seven

It took some convincing and even more explaining, but Soonyoung was able to get Seokmin to trust him enough to take him to Jihoon's. He tried teleporting, as he mastered that skill long ago. It was difficult as he had never tried with another person, but he managed it. He felt the shift in the air and he opened his eyes, expecting to be in Jihoon's apartment like aways, but was surprised to find he was outside instead, face to face with the front door. That wasn't right. It didn't help when Seokmin started to panic at the sudden change in environment.

"Soonyoung, where are we? What happened? What did you do?"

"It's okay," Soonyoung told him in an attempt to calm and reassure him. "I just took us on the expressway." He joked.

When Seokmin stared at him blankly, he cleared his throat. "This is a new friend of mine. He can help us, but we need to get in first."

He let go of Seokmin's hand and tried to teleport his way inside once more only to be met with the same result. Seokmin eyed him curiously.

"Couldn't we try the front door?" He asked innocently.

Soonyoung sighed to himself. "Old fashioned it is then."

He focused all of the energy on his hand as he knocked on the door. It took three different sets of knocks over the span of ten minutes for Jihoon to finally answer the door. The sleepy human glared grumpily at the two ghosts staring back him.

"Fuck, they're multiplying." He groaned.

"We need your help." Soonyoung deadpanned.

Jihoon seemed annoyed from being woke up but opened the door wider so the ghosts could enter. However, the moment Soonyoung tried to cross the threshold, he was pushed back by an unseen force, surprising all three of them. Soonyoung looked up at Jihoon.

"Did you finally put up the talismans correctly?"

Jihoon didn't answer him as he went back inside. He came back and silently motioned for Soonyoung to try again. Hesitantly, Soonyoung put his arm through first to test the waters. When he wasn't met with any resistance, he fully walked in. Seokmin tentatively followed him, hitting the air, just in case.

"So, was it the talismans." Soonyoung asked again.

Jihoon nodded. "It was, but I don't remember setting them properly. In fact, I've been asleep this entire time."

Soonyoung ignored the chill it sent down his spine. He thought back to the shadow figure in his apartment. This was getting more serious, but Jihoon didn't seem worried. In fact, he collapsed in his desk chair and looked at the spirits expectantly.

"Well, what can I help with?"

Soonyoung spent the text ten minutes trying to explain the very complicated events of his and Seokmin's afterlife. Jihoon listened carefully and when Soonyoung was finished, he simply blinked.

"Okay, let me make sure I have this straight." He started.

He was still half asleep and his brain could barely process any new information. Not to mention the new concern of a demon playing interior designer simulator as he slept. He wasn't able to catch a break these days. He pointed to Soonyoung.

"You went to your ghost hangout and met him," he pointed to Seokmin next. "During his own funeral and he turns out to be your old friend."

"Right."

"And he has no idea how he died so you brought him to me?"

"Correct."

Jihoon stared up at the ceiling in exasperation. "God, why me?"

"I wouldn't have come to you for this, but he was friends with Minghao and Jun too. What if our deaths are connected?" He tried.

At that, Jihoon wordlessly opened his laptop. "I'll do some research."

Both of the ghosts hovered behind him as he began. Seconds later, he stopped typing and quickly turned around, startling both ghosts. He sighed.

"Look, I can't concentrate with you two looming over me. Soonyoung, why don't you go back to your apartment and finish your investigation?" He suggested.

Soonyoung seemed reluctant as he glanced at Seokmin. "Are you going to be alright?"

Seokmin nodded as Jihoon scoffed. "He's already dead. What else could happen to him?"

Soonyoung glared at him and Jihoon, realizing his error, cleared his throat. "He'll be okay. Don't worry. I'll look out for him." He promised, a newfound softness in his voice.

With one last glance at Seokmin, Soonyoung left for his apartment. Once inside, he headed back to Minghao's and Junhui's room since that was where he had left off. However, just as he entered, he found Minghao standing in front of the mirror. He was dressed up and was currently styling his hair. As they passed one another, Minghao shivered at the small contact.

"I need to remind Jun to call the landlord about fixing the heating." He muttered to himself.

