ISS 2014: for tubby_bunny
Title: Who you gonna call?
Rating: PG-13
Pairing(s): Woohyun/Sungyeol/Hoya; onesided!Woohyun/Sunggyu
Length: 3308 words
Summary: Our fav 91-liners run a ghost hunting business.
Warnings: mild swearing, references to paranormal activity, Woohyun being Woohyun
Note: I don’t know how this happened or how the characters turned out the way they did. Happy holidays and I hope I did your request at least a little bit of justice!!! (And I’m sorry for any typos you find, I’m horrible at proofreading it’s actually a problem.)
To: tubby_bunny
From: Your Secret Santa
Woohyun thinks of himself as a man of simple needs.
When he isn’t out capturing ghosts and saving the city from poltergeists running rampant, he usually likes to sit in his office (and by office, he means a few wooden panels to section of the space, filing cabinets that only hold a few manila envelopes, and a desk large enough to rest his feet on top of) and relax with a book or maybe an iced beverage.
“Myungsoo!” Woohyun barks at his secretary as he spins around in his desk chair.
Myungsoo doesn’t reply, his undivided focus on the PSP in his hands, fingers jamming against the buttons with a mastery level of coordination.
Woohyun’s chair comes to a halt. He lets out an affronted huff as he stares at the back of the younger boy’s head. “Myungsoo!”
The secretary begrudgingly pauses his game and looks over his shoulder with a glare.
“What do you want?” he asks, blatantly irritated.
Woohyun cringes slightly back into his chair. He can almost see the background behind Myungsoo fading to black, a shadow casting over his face. But he clears his throat and straightens his back. He’s one of the best ghost hunters in the country, he’s not going to let his secretary of all people intimidate him.
“Get me a mango smoothie!” he orders.
Myungsoo raises an eyebrow.
“Now,” Woohyun adds to assert his authority.
Myungsoo scoffs and turns back to his game. “Get it yourself.”
Woohyun’s jaw drops, astonished.
“I’m not paying you to just sit around, you know?” he huffs, standing up from his desk chair and crossing his arms over his chest. His attempt at being intimidating goes straight over the secretary's head as Myungsoo kicks his feet up onto his desk.
“You’re not paying me at all,” Myungsoo mutters, not even bothering to spare his employer a second glance.
Woohyun frowns and grabs a pen that’s laying on his desk. He’s about to throw it at Myungsoo’s head when the bell over the front entrance rings. He looks up and freezes, the pen slipping between his fingers.
A young man walks up to Myungsoo’s desk, black hair tucked under a grey beanie and body swallowed by loose jeans and a sweatshirt two sizes too big. The guy’s eyes lock with Woohyun’s and quickly drop to his shoes at the intensity behind the ghost hunter’s stare.
He’s so cute Woohyun thinks he’s might be in love.
After a few seconds of standing in front of Myungsoo’s desk, the guy lets out a soft, “Excuse me.”
Myungsoo sighs and pauses his game, looking up slowly. “Can I help you?”
The guy clears his throat and fidgets under Woohyun’s unnerving (-ly creepy) stare and Myungsoo’s intense gaze. “I, um, need to talk to the person in charge. It’s kind of an emergency.”
“Do you have an appointment?” Myungsoo asks, the least bit concerned.
The guy blinks. “Well, no.”
“Then no can do, sorry,” Myungsoo replies simply and un-pauses his game. “Try coming back when you have an appointment.”
“Um, okay.” The guy nods. “What times are available for me to - ”
“No, no! There is no need for that!” Woohyun yells abruptly.
He jumps over a bookshelf that divides his office from the main space of the office. (He almost trips. Myungsoo snorts.)
“I’m Nam Woohyun,” he offers a hand to the guy, “ghost hunter, CEO and founder of Ghost Exterminators, Inc. The company’s name is a work in progress.”
“Kim Sunggyu,” the guy responds and takes his hand, giving it a mild shake.
Woohyun almost melts into a pile of ghost plasma at the slight lisp in Sunggyu’s voice and barely notices the way Sunggyu has to forcibly pull his hand out of their handshake that’s going on for much too long. Woohyun brushes it off and stuffs his hands into his pockets.
“So Sunggyu,” Woohyun’s lips form into a lazy smirk (Myungsoo rolls his eyes). “What can I help you with today?”
❄ ~ ❄ ~ ❄
“So you wake up in the morning and your apartment is a destroyed?”
They’re sitting in Woohyun’s office, the ghost hunter/CEO/founder twirling a pen that he’s not using around his fingers as Sunggyu sits on a wooden chair in front of him.
“Not the whole apartment, just the kitchen,” Sunggyu corrects. “Things are knocked off the counter, the fridge is open, the blender is sometimes turned on, chairs are turned over onto their sides. I even found a few scratch marks on my walls.”
