Mingi still couldn't believe his friend was alive.

He didn't object when Yunho had dragged him by the collar and into the car which, Elise had so conveniently provided and together, the three of them made their way into the lively city near midnight. Yunho looked ecstatic, like a child whisked away into a land of faeries (which was ironic because they all literally visited Faerie not too long ago), and most of all he couldn't stop smiling. 

Maybe that was why Mingi had said nothing to risk changing Yunho's optimism, he was salvaging this moment so desperately like any small mistake would ruin the moment. His friend he had missed so much, wanted nothing more but to save, was reunited with him and everything seemed perfect in the world. He watched as Yunho went into every store that caught his eye, tried the street food from the vendors, grinning in a way he almost felt emotional. 

But of course, nothing was as perfect as it seemed. 

"I'll go pay for tickets!" Yunho announced when they were at the arcade now. Merrily, he headed over to the counter while he left Mingi and Elise looking at him. He looked so out of place, a six feet tall silhouette in a suit, inside a place to play video games. Faintly at a distance, the music from one of the nintendo games made Mingi drum his fingers on the machine he had been leaning on, reminescing the times before now, back then they were kids visiting arcades identical to this, wasting every token on the scamming claw machine-

"After careful observation, I'm guessing you should be happy that your friend is alive and well," Elise interrupted his train of thought, she spoke while her eyes were still squinting at Yunho. "But clearly you're not, or something else about this is bothering you."

Mingi sighed half-heartedly, "Well aren't you Sherlock Holmes?" 

"So I'm right? You and your mother clearly looked shaken at the sight of Chairman Jeong's only son coming back from the dead, and it seems that you're not on good terms with Sofia Jeong. I do love solving a good mystery," she said cryptically.

This time Mingi did turn to her, she had the coat Yunho offered her earlier draped across her shoulders and she looked the most out of place among the three of them in her pink evening dress and Louboutin heels and sparkly jewelry. "And your point is?" Mingi asked dubiously.

She proceeded to yawn, "I know you're hiding more things than you just told me, and I have a feeling whatever reason you were there at the revel that night, not to mention you disappeared into the faerie woods unsupervised - it all has something to do with him," she gestured towards Yunho. "After what I told you about me," Mingi looked at the sapphire necklace she wore, that explained her unique connections. 

"Just know that my offer to assist you in this thing, whatever it is, is still open and I believe you have my number when you've made up your mind," and with that she handed him Yunho's coat back and walked away from where they stood. 

"But why?" Mingi blurted out. "Why do you even want to help?"

Elise turned around briefly and thought for a moment, "I liked dancing with you." And without another word, she exited the arcade.

Mingi wasn't sure why but his throat felt surprisingly dry and his mind somewhat went blank for a moment. 

"She's leaving so soon?" Mingi hadn't noticed Yunho was back from the counter. 

"Y-yeah, she's tired..." he answered his friend, still not used to Yunho's presence. Neither did Yunho seem to notice his friend's unease. 

"Bummer, she seemed cool and I liked her," he replied nonchalantly before inserting his first ticket into the closest game machine. His quick hands pressed on the buttons and whirled the joystick to control the pixelated rocket on the screen. "She seems to really like you too."

"What? Pfft, whatever!" Mingi sputtered in defense as he crossed his arms, but the teasing grin on Yunho's face told him he must've looked more flustered than he intended. After a lingering moment, he decided to get the questions over with. 

"So...Yunho, where have you been all these years?" he asked. 

"You know, here and there...places," Yunho answered. 

That's not an answer.

"Okay, what have you been doing then? Not even a call or text?"

"Nothing much actually, I mean I can't actually do anything while everyone thought I was you know, dead," and he laughed.

You're not answering me.

"Are you sure that's all? Come on Yunho, you know you can tell me anything. About Sofia, about...anything you've been through all these years," he hoped he had made himself clear.

For a moment Yunho frowned and Mingi thought his friend really did get it. But, "What's there to tell, Mingi? Look I'm sorry if I made you worry all these years but it was for our safety-"

Mingi stood between the game and Yunho, his expression bleak. "That's not what I want to hear, Yunho. That's not the truth! Is Sofia controlling you to not tell me anything? You know you can trust me with this. Oh god what did she do to you now?"

