Saaya sighed dreamily, leaning further into the wall. Or well, she tried to.

But she was so lost in the mesmerising voice, she’d completely forgotten to keep herself solid, slipping into the ethereal, wisp-like state of her being.

There was a loud thud as she passed through the wall and bumped into the wooden table on the other side. The vase resting atop it shivered with the movement, and she watched, arms frozen in a half clutch, holding her breath as tilted precariously before settling back in position.

‘Phew!’ she sighed, rubbing her forehead. She straightened and her elbow knocked the vase right off the table. It shattered.

She eyed the door with apprehension. True to her fears, there were running footsteps and the door swung open. Saaya disappeared but not before meeting the eyes of the boy she’d been eavesdropping on. Said eyes widened, first in confusion, then in fear as the door shut.

‘Hyung!’ A terrified scream, followed by running footsteps.  

‘What happened? Are you alright?’

‘There’s something in there… a person, I think?’

There was a fond chuckle. ‘There’s no one in there, Baek.’

‘I swear I saw someone! Hyung~ please go in there, make sure it’s gone?’

Even in her terrified state – the consequences of being discovered were far worse for her kind – she couldn’t help but coo internally at how cute Baekhyun sounded.  

There was a skeptical snort but if Saaya had to guess, Baekhyun’s pout won.

The door opened again, slower this time and another boy stepped inside. His eyes, pointy and green like a cat’s, took in the empty room. They landed on the wooden table and the shattered vase at its base. He glanced up, seemingly tracing something.

His eyes flitted over Saaya’s shadowy form, once in passing and again, slower a second time. She pressed herself closer into the corner, trying to merge with the shadows.

‘Do you see it?’ Baekhyun whispered, sounding scared. ‘Is it gone?’

Cat-Eyes glanced at her once again before shaking his head. ‘There’s no one in here, Baek.’

Baekhyun looked disbelieving, so Cat-Eyes sighed, opening the door wide and gesturing with a flourish. ‘Look for yourself, there’s no one here.’

Baekhyun swallowed, but slowly stepped inside. Saaya felt a pang of adoration at the sight of his cute, socked feet and the way his hoodie gave him sweater paws. Really, he was too cute.

That wasn’t the reason she’d started coming here, though.

She’d been on her way back home when a voice had… struck her, for the lack of better word.

She’d later learned that he’d been practicing for his musical. It had been so compelling, she was unable to stop herself from floating inside, merging into the dark corners of his room, trying to locate the source of that amazing melody.

Seeing that commanding voice come out of that cute mochi of a boy had been a bit jarring for all of the two seconds it took him to breath. The next moment, she’d forgotten about everything else, just focusing on his voice and letting it carry her away.

She hadn’t even realized she’d started to materialize until her elbow knocked his toothbrush straight off the sink and into the dustbin.

Thankfully, he’d been facing way or he would’ve seen her. He’d frowned at his toothbrush, trying to recall if he’d thrown it away and she’d used that opportunity to get out.

She’d been unable to stay away though, wanting to know if his voice would still sound as commanding now that she’d heard it (it did). Or, if she could get used to it without letting it affect her so (she couldn’t).

Since then, it had become routine.

Every evening, after seeing her siblings safely home at the abandoned yard in the corner of this street, she would sneak out and hover around Baekhyun’s house, waiting until he came. She would slip inside with him and let him do whatever he wanted – she was just here to hear him sing.

She was challenging herself to stop materializing every time he opened his mouth to sing. So far, she had failed spectacularly.

And in the process, she’d ended up thoroughly creeping Baekhyun out.

It wasn’t her fault that she wasn’t a creature of light and or that she didn’t have a soul, at least not in the traditional sense of the word. It wasn’t her fault she was born in the shadow world with shadow creatures. You couldn’t choose your family.

So, she merged with the shadows; sue her. It was bad enough that her presence could cause the entire place to have a dark, brooding aura. No wonder Baekhyun was so jumpy lately.

Baekhyun was peering around suspiciously.

‘The vase…’ He pointed at the shattered shards on the ground.

‘It must have fallen earlier,’ Cat-Eyes said. ‘Maybe you didn’t notice.’

Baekhyun frowned, not convinced but gave no argument. He glanced around cautiously again before nodding dubiously. ‘I suppose.’

He sighed, rubbing his forehead. ‘I haven’t been able to sleep well lately…’

Cat-Eyes tutted. ‘You need to rest!’

Baekhyun looked at him, all puppy eyes and the cutest pout on his lips.

‘Minseokkie hyung~’ he began in a cutesy voice that would’ve been annoying on anyone else, ‘stay with me~ eung!’

Cat-Eyes, aka Minseokkie, rolled his eyes. ‘Fine, I’ll stay. Go and set the table, I’ll get rid of the shards.’

Baekhyun nodded, almost bouncing out of the door. Minseokkie sighed and headed to the side table, squatting to pick up the shards carefully.  

‘You know,’ he began conversationally, ‘it’s rude to sneak into other people’s homes without permission.’

Saaya almost materialized out of shock, barely catching herself in time. Minseokkie sighed, looking up directly at her, eyes laser sharp in their focus.

‘I can see you lady, no use trying to hide yourself.’

Saaya let out the breath she’d been holding, slowly emerging from the shadows, doing her equivalent of a sheepish foot shuffle.

‘Now then…’ He stood up, throwing the shards in the nearby dustbin and turning to pin her with is stare. ‘What are you doing here?’

Given his lack of surprise and screams at her presence, Saaya figured he knew what she was. She defended herself.  