“Scratch marks on the walls…” Woohyun hums. “Are you sure it’s not just a burglar?”
“I’m sure.”
“Then it sounds like a Class Two,” Woohyun nods and looks over at his secretary. “Myungsoo, are you getting all of this?”
“Yup.” Myungsoo quips from his desk as he concentrates on the pad of paper propped on his knee, pen moving across the yellow lined paper with lightning speed.
Woohyun blinks at the secretary’s promptness and the fact that he’s actually working. But he shrugs it off; maybe Myungsoo is finally acknowledging his authority (or maybe he just wants another paid sick day).
“Well, don’t you worry, Sunggyu, you’re in good hands. Ghost Exterminators, Inc., again the name is a work in progress, has the best ghost hunters in the country. My team and I will get that little ghosty out of your apartment in no time.”
Sunggyu’s lips quirk into a half smile. “Thank you.”
“So,” Woohyun leans forward onto his elbows and forms his lips into a small pout that even moved Sungyeol’s heart once upon a time. “Do you have any questions or is there anything else you would like me to know? Like, crazy neighbors that call the cops if we do exterminations at two in the morning or maybe your favorite type of food or even a movie that you’ve been wanting to see…”
Sunggyu gives Woohyun a perplexed look. “Um, I don’t think -”
“I’m telling you, Yeol, that old man is just plain crazy!”
Sunggyu and Woohyun look past the freestanding wall and windows to see Sungyeol, Howon, and Sungjong walking into the office, all of their grey jumpsuits ripped and torn to shreds.
“No, he’s actually not.” Sungyeol responds to Howon without missing a beat as he pushes his glasses up his nose.
“Here we go,” Myungsoo mutters.
“No one is capable of being ‘plain crazy’ since there are many different perceptions of the meaning of ‘crazy’ and what warrants a person to be given this label. Therefore, since there is no definitive prognosis for ‘crazy’, it is impossible for such a thing as ‘plain crazy’ to exist.”
Howon and Sungjong (and Myungsoo) roll their eyes as they remove their proton packs from their backs and set them against the wall near the door.
The pieces of cloth hanging from his shoulders flap slightly as Howon crosses his arms. “Then why else would he keep that demon feline around after finding out that it was the cause the ‘mysterious scratch marks’ on his arms?”
“Cat lovers are masochists,” Sungjong adds. “It’s a proven fact.”
“Really? What study says so?” Sungyeol inquires. “What institute conducted tests to prove this?”
“The ‘I Go Outside and Talk to People’ study done by the University of I’m Right and You’re a Dumbass,” Sungjong throws over his shoulder as he heads towards the Containment Unit in the basement with a smoking trap in hand.
“That’s not a real college.” Sungyeol frowns.
“But you definitely would be accepted if it were,” Myungsoo says without a glance.
Sungyeol blinks at the secretary. “Of course I would. My test scores are in the top three percentile in the country. That gives me a 96.5% success rate of getting accepted into any secondary institute I apply to.”
Myungsoo slowly glances up with dead eyes. “You’re an idiot.”
“That’s quite amusing coming from someone whose IQ is not even a third of mine.” Sungyeol laughs and pushes his glasses up his nose before walking over to his desk.
“Ha ha ha,” Myungsoo barks sharply as he stands up. “You know what’s also ‘quite amusing’?”
Myungsoo winds his arm back with a sadistic smirk. Howon grabs his arm and forcibly sits him back down before he can chuck his notepad at Sungyeol’s head.
“Those guys are the best ghost hunters in the country?” Sunggyu asks Woohyun with a raised eyebrow.
“Well, technically, Myungsoo’s just a secretary.” Woohyun chuckles sheepishly.
As he leads Sunggyu out of his office, he reminds himself to lock the four younger boys in the paranormal container for two hours for embarrassing him in front of a (kinda, sorta but actually really cute) client.
“And who’s this?” Howon asks, eyes on Sunggyu.
“This is Kim Sunggyu.” Woohyun motions to Sunggyu. The latter gives the two boys a small wave. “He’s a new client that needs a Class Two, potentially Class Three, removed from his apartment’s kitchen.”
Howon walks straight up to Sunggyu and grabs his hand in a firm shake. “Nice to meet you, I’m Lee Howon. But, wow! A Class Two! What was its manifestation?”
“Ummm I didn’t really see it…” Sunggyu stares at Howon as he continues to shakes his hand vigorously.
Sungyeol marches up the Sunggyu, a pocket notebook and pen in hand. “Lee Sungyeol,” he introduces himself with a curt nod. “Were you able to get any samples of its ectoplasm?”
“Not really,” Sunggyu mumbles.
