An anxious Jongdae treads through the college campus looking for Baekhyun. Since the incident in the morning involving Chanyeol, Baekhyun hasn’t answered any of Jongdae’s desperate texts. 

He ends up skipping his first two classes in search of his neighbor, and is surprised by how concerned he feels. Though their first meeting was rocky, Jongdae could easily tell that Baekhyun wasn’t that easily affected by others. 

That Chanyeol, however, seemed to be an obvious exception. 

“There you are.” He mutters under his breath as he steps into the library. There’s a beanie over Baekhyun’s head and his face is almost glued to the book in front of him. 

If it weren’t for the book about ghosts, Jongdae wouldn’t even have recognized him. 

He takes a seat across from Baekhyun with his arms crossed and his lips pressed into a firm line, and just waits to be noticed. 

It doesn’t take long, though Jongdae is left curious when Baekhyun’s face pales just slightly and he swallows thickly. 

“I don’t think we should be seen together.” Baekhyun tells him, and for some reason, Jongdae’s heart drops. 

Were they not actually friends?

Baekhyun seems to be able to read his expression well, for a melancholic smile spreads across his face, “If Chanyeol likes you it means you’re going to be popular. I don’t want to ruin your chances.”

Jongdae feels relief flood him instantly, and even laughs. He can hear the librarian shush him and is embarrassed by his own behavior, but his attention remains on a dumb founded Baekhyun. 

“I don’t care about that.” Jongdae reassures him, and because Baekhyun doesn’t seem too particularly convinced, Jongdae leans back and crosses his arms,

”In fact, I wanted to ask you to come with me tonight.”

Baekhyun’s eyebrows raise in surprise, and he points to himself in a disbelieving manner, “I’m not popular, though. We’ll stick out like sore thumbs!”

”That’s the point.” Jongdae explains with a deep sigh, and he runs a hand through his hair,

”Something about Chanyeol and his friends makes me feel uneasy. I’d feel more comfortable if you were with me.”

”Why not one of your brothers?” Is the question that follows, and Jongdae is silent as he absorbs what he’s asked. 

That is a good point and he knows it, but in the end, he does know why he can’t tell his brothers. Jongin is a kid, he won’t be interested in this. And his elder brothers already have too much on their plate. 

“I don’t want to be a burden on them.” Jongdae explains quietly, and Baekhyun sighs as he hears Jongdae’s dejected tone. 

“You owe me.” Baekhyun says just as quietly, and that’s enough to make that smile of Jongdae’s to come back. 

“Whatever you want, Baek.” Jongdae reassures him, and Baekhyun mirrors his smile for a moment. 

And then the smile drops like Baekhyun is hit with a sudden realization, “The full moon.”

Jongdae nods, because he remembers mentioning it to Baekhyun earlier. But what did that have to do with the party?

“What about it?” Jongdae asks in a skeptical manner. 

“It’s nothing.” Baekhyun says after what seems to be a moment of deliberation, but though he drops the subject, he still looks tense. 

Obviously, Jongdae isn’t convinced, but it’s obvious that Baekhyun has no plans of delving further into what he had such a strong sudden interest in. 

He’s about to open his mouth and try to force Baekhyun to tell him why he’s acting so weird, but he sees sudden movement in the corner of his eye. 

When he and Baekhyun turn in the direction of the creaking chair, Jongdae recognizes the boy that takes up the seat as one of the boys Chanyeol had been with in the morning. 

“What are you doing here, Kyungsoo?” Baekhyun asks, and he’s barely holding back an aggravated sigh. 

“The seat was open.” Kyungsoo says easily, and there’s a bite in his tone as his eyes briefly reach Jongdae. 

“You’re coming tonight, I assume?” Kyungnsoo asks him with an eyebrow raised, and Jongdae feels his mouth go dry.

”We’ll both be there.” Baekhyun states coldly, and though Kyungsoo stares up at him in amusement, Baekhyun just gathers his things and gestures with his head for Jongdae to follow him out. 

“What just happened?” Jongdae asks as soon as he’s out of Kyungsoo’s hearing range. 

Baekhyun looks up at him and there’s a guilty spark in his eyes, “I’m sorry. I should have warned you about their abilities.”

”Abilities?” Jongdae questions as the dread builds in his stomach. He kind of knows that abilities mean there are things people can do to others willingly. 

