A child’s imagination is too rich. Qi Huai had to both trick and coax, telling N number of foreign stories that a child of little Nam-hyuk’s age had never heard of, before finally coaxing him to sleep.

His eyelids, swollen from crying, were like peaches. Qi Huai got a warm towel and helped him wipe them.

He’s sleeping so well.

Adults can rarely have the kind of sleep that children have, where they won’t wake up no matter how much you fuss with them. Such a peaceful and happy life should be infinitely extended for little Nam-hyuk, shouldn’t it? Qi Huai tapped little Nam-hyuk’s delicate nose.

The child who said he would eat later suddenly went silent, and even locked himself in his room as soon as he got home. The nanny auntie was a little worried, but she couldn’t just go into the room to ask. After thinking about it, she could only send a message to Ms. Hyun.

So Ms. Hyun, who was planning to continue her meeting, came home not long after. She gently opened little Nam-hyuk’s door and saw her son sleeping soundly on the bed.

“…”

This little guy, I thought something had happened. I was worried for nothing. Ms. Hyun put her hand on her heart and breathed a long sigh of relief.

The world of children is very simple, and the standards of measurement are also very singular. So Ms. Hyun often worried that little Nam-hyuk would be laughed at by his classmates because of her separation from Yoon Tae-min. She had always asked the nanny to pay more attention to the child’s emotions.

Fortunately, little Nam-hyuk was very strong and had become a very strong person at a young age.

“Oh my, the room is very tidy today,” Ms. Hyun opened a gap in the quilt and muttered in surprise. “He even changed into his pajamas? Is he planning not to eat dinner?”

Qi Huai, who had just tidied the room and helped little Nam-hyuk change into his pajamas: “…”

He felt sorry for his childhood lover.

In order not to be discovered by Ms. Hyun, Qi Huai covered his feet with the plush toys on the floor. Fortunately, only his feet could be seen. If his legs were also visible, he really wouldn’t know where to hide.

Fortunately, Ms. Hyun didn’t stay long before she left. Qi Huai stood behind the plush toys and sighed.

Another speechless BUG. Either he’s completely invisible, or he’s completely visible. Now, only his feet can be seen… how is he supposed to go out?

The next morning, little Nam-hyuk was woken up by hunger.

He clutched his rumbling stomach and rubbed his eyes as he got out of bed. Only when he touched his swollen and painful eyelids did he remember everything from yesterday.

Ah!

That ghost!

Little Nam-hyuk quickly shrank back into the quilt, lifted the corner of the quilt and looked around. When he didn’t see the pair of feet after a careful search, he couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.

“Was it a dream?”

Mom said that children who watch scary stories will have very scary dreams, just like how he always dreams that he’s taking an exam before every exam. Last night should be the same, right?

Little Nam-hyuk put down his worried heart and got out of bed to run to the bathroom. But as soon as he opened the door, he ran into a transparent wall!

“You’re awake?”

A kind and pleasant voice came from above. Little Nam-hyuk gasped. This voice belonged to the owner of the pair of feet!

Last night was not a dream, it was real!

Ten-year-old Yoon Nam-hyuk made a very bold decision. He decided to raise a ghost.

The other party had suddenly appeared in his room yesterday, like a stray cat that had to sneak into a human’s house because of hunger and cold, a little pitiful.

Mr. Ghost said it was cold outside. He had no money and was afraid of scaring people, so he couldn’t buy clothes or eat. He was cold and hungry, and had no choice but to ask for his help.

If Yoon Nam-hyuk was willing to take him in, he only needed a little food and a piece of clothing, and he could tell little Nam-hyuk stories, help him with his homework, and even play games with him.

Little Nam-hyuk was very tempted.

In fact, a year ago, he had mentioned to his mother that he wanted to raise a small dog, but his mother said that at his age, he couldn’t take good care of a small animal. If he troubled the nanny auntie too much, he would lose the sense of responsibility and fun of taking care of a small animal. He had to be at least 15 years old before he could truly have a small dog of his own.

He was only ten years old now, and there were still five years until he was fifteen. It would be good to raise something else in advance to gain experience.

