half an hour ago.

 

junhong alighted from the bus in front of the hospital, and quickly went in. but the first few seconds of entering the place, he was reminded of why he had always avoided the place like the plague.

 

ghosts.

 

ghosts were everywhere. because many people had breathed their last here, there were many recent dead who had not accepted their fates, and those who had grievances and unhappiness that made it impossible for them to move on. junhong remembered when he had woke up after his incident in the hospital, and the shock he had gotten when he saw the hordes of hospital ghosts for the first time.

 

chills climbed up his spine as he, against his will, inched back towards the entrance. a female ghost in her 20s with crazy makeup near the reception was the first to notice him. she let out something like a whine or howl as she dragged herself towards where junhong was, who was like a neon sign in a dark tunnel for ghosts. and sure enough,  two other ghosts in the area were moving towards him also. junhong was sure he would be mobbed by tens of them in the next few minutes.

 

"no this isn't happening… should i leave? but i want to know if yongguk hyung is still alive, this is important!" junhong thought furiously in his head. without knowing, he had slowly backed up into the corner of the wall.

 

" ! what now!"

 

"hey son."

 

junhong let out an unmanly shriek as he spun to see a male ghost inches away behind him. however, this ghost seemed to be kinder than the rest, his face that of a friendly grandfather in the neighbourhood.

 

the elder ghost took in junhong's fear and smiled at him. "a ghost seer, after all these years…" he muttered and shook his head. with a whoosh, he stepped in front of junhong and gave the incoming ghosts some sort of eye exchange. unexplainably, the ghosts, though reluctant and making a big fuss by whining and groaning, began to shuffle away from them, leaving them the space at the wall.

 

"now, that is all done, let's find a place to talk, shall we?" the elder clapped his hands and turned to look at junhong expectantly. "before you attract more of us, or get taken to the psychiatrist for talking to air." without explanation, he stuck out a hand and gestured for junhong to follow him.

 

******

 

well, what the hell just happened? 

 

that was the only thought that went through the boy's mind as he robotically nodded and followed the ghost up the stairs, passing doctors and nurses, and down corridors into a random storage cabinet. it was until he closed the door that he realised that where he was and what he had done...but somehow, he felt he was able to trust the ghost. a first for him, besides yongguk of course.

 

he was still in a daze when the ghost spoke.

 

"hello ghost-seer," the voice was gentle and slow, unlike the ghosts he had met before. "i just want to help you, nothing else."

 

"help…me?" junhong blinked.

 

the ghost laughed, a hearty one. in fact, if not for the fact that the man in front was half transparent, junhong could have felt he was talking to a normal elderly man.

 

"yes, it has been years since i have met a ghost-seer. the first, and only one i saw, was a lady years ago. she was very kind and helped a wandering soul back to its body… that's why when i saw another ghost-seer, i wanted to help. otherwise, you wouldn't make it into the hospital at all."

 

junhong thanked the ghost profusely.

 

"but how come the ghosts actually listened to you when you told them to?"

 

"well i have been here for a long time," the elder said slowly. "i help the new ghosts when i can, explain things to them, that's why they respect me."

 

before he could stop it, junhong blurted, "but why are you here for so long?" he immediately felt embarrassed after saying that; it was probably something the elder didn't want to talk about, or which is not something to tell a stranger.

 

to his surprise, the elder responded, although he could sense the quiet despair in his voice. the hushed tones echoed lowly in the room.

 

"i have been waiting for my wife. she has been in this hospital for the past over ten years."

 

junhong gulped and waited patiently for the man to continue.

 

"we were in a plane crash. i died shortly after, but she managed to survive. however, her condition went good and bad; a period of time, she was able to leave the hospital, but then she would faint or collapse and be readmitted. doctors said it is because of brain injury. three years ago she collapsed and have been here ever since."

 

"so you have been staying by her side this whole time?"

 

"of course," the man replied with a sad smile, "i can't bear to leave her alone to her suffering. i decided a long time ago i will stay til she recovers completely or passes on."

 

the atmosphere dropped to a sombre and cold one; junhong did not know how to reply to that.

 

however, the man spoke up again.

 

"don't worry about it. in fact, tell me what are you looking for here? you don't look like you need medical help, so it must be a big issue for a ghost-seer like you to enter a hospital on your own will."

 

the thought of yongguk had almost escaped his mind since he was drowned in his fear of the ghosts earlier on.

 

"yes!! i mean, yes. i have this… friend," junhong paused to search for the right word, "well, he is a ghost. actually, i am not sure what he is anymore. see, he has been with me for the past three months or so. but i realised he is not dead! i saw a news article that he is just in a coma, and i thought i could come here to verify if that is true, but i mean, if it is, what is he? you know, i……" junhong babbled on in his attempt to explain the whole issue.

 

a chuckle and a hand in front stopped his rant.

 

"you sure are anxious, aren't you? let me confirm with you again: you are saying you have been living with the ghost for three months?"

 

junhong shut his mouth and nodded.

 

"practically. he would come in the morning and we went to school together. on free days sometimes we would go grocery shopping and stuff, or he would go off to find his friends and family."

 

"haven't you thought about why he has remained here for so long? or how he doesn't have any grudges or unfulfilled wishes?"

 

junhong bit his lip and recalled how he had originally worried about these too. but somehow as he got used to yongguk's presence, he had unconsciously ignored these questions.

 

seeing his silence, the man continued, "this might be a surprise to you, or you might have already guessed. your friend is probably not dead, but because of an incident, his soul left his body. instead of finding his way back, he sensed the chance to fulfill his wish, and he was guided to you. and because he lost his memories, he doesn't know that he's actually not dead, and so is stuck as a wandering soul."

 

junhong took a moment for the words to sink in. even though he has seen the article, the fact that yongguk - the man he had thought to be dead - is actually alive hasn't hit him yet, till now.

 

"so…how can he go back? he has a chance to go back right?" he asked anxiously.

 

"yes. in fact, i have seen one such case before. i saw the lady's soul leave the hospital, and she miraculously woke up after hearing her daughter's sobbing at her bedside. from what i know, the soul will return once it remembers its past, or that there are people waiting for them to return."

 

the pieces of the puzzle were coming together, how yongguk couldn't remember anything at first, then slowly recalling how he died, his family problems, and snips of his life. maybe it was a sign of how yongguk is slowly moving onto returning to his physical body, and junhong felt a sense of relief.

 

"that's great, ahjussi. thank you for the information, i would tell yongguk when i see him," junhong said sincerely.

 

the man smiled kindly. "no problem. but," he added thoughtfully," i should let you know this, since you are quite attached to your..friend."

 

"from the past case, souls who return to their bodies will forget about what happened while they are wandering. so if your friend returns successfully, he will forget all about you."

 

*******

 

ba-bam. close to 1.5k words *sweats* i really hope to end this soon (though i loved this project, my first attempt at a long story..) but i am kinda getting writer's block on this, and i just started work so... but i promise i won't give up on this story! hopefully i can update in the next month or so ^o^

thanks to everyone who subscribed and commented T_T thanks for bearing with me on this! <3