Death. 

It's bound to happen to us all. For some of us, we'll welcome death like an old friend, ready to leave this world behind and go beyond. For others, their time will come too soon. So soon that their spirit becomes stuck, not knowing where to go or what to do next. 

That happened to be the story of Lee Taemin. 

Taemin was the youngest son in his family. He had a big brother he looked up to, and parents that adored him. He was ending sophomore year of college before kicking the bucket. That's all he knew of his former life. The sad thing was, he could barely remember anything. He didn't even know how he died. 

The last thing Taemin remembered before dying was getting up to use the restroom. After that, he remembered waking up at the bottom of the staircase. He felt cold and weightless, as if a feather could outweigh him. He remembered rising up as if waking up from a long slumber only to realize that the rest of his body hadn't moved with him. He looked at his hands which looked solid to him. However, when he looked down behind him, he thought he'd been dreaming, or rather been placed into a realistic nightmare. 

He looked down at his own face, eyes closed, purple lips, and a chest the wasn't rising and falling with oxygen. He noticed the pool of blood that was forming behind his head onto the floor. 

The first thing Taemin thought of was that he was high. He'd experimented with drugs in the past and knew a bad reaction to weed when he saw one. However, this feeling was completely off. He tried not to freak himself out and continued to believe he was high or was dreaming. 

That was until moments later he heard a loud shriek and saw his parents and brother running downstairs. They seemed to be in a panic and looked straight where Taemin was on the floor. His mom was crying hysterically while his dad and brother looked to be in disbelief. 

Taemin chuckled, "I'm ok, guys. Really."

But they hadn't heard him. His dad turned to his brother. "Taesun, what the hell happened?!"

"I don't know, dad! I found him like this and ran to tell you!"

"Guys," Taemin shouted, or so he believed. He couldn't understand why his family weren't listening to him. "I'm here! Stop being so dramatic."

Reality didn't hit him until the ambulance showed up and he watched as his body laid there unresponsive. 

Reality slapped him in the face when he saw the EMT check his pulse only to drop his face solemnly before turning to tell his parents he was dead. 

Reality definitely kicked him in the nuts when he saw his body, with his own eyes, being placed into a body bag. There was still an inkling of hope that it was all a dream. It had to be. He had finals next week. He would be a junior next semester, putting him closer to graduating college. This must be a nightmare formed from stress. 

Except, the dream never ended. It spiraled more into a never-ending nightmare, especially when his family moved out. 

It didn't officially hit him that he was dead until he was alone in an empty house. 

There had been many attempts to sell the house. Whenever others tried to live there, Taemin made it his will to get them out. He didn't want anyone else living there besides his very own family. Seeing other people come in and basically erase the history that his family engrained into that home was insulting. So he maybe sort of freaks out the tenants on purpose. So be it. 

Now six months later, he was what most people feared to become in the after life — a ghost. 

Not only was he a ghost stuck in this world, he was a ghost stuck in his own home. No matter how hard he tried to venture out passed the front door, he couldn't do it. It was as if some force field was keeping him in. 

He’d always thought, "If I'm stuck in this world, the least I can do is float on and venture across it. Sounds fun."

However, he would come to find that he would become forever doomed to the house he once called a home. 

Taemin didn't mind though. He liked being alone, slowly remembering what he could from his old life. His loving parents, his cool brother, his college friends. They were the main people he missed dearly. He’d admit it does get lonely at times. Having a ghost friend or some psychic communicating with him would definitely be more exciting than hearing the settling noises of the house all day. However, he was content, to say the least. 

That was until Jonghyun and Jinki arrived. 

Taemin had observed the two vampires from afar for weeks before they discovered him. At first, he thought they were just the average potential tenants his dad always tried to sell to. Upon laying his eyes on them, he thought “This will be easy. A tall nice guy and some short dude with a temper. They’ll be out of here in no time.” So he thought. 

He was disappointed that it was taking so long for the two males to decide to leave. His record on scaring someone out the house was one week, and he was quite proud of that, thank you very much. 

However, Jonghyun and Jinki were different. It’s like nothing scared them. Taemin grew frustrated that his normal tactics of slamming doors, flickering lights, and breaking appliances weren’t working on these two. It’s like they were used to always living in high-stress situations. But Taemin wasn’t giving up. 

He planned on doing a specific strategy where he whispers into a person’s ear. That was until he snuck up behind Jonghyun and Jinki one night who were sitting on the couch they’d just moved into the living room. 

