Young Bae was still sat at the table, his cup held between his hands, his gaze down into the liquid inside. This time Seung Hyun didn’t hesitate in walking over, making his way through the busy café and was quickly back in his seat.

“Sorry about that,” he said, but Young Bae just smiled and waved him off.

Settling back into his seat, Seung Hyun picked at a loose thread on his sleeve, not quite looking at the other man across from him. It actually felt a little strange with the ghosts gone. Now he had nothing but Young Bae to concentrate on, he almost felt vulnerable. He had no one to fall back on for advice if he messed this up. His eyes drifted around the café, still full to the max, and it was pretty loud with everyone chatting with their friends at the same time, so he really shouldn’t have jumped in surprise at the sudden sound of a ringtone.

Young Bae’s phone, which he’d placed on the table, was lit up and blaring out a song Seung Hyun only vaguely recognised.

“Sorry,” Young Bae said with a little apologetic grin while picking it up, Seung Hyun just nodded as he answered, looking down to that pesky thread. “Hello? Oh hey, what’s up? Seriously?” Young Bae sighed, and Seung Hyun blinked curiously, wondering what the other half of the conversation was. After a short pause, Young Bae groaned. “Fine, fine. I got it. Yeah. Okay. See you then.”

It didn’t take a genius to tell that Young Bae was about to leave; his tone practically shouted it out for the world to hear. As Young Bae looked up to explain, Seung Hyun just gave him a small smile.

“Can’t stay?” He asked.

Young Bae nodded. “Yeah, but it was nice to meet you, man.”

“Yeah, same,” Seung Hyun replied, feeling very let down considering how much he hadn’t wanted to come here in the first place. He felt like he should say something more, but no words came to mind.

It seems like there had been little point in sending the ghosts away. Though at least Seung Hyun could have some peace by himself for a while, he told himself. But, well, oddly, he sort of didn’t want that. He didn’t want Young Bae to leave, which was pretty crazy given that he’d only just met him. He wondered if Young Bae felt even remotely the same way, or if for him this was just one more random encounter that’d be forgotten about by tomorrow. It was a kind of depressing thought.

Young Bae stood up, and Seung Hyun tired even harder to find something to say to make him linger just a little longer, but he came up blank. Young Bae stepped away, and Seung Hyun slumped, knowing he’d missed his chance as the other man began to leave. That… that as so damn typical, he should have know it would end up like this.

However, just as Seung Hyun resigned himself to never seeing Ji Yong’s friend again, Young Bae turned right back around and retook his seat, looking straight at Seung Hyun, who looked back surprised and just a little hopeful.

“Listen,” Young Bae said a few short moments later, turning his previously abandoned mug in his hands, looking a little nervous. “I know we just met, and we barely know each other, so I’ll understand if you don’t, but… would you like to do this again some time?”

“Coffee?” Seung Hyun asked, a small grin slowly creeping up. Maybe he hadn’t made an utter arse of himself today like he’d been worrying.

“Sure,” Young Bae shrugged, trying to seem casual, but only succeeding in cutely awkward. “Or some other drink if you’d like.”

“I would like that,” Seung Hyun replied, rather surprised himself for such an immediate and easy response, though he was too busy smiling for it to show. He felt rather giddy.

Young Bae seemed to relax, though Seung Hyun hadn’t even noticed him tense up, and he gave Seung Hyun an easy smile. “Good, I’m glad.”

Silence settled between them again, only this time Seung Hyun didn’t feel awkward, or like it had to be filled. The silence was peaceful, almost warm, and he found himself truly relaxing for the first time since arriving at the café. The previously too loud atmosphere suddenly seemed rather welcoming and friendly.

He was glad Ji Yong had talked (or rather bullied) him into this. He liked Young Bae, and he wanted to get to know him better. He could even see himself forming a relationship with him, as Ji Yong seemed to be pushing for. Although he couldn’t be completely sure yet, as he had just met him today, but Young Bae seemed like a kind, genuine guy and these were traits Seung Hyun valued. (The fact that he was easy on the eyes didn’t hurt either.)

It was a bit of an overwhelming thought, though. Seung Hyun didn’t have a lot of dating experience, nor was he the most socially forward of people, so already thinking along the lines of possibly dating Young Bae was surprising to Seung Hyun himself, but he also realised he was okay with those thoughts. For whatever reason, it didn’t seem as daunting as it had with other guys he’d met over the years.

