Heechul tossed and tussled around his bed but could not fall asleep. Cracking his eyes open, he glanced at his window and groaned into his pillow when he realised the sun had not even risen. Laying still for a few minutes, Heechul eventually gave up on sleep and silently shuffled out of his bedroom, careful to not wake up his sister-in-law and Jongdae.

The desolate funeral home felt oppressively empty and lifeless, serving as a reminder to Heechul of everything that he had lost; the friends, the brothers, the companions. The funeral home that used to overflow with life and idle chatter was but a distant memory of the past. Clenching his fists, Heechul allowed his feet to guide him through the passage that led to Naesae and naturally walked towards the archive though was surprised to find a dim light flickering from the basement.

Padding down the stairs, Heechul poked his head in and raised his eyebrows when he saw Boa’s figure slouched on a chair, the warm light enveloping her in an embrace. Smiling to himself, Heechul knocked softly on the staircase railings, capturing Boa’s attention. The latter snapped her head up, blinking in surprise at Heechul’s presence.

“Looks like the youngsters kept themselves quite busy,” Heechul commented.

Boa followed Heechul’s gaze and absorbed the empty talisman papers and drying brushes that were spread across the table.

“Chinsun and Jongin paid the Cinnabar a visit,” Boa exhaled.

“They’ve done all the ground work,” Heechul mused. “As elders we can’t fall behind.”

“Right,” Boa hummed. “So don’t go slacking.”

Heechul’s nostrils flared, jokingly shaking his fists in the air and threatening to punch Boa. Boa raised her chin, glancing at Heechul in a challenging manner. Eventually both of them let out a snort and their shoulders shook from laughter.

“If Jongin’s father was here he’d be rolling his eyes at how immature we are,” Boa whispered with a poignant smile.

“Right, while Chinsun’s father would be trying to make us get some actual work done,” Heechul scoffed, though there was a clear forlorn glint in his eyes.

Silence fell and Heechul worried about how to handle an emotional Boa but fortunately she was the one who spoke up first, and her voice was much more collected than he had anticipated.

“Chinsun and Jongin are becoming more and more like their parents.”

“Yeah, a bit too much,” Heechul huffed, crossing his arms. “When Jongin stares at me in a scolding manner it’s as though my brother’s staring straight at me. Truly, like father like son.”

“Someone has to keep you in check.”

“I thought that was you.” Heechul raised his eyebrows.

The two exchanged a look before their faces broke out into a casual smile, enjoying that brief moment of nostalgia and reminiscing.

“How about some breakfast?” Heechul clapped his hands, bring them back to the present.

“At this time?” Boa frowned, staring at her phone which showed that it was barely 4 am.

“The all night diner will definitely be open,” Heechul quipped. “We used to go there all the time after drinking and partying remember?”

“You mean after you went out drinking and partying and I was called to drag you back home without letting your brothers know what you did,” Boa countered in a flat tone.

“Details details.”

Waving a dismissive hand, Heechul tugged on Boa’s hair and pulled her towards the stairs, making their way out and towards the diner that they used to frequent regularly during their younger days. The two of them had barely walked a few metres away from Naesae when they both sensed something different in the air.

Despite it being August, there was a heavy fog clinging low to the ground, wrapping around their feet and completely covering the pavement. Coincidentally, the street lights were flickering on and off, further strengthening the sense of eerie unease. Something seemed to be slithering in the fog, grazing Boa’s exposed ankles, causing her to yelp out in shock before she slapped a hand over .

Heechul’s eyes sharpened as he tried to follow the shadow hidden in the fog but struggled due to the lack of lighting. Boa flinched belatedly, realising only now that her ankle was bleeding — the part that was grazed by the shadow showed a shallow but visible cut.

“Fu—” Heechul hissed upon seeing Boa’s ankle and immediately took out the pouch of salt he kept in his pockets at all times. “The spirit’s hiding in the fog.”

“What day is it today?” Boa questioned wearily.

“Why does that matt—” Heechul countered before realisation hit him. “It’s the first day of Ghost Month.”

Groaning in annoyance, Boa roughly wiped the blood with her sleeves before clapping her hands together and chanting under her breath. In an instant, the fog around them seemed to freeze and the temperature dropped by a couple of degrees. Heechul felt the hair on his back stand up, and in one swift motion he threw a handful of salt to their left where he sensed the spirit approaching.

Instead of remaining at ground level and hidden by the fog, the spirit actually jumped out and aimed straight for Heechul’s face, taking him by