Joohyun’s eyes cracked open the moment the Man in the Moon disappeared from her dream.

She was sure it was a dream because she was aware of the fact that she had dozed off after killing that man but everything about it felt so real.

In her dream, she was back in her flat, reading a book when someone knocked on the front door. She knew that she didn’t invite anyone over. Suspicious, she waited for a couple more knocks until she made sure that the stranger didn’t get the address wrong.

Then, she got to her feet and opened the door. To her amazement, the stranger was a middle-aged man with almond-shaped, obsidian-black eyes that seemed oddly old. It felt as if more than a thousand tales had been hidden in the abyss of his orbs, waiting to be released from the unknown. The man was significantly taller than her, but it didn’t look like he was towering over her, making her feel inferior. Instead, he had a peculiar, almost fatherly aura with shining eyes and curling lips.

“May I help you with something?” Joohyun raised an eyebrow in question, suspicion evident in every of her features. The man gave her a gentle smile.

“I know you don’t remember me but it’s time we talked.” He stated mysteriously, sending an eerie shiver down her spine. Her stomach churned with worry as the first theory nestled into her mind. Was she about to die? Was she in coma? Why would the man say that it was time for them to talk? Did he know her?

“I’m afraid you got the wrong address.” Joohyun warned the man and reached for the doorknob, her hands ready to close the door.

Yet, the male managed to stop her with only one sentence.

“I’m the Man in the Moon, Bae Joohyun.”

It could have been an understatement to say that she was startled; she was more than startled. She was utterly and completely devastated. Her heart skipped a beat before it started beating wildly again, competing with the fiercest drum solo in history. Blood was rushing through her veins more rapidly and more loudly than ever. Her breathing became ragged and unsteady. What did she have to do with the Man in the Moon? How did he know her name in the first place? Was Yoongi right about her power? Could it be because of her near-death experience?

Nevertheless, she had no idea why the Man in the Moon was there, patiently waiting for her to say something. Words were difficult to form under the unbelievable circumstances.

“How do you know my name?” She squinted her eyes without moving an inch. Her legs felt as if they had been made of steel, so it was almost impossible to move with such heaviness in her legs.

“I’ll tell you everything you want to know, I promise. But please, let me have a cup of tea first.” The man requested with a childish pout. Joohyun couldn’t help but freeze upon hearing his words. The so-called Man in the Moon was everything but predictable, his actions and his looks were the two sides of the same coin. She assumed it was inappropriate to look at him with slightly parted lips and a confused expression but she needed a minute or two before she could come back to her senses.

“Alright.” She nodded vaguely, letting the man come in and leading him to the kitchen. Without further instructions, the man helped himself to the tea bags on a metal box placed on her counter and filled the water boiler when he finally picked a flavour he liked.

“Do you fancy some tea?”

The man turned to her and his abrupt question took her by surprise. She didn’t even realize he was talking to her until she saw the hesitance in his moves.

“No, thank you.” She shook her head, a gulp forming in . What was she supposed to say? What was she supposed to do? She was so uncertain concerning the Man in the Moon’s visit that she felt her brain cells freeze. She gave up on finding an explanation to his appearance. She hoped that he would really answer her questions as he had promised because she sure had lots of them.

In the end, Joohyun decided to sit down on the midnight-blue couch, going back to the same position she was in before she heard the knock on the door. The minutes, spent waiting for the water to boil and the eerie figure making his tea, were undeniably nerve-wrecking. One of the most nerve-wrecking minutes of her life. To make matters worse, she was trying to do something with her restless thoughts but to no avail; she ended up absent-mindedly playing with the hem of her shirt instead of sorting out her thoughts.

After some time, the Man in the Moon finished preparing in the kitchen and joined Joohyun in the living room. He sat down on the tiny sofa which was on the other side of the table, his legs crossed and his fingers hovering above the edge of the tea cup. He made an attempt to sip a bit of the liquid but ended up burning his tongue while doing so, therefore he decided to put the cup down on the table.

“What do you want to know?” He laid back as he clasped his hands. He was patient and genuine, affectionate was like another layer of skin on him. It was evident in every single one of his moves, every single one of his features and every single word he had said out loud.

Joohyun didn’t even know where to start. She had so many questions, yet she had a feeling that she wouldn’t be able to ask them all. That’s why she decided on the one she felt was the most urgent.

“How do you know me? What do I have to do with you?”

“Well…” He tilted his head while he let out a nervous giggle. Maybe he didn’t expect her to ask the most complicated question right after settling down. “Do you want the long or the short version?” He asked half-jokingly, making her quite indignant. Different scenarios were scrambling in her head, that’s why she felt like she could burst out of frustration before she gets the answers she wanted.

“The long one.”

“I made you who you are today.” He started with a little smile but was immediately cut off by her.

“What do you mean by that?” She demanded, her voice a pitch higher than intended. It wasn’t enough that the Man in the Moon was making her wait minutes before she could ask the questions that were on the tip of her tongue ever since he introduced himself, but he continued to play games with her. Joohyun didn’t like being played.