“Was it a ghostly hand? Hazy figure? Floating sheet?” Howon presses on. “Those are the most common among Class Twos.”
“How about a picture, a video recording? Any sort of evidence?” Sungyeol inquires.
Woohyun pushes a fist to his lips to stop his laugh. The sight of Sunggyu’s mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water as he tries to answer both Howon and Sungyeol’s rapid questions is just too funny when it’s not happening to him. When Sungyeol starts to poke Sunggyu’s cheek with his pen and Howon is mirroring Sunggyu’s movements like they’re some kind of dance, he decides it’s time for him to step in.
“Whoa, whoa, okay, relax, you two.” Woohyun pushes the two ghost hunters away from Sunggyu. “Give the guy some room to breathe. All you need to know is that there is a ghost in his apartment that we need to exterminate tonight.”
“Tonight?” Howon asks, eyes wide.
“But we have at least 10 other clients that are already waiting for us to help them,” Sungyeol says, flipping frantically through his notebook.
“We’re giving him special priority,” Woohyun says calmly, giving Sunggyu a bright smile. (Sunggyu tries to smile back but is still a little disoriented by his first encounter with Howon and Sungyeol.)
“I thought you said we don’t do that,” Myungsoo calls from his desk.
“I never said that.” Woohyun lies.
“Uh, yeah you did,” Myungsoo insists, “when that lady came in yesterday with a Class Six in her -”
“Myungsoo!” Woohyun cuts him off sharply and masks his frustration with a tight-lipped grin. “Debrief Sungyeol and Howon on the details of this extermination, would ya?”
“What details?” Myungsoo asks, slightly confused.
“The notes you took,” Woohyun says.
“Notes?” Now Myungsoo definitely looks confused. “I was drawing a puppy poking its head out of a gift box.”
Myungsoo holds up the notepad to show Woohyun the sketch of a puppy with a bow on its head peeking over the top of a present. There’s even a Christmas tree in the background.
Woohyun gapes at the secretary who snorts at him in amusement.
“Just trying to get into the holiday spirit, you know?” Myungsoo shrugs.
“That’s actually pretty good,” Sungyeol comments, peering at the drawing.
“Um, was that a compliment?” Myungsoo mumbles as he gives him a weird look.
“It was an observation,” Sungyeol states. “Since I was able to identify that your drawing was indeed a puppy in a gift box, it warranted the adjective - Ow! Why did you throw your pen at me?”
“‘Why did I throw my pen at you’?” Myungsoo laughs without humor.
“Myungsoo, calm down,” Howon says.
Sungyeol pushes his glasses up his nose once again. “Yes, please answer my inquiry. I did ask you question. You do know what a question is, right?”
“Myungsoo…” Howon warns.
“Well, Dr. Lee,” Myungsoo clenches his jaw, “to answer your inquiry, I threw my pen at you because you’re a -”
Howon throws his hand over Myungsoo’s mouth before a string of swears and curses that even a sailor would be offended by leaves the younger’s lips. Myungsoo struggles against Howon’s hold as Sungyeol scribbles down notes and observations of Myungsoo’s reaction to being provoked in his notebook.
Woohyun smacks his forehead with his palm and simply leads Sunggyu away from his deranged employees without another word. This is going to be a long night but thank god Myungsoo’s just a secretary or else it would go on for an eternity.
❄ ~ ❄ ~ ❄
“Are you sure this is the right apartment building this time?” Howon asks as they walk down the hall. “Because I don’t want to have to explain to another person in a bathrobe what we’re doing with ‘giant vacuums’ on our backs.”
“I’m sure this time,” Woohyun replies. “It’s not my fault Myungsoo didn’t write his address down for me and I was too busy staring at Sunggyu’s cute face to hear what he said.”
Sungyeol rolls his eyes and adjusts the straps of his proton pack. “What room is it again?”
“610,” Woohyun points further down the hall.
They stop in front of the door and Woohyun turns to Howon and Sungyeol.
“Okay, the kitchen is supposed to be right off the living room, so be alert and have your proton accelerators ready at all times. Don’t shoot unless you are sure you see something. Our insurance doesn’t cover any damage that we mistakenly cause.”
The other two nod and hold up the nozzles connected to their proton packs, fingers on the trigger.
Woohyun unlocks the door and slowly pushes it open.
“If you see any ectoplasmic residue, please let me know,” Sungyeol whispers. “I want a sample.”
They try to make their footsteps as light as possible as they creep around the living room, eyes peeled. When Sungyeol flips on the lights, Woohyun lets out a loud gasp.
“Oh my god!” Woohyun exclaims.
“What?! What?!” Howon whirls around, pointing his proton accelerator in every direction he possibly can.
“He plays the piano,” Woohyun swoons with a dreamy smile as he stands next to a black piano that pushed up against one wall.
