Chapter Text
Chapter One: The Ghost
Yoongi returned home after a long day at the office. He was satisfied with everything he was able to accomplish, but he had been so busy and absorbed in his work, he never got to stop and eat his lunch. He had just snacked on the cheese and crackers his desk mate, Taehyung, was nice enough to share with him. He needed to eat, but not before a hot shower to ease the stiffness in his muscles. The magazine he worked for was working on a series of articles dedicated to the history of the oldest buildings in downtown Seoul and he had been assigned to research and write an article on three of them. He had enjoyed learning what he had uncovered during his research. He had even had a tour of the three buildings with an historian the week before. He had also been assigned to take pictures of the interior and outside of the buildings. Since photography was a passion of his, he had been very excited about the assignment.
He sat his lunch in the refrigerator and undressed by the hamper. He smiled when he felt the familiar touch of soft fur on his ankle. His black cat Luna welcomed him home by purring and walking figure eights in and around his ankles Yoongi reached down and scratched Luna behind the ear and Luna purred louder and leaned into his touch.
“Hey boy, did you miss me? Were you sleeping? Daddy will feed you after my shower.”
Luna gave him a lick on the hand with his rough tongue and Yoongi headed towards the bathroom. He thought he saw something out of the corner of his eye in his bedroom, but figured he was just tired, and it had been his imagination. He shut the door to keep Luna out because he liked to claw at the shower curtain while Yoongi showered. He stood under the water when it was ready for a few minutes letting himself relax and enjoy the feeling of the water work itself into his muscles. He moved his head under the water and wet his hair and reached for the shampoo. He almost dropped the bottle when he heard something fall. He moved the shower curtain to look out and saw that his toothpaste had fallen into the sink. He laughed at himself for jumping and lathered the shampoo into his hair and scalp. He absorbed the smell of eucalyptus and tea tree oil and smiled at the relaxing scent. He put his head back under the flow of water and ran his fingers through his blonde hair to help rinse the shampoo out. He grabbed his bar of soap, scented lavender and lathered his body with it. He stood back under the water to rinse and realized he felt better already. His stiffness was gone.
“Thank goodness for a hot shower,” he said out loud.
He reached for the knob to turn off the water and before he could, he heard what sounded like a knock on his bathroom door. He froze and his eyes widened. He stayed still to try and listen for any other sound. He slowly turned off the water and opened the shower curtain. The door was still shut, and he didn’t hear anything else. He stepped out of the shower on the mat and quickly dried off his body and hair with his towel, never taking his eyes off the door. He wrapped the white towel around his waist and tucked it in to hold it in place. He walked up to the door and put his ear to it to listen for any noise and heard nothing. He took a deep breath and opened the door quickly and saw nothing. His heart was beating so fast. He didn’t think the knock was his imagination and Luna couldn’t knock. He grabbed a baseball bat from the corner of his bedroom and walked around his apartment and saw nothing or no one. He checked to see if his front door was still locked and didn’t know what to think anymore. He called Luna and opened a can of cat food in his dish and Luna eagerly ate it.
“I need sleep,” Yoongi said. “Maybe I am hearing things.”
He threw the bat on the bed before going back into his bathroom. The mirror above the sink was fogged up and he ran his hand across it to clear it and screamed when he saw what looked like a woman standing behind him. He spun around and grabbed the sink behind him with both hands before nearly slipping to the floor. He saw nothing. He was terrified.
“What the hell?” he said beginning to hyperventilate. He grabbed his chest. He could feel his heart pounding against it. He looked around wide eyed and saw nothing. He felt a tug at his towel as it fell to the floor and heard the faint laugh of a woman.
He quickly grabbed the towel off the floor and held it over his crotch gripping the towel hard with his fist. “What is happening? Am I losing my mind?”
Yoongi stepped into his bedroom and grabbed underwear and a pair of gray pajama pants and put them on looking around suspiciously. He walked around his apartment again and went to his front door and unlocked it and looked out into the shared hall and startled a stranger outside of the apartment beside his. The man looked to be a bit younger than him and had dark hair and a shocked look on his face.
“Are you okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” the man asked nearly dropping the box he was holding.
“Did you see a woman leave my room? Shoulder length dark hair?”
“No, I just walked down from the other end of the hall and didn’t see anyone else. You and your girlfriend have a fight?”
“No, I don’t have a girlfriend. I just...I thought...I don’t know what I thought.”
