boo! I got your toes! | chapter 4
pairing: cortis x ghost!reader
synopsis: you’re a ghost who’s been wandering around with no purpose. you don’t remember your past life or anything for that matter. you’re always bored and find ways to entertain yourself—observing humans, flickering lights, sending objects tumbling off shelves, and the occasional toe grab through the blanket. so imagine your surprise when you phase through the walls of a random building, ready to terrorise a group of teen dudes, only for them to end up pointing at you and screaming their heads off before you could even do anything. your eyes widen at the realisation. they can see you.
genre: crack, fluff, all the good stuff
word count: 3.1k (it’s not. it’s 3080, but if I say it’s 3.1k then it’s 3.1k, right guys?!)
other parts: chapter 1, chapter 2, chapter 3, chapter 5, chapter 6 (finale)
a/n: pop-pop it’s show time! (show time!) show time (show time!) guess who’s back againnn!
“Sean, stop glaring at the ghost. We’ve already established she’s harmless.”
Martin sighs in defeat watching a hunched over Seonghyeon staring holes through your face whilst sipping on his smoothie.
“Hey! She has a name, ain’t that right [name]?” comes Keonho’s strangely honeyed voice. You’re still not entirely used to it. He’s leaning towards you on the shared table, face in hands, elbows propping him up, shooting you a painfully obvious lovestricken look.
“Can someone pass me the salt?” Juhoon comments like nothing is happening.
“Is it to try and get rid of her again?” Pips James as he chews on his burger. He talks as if you’re not right next to him, and at your unimpressed look he sends you a small “sorry”.
“No.” Juhoon blandly replies with no further explanation to why he needs the salt, and Seonghyeon is left sitting like a goblin, suspicious eyes still stuck on the side of your face.
“Am I the only sane one left?” He says to himself, but Martin, who’s sitting next to him, ends up hearing him anyway.
“Dude, it’s been like two weeks. Let it go.” He’s chomping on his fries with little care, round eyes barely settling on Seonghyeon’s face.
“And she’s pretty.” Adds Keonho, and Martin only nods fervently whilst high-fiving him like he just discovered the meaning of life. “Right?! Totally my type.”
“I’m right here you know.” You utter, and the boys only spare you half a glance before giving you a thumbs up and diving right back into the food.
As Martin informed, it had been weeks since you’ve met the guys. Officially two weeks since they’ve stopped trying to murder you. Though ‘Sean’ seems to still harbour some unresolved feelings towards you.
You shift a little where you’re standing.
James flinches the littlest bit at your movements.
And it seems like James is still a little jumpy around you, despite his non-ending declarations of him saying he’s “Not scared of no ghost”, verbatim.
You were out having dinner at the new New York inspired diner that opened up not too far from the dorm.
The boys had specifically requested for a seating arrangement for 6.
Surprisingly, they wouldn’t budge until a space for 6 opened up. And by ‘they’ you mean everyone but Sean. You’re starting to think that that’s just his comportment when he’s hungry, because he’s not usually as prickly towards you at home. You’re relatively calm, so he honestly forgets you’re there, for the most part.
Safe for the times you ‘accidentally’ end up phasing through his room to remind him you, in fact, still exist.
You’re never going to stop tickling his toes when he falls asleep. No matter how many times he gives you the stink eye.
It’s your love language <3
Anyway, a spot for 6 people opened up eventually, which only led the waiters to think that perhaps a new addition would show up. But it’s officially been over 40 minutes, and no new person has come through the restaurant doors.
So it’s safe to say they got nagged at by a bunch of teenagers for absolutely no apparent reason.
Which is why they’ve been staring at your table like hawks.
All that fuss about having to have 6 seats….just for 5 boys to be ravaging at their meals.
They may not be able to see it, but the sixth person has been very much present from the start. And since the boys could see you, all seats were technically occupied.
To them, it doesn’t matter what others can’t see.
What matters is that they see you.
So long as you’re included, by their standard, it’s all smooth sailing.
