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A six-foot-tall ghost opens the door.
“Oh my god bro you actually made it, fuck yeah!” It shouts, pulling the sheet off from over his head to reveal Namjoon’s dimpled smile and the beginnings of red blush from already having a few too many drinks.
Behind him Jin, dressed in plaid and holding what was hopefully a fake ax, shoves Namjoon aside and practically tears Hoseok’s arm off pulling him into the house, “You’re here! What’s your costume? Waldo?”
“Ummm,” Hoseok shrugs off his jacket for Namjoon to put in one of the coat rooms, “Freddy Krueger?”
Jin frowns, “But… your sweater is only red and black on one side.”
“Close enough, I just didn’t want to buy a new sweater.”
“Fair but well, okay, where is your claw?”
“Didn’t want to buy a claw.”
“Okay, what about the hat?”
That Hoseok does have, holding up a black wide brim hat that he’s now realizing would have made an awesome Coven costume that would have taken even less effort to put together than the one he chose for tonight’s party.
"It’s not even the right colour…” Jin starts, but he quickly wipes away the frown on his face, “You know what? It’s fine, I’m just glad you finally came out to something, it’s gonna be a great party, Joonie picked up a keg and I booked a psychic-”
“Dude, wait, what the hell, there’s a psychic here?” Hoseok grimaced. He's been here for less than 5 minutes and he's already regretting coming in the first place.
“Yeah, I thought it’d be a fun Halloween treat!” Jin forces a red cup into Hoseok hands, “We’re gonna do a séance. What’s with that face, you scared of a little Ouija action?”
“N-no! Well yes but it’s not that, it’s just a séance like with ghosts? As in people who have crossed over to-” Hoseok wiggles his fingers, “To the other side?” And when Jin still doesn’t quite get it, “Like, dead people?”
“Oh!” Jin gasps, eyes wide like a deer in caught in headlights, “Oh shit buddy, I’m- oh my god, I’m so sorry, I didn’t even think about that.”
“It’s okay, I mean it is a cool party game, you guys should do it but maybe I should sit it out?”
Jin hands his drink to Namjoon, “No, no we’ll cancel it-”
“But you already paid the deposit, non-refundable remember?” Namjoon interjects.
Jin snatches his drink back, “Okay, plan B! We suck it up, everyone gives me the twenty dollars they owe me for the medium, and we have some spooky fun.”
Hoseok grimaces, taking his wallet out to retrieve a 20 dollar bill to slap into Jin’s outstretched hand, with just a touch more force than necessary, “I don’t know maybe I’ll chill for a bit and then head out early. Snackery Binx hasn’t been feeling well lately and-”
“Don’t you dare, that chubby ball of fluff is fine on her own, you need to participate more,” Namjoon says, hand on Hoseok’s shoulder as he steers him towards the living room full of drunk bunnies, wizards, and sexy nurses.
“I do too participate in stuff,” Hoseok rolls his eyes, “I’m just busy.”
“Choosing to work from dusk till dawn doesn't count as busy. We barely see you as it is,” Namjoon says, stopping and leaning down close to Hoseok, voice softer and sympathetic over an awful EDM remix of the Monster Mash playing on the stereo, “We worry you know, every morning I wake up in a cold sweat after having a nightmare about how you've finally keeled over from karōshi.”
Hoseok laughs, loud and dismissively, “You don’t have to, seriously. Besides you know I’m also just not about messing with demons and shit. You guys have made me watch way too many horror movies where the girl gets possessed by a Ouija board and stabs herself with a cross to ever be okay with this.”
“You know what your real problem is,” Jin gives him a disappointed look, “You’ve always been such a big scaredy cat. I mean I’d love nothing more than to get possessed by a demon as a parlour gag for my Halloween party, but let’s be real, nothing bad is actually going to happen.”
“Yeah, and if he does get possessed he’s just faking it. But Jin is right, what’s the worst that can happen?” Namjoon agrees, pulling at the sheet around his shoulders and fanning himself, “Aside from me passing out from this heat, I’m going to go switch costumes or something I’ll be right back.”
Hoseok waves Namjoon away and continues to argue with Jin, “I know, I know it’s just a trick, but what if this guy like googled us and knows how to mess with us?” Only for the doorbell to ring and have Jin running off to answer it, leaving him there alone with his red cup and his thoughts.
He drinks slowly, just baby bird sips because he's still debating just going home early and it’s too strong for him, mixed by Seokjin with too many different liquors that have no business being in the same cup and too little chase to hide that fact. There's a game of drunk Twister going on across the room, he doesn't join in even though he knows he'd give them all a run for their money. Just watches and tries not to think back on all the exorcisms and séances gone wrong that he’s watched from between his fingers at the cinema while Jin elbows him and Namjoon whispers in his ear about the metaphor of it all. It’s then one of the players who has both their feet on the green circles spins “right hands on red” and much to Hoseok's horror instead of turning around to reach the giant red spot on the other end of the mat flops backwards into a Linda Blair style spider walk.
Fuck this , Hoseok thinks, spinning around and making a beeline from the living room into the coat room, so disturbed by his flashback to that one scene with the stairs from the Exorcist that he collides right into the poor soul trying to walk in the other direction; knocking their bag clean out of their hands and clattering onto the floor.
