“Still stubborn, I see.” her grandmother clucked her tongue while shaking her head disapprovingly. “You could have hired movers to get your things here so you didn’t have to do it yourself.”

She grins widely as she went past her grandmother by the door. “Come on, Nana. From whom do you think I inherited these genes?"

“I’m pretty sure your insolence didn’t come from me.” her grandmother, or Nana as she calls her, glared playfully. “Anyways, try to settle yourself as soon as possible, okay? I already told the board that your training will start this coming Monday.”

“Yes, madam.” she grinned cheekily. “Don’t worry too much about those butthead board members of yours, I’ll show them how a real Han works!”

“Very good, Gabrielle, very good.” Nana nodded approvingly. “Now, how about you show me how a real Han works by finishing what you are doing right now so we can have lunch together?” she pushed her granddaughter up the stairs.

“Alright, alright! Jeez! So demanding!” Gabby huffed, and sped up the stairs, put down the box she was carrying inside her new room, and then went back down to her car.

The ride to her grandmother’s house had been more than a couple of hours and she arrived a little before ten in the morning. So she idly wonders why the whole neighborhood was silent when people should be lurking around or something at this time of the day. They are in the middle of Seoul, people are never quiet in Seoul.

Just as she was about to pick the last box from her car, she heard someone yelling. Well, she had thought too soon about the place being quiet.

Curiosity getting better of her, she followed where the shrill voice was coming from. The scene that greeted her was… shockingly amusing, if there is such a term.

A curly haired boy, with the cutest longest pair of ears she had ever seen, was running around the lawn of the residence across the street. He was yelling on the top of his lungs as he zigzagged and circled around the lawn, a dog, a really, really huge one that looks more like a polar bear instead of a canine, was hot on his heels. Honestly, she pities the boy, but a part of her is really amused with the scene playing in front of her.

She didn’t even noticed that she had stopped and stared at the curious spectacle, forgetting that a heavy box was on her hands. So it took a few seconds for her brain to process that the boy had jumped out of the gate, still yelling, and had darted her way. She blinked a few times, finally realizing that the boy was running towards her, then he tossed a circular object at her, that she barely caught after dropping the box back to her car.
A few seconds later, the boy dived into her car which she had left the hood down. Another moment passes before she noticed that the circular object that the boy had passed to her was actually a bright green tennis ball.

“Noona, put down the ball! Put down the ball!” another shrill voice yelled.

“Huh? What?” she asked dumbly, seeing another kid running her way.

A loud barking caught her attention… and then, with a loud shriek that she bets was heard all over the city, she started running for her life. The big dog was now chasing her. She kept circling her car, praying to every god and deity she knows, to save her from the saliva coated fangs that seemed to be even longer than her forearm.

“Noona, drop the ball! Drop the ball!” the second boy was still yelling.

But she barely hears him, her heart beating madly inside her chest as it as all she could hear. With her mind set in flight mode, she couldn’t think of anything else but to get away from death that was surely awaiting her if the dog manages to catch up with her.

And just when she stopped circling her car and went for the gate, hoping to lock the dog out, her ever dearest friend with the name of ‘klutz’ decided that it would be the best time for it to pop out. Tripping on air, she staggered on her own feet and went outbalanced. She was heading to the ground face first and she was lucky enough that a lot of fall since she was a kid had taught her how to roll her body to the side so it was her arms that would meet he ground and not her face.

Landing on her shoulder and side didn’t mean that it hurt less though, especially when the side of her head had also met the concrete lightly, making her feel lightheaded. She had barely managed to roll onto her back before black and white spots started to cloud her vision. One thing she hates about herself is her anemia. She used to be healthier than a cow but thanks to a certain tragedy three years ago, she developed some health issues.

Her senses began to swam and she knows that she was close to passing out. Because of her anemia, the doctors advised her not to stress herself, but clearly, running away from a beast of a dog is hugely stressful.

“Oh, my god, uncle! I think she’s dying!” a faint voice of a boy said.

