Friend {SoonHoon}

four

Thankfully, Soonyoung had retained most of his memories and he was able to find his old apartment with ease. It was a run down in one of the cheapest neighborhoods in Seoul, but for him and his two friends, it was their safe haven. They pooled their money made from part-time jobs and concerned parents to get it. It was also convenient as it was only a block from their dance studio. Soonyoung used to have so much fondness for it, but now he just felt sad looking at it.

He felt like he was intruding as he entered. He looked around and was hit by nostalgia. It was the same as he left it. It even smelt the same. Soonyoung breezed past and found Minghao in the kitchen. He was standing at the stove making a pot of ramen. Soonyoung watched him with longing and sadness. Minghao was one of his closest and best friends. He, Minghao, and Junhui had been through the ups and downs of young adulthood together. It felt weird to no longer be by their side. Without thinking, he reached out to touch Minghao's shoulder. However, the moment he made contact, the other shivered and sidestepped.

"Did I leave the window open?" He muttered to himself.

If Soonyoung knew that he still could, he would have cried at that very moment. He felt so frustrated. He had come to terms with being a ghost. He figured that it sucked, but it had its benefits. It could be fun and exciting at times. But now, he would give anything to be alive again and talk to his friends. Before he could Minghao any further, he forced himself to calm down. He had a task to do. He couldn't let his emotions control him.

He moved from the kitchen to head down the hall. He passed Junhui who was on his way to the living room. As their shoulders brushed, Junhui shivered and looked around, trying to find the source of the cold draft. Soonyoung gazed after him. He wanted to reach out and hug his friend, tell him he was right there, he didn't have to look for him, but as he learned, the afterlife was cruel and he had to watch as Junhui shrugged and continued to the living room.

His room was at the very end of the hall. Their apartment was only a two-bedroom. At first, Soonyoung had offered Minghao and Junhui the rooms, claiming he would have been fine to sleep in the living room, but they were hearing none of it. They agreed to share the biggest room and give Soonyoung a room to himself.

"It's the only option that makes the most sense." Minghao had said. "You're messy and can't share with anyone and if you sleep in the living room, we'd have a hoarder situation. Take the other room."

Soonyoung couldn't argue with his logic. So, he took the room. As predicted, in his time there, his room was the messiest. Clothes scattered the floor, some clean, some dirty, some too questionable to touch. Multiple papers were strewn across his makeshift desk that was actually a couple of boxes, and his bed was always unmade. However, as he walked in, it was nothing like that. It was dark, cold, and almost empty except for the bed and dresser. His friends had most likely sent his stuff to his parents or gave it away. It wasn't like he actually expected to see his room how he had left it that last morning, but he had to admit that it hurt to see it empty. It almost felt like he had never existed. He left his room and wondrously aimed down the hall.

"What the hell am I even supposed to be looking for?" He grumbled to himself.

He knew he was supposed to be finding things that could have led to his death or at least his last moments, but it had been over a year. Surely, there wasn't anything left to find. It was all beginning to seem like one big waste of time. Nonetheless, he continued his search in Minghao and Junhui's room. He was partly curious if they had kept anything of his as a keepsake. He felt guilty for entering their room. Even if he was dead and they would never know, it still felt wrong to snoop around. Regardless, he continued looking around and stopped at the shelf. Soonyoung looked fondly at it. They had found it discarded on the curb and the three of them struggled to carry it home and into their small apartment. Minghao and Junhui had been so happy to have it. Their small collections of books and childhood dance trophies graced the shelves and Soonyoung looked at them each in turn. It was so them it hurt. His eyes landed on a framed picture in the center of the shelf, proudly on display. It was a picture of the three of them after their first performance. They were sweaty and their stage makeup was smeared, but all three wore bright and proud smiles. He smiled sadly. If only he could go back in time. Once again forgetting he's a ghost, he went to pick the picture up, only to knock it off and various things around it due to his excess strength.

"Shit." He cursed.

He could only hope the noise wasn't loud enough for Junhui or Minghao to hear. Luck seemed to be on his side as no movement was heard from the living room. Soonyoung sighed in relief and bent down to pick it up, but had to concentrate hard to focus all of his energy on the one object so as to not create more of a mess. He learned that the hard way after nearly setting the funeral hall on fire during his own funeral. He managed to put everything back except for one item. Soonyoung went to pick it up but stopped when he saw something familiar under the bed. Wanting to investigate, he went to reach for it, but stopped when he felt that something in the room was off...and dark. It was almost like he wasn't the only spirit in the house.