“Here you go, Jonghyun. Drink up. It’s the last bit we have before I start working at the hospital.” Taemin was quite confused seeing Jinki hand Jonghyun a blood bag. 

Jonghyun groaned as he took it. “This again. Why can’t it taste as good as the original?”

“It is the original.”

“Yeah, but it doesn’t taste as good as drinking live from a human. You know this.”

“Yes, I know this. But I have more restraint than you and I’ve gotten used to it. I mean, you drink live from animals.”

“It’s not as good,” Jonghyun said as he got up to warm up the blood. At least that’d help him cope. Jinki sighed, trying to be patient and understanding. 

It was the first time Taemin found out the new tenants were different. Different how? He had no clue. His first instinct wasn’t that they were vampires. He thought that was kind of irrational because vampires didn’t exist, right? 

He rationalized that they were just some looney humans on a blood diet or something. Or just some weirdos that took pleasure in drinking blood. That made more sense to him than the vampire theory. Either way, he was intrigued so he sunk farther back out of sight to continue observing from afar. 

After eavesdropping, Taemin soon found out they really were vampires, or at least that Jonghyun was because as he punctured the blood bag, Taemin noticed Jonghyun’s canine teeth elongated as he gulped down the blood bag like it was no tomorrow. If Taemin were alive, he would have thrown up at the sight. 

“What the ,” he said to himself. At that moment, the lights flickered causing Jinki to look up. 

“We have to get that fixed soon.”

“I told you to go ahead and get it done,” Jonghyun said his fingers. 

“Well, I wanted to wait until were officially moved in before doing home renovations. That’ll only be in two more days, so we can wait it out.”

“Whatever you say.”

“Are you satisfied?” He asked looking at Jonghyun who was struggling to drink the last drop of blood. 

“What do you think?” Lack of blood definitely affected Jonghyun’s mood. 

Jinki did something that surprised Taemin. He rolled up his sleeve and held his arm up to Jonghyun’s mouth like an offering. Did this tall nice guy accept his friend being a vampire? Or was he also a vampire?

Jonghyun gently pushed Jinki’s arm away and shook his head no. “I’ll be fine. This is all a part of us moving on from The Order. I’ll have to go cold turkey one day. I can’t use you as a walking blood bag.”

“Yeah, but you’re in your early stages of withdrawal. I don’t mind helping-“

“No, it’s ok really. But thanks.” At that, Jonghyun stood up and walked out the door while Jinki gave a worried expression. 

Taemin originally planned on staying in the shadows until the two vampires eventually got it in their heads that they’re not wanted, but that flew out the window when he realized the two men could actually see and hear him. 

When Jonghyun responded to Taemin’s snarky remarks, although surprised, Taemin was ecstatic. You’d think the guy won the lottery. “I’m sorry,” he apologized as he tried to calm down. “I just can’t believe you guys can actually hear and see me!”

Jonghyun lifted a brow before looking towards Jinki. “Jinki, may I have a word with you?” Before the elder vampire could answer, Jonghyun quickly gripped his arm and dragged them to the kitchen. 

Once they made it, Jonghyun let go of his arm and exclaimed, “A ghost?! A ghost, Jinki. Just listen to how ridiculous that sounds-“

“It’s the only explanation-“

“No, the only explanation is that this guy’s escaped the looney bin and broke into our house! He’s invading our privacy.”

Both men nearly jumped out of their skin when Taemin appeared out of nowhere humorously saying, “Privacy? You can’t keep secrets from me in my own home.”

Jonghyun quickly got defensive, “How’d you get in here?!”

“Easy. I teleported, or shall I say, manifested. It’s the technical ghost term, but teleporting sounds cooler, you know?”

Jonghyun looked to Jinki wondering how the older man was handling himself so well. A ghost? He was sure those things never existed. The only things that existed in his world were vampires. Vampires and the humans that were needed to keep them alive. 

Now he’s hearing that ghosts are real while this kid looks as human as anyone else. 

Jinki gave a gentle smile and walked towards Taemin. “You’re right. This is your house isn’t it? Hey, I’m-“

“Jinki, I know. And the short guy over there is Jonghyun.”

Jonghyun’s eyes widened in disbelief. “How do you know that?”

“Because I’ve been watching you guys for some time. I’ve learned a lot as the days have passed.”

Jonghyun brushed past Jinki to get in front of him as a thought quickly came to mind. “Who sent you?”

“Sent me?”

