About a month after he started dating Taekwoon, Hongbin began to wonder about the backstory of his next door neighbor. It really started as a random thought he had after watching said neighbor lock his door before rushing down the street. It occurred to Hongbin that he knew little to nothing about the man next door. Sure the man had come over and introduced himself, his name was Hakyeon if he remembered correctly, but after that interaction the two never spoke. Hell, Hongbin hadn’t even lit the candle that Hakyeon had gifted to him on his first day in town. Hakyeon seemed nice enough. Nothing about him really raised any red flags. As far as Hongbin could tell after observing the other man for a few days; he certainly was a man of habit. He always left the house at the same exact time everyday, which was 7 in the morning, never a minute earlier or later. The same could be said about the time he got home, which was at 9 in the evening. After observing Hakyeon for a few more days Hongbin decided to try to get closer to his neighbor. Hongbin didn’t think that Hakyeon would like it very much if he tried to approach him during a weekday, since the man looked to be in a bit of a hurry as he scurried out of his house everyday. As a result Hongbin decided to wait for the weekend. But even if he decided to wait it didn’t mean he would sit around. He decided to see if Jaehwan knew anything about his neighbor, since Jaehwan was known to be the town gossip.

Hongbin sat at his desk in the studio, editing a few photos from the photoshoot he had the day before. Taekwoon walked behind him, sliding a hand across his shoulders as he passed by. He and Taekwoon agreed to stay professional at work, since neither of them wanted to hear Jaehwan screaming about it later. Speaking of Jaehwan, the man had just returned to his desk from his own photoshoot. “I swear, these models have no idea what high concept art is.” Hongbin let out a chuckle. “Let me guess, you tried to put one of them in the lettuce suit again.” Jaehwan let out a gasp. “I am so offended that you think so lowly of me. I’ll have you know it was the steak suit this time. And not just any steak. Oh no it was the T-Bone.” Hongbin couldn’t do anything but laugh at the comment. “I’m sure if she was modeling for a dog magazine she would have loved it.” Jaehwan gave him a smack on the arm before getting to work. A few minutes later Hongbin remembered the question he wanted to ask Jaehwan. “Oh by the way can I ask you about someone?” Jaehwan looked towards him with a lifted eyebrow. “In what sense?” “In the sense that they’re my neighbor and I know next to nothing about them even though they were super nice to me on my first day here.” Jaehwan let out a hum of understanding before opening a drawer in his desk. The drawer had many files in it. “I don’t know if I should be concerned or impressed about the fact that you keep files on almost everyone in town.” Jaehwan ignored his comment. “Who’s your neighbor?” “If I remember his name correctly it’s Hakyeon.” Jaehwan sifted through the files in his desk before pulling one out. “I have one Hakyeon on file here.” Jaehwan pulled out a picture from the file. “This is him right?” “Yup. That’s him.” Jaehwan put the photo back in the file. “Well good news is unlike your boyfriend I have more than his address. Bad news is I don’t have too much information about him. Let’s see . . . he moved here a few years back, no one knows where he lived before or why he moved here. He teaches dance at the community center down the street. He is a pretty decent guy overall. Most people like him, and the ones who don’t still have a high level of respect for him. The only negative thing that I can really say about him is that sometimes he zones out in the middle of conversations. But other than that a lot of people are glad to have him in their lives.” Jaehwan closed the file loudly. “That’s all I got. But maybe Taekwoon knows something?” Hongbin tilted his head in confusion. “Why would Taekwoon know about him?” “You didn’t know? Taekwoon volunteers at the community center to help with the kindergarten program.” Hongbin nodded. “That sounds like something he would do. Okay, I’ll ask him at lunch.”

When lunchtime came around Hongbin made his way to Taekwoon’s office. He made sure to knock before going in. Taekwoon turned around in his chair to face Hongbin. “Oh, it’s you.” Hongbin snickered. “That is the perfect way to address your boyfriend when he walks into your office.” Taekwoon let out a chuckle. “And how would you prefer I greet you? Do you want me to shower you with roses whenever you enter a room?” “How did you know?” Hongbin said as he approached the desk. “Very funny. But seriously, what brings you to my office this afternoon?” Hongbin took a seat in one of the chairs in front of Taekwoon’s desk. “I’m actually doing a bit of research. You see I’ve been living here for almost two months and I have yet to have a proper conversation with my neighbor. He seems pretty interesting and he was very nice to me on my first day in town. I was wondering if you knew anything about him?” Taekwoon leaned back in his chair a bit. “And why do you think I know him?” “He works at the community center. Which a little birdy told me you happen to volunteer at from time to time.” Taekwoon folded his arms at that point. “Well your bird friend really needs to stop snooping around my personal life. But if you give me your neighbors name I might be able to tell you something.” “His name is Hakyeon. He teaches dance at the center?” Taekwoon wracked his brain for a few minutes before snapping his fingers. “Oh yeah. I do know a little bit about him.” Hongbin deflated a bit. “You only know a little bit?” “Well yeah. He’s plenty friendly but he’s really private as well.” Hongbin smiles at that. “Aww Taekwoonie has a work buddy.” Taekwoon scoffs. “Yeah. Anyway, I know that he has a few hobbies he likes to indulge in, like candle making and figure skating. He’s pretty affectionate, to the point that it can be a little extra. And he really likes what he does for a living.” Taekwoon unfolded his arms. “That’s all I really know.” Hongbin’s eyebrows furrowed. “That’s it?” Taekwoon nodded. “Yeah. Like I said he’s pretty private about his personal life.” Hongbin left Taekwoon’s office after talking a bit more about what he could invite Hakyeon to do that weekend. He left the office a bit more confused that when he entered. Was there a reason that Hakyeon was so private? Hongbin shrugged the feeling off. “Not everyone is hiding something Hongbin.” He thought to himself. “Maybe he just likes to keep his private life and his work life separate.” But the feeling that something was off never left Hongbin.

The weekend couldn’t come sooner for Hongbin. It wasn’t that he disliked work, but he was excited to ask Hakyeon to hang out. He had already thought of a good place to go if Hakyeon accepted his offer. Since he knew Hakyeon liked to make candles he decided to go to the local farmers market. It would be a good opportunity for Hakyeon to pick some flowers as a fragrance for the candles, and Hongbin could try to learn more about the man next door. During the weekends Hakyeon still had a schedule that he followed religiously. He would go out to the garden he had in his backyard first thing in the morning and tend to the plants, making sure that there were no weeds growing around the vegetable patch. That was Hongbin’s chance to talk with him. Just like every weekend Hakyeon walked out to tend to his garden. Hongbin walked over to the gate. “Hey Hakyeon!” Just as he called Hakyeon’s name the other man turned around, greeting Hongbin with a smile and a wave. “Hey Hongbin!” He greeted, walking over to Hongbin so they didn’t have to shout at each other. “What’s up?” Hakyeon asked when he was close enough. “Nothing much. I just thought it would be nice if we could hangout. We don’t really talk that often.” Hakyeon nodded. “Sure. What did you have in mind?” “I was thinking about going to the farmer’s market. It seems like a good place to just take a stroll.” Hakyeon reached into his pocket. “That sounds like a lot of fun. Here put your number in my phone so we can smooth out the details later.” Hakyeon said, passing Hongbin his phone. Hongbin went to grab the phone. Their fingertips brushed. Hongbin was then shocked my what he felt.

Hakyeon had hundreds of spirits connected to him.