Author: London_Calling

Pairing: Xiumin/Luhan

Why is it called a blood curdling scream? Does blood curdle? Minseok considered the thought for a moment. He only knew of milk curdling. Blood probably didn’t curdle.

“Minseok! Minseok!”

Minseok rolled his eyes. He knew what was coming.

“Minseok, did you see that! She was sooo SCARED!” Luhan beamed, proud at how much terror he had instilled in the girl.

“Luhan, scaring children is not cool.” Minseok drifted towards the large picture window, staring out at the yard. “Plus it is so easy.”

The sound of light switches being flicked, calls of “MOM! DAD!” and the shuffle of feet were heard. Minseok yawned, a symbolic action. He wasn’t actually tired, he couldn’t be tired. It was impossible.

“I thought it was pretty cool.” Luhan pouted, drifting beside Minseok, “I mean, it isn’t like the ghost that lives in the apple tree could do it.”

Minseok glanced at the apple tree, noting that the obese spirit that haunted it was still reclining lazily on one of the branches. He didn’t do much. Ever. Sometimes he talked about the weather but most of the time he just sat there. Kind of boring. “The ghost in the apple tree doesn’t do anything. Ever.”

“You don’t have to be so mean about it.” Luhan moved away, Minseok noticing his actions out of the corner of his eye. It had been like this for a while now, Luhan acting, Minseok mocking. It was a cycle that wasn’t likely to end any time soon. Probably not for at least…Minseok thought…eternity?

“Minseok! I think they bought that fruit you used to like.” Luhan exclaimed loudly.

Minseok wanted to snap, yell out the words USED TO LIKE, emphasizing the fact it was a lost observation. Ghosts couldn’t eat. Ghosts shouldn’t care what they used to like. Instead he held his tongue. It wasn’t like this was something new, Luhan’s desire to please.

When they were alive it was the same routine. Luhan desperate, Minseok unwilling. Luhan trying, Minseok denying. Always together, co-workers in real life. Push and pull and mostly push. It would be a rather sad tale, honestly, if it wasn’t given a second act thanks to whatever strange and mystical laws governed the universe.

The car crash had been surprisingly painless Minseok reflected. He hadn’t felt a thing, killed instantly when the car he was driving hit a telephone pole. Luhan was in the passenger seat, next to him, and was killed instantly too. So began the second act of their relationship. Another chance.

Sure, Minseok had spent some time morose about his loss of life. His loss of contact with his family and friends. Luhan was depressed too. They stuck together, from the moment they stared at each other, standing in the middle of the road, looking at the car that had become nothing more than a twisted ball of steel and plastic.

“Are we dead?” Luhan had dared ask. Minseok didn’t know how to answer. He didn’t know what to think, his last image being that of a semi-truck swerving across the center line, precipitating his act of yanking the steering wheel to the side. Minseok felt some guilt after that, Luhan telling him it was nonsense, he was the one that accepted the ride home from work anyway.

That had been ten months ago. Since then they had spent time at their funerals, the graveyard, visiting their families, seeing friends. It was unfortunate that their loved ones didn’t see them, but there was a whole lot of comfort in knowing they would see their loved ones again someday. Because they knew life existed after death.

And after 10 months they had fallen into an easy routine. If there was such a thing for a ghost. Scare, visit, and hang out.

“Minseok, should we go scare that lady at the grocery store?” Luhan asked.

Minseok considered it. “Didn’t we frighten her a few days ago?”

“Oh, yeah.” Luhan noted glumly. They didn’t like to scare people too often. It was bad form.

“How about we go see what is going on by the river? Maybe there is a water ghost to tease?” Minseok suddenly felt mischievous, water ghosts being one of the easiest of all ghosts to torment. They took their job so seriously that they hated when other ghosts came around, spouting words about evaporation and contaminated water and such.

“Sure.” Luhan smiled, brightening. Minseok was almost out the window, ready to float towards the river when he noticed Luhan was not beside him. Looking back he saw Luhan hovering near the window, a frown on his face.

“What is wrong?” Minseok asked.

“I…I am not sure.” Luhan stared at Minseok. “I think…someone is asking for me.”

“Asking for you?” In the last ten months nothing like this had ever happened. No, they had been together every day, all day. And never had either one felt like anyone was asking for them.

Minseok watched in horror as Luhan flitted past him, darting forth, Minseok rushing to keep up.

***

“She is a beautiful girl.” Mrs. Lu cooed at the picture, holding it up for her husband to see.

“Very nice.” Mr. Lu agreed.

“The joining of our families will bring us good fortune, I can feel it.” The woman sitting across from them grinned, clutching a larger, framed version of the photograph. “Your son was very handsome as well, if I didn’t say so a dozen times already.”

Mrs. Lu chuckled, Mrs. Jung having mentioned the fact several times. “I am so happy we could come to this arrangement.”

They were seated around a rectangular table, a dark blue tablecloth with a celestial pattern covering it. Candles burned in the center, the lighting low, mysterious.

“And I am happy I was able to connect two families who were destined to be together.” An elderly woman, large garish earrings reaching to her chin, hair pulled into a severe bun, clasped her hands together. “I would hope that the recommendations for my service are now supported.”

“Yes!” The parents echoed the matchmaker’s words, agreeing that she had done a wonderful job at arranging the ghost marriage of their children.

