nineteen

                                    

                                          
Jihoon had no idea what he was doing. He got the address from Seokmin and was on his way to get Soonyoung, but he had no idea how he was going to achieve that. From what he understood, Kyungha was there with Minghao and Junhui who had no idea what kind of person she truly was. He was going to have to do it very carefully. He took his chances and knocked on the door. Moments later, a man with a mullet answered the door. Jihoon recognized him from the post and could conclude he was Minghao. Before Jihoon could get a greeting or some kind of lie out, the other beat him to it. 
"Are you the electrician?" 
"...Yes." 
Just like that, Jihoon was inside. He was shocked by how easy it was to get inside. It was almost alarming, but he couldn't worry about that at the moment. He had to find Soonyoung. He let Minghao lead him to a hallway where he said the lights had been flickering for the past week. Jihoon took that to mean Soonyoung was nearby and he was very upset. Minghao left him to his work, not even questioning why he didn't have any tools, and Jihoon began to search for Soonyoung. Once he made sure Minghao was out of earshot, he began calling for Soonyoung in a hushed voice. He also kept an eye out for the infamous demon that was running around. The last thing he wanted was one of Hell's children playing with him along with a murderer. 
"Soonyoung, where are you?" He whispered. 
"Soonyoung!" As quietly as he could, he made his way down the hall. 
He found Soonyoung sitting in front of a door with his knees to his chest and head down. When he heard Jihoon's familiar voice, he lifted his head, letting the human see his tear-stained face. Jihoon tried not to let his shock show. He hadn't known ghosts could cry. 
Soonyoung sniffed. "When did you get here?" 
Jihoon settled next to him, silently offering his shoulder for comfort before remembering that it wouldn't work. "Just now." He answered. "Seokmin led me here. What happened?" 
"I finally remembered what happened," Soonyoung whispered even though he didn't need to. "I finally pieced together what happened." 
Jihoon swallowed hard. He could only imagine how difficult and traumatic this was for Soonyoung. He hated seeing the other in such a state. He liked bickering with the annoying ghost. He didn't enjoy watching him cry. It was too heartbreaking. 
"Can you tell me?" Jihoon asked carefully. 
Soonyoung nodded. 
-One Year Ago-
Kwon Soonyoung was a bundle of nerves and excitement. Tonight was the night, he decided. He had everything planned out and ready to go, but he was still scared. What if something went wrong? What if he messed up? To calm his nerves, he pulled out his phone and called Seokmin, the one person who knew his plan and could effectively keep Soonyoung calm. He picked up by the second ring. 
"Can this wait? The new episode just arrived on Netflix." Seokmin asked when he answered. 
Soonyoung ignored him. "I think I'm going to do it tonight." He blurted out. 
As he said it out loud, he could feel it becoming more real and he swallowed the nervous fluttering threatening its way up his throat. As a precautionary measure, he began searching for his inhaler as he waited for his friend to reply. 
"Are you sure?" Seokmin asked. 
Soonyoung had confided in him plenty of times and knew how important this moment was for him. 
"It's now or never." He answered as he searched the last drawer of his desk. 
He still couldn't find his inhaler. It wasn't a surprise as he could constantly misplace it, but Soonyoung couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. Regardless, he still had too much to think about. His inhaler could wait. 
"Well, let me know how it goes." 
"I will," Soonyoung promised. He heard the door open and the butterflies stirred in his stomach once more. "Oh, I think he's home. The door's open. Hold on." 
He set his phone down on the table in the hall before going to greet who he assumed to be Minghao. 
"Hey, I was starting to get worried." He stopped when he saw Kyungha instead of Minghao. She smiled sweetly at him. 
"Hey Soonyoung!" She greeted. 
Soonyoung found himself smiling back. "Hi, Kyungha, what brings you here?" 
Ever since they reunited, Soonyoung had noticed that Kyungha had been coming around more often whether he was home or not. She seemed to be making fast friends with Minghao. He hadn't minded or thought much of it. He was happy to have two of the closest people to him be close as well. It was a rewarding feeling. However, it felt less rewarding today. Today was supposed to be perfect. Junhui had promised to stay late with his study group to give him and Minghao time. He hadn't counted on Kyungha showing up unexpectedly. 
She shrugged. "Just felt like hanging out with you guys, that is okay, isn't it?" She asked innocently. 
While it wasn't necessarily okay and it severely ruined his plans, Soonyoung nodded. Kyungha was also his friend and it was nice to have her back in his life. He couldn't just turn her away. She smiled brightly and held her arms out for a hug. It was her favorite form of skinship and without thought, Soonyoung hugged her. His nose caught a new scent and he pulled away from her. 
"Did you switch perfumes?" 
It was unlike Kyungha to do such a thing. Because she grew up with him, she knew how sensitive he was to certain smells and how they could trigger an asthma attack. It wasn't like her to switch perfumes without consulting him first. Before he could hear her answer, a cough pushed past him. He felt his chest tightening as more coughs arrived. Before long, he was wheezing and gasping for breath. He knelt on the floor as he groveled around in a desperate attempt to find his inhaler as he continued coughing. Before he could look around, his vision grew hazy. He felt light-headed and then he collapsed, feeling the life slowly drain out of him. In his last seconds of consciousness, he heard Kyungha. 
"It worked."