Curious as to what Minghao was doing, he followed his friend into the living room. Minghao grabbed his keys, and wallet, leaving a note to Junhui, who apparently wasn't home. There was a knock on the door, and Soonyoung stuck close by to catch a glimpse of the stranger.

"Hey, are you ready?" Asked a voice. The person was female and sounded familiar, but Soonyoung couldn't figure out who she was.

"Yeah, I was just about to call you," Minghao answered. "I left a note for Jun so he won't worry."

Soonyoung tried to catch any glimpse he could of the person at the door, but Minghao's head kept blocking his view. He sighed in defeat as Minghao left and locked the door behind him. On the way back to the bedroom, Soonyoung smiled to himself.

"Looks like someone has a date!" He sang to himself.

He tried to retrace his steps from last time to remember what he was doing. He had been looking at the shelf, but his energy became too much and knocked things down. He had found an object under Minghao's bed, but the shadow had scared him off before he could see what it was. He bent down and sure enough, the object's silhouette was in perfect view. It was relatively small in size and almost rectangular. Soonyoung concentrated all of his energy on picking the object up. He moved to his side and stretched his arm as far as it could go to pick it up. Once he finally had it, he went to observe it, but he felt the dark presence of the shadow once more. Not wanting to be caught by it, he quickly shut his eyes and willed himself to be back in Jihoon's apartment. When he opened his eyes, Jihoon and Seokmin's backs were to him. He let out a sigh of relief, giving them notice that he was there.

"Back already?" Jihoon questioned.

"The demon returned." Soonyoung answered simply.

Seokmin's eyes widened in surprise. "I'm sorry, the what?"

Soonyoung laughed a bit. "Relax, I don't think the demon is coming after you. It seems to want Jihoon or me."

"Why?"

Jihoon shrugged. "Maybe it doesn't want us to find out the truth." He swiveled around to look at Soonyoung. "Oh, while you were gone, I was able to hack into the CCTV from the street where the accident happened."

"Hacked?" Soonyoung questioned.

"Look, do you want my help or not?"

"Continue."

"Anyways, I was able to catch the car that hit Seokmin. It was a black Kia Sorento. Unfortunately, the position of the camera doesn't allow for me to see the plate number, but it's a start."

Soonyoung nodded in agreement. At least they were a step closer to finding Seokmin's killer and finding out if his death was connected to Soonyoung's or not. He lightly patted his friend.

"Do you have any memories? Anything at all?"

Seokmin shook his head. "No, I don't even know where I was going that day." He answered sadly.

"It's okay," Soonyoung reassured him. "We'll figure it out."

Jihoon closed his laptop. "What about you? Did you find anything?"

Soonyoung was reminded of the object that was still being gripped tightly in his hand. Carefully, he opened his hand to get a good look but gasped and dropped it. Jihoon frowned at the odd behavior.

"What? What is it?"

Soonyoung stared at the object on the ground in disbelief. "It's my inhaler."

He stared at the inhaler on the ground with so much intensity, that if he had been alive, he would have an intense migraine by now. The lights in Jihoon's apartment started flashing and cabinets and doors swung back and forth on their hinges. Confused and scared, Seokmin let out a startled shriek as he watched the chaos unfold.

"What's happening?" He asked Jihoon. "Is it the demon?"

Jihoon shook his head, his eyes remaining on the emotional spirit in his living room. "No, it's Soonyoung. His energy is the strongest I've ever seen."

Afraid that all of his lightbulbs were going to burn out if it continued, Jihoon decided to finally step in and say something. He knelt down so he could be in the spirit's line of vision.

"Soonyoung, calm down." He started softly. "There could be a million explanations for your inhaler being there. It might not be what you think."

"You said it yourself, I was murdered. How could it not be what I think?" Soonyoung retaliated, not once looking away from the inhaler.

"You might have been murdered." Jihoon corrected. "We haven't fully come to that conclusion yet. I could be wrong. It does happen on the rare occasion."

Notcing that the lights were still flickering, Jihoon quickly swiped the inhaler from the floor and set it on the table behind him.

"Soonyoung, look at me." He tried.

Slowly, the ghost's eyes adverted away from the floor and they met Jihoon's. The lights returned to their normal level of brightness and doors and cabinets closed back firmly. Soonyoung's expression softened from one of blind anger to defeated sadness.

