unspoken words

Monsters Within

- sunday -

No one was happy to be in the office on a Sunday which was why most people chose that day to stay home. Jongdae, too, would have normally decided to spend the day sleeping off his hangover, but then felt that it would be mean to just leave Chanyeol hanging. Yixing and Minseok also had a tendency to skip Sundays and there was nothing worse than to sit in the otherwise empty office next to the tea-drinking, plant-watering, utterly boring Junmyeon. He certainly also had his good points, but Jongdae remembered much too well how annoying Junmyeon was when it was about teaching the basics. Jongdae had literally had a year of getting used to the fact that he was seeing things no one else could see, but Junmyeon had treated him as though he was a little boy on his first day of school.
So really, the only reason why he dragged himself out of bed that morning was his conscience. His damn stupid conscience that wanted him to be nice although being nice rarely paid off.
No one was happy to be in the office on a Sunday, so what Jongdae found that very Sunday was a group of people losing their minds.

When he arrived, Chanyeol already sat at the only desk not assigned to anyone and drew circles on the dusty surface with his finger while poring over a report. It was only half past ten but he already looked exhausted.
"Which one did he give you first?" Jongdae asked jokingly and realized that he probably should have started with a greeting because Chanyeol was so startled that he accidentally pulled a whole staple with reports off the table. They noisily cluttered to the floor and Chanyeol looked at them with a sigh. When he turned around to Jongdae, he was not amused.
"What?" he asked and for a moment Jongdae considered to just go back home and take a late morning nap.
"The reports," he then said and helplessly pointed at the desk while Chanyeol picked up everything he had dropped. "Which one did you get first?"
Chanyeol frowned at him and then at the report in front of him. "The first one he gave me was about what he called an ideal summoning but this one is a little..." He flipped through the pages in what looked like slight disgust. Jongdae came a little closer when Chanyeol turned it so that he could read the cover. It was the infamous report by the Japanese guy who insisted that possessions were a great experience.
"What the ?" he said angrier than intended.
"Yeah," Chanyeol nodded. "I mean, it's kind of..."
Jongdae looked around the office. He heard someone rummaging through the kitchen and figured that it probably was Junmyeon. "I think he gave that to you by mistake."
"Huh," Chanyeol said and scratched his neck as he looked at the black letters scrawled across the pages. "Is that what it's like though? Being possessed?"
Jongdae looked down on him and suddenly wondered whether Junmyeon had wanted him to ask that question. They had never talked again about his suspicion that Minseok might have been possessed. But just like how Jongdae kept worrying about it, Junmyeon probably did, too.
"I wouldn't know," Jongdae then said and carefully took note of Chanyeol's reaction. "People don't normally get possessed if they can help it. I can only guess, based on what I've seen so far, that it's sometimes even worse than the in the report."
Chanyeol just nodded apprehensively.
Jongdae probably should have left it at that but then he continued, "Minseok-hyung had this crazy theory the other day. You know how he can kill ghosts if he wants to? I think he believes that it's easier to kill them when they're inside you."
He knew he was paraphrasing but he also knew Minseok, so he probably was not even off by far. His words also had a strange effect on Chanyeol. He did not look startled or confused. If anything, he looked aghast. Like the caricature of someone who had seen a ghost for the first time.

"Just for the record, I think that what you're doing is completely messed up," Jongdae said as he entered the office kitchen and found Junmyeon preparing tea. Again, he probably should have greeted him first because Junmyeon nearly spilled hot water on his pants in surprise.
"What?" Junmyeon asked with wide eyes. He was the type who rarely did anything controversial and thus rarely was attacked for his actions.
"That report you gave Chanyeol? I know for a fact that you wouldn't normally give that to someone new because Yixing-hyung and I both found it by accident," Jongdae said as he opened one of the drawers to take out the box with coffee beans he then filled into the fancy new coffee maker.
Junmyeon put on a strange expression and very obviously avoided to look him in the eye as he said, "I thought it would be interesting."
"To him specifically?" Jongdae asked and closed the lid of the coffee maker. "Because you suspect that he witnessed Minseok-hyung getting possessed?"
Junmyeon flinched a little.
"Do you think he knows more than we do?" Jongdae asked and Junmyeon sighed.
"I do," he then admitted and held onto his tea pot for a second as though it was his anchor. Then he furrowed his brows and said, "Think about it. He's been around ghosts for as long as the two of us combined. And I don't know what Minseok-hyung has taught him so far, but he should at least be able to ask the right questions."
Jongdae wasn't sure what to say so he simply leaned against the drawer behind him and stared at the ceiling.
"I still think it's messed up though," he then said. "That report is the worst."
Junmyeon smiled guiltily but didn't reply. It was rare for him to be so reckless and Jongdae wondered whether the whole thing was his twisted payback because he had only got involved when the train had already derailed.