“Shit, I’m so sorry, I wasn’t looking where I was going,” Hoseok scrambles to grab the bag and holds it out to its owner, a slightly smaller man in all black who Hoseok didn’t recognize for the life of him, not from school or work or even as one of Seokjin’s many acquaintances. Flustered, he introduces himself, “I’m uh, Hoseok. I’m sorry and I’m Jung Hoseok.”
“I know, I know - it’s fine. And I’m Yoongi.” He takes the black, leather bag and holds out his other hand, decorated with rings and black nail polish, for Hoseok to shake. “You should be more careful next time.”
“Again, I’m really sorry I was just in a hurry to leave.” Hoseok explains, flashing a smile that he hopes comes across as light hearted but Yoongi’s face remains blank as he studies Hoseok.
“No, I meant you should be more careful just giving your name out like that to just anybody, knowing one’s name gives one power over the owner of the name.”
“Like what?”
“Fae, demons, identity thieves, pick your poison honestly,” Yoongi says.
A chill runs down Hoseok’s spine, “And are you any of those things..?”
A long moment passes where Yoongi just stares at Hoseok before he breaks out into a laugh suddenly, startling Hoseok with the whiplash of seeing his face shift almost eerily blank to all crinkley eyes and gummy smiles, “No, not at all. I'm just messing with you.”
Hoseok laughs weakly, “So what are you supposed to be then?” he asks, looking up and down at Yoongi's costume. Not an inch of him left uncovered by black, black turtleneck, black ripped jeans, black boots, even his hair was soft and wavy but inky jet black. Maybe a bank robber? Or a vampire? For all Hoseok could tell he was dressed as a member of MCR. The only thing that wasn’t monochromatic was the clear, crystal quartz hanging from his neck.
Yoongi’s thick brows furrow, “Huh? Oh, I’m not… I’m not wearing a costume.”
“Oh.” Hoseok blinks, instantly embarrassed, “Shit, I’m sorry that was really rude. Well then, did you forget your costume or just not a fan of Halloween like me?”
“I’m actually a very big fan of the Halloween season,” Yoongi shakes his head, that’s when Hoseok notices the abundance of little silver earrings, dangly and distracting.
“I’m more of Valentine’s kind of guy myself,” Hoseok says, regretting it immediately before the sentence has even fully left his mouth. “Anyways, I should get going before I make even more of an ass of myself.”
“Ah that's too bad,” Yoongi frowns, bottom lip jutting out a little and it makes Hoseok neck feel hot because he's not sure what Yoongi is more disappointed by - Hoseok’s poor attempt at flirting or Hoseok leaving the party. But Hoseok isn't interested in that way. Well he is, but he isn't at the same time, it's complicated, but he puts his coat anyways. And just when Hoseok is about to reach for the door, when he thinks it couldn't get any more awkward, Yoongi replies, “I take it you’re leaving before I can show off the results of my google searches?”
Suddenly the true horror of the night is the embarrassment that over takes Hoseok, he’d rather bury himself alive than stand here watching Yoongi double over with laughter, even if Hoseok was terribly claustrophobic and Yoongi was kind of cute when he laughed.
“Oh my god, you heard that.” Hoseok turns around to face Yoongi, “I really am sorry, I swear I’m not a total jerk.”
“From a mile away but don’t worry, I can tell you’re nice guy,”
“How? All I’ve done so far is put both of my feet in my mouth,” Hoseok frowns, folding his arms across his chest.
“I just… know ,” Yoongi points at himself, “Psychic medium, remember?”
“Oh, that’s right.” Hoseok looks over Yoongi again, he didn’t know what he expected when Seokjin had mentioned the medium, maybe an older lady with big blonde hair, eccentric jewelry, long nails, and a loud Long Island accent like the ones he saw on TV. But he definitely didn’t expect someone like Yoongi, who did have some of the eccentric jewelry but was calm and soft-spoken, deliberate and observant, with his cat-like eyes that stared right back at Hoseok.
Outside the coat room, the music and sounds from the party pump in through the cracks, progressively louder as more people arrive; someone is calling Hoseok’s name, probably Namjoon or Seokjin looking for him and his chance to escape is fading away.
“I should really get going,” Hoseok says again, reaching for the door again, “I wasn’t really prepared to play with Ouija boards, I‘m still recovering from seeing the Amityville Horror.”
“Are you sure I can’t talk you into staying?” And there’s that pout again, drawing Hoseok in and making him wonder if he was a hypnotist on top of being psychic and a medium because he shrugs his coat back off. “I promise it’s not nearly as scary you think, I don’t even use a Ouija board. That’s really more of a movie trope. It's more like - have you ever seen The Changeling?”
Hoseok finally manages to open that door, letting Yoongi walk out first, bag in hand, and leading the way into the party through a throng of costumed people towards the kitchen to grab a drink.
“I haven't seen the Changeling by the way, I actually really don't like scary movies or stuff like that, I've only seen whatever my friends drag me to in theatres and even then I mostly cover my eyes.”
“That’s a shame, Medak’s craftsmanship is tragically underrated,” Yoongi clicks his tongue against his teeth, disappointed but amused by Hoseok, “But don't worry, it sounds like your friends have terrible taste so I can promise it's nothing like what you've seen in movies.”
“Well that’s a relief at least,” Hoseok pours out a beer and holds it out to Yoongi who waves it away.
“I shouldn’t drink before a reading, it’ll mess with my perception and energy but thank you,” Yoongi laughs when Hoseok practically does a spit take with the beer, pouring it down the sink, “I’d love a drink maybe after but you could have finished your drink.”