Burgers, fries, pizza, and the most delicious combination of ‘unhealthy’ one could ever imagine adorns the table like a bestowed title.
You almost can’t help the small drool at your lips. Blinking owlishly, you pat your tummy, your hand going through it and coming out empty at the other end. Your lids lower in slight annoyance.
Juhoon, ever the observant type, notices your conduct almost immediately, but remains unsure of how to approach the situation.
But not to worry, because a mysteriously small plate loaded with the generous amount of three measly fries comes sliding in front of you from somewhere across the table.
For a moment, you stare at it. Nothing behind your gaze.
Your eyes lift to briefly catch the same brown eyes that were practically glued to the side of your face earlier. The eye contact doesn’t even hold past a millisecond, he breaks it like he was never looking at you in the first place.
Pfft, what is he, a tsundere?
You purse your lips, trying to swallow down your small smile. You end up deciding on addressing him lightly.
“Hey, Sean,” you throw him a pair of friendly finger guns whilst winking.
“Love the gesture. Really, I do. But uh—it’s just…I can’t exactly—” you spread your arms wide, then close them back in to have them hover near your tummy. “…eat…right now.”
Seonghyeon’s eyes flit up to look at you again, going wide for a split second at the realisation of his useless consideration.
His ears go red, his cheeks warming up to a comforting shade of pink.
You unknowingly lean closer to him, unable to hide the small tug to your lips this time.
“I…I knew that. I was teasing you.” He says very slowly.
“I’m sure you were. I feel very teased right now.”
Keonho, seeing all this, starts to cackle at the male’s failed advances, but the ridicule doesn’t last long because he ends up choking on a fry in the process.
Coughing up a storm, he’s almost at Heaven’s door when Martinie’s humongous palm comes crashing against his back.
A few hits just about does it, and the stubborn fry comes flying out. It splats out on the table, coated with fresh saliva.
Every single one of you grimaces in disgust.
Keonho tries to shut you all up, but it’s an unwinnable battle.
James starts emoting. Martin starts gagging. Seonghyeon screeches his chair as far away from the table as possible, and Juhoon…
Actually, where is Juhoon?
As if summoned, the pretty male emerges from some random corner.
You raise a brow. The commotion around you still blazing strong. “Where were you?”
“Toilet. What did I miss?”
One look around the table and his eyelids drop in defeat.
“You know what? Never mind, I don’t want to know—WHO THE HELL ATE MY STEAK!”
It wasn’t even a question, at this point. He full on shouted that…
It’s probably the loudest you’ve ever heard him.
You attempt to cover your ears, because you know this scene all too well. It’s happened at the dorms much too many times. Chaos over food. Fights over tastes. Survival instigated from culinary theft.
These are the times that you’re happy to be a ghost.
“Bro, I just took a small bite, chill man.”
James, fork in hand. The last, pitiful cube of steak stabbed through and nearing his open mouth.
You can see the fire in Juhoon’s eyes light up in real time, and even Martin and Sean have to forget about bullying Keonho to put it out.
Keonho doesn’t even know what’s going on.
You deadpan at the circus in front of you.
As the sounds around you grow, your eyes keep up with the ruckus. A tender smile makes its way to your lips.
Guess you don’t mind it though.
Juhoon ended up getting another steak, by the way. So the problem is partially solved.
You say partially because Juhoon is still drilling his orbs through James’ skull.
“James?” Your voice comes light, airy, and James turns to face you with ease. He nudges his jaw at you, a naivety in his glassy eyes.
“Could please apologise to Juhoon? I know you’re extremely kind, so it comes naturally to you.” You offer sweetly, coaxing him with flattery.
James snickers at the compliment, the tactics behind your words going entirely over his head.
Nodding, his shoulders rise in mild pride as he shoots you a pearly white grin. “Yeah, of course! Kindness totally comes naturally to me! I’m the kindest guy I know.”
Your eyes crinkle as you give a slightly exaggerated smile, something you don’t think too much about. But the way James’ breath hitches makes you question if you’ve done something wrong.