“So, er, when?” He asked, playing with his own mug as Young Bae had been, but he didn’t take a drink, pretty sure it’d be cold by now.

“Oh,” Young Bae blinked, looking like he hadn’t actually thought it out that far. Seung Hyun grinned behind his hand, not wanting Young Bae to take it as him laughing at him. Young Bae looked at him and asked, completely seriously, “What day is it?”

Seung Hyun couldn’t help it; he just laughed. Young Bae flushed a light red, but he didn’t seem annoyed, just a little embarrassed. Definitely the daydreaming sort.

“It’s Saturday,” he informed, still grinning, but his hand was now on his lap. Just for the heck of it, he teasingly added, “After Friday, before Sunday.”

Young Bae rolled his eyes at that, but gave an easy grin back. “Thanks for that.”

“Always happy to help the disadvantaged,” Seung Hyun smiled, before sobering up; abandoning his mug to once again twiddle with that loose thread on his sleeve. “What about tomorrow?”

Was that a bit too bold? Or sound too desperate? Maybe he should have suggested next week…

“Ah, I can’t tomorrow,” Young Bae said, and Seung Hyun would have thought he was just blowing him off if only he didn’t genuinely look so regretful. “I spend Sundays with my family. Church, family dinner; that sort of thing.”

“Oh,” said Seung Hyun, not wanting to admit he felt pretty let down.

“How about Monday?” Young Bae suggested instead.

He was very tempted to say yes, but he had a lot of work to get done. He had two assignments to get in by Wednesday that he hadn’t even started yet (and he was slow at writing them). He probably shouldn’t have even suggested tomorrow to begin with. Sunday would be the best day to get most of them both written up since he had classes all day Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday would be good; meeting with Young Bae would be a good way to spend the evening after a rush to get things done and handed in.

“Wednesday would work better for me,” he offered. “Sometime after five. My last class ends at four-thirty that day.”

“Wednesday sounds good,” Young Bae nodded, and then his phone beeped a text message, which he opened to read. “Oh crap,” he said, quickly getting back to his feet. “I gotta run. Here on Wednesday, five-thirty?”

Seung Hyun nodded, a slight blush on his face, but Young Bae didn’t seem to notice as he dashed off with a wave over his shoulder and a shouted bye.

As Young Bae left, for real this time, Seung Hyun just sat there. It hit him extremely suddenly that he’d just arranged a date (at least he thought it was a date, or at least a pre-date). A real date. With another person. How exactly did that just happen? Where had his never ending awkwardness gone?

Dazed, he sat there until a woman nudged him, asking if he were okay since he’d been zoned out so long. He blinked rapidly, apologised to the woman, and quickly left the café.

Was he really going on a date on Wednesday? Did Young Bae actually like him?

Feeling happier than he had in a long time, Seung Hyun felt like he was gilding rather than walking, feeling as light as air as he made his way from the crowed shop out onto the street. It was just beginning to darken and the air was biting, but Seung Hyun didn’t care; he felt as warm as if he were stood under the summer sun.

As he cheerfully headed off down the street, his own phone rang and he pulled it out of his pocket, grinning when he saw the familiar name.

“Seung Hyun, where are you? I went round yours earlier but your mum said you’re out,” Bom’s voice came through as soon as he answered, even before he could get out a hello. “You never go out. Was there an emergency? Is someone dead?”

The thing was, Bom actually sounded genuinely concerned, and if that didn’t cement Seung Hyun’s need for socialisation when nothing would. Was he really such a hermit that leaving his house caused people to think someone had died?

“Everything’s fine,” he assured. How to word just where he’d been? “I, er, sort of met a guy.”

There was dead silence on the phone, and it lasted long enough that Seung Hyun pulled it away from his ear to check he hadn’t accidently hung up. “Hello? You still breathing, noona?”

Suddenly, there was a rush of air like an exhale of excitement and Bom was back, “Oh. My. God. You need to tell me everything! Everything, Seung Hyun! Every last little dirty detail! Tell me right now – no! No, no, no – I need to hear this in person. Get your gorgeous arse over to my place pronto!”