Hoseok shakes his head, “No thanks, if you say drinking is not good then it’s not worth the risk if I’m going to stay, no way. Is it too late to go pick up some like good luck charms or something? I want to be protected.”
“It’s Halloween and a Saturday and its almost midnight, pretty sure all the Good Luck stores are closed by now,” Yoongi says, pulling his bag up higher up onto his shoulder, “But if you want, I’m going to go upstairs and purify the room for the séance before we start. You’re welcome to join me and keep an eye on the good luck levels, keep me company and stuff.”
And that’s how Hoseok finds himself standing in the doorframe of Jin and Namjoon’s basement with his arms crossed, watching as Yoongi takes a bundle of what looks like dried weeds tied tight with string and a matchbook from his bag. He strikes a couple of the matches and runs them along one end until it smolders and smoke rises up into the air before cupping his hands and drawing the smoke inwards on himself, as if washing himself in the smoke. Hoseok then watches Yoongi make his way through the room, carefully fanning the smoke into every direction and corner with precision; not enough to fill the room with a thick blanket of it but just enough for the faint woodsy, herbaceous scent to be noticeable from where Hoseok stands. He doesn’t mind the smell, it’s calming combined with Yoongi’s quiet movements, as wispy, white tendrils of smoke spiral and dance against Yoongi’s ringed fingers until he’s almost made a full circle of the room and stops in front of Hoseok, blinking up at him, “Would you like some?”
“That depends. What is it?” Hoseok asks, crossing his arms across his chest and hugging himself tighter.
“This is sage, sweetgrass, and cedar - careful not to breathe or blow on it,” Yoongi says, holding the braided bundle up for Hoseok to take a closer look at it but he gets distracted by the way the skin across Yoongi’s knuckles is a pink blush, “Sage helps cleanse the room of any negative energy while the sweetgrass draws in good spirits, as for the cedar it helps with protection.”
Yoongi says it with such conviction, such nonchalance that Hoseok can’t help but nod; and when Yoongi smiles up at him, wide and toothy, Hoseok knows he gave him the right answer. “Okay then, what do I do?” Hoseok asks.
“Nothing, just stand still, take a deep breath, doesn’t matter if you close your eyes or not, just try to keep yourself centered,” Hoseok doesn’t quite understand what Yoongi means by that but he keeps his eyes screwed tight anyways, doesn’t think he’ll be able to stay “centered” with Yoongi this close. However, closing his eyes means flinching when he feels the air around him move as Yoongi waves the burning bundle of smoke from one side of Hoseok’s body, from his shoulders, down to his feet, and back up again. “Relax,” Yoongi reminds him, snickering quietly, when he collects some of the smoke and fans it over Hoseok’s head, his fingers brushing Hoseok’s ears and making him jump again, “And you’re done.”
Hoseok opens his eyes just in time to catch Yoongi’s fond smile before people from the party upstairs start filing into the room. “Something smells dank as fuck in here,” Someone shouts, pushing past Hoseok, “What are you smoking?”
“It’s a smudging stick,” Yoongi mumbles, more to Hoseok than to anyone else, as he tamps it out.
“Wow, this guy seems legit,” Hoseok is jostled by and turns to find Namjoon, now in cat ears, beside him, “Where did you find this guy again Jin?”
“The Personals section on Craigslist,” Jin says, barking out a laugh when Hoseok and Namjoon both shoot him a glare.
“You what?” Namjoon nearly chokes on his drink, “Seokjin, for all we know this guy could be a Craigslist Killer, that’s not funny.”
“Oh calm down,” Seokjin practically cackles, “I met him during my year abroad in Amsterdam and kept in touch, we follow each other on Instagram, he wouldn’t hurt a fly. They're bigger than him anyways.” This calms them down, Yoongi probably sees dead people but at least he’s normal enough to have social media.
“What does he even post?” Namjoon wonders as they watch Yoongi light candle after candle.
“Pictures of his dog mostly, graveyards, goth thot thirst traps,” Jin shrugs, “Nothing unusual.”
“If everyone that wants to participate could form into a circle around the candles here that would be great,” Yoongi announces. Hoseok tries to hang back by the door, more than content to watch from afar beside the nearest exit, as those who were more brave (and more drunk) than him gather around the cluster of candles Yoongi’s lit and placed on the floor; but Jin’s grip on his arm is tight as he drags Hoseok towards the circle. Each step closer fills him with more dread until he’s standing right beside Yoongi again, not even his little “hey” is quite enough to stop his heart from beating out of his chest. If anything it only makes it worse.
“Some séance etiquette before we begin; no drinks, no roughhousing, no phones that means no pictures, videos, no snapchatting, just turn them off altogether. Excuse me sir? Please leave your bong outside the circle.” Yoongi uses Hoseok’s arm to steady himself as he slowly kneels on the floor, tugging Hoseok to do the same, and motioning for everyone else to follow, “Great, now everyone huddle in close please on the floor, don’t be shy but it’s important you make a circle and stay in the circle once we begin.
Hoseok joins Yoongi on the ground, sitting a touch little closer than what was necessary, taking his phone out of his pocket and thinking about how high the chances of needing the phone to call 911 might be.
“If you don’t turn off your phone, the frequencies might interfere and make it difficult for any spirits to communicate,” Yoongi explains, tapping Hoseok’s knees with his long fingers, “They might also mess with your camera and leave you a ghost selfie, like a poltergeist.”