"Why was it there?" He asked. His voice cracked at the end, sending a sharp pain to Jihoon's heart. "Why was it under his bed?"

Jihoon could only stare at him. It was the first time he had felt so much sympathy for a ghost. He never had a case affect him in such a way before. He felt terrible that he didn't have any answers for Soonyoung. He wanted nothing more than to find out what actually happened to him. Not because he wanted Soonyoung out of his life, but because he no longer wanted the other to be in pain.

"I don't know, but we'll figure out the answers together, okay?" He tried.

Soonyoung silently nodded and blinked a couple of times before meeting Seokmin's eyes. He still looked shaken up from Soonyoung's energy burst and he felt guilty for it.

"Since we've hit a block in your case, it's probably best if you go back to the funeral hall. You remember where it is, right?"

"Yes, but-"

Soonyoung cut him off. "Good. Everyone should be there. Just find the ghosts we were with earlier. They'll take care of you."

Figuring he would get interrupted again if he tried protesting, Seokmin did as told and clumsily left Jihoon's apartment, leaving the other two alone.

"Are you sure he's going to be okay alone?" Jihoon questioned.

"He'll be okay," Soonyoung answered quietly. "No one can hurt him anymore."

Jihoon didn't say anything and simply looked at the spirit in front of him. His heart broke even more. He caught a glimpse of the time and noticed that it was after three in the morning. Against everything he knew, he looked at the ghost once and made an offer.

"Do you want to stay here for a bit? At least until you're feeling better." He offered.

Soonyoung was taken aback by the sudden and unexpected offer. It was like they had suddenly switched roles and he jumped at the opportunity. He wasn't in the mood to go to the funeral hall and he didn't want to be alone. Despite how antagonistic they had started out to each other, Soonyoung found Jihoon's presence comforting.

Like before, Jihoon tucked himself under the covers while Soonyoung perched himself on the other side of the bed. This time, he laid down. It was silent for a long moment as both of them were lost in their thoughts, most involving one another.

"Have you ever been in love?" Soonyoung asked suddenly.

In the past, Jihoon would have avoided the question and ignored the ghost, but he was feeling particularly open at the moment.

"No, I never really got the chance to be close to someone. I mean, who wants to get close to the weird kid who talks to himself?" He asked, half-laughing bitterly to himself as he thought back to his childhood. "I was always alone and after a while, I found that to be normal. I never really thought about love."

He turned his head to look at Soonyoung. "What about you?"

There was a pause for a few seconds before a small but goofy smile made its way to Soonyoung's face. "Just once." He answered.

Suddenly interested in an experience he never got to have, Jihoon turned to fully look at the ghost. "Well, what was it like?"

"It was fun and exciting. Anytime I was around him, my heart fluttered and I felt excited by the smallest touch."

"How long did you date?"

Soonyoung chuckled but there was no humor to it. "We didn't. It was one-sided." He admitted.

Jihoon frowned. "Doesn't a one-sided love hurt? You seem to speak fondly about yours."

"It hurts." Soonyoung confirmed, "But at the time, I was just happy being by his side. Even if I wasn't his, at least I had his attention every once in a while. In those short moments, I felt special. It made it worthwhile."

Jihoon seemed thoughtful as laid back and stared at the ceiling. He wanted to ask Soonyoung who his first love was but knew he wouldn't know the person. What difference would it have made knowing who it was? He soon drifted to sleep with the wish of falling in love at least once.

Soonyoung looked over and noticed that Jihoon was fast asleep. He smiled to himself before deciding to leave so as to not disturb him. Normally, he would teleport out, but he wanted to feel normal, human even. He wanted to act as if he just leaving a friend's house after a visit. He was about to live when he eyed the talismans on the wall. He stared thoughtfully at the upside-down one. If this demon was mad about them trying to figure out the truth, then wasn't it his fault that Jihoon was suffering? He let his guilt guide him and he turned the talisman right-side up causing him to forcefully be pushed out of the apartment. He looked at Jihoon's door with a smile.

"One-sided love does hurt." Especially when it's a friend. I guess I'm stupid enough to go through it twice." He told the door thoughtfully before disappearing into the night.