“Get it together!” Sungyeol snaps. “There is a paranormal entity in this apartment that could attack us at any point! I don’t care if you’re new man lover is musically talented!”
“But this means he probably can sing too, right?” Woohyun whines. “You both know I love a man who can hit a high A and -”
The three of them freeze when a clatter sounds echoes throughout the apartment.
“This must be the kitchen.” Howon points to the only door connected the living room.
He gently pushes the door open and peers inside. Howon narrows his eyes as they adjust to the darkness. The kitchen is quiet, absolutely still. But, a figure moves along the counter and a box of cereal is knocked to the ground.
Howon quickly shuts the door.
“Was there something in there?” Sungyeol asks.
Howon nods. “I couldn’t make it out, it was just a figure. Definitely Class Two.”
“Alright, this is going to be a quick one, boys.” Woohyun dusts his hands on his pants. “We’ll do the normal procedure. Sungyeol, you’ll set the trap. Howon, you and I will use our streams to capture it, got it?”
“Yup.”
“Got it.”
“Alright we should be out of here in no time.” Woohyun takes a deep breath, hand on the doorknob. “On my count. 1, 2 -”
The three enter the kitchen. Sungyeol quickly places the trap in the middle of the kitchen floor as Woohyun and Howon stand in silence.
“Wait for it, wait for it …” Woohyun mumbles, eyes sweeping across the kitchen.
A figure moves out of the corner of his eye.
“There!” he yells and fires up his proton pack.
Howon follows suit and the once silence kitchen is filled with deafening electrical noise. They fire along the counter, following the figure that swiftly weaves towards appliances and cooking ware.
“This one is good!” Howon yells as a loaf of bread bursts under the electrical current.
“What do we do? It’s too quick!” Woohyun looks over at Sungyeol and he continues to try to get ahold of the ghoul and place it in the trap.
“I don’t know, but just remember not to cross the streams!” Sungyeol tries to tell them.
“Cross the streams?” Woohyun yells back. “Well, okay, you’re the scientist!”
As he to move his stream towards the other, Howon looks at him with wide eyes.
“Wait! Woohyun, don’t -”
❄ ~ ❄ ~ ❄
Sunggyu taps his foot as he tries concentrate on the book in his lap. Frustrated, he gives up and snaps his book shut. He glances around the office and fidgets in the armchair he had to get for himself since Myungsoo’s game was apparently more important than hospitality.
“Calm down,” Myungsoo sighs as he continues to focus on the game console in his hands. “It’s just a Class Two, they’ll be back in like half an hour. Well, maybe longer if Sungyeol continues to be a -”
But before Myungsoo can finish his sentence, Woohyun, Sungyeol, and Howon enter the office covered in soot, hair slightly burnt, and with a new feline friend in Howon’s arms. Sunggyu jumps out of his chair.
“Guess who just saved the day once again?” Woohyun announces upon the three ghost hunters arriving back at the office. “Turns out it was just a mischievous cat causing a ruckus, no need to thank me. But I will accept any hugs of gratitude.”
He spreads his arms out and beams when Sunggyu rushes towards him.
“Dongwoo!” Sunggyu exclaims, running straight pass Woohyun and up to Howon.
“Dongwoo?” Woohyun tilts his head to the side and looks at Sungyeol, arms still spread out. “Did he say Dongwoo? My name is not Dongwoo. And why is he running up to the hair covered demon?”
“What’s a ‘Dongwoo’?” Myungsoo raises an eyebrow.
“He’s a stray that usually hangs around my building.” Sunggyu explains as he takes the cat from Howon’s arms. “I left some food for him on my fire escape one night and he must have climbed in through the window. So you were the one that was causing trouble in my kitchen.”
“Well, how do you want us to handle Dongwoo?” Woohyun sneers, eyes piercing the cat. “I recommend we put the little shit in our paranormal container.”
“I think I’m going to keep him.” Sunggyu smiles down as Dongwoo rubs his head against his neck.
“Are you serious?” Woohyun stares at Sunggyu in disbelief. “That thing destroyed your apartment and attacked my face when we were driving back here! I’m going to have a scar!” He points to a tiny hairline cut on his left cheek.
Sunggyu continues to rubs between the cat’s ears, unfazed. “But he’s so cute and I don’t think he meant to do anything to you. He’s actually really sweet, I mean look at that face.”
He holds Dongwoo up for Woohyun to look into his large round eyes.
“B-But - what - I mean - and that thing - what?” Woohyun stutters as Sunggyu gently scratches behind Dongwoo’s ears. (Myungsoo laughs in the background.)
“I’d never thought I’d say this, but Sungjong was right,” Sungyeol says to Howon, taking off his glasses momentarily to wipe some ash off of his face, “Cat lovers are masochists.”