“Really?” Hoseok’s voice goes up an octave against his will but he reluctantly slides the power button on his phone off.
“No, not really, spirits and demons prefer humans much more. Mostly it's just rude to record the spirits without their consent and on the off chance that I get possessed or anything, I don't want anyone recording me,” Yoongi smirks, “That and the phones vibrating are distracting as fuck.”
“You’ve actually been possessed.”
“Just once, by Asmodeus.” Yoongi says with a wink, again so nonchalant that the only thing Hoseok can respond with is an awestruck, oh .
From further down the circle, Jin leans forward, eyes wide with glee, “So where is your Ouija board Yoongi?”
“I didn’t bring it, there’s too many of us to use it and I find alcohol leads people to mess with the planchette,” Yoongi lifts his quartz pendant off from around his shoulders and wraps the long gold chain around his fingers with purpose, speaking to the group now, “Instead of a board, I’ll be using this as a physical manifestation of spirit. Once a connection has been made, we can ask questions, simple yes or no questions that they can respond to by moving the pendulum. I'd recommend asking questions about the spirit themselves, who they are and what their life was like, it's not often they get the chance to interact with the living and they get lonely so just treat them like anyone else you’d meet at a party. There's also a high chance they were someone that you once knew or are related to so if there's someone you hope to hear from, try to keep them in your thoughts and they might make it. If any spirits do come forward with a message for someone here, I'll do my best to translate and pass it along but I'll reserve the right to decline it if the message or spirit is harmful. Understood?”
Yoongi waits for the group to bid before continuing but before Yoongi is able to start someone interrupts him, “Hey wait, should we be doing a chant or holding hands or something?”
“What? N-no, that’s not necessary it’s more important to-” but he falters, he was going to say that it wasn’t a requirement to hold hands like they do on TV, that the key of sitting in the circle was just keep the positive energy centered, just envisioning a circle was more than sufficient. But Hoseok’s porcelain hand had shot out and snatched up Yoongi’s free hand so quickly and it's just so cute that Yoongi loses his train of thought, so instead he shrugs and threads his fingers between Hoseok’s, “Um, sure yeah, let’s hold hands to be extra safe.”
As for chanting, it’s not really necessary to announce or call spirits when he didn’t have any particular ones in mind since there were always spirits nearby at any given time, all Yoongi had to do was give them the go-ahead to communicate. Instead of an invocation prayer or some hokey spell, Yoongi asks the group to clear their minds of any negative thoughts and fill them with positive ones - things like loved ones, their favourite things, and happy places. While he waits for them he wonders what Hoseok thinks of and though Hoseok seems like a positive person on the surface, Yoongi hopes he’s able to conjure up enough sunshine and rainbows to offset how clearly terrified he was.
After a few minutes, Yoongi clears his throat, and thinking of Holly so that his voice is warm and inviting, he simply says, “Hi friends, wanna chat? I have some nice people here that would love to visit with you. If you have any messages or would like to speak, come say hello.”
Almost immediately Yoongi’s pendulum begins to move, the room becomes a little more shadowy, a little more charged. Beside him Hoseok’s knee jerks, and Yoongi can feel Hoseok's hand twitching in his own, could practically hear Hoseok's heart hammering away in his chest. Yoongi probably should've let Hoseok leave, it couldn't have been more clear how faint hearted he was compared to his friends and maybe Yoongi was just selfish for wanting the cute stranger at this party to start but something in the air had told Yoongi that Hoseok was meant to stay.
It's silent aside from a couple hushed giggles and the pendulum dragging across the hardwood floor. Everyone's eyes are glued to Yoongi including Hoseok's, who's close enough to notice how long Yoongi’s eyelashes are when his eyes are closed and his nose scrunching up as he concentrates. He's the only one close enough to Yoongi to hear the low sound he makes, deep in thought or like he’s humming along to the other side of a conversation that only he can hear.
It almost reminds Hoseok of the Ju-On movie, of that awful guttural sound his friends make to tease him and sends him running for his bed as soon as he flicks off the lights. And he wonders if it's started already, if there was a spirit in the room or even worse inside of Yoongi based on the sound he was making and Hoseok has to cast the thought out of his mind as soon as it occurs to him. He was scared out of mind as it was and Yoongi had already warned the group about how their fears could attract negative energies looking for someone to mess with.
“Hey,” Yoongi’s hand over his squeezes, and when he looks up Yoongi’s peaked an eye open and smiles, “It’s ok, it's Halloween so there's a lot coming forward to sort through. Just keep thinking good thoughts.” The pendulum hanging from Yoongi’s other hand keeps swinging, round and round it wobbles and varies in speed from rapid to slow, “One at a time please,” Yoongi murmurs, not to Hoseok or at least not to anyone corporeal in the room. And then, “Oh, you seem nice, let's chat.”
The pendulum straightens finally, slows to a halt and Yoongi opens his eyes, “Okay sweetheart, we’re just going to ask a few questions, if you want to say yes just push crystal here side to side. And if you want to say no, swing it back and forth. Do you understand?”
Everyone leans forward, holding their breath and careful not to make any sudden movements, watching for any influence from Yoongi’s hand but he’s still as statue, it takes a second until slowly but surely it moves starts to sway side to side, picking up momentum until it’s a clear yes.
“Good. Fun fact about me is that I have a dog. Is it true that her name is Peanut?”