“Kyungsoo can silence anyone who he thinks is inferior.” Baekhyun explains as they step out of the building, waving a hand in the air,

”Chanyeol is like a magnet. If he doesn’t like what he sees, his aura will darken enough to chase someone away.”

Jongdae nods, though he doesn’t really follow along, “But why do they have abilities?”

“They’re shape shifters, the bunch of them.” Baekhyun replies with a bitter laugh, and Jongdae exhales slowly. 

First a ghost? And now a shape shifter?

”This town is so creepy.” Jongdae says without realizing, and he even shudders. 

“Believe it or not, you still haven’t seen the worst of what the town has to offer.” Baekhyun tells him next, though there’s a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips. 

Right. Because that’s totally going to ease the dread in his heart. Maybe he should try and convince his brothers that they should move, he thinks. Anywhere is better than this town. 

“Baek. Are my brothers and I really okay here?” Jongdae asks, though his voice is small. 

Baekhyun doesn’t answer for a long minute, and Jongdae’s heart restricts as he thinks the shorter of the pair means to say no, but Baekhyun reaches out and clasps a hand around one of Jongdae’s. 

“Yeah. You have me, after all.”

And though he’s caught off guard by Baekhyun’s touch and his smile, Jongdae believes him. 

 

---

 

Late in the afternoon, Minseok gets a text from Jongdae that tells him that his younger brother is going to a party with Baekhyun. 

Baekhyun is smart and knows how to avoid the supernatural, considering he’s from a family of shamans, but Minseok can’t help but worry. 

As Luhan had said, after all, there was to be a full moon that night, and Minseok didn’t want to lose his brother. 

He’s sitting on the cheap, worn out recliner in the living room as he thinks through his options. Joonmyeon and Jongin aren’t home yet and Minseok’s not sure about how to tell Joonmyeon about any of this, either. 

Digging his cell phone out of his pocket, he unlocks it to find that message he was supposed to send Luhan staring right back at him. He’d left it on draft, unable to hit the button that could so easily save him time and pain. 

“What is the matter?” An eerie voice calls out, and Minseok’s so startled by it that he drops his phone. 

He takes a moment to calm down, though he’s silently screaming in his mind about the ghost that’s eberywhere. It’s already been proven that Yifan means no harm, and Minseok’s the most calm about living with a ghost out of the four, but he thought he was alone the entire time. 

“Jongdae went to a party tonight.” Minseok explains as he drops his head in his hands and takes long breaths to try and calm himself. 

“Is that bad?” Yifan hesitantly asks, and Minseok feels bad about talking to Yifan about the things he knows nothing about. 

“I don’t know.” Minseok tells him honestly, and he reaches down to pick up his phone, now sporting several cracks,

”Luhan said we should avoid going out on the night of a full moon.”

”A full moon?” Yifan replies, and Minseok June as he unlocks his phone again. 

Frustrated that he can barely see anything on his screen, he locks his phone and tosses it onto the coffee table.

”Why do I remember the full moon?” Yifan asks, and it sounds like he’s talking to himself, but Minseok can’t help but be concerned. 

“What do you mean?” Minseok asks him, because he wasn’t even aware that ghosts had memories. 

“Full moon is... tonight.” Yifan repeats to himself like he’s in a trance, and Minseok is going to answer him, but the doorbell rings. 

“Who is that?” Minseok mutters as he stands up and crosses to the door. 

“Blonde trouble maker.” Yifan replies quietly, and it feels like they’re walking to the door together. 

“How did you know that?” Minseok asks, his hand lingering on the door knob. 

“I remember the scent. From years ago.” Yifan answers, and Minseok just stares at the door. 

Who could it be, and how did they know Yifan? What could they possibly want from him or his brothers?

Putting on a brave face, and trying to ignore the fact that his right side is chilled to the bone, Minseok opens the door. 

“Lu?” He breathes, because right on the other side of the door stood his ex lover and someone who definitely shouldn’t be standing there. 

“Min!” Luhan breathes out, like he’s just as surprised to see Minseok. There’s a single suitcase sitting beside him and his curly blonde hair is in an unruly state. 

“You know the blonde trouble maker?” Yifan asks, all of a sudden, and both Minseok and Luhan stare at the direction of his voice. 

