Work Text:
Our story starts as many of these tales do; in a new apartment in a new city. Neo City’s downtown was conversely a mixture of old and new, for example, your apartment complex that was in a listed period building. Climbing the chequered-tile stairs, you carefully ascended to the third floor with the last of your moving boxes. Blowing some strands of hair out of your eyes, you caught a glimpse over your box of someone at the end of the hallway, watering plants under the stained-glass window.
“Hi, nice to meet you!” Voicing out cheerfully as you bent down to put the box by your front door. Your smile faltering when the figure was already gone as you looked back up. Odd was the first thought in your head, patting your cheeks lightly to regain a sense of normality.
The rest of the move went rather smoothly, digging out some old cassette tapes and vinyl’s, singing softly to old tunes as you hung pictures up on the teal walls, arranged soft furnishings and house plants around your large studio. Soon the light dimmed down and you found yourself sitting on the bench of your tall bay window – the feature that drew you to this particular flat in the first place. The sun cast her last golden rays as she bid you goodnight, bathing your limbs and face in a radiant warmth. The ice in your glass protesting as it began to melt, condensation pooling atop of your knee where your beverage was perched. Closing your eyes, you sighed with content, finally relaxing in a space you could finally call your own. Perhaps an hour or so went by with you nursing your drink and humming along to music from your childhood, when you heard a distinct knock at your door. Maybe it’s one of my neighbours you thought, padding over to unlock it. The hallway though, was empty, save for a small breeze that carried a sweet and green scent. “That’s the second time today… you can say hello if you want!” You call out into the hallway, seemingly at nobody. Letting some of the tension out of your shoulders as you close the door, you decide to get ready for bed after your long day. It’s not long until you’re wiping your face after brushing your teeth, making your way over to your comfy new bed, slipping under the covers.
As you drift off to sleep, the bed dips and in comes the sweet fragrance once more. You dream of a handsome boy with curtains.
You’re thoroughly puzzled, looking for your toothbrush the next morning. It wasn’t until you looked up and it was placed on top of the medicine cabinet that you thought you had gone crazy. You had only one drink the previous night and had never been known to sleepwalk. Glancing at your reflection with a furrowed brow, all the rational thoughts go through your mind before ignoring it altogether. Today was your first full day living in the city, so you set off to explore new cafes, shops and relaxing spots. It was another sunny day, with a gentle breeze that ruffled your hair from time to time – making for the perfect day to watch the world go by. Well, that was what you had planned anyhow, if not for every café that you fancied being packed out.
“Right, let’s not let this ruin our day…” you sigh under your breath, scanning your surroundings for something to take home. Settling on an artisan bakery with luscious pastries and sourdough in the window, you eyed up a few treats to pack up with you. Luckily the walk home was quite short, letting you take time to stroll through the bustling streets before reaching your new abode.
As you fished for your keys in the depths of your bag nearing the landing, your peripheral view caught something that made you stop dead in your tracks: the back of someone’s frame going into your apartment, through your door. Scrambling to see if they had broken in, a wave of panic spread through you as your eyes scanned the – very closed – door. Your hand couldn’t help but shake lightly when your keys eased into the lock, making way for your entry. Flattening your palm to the surface, you pushed open the door, bracing yourself for what could be inside. Yet you found nothing…
“Hello?! I-I j-just saw you come in here.” You blurt out into the space around you. “Is anybody there?” It was difficult to think yourself stupid at that very moment in time, heart hammering away in your chest, bravely trying to speak out at seemingly nothing. Luckily for you, a studio apartment leaves very little space for anyone (or anything) to hide in - so you eventually found yourself dropping your bags on the kitchen counter and scampering over to the bathroom to check for any strangers. Relief settled in when you found that indeed, nobody has broken into your apartment. Your eyes homed into your bedspread - with a single flowerhead lain on top of it. Like the ones in the hall… you remember, thoughts conflicting over whether this was a new-found stalker or something paranormal leaving you gifts on your bed. Still trembling, you carefully trod toward your bed, hair spilling over your shoulders as you leant down to pick up the flower. The petals a soft creamy colour, wrinkled at the edges, giving them an almost forlorn look to them. You thumbed the petals absentmindedly, all previous ill thoughts dissipating from your mind bringing a soft smile to your features. “Thank you…” you whispered into the air, a faded image of a tall, pretty boy smiling by your wall.
