Joonmyeon's kind of glad that he and his brothers go unnoticed for the most part in their neighborhood, but he also wonders why it is that everyone avoids getting within five feet of their house. Part of him knows, however- it's just that he doesn't want to come to terms with the thought of having a ghost in his house. It's the week after they have moved in, and Joonmyeon's finally gotten all of his boxes unpacked, tossing the empty boxes out onto the sidewalk for recycling day.

The past week had been rough with getting accustomed to his new job and to a new schedule of waking up in time to get both Jongdae and Jongin ready for school on time and prepare their breakfasts and lunch. Minseok's already gone by this time, so he's not a worry. Then from that point in the day, he'd rush to work, file all his paperwork and do his assignments for the day and when he gets home, he eats a late dinner made by Minseok before heading to bed.

In short, if there is a ghost, he's kind of too busy to notice it.

That is, until today, his day off.

He's alone today. Jongdae's gone out to his college classes, after having his credits transferred from the college he had gone to before, and Jongin's already at his high school. Considering there are no weeping noises coming from Minseok's room, it's safe to assume Minseok's gone to work as well.

So he takes the day off to do all the things he's been needing to do since they arrived at their new house. He's unpacked, cooked up a week's worth of meals in case he and Minseok are too busy to feed the only two that can't take care of themselves, and now he's cleaning.

Minseok's bedroom is flawless like it always is, although there's a box in the corner of the room that piques Joonmyeon's interest. He opens it, surprised it wasn't sealed properly, and his face softens the moment he sees some of Minseok's most treasured items- things he's received from Luhan. Joonmyeon still hates himself for the fact that he's the reason they're not together any longer. Sighing, he closes the box and exits the room, making sure it looks like no one's gone into the space at all.

Jongdae's room is an absolute mess. There's homework thrown around the room and there are piles of dirty clothes which leave Joonmyeon absolutely dumbstruck considering they haven't even been living there for that long. Even more surprising are the wrappers from snacks he didn't even know Jongdae had! Joonmyeon makes a face the entire time he cleans the room, and even sprays the whole room down with air freshener because he wished Jongdae could at least shower once in a while.

Jongin's room isn't too bad, but it's not too great either. Like Jongdae's room, there are clothes strewn all over the attic and there's pages and pages of loose notes and homework all over the floor. With a light shake of his head and a grin playing his lips, he picks up Jongin's clothes and puts it into the hamper on the side wall. When he picks up Jongin's notes, however, a wide frown forms on his face. He leaves the notes and homework on Jongin's desk because they need to talk later about what's going on.

His own room? Okay, it may just be the worst of all, and he's not even sure of how it's gotten to this point. While unpacking, he had thrown his things into any corner they would fit, and only now was he dealing with the consequences. He grunts as he clears it all away; trophies on the shelf, clothes in the drawers, pictures of his brothers on his night-table, old books he still reads once in a while under his bed in a little box so he always has them in reach. Under his bed, however, as he slides his box of books in, he finds a little paper on the ground. Thinking he accidentally threw away a receipt to something he wants to return to the store, he fishes for it and lifts it to his eyes.

His eyes widen instantly, because it's no paper. It's a photograph, of someone he doesn't know. The male in the photograph has a handsome face and his hair is blonde, but his eyes are screaming with pain. At least, that's what it looks like to Joonmyeon. Touching it, however, makes him feel like he's just gotten burned. He sits down on the edge of his bed, trying to let go of the photograph, but something about it is pulling him, like it wants to him in.

All of a sudden, his vision fades, and the next thing he knows, Joonmyeon is in the backyard of their house. It's evening time, and there's a campfire lit in the center of the yard. There are a lot of people there, too. Joonmyeon's confused, because why are so many people there? But his eyes focus on something- someone, more like it. That person from the photograph. He's in the far corner of the yard, there are men and women talking to him, but most give him scornful looks and he just looks... so... alone.

