"Have you heard of the Crooked Girl?"

"What a lame name!"

"Shh! Watch your mouth! Do you want to get strangled to death?"

"Jeez, just tell us already!"

"Alright, alright, so, people said that a high school girl committed suicide after her boyfriend cheated on her with her cousin. They said that she hung herself on Friday evening. By the time someone discovered her corpse on Monday, her neck was damaged to the point that it folded in half like a hinge. And did you know where she hung herself? Here, in this room, exactly at this corner!"

"Nonsense. Everyone knows that ghosts aren't real, right, Kyuhyun?"

Kyuhyun looked up from his phone to see his classmates. Then, he stared past the teenage boy who just said that ghosts weren't real to a "girl" standing behind the boy. The "girl" wore the same uniform they were wearing but it looked really old. The "girl" moved to stand beside his classmate and tilted her head to look at him. She kept tilting her head until her neck made an unnatural angle of upside-down v-shape. Her short black hair got pulled down by the gravity and her chin pointed upward at the ceiling. He couldn't see her face because it was replaced by a spiral bottomless void where dark-red sticky liquid dripped down. The "girl" closed in until his classmate's nose disappeared into the void that was once her face, but the teenage boy didn't seem to realize it, not even the slightest.

"Yes," he nodded stoically, "ghosts aren't real."

**********************************

Ever since he was young, he had a weird gift of being able to see things that normal people couldn't see— ghosts. The first time he saw it, he was only six and knew nothing about ghosts. He was sitting at a dining table with his father and older sister, waiting for his mother to make dinner. He was looking around and saw it— a  bald old man who was crawling on four on the ceiling. Slimy, oil-liked substance kept dripping from his wrinkled skin and dropped to the table. Being an innocent child, he frowned and told the old man to stop doing that while his family looked at him in puzzlement. The old man looked at him. The dark circles under his eyes made the white of his eyes stand out. Then, the old man smirked, the corners of his lips reaching his ears.

...Before jumping down to stand on four on the table right in front of him. The old man's hollow eyes bored into his shocked ones.

The six-year-old Kyuhyun screamed and fell off the chair.

...That was the first time he saw a ghost. Ever since then, he began to see ghosts everywhere. Some looked like ordinary people but paler, while some looked like creatures straight out of a nightmare. At first, his family believed that he faked it to get attention. However, when he accurately described his father's friend who passed away in a car accident even though he never met the man before, they had to believe him. From then on, his family had been trying to cure him but to no avail. There were times when he suffered physically and emotionally because of this cursed gift, especially when he was eight. At that time, he who had had enough of everything broke down, even considering killing himself to end his misery, but someone saved him, by giving him cookies, hugging him, and staying with him until he felt better. That small kindness plus his family's support helped him get over the hardship. Eventually, he got used to seeing ghosts as he grew up and learned to ignore them. They didn't harm him anyway so he shouldn't pay attention to them. (They did give him trauma but he eventually got over it). Although he didn't understand why it happened to him, he accepted his life as it was.

If there was one advantage about his unfortunate situation, it was that he got to meet the love of his life thanked for this cursed gift.

****************************************

Kyuhyun just turned sixteen that year and had just gotten accustomed to his ghost-seeing ability. Although he was no longer scared of ghosts, seeing them still made him feel sick to his stomach; especially if he saw a lot of them at the same time, just like what he saw right now.

"What the hell is that?"

He exclaimed while staring at the unbelievable scene before his eyes. A student was walking ahead of him and held a black umbrella in his hand, even though they were in a building. However, it wasn't the student's weird behavior that shocked him. It was the number of ghosts surrounding that person that made him taste bile in his mouth. At least twenty ghosts were clinging onto that student who spun the umbrella cluelessly. He saw a bashed-skull ghost leaning its disfigured head on the teen's thin arm. He saw a fat ghost whose rotten body was riddled by worms trailing after the teen. He saw a ghost with broken and twisted legs digging its fingernails into the boy's leg to be dragged along. He saw so many disgusting ghosts that he had to look away before puking.

His friend spoke up, "Oh? That guy is Kim Jongwoon. He's a little bit funny in the head but not a bad guy."

"Funny in the head...?"

Another friend chimed in, "I know him since middle school. The guy so earnestly believes in ghosts that he found a supernatural club, although he never got any members as far as I recall."

