GHOST + SKULL
Special thanks to @jeongcoups1996 for not only telling me about this challenge but also filling my head with amazing ideas! Which is why I would consider this “part 1″ of what may turn into a very lengthy fic. I’m physically incapable of doing short and sweet oneshots apparently...oops
Challenge created by @cloudsofsonder ! Check her tumblr out guys!
Jungkook doesn't think his body's ever felt so heavy in his life as he drags his feet across the cool floor of his apartment. As much as he appreciates the fact that his work pays him enough for rent and all the other goodies that keeps his life interesting enough (namely games and lamb skewers), he sometimes can't get over how much he hates the company for making him burn the midnight oil for the past week. Normally, he'd be fine with it. He's a strong man in his mid twenties who can run on caffeine for hours on end, but his current circumstances are anything but normal.
Upon entering his bedroom, Jungkook basically sheds off his clothes, not caring that he's going to have to pick them up in the morning. He climbs straight into bed, barely being able to keep his eyes open as he fumbles with the blanket.
"Hey, I know you're listening," Jungkook growls into the cool air of his apartment, his eyes still closed. "Look, I know you probably have some bullshit poltergeist quota you need to meet, but can you just let me sleep tonight?"
A book is knocked off his shelf.
"I'm guessing that's a no. God, you're an asshole."
"Stop knocking my books down! Do you know what a pain in the ass it is to have to put them all back in order?"
Thud, thud...thud. Three books, nice.
Jungkook rolls his eyes and rolls over so he's lying on his side. It's not that difficult for him to fall asleep, considering he's already completely worn, so he gives into slumber rather easily,
Jeon Jungkook moved into his current two bedroom apartment only about a month ago and had settled in rather nicely when it all started to happen. It started with the lights flickering, which had him complaining about shitty electrical work. Then it was loud banging noise that woke him up at ungodly hours. At first, he thought he had some obnoxious neighbors, but he soon found out that the particular adjoining apartment had been empty for quite some time now. Then came things dropping to the floor without him going nowhere near them. Books started falling off his shelves. Plates were pushed off of kitchen counters (good thing he relied heavily on plastic and paper takeway boxes for his meals), and he had to finally draw the line when this ghostly presence decided his laptop was next.
"Alright, I don't know you are," Jungkook had bellowed out in pure frustration and annoyance, not caring how malevolent the spirit might be, because there were a lot of important shit on his laptop. "But this needs to stop, right here, right now!" He had declared, hoping that his attitude might deter the ghost from moving things around his apartment.
Every time Jungkook came out of the shower, he would see BOO! written on the foggy mirror, which had the man rolling his eyes at the juvenile attempt at intimidation. The man would simply wipe the writing away with a single flick of his hand and write "fuck off" right underneath it. It's difficult to be frightened when "BOO" is the scariest thing the ghost can think up of.
The ghost decided it was time for an upgrade, because then came the loud slamming of doors at 3 or 4 in the morning, which had Jungkook jolt awake in surprise and then cuss out loudly for a whole minute before eventually falling back asleep. And this continued for the entire week that Jungkook had to do massive overtime at work, which had the man sleep-deprived and on the verge of a mental breakdown that's going to end up in a lot of actual broken things.
Clearly, today is no exception.
"What the fuck is your problem!" Jungkook grits out, kicking at his blanket as he pulls himself into a sitting position. "It's..." he checks for time on his phone and winces at the bright light assaulting his eyes. "It's fucking 3:24!" he growls and rakes his fingers through his hair harshly enough for his scalp to get a taste of his frustration.
"Is there something you need from me? A mystery I need to solve? Like were you murdered or something and they arrested the wrong person?" Jungkook rants, getting off the bed and pulling his laptop out. "Because this needs to stop," he continues as he starts it up and opens up a new word document. "If you can push books off and slam doors, I'm guessing you can type. Can you?" he asks and places the laptop onto the desk next to his bed.
"Oh shit," Jungkook breathes out harshly as he feels a cold shiver down his spine. He shouldn't be too surprised to see actual letters form on the screen, considering he knew about the invisible presence, but he can't help but be totally creeped out when he sees that he can now communicate with this ghost.
"Alright so what do you want from me?" Jungkook asks, his eyes still fixed onto the screen in front of him. The blue light from the device is not at all pleasant to his eyes, and he needs to get some solid sleep right this moment if he hopes to achieve some semblance of efficiency at work in a few hours, but well, that's not happening now is it?
Jungkook has to fight the urge to swear out loud again, because he's going to lose his shit if he finds out that the ghost had been a total bitch for shits and giggles and nothing more. Yet, he remains patient, because now that he's talking to this ghost, he is a little bit scared that the spirit might also be physically capable of hurting him.
"First things first. What's your name," Jungkook asks carefully, hoping that maybe being on first name basis might keep the ghost from losing his shit one day.
So the ghost has a name after-all. And so far, it doesn't seem to be too aggressive or malevolent. Good.
"Well it's nice to meet you Jimin, despite the fact that you were a complete asshole to me for the past month," Jungkook says, trying to keep the mood somewhat playful despite the actual frustration he feels. Perhaps he can persuade this mysterious presence to let him be in peace?
