TW: really brief mention of suicide. Just wanted to give you guys a heads up!

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Sana slept in Momo’s bed that night because Sungjin was taking up the entire couch. It’d been slightly awkward—after all, Mina didn’t really know Sana so trusting her to sleep next to Momo felt a little funny—but Sana assured Mina that no one else would ever know about it, including Momo herself. Sana was still invisible to everyone else around her except Mina, anyway.

“Besides...I got to know Momo pretty well too.”

“What?!?” Mina’s mouth was a gaping hole. Sana nearly snickered at the girl’s shocked expression.

“Uh, yeah, let’s just say I think Momo has a major crush on you.”

Mina didn’t know what to say to that, it seemed the punches kept coming that night.

“I might have made things slightly awkward for you in that department, I’m sorry,” Sana grimaced. Mina glared at her. “I mean...I just kissed her, it’s not like anything else happened. And it was one time.”

“Sana!” Mina hissed.

“I can’t apologize for my heart...I was hoping Momo would be the one with positive energy, that’s all. I mean, have you seen her abs? How have you not fallen for her yet?”

Mina rolled her eyes. “Great, now I have more drama to deal with in my life. As if the whole ‘being possessed by a ghost’ thing wasn’t enough.”

“Oh, shush you. Stop being so overdramatic. If you want, I’ll take care of it when I’m possessing you again.”

Mina fiercely shook her head. “No offense, but how do I know you’re not just gonna start kissing her again?”

Sana tisked. “Your lack of faith in me is hurtful. I do have some self control, you know. Besides, after really kissing Nayeon and feeling that positive energy I’m not interested in Momo anymore. Nayeon is where it’s at.”

Mina made a face, scrunching up her nose.

Sana giggled. “You’re so fun to mess with. Anyway, back to the matter at hand, I’m just gonna sleep next to Momo tonight. I’m not sleeping on the floor, okay? It’s gonna mess up my back.”

“You’re a ghost, why does it matter?”

“Ghosts can still feel sore, you know. Just wait, you’ll find out eventually,” Sana pouted. “Look, would you rather me just possess you now then, that way I can just sleep in your bed with Dahyun?” Sana asked Mina, who bit her lip and sighed.

After Mina remained silent, Sana continued: “Yeah, that’s what I thought.” Sana sat down on Momo’s bed and curled up into a ball on her side next to Momo. Mina slowly lifted the covers on her own bed and nestled in beside Dahyun. Sana stared at Momo’s back, which was facing her, before she drifted off.

After about a half an hour, Sana heard a strange noise, like a very loud release of breath. The hairs on the back of Sana’s neck stood up immediately and she opened her eyes. It was almost completely pitch black in the room, so it took Sana a second to see it.

On the other side of Mina’s bed was a shadowy figure, staring down at Mina. An evil spirit. Its body was a combination of a smoke like substance and grey, solid flesh. It still looked somewhat human, but not human enough.

“Hey!” Sana yelled, sitting up in a flash. “Get out of here!”

The thing lifted its eyes from Mina to Sana and gave Sana an amused smirk. Its eyes were dark and bottomless—like pools of the night sky without any stars. “You’ve already claimed her?” it asked. It’s voice was monotone—Sana couldn’t tell if this spirit had once been a boy or a girl. Everything that had made it human had been drained away. All that remained was residual anger.

“She’s not something that can be claimed,” Sana retorted. “She’s a human being.”

The evil spirit barked out a laugh, turning its attention to the still sleeping Mina. “A very special one.” The thing bent down slightly so that it’s face was closer to Mina’s body. It took in a whiff of her, eyes rolling back into its head in delight as it did so. “Ah, her blood smells like jasmine, don’t you think? It’s the mark of royal blood. She has The Sight...”

Sana bared her teeth at the spirit, curling her hands into fists. “Leave her alone! You can’t have her!”

The spirit returned to its normal height and smiled at Sana—a face-splitting smile that reminded Sana of Nayeon’s smile in her nightmare from earlier that night. “She will be mine. I’m just waiting for the right moment. Once the darkness inside her grows a bit more, we’ll become one. And oh, the things we’ll do…” The evil spirit laughed again. This time it put a long, pointed nail on Mina’s face and lightly traced the girl’s cheekbone.

