Chapter 3
It's Trying to Get Me… Part 2
"Yum! This is pretty good!... Are you really a ghost?" I complimented the ghost sitting across from me, who was grinning widely. Not only did she play the role of a maid today, but she was also my personal chef.
"Of course, I am! Am I cold or warm when you touch me?" she replied in her usual cheeky tone, her lips curving into a mischievous smile that made them look almost kissable.
"Cold... Come to think of it, why can I even touch you?" I furrowed my brows, pondering the strange situation between us. I hoped she didn't have any more scary powers that would be too much for me to handle.
"Or maybe..."
"..." I gulped at her suspenseful words.
"Maybe we were soulmates in a past life?"
"...Nonsense." I responded in a tone of disappointment. I regretted expecting a serious answer from this crazy ghost. Sigh.
"I'm serious!" She puffed out her cheeks, as she always did when she was upset.
"No way. There's no chance I'd have fallen for a ghost like you in a past life. Stop watching so many historical dramas. It's ridiculous."
"Don't disrespect those shows! You're so mean," she grumbled.
I scoffed at her comment, "Hmph."
So what if I don't believe it? Who cares? Why should I listen to her anyway? And for the record, I wasn't insulting the dramas—I was insulting her.
Let's skip past these silly things. Honestly, this ghost has some pretty impressive abilities. She's useful to me, especially with her weird talents like phasing through walls or stretching and shrinking her body at will. Another strange thing about her is that she's not cold like other ghosts. Sometimes, I even feel warmth from her, as if she were alive.
But... I don't like it.
I stared at the student uniform she was wearing, even though it was the weekend, and frowned again. I didn't like it at all.
"Other than your student uniform or going around naked, can't you wear something else? You clean the house, cook, and do laundry—surely you can wear clothes too."
"Wear clothes? Hmm… Well, I have to use my psychic powers to hold things. If I touch them myself, they just go right through. See?"
She reached for the spoon on the table, but her hand went straight through it—and even through the table itself, as if she were made of air.
"What if I burn some for you? Like how people burn offerings for their ancestors. I really don't want to keep seeing a ghost in a student uniform in my house all the time."
Just looking at that uniform made me feel like I never got a break.
"I've never tried that before. Are you really going to burn clothes for me? That's so kind..." A cute smile lit up her face, causing me to pause for a moment, feeling strange about how genuine it seemed.
...It must be because she kissed my cheek that I'm feeling weird.
"No... I told you, I just don't want to see that student uniform all the time. It's an eyesore, got it? Once we finish eating, I'll try burning one of my old outfits first."
"Okay." She smiled again, a smile that made my heart race.
Damn it.
After finishing the meal, I rummaged through my closet to find an old shirt I no longer wore and burned it, testing the idea as if it were a science experiment—though this was more in the realm of the supernatural. And it worked—she could actually wear the clothes!
"It actually worked…" I muttered as I watched the ghost gleefully prancing around in her new T-shirt.
"I love it!" she exclaimed.
Seeing someone else wearing my old clothes felt strange, in a way I couldn't explain. It made me oddly self-conscious, so I quickly averted my gaze and told her to change back into her student uniform. I had planned to take her shopping for something new, but she stubbornly refused to switch back.
By the afternoon, we—one person and one ghost—headed to the mall nearby. Since it was Saturday, I decided to reward her for helping me with chores, which freed up some personal time for myself.
No, it's not like that. I just didn't want to see her in that student uniform all the time…
"Khun Ran, could you help me choose? There are too many options, I can't decide…" she asked as we stood in front of the clothing racks.
"Just pick whatever you like. There isn't a single one that caught your eye?"
"It's hard to choose… I like them all."
Ugh. It's just a simple T-shirt. How hard can it be to choose something so basic? I brought her to buy the easiest thing possible and… huh? That white dress over there… it actually looks like it would suit her. Normally, a ghost in a white dress would be creepy, but I think she'd look cute in it.
Cute... What am I saying?!
I couldn't take my eyes off the dress, so I walked over and grabbed it. "How about this one? Do you like it?"
"It's pretty, but it looks more like something you'd wear to a wedding… I'm not sure it's appropriate for just lounging around at home."
Oof… Right, that's a fair point. But does being a ghost mean you actually care about things being "appropriate for home"?
In the end, I gave in and picked a simpler white dress. It looked casual enough to wear both at home and outside.
"This one's cute… but do you really think it suits me?"
"Of course it does! It matches your face—Ahem, I mean, it suits a ghost like you."
Damn, I almost let my real thoughts slip…
'Look at that customer over there, talking to herself like that. It's like she's having a conversation with no one.'
'No way, she's probably on the phone with a friend. You're overthinking it.'
'But it doesn't seem like that…'
I heard every word they were saying. Whatever, I don't care how they see me. They can gossip all they want.
"Just pick something already so we can pay and leave," I snapped at the ghost who was still hesitating.
"I'll take this one." She pointed at the second dress without a second thought. I returned the first one to its rack and grabbed a few T-shirts and pants as well.
As we walked toward the cashier, I spotted a denim overall dress. It looked like something that might suit her. It had a cute vibe… and if she wore it, I bet…
Ah, I can't help but think of that killer doll from American horror movies. But if she wasn't holding a knife, she'd probably look cute. The price isn't too high either, so I might as well grab it.
"Feel free to put it down, customer," the employee who just mentioned me tries to put on a neutral expression, although I can see she's looking at me with suspicion while scanning the barcode. That look annoys me a bit.
I really don't like it... I haven't done anything wrong. Why does she have to look at me like that?
