t quite fathom.
“More than anything in this world. I miss them so much. And it really hurts me to see them crying every night because of me,” his eyes remained on Daehwi, fixed and unblinking. That was when the younger caught the strong emotions in his eyes, hoe much he missed his own family. In just a few seconds, Jinyoung shook his head and replaced the sullen look on his face with a comical one. “Ah, I shouldn’t say anything like this. I don’t want to sound like an emo ghost to you. God, that image does not suit me at all.”
“Spirit.”
“What?”
“You’re a spirit, you moron.”
“Right. Sorry, emo spirit it is!” Daehwi decided not to push Jinyoung further. He knew Jinyoung wanted to say more, but he’s somewhat hesitating given the fact that he just met Daehwi.
“Hey, Daehwi.”
He glanced at Jinyoung. “Yeah?”
“Do you think I could still remember everything when I wake up from a coma?” Jinyoung had a hopeful look on his face as he searched for answers in Daehwi’s eyes. He knew Daehwi’s not like any other person because he had the ability to see everything a normal person couldn’t and he hoped that maybe, just maybe, Daehwi would be able to answer the questions he had ever since he started roaming around.
“I-I’m entirely not sure about that, Jinyoung,” he sighed. “Only time could tell.”
Daehwi honestly had a good time with Jinyoung during his whole stay in the mansion, just talking about their own experiences may it be about Jinyoung’s first time walking through a wall or Daehwi’s encounter with an evil spirit last week that left him sleepless for a few nights. Jinyoung was kind of annoying the first time they met but Daehwi was able to take a glimpse of Jinyoung’s real self as he found the latter joking and making fun of himself and Daehwi like what friends normally do.
It was as if they’ve known each other for years.
Daehwi thought it was odd for him to actually feel like he doesn’t want to live the mansion. He wanted to stay more so he could listen more to Jinyoung’s stories on how he thought his mother saw him sitting in the corner of his hospital room, he wanted to assure Jinyoung that he’ll wake up soon, and that everything would be okay. He even thought that maybe he was feeling like this because it was his first time encountering a spirit of a person in a coma.
Daehwi didn’t get a wink of sleep that night, but he wasn’t complaining because he really enjoyed Jinyoung’s company. When morning came, it was time for Daehwi to say goodbye to his new friend and go back to his shared apartment with Woojin, Youngmin, and Donghyun.
He was already at the door when Jinyoung handed him his coat and flashed a small smile. “I hate to admit this but I really enjoyed talking to you, Daehwi. It was my first time talking to someone without anyone screaming so thank you so much.”
Daehwi put on his coat and waved his hand dismissively. “It’s nothing. I could say the same thing to you Jinyoung. And it’s time for me to get back to reality and I hope you’ll really wake up soon.”
Jinyoung shoved his hands inside his trousers pockets and dramatically sighed, “Eh, I’m not sure about it. I probably wouldn’t wake up anymore. I mean, I’ve tried every method possible but I just can’t seem to wake up.” The sadness in Jinyoung’s voice wanted Daehwi to reach out for him, give his hand or shoulder a reassuring squeeze and tell him that everything would be fine, but then he remembered that he couldn’t touch him.
“Hey, don’t say things like that,” Daehwi smiled.
“It’s like I’ve completely given up on that thought already.”
“Hey, Jinyoung, don’t be too negative about your condition,” Daehw sighed. “I think you just have to be more serious about it. I mean, you need to have a much stronger desire to live, a much stronger reason for you to hold on to your life. You can’t just lie down on your body and hope for you to finally wake up. You need to have a stronger desire for you to really wake up, in your own body. Maybe think about your parents or how much you really want to hug them, or touch them and talk to them. Or perhaps the person you like? Let it be the reason for you to wake up, Jinyoung.”
Jinyoung observed Daehwi, or how genuine the younger look while saying those very meaningful words. Daehwi was right. Jinyoung was on the verge of giving up everything and just ask whoever’s in charged in taking away souls to just take him to end his misery. He forgot to actually think about how much he really wants to wake up and not let those negative thoughts consume his mind. His parents are more than enough reason for him to live.
But maybe another reason wouldn’t hurt, right?
