Woohyun and Sunggyu played nosily in the playroom for the whole afternoon. It was only when Woohyun’s stomach growled that they realised it was already evening. They grinned before grasping each other hand and ran down the stair towards the kitchen.

“Mum…! Mum…! We’re hungry…!” Woohyun rubbed his tummy and announced with a cheeky grin. Mrs Nam bent down to pat dotingly at both boys’ heads when a middle-aged couple appeared at the kitchen doorway.

Mrs Nam hugged Woohyun in alarm and was about to exit through the back door when one of the men halted her frantic action. “We mean you no harm, Mrs Nam…! Please hold on and let us explain…!”

Innocent Woohyun looked up at his panic-stricken mother and tried to reassure his mother that it was fine.

“Mrs Nam… We really mean no harm… I’m Lee Sungjong… This is my husband, Kim Myungsoo… And… you’ve met our son, Kim Sunggyu…” The younger looking man smiled warmly at Mrs Nam. Maybe it was due to the pained look in his eyes that the lady relaxed and walked back into the kitchen.

“Just… Just don’t hurt my baby boy, please…” Mrs Nam pleaded with a choked sob.

Myungsoo gestured for all of them to take their seats at the dining table where the boys gobbled down their burgers hungrily. Within minutes, their food was gone.

Mrs Nam stared warily at the family of three and stayed close to Woohyun. Just then, Sunggyu coughed. Sungjong frantically stood up and patted adoringly at his son’s back. But Sunggyu’s cough was so bad that he coughed up blood.

“Oh gosh…! Gyu hyung, are you okie…?” Woohyun was worried and felt helpless as he did not know what to do.

“Oh my poor baby…” Tears started to roll down Sungjong’s cheeks. Myungsoo sniffled and hug his family. He looked at Mrs Nam before saying the unexpected. “My baby boy has only weeks to live…”

Stunned, Woohyun refused to believe what Mr Kim had said. He shook his head vigorously. “No, no, no, no…! I don’t allow it…! I want my new friend, Gyu hyung…!” Woohyun cried loudly.

Unexpectedly, Sunggyu started laughing which made Woohyun looked at him angrily. “Gyu hyung, how can you still be laughing when you’re dying…?”

“It’s okay, Hyunnie… I’ll just join you after I died… At least, I’ll have a friend with me…” Sunggyu smiled but it made the three adults depressed even further.

“What do you mean by that…?” Woohyun was puzzled.

“Hyunnie… We’re dead for almost a century… It’s no wonder that you’ve forgotten about the fact we’re no longer in this world…” Mrs Nam explained to her child.

His mother’s words jolted Woohyun’s memories. He remembered how he and his mother died in a fire where they were trapped in the house by his father’s debtors. He remembered that countless people moved into their house where they found priests trying to chase them out and how he got hurt in the process. Now he remembered why his mother always warned him not to befriend strangers. Because they would be scared of their presence and would try all means to destroy them.

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Three weeks later…

Myungsoo and Sungjong buried their son in the back garden beside Woohyun’s tomb. They hugged each other and waved Mrs Nam, Woohyun and lastly Sunggyu goodbye before driving away.

Though it was heart-wrenching to bury their own son, it was a relief to know that Sunggyu won't be lonely in the afterlife. That was why the couple decided to live beside the haunted mansion. They were hoping that the young ghost would befriend Sunggyu and accompany him.

Sunggyu waved his parents goodbye. He gave a sad smile before turning to Woohyun and grinned.

“Playtime…!” Woogyu announced happily...

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Oops...! Sunggyu was not the ghost at first... ^_~
So who is still interested in adopting the young woogyu...? ^_^
Do leave down your comment to let me know how the story fare...
Thank you & cya next time... If possible... haha... :D