Hongbin bent down to put the heavy box he was carrying on the floor. As he straightened up he stretched his back out, working out all of the kinks that had developed in his spine from carrying multiple boxes into his new home. Luckily the box he had just put down was the last one. If he was being honest with himself he really got lucky with this house. It was one of the most gorgeous houses in the neighborhood, with it being an old victorian style house with high ceilings and chandeliers in almost every room. Some of the windows in his new home were stained glass, and those that weren’t were framed artfully. There had been some renovating in the kitchen to make it more technologically modern, but for the most part it still had the old style it was built with. Hongbin’s favorite part of the house was the grand staircase. It looked like a staircase one would see in a movie. He thanked the universe for blessing him with a rich great uncle that gave him the house. Well his great uncle was dead now, but that didn’t mean he was any less grateful for the house that had been passed down to him when he graduated college. Now Hongbin didn’t have to worry about finding a house, or finding work near it since the studio he now worked for was just down the street. Hongbin didn’t think life for him could get any better.

    Hongbin was shocked out of thoughts by a rough knocking at the door. He wasn’t expecting any company, but he approached the door just in case one of his friends decided to drop by. He opened the door, expecting a familiar face when he was met with a stranger. “Oh, hello. Can I help you with something?” In front of him was a man somewhere around his age if he had to guess. The man had short black hair and golden skin, his teeth shining brightly as he smiled wide. He seemed to be holding a small gift bag in his hands. “Welcome to the neighborhood.” The man said handing him the small bag. “My name is Hakyeon, I live right next door. I hope I wasn’t interupting anything.” Hongbin shook his head, “It’s fine. I was just finishing up with moving in. I’m Hongbin.” He said as he extended an arm out for Hakyeon to shake. “Alright well if you need anything don’t be afraid to drop on by.” Hakyeon gave one last smile before walking back to his house. Hongbin closed the door behind him, and then opened the bag that Hakyeon had given him. Inside of it was a small bag of fresh baked cookies and a small blue candle, which smelled like lavender and blueberries. Hongbin smiled to himself, “A beautiful house and nice neighbors, I really lucked out on this one.” He said to himself before deciding to take a walk around his new neighborhood to relax before unpacking all of his things. Hongbin took a deep breath of fresh air as he walked through the park that wasn’t too far from his house. He took in the warm colors that comes with the autumn, closing his sweater up so he didn’t feel the chill. He decided to take a rest on the bench that sat in front of a fountain in the middle of the park. He was enjoying the view of a few children chasing after each other when he felt it. That feeling that he always felt when one of his “guests” made a visit.

Hongbin has been able to see the dead since he was a young child. It was a gift passed down from his father’s side of the family. Most of his family simply ignored the “guests” that came through to them, pretending not to see the confused souls that were walking the earth. Hongbin was a lot like his grandmother, in the sense that neither of them could just pretend that they didn’t see these spirits suffering. He couldn’t just stand by and watch the spirits wander around aimlessly, hoping and praying that someone would see them and help them cross over. So much like his grandmother whenever he encountered these spirits he did everything in his power to make sure they were taken care of. Sometimes that came in the form of delivering a message to their surviving loved ones. Other times in came in the form of simply informing them that they were dead. Some days were easy, because the spirit didn’t go through any trauma before death. Most days were hard, because he seemed to attract spirits that died tragically. It wasn’t an easy task, but it was a task he had taken on after his grandmother passed away. He wanted to make sure that her message of kindness to the dead was one that survived in the family. Of course he had his preferences when it came to dealing with the living. The dead he had come to tolerate no matter what their circumstance, but the living were much harder to deal with. Some living people didn’t believe in the afterlife, and some that did clung to the spirits that just wanted to cross over. But on the days that his task got hard he remembered the first spirit he had crossed over, and how proud his grandmother was of him when the spirit walked to the light.

Today the spirit that decided to visit Hongbin was of a boy no older than the children who were running around in the park. He was chasing some of the children, almost like he was playing with them. But the children didn’t seem to know he was playing with them, since they never acknowledged his presence and the boy was growing increasingly frustrated with this fact.  The boy looked normal, but his wheezing breath and the smoke coming out of his mouth told Hongbin a different story. It told Hongbin that the boy had probably died of smoke inhalation from a fire. Hongbin didn’t feel any connection to the mortal world from the boy, so he didn’t have to deal with any of the living. Hongbin let out a huge sigh. Honestly he would rather deal with a grieving mother than explain to a child that they were dead. But he had made a promise to his grandmother and he knew if he let this spirit go she might come back from the grave to pull at his toes at night. (Something she had done to his father every night until he drew a salt circle around his bed.) So with one more sigh Hongbin stood up from the bench and approached the young boy.

The boy was standing in the middle of the field, looking very angry at the fact that the children were ignoring him even though he was screaming at them. Hongbin sat down next to him, and patted him on the back. “Those kids being mean to you?” He asked. The boy turned to Hongbin and nodded. “I’ve been trying to get them to play with me but . . . “, the boy’s eyes filled with tears, “they keep ignoring me.” Hongbin continued to pat the boy on the back as he spoke. “What’s your name?” The boy sniffled before answering,”Jungwoon.” Hongbin smiled before reaching out his other hand for the boy to shake. “Hi Jungwoon, I’m Hongbin.” Jungwoon shook his hand. “Jungwoon, do you think the reason that they aren’t playing with you is because they can’t see you?” The boy whipped his head at him. “But why didn’t they see me? I was standing in front of them!” “What is the last thing you remember?” Jungwoon thought for a long time. “I was at home, playing with my brother. We were alone because grandma was out with her friends. We wanted food so my brother decided to make something on the stove. But grandma would always warn us about using it so I tried to stop him. When it didn’t work I went to take a nap. And when I woke up the house was gone.” Jungwoon’s eyebrows furrowed. “But where did my house go?” Hongbin bit his lip before answering him. “Jungwoon, I think your house burned down.” The boy’s eyes widened. “But if that’s true then . . .” Jungwoon went silent, but when he spoke again Hongbin knew he remembered the truth. “Hongbin, am I dead?” Hongbin could only nod and hold Jungwoon as he cried from the realization. “Jungwoon, can you listen to me?” The boy nodded. “Do you see a light?” Jungwoon looked up from Hongbin’s shoulder, and soon he let out a gasp. “You see it right? That bright light over there. Do you see anyone in there?” Jungwoon stopped crying then, sounding excited as he answered. “My mommy and daddy are there! And my brother!” Hongbin smiled. “Go to them Jungwoon. They’re waiting for you.” Jungwoon didn’t need to be told twice as he left Hongbin’s arms to run towards the light as fast as his legs could carry him. As soon as he saw and felt Jungwoon had crossed over he flopped onto his back in the middle of the park, taking in the afternoon sky. “Another one gone.”, he thought to himself as he stood from the grass. Hongbin brushed himself off before walking back to his new home.

Hongbin stretched his arms out as he got ready for bed. The day had been long, what with him moving in and sending Jungwoon to the other side. He was so tired when he came home that he just unpacked everything he needed to shower and head to sleep. He reasoned with himself that he would unpack everything else the next day. Which one last stretch he laid down in his bed, snuggling into the sheets and sending up a quick kiss to his grandmother. He felt himself fall deeper and deeper into slumber. But soon after he had fallen asleep, unknown to Hongbin since he was deep in dreamland, there was a shadow cast on his bed.

He had a visitor.