“Was it a clan member? Did you come alone? Well, that was a pretty bad idea. Jinki, stand back,” he finished as his anger built. He could feel his canines tingling in the urge to protrude.

Any normal person would be scared, but Taemin looked on in amusement. This was the most interesting conversation he’d ever had with anyone since he was alive. Did this guy really not believe he was a ghost? As if believing in ghosts was any more preposterous than believing in vampires? 

Jinki whisper-shouted, “Jonghyun, stop it. He’s not from a clan.”

“How can you be so sure?”

Jinki sighed in an attempt to keep his patience. “What does his blood smell like?”

Jonghyun’s brows scrunched, “What type of question-“

“Just answer it.”

Jonghyun looked back at the boy as he honed in on all of his senses. He closed his eyes and took a sniff in Taemin’s general direction. What came back to him wasn’t a smell, but confusion. 

He turned to Jinki, “I smell nothing.”

“Exactly. If he were alive, you would’ve smelled his blood as soon as we entered the house. Just think about that.”

Jonghyun still didn’t get it. If it’s true that this guy’s a ghost, then what’s his business with them? “Ok, let’s just say his is a ghost. Why is he in our house?”

“Wait!” They both jumped again as Taemin cut them off. “I want to see how long it takes the short one to figure it out this time.”

“Excuse me?!”

“I don’t mean to be rude, but it’s pretty obvious. It seems your friend here was able to figure it out as soon as he was me.” Taemin giggles before saying nonchalantly, “I died here.”

Jonghyun grabbed Jinki’s arm again saying, “We need to talk — again. And you,” he stopped walking to look at Taemin, “Don’t follow us.”

Taemin put his hands up in surrender as Jonghyun dragged Jinki back to the living room.  “What in the actual , Jinki?! Someone died here and you knew about it?! So what now? We have Casper as a roommate?”

“I didn’t know about it until today, I promise. Mr. Lee told me when you were gone getting some fresh air. That boy in there is Mr. Lee’s son.”

Jonghyun let the information sink in. Not only were ghosts real, but he would be living with one? “His son really died here?” Jinki nodded. “How?”

Jinki shrugged as he sat on the couch. “No idea. Maybe you should ask him.”

Taemin shouted from the kitchen, “Can I stop pretending to not be here now?” 

He didn’t hear an answer, but walked into the living room anyway. Both vampires stared in silence as Taemin made his way in front of them. It was quite awkward if you asked him, but he was determined to get Jonghyun to believe him. He quickly got an idea in his head thinking if this doesn’t work, I don’t know what will. 

He walked up to Jonghyun with his hand held out. “Shake it.”

“Why-“

“Just do it.” 

Jonghyun hesitates, but went to shake the boy’s hand anyway, intending to be met with the feeling of skin. However, right as their hands were about to make contact, his hand went straight through Taemin’s. It felt like nothing but air. 

Jonghyun stared up wide-eyed as a smile slowly formed on Taemin’s face. “See?!” 

Jinki couldn’t help the small smile that formed on his face. Taemin was definitely quite a character. 

“So do you believe me now?”

Jonghyun got up abruptly saying, “I gotta go.”

Jinki followed, “Where are you going?”

“Out. Don’t follow me.” And with that, Jonghyun disappeared into the neighborhood. 

Jinki sighed for what felt like the hundredth time that day. Sometimes he wondered about Jonghyun. He could act like a hormonal teenage brat, and it would always leave Jinki clueless on how the other is feeling. However, he knew Jonghyun would come back. It’s not like he’d do anything reckless. 

He turned around seeing Taemin looking at him curiously. He asked, “Does he always run away like that?”

Jinki chuckled. “It’s common.”

—

Jonghyun left the house because he felt like he needed to get away. Yes, he was on edge from not feeding, but he was also annoyed. Beyond annoyed. 

After all of this time from being on the run, he was ready for him and Jinki to finally have a place of their own. A place where it would only be them. A place where they wouldn’t have to worry about explaining themselves or looking over their shoulders in paranoia of others. He thought he’d finally found that when he and Jinki lucked up on this house. 

Sadly, Taemin ruined that. 

Learning that the kid was there lurking around the whole time definitely made Jonghyun uncomfortable. It’s not that he disliked him or anything. Taemin hadn’t given him a reason to, yet. It was just the fact that once he thought he could finally get the privacy he wanted, it turned out that his little sanctuary came with a ghost. Go figure. He’d deal with it when he gets back home, he thought as he continued to walk down the sidewalk of the neighborhood. 