The stranger sat his box down and reached out his hand. “I’m Jimin. Your new neighbor.”
Yoongi shook his hand back and said, “Nice to meet you. I’m Yoongi.”
He noticed Jimin glance at his chest and realized he hadn’t put a shirt on. “I guess I should get dressed,” Yoongi said starting to shut the door.
“Okay, I’ll talk to you later,” he heard Jimin say before it shut.
He leaned against it and thought of everything that had happened the last few minutes and was convinced the woman, the knock and the giggle was not his imagination. He couldn’t blame it on being tired anymore. Too many things had happened. He rubbed his face before walking around his apartment once more. “Hello, is anyone one here? I saw you.”
He opened the door to his balcony and rested his arms on the banister and breathed in the air, letting oxygen fill his lungs and holding it a few seconds before letting it out. He looked at the busy street below and remembered how hungry he was when his stomach growled. He walked back into his living room looking around cautiously and walked to the kitchen. He grabbed the sushi he had intended to eat at lunch out of the refrigerator and unwrapped it immediately throwing one in his mouth. He closed his eyes and savored the flavor and the cold feel of it on his tongue. He ate a couple more pieces before reaching for a bottle of wine and pouring himself a glass and drinking half of it before eating the rest.
He tidied up the kitchen and sat down on the sofa with another glass of wine. Luna jumped up in his lap and climbed up his chest to rub his face on Yoongi’s chin. “Hey boy,” Yoongi said softly rubbing his back. Luna purred loudly in his ear and snuggled up to his neck. Yoongi smiled. He loved his little roommate. It was always nice to come home to him. Yoongi was currently single. It was hard for him to meet anyone since he kept to himself most of the time. Luna and his job kept him from being too lonely, but he also longed for someone to share his life with.
Yoongi laid his head back on his bamboo framed sofa and rested his eyes while he held Luna. He let his head sink back in the fluffy gray pillows and was close the falling asleep when he heard a knock at the door and almost jumped out of his skin. A frightened Luna jumped off his lap and hid under a table. He sat up and looked around trying to figure out where the knock came from when he heard it again and realized it was coming from his front door. He got up and looked out of the peephole and saw his new neighbor Jimin standing there.
He opened the door to Jimin’s smiling face. “Oh, hello Yoongi. I hope I’m not bothering you. I wanted to give you something.”
“Okay,” Yoongi said curiously.
Jimin held out a potted white orchid in front of him and said, “The building manager gave me this and it’s pretty, but I will just kill it. I do not have a green thumb. I have killed every plant I have had so I am hoping you can take care of her. I named her Agnes, but feel free to change the name.”
“Oh,” Yoongi said taking it from Jimin.
“I mean, only if you like plants. I don’t want you to take it if you don’t.”
“I like plants. I have a few. I’ve always wanted an orchid.”
“Oh, good!” Jimin said with a big smile. “She said it means elegance and beauty. Then she winked at me. I’m not sure what that meant.”
“Sounds like she was flirting,” Yoongi said with a giggle.
“Maybe,” Jimin said. “She is old enough to be my grandma though.”
“Older women still like to flirt,” Yoongi said.
“I’m flattered. Not often I am flirted with.”
Yoongi found that hard to believe since Jimin was very attractive, beautiful even. Jimin jumped suddenly and looked down to see a cat rubbing up against his ankles.
“Kitty!” Jimin said and seemed delighted and bent over to pick up Luna.
“It’s beautiful,” he said burying his face in Luna’s neck. He looked at Yoongi, “Is this your baby?”
“Yes,” Yoongi smiled. “His name is Luna.”
“What a nice name,” Jimin said looking at Luna. “So, you are named after the moon huh?”
Yoongi was pleasantly surprised that Jimin knew what Luna represented.
“Would you like to come in for a minute while I find a place for Agnes?” Yoongi asked.
“Yes, thank you,” Jimin said following Yoongi in his apartment. He let Luna jump from his arms onto the sofa. He looked around and took in the seventies feel of the décor. He saw several plants around the apartment, the largest standing by the back patio door. “Wow,” Jimin said. “You really do like plants.”
Yoongi smiled and said, “I guess I have a small obsession.”
“Then I picked the right neighbor for Agnes.” Jimin walked to the large plant by the patio and gently touched one of its large green leaves. “What is this one called?”
Yoongi looked up from the sink where he had sat his new plant letting water flow into the pot. “That is a split leaf philodendron.”