No.
“ Very good, my dog’s name is Holly and he’s a he,” Yoongi says. Nearby Jin wiggles his eyebrows at Hoseok and Namjoon as if to confirm, presumably having seen Yoongi’s dog on his social media, “Would anybody else like to ask a question, something only you would know to confirm this isn’t just my doing?”
Namjoon is the first to throw out a question, “The last album I bought was Freudian , is that true?”
No.
“ Was it Nina Cried Power ?”
Namjoon bounces with glee when the pendulum swings yes, and the group erupts into laughter and a few cheers, even Hoseok feels a smile crack onto his face, maybe this won’t be so bad, he thinks.
“Holy shit did you guys see that?” One of the girls across the circle asks, pointing at the candles which had begun to flicker as if someone was trying to blow them out or there was a breeze. Suddenly there was a tapping sound that travels rapidly around the room, louder and louder until there’s a slam.
Hoseok, along with every other person in the room, jumps about a foot or two in the air.
“It’s ok, it’s ok! She’s just as excited as we are, no need to panic, it’s not polite!” Yoongi shushes them, gently tugging on Hoseok’s hands to stop him from bolting up and away.
“Wait, she? So does that mean that you’re a girl?”
Yes.
And so the rest of the séance carries on, they find out that the spirit is a young girl, who grew up in the town over and used to work at the university library part time. Yoongi stops them from asking how she passed. “It’s very rude, you could upset them ,” he explains but they do ask if she’s in a good place and at peace.
Someone’s grandma makes an appearance, answers a few questions to confirm their identity and asks Yoongi to pass along the message that they passed away peacefully and to tell everyone back home she says hi.
Another person’s dog makes contact but the conversation is short lived to say the least. Even though Yoongi loves to talk to Holly, happy to tap back at him, this dog isn't quite as bright as his own so Yoongi doesn't put a tonne of effort into translating the four legged friends message.
And then the next spirit to bite his hook so to speak is a woman that doesn’t seem to have any connections to anyone in the room and stays a while to answer questions about what it was like to live through the 80s before people run out of major events to reference. Yoongi tries to decipher whether or not the spirit has a message, but it seems the woman just happened to be passing by and so the group just has fun asking whatever comes to mind.
It’s not as bad as Hoseok expected, if anything it’s kind of like playing 20 questions only with the occasional flickering of lights and the creaking of floorboards as if someone is jumping and running about. At one point, a frame on the wall falls to the ground, one of those cheap plastic frames from IKEA with a photo of Guy Fieri that Namjoon and Seokjin thought was funny; doesn’t shatter but Hoseok is so startled when it hit the ground that he turns into Yoongi to hide, nose brushing against Yoongi’s neck and his eyes squeezed so tight he sees spots when he finally opens them.
Yoongi on the other hand, isn’t fazed, doesn’t jump, barely even blinks.
“I’m used to it,” he says, and as time passed it becomes more and more evident how much so, greeting spirits like old friends and cooing at the things they share with him. He’s completely at ease accepting the messages and visions that the spirits channel through him, well-versed in a language that nobody else can hear probably from years of practice, careful to treat them with respect and send them on their way with a thank you and a goodbye with a sweetness in his soft voice that sounds like a hug.
Regardless, Hoseok is still too nervous to bring attention to himself, afraid of saying the wrong thing or causing something to fly across the room, so he opts not to ask any questions himself, preferring to sit back and watch as Yoongi works and the rest of the group has fun testing the limits of the veil between their world and the other side.
“Anybody here have a crush on someone in the room?” One of the girls asks, and when the pendulum swings yes the room erupts into giddy laughter. Even Yoongi himself breaks into a soft smile, making Hoseok’s stomach somersault when their eyes meet even if Hoseok feels guilty immediately after.
“Will I win the lottery?”
No, says the pendulum.
“Will I be successful before -” Only before the pendulum can answer, Yoongi suddenly holds his hand up. “Sorry, I have to stop you there.” Yoongi says to the group and then to himself, “Thank you for visiting us but it’s time to move on now friend.” He lets his eyes close and takes a long, shaky breath, his nose scrunching with the force of whatever he was channeling and Hoseok’s heart beat skips tenfold at the possibility that's it's a bad spirit.
“Someone else is insisting on pushing forward, a young man who says there’s someone here that they need to connect with,” Yoongi explains. Hoseok closes his own eyes for a second and inhales deeply, thinking back to his happy place in his living room, doing yoga with his cat Binx trying to use him as her jungle gym.
That’s when he smells it, the cinnamon - faint but unmistakable, hitting Hoseok just like it did everytime he opened the door to his apartment, sweet and spicy, warm and uplifting, welcoming him home and waking him up after a long, tiring day of dancing and teaching. He tries to keep thinking of his happy place - the soft carpet under his toes, his cat’s tail wrapping around his ankles, the tv in the background, deep breaths. But the smell is too distracting, too familiar, from a different time that leaks into his thoughts. And before he can stop himself the memory of the day he realized their apartment no longer smelled like him, like cinnamon and home, creeps into the forefront of his mind. Thankfully, Yoongi clears his throat before Hoseok can think about the carpet burning his cheeks or Binx curling into Hoseok in an attempt to stop him from sobbing, the only sound in the apartment that held just the two of them now.
“This person, he’s was down to earth, a good cook, good head on their shoulders. I feel like I’m out of breath trying to keep up with them, I see sneakers and sporty clothes, so he must have been athletic or really in shape.”