Slowly, your smile turns into a confused one.
He’s staring, eyes trained on the way your orbs bend with glee. His gaze flickers briefly to catch the curve of your lips.
They linger there for too long.
Until Keonho is jumping across the table to reach for the older male.
“Hey! I saw that! You ain’t slick buddy!”
“What do you mean? I was just trying to apologise—”
“By staring at her face with those pretty diamond eyes of yours?! You sly fox! You’Re TRYING TO GET A HEAD START!”
Just when things were starting to calm down, they started up again.
You have a mind to look for help from Sean, but even he’s lightly glaring at the oldest male.
He feels the intense stare of your eyes, momentarily turning to make eye contact with you.
It’s quiet, and surprisingly warm. Almost like you’re not allowed to look away.
The sweet moment drags for but two seconds before Juhoon’s cup of water comes crashing down with a little more force than necessary.
“It’s okay, hyung. I accept your apology.”
His eyes are on Seonghyeon.
James sputters in bewilderment, head turning in all sorts of directions before landing on Juhoon again.
“But… I haven’t even apologised yet?” It’s not even a statement. It’s a genuine declaration of confusion.
“No, really,” Juhoon calmly takes a sip of his water, his eyes quickly leave Seonghyeon’s only to land on you.
They stay there for a fleeting beat, then slide over to his half eaten steak. “It’s okay. I’m not mad anymore.”
You blink your eyes like an owl, assessing the way everyone has been looking at you lately.
With the obviousness of it all, one would question if you’re dumb, or if you’re just really good at pretending that you are.
Either way, the boys are the ones getting the short end of the stick.
You think about what could alleviate the atmosphere when your brain strikes an unrejectable offer.
Clapping your hands together, which just end up phasing through themselves, you smile ever so brightly.
The boys swear they can see a halo above your head, but they’d rather not accept that. That would mean you’d leave eventually. And they don’t like that.
Cackling like a witch, something they’ve learned is your actual laugh, you chip in excitedly. “How about some ice cream?”
Quiet ensues for a minute straight.
“Ice cream? I love ice cream!”
“It’s like she read my mind. I knew she was wifey material as soon as I laid my eyes on her—”
“—Liar. You passed out when you first saw her.”
“Yeah,” Martin says, raising his index finger as if his sayings are a matter of fact. “I passed out from her beauty.”
“Are we getting it from the convenience store then?”
“Oh, man. The nearby one doesn’t have the ones I like.”
“Has anyone seen my AirPods?”
“How did I get gravy on my shirt? We didn’t order anything with gravy, did we?”
“Can you shut up for one second?”
“WE’D LIKE THE BILL PLEASE!”
A tired waitress comes over with a small customer-service smile. Her shoulders remain tight as she approaches the member with their hand up.
The boys pay for the bill with the company card. A perk they’ve grown to appreciate like life itself.
Soon after, the night draws in and the breeze hangs low. There’s a slight coldness to the weather as they begin their walk to the nearby convenience store.
Half of them, namely Keonho and Martin, are still bickering. The rest of the three walk in an appreciated calm.
The leaves sway with ease, rustling gently. A blanket of comfort to the already tranquil atmosphere.
“Man, I feel like I haven’t eaten that much in ages.”
Keonho snorts, halting his argument with Martin to respond.
“You literally ate two large pizzas yesterday.”
James pops his head over Martin’s shoulder, “I swear it was three.”
“Three large pizzas? Dawg… you’re a fiend.”
“Why are you all ganging up on me? I didn’t even order pizza yesterday!”
Martin kisses his teeth in disappointment. “Using the company card for your gluttonous pleasures.”
Seonghyeon is left absolutely gobsmacked. He scoffs. “Do you even know how much you alone ate today? The total price was practically doubled because of you! You greedy bas—”
Juhoon is rubbing his shoulders, a rosy tint to his nose. “Can we just hurry up and get the ice cream? I wanna sleep.”
All the members look at him plainly.
