"we are really sorry."
gaze cast downwards, soyou could only bite her lower lip and accept the white envelope that her manager was holding out. an apologetic look was evident on the raven-haired lady's face and before she can turn to head back into the cafe, soyou called for her.
"wait!" the lady turned back with a questioning gaze. "may i know the reason..."
a sigh. "your haggard look is scaring the customers away, soyou. as much as i like your hardworking attitude, appearance is important for business."
a tiny "ahh" escaped from the disheartened girl's lips before she bowed respectfully and turned to walk down the street with her head lowered. as her hunched shoulders brushed past people, she muttered soft apologies and gradually her steps slowed. she looked at her reflection on a glass window.
horrible crescents of grey were visible beneath her eyes and tangled chocolate brown hair hung just past her shoulders. having an average height and smooth complexion, she could actually pass off as a pretty and well-liked girl easily.
but god just had to play with her.
then again, she was used to it. used to the crazy lifestyle that had her sitting on edges nearly half the time. it's not that she liked being able to see ghosts ; but she knew she had to live with it.
the boy, jeon jeongguk, came as an enormous blessing in her life.
ever since knowing that a reply from him could cause the ghosts to disappear from her sight, it was like she finally found the light. she had been living in constant fear for the past 20 years of her life and he came in like a beacon — her lifeboat.
even if he didn't think so.
soyou was very well aware that he found her annoying, but who could blame her, really? she had to grab onto the blessing.
as she rounded the corner to the street she was living in, her phone vibrated.
"hello?" she answered.
"kim soyou! wait— you're able to talk to me now? aren't you working?"
"umm. i kind of got fired." soyou fiddled with the loose strands at the ends of her sweater as she subconsciously pouted.
"... soyou..."
she sighed. "i know."
"let's meet up, i'm near your workplace."
//
mugs of green tea latte were held tightly to warm their hands as the 2 friends sat side by side at the window seats, facing the seoul streets that looked even more beautiful at night. people from all walks of life were strolling past and several visited the pastries shop they were in to escape from the cold, the twinkling of bells signalling their arrival.
"soyou."
"hmm?"
"how much longer are you going to live like that?"
a sideway glance at her friend, eunseo, revealed the worry that was evident from the frown. eunseo was the only person in the world, excluding her parents, who knew about her ability to see ghosts. since then, eunseo had always been fascinated and afraid, but there for soyou nonetheless. throughout the years they have known each other, the black haired girl never failed to bring up the option of staying together so as to lessen soyou's fears, but soyou had always rejected. she really didn't want to bring trouble to anyone.
or to be more specific, she was a hundred percent sure that eunseo would freak out when she sees her friend talking to the air.
"i don't know." soyou muttered, taking a sip from the mug and eyed the passersby. "forever, i guess."
a comfortable silence fell over them before eunseo spoke up. "i know of a one-time job that gives a really good wage."
with widening eyes, soyou turned to look at her. "what job? sign me up—"
"the location is at the cemetry, though."
".... oh."
"but the pay is really good! it's like 5 times of the cafe's one and it's only for a day—"
"eunseo." soyou deadpanned. "it's going to be filled with them."
"but you really need the money, don't you?"
this time, she hesitated. that was true, and more than anything, she had jeon jeongguk. her lighthouse.
so she turned to look at eunseo, a telepathic message sending through their eyes and the shorter girl scribbled a number on a piece of napkin immediately. "just call this number to enquire about it. you should stand a high chance of getting it ; they are in urgent need of people since it's quite last minute stuff."
as soyou picked the napkin up, a feeling of dread washed over her. she knew she shouldn't be doing this and it was too dangerous...
"hey." eunseo nudged her. "have you been seeing any of them lately though?"
humming in response, soyou pocketed the napkin. "all the time, seo. there's one beside you right now, you know."
the colour draining rapidly from her friend's face was almost hilarious.
"are you for real?" eunseo whispered harshly.
"why'd you think i didn't take that seat?" soyou replied amusedly, throwing a quick glance to the guy next to eunseo. he wasn't doing anything in particular but simply staring out the windows, his head perched on his hand. a large gash ran across his forehead and there were numerous cuts that resembled road burns on his face. just another harmless, wandering spirit who probably died because of a road accident.
turning, he caught soyou's stare and nodded in greeting. in return, soyou nodded back politely and earned a glare from eunseo.
shuffling closer to her friend, eunseo gritted her teeth and adverted her gaze as much as possible from the supposedly empty seat next to her.
"i hate you, kim soyou."