Sana was on her feet in an instant, pushing the evil spirit back. The spirit stumbled in surprise, looking annoyed. “If I see you around here again…” Sana began.

“You’ll what, kill me?” The evil spirit laughed—an ugly, sinister sounding laugh. “I am much more powerful than you, little girl. Older and stronger, although I can sense you’ll be joining me soon in the darkness. Do not challenge me, or you will lose.” With one last look at Mina, the evil spirit faded away, leaving Sana standing there, slightly shaking.

She’d always tried to avoid evil spirits in the past. Jihyo had warned her that they could wipe ghosts from existence, taking away their chance at the afterlife. Sana’d never actually gotten this close to one before...and now she could finally see why other ghosts were scared of them.

Sana turned back to look at Mina, who still managed to be sleeping, despite everything that just happened. Sana sighed with relief. “Don’t worry, I won’t let anything happen to you,” Sana whispered to the girl. “Before I go, I’ll make sure you’ll be okay.”

The next morning, Sana waited anxiously for Mina to wake up. Once she finally did, Sana confronted her immediately in the bathroom, which seemed to become their designated meeting spot. “I need to take care of something before I possess you again,” she told Mina. “I have a friend...a shamen...and I think she’ll be able to help you with all the evil spirits you’ve been seeing.”

“H-how do you know about that?” Mina stammered. Her arms were crossed and she looked a bit defensive. The only person Mina’d told about that was Nayeon...she hadn’t even told Tzuyu because she didn’t want to worry the younger girl.

“It was in a dream...I saw your memory of telling Nayeon about seeing the spirits. And last night I saw an evil spirit in your room, it was close to you…”

Mina looked horrified, hugging herself tightly.

“It’s going to be okay, I promise. For now, you have to hold down the fort. Remember, you kissed Nayeon last night. She might be acting a little strange...but try to be charming!”

Mina’s eyes widened. “How am I supposed to—?”

“You’ll figure it out! Oh, also, I probably should mention that there was a stabbing yesterday in the parking garage next to JYP.”

“What!?”

“It was Eunha...a trainee with your company. A man tried to kill her but she’s alright. She’s in the hospital now, recovering. That’s what I was trying to tell you yesterday but you didn’t believe me! I was trying to get you to call 911. That’s why Sungjin and Nayeon stayed here for the night...they were worried about our safety and wanted us, er, your members,” Sana quickly corrected herself, “to feel safe.”

“Eunha. That name sounds awfully familiar, I’m sure I’ve seen her around JYPE before…” Mina began, looking very taken off guard and apologetic.

“It’s okay, I understand why you didn’t believe me. That’s why I had to possess you again yesterday. I made the call to 911 and had to go to the police station to make a statement regarding the attack. So...you went to the police station. You’re a witness to a crime…”

Mina put her hands on her head, looking quite nervous.

“I just wanted to tell you in case anyone brings it up...I didn’t want it to come as a surprise.”

“Thank you,” Mina replied, looking solemn.

“Anyway, I’m gonna hurry and go talk to my friend. You know her actually, it’s Jihyo, Nayeon’s friend. Good luck!” Sana winked at Mina and began to run in the direction of the front door. She hoped Jihyo was at her apartment, so she could find the younger girl easily.

Mina gingerly exited her bedroom after the smell of eggs and bacon began to drift throughout the apartment. She was slightly surprised to see Sungjin with slightly messy hair cooking breakfast. “Oh hey Mina,” he smiled at her. “I decided I’d make some food for everyone before Nayeon and I head out. How are you feeling?”

“I’m alright, thanks,” Mina said curtly, sitting down at the kitchen table. “Still trying to process everything. Do you know how Eunha is doing?”

“I spoke with my boss, he said she is recovering, but she hasn’t woken up from surgery yet. Her identity has been outed to the public now...but yours is being kept a secret for now. It might only be a matter of time though before you saving her life becomes public knowledge.”

Mina nodded, looking down at her hands, which were clasped on the table.

“Something smells good,” a voice murmured, and soon enough Tzuyu entered the kitchen. She froze slightly when she saw Mina was already sitting down at the table.

“Have a seat, it’ll be ready soon,” Sungjin said, humming to himself as he flipped over some bacon with a spatula, causing bacon grease to sizzle and Tzuyu to her lips.