Rating: PG-13
Pairing(s): Woohyun/Sungyeol/Hoya; onesided!Woohyun/Sunggyu
Length: 3308 words
Summary: Our fav 91-liners run a ghost hunting business.
Warnings: mild swearing, references to paranormal activity, Woohyun being Woohyun
Note: I don’t know how this happened or how the characters turned out the way they did. Happy holidays and I hope I did your request at least a little bit of justice!!! (And I’m sorry for any typos you find, I’m horrible at proofreading it’s actually a problem.)
To: tubby_bunny
From: Your Secret Santa
Woohyun thinks of himself as a man of simple needs.
When he isn’t out capturing ghosts and saving the city from poltergeists running rampant, he usually likes to sit in his office (and by office, he means a few wooden panels to section of the space, filing cabinets that only hold a few manila envelopes, and a desk large enough to rest his feet on top of) and relax with a book or maybe an iced beverage.
“Myungsoo!” Woohyun barks at his secretary as he spins around in his desk chair.
Myungsoo doesn’t reply, his undivided focus on the PSP in his hands, fingers jamming against the buttons with a mastery level of coordination.
Woohyun’s chair comes to a halt. He lets out an affronted huff as he stares at the back of the younger boy’s head. “Myungsoo!”
The secretary begrudgingly pauses his game and looks over his shoulder with a glare.
“What do you want?” he asks, blatantly irritated.
Woohyun cringes slightly back into his chair. He can almost see the background behind Myungsoo fading to black, a shadow casting over his face. But he clears his throat and straightens his back. He’s one of the best ghost hunters in the country, he’s not going to let his secretary of all people intimidate him.
“Get me a mango smoothie!” he orders.
Myungsoo raises an eyebrow.
“Now,” Woohyun adds to assert his authority.
Myungsoo scoffs and turns back to his game. “Get it yourself.”
Woohyun’s jaw drops, astonished.
“I’m not paying you to just sit around, you know?” he huffs, standing up from his desk chair and crossing his arms over his chest. His attempt at being intimidating goes straight over the secretary's head as Myungsoo kicks his feet up onto his desk.
“You’re not paying me at all,” Myungsoo mutters, not even bothering to spare his employer a second glance.
Woohyun frowns and grabs a pen that’s laying on his desk. He’s about to throw it at Myungsoo’s head when the bell over the front entrance rings. He looks up and freezes, the pen slipping between his fingers.
A young man walks up to Myungsoo’s desk, black hair tucked under a grey beanie and body swallowed by loose jeans and a sweatshirt two sizes too big. The guy’s eyes lock with Woohyun’s and quickly drop to his shoes at the intensity behind the ghost hunter’s stare.
He’s so cute Woohyun thinks he’s might be in love.
After a few seconds of standing in front of Myungsoo’s desk, the guy lets out a soft, “Excuse me.”
Myungsoo sighs and pauses his game, looking up slowly. “Can I help you?”
The guy clears his throat and fidgets under Woohyun’s unnerving (-ly creepy) stare and Myungsoo’s intense gaze. “I, um, need to talk to the person in charge. It’s kind of an emergency.”
“Do you have an appointment?” Myungsoo asks, the least bit concerned.
The guy blinks. “Well, no.”
“Then no can do, sorry,” Myungsoo replies simply and un-pauses his game. “Try coming back when you have an appointment.”
“Um, okay.” The guy nods. “What times are available for me to - ”
“No, no! There is no need for that!” Woohyun yells abruptly.
He jumps over a bookshelf that divides his office from the main space of the office. (He almost trips. Myungsoo snorts.)
“I’m Nam Woohyun,” he offers a hand to the guy, “ghost hunter, CEO and founder of Ghost Exterminators, Inc. The company’s name is a work in progress.”
“Kim Sunggyu,” the guy responds and takes his hand, giving it a mild shake.
Woohyun almost melts into a pile of ghost plasma at the slight lisp in Sunggyu’s voice and barely notices the way Sunggyu has to forcibly pull his hand out of their handshake that’s going on for much too long. Woohyun brushes it off and stuffs his hands into his pockets.
“So Sunggyu,” Woohyun’s lips form into a lazy smirk (Myungsoo rolls his eyes). “What can I help you with today?”
❄ ~ ❄ ~ ❄
“So you wake up in the morning and your apartment is a destroyed?”
They’re sitting in Woohyun’s office, the ghost hunter/CEO/founder twirling a pen that he’s not using around his fingers as Sunggyu sits on a wooden chair in front of him.
“Not the whole apartment, just the kitchen,” Sunggyu corrects. “Things are knocked off the counter, the fridge is open, the blender is sometimes turned on, chairs are turned over onto their sides. I even found a few scratch marks on my walls.”
