I sat there for a while.
Quiet.
Processing everything they just dumped on me like emotional homework I didn't sign up for.
Then something clicked.
I looked at them.
"…Wait."
They blinked.
"…Why aren't you with your… person?"
Silence.
A few of them exchanged looks.
Then one of the boys scratched the back of his neck.
"We had people."
"…Had?"
He nodded.
"At first."
Another girl sighed.
"They couldn't handle it."
I frowned.
"…Handle what? You?"
"…Us," she corrected gently.
One of them added—
"Some fainted."
Another—
"Some cried."
"And some…" a boy muttered, "called people to chase us out."
"…People?" I repeated.
"Spiritualists. Priests. Anyone who could 'clean' us away."
I blinked.
"…Oh."
That…
that made sense.
In a bad way.
"They were scared," the girl beside me said. "And when humans get scared…"
"They run," I finished quietly.
They nodded.
I looked down at my hands.
"…So you just… left them?"
"We had to."
"Or we'd hurt them," someone added.
Silence again.
Then—
I turned slowly.
Toward Niran.
"…So why me?"
He didn't answer immediately.
Just looked at me.
Then one of the ghosts spoke instead—
"He chose you."
I frowned.
"…Why?"
"Because you didn't run."
Another added—
"You didn't scream."
"And you didn't try to get rid of him."
I blinked.
"…I tried to ignore him."
Niran scoffed.
"Terribly, by the way."
"Shut up."
A girl smiled softly.
"You accepted him."
I froze slightly.
"…I did?"
"You're doing his wishes," she said.
"That's not normal."
"…Yeah, I figured."
"You're kind."
I stared at her.
"…No, I'm not."
They all looked at me like I just said something stupid.
Niran sighed.
"You are."
"I'm literally not."
"You are."
"I insult you daily."
"That doesn't count."
"That absolutely counts."
"It doesn't."
"IT DOES—"
"Min-Jun."
I stopped.
He looked at me.
Serious again.
"You stayed."
…
Oh.
I looked away.
"…That's different."
"It's not."
—
I frowned.
"…Okay but—"
I pointed at him.
"…this guy?"
They all looked at Niran.
Then back at me.
I scoffed.
"He's rude. Annoying. Selfish. He insults me every five minutes."
"Correct," Niran said proudly.
"See??"
"And yet you're still here," one of them pointed out.
"…Unfortunately."
Niran rolled his eyes.
Then crossed his arms.
"I hate kind people."
I blinked.
"…Excuse me?"
"They're stupid."
"Wow."
"They let people walk all over them."
"That's not—"
"They give everything and get nothing back."
I paused.
"…Oh."
His voice dropped slightly.
"They break easily."
Silence.
"…And I don't like watching that."
I stared at him.
He looked away.
"…So I annoy you instead?"
"Obviously."
"That's your method??"
"It works."
"It does not."
"It does."
"It does not—"
"I wanted to be your friend."
I froze.
He said it so casually.
Like it wasn't a big deal.
"…What?"
He shrugged.
"I always did."
I blinked.
"…Then why didn't you just say that?"
He looked at me like I was the problem.
"You avoid everything."
"…I do not."
"You do."
"I don't—"
"You literally pretended I didn't exist."
"…I thought I was going insane."
"Rude."
"Valid."
—
I stood up suddenly.
"…I wasn't avoiding you."
They all looked at me.
"I was avoiding trouble."
I gestured around.
"…THIS is trouble."
"That's fair," one of them nodded.
I sighed.
"…I didn't know."
Silence.
Then—
I held out my hand.
Toward Niran.
"…Let's just… start over."
He blinked.
Actually blinked.
"…What?"
"…We're friends."
Silence.
The entire room went quiet.
Niran stared at my hand like it personally offended him.
"…You're serious?"
"…Yeah."
"…You're weird."
"And you're a ghost."
"Valid."
"So?"
…
He didn't take my hand.
Instead—
he grabbed my wrist and pulled me forward.
Straight into a hug.
I froze.
"…Oh."
It was—
warm.
Not cold.
Not empty.
Warm.
Real.
I blinked slowly.
"…You're hugging me."
"Don't make it weird."
"You're the one making it weird."
"Shut up."
"…You're warm."
"I know."
"That's concerning."
"Deal with it."
—
Then he let go.
Just like that.