For about a week you see or hear no sign of ghostly activity in your home or about the hallway, but often find yourself dreaming of the mystery boy with a bright smile and a very floppy, 90s haircut. You don’t recall ever meeting anyone like him before, often showing up in your dreams with ripped jeans and a check shirt or a denim jacket; he always appeared very friendly though. One night you hear his voice for the first time, a gentle tone that lulls you further into your slumber. Little did you know that the boy was sat beside you, smiling down at your sleeping figure, listening to your mumbled voice and quiet sighs as he stroked your hair as best as he could. You awoke feeling refreshed, recalling snippets from your dream while you poured yourself a fresh coffee. Pulling your hair into a high bun, you took your coffee to your sofa, lounging back to watch some mindless morning TV. After a while, when the black liquid in your mug had cooled, you felt a tingling sensation on your shoulder – followed by your pyjama top strap falling down. You went to pull it up again but the area felt unusually cold, with the tingling pressure now on your jaw. As if someone was cupping or stroking your face. For a moment you didn’t know how to react, turning your head slowly to the space beside you and noticing a small dip in the cushion. Your mouth was ajar in wonder, eyes drifting over what looked like an empty space in front of you. Somehow you knew it wasn’t at all. Closing your eyes, you leant into the feeling, letting the ghostly touch brush your lips and pull a soft smile from you. At least they seem affectionate your mind rings with the thoughts of dozens of scary movies depicting evil spirits. Your eyes slowly open, adjusting to the low lighting again, the odd sensation beginning to feel warm on your cheek and jaw.
“Are you the boy from my dreams?” your voice came out barely louder than a whisper, scared to frighten whatever this was off. The touch stilled, as if unsure or surprised before retreating altogether. The sofa cushion slowly rose back to normal and you could only sigh.
Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything at all.
Gripping his hand close to his chest, the young man all but backed out of your apartment, cheeks both burning with embarrassment and a new resolve. He wanted you to notice him.
your new job as a manager really took it out of you some days. While living in Neo City was great, you felt yourself getting more and more strung out with less time to make friends outside of the office, which also meant less time for yourself and relaxing at home. You had learnt to live with the occasional odd poltergeist activity or random noise in your apartment - having become an interesting and almost normal feature of living in your building. The unknown boy in your dreams becoming a weekly occurrence, your mind kept on wondering if he had any connection to what happened around you. His voice had such a soft lilt to it, laughter sincere and loud when the odd bits of your dream resurfaced in your mind. Fragments of conversation and cracking corny puns together often made you wake up with a smile, that lingering scent of Verbena hung in the air like tendrils.
The late August air draped over your shoulders with humidity, a moist sheen cloying to your every pore like a second skin. Buying a wireless plug for your aircon was your saving grace, programming it to come on 20 minutes before you usually walked through the door in the evening to escape the heat. Shutting the door quickly behind you, toeing off your shoes haphazardly before throwing your bag down onto the sofa, you headed to the bathroom for a much-welcomed cool shower. The refreshing spray of water leaving your skin raised and pert to the breeze of the A/C. Towelling yourself off by your bed, you felt the barest of touches run down your back before settling at your sides, holding you steady. Letting out a quiet gasp, you finished drying yourself, playing off the touch as just the breeze from the aircon unit. Standing unbeknownst behind you, a shy smile was painted on the features of your boy with the floppy hair as he watched you fondly put on your pyjamas.
Later that night around 1am when you were fast asleep, the dulcet tones of Madonna from your cassette player broke through the silence of your apartment, causing you to stir. Groggily opening your eyes, you watched in amazement as the bed dipped beside you like someone had knelt down. You blinked a few times to make sure you weren’t still dreaming, but when an almost glowing apparition materialised into view, it was hard to say. There in front of you, leaning on his arm, was your weekly dream visitor. He appeared in muted colour, his smile and his boyish looks shining through the night as he gave a little nervous laugh at your expression.
