Mina was minding her own business and knitting, a hobby she’d picked up recently, when all the sudden Sana came bursting into the room. Literally. She flew straight through a wall and practically landed on Mina’s lap. Mina yelled, making Tzuyu, who was sitting next to her on the couch, jump.

“I WAS A TRAINEE AT YOUR COMPANY!” Sana yelled. She was on her knees at Mina’s feet, staring up at her with wide eyes. “Did you know that? How did you not recognize me?” There was accusation in her voice, making Mina frown immediately.

“You were a trainee at JYPE when you were still alive?” Mina asked, not sounding entirely surprised. Tzuyu looked at Mina a bit quizzically before she realized the older girl must’ve been talking to Sana, who she herself couldn’t see.

“Yes! I saw my picture on the news. It said I committed suicide.” Sana said the last part a bit quietly, still trying to come to terms with it. It angered her, knowing that in her life she had been the one who had ended it all. How could she throw it all away, and why would she do something like that?

Mina’s eyes widened. “That’s why you looked familiar to me...I couldn’t place it at first so I stopped trying to figure it out. I remember that, the news shook the whole company hard. We were all in mourning. But I haven’t seen that girl’s face in nearly three years…”

“Can you look into it for me? Pull up some old news articles on it? I just need to know why I did it,” Sana begged.

“Of course,” Mina replied, pulling out her phone immediately. “From what I remember, it was pretty unexpected…”

“What are you talking about?” Tzuyu asked, extremely interested. After all, she could only hear Mina’s side of the conversation.

Mina and Sana both turned to Tzuyu. “Sana was that trainee at our company that committed suicide a few years ago, apparently,” Mina explained. Tzuyu’s brow furrowed and she pressed her lips together.

“Ugh, this is taking too long,” Sana muttered. “I need information now!” She jumped up and let herself fall into Mina, possessing her. She immediately turned Mina’s head away from Tzuyu and began to type wildly into Mina’s phone, searching the internet for articles detailing her death.

“Tzuyu, do you remember anything about it?” Sana asked without looking up from Mina’s phone.

“I didn’t really know the girl at all, but I knew other trainees who did. I heard she was really happy and positive all the time, so no one could really understand why she did it. I mean, I probably wouldn’t know any more than you would…” she let the words die out in as it suddenly dawned on her that she was no longer talking to Mina, but Sana. She could tell Mina was possessed just by the way the girl beside her was sitting, and she typed somewhat more slowly than Mina normally did.

Sana was too busy scanning an article on Mina’s phone for her to notice Tzuyu’s aggravated gaze. “It says I...I jumped off a bridge. I texted Eunha I was sorry and that was it.” Her voice was monotone, and the screen in front of her was beginning to blur as tears began to form in her eyes. “Why...why would I…?”

And then she was crying, letting the phone drop out of her hands and land onto the couch. All this time she thought she’d been murdered, which is why she couldn’t remember her past, but it turns out she had been the one to take her own life. She’d done this to herself.

Tzuyu cleared , and Sana immediately began to wipe away her tears. “I’m sorry, I just wasn’t expecting this,” she murmured. was beginning to close up, causing Mina’s voice to sound slightly raspy.

“You don’t need to apologize.” Tzuyu’s voice was soft and sympathetic. Even though she wasn’t really happy that Sana had jumped into Mina without warning, Tzuyu truly felt bad for Sana. She couldn’t imagine what could possibly be going on in the ghost’s head now.

Without warning, Sana threw her arms around Tzuyu, pulling her close and crying into her shoulder. “Um…” Tzuyu mumbled, looking down at Sana a bit awkwardly. After a moment, she gently put her arms around Sana and returned the hug. Even though she didn’t know Sana well and was still slightly wary of her, Tzuyu couldn’t ignore the sight of Mina crying, even if it wasn’t really her friend. Tzuyu still felt the urge to protect the girl.

“So you don’t remember why you did it?” Tzuyu asked.

“No,” Sana huffed. “I barely have any memories of my former life. I just remember my time with Eunha, in bits and pieces. But I don’t remember what would drive me to do that? Maybe I was under a lot of pressure, or depressed, or even bullied? I hate not knowing.”

“Maybe it’s for the best that you don’t remember those feelings. You can be happier now, right?”

Sana supposed Tzuyu was right—as Jihyo had once told her, ghosts with tragic and brutal deaths often didn’t remember their lives at all. It was almost merciful, Sana supposed.

After a few minutes Sana finally pulled away, wiping her eyes again. “I guess if I knew why that wouldn’t change anything, I’d still be dead. I still have to finish my business and move on…”

“Spend time with Nayeon, right?” Tzuyu asked. “That’s your business?”

Sana immediately snapped her head back in Tzuyu’s direction, staring at her with wide eyes. “Wait...Mina told you? Well, that’s kind of a relief actually. I didn’t really want to be the one to break it to you.”

