Father Kyungmin headed home the night Matthew had ascended, another case that was given to him by the Grims. It never got old, Kyungmin thought to himself, ghosts going back to where they belonged. Matthew was a peculiar one and he knew his son was just attached to the ghost as his medium friend was.

Kyungmin entered their one-bedroom apartment, the place first acquired from an old cousin. They had utilized it when they sent Kyungsoo to Seoul to study—he wanted his son to take a different career path than he did but Kyungsoo grew up with people of their town and was surrounded by religious beliefs of Christianity and cults.

To top that off, both his children were blessed with eyes and souls that were sensitive to the supernatural.

When he entered his apartment, he saw his wife in the kitchen. She was baking and Father Kyungmin’s eyes clouded with adoration. Oh, how he loved her. She frantically waved her hands to tell him that Kyungsoo had locked himself up in the room. He raised an eyebrow at his wife, the female leaning in and whispering that “Our son is going through a hard time! Do something!”

He knew his son wasn’t one to show that he was sad, a master of masking his true feeling with an empty look on his face.

“He read a letter and then he went into the room and locked it.”

“Honey, a friend just ascended. He probably misses him.”

“It’s also Kyungha’s birthday tomorrow,” she reminded and Kyungmin froze at his wife’s words. How could he forget? A pang of guilt settled in his heart and he nodded. “He’s your son, Kyungmin. He needs you.”

Sponges, Kyungmin thought to himself. She looked so scared, Do Miso not wanting Kyungsoo to fall into a rabbit hole as he did years ago. Matthew’s leave could trigger anything and as strong as Kyungsoo thought he was, everyone who knew him knew that he was self-destructive.

Kyungmin finally went up to the bedroom, lifting his hand and knocking on the door.

He was greeted with silence when the door suddenly opened and Kyungsoo stepped back, making his way for his father.

“Your mother baked cookies,” Kyungmin blurted out and Kyungsoo’s already wide eyes widened even more when he lifted his nose in the air. Kyungsoo sniffed around and when there was no indication of anything burning, he frowned.

“Why’d you lie?”

Kyungmin didn’t know why he lied—he just knew that it was better than to talk about feelings. That he had to pull his own son out of his head. He placed a hand on the door, opening it slightly and stepping into the room.

“How’re you feeling?”

“Alright.” Kyungsoo’s voice was monotonous and he sat down on the bed. “I was preparing to light up candles for Kyungha. It’s her birthday tomorrow.”

“Jan 1st,” his father murmured, his eyes going to the bible and the photo albums that Kyungsoo had laid out. He saw a photo of him and Matthew on the bedside, the Free Will ghost trying to kiss Kyungsoo while his son stared at the lens of the camera.

At least Kyungsoo had friends, Kyungmin couldn’t express his gratitude towards Bora enough. He remembered how distant Kyungsoo was until Bora came and he got a call from Kyungsoo that day.

“Pa!” Kyungsoo chattered and at first, he thought his son was in trouble. Did he meet a ghoul? “Pa! I found a medium—”

“What?” He had asked and Kyungsoo told him that he had his eyes on a girl. Not romantically, he quickly corrected himself. “She’s a medium?”

“Yes, but she doesn’t know it yet. That’s what you told me, Pa. A handler always has to have a medium. Always.”

Kyungmin found himself smiling that day, a genuine smile. He only told Kyungsoo that because he and Kyungha were a few years apart and Kyungmin always thought that if he put importance in the relationship of handlers and mediums, the two would be close.

That was all that mattered to him. Kyungmin had seen enough family problems of those in his town—siblings fighting over money, family backstabbing each other… Kyungsoo and Kyungha weren’t going to be that way.

And it worked.

Kyungsoo and Kyungha were inseparable.

“Your sister would be happy,” he told his son, Kyungsoo nodding. “She was a kind one.”

“She was. She believed Judas had to be prayed to,” Kyungsoo murmured at the thought, flicking a light in his hands. “I’m fine, Pa. Thank you for checking on me even if you gave me a heart attack and lied about Ma baking cookies. You don’t have to do that, you know?”

“I know,” Kyungmin replied.

That evening, Kyungsoo was sad and it was the first time Kyungmin saw him come out of his bedroom, telling his parents that he would go see Bora and Baekhyun.

“Really?” His parents were surprised. Kyungsoo was vulnerable and he would see his friends? Not lock himself up like he did every year? “At this time?”

“Kyungsoo, we have board games and we can watch all those movies you want to watch. How does ‘Sinister’ sound? Bora noona thinks that ‘Sinister’ will scare me too much. What do you think?” Baekhyun’s voice floated out from Kyungsoo’s phone, the male reaching for his cloak. “And tell your parents I say hi. Bora noona is depressed but we can all make ourselves feel better. It's times like this we need each other most.”

“Yeah. They said we should watch movies. I told them that it was Kyungha’s birthday tomorrow,” Kyungsoo told his parents before looking at his parents awkwardly. “Unless you want to join us, too?”

“N-No…” Do Miso shook her head. She was just surprised. She and her husband wouldn’t just crash their son’s hang out with his friends.

“You sure? Our old man is popping up popcorn,” Kyungsoo said, referring to the Byun’s parental figure. When answered with a shake of their heads, Kyungsoo shrugged. “Okay. Goodbye.”

And then he was gone, leaving Kyungmin and Do Miso alone in the kitchen.

How they wanted him to be healed.

That evening, Kyungmin and Do Miso sat in the kitchen with a glass of wine. They talked about the memories of Kyungha and Kyungsoo, both of them laughing and crying at the same time from the loss of their youngest child.

After her third wine glass, Do Miso had knocked out and Kyungmin sat alone, brooding.

When he decided to head to bed, the air turned cold and Kyungmin looked up to the entrance of his apartment. He knew what was about to happen, the sound of a man calling out his name.

“Come in.” and with a woosh, a body emerged from behind the door, a Grim Reaper solidifying right in front of him. The Grim gave him a curt nod, his hat off his head as he placed it on the table. “You’re the only Grim wit