Hoseok tries not to react, to keep his face neutral, it could be anyone honestly.
“They’re showing me the ocean, sometimes when spirits talk about water it indicates they’ve drowned but this has a very warm aura, there’s a ferris wheel too... Is this a date? Cause that’s what I feel like I’m on right now.” Yoongi almost giggles, his face fond as the pendulum swings yes. “Has anyone here ever been on a date to an amusement park or a boardwalk?”
Four people raise their hand, including Hoseok, but it was a really common date idea for their seaside city after all.
“Would you like me to pass along a message?” Yoongi asks, yes. “Well, go on friend, let’s hear it.” He encourages, and everyone leans forward while Yoongi closes his eyes and listens for what feels like ages until one small word, more of a question than a statement, tumbles from Yoongi’s lip, “ Snoopy ?”
“That’s me,” he says, hand shooting up before logic and fear could stop him. Even though his voice cracks, even though there was an ache in the bottom of his gut from a trapdoor opening and his stomach dropping, he says it with complete conviction because just that morning he'd woken up clutching that ratty old Snoopy dog for dear life.
“He says you can keep Snoopy,” Yoongi says, softly and gives Hoseok’s hands a squeeze, “He always wanted for you to have it anyways... and he hopes it helps you sleep at night.”
Hoseok pulls his hand out the third time, circle be damned, to wipe at his eyes and bury his face in his hands for a minute to stop the sob rattling around in his rib cage from escaping. This is not at all how he thought this Halloween party would go.
“Shit, ‘Seok… do you want to stop?” Jin asks and then talking past him to Yoongi, “Can we stop this, that’s possible right? This was supposed fun, I’m sorry, I didn’t expect this to happen-”
“Of course, just everyone stay where they are and I can close the séance now-” Yoongi leans forward to blow out his candles but Hoseok stops him.
“No! No, I’m ok, I want to talk to him,” Hoseok sniffles and takes Namjoon’s hand again, not wanting to break the circle for too long.
Yoongi looks around the group, looks at Namjoon and Jin for their approval, before taking his hands and holding them tightly.
“May I ask, who was he?”
“He’s my… um, he was boyfriend,” Hoseok answers, “We had our first date at the boardwalk fair. We went there every anniversary.”
“Cute, he said he fell in love with you that night and every time after,” Yoongi almost blushes, and the others coo and the littlest laugh escapes Hoseok, Yoongi continues, “He wants you to know that even though he wasn’t there physically when you went back this spring, he was still with you, y’know?”
Hoseok thinks back to that day, it had taken a lot of effort on his friends’ part to get him out of the house and into the car. And he’d had fun he supposed, only cried in the bathroom twice, went on a couple rollercoasters; it was easy enough to plaster on his trademark smile full of big teeth and make jokes so that his friends wouldn’t look at him like he was a fine china tea cup.
“He's really happy you're having fun and going out again lately, even though you feel… guilty? He says stop that, it's very firm like he's stomping his feet. He wants you to move on, says it's ok to do that. To go out, to laugh, see other people, he says to live to the fullest again, can you do that?”
It takes Hoseok a minute to answer, that sob he was holding escapes his chest and with it about a year’s worth of grief. But Yoongi just waits patiently, asks the rest of the group to keep thinking warm thoughts while Hoseok works up the courage to nod his head yes, yes he can do that, yes he can move on.
“And hey, Seok-Seok?” Seok-Seok, he hasn't heard that nickname in so long and it feels so bittersweet to hear to it again but in Yoongi’s soft, deep voice, “He also asked you to stop calling Binx embarrassing names, can you do that too?”
The rest of their group laughs, more than familiar with Binx Who Stinks and Hoseok's mean but affectionate nicknames for the cat his boyfriend left behind, “Yeah, yeah I can try, no promises about Binx though,” And Hoseok laughs too, and for the first time in awhile it doesn't hurt to do so, doesn't leave an aftertaste of guilt in his mouth for being too happy or forgetting about him for even just a minute.
It was almost 3 in the morning by the time Hoseok is finally able to sneak outside into the frigid autumn air; it’s cold enough to see his breath in front of his face and he pulls his scarf tighter around his neck. Back inside it sounds like the party’s only just really starting, everyone running off the adrenaline that came from speaking with those from the other side.
He grips the red cup firmly, there’s only tap water in it now but he stares into it; focuses on the circle the rim makes, trying to remember what Yoongi said about the circle’s healing and protective symbolism when he closed the séance and gave them permission to leave the room so he could cleanse it all over it. Tries taking deep breaths in an attempt to ground himself, let’s the fog from his breath wash over him like that smudging thing Yoongi did but the sweetness of the alcohol on Hoseok’s breath just does have the same effect as sweetgrass.
He should’ve left 3 hours ago, should be asleep right now, blissfully ignorant of the spirit world but instead he’s here. Still he’s glad he let Yoongi talk him into staying, even if he’s going to be dead tired for work in the morning, it was worth it; he’s glad to have heard from him, to know that he hadn’t really been alone this whole time, to have some closure. So now with permission to move on, Hoseok had stayed and had a couple drinks, partly to calm his nerves from the séance and partly because he was hoping Yoongi would join them too. Hoseok was curious, to say the least; he had been given closure, sure, but there were still so many questions on Hoseok’s mind.