“How are you so calm when you hear him talk like this?” Luhan asks Minseok with wide eyes, and he’s rigid where he stands. 

“Maybe you should come in.” Minseok says, because he doesn’t want any nosy neighbors finding about either Luhan or Yifan. 

So they go inside, and they take seats on the sofa. But there’s a thick, lingering silence. Being with Luhan brought back so many memories and emotions that Minseok had been trying to move past. It wasn’t really fair on either of them to be together again like this. 

“I was worried about you.” Luhan says, like he can read Minseok’s mind,

”I know we broke up and all but this town is dangerous and I didn’t like the thought of you braving it on your own.”

So for that reason, Luhan canceled whatever modeling he was doing on the other side of the country and raced over to be with him?

”Why would you do that, Lu?” Minseok asks, though his eyes are glued to his lap and his hands are intertwined on them,

”Why would you give up your career for me?”

”Because I love you, not my career.” Luhan says, and Minseok is startled to look up at him and find Luhan staring right back. 

“But I broke up with you.” Minseok tried, and he can see the red in Luhan’s eyes,

”Why don’t you hate me?”

Luhan shakes his head, and there’s a sad smile on his face as he tilts is head back to blink his tears away, “Because as much as I’d like to hate you, Min, I know you didn’t want to end things.”

He’s right, of course. But in this weird town where the supernatural existed, did he really want Luhan giving up the things that made him happy?

“I remember now!” Yifan exclaims as they silently absorb being around each other again,

”On the night of a full moon, those with the blood of a wolf transform and make sacrifices.”

Stunned, both Minseok and Luhan just sit there starting at one another, though Luhan breaks the silence with an eyebrow raised,

”Didn’t you tell your brothers to stay in?”

”I did!” Minseok exclaims, and with a shake of his head he stands and grabs his jacket,

”I have to go get Dae. He was invited to a party tonight.”

Luhan stands with him and there’s a hardness in his expression that Minseok finds to be unfamiliar.

 

---

 

Joonmyeon strolls through the supermarket with a heavy yawn spilling past his lips. He knows people are staring at his haphazard form in concern, but he needs to buy groceries and that’s all that matters. 

The ghost is what primarily caused him to be in such a distressed state. When finding that for some reason, Joonmyeon could see his memories while he slept, Joonmyeon was unable to return to sleep. 

He knows the ghost isn’t a threat. He’s still scared, of course, since ghosts shouldn’t exist logically, but the ghost that lived in their house seemed to be protective of them. 

“Does he have a name?” Joonmyeon muses to himself as he heads for the check out line. He’s not sure, but there’s a heavy feeling in his chest that resurfaced whenever he thought of the spirit. 

He was almost... familiar. 

Joonmyeon pulls his cell phone out of his pocket , but clicks his tongue against the roof of his mouth. His cell phone is dead, so he can’t even ask Minseok what else he needs to pick up. 

Getting home takes ten minutes after making his purchase. Knowing Jongdae and Jongin’s appetite, he’s sure the food that he’s just purchased won’t last long, but he’s still hopeful about it. 

Grateful that he had picked up a junk car recently, he pulls into the driveway and is slow to gather all of the groceries he’d purchased. There are no lights on in the house from what he can see, and a frown spreads across his face. 

Minseok was usually home by now, and for the most part, so was Jongdae. 

“Guys?” He calls as he opens the front door, and he’s automatically greeted by a cool breeze and the ghost’s frame. 

“No one is home.” Says the ghost, and Joonmyeon holds back a sigh. 

Well, at least he wasn’t home alone. 

“Where did they go?” Joonmyeon asks under his breath, and he treads into the kitchen to deposit the groceries into the fridge. 

“Jongdae went to a party. Minseok and blonde trouble maker went to bring him home.” The ghost explains with his eerie, gravely voice. 

Joonmyeon can just feel an eyebrow raise in suspicion. Jongdae going to a party was nothing new, but what was this about Minseok and ... a blonde trouble maker?

”Blonde trouble maker?” He can’t help but ask with his eyebrows drawn. 

“Lu... han.” The ghost explains further, like he’s unsure of the name. 

“Luhan’s here?” Joonmyeon repeats, and he’s surprised about the whole ordeal,

”Why did they go together?”

