Miyoung seethed quietly. She was dead, so could feel no pain, yet she felt numb. Se Ryung had turned against her, which was why people had attacked her. It could have gotten better, it could have but it hadn’t. It was sadistic of her prior classmates to torture Miyoung as such but Se Ryung hadn’t ever tried asking anything, not even now.

The same Se Ryung who’d stood up for Hana didn’t even bother visiting her grave. Miyoung didn’t wish to lose to Hana. Who was Hana anyway? She was a nobody. She’d met the Oh siblings out of sheer coincidence. She was nothing special. She had just been lucky.

Miyoung shook angrily, for before her sat a smiling Kim Hana. ‘We’ll see how long that smile lasts.’

However, Miyoung wasn’t interested in dealing with Hana just yet. Hana would have to wait because the ghost had a score to settle with Hana’s charming friend. She dissolved as quietly as she’d come to avoid the eyes of Oh Sehun. Her job was meant to be quick and easy. She preferred not to get caught.

Miyoung smirked sarcastically when she saw that MAMA was sitting atop of Se Ryung’s shoulder. Since when had they become good friends? The owl shot her a stern stare of warning. Miyoung could have laughed. No she would have laughed if and only if, Se Ryung couldn’t hear her.

Why did one of them live and the other die? It wasn’t fair. The ghost had been musing various quick deaths. She held her hands as a noose ready to strangle. Slowly, she made her way to an oblivious Se Ryung who had her back to her.

MAMA began to screech as loudly as his lungs allowed. He bellowed and hopped off his resting place, flapping his wings as if to create a windstorm.

A bag of microwave popcorn slipped from Se Ryung’s fingers and hit the floor letting the snack litter the floor. Se Ryung gasped. She grasped onto the counter top, and in her haste knocked down a bowl.

She felt constrict unnaturally leaving her to clutch at morsels air, her breath began to shorten in trepidation, her head spun in spirals, and beads of sweat began to form across her hairline. She heard crunching beneath her feet. Something, perhaps her head, screamed ‘danger.’

MAMA caterwauled harshly scraping his claws at air. Se Ryung choked. Her fingers scurried to hold onto something while her vision dimmed. The pain eased leaving behind fiery tingling numbness. Her body felt hot as if it consisted of lava. Her eyes fluttered close, as the strength to remain open felt like a losing battle. Her legs crumpled beneath her not being able to withstand gravity for another moment. Her grip loosened against the countertop slipping into slumber.

MAMA was horrified. He stared from the pale limp figure of Se Ryung and then to the ghost. Miyoung stared at her fingers equally as stunned as the owl but not in the same regard.

Se Ryung coughed and spluttered. Her eyes flew open before drawing to another close. MAMA breathed a sigh of relief. Tao was here now. He’d come hearing the owl’s cries. The owl relaxed, he sensed Se Ryung would be safe from the ghost for now.

The owl quietly hovered over to where Se Ryung lay. A cloud of darkness illuminated Tao’s features. He neither fretted over her nor did he ask the owl what had happened. It was almost like he was trying to examine the scene for himself. His eyes fell on the mess, a splash of popcorn, broken shards of glass, a semi-conscious Se Ryung who, like him, was trying to make sense of the situation.

Tao furrowed his brows in contemplation. He sat crouched, one arm supporting Oh Se Ryung up and the other to keep her slipping from his make-shift support. She quivered with ever cough, preferring to keep her eyes closed for the most part, and in doing so agitating him. What had happened? He couldn’t make sense of it.

He’d only gone to plug in the DVD player. He heard a bowl breaking into smithereens from the kitchen, and he’d assumed Se Ryung was trying to ‘help’ again. Then he’d heard MAMA creating a fuss. He wouldn’t have bothered too much but something had compelled him to venture into the kitchen. He’d caught her just before she could hit the ground. Something didn’t feel right.

“Are you okay?” It was a dumb question to ask. Her eyelids fluttered open. She watched his blurry outline define itself. Her hand flew to her neck. She searched it for signs of abnormality but found none. She inclined her head to his question and offered a tight smile.

