Work Text:
Lee Hoyeol was going to have a breakdown in a parking lot, and it was all this bastard’s fault.
He hovered around the man who introduced himself as Granfel Claudi Arpheus Romeo, the most noble man around, and the best of the good doers.
Of course, Granfel only said that after Lee Hoyeol was dead, nothing more than a spirit getting payback toward the person it resented most. It was hard to seem like a nobleman after murdering someone in cold blood.
Lee Hoyeol was no longer in his body. He had been possessed or something. Some maniac was using his body, puppeteering it as he pleased. Lee Hoyeol wanted to cry, but his noncorporeal form wouldn’t allow it. Instead, he only felt the need to close his non-existent eyes. They felt cold, that being the only sign of tears for a dead man like him.
Granfel, this guy who had weird mannerisms and talked in a way that shouldn’t be allowed, walked into the bank to draw out money. Why did he need it? To buy tea. Because this fucker obviously needed a warm, comforting drink after committing a murder.
“You killed me and then took over my body.” Lee Hoyeol still could not believe this was his life. Non-life. Whatever.
Granfel looked up, his eyes narrowing at Lee Hoyeol’s form. Lee Hoyeol had crossed his arms, giving what he hoped was a glare, but it was nothing more than a pout. His translucent appearance was sure to look menacing to Granfel.
But Granfel was not impressed. Not in the least. He didn’t even sigh at Lee Hoyeol’s annoying presence. He merely turned to go on with the machine to take out money.
Granfel said off-handedly, “Need not worry yourself over this predicament.”
“You are using my bank card right now!” Lee Hoyeol motioned to Granfel’s actions. “Why wouldn’t I be upset?”
Granfel met Lee Hoyeol’s gaze, and stated seriously, “I did not kill you.”
This lunatic, did he believe in those words? He said them with his whole chest. Lee Hoyeol almost fell for it. Was this guy an actor? He supposed that could make sense. That must be why he talked funny, too. Being cast in too many historical settings messed up his brain.
“I am a ghost now.” He pointed to himself, using his finger to circle toward his body for added effect. “Do you realize that?”
“You are not a ghost, I would know if you were.” Granfel gave off the aura of a child who would roll their eyes if only they weren’t afraid of being caught. “Our synchronization is different from other Players you are aware of.” And, as if he were proud, he added, “They do not have the same bond as us.”
Right. That. Players were practically heroes, protecting civilians from harm. There was a more recent incident—one that Lee Hoyeol did remember all by himself—that caused the world to implode or something. It was all based on a game. Archana? Arcadia? Archania? Something like that.
“... I’m not a Player.”
Every Player in this world had an account that was made before the incident. Lee Hoyeol didn’t play the game, therefore it was impossible for him to be a Player. And anyway, he wasn’t a hero. He preferred being safe at home, thank you very much.
“You played the game,” refuted Granfel, not taking no for an answer.
Granfel took the cash he was given, tucked it into Lee Hoyeol’s wallet, placed it in his jacket, and walked away. Lee Hoyeol, who was forced to be within a certain distance of Granfel at all times, was dragged along for the ride.
Lee Hoyeol was upset that his own words were being used against him. He shouldn’t have spoken to his murderer. Granfel had been so polite about it, that Lee Hoyeol ended up saying more than he should have. And now this asswipe had important information about him he could use for his manipulation tactics.
“Just because I told you I lost my memory—”
“You don’t remember anything before you turned 18.” Granfel paused on the sidewalk, turning to Lee Hoyeol’s form. “You did many things before then. You played video games, graduated high school, and had your first kiss—”
Lee Hoyeol was going to be the first ghost to be exorcised through sheer embarrassment. He raised his hands and tried to ‘x’ out the idea of what Granfel said.
“I did not kiss someone before then!”
Granfel looked dubious. His prestige fell for a single second, sweat dripping down the side of his face. “... Are you sure?”
“Well, I mean, not for sure, but I think I would know by now if…” He trailed off, knowing that it was useless to fight about this. “If that was a thing that. H- Happened.” Even he didn’t believe himself.
So what if he didn’t have his memories!? His family assured him that he was getting on just fine without them. He had gone nearly a decade since he was in that accident. He was a-okay! So, he didn’t remember school? He was happy with that.
“Have you not had your first kiss yet? I will offer myself, sacrificing this body’s first time so that you may feel some peace.”
“Granfel?” Lee Hoyeol gaped at Granfel. His murderer was offering to be his first kiss, or to kiss someone else as Lee Hoyeol, as if that was a normal action that should be taken. God, if you’re out there— “Shut up, please.”
Granfel gave him the side-eye, wiping his shoulder of dust that did not exist. The sun’s rays shone upon him, causing his hair to look like a metallic silver. “You are incredibly uncouth this morning.”
“I am incapable of escaping my murderer’s presence. You’d be in a grouchy mood too.”
Lee Hoyeol was going to pass into the afterlife with pleasure. Anything had to be better than being forced to stick to Granfel’s side.
Though Granfel was a bit prissy, always doing things his way, Lee Hoyeol got used to it. Mostly.