"That'll be 2,494 baht. But if you buy more items in the store to reach 2,500, you'll get an additional 10% discount! Interested in adding something?" The employee, still wearing that irritating look, tries to smile and sell me something, but I'm still hung up on that look and plan to decline.
"Is she feeling unwell, Khun Ran? Why is she smiling so strangely?" asks the brown-haired ghost girl who's clinging to the edge of the counter with curiosity.
Her question makes me stifle a laugh, and I can feel the employee's suspicious gaze on me even more.
What if she hears that?
Sigh... Her words completely erase my annoyance. But a 10% discount, huh? That's 250 baht. Maybe I should take a look around.
"...Okay, I'll just take a look around for a bit."
"Sure, customer!"
I walked around to check out the various knick-knacks in the store. At first, I thought about grabbing a shirt, but the accessories were interesting too. In the end, my eyes landed on a cap sitting on a shelf among the jewelry.
"That would look great on you, Khun Ran" the ghost girl leaned in, glancing between me and the cap.
"...Really? Are you sure you're not lying?"
Normally, I'm not a hat person, but with this heat, it might be good to have one. What should I do... Should I trust the ghost?
"Definitely!"
The smile on the ghost next to me seemed more genuine than the employee's.
Well, it's at least something extra.
Once I made up my mind, I grabbed the cap without hesitation and headed to the register to wrap things up because I wanted to get out of this store as soon as possible. It didn't take long before I was done.
But what made me frown was that as soon as I stepped out of the store, they were still talking about me.
"Do you believe it now? She's really talking to herself." "Yeah, it's kind of creepy."
"..." I walked straight ahead, even though I could hear their conversation.
Not far from the store, I tried to find a quiet spot to take a breath, but the brown-haired ghost suddenly grabbed my hand, startling me.
"What are you doing..." I frowned as the ghost held my hand tightly.
"You look unwell... While we're outside, we don't have to talk if you don't want to. I can handle anything you want, Khun Ran" her soft voice tried to comfort me, which was kind of endearing.
"...I'm fine, really. And besides, why wouldn't I be able to talk?" I reached into my pocket for my headphones and plugged them into my ears, pretending to have a conversation with someone. "Pretending to be on a call should do the trick."
When she saw that I could handle the situation, she gave a soft smile in response.
As I started walking again, I felt my stomach grumbling, signaling that it wanted something to eat.
Grilled meat advertisements... Well, since I'm out at the mall, it wouldn't hurt to sit down for some shabu-shabu, right? I could wrap up both lunch and dinner in one go.
'Whoosh! Thud!!'
While my mind was filled with thoughts of delicious grilled meat, suddenly a man fell right in front of me. If I had to guess, he probably jumped from a pretty high floor.
Oh man... What a sight! His limbs were twisted and broken in ways that looked grotesque, and with his head crashing down like that, I didn't even want to think about how much weight his head had to bear...
Better not say more. I really didn't want to look at it any longer...
And... goodbye, my dream of grilled meat.
If you ask if I was shocked, yes, I was shocked. I was completely stunned, almost tearing up. But I couldn't show it, or they'd realize I could see them.
And I was certain it wasn't a person who jumped down because no one screamed. If it were a person, the whole mall would be in a panic. So, this ghost in front of me must be one who is paying for their sins.
"AHHHH!!!"
Just as I was about to take another step, I heard a woman scream, causing me to freeze.
Wait... was that a scream? Could it be a person!?!
I turned sharply towards the source of the sound, but when I saw it, I just held my head.
"…"
What's wrong with this girl? Why is she screaming? She's a ghost too!!
"Don't scream, little sister. I'm just paying for my sins... Ugh..." The bloodied, mangled man choked on his words, his voice hoarse as if his vocal cords were about to snap. "When I wake up... I'll have to jump again."
"Well, good luck with that, big brother." The ghost girl tried to speak, trembling like she was possessed, her face looking like she was about to cry.
The only reason I knew this guy was aware that she was a ghost was that she had no legs... Yes, her legs were transparent. I didn't quite understand why ghosts had transparent legs.
Oh no, I accidentally looked! I hope he didn't notice... I should leave.
"By the way... the girl next to you is a human, right? And she can see us... right? Right? Right? Right? Right? Right? Right? Right? Right? Right? Right? Right? Right? Right?"
Wait! Does it know now!!
In an instant, its eyes turned blood red, the color of blood spilling everywhere, and its voice became chilling. It kept repeating the same sentences, like a tape playing in reverse, causing me to fear so much that I almost couldn't move.
"Yes, she's a person, but she can't see us! Look at this!"
Saying that, the ghost girl walked up to me, and I pretended to check my phone without even realizing what I was looking at. But out of the corner of my eye, I saw her making a face as if to trick me by... sticking out her tongue?
Instead of looking scary, it looked cute.
This girl...
"Oh... right," the mangled man replied in a softer voice.
Sigh... This little drama was surprisingly smooth. But that's good... she might be useful when ghosts catch on.
"DO YOU REALLY THINK I'D FALL FOR YOUR LIES? I JUST SAW YOU GUYS TALKING!"
In the blink of an eye, the man crawled toward me with alarming speed. Luckily, my survival instincts kicked in, and my legs moved toward the exit without a second thought, nearly crashing into people bustling around the mall.
I didn't want to be mysteriously killed by a ghost in a mall!
"Gasp, gasp, gasp... Phew." I breathed heavily before sighing in relief.
...That was terrifying!! It seems I still had some luck left, as that ghost couldn't leave the area where it died.
Even though I claimed to be used to these things, having a gut-ripped ghost crawling toward you that fast would scare anyone!
Even if it couldn't do anything to me...
No, it might not be like that anymore, because that ghost could touch me, meaning other ghosts might be able to too.
But for this mall... I'm done!