Chanyeol had always been sensitive about the fact that his eyes were nearsighted. He viewed this trait as a weakness, and a dreadfully inconvenient one at that. Two years ago he had undergone surgery to correct his vision, but on one particular Saturday in September, Chanyeol found himself back in the optical shop, trying on frames.

“Oh, those look lovely on you,” beamed the pretty saleswoman.

Chanyeol blushed lightly as he removed the glasses, their lenses lacking a prescription, and so impossible for him to see out of.

“Thanks,” he mumbled, already moving on to another pair.

“Hyung, what about these?”

Chanyeol squinted to see his friend, Kyungsoo, holding up a pair of hideously large, red glasses. The younger man smirked as Chanyeol slapped his shoulder.

“Don’t make this more painful than it has to be,” Chanyeol whined as he turned his attention back to the frames currently resting on his oval face. “Who’s even heard of Lasik reversing itself?”

“Just you, I guess,” teased Kyungsoo from amongst the racks of plastic lenses.

“Oh my; those look quite handsome on you, too,” interrupted the saleswoman.

Chanyeol straightened the glasses and checked his reflection in the mirror. The thick black frames did compliment his features nicely, and he smiled as he twisted his neck to get a better view.

“I like them,” he agreed.

“Great! Let’s get those rung up for you, then, Mr. Park,” chirped the woman as she ducked into the back room.

✵

A week later, Chanyeol was back; getting the final tweaks made on his new pair of glasses after waiting for the lenses to be cut and shaped. Although he wasn’t thrilled at the idea of having to wear the burdensome things again, he at least liked the look of the ones he had chosen, and he tried to remind himself that it was only temporary until he could afford to have a bit of maintenance done on the Lasik.

After getting his frames fitted, Chanyeol and Kyungsoo decided to walk around the little mall surrounding the optical shop, and eventually they found themselves sitting in the food court. Chanyeol hummed sluggishly as he stirred the ice in his coffee.

“What’s up, Yeol?” asked Kyungsoo, taking a sip of his own drink.

The younger man was leaning back in his chair, and had evidently taken note of his friend’s depressed mood. Chanyeol sighed heavily.

“I don’t know,” replied the older man. “I guess I’m just bummed that my eyes are back to working like crap.” He flicked at the ice cubes that had become exposed at the top of the plastic cup. “Makes me think I’m getting old or something.”

Kyungsoo laughed a little, and put a reassuring hand on Chanyeol’s shoulder.

“Look at it this way,” the shorter man said with a smirk. “At least you won’t be shocked when the virility of youth is ripped from your unsuspecting hands. You get to experience a slow descent into nothingness from a nice, young age.”

“Oh, wow,” groaned Chanyeol. “Thanks; I feel so much better.” He slumped down onto the messy table, stretching his lengthy arms out in front of him. “Remind me again why I brought you here in the first place?”

“Because you value my opinion and treasure my input,” replied Kyungsoo with an overly dramatized air or superiority. “Plus, didn’t I pick those glasses out for you?”

“No; you didn’t,” chuckled Chanyeol. “And you know it, Soo.”

The younger man shrugged, and took a final sip of his coffee before shaking the container and throwing it in the garbage bin next to their table.

“Well, either way, they look good on you - so you should stop being such a downer and come help me find a new pair of pants.”

“Why do you need new pants?” protested Chanyeol. “All the pairs you own are the same shade of black, and I know you’re not asking me to help you find anything new or different.”

“False,” stated Kyungsoo as he stood up. “I own three pairs in Midnight Black, two in Onyx, and two in Panther Noir. I don’t have anything in Deep Charcoal, though, so let’s get going.”

✵

Reluctantly, Chanyeol finished his own drink, and got up to follow Kyungsoo off to whatever department store had just received their shipments of pants direct from the darkest depths of the underworld. Before he could take more than two steps, however, the tall man was stopped in his tracks by a sight that he could hardly put together the words to describe. He froze, causing Kyungsoo to look back up at him with an expression of confusion and slight annoyance.

