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the sound of cicadas buzzing fills the air as jeongguk walks through the city. he'd already finished his exams and is heading back to his apartment. he comes across the bridge once again, memories of the night where he'd seen seokjin reenacting his death flash before his eyes.
even if he's a positive-minded ghost, it seems like there has to be something about him that makes him want to die every day.
jeongguk brushes off his thoughts and continues along his way.
cars zoom past and bits of conversation here and there from passerby reaches his ears.
"our exams are over so we should go to the beach!" says a girl who's probably around his age and maybe even goes to his university (not that he would know, you know, since he has no friends).
"i don't want to go to the beach, pools are better." her friend disagrees.
they continue to go back and forth, relinquishing stories about their past summer experiences.
jeongguk's foot knocks into something and he looks down, it's a beetle who'd fallen on its back. not even an expression of disgust or even shock appears on his face, he just stares at it blankly. he bends down and reaches out to it but all of a sudden it flies away. "uwaa!"
as he stands back up and brushes his air from his face sweat beads down his neck from the humid summer air.
"ah...i hate summer." he sighs.
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jeongguk comes back to his place to find seokjin watching t.v.
"it's those types of doors where there's a mailbox at the bottom," a woman starts, "then a thin hand comes from there and creepily scratches the door with its nails and makes creaking sounds—"
"woah." seokjin watches the screen intently.
"that's scary...gguk-ah be careful, ok? this apartment is quite old after all." he warns, worried.
jeongguk looks up at him while he's taking off his shoes.
"um...do you think you can look into my eyes and say that again?" he deadpans.
he sighs while running a hand through his hair.
"geez, this is why i hate summer, these kinds of scary stories are everywhere."
the noise of the tv catches his ear as the person on screen continues telling gruesome details of the story.
"—is it the curse of a ghost or something?" another announcer asks.
a painful throb pangs through jeongguk's heart at the mention of the word.
huh, my heart's been hurting for awhile now. that can't be too good.
throb, throb, throb, jeongguk's heart beats wildly out of nowhere.
curse of a ghost huh?, he thinks.
jeongguk shakes his head vigorously to rid of his thoughts and drops his things off by the couch.
"hmm? are you going to go shopping?" seokjin asks curiously as he looks up at jeongguk, who was just about to go out again.
"i want to go too!"
jeongguk just stares back at him, with one hand on the knob.
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this is ridiculous.
"i'm not talking to you outside, okay?"
"okay!...but we're talking right now though..." seokjin mutters the last part.
a cat walks past them on a wall as birds fly high in the red-hued summer sky. elementary kids talk and laugh excitedly while running down the street. the pair watches as they rush past.
"primary students are already on summer break huh? watching t.v. earlier really scared me so looking at them calms me down." the ghost admits from beside him.
it's not a weird thing to say but it's just not normal to hear it coming from him. he's literally a ghost but he gets scared by a television show?, jeongguk scoffs inwardly.
jin pauses suddenly, and jeongguk nearly walks into him.
"say...just like on the t.v...if my consciousness and feelings were to disappear, i wonder if i'd simply turn into a monster," he says, with closed eyes and his hands shoved in his pockets. for such heavy words the look on his face is completely calm.
"if who i am disappears, you know?...i'm afraid of that," he looks back at jeongguk.
"gguk-ah, be careful, okay? your apartment is quite old after all." he says with a sweet smile.
jeongguk looks at him, wordless.
seokjin turns around with a grin. "and i hear that there's a ghost right—" his eyes widen as a crow flutters past his head, ruffling his hair and clothes.
the moment's gone; his shocked expression returns to a jovial one.
"just kidding." he says with a small smile.
his smile falters when he looks at guk, who has a conflicted look on his face as he stares down at his converse shoes.
"i-if we're going to the supermarket, wouldn't the bridge be faster? no... actually, i feel like eating bento today." jeongguk stutters.
at that, seokjin actually gives what seems like a genuine smile, realizing what the other's trying to do. he pats his head gently.
"i unexpectedly like the you that thinks about others so wholeheartedly." he repeats his words from the other day.
jeongguk's ears redden and his heart race picks up yet again. suddenly he starts to wobble as his knees fail to keep him upright.
"huh? jeongguk are you okay?" seokjin asks concernedly. he moves toward him.
"wait! jeongguk!—"
the last thing jeongguk sees is the other's panicked expression before he faints.
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omg im so so sorry for not updating for a while and missing my schedule guys!! i just started school again and i'm afraid i'm going to be pretty busy 😭. i'll try my hardest to update and keep up with my schedule but please don't hate me if i miss it!! :'(