Mina looked up as Tzuyu sat down. She could tell Tzuyu was being very cautious around her—did Tzuyu know that she had been possessed? Did Tzuyu still think she was now?

“BACON!” Another voice called from the bedroom, and out came a lumbering Momo with the brightest smile imaginable on her face.

“Morning!” Sungjin replied. He was awfully chipper in the morning.

Eventually all the girls began to wander into the kitchen from the bedrooms, joining Mina and Tzuyu at the table. Eventually a tired looking Nayeon dragged her feet into the kitchen. Mina avoided making eye contact with the girl altogether, feeling her pulse increase underneath her skin. Sana kissed her last night...I kissed her last night…

And so the girls and Sungjin had a family meal. It was pretty quiet, aside for some banter between Sungjin and Nayeon, who made fun of each other’s bed heads. “We can’t all wake up looking like Mina every morning,” Jeongyeon replied, giving Mina a small smile.

Mina’s eyebrows lifted in surprise at the compliment, and she noticed everyone’s eyes were on her, including Nayeon’s. She gulped and giggled nervously. “Oh yeah, because I’m so attractive in the morning,” Mina replied sarcastically. She knew she often woke up with a puffy face and shadows under her eyes, especially recently when the ghosts around her seemed to be tormenting her more and more.

“You look pretty all the time,” Momo said quietly, and everyone agreed. Nayeon, though, remained silent, watching Mina carefully, as if waiting for Mina to make a move on a chessboard. Mina wasn’t interested in playing any games though. She’d leave that up to Sana.

“You guys are crazy,” Mina murmured, feeling herself blush. She stared down at her eggs and quickly took a bite, hoping the conversation would change soon.

“Your schedules are cancelled for today, so I hope you all enjoy your day off,” Sungjin said, changing the topic. Mina silently sent him a thanks.

“Woooo!” Dahyun cheered. “I’m going back to bed after this.”

“Didn’t you just sleep for eight hours?” Nayeon asked.

“And...your point is?”

Nayeon huffed as Dahyun smiled at her.

“I could go back to sleep too,” Momo sighed, closing her eyes slightly, like she was gonna fall asleep on the spot. “Especially after eating all this food.”

“It’s not good to eat right before you go to bed,” Tzuyu scolded. “You should actually stand up for a half an hour after you eat to help your digestive system.” Tzuyu often recited tips her mother had taught her. Momo made a face at that, showing she clearly did not intend to do that.

“Well, we should get out of here and let you girls relax,” Nayeon replied. “Enjoy your day off—it came at a big price.” Nayeon stood up and pushed in her stool loudly. Everyone else couldn’t help but notice she was even more grumpy than usual.

Should Mina say something to Nayeon before she left? The thought of kissing Nayeon last night burned in her brain—making her flush slightly. What could she say? She didn’t even remember the kiss, it had been all Sana. By this point, the other girls and Sungjin had stood up from the table and gathered all the dishes to clean up.

“Earth to Mina?” Dahyun chirped, waving a hand in front of Mina’s face. The girl blinked a few times before coming back to her senses and giving Dahyun a sheepish smile.

“Sorry,” she murmured. She quickly stood up to help but noticed that everything was already being taken care of.

Mina noticed Nayeon was anxiously scrubbing away at the plates in the sink with her back turned to her.

Staring at Nayeon, she finally realized the sweater her manager was wearing looked awfully familiar. Oh! That’s because it was one of her own! Sana must’ve given it to Nayeon to wear...the ghost was good.

A tap on Mina’s shoulder made her jump. She spun around to see Tzuyu, looking at her a bit anxiously. The girl’s lips were pressed together in a fine line. “How are you...feeling?” Tzuyu asked. She was studying Mina carefully, and Mina could feel the other girls in the room staring at the events unfolding in front of them with mild interest.

Should she tell Tzuyu the truth? Her friend was the only one who knew about the last time she was possessed. Maybe Tzuyu could be helpful to Sana in the future if Sana needed someone to talk to while possessing Mina…

“I’m feeling okay,” Mina assured, giving Tzuyu a small smile. “Let’s talk in a bit.”

