I found him on the street. I mean we were walking on the street.. together.
Not the rooftop this time—worse.
Public.
People walking past like nothing strange was happening, while I stood there trying to process the fact that I was arguing with a glowing ghost in the middle of real life.
"…So," I said, crossing my arms. "You're going to explain why I had to come out here and look for you like I'm your personal bodyguard?"
Niran looked at me like I was the problem.
"…Why are you here? Why are you still here?"
I blinked.
"…That's your sentence?"
He frowned slightly. "I didn't ask you to come."
I scoffed.
"Yeah. I noticed."
A car passed behind me.
A couple of people walked by, laughing.
Normal world.
Meanwhile me:
Arguing with a floating disaster.
I pointed at him. "You disappeared. Again."
"I was thinking."
"You were throwing rocks at people."
"They were loud."
"That's not thinking."
"It is for me."
I exhaled sharply. "…Of course it is."
He tilted his head.
"You came anyway."
I frowned.
"…Don't make it sound like I chose peace. I chose stress."
He blinked.
"…Stress?"
"Yes. You are stress."
He went quiet for a second.
Then—
"…You're loud."
I stared at him.
"…I'm going to ignore that."
Silence.
Then he said something softer.
"…You look tired."
I paused.
"…Don't start."
"I'm just observing."
"Stop observing me like I'm a science project."
He stepped slightly closer.
I immediately stepped back.
"…Why are you doing that?"
"Doing what?"
"That voice."
"What voice?"
"That soft one."
He frowned.
"I always talk like this."
"No you don't."
He blinked.
"…Isn't this what human friends do?"
I froze.
"…What?"
He gestured vaguely.
"Check on each other. Stay nearby."
"…That's not how you do it."
He looked genuinely confused.
"…Then how?"
I pointed at him.
"Not like this. Not glowing in the street and acting like you're about to emotionally adopt me."
A beat.
He blinked again.
"…But you came looking for me."
I hesitated.
"…Yeah."
"…Why?"
I opened my mouth.
Closed it.
Then muttered—
"…Because you're annoying."
He nodded slightly like that made sense.
"…Good."
I frowned.
"…Good?"
"Yes."
I stared at him.
"…You're not normal."
"I'm dead."
"That's not an excuse for personality damage."
He looked at me for a second.
Then, softer again—
"…So we are friends."
I immediately snapped—
"NO."
He tilted his head.
"…No?"
I pointed at him.
"Jea-Hyun does this kind of nonsense to me. Not a ghost. A human. A normal annoying human."
He frowned.
"…So I'm not allowed?"
"You're not allowed."
He paused.
"…Why?"
I sighed.
"Because you make it weird."
"I don't."
"You do."
"I'm just talking."
"You're sweet talking. That's different."
He looked genuinely confused again.
"…What is sweet talking?"
I stared at him.
"…Stop. Just stop talking."
He took a small step closer.
"I'm not trying to annoy you."
I froze slightly.
"…That's worse. That's actually worse."
He tilted his head.
"…Then what should I do?"
I pointed at him again.
"Go back to being rude. Immediately."
Silence.
Then—
"…You prefer that?"
"Yes."
He blinked slowly.
"…You're strange."
I exhaled.
"…Finally. Something normal."
A car horn beeped in the distance.
Someone walked past us, glancing over like they almost saw something they shouldn't.
They didn't.
Of course they didn't.
Niran was still watching me.
Too calm now.
Too close.
I took one step back.
"…Okay. I'm leaving."
He frowned slightly.
"…Again?"
"Yes. Before you start talking like that again."
"…Like what?"
I pointed at him.
"That."
He went quiet.
Then, quietly—
"…Don't go."
I froze.
"…Nope. Nope. Not doing this."
I turned immediately and walked away fast.
Behind me, I heard him again.
Still soft.
"…Isn't that what friends do?"
I didn't answer.
I just walked faster.
Because if I stayed one more second…
I was going to start believing him.