“It’s not like it’s that big of a deal anyway.” Tzuyu shrugged. “I’m not sure why you didn’t just tell me in the first place.”

Sana’s eyes nearly bugged out of her head. “You don’t think sleeping with Nayeon is a big deal?” she asked in disbelief.

Tzuyu nearly fell off the couch.

“Wait...WHAT?!?” she yelled, feeling her hands curl into fists at her sides.

Sana flinched back, looking slightly afraid. “You just said Mina told you…” Sana replied in a small voice, curling in on herself.

“SHE SAID YOU NEEDED TO SPEND TIME WITH NAYEON, NOT SLEEP WITH HER.”

Sana clicked her tongue in understanding. Mina had tried to keep the younger girl in the dark by not telling her the whole truth originally. “Oh, my poor, naive Tzuyu. What did you think Mina meant by spending time with her?”

“I...well…” Now that Sana had pointed it out, Tzuyu felt extremely stupid. Her face began to turn red. “It just never dawned on me that that was even a possibility,” the taller girl hissed.

Sana giggled slightly at that and then went back to sniffling. “Cat’s out of the bag now, I guess.”

“How could Mina let you do something like that?” Tzuyu’s voice was rising in anger. “Nayeon is out of the question!”

“I’ll let Mina answer that,” Sana said, grimacing. She quickly tore herself out of Mina’s body and began to back away from Tzuyu. Mina, totally unaware of what just happened, shook her head and blinked a few times as her senses came back to her. Mina made eye contact with Sana, who smiled sheepishly before handing her the blessed charms Jihyo had given her earlier. “Here’s something to keep the evil spirits away, okay? Keep these in your pockets at all times, got it?” Sana didn’t wait for a reply before she disappeared.

“You’re gonna let Sana use you to sleep with Nayeon?” Tzuyu asked—voice alarmingly calm.

Mina opened in surprise and turned to face Tzuyu, who was looking at her with an icy glare. “I...um…”

“Why didn’t you tell me that?”

“I tried to...but...well...I didn’t think you would like the idea very much,” Mina replied in a small voice.

Tzuyu took a breath. “Do you know how stupid that is?”

Mina sighed, turning her head to look down at the charms Sana had given her. “Yes, I know. It’s stupid and unrealistic. But...without my help Sana will turn into an evil spirit. And...and I like Nayeon anyway.”

Mina said the last bit so quietly that Tzuyu had to lean in to hear the older girl. “You...like Nayeon?” Tzuyu repeated.

Mina nodded, feeling her cheeks beginning to flush.

“Oh.”

That was it. A simple “oh.” Tzuyu was strangely quiet after that. The two friends sat in awkward silence before Tzuyu finally stood up and headed back into her bedroom, leaving Mina alone with her thoughts.

Sana returned shortly after, figuring she’d given Mina and Tzuyu enough time to talk things out. She found Mina in her bed, looking at her phone.

“Sorry for breaking the news to Tzuyu,” Sana replied.

Mina looked up at her and pressed her lips together. She wanted to respond, but Jeongyeon was still working out in their shared room, and she’d clearly think Mina was crazy for talking to no one. Mina simply nodded, hoping Sana could figure out that she forgave her for it.

Since Sana was bored and didn’t really have anything else to do, she just hung out around the apartment for the day, napping on the couch briefly, and watching the members of EDEN spend time on their rare day off. Dahyun remained sleeping for hours, and Sana giggled upon seeing the girl laying in her bed like a lump under the covers. Momo was napping too, with slightly open. Jeongyeon eventually took a shower after working out, leaving Sana alone with Mina and a sleeping Momo.

“It’s okay, what you did with Tzuyu earlier,” Mina whispered. She had set her phone down and sat up, looking at Sana. “Oh, by the way, Nayeon said she’d take me to visit Eunha as soon as the hospital lets her accept visitors.”

Sana raised her eyebrows.

“Alone, just the two of us,” Mina added.

Sana pumped her fists excitedly! “That’s my girl!” she shouted. Mina couldn’t help but smile at Sana’s excitement. “Nayeon will be ours in no time! Well, I’ll hang around until then when we see Nayeon again, I’ll take over from you for a bit, okay?”

Mina nodded. The thought of a ghost possessing her was scary at first, but she trusted Sana, so she really didn’t mind. “I’m gonna watch a movie...do you want to watch it with me? Unless you have something else to do…”

“Are you kidding me? I’m dying of boredom. Sure, I’ll watch a movie with you!” Sana beamed at the offer. Mina would normally watch a movie on her laptop with headphones on, but so Sana could hear it too, Mina got up to watch the movie in the living room. She grabbed the remote and sat down on the couch, looking at Sana expectantly. The ghost plopped down beside Mina with a smile on her face.

The rest of the day went by quickly, and both Sana and Mina hadn’t moved much from their original spot on the couch. Momo and Dahyun eventually crawled out of their beds and walked into the kitchen, whining about being hungry. Jeongyeon decided they should order in some food.

