*Youngjae’s POV*

The past week without Kikwang had honestly been a weird one. Every day it felt like something was missing. Lectures suddenly became less interesting, the castle seemed quieter and less energetic, and the days went along boringly.

Queen Jang, however, seemed much happier than before. Her joy only ended whenever the two of us crossed paths, but she eventually learned to ignore my presence all together.

I felt lonelier in the castle.

But! I did take the Daehyun guy up on his word.

Since I was alone more often I started to do daring things that I’ve never done before. They were small things, but it was still exciting. Like I went outside without wearing my mask, played in the snow, and even visited my mother on my own, maskless. Even she was surprised when she saw me without my mask.

But, I still felt like a ghost. Because I did all these things alone when no one else was around.

I hadn’t seen the Daehyun guy again since that night I showed him around the city. I looked for him every night. I had so many questions to ask him and wanted to know what I should do next. But I could never find him and started to think that he might actually be the ghost here.

I crept through the halls quietly, careful to not make a sound, making my way down the long stairway.

I checked every corner of the top floor with no luck. I doubted I would’ve found him up there anyway. All the guest rooms were downstairs. It was the middle of the night and the halls were dark, the only light came from the moon and stars that seeped through the window. “Maybe I should’ve brought a candle.” I whispered to myself.

I continued to search the halls in hope to find him tonight, but the longer I searched, the more hope I began to lose. “Maybe he’s not out tonight.” I sighed, deciding to turn back around.

“Were you looking for me?” a voice suddenly said.

I quickly spun back around to see him standing only a few yards away from me, his back leaning against the wall.

I blushed in embarrassment, “I-I was just walking around.” I lied, not wanting him to think I was weird. “Is that so?” He questioned. I nodded vigorously. A slight smirk formed on his lips. “Then why are you blushing?”

My eyes slightly widened.

He laughed to himself, “You forgot that you don’t have your mask on, huh?”

I rubbed the back of my neck, the blush refusing to leave my cheeks. It’s going to the some getting used to. “I was starting to think you were the ghost. Since I didn’t see you for the past week.” I confessed.

Daehyun furrowed his brow as if to think hard about it. “Maybe I am a ghost. Perhaps we switched places.” He grinned, “But why are you looking for me in the middle of the nigh? And not during the day?”

I opened my mouth to respond but paused. He had a point. Why didn’t I just look for him during the day? “I don’t…I don’t know.” I confessed, feeling my cheeks heat up again.

“I guess you’re still the ghost after all.” He said. He pushed off the wall and turned the other way to leave.

“I wanted to tell you that I started living my life.” I quickly spoke up, not wanting him to leave.

He paused in the middle of his steps and slowly turned back around. “Why me?”

I rubbed the back of my neck, feeling even more embarrassed, my cheeks now burning. “I just thought I’d tell you since you’re the one that talked me into it. I started going out more and wearing my mask less often. I spend more time in the snow.” I told him.

The elder chuckled a little, “That’s good.” He said.

“I um…I was wondering what I should do next?” I said, still feeling embarrassed.

He raised an eyebrow, surprised by the question. “You want to know what else to do?” he repeated. I nodded, “I figured that you’d know what else to do.”

He looked at me strangely and stood there thinking to himself. “I can’t tell you what to do next.’ He finally spoke, “It’s your life. Just do what you want to do.”

I nodded in understanding, “I guess that was a dumb question.” I said, earning a short fit of laughter from him, “You’re just new to this.” He assured me, though it didn’t make me feel any better. I still had more questions to ask him.

“Do you have any more questions?” He questioned, noticing this. I nodded vigorously, glad that I didn’t have to ask. He nodded, his head, an amused smile plastered on his lips.

“Do you travel?” I asked.

“I’ve been around.” He said.

“Oh…” was all I said.

“Do~, you want me to tell you about it?” he questioned, studying me. I perked up at this, “Will you?”

He laughed at this, “I don’t see why not. But I should probably head back before the others notice that I’m gone. But tomorrow.” He promised.

“Where will I meet you?” I questioned.

He thought for a bit before answering, “Just look for me, and you’ll find me.” He winked and with that he turned around and walked away.

I stood there, thinking about his words. Will I really be able to find him? “What a strange guy.”

-

The next morning, we didn’t have any lectures, so I went out to help my mother. “You’ve really improved.” My mother complimented as I finished crocheting the last sweater. “Thank you.” I smiled folding the sweater into the box. For the past few days I’ve helped her crochet sweaters for those in need.

“I think this is more than enough! Let’s go take these out to the stand and hand them out, huh?” My mother said, picking up one of the boxes. I picked up the other two boxes and followed her out the door. We walked through the neighborhoods until we reached the very edge of the city, where her stand was set up inside a small market area.

The market area was a small humbled place that served as a threshold between the city and the rest of the kingdom. It wasn’t as crowded or decorated as the market inside the city but plenty of people did roam the place and a lot of interesting trinkets and stuff were sold here.

“Are you sure it’s okay for you to be out here without any guards?” My mother questioned when we finished setting up. “Of course. I’ve been out here alone before.” I assured her. She seemed a bit hesitant, “I’m just concerned. The outcasts have been more active lately and they’re growing.” She confessed. I rested my hand on her shoulder and gave her a small smile, “I’ll be fine Umma.” I assured her once more. “They probably don’t know who I am anyway.” I tried.

“Youngjae.”

“It’s okay Umma. ‘m fine. Maybe it’s a good thing.”

She gave me a sad smile, “You’re special Youngjae. Don’t forget that.” She said, pinching my cheek, “Now let’s start handing out these sweaters.”

We spent the entire day handing out free sweaters to those who needed them. Surprisingly a lot of people came from outside of the city just to grab some much-needed sweaters. Apparently, my mom has been doing this for years, at the beginning of each winter. And people travelled far for these free sweaters. It was bittersweet for me. I was glad to help, but it hurt seeing people unfortunate like this, especially children. They were so happy to get the sweaters.

“It looks like we’re running low on sweaters. I think there’s another box back at the house. I’ll be right back.” My mother said. “do you want me to go with you?” I offered. “No, you stay right here and watc