The rush of words were ended with an abrupt dial tone, and Seung Hyun pocketed his mobile with a roll of his eyes. He was still grinning though, he couldn’t deny that. It actually felt pretty good that he was the one with the gossip for a change.

Walking to the end of the street, instead of turning left which would take him home, he headed right to Bom’s place.

~*~

“So,” Bom said, falling ungracefully onto her couch, hair scraped into a hasty and messy bun, a tub of ice-cream in one hand and two large spoons in another, somehow managing to look very serious in crumpled bed clothes. “Tell me everything. What’s his name? How hot is he? What’s he like in bed? How big is his-”

“Noona!” Seung Hyun interrupted loudly, utterly embarrassed. Jeez, imagine if she ever met Seungri. Though after knowing her since he began middle school you’d think he’d be well used to her invasive questions. “Christ, I only just met him about an hour ago.”

Bom blinked at him, like she didn’t compute. “So how big is his-”

“An hour,” Seung Hyun stressed, and Bom rolled her eyes.

“Okay, fine,” she relented, and she scooted over so Seung Hyun could sit next to her on the couch.

“Thank you,” he replied as he took a seat, and immediately proceeded to snatch the ice-cream and a spoon from her hands, quickly digging in. He never even got a taste of his own after the three ghosts had dragged him out, but Bom’s was a suitable substitute.

“Hey!” She protested, trying to snatch it back but Seung Hyun laughingly held it out of her reach. “Respect your noona and give her her ice-cream before she beats you with that spoon!” She cried, practically climbing over him to reach for it.

Still laughing, Seung Hyun rolled away, ice-cream clutched to his chest, but Bom was quick to follow.  Somehow during their scuffle they ended up on the floor, or rather Bom was on the floor screeching at him to get off before she suffocated.

Just as Seung Hyun was pulling himself up, half apologetic half amused, the door to Bom’s flat opened and a voice called out, “Oi, hands off my girlfriend.”

Bom immediately grinned, seemingly forgetting that she was squished half under someone twice her size and strained to peer around Seung Hyun to see the newcomer. “Hey, baby,” she called out enthusiastically. “Don’t mind us, Hyunnie’s just having a minor uality identity crises. I’m helping him realise its all about the , no .”

“But are so much better,” the newcomer replied, and Seung Hyun finally pulled himself up and away from his friend and turned around to look at Bom’s girlfriend. She and Bom hadn’t been together all that long, three or four months perhaps, and Seung Hyun’s lack of socialising meant he’d only met her a handful of times; mostly when Bom demanded he spend time with her and she brought her girlfriend along for ‘bonding time’. Still, he liked her well enough.

“Hello, Dara,” he greeted politely and she nodded back, a look of mild amusement on her face.

“Hey, Seung Hyun,” she said, before turning her eyes on her girlfriend who grinned back at her.

“Dara, you’re just in time to hear all about some guy our dongsaeng has met!” Bom said enthusiastically, jumping to her feet.

Seung Hyun shot an inconspicuous (at least he hoped) look to her, because although he was fine discussing anything with her, he wasn’t happy sharing things with people he wasn’t close to. Not that he disliked Dara, in fact it was the opposite, it’s just that he’s the private type.

Bom seemed to dismiss this fact entirely. Usually, she wouldn’t ask Seung Hyun to share things when others are around, but she’d always seemed to be under the impression that all her girlfriends throughout the years didn’t count. Seung Hyun would have said something, tried to divert the conversation from him to something else… if only he didn’t get distracted by a dead girl walking through the wall right into Bom’s flat.

Seung Hyun startled, not at all expecting that. He didn’t recognise the ghost, and had no idea what she could possibly be doing here, but his interest peeked when she came to a standstill just a step from Dara. He watched the ghost, who was fixated on the woman, not so much as giving the room a single glance. Seung Hyun doubted she even realised that he and Bom where there. She looked pretty young, perhaps sixteen or seventeen, with long length hair and sharp eyes. She didn’t look like the type to take anyone’s nonsense, but her full attention was taken by Dara.

Whenever Seung Hyun met a new ghost, he always had the morbid thought of wondering how they died, especially when so young. He hoped it wasn’t a traumatic death.

He blinked when he heard talking, though luckily Bom and Dara were having their own conversation, so Seung Hyun was free to continue looking over the new ghost.