“So things are going back to normal tomorrow, huh?” Dahyun asked when they were all sitting at the dining table. Sana was laying on the couch, drifting off to sleep.

“Back to our normal schedule, yeah,” Tzuyu confirmed. They had rehearsal for the Seoul Music Awards, which were in two days. They had to practice on the stage because they had a special number planned.

Night rolled along, and this time Sana joined Mina in the girl’s bed. She could’ve slept on the couch, but Mina had offered. They laid side by side, staring up at the ceiling. Mina had her headphones in, listening to balleds to help calm her mind and ease her into sleep. Sana turned her head to look at Mina, whose eyes were beginning to flutter shut.

It’s a wonder I ended up here, next to you, Sana thought. It was quite odd that her afterlife had taken such a strange turn, leading her to make a deal with an idol to benefit them both. “What a nice life you have, Mina,” Sana whispered to a now sleeping Mina. “I wanted what you have so badly when I was alive. I wanted it so badly it might’ve even killed me.”

“But you deserve it...you worked so hard for everything you have. I’ll leave after all this, knowing you’ll go on to live a happy life. That’ll be enough for me.” Sana wasn’t sure why she was saying all this outloud, but it felt right. She took one last look at the girl beside her before she to her side and curled up into a ball, slowly drifting asleep.

Waking up early for rehearsals the next day wasn’t fun, but the girls all managed to remain pleasant and good-spirited as they arrived at the venue. As they awaited their turn on the stage, the girls sat backstage in their own dressing room.

Since Nayeon and Sungjin had arrived to drive the girls over, Sana had taken over from Mina, trying to throw Nayeon confident smiles every chance she could get. In the dressing room, Sana had even attempted to talk to Nayeon, but the girl seemed oddly distant and grumpy.

“Have you had a chance to think everything over?” Sana asked the girl sweetly.

“Not now,” she muttered, shooing Sana away. The girl pouted but sat down next to Tzuyu on a couch, accepting temporary defeat.

Meanwhile, Tzuyu continued to give Sana the side-eye, high-key judging her every time she attempted to saunter over to Nayeon, who was on her phone and trying to look preoccupied.

Sana wouldn’t make much progress with Nayeon today, she figured, but when they went to go visit Eunha in the hospital, that would be her chance. Beginning to doze off slightly, she began to lean her head on Tzuyu’s shoulder.

“Pssst,” a voice hissed, directly in Sana’s ear. Sana jumped, immediately opening her eyes.

Much to her surprise and horror, a familiar face was standing in front of her, smiling. It was her friend Joy, but what was she doing here? How did Joy even find her?

“I know it’s you in there,” Joy teased. “I wanted to see your new look, and I must say, wow.” She gave Sana and approving nod and two thumbs up. “Mina’s quite the catch.”

Sana opened to respond, but then she remembered she couldn’t say anything with all these people around her. She would accidentally make Mina look crazy if she did. Instead, she just scowled and continued to stare Joy down, hoping her look of annoyance would be enough to make Joy go away.

“I know you can’t respond, so let’s just cut to the chase. I have an idea how to help you get with your girl. Who is she anyway?” Joy began to point to all of the women in the room. “Her?” Joy pointed to Tzuyu, how was totally immersed in something on her phone.

Sana shook her head very slightly. “Her?” Joy pointed to Jeongyeon, who was talking to Sungjin about something. Again, Sana shook her head. Joy wordlessly pointed to Nayeon, who was separated from the rest of the group. Slowly, Sana nodded.

Joy moved forward to get a better look at Nayeon, sizing the girl up from head to toe. “She seems grumpy,” Joy replied. “But that’s kind of hot.”

Sana just rolled her eyes, crossing her arms. Joy looked back at her with a devilish grin. “So I had this idea to make your positive energy girl jealous,” Joy began. Immediately, Sana knew it was a bad idea. “So which girl should I possess to get this plan started?"

Sana gritted her teeth and shook her head furiously.

“The one sitting next to you is cute,” Joy purred, stepping closer to Tzuyu. “All I have to do is flirt with you while possessing one of these girls and your positive energy girl will be wanting you even more.” Sana protectively put her hand on Tzuyu’s thigh, giving Joy a look of death.

Tzuyu set her phone down and looked at Sana quizzically. “Um, you okay?” Tzuyu asked Sana.

“There’s another ghost here,” Sana whispered, and Tzuyu’s eyes instantly widened. She looked around the room even though she couldn’t see Joy, who was standing close to her.

“Fine, she’s a little young anyway,” Joy shrugged. “How about this one?” Joy stepped closer to Momo, who was leaning against the back of the couch, sleeping. “She’s cute too.”

Sana gave Joy a look of desperation. “Please...don’t,” she mouthed. She didn’t trust Joy at all. In the past, the two of them had fooled around and probably messed up a handful of people’s lives just for fun. Sana wasn’t proud of it, but when you were a ghost your moral compass tended to become skewed.