Kyuhyun snorted. Why would someone want to see ghosts? Did they not know that something is best left unknown? Seeing things that you shouldn't see brought nothing but suffering to you, just like what he had experienced all this time. He was slightly annoyed at this Jongwoon guy. Why did he get cursed with this stupid gift? Why not someone like Jongwoon who genuinely wanted that gift?

"Yo, Jongwoon, dude, what are you doing?"

That weird person, Kim Jongwoon, turned around and smiled at them. A severed hand that was hanging on the canopy fell off the umbrella before crawling back to grab the teen's ankle. Kyuhyun forgot how to breathe for a second, not because of the ghost but the teen's twinkle eyes and shining smile.

"Changmin! Ryeowook! And you are...?"

Ryeowook took the role, "this guy is Cho Kyuhyun. He studied in a different middle school so you probably didn't know him."

"Oh, I see, nice to meet you! I'm Kim Jongwoon from class 1-B. Say, Kyuhyun, are you interested in joining the supernatural club? We have amazing hand-brewed tea!"

Changmin changed the topic, "what's it with the umbrella?"

"This? I heard that using an umbrella in a building makes you see ghosts so I try it. Nothing happened so far though."

Ryeowook chuckled, "Jongwoon, you're still doing all this ghost hunting stuff?"

"Of course! I know that ghosts are real. I just need proof! So, Kyuhyun, are you interested or not?"

"I don't think so. This guy always says that he doesn't believe in gho—"

"Yes, I'll join your club."

Kyuhyun abruptly cut Changmin's words surprising both of his classmates. However, he only focused on the beautiful almond-shaped eyes that curved into a crescent moon as Jongwoon beamed at him.

"Really!!? Welcome on board then, Kyuhyun!"

He ignored his friends' funny expressions and shook hands with his future boyfriend. Jongwoon's small hand and cute smile were so adorable that they temporarily distracted him from a burnt figure of a small child sitting on the teen's shoulder.

************************************

"Don't you guys think that what Kyuhyun said is kinda ironic? He doesn't believe in ghosts even though he's a member of the supernatural club?"

"Well, I can say for sure that he's more interested in the member rather than the club."

"Dude, have you confessed to him yet? We're about to graduate in months, you know?"

"Shut up."

Kyuhyun glared at his classmates who smiled knowingly at him. So what if he had an ulterior motive? He did all club activities diligently so there shouldn't be any problem, no matter how weird they were. And what if he didn't feel like confessing yet? It wasn't the right time and he knew no one would steal his beloved crush from him (or rather, he made sure that no one could). He got up as soon as the bell indicating the beginning of lunch period rang. With a lunchbox in his hand, he ignored his teasing classmates who whistled after him and left the classroom. He had a date with his crush in the garden! He was practically half-striding, half-skipping to there. His steps were light, his heart beating fast. He couldn't wait to see his Jong—

Then, he came to a sudden halt in front of another ghost.

Kyuhyun gulped nervously while craning his neck to look at the thing. He wasn't familiar with this ghost at all. It was as tall as a five-stories building with a very large head, hands, and feet. Its... body? Was made of dark matter so black that even the light couldn't get out after it got absorbed. The thing was sitting in the way while pulling its knees up to its chest, its head hanging low. Normally, he had no problem pretending to see nothing and just avoiding ghosts. But this thing was way too big to avoid. He had to walk right past through it if he wanted to go to the garden where his crush was waiting for him, and heaven knew what would happen if he made direct contact with this thing. However, if he went back and walked around the building, he might make the love of his life wait even longer... After considering his options, he came to the conclusion that he would rather take a risk than making his crush wait.

"Um... excuse me? Could you please move a bit so I can walk?"

His heart stopped for a second when the thing slowly turned its big head to look at him. He just realized that the thing had eyes: two large ovals that were less dark than its body but much more ominous. He had to look away from them when he started to feel nauseous. Just now, he felt like his life got absorbed...

'Me... in the way?'

A vibrating noise that sounded like scratching a mirror with a nail came out of somewhere and nowhere at the same time. Kyuhyun was so scarred that his palms were sweaty but he still kept up a brave facade.

"Yes, I want to go to the garden but you happen to be in the way. Could you please move a bit?"

'Of course, me not mean to, me sorry.'

