"Is that a crossbow?" Ara stared at the unmistakable weapon in Jongho's hands, made of an ivory-coloured material that oddly resembled bone, leather straps and all. She was on the floor, the splinters and broken ceramics at her feet and her palms started to throb a numbing pain which she half-suspected was from cutting herself on a random shard. "I-is that thing dead?"

It was still the least of her concern, a mutant dog demon had tried to eat her alive - and had been shot down by her friend, whom she did not expect to appear. Jongho was breathing heavily, his armed hand lowered after confirming the creature was dead. "How about we get out of here before we find out?" he breathed before sparing a glance at Ghost Boy, who was just as shaken. "You have some explaining to do."

He offered a hand to Ara and pulled her up, but Ghost Boy stood still in place. "I-I need to check," he blurted, now that his senses had come back. 

"For what?" asked Jongho exasperratedly. "You almost got Ara killed."

Ara glared and crossed her arms, "It's not his fault..." she muttered, still glancing at the dead creature before approaching it, much to Jongho's bewilderment. Kicking away the junk, she studied the dead creature: it bore more rotting flesh than skin lined with hairs, mouth lined with teeth dripping disgusting saliva, its yellow eyes protruded from its head - where Jongho's massive arrow had struck. "What is that?" she asked, more to herself.

"A boggart," to her surprise, Jongho answered as he yanked out the arrow, gagging at the pus-coloured liquid covering it. It was an odd sight, him in his usual hoodie and jeans holding a weapon that could have blended in Lord Of The Rings. "It's here because someone sent it to steal something," he answered in a low voice.

"It did all this?" Ara beckoned around them.

Jongho shook his head, "More likely that it was left here by whoever destroyed the place, meaning they knew someone was coming back," his gaze followed Ghost Boy, who had ventured into what looked like the drying room. 

Ara stared, "You think he wanted to...?" she asked, dumbfounded. "No,obviously no." She rejected that idea immediately. 

"Then why did he bring you here, Ara? If it weren't for me, the thing would've gotten you hurt!"

"I'd like to ask you the same then, how did you know I was here?"

"Because-"

But she had began to walk towards the drying room, where Ghost Boy had made a sort of audible gasp, and Jongho decided to save his words for later; because what came next stunned all of them. Its state was the same as the rest of the house, but surrounded by all the chaos was the body of a lady; unmoving with her eyes closed, face smudged by the rubble but she looked unharmed despite that,, in her hand was an empty vial. "J-Jocelyn?" they heard Ghost Boy whisper, clutching her hand (Ara could see Jongho's confusion at the sudden scene, but that could be explained later). "Please, please, wake up." 

Ara held out a shaky hand, unsure of what she was supposed to do, but she knew death when she saw it. Jocelyn was not breathing, she could feel the life that had left her body. "She's not coming back, Ghost Boy," she said gently. 

He shook his head in denial, "No, no, she was fine yesterday..." his voice cracked. "Everything was fine yesterday. She can't be....no, she said we would figure this out together. She promised!" his eyes were watery, tears were b. 

"She's gone," she tried telling him again, this time her hand was on his shoulder. There was a painful ache inside of Ara, the want to console his grief, touch his cheek, do something. "I know this is hard, but she's gone." Ara gazed at the sad sight of the lifeless woman, wondering despite all that was happening, whether she had known what was coming. The half-opened locket rested on the hollow of , drawing Ara's attention -  as if something had escaped last minute. Unconsciously, her hands reached out to grab it. 

Jongho continued to pace around anxiously, "We have to move, the glamour covering the wreckage is fading soon."

"Glamour?" but Ara eyes helped her answer, she could hear crowds gathering outside the house, erupting in flabbergasted murmurs. Instinctively, she grabbed for Ghost Boy's wrist whether he liked it or not - they needed to leave. "He's right," she tried to sound comforting. "There's nothing we can do here, and what if the cops arrive? I don't think they'll believe us," she knew how these things work, the boggart could appear invisible to them, anything that wasn't meant for the normal human to see. 

"But her body,"

"-the cops will take care of that," she reached out and touched his cheek. "Please come with us?" she didn't want to sound desperate, but she did.

Ghost Boy was reluctant to leave, but ultimately gave in and let Ara pull him out the house through the back door.

Ara glanced behind one last time, in her other hand was the locket she had took.

All three of them were silent on the bus as they departed the ruined house. Huddled in the back of the vehicle away from general view, Ara took the seat next Jongho, the crossbow slung on his back. His his lips, once in a while glancing out the window, unsure of what else to say. Then Ara took a look at Ghost Boy, who was crouching on the ground in his own silent shock.