It was already past noon when Minseok entered the office. Junmyeon greeted him politely, Chanyeol barely looked up from his desk and Jongdae said, ", hyung, what happened to your face?"
The sudden question startled Minseok so much that he stumbled over his own feet. "What?" he asked in confusion and looked so stupid that it was hard not to laugh at him.
"Your face, hyung," Jongdae said with a suppressed grin. "You look like you lost a fight."
Minseok gave him a blank stare for a moment and then slowly lifted his hand to his right eye. When he touched the bruise, he winced a little but didn't say anything. For a split second his eyes wandered into Chanyeol's direction.
"Did that happen yesterday?" Jongdae then asked because it occurred to him that Saturday was Minseok's day with Chanyeol. Yesterday they would have been to that summoning organized by the guy from the Eastern branch. "You didn't say anything about him getting punched in the face," Jongdae said in an accusatory tone as he whirled his chair around to look at Chanyeol. "Did he at least land a punch himself?"
Chanyeol just blinked at him with an unreadable expression.
"I didn't," Minseok said instead as he sat down at his desk and started to rummage through the top drawer.
"He killed the ghost," Chanyeol said tonelessly. There was a strange tension in the air. Even Junmyeon noticed it and curiously looked up from his computer.
"Ghosts aren't alive, so they can't be killed," Minseok said with the same matter-of-factly voice that had caused Jongdae to be extremely wary of him for his first couple of weeks in the office. But this was different. Chanyeol was new but not to him. If that was what all their sessions together were, Jongdae understood why the higher-ups would decide to cut Minseok off.

Jongdae already feared that the rest of the day would be spent without any form of conversation and ruefully thought of his soft, warm bed, when Minseok's voice cut through the silence.
"That email you sent..." he said and Jongdae turned around to check whether he talked to him. Just because he couldn't remember any emails didn't mean that he had not sent any. But Minseok instead stared at his screen with a frown and had his phone in his hand. Minseok was not generally awfully polite, but it was still strange for him to start a phone conversation without any proper greeting.
"No, I'm not sure I understand. The ghost yesterday? Because you wrote in your report that..."
For a moment he then just listened and rubbed his forehead. Junmyeon had lifted his head a little and although Chanyeol had his back to him, did he not really move either. They probably all figured that it would be urgent if Minseok actually took the time to call someone about a previous summoning. Minseok hated calls.
"Okay, but how..." he began and let out a sigh. "How sure are you about what you've seen? Are you sure that-." He suddenly looked up, as if he could sense that all eyes were on him. Jongdae quickly looked down on his desk and the crooked house he had doodled on a piece of note paper but Minseok was not that stupid.
"Hold on a second," he said, stood up and walked towards the door. "Are you sure that it was him?" he asked right before the door loudly shut behind him.
"What the hell?" Jongdae asked and looked at Junmyeon for help.
Junmyeon only shrugged.

