MISOO was alone in the classroom while folding her P.E uniform.

Her class for today just ended. Thus, she was wearing a plain red T-shirt instead of her proper school uniform. She still wore the plaid skirt that was a part of her uniform, but she didn’t wear the knee-high socks and black shoes that went with it. She opted for a pair of white athletic shoes that she wore to her P.E class earlier.

Of course, she didn’t forget to wear her chic fingerless glove in her right hand.

I can’t lose this glove no matter what.

She just put on her backpack when the classroom door opened. Her best friend Jana entered the room with a bright smile on her face.

“Bestie, I’ve been looking for you everywhere,” Jana said excitedly, then she grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the room. “Aries and his team are about to leave! You have to see them off or else, you’d regret ignoring the existence of the hottest teen stars of our generation!”

Misoo rolled her eyes at her friend. “Their shooting is over? Well, that’s good.” She paused and scowled when she remembered something. “May I remind you that I’m not a fan of teen stars?”

Her best friend giggled and nodded. “You have to admit that they don’t look like ordinary teen stars, though. There’s something special about them that makes them stand out from the rest!”

She fell silent and just let her friend guide her until they reached the front porch of their school’s main building.

As expected, the area was crowded.

Her schoolmates were screaming their lungs out while the poor teen stars were being mobbed on their way to the waiting van in the road. Despite having a few uniformed bodyguards, the celebrities were still having a hard time walking. It was a miracle that they could still smile despite their current predicament.

My schoolmates are acting like it’s the first time they saw good-looking people.

How embarrassing.

She almost choked on her saliva when she saw her friends Daye, Elnora, and Wynn in the mob. Just like their schoolmates, her friends also had their phones out while taking pictures and videos of the teen stars that were in the middle of getting in the van one by one.

Not gonna lie– those teen stars really look good. But it’s not just their conventionally pretty faces. Just like what Jana said earlier, there’s really something special about them.

That reminded her of the arrogant bastard she met at the gym earlier.

Speak of the devil…

She squinted her eyes when she saw the arrogant bastard walking behind the famous teen celebrity host Aries. It wasn’t hard to spot him in the crowd because he was tall and he had the posture of a soldier.

A very handsome and strong-looking soldier at that.

But that was it.

If only he wasn’t arrogant and weird, she wouldn’t view him negatively.

Aside from his attitude, she also didn’t like what she felt when they had physical contact a while ago. What was with that weird zap anyway?

“They’re like demigods!” Daye, her friend, said with a dreamy sigh as she joined her and Jana with Elnora and Wynn. “They’re very charismatic, huh?”

Misoo, who was still looking at the arrogant bastard she met earlier, scowled.

This time, it wasn’t because of the ugly memory that she had with the guy. She was frowning because she noticed a strange tattoo on his arm and hand. Even Aries had the same mark.

She had nothing against people with tattoos.

But she was being skeptical at the moment because only she could see the tattoos on the teen stars.

Yep, they’re the real deal.

Her friends once succeeded in convincing her to watch Fearless. That was the first time she saw the strange tattoo on Aries. When she mentioned that to her friends, they looked at her funny. That was when she realized that other people couldn’t see the tattoos on the teen stars.

She had always known that she was “blessed” with a supernatural gift. But she didn’t wish to uncover the truth behind her identity. Thus, she never engaged in anything supernatural especially if it wouldn’t affect her normal life anyway.

Thus, she never watched Fearless again.

But who would have thought that the day the strange teen stars themselves would visit her school? She even had an unfortunate encounter with one of them.

“I’ll go ahead,” Misoo said. Before her friends could even react, she already began running. “See you later!”

“Misoo, are you going there?” Elnora, from behind her, asked worriedly. “Again?”

“Do you want me to take you there?” Wynn, ever the gentleman, asked. “I’m free.”

She waved at her friends without looking back at them. “No, thanks. I can manage. Bye!”

It wasn’t like she was ignoring her friends’ concerns.

She just merely wanted to protect her secret from other people.

And that secret?

Misoo was still dating her boyfriend Nigel who died a month ago– and who’s now a ghost.

***

MISOO finds it ironic how her friends were obsessed with the TV show Fearless when they didn’t believe in ghosts. According to her friends, the show was scripted. And the only reason they watched it was because of the hot teen stars.

