fifteen

Jihoon and Soonyoung were silent and shocked as Seungcheol recalled the events of his death. His story was so tragic and awful that it was almost unbelievable, but as they both knew, nothing was impossible.

"It didn't take long to figure out I was dead," Seungcheol said after some silence. "However, once I knew, I didn't care. I just wanted to find Hansol. I don't know if it was my newfound supernatural abilities or something else, but the next thing I knew, I was at the police station. It was as if I sensed him and was led to him."

"So, he was caught?" Jihoon asked.

Seungcheol nodded. "I figured he would be. When I got to him, he was being interrogated. The detective was asking him all the questions I wanted to ask."

"So, why did he do it?" Soonyoung asked carefully.

"Because of me," Seungcheol answered in a hushed tone. "Even though I desperately tried to hide how bad things were from him, he still managed to find out. The landlord was bugging him as much as he was me and kept blowing up his phone. He said he was tired of not being able to do anything. The wrong people approached him and offered him a way to do something, leading to the bank robbery."

He looked up at the two listening to him with intensity.

"I failed to protect my little brother." His voice cracked at the end and both Jihoon and Soonyoung felt their hearts crack along with it.

"They kept asking him about my death, but he had already shut down at that point. All he could do was cry and before long, he drove himself insane. They wound up locking him up in a government-protected mental hospital after his court trial. I tried to follow him because I didn't want him to be alone in a place like that, but I couldn't pass through a certain area. The room had steel in it." Seungcheol continued.

Soonyoung was confused. "Steel? What does that have to do with anything?"

"Ghosts can't pass through steel," Jihoon explained. "You're a ghost. How do you not know that?"

Soonyoung shrugged. "I'm a simplistic ghost. I've never had to encounter steel."

"Fair enough." Jihoon gestured to Seungcheol. "Continue."

"I didn't know what to do after that. I couldn't follow him, but I couldn't leave him alone. Our mother had passed away shortly after the incident, meaning he had no one left. So, after the funeral, I stayed as close as I could, meaning the funeral hall. That's where I met Gyeongsuk. She told me everything she had learned about the ghost world and not knowing what else to do, I stayed with her hoping that an opportunity to protect Hansol would arrive somehow, but it never did."

He let out a shaky breath. "I've been thinking a lot lately and I've decided that I need to let Hansol know that everything will be okay one day. I need to move on or I'll just continue to cause us both more pain." He looked directly at Jihoon. "Will you help me?"

Jihoon gave him a small but sincere smile. "Of course. That's what I'm here for."

Soonyoung joined in. "So, what job does Barbie have to fit this situation?" He teased.

Jihoon only smirked and opened his drawer. He dug around for a bit before grabbing one of his many fake IDs. He held it up for Soonyoung to see.

"Nam Juwon- psychologist."

Soonyoung tssked. "There has to be a point where this becomes illegal."

Jihoon shrugged. "It probably had long reached that point, but I've never been caught either so. Besides, this is the best way to go. Since Seungcheol can't get past the steel, I have to get Hansol to come outside of the steel. No one will suspect anything if a psychologist comes to visit him.

Soonyoung went to protest, but Seungcheol spoke up instead. "It's worth a shot. I'll do anything to see Hansol again. I've been worried about his condition."

Soonyoung sighed, realizing he had just been outnumbered. "Well, at least I'm already dead and they can't send me to jail."

Jihoon had a shit-eating grin on his face. "That's the spirit."

*

After an hour of paperwork and an extensive security search, Jihoon was finally in front of Hansol. Jihoon wouldn't have admitted it, but he had been worried that he would have been caught for fraud, but it all went surprisingly smoothly. Luck was on his side lately. Jihoon eyed the twenty-six-year-old sitting in front of him. His hair was shaggy and unkempt. It fell in front of his eyes preventing him from making eye contact with anyone. His hands were shaking and he kept mumbling something under his breath over and over again. Beside him, Seungcheol watched his brother helplessly.

"He looks awful." Seungcheol's voice broke and it sounded as if he was on the verge of tears.

Because Jihoon couldn't reply to him, Soonyoung took to comforting Seungcheol instead. Jihoon tried to get Hansol's attention and stay professional for the doctors and guards watching them.

"Hansol, I'm Dr. Nam. I'm a psychologist. I'm here to talk to you about your brother, Seungcheol."

At the mention of Seungcheol, Hansol's head shot up. His hair flipped up, allowing Jihoon to see his eyes for a brief moment. They were wide, red, and bloodshot. If Jihoon hadn't dealt with ghosts on a daily basis, he might have been startled at the sight. Regardless, he tried to hold what little professionalism he could manage.

"Do you remember what happened to your brother?" Jihoon asked carefully.

He knew he was taking a big risk by asking the question and that it could potentially send Hansol into an episode, but he needed to make sure that the younger still understood the events before Seungcheol could attempt to say goodbye.

"I....I....I..." Hansol stuttered for the next minute, trying to get his answer out.

Jihoon was patient and gave him an encouraging smile. "It's okay. Take your time."