Ever so slowly the ghosts eyes left Dara, and Seung Hyun watched as they travelled at a snail’s pace along the carpet, stopping for a long moment when they landed on a pair of bare feet with painted nails. Then, the ghost darted her gaze up so fast it made Seung Hyun jump. It was the first quick movement she’d made. As she studied Bom, Seung Hyun studied her. Whoever she was, she didn’t seem to like Bom very much, and that worried Seung Hyun.

“Hey, Seungie,” Bom called. Startled, Seung Hyun snapped his head around, eyes wide.

“What?” He asked, distracted by thoughts of the ghost. He cast a quick glance to her, and saw that she’d finally noticed him. She was staring at him intently, as if trying to read every last detail about him. She didn’t give him the same furious stare she’d levelled Bom with however, it was more just curiosity with a slight weariness.

He glanced away quickly, not sure he wanted her knowing he could see her. Instead, he forced his attention on his friend, determinedly not moving his gaze no matter how curious he was himself.

“Come on, tell us about this guy!”

Right, Young Bae. Seung Hyun could do that. Though with an added audience he really didn’t want to. He decided to just keep it vague. “I, er, ran into him at a coffee shop. You know, the one near the bookshop?”

Bom stared at him, clearly waiting for more, but Seung Hyun wasn’t forthcoming.

“Urgh, you’re so boring today,” Bom sighed and rolled her eyes. “Did you at least get a picture for me?”

Seung Hyun shook his head, and Bom pouted. “I’ll introduce him if things work out,” he promised, hoping that would appease her. He shot another quick look to the unknown ghost, but hurridly turned his attention back on Bom before the unknown girl could notice. “Just promise not to say or do anything embarrassing.”

“What do you mean?” Bom asked, taking a seat back on the sofa and pulling both Seung Hyun and Dara down on each side of her.  She snatched back the tub of ice-cream Seung Hyun had forgotten he still had. “I’m never embarrassing.”

Seung Hyun gave her a flat look as she took a large spoonful of ice-cream and shoved it all in in one go, somehow bypassing brain-freeze. What a rare and useful talent. “Last month you emailed every guy in your contacts list a Photoshop of me .”

“Half ,” Bom corrected. “It was only from the chest up. And besides, I was only doing you a favour; I was trying to get you laid. Because God knows you haven’t been doing anything about it,” she muttered the last part, but it was clearly distinguishable and Seung Hyun pulled a face. Whatever, so he hadn’t had in, er… how long? Okay, it had been a while, but so what? He didn’t need to sleep around.

Out the corner of his eye, Seung Hyun saw the ghost move forward. She walked over to the sofa, standing in front of Dara, gazing down at her with unblinking eyes, she body frozen ridged in that stance. Although nothing about her currently seemed malicious, Seung Hyun was finding it extremely creepy. The stillness of her body was unnatural – no living person could ever be that still. While it certainly wasn’t the first ghost he’d come across acting oddly, it wasn’t the norm, and it made him uncomfortable. Why was she following Bom’s girlfriend around? What did she want with her?

Movement caught Seung Hyun’s eye, and he watched as Bom put her hand in Dara’s, resting them on her thigh, and Seung Hyun switched back to the ghost for her reaction. The ghost jerked, as if to start forward only to realise there was no point, and instead settled back into her stance, cold eyes glaring at Bom.

Whoever she was, one thing that was clear was that she disliked Bom. Why? Was she a past girlfriend of Dara’s? Or a disapproving family member? Or had she been dead for a long time and just grew an obsession with a living person? Seung Hyun had seen that just once before; somebody who’d been dead for so long he seemed partly mad from it, and he’d taken to stalking a living woman, fantasising about being alive, of somehow coming back from the grave and being with her - or perhaps somehow taking her life for himself; stealing her life so he could live again. Swapping their places through murder.

He needed to find out more about this ghost. He couldn’t ignore her in case her anger turned to jealous rage and she became violent. He defiantly had to do something.

~*~

“So, did you get in his pants?” The unmistakeably lurid voice of Seungri popped up from behind him, and Seung Hyun turned around to see the three ghosts back, all sat in a neat row on his bed looking at him curiously.