Joy just smiled smugly. “What? Did you think I was just gonna let you have all the fun being an idol? Don’t worry. Joy to the rescue.”

In a flash, Joy let herself fall into Momo, possessing the girl. She immediately sat up in Momo’s body, giving Sana a lazy grin. Sana wanted to shout at her friend, but was forced to remain silent. Tzuyu gave Sana a questioning look before following the girl’s gaze to a now awake Momo.

Joy leaned forward on the couch, jutting her chin at Sana. “What’s wrong, Mina?” the girl asked, acting as innocent as possible.

Sana rolled her eyes. “Oh, nothing, Momo. Nothing at all.”

“Good.” Joy suddenly got up from where her new body was sitting and plopped down on the other couch next to Sana. She playfully pinched Sana’s cheek. Sana quickly smacked her hand away, grumbling. “Wow, you’re so cute,” Joy gushed. “You really did strike gold with this one.”

Tzuyu leaned back, looking between the two girls to her right with her brows furrowed. Nayeon had taken interest as well. Her eyes were now on “Mina” and “Momo” instead of her phone.

Joy gripped Sana’s collar and immediately pulled her closer. Sana began to protest but then Joy began to whisper in her ear. “Don’t you see? That bunny girl over there, whatever her name is, is looking at us. She’s jealous. The moment you get her alone she’ll be all over you.”

Sana leaned back and looked at Joy skeptically. “That never works,” she hissed.

Joy scooched over until she was sitting on Sana’s lap. Sana fought the urge to shove Joy off of her and onto the floor.

“Ummmm,” Sana grumbled, looking taken off guard. Joy put her arm around Sana and made herself comfortable.

“Save the fan service for the fans, you two,” Nayeon warned from across the room. Joy looked down at Sana and gave the girl a satisfied smile. It seemed to say: I told you so.

“Are you jealous?” Joy teased, using Momo’s voice. Nayeon’s face instantly flushed and Sana could see the annoyance rolling off of her in waves.

“Yeah, right,” Nayeon muttered, crossing her arms. Looking slightly flustered, she took a breath before moving across the room to join Jeongyeon and Sungjin.

“Alright, enough,” Sana whispered. “You made your point. Now get off me.”

Joy looked down at Sana and pouted. She leaned forward and whispered in Sana’s ear. “I can tell Momo likes it, I can feel her heart pounding inside my chest. She has a crush on Mina, huh? I guess everyone does.”

“I suggest you get off of her,” Tzuyu replied coolly, earning a surprised look from both Joy and Sana. “We’re about to go on soon,” the younger girl added.

Joy stood up and continued to pout. “Okay...fine.”

Sana sighed with relief. She turned back to Nayeon, who happened to be staring at her from across the room. They made awkward eye contact before Nayeon turned away.

Sana ejected herself from Mina’s body then, rolling up the sleeves of her sweater, preparing to drag Joy out of Momo’s body if she had to. “Seriously?” Sana yelled, finally able to talk freely without the fear of being overheard. “Get out of her, now.”

“You’re no fun,” Joy whispered, sticking out her tongue at Sana.

Mina, waking up from her slight slumber, rubbed her eyes and stared at Sana in confusion. Why did it look like Momo could see Sana? How were they talking to each other?

Her question was answered shortly after, as Sana literally yanked Joy out of Momo. The sight nearly made Mina faint. She could feel Tzuyu’s hand on her arm, patting her reassuringly.

“You’re so stupid, you know that?” Sana scolded. Joy simply shrugged. Sana took Joy’s arm and dragged her off, giving a Mina an apologetic look before the two ghosts disappeared.

After a few moments, Momo began to rub her head and moan. “Uh, I just had the weirdest dream,” she murmured.

“Alright guys, time to get out there!” Sungjin announced.

Once everyone was preparing to leave the venue, Nayeon got a phone call. She gave Mina a serious look and then stepped aside to take it. Sana was not possessing Mina at the moment, but rather watched EDEN’s rehearsal performance from the audience and cheered for Mina like a mad woman. It’d made Mina embarrassed and shy, for some reason. She had felt more nervous dancing with Sana watching than dancing in front of an entire crowd of fans.

After hanging up the phone, Nayeon said something to Sungjin that Mina couldn’t hear. He looked Mina’s way a bit sadly and nodded.

“Hey Mina,” Nayeon said, approaching her. “I just got a call from the hospital about Eunha.”

This perked Sana’s interest—she had been looking over Dahyun’s shoulder as the girl played a game on her phone.

“She’s not doing too well...the nurse recommended that if you want to see her that we visit her tonight.”

It felt as though someone had punched Sana in the stomach.

“I’ll take you once Sungjin and I drop everyone off at the apartment, okay?”

Mina nodded, glancing over at Sana, whose face was unreadable. “Thank you,” she said.