“Hey Hoseok?” Speak of the devil , he turns around to find Yoongi, stepping down the stairs with his backpack in hand, his clunky boots loud on the chipped wood which creaks underneath him, “You okay?”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine,” Hoseok nods, wringing his hands together in his lap, “Just needed some air.”
Yoongi slides down onto the step beside him, the rips in his jeans straining against his knees as he brings them up closer to his chest while he studies Hoseok from the corners of his eyes, “You sure that’s all?”
Hoseok stares into his cup again.
“You do know that if you say no, I’ll know you’re lying.”
“How?”
“Well, psychic medium remember?” Yoongi deadpans, pointing at himself before he drops his chin into his hand, “it's kinda my job to know, o pick up on what I guess you’d call vibrations or energy, you’re radiant with curiosity and nerves I can tell.”
“How though?”
“I just can , it’s hard to explain. Everyone can do it to some degree, like when you read body language or have gut feelings, deja vu and so on, but most people turn a blind eye to it or explain it away and lose their psychic abilities. I just… don't do that.”
“What’s it like then for you? What was it like when he came through?” Hoseok asks.
“For me, it’s mostly visual – it’s hard work for a spirit to hold a conversation like we do, that’s why it’s easier to ask them to answer simple questions through tools like a board or pendulum. More developed spirits are able to do a bit more than move small objects but it’s still easier to just show as opposed to tell for them. I was surprised your boyfriend was able to show me things already but it was kind of like… you know when you keep getting voicemail when you need to make an important call and then when the other person eventually picks up you’re just like finally where the hell have you been all day?” Hoseok nods, “That was what he made me feel, so my guess is he had been waiting for a chance to contact you. Have you never noticed anything before?”
“I guess I’ve noticed things, sure but maybe I did turn a blind eye. I guess I’ve closed myself off in more ways than I thought but anything that reminded me of him was off limits except for my cat and that snoopy doll.” Hoseok hesitates, his face almost seems guilty to Yoongi, “I smelled cinnamon, tonight that is. He worked in a bakery so it always smelled like cinnamon and any time I smell it now I would just leave the room, it makes me nauseous and fuck, it makes me so sad sometimes. But was that… was that him?”
A part of Yoongi wonders how Hoseok will react, his hands were still shaking, but it’s not a harmful message so it’s not Yoongi’s business to hide it from Hoseok; if anything he hopes next time Hoseok smells cinnamon he embraces it so Yoongi nods, “Yes that was most likely him. See, you’re a little clairalient yourself.”
And Hoseok to Yoongi’s surprise absolutely beams , “Wow,” Hoseok sips his water, still smiling into his red cup, “Maybe I can finally start drinking chai again.”
“Maybe.” Yoongi laughs, he’d seen that smile earlier. Not in person, before the séance Yoongi had been watching Hoseok, had seen the fake smile that didn’t reach his eyes and the forced laugh. But in the memories that Hoseok’s boyfriend had shared with Yoongi - he’d seen the way Hoseok’s mouth used to turn up into big heart shaped smile full of impossibly white teeth and the way he’d laugh freely, loudly, contagiously. So he fully understood why Hoseok’s boyfriend (or anyone for that matter) would have fallen in love with Hoseok on the first date and it had taken a lot of mental strength not to admit that to his boyfriend’s spirit.
To Yoongi’s dismay the smile begins to fade, and Yoongi wonders if it would be unprofessional to try to hold his hand again, “What's on your mind now?”
Hoseok looks at Yoongi with what almost looks like a mix reverence and confliction, “Can I be honest with you?” And Yoongi nods. “I just - that was fucking terrifying. Don’t get me wrong that was nothing short of amazing what you did in there and I’m incredibly impressed. But even just knowing there’s a cinnamon ghost that pops in to say hi to me now and then, that’s a lot to process. How do you do it?
“Do what?”
“How do you like, shake the feeling off after?” Hoseok says, “I kinda feel like my skin is crawling.”
“You mean like some sort of séance aftercare?” Yoongi laughs again softly, “I normally take a sea salt bath to cleanse myself of any negative energy I might have picked up.”
“That’s it? That seems too… simple.”
“Well, I do some other stuff in there, but seeing as we just met I don’t want to go into much personal detail.” And Hoseok doesn’t blush, he doesn’t say anything, and he keeps his breathing level but Yoongi just knows his stomach flips at the idea of what else Yoongi might do in the bath. In reality, he just burns some sage and goes for a jog before going to bed with Holly but the embarrassment that Yoongi picks up on in the air is just too good to tell Hoseok otherwise, he’d rather let his mind wander. “I don’t think you need anything that serious though.”
“No?”
“No, I think you just need some good food and to be around the living for a bit. There’s a diner nearby; they make a mean apple pie and good coffee, the shitty diner kind that just warms your soul, I can take you if you want?”
“I’d actually really like that,” Hoseok says, standing up and smiling for real for the second time that night, and it’s so bright and inviting that Yoongi thinks it could cleanse his soul all on it’s own.
Hoseok follows Yoongi down the street, orange from the streetlights and fallen leaves that crunch under their feet to an old diner called Omela’s with too much neon lighting and vinyl booths; where Hoseok orders a burger and fries, and Yoongi orders a coffee and apple pie.
“Excuse me, may I please bother you for some honey?” Yoongi asks, when their food arrive.