“Hey Daehwi,” Jinyoung raked his fingers through his fingers, his eyes looking at his shiny black shoes for a moment. “Is it too weird to ask if I could come with you?” Daehwi only looked at him before he continued, “I mean, just visit your place for a while. I promise I won’t stay long.”
Jinyoung expected Daehwi to get freaked out that a spirit just asked him to come with him like it’s not a weird thing but much to his surprise, the latter only chuckled and said, “Ah, I get that question a lot—“
“From something like me?”
“Yeah, except those aren’t really questions. They just aggressively follow me in my apartment and I had to call Youngmin hyung to help me get rid of them,” Daehwi sniggered, remembering the child who followed him to his apartment, and even to his room. “But yeah, I could consider that but you have to promise me one thing.”
Jinyoung’s eyes lit up and nodded his head enthusiastically. “You see, my friends and I are sharing this apartment and I would really appreciate it if you don’t ever show whatever abilities you have in my apartment and please, make sure you won’t make Donghyun hyung piss on his pants because he easily gets scared.”
The child Daehwi encountered last time was not really a problem at first but it got so attached to him that he follows Daehwi everywhere he goes. The child still doesn’t know how to control himself so he sometimes ended up accidentally knocking things over, and being a child meant that he had his own way of having fun and apparently staring at Donghyun through the mirror was one of them. Daehwi chose not to think more of what happened after that.
“I promise that,” Jinyoung smiled. “And I honestly didn’t expect you would agree with it.”
“I agreed because you asked nicely.”
“Thank you, Daehwi.”
“Okay, Bae Jinyoung. Let’s head to my lovely apartment.”
Daehwi could feel Jinyoung lightly tugging on his coat when they got out of the elevator inside Daehwi’s apartment building. He could tell that Jinyoung was nervous meeting his friends—not that it really mattered because his three friends couldn’t see him. But he understood Jinyoung because it was basically his first time mingling with people. Daehwi glanced at him with a side smile and both got out when they reached Daehwi’s floor.
“Asking you was a bad idea. I shouldn’t have come. I’d probably make a mistake in your apartment like knocking a vase down, or a frame or worse, scaring your friend and piss himself,” Daehwi wanted to laugh out loud at that but he stopped himself because he doesn’t want people monitoring the CCTVs to think that he’s gone crazy already for talking to himself.
“Don’t tell Donghyun hyung that I told you that. He’s gonna be real mad at me.”
“As if I could communicate with him,” Jinyoung replied with a ‘duh’ tone. “Plus, I don’t want to scare him or any of your friends. What if they come out with holy water? What if they drive me out of your apartment with some demonic chant and—“
Daehwi abruptly stopped walking to stare at him with tired eyes. “Stop overthinking, Jinyoung. And it’s okay, everything’s gonna be fine. My friends are definitely not doing that. Plus, it’s not like you’re staying here forever,” Daehwi tried hard not to move mouth that much as they both walked past a CCTV facing Daehwi’s apartment door. He knocked on his door and waited for anyone to open it. Jinyoung and Daehwi were silent as they listened to the sound of footsteps and a faint laugh of someone from the other side of the door.
The door finally opened and revealed Youngmin who looked like he just got out of shower. “Oh, hey, Daehwi! Congratulations for completing your task!” He greeted and Daehwi just flashed him a small, sarcastic smile. Youngmin stepped aside and let the younger get in, the latter placing his shoes on the show rack and lingered in his spot for a while expecting for Jinyoung to follow. Youngmin moved to the kitchen and offered Daehwi a hot cup of chocolate. “I shouldn’t be surprised but damn Daehwi, you survived that creepy mansion!”
“What am I getting as a prize? I want that new gaming laptop Donghyun hyung kept on talking about. Just letting you know.”
“I’m definitely giving you reward but not that laptop, Daehwi. I’m too broke for that,” Youngmin shook his head. “By the way, what happened?”
Daehwi plopped down on the couch and rested his legs on the coffee table. “Hyung, you wouldn’t believe what happened to me last night. I met a—“ Daehwi glanced around and much to his surprise, Jinyoung was nowhere to be found, “—nevermind. I’m extremely worn out.”
