Sihyun was making breakfast at the kitchen counter when his manager walked in, yawning.
"Whoa, let me look at you for a minute," Mr. Kim exclaimed, eyeing Sihyun's tired face. "It seems like your dark circles are getting worse. Didn't you get enough sleep?"
"Same old, same old," Sihyun replied casually, carrying his breakfast tray to the dining table.
"We should get that checked out. Maybe doing meditation or something will help in the meantime."
Sihyun just hummed in response, crunching on his cereal, not really listening.
Just then, the melodious ringtone of Mr. Kim's phone could be heard drifting from his room.
He hurriedly went in to pick it up, leaving Sihyun alone in the kitchen.
Meanwhile, Sihyun calmly poured more milk into the cereal, mixing it with a spoon before taking a bite.
[Is it good?]
"I guess…" he casually replied, not caring much about the taste.
He was eating just for the sake of it, trying to avoid Mr. Kim's constant nagging.
[It doesn't really look good by the way you're frowning while you chew.]
Sihyun, who was swirling the food absently with his spoon, halted his motion all of a sudden.
He slowly glanced up after finally realising the voice was not his manager's… but someone else's.
Sitting beside him was the figure from the previous night, one pale hand propping up his face as he stared into the bowl.
"…"
Sihyun didn't comment and continued with what he had been doing.
"Come on, you're gonna ignore me again? Aren't you being too much?"
"…"
While the ghost was eagerly probing him to become friends, Mr. Kim's voice came from the distance.
"It seems like I'll have to go out for a while. Will you be okay on your own?"
"Alright," Sihyun replied lazily, utterly indifferent to both the ghost and the manager.
- - -
Leaning back lazily on the massive sofa, Sihyun flicked through the channels with the remote in hand.
Beside him was the ghostly figure, still refusing to leave him alone. His eyes lit up as the channel landed on a particular movie scene.
"Oh, that's my favourite actor!"
Sihyun didn't pay him any mind and promptly changed the channel again.
The ghost blinked at him with intrigue.
"You're also an actor, right? I've seen your face all over the city," he gushed, "But I haven't actually watched any of your work. I don't really like action movies."
'No one asked,' was what Sihyun wanted to say, but he wasn't in the mood to argue with a ghost.
From that day onwards, the ghost kept hovering around him, appearing out of nowhere whenever he least expected it.
Granted, it wasn't always there.
But most of the time, he made himself at home shamelessly.
Just like now.
The pale figure was sitting beside him again, casually watching TV with nothing better to do.
Glancing sideways, Sihyun noticed the excited eyes of the figure, whose attention was glued to the screen.
"I thought you didn't like action movies," he commented, sounding mildly curious.
"They're actually good once you get the taste of it," the ghost chirped. "And your acting is really impressive! Did you do all the stunts yourself?"
Sihyun had a proud smirk on his face.
"Of course. It's all about dedication to the role," he replied, drawling slightly.
"Wow! You're really incredible, actor-nim."
The ghost clapped his pale hands excitedly.
"Quit calling me that," the man grunted with a veiled look, before looking away with a huff.
"Why? I'm trying to be polite." The figure lowered his gaze, feeling unfair.
"Don't try to be polite after you've been infringing on me all this while."
"Tsk."
"Did you just click your tongue at me?" Sihyun scoffed, arching a brow with dry humour.
"I didn't," the figure said with a pout.
"Yeah, right."
Sihyun muttered, adjusting his posture on the sofa to settle in more comfortably.
"And by the way, I have a name. It's Lee Jaeha. Quit calling me 'you.' You!" the ghost grunted.
"I'll call you however I want," the man said lazily, waving him off.
"Hmph!" Jaeha crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm even older than you, but look how you're treating me just because I'm a spirit."
He then slid down to the floor, not wanting to sit beside the man anymore.
"Please. You look like you haven't even hit twenty," Sihyun commented flatly, irritating the ghost further.
"Well, I've been stuck with this appearance since my accident four years ago. I'd be twenty-eight now, if we're counting properly. That means I'm older than you."
"Nah," Sihyun said with a shrug. "You're physically and mentally stuck at twenty-four, then."
"That's not true!" Jaeha quipped, unwilling to back down easily.