“Chanyeol, are you sure you’re feeling okay?” questioned Kyungsoo. “Is this still about the glasses? Because I was joking earlier; we both know you have at least five years left until you turn into an unrecognizable pile of wrinkles and liver spots. I bet you could even-”

“Dude, shut up.”

Chanyeol unceremoniously cut the young man off while he himself remained fixated on something in the distance, his mouth just slightly agape. The bespectacled young man could hardly believe his eyes, and he blinked several times to confirm that he was, in fact, not hallucinating.

Standing on the other side of the food court, motionless and lithe, was a young man. The stranger looked to be about Chanyeol’s age, but was slightly shorter in stature. His features were soft and petite - at least as far as Chanyeol could tell from a distance - and he seemed to be looking absentmindedly at something off to the side. None of this prepared Chanyeol for the man’s most remarkable characteristic, however, which was that he was completely surrounded by a pale, blue light - almost as if it were an aura. The other patrons of the mall didn’t seem to notice the glowing young man at all, and they continued going about their business in the background as Chanyeol marveled at the boy in front of him.

“Yo; Earth to Chanyeol!”

Kyungsoo’s worried face snapped Chanyeol back to reality, and convinced the latter that it had all been nothing more than a trippy daydream.

✵

The only problem for Chanyeol, however, was that the faintly glowing man was still there. He gazed at the ground as Chanyeol became captivated by him again, ignoring the frustrated complaints of Kyungsoo.

“Yah! Ouch!”

Chanyeol rubbed his sore neck where Kyungsoo had delivered a sharp blow with the side of his hand. The shorter man stood poised to strike again, but relaxed when he saw that he finally had Chanyeol’s attention.

“Now that you’ve decided to join the rest of us back here in the waking world, can I ask what the hell has gotten into you?” snapped Kyungsoo.

Chanyeol didn’t know quite what to say.

“I, uh… that guy. Do you not see-? Over there. It - he’s… glowing!” Chanyeol stuttered.

Kyungsoo glanced skeptically in the direction in which Chanyeol was staring.

“Uhhh… what?” the former asked flatly.

“Kyungsoo, there’s a man standing right there who is radiating blue light; don’t tell me you don’t see that!” hissed Chanyeol in an urgent whisper.

“Okay…” hesitated Kyungsoo. “I won’t tell you, but…”

“Oh, come on! Right there!” growled Chanyeol.

“I think maybe it’s time we went home,” suggested Kyungsoo. “Those new glasses must be messing with your head. Making you dizzy or whatever.”

The luminous man was still standing in the center of the mall, head down and hands in his pockets as the world continued buzzing around him - seemingly unaware of the boy’s unusual presence. Chanyeol shook his head and blinked again, trying to make sense of how someone so noticeable could be invisible to so many people.

“Come on,” pressured Kyungsoo as he dragged his still-gaping friend toward the exit. “We can shop for my pants some other time.”

The two men left the mall, but Chanyeol couldn’t get the glowing man out of his head the entire bus ride home. He vaguely listened as Kyungsoo droned on about some new movie the younger wanted to check out; nodding when the latter asked if he would be interested in seeing it.

“Great; so I’ll see you at seven this Friday,” Kyungsoo said with a smile as Chanyeol got off the bus.

The taller man nodded numbly, and climbed the stairs to his apartment in a daze before collapsing on his bed and falling asleep still fully clothed. He couldn’t for the life of him figure out what he had seen, but he knew that it had to have been real.

✵

Two days later, the friends were back at the mall, killing time until the late-night screening of the movie Kyungsoo had suggested was due to start. Chanyeol found himself swallowed by a mountain of black pants, holding the articles of clothing while Kyungsoo tried on each one in turn, stepping out of the small fitting room after every pair to get Chanyeol’s opinion.

“God, I don’t know,” groaned the older man. “They all look the same to me.”

He shifted his grip on the dozen or so pairs of trousers in his arms as Kyungsoo spun to look at himself in the full-body mirror.

