Dancing with Your Ghost [on hold]

s e v e n t e e n

Cause I notice when you get mad
You close your eyes
And I notice when you are sad
You let out sighs
I need to know are those sighs ever over me?
Do you know how in love with you
I am

Please Notice
- Christian Leave

»»————-　➴　————-««

There was something harbored in the walls of Jeongguk's home. Taehyung liked to call it magic, simply put. His senses have been dulled in his state of body, but everything in this apartment felt amplified. The beat-up armchair with claw marks was cozier than it looked. The colors burned a brighter hue. Whatever was on the stove smelled a lifetime better than just—

"Stupid noodles," the chestnut boy whined to no one in particular, "Why won't you boil?"

Taehyung stood behind him, chest to the boy's back as he reached out and turned on the electric stove. "I dunno—"

Jeongguk jumped at his voice, then again at the ravenhead's hand that appeared out of the blue.

"—maybe you should turn the stove on first?"

The chestnut boy's entire complexion turned bright scarlet. "Taehyung!" he exclaimed, swatting at the ravenhead like he was chasing away a housefly, "I have a doorbell!"

A breathy laugh escaped the ravenhead, shifting his weight onto the countertop. "Sorry. It's fun to surprise you, Gguk."

Jeongguk glared, hands on his hips. But the pout on his lips proved that it was all bark no bite. "If I didn't know better, I would've thought you were trying to scare me to literal death."

"Don't be dramatic." Taehyung moved seamlessly around the kitchen, positioning himself by the window and smiling cutely at the few cactuses that were placed there. "You knew I was coming. You always do," he said softly, turning to face the boy again, "I guess you were a bit too busy with... not cooking?"

"I thought the stove was on," Jeongguk peeped, fingers pinching the back of his neck sheepishly, "This might take a while."

Taehyung made a beeline towards him, running his translucent fingers along the chestnut boy's still-bandaged arm. Jeongguk shivered, meeting the intensity of his eyes.

The ravenhead's gaze focused and unwavering, and whenever it fell on Jeongguk, the boy could feel butterfly wings against every patch of skin. He blamed it on the ghost and not his feelings.

A smile pulled at the corners of Taehyung's lips, perfectly comfortable. "Take your time," he told him, before gesturing to his past wound, "When was the last time you changed your bandages?"

Jeongguk was still frozen in place. He willed his mouth to form words. "I'm supposed to change them?"

The ravenhead cocked his head to the side, eyes questioning. "I can do it for you later," he offered innocently, "before we head out for the other photoshoot location you wanted to show me."

Truth be told, Taehyung had no medical experience whatsoever. Do people need to redo their bandages every once in a while? Sounds reasonable. Was it the perfect excuse to be closer to the boy? Absolutely.

"Oh, um," Jeongguk answered, thoughts scattered, "Actually, I was thinking maybe not."

Misunderstanding that Jeongguk didn't want his help, Taehyung's expression changed. "Oh it's okay. You can do it yourself."

"No I mean—" The heat on his cheeks reached his ears. "You can do the bandaging for me. I'm just thinking we not go on a photo shoot today. We can stay in." He stirred the noodles, avoiding Taehyung's confused eyes. "And I know you don't want to be around but—"