The Next Life (?? ?? ???)

The cold air bit into my face as I walked briskly along the pavement. I pushed everything out of my mind, other than my destination. The mansion.

It was December the 3rd. The day of the funeral. Funeral homes were one place I steered clear off, always had due to my ability. The sheer amount of lingering souls there would be impossible to ignore, and once one recently-deceased ghost found out I could see them, it wasn't all that unlikely that I'd be swarmed by ghosts wanting me to fulfil their last wishes.

But this was Wendy's funeral. I didn't know how I'd face the others after missing it. The guilt would consume me way too much if I met any of them today. Especially Sooyoung, who had been coming to see me almost every day now.

Despite my best efforts, a thought popped into my head. How would Jisoo treat me? The last time we'd seen each other was after she'd fought the Rasetsu, the night after Wendy's death. A week ago. The way I'd spoken to her, I didn't think I'd ever been as harsh to her as I had been that night. Part of me doubted she would even let me back into the mansion. She'd prevented me from accessing it in the past, who could say whether she'd do it again?

I resolved to ignore the questions in my head and go and see for myself. It was better than nothing. I just needed to get away from everything, and this was the one place where no one would think to look for me. I straightened my black jacket, more out of compulsion than anything. Despite not going to the funeral, I'd still dressed in all black. Something of my own way to pay respects, or whatever I told myself to make myself feel better.

Ignoring most of my surroundings, my hands in the pockets of my jacket, I eventually made it to the mansion. As I walked through the front doors, I froze in my tracks.

Staring back at me, right at the foot of the stairs in the foyer, was Jisoo.

We stayed like that for what must've been a good couple of minutes, neither of us able to think of what to say. She looked at me with eyes of... pity? Concern? Sympathy? It was all the same to me. Her gaze felt like how one would look at a wounded animal, and it made me sick.

Finally, she broke the silence. "How... are you?"

"Fine." I closed the doors behind me, breaking our eye contact and began walking past her.

"Y/N." I ignored her. That is, until she reached out and grabbed my left arm, stopping me. My wrist stung a little in its brace, but not as badly as before. A sign that I was healing from the incident, but only physically. I clenched my jaw and turned to face her, as she looked back at me with those sad eyes. "I just... I merely wanted to let you know that... you were– you are more than just a tool."

"Not a tool? Then what am I?"

She looked down, her tongue poking at her cheek. Her grip on my arm loosened slightly. "You... I..."

"I don't need you to lie to me to make me feel better, alright? Just leave me alone." I pulled my arm away from her grasp with little resistance. I returned my hand to its place in my pocket as I walked out of the foyer, ignoring the speechless Mogwai.

I wandered aimlessly through the mansion, purposefully avoiding any rooms I recognised. Either ones that Jisoo showed me, or ones I knew the other Mogwai frequented. I'd come here to be alone, and that was exactly what I aimed to do.

I found myself in an old bedroom which seemed for the most part unused. Sunlight peeked in through the blurry glass of the windows, revealing a layer of dust which caked most of the furniture, as though the room were suspended in time. As I entered the room, I couldn't help but feel this... sensation. Similar to the one I'd felt when encountering the forest guardian in the forest reserve, or when I'd met Mago. But different somehow. My instinct told me there was nothing in the room with me. How could there be? This was the Mogwai's territory. But then, where was this feeling of deja vu coming from?