A/N: Most ghosts are going to be OC.

There are two types of people in the world.

The dead and the living.

And I have always seen both.

I was exactly one year older than my brother, born on the same date of a different year. Being from a small town, our birthdays were believed to be unlucky, falling on August 22 of different years. It fell on the day of the Ghost Festival and our inner eye was believed to be open. I got it all, and I could both see, hear and sense everything to a T.

Baekhyun, however, could only hear them and that was enough to scare him. The difference between Baekhyun and I was that they said he was of pure heart—ghosts loved that about him. He was susceptive to possession and since I was young, I could see them hover over him.

I refused to leave his side.

And that was why I had always made bracelets for him, holy beads and blessed strings in order to keep the ghosts away. He was my brother and I loved him. It didn’t help that our mother began to fall sick and this was all due to physical problems. But it was enough to watch Baekhyun claw for the slightest bit of hope that she would survive.

It ate her up and I watched my father fall apart, our whole family moving to Seoul to try to save her.

In the end, that was what family was for, wasn’t it? To try our hardest and not break apart—

But it didn’t work and I remember the flat sound of the machine very vividly. I had opened my eyes to see my father sobbing and holding her hand, Baekhyun’s tears running down his cheeks.

I saw her, moving out of her body, my mother watching them cry as she looked over to me.

“I love you,” she had mouthed. “Take care of your brother.”

I know she wanted to stay.

I could feel it.

“Go,” I whispered. “I got this.”

And that was the last time I saw her.

That night, I cried.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Protecting Baekhyun was my priority and we decided to stay in Seoul. My father got a job and we settled in an apartment a little bit outside of N-CITY district. Our apartment was close to SM University and I could constantly see university students on their way to class. My brother and I took some time off—to heal, per say, and spend time with my father.

The time was ending and it was time to move on with our life.

He got a job and he supported both of us and I have always been thankful that he never went down the alcoholic route at the loss of his wife. Being 17 and still lost in a world of my own, I looked at the boxes that needed to be unpacked and sorted out, the jingling of my brother’s bracelets could be heard from his room as he moved around, sorting out his things.

My father was devastated but he kept it well. Our apartment was enough for the three of us, three bedrooms, a kitchen and a living room and I moved into the empty room that was supposed to be my bedroom. I took in the bed, the open window and I breathed in the Seoul air.

If only mom was around, I thought.

I leaned forward, deep in thought. I was hardly emotional. Emotions were for people who were scared of the unknown, people who were scared of the things and people they could lose; but when you know where the dead end up, the knowledge itself gives you a certain kind of peace.

As much as I missed my mother, I knew she was in a better place.

I heaved a sigh when I suddenly heard aggressive jingling. My eyebrows furrowed and I heard a screech, Baekhyun’s wail travelling through the whole apartment. I couldn’t hear my father so I guessed he went down to the car.

“Noona! Noona!” Baekhyun panted and I whipped my head around just to see him by the door, his hands in the air. My sixteen-year-old, scaredy cat of a brother rapidly moved his hands so the clanking of the metal beads slamming against each other filled the room. “Noona! I hear it! I hear it, it’s a child!”

Baekhyun’s eyes were closed tightly and he finally plugged his fingers into his ears.

“NOONA!” he wailed. “I hear it singing!”

My eyes shifted to a presence beside Baekhyun and I saw a young child look at me. His eyes were big and he was singing “London Bridge” very softly; but with Baekhyun’s sixth sense, I bet he could hear it clear as day. I crossed my arms at the child, tilting my head at him.

Weird.

“Noona! You said this apartment would be safe!” Baekhyun continued to talk and I shook my head.

“Baekhyun, ghosts are everywhere,” I said to my brother, Baekhyun whimpering. “Come here—”

With my order, Baekhyun took one step forward but I shook my head.

“Not you, Baek. The ghost,” I told him and Baekhyun squealed. “Go to your room, I’ll handle it from here.”

I didn’t have to repeat it, my brother rushing out of my room. I could hear the door slam and the ghost looked at me, his eyes curious. I narrowed my eyes at the ghost, wondering why the energy was different from a child’s.

“You can see me?” The child said and I nodded slowly. He waved, as if he couldn’t believe it. “Woah. Amazing.”

“Alright, I really don’t want to do this," I began, sitting back down on the bed and crossing my legs. “But my brother is very sensitive to ghost energy. I have to ask you to leave this apartment.”

The child stared at me, heading over to the empty chair and plopping his down like he owned it. He cleared his throat and I blinked.

“Well… To be fair, I lived here first,” he said before pausing. “And I say “lived” because I’m obviously dead—”

“How old are you?” I asked, the child shrugging and putting up five fingers. “Five? Five years old?”