Approximately ten minutes later, Minseok came back with a mean scowl but only stared at the floor for a moment. Then he directly looked at Junmyeon and said, "Can I talk to you for a second?"
It was not really a question but a demand, so he didn't wait for a reply and walked back out again. Junmyeon nearly knocked over his tea cup when he jumped up and followed him wordlessly.
The door shut between them and Jongdae leaned back in his chair. He hated these moments. They were probably going to the rooftop. It was always the rooftop as if they were all actors in a cheap detective drama, and he wondered whether he would ever be invited to any of the meetings up there.
"You hungry?" he asked Chanyeol who raised an eyebrow at him. "Because I'm starving and I can promise you one thing. Even if we wait, those two won't tell us what's going on anyway. We're too far down the career ladder."
Chanyeol looked at him curiously but then simply shrugged.

"That's probably the one thing I like the least about the organisation," Jongdae said as he mixed his bibimbap a little too ferociously. When some of the rice flee up and right into his glass with water, he stopped. He hated to be angry all the time. Back when he had worked for a sporting goods store he had occasionally been annoyed at small things like the itchy blue polo shirt he had been required to wear or his manager who had constantly set unrealistic goals. But he had rarely been genuinely mad about them. He had simply left the store at the end of his shift and had fogotten everything about his day. But now that was different.
Chanyeol threw him a questioning glance while he took a spoonful of his jjamppong and then pulled a face because it probably was too hot.
"Everything is a secret. As if secrets are a weapon," Jongdae explained. Chanyeol looked at him thoughtfully but didn't say anything, so he continued, "I mean, there already are enough secrets due to the nature of the job. My family doesn't know what I work as because they already think I'm crazy. My neighbors think I'm a door-to-door salesman and yesterday I told this girl I met in a bar that I work for an NGO. All that's stressful enough because I have to lie. Which ."
Chanyeol nodded as he noisily slurped down some noodles. "I hate to lie," he said.
"Lying is all you'll end up doing here," Jongdae said and wondered whether that was the reason for all the anger. Two years ago he had been pretty open about everything, but now he involuntarily lied to family members and neighbors and people he had only just met. "And I get that it can't be helped because what we do isn't exactly normal. What frustrates me is that not even within the Office, where you would assume that everyone is on the same page, people are honest. There are literally thousands of classified reports and hundreds of secret meetings and dozens of security levels. There are secrets wrapped in even more secrets within a secret organisation, and people like Minseok-hyung, who probably have full security clearance, are the biggest secrets of them all. I literally have no idea what exactly someone like him does all day."
It was not so much that his anger was directed at Minseok in particular. Minseok had been part of the system for so long that he probably couldn't help it. The main reason why Jongdae would mention him at all was that it had not seemed as though Chanyeol actually followed the conversation. But suddenly Chanyeol looked strangely intrigued.
"What makes him so different anyway?" he asked and very obviously tried to sound casual.
"No idea," Jongdae shrugged. "That's the thing. Judging from what I read in old reports, do we all have similar stories to tell. Someone died, we witnessed it and then we could suddenly see ghosts." He gestured with his hands as though he had just finished a magic trick and Chanyeol frowned at him.
The truth was that it had taken him a while to be able to think of it in such simple terms. In that respect had it helped to read all the reports Junmyeon had put on his desk over time. Personal files were confidential but after a few decades had passed, some were made public and the principle had not really changed over time. Death was the origin of all summoners. "But no one likes to talk about it. I have no idea what exactly happened to any of the others because those are private information. I can only guess what happened to you because you came after me. And the others know what happened to me because I came after them. And it continues like that until eternity. No one every really knows anything about the others although we're literally the only people we can talk to. Someone like Minseok-hyung has been around for so long, I wouldn't be surprised if no living person knows what happened to him."