Alright, he was lying. He had a long, pointy nose and wanted a human body. He was a liar, so if he told the truth, he’d be rewarded, yeah?
Granfel was insane. There, he said it. Could he return to normal now? Granfel was a monster. A higher intelligence lifeform. Nobody sane would clean as thoroughly as he did, nor would they willingly exercise as constantly and consistently as he did.
“You’re going to hurt yourself,” Lee Hoyeol said, watching Granfel at the park.
Granfel was in the process of what he called ‘training’ if training was, well, hell. Super hellish. Mega no-no all around. Lee Hoyeol watched and wanted to cry. For his body, not for Granfel. His poor muscles looked so different. His arms were likely screaming for help, but Granfel paid them no mind.
“This body is weak. It will get better.” Granfel’s excuses never got better, unlike his strength. They might be getting worse, actually.
Lee Hoyeol shook his head, looking as Granfel continued to pull himself up on the bar. He knew it was possible to exercise. He knew that logically. But to this extreme—
No. He stopped himself from saying anything. He shouldn’t worry about Granfel. That guy took over his body. That guy murdered him and felt no remorse about it. He acted like it was only normal for them to be bound at the hip.
Lee Hoyeol should not feel empathy for his killer.
And yet when they went home, it was Lee Hoyeol who managed to discover he could move light objects if he willed himself to do it, because he wanted Granfel to be completely covered by the blanket overnight.
Granfel worked really hard, okay? Lee Hoyeol knew all about it. He was dragged through those twenty kilometers and sat on Granfel as he did the pushups. It was a lot just to watch it happen, he knew that actually doing it had to be so much worse.
Ah, what was he saying? Lee Hoyeol smashed his face into the palm of his hands, sitting on the end of the bed with his knees raised to his chest.
God, was he a pushover or what?
“Do not take me into the rift. I refuse. Granfel, Granfel! I will not—”
Granfel walked into the rift anyway. He didn’t listen to Lee Hoyeol at all. This bastard, Lee Hoyeol shouldn’t even care about him, but he did. Granfel was occupying his body, after all.
“Watch,” Granfel said, his voice a whisper as he turned away from the others in the team. “You might remember something if you do.”
What was that supposed to mean?
Granfell continued on, following the others in the party. They seemed to mesh well, or at least knew of each other in some way. Granfel was the odd one out, entering a rift in a suit like a prick who didn’t know what equipment was.
Lee Hoyeol trailed along, nothing more than a wisp hovering above the ground. He felt stronger in the rift, but it was a fluke. He tried to lift an arrow from the floor that was shot at the party, but couldn’t.
Instead, he watched Granfel perform an exorcism. A demon had infiltrated the leader’s body, possessing him to do horrible things. Lee Hoyeol’s eyes were wide the entire time, his body shaking. Trembling. Was this what true fear felt like? Lee Hoyeol’s form, which hadn’t felt this real in so long, suddenly ached.
He didn’t know why Granfel hadn’t gotten rid of him yet if he could perform an exorcism. It had to work on ghosts too, right? Why did his murderer put up with a ghost lingering around him?
They returned home that day and Lee Hoyeol tried not to stare at Granfel, but he knew his attempt failed. Granfel made two cups of tea. Tea that he never wasted. He set one out for Lee Hoyeol, who could place his hands around it, and try to feel the warmth.
The warmth from the tea never came, Lee Hoyeol never felt it, but his cheeks felt hot as Granfel sat silently next to him.
“What is this Class Quest business you’ve been training for? Not many people get one, right? How did you end up getting it?”
Lee Hoyeol could admit that he was confused. It was supposed to be something that only one Player in each type of classification got. Granfel had told him before that he was a Demon Hunter—the proof of that was still vivid in Lee Hoyeol’s mind—but that didn’t explain how Granfel was this up and coming powerful somebody.
“The last Demon Hunter,” Granfel replied as he ran forward. Lee Hoyeol floated in the air next to him, not putting nearly as much effort into following Granfel as he used to. Ghosts had powers too, woo hoo!
“So since you’re the only one with your title, you get the Class Quest by default.” Lee Hoyeol had been expecting something more than this. This was just a little sad. Pitiful, maybe. “You shouldn’t force yourself to do it.”
“I will do it.” Granfel sounded as if there was no other thing to do. “I will kill a vampire.”
Alarms rang in Lee Hoyeol’s head. “A vampire?” He saw something about that on the news. Lee Hoyeol was dead, so he didn’t care as much about the rifts as he used to, but even he had heard about the vampire who was over level four hundred. “You’re not going to—”
“I will kill that faux Count, complete the quest, and level up.”
The more Lee Hoyeol spent time around Granfel, the more he felt like got used to it. He didn’t scream this time. Or yell. He only sighed in resignation and knew that he would be running a hot bath as soon as they got home. Lee Hoyeol’s physical body could only take so much abuse. Granfel had nothing to do with it.
The vampire was dead. Everyone knew Granfel’s name. Lee Hoyeol’s life had officially been taken over and no one noticed. His family didn’t call his phone, he checked. They must not have recognized his body on the television. The new eye and hair color likely made it hard to tell who he was.