Tzuyu seemed to sense something was up because she nodded but didn’t question Mina further. Mina turned back around to see Nayeon had finished up at the sink and was watching the two girls with her arms crossed.

“Hey Nayeon?” Mina asked in a small voice.

“Hm?”

“Can I go visit Eunha as soon as she’s accepting visitors?” It was an innocent question—something she thought that Sana would appreciate. After all, if Eunha was Sana’s friend when she was alive, Mina was sure Sana would want to go see her once the girl was awake.

Nayeon looked at Mina with an unreadable expression. “Of course,” she said. Then, moving away from the counter she was leaning her back against she said: “I’ll take you as soon as they are.”

That statement was enough to make Mina’s stomach flip—the thought of being in the car alone with Nayeon made her slightly nauseous but also incredibly excited. Sana would be proud of her for setting this up, Mina thought.

“Okay, we’re out then!” Sungjin sang. He put his hands on Nayeon’s shoulders and began pushing her toward the door. “This is our day off too, we have to enjoy it!”

“Oh, do you have a hot date lined up?” Jeongyeon teased as the two managers approached the door.

“You bet!” Sungjin gave the girl a wicked grin.

Before the two managers were out the door, Nayeon turned around, clearly just remembering something. “Oh, Mina, I still have your sweatshirt…”

“You can give it back to me later,” Mina said cooly.

Nayeon nodded and then disappeared out the door.

After a few seconds of silence, Jeongyeon cheered: “A whole day off!”

Momo and Dahyun instantly ran back to their rooms to sleep. Jeongyeon, Tzuyu and Mina lingered, before eventually Jeongyeon stumbled back into her room, probably to do an ab workout using her exercise mat—the girl was obsessed with getting abs these days. That left Mina and Tzuyu alone.

“You did good this morning,” Tzuyu stated, taking a seat on the couch in the living room. Mina remained standing, feeling slightly awkward. “Don’t get too good at it, though.”

“Good at what?” Mina asked, innocently. She hadn’t spoken much at all during breakfast, so she really wasn’t sure what Tzuyu was talking about.

“Playing Mina,” Tzuyu stated, narrowing her eyes slightly.

“Oh, so you do know,” Mina replied. She took a step closer to the couch. “Did Sana tell you??”

Tzuyu stared at her a bit blankly. “Are you…?”

“I’m not possessed anymore. For now, anyway.”

Tzuyu continued to look at Mina carefully—Mina felt a bit self conscious as she could feel the younger girl’s stare examining her from head to toe. “Is it really you?”

Mina took a breath and nodded. “It’s me.” Her lip began to quiver slightly. Tzuyu stood up and immediately engulfed her in a hug.

“It’s going to be okay,” Tzuyu assured her. “We won’t let this happen again.”

“This time it’s different,” Mina whispered, with her face nuzzled into Tzuyu’s neck. “Sana needs me. Not being in control of myself is scary but, I think I can trust her.”

Tzuyu stepped back and gently took Mina’s hands in her own. “What do you mean, why does Sana need you?”

Mina looked away, feeling too ashamed to actually state the truth. It was embarrassing and she knew Tzuyu would scold her even though Mina was older than her.

“C’mon, Sana wouldn’t tell me but you need to. I need to know what’s going on.”

“She’s...a ghost,” Mina stated. That meant nothing to Tzuyu, who simply looked at Mina anxiously, waiting for the girl to continue. “She needs to...be with someone with positive energy so she can move on from this world and not become an evil spirit.”

“Be with someone? Like, spend time with them?” Tzuyu asked.

Mina’s face turned bright red. This poor kid standing in front of her was so innocent and naive and she didn’t want to ruin that. “Um...yeah,” she lied. “Sana found out that Nayeon has the positive energy she needs. So, she wants to possess me so...she can spend time with her.”

“Hm,” Tzuyu replied. “I guess that seems easy enough.” The girl shrugged and let go of Mina’s hands. “But couldn’t she possess someone else, like one of Nayeon’s friends?”

“I am her friend,” Mina whined, pouting slightly.

Tzuyu smiled apologetically. “Well, of course. But she’s our manager first.”

Mina sighed and nodded. “Well, I guess Sana thinks I’m the best candidate. I think it’s also nice that I can see her and talk to her….she can get permission from me when she can’t exactly ask anyone else.”