Chanyeol looked at him with an odd expression for a few seconds with his chopsticks in midair. Then he loudly put them on the table and leaned back while he stared at the ceiling. It was a strange moment. Jongdae was pretty sure that Chanyeol understood what he meant, but only because he used Minseok as an example.
Chanyeol's eyes were still turned to the ceiling when he began, "My friend..." He halted and pressed his lips together before he shifted his gaze to Jongdae with a strangely measuring expression. "My companion was my best friend in high school."
Jongdae nodded because he had figured out that much.
"He jumped off the roof in school and broke his neck," Chanyeol continued in a strangely emotionless tone. "He confessed to me before that but I thought that he was joking so I told him to piss off. After that I blamed myself and I could already hear him, so I thought I was going crazy and slit my wrist. That's when he fully appeared in front of me." As if he needed to prove the story, he lifted his sleeve and shifted his watch to bare his wrist. Jongdae slightly leaned forward to have a better look. The scar was barely visible but unmistakenly there.
"Huh," he said and realized how foolish he sounded. He wasn't sure what he had expected and wondered whether that was why no one shared their stories. Grief was hard to react to.
"You'll probably regret telling me that," Jongdae said lamely and Chanyeol shrugged as he pulled down his sleeve again.
"Better than to spend all my life lying I guess," Chanyeol said but still looked a little awkward as he picked up his chopsticks and noisily slurped down more noodles.
Jongdae watched him for a moment and wondered. In their job they constantly heard sad stories because every ghost was connected to one. Most ghosts only remained on earth because their death had come too abrupt and really, objectively speaking was Chanyeol not much worse than many of the other stories Jongdae had learned about during his first year in the Office. And yet did summoners refuse to share their stories, because they were secrets. Because they were personal. Because they were open wounds.
Jongdae hated to internalize his feelings but because the Office was a place of secrets, he had eventually decided that he would not share his trauma with anyone else again. But the longer he kept everything inside, the more did a sad story become a spike.
So he sighed and folded his arms in front of his chest.
"My older brother died in a car crash," Jongdae said and Chanyeol looked up. "I was driving."
Chanyeol showed the same pitiful expression Jongdae had learned to hate during the first months after it had happened. His parents and his friends and the people in the hospital and random neighbors had all looked at him that way.
"He followed me around until the people from the Office found me. They told me to ask him to leave, so now he haunts the junction where it happened."
"Oh," Chanyeol said and blinked. "But I thought you can..."
"Make him leave?" Jongdae asked and Chanyeol nodded in confusion. "Man, what the hell have the others been teaching you? Why am I the one who's telling you all the basics?" He grimaced and Chanyeol's expression lightened a little. "There are rules, you know? We can do whatever is necessary to get rid of a ghost who's possessing someone but if they're just haunting, we're not really supposed to act. My brother isn't the type who'd possess anyone. He just haunts and is generally pretty confused."
As the words left his mouth, a strange feeling crept up to him. Back when his brother had started to stare down at him in the dark while mumbling barely audible words, he had been terrified. His brother had become a thing, something that ruined his life. But really, his brother had not really done anything to him. He had just been there as a sad reminder of the person he had once been.
"I mean, he always was a very typical older brother. You know, the kind who constantly embarrasses you because he tries to protect you from everything he sees as a potential threat," he said and unwillingly lifted the corners of his mouth.
"I have an older sister and she's the same," Chanyeol said with a grin.
For a moment they just sat there, both happily smiling at their food and Jongdae already felt lighter.
"I'm totally going to regret telling you that though," he eventually said in mock exasperation and Chanyeol snorted.
"Better than to spend all you life lying, right?" he said.
It was then that something in Jongdae's brain short-circuited. Part of him probably simply wanted to change the topic. Whatever it was, he asked, "So now that we're all honest and stuff, what happened during that summoning yesterday?"
And Chanyeol's face dropped.