Ghost marriage - neither family had thought they would need to consider the fact. No, not when their children were young, in their twenties, full of life. Unfortunately events had taken their children from them, them into the spirit realm. However that was a minor detail given their need for eternal happiness. A wedding still needed to take place.

In the case of the Lu family they needed their eldest son married before their youngest, Sehun, could politely wed. And Sehun was desperate to marry his boyfriend Tao as soon as possible. For the Jung family they needed to propagate their lineage.

Ghost marriages could be seen as bizarre, antiquated rituals that should be forgotten. They weren’t bizarre though, not for the cultures that believed, not for those with a reason to see their deceased loved ones find eternal love.

Luhan flited into the room, annoyed. He stared at his parents, then to the other middle aged couple sitting across the table from them and then to the matchmaker. What was going on?

“When should the wedding take place?” Mrs. Lu asked the matchmaker.

“In three days’ time.” The matchmaker answered, “According to their charts that would be the ideal date.”

It was then that Luhan noticed her. She was standing behind the couple on the other side of the table, examining her nails with a bored and disinterested expression on her face. Her hair was long, straight, her outfit designer.

“Who are you?” Luhan asked boldly.

“Krystal. You??” She raised an eyebrow, barely offering him a glance before she went back to looking at her nails.

“Luhan.” Luhan looked at his parents, who were busy chatting with the elderly woman. “What is going on here?”

“We are getting married. Didn’t you hear?” Krystal smirked.

Luhan froze. It was at that time Minseok appeared, rushing in to the room, apparently in time to hear Krystal’s last remark.

“Married?!” Minseok shouted, “Who is getting married?!”

“Luhan and I, apparently. So says this batty old lady. Ghost weddings, haven’t you heard of them? All the fashionable people do it.”

Minseok bristled. This woman, with her nice clothes and pretty hair, whoever she was, her tone was so sarcastic and mocking and… he didn’t like her.

“How can they marry ghosts?” Minseok had honestly never heard of the practice.

“Easy. Mostly a Chinese thing. Need to continue the lineage, make the deceased happy, yada yada yada.” Krystal eyed Luhan, “At least my future husband isn’t terrible to look at.”

“Minseok, I…” Luhan looked scared, frightened, nodding at Krystal while pouting at Minseok.

Minseok faced a crisis. A wave of anger hit him at the thought of Luhan being married off, against his will to some woman who was snarky and indifferent and, he wasn’t going to stand by and let it happen.

“Hold on.” Minseok stared at Luhan, “I got this.”

Luhan perked up. “Really? Why?!”

Minseok knew he would have to say it eventually, knew it for ten months. Knew it when he sat at the edge of the river talking about his life with Luhan, shortly after they had passed. Hearing Luhan say time and time again that Minseok was the only one he wanted to date but oops it was too late now. He knew it when Luhan was out of his sight, scaring people for fun, and he missed him. Knew it when he was alive and turned Luhan’s request for a date down because he was too afraid.

Yes, Minseok had been too afraid. Too afraid he would disappoint the pretty boy that half of the restaurant they worked at lusted after. Afraid that Luhan would hate him when he found out that Minseok was not really cool and kind of anti-social. Minseok had reasoned it all out, yet held on to it in a way. He didn’t want Luhan not to like him, to like someone else. He wanted Luhan to think he was cool and amazing and all the things he wasn’t. But to do so he couldn’t let Luhan in too close, he needed to keep him at a distance.

“Yah!” Minseok shouted.

The matchmaker stilled, staring towards where Minseok floated.

“How can you wed a spirit that has already found his match?” Minseok countered, focusing so he could draw the immense amount of energy needed for him to communicate with the woman. It wasn’t as much as was needed to say appear in front of someone. No, this woman was already perceptive to their kind.

“What is it?” Mrs. Lu turned to see where the matchmaker was staring at, noting the elderly woman’s suddenly pale face.

“I…hold on.” The woman answered.

“Would you like me to curse you? Would you like me to-“ Minseok didn’t have a chance to finish. The matchmaker suddenly sprung up from her seat, nearly knocking the candle in front of her over.

“This match can’t happen!” The woman exclaimed, her eyes darting around the room, looking everywhere but where Minseok was.

“Why?” Mrs. Lu and Mrs. Jung asked in unison.

“Bad omens. Bad.” The woman announced. “Your families will see much misfortune.”

“Well that was mildly impressive.” Krystal sighed. “If you ever need me again you can find me at the nearest mall.” The spirit darted off, through the wall, disappearing.

Luhan and Minseok stayed for a few minutes, watching as the match dissolved, the Jung family leaving, casting more than one suspicious glance at the Lu family.

“Hey, why did you do that?” Luhan asked as the room was emptied, the matchmaker showing the Lu family to the door. “Why did you say I had already met my match?”

“I…well…” Minseok wasn’t sure how to best explain his actions.

“Do you perhaps, like me?” Luhan wiggled his eyebrows, drifting in front of Minseok, a huge smile on his face.

Minseok looked away, closing his eyes he sighed. “Yes. Now don’t make me say it again.”

“Once is enough!” Luhan shouted, “This is seriously the happiest moment of my un-life!”

“Okay, okay. Now let’s go scare someone.” Minseok quickly changed the subject.

“Whatever you want Minseok.” Luhan started to drift towards the wall, ready to leave when he stopped. “So are we dating now?”

Minseok sighed. Nodding his head he couldn’t help but smile as Luhan drifted up and down, jumping for joy in a way that only a spirit could.

End.