“Well, since our cute little princess wants his beauty sleep—”
Juhoon’s eyes slide over to Martin with a small glare. The tall male puts his hands up in surrender, finishing his sentence.
“Then I guess we can skip the ice cream for today.”
Keonho gasps so loud that it startles James next to him.
“Dude! No way! I want my ice cream!”
“It’s getting late anyway, we need to watch out for our figures too. We have a comeback next mo—”
“But we promised we were getting ice cream…”
Martin’s eyebrows rise, a small knot forming between them.
“Didn’t you say they don’t have the ones you like, though?”
“Pssh, doesn’t mean I don’t want any.”
“Let’s just get the ice cream.” Seonghyeon butts in, a small sigh to his lips.
The bickering dies down and nothing but the soft sound of nature and shoes on gravel takes over.
The members are quiet, walking side by side, until Juhoon’s dark eyes scan the area around them.
“Hey,” his footsteps stop abruptly. The rest of the boys gradually follow, gazing over their shoulders to lazily quirk a brow at him.
For a moment, he simply looks around. His head turning side to side, then he starts to look around with his full body.
James watches on, completely and utterly lost.
“Did you lose something?”
Juhoon’s eyes flit to meet his, a small sense of hesitance.
The question hangs in the air for a short time.
James’ eyes widen, his stomach drops.
Not another beat passes before the others diligently join in on the search. Their moves are frantic, eyes out of focus, breaths short. Keonho even resorts to jogging over to the corner they just emerged from.
During the whole thing, not a word is uttered.
It’s when all hope is about to be lost, the boys coming together to form a circle of distress, that your aloof voice chimes in.
“What are we looking for?”
All heads immediately turn to you like meerkats.
You flinch at the intensity of their stares.
Their chests rise up and down, eyes blown wide, a visible sense of relief in them.
You give a dry chuckle, unsure of what’s happening.
“So like, am I meant to do something… is this an improv or..?”
Seonghyeon’s hand twitches first, but Keonho is the one to initiate the move.
He runs over, coming to a stop just in front of you. The corners of his mouth pull up in the most adorable way. You find it in you to not voice your thoughts aloud, though.
His hands, unsure of how to approach you, try to go for a hug, then immediately retreat and opt to stay firmly on his side.
Martin joins his side not long after. His eyes run over you with solace, finally stopping to meet your confused orbs.
You present a wobbly smile in return.
“Gosh, I got more scared than the first time you showed up in our dorm.”
“Told you you were scared!” Comes a voice from behind him.
James gives you a thumbs up from where he’s standing, a glad grin on his face.
Juhoon, ever the quiet one, looks on with repose. His eyes don’t fail to relax as he stares at you interacting with the others from afar.
“Idiot.” It’s spoken under his breath, a relieved lilt to his low voice.
Seonghyeon walks over to you, saying nothing at first.
He says it with no emotion in particular, but the worry still clutches to his tone.
Your lips draw into a thin line before erupting in a smirk. You teasingly wiggle your brows at him.
“Was little ol’ Sean worried about me?”
“No.” He says too quickly, and you chuckle at him trying to keep an indifferent expression.
He clears his throat in a shy manner, waiting for your answer.
“I was right there, you just walked through me… which is weird.” You hadn’t really meant to say that last part out loud.
You were so sure they could all physically interact with you at all times, but it turns out that isn’t the case.
You even tried to call out to them a couple of times when they walked past you.
Is this the divide between the living and the dead?
“You guys were just too busy chatting up a storm that you basically forgot about me.” You opt to say instead. A dead look to your eyes.
The boys guiltily giggle, scratching their heads in unison and avoiding your gaze.
“Well, whatever. Are we getting ice cream or not?” Comes James.
“I’m telling you. No one is sleeping until I get my ice cream.” Keonho joins in seriously.
You nod, a fond beam to your lips.
And the boys can’t help but marvel at it a little.
Because for once, they’ve all unanimously agreed on something that doesn’t even need to be said aloud.
The desire to protect that innocent smile, at all costs.
a/n: idk how to tell u this… but the next chapter is the penultimate one—
