Chapter 3.

After the initial shock had worn off, I got up from the bedroom I had spent an uncountable amount of time in, and wandered back out into the living area. I had seen it before on the television, but it was incredibly messy compared. I nodded and raised my index finger. “Their maid must be on holiday.”

Ignoring the mess in the sink of the kitchen, I went over to the refrigerator and opened the door. Dozens of protein drinks were stacked to one side, and were the main attraction. Apart from a half used red pepper and a packet of chocolate, it was bare. I closed the door and crouched down to the freezer compartment, finding it too was empty except from half a dozen microwavable meals. The pantry spoke of the same bareness and I became concerned, hoping my boys were all getting enough to eat each day.

Glancing at the clock, it was a little after eight in the evening. I guessed MBLAQ’s schedule would continue for at least a couple more hours, and I was already incredibly bored, despite my previous excitement. Taking a seat dramatically on the couch, I sighed and closed my eyes. I had no idea how to fill in the time.

“Do I forever have to wear these clothes?” Sniffing in, I felt as if I could smell something. Was it myself? I hadn’t exactly showered since I died, though until that afternoon, I didn’t know what I could do exactly apart from eat and drink. Reaching up into my hair, it felt clean, but the logic of how many days since I had shampooed overruled the feel. Letting out a cry, I dashed off to the bathroom, turning on the shower and removing my clothes.

Under the sprays felt like heaven. I was foolish for not thinking of showering earlier, though I was glad that my first shower was within the place five other men used. With that thought, I felt myself become embarrassed, my eyes darting about the space self-consciously. Laughing awkwardly, I shook my head at the useless emotion. No one could see me anymore. Finishing with the shower, I stepped out and found myself a towel, wrapping it around my body and glancing down at my clothing.

“You are dirty,” I told the pile and stepped around it, going into the living room. Thinking for a moment, I wondered where I could get new clothes from. A smile soon grew on my lips and I giggled, skipping over to the bedroom that I had previously been in. Both Sanghyun and Changsun had clothes on racks and in the wardrobe. I wondered if I could fit any. Readjusting my towel, I went over to the wardrobe, looking inside it and trying to decipher what belonged to whom. I pulled out a tee that I knew the Korean A+’s had gifted Changsun for his birthday last year. I let out another giggle, slipping it over my head. It fell midway of my thigh and I yanked at the bottom, trying to cover my legs a little. I doubted I could fit any of his pants. Leaving the room, I went into Cheolyong’s instead, marvelling at his expansive manga collection before attacking his clothing pile, finding a pair of black shorts. I pulled them on and they managed to cover me more modestly, though I still had to use a belt to hold them up. I had always imagined the boys to be skinnier than myself, even though I worked out to keep my body proportions slender. Shrugging, I towel dried my hair and then dumped it back in the bathroom on top of my clothes. I felt like a new me already, although I couldn’t wait to go out tomorrow to find some pretty clothing to replace the ones I had discarded.

“And I told you hyung!” came a wail through the dorm, and I froze, my almond eyes widening in surprise.

“Yah, you didn’t, you were thoughtless today Yongie,” Seungho replied from within the living area. I gulped before edging towards the door, wanting to see if I was dreaming or not.

Just as I reached the door, it sprung open and I let out a shriek, clamping my eyes shut in fright. My reaction however didn’t stun Byunghee as he closed the door behind himself, shuffling over to the shower cubicle and turning the handle on. I let out another squeal, glancing at the door and then back at the boy. He had already removed his shirt and I diverted my eyes instantly, colour flooding my features.

“Get me out of here!” I cried into the hands I placed over my eyes, wondering how I could escape if the door was shut. I tried to run through the barrier like I had seen in dozens of movies, but I smacked my forehead hard against it, letting out a wail of pain a moment later. By now Byunghee was already in the shower and humming the tune to a 2PM song. I was desperate to get out and closed my eyes. Hoping that it would work, I reopened them and fell to the ground with relief as I found myself back in the living room. I felt tired though, sitting there to recuperate my strength. It seemed all the shifting from different places was catching up with me. Or at least, that’s what I thought it was.

The television in the minimally furnished living room was on and Cheolyong was sitting in front of it laughing. Their manager Byung-Gi was sitting at the round kitchen table with Seungho discussing schedules and both Sanghyun and Changsun were unaccounted for. Since I hadn’t been in the room when they arrived home, I wondered if either of the boys were back too. Glancing over at their bedroom door, I noted it was now shut. Curiosity started to gnaw at my stomach but I stubbornly resisted, still feeling tired of using my new found gift to travel. I got up and scooted over to Cheolyong’s side, taking a look at the show he was watching.

“Woah!” he exclaimed and I side-glanced at the now stunned boy. Blinking rapidly, I wondered why he had reacted that way. “The weather is really coming inside now! It’s freezing in here!”

“Get some more clothes on then,” Byung-Gi ordered the boy, shrugging lightly at the statement. Cheolyong sighed and shifted aside to get to his feet. He soon frowned and tilted his head in thought.

“What is wrong with you now?” his leader enquired and I looked up at the maknae too.

“Suddenly I’m not cold anymore.”