Someone passes through him. He's disturbed by this, eyebrows furrowed as he follows the lady who literally just stepped through him, but she didn't even notice he was there. No one did. He looks around to confirm his suspicion and he even calls out to see if anyone will notice, but no one does. No one... but the man from the photograph.

School . It always has, it always will. Jongdae hoped that with the four of them moving to another town, it'd be his chance to quit school and work instead, since he didn't need school to build a good future, but here he is!

He's in the library after class and it's completely full. He purses his lips together as he looks around for a seat among all the bodies littered around the room- and there is one at the far end of the library. The table itself is full of books and other things and there's someone else sitting there with their head buried in a book before them, but Jongdae is sure they'd let him join them if he were to ask nicely.

"Hey, is this seat taken?" He asks, easy going smile on his lips as he reaches for the empty chair with textbooks weighing his own arms down.

The head lifts from where it's buried in a textbook and Jongdae's smile is wiped clean off his face when he sees.... Baekho, was it? His nosy neighbor with a bland personality is sitting right there, obnoxiously chewing gum with one finger pressed against the page of his textbook.

"It's you." His neighbor says, voice thick with the same monotone he always uses.

Jongdae shifts on his feet and debates on whether he should just go find himself another place to sit and do his work, but he's surprised when Baekyeol picks up some of the textbooks that were on the desk and drops them right by his feet.

When the table is clear, Jongdae hesitantly takes a seat and opens his physics textbook. He's only able to study for a good ten minutes, however, before his eyes wander over to his strange neighbor. He's completely engrossed in the book he's reading, though his right hand is scribbling notes like his life depended on it. Jongdae knows he's being nosy, and he has a sinking feeling that if he asks, the answer he receives won't be what he wants to hear.

But he does it anyway,

"What are you reading?"

Baekhun pauses, looking up at Jongdae though his expression is as bland as always. For a moment, he even looks like he's going to tell Jongdae to mind his business. Then, he just looks down and shrugs, and Jongdae sees the way he starts to draw in on himself.

"It's a book about ghosts."

Jongdae can see other students around them send daggers Baekye's way like they're disgusted by his taste in literature, and Jongdae himself has his eyebrow raised skeptically. Since meeting his neighbor, Jongdae learned Baek-- forget trying to learn his name- has had a strange interest in ghosts.

”Why are you so interested in ghosts?” He finds himself asking out of sheer curiosity. 

Baek looks up at him for a moment, lips pressed into a firm line, then turns his gaze back to the pages before him,

”I’ve been able to see ghosts since I was a kid. I come from a long line of shamans.”

Jongdae absorbs the information with an eyebrow raised. He doesn’t know if Baek is crazy or if there’s an actual possibility that their new house is haunted. 

“So you’ve seen a ghost in our house?” Jongdae asks, and despite himself, his voice sounds a little panicked. 

Baek closes the book he had been hunched over, then leans back in his chair with his arms crossed over his chest. 

“Yeah. I met him once when I was young. He was the first ghost I’d ever seen.” Baek explains and closes his eyes,

”He must have had a really haunting lifetime. He’s tame, though, as far as ghosts go.”

Jongdae looks down at his book as he tries to wrap his head around what his neighbor tells him, though he finds it increasingly difficult now that his neighbor talks about the ghost like it’s really... real. 

There’s no proof that there’s a ghost in their house other than the words of their strange neighbor, but when he looks up at Baek for even the slightest hint of it being a lie or a joke, he sees nothing but a twinge of sadness in the shorter male’s gaze. 

“You’re kind of weird,” Jongdae tells the boy, and though Baek just stares with an eyebrow raised, a smile makes its way into Jongdae’s face,

”but you seem honest about this, so I’ll believe you, Baek—“

He stills because he just can’t seem to remember the boy’s name. Baek seems both amused and Jongdae’s smile is mirrored across his expression. 

