Hyejin didn't give a statement against Jimin, that much Sera was aware of. She had no idea what exactly Hyejin presented, however. She couldn't just be able to phone her and ask like a normal person would do, she couldn't even text her to know how she was doing. Sera was weak beneath all the disguise she guarded herself with, she knew very well. 

It had been precisely ten minutes since she was sat by the kitchen counter with her cup of barely lukewarm tea still in her hold.

"Unnie, I've been meaning to ask you." Sera's thoughts were cut short by Hongnan's voice. "Are you okay?"

"Why do you ask that?" Sera took a sip of her cold tea, an unpleasant feeling of rejection signalled by her brain taking no second to transfer it to her face. 

"Exactly! That tea has been cold for God knows how long. You weren't even aware. You were staring at the countertop all this while. You aren't responsive these days. Clearly something's bothering you."

"I'm late to work, and should probably be running now," Rowoon joined. "But she speaks the truth, what is up with you?"

"Actually, you really should run, unnie," Hongnan backed and Rowoon wasted no time in flashing through the front door. 

Sera was again met with an expected look. She sighed.

"It's business. It's weak. Let's just say this is not a lucky year for me. Nothing you should be worried about, Nannie."

"My instincts tell me that's just not it. Unnie, are you lying to me?"

"Yo, go do some homework or whatever, yeah? I don't have time for this, I'm going out." Sera rushed to get her car key.

"So I am right?"

○◆○

It wasn't why Sera took the pains to rush to the place; The pains of staking her life on the road with her rash and rushed driving and having to hear the obscenity that escaped the mouths of those on the roads. All she wished was to retrieve some hope back, to listen to a good, well, better, news. 

Oh, but how was she facing a tired, mad-looking and hopeless man now. Seokjin looked awful. Sera almost pitied him. Almost.

"What's wrong with him, now?" Sera asked to— well no one if a normal person non-acquitted to Seokjin's life was the viewer.

"Not sure." She got her answer. It was a subtle blow of air with faint words near her right ear.

"Don't steal her energy," Seokjin said almost energy-less.

"Your friends seemed to be very worried for you too, but I don't expect you to tell me what it is if you refrain from doing that with your friends," Sera said.

"Anyway, I'm here for a purpose, Seokjin-ssi. And I will have that talk. First off, are you this destroyed because of the task you'll be doing for me and Jimin?"

"Yes."

"So you still couldn't find a way to help us? Is that what's bothering you? Or are you scared?"

"I'm scared," he said lifelessly. "I know how to do it, all preparations are made, but I can't do it right now, I need time."

"Of course, you won't do it right now, you look like a ghost, you need sleep. Let's do it tonight."

"Tonight?"

"The more time you take, the more the chances that I'll never get my Jimin back. Do you understand? And why are you so scared? I'm not scared. It's not like you're going alone."

"Wait?" he snapped his head up in shock. "No, you're not going in there with me, and how do you even know that we're supposed to go somewhere?"

"You don't decide for me, I'm going in. If my Jimin can't come back here, I'll stay there."

"Are you crazy? It's not a vacation spot!"

"We're going tonight, get your health back up."

"Not tonight! Please! Even though my preparations for the process are ready, there's something more I need to do, please. Please..." His emotions were too strong, he didn't just cry. Well, he did actually, without the tears that were. Sera's emotions were at her peak as well, and for the least fraction of second, she thought she was going to cry.

Seokjin looked pathetic. His pale face, his quivering lips, dark, puffy, weary and teary eyes, all screamed it.

Sera was conflicted. Seokjin was a stranger, Jimin was her priority, her life. It was saddening her that she was being inharmonious in this decision.

"Tomorrow?" Seokjin said with hopeful eyes.

It was amusing Sera why Seokjin was even willing to help her. Sera would do everything to get him to help her, but it wasn't justified from Seokjin's point of view why he was easily willing.

"Tomorrow!" Sera confirmed. 

"Thank you."

Sera felt it disturbing to even stay there any further. She wanted to quench her queries no more.

"I think I should go now, Seokjin-ssi. You need some rest."

"Believe me, I need mental energy more. If you leave me alone now, I think I'll lose more of that. So please stay, not for me but we could discuss about the process."

"Can't we do that when you don't look so sleep-deprived? You still need the physical energy you're ignoring, doctor."

"We're the same age, call me Seokjin. And yeah, I won't be able to sleep even though I wish I could."

