Go Iljae

I was stunned by his presence. I was pretty sure I locked the door before I slept. I stared at him filled with awe and at the same time, frightened by him. How could he enter my house when I was sure that I locked it? He must be a robber. Yes, a robber.

But a robber can’t act so foolishly in front of its victim, right?

I looked at him strangely as he scanned himself head to toe. He looked like a kid when he did that especially when he grinned. Cute, I must compliment. I could feel that he is feeling new to himself, like a freshly baked potato out of the oven. But then again, he was too stunned by his figure to notice how he looked like while viewing himself. What a kid.

He must have felt me looking at him when he looked back at me, so I quickly averted my gaze onto something else. I heard him chuckle, to which it sounded ever so familiar again, and walked towards me. Once he arrived in front of me, he bent his knees and eyed me carefully. I felt so awkward.

He grinned and moved away. Oh, what a nuisance.

He lied down on my bed and snuggled in my pillows. Wait, as much as I would want a guest to feel comfortable around my house, I can’t let him be. After all, he is still a foreigner to me.

“Hey!” I yelled, which startled him. “Get out of my house!” I screamed. He immediately stood up and ran outside my room. Well, who wouldn’t if they see someone holding a knife? I was. I immediately hid the knife when he disappeared and ran after him, yelling for him to stop, but he hardly did.

Okay, I can’t find him anymore. Maybe he left already. I shrugged triumphantly as I made my way to the living room.

“Hello, Il –“

I interrupted his greeting midway when I screamed. “What...the heck are you still doing here in my house?” I asked him grumpily. He chuckled ever so innocently and grinned at me.

“I’m here to inform you that I have to live with you," he said straight-forwardly.

…

“Hello? Iljae, are you okay?” Sehun asked. I just stood there, staring blankly in the space.

“You what?” I asked, frightened by the idea. "Listen," I massaged my forehead exhaustedly, "I do not know you nor would I want to, but Sir, I think you are trespassing in my property."

"Geez," he blew a raspberry at me. The nerve of this guy! "I am not trespassing your property since it was you who called me in the first place."

"Hey, I certainly did not call for you. Ever. And what nonsense are you talking about?" I practically yelled at him.

“I said I am going to live with you forever! Not nonsense,” he exclaimed, “Well, not until I find someone.” He lightly chuckled. I still can’t find the laughing matters here. I don’t even know this guy. He just suddenly popped out of nowhere telling me that he is gonna live with me so straight forward. 

Oh, I see the laughing matters now.

“I’ve been drinking a lot of coffee,” I chuckled. He looked at me confused. “You must be my imagination, yeah?” I pointed at him.

“I know I can fit your dream guy but seriously though, I need your help!” he exclaimed, thrashing his arms around.

“Hey, calm down.” I motioned him to sit on the sofa beside him. “Look here, it’s not that I do not believe you or anything. It’s just that I don’t understand what you are talking about. I’m just an average reasonable person here!”

I saw him sigh. It's completely not my fault that I don't get what he says. He is being frank.

“I’m really sorry, but you see," he sighed for the umpteenth time that I saw, "you are the only one who could see me and possibly, help me get out of this mess,” he explained wearily. I looked at him bewildered.

"What? Do I have a third eye?" I asked and cupped my forehead.

“Okay, I know you won’t believe this but; I’m a ghost," he said. I laughed so hard that I felt like my stomach was going to explode.

"See?" he exclaimed, "You didn't believe me."

"That's because that's not real," I reasoned. He facepalmed and formed a fist, preparing to smack me with it. "Hey! No violence!" I yelled. He loosened up his hands a bit.

"No , man. I'm really a ghost," he said. 

"No!" I yelled. He gritted his teeth and glared at me furiously. That's when I noticed how fair he looked like. His hair was shiny and his skin was flawlessly pure. I gulped. Have I seen him before? 

"You really can't tell the difference between a human and a ghost?" he asked in a mocking sound. I nodded. "You mean you really don't?"

"I said no, right?" 

He groaned and looked at me pleadingly. "Fine, I give up. I'm just gonna tell you." He looked at me with this you-are-such-an-idiot look and cleared his throat. "First is that they have power over humans. Meaning, you can't overpower me," he said cockily, "Next is that they have good looks. Me, for example." He posed and smiled ily at me. Ew! Ew! Gross! "Third is that they disappear by the day."

"I haven't even seen you fight yet!" I rolled my eyes at him. I could see that he really wanted to strangle me.

"What do you mean you haven't?" He yelled. "Don't you remember me with - " 

As if something interrupted his thoughts, he stopped yelling at me and looked at me disappointed. "What? What did I do now?"

"Just believe me, please?" he said. I felt my heart constrict at the sight of him pleading. 

"F-Fine," I said. Besides, it was really strange how he got in my room without even hearing the footsteps. "I believe you." I saw him smile sincerely and pumped his fists triumphantly. "But explain it to me first. What do I need to know about you?"

He nodded. “I am stuck in this form for two years. I don't know what happened back then but it was said that I still have the chance to live. So, I need your help in transforming me back.”

“…Okay,” I backed away. This guy is nuts! “First of all, I do not have powers to turn you into a human. I'm not a magician. Second, I have problems with socializing to other people, so I don’t think I can help you with that.” I could even pass as a ghost, too, you know?

“Oh, don’t worry. Once we seal the deal, you’re mind will be connected with mine. And, you don’t need to have powers to turn me into a human, silly,” he chuckled again. I could faint any minute now. All these facts and paranormal thingies revealed in just one and a half hour? I couldn't keep up with that. But reading his mind would be nice. I would know if he’s up to something or not. It would be like having this mind-reading powers, it’s just that it only works for one person. I would know if he's thinking about....

I gave him a reassuring yet mysterious smile. “Fine. Then, I guess we could seal the deal now.” He smiled at me. He must've been thanking me mentally.

I grabbed some pens beside me. I also noticed him stare at me oddly. “So, where is the contract and where do I sign?”

He laughed and clutched on his stomach. I don’t find anything funny here so why is he laughing hysterically?

He eventually stopped laughing and wiped his imaginary tear away. “Okay, I could really see that you haven’t encountered a ghost yet,” he stopped midway to suppress his laugh, “but listen, when you make a deal with a ghost, it doesn’t go by papers or whatever material you have.”

I nodded and somehow, jotted down notes in my head. “So how do we seal the deal?” I imitated his tone a while ago. He smirked and leaned closer to me.

“What are you doing?” I asked, nervously.

“Sealing the deal.”

It wasn’t until I felt something land on my lips when I panicked inside. My eyes widened at the sudden contact of his lips with mine. And at that moment, I knew what he was thinking.

‘And we have sealed the deal.’

I felt my eyes close as the darkness engulfed me. I fainted already.