The warm ball of light filtered through his eyelids interrupting, somewhat pleasantly, his dreams. His eyes fluttered open but was greeted by a strong beam striking his retina. He blinked a few times, in an attempt to help his eyes adjust to the illumination pointed towards him.

Slowly and reluctantly, he dragged his body to an upright position while deciding it was better that he closed his eyes for some time on account of the bright shine which made him uncomfortable. 

Waking up can be harsh, especially if your dreams are better than reality. In Seungcheol's case, waking up meant having to deal with a lot of shadows and presence that he tried so hard not to acknowledge.

Like right now, a young blonde staring at his face so closely that it made Seuncheol twitchy and uncomfortable. But he had to pretend he couldn't see him for the best interest of both of them. 

Well, maybe it was slightly biased towards Seungcheol but he didn't want to know about the boy nor did he want him to know about him. Seungcheol scattered his thoughts away and got down from his bed, ready to face another day of futility. 

He hopped onto the shower, hoping the boy will not follow him there as well but he did anyway. But he stayed behind the curtains and started exploring his bathroom. 

'How does he find the bathroom amusing?' Seungcheol thought to himself when he peaked a little to see what he was doing. Sometimes, they can knock down a few things and he didn't want anything to be broken as he cannot replace it.

The young fellow followed him back home yesterday when he reacted out of instinct, startled by the boy as he stood infront of him when he turned, almost spilling the coffee he had in his hand. This made the boy confused as he's never seen anyone react to his actions after his death. 

Realizing what he had done, Seuncheol tried to walk away but he boy kept pestering him, asking him if he could see him but Seuncheol never replied to him nor did he make any kind of contact with him.

He eventually followed Seungcheol to his house. Maybe he was intrigued or maybe because he was simply bored, only the former knows. Staring at his face earlier was one of his attempts to clarify his doubts on whether he could see him, which he was pretty sure he could.

'Not again. He's the 3rd this year and the year isn't even half way over,'

Seungcheol had always dealt with this kind of problem as he tends to act out at times when he sees ghosts. They look very much like they're alive and they could probably pass as a living human by anyone who sees them but the only problem is, no one can. No matter how long it's been, he can never get used to it. All he can do is ignore them and hope that they'd go away on their own. So far, it has worked but it took a while for him to get rid of them.

He threw on a grey turtle neck matched with a pair of black denim and a beige overcoat since it was cold outside lately. He grabbed a banana to eat on the way and walked over to exit the door but the boy was no where to be found. He couldn't leave him inside the house as who knows what he'll do to things. 

Seuncheol paced around the living room, highly cautious of not letting the boy know that he's searching for him. When he finally found him in the kitchen staring at him, he casually turned around and walked back to his bedroom to not make it suspicious and returned back to the door. What Seungcheol didn't know was this also was one of his tests.

The boy was standing outside the apartment, hands folded, leaning against the wall with a smirk on his face.

"Were you searching for someone?" The boy asked with the same smirk plastered on his face.

No answer.

"I know you were searching for me,"

Seuncheol locked the door and continued walking without conceiting and took the elevator, closing the door before he could enter and bug him again.

There are certain limitations to what a ghost can do. They can obviously go through walls if they want to because they don't have any earthly embodiment to stop them from it but for some reasons metal and steel doors are a big no no. 

They could move or touch any object but they can never touch another human or simply any living thing.

Seungcheol got off the elevator and decided to take a walk to his studio. He's an aspiring artist who's yet to hit it big. Even the studio is one of friend's place that he has decided to let Seungcheol use until he's well on his own feet.

As he was walking, he spotted the boy was walking beside him. He sighed internally and kept walking, ignoring all of his remarks and questions regarding the fact that he could see him.

Upon reaching his studio, he noticed a small envelop in the mail stand. He picked it up and entered the studio. 

Calling all aspiring artists

Affordable workshop on Modern Art 

Entry fee: 100,000 won

Date and Timining: 11.03.2018, 10 a.m 

Venue: XXX, Hongdae,

Seoul 301xx.

"Affordable, my ," Muttering under his breath, he threw the pamphlet aside on the table and change into his work clothes. The shadow was still leeching onto his side, exploring all of the studio while exclaiming how he's never been to an art studio and how cool everything was.

"I didn't know you were an artist!" He exclaimed.

Seungcheol settled down on a table and opened his online website to see if any of his paintings were booked.

None.

It had a couple of enquiries about what products he had used. None of them we're looking to buy it. He sighed and closed the laptop abruptly. This got the boy a little startled.

"Woah there. You might break that thing. Do you know how much it costs to get a laptop? I've always wanted one but I couldn't afford it. You should be lucky that you can buy that. Don't take everything for granted..." He kept rambling and to be honest, he was getting on Seungcheol's nerves. He was frustrated enough about his situation and now this boy keeps interfering in his life.

'Don't react Choi Seungcheol. The last time you responded to ghosts, you know what happened,' He repeated this inside his brain like a mantra. 

He started painting his unfinished piece. He didn't pick painting as his career simply to make a living but to Seungcheol, painting was his way of escaping reality. It takes him far away to another time, another life. Everyday, he finds a new piece of himself through painting. 

It had been hours since he started painting that he even missed his lunch. But oddly enough, not once did the boy interrupt him whilst painting. In fact, Seungcheol almost forgot about his existance. Like it's said, it takes him to another dimension away from his troubles and hurdles.

A brief ring from the mobile broke his engrossment in this activity. He picked up the phone from the nearby table and answered it.

"Yes, hyung," Seungcheol greeted first as he was expecting his call.

"Right now?" He glanced at the wall clock, 7:08 it read. 

'Crap, it's 7 already,'  

"Okay, I'll be there by 8," He hung the call and hurried back to his chair.

Some last minute touch ups to his piece and it was all done. He took a step back to admire his for a while and a voice exaggerated behind his body.

"Wow, that's so beautiful," And there he was. Seungcheol made an internal eye roll and proceeded to change his clothes.

"You paint really well! Can you paint me? Huh? Or better, can you teach me?" He kept pursuing relentlessly. 

'Why is he not going away,' Seungcheol groaned silently and continued to arrange the materials and switched off the lights, preparing to close the studio. He, again, had to make sure the boy came out before doing so. He isn't taking any risks.

He decided to walk, mainly because the meeting place was near and slightly because he didn't want to waste any money on futile things. Along the way, the boy kept on rambing about random things. How it was a nice evening, how the wind was not too warm, not too chill, how he wishes he