When she heard the racket below, Seulgi whooshed downstairs to find her sister crouching under the table, evidently making no effort to leave from her spot while everyone else kept their distance from the table looking baffled. At first, Seulgi suspected they knew about Joy's presence, but the look on Jimin's and his mother's faces as they stared under the table, and then back at Jungkook suggested otherwise— they were waiting for an explanation they wouldn't buy.

Seulgi beckoned her sister to leave but she only grinned as Jimin's mother who was now standing on a chair kept asking her son if there was a rat.

She couldn't believe her sister's foolhardiness and without waiting to see her enjoying the scene further, she slipped under the table, grabbed Joy and left in a flash. As she left, she caught a glimpse of Jimin as he pushed back his chair and began to leave, no doubt annoyed at his brother.

* * *

Both sisters stood in the hallway across from each other. Joy scratched her head, sheepishly peering at her sister through her long, dark hair which almost always covered half of her face.

"That was stupid!" Seulgi said in a hushed tone. "What were you doing Joy?"

"I was just making sure if he could see me, you know... it's just strange...then I guess I got carried away...seeing them all scared,"

Seulgi stared at her sister in disbelief. Though she couldn't blame her for creating mischief —Joy was now used it, thanks to her mother—she could get into trouble if she didn't avoid appearing in front of the boy called Jungkook, for whom Joy was as conspicuous as any other human being. Seulgi could understand why her sister was curious about Jungkook; a ghost can only show itself if a person summons them by their name and there was absolutely no way Jungkook knew her name. But then again, she had heard of similar situations though very rare, where some humans see ghosts. "Maybe Jungkook is one of those gifted people," Seulgi thought aloud. "But! You are not going to repeat that waywardness again. We cannot take it for granted that no one believes that boy."

Joy giggled at that, which made Seulgi raise an eyebrow.

"Poor boy..." Joy said in mock sympathy and even though Seulgi felt bad for Jungkook, she couldn't help but break into a smile then into laughter, thinking about how no one took Jungkook seriously the first time he had told about Joy and they were sure no one would, this time too. But even as she laughed, there was something which kept nagging at the back of her mind. Although she didn't have any personal interest in the brothers' strained relationship, she had her own reasons to get bothered by Jimin's disbelief in her.

When her sister left, Seulgi confined herself in the basement deciding to spend the rest of the night there. Or maybe every night from now on. It was getting harder and harder for her to be around Jimin, not that he bothered her physically, but it took a great mental effort to control her feelings whenever Jimin came into her sight. She had tried to push the growing feelings aside, bottle it up inside her, but lately a horrible thought had gotten hold of her. She would never admit it to anyone, it was pure folly, but she couldn't lie to her self. She wanted Jimin to know of her existence. In a way, she didn't like the way Jimin refused to believe in his brother when he had tried to convince him about Joy. Jimin's opinion shouldn't matter but curiously it did. As long as he wouldn't believe in her, she wouldn't stop thinking of herself as small and insignificant.

She looked around the basement, taking the appearance in. It looked spacious and not half as suffocating like in old times. The place was filled with a sweet aroma and the smell of wood which she assumed must be coming from crates tucked neatly in a corner. Except the crates and a few sparsely occupied shelves the place seemed more or less empty. Her thoughts wandered as she reminisced about a time when she had come down here to stay out of her mother's way.

Just a fortnight since her father's death. Her mother had been continuously hinting at her marriage, but Seulgi had brushed it off as nothing serious. A few days later she would be found out and her  relationship with the boy she had been seeing would come to a bitter end and she had no inkling about it.

It was a typical summer day with nothing ominous about it to suggest what lay ahead of her; a bright blue canvass of a sky, birds singing away unseen under it and the day should have ended just the way it dawned. But it didn't. When her mother stormed into the house, her shoes  making a lot more noise than usual, yelling Seulgi's name, she could tell right away she had been found out. Frozen with fright, she sat in the chair, the book she had been reading lay across her lap abandoned and slowly slipping down from her lap while her bewildered eyes were fixed on the door expecting her mother to burst in any minute. It was not the slaps and kicks that she feared as much as the abusive words and accusations that rolled off her mother's tongue so effortlessly. If her father had been alive, he would've definitely stopped her but sadly he's no more. She could hear the doors banging down the hall and she knew there wasn't much time before her mother finds her sitting there like a statue.

The book made a thud onto the floor as she got to her feet, crossed the space to the door and flung it open. She ran down the hall like her life depended on it, turning her back on her mother who on spotting her, darted towards her but Seulgi had already turned a corner and out of sight of her mother.

After some time had passed, Seulgi slipped back into the house. Now that her mother was nowhere to be seen it felt strangely silent like the aftermath of a storm.  While her mother in such a fit, the thought of being confronted by her didn't appeal to her much and partly because she needed time for herself to think things through she went straight to the basement where she knew she wouldn't run into anyone.

Now when she thought about it, their relationship had been somewhat conspicuous. Though rarely, they had held hands when they walked on the streets and talked secluded and far too longer than was necessary for just a couple of teenagers who had nothing between them but friendship. She should've known it would be just a matter of time before some busybody tipped her mother off.

