Chanyeol screamed. The motorcycle was still smoldering as the paramedics placed his corpse on a stretcher. They covered him with a blanket before placing him inside the ambulance, shutting the door and driving away, this time without the siren on.

Chanyeol stood there watching as his body went out of sight. He turned to a policeman who was examining the scene closely, writing down notes and taking pictures. He screamed again, waving his arms violently in front of the man to get his attention. Desperately, he tried turning the officer around, but when he placed his hand on the man’s shoulder… It went right through.

Chanyeol looked down at his hand, horrified. He tried to touch the policeman again, but once more, his hand moved through the uniform as smoothly as if it was air. Chanyeol turned, hopelessly searching for someone who could see him, hear him, feel him. Some witnesses of the accident stood shocked by the side of the road, others passed by without a second thought. He placed his hands on his head, pulling his hair in frustration.

“Hello? I’m right here!” He shouted.

“I’m right here you idiots!” Nobody so much as lifted their heads. Did he really...

“Can anybody hear me?” Chanyeol tried, his voice weakening as realization dawned on him. He sank down onto the street, feeling the warm asphalt through his ripped jeans. He rested his head in his hands, curls escaping through the slits of his fingers. The scent of gasoline mixed with blood made him nauseous.

He started crying.

Nobody noticed.

___________________________________________________

It has been one year since Chanyeol died and became a ghost. The first thing he did when he realized that he was dead, was looking for his loved ones. He had started by going to his parent’s house where he had lived all his life. He hadn’t even gotten the chance to move away to a place of his own after his graduation before… it happened. In hindsight, it hadn’t been his smartest idea ever.

A police car drove away just as he went through the front door of the house, and Chanyeol immediately realized his parents had received the news of his death. He found his parents in the living room. His mom had collapsed onto the floor, hugging herself as she rocked back and forth with every loud sob. His dad rested a hand on her back as he kneeled down beside her. Chanyeol approached them hesitantly. “Mom?”

She didn’t look up, but instead continued crying. She buried her fingers in the soft fabric of the carpet as she tried to contain her grief. Chanyeol wanted to hug her, comfort her, tell her that he was okay. His dad looked right through him with a placid expression, but Chanyeol knew he had to do his best to restrain his tears. “Dad?”

He found his sister upstairs in his room. She was sitting on the edge of his bed with his dog Toben next to her. She was petting him absentmindedly as she stared at a picture in her other hand. Chanyeol moved closer to see what photo she was holding, but as he approached the bed, Toben lifted his head and looked straight into his eyes. “Toben?” The small dog sat up, wagging his tail enthusiastically at seeing his owner.

“Toben?” His sister frowned at the dog’s reaction. “Oh, Toben,” she sighed, “he’s not coming back puppy.” Chanyeol shouted that he was here, right in front of her! If Toben could see him, why couldn’t she? Why couldn’t anyone else? Chanyeol moved closer, now seeing that his sister was holding a picture of him. It was taken two weeks ago when he had started his final year of university. Chanyeol felt like he was about to cry, but no tears came to his eyes. He smiled at Toben who playfully cocked his head to the side. Chanyeol attempted one final time to make contact with someone and reached out to hold his sister’s hand. But just like before, his hand went through her skin as easily as through air.

A tear rolled down her cheek. “He’s not coming back this time.”
 

After that experience, Chanyeol promised himself to stop checking up on the people close to him. It hurt too much to see them hurt. He told himself he would make sure they were okay after the pain had passed, after he had been forgotten. He wondered how long that would take them.

He filled his days with visiting old and new places. Old places which he had frequently been to when he was still alive, like the café right next to his university campus, or the park nearby his house where he had spent countless times playing football with his friends. He also took the opportunity to go to places he hadn’t seen before. Being invisible and inaudible, and have the gift of teleportation now that he was a ghost, made traveling as easy as blinking. It had taken him a while to get used to the sensation of disappearing and re-appearing. Now, it felt as natural as walking.

But there was only so much of the world you could enjoy alone. Chanyeol had loved seeing San Francisco, Paris, and all those other stunning locations, but he could only take so much. He didn’t want to see any beautiful places anymore without being able to share the experience with someone. That was why, after a year of travelling, he settled back down in his hometown Seoul, roaming the streets, watching people come and go.

In conclusion, he was growing bored.

It was probably that same boredom which brought him to his favorite cafe in town. Cafe Universe was a cozy, trendy coffee bar right at the corner of the street leading to his university campus. When he was still alive, Chanyeol loved to hang out there with his friends after or in between classes. That was probably why he felt his heart ache when he walked in and saw them sitting in their favorite spots, drinking their favorite beverages. Without him.

Chanyeol had visited the cafe after his death, but he had never seen his friends there. They were all busy studying and Chanyeol had assumed they didn’t go to the cafe anymore after he had passed away because it would be too painful for them. Now, all graduated, they sat there laughing. As if Chanyeol had never been there with them. As if he was… forgotten. Chanyeol clenched his jaw, pushing back tears he knew would never come. He turned to walk out of the shop, feeling hurt, betrayed, how could they have done this to him, how could they have forgotten him this soon, how could -

A warm sensation washed over him as he passed through a young man entering the shop. Chanyeol turned around. After all this time spent as a ghost, he still hadn’t get used to the feeling of passing through people. Objects were different, it felt as natural to walk through a wall as to walk through air. But passing through people left his nerves tingling. That’s why he avoided the event as much as possible. Chanyeol tilted his head to the side as he watched the man walk up to the counter to order a drink. He had never felt this kind of warmth, however, when moving through people. What made this guy different?