When they walked back in perfect wordlessness, Jongdae considered to just go home. His working hours were flexible and he had originally not planned to spend the day in the office anyway. So it probably wouldn't matter if he was just going to leave.
He had completely made up his mind by the time they reached the building, but then he sensed something strange in the elevator. It was cold. Much too cold. Chanyeol clearly noticed it, too, because he rubbed his arms and gave him a quizzical  glance.
The door of the elevator opened and the corridor was filled with Nameless Ones.
"What the?" he asked and took a step forward. When he already was at the door to the office and looked back, he saw that Chanyeol still was inside the elevator.
"You can probably go home. Whatever is going on in there..." Jongdae began and then nervously his lips. He was not exactly sure if he himself even would be of any help. He could feel the presence of ghosts, not just Nameless Ones but also that of much more powerful ones.
The door was thrown open before he could make a decision and he jumped back in surprise.  A wave of more Nameless Ones spilled out of the office and with it came Minseok who dragged a shape behind him. It took Jongdae a few seconds until he recognized The Monk, one of the ghosts whose orders were supposed to be obeyed. The Monk was what Jongdae's old manager had been to him, someone he had to respect by default. So it startled him to notice that Minseok's fingers were clawed deep inside the translucent shape. As if the fact that he saw them could make him an accomplice by association.
"Hyung, stop," Jongdae heard Junmyeon from inside. "You heard what they said. He's fine, so there's no need to-."
"Where is he?" Minseok asked and a whistling sound emerged from The Monk. Nameless Ones swirled around him like smoke until Jongdae could barely see Minseok any longer. "Where the hell is he?!" Minseok asked a little louder and waved his arm through the Nameless Ones as though they were nothing but a swarm of flies.
"Hyung!" Junmyeon said as he emerged from  the office. He was trailed by The Principal and  The Fishmonger and other ghosts whose names Jongdae didn't know. Their mere presence made it hard to breath.
Minseok turned around to Junmyeon with a furious expression Jongdae had never seen on him. "Their words mean nothing," he spat. "All it means is that he isn't dead yet."
Junmyeon held his gaze but didn't say anything. He seemed unsure about his position. The Principal moved a little closer to him with a face like a statue.
Minseok shook his head and then marched off towards the elevator with The Monk still in his hands. All the ghosts stayed behind and Jongdae wondered whether they were scared of him, too. The only things that had ever stopped Minseok from laying hands on any of them were the fragile rules they had put up.
With Minseok gone, the Nameless Ones slowly disappeared and Junmyeon let out a long sigh as though he had held his breath for much too long. Jongdae frowned at him and then said, ", Chanyeol was in that elevator."
Junmyeon quickly looked at the doors with wide eyes but didn't move or say anything.
"What's going on?" Jongdae asked and Junmyeon bit his lower lip with a troubled expression.
"We don't know where Yixing is," he then said. When Jongdae was about to comment that that hardly was an answer to his question, Junmyeon continued in an awfully small voice, "Minseok-hyung believes that Yixing probably got himself possessed."
Jongdae blinked at him in confusion. "What?"