But Misoo knew that the exorcisms done in the show were all real.

Thus, for that reason, she didn’t want the cast of Fearless in her school. She didn’t want them to find her ghost of a boyfriend and exorcise him.

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

But I think they already know that there’s a real ghost in our school.

The two girls who tried to enter the gym earlier introduced themselves as ‘Questors.’ Fortunately, she managed to send them away with her fierce personality.

Plus, she also succeeded in driving that arrogant bastard away.

“Nigel?” Misoo called her boyfriend softly when she entered the empty gym. She could feel her boyfriend’s presence though. “You’re still here, aren’t you?”

“Misoo!”

She smiled when Nigel’s soul materialized and she saw him sitting on the bleacher. “Hi,” she said while walking toward him. Then, she sat beside him. As soon as she did, she got goosebumps because of his cold presence. “How are you?”

Nigel let out a deep sigh, then he frowned while telling her about his day. “I’m still locked up here. The Questors that felt my presence earlier locked me up so I wouldn’t be able to get out of the gym in the meantime. I don’t know when the sealing they left would wear off.”

She frowned after hearing that. “What exactly are these Questors, Nigel? What do they do?”

“They drive evil spirits away, Misoo,” her ghost boyfriend said. “Those Questors aren’t ordinary people. They have strong spiritual power, and they’re very different from people who have a “third eye.” Those Questors could exorcise ghosts and spirits. Heck, they could even fight demons.”

She was impressed but also confused after hearing all of that. “Why do you know so much about them, Nigel?”

He shrugged. “I was into paranormal books when I was still alive.”

“Ah, I see,” she said, easily accepting his explanation. After all, why would Nigel lie about that? “Will those Questors drive your soul away if they see you?”

He nodded firmly. “Of course,” he said with fear in his voice. Then, he smiled sadly at her. “But what can I do? I can’t leave you alone, Misoo.”

She suddenly felt sad.

Even though she only dated Nigel for three weeks before he got into a car accident that took his life away, she remained deeply in love with him.

A few days after her boyfriend was buried, he appeared before her as a ghost.

The only problem was Nigel’s soul was tied to the gym. He probably had a strong attachment to the gym because he used to be a part of the basketball team. Plus, it was their date spot.

Anyway…

She didn’t tell her friends that she was dating her ghost boyfriend until now. Her friends thought she would often go to the gym to simply reminisce her time with Nigel.

And she’d like to keep it that way, especially now.

“I will protect you, Nigel,” she said determinedly. “I won’t let them exorcise you.”

Nigel smiled at her, then he cupped her face between his hands. Then, he closed her eyes and leaned down to kiss her on the lips.

Yes, she could touch his soul as if it was a physical body.

Misoo just couldn’t understand why she felt uncomfortable every time Nigel would kiss her, and why she would feel literally weak after that.

What’s wrong with me?

***

MISOO was feeling weak for some reason.

Even though she was talking to her mom on the phone, she didn’t have the energy to sound cheerful. She was sure that she wasn’t sick. For some reason, her body just felt heavy.

“Sweetheart, are you okay?” her mother asked worriedly. “You sound down.”

“I’m okay, Mom,” Misoo, seated comfortably on the backseat of her private car that was on the way to her school, assured her mother. “I’m just a little groggy since I pulled an all-nighter. But I’m fine,” she said, then she changed the topic. “I’m sorry but what were you saying earlier, Mom?”

“I want to know your plan about your upcoming sixteenth birthday this weekend,” her mother said. “Your dad and I will send you the amount you need. We’re sorry that we cannot go home for your birthday. But sweetheart, your dad and I got you the best birthday present ever. We will hand it to you personally so please wait a little longer for us, hmm?”

She was sad that her parents couldn’t come home for her birthday.

But she knew that her parents were busy handling their businesses overseas. Maybe less family time was the price they had to pay for having a luxurious life. But she would never take that against her parents.

“Thank you, Mom. Please tell Dad that I’m always grateful to you for giving me a comfortable life,” she said softly. “I will wait for you to come home patiently.”

“Thank you for always being so understanding, sweetheart,” her mom said sweetly. “Ah, I need to go so I’m hanging up. Talk to you later, hmm?”

“Alright, `My. Miss you and Dad.”

“We miss you, too, sweetheart.”