"I...I..the...the bank. I...he...I...I...I...kill...killed him." Hansol finally managed to say.

Hansol turned quiet as he tried to process what he had just admitted. The moment it hit, he began to shout.

"I killed him!" Hansol screamed as he hit the table repeatedly. "I killed my brother!"

Jihoon scooted back, taken aback by the outburst, even if he had been warned beforehand. Before he could take any action to help him, a couple of nurses came in, followed by a doctor. After a quick injection and restraints being added, Hansol finally calmed down. The doctor gave Jihoon a disapproving look.

"Dr. Nam, I'm sure you're well aware that Hansol is in a very fragile state. Please try to refrain from saying anything that may trigger another violent outburst. Otherwise, we'll have to cut this visit short and contact a new doctor." He warned.

Jihoon apologized and watched as the doctor and nurses filed out of the room, leaving Hansol and Jihoon alone once more. Jihoon eyed the other carefully. Even though he was restrained, his hands were still shaking and instead of his loud shouts and sobs from earlier, there were tiny sniffles in their place. Hansol was broken beyond repair.

"Hansol, are you okay to continue?" Jihoon asked gently.

Hansol nodded and Jihoon thought about his next question. Hesitantly, he asked it despite his intuition telling him not to.

"Why did you do it?"

Everyone, including the ghosts in the room, were surprised by the question. They didn't think Jihoon was going to go that deep.

"S-seungcheol always p-protected m-me. I-....I...I wanted to p-protect him for o-once. I-i-instead, I.....I...I..I killed him." He was interrupted by his own muffled cries, but to everyone's surprise, he fought through them.

"I-it wasn't fair for him to carry that b...burden alone." He whispered.

"Every time he gave me my favorite food or a small gift, I...I...I could never take it." Slowly, Hansol's words were becoming clearer and his stutter was diminishing.

"I-I felt like I did nothing to deserve such things. Seungcheol always worked so hard to keep up alive and how did I repay him?"

Through his last few sentences, the volume of his voice grew louder and louder until he was practically shouting the last line, but nobody dared to move or speak. They had all been struck in the heart by Hansol's words. Jihoon cleared his throat to prevent himself from crying.

"Do you think your brother is mad at you?"

Hansol scoffed at the question. "Why wouldn't he be?"

"Because he's your brother."

Hansol's eyes met the floor. "I don't deserve to be Choi Seungcheol's brother." He stated dejectedly.

Jihoon felt at a loss for words. He felt if he said anything else, it would make it worse. Instead, Seungcheol stood and moved behind his brother.

"Hansol, I'm the one who doesn't deserve to be your bother. I was trying so hard to protect you that I didn't realize I was the one doing you the most harm. If I could go back and do it differently, I would. I know it's hard, but don't blame yourself. I would do it all over again."

Even though Hansol couldn't hear him, Jihoon could tell he felt Seungcheol's presence near him. Seungcheol looked up at Jihoon.

"Could you tell him one thing for me?"

Without drawing too much attention, Jihoon subtly nodded and whispered the words Sungcheol told him in Hansol's ear. Instantly, tears started to flow rapidly but a faint smile caught them. The doctor, who had been silently watching from the one-way mirror, entered the room. He looked between Hansol and Jihoon before his eyes settled on the latter.

"That's the first time I've seen him smile since he got here." He admitted.

Jihoon only smiled as he stood and bowed. "I think that's all that's needed for today."

With the two ghosts in tow, Jihoon left the facility. Once outside and away from others, Soonyoung began hounding JIhoon with questions.

"Why did Hansol smile like that? What did you tell him?'

"I can't tell yo-" Jihoon was interrupted by Seungcheol.

"Even the dullest of flowers bloom in spring." He answered. "Our mom used to tell us that all the time whenever things were bad and everything seemed hopeless. I wanted to tell him that in hopes that he would be okay even if I was gone."

Soonyoung smiled feeling warmed by Seungcheol's words. "I hope you'll be at peace now. You've done well." He told him sincerely.

Seungcheol gazed at the bright light that had just settled above them. "I think I will be." He looked back at the two of them.

"Thank you for everything and thank you for not giving up on me." He said before stepping into the light.

For the first time as he watched him, Soonyoung felt the tiniest bit of the peace he had been craving. As the light disappeared from around them, both Soonyoung and Jihoon felt the emptiness that was becoming too familiar to the former. Normally, he hated the feeling as it engulfed and suffocated him, but he found himself feeling different this time. Perhaps it was because someone was by his side, making him feel less alone. At the thought, he smiled to himself. Jihoon noticed as he observed the unnaturally quiet spirit.

"Are you okay?"

Soonyoung nodded, still smiling, "I think so. Normally, this is the worst part. I always feel so empty and almost jealous, but not this time."

"Why not?"

Soonyoung turned to look at him with a certain fond sparkle in his eye. "Because you're by my side." He answered.

Jihoon flushed pink and looked away but Soonyoung could see the smile creeping its way onto his face too.