The chair drags itself, a clear indication by the spirits they didn't want Sera to leave. She sighed and made herself comfortable on it.

"Aren't you gonna speak?" Sera began.

"How's the possessed Jimin doing?"

"Really? You think I'd be knowing? Last time I heard, he almost murdered my employee at her apartment. Thankfully, she's alive and she didn't testify against him."

"Yoongi's girlfriend? I heard from him. Don't you feel bad for her?"

Sera's cheek burned in shame. She did. She cared about Hyejin, the girl was no less to her than her housemates and family. No words left Sera's lips, just a pained expression that stained her features.

"Sorry, that was a personal question." Seokjin received his answer anyway. "Let's get to the topic."

"I did some research on the spirit," he continued. "You know the church he burned down, it was later converted to a graveyard."

"Yeah I know, when I read about the address of that church, I figured it out. It's in the backwardest of areas in Seoul."

"It's a closed graveyard, only the people from the church's orphanage who died then are buried there now. Also, the members of the church can be buried there although the church shifted to another location and has a graveyard of its own. Namjoon was buried there too."

"What? They let his body?"

"Shocking, but the priest who survived the accident was adamant that Namjoon might not have done it, he had a soft corner for the guy."

"Really? He set the orphanage he grew up in on fire! And a priest?"

"Yeah, the old man was the head of the orphanage as well, he technically took care of the Namjoon guy in his childhood. Anyway, he died shortly after Namjoon was buried there, the community caused chaos and forced him to be dismissed from the position, the old man died of heartache. He was buried in the graveyard of the new church though."

"What a sob story!" Sera scoffed. "Why are you telling me this, again?"

"You see, even after the soul detaches from the body after death, they are both still connected. If that's where his body was buried, it must be the place his soul took refuge in the 4th dimension. According to my calculations, Jimin should be at that graveyard in the 4D now."

"So we have to go to the graveyard and open the portal there?"

"Exactly! And luckily a graveyard is a very good setup to call for a portal," Seokjin began. "Wait! How do you know about the portal and all the stuff?"

"It's my necessity, Seokjin. And I've read your book."

"That's a relief. I'm a little bit less worried about taking you there now. There are a few chants you're entitled to recite with me when we call for the portal, that you can do on the spot, believe me, calling for the portal is the easier job, I already knew how to do that."

Sera didn't know what to ask, she let the man explain himself.

"You see, even if the portal is right in front of us, we cannot enter as long we have our massful body, only our souls can enter."

"So I'd have to fucking die to be able to enter? The fuck—"

"We'd have to split our soul into two, one part that is concerned with just the breathing process will stay in the body and the body will remain back as if it's in a comatose state. The other part of the soul will go in. There's a spell for it. After the portal is revealed, we'd have to use that spell."

"I'd get to see my body from afar as a viewer without having to die? Impressive."

"No, we wouldn't. If we split our souls, it'd be a misbalance in the universe, the two parts of the split soul wouldn't be able to stay in the same dimension. As long as the spell leaves our lips, we'll be drawn into the portal. That is why it's necessary to open the portal first. I don't know what happens if we use that spell without an open portal nearby, maybe we'll be directly taken to 5th dimension as a dead soul, or probably our existence will vanish." Seokjin took a look at Sera's horrified expression.

"That can happen?" she managed to let out.

"Oh, the mighty Sera is scared now. Let me tell you what's scarier. This spell, it is a temporary spell, of course the universe wouldn't create such a meaningless and dangerous process for the permanent course. It has a time validity, no one knows up to when, or that what will happen if the time expires. Paranormal science is not that advanced, and the community doesn't bother trying to risk their lives for the exploration. You see how risky this whole deal is?"

Sera let out the air she was holding in her lungs. "I understand why you are so scared, Seokjin, I do, but there's a chance we can save Jimin and make it out of there safe, and I really don't wanna disregard that chance," she said.

Seokjin subtly nodded, his head hung down, pain and guilt etched onto his features.

"I really really wanted you to help me, and might've come off like I enforced you into the choice with my words. But truth be told, I didn't even try the least of my enforcement techniques to have you to say yes, it was your own will. Although I will not let you to back out now, why did you say yes?"

"I cannot tell you."

Sera nodded in understanding.

"So tomorrow?"

There was a delay in his reply, the man looked like he was having a memory rush. Sera was sure he heard what she said. But even if it was late, the word she wanted to hear left his mouth, subtle and low as a mumble as it might be.

"Tomorrow!"

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A/N: