Friend {SoonHoon}

one

Lee Jihoon was far from normal. From the time that he was old enough to talk, he could see and communicate with ghosts. It wasn't a skill set he was particularly proud of. In fact, it was something about himself that he hated and tried to hide away. To him, ghosts were annoying and needy creatures. They always had some kind of agenda and always wanted Jihoon to fix all their problems. When he wouldn't respond the way they wanted, they would try to terrorize him only to realize he wasn't scared of them. Most ghosts actually found Jihoon to be terrifying instead after they made the mistake of waking him from a deep sleep. The thing Jihoon hated most about ghosts was their lack of the concept of time. Random spirits would just show up in his bedroom in the dead hours of the morning-no pun intended. In the end, he found he could never turn them away in fear they would just continue to bug him until he helped them. He was the only that could.

The ability came from his grandmother on his father's side. She was an experienced Shaman and her 'gift' was passed down through the bloodline. Naturally, Jihoon was born with the supernatural ability and responsibility. He first noticed it when he attended daycare. He had a friend named Kihyun. They would sit in a corner and play by themselves. However, to the daycare teachers, it appeared that little Jihoon was alone and talking to himself. They, of course, addressed the issue to his parents. His father understood perfectly while his mother was embarrassed to have such a peculiar son. From then on, he hated his ability.

It became worse when he was an adult. He had a passion for music and worked as a producer for a while. However, it seemed the old myth was true, good music attracted ghosts, and with Jihoon's ability, that only amplified. For months, various singers were poked, and messed with, and unpleasant scents filled the studio until Jihoon acknowledged them. In the end, he had to quit his producing job as he feared for the lives of others. Now, he moved outside of the city in the hope that he could finally live and sleep in peace. He took measures to prevent spirits from entering his home as well. Before her death, his grandmother gave him several talismans and told him to watch his back. He was well-known in the spirit world and would find himself overwhelmed if he didn't take precautions. The talismans prevented spirits from entering a home without permission. A full week had passed in silence and Jihoon couldn't be happier. He was getting more sleep and more work done.

After quitting his producing job, he went to writing novels. It allowed him to stay home and work at his own pace. His ability didn't have the chance to be a nuisance to others. Besides, he didn't work well with others due to his lack of communication skills from being outcasted in his childhood, because, who would want to be friends with the boy who talked to himself?

As the small clock on the wall struck a quarter after six, Jihoon went into the kitchen to make himself some tea. It was part of his nightly work ritual. He would relax with a cup of tea before writing a chapter or two of his current draft. Then, with a clear mind, he could sleep peacefully. However, just as he put the kettle on the stove, a ghost appeared before him and seated himself on the counter. Jihoon tried not to flinch or give any reaction toward the ghost. With any luck, the spirit would take the hint and leave him alone.

"Hi! I'm Soonyoung!" The ghost greeted happily.

Jihoon continued to ignore him as he turned the burner on for the kettle. As he got a mug from the cabinet, he snuck a sideways glance at the ghost. The apparition seemed to appear human-like, not translucent or transparent in any way. He was most likely a new ghost. Probably had been dead for only a year or two.

"Come on! Aren't you going to talk to me?" Soonyoung asked swinging his legs back and forth.

Jihoon took the kettle off the stove as it had started to whistle. He poured the hot water into his mug which had a green tea bag sitting at the bottom of it.

"All the other ghosts at the memorial warned me that you would just ignore me." Soonyoung hummed to himself, seeming to be thinking about something.

"Maybe they just weren't persistent enough." He concluded. "I'll be persistent. I mean, I am dead after all, I have all the time in the world."

Jihoon rolled his eyes away from Soonyoung's view but didn't make any other type of acknowledgment toward the ghost. If he did, he feared Soonyoung would never leave and the last thing he needed was a chatty ghost. Soonyoung floated down from the counter.

"I'm a pretty powerful spirit, you know." He continued.

"I can pick up objects on the first try. That's not an easy thing to do, but's the first thing I managed to master. Some ghosts have been wandering around for over a hundred years and still can't do it." He bragged.

Jihoon still didn't say anything. He simply set his tea and himself at his desk. He needed to start on his work before he went to bed, but Soonyoung was determined to make that difficult.

"You're doing work now? Man, you really are as boring as they say." Soonyoung taunted. "I mean a guy your age should be going on a date or at least hanging out with his friends." He then gasped. "Wait, do you not have any friends? That's so sad. Everyone needs fr-"

"I have friends." Jihoon snapped, cutting him off mid-sentence.

Soonyoung's expression brightened. "So you can hear me! I was starting to think you were deaf." He exclaimed. "I knew you couldn't keep it up forever."

"Shit," Jihoon swore softly.

He turned off his laptop that had zero work done, and swiveled in his chair to make eye contact with the ghost for the first time that evening.

"If I help you, will you shut up and let me sleep?" He asked.

"Depends."

"On?"

"Do you promise to help me? Because if not, I haven't talked to another human in a while. I have a lot to say and you have a lot of nice things to break." He threatened.

Jihoon sighed to himself. This ghost was annoying and persistent- the worst combination. "Yes, whatever. I promise." He muttered grumpily.

"Great! Goodnight! Enjoy your loner evening." The ghost said in a sing-song voice before disappearing into the night air.

Jihoon leaned back in his desk chair, feeling more exhausted than he had in years. "What an annoying ghost."