“Jiwoo, you got a client on the phone talking about someone rummaging through their trash at night,” Jungeun said, appearing in the kitchen still in her sleepwear and hair up in a messy bun. “Says it could be an ex trying to sabotage his current relationship or something.”

 

Jiwoo placed down her cup on the counter. “By going through the trash? It’s probably a damn raccoon. This guy does know we deal with supernatural investigations right?”

 

“Sir, try installing a camera in case it’s just an animal or something,” Jungeun spoke into the phone while yawning. She then frowned and placed the device away from her ears before putting it closer again. “Look, I’m trying to save you money okay? There are cheap cameras on Amazon while a private investigator is a tad bit pricier, you feel? Okay, whatever, bye.” Jungeun hung up the phone and glared at Jiwoo. “I don’t even get paid to be yelled like that so early in the morning,” she grumbled.

 

“I told you, you don’t have to pick it up, especially when we’re technically not even open yet.” Jiwoo checked the time on her phone, it was a little before 9 A.M. on a weekend.

 

“But then it’d just ring forever and you’re never up when it’s ringing.” Jungeun walked to the counter and picked up Jiwoo’s cup, drinking the rest of its content.

 

“Do we really have to share every cup?” Jiwoo questioned, walking to the fridge to get more juice.

 

“We’re saving water by not having to wash two cups okay?” Jungeun went to the cupboards and opened it up only to find it empty. “We’re out of ramen.”

 

“You made the last packs last night.”

 

“That’s right.” Jungeun stood there for a second and placed her hands on her hips.

 

“There’s still cereal left, but we’re out of milk,” Jiwoo offered, pushing the box over.

 

“I’m just going to drink my tears for breakfast,” Jungeun’s tone was flat as she went to sit down on a chair with lopsided legs.

 

They both heard the rattling of keys at the front and it didn’t take long for a woman with long dark hair to appear in the kitchen with a smile.

 

“I got us dumplings,” she said in a sing song voice.

 

“Oh, bless your soul, Heejin.” Jiwoo clenched her heart dramatically and then made her way over to hug her friend.

 

“Thank Yeojin, the squirt said she made a little too many, but I’m pretty sure she just doesn’t want us to starve.” Heejin placed down the bag and took the containers out as they stood, crowding around the counter. “We gotta eat quick though. I got a call this morning from a potential client talking about a shapeshifting woman stealing things from their convenience store. I called up Hyunjin and of course it wasn’t her.”

 

“They saw this with their own eyes or through their security footage?” Jiwoo asked with full.

 

“You’re such a mess,” Jungeun scolded, picking up a napkin to wipe Jiwoo’s face.

 

Jiwoo grinned in return and placed more dumplings onto Jungeun’s side of the container.

 

Heejin finished chewing and swallowed her food like a civilized person before speaking. “Security footage. Apparently a woman walked in, but no one left the store after, but the owner did see some animal.”

 

“Sounds like a case for,” Jiwoo dragged out the last word while wiggling her eyebrows, waiting for Heejin to finish the sentence.

 

“I swear to Yvesus, do not say that HeeChuu with that ddu du ddu du thing,” Jungeun warned with her chopsticks pointed at her two friends.

 

“But it’s so catchy!” Heejin pouted. “And Sooyoung unnie is gonna yell at you for using her name like that, by the way.”

 

Jungeun scoffed. “Sooyoung unnie doesn’t yell at anyone. She’s too soft.” She grabbed Jiwoo’s cup again and took another sip. “And please don’t tell her I just called her soft. She’s going to blackmail me.”

 

“We know every embarrassing thing about you anyway.” Jiwoo patted her stomach and placed her chopsticks in the sink. “And I am stuffed. Should we get going now?”

 

Jungeun sighed, knowing her best friend was a bottomless pit, but purposely stopped eating so that she could have more. Things weren’t always so bad, but with Jiwoo and Heejin not having many cases in the past weeks, it was starting to get rough.

 

“To the Batmobile!” Jiwoo shouted, pointing at the front door with Heejin right behind her.

 

“You sure you don’t want me to drop you guys off?” Jungeun asked as followed them to the living room.

 

Heejin shook her head. “It’s okay, the place isn’t too far from here.”

 

“Okay. Have fun. Stay safe.” Jungeun waved them off. “If you need me, give me a call. I’m just gonna be running some errands.”

 

They nodded thankfully and left the apartment, making sure to lock up before heading down.

 

Jiwoo jumped down the last few steps of the stairs. “Oh, love the new look on your ride.”

 

“Thanks, Hyunjin helped me put on new designs,” Heejin grinned proudly, hopping onto her bicycle that was covered in Naruto stickers.

 

Heejin handed Jiwoo the extra helmet and waited for her friend to get on the back. Jiwoo placed her arms around the other girl’s waist as they rode off towards the store that was just a few blocks away.

 

They arrived at the small corner store shortly. The sign read “open”, but didn’t look like there was anyone inside.