More importantly, Mr. Ghost wouldn’t bark when he was bored, nor would he pee and poop all over the bedroom. From this point of view, it seemed that raising a ghost was much simpler than raising a small dog.

Just like that, Yoon Nam-hyuk nodded and agreed to let Mr. Ghost stay in his bedroom.

However, before officially “raising” the other party, little Nam-hyuk still decided to first understand the other party’s basic situation.

“What’s your name?”

“My name is Qi Huai.”

“How old are you?”

“25 years old.”

“Ah, you’re 15 years older than me!”

Qi Huai smiled and said “um”. He thought to himself, someone has always been hung up on the fact that they are six years older than him. Now that he’s finally younger than me, he should be very happy if he knows, right?

“Then what should I call you in the future?”

“What do you want to call me?” Qi Huai smiled, thinking of a title like “hyung.”

However, little Nam-hyuk blinked. “Can I give you a name?”

After all, he was a child. When he had a mischievous idea, he wasn’t very good at hiding his expression. Qi Huai was helpless. So this was his idea. “I have to hear the name you’ve chosen first.”

“Oh…” Little Nam-hyuk was obviously a little disappointed. He realized that raising a ghost who could talk and think was not as easy as raising a kitten or puppy.

That’s right, although it was a relationship of being kept, strictly speaking, he was not the other’s master.

So he gave up the idea of ​​giving him a name and changed the subject. “Alright, then Uncle Ghost, what do you like to eat for breakfast?”

Uncle Ghost?

Qi Huai didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Six years older is “hyung”, and fifteen years older is “uncle”. That’s really something.

Little Nam-hyuk looked at the calendar on the table. “Today is eggs, milk, ham, and toast. Is that okay?”

“Okay.”

“Do you need a lot?” Little Nam-hyuk didn’t know how much a ghost ate.

“Um, I’ll need two eggs, is that convenient?”

The little one had to go to school. In order not to scare the nanny auntie in the apartment, Qi Huai was afraid he could only eat two meals a day.

Little Nam-hyuk nodded. “Of course, you eat much less than my classmate’s beagle. That beagle is never full; it eats everything, even homework.”

Qi Huai couldn’t help but laugh. “Don’t worry, I don’t eat homework. What I mean is, if we eat a double portion of breakfast together, will your nanny auntie find out?”

Little Nam-hyuk was embarrassed. “Oh, no, I often make bets with my classmates. I just need to say I lost a bet and have to bring my classmate breakfast.”

“That’s good.”

You have a lot of ghost ideas, President Yoon.

Little Nam-hyuk’s excuse was very successful. Even Ms. Hyun didn’t notice anything. He even put two more sandwiches in his lunch box on the grounds that he didn’t eat dinner last night, saying he wanted to make up for it.

The little one who had eaten breakfast ran back to his room with his lunch box, saying he wanted to pack his schoolbag, but he was actually bringing food to Uncle Ghost.

“It’s a tuna sandwich,” little Nam-hyuk said as he packed his schoolbag, sneaking glances at the two feet’s movements. “I made it myself. I also added mayonnaise and corn kernels… The seaweed flakes are not good, so I didn’t add them.”

Qi Huai smiled. Seaweed flakes are not good? It’s obviously because you don’t like them. “Well, it just so happens that I don’t like seaweed, nor do I like laver. I don’t like kelp or wakame either.”

“Really?” Little Nam-hyuk’s eyes lit up. “Me too!”

Qi Huai’s eyes showed a smile, and he said a long “oh”. “What a coincidence. Thank you for the sandwich.”

“You’re, you’re welcome.”

The little one walked away with his schoolbag on his back. He took three steps and looked back. Only after seeing the sandwich disappear into the air and hearing Qi Huai praise it as “delicious” did he awkwardly tell Uncle Ghost to hide the lunch box so the nanny auntie wouldn’t find it.

The bedroom door closed. Qi Huai chewed on his sandwich and said in a low voice, “What a worrier, he’s been the same since he was a child.”