“Yah, don’t you be coming down with a cold, you hear me?!” the manager cried, shaking his index finger roughly at the two-tone haired boy. “You can’t afford to get sick, get it?!”

“Yeah, I don’t think I’m getting ill hyung,” he replied, sitting back down beside me and instantly turning to face me. I felt my breath hitch in my throat, wondering if he could actually see me. “It’s just this spot is really cold.”

“Well move then.”

He did as instructed and soon got back into the show, but I was disappointed. The first sign of my existence in Cheolyong’s life had only caused him a burden. I sniffled back my weak emotion and got up, no longer feeling comfortable sitting there. I walked over to the shared bedroom and stood outside the closed door, before resting my head on it. I tried to figure out how I could get inside without going to the exerting effort of shifting.

“The living can’t step into our realm, but we can into theirs.” Another echo of the advice I received earlier crossed my mind and I stared at the door before reaching for the handle. I twisted it and the door creaked open, my eyes darting back to the occupants that could see me. None of them paid any notice. A little bolder, I pushed it open further and slid inside the room, finding Sanghyun texting on his mobile phone. He too was unaware of my arrival, and I chewed my bottom lip, wondering if it was because he was so absorbed in his phone. I swung the door back and forth quickly, but it held no effect.

“Ah, so this is how I can travel too,” I answered out loud, and then shook my head in realisation. “That’s how the front door opened too, ah I’m so stupid!”

I still had so much to learn.

The house was incredibly quiet when everyone went to bed. Changsun hadn’t arrived back from his individual schedule yet, and I wanted to wait for his return. But it was incredibly boring just sitting there doing nothing. After attempting to use the computer to access the fan cafes, which had failed as I didn’t know the password to get in, and playing with a hand held Tetris game I had discovered down the side of the couch, I had run out of things to occupy myself. The only things that surrounded me was the messy home, and my exhaustion. Refusing to fall into slumber just yet, I looked at the sink. I couldn’t understand how they made so much mess when there was no food to eat within the house. Their entrance landing was a hazard as well; shoes of all kinds of brands littered the floor, none hanging in the shoe rack to the side. I wondered if I could change that for the boys. Although my existence had been barely noticed by anyone since arriving, I had hoped to make a good impression on MBLAQ. After all, I would be staying in their dormitory until I was able to move on. The least I could do was a little bit of cleaning, even if I had to use some strength up to do it.

Getting to my feet, I first headed into the kitchen, looking at the pile of dirty dishes. I didn’t know if I should run any water or not so I decided to stack them for one of the boys to put into the dishwasher. I quietly picked up each item, taking extra care and time to not clank anything down on the others. Once that was done, I headed to the front door, crouching down and waggling my finger at the messy shoes.

“This won’t do,” I stated with a giggle as I thought of the movie Snow White, and I hummed a tune to myself as I grabbed each painstakingly heavy shoe and hung it up. Once the last pair was put away, I leant against the wall, panting lightly. I knew I’d never need to attend a gym again, cleaning their house was more than enough exercise. I took a moment to regain my breath before climbing to my feet, trailing over to the couch again and collapsing on it.

Looking up at the ceiling, I nodded once. “I’ll just rest for a moment and then wait for Oppa to return.”

“WHAT ON EARTH?!”

“Why are you talking so loud in the morning?” groaned another voice huskily, and I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to hold onto my current comfort state. I then remembered I was sleeping on the couch that belonged to MBLAQ and sat up with a bolt.

“Did you get up and do this in the middle of the night?!” Byunghee continued and I noticed him pointing at the stacked dishes. I smiled brightly, hoping he would be pleased with my efforts.

“Why would I waste time doing that?” Sanghyun replied as if his hyung had sprouted another head. “It was probably Changsun-ah again. He hasn’t slept much.”

“He’s home?” I murmured to myself, but jumped when Byunghee let out another shriek.

“Why would he stack the shoes?! Joon is lazy, and even when trying to score points he never goes this far!”

“What is with all the yelling?” the youngest asked tiredly and then gasped. “Who did that?!”

“I don’t know, we’re trying to find out.”

“Reckon someone snuck into the house?” the eldest of the three suggested and Sanghyun rolled his eyes.

“The door was locked, how could they?”

Cheolyong rubbed his neck. “Last night I felt really weird, and the room was really cold for no reason.”

Panicked, I jumped up from my spot on the couch, and ran blindly into Changsun and Sanghyun’s room. I didn’t know why I felt like I had done wrong, but I needed to hide. I slid into the room before shutting the door behind me again, dashing over to the side of the wardrobe. But just as I reached for my hiding spot, I knocked into a container on the floor, spilling the contents everywhere.

“Aish!” I cried out, hoping that I had only made the impact within my realm. But when I peered out from behind the wardrobe, my eyes connected with a pair across from me. They grew larger and I let out a scream, Changsun’s finger shakily pointing at me before he joined in screaming.

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Author's Notes...

So my replies that I wrote up to everyone we're deleted just now. Aish. I don't have time to repeat them. The internet is back here however and I will have the next chapter up on Friday. Thank you everyone for reading and I will endeavour to reply to everything so far on Friday! Hope you enjoy the progression here!!