Jeongyeon approached Mina and began to rub her back gently. In fact, the mood in the dressing room greatly darkened as everyone gathered their things to head home.

Once the girls returned home, Mina made the excuse to change into something warmer so she could talk to Sana.

Mina grabbed jeans and a sweatshirt from the closet connected to her bedroom and walked into the bathroom to change. Sana, getting the point, followed. “Are you gonna be okay?” Mina asked Sana once they were both inside.

Sana hesitated, but nodded. “I need to see her, even if it’s just to say goodbye. This though, majorly. I thought she was getting better...I thought she was going to be okay.”

“It seemed like she was,” Mina offered. There really wasn’t anything else to say. Eunha was Sana’s best friend, and she was dying. “Okay, I’m gonna get changed so I’ll meet you outside by the door.”

Despite feeling slightly sick, that comment made Sana snicker.

“What?” Mina replied, not understanding why Sana had laughed.

“Oh, nothing,” Sana dismissed. “It’s just I find it funny that you’re shy about changing in front of me.”

“I don’t like changing in front of anyone,” Mina admitted. “Even the rest of the members. I mean, I’ve had to get used to it with concerts and stuff, but it’s still weird. Why is that funny?”

Sana bit back more laughter, giving Mina a sheepish smile. “I’ve already seen everything there is to see.”

“Seen everything...there is to see?” It took Mina a moment before she processed what Sana had just said. Her face immediately turned bright red. She opened to say something but couldn’t think of anything.

“Did you just short-circuit?” Sana joked. “What did you expect? I possessed you for a couple of days in the beginning and I had to change into different clothes and take showers…”

Mina had known that Sana had gotten to know her a bit too well, but she had chosen to ignore that thought until she was forced to think about it now. She scrunched her nose, making a face of disgust.

“It’s just a body, like anyone else’s. Don’t worry, I was completely respectful,” Sana assured.

Mina gritted her teeth and took a breath. Sana found it so adorable to see Mina so embarrassed. “Just...stop talking. Let me change, will you?”

“Fine, fine,” Sana replied, waving a hand dismissively but smiling a bit smugly as she phased out the bathroom door.

After a minute, Mina exited the bathroom and met Sana and Nayeon, who were both standing near the front door.

“Are you ready?” Sana asked Mina, who put on a brave face and nodded.

Sana stepped forward, letting herself possess Mina again. Once in Mina’s body she took a breath, pinching the palm of her hand to stop herself from crying. Eunha was...dying. She was her best friend in life and now the girl would be joining her in the afterlife before her time, it just wasn’t fair.

“Ready?” Nayeon asked, to which Sana nodded. Stepping outside, Sana followed Nayeon to her car, which was parked in a garage attached to the apartment complex.

Sana opened up the passenger side door only to find that there was a small, leather bound notebook on the seat. Curious, she picked it up and examined it, beginning to flip through the pages.

“Hey, don’t touch that!” Nayeon snapped, ripping the notebook from Sana’s hand. “I didn’t mean to leave that on the seat,” she muttered, face instantly flushing as she quickly started up the car.

“Those were song lyrics,” Sana observed, buckling herself into the seat. “You write?”

“It’s just a stupid hobby,” Nayeon shrugged. “Just for fun.”

“Would you want to write lyrics for us? Have you talked to Sungjin or—?”

“No,” Nayeon muttered. “I’m not good enough for that.”

Sana pouted at Nayeon, looking offended. “Oh stop that! I’m sure you’re great, if you’d let me read some of them I could find out for sure…”

Nayeon’s mouth was pressed into a hard line––it seemed she wouldn’t budge. Sana decided she’d leave it alone...for now. She decided to change the subject. “Did they say how much longer Eunha has exactly?” Sana asked as Nayeon pulled out of her parking spot. Nayeon bit her bottom lip nervously and shook her head.

“The woman at the front desk suggested coming by tonight, she said it was rather urgent. I don’t think Eunha has much more than a day or two at most. I’m sorry.”

The blows just seemed to keep these days––first finding out Sana had killed herself in her past life, and now Eunha was dying. It was all because a mysterious man stabbed her. Why would someone do something like that to Eunha, who had never hurt anyone in her life? The thought made Sana curl her hands into fists, digging her fingernails into the palms of her hands.

“I really tried to save her,” Sana said.

Nayeon looked over at the girl with sympathy. “You did everything you could. You’re a hero, Mina. This isn’t your fault. Whoever this man is who hurt Eunha, it’s his fault. I hope they find him.”

Sana nodded, knowing Nayeon was right, but her stomach was still twisted into knots.

After about 30 minutes of driving, Nayeon and Sana arrived in the parking garage of the hospital. Sana practically ran toward the entrance, with Nayeon jogging behind after her.

“I’m here to see Eunha. What room is she in?” Sana ignored the stares of the people in the waiting room. Even the woman at the front desk looked slightly starstruck at the sight of a famous idol standing in front of her. Sana might have enjoyed the attention if she weren’t so worried about Eunha.