 

Jiwoo got off the bike, took off the helmet, and opened the front door. “You still have your helmet on.” She pointed at Heejin’s head.

 

“Oh, right.” Heejin quickly took it off and hung it on one of the handlebars and then walked in, followed by Jiwoo.

 

“Welcome in,” they were greeted by a stocky man that appeared to be in his 40’s.

 

“Hello, are you Mr. Park? My name is Heejin. I believe I talked to you on the phone earlier about your situation,” Heejin introduced herself, walking up to the counter where the man was.

 

“Yes, that would be me.” The man lit a cigarette as he spoke.

 

“This is my partner, Jiwoo.” She pointed at the redhead. “Could we see the security footage?”

 

“You two look a bit young to be in this business,” Mr. Park commented, but led them to the back room anyways.

 

“Age is just a number, Sir. We’ve been doing this for a few years now and have top cases under our belts,” Jiwoo reassured, a bit annoyed that people always underestimated them.

 

They reached a tiny room that had a few monitors and a chair that looked older than they were.

 

Mr. Park placed in a tape and started to play it. He pointed at the entrance of the store in the video. “See? A woman walks in, disappears behind one of the blind spots for a while, so I go check it out, but no one was there. Some of my products were tampered with and I heard some animals.”

 

“So you didn’t actually see any animals and your products weren’t stolen?” Heejin questioned, writing down notes on a small notepad she took out from her pocket.

 

“They might as well have been stolen. I can’t sell those products anymore.” He took another drag of his cigarette as they tried not to breath in the toxic air.

 

Jiwoo stepped out of the cramped room to get away from the smoke. “Do you still have any of those products or did you throw them out?”

 

“I threw them out of course. I don’t want ants in my store with open packages.” The man blew smoke in their direction and Jiwoo wanted to drop kick him, but resisted.

 

Jiwoo then turned to Heejin. “Could I talk to you for a second?”

 

Heejin nodded as they walked to the aisle they saw the woman in the video was at.

 

“Is he not going to question why the woman in the video was, I don’t know, freakin’ transparent?” Jiwoo hissed out.

 

“I was just about to say. I don’t think it’s a shapeshifter. I think it’s a,” Heejin paused and raised her eyebrows.

 

“Ghost,” they said at the same time.

 

“I’m not good with ghosts. I’m not a ghostbuster, that’s more of a Chaewon thing. I’m better at physical things,” Jiwoo rambled, hating that her strength won’t be needed in this case.

 

“That’s fine. We got this. We just have to see what this spirit wants and ask Chae to cleanse the store or something.” Heejin patted Jiwoo on the shoulder and started to walk back out to the counter. “So,” she started, looking up at the man. “We think you might have a spirit in your store, not a shapeshifter.”

 

The man scoffed. “Ghost don’t exist.”

 

“Shapeshifters don’t either according to humans, yet that was your first guess and you called up a supernatural investigation team, so I think we know what we’re talking about,” Jiwoo’s voice was losing its patience.

 

“Okay, so what are you going to do about it?” Mr. Park put out his cigarette and drummed his fingers on the counter.

 

“Well, first, we have to figure out if the spirit is still in your store.” Heejin started to write down some items they were going to need. “Where do you keep the salt? Do you carry sage by any chance?”

 

The man nodded behind them. “Salt’s behind there, and why would I carry sage?”

 

Before Heejin could answer, the lights started to flicker as they all turned their attention to the sound coming from the corner of the store.

 

The of a gun made Jiwoo and Heejin turn back around.

 

Jiwoo’s eyes widen with her hands out. “Whoa, whoa, that’s not necessary. A gun isn’t going to do anything.”

 

“It’ll make me feel safe at least,” the man argued back, keeping the gun up.

 

“If I get shot on the job,” Jiwoo mumbled under her breath.

 

“You’re not going to get shot. Come on.” Heejin grabbed Jiwoo’s hand. “A salt circle keeps spirits in right?” She asked, walking quietly towards the aisle.

 

“Yeah, sure. Is that what Chae said or did you get that from the TV shows you watch?” Jiwoo questioned, but followed Heejin anyways. A shiver ran down Jiwoo’s spine. “Did you feel that?”

 

“Feel what?” Heejin found the salt and grabbed the item.

 

Jiwoo felt something behind them and pushed Heejin out of the way as someone grabbed her, throwing her into a shelf, causing it to fall on top of her.

 

“Unnie!” Heejin yelled from the floor as she scrambled to get up. She ducked back down when gunshots were heard. “Stop shooting!” She shouted, but the man kept firing.

 

Jiwoo used her super strength to lift the shelf off of her as Heejin dragged her out from under.

 

“I have spaghetti sauce all over me.” Jiwoo made a face in disgust, feeling the wet and cold tomato sauce on her. “This spirit is not happy,” she mumbled, still staying low in case the man decided to be too trigger happy.