“Did someone say Daehwi?” Woojin appeared from his room and plopped down beside him. “You don’t look like you just stayed in the creepiest place in the whole town though. What really happened last night?”
Youngmin took a seat on the love chair beside Daehwi and rested his chin on his palms. “Yeah, it almost look like you stayed at a five star hotel.”
“I met a spirit last night,” Daehwi immediately replied, eyes scanning the whole area for Donghyun’s presence. (And of course for Jinyoung, but it seemed like he was missing too.) There’s no way he would mention what really happened last night in front of his hyung.
Woojin rested his arm on the back of the couch. “Daehwi you met them all the time. What makes it different this time?”
“He’s not actually dead. He’s just in a coma for two years and his spirit’s been roaming around for quite a while now,” Daehwi answered and both Woojin and Youngmin nodded their head in understanding, or amazement— Daehwi wasn’t entirely sure which one.
“Woah, that really is a thing?”
“Yes, apparently. And I’m actually amazed that I’ve finally met one, Youngmin hyung! Plus, beings like him are just like us. They can communicate with me, and they don’t look hideous. I mean, they look exactly like humans. Like us,” the younger explained and his eyes landed on Donghyun who got out of his own room, obviously looking like he just woke up.
“Good morning, Daehwi. How’s your stay?” he greeted, eyes still half closed.
“Eh, it was nice I suppose?” Daehwi shrugged and Youngmin gave him an encouraging look. “Usual stuff happened to me, Donghyun hyung.”
“Ah, what a bummer. I was actually expecting some cool stories from your scary adventure,” Donghyun took a sip of milk from his cup and leaned on the countertop.
“Hyung, you wouldn’t want to hear Daehwi’s stories. The last time you did, you actually piss on your pants!” Woojin laughed and high-fived both Youngmin and Daehwi.
“That was one time, you brat! And we agreed to never mention that again! Ugh. I hate this family,” he gulped down the milk and dramatically walked out of the kitchen and to his room, leaving the other three boys laughing to themselves.
“Yah, leave poor Donghyun hyung alone, Woojin!”
“But Daehwi, you didn’t bring anything with you right?” The youngest turned to look at Youngmin on his left, who had a knowing look on his face. He did mention about not bringing anything with him the other night and Daehwi doesn’t know if he should tell the truth or not. But then again, none of his friends had the ability that he possessed.
He scanned the whole area once again, confused and a bit disappointed that Jinyoung decided to ditch him because of his fear of mingling with other people. “Don’t worry hyung. I don’t have anything or anyone with me right now.”
The sliver of moonlight seeped through Daehwi’s glass windows, casting shadows of his favorite cat figurine and cactus he placed on the window sill. He stared at the figurine on his right, the book in his hands completely ignored. Thoughts of Jinyoung and his whereabouts consumed Daehwi’s mind, slightly making the latter annoyed that his new friend didn’t even bother telling him what his plan was.
Two days have already passed and Daehwi still haven’t seen Jinyoung since that day. He doesn’t know if he decided to ditch the whole plan of visiting Daehwi’s apartment or if his spirit got called by whatever’s in charged so he could finally wake up from a coma.
With a deep sigh, Daehwi closed the book he’s been reading and turned off the lamp. “Who cared about that spirit, anyways?” he grumbled and readied himself to sleep.
Right when he turned his back on the wall, the blanket perfectly covering his small frame, he saw Jinyoung’s figure sitting on his bed still dressed in his perfectly ironed school uniform, eyes boring onto Daehwi’s like he was ready to watch the latter sleep. Daehwi jumped up from his bed with a cry, his hands holding his chest in surprise.
“Jinyoung! You should’ve made a noise when you got here! Jesus, you’re doing great at scaring people,” Daehwi said with an uneven breathing and looked at Jinyoung still staring at him. “Did you come here after missing for two days to watch me sleep?” He pushed the blanket off from him and stood up with a grumble to turn on the lights. Jinyoung stayed still, his head occasionally moving from left to right as if he’s in a very deep thought.
“Yah, you okay there?” Daehwi drag the chair from his study area to the spot right in front of Jinyoung’s figure, though the latter had his back on Daehwi, and carefully sat. “Did something happen while you were away?”