“Scratch marks on the walls…” Woohyun hums. “Are you sure it’s not just a burglar?”
“I’m sure.”
“Then it sounds like a Class Two,” Woohyun nods and looks over at his secretary. “Myungsoo, are you getting all of this?”
“Yup.” Myungsoo quips from his desk as he concentrates on the pad of paper propped on his knee, pen moving across the yellow lined paper with lightning speed.
Woohyun blinks at the secretary’s promptness and the fact that he’s actually working. But he shrugs it off; maybe Myungsoo is finally acknowledging his authority (or maybe he just wants another paid sick day).
“Well, don’t you worry, Sunggyu, you’re in good hands. Ghost Exterminators, Inc., again the name is a work in progress, has the best ghost hunters in the country. My team and I will get that little ghosty out of your apartment in no time.”
Sunggyu’s lips quirk into a half smile. “Thank you.”
“So,” Woohyun leans forward onto his elbows and forms his lips into a small pout that even moved Sungyeol’s heart once upon a time. “Do you have any questions or is there anything else you would like me to know? Like, crazy neighbors that call the cops if we do exterminations at two in the morning or maybe your favorite type of food or even a movie that you’ve been wanting to see…”
Sunggyu gives Woohyun a perplexed look. “Um, I don’t think -”
“I’m telling you, Yeol, that old man is just plain crazy!”
Sunggyu and Woohyun look past the freestanding wall and windows to see Sungyeol, Howon, and Sungjong walking into the office, all of their grey jumpsuits ripped and torn to shreds.
“No, he’s actually not.” Sungyeol responds to Howon without missing a beat as he pushes his glasses up his nose.
“Here we go,” Myungsoo mutters.
“No one is capable of being ‘plain crazy’ since there are many different perceptions of the meaning of ‘crazy’ and what warrants a person to be given this label. Therefore, since there is no definitive prognosis for ‘crazy’, it is impossible for such a thing as ‘plain crazy’ to exist.”
Howon and Sungjong (and Myungsoo) roll their eyes as they remove their proton packs from their backs and set them against the wall near the door.
The pieces of cloth hanging from his shoulders flap slightly as Howon crosses his arms. “Then why else would he keep that demon feline around after finding out that it was the cause the ‘mysterious scratch marks’ on his arms?”
“Cat lovers are masochists,” Sungjong adds. “It’s a proven fact.”
“Really? What study says so?” Sungyeol inquires. “What institute conducted tests to prove this?”
“The ‘I Go Outside and Talk to People’ study done by the University of I’m Right and You’re a Dumbass,” Sungjong throws over his shoulder as he heads towards the Containment Unit in the basement with a smoking trap in hand.
“That’s not a real college.” Sungyeol frowns.
“But you definitely would be accepted if it were,” Myungsoo says without a glance.
Sungyeol blinks at the secretary. “Of course I would. My test scores are in the top three percentile in the country. That gives me a 96.5% success rate of getting accepted into any secondary institute I apply to.”
Myungsoo slowly glances up with dead eyes. “You’re an idiot.”
“That’s quite amusing coming from someone whose IQ is not even a third of mine.” Sungyeol laughs and pushes his glasses up his nose before walking over to his desk.
“Ha ha ha,” Myungsoo barks sharply as he stands up. “You know what’s also ‘quite amusing’?”
Myungsoo winds his arm back with a sadistic smirk. Howon grabs his arm and forcibly sits him back down before he can chuck his notepad at Sungyeol’s head.
“Those guys are the best ghost hunters in the country?” Sunggyu asks Woohyun with a raised eyebrow.
“Well, technically, Myungsoo’s just a secretary.” Woohyun chuckles sheepishly.
As he leads Sunggyu out of his office, he reminds himself to lock the four younger boys in the paranormal container for two hours for embarrassing him in front of a (kinda, sorta but actually really cute) client.
“And who’s this?” Howon asks, eyes on Sunggyu.
“This is Kim Sunggyu.” Woohyun motions to Sunggyu. The latter gives the two boys a small wave. “He’s a new client that needs a Class Two, potentially Class Three, removed from his apartment’s kitchen.”
Howon walks straight up to Sunggyu and grabs his hand in a firm shake. “Nice to meet you, I’m Lee Howon. But, wow! A Class Two! What was its manifestation?”
“Ummm I didn’t really see it…” Sunggyu stares at Howon as he continues to shakes his hand vigorously.
Sungyeol marches up the Sunggyu, a pocket notebook and pen in hand. “Lee Sungyeol,” he introduces himself with a curt nod. “Were you able to get any samples of its ectoplasm?”
“Not really,” Sunggyu mumbles.
“Was it a ghostly hand? Hazy figure? Floating sheet?” Howon presses on. “Those are the most common among Class Twos.”