 

“Stop shooting!” Heejin yelled again. “We’re going to stand up!” She raised her hands and slowly stood, helping Jiwoo up as well.

 

They walked back to the counter with Jiwoo looking like a mess.

 

“Okay, how long has this been going on and what did you do, because you have an angry spirit on your hands,” Heejin wanted answers, knowing the man was keeping something from them.

 

“I— I,” he stammered. “It’s been a few days? It was after I came back from a trip.”

 

“What did you do on the trip?” Jiwoo asked, wiping more spaghetti sauce off her shirt.

 

“I didn’t do anything,” Mr. Park tried to convince them.

 

“Look, if you’re not going to tell the truth, then we can’t help you.” Jiwoo stood there waiting for an answer. “I guess we’ll be on our way then.” She started to walk towards the exit.

 

“Wait!” The man called out. “I went cave diving, like where you go underwater. There was this jewel and I, I might have taken it,” he admitted, scratching the back of his neck.

 

Jiwoo and Heejin looked at each other.

 

“And where is this jewel now?” Heejin asked.

 

“I sold it. Pawned it off at some store.”

 

Heejin placed down her notepad and pushed it towards the man. “Draw it out and write down the features, and where you sold it off to.”

 

The man did what he was told.

 

“I expect half of our payment now and the other half after we find this jewel,” Jiwoo demanded. “Also, it’s going to be a bit pricier because now you’re going to need to hire a ghost hunter.”

 

“But you haven’t even done anything yet. Look at my store!” He pointed at the mess behind them.

 

Jiwoo wanted to yell, but refrained from it. “Do you want this spirit gone or not?”

 

Mr. Park grumbled, but opened up the cash register anyways, counted out a few bills and placed it on Heejin’s open palm.

 

Grabbing the notepad, they walked out of the store and sat down on the curb.

 

Jiwoo pulled out her phone and dialed a number, placing it up to her ear. “Jungeun? Are you home? Actually, yeah, but I need a change of clothes. Okay, I’ll text you the address. Thanks.” She hung it up and looked over at Heejin, who was also on the phone.

 

“Yes, hi, I’m looking for a green jewel that’s around 2 inches that was sold about three days ago by a stocky man in his late 40’s,” Heejin spoke into the phone. “No? Okay, thank you for your time.” Heejin hung up and dialed another number, repeating what she had just said to the previous person.

 

They both spent their time waiting calling around until a car pulled up in front of them. 

 

Jungeun stepped out of her car and rushed her way over. “Oh my god, Jiwoo, are you okay?” She kneeled down in front of the girl to see red all over her.

 

“I’m fine. It’s just spaghetti sauce,” Jiwoo explained as Jungeun pulled her up into a hug anyways. “Your getting your clothes dirty,” she muttered against her friend’s shoulder.

 

Jungeun frowned and smacked Jiwoo on the arm. “You freakin’ scared me.”

 

“Ow! I have super strength, not super healing.” Jiwoo rubbed her arm as Jungeun shook her head and opened up the trunk.

 

“I only have my extra workout clothes,” she said pulling out her duffle bag. “There’s a library down the street. Get cleaned up.” Jungeun handed Jiwoo the bag.

 

Jiwoo thanked her friend and walked towards the library.

 

“What happened? Are you okay?” Jungeun asked Heejin, who just got off another phone call.

 

“I’m fine. You should check up on Jiwoo unnie again later though. A shelf fell on her and she says she’s fine, but you know how she is.” Heejin then explained the rest of the situation.

 

“Do people not know you’re not supposed to take things from where they belong?” Jungeun frowned at the thought of her friends having to deal with an angry spirit.

 

Heejin shrugged and called up another pawn shop around the area, knowing items often went back and forth between stores.

 

Jungeun frowned again as Jiwoo walked back towards them while limping.

 

“Would you stop frowning?” Jiwoo stopped in front of her and pinched the skin between Jungeun’s eyebrows. “You’re going to get wrinkles.”

 

Jungeun slapped the hand away. “You said you were okay.”

 

“Can we talk about it when we’re home?” Jiwoo sighed tiredly.

 

“I might have a lead,” Heejin announced from the side. “There’s a shop not too far from here that says a green jewel came in the other day but was sold off. The description was of a woman though, but who knows how many times that jewel has changed hands by now.”

 

“Are you free to give us a ride right now, Jungeun?” Jiwoo asked the woman that had her arms crossed.

 

“Do you need to go home first?” 

 

“No, I’m fine, and I told you to stop frowning.” Jiwoo placed a hand onto Jungeun’s arm to reassure her before helping Heejin to get her bike on the back of the vehicle.

 

“I got it.” Jungeun took part of the bike to lift it up. “Get in the car.”

 

Jiwoo nodded and went to the passenger seat. The other two got in a minute after and they set off to their destination.

 

Jungeun glanced over at Jiwoo at a stop light. “What the hell is that?” She exclaimed, grabbing at Jiwoo’s arm gently.