- test subject -

Chanyeol had spent all morning trying to think of things to say. Because he figured that he would eventually have to say something, anything. No matter how humiliated he felt, no matter how much he just wanted to curl up in his bed and not think of anything at all, he knew that he could not simply pretend that nothing had changed. For once he didn't want to run. Kim Minseok already was a presence in his life he didn't want to give up. If only he could catch him by himself, he would say what he wanted to say.
But it never really was that easy and as he suddenly found himself in an elevator with him, it all felt horribly wrong.

"You have two options," Minseok said with a sharp edge in his voice as he pushed a ghost dressed in grey monk robes into the wall. "You tell me where he is and who's watching him. Or you'll end."
The ghost wiggled in his grasp but did not immediately reply. There only was a sound like static. Minseok tightened his grip and the ghost faded away a little but only laughed.
"Kim Minseok, you do not have the strength right now," it said in a voice like breaking ice. "You overestimate the durability of your human body."
Minseok stared at with blatant disgust and then suddenly let go, as if surprised by something. The ghost disappeared through the wall and the elevator stopped. It was only then that Minseok seemed to notice Chanyeol in the corner. His eyes widened only a little before he gained control over his face.
"What...?" Chanyeol managed to say before his voice cracked. Whatever this situation was, he was not sure he wanted to be part of it.
"Byun Baekhyun," Minseok said in a tone like a general on a battlefield. "Can you call him over? I need his help."
Chanyeol frowned. "It's still too early." When Minseok raised his brows a little as if Chanyeol had just said something stupid, he said, "That's the deal you made. He won't be back before six."
Minseok angled his head a little, like a teacher who realized that a student was too dense to see the obvious answer to an equation. "There are still less ghosts around you than around a regular person," he said. When Chanyeol must have given him an incomprehensice glance, he explained, "That's his influence. He never leaves far enough that you're out of his reach, even if you can't feel his presence. That's how he always finds you right away." There was distaste in his voice.
"Right," Chanyeol said and felt irritation rising up inside him.  
Maybe he had not been able to tell that Baekhyun never really left him alone.
Maybe he was too stupid to immediately understand what was going on around him.
Maybe.
But he hated how these things were constantly sprung onto him. All Minseok ever did was to bombard him with things he couldn't deal with. So he was angry when he said, "Okay, but why should I? I don't even know what's going on here. This is all just ing mad. How do I know that you're not asking me to call him over so that you can do to him what you did to that ghost just now? And why should I always do what you're telling me anyway? Who the are you to do that to me?" He only realized that he had balled his hands into fists when his finger nails painfully dug into his palm.
Minseok looked at him with an odd expression. For a second the mask cracked and there was worry written all over his face.
"Yixing, the one who works with us, is currently in danger," he then said solemnly and Chanyeol felt a shiver running down his spine.
"But that ghost right now..." he said because he had seen them coming out of the office. He had also heard Junmyeon trying to stop Minseok. But it made no sense if the one Minseok was looking for was a colleague.
"Works for the Office," Minseok nodded. "They won't help. To them it's another case study. They do that all the time. Whenever something bad happens, they watch and see how it pans out. There's probably someone from another office who's watching Yixing right now."
Something about his words felt oddly familiar, so all Chanyeol could do in reaction was to blink at him. The thought felt incredibly cruel.
Minseok hesitated for a second, before he continued, "That's what they did to you, too. It's not that they didn't find you. They found you ten years ago, but you were more valuable as a test subject than as a summoner."
It was like a slap in the face and Chanyeol felt oddly numb. The last ten years seemed to flash by, but suddenly they were warped. Nameless Ones had approached him before, but he had never thoúght that much about them. He had been incredibly clueless. Like a moron he had lived his life while a whole organisation had stood and watched.
"I won't let them do that again," Minseok said quietly. When their eyes met, it was painfully obvious that he really meant it. "So I need your friend's..." He stopped for a second and furrowed his brows. "I need your help."
Chanyeol gulped. Part of him wanted to turn away because he couldn't be sure what he would get himself into. He was sick of the lies and the secrets and the constant stream of ridiculous facts that were thrown at him. The part of him that was rational also wondered whether Minseok had always been honest with him. If he knew that Chanyeol had been watched, he had probably been involved somehow.
But then Chanyeol sighed.
"Baekhyun-ah," he said and immediately felt the familiar coldness creeping up to him.

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yeou_bi
Not helpful when, rather than to continue writing an actual chapter, I think of a random spin-off with other characters. orz

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Jkloey
#1
Chapter 18: This was crazy and the story development and the flashbacks every chapter made me at the edge this was amazing
VelvetKaisoo
#2
Chapter 18: This is crazy good (thank you to Sugar for rec-ing ❤) like, I'm coming out of this absolutely speechless. If I sat and wrote out all the good aspects of this Id be here forever. Everything was so perfectly balanced, and for a story based in a fictional world (depending on one's beliefs) where ghosts exist its suprising realistic. Not just the explanations of how it works or the rise of an institution that deals with it but I mean all the emotions and little interations within the universe. Its so raw. The absolute confusion that lurks in everyone's perpective like this story's own ghost is so justified for the narrative, as well as wielded so gracefully by you. The use of small scenes and interactions that mean so much more are just exquisite and the pov swaps are godlike (Yuras was especially unexpected and incredibly needed, but ive got to say the smooth introduction of Jongin was just... I can't even explain how masterful).
I once heard that the difference between mere stories and actual literature is whether or not you took something away from it. Whether you learnt something from it or not. And by god let me tell you ill be carrying my learnings from this around with me like it's name was Baekhyun.
I know it's always polite to tell an author thank you after you read their work, and I always mean it when I say it, but I'm honestly so so so grateful that you wrote and shared this. To the nth degree. This piece of literacture is great for so many reasons and I'm glad it will live on in public display for a long time to come ?
Sugar-and-Salt
#3
Chapter 18: Aaaaand it's over!
Reaching the end of this made me feel like finishing a good book - all content and suddenly somewhat empty *haha*
(though I used the feeling to annoy all my friends about this *lol*)