“Baekhyun.” He supplies with a grin, and then he packs his books away  

“Are you leaving?” Jongdae asks, glancing down at the homework he told himself to get started on early  

“If you haven’t noticed, the librarian’s been giving us a nasty glare for the past half hour,” Baekhyun answers him as he clings his backpack over his shoulders,

”I think I’ll just have to go get this done at home.”

Baekhyun gives him a small wave as he turns to walk away, and Jongdae finds himself compelled to wanting to spend more time with his strangely endearing neighbor.

”Do you want to come over?” He finds himself asking as he stands up and grabs his own books.

Baekhyun halts and turns to him in bewilderment, though he makes no move to leave without Jongdae, “You really want me to?”

There’s something innocent about the way he looks at Jongdae that has the taller of the pair releasing a soft chuckle as he heads towards the door.

”Like I said, you’re weird,” Jongdae says in a joking manner,

”but something about you feels genuine.”

”Do you want me to catch the ghost, is that it?” Baekhyun asks with his lips pressed into a thin line. 

Jongdae stares at Baekhyun for another moment, then bursts into laughter,

”I’m still convinced the only ghost in our house is my brother’s car. I just want to get to know you better.”

Baekhyun doesn’t seem to be entirely convinced that Jongdae is inviting him over for anything other than ghost busting, but he reluctantly follows Jongdae to their house. 

Its mostly silent between them as they get to the house, but when they get to the front door, Baekhyun stills,

”That’s odd,” he mutters, then looks up at the windows on the second floor,

”he doesn’t usually come out during the day.”

The hairs on the back of Jongdae’s neck stand up. What is that supposed to mean?

Minseok is sure to lock the car door when he gets out of the car, and goes as far as to checking every door to make sure the old car’s locks still worked. He’s relieved to find that the locks do work, and with a sigh, treads up to the house.

Joonmyeon is home, as is Jongdae and a stranger, by the sounds of their voices. Minseok is curious and tempted to go check on Jongdae, since his trouble making brother isn’t the kind to make a lot of friends, but he opts to return to his room instead.

Since the split up between him and Luhan, he’s felt lifeless. He’d never regret moving away with his brothers, but he misses Luhan and all the moments they spent together.

Luhan doesn’t call or message him either, but though he misses his former lover, Minseok can’t bring himself to reach out to Luhan. They did break up, after all. And for good reasons, too.

At least, that’s what he thinks as he takes a seat on his bed. His walls seem so empty without pictures of Luhan hanging on them, and his bed feels empty without Luhan hogging up all of the blankets, but his new home was just that- home.

Someone knocks on his door, and Minseok is caught by surprise. His brothers aren’t the type to come to his room without reason, after all.

”Come in.” Minseok calls out, but whoever knocked remains out in the hallway, and Minseok is a little frustrated as he stands up and crosses over to the door,

”I swear, Dae-“

Expecting to see his trouble making brother on the other side of the door, Minseok is taken back when he doesn’t see anyone in the hallway. He looks down the hall to find it empty, and he can hear his brother speaking in the living room.

Confused, Minseok closes the door and returns to his bed. It couldn’t have been Joonmyeon, either, because Joonmyeon still feels too guilty about the move to confront the elder.

A cool breeze fills the room, and though he shivers, Minseok brushes it off as an open window and reclaims his seat on the edge of his bed.

He loosens his tie, then digs his cell phone out of his pocket. He knows he shouldn’t be doing this, but he opens his camera roll and catches himself smiling at all the pictures Luhan took of himself without Minseok’s awareness.

”I miss you.” He whispers to the phone, and he doesn’t know what happens afterwards.

It feels like a hand knocks the phone out of his hands, but it also feels like the window was open and a breeze so strong hits him and loosens his grip on his phone.

Regardless, his phone ends up on the ground, and when he reaches down to pick it up, he finds he accidentally dialed — Luhan?

He hurriedly fumbles with his phone and attempts to end the call, but it’s too late.