“Daehwi,” Jinyoung started, eyes staring at the younger’s pillow on the bed. “It feels strange.”
“What feels strange, Jinyoung?”
“I didn’t feel anything when I overheard the doctors telling my mom that I wouldn’t last long,” he breathed and slowly turned around to look at Daehwi’s eyes. What the younger noticed was the blank expression on Jinyoung’s face as he said that. It was like he was saying nothing out of the ordinary, as if he was merely talking how his day normally went. That alarmed Daehwi because through his voice and eyes, he could tell Jinyoung lost the life in it.
“What do you mean you wouldn’t last long, Jinyoung?” Daehwi demanded.
“I don’t know, Daehwi. All I heard was that my body’s already rejecting the IVs and antibiotics they’ve been injecting to my body. I don’t know shit about medical stuff but I think that was serious,” Jinyoung’s eyes still bore onto Daehwi’s and raked his fingers through his hair. Daehwi kept silent, patiently waiting for Jinyoung to continue. “I’m supposed to cry now, right? I mean, I’m going to die. I’ll be gone in a few weeks or days, Daehwi.”
Daehwi felt his breath hitched, feeling like someone just punched his guts. He just met Jinyoung a few days ago but he somehow felt attached to this poor spirit and the thought of Jinyoung dying soon made his insides turn upside down. He doesn’t want Jinyoung to die, he knew he still had so much things he wanted to do once he wakes up from the coma. He knew Jinyoung still wanted to live.
Daehwi wanted to console him but he doesn’t know what exactly what to know, not wanting to upset this spirit more. Jinyoung looked up at Daehwi through his bangs for the nth time that night, eyes searching for answers in his unspoken questions.
“Hey, Daehwi.”
“Hmm?”
“Do you think everything’s going to be alright?”
With a smile, Daehwi replied, “Everything’s going to be alright, Jinyoung.”
“I bought your favorite vanilla scented candle, book, and snacks. I don’t know why you wanted me to buy this. I mean, you can’t eat for pete’s sake!” Daehwi exclaimed, stuffing the mentioned things onto his backpack. It was the day Jinyoung wanted to come with him to the hospital to visit his body, for Daehwi to finally see Jinyoung’s body in a coma. At first he was a bit hesitant with the whole plan, thinking that Jinyoung’s family might feel weird that a new kid will be claiming to be their son’s friend, but the latter somehow managed to convince him to give him some time of the day.
“I’ll only end up eating these instead,” he continued.
Alas, Daehwi was done packing for his short visit, a bit nervous to say the least.
“Great way trying to rub it in my face that I can no longer eat my fave snacks,” Daehwi attempted to hit Jinyoung with his slippers—not that he could—when he heard Youngmin clearing his throat from the door leading to the kitchen.
“Were you talking to someone, Daehwi?” the oldest inquired, eyes turning into tiny slits as the youngest pretended to catch some nonexistent flies in their kitchen.
“What do you mean, hyung?” Daehwi once and for all wanted to smack Jinyoung’s small face because the latter kept on snickering and making a face at Youngmin. Jinyoung can sometimes become so childish. “Will you stop it? You’re making things worse.”
“Daehwi,” Youngmin called with a hint of authority in his voice. “I know that look. You can’t fool me anymore, you moron. I told you not to bring anything with you when you come back here.”
“Did he just call me a thing? How dare he?” Jinyoung let out a dramatic gasp.
“What are you then? You aren’t human either,” Daehwi whispered.
“Touché.”
Youngmin continued staring at Daehwi with a knowing look and Daehwi had to give up because there’s no way he’d get to fool his hyung. Daehwi closed his backpack and headed to the living room with Youngmin and Jinyoung following his trail. “Hyung, I promise you that I’ll get back real quick. I just need to visit him in the hospital and that’s it. No more funny business and that’s it.”
“How many times do I have to tell you not to bring ghosts—“
“—he’s a spirit hyung.”
“—spirits over? You know how much Donghyun freaked out the last time that annoying child thought it was a nice idea to show himself through the mirror!” Jinyoung looked like he was enjoying the scene in front of him, and got curious as to what Youngmin just mentioned.