Yunho's face was blank, "I don't understand,"

"That you were a living ghost for the past decade or so because of some curse that put you under? Ara, Jongho and I going all the way to Faerie to find a way to free you? And now you come back without an explanation, of course I'm frustrated!"

He might have sounded crazy, but he knew he wasn't. Instead Yunho still looked confused. "Mingi, are you okay? Look I know and heard about what you've been through all these years because of what happened to me,"

Mingi shook his head, "No that's not-"

Yunho held up his hand, "You thought you were the cause of me dying, so you were overcome with grief and guilt and spent so many years abroad to heal yourself. Now I feel bad too because you felt that way, and now that I'm back I'm here to make things right between us,"

Mingi was stunned, "Did Serafia lie about that too?" She told you I'm crazy. "Yunho, don't you remember anything? Not even Ara?"

Yunho's brows furrowed deeper , "Who's Ara?"

He couldn't believe his ears, his hands went cold. Ara couldn't have made this all up, their near-death trip to Faerie couldn't have been an imagination and yet every answer that Yunho gave Mingi now was like a slap to his face, a punch to his gut. Did he wake up not remembering a single thing he had experienced while being a ghost and was fed pure lies by Serafia? Or was there something much darker beneath it all?

Ara, where the hell are you?

"Okay okay okay," Mingi said, much more like reassurance to himself. "Yunho listen to me, I don't know what's going on with you right now but I'll do whatever I can to make you remember. You have to remember. Meet me again tomorrow, and we'll figure this out together." 

"Figure out what exactly?" 

Mingi was holding back his urge to shake Yunho, it's not his fault. "Trust me, everything will make sense after this."

In his mind he was already thinking of the plan to go around this, and whether he liked it or not - he might be needing Elise's help in this after all. 

Another problem was how was he going to explain every single detail to Yunho, and make it make sense without sounding insane.

The next day when Mingi waited for Yunho outside his house, he saw Sofia Jeong give Yunho a hug and a kiss on the cheek. 

It made him want to vomit. 

He remembered what his mom had said earlier that morning when he was rushing out without eating breakfast. "Mingi wait," she had stopped him, her expression concerning. "Are you going to find him? Yunho, I mean."

Mingi bit the inside of his cheek, "Is there a problem with that? You don't think I'm making stuff up now?"

She stood up,"Honey, I'm so sorry I didn't believe you and I know I was wrong. It isn't easy trying to wrap my head around the fact that a little boy I've always thought had passed, is now not dead," she explained. "But how did you know? How were you so sure about it when you couldn't explain yourself?"

Mingi had been unsure of what to say. Because Sofia isn't even her real name and she's a hybrid witch faerie? Mom, Yunho had been put under a sleeping curse for a majority of his life? Your own clients have secret relations to magical beings? Yunho was a ghost and I went to Faerieland to try and save him?

None of those statements sounded like viable options.

"I...saw him getting saved," he lied carefully. "That night when we were drowning, I...saw him getting pulled out the water and the next thing I knew he was gone, and the ambulance had arrived along with the reporters outside."

Now it was his mother who looked furious, and somewhat shocked. "I never knew about this. How..."

"If I told you, you wouldn't have believed me," he said harshly. "Like you said, there had been funeral, the news was out - Yunho drowned. What could I have said to make you change your mind?" he continued quietly.

"Oh Mingi..." and surprisingly his mother advanced towards him and pulled him into an embrace, which he wasn't used to at all. She smelled of warm cocoa butter and champagne, the signature fragrance of her brand. "I should've believed you, I am so so sorry."

"Mom, you can make it up by saving Yunho now," he replied sternly. "Something's wrong with him, he won't tell me anything or why he disappeared for so many years. Not even a word about Sofia, and I don't trust that woman even if she's besties with you mom-"

"I don't believe her word either," she answered and Mingi was caught off guard. "Kanghoon's situation had always been...odd to me but I chose to respect him as a friend, and his marriage regardless. But with him gone now, Yunho...he isn't safe around Sofia."

And Mingi frowned, "Mom, what do you know about this that I don't?"

And it was a ghost of a smile if barely, and it wasn't reassuring either. Yejin regarded Mingi carefully, "You're only a child, Mingi. There's more that you shouldn't know rather than you do."