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growing up as an only child in a huge home had always affected park jongseong. no amount of toys or videogames could make up for all the loneliness he felt deep inside his heart.
the day his father started dating a single mother, jay could swear his heart was going to pop out of his chest. despite being 18 at the time, his inner child was so excited to share his little world with someone new.
on their 4th date, jay was introduced to the woman's son, kim sunoo. he was a pale boy with pretty pink hair and a warm smile, not to mention a bubbly personality that made jay feel like he was a little boy again.
just like their parents, jay and sunoo clicked instantly. it started with them hanging at jay's house while their parents went on dates, then it was sleepovers almost every weekend up until winter of 2022.
on christmas eve, the boys were surprised to find out their parents were engaged and would get married in spring, it was like a dream come true.
once the wedding passed and they moved into their new home together jay finally felt like he was complete, until one day, when things began to take a turn for the worst.
he would often catch sunoo crying in silence whenever they were doing the simplest things. whether it was making dinner for their parents or watching the sunset in their backyard, tears would always slip from the younger's eyes, and whenever jay asked about it, his reply stayed the same.
"it's nothing, i'm just... really happy to be here" he smiled, but deep down, both him and jay knew that wasn't the case, at least not entirely.
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"he killed himself five days ago, so when jungwon called rambling about a ghost i kinda thought he was the world's biggest asshole" jay chuckled, but there was no humor in his voice.
"now that i've seen it myself i guess there's just one thing i want to know"
riki gulped as the older's gaze shifted towards him.
"why are you still here?"
the bluntness of the question nearly made him feel offended, but he was quick to understand what jay actually meant.
"there's still stuff i need to do here before i can join the others above" he sighed, "you can't be born again unless you get rid of any burdens or regrets you may have taken to your grave"
those words played on a loop inside the boys brain, trying to make sense out of them.
"is it possible for ghosts to hide themselves from people?"
"yeah, but it's not by will, it depends on what we're feeling about someone. when i said i hated jungwon he was no longer able to see me, so anger might be a trigger, i guess"
the more he thought about it, the less he understood. was it really possible to die with no regrets? or maybe...
could it be that sunoo hated jay, and because of that he was unable to see him?
"you're crying"
"what?"
"you're overthinking too much, it makes you cry" riki affirmed, "you look stupid like that"
"just so you know, i'm not very fond of you, jongseong-ah" he mocked him, jay was quick to notice the little pitch he added when pronouncing his name.
"however" he added, "if sunoo's still waiting when i ascend, i'll make sure to tell him his emo wannabe of a brother misses him"
jay's lips curved into a smile, and for the first time in a while, he genuinely laughed.
"that actually means a lot to me. thanks, ghost-chan"
"call me that again and i swear to god i'll haunt you for the rest of your life"
