"Oh, you were up?"
Jaeha muttered weakly, peering down at Sihyun, "I thought you had already gone off to sleep."
"Even if I had, I would've woken up from all the ruckus you were causing."
The man scolded.
"Oops… sorry," Jaeha apologized, lowering his head. "I was just bored."
Then he looked up again, his face lighting up with excitement.
"Happy birthday, actor-nim!"
"…"
Sihyun stood with his arms crossed, staring silently at the floating figure.
Then, in an almost conspiratorial whisper, Jaeha asked, "But why is the house so quiet? Aren't you going to celebrate?"
"Tsk." The man clicked his tongue, looking away. "What even is there to celebrate? I'm just turning a year older."
Jaeha blinked, tilting his head in confusion. But he soon lit up with a random thought, snapping his fingers in confirmation.
"Can you go somewhere with me right now, actor-nim?"
Sihyun raised a brow, slightly intrigued by the unexpected suggestion.
"Where?"
"I've got something to show you," Jaeha chirped excitedly, practically bouncing in midair.
The man stayed quiet for a beat.
He gave a brief glance toward the door of his manager's room in the far corner.
"…Alright," he finally muttered. "But let me get ready first."
Back in his room, Sihyun put on a black cap, covering his face in shadows. That way, he wouldn't be easily recognized by anyone.
Then he grabbed his car keys from the drawer.
"Shouldn't you inform your manager?" Jaeha asked, hovering beside him as he locked the front door.
"Nah. No need."
They arrived at the secluded parking lot, but Jaeha still looked uneasy.
"What if a paparazzo were to follow you?"
Sihyun halted in his tracks, turning back with an annoyed look painted over his face.
"Then should I just head back?"
"…"
Jaeha weakly shook his head, not knowing what else to say.
"No one knows my car. And I don't care if they do," Sihyun added, climbing in.
It was less of a reassurance and more of a statement of fact.
"You could've just left out the last sentence," Jaeha said with a pout as he obediently followed the actor into a black car.
They pulled out onto the road, the night thick around them, moonlight hidden behind heavy clouds.
Jaeha sat in the passenger seat, willfully giving the direction of every turn.
"Woah... look at all the twinkling stars!" he exclaimed, peering out the closed window with awe, his head hovering beyond the glass pane.
"Mm." Sihyun simply hummed a response.
"What's with the lack of energy?"
Jaeha drawled, dragging his head back inside.
"The stars are doing their best to shine before they burn out forever—"
"We're here," The man cut in, glancing over. "Isn't this the place?"
Jaeha blinked, scanning the surrounding area they were in. "Right, this is it."
They both stepped out of the car and faced a quiet public playground.
Without wasting any more time, Jaeha led the man toward the sandbox and urged him to pick up the toy shovel lying beside a few plastic buckets.
Sihyun raised an eyebrow in quiet protest, unsure of what was even happening.
But the ghost continued to insist.
He then guided the cranky man past the play area to a citrus tree standing tranquil under the night sky.
Pointing to a patch of dirt, Jaeha requested Sihyun to dig up the ground below with the shovel he was carrying.
"Are you planning to get me arrested?"
The man finally snapped.
"Anyone walking by will think I'm doing something dodgy in the dark."
"Don't worry. No one comes here this late at night," Jaeha replied calmly.
"The people around here are mostly old folks, and they sleep pretty early."
With an annoyed huff, the man began digging.
He did so for a while… until the tiny shovel unexpectedly hit something solid.
He looked up at Jaeha, eyes confused about the finding. But the ghost simply gestured for him to continue.
Under the layers of dirt, a small wooden box emerged, tied securely with several threads.
In all honesty, it looked kind of ominous.
Jaeha sensed the hesitation radiating from the man and quickly offered an explanation.
"I did that when I was really young. The thread was the only thing I could find to keep the box shut."
Sihyun didn't respond, but the scoff that escaped him spoke volumes.
"You didn't put bugs in this, right? If this is some weird prank—"
"No way. I'm not petty like you," Jaeha retorted.
"What did you say?"
"…"
Seeing that the ghost had no more comebacks, Sihyun turned his attention back to the box.
With extreme caution, he opened the lid with a muted click.