Soe-Yeon understood now that this white lady ghost was the mother of the two children she saved.
But She didn't know her children when they first met...
"Wait. You're not here to possess me? Or drag me into a cursed mirror?" Seo-Yeon asked with surprise. She was still crouching near the table.
"Can you come out before we talk?"
"Nope, you didn't answer my question. So, I'll not come out."
Ghost sighed.
"No"
Seo-Yeon nodded with satisfaction before emerging from her hiding place. "Okay, great. We're good then. Welcome to our house. Please don't touch me, ever. But welcome. I guess..."
"..."
Seo-Yeon stood awkwardly, but suddenly she thought of something "Well, while you're here… if you ever feel like haunting my ex instead, he is sleeping in the room across the hallway.
***
Seo-Yeon was lost in thought remembering their first meeting.
"You threw vitamins at me." The ghost repeats.
Seo-Yeon avoids the eye contact "In my defense, you were standing like a horror movie trailer. Behind that man like a discount exorcist."
"Hmm, now you are ignoring me"
"If you were a tax bill, it would've worked," Soe-Yeon mumbles to herself.
When Soe-Yeon turns her head to face the other side, the ghost lady floats to the other side of the bed so Seo-Yeon is forced to face her.
"I'm not here to haunt you. I'm just... monitoring."
Seo-Yeon's brows furrowed "Monitoring? This isn't ghost Hotflix. Get your own kids' channel." she snapped at the ghost.
"You're the only one who can see me, you know."
"Wow. Lucky. Me." Seo-Yeon deadpans.
"They like you. The twins." the ghost says with little hurt and hope in its eyes.
Wow, ghosts can even express their emotions...
Emotions that are other than scaring the sh*t out of a person with their creepy face.
Seo-yeon looks at the ghost with suspicion "Are you buttering me up before dragging me to the afterlife?"
She sinks back trying to move a little further from the ghost.
The ghost shakes its head "No. I'm trying to thank you."
Seo-yeon is stunned "Wait... ghosts say thank you nowadays? Is this a new haunting policy? Ghosts Gone Polite?"
The ghost lady smirks slightly "You saved them. My Children. And you didn't run when you saw me. Well, you did throw something, but still. You stayed."
"Ma'am if you have forgotten, I was unconscious for 80% of that interaction," Seo-Yeon replies.
"..."
"Can I float through the wall now or is that going to upset you again? You can collect your thoughts. I'll come back later." the ghost asks.
"Only if you promise not to flicker the lights dramatically. I'm still recovering. From trauma. And your hair extensions." Seo-Yeon says.
The ghost lady chuckles "You're dramatic."
"What do you know? I'm alive. We're rare like that."
"You know I was alive once..."
Ghost cuts her off before she can say something.
"Just take care of them… please."
The ghost says before floating through the wall and disappearing.
...
Seo-Yeon was sipping warm tea, trying to calm herself, while the ghost floats nearby looking entirely too casual for someone without a pulse.
"Didn't we talk that night? Why are you back again??"
The ghost floated silently without answering her question.
"What is this, a loyalty program? Haunt ten times, and get a free exorcism?" Seo-Yeon said squinting her eyes at the lady ghost.
The ghost sighed.
Do ghosts usually sigh all the time??
The thought was very brief in Seo-Yeon's head before she could ask the question, the ghost spoke.
"Stop being dramatic, Will you? I didn't even flicker the lights this time."
Seo-Yeon nodded "But that doesn't define why you were literally hovering over my IV stand like you were choosing between haunting me or the saline bag."
"I was trying to get your attention."
Seo-Yeon clapped her hand "Mission accomplished, Soso. Welcome to my nerves."
Just because they have names that sound the same, the ghost has taken liberty with her, how rude.
The ghost with the name Kang So-Hyun...
And the ghost friend Im Seo-Yeon...
Seo-Yeon started calling the ghost "Soso" because it sounded funny and made her less afraid of the ghost.
Instead of reacting to the snide remark the ghost floats over toward the chair.
The ghost floats down to sit on the visitor's chair like an actual person, crossing her legs.
Seo-Yeon blinks.
"Are you... sitting? Can ghosts sit?" she asks.
The ghost lady nods her head "We can. We just choose not to. It's usually more... intimidating when we float."
Seo-Yeon nods her head "Well, sitting does make you 20% less terrifying but it also makes you 80% more annoying."
"..."
"What do you want?" Seo-Yeon asks the lady.
"A deal"
Seo-Yeon Weaved the tea in hand at the ghost "Ma'am, the only deals I accept involve discounts and free shipping."
The ghost lady ignores that "You care about the twins."
"I don't..."
The ghost again ignores her "You saved them. You're protective. That's good. They need that."
"I also need peace. And therapy. Possibly a sage sticks the size of a baseball bat if you keep showing up like a K-drama jump scare." Seo-Yeon comments taking a sip of her tea.
"Let me help you." the ghost says.
Seo-Yeon chocks on the tea "Excuse me?"
"I'll help you. With things you want—your idol journey, your career, Jun-Hyun—"
"Whoa whoa whoa!" Seo-Yeon raises her hand stopping the ghost "Let's stop at Jun-Hyun. I'm not trying to become the next contestant on "Ghost's Got Romance."
"And who said I want to be with Superstar Kang Jun-Hyun..."
"You need access to him. For the children. For support. Emotional... maybe financial." the ghost reasons.
"AH! Lady! I'm still recovering from saving your kids, don't give me a heart attack and turn me into your roommate." Seo-Yeon stops her.
The ghost crosses her arms "Then stop being difficult and listen."
Seo-Yeon looks at the ghost with suspicion "Great, now even the dead are shipping me."
"This isn't a love triangle, Soe-Yeon. I'm not here for that"
"Then why are you here? You always show up when I'm vulnerable—injured, or sleepy."
"Because that's the only time you stop running from me like I'm the tax office." Ghost lady replies to her.
"You are scarier than the tax office." Seo-Yeon mumbles.
The ghost lady sighs for nth time "Seo-Yeon, the twins need you. They're not safe."
"I literally threw myself into a fight with their kidnappers to save them. What more do you want—my pancreas?" Seo-yeon snaps.
"I want you to move into the mansion."