This is what feeling belonged felt like, I thought to myself, shielding my face from the sunlight while I sat by the spirit house. I had finished burning a few pieces of food for the old couple that occupied it and I huffed, bundling my hair together and tying it up in a simple ponytail. I stood up, stretching and arching my back, not knowing where the rest of my… friends were. Baekhyun, Sehun, and Matthew were by the entrance of the school the last time I saw them before I excused myself when I heard Kai yell out for me.

“Noona! Bora Noona!” His loud voice was enough for everyone to turn and I squinted, Kai bounding towards me a little bit too energetically for a Tuesday morning. Exam season was over and everyone was enjoying the last few weeks of the school semester before the break ended. At the moment, people simply came to school to hang out with their friends and I could already see clubs begin to clean out their rooms and prep them for the new batch of kids who would come for the orientation.

I raised an eyebrow at Kim Kai, taking in his tan skin and his bright smile, forgetting how it was that day when he still wanted to lock us up in the tenth-floor girls’ bathroom. Kai grabbed my arm, looping his arm through mine naturally before turning to me, beaming in pride as if he did something amazing.

“I did it.”

“What?” I asked, blinking rapidly.

“I did it!” He said proudly. “I registered us as a club—”

“What?”

“To be fair, Noona. They said we need to have at least eight members, but we’ll have time to find members later.” Kai whipped out a paper that he had filled out, both of us heading towards the high school center. “We’ll know by today if the student council agrees.”

“What exactly did you say it was?” I asked, Kai’s eyes twinkling. Made no sense that he would put down the club as a “ghost ascending” club.

“The Bracelet Club. Charity for those who are ignored,” he said as if he had thought about it very carefully. “Oh, Suho hyung! He must have got the request, Noona.”

Kai’s voice had dropped into a whisper and I saw Suho heading towards us with a paper in hand. He lifted it to show that he got it, his eyes settling on me curiously. I have never hidden the fact that I could see ghosts and rumors traveled fast in EXO High—while some people saw me as the person who “reformed” AP Business, some thought I did voodoo and changed Oh Sehun and Kai into different people.

But rumors were just rumors and I earned more respect than hate, especially with Suho on my side.

“Kai, I saw the registration paper of your club.” Suho began, showing both of us the paper that had Kai’s scrawly handwriting on it and Kai tightened his arm around mine, narrowing his eyes at Suho. “Who exactly is Matthew?”

“You put Matthew—"

“Matthew is the foreign student that is always in the library.” Kai butted in. “You wouldn’t know him, he’s so quiet… sometimes, it’s like he doesn’t exist.”

Suho raised an eyebrow, still asking me with his eyes. His gaze spoke “If you’re kidnapped, blink once.” but all I did was shrug. Suho gave up, nodding and folding the paper.

“Fine. And The Bracelet Club—”

“A club for the ignored,” Kai said once again, this time robotically. “Charity and so on. What do you think, hyung? It’s good for my resume, right?”

“I mean, it is…” Suho scratched the back of his head. “Bora, do you know anything about this?”

“Bora Noona is the president.”

“What?” I frowned but when I saw Suho stare at me curiously, I blinked. “I mean, y-yeah. I am? I guess?”

“Well, Bora,” Suho emphasized my name. “Come to me if you ever need help, yeah?”

“Yeah,” I answered a little bit too quickly when Suho excused himself, Minseok waving at us from behind him. He was holding a small notebook that I saw him always carrying around and when we met him halfway, I saw that he had small charts and little words scribbled on the pages. “Hey, Minseok.”

“Hey, Bora. Hey, Kai.” Minseok greeted. “Kai, did you do it?”

“Yeah, I did. We’ll know by this afternoon, maybe before lunchtime.”

“You knew about this?” I asked Minseok, the male nodding. “How does everyone know except me?”

“Shush, Noona.” Kai tutted, turning back to Minseok. “What are you writing?”

Minseok showed us a page and I could see a row of different types of ghosts.

“Classifying ghosts.” Minseok turned the page. “I have a page for property ghosts, hungry ghosts, the difference between ghosts and ghouls. After what we experienced, might as well be well versed on the topic.”

I nodded, waving a hand in the air, deciding to focus on where my brother, Sehun and Matthew disappeared to. Minseok said that he had also been meditating a lot and found out that he could somehow feel the energy in him shifting. I zoned out, Kai and Minseok walking by me when I saw Sehun, Baekhyun, and Matthew by the entrance.