”Jongdae is in danger.” The ghost says, and his voice is raising in pitch like he’s suddenly remembered something important. He’s even suddenly in front of Joonmyeon with his hands on the surprised human’s shoulders. 

It takes a moment to process the ghost’s statement, but when he does, he leans up to press his own hand against the ghost’s shoulder. He’s a little surprised that he can touch the ghost, although he can’t exactly feel the sensation of skin against his fingertips. 

“Do you know where they are?” Joonmyeon asks, and the ghost’s eyebrows draw in confusion. 

“It will not be hard to find.” The ghost tells him, and a little nod follows,

”Just follow the moon.”

Follow the moon? What did the moon have to do with it? Joonmyeon’s about to ask when he realizes what he had meant to ask earlier. 

“Do you.. have a name?” His question is quiet but inquisitive. 

The ghost seems to have been caught off guard, but a smile slowly grows in his face, “Yifan. My name is Yifan.”

Yifan? Why was the name so familiar?

”I’m home.” Jongin calls, breaking Joonmyeon out of his thoughts. The elder didn’t even realize his youngest brother had come into the house until they were face to face. 

“What are you doing?” Jongin asks skeptically, and Joonmyeon realizes he’s still practically pressed up against a ghost that Jongin couldn’t see. 

“I was talking to Yifan.” Joonmyeon forces out with an uneasy smile, but Jongin doesn’t seem any bit less suspicious,

”The ghost.”

“The ghost. Right.” Jongin grits out through pursed lips, and he spins on his heels to escape, because he’s truly afraid of the ghost Joonmyeon knows won’t hurt anyone. 

“Wait!” Joonmyeon calls to his brother, and Jongin stills in the doorway as he’s called,

”Jongdae’s in trouble. Minseok already went to go find him but Yifan told me it’s dangerous to be out during a full moon.”

Theres no more need to explain. Jongin knows what he’s being asked to do, anyway. They’re not the kind of family that would leave another to fend for themselves. 

“We should go get him.” Jongin says, and his eyes are dark and dangerous. 

Joonmyeon hates the look in his eyes because Jongin’s gotten into legal trouble before for fighting and doesn’t want to be put in that instance again. 

“I wish I could come too.” Comes Yifan’s voice, and it feels oddly disappointed. 

“You’re doing enough already by telling us.” Joonmyeon reassures the ghost with a small smile, but Yifan doesn’t seem to be any more at ease. 

“We should get going. It’s getting dark out.” Jongin mutters as he opens the kitchen drawer and pulls out a switchblade. 

“Where are you going with that?” Joonmyeon hollers, and he’s genuinely worried that Jongin is reverting to who he swore he wouldn’t become again. 

“I met a wolf yesterday.” Jongin explains quietly, and he looks crestfallen,

”This town is dangerous and I’m not about to lose my brother over it, as annoying as he is.”

”If anything happens, draw the enemy to the property.” Yifan instructs then, and his voice is cold. 

“What can you do?” Joonmyeon asks with furrowed eyebrows, but Yifan just disappears. 

“Honestly, hyung. How can you be friends with a ghost?” Jongin breathes out as a question. 

Joonmyeon finds himself unable to answer. Not even he’s sure of why he finds himself mostly unaffected by the ghost they lived with. 

 

---

 

His chest feels tight as Joonmyeon drives towards the area of the town where the full moon is most visible. He’s promised not to involve himself again in fights that could jeopardize his brothers, but he was the one that had surprisingly survived a wolf meeting. 

“What are you thinking, Nini?” He hears Joonmyeon ask, and his tone is flooded with concern. 

Jongin isn’t too sure himself, but he knows he wants to protect his family from what he saw. He’s afraid of this town, but he’ll pummel through anyone that threatens their peaceful lives. 

“I’m thinking about how much I hate this town.” Jongin admits through clenched teeth. He takes in a deep breath and exhales it slowly. 

He doesn’t know why Jongdae’s gone out alone, but the situation was explained by Joonmyeon. Minseok had been advised by Luhan not to let his brothers out alone, and though they had tried, Jongdae had decided to go to the party. Yifan, the ghost, had explained why they shouldn’t go out on the night of a full moon, and both Minseok and Luhan racing over to Jongdae’s side. 