...He didn't expect the thing to be so polite and reasonable. Not only it didn't hurt him, but the thing also actually shifted its giant body and made way for him. He quickly seized his chance and ran to the other side of the thing. He was about to dash to the garden but something came up to him. He took out a bag of chocolate chip cookies he made during the home economics class and placed it on the floor beside the thing. It peered down at the bag curiously so he explained to it.

"That's a bag of chocolate chip cookies. It's a sweet, a type of human food. I don't know if you like it or not but—"

His explanation was halted by a horrendous sight before his eyes— the area below the thing's eyes suddenly grew larger and larger until it touched the ground. In the middle of it was a spiral of bone-chilling screams and cries echoing from deep within the thing. His legs were frozen still as he watched the thing picked up the small cookies bag with its giant fingers and threw it inside whatever that area was supposed to be. He wanted to run away but he couldn't do it. Fear paralyzed his body and he couldn't move a muscle.

"Kyuhyun-ah, what took you so long!!?"

Something tackled him from behind and hugged him, and that was when he could move again. He averted his eyes from the thing and turned around. He automatically smiled when he came to face a black-haired teen who was slightly shorter than him— his crush Kim Jongwoon, also the president of the supernatural club. He happily hugged the shorter back while inhaling a uniquely sweet scent that immediately calmed his heart.

"Sorry, did I make you wait too long?"

"Yes! You were ten minutes late. I started to get worried about you so I came to check— Oh my God! Kyuhyun-ah, you're as pale as a ghost! Are you feeling unwell? Let's sit down first!"

"No, I didn't have enough sleep, nothing more. Let's go to our lunch spot, Jongwoonie."

Kyuhyun tried to get his crush to follow him but failed. Jongwoon's feet were rooted to the ground as he looked around the place for a moment, before speaking up with a cute beam.

"No, let's have lunch here today, Kyuhyun-ah!"

Kyuhyun was slightly dead inside, "why...?"

"Dunno, but I feel really good being here! My head and my heart feel light. I feel very comfortable as if I'm basking in the morning sun in spring!"

Morning sun...? Kyuhyun glanced at the thing that was staring at them. If anything, the thing was more like the darkest winter night, especially with its abyss-liked eyes and mouth. He didn't want to be here even for a second but his adorable crush had already dragged him to sit down under a tree. So, he reluctantly followed suit. He didn't care about his own safety as much as he did Jongwoon's. That's because...

'Kind heart. Pure soul. Me approve.'

He knew it. This ghost also liked Jongwoon's presence like every other ghost he had met before. Probably because he was a thoroughly good person, ghosts seemed to get drawn to his beloved crush like cats to a warm place. Even right now, Kyuhyun saw at least ten ghosts looking at his dear friend from all directions, though none approached them which was really weird but he shrugged it off. There were always ghosts hanging around Jongwoon. He always thought it was hilarious in an ironic way that a person who really wanted to see ghosts actually attracted so many ghosts, he just didn't realize it. Although those ghosts never harmed Jongwoon, Kyuhyun didn't want to take any risks. In fact, the reason why he joined the supernatural club (after falling in love at first sight) was so that he could look after Jongwoon. Unfortunately, his beloved crush had never made the task easy for him...

"Kyuhyun-ah, are you free tonight?"

"Yeah, why?"

"You probably have heard of the demolition of the old elementary building, right?"

Kyuhyun immediately knew where the conversation was heading and he didn't like it.

"Let's do a ghost hunt before that place got taken down!"

He was supposed to say no but when his vision was blinded by a radiant smile, it was a "Yes" that slipped out of his lips...

If only he was less whipped for his Jongwoon...

Sighing, he admitted defeat and agreed to accompany his adorable crush to the ghost hunt mission; all the while pretending not to see dark, bloodstained and tangled, messy long hair that cascaded from the tree to Jongwoon's cheek and shoulder. He brushed it off of his dear crush with an excuse of bugs. He hated it when someone else touched his Jongwoon, even though that someone else was a ghost.

************************************

"The weather tonight is cloudy with no sign of the moon or stars. Isn't it perfect for our mission?"

"Actually, I think we should just stay home and play games together. Changing your mind?"

"Nope! We won't go home until we find ghosts."

"Jongwoonie..."