No, grief. 

She realised, with a creeping sympathy, that he hadn't had the time to grieve over the loss of Jocelyn, someone he had spoken of with so much affection and even...love when he had described the now-ruined flat as 'home'. To be able to feel his attachment to the place and Jocelyn through a few sentences, surely that had meant a lot to him. Unsure whether to ask, she resulted to piecing the puzzle on her own. 

The half-opened locket was still wrapped between her fingers, the delicate gold chain entwining and shining (and Ara wondered grimly if it was rude for her to do so, even if it was for...curiosity purposes). The way Jocelyn had died was just as puzzling; unharmed from the ruin, unbreathing with that vial in her hand - she knew places like the Grimm Market sold such things, potions that put you to a sleep of death, concoctions to even poison. But it was always meant to harm someone else, not for suicide.

That also meant Jocelyn was no ordinary woman, and she had some form of connection to magic. Surely Ghost Boy would have noticed that?

She broke the silence, "You said you wanted to explain," her fingers drew absent circles on Ghost Boy's hand as she said to him in a low voice. "What is it that we need to know? What are you?"

Despite being clearly shaken, Ghost Boy, after staring into the distance for a while, told them what they needed to know. It was a long story, elaborate and complicated but Ara caught the important details anyway; that he was no ordinary ghost and had aged like any normal living person for the past seven or eight years, stuck in a limbo between life and death and no one but Jocelyn had known about this. Unsure of what to do, the two had been dependent on each other, waiting every day for an answer or solution to it since he had no recollections of his past - until just a few days ago where Ghost Boy had that peculiar dream of a lapis room with no opening, something Jocelyn had dismissed as nothing crucial.

"She was definitely hiding things from you," it was Jongho who spoke first, Ara hadn't noticed he was even listening. Apparently he was, and his expression grave. "And she ended her own life before whoever invaded the house, could get whatever it was from her,"

Ghost Boy went white, "I'm the reason she's-" he couldn't bring himself to say the words.

"Whatever happened to her, was on her own accord," he added. "No wonder Rocco told me to follow you,"

Ara stared, "Rocco told you to what?"

"He told me to stay back after you left, remember?" he answered. "That ring you had the other day, it had been used for something dark - he could sense it, but didn't want to alarm you yet because he doesn't know you dug it from some sketchy crime scene," he scowled, remembering that detail. 

"Was that how he lent you his crossbow?" asked Ara.

"He was worried that you had meddled with fey magic, and anything involving fey aren't easy to kill - he was right," he continued, as a matter of fact. "Only someone with faerie blood could have summoned a boggart to do its bidding,these things aren't safe for you Ara,"

"So you're saying me being a ghost has something to do with faeries?" Ghost Boy echoed. 

"It's only a guess because Rocco knew that you were different," Jongho looked at Ghost Boy, expression unreadable. 

"But Rocco's only seen him once, at 'the Cauldron' the other day?" Ara frowned. 

"When he asked everyone else, no one else him except the faerie customers and me." he beckoned at Ghost Boy.

"That makes even less sense," Ara replied. "If only faeries can see Ghost Boy, why was I able to see him?" She could see Ghost Boy as clear as day, her fingers running on the soft surface of his wrist, invisible to most but substantial to her. 

"I don't know, and that's the problem."

"Where are we going now?" Ghost Boy demanded, as soon they got off the bus. Ara and Jongho had broke into a sprint, down the streets into a neighbourhood of flats and apartments. Ara raced up the stairs to the floor of her home, with the two boys in toll. "Why are we here?" she heard Jongho ask.

"I left the ring in the flat," Ara panted, before pushing open the front door. "If it's anything bad, I don't want my brother anywhere near it-"

"Near what?"

Hongjoong frowned when he saw his sister and her friend tumble into the studio apartment, catching what she said. The oddest of all, was the sight of Mingi next to the sofa, trying on one of the jackets Hongjoong had made. He was taken by surprise, blinking in confusion. "Where were you? I've been here hours ago."

Jongho sputtered, "Who is he?"

"I forgot about him..." Ara said under her breath. "Why are you back here again? I thought you were working!"

Hongjjong was baffled, "I usually have no problems with you inviting your friends over, Ara, regardless if they're famous or not," he added and Ara shot a confused glance at Mingi, who shrugged in response. "But you were saying - what didn't you want near me again?"