We approached them, Sehun with his eyes on a newly come limousine that parked in front of the entrance.

“Oh right. A new batch of kids is coming for an orientation.” Kai said, reaching Sehun to see him chewing on a straw. I saw Matthew talking to a few property ghosts, zooming up and down happily when he spotted me, Kai, and Minseok, the ghost hovering above Kai and giving out a small “Boo!”.

“Aish, Matthew hyung!” Kai complained, inserting a finger into his ear. “At this point, I’ll be able to hear all the other ghosts, too.”

We stood by the entrance, Baekhyun telling Sehun about our small town when the door of the limousine opened and we saw a small boy step down from the limousine. He had branded items, from his watch to his bag to his shiny shoes and I saw Sehun narrow his eyes at the kid.

“I see the Lee’s have decided to send their only kid to EXO High,” he said and I had no idea what he was talking about. I saw the younger kid look around and he had a glint in his eye. Kai and Minseok nodded. “The new batch of kids are all from the N-CITY district, too.”

“The youngest of the Kim family is joining this year, too. My father sued the Kim’s last year.” Minseok added and I saw a girl with pig tails jumping down from a car.

“What happened?”

“They sued us back,” he said it like it was normal, Minseok shrugging and I couldn’t help but chuckle. Maybe it was normal for people to be sued left and right when they were loaded. “Is that the only son of the Lee’s? Haechan Lee?”

“A weird name, don’t you think?” Sehun asked and Baekhyun asked him who was richer, making Sehun scoff. “Please. My family runs on blood money.”

“So, he is richer.” Baekhyun teased when I saw Haechan Lee yell out a very loud “Oi! MARK LEE!”.

I turned around to see Haechan Lee speed towards a very normal-looking kid with a Jansport bag and eyes that had a whole universe in them. In the corner of my eye, I saw Matthew tilt his head to the side and I watched as Matthew’s expression began to change.

“The thing is, his family wasn’t very rich until a decade or so back. They began acquiring startups and if it’s something the Lee’s know how to do; it’s knowing where to invest their money at. Some believe that they sold their soul to the devil.” Sehun droned on and I watched Haechan rush towards a familiar face.

Moon Tae-il was in our grade but I never really talked to him. He was always doing something on his own and I saw Haechan stop in front of him when he reached out and punched Tae-il in the gut before he ran away.

“WOOHOO! HIGH SCHOOL!”

“Their son, though,” Sehun mused. “Is the devil. Let’s head to class, shall we? I’ll see you guys at lunch?”

I chuckled, nodding and moving towards Minseok, both of us in the same class together. I waved at Sehun and Kai, seeing them grab Baekhyun around the neck and dragging him along with them, their laughter erupting out in spurts of happiness.

“Matthew, you coming?” I asked Matthew who seemed like he had something in mind. Minseok waited for me, Matthew finally shaking his head. “What’s wrong?”

There was something off about him, Matthew his lips when he finally broke into a smile and told me that there was nothing to worry about.

“I’ll find you guys on lunch, alright? I’ll just be exploring,” he said and I frowned.

Weird.

It wasn’t as if he hadn’t explored the whole school already. But I wasn’t one to press and I nodded, Minseok grabbing me by the elbow and telling me that the first bell would ring soon and we would have to go to homeroom.

“I think something is wrong with Matthew.” I managed to say, Minseok saying that he heard it faintly. “But maybe it’s just me overthinking. Maybe he just needs fresh air.”

“He is literally fresh air.” Minseo pointed out, patting me on the shoulder and telling me not to be worried. “He’ll come to you if he ever needs you.”

“That’s true.” I agreed, both of us walking to homeroom.

[Matthewwwwwwwwwww]

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

When I walked into the classroom, I could see Suho and Yixing yelling at each other. It was a different scene, both of them normally respected each other to the point they hardly raised their voices at one another but this was different—Suho and Yixing glaring at each other with their hands pointed at each other accusingly.

Everyone was on edge and it was easy enough to read the room, Minseok grabbing my elbow to pull me away slightly as Suho began to speak.

“That was our student council budget, Yixing!” Suho said and I could see Yixing’s hands balled in tight fists of anger.