“Philodendron,” Jimin said. “Sounds like a dinosaur.”
Yoongi giggled.
“How tall can it get? It’s almost as tall as me already,” Jimin asked.
“About ten feet if they are taken care of,” Yoongi said.
Jimin held up his hands and said, “Well, maybe I should step away from it. I am the known plant killer. It’s probably scared of me.”
“You can’t be that bad. Most just need water and a daily talk,” Yoongi said.
“Maybe that is what I was going wrong. I never talked to them,” Jimin said. “Maybe I’ll try a little cactus.”
“So, did you get all moved in?” Yoongi asked walking to the sofa and sitting down.
“Almost. I have more to move tomorrow. I’ll be staying here tonight though.”
Jimin continued to walk around the living room, decorated in mostly browns, greens, grays and cream colors. “I like the way you have your place decorated. I haven’t decided what theme I want yet.”
“Thank you,” Yoongi said. “What are your interests? That is a start.”
“Dancing. Modern and contemporary mostly.”
“You dance?” Yoongi asked.
“Yes, and teach,” Jimin said. “I’ll trade dancing lessons for decorating tips.”
“I’m not much of a dancer.”
“Yeah, that is what the teaching part is for,” Jimin said with a giggle.
“Maybe,” Yoongi said. “Where do you teach?”
“I co-own a dance studio with my best friend Hobi. It’s called Just Dance.”
Jimin walked to a vintage looking cabinet with a crate full of albums sitting on it beside a vintage wooden record player. “Do you mind if I look at these?”
“No, look at whatever you want to,” Yoongi said feeling comfortable with Jimin which was unusual for him considering they had just met.
Jimin thumbed through the albums and saw Etta James, Nina Simone, Nat King Cole and other similar albums and understood Yoongi’s vibe.
He pulled out a Billie Holiday album and looked at Yoongi, “Do you mind if I...?”
“Go ahead,” Yoongi said.
Jimin smiled and pulled the vinyl out and put it on the turntable to set the needle to “The Very Thought of You.”
“Nice one,” Yoongi said.
“Isn’t it though?” Jimin asked.
He put his hands in his pockets and continued to look at Yoongi’s shelves. The shelves were made from redwood and sat on black metal brackets with small strings of lights pinned under each shelf illuminating the shelf below it. The colors and lighting looked very nice against the khaki colored walls.
Yoongi had two antique typewriters and several vintage cameras amongst stacks of expensive looking vintage books. Some novels and some books on photography and the art of writing. Are these first editions?” Jimin asked.
“Mostly yes,” Yoongi said.
“Your book collection is impressive as are your albums. I take it you are into photography and writing.”
“Yes, I am a writer for a magazine and my hobby is photography.”
“Nice.” Jimin said. “Would I have heard of the magazine?”
“The Historic Times.”
“Oh, yes I know it. I’ll look out for your articles.”
“Would you like something to drink? I was going to make a cup of tea for myself.”
“Oh yes thank you and then I should get going. I still have boxes to unpack. I still haven’t unpacked my sheets to make my bed. I don’t even know which box they are in.”
“What size is your bed?
“Queen.”
“I have extras. I’ll loan you a set, so you don’t have to look for yours tonight.”
“Oh, thank you.”
“What kind of tea do you like?” Yoongi asked reaching in his tea cabinet that had an impressive variety.
“Anything you make yourself is fine.”
Yoongi chose his favorite and added extra honey once the teas were ready.
He handed Jimin his cup and took a sip of his own. “Thank you,” Jimin said taking the cup.
Jimin took a sip and smiled. “Very nice.”
“It’s honey vanilla chamomile. My favorite nighttime tea.”
Yoongi sat back on the sofa and Jimin walked to a wall of black and white photographs. “Are these yours?”
“Yes,” Yoongi said drinking more of his tea and petting Luna.
There was a photograph of an abandoned bridge on a gloomy day. A closeup top corner of a building’s architectural design. An abandoned old shack on a hill and the last was a field of wildflowers.
“I like that they are in black and white, it keeps you focused on the story of the images in the photos instead of just the images alone.”
Yoongi sat up and sat his cup on the coffee table. “Yeah?”
“Yes,” Jimin said pointing to the field of flowers. “If these flowers were in color, I would be focused on the beauty of the flowers instead of the story of the photo.”
“What is the story?”
“The story is the loneliness of the flowers. They are beautiful, but they are in a field by themselves. There are no trees, no birds, no people. It’s just them and the sky. The only companionship they feel outside of themselves is the occasional wind that caresses them as it passes by, and it doesn’t come as often as they wish.”