The sun was setting, much to Jonghyun’s satisfaction since night was his friend. He’d been walking for a couple minutes when heard a female voice calling his name. He looked up seeing Taeyeon in her driveway beckoning him over. 

This seemed like a bad idea. Jonghyun knew it, especially since she was so pushy earlier. What could she possibly want now?

Jonghyun put on his best fake smile and walked up Taeyeon’s driveway. She met him halfway with a beautiful smile. “Hey. What are you up to?”

He shrugged. “Just walking. Enjoying the scenery.”

“Oh, ok. I was just checking my mail when I noticed you walking toward my house. Did you finally make up your mind on going out with me or something?”

Jonghyun looked behind him in confusion. He didn’t even notice that her house was straight down from his. Great. Now she thinks he purposely walked this direction to see her, which was definitely not the case. 

“Taeyeon, thank you for the invite, but I’m kind of busy tonight. Maybe next time?”

The spark in her eyes seemed to dwindle after processing Jonghyun’s response. “Yeah, sure. Next time.” She turned to go back into her home. 

Jonghyun turned around to head back to his place when the earlier events played out in his head. He didn’t want to go home just yet. Not when he’d be forced to face his problems. 

Maybe hanging out with Taeyeon would be a good distraction. Jonghyun was confident in himself that he wouldn’t hurt her. He hadn’t killed a human since his clan days. The only obstacle was the fact that he hadn’t fed yet, but he convinced himself that he would be ok. Jinki will get more blood bags tomorrow at work, so Jonghyun could hold out until then. 

“Actually,” he said causing Taeyeon to turn and look at him. “Going out doesn’t do so bad after all.”

She immediately perked and the spark was back. “Really?! Are you still down for going to that new bar downtown? I heard it’s fun.”

Jonghyun mentally cringed at the thought of being surrounded by humans in a crowded bar. “Um, I don’t really drink-“

“You don’t have to. I promise I won’t force you. I just want to check it out, and I’m afraid to go by myself. You’ll keep me safe.”

Jonghyun scoffed, “Me? Keep you safe?” If only she knew he was the most unsafe person to be around at this time.

“Yeah, from the drunk bastards.”

“Hmm, I’m still not too sure.”

She gave a charming smile, walking up closer to Jonghyun to grab his hand. “Oh, come on. It’ll be fun.”

Jonghyun had to close his eyes as he got a strong whiff of Taeyeon’s blood. It smells so sweet and enticing, and as much as he wanted to turn her down just to be safe, he couldn’t ignore the fact that she was a beautiful woman. 

He opened his eyes and nodded. “Ok.”

“Ok? Great! Let me go get my jacket and we’ll be on our way.” She let go of his hand to run into the house. Jonghyun watched after her wondering what he was getting himself into. 

—-

“You really can’t remember anything?” Jinki asked Taemin as they sat on the couch, Taemin sitting with his legs comfortably crisscrossed. 

With Jonghyun gone, Jinki decided to use this time to get to know Taemin. This wasn’t his first run-in with a ghost, and he wanted to help the boy move on. He felt bad for him. 

Taemin frowned and shook his head. “No. Every time I try, my mind goes blank. The only things my memory lets me remember are things that happened before I died. I have no idea why.”

“Mm,” Jinki said in deep thought. “That’s intriguing.”

“Why?”

“Because that’s not normal. Every ghost I’ve encountered in the past have known about their death. It’s one of the first things they tell me whenever we meet.”

Taemin chuckled. “So you’re a ghost whisperer?”

Jinki grinned. “Something like that.”

“How is it that I can see you? Is it some vampire power or something?”

“The only explanation I can come up with is the fact that we’re both dead. Even though I have a body and people think I’m human, I’m still a creature of the night. I’m not really alive. So maybe that’s what allows me to see you.”

Taemin groaned. “You’re lucky. At least you get to go out and see the world. I’m stuck here staring at these ugly walls that dad should’ve painted.”

“I wouldn’t call my condition luck.”

“Still, at least you get out.”

Jinki paused as a question came to mind. “Wait. You said you’re stuck here. What do you mean?”

“I mean I’m stuck here. I can’t go outside, across the street, across the world. Nowhere, but here. Every time I try to do so, the house won’t let me. The only thing I can do is look out the door and long for the day that I’ll be free.”

Jinki looked to Taemin in deep thought. He couldn’t remember how he died, and he couldn’t go anywhere further than the front door. This wasn’t normal. There must be an answer to all of this. 

