Seeing Namjoon comatose and pale in a hospital bed has Jin’s heart aching, not only because he can see a moving and, so to speak, living Namjoon right beside him, but because he has no idea how to fix it. Namjoon stands beside his corporeal body silently, staring with an unreadable expression while Jin, Jimin and Yoongi hang back a little, unsure.

“Do you think I’ll wake up if I…?” Namjoon mumbles and reaches out a hand towards his own on the bed.

Jin holds his breath and Yoongi shifts beside him, opening his mouth to reply. But before he can, Namjoon’s hand passes through the one on the bed and he pulls back. Jimin moves over to stand beside him.

“There’s probably another way,” he murmurs gently. “I mean, you’re still here aren’t you? And your heart’s still beating.”

Biting his lip, Namjoon nods, eyes never leaving his body. There are a few cuts and bruises visible on his face and one of his arms. His other arm is in a cast and there are uncomfortable looking tubes hooked to him.

“Do you want some time alone?” Yoongi asks.

Namjoon tears his eyes away from his own body and looks at him, then rests his gaze on Jin. Jin tries to give a reassuring smile, but it’s a little shaky. He can’t find anything to say and he’s not sure he even knows the right words anyway. After a moment of contemplation, Namjoon nods and the three of them leave him to spend some time in the common room of the ICU ward.

Yoongi sighs heavily as he sinks down on one of the couches.

“I wish I could say Namjoon will wake up with certainty, but…” He trails off, ruffles his hair in frustration.

Jin settles beside him. He tries not to look around too much, but he still sees ghosts everywhere. In his worry for Namjoon he forgot that he doesn’t particularly like hospitals. Normally, ghosts aren’t bad but the ones in hospitals tend to be very angry, very sad or just plain indifferent. Don’t even mention the children’s ward. Jin hasn’t spent enough time in hospitals to learn how to deal with any of them and he doesn’t quite want to.

“Coma patients are so damn unpredictable. Especially if their souls are in Limbo,” Yoongi continues.

“Limbo?” Jin asks as Jimin perches on the armrest beside him. He looks a little uneasy as he glances at a weeping ghost in the corner.

All three of them flinch as a ghost behind them suddenly erupts into an angry scream and stomps away. They turn and watch him leave the ward, shouting at nurses he passes and cursing them out for not saving him.

“Yeah,” Yoongi answers slowly. “Limbo, the plane where souls still stuck on earth exist. Something about our genetics allows us to see through our reality to theirs and interact with them.”

“So that’s where I am right now,” Jimin concludes.

After eyeing a ghost that’s moving past them and looking very interested in the conversation, Yoongi nods at him.

“Until someone helps you or the last person that remembers you dies,” he answers. “Then you go to another plane I know all about.”

Jin frowns.

“But I’ve helped ghosts before and they’ve remained.”

“Well, usually we have to help them with passing too.” Yoongi shrugs. “It’s no big deal if they’re still here though. Some ghosts aren’t ready to leave even after they’ve resolved unfinished business.”

“So I should have helped them go to whatever place they go after death all this time?” Jin asks, both astonished and worried.

But Yoongi doesn’t seem too worried about it.

“If you want,” he says. “Usually some sort of portal or doorway opens that only the ghost can see. We can help them open that gateway once what keeps them here is resolved. It’s a bit tricky and needs a lot of practice.”

Jin can only blink at him and Yoongi tilts his head, appraising him curiously.

“Seeing ghosts doesn’t run in your family, I take it,” he says.

Jin shakes his head.

“Before I learned to keep quiet about ghosts my parents thought I was hallucinating and sent me to a shrink,” he admits.

Yoongi’s lips quirk.

“Well, if it doesn’t run in the family, it means you must have survived nearly dying at some point in your life,” he explains. “That’s usually what connects someone to Limbo who doesn’t inherently have the ability.”

Jin gapes at him.

“What?” he asks.

Scratching his neck, Yoongi looks around.

