[Fic] on a scale of | a minsu ghost story
Title: On a Scale of
Pairing: MinSu (friendship with hints of more?)
Length: One-shot
Rating: PG
Summary: As a medium, Changmin has had his fair share of dealing with ghost. Doesn't mean he was prepared for one such as Junsu
A/N: Based off an adorable comic of a ghost asking a little boy to rate him on his scaring abilities. I have multiple other endings for this...all of them angsty, so I decided to just keep it as light-hearted as possible...'cause MINSU! They're not my angsty couple.
The first time Changmin stumbles upon Junsu, Changmin almost busts out laughing at the “scary” faces the other is trying to make in front of the mirror he’s holding. Changmin ends up letting out a choked cough, in his attempt to hide his laughter, gaining the other’s attention.
The coat Junsu’s wearing, a little outdated if Changmin did say so himself, swirls around his knees as he whips around to face the originator of the noise, his eyes ridiculously wide, mouth agape.
“You can see me?!”
Changmin tries not to chuckle at the squeak emitted at the end of that sentence.
“Um…yes, yes I can.”
“But…but…no one has been able to see me before!”
After a pause, “Oh what luck!”
Junsu does a little hop-dance. Changmin scratches the back of his head at the odd display of joy.
“Why is that so lucky?”
“Because I’m stuck here and the only way I can leave is if I scare enough people but I can’t scare anyone if no one can see me!!”
“And who told you that lame reasoning?”
“Yoochun-sshi?”
Changmin just about wants to facepalm himself. Of course that trickster would go around trolling other susceptible innocents.
“Is something wrong sir? Did I mess up again? I’m so sorry sir!”
“No, no, nothing’s wrong. And my name’s Changmin, stop calling me sir. Makes me feel old.”
“Okay Changmin! I’m Junsu! Maybe you can help me! On a scale of one to ten, how scary is this?”
Junsu’s once solid form easily disappears from view before re-materializing a few inches in front of Changmin’s face.
“BOO!”
Changmin continues staring at Junsu’s ridiculous facial expression, very nonchalant about the whole thing.
“I’d say…about a 7?”
“BUT YOU HARDLY FLINCHED! HOW DID I GET SO HIGH OF A MARK!?! I mean, I’m not going to complain, but….HUH!?”
At Junsu’s mini-outburst, Changmin takes a few steps back to properly distance himself from the fuming spirit.
“Well, that was based on a normal human’s point system. If you wanted my own personal point system, I’d have given that a -1.”
“NEGATIVE ONE?!?”
“You made me want to laugh rather than scaring the shit out of me.”
By this point, Junsu’s in a corner sulking with realistic mini storm clouds gathering over his head, complete with thunder and lightning. Changmin will admit though, for such a clueless spirit, Junsu’s incredibly capable of materializing objects. And currently looking very pathetic.
“Okay, I’m sorry Junsu, I’m very sorry.” Changmin attempts to put all the sincerity he can muster into that one phrase.
Junsu sniffles a little behind the folds of his coat.
Changmin gives a long suffering sigh. He still has a job to do.
“You know Junsu, you don’t have to be scary in order to leave.”
This statement gains Changmin two eyes poking out at him and a slight nod of the head, indicating that he may continue with that train of thought.
“Well, for one, never trust Yoochun, he’s a troll, and is probably taking great pleasure in your predicament. The other thing is you’re free to leave whenever you want, but I think something’s keeping you stuck in this realm.”
Junsu appears to perk up even more at this.
“Do you happen to know what that is?”
At Changmin’s question, he swears Junsu visibly deflates back into his coat.
“Okay, okay, come back. If it’s a touchy subject we don’t have to talk about that right now. But we will have to address that issue, if we want to get you home.”
“But that’s the problem!!! I don’t remember!!!!” Junsu practically wails, still hidden within the folds of his coat.
Changmin sighs again. Of course he’d get stuck with the clueless, adorably depressed ghost that had the lungs to last him for eternity.
Changmin is surprised that he’s able to adopt such a calm and soothing tone. Most times he’s being berated by the other mediums for having such a sharp tongue and no tact.
Well they’re dead already! What am I supposed to do? Coat my comments with powdered sugar and spoon feed them with it?
He thinks Junsu’s still watery eyes and innocently miserable countenance has something to do with that fact.
Changmin takes a seat next to the sniffling mound. Stealing himself for another drop in temperature, he reaches out, to where he believes Junsu’s shoulder to be, and gives a few encouraging (at least he hopes they are) pats.
“Umm…there, there. No need to get too upset now. You’ll use up all your energy.”
Junsu-pile shifts and shudders slightly.
Changmin gives a horrified start.
“Oh, no no no no! Don’t start up again. I’m sorry I’m sorry! Are you one of those spirits that get even more emotional with contact? I’m sorry!!! I’ll stop touching you! Just stop crying, please!”
Junsu-pile shakes even harder, but this time, Changmin catches an odd sound emitting from the folds. If Changmin had to describe it, he’d say it sounded kind of like a cat being strangled, but he couldn’t be sure. Either way he decides inching away a few body lengths wouldn’t be too premature.
After a few more shudders, some more violent than others, a laughing Junsu emerges from his folded nest. His eyes crinkled into half-moons, Junsu practically drops to the floor and starts rolling around. Changmin is less than amused, but figures a laughing Junsu is (much) more appealing than a crying one.
“Oh my gosh Changmin! You suck at comforting people. Like, on a scale of one to ten, you’d be a negative 10, it was that bad!”
Changmin puffs his cheeks out at the insult. No one ranks Shim Changmin in the negatives. He glares even more when he notices tears of laughter appearing at the corners of Junsu’s eyes.
“Are you done now?”
Junsu hastily wipes away the tears and proceeds to get up and brush off the non-existent dust from his clothing, then turns a hundred-watt smile directly at Changmin. Changmin really hates, really seriously hates, sounding cliché, but really, he can’t help thinking that Junsu would have been able to power all of Seoul for 100 years with that smile of his.
Changmin coughs; it’s really dusty here isn’t it?
“Um… right, well. We should get going.”
“Get going? But I can’t leave! Didn’t we already go over this?”
“I realize that Junsu-sshi, we’re not actually going anywhere, I’m just thinking a change in scenery might be nice?”
“Oh! There’s a lovely greenhouse on the property. Quite romantic.”
The horrified and very red expression that Changmin gives Junsu has him in another fit of giggles.
“Can’t even humor a ghost? I’ve not been on one date in…quite a number of years!”
Changmin’s eyes are still impossibly large.
Junsu seems to take pity and glides closer to Changmin, giving him warning that he’s about to touch him with a slightly raised hand, before grabbing onto Changmin’s left arm.
Changmin doesn’t know what’s more surprising, that Junsu’s touching his arm or that Changmin doesn’t feel the cold as chillingly.
“Come my medium! I want to figure out how to leave this place as soon as possible. And in the meantime, we can make a nice date out of it too!”
Changmin feels like this will be even more difficult than he initially thought.
--
“Okay okay, how’s this for scary?”
“…I’d give it a 3.”
“This is your point system?”
“Indeed.”
“Well at least I’m moving up! Yes!”
“I’m glad you can find joy in the little things.”
“Don’t think just ‘cause I’m a ghost I don’t understand sarcasm.”