Why he and Joonmyeon had to go now was obvious. If it were going to be a dangerous evening after all, they’d do better together than apart. And they wouldn’t sit still if they lost one another. 

They pull up to one of the houses on a strip of mansions, and Jongin recognizes Minseok’s car immediately. Both Minseok and Luhan are still sitting there, and turn as soon as Joonmyeon pulls up. 

Minseok and Luhan step out of their car, and Joonmyeon rolls heir window down to see what they know. 

“How long have you been here?” Joonmyeon asks them, and Minseok pulls out his cell phone to check the time. 

“Half an hour.” The elder replies, and then he turns back to the house,

”We were going to wait a little longer before we headed in.”

”Is he still in there?” Jongin hears himself ask, and after tucking his switchblade into his pocket, he steps out of the car. 

Luhan notices the switchblade, and though he frowns, he just turns in the direction of the house, “We saw him go in with another boy, but he hasn’t come out yet.”

”Then there’s no point in waiting out here.” Joonmyeon says, and though he looks tired and overworked, he forces a smile on his face and gets out of the car,

”Lets go get that brat.”

The rest of the group is silent as they follow Joonmyeon into the house. Jongin is tense, though, and that’s because he notices a recognizable face as soon as he steps into the house. 

Oh Sehun is staring right back him, from where he stands at the other side of the living room. Well, not exactly at Jongin, but his gaze is locked onto their group. 

Everyone’s is, Jongin notices quickly. Even Jongdae and Baekhyun see them as soon as the four walk in. 

“You are not welcome here.” A tall boy says, more like growls, as he steps forward to meet them. His hair is curly and his eyes are red. Like the wolf Jongin had seen the night before. 

“We’re just here to get our brother.” Minseok announces calmly, and he waves over at Jongdae. 

“Took you long enough.” Jongdae shorts as he and Baekhyun hurry through the crowd and rejoin them. 

“You are brothers?” Chanyeol asks, then turns to Jongdae and back to the group. His eyes, however, focus on Joonmyeon like he’s found something out of place  

Sehun’s gaze is on Jongin as he steps forward, and the rest of the crowd takes a step back like they’re being pushed away.

“Let the humans go.” Sehun says, and Chanyeol instantly steps back like he can’t defy the command. Sehun is still looking at them, though. 

“We’ll let you go this time, but just keep in mind this is our town. Not yours.”

Jongin doesn’t like the constant reminder of how powerless he is in such a strange place. He wants to speak, but is cut off when Chanyeol suddenly lunges at Joonmyeon. 

It happens in slow motion. Chanyeol’s lips curl back into a deep snarl, and when his arms lift in Joonmyeon’s direction, Jongin pulls the knife out of his pocket and meets him halfway. 

Everyone stills as they watch on, and though Chanyeol doesn’t look particularly afraid of the little knife in Jongin’s hand, he easily backs off. 

“I’d put that away if I were you.” Sehun says from behind him, and Jongin didn’t even notice Sehun moving, but suddenly is grabbed in a choke hold. 

He then turns in Joonmyeon’s direction, where Jongin’s brothers as well as Baekhyun and Luhan are staring back at him with hard eyes. 

”Accept my mercy while I have some to give.” Is what Sehun says next, and he lets go of Jongin, pushing it in their direction,

”I don’t want to have to kill you.”

Jongin, though, feels like his skin is on fire from Sehun’s touch. He doesn’t understand why his body is reacting strangely, but his eyes find the still seething Chanyeol. 

“Speak for yourself, Hun.” Chanyeol grits out,

”Id love to get rid of this traitor once and for all.”

He’s still glaring at Joonmyeon, who watches with furrowed eyebrows. 

“What do I have to do with you?” Joonmyeon asks uneasily, and he takes a step back to allow Luhan to shield him. 

“Leave it, Chan.” Sehun says with a sigh, and Jongin notices him deflate just slightly. Sehun turns back to him, then, and there’s a spark in his eyes as they hold contact. 

“Next time we meet, you may not make it out alive. Keep that in mind.”

What was Sehun’s problem? Jongin wants to ask, but is tugged out by Minseok and Jongdae. It’s obvious they’ve been spooked by the confrontation. 

“I’m not scared of you.” Jongin says, right before they leave the party,

”Not anymore.”

In a town where the impossible became possible, Jongin promises to protect his family.