When it felt like she had spent days in the basement—though it had been only a handful of hours— she thought she couldn't wait another hour in there. It was dark and damp. Even the small light bulb dangling from the ceiling seemed like cowering from the darkness. As her fear of her mother's temper disappeared, she saw less and less the point of hiding, because sooner or later, she had to face what was in store for her.

When she entered, she could hear her mother in the kitchen. The clink of cutlery above running water filled the place and she smelled, then spotted the food laid on the table before she found Joy sitting at the table. On seeing her, Seulgi weakly smiled expecting a smile in return partly as a reassurance that things were better than she suspected they were. But Joy only glanced at her briefly and reverted her gaze back to the spot on the floor she had been staring at when Seulgi walked in. Not good, Seulgi thought and sat next to her sister. She tried to ignore her mother at the sink, who was still giving her back to them, seemingly occupied with the dishes. There was something about her calm demeanor which made Seulgi wary. Her mother had probably heard her enter, but she made no overt indication and this further agitated Seulgi.

In vain, she tried to get Joy to talk to her, but she wouldn't even look her in the eye.

Partly annoyed, she decided to leave. As she rose to her feet, as if on cue, her mother turned around and said, "Aren't you going to eat? Have something dear, you must be hungry."

It didn't feel like she had had breakfast at all, even though she had had an early one that day. Truth be told, it seemed like days since she put something in her stomach. Warily she eyed the food set on the table, wondering what her mother had up her sleeve; by their standards it could easily be called a feast, the kind of food she would only hope to eat once or twice a year at the most. She threw a dirty glance at her mother, already sensing some misgivings.

"I'm not hungry," Seulgi muttered, now looking everywhere but her mother as though she would catch the lie. But as even as she said this, her stomach growled as if in protest.

Her mother walked to her, a sympathetic smile on her lips. But halfway, she stopped by the table, pointed to the chair,  motioning Seulgi to sit down. Out of the corner of her eyes, Seulgi studied her sister briefly and slumped into the chair next to her. Now their mother's figure looming over the both of them she could feel herself cornered. This was her mother's way to bring down her defenses, make her feel as small as a dust mote.

"Listen. I know you children are having it hard. So am I. But there's wonderful news," She paused for effect and then moved on. "I've found you a suitor and this—now now what is that look on your face Seulgi?"

Seulgi's head shot up, and she stared at her mother. She wasn't sure the words she heard were coming from her.

"Don't glare at me girl! I don't see any reason you should look so devastated at something like this. Is there, Joy? Make her understand girl. Your sister can be a bit stubborn, but you know I'm saying this because it's the best for her isn't it—isn't it?" She looked at both of them, her eyes darting from one girl to the other, agape, unable to see why the news didn't have the desired effect on them. At last she threw her hands in the air. "Oh I don't care. I expect you to be ready by 9 tomorrow morning. Joy, you too. We are all going to see her off. I have no more to say on this matter."

By this time, Seulgi felt her eyes sting with tears and she wiped them with the back of her hand as her mother turned to leave. Then she mustered the courage to ask her mother as  venomously as possible, how much she had already profited from the sale of her own daughter. When the woman looked taken aback and feigned ignorance, she pointed at the table and all the food there.

"I don't know what you are talking about Seulgi...Now don't let me see those gloomy faces tomorrow." She said and walked out wiping her hand on her skirt as if she had completed a great task.

* * *

Her train of thoughts came to an end by a faint ringing in her ears. Alarmed, she searched around her, as her name echoed in her head like a mantra. She was almost certain it might be the very thing she feared it was.

The voice left no room for doubt. It was Jimin and she was being called.

And the excitement she had felt earlier at the thought of being discovered went away, to be replaced by regret. She wondered why in the world she ever had wished for it, being acknowledged by Jimin about whom Seulgi didn't know except a thing or two. Everything else she thought she knew about Jimin was conjured up in her mind by wishful thinking. Still, she had no choice but to appear in front of him.

When she came in, she expected a wide-eyed Jimin staring right at her. But to her surprise, she found him slouched over the desk, his head resting on his folded hands as if in the middle of a hide and seek game. If he sensed Seulgi, he showed no indication of it and this bothered Seulgi to no end. It somehow heightened her fear by delaying the inevitable moment of coming face to face with him.

"Seulgi...",

Jimin trailed off as soon as he murmured the first syllable. Still he made no perceptible movement and then just as Seulgi moved closer to him, gingerly taking measured steps towards him, his head tilted to a side revealing a pair of lidded eyes underneath strands of brownish hair. Relief washed over her as she took in his softened features.

Without a warning, he raised his head, obviously in sleep and to Seulgi's horror, his eyes fluttered open, the movement agonizingly slow. He murmured something, his half-lidded eyes never lifting from Seulgi and then his eyes rolled back into his head. She watched stunned, as he laid his head back on the desk. For a while she couldn't figure out what he said. Suddenly, her attention snapped to the flapping papers under Jimin's arms as if they had become visible to her only now. She stayed in her spot as if anchored there, for a long, long time, even when Jimin awoke with a start.

Of course, now that he couldn't see her, Seulgi knew he would probably end up thinking she was part of a dream, by the way he rubbed his eyes, and looked around him before dozing off again.
                 
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Hello. I'm very sorry I couldn't update this chapter sooner~~ hope you enjoy the chap and let me know what you think in the comments~~