First of all - I know you think you're always being soft on your characters, but while reading this fic, I was aaaalways half-expecting it to end terribly. That Minseok would reverse into his own bubble or do 'what needs to be done', or that Chanyeol messes up for good, or that Baekhyun gets himself killed simply because he's annoying (okay no, the last one was a joke. too soon, right? Sorry, Baek)
So this unexpectedly wholesome ending was an absolute treat ♥

Alright, I know I already mentioned the houses but yeah, part of me was definitely offended when he was like, looking down on lower class AND even nice apartment building folks. I was like "You snooty brat, you're lucky Minseok is so into you" *lol*
I'm not exactly mad though, cause well, he's trying. Somewhat. He'll have to get used to it *shrug*

I don't think I mentioned that but I felt for Jongdae and Junmyeon. I was in a similar situation at work before, when basically all the supporting pillars quit at once. I still have hopes for Jongdae though. He seems like he's not too deep into all of this yet and still has potential to get out of this entire... job. I mean. It IS just a job.... that doesn't make a secret of ruining your life sooner or later. Possibly sooner.

I think this ending also kinda highlighted Minseok's role in this story, which sounds weird, probably. He was simply such a dulled down, broken character who was secretly terrified of anyone invading his space - but looking back now, he /was/ the one who set everything in motion, and who took small steps, sometimes backwards, but mostly forwards. Even if a probably large part of him screamed to just stay away, stay home and just quietly die alone *lol*
He was actually the active part of the two most of the time, even if it totally didn't look like it, so seeing their relationship actually go somewhere feels super rewarding for both of them.

The fork scene made me laugh and go "Noooo, don't say thaaaat" at my screen *haha*
Baek is absolutely ruthless! But also his and Minseok's chemistry is terribly fun and interesting for a myriad of reasons.
(also my sister once stabbed a fork into my brother's back as well. She called it education and brought him a band aid afterwards. Luckily, there was hardly any blood and definitely no scar)

I'll stop rambling now. I'm surprised you're not sick of me yet, but I'll say it again: Thanks for sharing this story! Reading it had me on my toes and had me fall in love with Minseok (who has been starring in all my longfics ever since). I am in love with your writing style and no matter who stars in your next stories, I wish you the absolute best of luck! ♡♡♡
Sugar-and-Salt
#4
Chapter 17: Luhannn.... is a sweetie. Like, he never appeared much and the disconnect between them is palpable but at the same time, he feels like an actual friend. Like somehow, there is something left for them to restore and build upon again if they both put in the work - but also like they could stay like this, in this loose and kinda comfortable, half-involved friendship *lol*
(am I even making sense)

Either way, I was with Minseok the entire time - the fact that they had the audacity to ask for the reports the way they did... byeeee. Just bye *lol*
I feel like them asking for a report by Chanyeol in particular gave Minseok a bitter taste about how miserable his future would turn out, too.
Oh, I also love the fact that Minseok is severely under-educated. It seems obvious but I feel not many authors would have bothered with this (especially considering that real life Minseok seems to be on top of things)
(like, if it was Kyungsoo... I'm joking. I love you, Soo.)
Either way, Minseok is THE quiet force. He could claw himself into just about any job if he wanted to. I have zero doubts *haha*

On a side note, I wonder what Baek whispered to him. Must have been something annoying.
I still wanna believe that Minseok knew what he was doing and wasn't ACTUALLY killing him... probably. Still. Minseok! *gasp*
You don't threaten people with the existential horror of the void because they once overate in your body and made you puke! Social etiquette 101, man.
Jokes aside, who would have thought that it's the ghost pretty much saving BOTH of them. Baekhyun will be the next one receiving recruitment letters from the office.