“Or fifty. No idea, woman,” he answered and I raised my eyebrows at the attitude he exuded. “How old are you?”

“Seventeen.”

“A child,” he teased and I glared at him. I was pretty sure he wasn’t five like he said he was.

Ghosts were a weird thing. Throughout my experience with them, I found out that ghosts could take multiple forms. A lot of them aged through time even when they were dead and a lot of them preferred to stay the same age. This ghost, in particular though, was definitely older than he said he was.

“Bora,” I told him, introducing myself to him when he smiled back. “Byun Bora.”

“A pretty name for a pretty woman," he said and I fought the urge to roll my eyes. “Maybe I am a little older.”

“Alright, cut the crap,” I snapped, the child making a face. He chuckled to himself, hopping off the chair before he closed his eyes, his body changing into a taller man. He was definitely older, a mischievous smile plastered on his face and I saw him fake dust himself off before he stretched.

He looked at least twenty, the male putting his hands on his hips.

“You can call me Matthew,” he told me and I frowned at the name. It was very… English. I wanted to ask him why he still there but he beat me to it. “I don’t know.”

“Don’t know?” I asked, frowning. “Why are you still around? How long have you been in this apartment?”

“Since forever,” he replied, looking around the place. “Twenty years, to be exact. You’re not the first that can see me. Not the first who has also asked why I’m still here.”

I pressed my lips together, Matthew smiling when he saw me huff.

“Not getting rid of me anytime soon, Byun Bora,” he told me. “And your brother—”

“What?”

“Seems like someone who would get possessed very easily. If not for those jingly things you put on him. Oh, there it goes again!” He sang, the rapid jingling from Baekhyun’s room reaching my ears and I rubbed my forehead. “Don’t worry, it’s not like I’ll ever try to possess him.”

“I would love to see you try,” I said, the ghost floating around my room and leaning over the boxes to inspect my things.

“A reader, I see. Knowledge is a virtue, they say.”

“That’s right,” I answered. “That’s why we’re going to school tomorrow.”

“Nice. Which school?” Matthew asked and for some reason, I could tell he was genuine. The male finally sitting on the foot of the bed, propping his face on his hands to study me carefully. “It’s either EXO High or Vision Highschool.”

“Not the latter,” I told him and Matthew scrunched up his nose like he was buffering and processing the information. “Vision Highschool is known for their performative arts and as much as Baekhyun would do very well there, it’s not very realistic.”

“Not a dreamer, I see,” Matthew mused and I noticed how long his lashes were, the ghost clicking his tongue. “If your brother is as sensitive as you say, Miss. Bora, EXO Highschool is going to be a blast for him.”

“Why do you say that?”

“It’s notorious for their paranormal energy,” he said, shrugging. “Used to be a cemetery, gone through a whole phase—suicides, hit and runs, murders. Even I don’t like walking in that area, the number of ghosts scare me.”

“But you’re a ghost.”

“One that enjoys my peace,” he replied, the male scooting closer and I forgot that he was a ghost. I leaned back, Matthew enjoying my flustered state before beaming. “You know what is worse than high school kids, Bora?”

“What?”

“Dead high school kids,” he concluded, leaning back and chuckling to himself before standing up. “Does your old man also see ghosts? I would love to have more people to talk to.”

“My father isn’t a believer," I told him and shaking my head at his statement. “And please, do not scare my brother. He doesn’t stay scared for long but—”

“No promises,” he said, winking when the front door opened and my father seemed to have arrived with a bunch of boxes from downstairs. I ignored Matthew, already hearing Baekhyun run to my father and helping him with the boxes. I pointed a finger at Matthew, the ghost sitting back down on the bed obediently when I saw my father making dinner.

“Dad,” I greeted him and he kissed me on the cheek. “Can I talk to you about something?”

My father looked worried at my request, but the older male nodded.

“Without Baekhyun,” I said, watching my brother struggle with opening a box before frowning. My father motioned me to go into the bedroom and he closed the door behind him when I saw Matthew walk in, sitting on the bed to listen to me talk to my father.

I stared at him and he gave me a smile.

What a nosy ghost.

“I was just going to ask if there is a way to send Baekhyun to Vision Highschool instead,” I said to my father, the older man sighing. “Dad, you know—”

“Honey, I know you care about Baekhyun but there is simply no reason why he should go to Vision Highschool.”

“Does he not know that your brother sees ghosts?” Matthew asked, leaning forward and I tried to ignore him as much as possible.

“Dad, Baekhyun isn’t safe. It used to be a cemetery… You know what Mom—”

“Bora, please don’t tell me you’re basing it on your mother’s belief,” my father said and I fought the urge t