‘I’m not here to hurt him or anyone else!’ He snorted and Saaya glared at him. ‘I mean it, I won’t hurt him!’

‘Then why are you here?’ he asked, casually leaning against the door.

Despite that, Saaya could sense the spiritual power radiating off him. A shadow like her stood no chance against him. Besides, her father had always told her that honestly was the best policy, even if it was super embarrassing.

She could feel her face darken as she flushed and mumbled her reply.

He smirked. ‘Didn’t catch that, sorry.’

She glared at him again, head raising defiantly. ‘I said I really, really like his voice.’

‘So what? You want to hear him sing? He’s an idol, there’s hundreds of other ways you can do that.’

‘Yes well…’

‘Hyung, what’s taking so long?’ Baekhyun called, sounding close to the door. Saaya instinctively merged with the shadows. Minseokkie raised an eyebrow.

‘Wouldn’t you like to meet him?’

Saaya shook her head slowly. ‘What if I scare him?’

‘It’s Baekhyun, he’s going to be terrified anyway. But you can tell him how much you love his voice. Who knows, maybe you’ll become friends?’

Saaya’s eyes widened hopefully. ‘You think so?’

He shrugged. ‘You won’t know unless you try.’

The door opened and Baekhyun peeked inside. Minseokkie nodded encouragingly at Saaya and she slowly materialized herself in the corner, landing on the ground.

Baekhyun gave Minseokkie a confused smile as he nodded in Saaya’s direction. ‘You have found yourself a very special fan, Baek.’

‘Huh?’

‘Meet…’ Minseokkie gestured at her encouragingly.

‘Saaya,’ Saaya provided, trying to keep her voice human-friendly. ‘It means shadow.’

Baekhyun yelped, turning around to face her with a jerk. Saaya watched with disappointed resignation as Baekhyun shrieked at the sight of her and immediately bolted out of the room.

Saaya slumped. ‘He hates me,’ she lamented.

Minseokkie sighed. ‘More like he’s scared of you. Don’t take it personally; he’s not very educated about the Other side.’

‘Never mind,’ Saaya sighed, standing up. ‘I don’t know what I was expecting. There’s a reason we stay in the shadows.’

Minseokkie eyed her with sympathy. ‘I’m Minseok,’ he said suddenly.

‘Hm? Oh, I thought it was Minseokkie?’

It was weird, making polite conversation with a human without said human either screaming or cursing her.

‘That’s just Baekhyun’s nickname for me… and it’s longer than my actual name.’ Minseok shook his head.

Saaya smiled. ‘It’s cute.’ The smile fell off, replaced with a sad sigh. ‘Baekhyun’s cute.’

Minseok grinned. ‘Sounds to me like you’re quite taken with him.’

‘I’m not going to cast any shadows on him,’ Saaya snapped, irritated. ‘I told you, I just like his voice.’

‘Your kind isn’t exactly known for its kindness towards humans, Saaya. You can’t blame me for being cautious.’

‘You have my word,’ she said.

‘Swear it,’ Minseok countered. Saaya narrowed her eyes at him. He seemed to know a lot about her people.

‘Who are you?’ she asked, stepping out of the shadows completely for the first time. They clung to her form, eager to keep her with them but she shrugged them off, walking closer to the human. ‘How do you know so much about us?’

He shrugged, but his eyes were blazing, warning her to stay where she was. The spiritual power she’d noticed earlier came back full force, pressing against her and forcing her to stay back.

‘I’m just your regular boy next door,’ he said, soft smile contrasting with the hardness in his eyes. ‘And I’m very protective of my friends.’

Saaya held his gaze for a few more moments before looking away. ‘I swear on my given name and yours, I mean Baekhyun or any other human being no harm.’

‘I believe you,’ he said after a longish pause. ‘But you can’t expect your presence to have no effect. This place feels haunted because you’ve been coming here regularly.’

She sighed. ‘I just want to hear him sing,’ she mumbled.

‘Unless you can figure out a better way, one that doesn’t involve scaring him by haunting his house, I suggest you keep away.’

Saaya met his eyes, the strong gaze unwavering. She felt a chill down her spine. He could kill her if he wanted to. She nodded her agreement.

‘I’ll stay outside.’

He saw through her obvious ploy but nodded. ‘Fix a spot,’ he said, turning to leave. ‘You’d better be gone when I come back.’

She sighed but stepped back, letting the shadows take her.

Great, not only had she lost the chance to listen to Baekhyun sing, she’d also lost visiting rights.

It to be a djinn.

…………………………………

‘Is it gone?’ Baekhyun asked, peering into the room with wide eyes. Minseok sighed, a little irritated at his friend.

‘She won’t disturb you again,’ he said, moving past him and heading to the living room. ‘Just call someone over to cleanse the place, it’ll get rid of the gloom.’

‘You’re a life saver!’ Baekhyun said, hugging his friend.

‘Your life was not in danger to begin with,’ Minseok replied, pushing him off. ‘She just liked your voice.’

‘My voice?’ Baekhyun squeaked, holding his throat.

‘That’s why I said you had a fan… you’re such an idiot.’ Minseok pinched Baekhyun’s arm. He yelped, moving away. ‘Hurting the poor thing’s feelings like that.’

‘Wah hyung, you’re hurting my feelings!’

‘Go away!’

Baekhyun watched Minseok busy himself with the TV and took a deep breath. He glanced around, noticing how the shadows had lightened around the corners of the room already, the atmosphere beginning to feel lighter.

‘A fan, huh?’ he muttered. Hmm… maybe he could open his window when he practiced. After all, a singer never turned away his fans.

Decided, he went over to bug Minseok.

…………………………………