Chapter Text
“Okay, one final down. Just … four more to go.”
Soobin sighed as he walked out of the classroom, the hallways of his college quieter than usual since most students were in class. Soobin was happy that one of his classes ended earlier than the others, because he was one final closer to the summer break. He walked through some hallways before seeing the exit of the building, a sign of his freedom for the day.
He placed his hand on the door to push it open, the cool breeze allowing him to get some fresh air. He took a moment to soak in the view: the trees finally full of leaves, the warmth of the sun, the flowers blooming, and the fountain in the middle of the courtyard giving the scene that extra touch of tranquility. Soobin took one more deep breath before moving towards the fountain.
The outside was slightly busier than the building he was in, a lot of students heading to the library to continue studying for finals. His bookbag slung across his one shoulder began weighing him down as he remembered just how many books he stuffed in there this morning in preparation for his classes.
Once he reached the fountain, he set his bookbag next to him and took a look around. He had always been a more introverted person, especially around those that he didn’t know well. He preferred to isolate himself from others if it meant less awkward interaction. However, he also liked to observe life around him, although “life” may not be the right word to use.
Soobin had be born with the unique ability to see the dead, but not just any dead person. He could only see those that are stuck in purgatory, or at least that’s what he thought. He hadn’t understood his ability until he was about eight or nine. When he was younger, Soobin’s parents assumed that he was just making up imaginary friends, since he had such a hard time making friends in school early on. When Soobin was a little older and tried to show his parents the people that kept interacting with him, his parents continued to scoff and blow it off, causing Soobin to become more and more quiet about it.
It wasn’t an easy thing to grow up with, yet alone understand. Soobin had continued to try and find answers as he grew up, but he couldn’t find anything reliable. He even went to a couple counselors to see if his mind was just creating hallucinations, but a lot of his counselors thought that these “people” he was seeing was just a way for his brain to create friends of sorts. Eventually, he gave up, deciding to keep his ability to himself, even if it did drive him mad every once and awhile.
He quickly realized that interacting with those in purgatory was not an easy feat. Even though Soobin could see them, no one else could. So, on the outside, it looked like Soobin was talking to himself or a ghost, neither option looking appealing to the common passerby. He realized quickly that talking the dead in public was probably not the best idea unless he wanted to look absolutely crazy. To combat this, he stopped talking to the dead over time, part of his brain hoping they would eventually go away if he kept blocking them out. Soobin’s idea was that, if they didn’t know he could see them, they wouldn’t try interacting with him. And so far into his college life, it seemed to be working.
The only difference between the living and those stuck in purgatory was the aura around them. As Soobin continued to recognize he had this special ability, he began to see colored auras around those stuck in purgatory. After talking to the dead when he was younger, he began to piece together what he thought each color meant.
Blue meant that the person died before their time or before they should have. The person would be stuck in purgatory until they reached the time they should have died. For example, if someone died suddenly at age 52 but should have died at age 55, they would be stuck in purgatory for three years before they could move on.
Yellow meant that no one had sent the person off. Soobin didn’t realize the importance of sending someone off to the afterlife. This could be in the form of a funeral or some sort of ceremony. Sometimes, Soobin hated seeing this color the most, because it usually meant the person would be stuck in purgatory forever unless someone decided to have a late funeral or ceremony for them to pass on. However, Soobin realized that this was very unlikely.
Red meant that the person doesn’t know how they actually died. The person could usually move on from purgatory after figuring out how they actually died, but that could be complicated for someone who’s dead to figure out by themselves.
Soobin was still learning about the dead every day. He noticed that they can’t touch anything, their bodies and limbs able to go through any object. This became interesting when he’d see a person walk through walls, trying not to look shocked every time a new person would just pop into a room. They also would never age, at least not physically. So, if a person died at the age of 25, they would continue to look 25, even if they’ve been stuck in purgatory for fifty years.
He also realized that most of the dead stayed around the area where they died. When he was little, he had always wanted to interact with the dead to try and prove to his parents that he could see them. He realized though that, after a certain distance, the person would disappear, as if they couldn’t travel past an invisible boundary. After some research, there were a couple old articles stating that, if an incense was lit, the dead could travel indefinitely, but Soobin had never actually tried it since he was trying to avoid the dead as much as possible.
As Soobin looked around the courtyard, he saw a couple of the dead mixed in with the living, most of them adults. He saw mostly yellow auras mixed in with a couple blue hues. He smiled before turning to his bag, pulling out his laptop and one of his textbooks. He was hoping to get a head start on his homework so he could relax and treat himself for finishing that final earlier.
After sitting at the fountain for about fifteen minutes, he heard a loud shout from across the courtyard but chose to ignore it. Most classes were being let out at this time, so Soobin was prepared for the courtyard to become rowdier than before. However, there was one voice that continued to pierce through the others. After trying to focus on his work for a couple more minutes, he found it to be useless with that voice continuing to yell.
Soobin looked up, trying to pinpoint where the voice was coming from. After scanning the area, he noticed two guys walking side by side with someone trailing behind them, waving their hands in front them as if to get the two boys’ attention. Soobin watched this for a couple seconds, seeing the man stop waving his hands after becoming obviously frustrated.
The man took a turn away from the boys and moved towards the fountain. Soobin quickly looked back at his laptop, not wanting the boy to know he was watching him. When Soobin focused, he could see an aura forming, proving his theory that the boy was dead. It made sense as to why those two boys couldn’t hear this man’s shouting. The first thing Soobin noticed was the long pink hair pulled into a ponytail, an identifying characteristic he would never forget.
Soobin tried to steal quick glances up from his laptop as the man reached the fountain a couple feet away from him. He still looked upset and even slightly distressed, causing Soobin’s soft heart to ache slightly. The worst part about ignoring the dead was when they were obviously upset or distressed and he chose to do nothing about it. Soobin continued to try and get work done as the boy pulled his knees into his chest, his arms hugging his legs as he placed his head on his knees. The boy continued to sigh, making Soobin try to focus on his work even more.
“I can’t believe Taehyun and Kai can’t see me. I’ve been trying to get their attention for a month now. Why can nobody see me?” The boy let out another sigh of frustration, his arms pulling his knees even closer to his chest. “This sucks. I would do anything for them to see me, or even just hear me.”
Soobin continued to eavesdrop, his typing becoming slower on his laptop as his brain kept keying in on what the boy was saying. After becoming a little too distracted, he accidentally knocked his textbook off the side of the fountain and towards the boy.
“Shoot.”
Soobin was halfway to picking up the book when the boy tried to kick it, his foot going right through the object. He huffed, moving his arms across his chest and pouting. Soobin pushed away the urge to glare at him, picking up the textbook and opening it back to the page it was on. When he set it back on the fountain, he could hear the boy whisper a comment.
“This guy is such a klutz.” He continued to pout, looking away from Soobin.
“I may be a klutz, but at least, I’m not rude.”
Even though Soobin thought he whispered this very quietly under his breath, he realized his mistake the second the boy shot his head in his direction. Soobin brought his attention back to his laptop, trying to ignore the man’s eyes burning into his skin.
“You … you can hear me?”