 

Jiwoo exhaled, pulling down her sleeve. “So, the angry spirit might be a little angrier than we thought.”

 

“That bruise looks like someone grabbed you really roughly. We’re going home.” Jungeun signaled to the left to make a U-turn.

 

“No, this spirit or whatever might have marked me, and if we don’t figure this out,” her voice trailed.

 

Jungeun cut off her friend, “the more reason to go home and check over your injuries.”

 

“More bruises are appearing,” Jiwoo confessed. “I saw it happen in front of my eyes when I was looking in the mirror.”

 

“Jiwoo unnie’s right, Jungeun unnie. Whatever this is, we have to contain it fast or we don’t know what it’ll do,” Heejin said from the back. “I’m going to call up Chaewon.” 

 

“Stop glaring and keep your eyes on the road.” Jiwoo pointed ahead of them.

 

“I swear, the next time you say your fine.” Jungeun shook her head and gripped the steering wheel tighter. “If you’re not okay, then just say you’re not okay,” her voice softened.

 

“I know, I’m sorry alright? I just didn’t want you to worry,” Jiwoo muttered as Jungeun grabbed one of her hands to hold.

 

“Well, I always worry.” Jungeun intertwined their fingers.

 

“Do you guys like need a moment?” Heejin asked, looking between her two friends.

 

Jungeun looked in the rear view mirror. “Heejin, shut up. I worry about you too.”

 

“Not enough to buy me chocolate,” Heejin mumbled, but put up her hands in defense when she got a glare from Jungeun.

 

“Would you stop making those faces? It’s just gonna stay like that permanently.” Jiwoo calmingly ran her thumb over the back of Jungeun’s hand.

 

“This is my face.” Jungeun turned to Jiwoo with an angry expression causing the redhead to laugh.

 

Heejin checked her phone when a message popped up. “Chae says she’s with Hyunjin catching butterflies? Is that like code for something?” She looked up to get a shrug from both Jungeun and Jiwoo. “They said they’re at the park right before the pawn shop actually.”

 

Jungeun nodded, knowing which park it was since it was a place they often frequented.

 

They reached the place with Chaewon being easy to spot since she was the only blonde one there.

 

“They’re literally catching butterflies,” Jungeun deadpanned, but wasn’t really surprised to see her younger friends running around the park.

 

Heejin rolled down the window and yelled. “Chae!”

 

The blonde turned around and waved, bending down to pick up a cat and ran for the car.

 

Chaewon opened the back door as the cat went to the middle seat. Getting in the car and closing the door, she fixed her hair a little. “Hey guys,” she greeted them breathlessly.

 

The cat meowed before transforming into a girl, causing both Chaewon and Heejin to be pushed to the sides of the car.

 

“I have grass in my mouth.” The girl in the middle seat picked up a napkin that was in the cupholder in front.

 

“Gross, Hyunjin.” Heejin scooted over so that they were more comfortable in the back.

 

“Gross, Hyunjin,” the taller girl mocked as she spat into the napkin.

 

“Jiwoo has some bruises appearing on her caused by an angry spirit,” Jungeun explained right away, ignoring the usual bickering.

 

“Oh, that’s not good,” Chaewon commented.

 

Jungeun’s eyes widen. “Is it bad? You can’t just say something like that.” She tried to stay calm, but was internally freaking out.

 

“Don’t worry.” Chaewon reached into her backpack she had on her lap and handed an object over to Jiwoo. “Here, this will keep more spirits from being attached to you, but it won’t stop the current one.”

 

“Spirits? As in multiple?” Jiwoo raised her voice in concern.

 

“Well, Heejin said that there’s one roaming around a convenience store because the owner took something from it, but then you said the bruises are still appearing right?” Chaewon asked for clarification.

 

“Yeah, even after we left.” Jiwoo rolled up one of her sleeves to see the bruise getting darker.

 

“Then that man probably stirred something up where the spirits are going after anyone who tries to get involved or it just decided to latch onto you only,” Chaewon explained.

 

“Nothing happened to me,” Heejin said as she started to check over her body for signs of bruising. She started to feel guilty knowing that the spirit was supposed to latch onto her, but Jiwoo pushed her out of the way. 

 

Chaewon tilted her head. “Then you got lucky or there’s only one spirit. Now you said there was a jewel. That object either needs to be placed back where it belongs or it’s where the spirit came from or we have to destroy it.”

 

“Well, I don’t think I’m up for scuba diving into a cave to put it back. Maybe living with some bruises isn’t that bad,” Jiwoo sarcastically said.

 

“Yeah, I don’t think death by angry spirit is fun, so let’s hope it’s not that one.” Chaewon tried to think of other solutions.

 

“Death?” Jungeun yelled and slammed the brakes.

 

Chaewon realized her mistake. “No, no death. You’re going to be fine, Jiwoo unnie. Look, it takes a while for a spirit to become strong enough for that anyways.”

