It’s the pungent smell of alcohol and disinfectant that registers in 12-year-old Nayeon’s mind when she wakes up. It didn’t make any sense to her at first, and her confusion makes her open her eyes faster than she ever had. All she sees is blurry white, she hears the pitter-pat of rain and the beeping of the heart machine beside her, and she’s suddenly aware of some tube attached to , an IV and a blood bag hanging by her right side, and so much pain, especially on her left leg. Finding no strength to move, she looks around by moving her eyeballs instead, suddenly wondering why she’s lying in a hospital bed. Her line of sight is still a blur to her, so she keeps blinking her eyes.

She doesn’t remember anything that could’ve led to her situation.

“Mrs Im, we are so sorry.” Nayeon hears hushed voices coming from outside her room. By the window on her left, she squints to see three blurry silhouettes standing, two women, probably her mom and Yoona, and a man facing them, a doctor perhaps?

Where’s dad and oppa?

“We’ve done everything we can with her left leg, but it would really take time to heal it. Her leg was crushed under heavy metals after all.” She looks ahead and sees the faint outline of the tip of her bandaged and cemented left leg and foot. “There’s a chance of her not being able to walk again.” 

What….?

“Also, we couldn’t do anything about her eyesight that was disrupted because of the heavy head trauma she’s experienced. We’d have to check her every now and then to make sure it doesn’t lead to blindness.” Oh.

Nayeon closes her eyes and tries to take a deep breath, but the tube attached to and the cannula on her nose doesn’t make it easier for her. She tries to remember anything that had happened for the past few hours before this.

A flash and there was rain, pouring too hard, dad was driving with her and somebody at the back. Jaebum-oppa?

Where were they headed?

“How about….?” She hears her mom’s broken voice, and she looks back again at the window. 

“He arrived late at the hospital, and the surgeons declared him dead on arrival. We are truly sorry for the loss of your husband.” She involuntarily takes a sharp breath, and she feels her heartbeat at an abnormally faster rate.

Dad is dead. No.

“As for your son, we’re sorry, but the police couldn’t find any trace of him. He’s gone.”

The beeping of the heart machine goes erratic, and panicked voices come rushing into the door.

She opens her eyes the second time, and instead of seeing white, she sees the blurry, faded yellow ceiling of their school’s infirmary. She blinks, and she shudders, remnants of her memory-dream still lingering at the back of her head.

She reflects on her memory of that day. Even after all these years, her memory of what happened was still a blur. Her mom and even Yoona wouldn’t say anything about it. It makes her mad and confused; she did almost lose her ability to walk after all. Even her recovery was a mystery, but she thinks it’s related to their “family business,” not that she would admit it loudly.

Im Jaebum, her brother, was still missing. The police considered him dead already, and her mom had given up on seeing him dead or alive. Yoona might not show it, but, like Nayeon herself, she believes she would see Jaebum again, alive.

There’s so much she doesn’t know that she doesn’t even know what she should know anymore.

After a few moments, she tries moving her head to her side, and she sees an outline of a pink necktie. She looks up to see Sana waking up from a slouched position on her side while looking at her with teary eyes.

“Nayeonnie! Thank goodness you’re awake.” Sana launches herself to hug a flustered Nayeon, hugging her as tight as she can. The latter can only gasp in surprise, but she smiles in appreciation. She relaxes, and Sana helps her to sit up a little without breaking their hug.

She looks around the infirmary and sees nobody around except a blurry figure standing in the corner. She squints, her eyeglasses on the side table wholly forgotten. She makes out Chaeyoung’s figure in the dark, who looks like a hawk looking at her with sharp, worried eyes.

That evil spirit, Chaeyoung, and blue light; all that happened in the bathroom comes back to her, and she takes in a sharp breath when Chaeyoung starts approaching her.

“I’m glad you’re alright, unnie.” Chaeyoung stops just behind Sana, a smile on her face. “I honestly didn’t know what to do. Then Sana-sunbaenim came just in time, thank her for me too.”

Nayeon can only stare at the freshman who still had her uniform and varsity jacket on, the exact outfit she had before disappearing. Chaeyoung’s demeanor doesn’t falter; a small smile always on her somewhat glowing face, and the senior is reminded of what is happening.

The poor freshman is here with them, as a ghost. As a ghost. Nayeon’s eyes widen, realization dawning on her face. No matter how much she denies it, the proof is there; ghosts are real, and Chaeyoung is currently a manifestation of one.

Chaeyoung is a ghost now. Unknowingly, she starts crying, her shoulders shaking.

“Nayeonnie…?” Sana lets go and hold her shoulders. “Hey, what’s wrong? Why are you crying?” Sana panics, grabbing her handkerchief to wipe Nayeon’s tears. Chaeyoung stands awkwardly, not knowing what to do.

“Chaeyoung, she…” However, before she wipes her face, she notices Nayeon’s line of sight behind her back and looks, only to see nothing. 

Chaeyoung finds herself freezing when Sana looks in her direction, only to relax when the latter didn’t show any sign of being able to see her. She steps back a little, her sad eyes looking at Nayeon, who was still bawling her eyes out.

“What about her?” Sana asks, but it makes Nayeon bawl more instead. The junior panics.

  “Unnie, please don’t cry.” Chaeyoung tries to reach out but hesitates. She resorts to clutching her ghostly necktie instead while looking down at the ground. “I don’t like it when you cry.”

“Nayeon-unnie, please tell me what’s wrong.” Sana almost cries herself, wiping tears and snots from Nayeon’s face. Seeing that she won’t get any response from the older girl, Sana just hugs the girl in comfort while her back. She lets Nayeon cry, aware that Nayeon’s still looking at her back.

The two girls stay like that for a few minutes, with Sana letting Nayeon calm down. Chaeyoung grits her teeth in frustration, with her not being able to do anything for her unnie and even making her cry. She goes back to the corner of the infirmary to let her sunbaes be in privacy.

Chaeyoung shudders when she sees Sana looking in her direction, and she swears Sana looks like she’s looking right at her, even though she knows she can’t see her.

Seungwan navigates herself in the living room full of clothes, books, and broken ceramic everywhere. She sees more trails of broken glass leading to the room on the second floor. Jeongyeon. She sighs and goes up the room, careful to not step on anything that can hurt her foot (Seungwan can now see why her step-sister is considered as one of their high school team’s best batters. She hit the vases so hard, the shards scattered around are only as big as Seungwan’s small palms, and they’re everywhere.).

She reaches the front of Jeongyeon’s door, and she takes a deep breath and hesitates before knocking and entering the room.

Slowly opening the door, she sees more clothes scattered around the room and a lump in the middle of the bed, which was surprisingly clean of the mess. She sighs again.

“Jeong,” she calls out, her voice barely a whisper. The lump moves, and she carefully treads towards the bed. She places her hand softly on where Jeongyeon’s shoulder is supposed to be.

“Jeongyeon,” she tried again, and this time Jeongyeon removed the blanket covering her face slowly to face her older sister. Seungwan’s heart clenches hard when she sees her; sunken eyes b red from crying for days, gaunt-looking face, and she’s looking at Seungwan with the most heart-breaking expression she’s ever mustered. 

“Nothing?” Jeongyeon asks quietly. Seungwan hesitates, and she finds her answer. She turns her back again against the older girl, trying hard not to break down in front of her again. 

“Jeong, please look at me,” Seungwan gently grabs Jeongyeon’s shoulders. When the younger girl shows no signs of repulsion from her, she slowly lifts her body in a full embrace. “Jeongyeon, don’t do this to yourself. Chaeyoung wouldn’t want this for you.” She whispers in the softest manner sh