Curious, Chanyeol followed the young man to the back of the cafe. To his surprise, the guy didn’t join the line of people to order a drink, but instead greeted the barista briefly before disappearing behind the staff only door. Does he work here? Chanyeol thought. I don’t think I’ve seen him here before. Of course, I didn’t get to see his face properly. Chanyeol walked through the door and found himself in a small room. It was probably supposed to be an office, but it clearly also functioned as storage space, break room and…

Apparently also a dressing room, for the individual who had entered was taking of his shirt, replacing it by the cafe’s signature outfit: a white turtleneck with black jeans (which the man didn’t have to change into, since he was already wearing such a pair), covered by a beige apron. The young man took a deep breath, his shoulders rising and falling with big motions, before turning around. Now facing Chanyeol, he flattened the fabric with his palms. Chanyeol’s jaw dropped.

“Byun Baekhyun!” He shouted. “Is that you?”

Baekhyun walked straight through Chanyeol and out of the door, leaving the latter with a warm sensation once more. Chanyeol stood as if glued to the floor, trying to steady his raging mind. Baekhyun had been in his year at university, and although they didn’t have every class together, he had seen the blond enough to remember his face and name. Hadn’t they worked on a group project together once?

Intrigued, Chanyeol followed the small man out of the office and into the cafe. Baekhyun took place behind the counter, tightening the bow on the back of his apron once more before approaching his co-worker. His colleague, a pretty woman in her thirties, started talking to Baekhyun. She pointed at complicated-looking machines and boxes containing different products as she explained what he had to do. She then nodded at Baekhyun, gesturing for him to start working, returning her attention to serving the client. So, Chanyeol deducted from the scene, his first day of work huh.

Baekhyun froze. He reached out to the coffee machine, hesitantly brushing his fingertips over the millions of buttons. Chanyeol watched from a close distance as he carefully placed a paper cup under the portafilter with hands slightly shaking. Baekhyun looked down at his own hands in confusion, then back to all the different options on the device. He pursed his lips before settling his index finger on a button, breathing in, and pressing it. Chanyeol watched with eyes wide with excitement.

To Chanyeol’s disappointment, and Baekhyun’s relief, a slow and steady stream of coffee trickled into the cup. Even adding the layer of milk foam went smoothly as if he had been doing this job for years, not two minutes. With shimmering eyes and a wide smile, Baekhyun held the cup with both hands and placed it in front of the next customer in line. Pssh, proud for making a cup of coffee, Chanyeol thought as he pouted. He rolled his eyes. It’s not like it’s that hard. I could do it if I wasn’t, oh right, a ghost who can’t touch anything.

Annoyed, Chanyeol took a seat on the barstool at the counter. He sat there watching Baekhyun go through his shift with ease, feeling a familiar sensation dwell upon him. He was sleepy. Of course, he wasn’t tired. He didn’t need sleep anymore now, nor could he sleep even if he’d want to. Yet, he still remembered being sleepy. Resting his head on his hand, he almost felt normal again as he closed his eyes and tried to drift away on the scent of coffee. If he couldn’t be alive and normal anymore, he could at least pretend to be.

A couple of hours later, Baekhyun’s shift ended. Bored out of his mind this whole time, Chanyeol had walked around the cafe trying to keep busy, because really, he didn’t have anywhere else to go anyway. He watched Baekhyun, but his easiness bored him, he read magazines, he observed people and listened in on their conversations, watched Baekhyun some more, and then some more. So when the blond finally disappeared into the back room again, untying his apron as he walked, Chanyeol’s mood lifted.

Chanyeol followed Baekhyun outside. What are you doing working in a coffee bar when you graduated university, Byun Baekhyun? He said as he walked next to the smaller. It was already starting to get dark outside. Summer was dissolving, autumn already creeping in during the evenings and mornings. Baekhyun shivered as a cold gush of wind hit him, blowing his hair to the other side. He grabbed a tighter hold of his shoulder bag and headed towards the subway station with a determined tread.

Where are you going, Baekhyun? I guess I have nothing better to do anyways, so I’ll just follow you. Chanyeol sped up his pace so he could walk in front of Baekhyun, but backwards so he could face the blond. You know, I always thought you were kind of a nerd. Baekhyun, of course, just kept walking straight ahead without noticing anything. Of course, you can’t hear me. I don’t know why I expected a response.

When Baekhyun fished his key out of his bag and opened the door to his apartment, Chanyeol was still by his side. Why do you live so far awaaaaay, Chanyeol whined. It’s a relief that I can teleport to this place now that I know where you live. Perks of being dead. Baekhyun dropped his bag on the floor next to a clothes hanger where he hung his coat. He kicked of his shoes and walked over to the small living room. Actually, he only had to take two steps from the door to be in his living room, another two steps to be in the kitchen, and perhaps five steps to be in his bedroom.

Gosh this place is small, Chanyeol commented as he followed Baekhyun and sat next to him on the couch. Baekhyun sighed. Then he started talking to himself in a soft voice.

“I guess this is it.”

What is what?

“The adult life.”

Oh don’t be so dramatic. You have job.

“What am I doing? This isn’t the job I want.”

God Baekhyun, you shouldn’t complain you know. Lots of young people have to start out with a simple job to pay the bills.

“It’s just so I can pay the bills though.” Baekhyun shook his fist in the air, trying to reassure himself. “I can do this!”

Chanyeol smiled at the little one’s determined face. And at that moment, he decided that maybe following Baekhyun around a bit would be a good idea. It was not like he had anything else to do anyway, right?