 

“But it’s a possibility?” Jungeun asked nervously as she slowly drove again.

 

“You know how good of a ghost hunter I am? I’m brilliant. The old lady that hums in Yerim’s basement? Totally not there anymore.” Chaewon smacked Hyunjin in the arm. “Right, Hyunjin?”

 

Hyunjin gave her an annoyed look. “Yeah.”

 

“That’s not very reassuring,” Jiwoo mumbled.

 

“Unnie, you’re fine. Trust me. I got this.” Chaewon gave her two thumbs up.

 

Jungeun parked the car. “Okay, we’re here.”

 

Jiwoo and Heejin got out of the car to do their thing to figure out where the jewel went.

 

Jungeun waited for them to enter the shop to turn around in her seat. “What do you need to get this thing away from Jiwoo?”

 

“I actually kept a stash of things at your place in case they’re ever needed it for these types of situations, which thank Yvesus I did, because now it’s gonna come in hand.” Chaewon smiled, proud of herself.

 

“Does Sooyoung unnie know you use her modeling name like that?” Jungeun questioned although she used it earlier too.

 

“Of course she does. What is she going to do about it though? I’ll just send Hyejoo after her.”

 

“You kids are frightening,” Jungeun muttered and sat back in her seat. She looked to the store to see Jiwoo and Heejin already walking out. “That was quick,” she said as they got back in the car.

 

“Good thing we got paid today because we had to bribe the guy to give us a name.” Heejin looked through her notepad. “Kim Sooyeon, came in the store the other day to buy the possible jewel we’re looking for.”

 

Jiwoo had her phone out, already doing research. “Says she owns an auction place for fine arts and jewelry. Yeah, jewelry that’s gonna drag my to the afterlife.”

 

“You joke like that again and I’m throwing you out of the car,” Jungeun warned.

 

“So what now?” Hyunjin asked from the back. “And why am I here again?”

 

“Let’s go back home and dress up a little because there’s an auction event that’s actually happening in,” Jiwoo checked her phone, “two hours. And you can, I don’t know, shapeshift to sneak in and open the backdoor for us or something.”

 

“Am I getting paid for this?”

 

“Yeah, you get paid every time you come over and eat all of our food,” Jungeun retorted back.

 

Hyunjin shrugged. “Okay, fair enough, but I do bring you guys food back,” she pouted. “And I was just kidding. Jiwoo unnie’s my favorite, of course I’d help her.”

 

“Aw, thanks, Hyun,” Jiwoo replied with a smile.

 

Jungeun glared through the rear view mirror to see Hyunjin smirking. “I’d be glad to tell Vivi unnie that.”

 

Hyunjin’s eyes widen. “Don’t you dare. I’m telling Jinsol unnie you threw out her Gundam box ‘cause you thought it was trash.”

 

“You did what?” Chaewon questioned the new information.

 

“I trusted you, Hyunjin!” Jungeun exhaled out of annoyance.

 

Hyunjin threw up her hands. “Ok, ok, that was low and I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to blurt that out. I’m trying my best at thinking before I speak, and I was just joking. I love all my Unnies.” She scooted forward and placed her arms around Jungeun and Jiwoo.

 

“I’m trying to drive here.” Jungeun pushed off the arm and turned into their apartment complex. “And what’s the plan anyways? You guys just gonna go in and ask the lady for the jewel nicely?”

 

They got out of the car and walked into the apartment as Chaewon went to the kitchen to get her things.

 

Heejin sat down on the old couch. “I don’t know. I actually have her phone number, so I’ll just give her a call real quick.” She dialed the number and waited. “Hello, is this Ms. Kim? Hi, how are you doing?” There was a pause before Heejin started to talk again. “I’m good as well. Thank you. I’m actually calling about an event you have set up for tonight. Oh, you won’t be attending?” Heejin motioned for Jiwoo to get closer and pulled out her notepad and pen. Jiwoo helped her open it up. “It sounds like you’re in a busy place. I didn’t know there was a dinner party before the auction. May I ask where that is, because I’m new in town and would love to get to know others who are into fine arts and jewelry. Yes, I have an invitation to the auction. I guess I just didn’t read the dinner party part.” Heejin gave Jiwoo a look she often gave her when she was bullting her way through something. “Ok, well, I hope you feel better. Have a wonderful evening.”

 

“So we got a name of a restaurant.” Jiwoo looked at the notepad and typed in the name in her phone to check the location.

 

“She says she’s leaving soon because she isn’t feeling well. Not sure if she still has the jewel or if it’s already at the auction place though.” Heejin searched a few things on her phone as well.

 

Jiwoo sat down besides Heejin, with Jungeun on her other side. “I’m looking through her social media. This woman loves letting others know where she’s at and what she’s doing.” She scrolled through for a few more seconds. “Weird, she posted on Twitter being really excited for the auction yesterday, but didn’t post anything about it today.”