Like it didn't matter.
But it did.
I cleared my throat slightly.
Then tapped his shoulder.
"…I'll do it."
He raised an eyebrow.
"…Do what?"
"Your wishes."
I glanced around.
At all of them.
"…All of them."
My voice softened slightly.
"…Especially the last one."
Justice.
For him.
Silence.
Then I exhaled.
"…But this is a lot."
I rubbed the back of my neck.
"…Like—overwhelming a lot."
The girl smiled.
"Be careful."
I frowned.
"…Of what?"
She glanced at Niran.
Then back at me.
"…You need to know what kind of friend he is."
I blinked.
"…What does that mean?"
A boy snorted.
"Oh, that's easy."
He pointed at Niran.
"He's clingy."
"HEY—"
"Flirty," another added.
"EXCUSE ME—"
"Unpredictable," someone else said.
"STOP—"
"And," the girl beside me smiled, "he treats you like a princess."
I choked.
"…WHAT??"
Niran clicked his tongue.
"Stop exposing me."
"Too late," they said in unison.
I stared at him.
"…Princess?"
He looked away.
"…Don't get used to it."
"I'm not getting used to anything."
"You will."
"I won't—"
"You will."
—
I laughed.
I couldn't help it.
Then I looked around at all of them.
"…Can I… be friends with you guys too?"
Silence.
Then—
they lit up.
Actually lit up.
"Yes."
"Of course."
"We'd like that."
Suddenly—
they were all around me.
Talking.
Smiling.
Some even hugging me.
Carefully.
Like I'd break.
And for a second—
just a second—
my chest felt…
light.
Warm.
Safe.
I smiled a little.
"…You're all weird."
"Coming from you?" one of them said.
"Fair."
—
And somehow—
without realizing it—
I thought it.
Quietly.
Softly.
…This feels more like family than my actual family ever did.
The walk back home was quieter.
The night air felt softer now, like everything that happened in the abandoned building had been sealed behind us.
Niran walked beside me without saying much.
I kept stealing glances at him.
He noticed.
"…What," he said.
"Nothing."
"That's not nothing."
I sighed.
"…That was a lot back there."
He hummed.
"Yeah."
We walked a bit more.
The streetlights flickered above us.
I kicked a small stone forward.
"So… those ghosts," I said slowly, "they all went through that?"
"Yeah."
"…And you just hang out with them?"
Niran shrugged.
"We don't really have anywhere else to go."
I nodded a little.
"…Still weird."
"You get used to it."
I didn't respond.
After a pause, I glanced at him again.
"…You said something earlier."
He didn't look at me this time.
"I say a lot of things."
"No, I mean—you said you wanted to be my friend."
He was quiet for a second.
Then—
"Since before I died."
I slowed slightly.
"…What?"
He continued walking like it was nothing.
"The bracelet project. The pen. The homework thing."
I frowned.
"…That was just school stuff."
"It wasn't to me."
I looked at him properly now.
He kept his eyes forward.
"You didn't treat me like I was anything special," he said. "No popularity. No group. No… pressure."
A pause.
"You just treated me normal."
I scratched the back of my neck.
"…That sounds like I didn't do much."
"You did enough."
Silence.
I let that sit for a moment.
Then I let out a small breath.
"…That sounds like a weirdly emotional way to say you've been stalking me."
He clicked his tongue.
"I was observing."
"Same thing."
"Not the same thing."
—
I exhaled, then gave a small smile.
"…So you basically wanted to be my friend for years and just chose the worst method possible."
"I didn't choose a method."
"You did. It was insults."
"It worked."
"It didn't."
"You're here."
"…Unfortunately, yes."
He glanced at me.
That almost-smirk again.
—
I looked ahead.
"…I'm glad we're starting over."
A pause.
"No more insults," I added.
He immediately replied:
"That won't work."
"It will."
"It won't."
I turned slightly toward him.
"…Niran."
He stiffened a little.
"…What."
I smirked.
"…Niran."
"Stop that."
"…Nina."
"That's not my name."
"Nina."
He stopped walking.
"…You want your back broken?"
I laughed.
"…See? That's exactly what I mean."
He started walking again, faster this time.
I followed, still smiling a little.
"Relax," I said. "We're friends now."
"…Don't get used to it," he muttered.
I nodded.
"Sure."
But I stayed beside him anyway.