The Man in the Moon didn’t answer her question right away. Instead, he carefully thought over his words, his obsidian eyes wandering mindlessly around the tiny living room. Even if he seemed like he was a long-time friend instead of a complete stranger, she couldn’t read him well.

“You got your power because of me.” The man blurted out suddenly, averting his eyes back to the girl. He didn’t wear his usual fatherly smile this time. He was someone wise instead; with the knowledge of an old man, he wasn’t afraid to tell her everything, he was rather hesitant. Maybe there was still something oddly humane about him. Even if he was this weird creature, that so-called Man in the Moon (or boss as Yoongi sometimes teasingly called him), the one who chose every Guardian and every creature of the afterlife, there was something left off his human side.

Seeing the restlessness and undying curiosity in Joohyun’s eyes, he explained what he really meant by his last sentence.

“After you had that accident with your family, you were dead for a couple of minutes, and that’s when we met, that’s when I gave you your power. I’m afraid you don’t remember me though. Anyway, I was looking for a new Guardian and seeing your gentle and selfless soul and the way you cared about children, especially your younger sister, I wanted you to become one of them.” He told her as if it was a fairy-tale and he was born to tell children stories. His tone was soft and unique, nothing about it seemed rushed or out of place.

She couldn’t believe her ears. Her? A Guardian? How different it would have been if she had been chosen as a Guardian? She would have been able to see the others but maybe she wouldn’t have been able to see Yoongi so many times. She didn’t know which one was more surprising.

“But I came back to life.” Joohyun pointed out with a painful sigh.

“Yes, you did.” The Man in the Moon nodded as her woe reflected back in the sea of her dark orbs. Joohyun assumed, wrongly, that the almighty Man in the Moon would be someone who doesn’t feel empathy because he’s too superior to feel such emotions. Yet, there was he with infinite love to give and genuine empathy to share. “I can’t play with life and death and that’s why I can’t protect my creatures from dying. They are said to be immortal but they can be defeated. If they are defeated, their powers lessen and lessen until they become the weakest creatures of afterlife.”

She looked down at her intertwined hands, a tiny sigh escaping her lips. She didn’t know how to voice her feelings. She felt like she was slowly drowning; she had no idea if she was able to reach the surface and fill her searing lungs with oxygen. Or if she was destined to suffocate.

“That’s why I still have my power.” She pondered, staring far ahead. “Just like Myungjun, I possess my power even if I’m not dead.”

“Yes, indeed, and your power becomes stronger when you feel anxiety or fear. That’s why it didn’t surface while you were busy with the preparation for your parents’ funeral and moving flats.” The fatherly figure nodded, not questioning how she got to know about Myungjun. She assumed that he was very well aware of what was going on with his creatures and the man’s further answers proved her right.

“So why is my power so similar to Jack Frost’s?”

The question was already out when she felt the urge to consider if it would be a sensible idea to bring up Jack Frost and the reason that brought them together. She wasn’t usually this careless with her words, but she was dying to get answers. After so many months thinking that she was crazy, she was just imagining things and that her power was a curse instead of a blessing… now she had the opportunity to ask about the whys.

“Jack Frost…” The Man in the Moon hummed, his lips curled into that trademark fatherly smile of his. “I see how much he has changed since he met you. You sure left an impact on him.” He winked at her, making her blush in embarrassment. Then, his features became solemn again. “He has a purpose now and that purpose is to take care of you. That’s the most ground-breaking purpose someone can have. You make him feel loved and that’s what he needed to become a true Guardian. To feel that he’s worth it and to believe in himself.”

Joohyun was slightly struck by his confession. Getting to know that in fact he was very well aware of what was going on with the said Guardian and her made her feel slightly uncomfortable. Was he also able to detect her feelings? Was he able to read her mind?

She shook her head to get rid of the more and more absurd ideas. She didn’t need to overcomplicate things, what she needed was firm answers and nothing more.

“You didn’t answer my question.” She reminded him. The man chuckled slightly, his white teeth showing.

“Maybe I wanted to have this effect on him by having you by his side.”

“So you gave me my power just to help Jack Frost believe in himself?” Unbeknownst to her, Joohyun raised her voice when she voiced out what was going through her head. So did he use her for his own selfish purposes? Was it really that big of a deal to help Jack Frost believe in himself when she was supposed to be a Guardian? This was really the Man in the Moon’s intention?

“Oh no no no, that’s just my old romance-lover self speaking. Sorry for confusing you.” The fatherly figure immediately waved his hands in an attempt to clear the tension in the air. He may have wanted to joke around but Joohyun wasn’t in the mood for jokes. “No, that’s not why I gave you your power. As I’ve said, I needed a true Guardian. I needed someone with a soul like yours, always so humble, responsible and caring. I couldn’t let you die like that. Your soul spoke to me.” He concluded as seriously as possible but hearing the last sentence, Joohyun felt the urge to laugh out loud.

Instead of mocking the man, she merely narrowed her eyebrows at him and exclaimed:

“What?”

“I can see the souls of the dead. That’s how I choose the creatures of afterlife. Those who are worthy to live after dying as a human-” He explained patiently. He didn’t seem offended by the girl