“What am I supposed to do then? Pour a bucket of holy water on him? Pray the whole rosary in front of him? He asked to come with me nicely so I agreed. And you know that I don’t have the ability to shoo ghosts and spirits away, hyung. They either go because they want to or I had to ask for other people to do it for me,” he explained matter-of-factly, leaving the oldest speechless because damn it, he’s right.
“Fuck you and your weird abilities, Daehwi.”
“Say that to my ancestors!” Daehwi exclaimed from the other side of the room and glanced at Jinyoung, motioning him to the door. “I’ll be back, hyung! I’m just gonna give my friend a quick visit!” And with that, both he and Jinyoung went out and headed to the hospital where Jinyoung was staying.
For a moment there, Jinyoung liked the word friend.
“Oh, Daehwi, son. You’re back!” Jinyoung’s mom greeted him as soon as he situated himself beside her on the chairs lined outside Jinyoung’s assigned room. He flashed a smile and handed her a gift bag containing all of Jinyoung’s favorite snacks and of course, her favorite bouquet that Jinyoung personally helped him picked. Mrs. Bae smiled at Daehwi, but he knew deep inside that she was just trying to be nice to the boy.
Jinyoung stood close to his mom, a faint smile present on his face as he watched his mom admiring the pretty purple flowers in her hands. It was a sad scene in front of Daehwi, and even though he’s very sensitive in this kind of things, he tried to look strong in front of his friend’s mother—with a genuine smile and a reassuring squeeze of her hands. It’s what he could do since Jinyoung couldn’t do it.
Jinyoung couldn’t touch and hug his mom or say how much he missed them. It was a task only Daehwi could temporarily do, and Jinyoung was thankful for that.
Having been visited Jinyoung’s body in the hospital for multiple times already gave Daehwi a chance to get close to Mr. and Mrs. Bae. They were honestly ecstatic when Daehwi first visited them, since after such a very long time, a friend of their son visited him again. They had explain, with sorrow in their eyes, that Jinyoung’s been pretty lonely for the past months since his friends and other relatives were busy with college and their own lives.
Even though it was their first time ever meeting Daehwi, they still welcomed him warmly and they were quick to warm up to him and treated him like they known the boy for years now. But probably it was because of how much Daehwi knew Jinyoung (but it was purely with the latter’s help, of course).
“How’s Jinyoung?” Daehwi asked.
“Nothing much changed from the last time you visited. His body is still rejecting some of the medicines the nurses are injecting in him,” she sighed, and he watched Jinyoung carefully sitting beside his mom.
“But is there a chance that would change?”
“I’m not sure. But I hope it would.”
“Daehwi-yah, you came back,” he heard Mr. Bae greeted as he slipped outside of Jinyoung’s room. “It’s good to see you here again. Jinyoung would be very glad. It’s been, what? 1 week?”
Daehwi chuckled and stood up to bow. “I kind of promised Jinyoung that I’ll visit him every Saturday.”
Mr. Bae walked through Jinyoung’s spirit on his way to sit beside Daehwi, and reached out to pat the latter’s head like he would to his own son. “Yes, yes of course. How can I forget that? You’re basically the only reason why Jinyoung’s room became lively. I swear it’s like we could see Jinyoung smiling whenever you come over.”
Daehwi took a quick glance at Jinyoung nibbling on his bottom lip, as if he was stopping himself from smiling. “We really appreciate your effort, Daehwi. Thanks to you, we could feel like Jinyoung is right beside us right now,” Mr. Bae continued and Daehwi swore he noticed Jinyoung wiping something from his eyes.
“It’s okay, Mr. Bae. I love visiting Jinyoung here so it’s not a problem to me at all,” Jinyoung could hide the small smile forming on his face at Daehwi’s words. He was absolutely thankful that through him, he could somewhat communicate to his parents without feeling too sad because he had Daehwi beside him to cheer him up. Glancing at the door to Jinyoung’s room, Daehwi asked, “Can I get inside?”
“Yes, of course, son,” Mrs. Bae stood up and open the sliding door, a faint smile present on her face. Daehwi immediately got inside the room after bowing to Mrs. Bae, his eyes automatically fixed on Jinyoung’s body lying on the bed with tubes connected to his body. He wasted no time and went straight to the chair beside the bed, and he watch the spirit slowly dragging himself to stand opposite him.