“Besides, I thought you didn’t care about fashion and junk?” continued Chanyeol.

“I don’t,” insisted Kyungsoo as he stepped back into the dressing room to try on what must’ve been his fifth pair. “I care about fit. None of these feel right, you know?”

Chanyeol dropped the pants to the floor, and the monotonous apparel all lumped together in a single-colored heap.

“Then why am I here!?” cried the taller man a bit too loudly.

Kyungsoo put a finger to his lips, and checked over his shoulder at the employee quietly stocking shelves on the other end of the store. He had stepped out of the changing room, and was - not surprisingly - wearing yet another pair of identical black pants.

“You’re here to be my clothes-rack,” he joked. “And I have to say, Yeol, you’re doing a pretty poor job.”

Chanyeol bent to collect the discarded pants, and left them in a heap on the chair in the changing room.

“There,” he proclaimed, brushing his hands. “I’m outsourcing. If you need me, I’ll be stuffing my face with popcorn until the movie starts.”

✵

Before Kyungsoo had a chance to protest, Chanyeol was out the door and roaming the mall. He took an indirect path to get to the theatre, opting to go by the way of the large fountain in the center of the building.

Almost more out of force of habit than anything, Chanyeol pulled out a coin and tossed it in the fountain’s basin, trying to think of a good wish to make.

“I wish I could see that glowing guy again,” he mumbled under his breath.

That done, Chanyeol continued on his way to the theatre. Once there, he made good on his promise by buying the largest tub of popcorn he could, and sitting on one of the upholstered benches in the lobby as he munched on it.

It was barely three minutes before he saw the faint blue light.

Snapping his head up, Chanyeol was again met by the candidly standing boy from the food court. He was closer this time, and Chanyeol could see that the man’s expression was slightly morose as the latter kept his eyes glued to the floor and continued to give off a strange, unexplainable light. Chanyeol nearly choked on his popcorn when he saw the other man, and the resulting sound caused the mysterious being to look up for the first time.

Chanyeol’s pupils dilated as he met the gaze of the beautiful man. The latter’s eyes were piercing; a deep brown that could only be compared to the most expensive of stained woods. The color made Chanyeol think alternately of the hull of an ancient ship, the gloss of a banquet table, and the jewelry box that adorned his own mother’s bedroom dresser. The glowing man’s hair was swept lightly to the side, and it fluttered as he looked up at Chanyeol, eyes open wide.

Chanyeol panicked. He had been caught staring at this strange man, yet he was unable to force himself to look away. The man made no move either toward or away from him, so Chanyeol decided to try to play the whole thing off. He offered a timid, friendly wave, and the other man’s eyes widened even further at the gesture.

Chanyeol saw the boy, still enveloped by his odd blue aura, stumble backwards and get swallowed up by the crowd, which still seemed to be ignorant of his presence. The tall, flustered man was just about to get up and follow the stranger so he could apologize, when Kyungsoo stepped in front of him, foiling Chanyeol’s plans.

✵

“I don’t appreciate you abandoning me in the middle of my very important pants mission,” joked Kyungsoo. “But if you share some of that popcorn, I may be willing to forgive you.”

Chanyeol agreed absentmindedly, and peeked stealthily around his friend’s shoulder to see if he could spot the glowing man in the sea of people rushing to catch their movies. He couldn’t, and gave up on looking with a noticeable sigh.

“Yeol, are you sure you’re okay?” asked a concerned Kyungsoo, who was already picking at the kernels of popcorn in the giant tub.

“Huh? Oh… yeah,” mumbled Chanyeol. “I just saw that guy again.”

“What guy?” Kyungsoo questioned around a large mouthful of butter and corn.

“The glowing one,” Chanyeol said casually. “I got a better look at him this time, and he’s… gorgeous.”

“Oh my God,” giggled Kyungsoo as he swallowed the food. “Yeol, you’re becoming that weird guy who hangs around the mall and tries to pick up strangers.”

“Am not!” protested Chanyeol, his pride wounded.

