The moment they stepped out of the haunted bookstore and back into the busy street, Yui let out a groan of relief like she'd just escaped a group project she didn't sign up for.
"I swear," she muttered, stretching her arms overhead, "if another ghost tries to throw War and Peace at me, I'm quitting this whole cursed-teen-sidekick gig."
Baek walked ahead, silent as usual. Mysterious. Brooding. The usual.
Yui jogged up next to him. "You know, a normal person might say 'thank you' after I saved your pretty little butt back there."
Baek blinked at her. "I don't think 'butt' is the correct anatomical term."
Yui stared at him for a long moment. "Oh my god, did you just make a joke? Are you okay? Blink twice if you've been possessed."
Baek didn't blink. Instead, he handed her a snack from his pocket. A rice cracker. The driest, most soul-sucking food on earth.
Yui held it up like it was radioactive. "What is this, ghost food?"
He shrugged. "It has sesame."
"I just survived a haunted book hurricane, and you give me a sesame cracker?" She sighed. "You're lucky I like weird snacks and people with no facial expressions."
They walked in companionable silence for a moment—well, silent on Baek's end. Yui was still talking.
"I mean, seriously, what is your deal?" she said, nibbling on the cracker anyway. "Do you eat ghosts for breakfast? Were you trained in a secret temple? Were you born with magical eyebrows?"
Baek stopped walking.
"Wait," Yui said, sensing something. "Don't tell me. Let me guess. You were raised by—"
Before she could finish, a group of high school girls practically exploded out of a café nearby. One of them shrieked.
"Oh my GOSH. Is that BAEK?"
Yui turned slowly, then blinked. "Baek… You have fans?"
Baek's eyes widened just a fraction. That was basically screaming in Baek-language.
The girls surrounded them like piranhas. "He's real! He's even hotter in person! Wait, is he on a mission? Are you his assistant? OMG are you two dating?"
"WHOA," Yui said, holding her hands up. "Let's not spread rumors. I don't have the emotional stamina to be part of an idol scandal."
One girl gasped. "Is he a K-pop idol slash ghost hunter?!"
Baek said nothing. Just stared at them like they were a pack of very enthusiastic squirrels.
Yui leaned over and whispered, "Say something or they're going to start a fan cafe and follow us home."
Baek looked at the crowd, paused… and nodded once.
That was it. Chaos.
Squealing erupted. Phones came out. One girl fainted—actually fainted.
"Okay!" Yui said loudly, dragging Baek by the arm. "This was fun, truly, but we've got cursed things to do, so—bye!"
She yanked him around the corner and into a convenience store, both of them panting like they'd just run a marathon.
"Remind me to never let you walk around in public again," Yui said, ducking behind the snack aisle. "You're like… dangerously handsome and emotionally unavailable. That's every teenage girl's fantasy. You're basically a walking fanfiction."
Baek, oddly, didn't protest. He just grabbed another rice cracker pack.
Yui smacked it out of his hand. "No. We are getting real food. This is a recovery meal."
She started loading the basket: instant ramen, soda, chocolate bars, three different kinds of chips, and something that suspiciously looked like a mystery-flavored jelly cup.
Baek raised an eyebrow. "Is this nutritional?"
"It's emotionally nutritional," Yui said. "Which is what I need after today."
They checked out and sat on the steps outside, slurping noodles and watching the sun start to set.
For once, it was peaceful. Quiet. Almost normal.
"Hey," Yui said between bites, "you ever wonder why we get the weird cases?"
Baek didn't answer immediately. He wiped his mouth with a napkin and said simply, "Because we're the weird ones."
Yui stared at him. Then she burst out laughing. "Oh my god. That was deep. Who are you today?"
He didn't smile. But he also didn't disagree.
And just when Yui thought maybe, maybe, they were going to have a chill night...
Baek's phone buzzed.
He looked at the screen. His brows furrowed.
"What is it?" Yui asked, licking ramen broth off her finger.
He held it up for her to see.
"Case Alert: Subject #003. Location: Your house."
Yui blinked.
"...I'm sorry, did that just say my house?!"
END OF CHAPTER EIGHT