Jongin sneaks out to the park. He's too freaked out by the ghost to stay in the house that night. Who in their right minds would live through the trauma of a ghost meeting and then continue through their day like nothing's happened.

Well apparently, everyone but Jongin was able to move on from the experience.

While his three elder brothers were able to shrug off the incident and return to their rooms and sleep, Jongin was unable to sit still. Call him a baby, but how was he actually live with the knowledge of having a ghost in his house? Before this day, ghosts were nothing short of a myth to him.

So out of the four of them, Jongin definitely thinks he’s  had the most normal reaction. 

He takes a seat on the swing set, relieved to find the entirety of the park empty due to the late time. He’s about to start hyperventilating because of the day’s events, but opts to rest his heavy head in his hands to try and figure things out. 

He doesn’t know how long he’s been sitting there by himself and pondering the truth of the supernatural happenings in his own house, but he’s distracted from his thoughts when he hears something that sounds like a howl. 

At least, it sounds like a howl. He’s never really heard one before, just knows about how they might sound from all of those shows and movies he’s seen as a kid. 

“What the actual hell is this town?” He can’t help himself as he asks, and he feels his blood run cold. 

There’s no real way of knowing unless he gets up to look, but it sounds like the howling is getting louder, closer. 

And then he sees it. A big, fluffy, wild beast bounds into the park where the defenseless boy is still sitting. At first, he can’t believe his eyes. First a ghost, then a wolf? 

He’s sure he’s having a nightmare. What else could explain this extremely weird town? But though he pinches himself to see if he can wake up, nothing changes. 

Being from a city, Jongin has no idea how to react when meeting a wolf, but he’s practically paralyzed as he hopes the beast will simply saunter away. 

The wolf stares at him for a moment, eyes red and lips pulled back into a snarl like he’s sizing his next meal up. A moment later, however, the wolf turns and runs back to the cover of the woods. 

“What the ?” Jongin asks, bewildered and grateful that he’s still alive and in one piece. 

“What are you doing here?” Someone says all of a sudden, and Jongin’s still recovering from the wolf and it causes him to jump up off the swing to put some distance between himself and his potential attacker. 

Only to find himself staring right at Oh Sehun. He’s wearing a leather jacket and a pair of worn jeans, and there’s a lit cigarette burning away against his lips. 

Sehun doesn’t say much more but Jongin knows Sehun isn’t too impressed with his pajamas. 

“It’s just you.” Jongin hears himself breathe in relief, and when he reclaims his seat, Sehun joins him. 

“Who were you expecting?” Sehun asks, and there’s the slightest bit of amusement in his tone. Otherwise, it’s blank. 

“I have no idea,” Jongin rambles in his mild panic,

”first the ghost and now the wolf. I don’t know what I’ll do if I see a vampire.”

”We exterminated the leeches here.” Sehun answers him simply with a shrug of his shoulders. 

“What?” Jongin asks, but at this point, he’s not even all that surprised to know that vampires exist. 

“Of course this happens to us.”

Jongin keeps it in mind that he has to yell at his elder brother for putting the rest of them into this mess, but then he realizes Sehun hadn’t been the slightest bit surprised to hear about the ghost or the wolf. 

“Does that mean you know about—“

He’s cut off as he watches Sehun exhale a long puff of smoke. 

“I’ve been here my entire life,” Sehun supplies as he tilts his head back to stare up at the sky,

”at some point you get used to it.”

How reassuring, Jongin thinks. He’s going to die in this town, whether from a supernatural being or from his own panicked heart. 

Sehun is silent for another moment, and takes a long drag of his cigarette before he turns to watch Jongin’s shaking form. 

“You have nothing to worry about. For the most part, everyone’s friendly here.” Sehun says, and though he’s attempting to calm Jongin down, the shorter of the pair finds no reassurance in the boy that already admitted to wanting to take advantage of him. 

“For the most part.” Jongin echoes, and despite himself, he laughs,

”Sorry to say, but you’re kind of crap at this pep talk thing.”

”What? Did you want me to more?” Sehun asks with the corner of his lips tilted up. 