“Damn straight,” laughed Kyungsoo, determined to prevent his friend from tuning to a life of creeperdom. He grabbed Chanyeol by the wrist and started dragging the taller man toward the ticket counter. “Come on; I’m not gonna let you turn into some kind of creepy stalker. Magical glowing boy or not, we are going to see this movie like two normal human beings.”

Chanyeol glanced around while Kyungsoo bought the tickets. The captivatingly strange man was nowhere to be found.

✵

Inside the theatre, the lights were all dimmed as the movie began playing almost immediately. Chanyeol tried to focus, but couldn’t manage to get his mind off the mysteriously glowing man. He was totally sure about what he had seen - twice, now - yet Chanyeol still had no way of explaining it. Kyungsoo hadn’t been there the second time, but Chanyeol felt strangely certain that it wouldn’t have mattered even if he was; that the shorter man would be unable to see the strange apparition.

Chanyeol shook his head as one of the characters on-screen professed his love to the leading lady - a cargo ship exploding fantastically in the background as it did little to quiet the frenzied passion of said character’s confession.

That’s just ridiculous.

There couldn’t possibly be invisible people going walking around unnoticed, glowing as they stare dejectedly at the ground for no reason whatsoever. Chanyeol took a deep breath, and turned his attention back to the movie.

A troublesome feeling kept telling the man to check behind him, however, and finally he yielded to the temptation. Swinging his head around, Chanyeol was met with the intense stare of that same handsome visage, the blue glow surrounding the man’s somber face even brighter in the dark room of the theatre. The short man was sitting several empty rows back from Chanyeol, and when the taller of the two froze with both shock and fear, the glowing man got up and hurried out of the theatre, still not appearing to disturb a single other patron.

“Yah! Screen’s the other way, dummy,” whispered Kyungsoo from beside Chanyeol.

The older man felt his heart skip a beat as a wave of emotions washed over him - confusion and disbelief chief among them. He stumbled slightly, nearly knocking over Kyungsoo and the bucket of popcorn on the armrest between them as he stood up.

“I need… bathroom,” Chanyeol stammered as he rushed down the dimly lit stairs and burst through the theatre door.

✵

Chanyeol found himself in the short, carpeted hallway that connected all the individual theatres, and he searched frantically for the boy with the blue aura. Luckily, this time the short boy was easy enough to spot, and Chanyeol caught a glimpse of blue light just as it vanished from the crack at the bottom of the bathroom door.

The nervous man pushed through that door, too, and was faced with an empty room. No one else was in any of the stalls, but the soft, azure glow coming from the space between the wall and the farthest stall told him that he wasn’t alone.

“Hello?” Chanyeol called out, his voice suddenly squeaky due to the awkwardness of the situation he found himself in.

Had he really just followed some poor person into the men’s room? Kyungsoo was right; he was turning into a creep. Still, though, the glowing man had been the one glaring at him before bolting out of the theatre, so Chanyeol decided to take his chances and step farther into the almost-deserted bathroom.

He made his way over to the other end of the room, and found the glowing man standing there, eyes squeezed shut and fists clenched tight; looking as though he was trying his hardest to vanish into thin air. Chanyeol stopped before getting too close, and tried to think of something - anything - to say.

“Please go away.”

The luminescent boy spoke first, without opening his eyes, and Chanyeol was taken aback by the beauty of his voice. Much like the rest of him, the glowing man’s speech was smooth and airy - though it had a certain husky quality that Chanyeol couldn’t help but find enticing. The latter continued to stand in the same spot, plastered to the floor by his awe directed at the man trying to hide right in front of him.

“Please go away,” repeated the stranger, this time opening his eyes as he said it.

Chanyeol was again captivated by the other man’s brown orbs, and although he found it difficult to tear his own eyes away, he eventually did. Chanyeol looked the glowing man from head to toe as he tried to drink in as much of the shorter man’s image as he could. He felt himself getting pulled back into those breathtaking eyes, when the man spoke for a third time.

“You shouldn’t be able to see me,” he said quietly.