“She’s in the trauma wing, room 218—”

Before the woman could tell Sana which way the trauma wing even was, Sana took off down the first hallway she saw.

Nayeon quickly thanked the woman behind the desk and took off after Sana. “Hey, slow down!” she called to the girl, huffing as she tried to keep up.

Sana turned some corners, trying to read signs on the ceiling above, until she found the trauma wing and Eunha’s room. She took a breath, staring at the door. Feeling a hand on her shoulder, Sana looked back to see Nayeon giving her a reassuring glance.

The two girls entered the room to see another girl inside, sitting next to the bed with Eunha’s hand in her own. The girl looked to be about Nayeon’s age, with long, light brown hair. She looked oddly familiar to Sana. Eunha looked very pale and small laying out on the hospital bed, and her eyes were closed. There were IVs hooked up to her forearm and a large heart monitor beside the bed beeped along to her heart.

“Sowon,” Nayeon replied, giving a curt nod to the girl beside Eunha’s bed. Sowon let go of Eunha’s hand and stood up, suddenly towering over both Nayeon and Sana. “I’m so sorry.”

Sowon wiped a fresh tear off her cheek but nodded. “Thank you for coming to visit her. She’s not conscious but I like to think she can hear me.” Eunha must’ve been very important to this Sowon girl.

“I’m sure she can,” Nayeon assured, placing a hand gently on Sowon’s back.

“Do you know why her condition took such a turn for the worse?” Sana asked. “I heard she was doing really well…”

“It kind of baffled the doctors, they haven’t been able to give me a straight answer. It just seems her heart is starting to give out.”

Sana shook her head, feeling utterly confused and sad.

“I’ll give you some time alone with her,” Sowon replied with her head down. There were tears forming in her eyes. She quickly stepped out of the room, leaving Nayeon and Mina alone with Eunha.

Sana stepped forward to the side of Eunha’s bed. “I’m sorry,” she whispered to the girl. “I tried to save you but I was too late.” She squeezed her eyes shut and let some tears fall. Delicately, she tucked a strand of Eunha’s hair behind the girl’s ear. Then she leaned forward, getting closer to the girl. “You were my best friend and I let you down. I’m so sorry,” she whispered, making her voice quiet enough so Nayeon, who was standing awkwardly by the door, couldn’t hear. “I can’t believe I left you like that. I’d give anything to go back three years ago…I wish I could talk to you now so I could understand why...why I killed myself and why someone would do this to you.”

The beating of the heart monitor beside Eunha’s bed began to grow frantic. Sana stepped back in fright with wide eyes. Nayeon rushed forward and grabbed Sana’s wrist, pulling her away. “We need to get help!” Nayeon commanded. She threw the door open and began yelling for a nurse. Sana, however, was paralyzed, staring at Eunha in disbelief as the girl’s heart sped up wildly but then began to stop, barely beating weakly.

“Eunha!” Sana cried, feeling like her own heart—well, Mina’s heart in this case—was about to stop beating. She looked back to see Nayeon was running to get help. Stepping up beside Eunha’s bed, Sana could only stare in horror as she began to see a ghostly shape rise from Eunha’s body—she was materializing as a ghost. “No, no, no! Eunha, it’s not your time…”

Sana made the split decision to step out of Mina’s body for a moment, reaching out to the girl who she recognized as her best friend. “Eunha! Can you hear me?” she cried. Eunha, sitting straight up, began to get off the bed and walk toward the open door leading to the hallway, as if in a trance. Sana waved her hands in front of her friend frantically. Mina, getting thrown into the situation, held back a sob as she saw what was happening. At that moment, a few nurses rushed into the room in front of Nayeon. They circled around Eunha’s bed with a defibrillator.

“Eunha!” Sana rushed in front of the girl, who was now in the hallway, walking toward what appeared to be a bright light. “Listen to me! It’s Sana, your best friend! You can’t leave! You have so much life to live...you have someone who really loves you. Please don’t go!” She threw her arms around Eunha, pulling her into a huge hug. Eunha blinked a few times, as if coming out of a trance. The sound of shouting from her room could be heard from the hallway.

“Clear!” There was a jolt and Eunha’s ghostly form faded in and out as electricity coursed through her real body.

“Sana?” Eunha gasped, looking at the girl in front of her with wide eyes. “I never thought I’d see you again!”

The two girls began crying, and Sana pulled her friend into another hug.

“Wait, if I can see you then…” Eunha’s voice trailed off.

“You’re dying,” Sana stated bluntly. “But you can still fight it! You can still go back!”

Eunha nodded determinedly. “Okay. But wait—Sana, you didn’t really kill yourself, did you?”

Sana was taken off guard by the question. “The news reports all said I did...but I can’t remember,” Sana confessed.