P.S.:
"Minseok probably never carried enough things to beat risk of leaving something behind"
-don't think you can sneak something this great past me! ;;
I'm being dramatic but jokes aside, that little detail really stood out to me and I loved it ♥
Sugar-and-Salt
#5
Chapter 16: Iiii vanished off the face of the earth, but I'm back!
I know I'm like... MONTHS late, but my life got really, really hectic, and I just cherished this fic too much to read it on, say, a bus. So I saved it and then time passed and work and writing and mostly work absolutely wore me down... Buuut Im back!

And because this story is THAT exciting, I wasn't able to put it down, read it all, and now I need to take a deep breath and remember my thoughts on this chapter. Gotta hold back.

This chapter was really, really well-placed, I think. I wanna say 'needed', but it wasn't needed at all. Like, you could have focused on xiuyeol and brush Baek aside, make people root for the ship and call it a day - but this feels much better and more befitting, cause Baekhyun IS super important in this story, and we didn't get many insights on him.
And man, this chapter definitely made him super likeable in my eyes. I never /disliked/ him, but there was just not much to think about him cause Chanyeol didn't think much about him either, so I ended up being somewhat indifferent. But this chapter was really satisfying ;;
It really drove home how sad Baekhyun's existence is, and how he's somewhat aware of that - especially the fact that he "stopped living" and developing and that there IS a divide between him and Chanyeol now. That his jokes are insensitive and out of place, and that /he/ feels out of place, but like he can't leave either.
Though honestly, personally I think he's thought himself into a hole, and that he's pretty close to what he would be like if he was still alive. There's missing something, sure, but overall... he's done amazingly.
I hope one of the two ever tells him that *lol*

Favourite line of this chapter is easily "Cause , I don't like him, but he's pathetic. His whole life is pathetic."

I loved this so much.
♡♡♡
MissMinew
#6
Chapter 18: This story is brilliant. The universe you've created and the Office and everything is so creative and engaging, I really loved it! Baekhyun's story with his suicide is sad, but it felt very realistic. The way Chanyeol deals with it - uf, so good! And I really really /really/ loved Yura's perspective because it was so removed from the whole ghost-business and portrayed the outside worry of a sister, whose brother once attempted suicide and now is withdrawing again. That was such a wonderful touch to an otherwise story balancing on fantasy territory.
Luhan's story was also well-portrayed, the worry and the knowledge he had of Minseok. Combine that with the story-line of Yixing who doesn't want to be average.

Ugh, everything about this whole story is just so amazingly good! I love you for writing it, it's creative, well-written, perfectly balanced and the story told is just perfect. Thank you! <3
NoorKyra
#7
Chapter 18: Baekhyun is not going anywhere....?? And he's still with Chanyeol .....

Hmmmmmm....



It's finish already...??

Because I want more.....

Huhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhu......!!!!!



But I'm glad Minseok and Chanyeol is not avoiding each others....and did Minseok know all the dirty little secrets of Chanyeol's when Baekhyun possessed him ..???


Whoa...!
NoorKyra
#8
Chapter 17: Is Minseok have no will to live and decided to go back to his 'old house' to end is life...




And Chanyeol....even though Baekhyun is a bit annoying but I'm so thankful that he's successfully convince Chanyeol to find Minseok ..



*sigh*


Most stories about ghost.... who's still on Earth because they're have unfinished business or grounded to something or a place.... That's the basic about why ghost still appears on Earth... Evil ghost who possessed mostly because they're don't want to die and probably death taking them abruptly...and they're not want to leave Earth like. .forever... ... That's what I know...

Man.... This is far too elaborate and complicated to digest....but I'm trying to understand....


I feel bad for Minseok...his past is really heartbreaking. .. and I hope he will not continue his mission to go...

(╥﹏╥)
NoorKyra
#9
Chapter 13: What.....?? They're already watched over Chanyeol for a decade....????



As a test subject not as the summoner ...??



Why ..??? Is Chanyeol's case is so different than the other case...?
NoorKyra
#10
Chapter 11: Who's the trainee....?? Jongin an exorcist...??


Umm.....

He can see ghost too....???


⊙.☉