“Ah, I look like shit,” Jinyoung tsked once he was done giving his body a once-over. “I can’t believe I look this ugly with my black hair,” he continued.
“Yah, you look great with black hair,” Daehwi complimented, eyes not leaving Jinyoung’s physical face.
“Do you prefer my black hair or my current brown hair?”
“Black all the way. I mean, you look extra young and it’s the color that suits you the most. It makes you more handsome,” Daehwi didn’t realize that he was basically showering his friend so many compliments that the latter just stood there with a lopsided grin on his face.
“Ah, Lee Daehwi complimenting my looks! What a time to be alive—
“Uh, technically you’re not alive so you can stop being dramatic right there,” Daehwi spat as he busied himself in unpacking the fruits and extra snacks he brought to the table on the other side of the room. He was a bit embarrassed that he did complimented Jinyoung’s looks.
“Yup. Of course it’s not a conversation without your sharp tongue,” Jinyoung walked to Daehwi and leaned over the table, “But seriously though, I think it was the first time you complimented me after weeks of knowing each other. The last time you commented on my looks you said I look hideous.”
“You did look hideous that time. And right now. You look horrible every single second of the day. And to correct your wrong assumption, I was complimenting the boy lying on the bed there, not some cocky spirit standing beside me,” Daehwi rolled his eyes and went back to sit on the chair. Jinyoung pouted, and got himself to sit on his own bed.
“Geez, can I just get one real compliment from you?”
“I’m saving it for when you finally wake up,” Daehwi whispered but enough for Jinyoung to hear his every words. It got the latter silent and thinking whether or not it was really possible for him to really wake up.
Both of them got silent, the noise from the air-condition filling the room. Daehwi thought it was a bad thing mentioning it since the look on his friend’s face turned from playful to somewhat depressed.
“And that’s going to happen soon. Don’t worry that much, I’ll compliment every single thing about you when that time comes,” he continued reassuringly.
“But what if I don’t,” Jinyoung breathed out. “What if I don’t wake up, Daehwi? My condition’s getting worse and I don’t think I cou—“ Jinyoung was cut off when the loud beeping from his life support resonated around the area, making Daehwi’s knees turned into jelly as he rushed outside to call for Mr. and Mrs. Bae.
“Doctors! We need the doctor’s right now!”
Jinyoung was left inside, watching over his own body staying still while everyone around him was panicking and soon after that, nurses and doctors filled in. He watched them do everything they could to save Jinyoung but the thought nauseated him so he took a step back and went outside to join his parents and Daehwi waiting by the door.
“Oh my dear son, Jinyoungie. Please be strong,” Daehwi wrapped an arm around Mrs. Bae as she cried onto the boy’s chest. He rubbed reassuring circles on her back, his eyes immediately landing on a forlorn looking Bae Jinyoung watching his own mother cry in another boy’s arms.
“Jinyoung is a strong boy, Mrs. Bae. He really is,” Daehwi replied, eyes still looking at Jinyoung’s.
“But what if I’m not, Daehwi?” Daehwi could feel his lips quivering and eyes blurring because of the tears threatening to come out. The look on his Jinyoung’s face hit Daehwi right in the guts, the emotions he had been bottling up inside him about to burst from what he was feeling that time. Instead of answering the poor spirit, he hugged Mrs. Bae with a single tear falling from his eye.
“He is a very strong boy, Mrs. Bae. I believe in Jinyoung.”
Jinyoung wanted to believe in him too.
“Yah, Lee Daehwi, don’t you have work to go to? I believe you’re going to be late if you stay there with your mouth wide open for another minute,” Woojin snatched a pillow lying on the floor and hit Daehwi’s leg who had been staring at the ceiling for a solid 10 minutes. “And you still have classes in the afternoon! You brat, your parents didn’t pay your tuition just to have you wasting every penny from their wallets!”
“Hyung, please tell everyone I got sick today. I feel like dying already,” Daehwi tossed on his bed and covered his face with his blanket. He felt the bed sink and heard his hyung talk.