“There are two ways people see ghosts,” he says and holds up two fingers. “One, it’s in their genes, like me and my family. Or two, you nearly die but survive.”

Jin blinks.

“But I can’t remember ever almost dying.”

Yoongi looks at him curiously.

“How long have you seen ghosts?”

“Since always.”

“Then you might have been too young to remember if you were in a near death situation,” Yoongi says. “It’s not unheard of.”

Feeling a headache coming, Jin rubs his forehead and takes a deep breath. Yoongi seems to understand how overwhelming everything is, because he doesn’t force more information on him and instead chats idly with Jimin and tries to placate a few ghosts who have realized he can see them.

There seems to be so much more to seeing ghosts than Jin thought. He wonders what happened to all the ghosts he already helped. Were they still out there somewhere, stuck in Limbo because of his incompetence and lack of knowledge? He had only wanted to help, but maybe he made it worse if he left them to roam around without a goal, stuck until the last person who remembered them died. That could take years. Years of them being invisible to the people they loved and unable to do anything other than watch life move on. Were they as lost and angry or sad as the ghosts here in the hospital? Had Jin made caused it?

More ghosts gather around them and suddenly he feels suffocated. He gets to his feet, avoiding looking at any of them lest they realize he too can see them.

“I’m going to check on Namjoon,” he murmurs, which is only partly an excuse.

Out of the corner of his eye he sees Yoongi give him a distracted nod as he and Jimin try to tell a wailing young woman that she can’t be brought back to life. He steps around a ghost crying in the middle of the room, heart aching though he tries not to look at him, and makes his way back to Namjoon’s room. Casting a quick glance through the window of the door, he sees Namjoon in one of the two chairs beside the bed, staring at his body. He enters quietly and sits in the other chair. Namjoon glances at him, emotions conflicting in his eyes, and Jin holds out his hand, palm up. A weak smile tugs at Namjoon’s lips and he places his hand on Jin’s.

“Everything okay?” Namjoon asks.

Jin raises an eyebrow and snorts.

“Shouldn’t I be the one asking that?”

Namjoon chuckles.

“Well, nothing about my situation has changed all that much. I’m still a ghost, only now I know I’m not dead,” he says. “You however just learned that there are more people out there who see ghosts and I’m sure Yoongi hyung gave you a few things to think about. Besides… you’re frowning.”

Jin immediately tries to smooth his features out and takes a deep breath.

“Yeah,” he lets out as he exhales. “But… it’s not just that... I forgot how bad hospitals are.”

Namjoon raises his eyebrows and Jin gives a sorrowful smile.

“There are a lot of ghosts here and most of them are really angry or sad,” he explains. “It’s difficult to deal with.”

“Oh,” Namjoon says. “I didn’t know. We can leave.”

Jin shakes his head and smiles at him.

“We don’t have to if you still feel you want to stay,” he says. Then a thought hits him and he bites his lip. “Or well, you’re not obligated to come back home with me and Jimin. You have Yoongi and his family. They might know how to help you better than I do. And he’s your childhood friend.”

A small part of Jin riots against him as he utters those words, but he quickly crushes it. It’s not his place to feel that way. Namjoon rolls his lips together and his eyes dart to the door.

“I’d rather… stay with you,” he murmurs, not quite meeting Jin’s eyes. “If that’s okay?”

Jin tires to ignore the relief that spreads through him and nods.

“Then you stay with me,” he murmurs and a soft smile spreads on Namjoon’s lips.

The door opens then and Yoongi walks in, followed by Jimin. Both of their eyes fall down to Jin and Namjoon’s connected hands and Jin pulls his away, feeling unreasonably guilty. It’s not like he’s doing anything wrong.

“Sorry to interrupt,” Yoongi says, frowning faintly at Namjoon. “But if I have to listen to another ghost beg to be brought back I will puncture my eardrums. Are you ready to leave?”

Chuckling nervously, Namjoon nods and stands up. Jin follows and they make their way out of the hospital, mostly in silence as they try to avoid other ghosts and people.