“Why don’t you believe me when I said that I didn’t take it?” Yixing asked, Suho throwing his hands in the air with exasperation. “I told you that I put it on the teacher’s desk this morning and everyone saw me do it. I didn’t see it after that—”

“If you did, where the hell did it go?” Suho demanded and his eyebrows knitted together in frustration. In the midst of startled students, I saw a male stand by the side of the room and I realized that I have never seen him before. He was chuckling, not even trying to hide his laughter. The problem was that, as much as he stood out like a sore thumb, it seemed like no one even knew he was there.

Until one of our classmates walked past him and I saw her go through him.

“That money is all the money we have!” Suho said and Yixing shot back that he knew, that he didn’t touch it, and that he did his part and he wasn’t going to let Suho point fingers at him like that. “Zhang Yixing!”

And the spirit's smile became wider, the male letting out a huge whoop as it fed off the chaos when I spoke up, everyone taken by surprise at my words.

“Stop entertaining him,” I said, Minseok instinctively taking a step closer to me when he felt the air shift and I could feel his hands tighten around my elbow, the male shivering. Suho asked me what I was talking about and I laid my eyes on the spirit that froze, his eyes meeting mine. “Where did you put the money?”

His eyes almost popped out of his sockets and he slowly jerked his hand towards the end of the room. I breathed a sigh, moving towards where he pointed and looked behind the cabinet where they kept the spare textbooks. And right there was a thick envelope—money all intact.

I bent down to grab it, finally walking to Suho and giving him the money. Yixing rushed towards him, both of them beginning to count the money when the classroom broke into whispers and I fought a yawn. Suho didn’t even bother to ask me how I knew and I could almost read Yixing’s glimpse towards my direction.

So many questions, so little belief.

“Thanks, Bora,” Suho said, slowly lifting the envelope in the air and I gave him a nod. Minseok quickly told me that we had a History. Since our exams were done, Minseok and I literally hung out with each other most of the time, the male is in all my classes. Homeroom was done and both of us exited the classroom when I heard a voice from above, Minseok jumping at the sudden spiritual energy.

“You see me?” The male said and I saw him hanging from the top, the spirit jumping down in front of me. I continued to walk, passing through his form when I felt how powerful he was—it wasn’t like he was around for long; it was like spurts of energy and I stopped, the ghost leaning forward to study me.

“You do see me!” He exclaimed and I blinked. “I knew you could see me! Amazing!”

“Minseok, can you bring my bag over to the classroom, first? I’ll see you in a bit.” I said, Minseok hastily grabbing my bag and running off. When he disappeared, I saw that the spirit was walking beside me curiously. “What’s your deal?”

“What do mean ‘What’s my deal’? Don’t know how to have fun, don’t you?” He asked and I crossed my arms. At the corner of my eyes, I saw a few people stare at me, whispering a few sentences along the lines of ‘Who is she talking to?’. “People are staring, young lady.”

“Let them,” I said simply. “Look, I know you’re a poltergeist. You enjoy the chaos.”

“What’s so wrong in seeing people fight over something so trivial?” He asked. “The living and the dead really do have different priorities. I haven’t been dead for long and I learned it from the first day.”

His words made me frown and I took in his uniform. He had a name tag and when I looked closely, I could see the name ‘Ong Wooseung’ plastered across it. ‘Ong’ was such a rare name and the only time I heard of it was when Sehun spoke of his neighbor.

“Ong Wooseung,” I said his name and he twirled, a smile on his face but I could see a glint of sadness. “You live in that big house. The hit and run that Oh Sehun was talking about.”

“The one and only,” he told me as I began to stroll to class.

“Why are you so powerful if you just died? Not many ghosts can move stuff unless….” I paused, Ong Wooseung shrugging. “Ghosts are usually the most powerful when they first die because people pray for their souls. As time passes, their energy fades, and only if they stay long enough, do they gain it back.”

“I can assure you my parents have a bunch of people from church praying for me.” Ong Wooseung said and I took in his mischievous smile. “Aren’t you wondering why I’m here? You know, you really should take accountability for your actions—”

“Now, what does that mean?” I asked, frowning at the ghost, Ong Wooseung pouting at me.

“You made Kwon Mina disappear! She was my only friend!” He told me and I couldn’t help but chuckle. Ong Wooseung tried to punch my shoulder but it went through and I stuck my tongue out at him. “I’ve been rather bored these days and all I ever do is go home to see my sister and then come to school.”

“There are so many ghosts in EXO High, have you ever thought of making friends with the examination proctor?”

“You mean the old man who looks like he would make me sit through a fake exam if he ever saw me?” Ong Wooseung asked and I nodded, the ghost grumbling at my suggestion. “I’m only here for my sister.”