“How about a picture, a video recording? Any sort of evidence?” Sungyeol inquires.
Woohyun pushes a fist to his lips to stop his laugh. The sight of Sunggyu’s mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water as he tries to answer both Howon and Sungyeol’s rapid questions is just too funny when it’s not happening to him. When Sungyeol starts to poke Sunggyu’s cheek with his pen and Howon is mirroring Sunggyu’s movements like they’re some kind of dance, he decides it’s time for him to step in.
“Whoa, whoa, okay, relax, you two.” Woohyun pushes the two ghost hunters away from Sunggyu. “Give the guy some room to breathe. All you need to know is that there is a ghost in his apartment that we need to exterminate tonight.”
“Tonight?” Howon asks, eyes wide.
“But we have at least 10 other clients that are already waiting for us to help them,” Sungyeol says, flipping frantically through his notebook.
“We’re giving him special priority,” Woohyun says calmly, giving Sunggyu a bright smile. (Sunggyu tries to smile back but is still a little disoriented by his first encounter with Howon and Sungyeol.)
“I thought you said we don’t do that,” Myungsoo calls from his desk.
“I never said that.” Woohyun lies.
“Uh, yeah you did,” Myungsoo insists, “when that lady came in yesterday with a Class Six in her -”
“Myungsoo!” Woohyun cuts him off sharply and masks his frustration with a tight-lipped grin. “Debrief Sungyeol and Howon on the details of this extermination, would ya?”
“What details?” Myungsoo asks, slightly confused.
“The notes you took,” Woohyun says.
“Notes?” Now Myungsoo definitely looks confused. “I was drawing a puppy poking its head out of a gift box.”
Myungsoo holds up the notepad to show Woohyun the sketch of a puppy with a bow on its head peeking over the top of a present. There’s even a Christmas tree in the background.
Woohyun gapes at the secretary who snorts at him in amusement.
“Just trying to get into the holiday spirit, you know?” Myungsoo shrugs.
“That’s actually pretty good,” Sungyeol comments, peering at the drawing.
“Um, was that a compliment?” Myungsoo mumbles as he gives him a weird look.
“It was an observation,” Sungyeol states. “Since I was able to identify that your drawing was indeed a puppy in a gift box, it warranted the adjective - Ow! Why did you throw your pen at me?”
“‘Why did I throw my pen at you’?” Myungsoo laughs without humor.
“Myungsoo, calm down,” Howon says.
Sungyeol pushes his glasses up his nose once again. “Yes, please answer my inquiry. I did ask you question. You do know what a question is, right?”
“Myungsoo…” Howon warns.
“Well, Dr. Lee,” Myungsoo clenches his jaw, “to answer your inquiry, I threw my pen at you because you’re a -”
Howon throws his hand over Myungsoo’s mouth before a string of swears and curses that even a sailor would be offended by leaves the younger’s lips. Myungsoo struggles against Howon’s hold as Sungyeol scribbles down notes and observations of Myungsoo’s reaction to being provoked in his notebook.
Woohyun smacks his forehead with his palm and simply leads Sunggyu away from his deranged employees without another word. This is going to be a long night but thank god Myungsoo’s just a secretary or else it would go on for an eternity.
❄ ~ ❄ ~ ❄
“Are you sure this is the right apartment building this time?” Howon asks as they walk down the hall. “Because I don’t want to have to explain to another person in a bathrobe what we’re doing with ‘giant vacuums’ on our backs.”
“I’m sure this time,” Woohyun replies. “It’s not my fault Myungsoo didn’t write his address down for me and I was too busy staring at Sunggyu’s cute face to hear what he said.”
Sungyeol rolls his eyes and adjusts the straps of his proton pack. “What room is it again?”
“610,” Woohyun points further down the hall.
They stop in front of the door and Woohyun turns to Howon and Sungyeol.
“Okay, the kitchen is supposed to be right off the living room, so be alert and have your proton accelerators ready at all times. Don’t shoot unless you are sure you see something. Our insurance doesn’t cover any damage that we mistakenly cause.”
The other two nod and hold up the nozzles connected to their proton packs, fingers on the trigger.
Woohyun unlocks the door and slowly pushes it open.
“If you see any ectoplasmic residue, please let me know,” Sungyeol whispers. “I want a sample.”
They try to make their footsteps as light as possible as they creep around the living room, eyes peeled. When Sungyeol flips on the lights, Woohyun lets out a loud gasp.
“Oh my god!” Woohyun exclaims.
“What?! What?!” Howon whirls around, pointing his proton accelerator in every direction he possibly can.
“He plays the piano,” Woohyun swoons with a dreamy smile as he stands next to a black piano that pushed up against one wall.