“Well I’m sure anything’s better than letting me know there’s always a chance I’ll be attacked.” Jongin muses, though his following laughter is hollow. 

“I am many things, Jongin, but I’m not a liar.” Sehun answers, and there’s no amusement now, just seriousness,

”Even right now, I can attack you and you could do nothing about it.”

”You?” Jongin asks, though he’s unsure if Sehun is someone he should be afraid of. 

Sehun stands and starts walking away from the swing set, tossing his cigarette bud onto the street and crushing it to put out the flame. 

Jongin never gets a verbal answer, but the chilling silence tells him what he doesn’t want to hear anyway. Yes, even Sehun was a threat to him in this strange town where the impossible has become possible. He heads back home in a daze, and even though he knows there’s a ghost in the house with him, something tells him he should be more afraid of what Sehun can do. 

Joonmyeon is a little frightened when he climbs into his bed. He wraps himself up nice and tight with the blankets like they’ll keep him safe from the ghost. He’s terrified to live in the same house as a ghost, of course, but for his brothers’ sake he puts on a brave face. 

He knows he’s not alone in his room because of how cold it is. It’s become a pattern that whenever the ghost was around, the temperature would drop to an uncomfortable level. 

“I don’t think you’ll answer but I have a question,” he says into the silence, and part of him feels stupid for talking to himself,

”you don’t plan on hurting my brothers and I, do you?”

The silence looms and feels heavy. Joonmyeon doesn’t know if that’s a good silence or a bad one. He just hopes the ghost won’t kill him while he sleeps that night. 

“No.” That same eerie, creepy voice from earlier says, and Joonmyeon looks in the direction of which the voice is coming from. 

He’s startled to see the translucent form of the boy in the photograph looking back at him. 

“Oh my god!” Joonmyeon helps in surprise, and he quickly slaps his hand across his surprise. 

“I can see you! Why can I see you?”

The ghost seems to be amused with him, and he steps cautiously over to the bed Joonmyeon is cowering in. Joonmyeon’s about to tell him not to come closer but his words lodge in his throat when he watches the spirit go to his bedside table instead and lift that photograph. 

“You’ve seen my face. Now you can see me.” He speaks in short, brief sentences, Joonmyeon notes. He’s also very tall. 

“So because I know how you looked when you were alive I can see you now?” Joonmyeon asks just to try and wrap his head around the information. 

“Yes.”

His answer is simple, but it doesn’t really quell Joonmyeon’s heart. 

Taking in a deep breath, Joonmyeon lays back and holds back a sob, “What the hell did I get my brothers involved in?”

He jumps up in surprise when a cool sensation suddenly hits his shoulder, and watches as the ghost’s hand falls away. He looks a little sheepish, too. 

“Do not worry. I am a friend.” The ghost tells him, and there’s the faintest of smiles on his face as if to reassure Joonmyeon of his good intentions. 

“You are safe here.”

Safe? Safe from what?

He wants to ask, but the ghost stills and after a moment with his lips pressed together in contemplation, he disappears. 

What the hell was that about? Joonmyeon is wondering if he should get up and investigate, but it’s been a hell of a long day and he’s suddenly too tired to leave the comfort of his bed. 

He lays awake, instead, keeping his ears open to try and hear if anything out of the ordinary is happening. 

The ghost was, for some reason, friendly towards Joonmyeon and his brothers. There was even the promise of protection. 

Protection from what? Joonmyeon didn’t know. But there was something out there, apparently, that had even a ghost concerned. 

“Can I trust him?” Joonmyeon muses to himself, but he knows that if the ghost wanted to, he would have already caused them harm in the first week they lived in that house. 

Why didn’t he? Why was a ghost... friendly?

He doesn’t realize it, but eventually, Joonmyeon falls asleep. His dreams make no sense, and aren’t even of him or his brothers. It’s the middle of the woods, and it feels like he’s running - but from what?

He glances over his shoulder, and though he doesn’t see anyone behind him, his legs move faster. Trees rustle as he runs, like someone’s running with him.

Is that who he’s running from?

Suddenly, something jumps out of the trees, and Joonmyeon doesn’t see exactly what it is but he’s knocked off his feet and screaming. 