“You know, it’s bad to linger. The more you linger, the more you become a property ghost… especially if you have memories and all.” I said, Ong Wooseung going deep into thought. “And stop playing pranks on the students. Did you try to scare a few students last night? I was certain I heard someone say something about the library.”

“Library?” Ong Wooseung made a face. “I wouldn’t step place in the library, dead or alive, woman. No, no. The library was not me. Fountain though, I appeared in front of a bunch of students.”

“The same thing,” I said, finally stopping in front of my History classroom. I could see Minseok laugh with a few other people and I turned to Wooseung. “Do what you have to do and leave. Trust me when I say that it’s better you leave than stay.”

He was quiet for a moment, a flicker of sadness on his features when he broke into a smile.

“I’ll take your word for it!” He exclaimed and I couldn’t help but give him a small smile. “But can I scare few more people while I’m at it? I’m on the roll!”

I opened my mouth when I sighed. Who was I to tell him not to?

“Don’t traumatize anyone,” I said and he promised he wouldn’t, the ghost disappearing down the hall. I turned to see Minseok asking me if everything was alright and I nodded, entering the classroom.

“Everything okay?” Minseok asked and I nodded, patting him on the shoulder. “No class today, guess we’ll chill.”

“Guess we will,” I said, yawning. “Wake me up when the bell rings?”

“Sure,” Minseok said and I put my head down on the table, closing my eyes.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

All I remember very clearly was that I had my head down on the table when I heard a voice. It was more than a voice, more like a nudge, a yell demanding my attention and I jolted up. My eyes went to the person in front of me except that it wasn’t a person and I saw a spirit floating, his eyes strained on me.

But it was different.

His cheeks streaked with tears and just like that, I felt myself clawing for air. It was heavy—was it like this when people felt pain? I tried to control what I felt but all I could do was clutch the left side of my chest, doubling over when I heard him speak. 

“You have to help me.” Ong Wooseung said, his voice changing to a plea. “You have to help me, please!”

Please.

I’ve heard that word so many times before and I gripped the table when I felt a movement from my side, my gaze settling on Minseok who wondered if I was alright. I felt my chest restrict and pushed myself off the table, steadying myself as Wooseung floated above me, continuing to speak.

“Bora, please! She’s going to kill herself! My sister!” He said and I knew whatever he said was real. My hands shook and I heard Minseok ask me what was wrong. “Rooftop of this building. Please!”

Please.

“Who is going to kill herself?” Minseok suddenly asked from beside me and I saw that he too, was also sleeping and had woken up in a daze.

My bottom lip trembled when I heard it once again, my eyes going to a close when I found myself demanding how much time I had. Ong Wooseung, a ghost, told me that there wasn’t much time. That I had to go there and talk to her.

She was his sister, I had to stop her.

All that was enough for me to stand up, kicking the seat away. There was a clang and I rushed out of the room; my eyes focused on the area in front of me. All I had in my mind was that I had a person to save, my feet running past the occupied classrooms when Minseok grabbed my hand and turned me towards him.

Wooseung’s energy was so… strong. It had brought tears to my eyes and I could feel his panic.

“Call the others.” That was all I managed to say, prying myself away from Minseok’s grip and running up the stairs, two steps at a time.

“Noona!” Baekhyun’s voice yelled out and he must have seen me running, but I was already making my way towards the rooftop of the building, my hands pushing the door open just to see a female standing at the edge. I could see Ong Wooseung sobbing, his body rushing over as he tried to communicate with her but she couldn’t hear him.

“Stop!” I managed to say but she didn’t turn around, her arms splaying with the wind. Her long hair blew around her face and I stepped towards her, Ong Wooseung’s sister refusing to turn around. “Don’t—”

“It hurts.” She managed to say, her voice dropping to a whisper. I saw how close she was to the edge. How she looked like she would jump anytime soon and I was about to step forward when a hand grabbed mine and I turned to see that Sehun was there—Kai close behind. Baekhyun just reached and Minseok was on the phone. Far away, I saw Matthew hovering above my friends.

He too was on edge.

It was too risky.

I forgot her name but Sehun was the one who told me, the underclassman whispering her name into my ear.

“Ong Harin,” he said and I wanted to grab her away, wanting to tell her that suicide was never an option but we all knew that things like this were not for me to invalidate.

“Come down,” I said, my heart beating in my chest when I saw