━ { 2001; december.

secretary bae miyeon, 31, clacks her heels on geumjanhwa high's linoleum floor. the tour's gone swimmingly; the parents of future geumjanhwa first years are charmed by the big library, the fancy new computer lab, and of course, the pool. "our facilities are state of the art," she recites, smiling brightly. "and our academic record speaks for itself. just attending geumjanhwa is enough to get the attention of any university your child could dream of attending."

the crowd murmurs, pleased. perfect, she thinks. now all we have to do is wrap it up without someone mentioning - 

"excuse me - secretary bae?" a father asks.

miyeon turns around, heart sinking into her stomach, though her smile stays on her face. "yes, mr., um...?"

"park. mr. park." he's short, and noticeably younger than a lot of the parents in the crowd, with a full head of hair reeking of inexperience. a man with an only daughter, then, someone all too protective of his precious little girl. miyeon knows his type all too well - they're usually the ones who ask. "is it true that geumjanhwa has deaths every year?"

there it is.

miyeon's face falls; she nods solemnly. "it's true that geumjanhwa has lost at least one student every year, yes," she confirms. "and it always, always hurts us so much when we lose a student."

"how involved is the school with these deaths? you're not working my children to death, are you?" asks a mother with a bad, bad perm.

instead of saying "no, you are," like she wants to, miyeon simply says, "we always reach out to students that seem stressed. our counseling department is just another thing that sets us apart from other schools." granted, they're not always successful, she thinks, but her expression doesn't change. 

"is there something in that pool?"

"it's cleaned weekly, even if it's not in use." that's not even a lie - that pool is the school's prize, of course it's in pristine condition. the principal wouldn't have it any other way.

"are your buses safe?"

"they're examined every six months for stability purposes." now that's a lie, but it sounds good, at least. (most of the students don't even commute by bus. it'd be a waste of resources.)

"are you poisioning the school lunches?"

miyeon turns to face, with a blink, the older woman who apparently thought that was a good idea to say. "why on earth would we do that?" miyeon asks, far more confused than angry. "what do we possibly have to gain from harming our own students?"

the woman shakes her head. "i'm sorry, i just...thought..."

"no, i don't think you did," miyeon says, shaking her head. she turns back to the rest of the parents and sighs. "it is true that geumjanhwa has at least one death every year, but the school is an environment where every student, regardless of who they are or what they do, is perfectly safe. that is something that we always make absolute sure of, and that's the last i'm going to say on the subject."

the parents are silent. miyeon turns around. "now, if you'll follow me to the greenhouse..."

━ { 2012; september.

"honey, you've been picking out clothes for half an hour. that's even longer i take." sarah walks up to her boyfriend and hugs him from behind. "come to bed. you need the rest."

"i know, and i will. but." donghyun turns around, holding a blue sweater in one hand and a brown one in the other. "which one?"

"if i say you'd look good in either, you wouldn't believe me, right?" sarah asks, crossing her arms. she already knows the answer, but it's worth a try. 

"nope."

"then...neither. try red, that red one my mom got you for christmas last year. it's authoritative."

"do i want to be authoritative, though? i always thought i'd be that cool teacher that kids could go to their problems with..."

"well, then, blue. now will you go to bed?"

donghyun's brow furrows. "...are you sure about the blue? cause -"

"joo. donghyun. come to bed."

"fine." he sighs and puts the sweaters back in his closet carefully. "thank you, by the way."

"for helping you pick out your clothes?"

"for everything." he kisses her one the nose, with a small smile. "you're the best. i'll wash up and join you momentarily."

"you'd better." sarah pecks his lips before walking out of donghyun's closet. he smiles, just a little, as she walks away.

"blue it is," he mumbles, as he changes into his pajamas, though he knows he won't get much sleep. teaching korean in america is one thing; teaching english in korea, on the other hand, will be a bit of a challenge. it's not like he's unfamiliar with the system, it's just...

his phone buzzes - a reminder to go to bed, donghyun! blares from his screen. he can't help but notice his wallpaper as he swipes to clear it. it's a picture of his family: his mother, his father, himself, his older brother (the reason for the photograph - he'd just graduated high school), and his younger sister. there's something in her smile that makes his chest tighten.

 i need to call them up, he muses. see how they're doing. i wonder what they'd think about me teaching at sis's school? he wonders, as he turns the screen off. 

(author's note) firstly and foremostly, 40 subscribers! i'm so happy to see that people are interested in this fic. i appreciate it and i thank you all so, so much.
anyway, teaser 2! even shorter than the first one, but there's also dialogue. i wanted this to be less angsty than the first teaser - that "comedy" tag is up there for a reason. i'm not that funny, but i tried. also, meet the club's slightly harried advisor, joo donghyun. if you want an fc, there's nobody really set in stone, but it'll probably end up being yoo yeonseok. (he's about 28 in this teaser, and 34 by the start of the story...not the point, though.)

the title is from amanda palmer's lost, which is one of my favorite songs ever. it fits very well with haunted, doesn't it?  unbeta'd, c/c welcome.

this teaser is also to announce something: this fic's deadline is january 14th. the holidays and finals are coming up, so i want to give anyone who still wants to apply time to finish their apps. however, i'd also like to have the first chapter done by the end of that month. january 14th is the second saturday of january, so it'll give me enough time to choose characters and write up chapter one. (i want to have this fic in a good place by march, for reasons.) 

anyways, keep your apps coming, and thank you again for sticking with me!