“Joonmyeon!” Jongdae shouts, and Joonmyeon pants as his eyes open.

He sits up, and he’s quivering in fear as he tries to understand what he’s seen in that nightmare. 

“Joon!” Minseok calls out as he steps into the room, and his eyes are red from being tired and his hair is unruly, but he’s focused on Joonmyeon. 

Even Jongin runs into the room, and though he’s dressed like he’s been out all night, he takes a seat right on the edge of Joonmyeon’s bed. 

The cold breeze is back in the room, too. 

“What happened?” Minseok asks him in worry, and he’s rubbing Joonmyeon’s back. 

“I had a nightmare, that’s all.” Joonmyeon explains sheepishly. 

“Again?” Jongdae asks with both eyebrows raised,

”You haven’t had nightmares since we were kids.”

He’s right, but what is Joonmyeon supposed to say? That he was just living through a traumatic experience that wasn’t even his own to begin with?

”Do you need anything?” Jongin asks, and he stands up slowly,

”I’ll go make you some tea!”

”Nini, I’m fine.” Joonmyeon murmurs, and he tells Jongin to go to bed. Jongin is a brave kid but even he’s unable to get over the fact that they were now living with ghosts. 

Jongdae leaves as well, though he doesn’t look like he’s going to sleep any time soon. Joonmyeon hopes he was studying and not playing games. 

“Are you sure you’re alright?” Minseok asks, and Joonmyeon just nods. 

Minseok doesn’t seem convinced, but is probably too tired to argue, so he slips out of the room. 

“What did you see?” The ghost asks, and Joonmyeon just remembers he'd never left. 

“I don’t know, exactly.” Joonmyeon answers with drawn eyebrows,

”It wasn’t anything I could recall - but I was running in the woods? Something attacked me? But it felt... like someone else’s memories.”

The ghost is silent for a long while as he processes Joonmyeon’s words, though there’s a frown on his face. Joonmyeon just stares because he doesn’t like how uneasy that frown makes him feel. 

“What is it?” He asks the ghost. 

“Those memories are mine.” The ghost replies, and he sounds as uneasy as Joonmyeon feels. 

What does all of this mean, anyway?

In the morning, Minseok is the first to wake up. He’s used to leaving before the rest of his brothers wake up, since his hours are a little crazy. 

He glances in the direction of Joonmyeon’s room while he’s in the kitchen preparing himself a mug of coffee. 

Joonmyeon has been plagued with nightmares as a kid, and they were typically about the brothers’ abusive father. 

Because of this, the brothers had become increasingly protective of one another. They never really told anyone, including Luhan, why they were so unwilling to separate from one another, but only they know their struggles. 

He checks his phone as he sips on his coffee, a confused him slipping past his lips as he notes he’d missed a text message from his former lover, Luhan. 

“Tonight’s a full moon. Don’t go out alone.” He’s trying to decipher what the hell Luhan could mean, but assumes it has something to do with the ghost in their house. 

The fact that Luhan was even awake as early as him was a mind-blowing fact all on its own. 

He’s going to ask what Luhan means, but decides against it. Every time he talks to Luhan, his resolve slips a little further. It’s already so hard to be apart from who he considers to be the love of his life. 

“Hyung.” Comes Jongdae’s voice, and Minseok turns to see Jongdae in the threshold of the kitchen with deep eye bags that betray his exhaustion. 

“What happened to you?” Minseok asked in amusement. 

“Joonmyeon,” Jongdae replies like it’s obvious, and they share a sigh as Jongdae pours himself a mug of coffee. 

Jongdae and Jongin were fairly young when their dad was still around, but were mostly left alone by the abusive parent. Minseok was also, for the most part, lucky enough to avoid any abuse. Joonmyeon, however, wasn’t as lucky. Because their dad was also abusive to their mother, Joonmyeon often stood in between to keep her safe. 

“Do you think it has to do with the ghost?” Jongdae asks him, and though he’s quiet like he’s hoping the ghost won’t hear, they’re convinced the ghost will hear anyway. 

“I haven’t been able to ask. You know how he gets.” Minseok replies with another deep sigh. Joonmyeon was too stubborn for his own good. 