“Don’t say that, Baek. She’s just probably exhausted, I think she passed out.” a more mature voice said. “Let’s bring her to the house.”

She tried to protest, she doesn’t even know these people and they probably didn’t have any idea that she had just moved into the neighborhood. But before she could even let out a sound, a heavy weight pulled her to the land of the unconscious. The last she remembers before passing out was seeing big doe eyes that were peering at her with concern.

When she comes to, the first thing she noticed was that she was lying on something soft yet firm, not really a bed since she barely fits in it. She opened her eyes groggily, feeling the sting of cuts on her palms, the telltale signs of bruises on her arms, and of course, and the light headache.

And then two pairs of curious eyes were staring up at her.

“Oh, she’s awake.”

“Well, duh.”

She frowns, familiarity  nagging at the back of her mind as she the two boys were staring at her, their faces too close as they knelt on the floor beside to what she realized was a couch in which where she was lying.

“Uh…” she croaked out softly. Just how long had she been out? She really need to build up her stamina. “Where… am I?”

“You’re at our house.” the boy with curly hair, and big eyes, and really long ears, piped with and earsplitting grin. “And I’m Chanyeol!”
She blinked, dumbly amused at the boy’s twitching eyes as he smiles. It was adorably cute.

“Stop scaring her with that smile!” the other boy smacked Chanyeol on the arm. “You should have apologized for setting Choco on her! If you hadn’t then she would have passed out earlier.”

She lays there, not saying anything as what happened earlier started to come back to her; the yelling boys, the running, the dog. And her tripping before passing out.

With a groan, she lifted herself to a sitting position, feeling strangely relaxed even with he slight crick on her neck.

“Uh…” she tried again, feeling all dry and raspy. “Uhm, can I have a glass of water, please?”

Chanyeol, stood up and saluted, “Coming right up, noona!” and then he went off to get it.

“I’m Baekhyun, by the way, noona. I’m sorry if Chanyeol caused you trouble.”

She smiled at the boy, sensing the maturity in his words for apologizing on the other boy’s behalf. “It’s fine. I’m just a weakling so the slight run had exhausted me. My name is Gabby.” she said and offered her hand for a handshake in which Baekhyun gladly accepted. “Where am I, by the way? And were you the one that carried me here?”

“No. Uncle did. He went out to do something but he’d be back in a sec. You’re at our house. And you don’t look familiar. Are you new here?”

Before Gabby could answer, Chanyeol was back with a glass of chilled water. She drank first, thankful that was free from the uncomfortable feeling of being parched.

“I actually just moved into my grandmother’s house. If I remember correctly, it would be the house across the street.” she informed the two boys.

“Oh! So you’re that granddaughter grandma Han was talking about.” Chanyeol said excitedly.

“You know Nana? I mean my grandma?” Gabby asked.

“Yeah! She makes the best rice cakes ever!” Chanyeol nodded excitedly. Gabby can’t blame the kid, her grandmother really do make the best rice cakes.

“Oh, I see that our guest had woken up.” a familiar voice said.

When Gabby turned, she couldn’t help but to feel a certain déjà vu feeling. She had seen those big doe eyes before.

“Oh! Gabby noona, this is Uncle Luhan. He was the one who carried you in and took care of our cuts.” Chanyeol introduced.

Gabby couldn’t help but to marvel inwardly how certainly feminine this guy looks. If he wears a wig, he’d probably look more like a girl than she does.

“I am very sorry about what happened with Choco earlier. We were playing catch and the kids got out of hand.” Luhan apologized with a smile, bowing.

Chanyeol bowed his head and pouted when Baekhyun gave him a ‘see what you’ve done’ look. Gabby patted the boy’s head and smiled at him so he would cheer up.

“It’s alright. And thank you for patching me up.” Gabby got up from the couch and stretched her limbs, noticing the slight ache in certain parts of her body.

Luhan offered to make some tea before she leaves and she didn’t want to be rude so she agreed to stay for a little while, Chanyeol and Baekhyun giving her a small tour of the house and the back yard.