Kyuhyun truly wanted to tell his cute crush that he already saw a ton of ghosts without going into the old building. He saw ghosts of all ages and genders wandering around the main yard. Most of them looked like ordinary people while some of them just looked horrible— gruesome wounds, missing bodily parts, blood and lymph spilling out. He called those the natural ghosts. But the worst type was the unnatural one, those that looked nothing like humans (the thing he met during lunchtime today, for example). He never understood what those unnatural ghosts were thinking.

Shaking his head, Kyuhyun looked away from an unnatural ghost whose body was made of countless blood vessels curling into a ball as big as a basketball that was crawling on the grass. That was nighttime for you. Even more ghosts came out to the point that he had a headache. The extraordinary and supernatural sight was too much for his human brain to register. Usually, he poured all of his attention into a virtual world at night to distract himself but he knew he would be fine today because he had Jongwoon with him. He took the adorable small hand in his and intertwined them. The shorter teen raised a brow at him but let him be.

"What exactly are we doing tonight?"

"Investigate the four rumored ghost stories of the old building. Let's see if we can find them!"

Jongwoon explained while happily led him into the building. Kyuhyun slightly winced when he saw his dear friend accidentally stepping on a skull of a ghost lying at the entrance and breaking it with a loud crack. The ghost whimpered as if it was in pain before disappearing. This, this was another reason why he never liked ghost hunt missions. His beloved Jongwoon who unknowingly attracted ghosts also unknowingly hurt them sometimes. He knew that Jongwoon could never harm a soul but it still made him feel uncomfortable witnessing it. For that reason, he decided to not tell Jongwoon about his gift because he knew his sweetheart would be wrecked by guilt once he found out how many ghosts he had hurt accidentally.

"We're here at last! Kyuhyun-ah, are you ready?"

"I'm always ready with you by my side, Jongwoonie."

Jongwoon who was taken aback by his words was rendered speechless. Just when he thought that he shouldn't have said that, his crush smiled at him and tugged his hand, leading him into the main hallway without saying anything.

Did he imagine it or were Jongwoon's ears redder than usual?

***************************************

"Our first rumored ghost story is the crying in the music room. There was a boy who was a piano prodigy. He loved playing piano, he was very skilled at it, his parents also supported him. Everything seemed so perfect, right? Well, unfortunately, that happy days didn't last long. One day, the boy got in a car accident. His fingers were crushed beyond surgery. He couldn't play piano anymore. The boy was very depressed that he jumped out of the hospital's window. Ever since then, people always hear a sound of crying coming from the music room even though there is no one there..."

Jongwoon looked around the dusty music room.

"I hear nothing though. Guess that's just a rumor."

Kyuhyun was quiet. He stared in pity at a small boy who was crying in the middle of the room where a lone grand piano stood. His fingers were unnaturally twisted like a broken twig exactly like what the rumor said. Suddenly, the little boy turned to look at him. Kyuhyun felt lightheaded as he looked at the boy's face, half of it was smashed beyond recognition. He quickly looked away, not only because of that disfigured face but also those melancholy eyes. That was when he saw Jongwoon messing with the old piano.

"Jongwoonie, what are you doing?"

"Cough! Damn these dust... Oh, I'm thinking of trying to play it!"

After opening the lid, his weirdo crush sat down and rolled up his sleeves. Then, Jongwoon pressed a key using his elbow but accidentally pressed two keys instead. Surprisingly, the piano hadn't broken yet, although its sound was very unpleasant to the ears. Frowning, Jongwoon tried to do it again and was able to play a weird version of the happy birthday song after almost ten minutes.

"Jeez, it's harder than I thought."

"Seriously, Jongwoonie, what are you doing?"

"Playing the piano," his beloved crush answered without looking at him, "I want to know if I can play it without using my fingers. Apparently, I can but it gonna require a lot of practice."

His beautiful Jongwoon then smiled sadly while tracing his fingers on the rusty keys.

"...If only that boy knew that he hadn't lost all hope yet, maybe we might have another piano prodigy today..."

Kyuhyun was stunned but someone else was even more shocked than him— the boy ghost. The boy stopped crying and stared wide-eyed at Jongwoon. Then, he fearfully sat down beside the older teen. Hesitation was obvious in his eyes as he carefully pressed his elbow on a key.

Ding 

A smile slowly blossomed on the boy's saddened face and he pressed the keys again, confidently this time. Kyuhyun also smiled as he watched the boy happily playing a song he didn't know with his elbows. He knew that Jongwoon was amazing but he still got caught off guard. He felt like he just fell harder for this beautiful man, his look and soul.