“Why are you staring at me?” Taemin’s question snapped Jinki out of his thoughts. 

“Sorry. I’m just concerned about what you’re going through. It’s not normal for a ghost to not remember how they died. It’s also not normal for them to have restrictions in the after life. You should be able to roam freely as you please. There has to be an answer to this.”

“There’s an answer? I thought I was just forever doomed here.”

Jinki shook his head no. “I have a theory, but I’m not sure about it. This house is now a part of you, right? You can cause things to happen here, even if it’s on accident.”

“Like when I got excited and blew that lightbulb out over there?” He pointed to the lamp by the kitchen. 

“Yes. In some way, this house is a part of you. It’s connected to your mood and emotions. What I’m trying to get at is since you don’t know how you died, you feel lost and stuck. Maybe this house is keeping you in because it wants you to learn about your death. Then maybe, just maybe, you’ll be free to roam after finding out, but that’s only a theory.”

Taemin stared in bewilderment. “That’s quite some theory. I mean, it sounds like it makes sense. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s true. However, what does that all mean? I’ve been stuck here for six months trying to remember how I died, and nothing’s come up. I don’t even know where to start.”

Jinki gave a comforting smile. “Well, that’s why I’m here. I’ll help you.”

“Really?”

He nodded. “Yes. That’s only if you want me to.”

Taemin quickly nodded, “Of course! Please! I’ve gotten nowhere doing this by myself.”

“Ok then. Once I get some information, I’ll get back with you.”

Taemin squealed in excited and went to hug Jinki, but fell right through him. 

Taemin sat up in embarrassment. “I’m sorry. Sometimes I forget I can’t do things like that anymore.”

Jinki chuckled. “It’s ok. I totally understand.”

Taemin nodded as he fought off embarrassment. Then he remembered something, “I forgot to thank you for earlier.”

“Earlier when?”

“When you comforted my dad. Thank you for doing that. It’s been a awhile since I’ve seen him here. I watched from afar because I didn’t want my energy affecting him, but I really appreciate the way you took care of him. Thank you.”

Jinki smiled. “It’s no problem. I would want someone to do the same for my dad if I were in your situation. You don’t have to thank me.”

“You’re so nice. Why can’t your friend be more like you?”

“Jonghyun?”

Taemin nodded. “Yeah, he’s kind of rude.”

Jinki laughed dismissively. “Jonghyun’s a nice guy. He just has a lot going on right now. You just have to be patient with him. He’ll come around.”

“Hmm. I have a question.”

“Go ahead.”

“So, are you and Jonghyun....you know?

Jinki raised a brow. “Together?”

“Yeah. I know it’s intrusive to ask, but I was curious.”

“No, we’re not.”

“You’ve never fooled around or anything?”

“No, we’ve only been good friends. Why? Are you interested-“

“Hell no.” Jinki burst out laughing at Taemin’s response. “I was just curious because you’re always so quick to defend him.”

“Well, yeah. We’ve known each other for a long time. We’ve seen each other at our best and at our worst. Jonghyun’s a guy with a lot of baggage and I sympathize with him a lot. But trust me, when he’s being stupid, I’m the first to let him know.”

“And you trust that he’s staying out of trouble?”

“There are times that I worry about him, but I know he wouldn’t harm anyone. We’ve both sworn off humans and he’s done well so far. I know it’s more of a struggle for him than me, so I try to be understanding.”

“Fair enough. Still don’t like him.”

Jinki held back another laugh and nodded. “Fair enough.”

—

Jonghyun cried in frustration as he sat on the floor next to the bed, gripping his hair with one of thus blood-stained hands. He couldn’t believe what he’d just done. After more than a year of keeping his promise, it all came crashing down in a split second. 

Jinki would be so disappointed in him. He disappointed himself. Tonight wasn’t supposed to go like this. No matter how much he tried to justify it, there’s no excuse for what he did. 

The problem was too big for him to handle, and he knew what he had to do. 

In desperation, Jonghyun quickly pulled out his phone to call the last person he wanted to be speaking to. The phone rang only once before he heard the voice he thought he’d never hear again. 

“What a pleasant surprise, Jonghyun. Long time, no speak.”

Jonghyun let out a broken sob before taking a deep breath. “I need your help.”

Hey, guys! I have exams coming up soon and I’m moving, so I’m not sure when I’ll be able to update, but I hope this chapter was enough. Lots of drama coming up. Let me know how you feel! ^.~