 

“There’s common posts of a cafe where she goes to every morning,” Heejin added on as she went through a different app. “Says it’s the best one near her place.”

 

Jiwoo and Heejin gave each other a look and got up from their seats. While Jiwoo went to her room to get her equipment, Heejin stood there uncertain of what to do.

 

“I forgot this isn’t my place,” Heejin said, sitting down again.

 

Jiwoo came back out a minute later with a camera bag. “If we hurry, we might catch her at the restaurant before she goes back actually. The distance between that place and the cafe is only by a few blocks.”

 

Jungeun got off the couch, keys in hand. “You guys ready?”

 

“One second,” Chaewon called out from the kitchen.

 

Jungeun could hear things opening and closing. “Tell Hyunjin to stop looking through the cabinets. We literally have nothing to eat.” She then turned to Jiwoo. “Let me see your bruises.”

 

“What’s the point? We’re going to go right now.” Jiwoo swatted at the hand that was tugging on her shirt.

 

“I just— please.” Jungeun hated not knowing. She was a worry wart and overthinking always made her mind go crazy with all the worse case scenarios.

 

Jiwoo sighed and let her friend do whatever she wanted. “My back’s hurting,” she admitted. It was better to be up front with Jungeun than to try to hide things in the end.

 

Jungeun lifted up Jiwoo’s shirt slightly from the back and frowned at what she saw. She gave Heejin a look who was staring at her. “Would you guys hurry up?” She called out again to Chaewon and Hyunjin. Pulling down the shirt, she turned Jiwoo around. “There are bruises of all sorts of colors on your back. I told you I don’t want you and Heejin doing this anymore.”

 

“Can we not talk about this right now?” Jiwoo adjusted the camera bag strap back on her shoulder, but winced when it touched one of the bruises.

 

“You may have super strength, but you’re not indestructible, and, and, Heejin lost against Chaewon and Haseul unnie at arm wrestling, and you guys are out here fighting against angry spirits?” Jungeun tried to keep her voice down, but was finding it hard to control her emotions.

 

“Hey, strength doesn’t even matter when going up against spirits,” Heejin countered.

 

“That’s not the point!” Jungeun yelled.

 

“Would you guys chill?” Chaewon said, not knowing what was going on as she entered the living room with Hyunjin.

 

“Don’t in’ tell me to chill!” Jungeun shouted even louder. She ran her hand through her hair. “, I didn’t mean to yell at you.”

 

Chaewon read the situation. “It’s okay. Sorry. I know everyone’s stressed right now, but I swear Jiwoo unnie’s going to be fine.”

 

“You don’t know that,” Jungeun quietly voiced.

 

“We’ve dealt with worse, Jungeun. Let’s just go. We can talk about this later okay?” Jiwoo grabbed for Jungeun’s hand as they made their way back out of the apartment again.

 

The ride to the restaurant was quiet except for the low music that was playing through the stereo.

 

Jiwoo had thrown on a jacket to hide the bruises on her arms. It’d be a lie if she said she wasn’t worried, but it was always a risk working in this field, and she knew that from the start.

 

Jungeun stopped the car on the other side of the restaurant.

 

“Okay, stay quiet. Unnie, give the woman another call and listen to the background,” Heejin instructed, not wanting to use her number again.

 

Jiwoo pulled out her phone and dialed. The woman picked up after a few rings, but Jiwoo stayed silent. After a few moments, Ms. Kim hung up. “Sounds like she’s still in the restaurant.” The phone in her hand rang. “She’s calling again.” Jiwoo answered, placing the phone by her ear.

 

“Is that her?” Jungeun asked, looking out the car to see a well dressed woman that just exited the restaurant.

 

“That’s definitely her.” Chaewon took a closer look. “I don’t even need to know what she looks like to know. The aura around her, pretty sure a spirit has latched on.”

 

“She doesn’t look bruised.” Hyunjin observed.

 

“Different spirits, different properties,” Chaewon stated.

 

“She sounded spooked and looks paranoid,” Jiwoo said once she ended the call and looked at the woman who was currently looking around her surroundings. “Seems like she’s leaving.” She pulled out her camera to snap a few pictures of the woman and her vehicle.

 

Jungeun started up the car when the woman got into her own as they followed her. “Guess we didn’t really need the cafe location.”

 

“At least if we lose her, we know where she lives near by.” Jiwoo kept her eye on the car as the woman ahead of them drove slow, but a bit erratic.

 

“Must be that giant building.” Heejin looked up at how nice the complex looked. “Okay, she’s parking. Oh crap, she’s getting out fast. Hyunjin,” she called for the other girl.

 

“I’m on it.” Hyunjin climbed over Heejin as the car stopped, not even waiting for Heejin to get out of the car first.

 

“Really?” Heejin tried to flatten herself up against the seat for Hyunjin to get out.

 

Hyunjin rolled her eyes and shapeshifted into a cat to save space and ran out of the door as Heejin opened it. The cat quickly caught up to the woman and disappeared into the building as Ms. Kim went in too.