✵

The glowing man looked at the ground again while Chanyeol searched for words to say. Any words would do; just something that would make the impossibly beautiful man look at him with those eyes again so he could feel his soul getting pierced like before.

“Wh-What do you mean?” Chanyeol finally managed to speak, breathless.

“You shouldn’t be able to see me,” reiterated the glowing man. “Normal people can’t see me.”

Chanyeol had so many questions for the other man. What did he mean by that? Why was he invisible to everyone else? And how come Chanyeol was apparently the only one who could see him? All these potential inquiries fell by the wayside, however, as Chanyeol settled on asking the one that pressed at the forefront of his mind.

“Who are you?”

The shorter man was taken aback by the question, and he looked up at Chanyeol with his gleaming brown eyes again, making the bespectacled man weak in his knees.

“I-I’m-”

The mysteriously glowing man was cut off by the door to the bathroom opening, and as it swung widely, Chanyeol turned to see Kyungsoo emerge from the portal. The shorter man looked at Chanyeol oddly before placing a concerned hand on the latter’s shoulder, and leading him back toward the door.

“Yeol, are you feeling okay?” worried Kyungsoo. “If you’re sick, we can just leave. The movie is pretty boring anyway.”

“No, I-”

Chanyeol stopped in the middle of his sentence to whip around, but the man with the aura had vanished completely, and not even a trace of his strange blue light was visible against the tiled floors. Chanyeol stared at the empty space between the wall and the stall; certain that there was nowhere for the enchanting young man to have gone without passing by them. And still Kyungsoo hadn’t seen him - even when the latter was no more than two meters away.

“I’ll make you some soup or something when I get home,” Kyungsoo offered, pushing his friend out of the men’s room. “You’re obviously coming down with something.”

Chanyeol was too stunned to protest, and allowed himself to be removed from the mall and placed on the bus, where he sat in silence next to Kyungsoo, the younger man’s brow furrowed the entire ride home.

✵

That night, Chanyeol dreamt of the glowing man. At least, he thought it was a dream. When he awoke the next morning, his apartment was empty, but Chanyeol couldn’t shake the lingering feeling that something - or, more accurately, someone - was missing who had been there just moments before. The dream was foggy, but it was on Chanyeol’s mind as he rolled over to check his phone.

Three new messages; two of them from Kyungsoo.

The first one had been sent at 8:03AM, and read: “How are you feeling? Any better?”

Chanyeol glanced at the clock on his nightstand. It was now 9:17, and the second message from Kyungsoo had come two minutes ago. That was probably what had woken Chanyeol up in the first place, he realized. It informed the young man that his friend was coming over - invited or not - to bring him a thermos of his grandmother’s kimchi soup.

Chanyeol groaned into the pillow. It was too early for soup, but he knew Kyungsoo was just trying to be helpful in his own rather worrisome, overly-involved little way. Besides, Chanyeol’s head was pounding, and he thought maybe a bit of the spicy broth would be good for him after all. He checked the third message, which had been sent sometime between the other two.

This one was from Joonmyeon, and it read: “Hey, Yeol! Kyungsoo told me you were feeling kinda sick. Let me know if there’s anything I can do!!!”

It had the outward appearance of a friendly invitation, but Chanyeol knew that if he didn’t respond with at least a “No, thanks,” then Joonmyeon would be chewing him out later for making the older man worry. Chanyeol was slightly surprised that his friend hadn’t already called some sort of medical SWAT team for him.

All Chanyeol wanted to think about right now, though, was taking a shower, so he lugged himself out of bed, and was on the way to the bathroom when his doorbell rang. , he made a half decent attempt at smoothing down his tangled hair before answering the door.

Kyungsoo stood in the hallway with a smile on his face - and a plastic bag in his hands. He invited himself inside as Chanyeol flopped down on the couch, losing all hope of getting a shower in before his friend started his compulsory routine of temperature-checking, fluid-monitoring, and soup-peddling that happened whenever one of their group fell sick. No one could escape Kyungsoo’s well-meaning wrath, but Chanyeol really didn’t have the patience to keep up with the act, so he refused Kyungsoo’s help when the shorter man offered a glass of orange juice to him.