After saying goodbye to her mother, she hanged up.

She was a little sleepy but as soon as the car entered the school, she became wide awake as soon as she felt that the strange energy around the premise yesterday finally disappeared. That could only mean one thing.

Nigel is free!

As soon as the car stopped at the parking lot, she bolted out of the car and ran toward the gym.

But her weak body wasn’t able to keep up with her excitement.

Just before she could reach the door of the gymnasium, her knees buckled and she lost balance. She thought she was going to fall to the ground. But that didn’t happen.

She was a little surprised when a strong arm snaked itself around her waist.

The weak “zap” that she felt told her who her savior was even without turning to him.

Why is he here again?

She turned to her savior who really turned out to be the arrogant bastard from yesterday.

But her anger melted almost immediately whole looking at his face. She was ashamed to admit this but his attractive looks made her brain stop functioning.

How could someone look so good in a simple V-neck shirt, jeans, and a pair of sneakers?

Was it because of how good the shirt clung to his athletic body? Gosh, even his body suited his gorgeous face.

Tousled light brown hair, perfect thick eyebrows, long lashes, grayish eyes, pointed nose, red lips, high cheekbones, square jaw. He looked like a Young Adult book hero– handsome yet brooding.

Had she read too many YA novels or was this young man just really oozing with a dangerous aura?

This boy couldn’t be an ordinary human.

“Is electricity running through your veins instead of blood?” the arrogant bastard snapped at her. “Why do you always zap me?”

“That’s my line,” she snapped back at him, then she pushed him away. Thankfully, he immediately pulled his arm away from her body. Still, she glared at him. “Are you stalking me?”

He raised a brow at her while looking at her as if he found her amusing. “Ohh. Is that how you fantasize about me? As your stalker?”

Okay, that made her cheeks flush. “I’m not fantasizing about you, you self-absorbed jerk!”

“When will you move on from your dead boyfriend?”

She was taken aback by the random question thrown at her.

But coming from this arrogant bastard, that couldn’t be a random question.

“Excuse me?” she asked, feigning ignorance. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Miss McCollins,” the arrogant bastard said, mentioning her name carefully. “According to my research, your boyfriend died a few weeks ago. Nigel Dickson, right?”

She frowned.

Did she hate that he ran a background check on her without her permission, or did she hate that she liked how her name rolled right off his tongue?

“Apparently, you’re still seeing your dead boyfriend,” he said in a mocking tone, snapping her out of her trance.

She also didn’t miss how he emphasized the word ‘dead.’

“That’s the reason why you’re protecting him, right?” he asked with an arrogant smirk that she wanted to rip off of his face. “Do you realize that you’re protecting a ghost?”

She swallowed hard.

To be honest, that kind of confrontation scared her.

Her eyes fell on the arrogant bastard’s tattoo. It was the mark of a chained sword. Ha, it fit a brooding boy like him.

“Are you here to exorcise Nigel?”

The arrogant bastard scoffed. “That’s my job, babe,” he said in an obviously offended tone. “But I’m here to give you a warning for now.”

She looked up at him to give him a death glare.

“Even if you glare at me like that, I will still do my job later,” he said, then he crossed his (sexy) arms over his (broad) chest. “You know what? A living human having a relationship with a ghost is seriously a bad idea. Especially if the ghost is actually a Stray– just like your dead boyfriend.”

“Stray?” she asked with furrowed brows. It was a common word so she had already heard it many times. But for some reason, it felt familiar to her. “What’s a Stray?”

“An overstaying ghost with a dark agenda– just like your little dead boyfriend.”

She clenched her fists tight while holding herself back from giving the arrogant bastard a sucker punch. She was good at self-defense, and she was dying to let him know that. Still, she decided to keep her cool while her physical condition wasn’t at its best yet. “Nigel isn’t a bad ghost,” she said firmly. “He just wants to be with me.”

“Yeah, keep believing that bullshit. That’s really good for your health,” the arrogant bastard said sarcastically. “Just don’t forget that I warned you when you breathe your last one, babe.”

After saying those arrogant things, he walked past her as if nothing happened.

Boys and their audacity!

Misoo turned around and glare at the arrogant bastard’s back. Dang, even his retreating form looked good. “It’s an ‘if,’ not a ‘when,’ you jerk!”