“Get it together!” Sungyeol snaps. “There is a paranormal entity in this apartment that could attack us at any point! I don’t care if you’re new man lover is musically talented!”
“But this means he probably can sing too, right?” Woohyun whines. “You both know I love a man who can hit a high A and -”
The three of them freeze when a clatter sounds echoes throughout the apartment.
“This must be the kitchen.” Howon points to the only door connected the living room.
He gently pushes the door open and peers inside. Howon narrows his eyes as they adjust to the darkness. The kitchen is quiet, absolutely still. But, a figure moves along the counter and a box of cereal is knocked to the ground.
Howon quickly shuts the door.
“Was there something in there?” Sungyeol asks.
Howon nods. “I couldn’t make it out, it was just a figure. Definitely Class Two.”
“Alright, this is going to be a quick one, boys.” Woohyun dusts his hands on his pants. “We’ll do the normal procedure. Sungyeol, you’ll set the trap. Howon, you and I will use our streams to capture it, got it?”
“Yup.”
“Got it.”
“Alright we should be out of here in no time.” Woohyun takes a deep breath, hand on the doorknob. “On my count. 1, 2 -”
The three enter the kitchen. Sungyeol quickly places the trap in the middle of the kitchen floor as Woohyun and Howon stand in silence.
“Wait for it, wait for it …” Woohyun mumbles, eyes sweeping across the kitchen.
A figure moves out of the corner of his eye.
“There!” he yells and fires up his proton pack.
Howon follows suit and the once silence kitchen is filled with deafening electrical noise. They fire along the counter, following the figure that swiftly weaves towards appliances and cooking ware.
“This one is good!” Howon yells as a loaf of bread bursts under the electrical current.
“What do we do? It’s too quick!” Woohyun looks over at Sungyeol and he continues to try to get ahold of the ghoul and place it in the trap.
“I don’t know, but just remember not to cross the streams!” Sungyeol tries to tell them.
“Cross the streams?” Woohyun yells back. “Well, okay, you’re the scientist!”
As he to move his stream towards the other, Howon looks at him with wide eyes.
“Wait! Woohyun, don’t -”
❄ ~ ❄ ~ ❄
Sunggyu taps his foot as he tries concentrate on the book in his lap. Frustrated, he gives up and snaps his book shut. He glances around the office and fidgets in the armchair he had to get for himself since Myungsoo’s game was apparently more important than hospitality.
“Calm down,” Myungsoo sighs as he continues to focus on the game console in his hands. “It’s just a Class Two, they’ll be back in like half an hour. Well, maybe longer if Sungyeol continues to be a -”
But before Myungsoo can finish his sentence, Woohyun, Sungyeol, and Howon enter the office covered in soot, hair slightly burnt, and with a new feline friend in Howon’s arms. Sunggyu jumps out of his chair.
“Guess who just saved the day once again?” Woohyun announces upon the three ghost hunters arriving back at the office. “Turns out it was just a mischievous cat causing a ruckus, no need to thank me. But I will accept any hugs of gratitude.”
He spreads his arms out and beams when Sunggyu rushes towards him.
“Dongwoo!” Sunggyu exclaims, running straight pass Woohyun and up to Howon.
“Dongwoo?” Woohyun tilts his head to the side and looks at Sungyeol, arms still spread out. “Did he say Dongwoo? My name is not Dongwoo. And why is he running up to the hair covered demon?”
“What’s a ‘Dongwoo’?” Myungsoo raises an eyebrow.
“He’s a stray that usually hangs around my building.” Sunggyu explains as he takes the cat from Howon’s arms. “I left some food for him on my fire escape one night and he must have climbed in through the window. So you were the one that was causing trouble in my kitchen.”
“Well, how do you want us to handle Dongwoo?” Woohyun sneers, eyes piercing the cat. “I recommend we put the little shit in our paranormal container.”
“I think I’m going to keep him.” Sunggyu smiles down as Dongwoo rubs his head against his neck.
“Are you serious?” Woohyun stares at Sunggyu in disbelief. “That thing destroyed your apartment and attacked my face when we were driving back here! I’m going to have a scar!” He points to a tiny hairline cut on his left cheek.
Sunggyu continues to rubs between the cat’s ears, unfazed. “But he’s so cute and I don’t think he meant to do anything to you. He’s actually really sweet, I mean look at that face.”
He holds Dongwoo up for Woohyun to look into his large round eyes.
“B-But - what - I mean - and that thing - what?” Woohyun stutters as Sunggyu gently scratches behind Dongwoo’s ears. (Myungsoo laughs in the background.)
“I’d never thought I’d say this, but Sungjong was right,” Sungyeol says to Howon, taking off his glasses momentarily to wipe some ash off of his face, “Cat lovers are masochists.”