“Is it about that Jinyoung kid?” Daehwi only nodded his head as a reply. “He’s still missing? It’s been a week since that incident from the hospital, right?” Again, Daehwi nodded. The younger had told Youngmin and Woojin about what happened to Jinyoung the last time he visited him. They knew everything—from the time they first met at the haunted mansion till the time Jinyoung looked like he was ready to give up.
“Do you really have no idea where he is?”
“Hyung, I wouldn’t be here moping like an idiot if I knew! Godammit, I’m so worried about him!” Daehwi screamed through his pillow. He remembered how Mrs. Bae contacted him the other day saying that Jinyoung’s case had been getting worse. It even came to the point where doctors and nurses were called in every night because Jinyoung’s body seemed like giving up already. Daehwi wanted to cry, curse at Jinyoung even, for thinking like that but he wanted to be strong for Mr. and Mrs. Bae, and of course to Jinyoung out of all people.
Daehwi had known some possible reason why a spirit like Jinyoung had been missing. It’s either he just decided on his own will to never show himself to people again (for personal reasons he supposed) or he got called and asked by the body in charged whether or not he would continue to roam around. The last thought made Daehwi shudder and he let out another scream of frustration. “I’m so worried about him, hyung, because I don’t want him to leave us. I don’t want him to leave everything behind including his parents, his relatives, his friends. And me,” he whispered the last part.
“And I miss him too. I just wanted to know if he’s still there,” he continued.
“You like him, don’t you?” it was the only question in Woojin’s mind. Daehwi looking like he’s in the verge of crying already broke his heart. “I mean, I saw how different you were for the past few weeks when you were with him. And it’s a good kind of different if you ask me.”
Daehwi stared at his hyung for a moment, his mind trying to clarify what his feelings for Jinyoung really was.
He felt happy when Jinyoung’s around, though he never admitted it to the latter’s face. He enjoyed bickering with him even though sometimes people caught him doing that making them think he’s a psycho talking to the air. He felt giddy when Jinyoung complimented his sweater that one time he went out to the groceries. He got excited when Jinyoung first told him the plan of visiting his body in the hospital and meeting his parents. He got a bit annoyed when one time a female friend of Jinyoung visited and touch the latter’s hand with that disgusting look of affection on her face.
And in that moment, Daehwi felt like something’s tugging at his chest at the thought of Jinyoung missing for a week now. He doesn’t want to admit it but he missed Jinyoung.
He doesn’t want to think of it more but maybe, just maybe, Woojin was right after all.
“Just believe in him, Daehwi. Everything happens for a reason.”
The silence between Woojin and Daehwi was cut off when he heard his phone ringing. “Hello, Mrs. Bae?”
“Daehwi! Oh my goodness, I’m about to faint!” Daehwi panicked.
“Mrs. Bae, are you alright?”
“Jinyoung finally woke up!”
Daehwi would’ve put Usain Bolt into shame at how fast he got himself to the hospital. He wasted no time and he even wore mismatched slippers. He was absolutely ecstatic at the good news but also felt somewhat worried, not knowing what he should expect now that his friend finally awoken.
He knocked one, twice, until he saw Mr. Bae smiling at him dearly and stepped aside so he could run to Jinyoung’s side. He stopped for a moment to examine the boy sitting on his bed right in front of his eyes. Jinyoung looked the same, but the difference was that he was real. He got back inside his body and can now touch him.
Jinyoung paid him no attention at first as he was busy looking at his parents who got obviously older after not seeing them for two and a half years.
“Jinyoungie, can I touch you?” Jinyoung glanced at him, confusion written on his face.
“Uh, I’m sorry but may I know you?” Daehwi felt his stomach drop but he didn’t show any sign of the pain. He kind of expected this to happen, but he’s still disappointed.
“I’m Lee Daehwi, your friend! You don’t remember me?”
“I don’t remember any Lee Daehwi. Are you from my History class?”
Daehwi then realized that a spirit’s memory won’t go with him when he finally wakes up.
“Good afternoon, everyone! Ah, it’s a good day to start the class with a test, right?” Daehwi’s Marketing teacher asked with his overly enthusiastic voice, making everyone groan at the mention of a quiz they obviously didn’t prepare for.