“Can you stand?” He asked cautiously. Questions sat on the tip of his tongue wanting to be answered yet he couldn’t bring himself to ask them.

“I…” Se Ryung trailed off at the sound of her own voice. She blinked surprised that she’d articulated such a strangled, scratchy tone. She attempted to clear and coughed some more. A hand propped her upright.

“I’ll be fine,” Se Ryung rasped pushing herself onto her feet.

MAMA kept watch. The ghost remained silent and vanished shortly afterwards. The owl wondered what was next. Unsurely he remained in his spot until the two had left. A housemaid came shuffling afterwards to tidy the mess.

-

 “You can’t marry someone you just met; said no Asian parent ever,” Hana pronounced. Sehun snorted at the offhand comment.

The bunch were watching ‘Frozen,’ and subsequently finding wisdom in the smallest of phrases.

Se Ryung mustered a smile. Her hand didn’t leave her neck for very long, it was now resting at the collar of her dress. Tao remained nonchalant. He hadn’t spoken much since the incident.

The movie didn’t catch Tao’s interest. He thought about walking out instead of dampening the mood for the others. His mind was still thinking a little too much. At first, he’d thought the owl was to blame, but Se Ryung didn’t seem to think so since she’d let the owl settle close to her.

Tao recalled seeing grey marks around her neck but that was ridiculous. He squinted his eyes to see if he could find them again, he could have sworn he’d imagined the whole thing and maybe he had, maybe he’d imagined everything. That still didn’t explain why Se Ryung’s hand was warily sitting close to her neck almost as if she were trying to protect herself.

She hadn’t told him anything either. If she’d provided an explanation he would have been satisfied, but nothing. She’d insisted she was fine, she’d called herself clumsy while pointing to the mess she’d made and she’d left the kitchen as if it were no big deal. Her jumpiness couldn’t be legitimized.

It bothered him. He didn’t want to admit it but it bothered him a lot. He was worried for her sake. The cause still remained a mystery.

It was safe to say that Tao wasn’t able to enjoy the film as much as Sehun and Hana. The pair was still oblivious to their companion’s troubles.

Sparks crackled between them with each moment, be it eye contact or an accidently brush of the skin. Their spines tingled rendering them to sit upright in tension, awkwardly prudent of each other’s actions. They couldn’t help note the slightest of things from gliding fingers though hair to adjusting position on the couch.

Se Ryung remained passive. Her thoughts didn’t help her very much and her sole form of comfort turned out to be the owl. She didn’t dare to reach out for it but having it sit near to her helped alleviate the stress she was feeling. The movie did nothing to ameliorate her mood. It only struck her with harsh reality bringing back thoughts she didn’t wish to remember. She was plagued by such thoughts. They pierced at her heart re-opening a wound that she didn’t have an ability to sew. She wanted to cry. She couldn’t and she wouldn’t weep so blatantly in the company of others.

When she could take no more she slipped out of the living room. The owl followed without question. Se Ryung was grateful. Her eyes threatened to spill. She quivered as she walked half expecting to see a ghost. The ghost never did come. She made her way back to the kitchen. It gleamed as if nothing had happened.

Involuntarily, Se Ryung reached for her neck. It didn’t feel abnormal to the touch, yet she felt as it were indented or marked or seared, a physical marking to highlight trauma.

There was nothing, however. She didn’t understand it much and was glad Tao hadn’t pestered her about it because she couldn’t provide an answer. The best way to describe the unpleasant feeling was, suffocation.

Se Ryung massaged her temples. Suddenly she felt as if she’d been abandoned. She felt small and unwanted. She groaned softly and stared at the door behind her, ‘Did they even notice me leave?’

She shook her head. The owl cooed gently, Se Ryung’s ears welcomed its voice. She smiled fondly at it and held out her arm invitingly.

MAMA was confounded by the kind gesture but accepted it nonetheless. He was unused to tenderness from Oh Se Ryung. He pretended not to notice her cry although a succession of hot tears hit his head rather abruptly.