He glances down at his phone again, and sees the message that Luhan had sent him as a warning. 

“Luhan says to avoid going out alone tonight,” he advises his younger brother,

”because it’s a full moon.”

Jongdae turns to him with an eyebrow raised, “You still talk to him? I thought you broke up.”

Minseok is silent, and he can feel Jongdae’s pitying gaze. He hates that his younger brother is worrying about him, but what can he really do about it?

”Are you sure breaking up with him was the best choice?” Is all Jongdae asks, and Minseok turns to stare at him, instead. 

“He’s just starting out in his career. You know that. I’d feel so selfish if I were the reason he was distracted from all the things that are going on with him.” Minseok breathes out, finishing his coffee with another swing. 

“I think we both know you’re more important to him than being a model.” Jongdae tells him with a shake of his head. 

“Jesus, Dae. When did you turn into the older brother?” Minseok asks, and he’s actually smiling now. 

“When both you and Joonmyeon decided to bottle everything up and worry me and Jongin.” Jongdae answers seriously, and after depositing his mug into the sink, he steps out of the kitchen. 

Minseok watches him disappear, then shudders. It feels like someone is watching him, and the room is cold. He knows what it means, of course. 

“I know you’re here, ghost.” Minseok mutters, and he’s not actually afraid of the ghost. He’s kind of too busy wallowing in his self-pity for fear. 

“What do you think I should do?” He asks the ghost next, because why the hell not? He might as well ask for advice from someone who’s constantly around.

”Learn my name.” The voice says, his eerie and gravelly voice cutting through the silence. 

Minseok is so startled that he laughs, “You have a name?”

”Yifan.”

”Okay then, Yifan.” Minseok muses, and he gets up to wash his and Jongdae’s mugs since he’s sure Jongdae won’t come back to do it,

”What do you think I should do?”

”That’s a question no one can answer but you.” The ghost, Yifan, replies. Minseok hates that all of a sudden his brother and a ghost both treat him like he’s the youngest brother. 

“But I have one question for you.” Yifan says, this time, and Minseok turns in the direction of Yifan’s voice to show that he’s listening,

”Do you love this Luhan?”

”Yes.” Minseok answers automatically, and without hesitation. 

He waits for Yifan to say something, but no answer comes. The cool breeze that was filling the room is gone, and Minseok is left by himself, staring down at the hands he didn’t realize were fidgeting. 

He supposed that was the answer Yifan was telling him he’d have to find for himself. He glances back down at his phone, and though he’s unsure, he starts to type a message to Luhan. 

“Come back,” it reads, but his thumb freezes over the send button. It wouldn’t take long to send, and he knows Luhan would come back as soon as Minseok asked him to, but his heart is heavy. 

Does he even deserve Luhan after all of this? Would Luhan be happy if it meant giving up his career and moving in to a haunted house across the country?

Baekhyun's outside and waiting in his front yard when Jongdae steps outside. He’s wearing a dark hoodie and there’s a pair of earphones in his ear. 

Jongdae doesn’t realize his neighbor is waiting for him until Baekhyun turns in his direction and shows him a slight smile. With the music that’s blasting in his ears, Jongdae isn’t sure how he’s being heard, either. 

“Sleep well?” Baekhyun asks when Jongdae nears, and after pulling one ear bud out of his ear, he walks in stride with Jongdae. 

“As well as I could have, I guess.” Jongdae admits ruefully. Between the ghost and Joonmyeon’s nightmare, it was hard for him to close his eyes for even a moment. 

“Yeah. I guess it’ll take you a bit to get used to this town.” Baekhyun says with an understanding sigh, his head bopping just slightly in a nod. 

Jongdae smiles to himself as they lapse into a silence, though in his mind, he’s thinking about his earlier conversation with Minseok. He never meant to scold the elder, of course, but he wasn’t afraid of putting his brothers in their places when they acted out. 

He doesn’t realize he’s chuckling until Baekhyun turns to eye him like he’s gone crazy. It’s only then that Jongdae remembers hearing about the full moon. He had attempted to brush it off earlier, but assumed Baekhyun would know more about it than he did. 