“This is all very nice, Kyungsoo, but I’m really not sick,” insisted Chanyeol.

“Oh yes you are,” chuckled Kyungsoo from behind the face mask he wore to protect against the barrage of germs he assumed was invading his tall friend’s body. “You were totally out of it at the movie yesterday. You even hallucinated about that weird glowy guy again.”

Kyungsoo practically shoved a spoonful of soup down Chanyeol’s throat, and the elder choked as he forced the chunks of cabbage down his esophagus.

“He’s not a hallucination,” Chanyeol coughed. “He’s real. He… he has to be.”

“If he’s real, then why can’t I see him?” asked Kyungsoo, unimpressed. “Don’t you think a bright blue human flashlight would attract a little bit of attention in a crowded mall?”

“Exactly!” raved Chanyeol. “That’s another thing that doesn’t make any sense. How can nobody else see this beautiful goddamn glowing creature in the middle of a dark movie theatre?!”

“Oh my gosh; this is worse than I thought,” sighed Kyungsoo. “Listen, you stay right here, and I’m going to go down to the pharmacy to see about getting you some medicine.”

✵

Kyungsoo bundled the older man up in blankets, and left the apartment after making Chanyeol promise several more times that he wouldn’t go anywhere. These vows were, of course, immediately broken as soon as Chanyeol saw his friend’s car pull away.

Chanyeol ripped off the unnecessary blankets, and rushed to at least brush his teeth before throwing on some clothes and heading out the door, barely remembering to grab his keys as he closed the entrance behind him. He was headed to the shopping complex, intent on settling the mystery once and for all. He hadn’t even made it to the bus stop at the end of his street, however, when Chanyeol was stopped in his tracks.

The boy from the mall was there, still wrapped in his ever-present glow, standing stiffly on the sidewalk in front of Chanyeol. The former was staring at the taller man, but sprinted away when he saw that he had caught the latter’s attention. Chanyeol chased after him, breathless and blinded by a mix of excitement and fear, and eventually they came to rest at the mouth of an alleyway. The brilliantly shining man was veritably trapped between a brick wall and Chanyeol’s formidable form.

“What do you want from me?” sighed the shorter man. “Why can’t you just leave me alone?”

“Excuse me?” huffed Chanyeol, crossing his arms. “You’re the one who was staring at me yesterday in the movie theatre.”

Chanyeol hoped he was putting on a convincing enough front. He could feel himself shaking at the knees, but he kept his feet planted firmly and his voice as confident as possible as he examined the man in front of him, still in awe at his unbelievable beauty.

“I know,” moaned the glowing man. “It’s just - ugh, you shouldn’t be able to see me.”

Chanyeol recognized the phrase as one that the other man had repeated at least once yesterday, and his ears perked up at its mention.

“Will you please tell me what you mean by that?” begged Chanyeol.

“When you waved to me, I just… I couldn’t believe it,” breathed the other man. “No one’s been able to see me since…”

Chanyeol leaned forward, eager to hear more, but the shimmering man stopped abruptly and stood up straight.

“Wait, why am I even telling you this?” he said suddenly. “I don’t have to put up with this. I don’t have to be here.”

Chanyeol blocked the opening of the alleyway with his body.

“No offence - and I don’t mean this in a threatening way - but I’m a lot bigger than you. I don’t think you can make it past me.”

He didn’t feel good about acting so intimidating toward a perfect stranger, but at this point Chanyeol was desperate for answers. He had the sense that if he let this strange man walk away from him now, he would never again see the latter’s gently shining blue aura - and he didn’t know how to handle that possibility.

✵

“I don’t have to get past you,” said the glowing man simply.

With that, he began walking toward Chanyeol. The taller young man was extremely confused for a moment before his body was filled with a buzzing, electric sensation as the other man swept against and then through him. He nearly passed out, but almost as quickly as the feeling had started, it was over, and Chanyeol was faced with an empty alleyway and a strange tingling in the pit of his chest.