She poured him water in a bowl, which he’d graciously accepted. He quite liked this new side of his owner. MAMA ignored the silent sniffles that reached his super hearing.

He did his best not to look in case he offended her. He convinced himself he would understand her at a later stage when they grew closer. It was the sole thought that kept guilt from eating at his heart. He didn’t know what to be guilty for either – it was such a feeling.

MAMA wished his super hearing wasn’t so super. His back arched at the footsteps of another human being. His sudden alertness frightened his owner too. Those footsteps were too uncannily familiar. MAMA relaxed considerably.

 Se Ryung quickly wiped her eyes with the back of her hands and patted her face as if to convince herself her eyes weren’t red and puffy. The owl knew better, he could see her reflection from his bowl.

Se Ryung bravely took a deep breath, “You should go enjoy the movie.”

“Those two started singing, couldn’t help but leave,” came the reply. Tao shrugged brushing away the suggestion as soon as it came.

His mind was with her. His feet couldn’t help but make their way towards her. He heard the noisy slurping of water and smiled briefly.

“Just go. I can’t cry with you here.” Se Ryung explained bluntly knowing she couldn’t close the open wound just yet. It would give her a headache now and she would get nightmares later. Guilt was hell.

“Pretend I’m invisible.” Tao suggested drawing closer.

Se Ryung blinked rapidly, and her lips quaked. “Please don’t do this to me,” she pleaded in a strained voice.

She smothered a sob with her hands. His footsteps came to a halt behind her. Tao was debating whether or not to leave. He was torn in thought. He heard muffled cries and wondered why she was trying so hard to mask them. He turned around to follow her instruction not wanting to cause her distress.

Se Ryung grabbed a fistful of his shirt. “Remember, you saw nothing,” she warned him quietly.

Tao’s heart thumped against his rib cage mimicking the sound of a drum. Each mewl from her hit him like a truck, it pained him to hear her and if he were to walk out now he would struggle with depression knowing she was weeping in tribulation.

‘Don’t cry.’ His heart cried with her. He wanted to console her and before he knew it, he was cradling her in his arms.

MAMA didn’t understand much about humans. He watched the cryptic beings closely. Humans were complicated.

Their brains didn’t exist to plan their next meal, their troubles didn’t include fighting with cats over mice therefore, rendering them difficult to decipher. However, he could tell things would get better.

The ghost had left them to haunt another. MAMA hoped she wouldn’t return until she had screwed her head on straight. Humans… Dead or alive, they were difficult.

-

“Do you like me?” Sehun asked suddenly as the movie reached its end.

“Mmm… We’re friend’s aren’t we?” Hana tilted here head to look at him.

Sehun turned away from her unimpeachable orbs. “Maybe,” he responded wary of unfamiliar waters.

“You don’t want to be friends with me?”

Sehun grimaced. She’d caught on quicker than he’d thought. His brain raked for a safety-net solution before stubbornly settling, “No, we can’t be.”

“Why not?” She pressed incomprehensibly.

“Because, you don’t imagine how it’d feel to kiss a friend.” Sehun illustrated. He avoided her face knowing his attention would follow her lips. He didn’t want to scare her when he was already unnerving himself.

“Huh?”

“Can I kiss you?”

Hana’s eyes widened in surprise. Was she dreaming? If so, she didn’t want to wake up just yet. She flushed at her own thoughts and lowered her gaze from Sehun’s ardent gaze. Her heart soared inside her uninhibitedly.

She plucked her courage and kissed his cheek, catching him off guard. His eyes blinked subsequently in momentary confusion at her.

“Yes,” she answered to his question. Her cheeks glowed a bashful pink hue in anticipation.

A surge of electricity passed through her, she was unsure of whether to hold her breath or take a deep breath. What if she made a mistake? What if she was a horrible kisser, what if he was? What if they didn’t enjoy the kiss?

The series of ‘what ifs’ continued to plague her mind flippantly distracting her and making her fingers lock and twiddle.