“Well, I’m glad she did ask you. You sure you’re okay with this?”

Mina hesitated but nodded. “We worked out an agreement. I’m handling all idol stuff, so for any practices and performances she’ll let me have control.”

“Oh, thank god,” Tzuyu mumbled. “She was pretty bad at dancing.” The younger girl giggled.

Mina ‘s eyes widened and she suddenly felt extremely embarrassed. “She made a fool out of me, didn’t she?” Mina groaned.

“Just a little bit,” Tzuyu assured. “She wasn’t half bad for having to learn the dances on the spot, honestly. Besides, we all just figured you were sick and slightly out of it.”

Mina sighed with relief. “Well, that’s good to know.”

“So why is she not here now?” Tzuyu asked, crossing her arms.

Mina shifted her weight from foot to foot, brushing some of her hair over her shoulder. “She went to go get Jihyo’s help, actually. I’ve been seeing evil spirits and she thinks Jihyo can help.”

“What? How long has this been happening? Why didn’t you tell me?” Tzuyu sounded slightly offended.

“I didn’t want to worry you.” Mina hung her head slightly, feeling a bit guilty. “But hopefully it won’t be a problem much longer.”

“It better not be, or else I’ll have to go and get you help,” Tzuyu replied.

“What could you do?” Mina asked.

Tzuyu thought for a moment, but eventually held up two fists. “I’ll fight some ghosts if I have to!” she replied playfully, causing Mina to laugh.

“Jihyooooo,” Sana called, phasing through the younger girl’s apartment door. She couldn’t exactly knock, so she had to enter unannounced. “You home?”

“What do you want?” Sana heard a voice call from somewhere in the apartment. Eventually the shamen stumbled out of what appeared to be her bedroom. She was dressed in her pajamas and her hair was a bit of a mess. The girl looked grumpy and definitely didn’t want to deal with Sana’s hyperactive personality this early in the morning.

“Morning sleepyhead, sorry to wake you. Also, sorry for running off on you last time, but I’m determined to finish my unfinished business. But before I can do that, I need your help!” Sana replied. “It’s Mina...she’s been seeing a lot of evil spirits lately. There’s one in particular that seems to be drawn to her….I saw it lingering around her last night while she was sleeping. I think...it plans on possessing her. We need to stop it!”

“Wait...Mina can see ghosts?” Jihyo asked, looking a bit skeptical.

“Oh right, yeah I just found that out yesterday but forgot to tell you. So, can you help me or not?”

“Yes, yes, of course I can help you. For Mina. Now, give me a second while I grab some things.” Jihyo turned around and headed toward the kitchen, looking through some cabinets and shuffling through things. “I have some things she should carry around with her.” Jihyo had in her hands some pieces of paper with words written on them. “If she keeps these in her pocket it should ward off evil. Now, I’d give these to you to give to Mina but you can’t exactly carry them, can you?”

Sana reached forward and grabbed the pieces of special paper from Jihyo and held them in her hands triumphantly. “Aha!”

“I guess because those items are blessed you can carry them after all,” Jihyo murmured, a bit surprised. “Alright, you get those right to Mina and make sure she has them with her at all times! If she can see ghosts like me that means she has royal blood...it attracts all sorts of nasty things because our blood has a specific scent to it. You can’t let that evil spirit get close to her again, okay? If it possesses her, it’s all over…”

Sana nodded, looking at Jihyo with a serious expression. “I won’t let anything happen to her, I promise. Thank you!” Sana engulfed Jihyo in a hug and the girl simply huffed but let a little smile slip when Sana wasn’t looking.

“Off you go now,” Jihyo gestured to the door. Sana smiled at Jihyo before running off, determined to get to Mina as soon as possible.

On her way back though, she ran into one of her friends, another ghost who’d helped her come to terms with being dead back when she didn’t quite know what was going on.

“Sana, where have you been?” Joy asked, running up to the younger girl and giving her a big hug. Joy was noticeably taller than Sana—a bit like a baby giraffe. “I thought something happened to you!”

“I found someone with positive energy!” Sana cried out and together the two of them jumped up and down in delight, squealing.

“Ah, thank god, I was so worried for you! Your three year deadline is coming up…”

“I’ll sleep with her soon, don’t worry,” Sana assured.

