The Cursed and the Wicked

The Reaper and the Outcast pt. 15

Bahati and Hyung was surprised to see Jae standing outside their ferris wheel door, but they had to contain their shocked expressions, since they are the only ones that could see Jae and the ghost of a chubby man standing behind him. The two of them gulped down the knot in their throats. Not only were they shocked, they were also embarrassed. They were caught kissing and locking lips. They weren't expecting Jae to catch them in the act. They cleared their throats, stepped out of their seats, and tried to walk away as normally as possible. Didn't want to cause any unnecessary attention to them from other people.

Jae walked behind the two of them, with the ghost stranger following behind him. The ghost man came willingly because Jae promised to resolve any of his earthly attachments, so he could help him pass on to the after life.

Jae's gaze burrowed in the backs of Bahati and Hyung, making the two of them extremely uncomfortable. They could feel his glare. He wasn't expecting to catch them kissing. He didn't even know that the two of them liked each other in that way, but they were spending so much time together hunting ghosts and today, going on a date, obviously two living human beings could easily fall for each other under these circumstances.

But why does Jae feel......pissed off? He felt hurt and betrayed by Bahati and felt like he wanted to hurt Hyung. Jae didn't really understand these feelings, these emotions. Reapers were not allowed to have emotions, so why was he feeling this way? Ever since he met Bahati, she has been changing him in weird ways that are abnormal for a reaper. He didn't understand her power and her influence over him. How does one woman make a reaper feel.......emotions? Why is being around her bringing back weird memories and images in his head? He couldn't figure it out, but all he knew now was that he wanted to rip Hyung to shreds.

It was an awkward walk back to Bahati's apartment. All three of them were silent. Bahati's and Hyung's hearts and thoughts were racing and the strange ghost felt weird following these strangers around. He felt like he was imposing on the three of them, but the reaper promised to help him, so he didn't have much of a choice.

All of them sat in Bahati's living room, on her couch. Jae knew they were trying to come up with an excuse as to what they were doing, but nothing would work, since he saw with his own eyes.

"What you saw..." Hyung was the first to speak, but Jae shot him such a strong death glare that it sent a cold shiver up his spine, so he decided to keep his mouth shut.

Bahati took a deep inhale before exhaling. What was she was so damn nervous for? She didn't do anything that was shameful or embarrassing. So she kissed Hyung, who cares? What is he, her boyfriend?

"Look, I don't why I feel like I have to explain myself to you, but I will." She said.

Jae looked over at her, interested in hearing what she had to say.

"I have been enjoying my time with Hyung these past few weeks. You know how I am a bit of an outcast. People avoid me because I see and converse with ghosts. I am not very popular, so I don't have much of a social life. You know this Jae. Hanging out with Hyung has been refreshing to me because I finally know what it feels like to have an actual friend. Hyung has also been a tremendous help with my ghost busting without asking for anything in return, not even money. He has been such a godsend to me. I wanted to show him how appreciative I am of him."

"So you kiss him? Don't humans, I don't know, buy them drinks and dinner to show that?" Jae asked, irritated.

What was he saying? Why was he acting like a jealous boyfriend?

Bahati rolled her eyes at his question and tone. "Yes, other people do. However, only one thought came to my mind in that moment. It was a heat of a moment kind of thing. We were on the ferris wheel, surrounded by beautiful neon lights and gorgeous nightly scenery. The atomsphere was romantic, so kissing was the only thought that came to mind." She explained calmly.

Jae understood where Bahati was coming from. He knew that she never really had much of a social life, since people avoided her. Having Hyung in her life must be a breath of fresh air for her. Yeah, she has Jae to talk to, hang out, and ghost bust with, but he is dead and is a reaper. Their relationship is purely professional. They are partners. They are nothing more than that. Bahati needed living friends. She needed relationships with living people. Jae could not fill that for her. When he collects his thousand souls, he will disappear from her and she will die and be reaped. Bahati will be his thousandth soul.

Jae stayed silent after he humphed like a grumpy old man.

Bahati smiled at him, satisfied that her answer satisfied him. "Thanks for understanding me."

Hyung sighed in relief. He was glad that they were able to get past this awkward situation. "Okay! Who is this handsome ghost man with us?" He asked, trying to change the subject real quick, even though he couldn't really see the ghost.

"Choi Si Hyuk." Jae answered Hyung.

Si Hyuk bowed his head to the two of them, not knowing that only Bahati and Jae could see him.

"Choi Si Hyuk comes from a wealthy conglomerate family." Jae started the introduction.

"Really?" Both Bahati and Hyung asked, having never really met a rich and wealthy person in real life. They have only really seen them in dramas.

"His father owns a chain of businesses and is currently doing a redevelopment on an neighborhood to create his very own mall."

Bahati became melancholy. Redevopment means kicking people out their businesses and taking over their neighborhood, but also, Si Hyuk is obviously dead. "How did he Si Hyuk die?"

"Suicide." Jae answered.

Both Bahati and Hyung looked at him sadly.

"Si Hyuk had a lover. The two of them were irrevocably in love with each other. However, his parents did not approve of their relationship."

"He was grown. Why his parents getting involved in his love affairs?" Bahati asked, for some reason, really annoyed.

"They are a rich family, so of course his family wanted him to find someone on the same status as them. It's typical." Hyung answered Bahati.

"Yes, his lover wasn't on the same level, status wise. He was a commoner. Worked a bunch of part time jobs to get by and went to university."

"Wait a second, he?" Bahati asked, surprised.

"Yes, that's the second reason why they couldn't accept his lover. His lover was another man."

"Ah, so his parents was just shit. Got it." Bahati said.

"His parents was never gonna accept him and his lover, and on top of that, they were arranging a marriage for him with a woman without his consent and behind his back. He took his own life by emptying a whole bottle of sleeping pills and fell into an eternal sleep."

"How tragic." Hyung said.

"However, his lover, Kim Taehyun , has no idea that he is dead. His parents were never planning on telling him and was forbidden to see him, so he has no idea what was going on. Si Hyuk had been haunting his parents as revenge for keeping him and Taehyun apart. His parents are willing to pay whatever amount to get rid of him."

"Wait, how do you know this?" Hyung asked.

"They posted an ad online for an exorcist."

"Ah okay."

"What does Si Hyuk want?" Bahati asked.

"I just want to see Taehyun  again and tell him everything that happened and that I will finally be at peace." Si Hyuk finally said.

"Okay. We will take the job." Bahati said. "I'm only doing this for you, Si Hyuk. Not your hateful parents that drove you to suicide."

Choi Si Hyuk bowed his head again. "Thank you."