ghostly ➳ kim taehyung

seven; "what article?"

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"There's something strange about this town, don't you think?" 

"What do you mean?" Taehyung questions with a soft frown as he skims over Chaewon's burgundy bookcase. 

"I don't know," she sighs. "It just feels like something is wrong here." 

"I'm guessing the city was never strange. Snob," he laughs teasingly. She retaliates by projecting a heart-shaped, fluffy and pink cushion into his direction. He chuckles when it bounces softly off his forehead and falls onto the floorboards beneath. 

"I'm not a snob! I never really enjoyed living in Seoul, anyway. Too busy." 

It's the weekend and Taehyung unexpectedly showed up again -- well, expectedly, but still uninvited. Chaewon genuinely doesn't mind, though; it's nice to be liked and Taehyung is a good friend. 

"It's Subin's birthday next week and I haven't bought her anything yet. Am I a terrible sister?"

"Kind of," Taehyung jokes and laughs loudly, the sound echoing through the spacious room, up the towering walls, and along the widespread ceiling. "I'm kidding. But you will be if you don't hurry up and buy her something." 

"I could buy her a perfume-maker kit, you know the one that every kid these days has? I always wanted one as a kid but my Mom always insisted it was a waste of money, and that she'd just buy me a new spray instead. So, if I buy Subin one I can secretly use it too," Chaewon jokes with a smile. 

"A perfume-maker kit, really?" Taehyung laughs. "You're crazy."

"Oh, you just reminded me! Jimin and I found out something crazy about this house the other day. You wanna hear?" 

Taehyung shuffles slightly in the chair but nods, nevertheless. 

"So, Jimin found some article online about a family who once lived here in the 1930s. Apparently, a mother and her son were murdered here by the dad, but no one knows for sure. How interesting is that?" 

"Very," Taehyung responds but there's an underlying stiffness in his tone. "Um, I've got to go. I just remembered that I need to help my grandma with something. I'll see you soon, OK?" 

"Yeah, um, okay. See you round, Tae." 

Chaewon frowns as she watches Taehyung hurry out of the room, disappearing out of her sight as the door closes softly behind him. There's a sweater lying on her bed that belongs to him, an ugly mustard-toned fabric that she discreetly grimaced at the sight of at first. Chaewon quickly grabs it and jogs to the door, swinging it open and heading out onto the landing. 

"Wait, Taehyung!" She calls, assuming that he'll still be here. But she's met with silence until her own sigh interrupts it. 

She walks slowly back to her room and as soon as she does, a familiar but forgotten image catches her attention. Chaewon stares at the drawing that captivated her the day she first moved in, something clicking inside her head as she does so. The messy drawing depicts a mother and son. 

"Jimin," she sighs in relief as soon as he answers the call. "You need to come over. Bring your laptop, too." 

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"What is it, Chae?" Jimin questions the moment he steps inside her room. "It sounded urgent."

"Come over here and look at this!" She insists, still crouched down beside the mysterious drawing.

"What is it? Did Subin or Yejun draw this?" 

"No, it was here the first day we moved in," Chaewon answers quickly. "I think this is the mother and son who died here." 

She expects Jimin to laugh or to call her silly. Not because Jimin is judgmental in any way, but because she's fully aware of how crazy she sounds. 

"I mean, who else would it be? If my research was right, nobody else besides you and your family has lived here since. Look at the unhappy face." 

"I know," Chaewon pouts sadly. "If it is him, the boy who died, then that's so upsetting. They obviously didn't have a particularly happy life." 

"We don't know that for sure," Jimin says softly as though he's trying to lighten the situation. "We don't even know what happened yet. We might even be blaming the wrong person for their murders."

"I guess. I just want to know what happened, it's really bothering me. It's all I've thought about since we found the article." 

"Me too," Jimin admits. "But I think we should both try to forget about it. If they didn't know what happened at the time it did, we won't be able to find out now."

"So, we just pretend the article doesn't exist?" Chaewon questions warily. 

Jimin nods seriously before a small smile spreads across his face. "What article?" 

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"So, class, today I'll be setting you guys a new project based on the history of our school. I want you, in groups of three, to find out everything you can and present it in a way of your choice. This will be worth half of your overall coursework section." 

Chaewon glances in the direction of Jimin who smiles back at her, before diverting her eyes to where Mina is sat near the back of the class. The two meet eyes and both nod in approval. Well, that was easier than she thought it'd be. 

"What has our school got to do with our coursework?" Chaewon questions as she strolls down the corridor after the lesson, Mina, whose hair is now a dazzling shade of silver, by her side for the first time in a while. 

"Well, the teacher chooses a topic for the first half and we choose one for the other half. Who knows, maybe this school has a genuinely interesting past." 

"I hope so," Chaewon sighs dramatically. "I can't cope if it's boring. Wait, I almost forgot to ask. You don't mind working with Jimin, do you?"

"No, I don't mind. Jimin is cool." 

"Okay, good," Chaewon grins widely just as she catches Yeongsu's gaze from across the corridor. "I'll be right back." 

"Hey, tutor. When's our first session?" He greets with his signature smirk. A few of his friends are hanging by the lockers with him which makes Chaewon feel slightly uncomfortable, only because she doesn't know them too well. 

"Um, I'm free tomorrow, I think. We could start after final bell in the library." 

"In the library?" Yeongsu frowns. "You can't even talk in there or you get murdered by Librarian Park. I was thinking we could go to yours instead. Or mine, if your place isn't free." 

It isn't every day that an attractive boy practically invites themselves over to her house, so Chaewon barely hesitates before she finds herself enthusiastically nodding. 

"Yeah, sure. My place it is." 

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author's note: Hey everyone, hope you enjoyed this chapter! Some hints are finally starting to show ;)