Seung Hyun half frowned, half flushed. “No,” he mumbled, looking back to the first of his essays. He was supposed to be coming up with an idea for an imaginary client with a vague idea about wanting something very traditional with a modern twist to it. He had to write all his ideas in detail, throw in a few sketches of each room for a visual, design the furniture and upholstery, decided on every last little scrap of colour in the entire house, work out where every damn light in the house needed go, present how he’d show leadership in directing the building crew and how he’d deal with a picky and indecisive client.

He’d so far come up with the design for a single chair. It wasn’t going well.

He leaned back in his own chair with a deep sigh. “I don’t suppose any of you have any experience in decorating, do you?”

“I decorated my bedroom floor with used condoms,” Seungri piped up, not missing a beat, and Seung Hyun cringed.

“That’s disgusting,” he scowled, putting down his pen. “And unhelpful.” Screw this, he’d do it later. He spun around on his chair to face the three ghosts better, watching Seungri stand and pace to the desk he was at to glance down at his drawing. He huffed when Seungri scrunched up his nose.

“What the Hell is this thing meant to be?” The ghost asked, poking at the paper. “Is it one of those ty modern art pieces?”

“It’s a chair,” Seung Hyun said, offended. Did it really look that bad?

Seungri blinked, squinted, and looked at it hard for a few seconds from all angles – even turning it upside down. “Nope, not seeing it. Where do you sit?”

Seung Hyun just grabbed the paper, screwed it up and threw it in the direction of his bin.

“I’m so going to fail this course,” he sighed, slumping down against the backrest.

“You’ll do fine,” Dae Sung reassured. “Your grades have been good so far. You’re just distracted.”

“Yeah,” Seungri joined back in. “So how is short, dark and handsome?”

“Is he doing well?” Ji Yong finally piped up, more sincerity shining in his eyes than Seung Hyun had ever witnessed. It was an odd sight for Seung Hyun, who was so used to Ji Yong’s boisterous, bordering on self-centred behaviour. “I know he was having some troubles before I died, and well, that car hitting me couldn’t have helped,” he added the last part with a cringe, and Seung Hyun gave him a sympathetic look. But he rolled his eyes when Ji Yong continued, “And such a damn ugly monstrosity to have killed me, it’s embarrassing. Though not as embarrassing as actually driving that thing around would have been. It was yellow. Yellow.”

“I think so,” he tried to reassure him, choosing to ignore the dead teen’s disapproval at not being killed by a Lamborghini or some other fancy car. “I mean, I didn’t spend too much time with him, but he seems good.”

Ji Yong nodded, relieved, and relaxed more on the bed. “Good,” he repeated the word. “That’s good.”

“Are you seeing him again?” Dae Sung asked, paying no attention to the kitten trying to chew his fingers. Seungri picked up a little bouncy ball and threw it to the floor near the kitten, and he abandoned Dae Sung for it, launching his little fluffy body off the bed like the worlds least deadly cannonball.

“Wednesday,” he confirmed, face going the slightest shade of red. “After classes are over.”

“Then are you going to hit that?” Seungri asked, rolling the ball between his hands, a little flash of black following it.

“Can’t you think of anything else?” Dae Sung scolded.

“Not really,” Seungri shrugged uncaring, and Dae Sung rolled his eyes.

“Man ,” the longest dead muttered, and received a leery grin in return for his efforts.

“Don’t you know it, baby,” Seungri smirked. “Although, on second thought you probably don’t. I bet you waited until marriage, right? Never had a quickie with the local ty daddy’s girl? Or the local ty daddy’s boy, maybe? Hmm?” He teased.

“Hey, I’ve been dead 54 years, not 54 centuries,” Dae Sung said with a roll of his eyes. “Cut me some slack.”

“Yeah, but I doubt there was much on action in the fifties and sixties,” Seungri said, then frowned. “Probably not a whole lot of on action either. You guys were a bunch of uptight prudes. I bet you fainted the first time you saw s, am I right?”

“No, you aren’t,” Dae Sung scowled, puffing up his chest. “I did not faint. It was… lovely.”

Seungri snorted in sudden amusement, quickly falling into outright laughter. “Lovely,” he mocked. “Oh, I’m sure it was. Did she invite you over for tea, where you had a wonderful conversation about lace curtains and throw pillows before you put your gentleman part into her lady garden?”

Dae Sung gave him a flat, unamused look and walked away to lean against the wardrobe. “Prick,” he muttered.