 

A moment later, the front door of the complex opened again with Hyunjin peeking her head out, motioning for the rest of her friends.

 

They clumsily unbuckled their seatbelts in a hurry and went to Hyunjin.

 

“Stay in the car with Jungeun, please.” Jiwoo nodded back to the vehicle.

 

“That’s no fun,” Hyunjin grumbled, but knew it wasn’t her place to get too involved in a case, especially when it was dangerous.

 

“Ow, pretty sure the lady has the jewel on her.” Chaewon grabbed her head. “It’s like a burning sensation being close to something that feels this dark.”

 

They were waiting for the elevator after they watched it stop at the 5th floor when Jiwoo grunted out in pain and doubled over.

 

“Unnie.” Heejin reached over to grab her friend as the elevator door popped open. “You should go back in the car.”

 

“No, I’m pretty sure the spirit is being called back by the jewel from what I can sense. It might hurt, but the closer we are, the better chance we have of getting it away from Jiwoo unnie and containing it back in the jewel.” Chaewon kept the door open, waiting for her friends to get in.

 

“I’m fine.” Jiwoo tried to stand up straight and got into the elevator.

 

Heejin pressed the button for the 5th floor. The lights flickered and their lift stopped on the correct floor, but didn’t open.

 

“Please don’t have the lights shut off.” Heejin clung onto both her friends arms. “I’m scared of the dark,” she whispered and then screamed as the lights turned off completely, leaving them in pitch black until the back up light .

 

Jiwoo pulled out of Heejin’s tight grip as the other two hugged each other. Reaching her hand out, Jiwoo placed her fingers in the crack and used her strength to pull the door open. Once she easily succeeded, she gestured for Heejin and Chaewon to get out.

 

“This is creepy,” Heejin whimpered, still clinging onto Chaewon.

 

The small blonde didn’t mind as she was scared too.

 

“It’s the lady,” Chaewon whispered, pointing at the woman with her back turned to them. The dimmed lights were the only things on in the dark hallway.

 

Jiwoo grunted out in pain again and fell to her knees. Heejin bent down with Chaewon following, trying to make sure Jiwoo was okay.

 

“Ms. Kim,” Heejin called out hesitantly. She then turned to Chaewon. “You got something for this right?”

 

“Of course.” Chaewon took off her backpack and dug around for an object. 

 

“Ms. Kim,” Heejin said a little louder this time.

 

They all let out a scream when the woman turned around. A green jewel on a chain was glowing around her neck.

 

“Holy crap, sometimes I hate that I could see spirits. This one is freaky looking,” Chaewon’s tiny font voice was more high pitched than usual as she stood up to stand in front of her friends. The spirit loomed over the woman, taking full control of her. Chaewon held a dagger in front of her, she  then took a step forward, but her free hand was grabbed back by Heejin.

 

“What are you doing?” Heejin hissed out.

 

“I’m not going to stab her if that’s what you’re thinking.” Chaewon kept her eye on the woman that was slowly walking towards them. “Do you think if I rear choked her, you can grab the jewel?”

 

“What?” Heejin exclaimed. “Are you crazy?”

 

“We don’t have time, Heejin. Just grab it when I go for her!” Chaewon ran for the lady before she could get closer.

 

The woman swung at her, but Chaewon ducked, running behind and jumped on her back.

 

“You’re so stupid,” Heejin mumbled and did what she was told anyways although she was about to piss her pants. With a yell, she ran forward and yanked the necklace off. “Well, that was easy.”

 

Chaewon let out her own yell as the woman did a shoulder throw, flipping the blonde over and landing on her back. She coughed with the wind being knocked out of her and rolled to the side when the woman tried to stomp on her. Sliding the knife to Heejin, she shouted, “Stab the jewel!” Chaewon was up to her knees when a hand at stopped her, lifting her up against the wall.

 

Heejin scrambled over to the weapon, swung the knife above her head, and brought it down as hard as she could on the jewel. 

 

Both Jiwoo and the woman let out a scream, but nothing else happened.

 

“It’s not working?!” Heejin panicked.

 

The woman turned her attention to Heejin and snarled, throwing Chaewon to the side. Before the possessed Ms. Kim could reach her friends, Chaewon jumped on the woman’s back again, bringing them both down to the ground.

 

“Toss me the knife!” Chaewon shouted, keeping her weight on the woman.

 

Heejin slid the knife back, but it was just out of reach. “Argh, just my luck,” she said under her breath and ran for the knife to hand to Chaewon.

 

The blonde took it and pierced her thumb until it drew blood. She said a few words under her breath, but was bucked off the woman. Heejin didn’t waste time and threw herself on top of her to keep her down again.

 

Chaewon again, chanted a few words before drawing a symbol on the woman’s forehead using her blood.

 

The woman screamed and thrashed again for a few seconds before going limp.

 

Heejin and Chaewon stared at each other when the lights in the hall came back on.

