"You know you can back out, right?" Wendy said, interrupting the ambient sounds of nature around us.
Our first case for the day brought us to a forest park. Wendy and I walked side by side on a path leading to our destination, the sunlight peeking through the gaps between the leaves overhead. Under my arm, I clutched a couple of tent bags.
"Why would I do that?"
"I mean, after what happened Wednesday..."
"You're worried I might get attacked again, aren't you?" The events of the previous investigation were still fresh in my head, but in all honesty, the demon's attack wasn't what dominated my thoughts that morning.
Wendy crossed her arms, staring up into the blanket of green, yellow, and orange above us. "Nope. It would bring me joy like no other to watch as another demon drags you off to the underworld. Of course, I'm worried."
"Wendy, that was a one-time thing."
"But what if it happens again? Like, out of the blue."
"Wendy..."
"I was the one who convinced you to tag along in the first place. What if something happens to you?"
"Wendy."
"What?!" Her frantic tone drew the attention of Ildo and Joohyun, who were walking right in front of us; somehow Ildo had become a maybe-permanent member of the group. I wondered what purpose I served in the group now that there were two people who could see ghosts. Both of them looked back at us for a moment before shrugging it off, returning to their conversation.
"I'm not backing out. I like joining these investigations," I lied to reassure her. I couldn't say that I enjoyed seeking out supernatural entities every other day. But it wasn't like I could back out, what with Jisoo's threat.
Wendy gave me a look of doubt. "You sure?"
"I'm sure," I said with a smile. She returned the smile with her own, beaming brighter than the streaks of morning sun occasionally shining down on us as our feet crunched with fallen leaves.
"If you say so. Just don't go back on your word."
"Wouldn't dream of it."
Wendy's mood shifted in an instant. Any more and she'd be skipping along the beaten path, crashing into Joohyun and Ildo. The sight of her smile only strengthened my resolve to not back out; I couldn't let anything happen to her out of my own selfishness.
With the conversation halted, my mind returned to ruminating about the last time I'd been at the mansion. Jisoo had shown hints of something which I'd previously presumed her incapable of—empathy. Maybe she could've played off her desire to check on my wellbeing as part of our agreement, but it was her reaction to hearing what little I'd disclosed about my past. And with it, she'd offered a glimpse into her own past, not as a ghost, or a Mogwai or whatever, but as a human being with an actual life. That was before she resumed her harsh and intimidating tone.
Trying to figure her out gave me a headache.
"We're here," Seulgi called out from the front.
"Ugh, thank God." Yerim bent forward to massage her ankle.
We arrived at a small clearing in the forest, barren of any plant life. On the bare dirt lay a few discarded beer cans and a muddy cap. The stray objects, a sign of previous campers alongside the now extinguished campfire, gave the impression that their owners had left in a hurry, from the way they were strewn close to where we stood. The seven of us gathered in a crudely-formed circle. I let the tent bags I'd been carrying down on the dirt, and Ildo did the same, having with him two more identical bags.
YOU ARE READING
The Next Life (다음 생에 만날래)
Fanfiction"You found me once, you can find me again." - Jisoo x Male Reader - Jang Y/N never had much to call his own in life, but two things: his best friend Wendy, and his ability to see ghosts. When both of those things combine, and he ends up tagging alon...