“A massive prick, I assure you,” Seungri smirked, rolling his hips in Dae Sung’s direction, who looked as close to vomiting as a ghost could get.

“Guys,” Seung Hyun interrupted, getting up from his desk and scooping down to grab his kitten. the soft fur, he sat on his bed. “After leaving the café, I went to Bom’s place and her girlfriend came over, only she wasn’t alone.”

“Lesbian ?!” Seungri butted in, eyes wide in excitement. “Is it happening right now? , I need to get over there!”

“No!” Seung Hyun quickly said, stopping Seungri from disappearing and invading his friend’s privacy. He scowled at him. “Get your mind out of the gutter. What I was trying to say is that the third person was uninvited. In fact, they didn’t even know she was there.”

“A ghost?” Ji Yong asked surprised, quick to catch on. “At Bom’s place, why?”

Seung Hyun shrugged. “That’s what I want to know. It was a teenage girl; she looked a few years younger than Ji Yong. She followed Dara in,” he explained. “And she was a bit… off. She was following Dara really closely, and clearly didn’t like Bom at all.”

“That does sound strange,” Dae Sung agreed. “Have you seen her around Dara before?”

Seung Hyun shook his head. “No, but I haven’t spent much time with Dara, so I don’t know if this ghost is a new tag along or not.”

“Did you speak to her?” Ji Yong asked, and Seung Hyun shook his head again.

“I didn’t want her to know I could see her. I wasn’t sure how she’d react.”

“Is she hot?” Seungri asked, but everybody ignored him.

“When you say she didn’t like Bom, do you think it’s serious?” Ji Yong asked, budging over so he was next to Seung Hyun.

“Well, she didn’t really do anything,” Seung Hyun admitted, “just glared at her mostly. But I’m worried she might in the future.”

“It could become an issue,” Dae Sung agreed. “Do you want us to keep an eye on her?”

“If it’s not a problem,” Seung Hyun nodded.

Ji Yong snorted. “A problem?” He asked. “We’re dead, we have all the time in the world to go snooping about, spying on unsuspecting, underage girls for you.”

Seung Hyun gave him a sour look. “That sounded so wrong, on so many levels.”

“I would like to volunteer my services,” Seungri spoke up graciously, raising a hand to his unbeating heart.

Dae Sung gave him the side eye. “You do realise she’s as dead as us, right? So there will be no rifling through any underwear draws.”

“She doesn’t have an underwear draw,” Seungri corrected, “but I need to do a thorough check of Bom’s flat for her safety,” he said passionately, like it made prefect sense and wasn’t in the least bit creepy. “For our poor friend Seung Hyun’s piece of mind we should search every inch of Bom’s flat. If that means I have to look through her underwear, then, for the sake of friendship it’s a task I’m willing to suffer.”

“How noble of you,” Dae Sung replied dryly, his face painting a prefect picture of disgust.

“I’m just that sort of friend,” Seungri sighed dramatically. “Always putting the needs of others before myself.”

“You aren’t going rifling through her underwear,” Seung Hyun snapped firmly, throwing a pen at his head. It sailed right on through him, and The Good King Purr pounced on it, happily batting at it with two little fluffy paws. “There aren’t any ghosts hiding in anyone’s underwear!”

“But surely I should check, just to be on the safe side,” Seungri said, voice full of fake innocence. “What if tomorrow she gets up to dress, reaches for some , and bam! the ghost gets her? Then you’d regret it.”

Seung Hyun turned pleading eyes to the only voice of reason. “Dae Sung, please don’t let him go to Bom’s alone?”

“I won’t,” the longest dead promised dutifully, like a solider going into war.

“Do I have to go?” Ji Yong asked sounding utterly bored, inspecting his still prefect nails. “I expect it would include moving stuff, and I was never one for manual labour.”

“Except in the bedroom, right?” Seungri wriggled his eyebrows. “I totally have you pegged as a power bottom.”

Dae Sung sighed audibly and vanished. Seungri looked to the spot he’d just vacated. “Guess that’s my cue to leave,” and he vanished too.

Seung Hyun turned to Ji Yong, the only one left, but Ji Yong paid him no attention as he reached down to pick up Seung Hyun’s screwed up drawing of a chair.

He unfolded it delicately, took a long, critical look at it, then turned to Seung Hyun and simply said, “Wow, you really .”