“I don’t think you did!” Eunha said. “I was looking into your death. Certain things just don’t add up. That’s why I got stabbed in the first place, someone is trying to keep me quiet!”

“What?” Sana gasped, putting her hands on Eunha’s shoulders.

“The man...before he stabbed me...he told me to stop looking into things. Sana, I think someone killed you and covered it up to look like a suicide! You were so happy, you would’ve told me if you needed help! I’m gonna keep looking into it, I’m gonna find out who did this…”

“Eunha, you can’t! You’ll put yourself at risk again! If someone hurt me they won’t hesitate to hurt you too to keep their secret!”

“But—“

“I’ll look into it. I’m still here, in this world, just as a ghost! You need to focus on your own life, okay?”

Eunha shook her head. “You deserve justice! How can I let a murderer just walk free?”

“Please, Eunha, do this for me, okay?” Sana begged.

“God, Sana, I missed you so much,” Eunha cried. She clung onto Sana again. “I won’t ever stop trying to figure out what happened.”

“I missed you too. I’ll see you again, but you have to live out your life first. Now, you better hurry back to your body before it’s too late!”

Eunha sniffled but nodded. She finally let go of Sana. Sana quickly took her friend’s hand and began to lead her back to the hospital room.

Mina and Nayeon were standing outside of the closed door, kicked out as the doctors and nurses tried to restart Eunha’s heart.

Nayeon was holding Mina close as the girl shook slightly. Her head lifted when she saw Eunha and Sana getting closer. Sana gave Mina a reassuring smile before her and Eunha phased through the closed door. Eunha gave Sana one last hug before she sat down on her bed and phased back into her body. In an instant, Eunha’s heart started beating again at a normal beat. The doctors sighed in relief, reporting a normal pulse.

Sowon came running back after seeing Nayeon and Mina in the hallway. She had a cup of coffee in her hand. “What happened?” she cried. Nayeon let go of Mina and put her hands up, trying to stop Sowon from bursting in the door.

“They’re trying to save her,” Nayeon replied.

A few seconds later, a nurse stepped out of the room and immediately Mina, Nayeon and Sowon turned to her, preparing for the worst. “She’s okay,” the nurse replied, and Sowon burst out crying in relief. “Actually, her condition seems to be much more stable now. She should be fine.”

Everyone let out a collective sigh of relief. “Can I see her?” Sowon asked anxiously.

“Let her rest for now, she’ll be okay. You should go home and get some rest. Come back tomorrow. She’ll be here, waiting.”

It was clear Sowon didn’t want to go, but it didn’t look like they’d give her a choice. Anxiously, she finally ended up leaving, along with Mina and Nayeon. Mina kept looking back, waiting for Sana to appear. Nayeon had her arm linked with Mina’s, dragging her along.

Eventually Sana ran to catch up, walking just behind Mina and Nayeon. She noticed the two girls were extra close, so Sana nodded in satisfaction. “You’re doing great,” Sana murmured. Mina was expecting Sana to take over any time now, but the ghost kept lingering behind.

Her own closeness to Nayeon was making Mina slightly nervous. Nayeon had held her and consoled her when she thought Eunha was gonna die without second thought. And now, their arms were linked as if it were normal for them to do so.

“I need to go talk to Jihyo about something,” Sana replied. “Hold down the fort for now. Just be you...Nayeon will love it.”

Mina wanted to protest—after all, it was Sana’s confidence that had gotten her so far with Nayeon so quickly—but before she could so much as give Sana a look, the ghost disappeared.

“We’ll be back tomorrow,” Nayeon assured Sowon once they reached the parking lot. They hugged, and Mina gave Sowon a friendly nod. She knew the girl from the company as a manager for the a lot of the trainees.

Mina followed Nayeon to her car, feeling her heart race as she opened up the passenger side door. “Thank you for taking me to see her,” Mina replied quietly as Nayeon pulled out of the parking garage.

“Of course,” Nayeon replied. “Are you okay?” she looked over at Mina with concern. With a heavy heart, Mina nodded. She wasn’t sure what Sana had done to save Eunha, but it worked. She knew if Eunha had died, Sana would’ve been devastated, and that worried Mina very much.

“I really thought she wasn’t going to make it,” Mina confessed.

“You seemed like you know her very well. I know you said you’re not that close, but the way you looked at her suggested otherwise.”

Mina truly only had spoken to Eunha a couple times, that was it. Sana must’ve gave Nayeon the wrong impression. “I just couldn’t bear to see something happen to her,” Mina offered. It was true...seeing any girl that young die—especially a fellow JYPE idol—would be extremely traumatizing. Besides, Eunha was nice and had dreams and aspirations to chase still. It made Mina wonder who on earth would stab the innocent girl in the first place. People in this world were sick.

“She’ll be okay. You really saved her life by getting her to an ambulance right away. You’re a hero.”

Mina shrugged off that title, feeling slightly embarrassed. Besides, it was all Sana, not her. She didn’t deserve any glory, she was just happy Eunha was okay.