“It really is you!” You exclaimed, smile widening at the sight of the boy. Shuffling back a little, you sat up in bed, taking in all of him better.
“It’s taken a lot of energy for me to appear like this, but I wanted for you to see me properly. I’m sorry it took so long.” His voice was so sweet, like honey as he spoke to you in the dark of your studio. “My name is Jungwoo, I used to live here – I’m sorry If I ever scared you! I’ve been wanting to say that for a while.” His eyes went wide as you could see the faintest trace of a blush on his faded appearance.
“You’ve never really scared me, Jungwoo. I was confused at first but when I got used to you trying to catch my attention, I felt warm and happy that I had you here sometimes. You gave me the flower too, right?” Jungwoo nodded and watched your eyes sparkle under the moonlight streaming through your window. He thought you looked magical like this. Your warm hand reached out to see if you could cup his cheek and to your surprise, he felt soft and solid enough to touch. Upon contact with him, a rush of tingles zipped up your arm, causing you to shiver involuntarily. Jungwoo bravely pressed a kiss into your palm as you sat there admiring each other.
“I’m y/n, I don’t know if you knew that already or not though.” The heat of your blush crept up your neck and face as you felt his lips on your palm. His eyes focused on yours as he reached up to hold your hand.
“I knew, I saw it on your mail once. It’s such a pretty name for a pretty face~” Jungwoo’s giggle melts your heart, his lips brushing your knuckles cradled in his hands. “I don’t know if I’ll get another chance to say this but being here with you these last few months - I’ve really begun to like you y/n! I really love seeing you dance and sing in here, I love sitting beside you watching movies…but I do feel sad that I couldn’t wipe your tears when you cry. When you started noticing things I did, or talking to me in your sleep, it made my whole being so happy.” With his little confession, you shed a few tears, laughing through the sparkling wall they created in your vision. All this time you had been sleep-talking to him, the dreams of the boy all in his image. Gingerly, you pulled Jungwoo towards yourself, bringing his airy lips to slot against your own. Your spine tingled and skin raised as his hands carded through your hair, pulling you closer in his embrace. It was both wonderful and odd, kissing a ghost. He seemed solid enough to be there yet it was like thick air, holding you and invading your mouth with his cool, equally tingly tongue. He broke the kiss to dab his thumbs on your cheeks, before pecking them both softly.
“I knew you meant no harm when I saw the flower on my bed that day. It made me feel wanted, as strange as that sounds. Thank you, Jungwoo, I really like you too.” Barely above a whisper, your words were just made for the two of you. His cheeks felt soft and your eyelids fluttered closed as you joined your mouths together again. Time was a precious gift, not knowing when you’d share another moment like this, you both made the most of the early hours of the morning. Sharing secrets and moments of your lives, facing each other against the pillows watching intently. Every so often indulging in more languid kisses and touches under the moonlight. The boy stroked your hair once again as he saw you eventually fall asleep, the sunrise not far behind your slumber.
You awoke some hours later, the sun warm on your skin as it peered through your window, high in the sky. Hair and sleepwear feeling slightly dishevelled, you noticed that Jungwoo had kindly tucked you back under the covers. You suddenly felt a little morose at the thought of an undetermined time without being able to share another moment like that with your spectre again. Trying to push such thoughts from your mind, your arm stretched across the covers in aid to wake up when you came into contact with something. Fumbling for it further, your eyes crinkled with joy when you discovered it was a note that read:
To the beautiful y/n,
I feel alive again. I’ll still be here now and then, until the next time I can capture your kiss.
Talking properly with you made me so happy, but I didn’t want to be too selfish and not let you rest.
Keep playing the tunes of my time, singing to yourself – oh and wandering around in your underwear.
정우
xx
You wet your lip with your tongue before giving an indignant huff. Well, he better be glad it’s summer…