He whirled around, just in time to see the glowing man disappear around a corner. Without thinking, Chanyeol sprinted after the boy, catching up to the much shorter-legged and therefore slower man within a matter of seconds. Chanyeol reached to grab the glowing man’s arm so he could spin him around, but his hand passed straight through the latter’s pale arm, sending another soft shock up to Chanyeol’s elbow.

Still, the mysterious man glanced back before turning around, and Chanyeol searched desperately for something to say, wanting nothing more than for the odd little man to give him some answers so he could know for sure if he was going insane or not.

The glowing man sighed yet again, and hung his head in defeat.

“Fine,” he almost spat at the pavement. “I’ll tell you. You shouldn’t be able to see me because I’m dead. I’m a ghost, and that’s why I glow; that’s why nobody can see me.”

Chanyeol was shocked with the bluntness of the other man’s confession, and didn’t know how to respond as the short man continued.

“Nobody except for you,” the latter finished. “That’s why I’ve been following you. I can’t figure out why you can see me, and it’s driving me crazy!”

The glowing man pulled at his hair as he said this, and threw his arms up in frustration as if to punctuate his emotion. Chanyeol was completely speechless. He hadn’t known the other man was following him, but he felt a strange mix of panic and pride at the knowledge that he was interesting enough to win the attention of such a remarkable being. Certainly a ghost had better things to do with their time than worry about some random person - though Chanyeol still worried that maybe the other man was only interested in him as a sort of science experiment; a mystery that was interesting to solve although not worth much thought.

He shook those ideas out of his head. What was he saying? None of that should matter, and besides, he didn’t even know this weird, blue-glowing ghost man. If that was even what the boy truly was.

“What’s your name?” Chanyeol blurted out as soon as the thought occurred to him.

The glowing man almost looked like he wasn’t going to answer before he lowered his eyes, and shyly admitted his name.

“Baekhyun.”

The word sent a chill down Chanyeol’s spine, and he could practically feel the sweetness pass his lips as he repeated it.

“Baekhyun,” the taller man exhaled slowly. “Nice to meet you. I’m Chanyeol.”

✵

The whole situation felt strangely normal considering he was apparently talking to a ghost, although Chanyeol found that he didn’t know quite what to say next as he stood next to Baekhyun on the nearly-deserted street corner.

“I… guess I’ll be going, then,” mumbled Baekhyun awkwardly.

He started to shuffle away before Chanyeol had a chance to react. As soon as the taller man realized that the forlorn ghost was leaving, though, he sprang into action - putting himself between Baekhyun and the empty street. He knew that his blockade was useless in the face of Baekhyun’s ability to pass through objects if the glowing young man wished to do so, but Chanyeol hoped that the surprise of his barrier would at least be enough to stop the short man from leaving in such a hurry.

Baekhyun jumped back, apparently shocked that Chanyeol wasn’t going to let him away so easily.

“What do you want?” he questioned, looking up into Chanyeol’s wide, almond eyes.

Chanyeol again found himself at a loss for what to say. He wasn’t quite sure what it was that he wanted himself, but Chanyeol was certain that he couldn’t allow the intriguing, mysterious ghost to leave.

“Would you like to come over to my apartment?” he stammered, surprising even himself with the straightforward way in which he posed the question.

Baekhyun stood frozen in front of him - still glowing softly, but not doing much else - as Chanyeol waited breathlessly for an answer. Finally, the shorter man nodded silently.

The taller man perked up completely and immediately as he ran down the street, shouting for Baekhyun to follow him, which the glowing man did. Before long, the pair were in front of Chanyeol’s apartment building, and he bounded up the stairs two at a time to get to his flat.

Baekhyun was standing quietly behind him as the taller of the two fished around in his pockets for his keys, which he excitedly used to open the door. With a flourish, he guided Baekhyun into the living room before plopping down on the couch with a wide grin on his face.

“Come on over,” Chanyeol invited the shorter man warmly. “Have a seat.”