Chanyeol flinched awake. He immediately gasped for breath as soon as he woke up. Turning to his right, he was surprised and relieved to see Kyungsoo sitting by the bed. Then he remembered what he just saw before he fainted.

“A-are you… Are you a ghost?”

He watched how the tavern owner’s lips turned into a beautiful heart-shaped smile as he chuckled. “No… I’m not.”

“Then, are you a human?” Chanyeol asked, but Kyungsoo just shook his head as a response. “If you’re neither of those… then what are you?”

“That’s a secret.” Kyungsoo smiled at him. “And since you’re asking all of these questions, can I assume that you’re fine now?”

Chanyeol nodded in response. Though he remembered how frightened he was when he saw the headless man a moment ago, he couldn’t deny that seeing Kyungsoo calmed him. It was odd, of course, seeing that someone he just met gave him this kind of relief. Even if he couldn’t explain what it was about Kyungsoo that calmed him, he trusted his heart more than the reasons his brain was trying to conjure.

“Are you curious about this tavern?” Chanyeol’s eyes saw the benign smile on Kyungsoo’s lips. The look in the owner’s eyes was serene, tender.

“Mm… Is this… some kind of place where spirits can get wasted and party?” Chanyeol asked which earned a snort from Kyungsoo, followed by a cute chuckle.

“First of all, Spirits and souls are different. Spirits are beings that emerge from different natural elements. Souls, on the other hand, are the spiritual essence of humans like you. Once a human body dies, their soul gets separated, and they find their way into the tavern. This tavern is the core of life’s crossroads where souls are either reincarnated, sent to heaven, or…”

Chanyeol noticed how Kyungsoo hesitated to say the last option. Though the owner didn’t continue, Chanyeol figured that the last one meant eternal damnation. “Hell?” Chanyeol saw Kyungsoo’s eyes glisten with an apologetic look after he finished the sentence for him.

“Yes. That’s what the Tavern is for.” Kyungsoo nodded. There was a worried look in his eyes as he observed Chanyeol. Hearing odd things like this would usually drive someone to the edge. Humans are fragile creatures, and Kyungsoo couldn’t help but worry for Chanyeol since he seemed to be one of the more fragile ones that he has come across.

As he continued to look at Chanyeol, a flash of memory passed in Kyungsoo’s mind.

“Soo.” Smiled a man who was wearing traditional Korean clothing, eyes twinkling as he looked at Kyungsoo.

Kyungsoo smiled at Chanyeol, “Would you like to watch how the tavern operates?”

Chanyeol bit his lip as he thought about Kyungsoo’s offer. Looking at those eyes, he could feel how willing he was to agree to the offer. But he had to think this through since he didn’t want to faint again.

“I assure you that it would clarify your questions. Well, at least most of them if not all.” Kyungsoo smiled as he stood from his chair before reaching out his hand towards Chanyeol.

Somewhere in his mind, the hand that reached out to him felt so familiar that his body unconsciously grabbed it. He pulled Kyungsoo’s hand until their faces were inches against each other. Eyes drowning into the emotions that each carried, breaths evened out as they inhaled and exhaled, and hearts drumming in a chorused beat.

Chanyeol didn’t notice it before, but Kyungsoo’s brown eyes had a very defined black that outlined his iris while a silver crystal-like colour grew out of his pupil. It was mesmerizing, hypnotizing him into staring more into those eyes that seemed to send him into the abyss of serenity.

But before he could fall deeper, Kyungsoo closed his eyes. “You shouldn’t look too deep into my eyes, you might get lost.”

“I don’t think I’d get lost if I can ask you for directions, right?” Chanyeol bit his lip as he tried to stop a smile from leaking out of his lips.

The way Kyungsoo opened his eyes felt like time had suddenly stopped from moving. “You sly punk.” Yet a vibrant smile was painted across his lips as he stared at Chanyeol.

It didn’t take long before Kyungsoo convinced Chanyeol to step back out into the front of the house. Once they crossed the doors that split the back and front, Chanyeol instinctively held Kyungsoo’s sleeve. He was so conscious of what was happening around him that he didn’t even notice how Kyungsoo spared his hand a glance before peeking at his face, nor did he witness how Kyungsoo had a look of anticipation as he slowly guided Chanyeol out.

“Is it alright to be giving kids alcohol?” Chanyeol asked, concern evident in his tone and the way his eyes wavered as he looked at the child-like appearances that sat in front of the bar counter.

“Oh, don’t worry about that. It’s a minor problem,” Kyungsoo smirked which earned a baffled look from Chanyeol. Mindlessly ignoring the chuckling Minseok at the side who heard the joke, which he thought would lighten Chanyeol’s emotions.

“Even if you add the ages of the ones sitting in front of the counter… I’d think they’d still fall under the age of 50,” Chanyeol stated as his eyes clouded with the emotions of concern.

“Don’t worry, human. They may look like children to you, but they’re older than you.” Chanyeol heard Minseok’s unexpected chime into their conversation.

Chanyeol’s grip on Kyungsoo’s sleeve tightened as he leaned forward to whisper to the owner’s ear. “I-is Minseok a ghost?”

“Let me explain why there are kids at the bar counter,” Kyungsoo started, completely ignoring the question from Chanyeol. “Those souls that look like children are ones who have been cleansed of their memories. Do you know the phrase ‘No man knows the value of innocence and integrity, but he who has lost them’?” Kyungsoo looked at Chanyeol, who shook his head to a decisive ‘no’. “Humans are creatures who lose their innocence as their knowledge of the world grows. That man who stands behind the bar is a Spirit of Void that cleanses the souls of memories that they hold dear. It’s a way of repentance and payment to the tavern that housed them,” he added.

“So… he gives them alcohol to forget?” Chanyeol asks. “Sounds like a human thing.”

Kyungsoo had this entertained look on his face as he answered Chanyeol’s question. “It’s something like that… maybe.” An unsure look flooded over the owner’s eyes which Chanyeol didn’t like.

“A-aren’t you sure about it?” Chanyeol asked.

“Some souls enjoy a shot of vodka from time to time, who am I to shoot down their request when they’re already dead?” Kyungsoo shrugged his shoulders.

“Is that why the kids have white eyes, and the older ghosts have black eyes?” Chanyeol asked in a hushed tone.

Kyungsoo immediately turned his head to look at him square in the eyes. It was obvious that he was surprised by the information he heard from Chanyeol. “You…? You can see the colours of their eyes?”

Chanyeol didn’t think much of Kyungsoo’s question as his eyes roamed around the tavern. He was wary of his environment since several souls looked terrifying, albeit some who looked like children who didn’t fit well in the tavern. “Yeah…  the younger ones have white eyes, there are also grey and black ones. You guys don’t see them?” He wondered as he looked at Kyungsoo.

There was a hint of amazement in the owner’s face, like some s