Yoongi bit his bottom lip hiding the smile that was trying to escape his lips from being impressed by Jimin’s thoughts on his photos. “What do you see when you look at the bridge?” Yoongi asked.
Jimin drank the rest of this tea and sat the cup down on the coffee table near Yoongi’s cup and walked back to the photograph of the bridge. He pointed to flowers growing around the entrance of the bridge and a large willow tree in the background. “If this was in color, people would focus more on the images of the picture. They would see the flowers, the tree, and the old bridge. This is fine, but they would not feel the emotions the photo is trying to make us feel. We wouldn’t feel the sadness of the picture. The bridge wants us to know it’s lonely and it misses the way it was when it was younger. When it felt more beautiful. When people relied on it to cross. It does not feel needed anymore, but it also doesn’t realize that it is still just as beautiful as it was back then, just in a different way.”
Yoongi shook his head up and down and blinked his eyes a few times. “I like the way you see things.”
“I’ll tell you what I feel about the other two another night soon,” Jimin said, knowing it would give him an excuse to see Yoongi again.
“I look forward to your insight,” Yoongi said. “No one else has ever looked at those photos and said anything more than that they are nice. So, thank you for that.”
“Thank you for the tea and letting me listen to Billie and looking at your apartment. I like it very much. I should get going so I can get back to working on my own.”
Yoongi stood up and said, “Hold on and let me get those sheets.”
He came back with a set of light blue linen sheets and met Jimin at the door. “Thank you for the orchid. I will take care of her you can visit her anytime you want.”
“How about tomorrow night at the same time?” Jimin suggested.
“I look forward to it,” Yoongi said with a smile. “Let me know if you need any help over there.”
“Okay Yoongi. Tell Luna I said bye when he wakes up.”
“I will. He loves sleep like I do.”
“I hope you sleep well. Thank you for the sheets. I’ll just unpack a little bit more and get some rest.”
“Night Jimin.”
Jimin went back to his apartment to unpack more boxes and Yoongi walked to the photographs on the wall and pondered over them. He smiled knowing there was someone out there that understood him. He walked over to his record player and started “The Very Thought of You” over.
He picked up the teacups and washed them in the sink. He checked the locks on the front door and patio door and got ready for bed. “Come Luna,” he said.
The cat stretched and slowly made his way to Yoongi’s bedroom. Yoongi climbed in bed, sitting up to read a novel on his bedside table. He put on his black framed reading glasses and opened his book to where he had it marked. His friend Namjoon had recommended for him to read The Midnight Library. Five minutes later, he heard Luna meow. He looked up and saw him standing at the entrance of his bedroom door.
“Are you going to come to bed, or stand there and stare at me?” Luna didn’t move. “Suit yourself.”
Yoongi went back to reading his book until he heard Luna meow louder. He put the book down beside him and pulled his glasses off to see what Luna wanted. “You’ve already been fed.”
What Yoongi saw sent a chill through his body. Luna was walking in a figure eight around nothing and purring. Yoongi’s eyes grew wider. Luna walked a figure eight a couple more times and rubbed his head and face lovingly against something or someone Yoongi couldn’t see. Yoongi looked up about where a person’s face would be and asked, “Who are you?”
He got no response. Yoongi was even more shocked when Luna stood on his back legs and leaned up against something invisible and swayed his tail. “Why are you here? Are you who I saw in the bathroom earlier? How do I know we are safe with you?”
Still no response. Luna finally stood back on all fours and jumped up on the bed and faced the doorway. He then walked slowly around the edge of the bed looking up at something as if he were looking up at a person’s face. Luna walked up to Yoongi and sat beside him facing away from him. Yoongi could feel the presence beside him. He didn’t know how, but he could. “Why can’t I see you now?”
He jumped when he felt a light touch on his arm. Luna jumped in Yoongi’s lap and looked at the invisible person and purred. “I guess you are okay if Luna likes you.”
Yoongi didn’t know why, maybe it was the fact that Luna wasn’t scared, but he wasn’t scared anymore, and he wanted her to know.
“I am not scared of you anymore. I was earlier because I’ve never experienced a ghost before. I just don’t understand why you are here. I don’t know how to help you.”
He suddenly didn’t feel her anymore and after a few minutes he put the book and his glasses away and turned off his lamp and lay down and eventually fell asleep.