“Where are you going?”

“Outside.”

“Why?”

“Why not?”

“Because it might rain.”

“It’s sunny outside.”

“Still, it might rain.”

“Then I’m going to bring an umbrella.”

“… No you’re not.”

“Do you want to come with me then to make sure?”

“You know I can’t do that. I’ve never been able to leave this house. Being a ghost has its disadvantages.”

“Okay then, see you.”

“You can’t leave.”

Sehun sighed exasperatedly, raising a hand to massage his throbbing temples. “Luhan, is there a reason you don’t want me to go out?”

Luhan bit his lip nervously as he looked down and pretended to kick the imaginary dirt on the floor. “No reason.”

“Luhan,” Sehun softened his gaze at the pale boy. “Do you feel lonely?”

“What?” Luhan snapped his head up, eyes twinkling in anxiousness. “No, I don’t feel lonely. Why do you ask? Do I look lonely to you? Because I am not. Luhan is never lonely. I can handle myself thank you very much!”

“You’re being defensive.” Sehun managed to crack a grin at Luhan’s sudden change of behavior.

“What makes you say that?”

“Babbling is a sign of being defensive.”

Luhan snorted. “I am quite certain that is not true.”

Sehun shrugged and bent down, grabbing his backpack off the floor and slinging it over his shoulder. “Okay then, if you’re sure…” He walked passed Luhan, who responded by shuffling beside Sehun in a panicked state.

“Wait!” Luhan cried out.

Sehun sighed before turning to face the ghost boy. “What is it, Luhan?”

“You can’t leave.”

Sehun raised an eyebrow. “I’m pretty sure I can. You just won’t let me.”

To Sehun’s surprise, Luhan smirked deviously. “No, Sehun, you can’t leave.”

“Why not?”

“Well, when one wishes to go out, then need something to protect their feet.”

“Well, yeah… I have my…” Sehun looked down to motion towards his shoes, but to his surprise, he wasn’t wearing any. “Must have left it downstairs.”

“Sure.” Luhan laughed heartily. “Good luck finding them!” And with that, he vanished into thin air.

Sehun groaned and slapped his forehead in annoyance. “LUHAN!”

Thirty minutes. That’s how much time Sehun wasted in finding his footwear. He never took a liking into owning multiple pairs of shoes, so he always stuck to one pair. Boy did he regret his decision now.

“Luhan! Tell me where my shoes are you piece of-”

“Now now Sehun, what did I tell you about swearing?”

Sehun let out a muffled scream when Luhan suddenly appeared in front of him, a mischievous smirk playing on his lips.

“Well you bring out the worst in me.” Sehun deadpanned. “Now, can I please have my shoes back?”

“Hm…” Luhan tapped his chin, seemingly in deep thought. “No, I think it’s a lot more exciting to let you find them by yourself!”

Before Sehun could utter another curse word, Luhan disappeared. Sehun grunted in annoyance, but decided to leave Luhan be. He scanned their living room once more. If he were Luhan, where would he hide his shoes? His eyes landed on their black leather couch, and he could feel himself smiling. Sehun raced over to the couch and bent down, peering under the large object. As expected, he found his black and blue sneakers beckoning for him to wear them.

“Cheeky fella,” Sehun scoffed. “Thought you’d be able to outsmart me?”

Sehun quickly put on his shoes before Luhan could spotted him. He didn’t want to deal with a controlling ghost boy trying to stop him from leaving the house. He needed fresh air - as his parents suggested before they left early in the morning.

“What the…”

Sehun only managed to take a step forward, when he felt something hard at the bottom of his shoe. He lifted his foot, and there he saw a golden ring lying on the floor. He must’ve dragged it out from under the couch, along with his pair of sneakers. Sehun knelt down and picked up the dusty ring, examining it closely. It had no carvings- just covered in dust. He wiped the ring on his jeans and blew on it a little. Once the ring was dust-free, he slipped it on. He lifted his hand and examined the golden ring, glistening under the sunlight that peered through the window. Such a beauty should not be put to waste, so Sehun left the house with the ring shining proudly on his finger.

Sehun hummed along to the tune playing on his phone as he took a sip of his chocolate flavored Bubble Tea. He was looking straight ahead, but he wasn’t really paying any attention to what was in front of him. It wasn’t until he felt an all too familiar shiver down his spine that he decided to remove his earphones and gaze at his surroundings.

“Oh .” Sehun’s let his mouth fall open in surprise, as he stared blankly at Luhan, who was furiously waving at him from across the street.

Luhan quickly disappeared and reappeared in front of Sehun.

“Hello!” Luhan beamed, waving his hand at Sehun excitedly.

“What the are you doing here?” was all Sehun could say.