”Min?” Luhan’s tired voice calls, and Minseok’s voice gets caught in his voice.

He tries to say something, anything, but the words refuse to come out. 

“Hello?” Luhan asks, and then he sighs into the call,

”I miss you, Min.”

”I miss you, too.” Minseok finds himself answering, and his hand flies over his mouth as an attempt to stop himself from speaking any longer. 

“Why did you call, Min?” Luhan asks after a moment of silence, and he sounds tired but hopeful.

”I don’t know,” Minseok answers truthfully, and his free hand is fidgeting with his tie,

”I just found myself missing you and then all of a sudden—“

He cuts himself off because he doesn’t think he’s making any sense, but Luhan’s melodic chuckles cut him off. 

“That’s funny, that’s how it was for me, too.” 

There’s knocking on his door again, and Minseok silently stands up and opens the door. Again, there’s no one on the other side, but the cool breeze that was in his room is gone.

”Min? Are you still there?” Luhan asks, and Minseok takes a seat in bewilderment. 

“Yeah, sorry. Something weird just happened.” Minseok replies in a daze. 

“What do you mean?” Luhan asks, and though Minseok hesitates for a moment, he finds himself spilling the morning’s contents to his former lover.

”Maybe the neighbor was right about the ghost.” 

He was joking about the ghost, but Luhan is silent. The silence suffocates Minseok for a moment, and then Luhan clears his throat. 

“You moved to that small town across the country, right? Do you live next to a family going by the name of Byun?”

”How did you know?” Minseok asks with his eyebrows drawn in concern. He’s never shared this information with anyone so how would Luhan know about this?

”I used to live in the area when I was a kid.” Luhan explains, and Minseok can feel his former lover frowning,

”The Byun’s are shamans and were rumored to being able to see ghosts. There’s been this big beautiful house that’s been abandoned for decades. I had a feeling that’s the house you guys moved into but I hoped I was wrong.”

”Ghosts?” Minseok asks skeptically, and he’s only partially guilty about how he must sound,

”You believe in that ?”

”I was skeptic about it when I heard about it, too.” Luhan answers with a sigh of resignation,

”But it’s real, Min. And it’s terrifying. My friend Zitao and I went into the house once when we were messing around. We saw him, and he was furious.”

Minseok’s heart freezes as he listens. He doesn’t want to believe in ghosts, but Luhan doesn’t lie about these things and just thinking about living with a ghost petrifies him.

”What should we do? It’s not like we can just pack up and move again.” Minseok sighs as he glances out the window.

”If you talk to the Byun’s, you might be able to find a way to expel the ghost,” Luhan suggests, and though Minseok doesn’t like the idea of ghosts, he contemplates following Luhan’s advice.

”I have to get going, Min,” Luhan muses, and Minseok holds back a sigh,

”you know that the moment you ask me to come back, I will.”

And then he hangs up, and Minseok stares at his phone. Even though he wants Luhan so badly, could he live with himself if he asks Luhan to come back?

“I hate this town.” Jongin mutters to himself. He’s been repeating this to himself all week, and too many times to count.

Its not that he’s being bullied or anything. I’m fact, it’s the complete opposite. Jongin is grateful for his good looks, but hates all the attention he’s being given. He’s not one for popularity.

He ends up pulling a hood over his head in hopes that people will ignore him, but people find him more interesting this way. It might just be the hormones speaking, but Jongin finds himself detesting this high school.

As he turns a corner, his shoulder knocks into someone else, and he stumbles back for a moment, quickly turning to the person he’s knocked into.

It’s a tall figure, with a young and expressionless face. He may be new at the school, but Jongin knows who this is. The aloof bad boy, Oh Sehun.

”Sorry,” Jongin says in a timid manner. There are two other boys with Sehun but neither of them seem that interested in him.

”Watch where you’re going next time.” Sehun tells him, and his tone is cold and uncaring, but there’s a spark in his eye as he steps around Jongin. 