“My brother said I’m supposed to stay indoors tonight,” Jongdae tells his neighbor, and watches Baekhyun’s eyebrows draw close,

”because of the full moon.”

Like he’s caught completely off guard, Baekhyun stops in place and his eyes are wide as they stare at Jongdae. 

“How did your brother know about that?” Baekhyun asks, and Jongdae finds himself just as confused. 

Minseok’s ex was the one who told them. How did Luhan know about this?

He’s about to answer that he isn’t too sure himself when a voice pulls him out of his thoughts. 

“Jongdae!” The voice belongs to Park Chanyeol, a popular student that Jongdae had met on the first day of classes. 

Due to their equally mischievous personalities, they had quickly connected as friends. At least, that’s what Jongdae thought. 

“Chanyeol!” He calls in an equally ensued tone. He’s surprised to see Chanyeol outside, though he remembers Chanyeol lives nearby him and his brothers. 

Jongdae just barely notices that Baekhyun has frozen beside him. He’s not sure if it’s fear or something else, but the normally indifferent Baekhyun is staring down at his shoes and refuses to look up at Jongdae when he’s being judged. 

Chanyeol notices him too, and Jongdae pretends not to see the scowl on his face. 

“I didn’t know you two were friends.” Chanyeol says, more like grits out, and the smile that’s on his face looks entirely too forced. 

“We’re neighbors. It just happened that way.” Jongdae says with a good-natured shrug. He’s not as dumb as he lets on, though. There’s some sort of history between these two. 

“Oh. You’re the ones who moved into the abandoned house.” Chanyeol realizes, and Jongdae is taken aback by how enthusiastic Chanyeol is all of a sudden. 

What did their house have to do with him?

“I’m going to head to class first.” Baekhyun stutters our, and he hurried around Chanyeol like being near him causes pain. 

“Baek?” Jongdae falls in disbelief, but his short neighbor doesn’t even seem to realize he’s being called. 

“Forget about him!” Chanyeol shouts all of a sudden, and he goes as far as to wrapping an arm around Jongdae’s shoulder. 

Jongdae wavers for a moment as he continues to watch Baekhyun fade from view, but is otherwise easily steered by the surprisingly strong Chanyeol. 

“Listen, my friends and I are throwing a party tonight.” Chanyeol says with a wide grin, but Jongdae sees the mischief dancing in the taller boy’s gaze,

”You’re still new in town so you should drop by and learn some names.”

Jongdae stares up at Chanyeol for a moment. Before moving to this town, Jongdae would have eagerly accepted the invitation. He loves parties. But after what Minseok told him? After how Baekhyun reacted about the full moon?

”I’m not too sure I can tonight.” Jongdae forces out as a laugh. He doesn’t want anything to happen to himself, obviously, and something about Chanyeol makes him wary. 

“I’m not taking no for an answer.” Chanyeol shakes his head, and though he looks like he’s joking, there’s a hint of aggression in his tone. It doesn’t look like Jongdae has a choice. 

The sound of an engine causes for them both to turn in the direction of the street, where a red convertible pulls up beside them. There are two boys in it, one of which has messily styled brown hair and the other with a cigarette burning against his lips. 

“Chan, you coming?” One of the boys asks, and he’s eyeing Jongdae but otherwise doesn’t seem too interested in the newcomer. 

“Oh . Sehun’s driving? You know I can’t miss that!” The tall boy laughs, and this time his laughter sounds natural as he tosses his bag into the back,

”Switch with me, Soo. I never rode shot gun with Sehun!”

The second boy complies, but the boy that’s driving turns to stare at Jongdae. He doesn’t say anything, but Jongdae knows he’s trouble after just looking at him. 

“Tonight at my house!” Chanyeol calls just as Sehun puts the car back into drive,

”You’d better be there!”

They drive away without sparing him another glance, and though Jongdae really doesn’t want to go to this party and risk his safety with these shady characters, he knows he doesn’t have a choice. 

At least, that’s what the spark in Chanyeol’s eyes said, as well as the little smirk that Sehun sent his way. 

He continues on his tread to the college campus with his hands shaking at his sides. He doesn’t know if he’s scared or just angry, but he knows tonight is going to be trouble.