“I don’t even know if we have any but I’ll check the back,” The waitress shifts, uneasy about spending more than a minute or two on a customer when it was so busy with college students in their costumes trying to recover from a night of drinking; especially for such an odd request but after Yoongi flashes big, puppy dog eyes at her she huffs and heads to the kitchen on his quest.
By the time the waitress returns Hoseok is half way finished his meal, has already told Yoongi about working at the arts college choreographing and teaching dance, about his cat and how he met Seokjin and later Namjoon. She’s breathless but brandishing a dusty bottle of Billy Bee’s.
“What’s the honey for?” Hoseok asks because Yoongi’s already finished his pie.
“For the coffee.” Yoongi replies, and Hoseok realizes Yoongi hasn’t even touched his own cup yet, “Comfort food is great and all but coffee and honey are like up in the top 5 post séance self care methods for me.”
“Interesting, you struck me as the type to like your coffee black just like your metal,” Hoseok watches as Yoongi pops the cap off and pours honey into his mug, and pours, and pours to the point where there was possibly more honey than coffee and Hoseok has to wonder why Yoongi doesn’t just drink directly from the bottle. “You must, uh, really like honey…”
“I love it, readings are really draining emotionally and physically. My line of work is so empathetic, and it can be pretty exhausting. Honey makes me feel better and energizes me almost immediately,” Yoongi snaps his fingers for effect, “Especially when it’s tupelo or wildflower but any honey will do honestly, it’s all good to me.”
Hoseok nods and picks at his fries, “So what is the other one?”
“Hm?”
“The other top 5 methods, c’mon tell me - salt, sage, honey, coffee and...?”
“Oh, cuddling,” Yoongi smiles tenderly, taking a sip from his mug and leaning forward. Underneath the table, the toe of his boot runs along the back of Hoseok’s calf, “There’s something to be said about the warmth of another person, the blush in their cheeks, laying your head on their chest to listen to their heart beat, that really brings you back to earth after a couple hours of hanging with spirits and demons.”
“Makes sense,” Hoseok swallows and fusses with the cutlery on the tables, searching for anything his hands to hold on to but all it does is call more attention to the way his hands are still shaking under Yoongi’s gaze. He’s just not sure what’s worse - thinking about demons all over again or a sleepy, clingy Yoongi snuggled up in bed.
“Speaking of demons,” Yoongi reaches across the table to place his hand over Hoseok’s trembling hand, trapping the spoon on the table, “Did you know Asmodeus is the demon of desire?”
Hoseok nearly chokes on the coffee he was holding in his other hand, sputtering, “What happened? Were you hurt?”
Yoongi shakes his head, “Not at all, if you’re going to get possessed by someone Asmodeus is the best one.
“Is it contagious?” Hoseok tenses for a second until Yoongi laughs that little breathy chuckle of his that reveals pink gums.
“No, Asmodeus likes a little more challenge than the average person. He used to go after royalty and divine beings but in this day and age he settles for celebrities and people like me, he just happened to come across me when I had just been dumped. I was jealous and hurt and looking for a rebound and next thing I knew I was waking up in Amsterdam’s Red Light District.”
“Wow you used to live in the Netherlands? Wait but isn’t their red light district like… a really seedy place, were you okay?”
“Oh god no I never lived there, Asmodeus helped himself to my credit card for a week long bender of sex and drugs. It was fine though, De Wallen’s not as dangerous as people think and from what I can recall it was a blast until I took a bath with one of my hookups.” And when Hoseok gave him a look of confusion, Yoongi explains, “See, Asmodeus is really just a big, sexy wimp and he’s terrified of water so he disappeared as soon as I got in the tub.” He shrugs, “It was fun while it lasted.”
Hoseok nods slowly, digesting the image of Yoongi’s pretty skin under those famous red lights of the De Wallen alleys, which were probably the same shade of deep red as the blush that’s taken over Hoseok’s cheeks as he again tries yet again to think about Yoongi bathing. But it’s difficult when Yoongi plays with his hand, flips his palm up and trails his finger along the lines there.
“What, do you read palms too?” Hoseok asks, desperate for a change of subject.
Yoongi takes a pen out of his bag before he pulls at Hoseok’s hand to take a closer look, breath just faint ghosting over the skin of Hoseok’s wrist, “Let’s see here, your heart line is long and curvy, ending near Jupiter, your index finger. This indicates a need to release all emotions and passion that you’ve been holding off,” Yoongi pinches the fleshy space between Hoseok’s thumb and index finger, “This soft spot is the mount of Venus, and looks like you’ll be highly successful in love matters and you’re highly sensual and passionate about the pleasure derived from sex.” Hoseok has to look away, too embarrassed while Yoongi drags the tip of his pen through the lines in Hoseok’s palm, “And there’s your fate line, which intersects with your head line at the 25 mark meaning you’re about to have a very fateful encounter with someone at that age.”
“Wow, really?” Hoseok asks, his mouth dry and ears ringing as he looks back at Yoongi, a fateful encounter sitting right in front of him, “I’m already 25 right now...”
“Oh, is that so?” Yoongi smiles knowingly, almost sarcastically, like he already knew that somehow, and Hoseok is reminded again that Yoongi just knows things, and he needs to stop being surprised by that but it’s hard not to be when it's quite frankly amazing.
“You can read all that just from my hand?”
“Nah, I’m just fucking with you, palmistry is bullshit,” Hoseok pulls his hand back from Yoongi’s to find a string of numbers scribbled into his skin, “But you can still call me if you’d like.”