it was dark by the time junhong finished his shift at the cafe. as usual, he and hana noona cleared up and were the last to leave.

junhong always hated nights; no special reason besides that ghosts more often than not looked for him when they felt more lonely and needy when night falls. he sighed softly as he locked the doors. waving goodbye to hana, he started the walk to the bus stop. he briefly wondered where yongguk was now, before shaking his head rapidly. why the hell was he thinking about a ghost?

i hate them! right. right....but yongguk is different...

he closed his eyes, breathed and opened his eyes. and he screamed.

there was a ghostly middle aged man sneering at him.

NOT AGAIN.

********

yongguk sat silently on the floor of his - junhong's - his temporary abode, mind spinning with the recollections of his past. who he was, what he did, how it ended. he reached a shaky hand to his shoulder, slipping under his shirt collar, at the spot where he had been shot. the feeling of pain is so vivid, he could still feel the searing and unbearable heat. 

and junhong was not back yet.

he glanced at the clock pointing to 12 midnight, worry washing over him. he had only been with the younger boy for less than a week, but he felt a sense of attachment to him, whether because the boy was the only one who could hear him, or because he had been so helpful to bring him to TS, or because junhong's naivety is worrying. how can this dumb spirit seer protect himself from the more aggressive spirits out there?

he paced around the home for a while before hearing the door click open. a sudden wave of relief came over him as he leapt to the door to welcome junhong back, but before he could reach it the door flew open, a panting junhong rushing in.

"what's go…."

"close the door hyung, now!! he.. he…"

yongguk was going to probe further what the younger meant, when he heard dragging footsteps outside the door, and he turned just in time to see an ahjussi, pale and shimmering, staring at him with lifeless eyes. he left a trail of blood from his bare feet. all in all he was a horrible sight.

the ahjussi turned his focus from the ghost seer to yongguk, and tilted his head in confusion.

"he must be confused about why a fellow ghost is here…" yongguk caught the situation quickly. here must be one of those ghosts who always bothers and makes junhong bothered and fearful. he could help give the younger a good night's sleep if that's the best he could do.

junhong cowered in the couch, eyes shut, muttering curses and random spells he learnt over the years from the Internet, when he heard the door slam shut. he cracked open an eyelid to see yongguk's face magnified in front of him.

"$@!^$^! don't… don't do that!" junhong clapped a hand over his pounding heart. he flopped down on the sofa when he saw that the ghost from earlier had left.

"where did he go? that crazy ahjussi who followed me for the entire journey home…" junhong muttered, feeling utterly exhausted. it had taken a lot of him to walk home with a bleeding ghost trailing and whining behind him.

yongguk smirked as he reached over to ruffle his hair. "don't worry i took care of that."

"oh okay… WHAT! HOW DID YOU DO THAT?" junhong sat up with a start.

he got only a shrug in response. "dunno. i glared at him and mentally asked him to #!@* off."

junhong was still for a moment, before realisation dawned and his face broke into a wide grin. His wide eyes shone as he grabbed yongguk's shirt hem, ignoring the way yongguk cringed and tried to move away.

"yongguk…hyung. hyungggggg~", he put on his best whiny tone. "help me. come home with me next time? you can be...be... my safety shelter! ^.^"

yongguk was definitely not used to the puppy eyes and pouty lips the younger boy was sporting. in one way he wanted to ask the boy to stop it, because it looks hilarious on his 185cm frame, while on the other he somehow found it cute. junhong looked way younger than his age, and his flawless pale skin, and big watery eyes meant he could probably fit right into a high school, and steal all his classmates' hearts while at it. yongguk found that he had pretty much given up resisting any of junhong's demands while he is looking like a lost kitten blinking adorably at him, and so he nodded stiffly, despite the dubious task to be junhong's bodyguard.

junhong's eyes crinkled into small crescents, and the bright innocent smile made yongguk's heart skip a beat. before realising yongguk had raised his hand to ruffle the younger's hair, only to be reminded that he couldn't, when fingers slide through junhong's head. yongguk suddenly realised that he really really wanted to feel junhong's hair in his hands, to slip his fingers through them and to smell the….

oh my god what am i thinking?! yongguk slapped himself mentally, panicking.

junhong stared quizzically at the ghost who had given in to his request reluctantly, then raised his hand, and then blushed and finally looked angry at something. yongguk shook his head violently, as if to remove the thoughts, and muttered to junhong, "go take a bath, you must be tired."

"…..yeah sure hyung."

20 minutes later, yongguk came back from wandering the neighbourhood to clear his mind, to see junhong, already in pyjamas, curled beneath his huge blanket. he walked slowly to the peacefully snoozing boy, who looked obviously tired, and crouched next to him. yongguk can't help but think that junhong looked like an angel; even when sleeping, he looked as if he was glowing. no wonder ghosts came to him for help with their unresolved issues…

junhong suddenly frowned and tossed restlessly in his bed. "no….i said no… leave me alone…nooooo.." he mumbled. as if out of instinct, yongguk moved to sit on the bed, and then pressed a tentative finger on the crease between his brows. even though he knew the boy couldn't feel it, he placed his free hand on junhong's shoulder, and patted him slowly, and watched as the boy stopped frowning, and went back into deep slumber.

that night, as he watched junhong sleep, yongguk grimly realised that he might have developed feelings for someone, at a time when he shouldn't have.

thanks for sticking around guys T-T hope this chapter sped things up. i will try to finish this story in this month before i go to korea for summer!!!! whoooo~ ^.^
andddddd just a hint, i don't like sad endings. haha.