Lee Hoyeol was moping. He laid on the bed, sprawled out under the covers. He was dead, Granfel was a hero, and his family didn’t realize his body was possessed.
“Drink,” Granfel ordered, shoving a tea cup at him.
Lee Hoyeol shook his head. He wouldn’t accept it this time. He was tired of this. Why couldn’t he move on already? He accepted that he was dead. He accepted that Granfel was better than him. He accepted that he would not regain autonomy.
Granfel pushed the cup toward him again, unrelenting. “Drink before it goes cold.” There was a look in his eyes, one that sprang Lee Hoyeol into action.
Granfel only got that look when he was about to kill a monster inside a rift. This must mean a lot to him.
He took the warm cup into his hands, blowing on it instantly even though it wouldn’t do anything. The cup did not feel warm to him, but the steam wafting off of the contents of the cup made him smile. Maybe if he met Granfel under different circumstances, they could have been friends. Lee Hoyeol was bugged to say it, but Granfel was a great roommate.
“Why are you like this?”
Lee Hoyeol nearly missed the words. Was Granfel showing empathy and an interest in him? Lee Hoyeol’s eyes widened, blinking up at the silver-haired man in shock. Granfel didn’t ask him questions unless it was about the modern world. This was new.
“I…” Lee Hoyeol contemplated telling the truth or not. The chances were that Granfel would simply not give a damn, so. “I miss my family.”
Granfel didn’t move. His eyes closed instead, and when his eyelids opened, those gray eyes were focused resolutely on Lee Hoyeol’s form. He theorized on a lot of different scenarios. A mocking laugh, a rebuttal, an awkward attempt of comfort.
“I will invite them to come over.”
Did he hear that right? Lee Hoyeol dropped the cup in his hands. If he didn’t concentrate on it, then it would pass straight through him, unprompted. As it spilled across the sheets, Lee Hoyeol shot forward. He sat upright, wanting to pull on Granfel’s tie to look him dead-on and demand, you aren’t joking, are you?
“Family is important,” Granfel said, and it didn’t take Lee Hoyeol long to realize it was an excuse. “I will send a message so that they come over for tea.”
Lee Hoyeol’s world was shaking. He never imagined it would be that easy to get Granfel to go near his family. He never used to seek them out, but he had felt weird ever since he turned into a ghost. He didn’t have the ability to see his family even if he wanted to. Like being cut-off had made him realize how much he wanted his sisters to gang up on hassling him.
Granfel turned away to find the phone as Lee Hoyeol then looked down at the bed. He couldn’t feel the dampness, but he knew that Granfel would be displeased with it. He held his forehead, called himself a dumbass, and did his best to clean it up.
By the time Lee Hoyeol checked on Granfel, the man had set the phone face down on the table, and was looking at Lee Hoyeol from across the room.
Lee Hoyeol patted the soaked bed with a towel. Dabbing it would do something. Well, it was more than nothing. Lee Hoyeol smiled, hoping that Granfel didn’t take back his offer just because Lee Hoyeol was inept.
“Those who go through emotional turmoil should rest.” Granfel, why did you have to express your concern in this way?
Lee Hoyeol bobbed his head anyway. Unsurely, he lay back down. He didn’t close his eyes, instead looking past the covers to watch Granfel. Granfel decided not to look away either.
What was this, a standoff? Lee Hoyeol closed his eyes immediately, not wanting Granfel’s gaze locked on him. It burned, searing against his head. It was going to leave a mark, Granfel, so stop it already!
His heart pounded in his chest. Lee Hoyeol didn’t have a heart anymore. This was just a feeling, one that didn’t go away. Every time he panicked over Granfel’s actions in a rift, he could hear the tha-thump of his heart echoing in his ears.
He nervously opened his eyes to see Granfel still looking at him. Lee Hoyeol sighed internally, a bit impressed that Granfel was so stubborn.
“You know,” he called out to Granfel, “even if you’re lying, and I was right originally, and you killed me and everything… I’ll forgive you. I already have.”
Accepting death had been very peculiar. It’s not something most people go through, he thought. Lee Hoyeol was special in the way that he remained a ghost, haunting the man who possessed his body.
“I did not kill you,” Granfel said, dipping his head lower as his voice took on a tone different from normal.
Lee Hoyeol didn’t believe it, but for Granfel’s sake, he’d go along with it. He just stared at Granfel, biting his lip, waiting to be called out. He was a ghost. An apparition. What else did Granfel do to have taken over his body, huh?
“You will get your memories back.” Granfel looped his hand around a long-cold cup of tea. Lee Hoyeol tried not to be surprised that Granfel wasted an entire cup just to watch over him.
“I’m not sure a ghost can remember things they forgot while they were alive,” Lee Hoyeol replied in a chuckle.
If anything, that made Granfel upset. He repeated, far stricter this time, “You will get all of your memories back.”
If it would make Granfel stop looking like a kicked puppy, then Lee Hoyeol would try.