"...You're apologizing? After I've told you to stop like a million times and you still did it anyway?"
Nothing appears on the screen.
"Alright, fine. Apology accepted. Now, can you keep the door slamming to before 10pm?"
"2? 2 am? Are you fucking kidding me right now? No. 10," Jungkook growls, suddenly annoyed again. What is it with ghosts needing to do shit so late at night?
"11," Jungkook grits through his teeth. He can't believe this. This ghost is trying to haggle with him. What the actual fuck.
Jungkook sighs lowly, figuring he can live with that. He rarely sleeps before that time anyway. "...Fine. 12. Midnight, that's it. No more door slamming after midnight. Do we have a deal?" he confirms, hoping his tone is firm enough.
"I'm glad we have an agreement. I'm going back to sleep. I'll leave this on if you want to...type stuff," he finishes, more than ready to go back to bed. He's just hoping that he doesn't wake up to death threats all over the screen.
For some inexplicable reason, Jungkook's brain decides to simply accept the fact that he's living with a ghost and to just enjoy the invisible presence like he would a roommate. It's not too bad, he thinks. Jimin's providing him company without the hassle of creating a mess or bringing someone home, and the ghost has stopped breaking shit around the house, so he figures he can't really complain.
"How old are you?" Jungkook asks one day while munching on leftover thai food. He's gotten used to carrying his laptop around everywhere so they can talk, but their conversations have been quite standard so far. Jungkook's only recently starting to realize that he doesn't know anything about Jimin other than his name.
"Sure," Jungkook answers with a shrug, trying not to think too hard about how macabre it all sounds. He knows that Jimin must've died at one point to have become a ghost, but it sure feels strange to talk about it.
"And how would you know how old I am?"
"That's creepy. Don't do that. How did you die anyway? Or is that like a taboo question that's going to have you throwing knives from the kitchen?" Jungkook continues to pry, doing his best to keep his voice nonchalant. He's hoping it's not murder, because damn, that's too dark even for someone like him, and as much as he appreciates the cheap rent of this apartment, he doesn't like it that much.
[I fell down. Head first. Broke my skull]
"Jesus, that's gruesome," Jungkook mutters lowly. He can't imagine dying so suddenly at such a young age. Jimin must've had so many goals and dreams in life, just like all men his age. Perhaps he had a career he enjoyed? Maybe he was madly in love with a special someone that he had to leave behind?
[At least i wasnt murdered i guess]
"Still. Sucks. So is it just you in this apartment or is there a bunch of you that just hang out together?"
[For a while. People refused to move in after hearing about my tragic death]
"Why the hell was I not notified of this?" Jungkook questions with a scowl. Now he understands the low rent and how shifty the landlord had been. Well shit.
[but would u not have moved in if u knew?]
"Well, the rent's cheap, so I would've probably moved in. So what's your deal anyway? Were you trying to make me leave this place by scaring me?"
"I lost hours of sleep and a few plates because you were bored? God, you're an asshole."
Jungkook shakes his head with a low chuckle and then finishes off his dinner.
It's Friday night again, and Jungkook can't bring himself to go out and party no matter how much his friends try to coax him out of his apartment. He's had a long week, he's not in the mood to deal with a hangover the next day, and all he wants is to just chill. So he does just that.
"I'm feeling way too lazy to go out. Want to watch a movie or something?" Jungkook asks into thin air again, hoping Jimin's lingering around. A minute later, he sees texts appear on his laptop screen again.
"Why do you think I asked?"
"Says the ghost that's been knocking my shit down....We can watch something in the living room and I'll take this laptop with me so we can...talk about it or something I guess,"
Jungkook settles down on his couch and turns on the TV in front of him. He sets the laptop down on the coffeetable.
"Normally I would watch something scary, but you've kinda ruined ghosts for me," Jungkook comments playfully with a lazy grin as he leans back against the couch. He watches as letters appear on the screen in front of him.
"Yeah. Sure," Jungkook quips sarcastically. "So do you want to watch something scary then?"
"Don't tell me...you're scared of ghost movies. That doesn't even make sense. You're a ghost."
Jungkook lulls his head back in laughter. How ironic, he thinks. But he gets it. He's a living human being who's afraid of psychopaths, so he figures it makes sense for Jimin to be afraid of ghastly beings who bleed out of their eyes and haunt people with their decaying limbs and pale eyes.
But then again, who knows what Jimin looks like right now. Yeah, let’s not.
"Fine. We can watch something funny. 21 Jump Street? have you seen it?"
[ive heard of it never got a chance to watch it]
"Well, we're going to have to watch it then. I'd offer you popcorn but..." Jungkook falters with a teasing grin.
Jungkook only laughs as he looks for the movie and starts it. Jimin would type in questions and comments that Jungkook would answer or agree with, all the while laughing at the funny scenes. He wonders if Jimin's laughing too. He hopes so.
"Glad you liked it. It has a sequel."
Jungkook glances at his phone and see that it's only 11 something. It's a Friday, he can sleep late now that casper has ceased to slam doors after midnight.