“When you do that, will you cross over right away?” Joy put her arm around Sana and pulled the girl with her as she began to walk down the sidewalk.

“What do you mean?” Sana replied, looking up at the taller girl in confusion.

“Well, you don’t have to cross over right away. Once you complete your business you won’t turn into an evil spirit, so you can stay as long as you’d like.”

“Oh.” Sana had assumed crossing over right away was mandatory.

“Who is this person you’re possessing to get to this positive energy girl?”

“Her name is Mina...she’s actually an idol from this group named EDEN…” Sana answered a bit sheepishly. Joy raised her eyebrows.

“Dang girl, you really set your sights high. Don’t you think you should stay and enjoy that a bit longer?”

Again, Sana looked up at Joy in confusion.

“You’ve found someone with positive energy...someone you can get close with and not end up killing them on accident. Don’t you think you should take advantage of that for awhile?”

Sana didn’t know how to respond. Sure, being a ghost was fun, especially without the looming threat of turning into an evil spirit hanging over her head, but didn’t she want to see what heaven was like? “How would I even take advantage of that?”

“This Mina girl, she must have a pretty nice life, right? I mean, being an idol and all. It wouldn’t hurt to ride her out for a bit…”

Sana stopped walking and looked up at Joy in surprise. “You can’t be serious,” Sana gasped, looking at Joy with accustation in her eyes.

“What? Oh c’mon Sana, live a little bit! You died way too young, you deserve to actually have some fun and live a normal life...a life that was stolen from you.”

“I can’t just take over Mina’s life!” Sana cried, shaking her head furiously and slipping Joy’s arm off her shoulder.

“Why not?”

Sana opened to say something but then pressed her lips together, gathering her thoughts. “Because, it’s not right. I’d be stealing away her time! My life is over and hers isn’t.”

Joy shrugged. “I just thought I’d bring it up. You could be an idol and you could actually be in a relationship with someone...most ghosts could only dream of that. Me, I still don’t know why I can’t cross over. I can’t have that much fun...but you can.”

“No, no, no! Absolutely not! I could never do that to Mina,” Sana stated loudly. “Shame on you for even thinking that!”

“Since when did you care so much about humans, anyway?” Joy asked, staring at Sana curiously. She flicked some of her long, straight black hair over her shoulder. “You didn’t care so much when you practically possessed every hot girl in Seoul and some guys too trying to get laid…”

“Things are different now,” Sana said. She truly did care about Mina, even in the short amount of time she’d known the girl. On that note, she dramatically stomped away from her tall friend. On her way back to the apartment though, Sana couldn’t quite shake what Joy had said to her from her mind.

Being Mina would be nice. Having Nayeon all to myself…

Sana gently hit the side of her head, trying to force the thoughts out of her mind. It was like the thoughts had taken a life of their own, festering inside her head. “Ouch!” The papers in Sana’s hand that Jihyo had given her suddenly burned her fingers—she couldn’t help but drop them and shake her hand in pain. Looking down, she saw a shroud of dark mist surrounding her burnt hand, similar to what she saw around the evil spirit last night.

She cried out, and immediately the mist faded—her hand was back to normal once again. She bent down to grab the papers and found she could hold them comfortably. It no longer burned.

She needed to sleep with Nayeon fast. Her time was running out.

Sana began to walk at a faster pace, focusing on teleporting back to the apartment, but the window of a store caught her eye. On display were a bunch of TVs all broadcasting a local news station. Sana stopped when she saw a familiar face plastered on the screen. It was a pretty headshot of Eunha, smiling at the camera. The headline stated that she had been stabbed right near the JYPE building. A video clip of the police chief of Seoul talking at a press conference was played, although Sana couldn’t make out what he was saying. Beside him, in the background, Sana spotted Dowoon, sporting his police uniform.

What she saw next is what truly startled her. A picture of a very familiar face popped up. Even though Sana couldn’t see her own reflection as a ghost, she still had a clear memory of what she herself looked like. And this picture...this picture that appeared on the screen next to Eunha’s...it was her. A picture of her full of life and smiling.

The caption read: “VICTIM OF STABBING WAS FRIENDS WITH FORMER JYPE TRAINEE THAT COMMITTED SUICIDE THREE YEARS AGO.”