"... That's why I must not lose hope! Let's go, Kyuhyun-ah, we still have three more rumors to investigate!"

Jongwoon who, as usual, couldn't sense a thing, stood up and came to his side. Then, his crush spread his arms out while beaming at him. Kyuhyun excitedly copied the pose thinking that his crush wanted to be hugged. However, Jongwoon suddenly grinned evilly before rubbing his dirty elbows on his black shirt. He was about to scold his naughty crush but the shorter man threw his arms around him first, hugging him tightly like a baby koala. So, Kyuhyun could only sigh and hug the teen back.

"That's not fair, Jongwoonie."

"Look who's talking."

"What...?"

Jongwoon pulled away with a small happy smile before he got to ask anything. His beloved crush turned around and left the room. Again, Kyuhyun saw those ears turned red but they disappeared in a blink of an eye.

**************************************

"The second story is the shadow in the science lab. There was a very kind science teacher loved by all children. She cared greatly about her students and would do anything for them. One day, an earthquake struck the school. One of the students was near an equipment cabinet that fell down because of the shake. The teacher pushed her student out of the way and got trapped under the cabinet. She survived but... the kid she saved... the ceiling fell down and crushed them... Ever since then, the teacher, wrecked by guilt, continued to bring flowers to this spot for her student. Even after she died from cancer, her ghost still lingered here..."

Jongwoon stepped closer to an old dusty cabinet.

"There's nothing here though. I don't even think this cabinet is the same one mentioned in the story."

It was. Kyuhyun knew it. Because he saw it— a shadow about the same size as an adult. It stood unmoving in front of the cabinet. Scattering on the floor around the shadow and the cabinet were countless withered flowers. The sheer number of it was astonishing, Their ankles literally sinking under the bed of flowers. Kyuhyun guessed that the teacher ghost continued to bring flowers here even after her death.

"Hmm, I wonder if there's anything inside."

Jongwoon raised his hand up. Suddenly, the shadow shifted slightly. Fearing for his crush's safety, Kyuhyun grasped the endearing small hand and dragged him away from the cabinet. He glanced at the shadow and sighed in relief seeing it stopped moving.

"Kyuhyun-ah, why did you stop me?"

"Oh, um, well," he quickly came up with an excuse, "I want to know what your purpose coming here is. I mean, you've always been interested in ghosts but never go as far as trespassing."

"Ah, that, it's because I made a promise with someone very dear to me and it's related to ghosts."

Kyuhyun jumped to the crucial part, "someone very dear to you? Who?"

"It's~ a~ secret~"

Jongwoon winked playfully at him before turning around to leave the room but he stopped it by seizing his wrist.

"Jongwoonie, who?"

"Sigh, curious much, huh? Fine, I'll tell you."

Kyuhyun obediently leaned closer when his future boyfriend beckoned. Jongwoon also leaned in until their faces were dangerously close. He clearly heard his own heartbeat echoing in his ears as he stared at the charming dark eyes. The shorter tilted his head, ready to tell him the secret. Then...

Chu.

Instead of telling him, his beloved crush kissed his cheek instead. Kyuhyun was shocked beyond words that he could only make a stupid face while staring at Jongwoon who giggled cutely, his ears slightly redder than usual again.

"I told you, it's a secret!"

With that said, Jongwoon ran out of the room. Kyuhyun didn't immediately follow after the love of his life because he was too busy grinning like an idiot. Jongwoonie kissed his cheek—!

'Don't let him out of your sight.'

His happiness bubble got popped by a monotonous voice. Turning around, he saw the shadow that still stood there. Although it didn't have eyes, he felt like it was staring at him... He nodded at the shadow before chasing after his love.

He really, really didn't like the sound of the shadow's ambiguous words.

*******************************************************

Author's note:

Oooohhh, a foreboding ending for the first part!  :D  This one is quite long so I divided it into 2 parts~  So, I tried horror and fluff fic as someone in the comment section suggested and I had fun writing it! (fun fact, horror is actually my fav genre after fluff!) I used to write short horror stories in college but they were all pure horror, gore, and suffering. So, including fluff in the story is something I never tried before and it's challenging (but fun!). I hope I did good enough to at least make you swoon at cute kyusung but also look behind you while reading it xD