There was a chill that ran down Miyoung’s spine as she eyed her patient – her favorite patient. She blinked several times, tilting her head as she was oblivious to the boy’s words: “What man, Doyoung?” She questions, not daring looking behind her. But the little boy didn’t seem to show a meep of fear. A brave one… the voice she so dreaded to hear echoed through her ears as she closed her eyes. She felt the fear, and Doyoung seemed to notice that. “Miyoung?” He called out, allowing her to open her eyes and stare at the young one. The innocent look in the boy’s eyes made her envy him. She, a grown woman, afraid of the unknown – of Baekhyun.

“Who is he?” The little boy questioned softly. Miyoung let out a sigh as she turned her head – only, she hated that she could feel him standing there. Gracing her with his presence. She let out a shaky breath before turning back to Doyoung with a feigned smile on her lips. “No one you should worry your little brain about, buddy,” she said, tapping his nose softly. Doyoung, still, could see the fear in her eyes. But it was true that she didn’t want the little one to worry – for all she knew – she didn’t want to cause an aneurysm or anything especially since he was fresh out of surgery. Still, she kept smiling to him as she kept him company until his mother came back. “No one to worry about, hm?” The voice, Baekhyun’s voice, echoed. It captured both the little one’s attention and hers. Miyoung looked down at the hand that rested on the little boy’s arm.

“He’s just a child, Baekhyun,” she muttered, and she knew that he had some kind supersonic ears. “And what does that matter?” Baekhyun’s voice uttered softly – but more importantly – scarily. She could tell that he took a few steps forward, his lips just by her ears as she refused to look up or turn her head. “I’ve taken life after life,” he whispered into her ear, “A child means nothing.” Miyoung stared forward, but she could see that Doyoung’s eyes were on her. He could see her shaking, her hands shaking. To which the little boy placed his hands atop of the nurse's. Her head looked up to see her patient smiling warily at her. “Don’t be afraid, Miyoung,” the boy whispered, and it was as if – on cue – his mother walked in. “Sorry for taking so long,” she uttered as she sprinted in, “the line was a bit longer today.” The nurse turned her head swiftly towards the door, greeting the boy’s mother with a smile – Baekhyun’s presence no longer there.

“Oh, no worries,” Miyoung exclaimed quickly as she stood up. Doyoung still held her hand as if he didn’t want to let go. Or he wanted to let her know that he was with her at all times. That she wasn’t alone wherever she went. “Doyoung here was just telling me that it’s okay to be sad sometimes, but you have to get back up and fight after – learned it from you,” Miyoung gave the woman a smile that soon settled on his mother’s lips. “He’s a clever little one,” the nurse said once more, her index and thumb softly grasping the boy’s chin with a smile. The little boy giggled and nodded his head while his mother laughed. “Thank you again, Miyoung – for always keeping him company.” “Of course, I love keeping him company, there’s never a dull moment with him,” Miyoung murmured, patting Doyoung’s hand in thanks for letting her know he was with her. “I’ll come back to check on you again later, okay?”

With that, she bid the boy and his mother goodbye for now as she made her way into the hallway. Her eyes traveled left to right, making sure there was no one around her: “I swear, if you hurt him, Baekhyun – he’s just a child.”

“Hm, if I didn’t know better – I’d say you’re threatening me,” It didn’t take long to know that he was lingering around her – he always was. “You’re playing a very dangerous game, sweetheart.” “Just leave him alone!” Miyoung replied harshly, her eyes tired and full of fear. She didn’t realize that her breathing and hands were shaky, but they were. “You can hurt me, taunt me, torture me however you want, but don’t hurt him. He’s an innocent child that doesn’t know better.”

“Very tempting,” Baekhyun chuckled lowly, almost so low that it was deep and scary. She hated this; she hated the mere fact that she couldn’t enjoy her job anymore. Maybe she had to do something about it. Maybe she should mention it to her friend – whom she’d be meeting for lunch with the next day.

“So, how are you?”

Miyoung let out a sigh as she placed the cup of water back onto the table. Despite Baekhyun not being here her, she knew eventually he’d come and torment her soon. Her friend – Joohyun, and Junmyeon’s coworker, knew something was wrong. She always did. Perhaps it was a superpower of the female. “Not good, by the looks of it,” Joohyun uttered, taking a sip of her fruit smoothie.

But what gave it away?

Was it the way Miyoung let out a sigh?

Or was it the bags under her eyes that were put there because of lack of sleep?

Or the fear in her eyes?

“Mi,” the female called out, worry in the eyes of Joohyun. “Want to tell me what’s wrong?” Miyoung let out another sigh, shaking her head as she eyed her friend. “You’re open-minded, aren’t you?” Joohyun nodded. “Susceptible to… the unknown?” Again, Joohyun nodded. “What are you getting at, Mi?”

“I have a problem,” she admitted, “I can’t talk to Junmyeon or Sehun about it because they’ll think I’m crazy. I’ve tried to talk to Sehun about it, but the response I got wasn’t supportive or understanding...” Joohyun leaned back against her chair, eyes and ears focused on the nurse before her. “What kind of problem are we talking about, Mi?” Of course, Miyoung contemplated if she wanted to talk to Joohyun about it – but she knew the female before her was openminded. She saw the world in different spectrums. “Well, um,” the nurse uttered, “a supernatural problem.” Their food had arrived just after Miyoung spoke, and there was a look that perked Joohyun’s attention. Her brows rose in question and she actually seemed interested. They thanked their waiter before Joohyun leaned forward. She wanted to know more about the situation. “Spill the beans,” she urged, motioning Miyoung with just a glance.

Miyoung blinked, surprised that her friend was eager to hear the story. So, the brunette explained her situation with every bite that she took of her food. Joohyun couldn’t be more interested than anything else, even when her phone continued to go off – probably her job trying to distract her from her break. But she knew that Joohyun was genuinely interested and concerned. Even after they finished eating, they continued to talk about the situation when Joohyun suggested her friend: Seungwan. “You’ve met her before,” Joohyun reminded. Miyoung blinked her eyes, nodding her head as she remembered the number of times that she’s met Joohyun’s friend. “So, Seungwan – she’s a psychic medium.” Miyoung’s head nodded slowly while her lips formed a circular shape – curious as how Seungwan was the help she needed. Besides, she never really knew that someone she was acquainted with did something like this. “She has the gift that… you know, to communicate with the those on the other realm.”

“And you think she’ll be able to help me?”

“Oh, without a doubt,” Joohyun dismissed with a wave of her hand. “If not, she can try, and she’ll try her hardest to.” Miyoung sighed, leaning back in her seat. Her eyes, once again, settled on her friend. When help showed itself, she had to take it, right? She wanted the help especially if there’s a possibility for Baekhyun to leave her alone. It’s only been a few weeks, and yet, the brunette was tired of being scared. She didn’t want to be scared anymore – it wasn’t like her.

“Why don’t I have enough female friends?”

“I’ve been telling you that for how long now?” Joohyun stated as if it was so obvious. Miyoung needed more female friends – ones who would understand her situation and not male friends who couldn’t think with the same mindset as the female species.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Miyoung felt at ease when she stepped back into the hospital, having talked to Joohyun for almost an hour. She was in a better mood when she approached the nurse’s station, but that all dwindled as qu