All bolded words mean that a ghost is speaking.

- ¦ -

"Luhan, what's wrong? You look as if you've seen a ghost." He brushed past his grandmother and into his family's room at the old inn. His father seemed to be out, his car missing from out front. Mrs. Lu was seated on one of the beds, absently skimmming through a cooking magazine. Hearing the commotion, she glanced up from the magazine only to gasp in shock at the sight of her son. He was incredibely pale, his hair matted with sweat while his clothes were hidden under layers of dust.

"I saw them," he breathed out, finding it hard to breath. "Both of them." He finished, locking knowing gazes with his mother. She tossed the magazine aside and sat up straighter on the bed.

"Tell me everything." she demanded seriously, her body trembling softly. Her mother-in-law glanced between her two relatives in confusion.

"What on earth are you two-"

"Dude, no way! You actually found where they'd been hiding?!" Interrupted a loud, excited voice. While Luhan's grandmother had been talking, the unlocked door swung open to reveal an ecstatic Minseok. Luhan had texted him to meet him at the inn as he bolted away from his house and the spirits inside. They'd surprisingly let him escape, making no attempt to chase after him. His grandmother's face was suddenly filled with realization and horror.

"Luhan, are you crazy?! If they were leaving you alone, why would you agitate them like that?" The other occupants of the room sighed collectively.

"I had to, grandma. One of them hurt Hui." Luhan explained exasperatedly.

"What happened?" his mother asked again, demanding an answer. Minseok took a seat beside her on the bed, a wild grin on his face. Luhan pulled up an armchair in front of them and sank into the cushions heavily, his grandmother clutching the back of the chair tightly.

"Well..."

Luhan stared in a mixture of horror and awe up at the celestial beings. The smaller, white wisp seemed to be smiling at him, though he couldn't see its features clearly enough to tell. The darker, more oppressive presence in the room stood protectively in front of what Luhan deemed to be Jaera.

"What are you?" he gasped out, inhaling a small amount of dust that was floating around the room. The shadow's eyes narrowed even more, causing Luhan to quickly scramble to correct himself. "Who are you?"

The white figure stepped towards him, but a smoky arm blocked it's path. The same arm wrapped itself around the smaller figure and the two spirits vanished into thin air with a slight struggle from the paler ghost. Luhan dimly heard the floorboards creak above his head, indicating that the two undead beings were currently residing upstairs. He clutched his shirt in his fist, checking his pulse to make sure he still had one himself.

They hadn't killed him.

That thought scared him more than the sight of the two spirits. They hadn't made any attempt to harm him, they'd simply disappeared. He finally picked himself off the ground and ran up the stairs and out the front door, fearing that if he stayed even a second longer inside the house, the ghosts wouldn’t spare him so easily again.

But a single thought kept repeating itself inside in his mind, reverbrating off the side of his skull and echoing hollowly.

Why had they spared him and not Hui?

- ¦ -

"Well look at that. Kai is going soft." Jaera taunted as Kai dragged her through the living room and up the stairs. As soon as she finished her sentence, he yanked her in front of him, his other hand gripping her chin in a bruising hold.

"Don't," He seethed, spitting out the word through his tightly clenched teeth. "I know what you're trying to do, Jaera, and it won't work." The said girl simply raised an eyebrow in question.

"And what, exactly, am I trying to do, Kai?" She asked, feeling surprisingly brave for the first time in a long time. He took a step towards her, his hand clenching around her jaw.

"You're trying to upset me so I'll do something to him and he'll be your's forever. You want me to kill him because you don't have the guts to, but unfortunately for you, I won’t harm him." The two glared holes into the other.

"Why?" She whispered, her voice cracking in desperation.

Without breaking eye contact, Kai stepped closer to her until there was no space left inbetween their bodies. He leaned forward, his forehead resting softly against her's, causing their breaths to mingle. “Because either way he gets you." He noticed her brows furrow in confusion and decided to elaborate further. "If he passes peacefully, you'll be happy and probably pass on too. If he's still mourning his brother's death, his spirit will be trapped here." His hand let go of her chin to brush a stray hair out of her face. Though other people only saw them as smoky figures with glowing eyes, they could actually see what the other looked like.

"You're mine, Jaera. I won't share you and I’ll never let you go." Jaera simply stared at him in silence, tears of disgust causing her eyes to glisten under the hall lights.

Sighing heavily, Kai softly her cheek with his hand. "I know you want someone to talk to, that's why I did I what I did with Hui. I saw how happy you were with him, how loving you were towards him. I thought if he died, it'd make you happy and then you'd want to be with me, but it didn't work out. I used water because I knew he was scared of it, but he still managed to pass peacefully. And now his stupid brother is here, threatening to take you away from me, and I can't do anything to stop it because it will only drive you further into his arms."

"Why can't you just let me be happy, Kai? Haven't I suffered enough because of you?"

The fingers that had been her cheek were suddenly digging into her skin, their blunt nails dragging slowly and painfully down her skin. Kai stared at the floor, his voice growing quieter as an unreadable emotion flashed across his face.  "I want you to be happy, Jaera, I truly do. But if that happiness can't be found with me, I promise that you'll be as miserable as I’ve been for the rest of eternity."

With an empty, bitter laugh, Kai released his grip on her and backed away. Shaking his head softly to himself, he rubbed his face absently before turning and disappearing down the hall.

- ¦ -

Luhan and Minseok stood outside the Lu house. After sharing an anxious glance, the two stepped into the house, immediately on alert. So far, the room seemed perfectly normal. The two shared another glance before splitting up, each one making their way through the house in search of one of the restless spirits roaming the hallways.

While Minseok slowly up the stairs, Luhan cut through the living room into the kitchen. From there he entered the laundry room and eyed the cracked open basement door dubiously. After deliberating for a few minutes, he narrowed his eyes in determination and opened the door, slipping into the darkness and closing the door behind himself quietly.

- ¦ -

Minseok shuffled through the various rooms that littered the second floor of the house. He was unable to find anything or anyone, but he did find one of the Lu's old family photos. The sight of little Hui beaming into the camera while resting on his brother's shoulders brought a pang to his chest. He set the picture frame back down onto the dresser, turning away.

The memory of that horrific night so many years ago suddenly plagued Minseok's mind. He'd been twelve and standing in the exact spot he was now when he saw the infamous demon of their small, isolated town.

He could still remember every detail of that night. He still sees those glowing red eyes, which were connected to a body that seemed as flimsy as smoke. Right now, for instance, he could make out a figure of the same description watching him curiously from the doorway of the bedroom. He could see the vague recognition and the dark, amusement gleaming in it's eyes.

Minseok stumbled back as the figure approached him lazily. "Luhan!" He yelled, his wide with panic as the shadow seemed to smile at him before it lunged at him.

- ¦ -

The old wooden steps creaked underneath his feet as Luhan