“But Mr. Choi, you already gave one last time!” a student cried from the back of the room.
“I know and I want to give another set today, Hyeongseob. I want everyone to get ready for the pretest. I assumed you already did your advance reading,” the devil, as what Daehwi called him, set up his laptop and readied the questions for the quiz.
“Hey, Daehwi, I knew you’ve read the chapter and I did too, so maybe we could split the numbers? I’ll do the first 10 numbers and you do the rest,” Samuel, who had been sitting beside Daehwi since the start of the semester, whispered at him in which the older only shrugged.
“I don’t know about that, Samuel. Have you forgotten about what happened to us last week? He punished everyone because he caught Haknyeon whispering to Donghan last time! I don’t want to suffer again,” Daehwi replied.
“Oh shit, you’re right. I guess I’ll just fail this test.”
“Kim Jaehwan, I’m deducting 10 points from your paper!” Mr. Choi suddenly bellowed, his eyes burning holes onto poor Jaehwan’s skull who was sitting in front of Daehwi.
“But sir I didn’t do anything?!” Jaehwan protested.
“I saw you opening your mouth, Mr. Kim. One more word and I’m kicking you out of the room,” the teacher threatened and everyone tried their best not to laugh at Jaehwan because really, all he did was breathe.
“Fucking hellhole. I hate this class so much.”
Right when the teacher was about to open his damn mouth and start the test, he heard a knock on the door. Daehwi swore he could hear his classmates singing Halleluiah at the sudden interaction. When Mr. Choi opened the door, Daehwi felt like the universe was playing with his feelings.
Right when he thought he had forgotten about him since it’s been almost a month since the last time he saw him at the hospital, he decided to show up at this very moment. His grip on his pen tighten, the paper he was holding in his other hand starting to crumple.
“Is this Marketing 45 with Mr. Choi?” Bae Jinyoung, wearing a simple white tshirt, blank ripped jeans and a beanie, bowed to the teacher in which the latter just nodded. It was just a simple outfit but he managed to make it look like it was part of the newest fashion collection. He noticed that his brown hair was gone, and his natural hair made him even more real—if that made any sense.
Daehwi almost swore at the heavy feeling in his chest because after deciding to let Jinyoung be, since he couldn’t remember him at all, he was right in front of his class, looking as heavenly as before.
“Ah, you’re the transfer student? Bae Jinyoung?”
“Yes, Mr. Choi. And I’m sorry that I’m late. I got caught up in the department because of some documents I forgot to pass,” Jinyoung bowed again.
“I’ll let you off this time since you are new here. Please take a seat,” Mr. Choir dismissed him and Daehwi felt his breath hitched when for a millisecond, he caught Jinyoung’s eyes.
He felt Samuel nudging his sides. “Daehwi-yah, you okay?”
“I-I’m fine, Muel.” No, I’m not. Bae Jinyoung is in front of the class. And his not a spirit anymore. He’s real!
He shook head, and he’s even ready to bang his head on his table just to force himself not to think of him. He slowly rested his head instead, and after that he felt a soft tap on his shoulder.
“I’m okay, Samuel,” Daehwi muttered, not knowing who actually tapped him.
“Uh, can I sit beside you? The seat beside you is empty,” he almost choked when he saw Jinyoung looking at him, and actually talking to him. With a dumbfounded look on his face, and with a great effort in hiding it, he nodded and watched the latter taking the seat on his left.
Bae Jinyoung is really here, huh?
“Why are you staring at me like you’ve seen a ghost?” Daehwi right there almost really choked on air.
“I-I don’t know what you mean.”
“Oh, right. I mean spirit. I’m sorry about that,” Jinyoung chuckled. Daehwi only managed to stare at him, asking himself whether or not it was purely coincidence. “I personally chose my outfit today, you know? I even searched the web if I’m doing it right.”
“And you’re telling me that because..?” Daehwi trailed off.
“Because I want you to compliment me. You promised me that, you fool!”
Daehwi felt the world stopped. “Bae Jinyoung?”
The boy smiled, his chin comfortably resting on his palm as he faced Daehwi. “Hey, Daehwi. Long time no see?”