“So,” Yoongi says as they stop on the sidewalk outside and turns to Namjoon. “Do you want to head back home with me or…?”

Namjoon glances at Jin, who is standing a bit off to the side with Jimin. Jin gives a small nod, trying to reassure him that whatever he decides is okay.

“Um, actually,” he says and looks back at Yoongi. “I think I’ll continue staying with Jin hyung. I just… feel like I know him better right now… sorry.”

Yoongi watches him for a moment, thoughtful. Then he shrugs, though Jin can still see a hint of tension in his eyebrows.

“It’s fine, don’t apologize,” he says and looks over at Jimin and Jin. He smiles a little at them. “I guess we’ll be seeing more of each other now.”

With a nod, Jin smiles back.

“I guess so,” he answers.

Yoongi points over his shoulder.

“So, I’ll be going that direction,” he says.

“Oh, we’re going the opposite way,” Jimin says, a little disappointed. “But I guess we’ll meet on campus?”

Yoongi nods.

“Then can I just talk to you Namjoon for a moment before you leave?”

Namjoon glances at Jin again.

“Sure,” he says as he looks back at Yoongi.

“Great.” Yoongi motions for Namjoon to follow him a bit further away, out of earshot.

Jin and Jimin watch them go in silence. Then, when they’re out of sight, Jimin turns to him, head tilted.

“What do you think they’re talking about?” he asks, eyes narrowed but a small grin twitching at his lips. “Why the need for privacy? What juicy secrets does Namjoon’s past hold? My dear Watson, we must get to the bottom of this mystery.”

Jin can’t help the laugh that bubbles out of him.

“Easy there, Sherlock. It’s probably something about Namjoon’s life before the coma, yes,” he answers. “And Yoongi might want to give him a chance to keep it to himself. We are basically strangers still.”

Jimin hums and turns back to watch the corner the two had disappeared behind.

“I’m glad he’s still staying with us, though,” he says. “I like him. I would have missed having him around.” He wrinkles his nose. “Though I guess I’ll have to call him hyung now.”

Jin snorts. Silence falls again as they wait, watching people come and go. Then Namjoon returns, frown etched deep in his forehead, and somehow it’s making Jin nervous.

“So, what did Yoongi hyung want?” Jimin asks as they begin making their way to the bus stop.

Namjoon hesitates and glances at Jin. He raises his eyebrows back at him, questioning.

“Just… telling me to be careful,” he murmurs. “Apparently my body has been having trouble.”

“Trouble?” Jimin repeats, sounding worried.

There’s worry coiling in Jin’s stomach too. Namjoon looks between them, frowning, seemingly contemplating his next words.

“Yeah,” he sighs. “Remember when I sank through the couch?” They nod. “Well, I had a burst of brain activity and my heart beat picked up so they thought I would wake up. Then I fell into a deeper coma.”

“Oh,” Jimin says softly. “Does this mean that the longer you are in a coma, the more solid you’ll become as a ghost?”

Namjoon shrugs.

“I think it has more to do with how close my body is to dying,” he answers.

Jimin hums thoughtfully and Jin is chewing on his lip. At least they will be aware of the signs if something bad or good happens.

“So, transparent is good and solid is bad,” Jimin summarizes as they come to a halt at the bus stop. Namjoon nods. “Well, that’s good to know.”

It doesn’t take long for the bus to arrive and it’s mostly empty so they manage to get seats in the back. Namjoon spends the entire trip staring out the bus window, his gaze far away, and both Jin and Jimin glance at him from time to time though neither can find anything to say. Instead they have a quiet conversation about the arrival of Jin’s cousin tomorrow evening. Jimin thinks Taehyung should come and greet him too, since they’ll be in the same department, and make sure Taehyung has a new friend, though Jin knows Jimin hopes for the chances of it becoming more.

He is making all these grand plans about how to set them up, ignoring Jin when he gently reminds him he hasn’t even met his cousin yet, and he doesn’t stop planning until they’