“Look, about the other night…” Nayeon began. Her eyes were fixated on the road in front of her and she was gripping the steering wheel tighty with both hands. “What happened…”

She was referring to the kiss in the kitchen Sana had told Mina about, no doubt. Mina held her breath, preparing for rejection.

“I can’t stop thinking about it,” Nayeon confessed. “And I hate it. I hate that I like you.”

A strange sound erupted from Mina’s throat. She opened to respond but Nayeon continued.

“I mean, just earlier today at the rehearsal, seeing you with Momo…” her voice trailed off. “You don’t like Momo, do you?” Nayeon’s gaze flickered upward to the rearview mirror, where she could get a glimpse of Mina’s face.

“Momo?” Mina remembered Sana mentioning the fact that Momo had a crush on her. “No, I don’t.”

Nayeon let out a sigh of relief. “This is so messed up, you know? I’m your manager…”

“You’re young for a manager,” Mina replied. “Not that it makes this any better...it’s still wrong,” she quickly added. “How did you become a manager at such a young age, anyway?”

Nayeon shrugged. “I worked really hard and knew the right people. I mean, Chaeyoung wanted to be an idol so I was around the business even when we were both just kids. I’m lucky, I guess.”

There was an awkward silence. Nayeon quickly the radio, flipped through the stations, but didn’t find anything satisfying, so she turned it off again. The two girls listened to the sound of the city streets—honking, music blaring from other cars, the motor of the car running.

“This, whatever it is, can’t swallow us up, okay? We need to be discrete.”

Mina nodded profusely. “Of course.” There was a pause. “My god, this feels like a dream.” she whispered. After all, she had no memory of kissing Nayeon, or even flirting with the girl. To go from crushing on her manager to secretly dating her felt unreal. She was staring at Nayeon’s side profile, taking in every detail of the older girl’s face in the sunlight spilling in through the windshield.

“I’m pulling over,” Nayeon said after a few minutes.

Mina turned to look at Nayeon in surprise. “What?”

Pulling around to the back of a building that seemed to be deserted, Nayeon put the car in park.

Before Mina could even unbuckle her seatbelt Nayeon was crawling over the gearshift and cup-holders between the driver and passenger seat. Nayeon was on top of Mina in an instant, kissing her. Mina’s eyes were open in surprise, staring at Nayeon’s closed ones. After a bit of hesitation, Mina began to kiss Nayeon back, letting her eyes close and herself relax.

Nayeon’s hands began to wander from Mina’s ear to her neck to eventually her hips. Nayeon pulled herself away but remained close to Mina’s face. “It’s funny,” she whispered, “you’re so gentle today.”

Mina could feel her heart pounding. She swallowed hard, thinking about Sana kissing Nayeon a few nights ago. “And how was I before?”

“Not like this,” Nayeon laughed, leaning back slightly so she could see Mina’s face. She lightly put a finger on Mina’s cheek and began to trace shapes on her skin. “You look so flustered now. It’s cute.”

Mina let out a nervous laugh. “I guess I’m still getting used to this,” she replied. She had just KISSED Nayeon—it was hard for her to contain her internal screaming.

“You’re the one who suggested it, remember? Dating in secret is actually pretty romantic,” Nayeon was smiling widely at Mina, letting her fingers begin to trail down the girl’s legs. “We’ll just have to keep finding excuses to be alone.”

Mina gulped but nodded.

Nayeon began to crawl back to the driver’s seat, leaving Mina slightly disappointed. Nayeon watched Mina, as if waiting for something. “Well? Come here,” Nayeon instructed, beginning to pull the younger girl over to her side. Mina tried to gracefully crawl over the median between the two front seats but couldn’t stop her body from trembling slightly, from both excitement and nervousness. Once sitting on top of Nayeon’s lap, Mina found a bit more confidence and went in for a kiss. Nayeon returned it, running her fingers through Mina’s hair.

“Why are you so shy today?” Nayeon teased, poking Mina’s nose. Mina found it hard to not turn away from Nayeon’s intense gaze. “This is the Mina I know, the one who’s quiet and doesn’t know what to say. You were such a sweet talker these past few days, it was like you were a different person.”

Mina nearly laughed at the truthfulness of Nayeon’s statement—if only Nayeon knew. “I guess I just got a boost of confidence,” Mina shrugged.

“I’m glad you did,” Nayeon said. “Alright, we should get you back home now.”

Mina nodded, moving back onto her side and buckling herself back up.

As Nayeon pulled back onto the main road, Mina couldn’t help but smile giddily.

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So a lot of you guys were right with your guesses...Sana didn't actually commit suicide! You'll find out more about what actually happened to her in the next few chapters. But who would've killed Sana...and why? Also...I'm sensing some new and developing feelings between certain people...but I'll let you guys make guesses and try to figure that out. Thanks for reading as always! xx