Luhan’s lips twitched a little, but Sehun’s words did not let his demeanor falter one bit. “Well, I was having a wonderful time watching you run away from the house, but then I got pulled here with you! Sehun, I never knew you could run so fast. Were you scared of something, perhaps?”

Sehun decided it was best to ignore Luhan’s blatant teasing. “How?”

Luhan shrugged. “If you're pertaining to how I got out of the house, I honestly don’t know.”

Sehun furrowed his eyebrows and he started to pace along the sidewalk, deep in thought. “I thought you couldn’t leave the house?”

“That’s what I thought too. Apparently, I can.”

“Have you tried it before?”

“Yes – I only got as far as the street in front of the house, then I got pulled back.”

Sehun nodded once, pondering over Luhan’s words. He tried to remember what his grandmother told him about spirits.

Luhan looked at him with concern. “Sehun, are you alright?”

Sehun lifted a finger to silence Luhan. The ghost boy simply huffed in response.

“AHA! I got it!” Sehun snapped his fingers and looked up at Luhan. “This ring… does this ring belong to you by any chance?”

Luhan squinted and stared at the golden ring. A look of realization flickered in his eyes and he replied, “Yes – that was given to me by my mother.”

“Ahh… I see.” Sehun pursed his lips. “You are attached to this ring.”

“Well, yes. I value that ring dearly.”

“No,” Sehun shook his head. “What I mean is, your spirit is attached to this ring. Wherever the ring is, you go. That explains why you can suddenly get out of the house.”

Luhan tilted his head in confusion. “I never knew that… hey, wait a minute!” Sehun shivered at Luhan’s wide grin. “Now you can always take me with you!”

“Oh no, no, no, no, no!” Sehun waved his hands furiously. “This is the only time I’ll take you with me. I have enough to deal with at home. Being out of the house is the only way I can take a break from you.”

Luhan pouted. “You act as if I bother you too much.”

“Well, you do.”

Luhan looked hurt. “I was not aware you harbored those feelings.”

Sehun could feel his stomach churn with guilt. “Well, you’re not exactly that bad but…”

“You do not need to explain yourself.” Luhan said, cutting him off.

Sehun opened his mouth to respond, but the loud roar of thunder interrupted him.

“I told you it was going to rain.” Luhan smiled at him lightly.

Sehun grunted in annoyance. He had just realized he forgot his umbrella – something Luhan was also right about.

“Luhan-” Sehun’s eyes widened in panic upon realizing Luhan had vanished. He was about to curse at the sky when Luhan suddenly reappeared in front of him, an umbrella in hand. “Where’d you get that?”

“From some imbicile from across the street.” Luhan bobbed his head to the side.

Sehun let his gaze travel to the unsuspecting stranger a few feet away from him. The man was currently rummaging through his bag, no doubt searching for his umbrella.

Sehun turned to Luhan with a pointed look. “Luhan, you have to give the man back his umbrella.”

“I don’t want to.” Luhan tilted his chin up snottily. “It’s better if he doesn’t get his umbrella back. He was on his way to see his mistress. I think it’s best if he doesn’t make it on time.”

Sehun raised an eyebrow. “You eavesdropped again?”

Luhan shrugged casually. “I did it without his knowledge, so he really can’t do anything about it.”

“That makes it worse!”

“Relax, Sehun. You needed an umbrella, so I got you one.”

Sehun shook his head. “I can use my jacket to cover myself. Give his umbrella back, Luhan.”

“But it’s better-”

“He can deal with the consequences himself. He’s a grown man.”

Luhan huffed before quickly vanishing. Sehun had to bite his inner cheek to stop himself from laughing, because what he witnessed was truly hilarious. Luhan had vanished, but the umbrella was still in plain sight. To the people who were unaware of the ghostly presence, it looked like the umbrella was floating in the air.

Just as Luhan was about to lay the umbrella down on the ground, the stranger turned around. It took one look at the floating umbrella to make him scream his lungs out. Sehun could hear it from where he was standing – merely a few feet away. The man turned pale as the umbrella dropped to the ground with a loud ‘clank’. His entire body was shivering as he looked up, locking his gaze with Sehun. The man raised an accusing finger towards Sehun and yelled out, “MUTANT! HE IS A MUTANT!”

Sehun’s jaw dropped at the man’s sheer  stupidity, but he didn’t have any time to react, because Luhan had just reappeared in front of him screaming, “RUUUUUN!”

 Author's Note 

Aaannddd, I am back! Sorry I wasn't able to update last weekend - but hey, I made this chapter longer than usual for you all ^_^ Thank you so much for the positive feedback on this story. We've got a loooong way to go! Hihi. Enjoy reading! ^_^