Jongin watches them as they fade from his view, eyebrows furrowed in confusion and a frown spreading across his face. 

“I hate this town.” He mutters again, and with a shake of his head, he turns and continues to his classroom. There’s no point in dwelling on that interaction, anyway. He’s here for his brother and he’s sure that he’ll eventually make friends somewhere along the way. 

He’s wrong. His entire first weeks are full of stress, “secretive” stares from the female population, and seeing Oh Sehun’s blank expression from across the hallway. 

At the end of the day, he feels like he’s aged a few years. His teachers are nice, at least, and he sees a bulletin board that shows fliers. 

There are a bunch of clubs that are looking to recruit new members. He reads through them briefly, looking to see if any of them catch his eye. There’s a dance club, he notes, but he’s given up on dancing years ago. 

“Hey.” A voice calls him suddenly, and Jongin freezes for a moment, turning his head to find Sehun standing behind him,

”You’re in the way.”

Jongin silently steps away and turns to head home. He’s not sure why Sehun is so cold to him when they don’t know each other, but Jongin isn’t looking for trouble. He’s not Jongdae. 

“Jongin, right?” Sehun calls, and Jongin finds himself freezing again. 

“How do you know my name?” Jongin asks in surprise, turning to look at Sehun with both eyebrows raised. 

“Everyone’s been talking about you.” Sehun answers, and Jongin sees him place a flier onto the bulletin board. It’s about tryouts for the dance team, Jongin reads. 

“I just wanted to warn you.” Sehun continues, and he turns to fix Jongin with an intense stare, one that has Jongin’s knees lock,

”There are a lot of people in this school that will take advantage of someone weak like you.”

Jongin’s not too amused anymore, just curious about what Sehun means. 

“Are you going to be my Prince Charming or something?” Jongin asks with a scoff, and he surprised at himself. Usually he’s timid around people he’s just met. 

“On the contrary,” Sehun murmurs, and he passes Jongin with a light knock of their shoulders,

”I’m one of the ones that wants to take advantage of you.”

What the hell? Jongin stares at Sehun’s back once more, and for some reason he feels hot. What kind of is this stranger trying to pull? He’s been acting weird to Jongin all day and it’s getting annoying.

When Jongin gets home, he doesn’t even realize it. He’s too busy thinking about that Sehun to even notice he’s at the front door. He’s dazed with confusion and irritation as he steps into the house, and shuts the door with force as if to shut Sehun out of his mind as well.

“Nini?” Joonmyeon’s voice calls out, and his confused brother walks into the hallway with a mug of coffee in his hands. He looks exhausted and a little frightened, and Jongin instantly forgets about Sehun. 

“Joonmyeon? Are you okay?” Jongin asks as he hurries to his brother’s side. 

“Yeah, it’s been a weird day.” Joonmyeon replies with the slightest of smiles, and Jongin’s relieved that the look of terror in his expression is gone.

”Is Jongin home?” Jongdae calls as he steps into the hallway, and Jongin’s taken aback by the seriousness in his tone,

”I guess it’s time we talk. Come on.”

Joonmyeon and Jongin share glances but otherwise follow Jongdae into the living room where a stranger is seated on their couch. Jongdae slips away for a moment and returns with an equally confused Minseok. 

“What’s this about, Dae?” Minseok asks with an eyebrow raised, and Jongdae and the stranger share a look of their own. 

“It’s about the ghost, isn’t it?” Joonmyeon asks. 

Everyone else stills, and Jongin feels completely out of the loop. 

“Exactly what did I miss when I was out for school?” He hears himself asking, and his brothers and the stranger all stare at him. 

It looks like they’re all waiting for someone to answer, but they’re cut off when the lights are suddenly cut off and an eerie voice fills the silence. 

“Me.” Is all it says, and then the lights come back on and it’s as if nothing happened.