The limited days spent with Sehun and Jongin following the broomstick fiasco felt like a fever dream. Before Baekhyun had even woken up from it, Jongin had returned to Jeju whilst Sehun flew to Japan for a photoshoot. Baekhyun was not given time to reminisce and savour their time spent together before he had to deal with life as the average Joe.

Due to his new book, Baekhyun’s stay in Seoul was extended further and further. Of course his parents were more than happy to have him around. His mother was also not subtle with her casual comments about him settling back in Seoul for good, back where home was. At the same time, Baekhyun was painfully aware that he had been avoiding confronting the topic too, for he was not yet ready to make a choice.

“I’m busy enough with the book signing shenanigans,” Baekhyun sighed, clenching his fists to stop himself from ruffling his meticulously styled hair.

The novel Baekhyun had written while in Jeju had become a hit immediately after its launch. In fact, it attracted so much attention and popularity that it sold 100,000 copies after only one month of release. To celebrate, his publishing company had organised a book signing event as show of gratitude to the readers.

Before the book signing though, Baekhyun had to survive through an interview first, and that was not something the already mentally exhausted male was very keen on. Nonetheless, he had little say in the matter for the publishing company wanted to milk out as much profit from him as possible and who was Baekhyun to say no?

“Your debut novel was a historical novel that was heavily laden with real life events and authenticity. This rootedness in reality became a staple of your writing and defined your style; so why the shift towards a concept such as rebirth and past lives? Towards something that is — dare I say — as far removed from reality as one could get?”

Baekhyun’s smile tightened as he stared briefly in the interviewer’s eyes. Quickly clearing his throat, Baekhyun took a sip of his tea while mulling on his choice of words.

“Do you think that by introducing supernatural elements, the authenticity of the emotions and events that I depict in my story are reduced and made less real?” Baekhyun chuckled albeit with an edge in his tone. “I’ll be honest, I reached my plateau after my last novel. I lost inspiration and reality just seemed so… Bland.”

“So you turned towards the supernatural to spice up this blandness?”

“I opened up to other possibilities and found something that brightened up the world I created in my novels,” Baekhyun corrected quickly, not letting the interviewer fire away his questions. “I removed the limitations that I had unknowingly set on myself and let my mind wonder. The end result was a story of self-discovery and gratitude, a story that commemorates history, a story that reminds me of how grateful I am to be born in the time that I did.”

“In the time that you did… As in in modern South Korea?”

“In the time that led me towards Jeju.”

“It seems Jeju has left a deep impression on you. The place must have done wonders for you, since its the source of inspiration for your latest masterpiece.”

“I don’t know if my work can be categorised as masterpiece, but no words can do justice to how much happiness has filled me that this novel is receiving so much support.” Baekhyun smiled tenderly while fiddling with his beaded bracelet. “And yes, Jeju is a very special place. There is no place like Jeju. I can’t wait to go back.”

“Go back?” The interviewer asked.

“Go… Back…” Baekhyun repeated the words.

Go back… Go back… Go back home?

The same three words echoed in Baekhyun mind and his eyes widened at the answer that had been unintentionally unveiled from his subconsciousness.

Indeed, he could not wait to go back to Jeju, to go back home.

・・・

Letting out a loud yawn, Baekhyun soundlessly slipped away into the public toilet round the corner from the bookshop where the book signing event was to take place. Now that the interview was finally over, he needed to get away from everything for even just five minutes. Thus the moment he stepped out of the bookshop, he just dived into the nearest closed space his eyes landed on.

Looking for privacy in a public toilet was probably not the ideal choice. However beggars could not be choosers. Staring at the empty stalls laid out in front of him, Baekhyun found his feet leading him towards the stall located at the very end, the stall that in all ghost stories would be the cursed one, the stall that all superstitious people would avoid.

Without giving it much thought, Baekhyun locked himself in the said stall and lowered the lid of the toilet before sitting down. Exhaling softly, he closed his eyes and buried his face in his hands.

“What am I even doing?” Baekhyun breathed out.

Su