His hands cupped her face. She wasn’t ready for this; she didn’t want to embarrass herself. What would he think if she chickened out now?

She didn’t want to disappoint him. He was looking at her with an unreadable expression, something between amusement and earnest – a paradox.

Hana closed her eyes when he leaned in. She couldn’t remember how she’d imagined first kisses. Was she meant to hold her breath or inhale sharply?

Her thoughts poised nothing of significance next to the current that swept through her sending an exhilaration of tenderness. The kiss began softly yet unsurely, moving in accordance of each other before developing into sweet, serene bliss.

Hana was left breathless. Her blush reached her ears and warmth spread through her. Her eyes were locked in his unable to break away. They were too deep, too mesmerizing and too beautiful. She felt they could read her through and through; she was at their mercy. They inspected her closely silently beseeching for another kiss causing her to redden further. Her heart would stop if she agreed to the request, she was sure of it.

Hana pulled herself away from him feeling hot and embarrassed. Her mind refused to believe it. It was all a dream. She couldn’t have kissed Oh Sehun, not upon his suggestion and, not in a million years. She fought to keep a Cheshire grin off her face.

Sehun sighed and tousled his hair. He stared at her back not sure what to say. He’d never been a relationship expert to begin with. Strangely, he felt as if he’d been rejected. He was sure that wasn’t the case though. They had kissed, so why?

“I feel sorry towards your first love, but I like you,” his mouth was running off again. Sehun wondered if there was a permanent seal for it. He sounded arrogantly confident and not the least bit sorry, not that he was. This confession could have been done better, was the thought that crossed his mind.

Hana’s visage resembled that of a sunset. She inhaled sharply at the confession, it was clear and direct and, it had caught her off guard. She thought about confessing too but unlike him, she wasn’t as bold. She turned to face him and scanned his physiognomy.

“Why, do you like me?”

“Why did you agree to kiss me?”

“Because, I like you.”

“What about your first love?”

Hana averted her eyes. Did she have to tell him that story? She didn’t want to. It was too embarrassing. He would laugh at her! She was already scorching from shyness, adding on humiliation would be too much to bear.

“I-I think, the fact that I like you hit me when we were in Everland.”

“I found out in Everland too,” Sehun’s lips curved upwards. He laughed merrily and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close and catching her off guard yet again. This Sehun who hugged her, and in doing so threatened to cut her air supply, was one she’d only met in dreams.

 She’d never imagined she would see him like this, yet here he was in the flesh. His eyes were just captivating, as she’d envisioned them to be – pure and spellbinding.

“If you’re double-minded about this, let me know now because I’ve got a one-track mind.”

“Whose on the track?” The question blurted from her before she could censor it.

“You are.”

Sehun chuckled when her cheeks tinted for what seemed to be the zillionth time. He found each time more endearing than the last. However much she tried to hide her bafflement it was something she failed at doing which in turn was also adorable.

He poked her cheek. “You’re blushing,” he teased.

Hana pressed her palms against them to hide making Sehun laugh at her expense. She frowned slightly making him laugh harder.

Each of her expressions projected as ‘loveable.’ Sehun wondered why he hadn’t taken note earlier. When had he fallen in love with her? How far had he subconsciously trekked? And, how did she feel about him, while he felt all this? The feelings weren’t all alien to him. There was only one thing that troubled him; one-sided love, he didn’t want to fall into it again.

His thought trajectory was shattered quite wistfully when she pecked his lips and scurried away leaving him with a wick of bamboozlement, and for the first time in a long time; blushing cheeks.

A/N: So, I bet no one saw that coming. ;) Y'all were probably thinking SeTao would become an 'item' first haha.

A vengeful spirit is not a joke. Miyoung is on a mission.

Tao and Se Ryung are just too much for my poor heart.

Oh and let's not forget; Hana and Se-hun sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g~

All the couplings are cutesy or on the verge of 'getting there.' Did you guys forget about 'Sinister?' I hope not, that evil guy is gonna cause a ruckus pretty soon.