 

“Did it work?” Heejin asked, looking back at Jiwoo, who was still on her knees.

 

“What happened?” They heard a voice as they both screamed, falling on their butts.

 

“I, um, you fainted,” Heejin lied to the woman who was groaning on the ground. “You fainted and um, the lights went out, so, I think you might have hit your head.”

 

Chaewon rolled her eyes at the horrible lie.

 

“Anyways, I hope you feel better.” Heejin gave Chaewon a look and rushed over to Jiwoo. “Are you okay?”

 

Jiwoo grunted in response as she was helped up to her feet. “I think I’m more bruised now than at any of my taekwondo tournaments combined.”

 

“You’re joking, ok, you’re joking, this is good.” Heejin had an arm around Jiwoo, still a little panicking as adrenaline was still pumping through her body. “Let’s get out of here before she asks any more questions.”

 

Chaewon nodded in agreement and picked up the jewel to put in her backpack.

 

They got into the elevator and made their way out of the building. Getting into the car, Jungeun was the first to ask everyone if they were okay.

 

“The aura around Jiwoo unnie is gone, but the bruises will take time to heal, and we got the jewel,” Chaewon answered as Jungeun started to drive.

 

“Yeah, I’m peachy.” Jiwoo gave an okay sign with her hand. “Can we stop by Mr. Park’s convenience store? I would like the payment right now after all of that.”

 

“How’d you know the dagger thing would work?” Heejin questioned Chaewon.

 

“Well, destroying it didn’t work, so I figured containing the spirit was the best option since none of us were going to go cave diving, and the woman just happened to host the main spirit. Get the mother of spirits, capture the rest of the tiny ones along with it.”

 

“So we were lucky?” Jiwoo felt Jungeun reach for her hand to hold again.

 

“We were lucky and we have the best ghost hunter ever.” Chaewon proudly dusted off the nonexistent dust on her shoulder.

 

“And the best cat ever. Aeong.” Hyunjin placed her fists up next to her chin like a cat.

 

“And the coolest supernatural private investigators ever,” Heejin piped up, patting Jiwoo gently on the shoulder.

 

Jungeun rolled her eyes at her friends. “No one could replace the getaway driver, though I should have just let you guys pile up on Heejin’s bicycle.”

 

“Hey, my bike has helped with so many cases,” she defended her ride.

 

The trip to the convenience store was uneventful except for the man not wanting to pay extra, but with Jiwoo threatening him to unleash all the spirits onto him, he finally complied.

 

After dropping everyone off and Chaewon keeping the jewel for future research, they finally made it back to their apartment.

 

Jiwoo sat on their shared bed after showering and started to log their case into her laptop.

 

The bed dipped on the other side when Jungeun finished up in the restroom. “You think we’d ever get anything bigger than a twin sized bed?”

 

“Why? You don’t want to be my little spoon anymore?” Jiwoo teased, knowing Jungeun got easily flustered.

 

Jungeun’s ears turned red and chucked a pillow at the laughing redhead.

 

“Hey, what’s on your mind?” Jiwoo turned serious, seeing that Jungeun had on her usual worried frown. She placed down her laptop to give her full attention to the brunette.

 

“Maybe I should take less classes and take on fewer hours at work, and I don’t know, maybe help out with your guy’s business?” She fidgeted with her fingers.

 

Jiwoo sighed, scooting over so that their knees were touching and took both of Jungeun’s hands into her own. “You’re not taking less classes. It’s been your goal to finish college, so just keep at it. And if this is about today,” her voice trailed off.

 

Jungeun shook her head. “It’s not just today. It’s every time you two are out on a case and you have your phone off in the middle of the night, not answering my calls.”

 

“You know I can’t pick up when I’m on a stake out or something.”

 

“Yeah, and it scares me. I never know what’s going on or when you’ll be home. You know how scary it is to wake up in the morning and you’re not there?” Jungeun’s voice trembled as she tried to keep it even.

 

“Then what do you want me to do?” Jiwoo searched Jungeun’s eyes for answers that weren’t there. “It’s my job and I love what I do.”

 

“I don’t know.” Jungeun buried her face in her hands. “I don’t know,” she repeated.

 

Jiwoo tugged at Jungeun to get her to lay down. They faced each other, staying silent for a bit.

 

“What if I checked in every hour? No matter what I’m doing, I’ll send you a quick message to let you know I’m okay,” Jiwoo suggested, knowing it was better than nothing.

 

“I don’t know which would make me more anxious,” Jungeun mumbled as Jiwoo placed out her arm for Jungeun to come closer.

 

Jiwoo hugged Jungeun and kissed the top of her head. “I swear you’re going to be so wrinkly by the time you’re 30 with how much you frown.”

 

Jungeun made whining noises at the teasing. “You’re so annoying.”

 

Jiwoo laughed and planted a bunch of kisses on Jungeun’s face as the other girl tried to pull away. “I love you too.”