“There you are.”

Boa’s ears perked upon hearing the familiar gruff voice. She quickly wiped away the rogue tears that had escaped from her eyes while she conversed with the tombstone of her brother — Chinsun’s father. Inhaling deeply, Boa wore a haughty expression to greet Heechul.

“What do you want?” Boa lifted an eyebrow while speaking in a commanding tone. “Do you need another round of whipping?”

“Nah, once was enough.” Heechul raised his arms in defeat. “I’m getting old and my body still hasn’t recovered from yesterday’s beating. Still can’t believe my own sister-in-law just sat there watching.”

“You should have come back sooner.”

“Says the girl who ran away way before I did,” Heechul huffed though he immediately regretted his choice of words once he saw the guilt that invaded Boa’s sharp gaze.

Facing the tombstones in front of her again, Boa’s eyes travelled to her brother’s neighbours. Everyone’s tomb stone was there, even though it was actually empty inside.

“I wanted to at least give them a proper burial. Find their remains and bring them back home,” Boa whispered, a slight edge in her voice. “But I couldn’t even do that. It’s as if any traces of their existence has been erased.”

Her voice trembled and she dug her teeth into her lips to stop a sob from escaping because she refused to show her vulnerable and weak side. Heechul stepped towards the photographs of his two older brothers — Jongin and Jongdae’s fathers — and gingerly trailed the photograph frames with his finger. He then turned towards Boa and flickered her forehead, earning a grunt of protest from her.

“What nonsense are you blabbering about?” Heechul frowned. “We are living proof that they existed. Jongin, Jongdae and Chinsun are living proof that they existed. The very memories that we cherish are proof that they exited.”

“Doesn’t that highlight even more how useless my journey was then?” Boa sighed, lowering her head so that her hair could curtain her pained expression. “Ditching my duties at Naesae and travelling the world in search of their souls— No. I ran away. I just dropped everything and ran away. I dropped everything and ran away and came back empty handed.”

Heechul chewed on the inside of his cheeks while rubbing his chin thoughtfully. There was no correct way to respond to Boa’s question and above all, the fact that they were unable to contact the souls of Jongin, Chinsun and Jongdae’s parents was a mystery beyond his understanding. But that was what spirit world was all about in the end; mysteries beyond human understanding.

“It was your way of finding closure; it was your way of dealing with the grief of having lost your dear ones. Some things though will always remain unanswered,” Heechul responded carefully. “Just remember that learning to let go is the most important step of overcoming grief.”

“Kim Heechul, are you actually lecturing me on life right now?” Boa glanced at the male, amusement and conflict painting her eyes.

“I’m begging you as a good friend to start living your life,” Heechul exhaled, throwing his arm around Boa’s shoulders. “Otherwise you’ll risk becoming a lingering spirit and force our darling nieces and nephews to clean up the mess.”

“I bet you’d be the bigger mess to deal with,” Boa grumbled though did not do anything to remove his arm.

Swallowing the lump in , Boa nudged Heechul with her elbow and the male turned to look at her, question marks swimming in his eyes.

“What about you? Have you learnt to let go? Have you given up searching for the portal that leads you to the afterlife? Have you abandoned the plan to go in and drag their souls back out just to have a final goodbye?”

“Yes.” Heechul nodded firmly. “That’s a madman’s goal. I may be crazy and unpredictable but I’m no madman.”

“The kids won’t resent us for giving up?”

Heechul furrowed his eyebrows together for that question had never even crossed his mind. Retracting his arm from Boa’s shoulders he then proceeded to turn her to face him and cup her cheeks in his larger hands.

“They’re probably ecstatic to finally have adults to rely on, someone to depend on, someone to throw tantrums at. They are dying to shed their responsibilities once in a while,” Heechul stated with certainty before adding something almost as an afterthought. “And they need us to figure out how to deal with the whole Baekhyun and egg ghost thing.

“Doubt Jongin would ever throw a tantrum,” Boa chuckled. “Maybe Jongdae though. His playful side definitely takes after you.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” Heechul grinned, letting go of Boa and turning around to leave the cemetery. “Let’s go grab some bingsoo. My treat.”

“My my aren’t you generous today,” Boa mused, following after male with light skips.

“Gotta keep your sugar intake high. How else can us two old people help out against that stupid egg ghost otherwise?”

・・・

“Where’s Aunt Kwon and Uncle Kim?” Baekhyun asked, finally looking up from his computer after having spent a whole morning typing away as though possessed by the spirit of Shakespeare.

“Aunt Kwon went to visit the cemetery and Uncle Kim went looking for her,” Chinsun replied from behind the counter, listlessly sipping on a cup of tea.

“Is he going to come back alive?” Baekhyun mused. “Should we get the first aid kit ready for their return?”