“So, noona, do you work? Why did you move to grandma Han’s house? And you were so scared with Choco earlier. Don’t you like dogs? Don’t you have any pets?” Chanyeol chattered as they went for the swing set at the back yard.

Gabby couldn’t help but chuckle at Chanyeol’s talkativeness, but answered the boy’s inquiries anyways. “I am actually going to start working on grandma’s company this coming Monday, so I needed to move to be closer to work and to accompany grandma. She’s not exactly young anymore. And about pets… well, I don’t really like big animals. Bad childhood experience.” she chuckled nervously, seeing the doghouse at the other end of the yard.

“Being bitten is never a good memory for anyone. But I hope you will find it in you to understand that animals are different from one another like us humans. Some are bad, some are good.” Luhan’s said as he came over to them.

Gabby frowned. “How… no one knows I’ve been bitten. Well, there was one but…he’s gone. How did you know?”

Luhan’s mouth opened and closed for a few moments, eyes averted as he scratched the back of his head. “Well…”

“That ahujussi right there is laughing at you because you’re such a scaredy cat when it comes to big dogs.” Chanyeol pointed behind Gabby.

“Eh?” Gabby turned and was met by nothing but air. “What are you talking about?”

Baekhyun suddenly grabbed Chanyeol’s hand down, glaring at the other boy as he muttered something. The boy’s actions only made Gabby suspicious.

“What are you talking about? Are you… some weird psychic or something?” she frowned at Luhan. She’s not a believer of the weird but she makes it a task to know the kind of people she associates with. If Luhan is someone from the weird side of the society then she ought to know it since they’re practically neighbors. And especially with the kids acting weirdly too.

“Uh…not exactly.” Luhan kept on biting his lower lip.

“Then… how…?” Gabby pressed on, she was actually more on the curious side instead of being cautious at how Luhan had known she had been bitten.

With a sigh, Luhan looked at Gabby straight in the eyes. “I’m a clairvoyant.”

Clairvoyant… now where had she heard that word before?

“It means we can see things that normal people can’t… like ghosts for example.” Chanyeol piped up, Baekhyun putting his pretty hands on his face with a sigh of defeat.

“Ghost…?” the word sounds funny even with just thinking about it, and Gabby started laughing after uttering the word. It took her a couple of minutes before she regained composure, clutching her stomach, “I’m sorry for laughing but… ghosts? Really?” she shook her head, still chuckling. She turned to the boys who were giving her curious looks, “I really like you guys, but… you seeing ghost is just a little… too weird for me.”

Chanyeol pouted, “Does that mean you won’t hang out with us because we weird you out?”

Baekhyun scoffed, “You’re asking that now? You know people thinks we’re weird because we can see ghosts. If you wanted her to hang out with us then you should have kept your mouth shut.” he stomped back inside the house.

It was Gabby’s turn to bit her lip because of guilt. She turned to a crestfallen Chanyeol. “Hey… I didn’t mean it like that. I would really love to hang out with you, it doesn’t matter if you can see ghost or even if you can see through things like x-ray vision… you can’t, right?” she playfully covered herself.

Chanyeol grinned, his right eye twitching. “Of course I can’t!”

Gabby sighed inwardly, thanking her lucky stars that she had managed to salvage her budding relationship with the boy. Next goal would be Baekhyun.

But now… she turned to Luhan. “But… I’m not a believer so I’m sorry in advance if I would be ignoring you once you mention ghosts again.”

Luhan was stunned for a moment before chuckling. He sent a playful smirk towards Gabby, eyes alight with challenge. “Well, I guess I just have to make a believer out of you.”

Gabby felt a little dumbfounded at Luhan’s words.

We’ll see about that.
 

a/n: who believes in ghosts??? raise your hands!!!

   actually i don't really believe in ghosts, that's because i have not seen one. but i do love horror stories, and i mean the really scary ones and not just those with loud sound effects but doesnt make sense... anyways i'm rambling here...

comments on the first chapter??? hehe