After school in the evening, little Nam-hyuk rushed back to his bedroom with his schoolbag again. He went into the room, locked the door, and poured all the food he had bought at the convenience store onto the table.

Bread, sausages, chocolate… all things suitable for satisfying hunger. Qi Huai was surprised. “Is there a school outing?”

“Of course not,” little Nam-hyuk snorted. “Although you ate a lot for breakfast, no one made you lunch. You must be very hungry, right? These are all for you. You can eat these when I’m not at home.”

A person should eat three meals a day. The nanny auntie would also prepare him an afternoon snack. Mr. Shoes was so much older than him, so his appetite should also be bigger than his. So today at school, he had indirectly asked several twenty-something male teachers about their appetite.

The driver uncle was right. Some people grow up late and will grow taller again when they are in their twenties, so nutrition must keep up.

Don’t those kittens and puppies also need to eat fish oil and taurine often? In short, it’s always right to eat more.

“Hide whatever you can’t finish in the bookshelf. Auntie won’t touch my books,” little Nam-hyuk said with a straight face and took out his homework.

Qi Huai couldn’t help but pat the back of his fluffy head. “Then thank you.”

He really didn’t expect that both President Yin and the four-year-old would try to “keep” him after knowing that he had no food.

Little Nam-hyuk pursed his lips and muttered, “You’re welcome.”

After thanking him seriously, Qi Huai began to pack the snacks he had bought especially for him. He pretended not to see the little one’s eyes wandering around his shoes, hesitating to speak, and put the snacks into the bookshelf drawer one by one.

The snacks disappeared and reappeared out of thin air. It was really magical. Little Nam-hyuk was a little fascinated as he watched. Without realizing it, a chocolate bean was stuffed into his mouth.

The chocolate was filled with nuts and cookie crumbs. It tasted very fragrant. He licked his lips and began to feel awkward again.

Besides his mom and the nanny auntie, this was the first time someone had fed him. It felt very strange, yet filled with a strange sense of familiarity. Little Nam-hyuk couldn’t help but shake his head, wanting to clear his mind of those chaotic thoughts.

“What’s wrong? Doesn’t it taste good?” Qi Huai raised an eyebrow and popped a chocolate bean into his mouth. “A little greasy, but still okay.”

“Still okay?” Little Nam-hyuk was incredulous. “This is my favorite chocolate bean!”

Qi Huai was stunned. Is that so? But he seemed to have never seen Yoon Nam-hyuk eat this kind of chocolate.

Of course President Yin wouldn’t eat it. Ever since he had a lover who was six years younger than him, President Yin had become more and more concerned about maintaining his figure. He would avoid things like chocolate as much as possible. After all, the food his lover made was already delicious enough.

“Cough.” Little Nam-hyuk stared at his homework without moving, and suddenly said with red ears, “Our agreement is that I provide clothes, a place to stay, and food, right? You have to exchange it by helping me with my homework and telling me stories.”

Qi Huai came back to his senses, looked at the little one with flickering eyes and the homework with several empty questions, and suddenly understood. “Is there anything I can help with?”

Little Nam-hyuk moved his homework towards the shoes. “This, this, and this. Thank you, Uncle Ghost.”

Qi Huai laughed out loud, earning him a glare.

Little Nam-hyuk finished his math homework quickly, but his English homework took the longest. Qi Huai read with him and helped him correct his pronunciation. The more the little one learned, the more surprised he became. “You explain better than our teacher… Were you an English teacher when you were alive?”

“Your English will be very good too,” Qi Huai changed the subject. If he was asked any more questions, he would have to admit that he was a mixed-blood ghost.

“Alright, Mom said so too,” little Nam-hyuk sighed first, then suddenly said, “School ends early tomorrow. I’ll go buy you clothes. I found that besides shoes, things you take away seem to disappear. Do I only need to buy you shoes and socks?”

Qi Huai choked and flatly refused, “…No.”

Although his childhood lover couldn’t see, he really couldn’t be naked in front of such a small child.

“Oh, okay,” little Nam-hyuk was a little troubled.

But if he wanted to buy a whole set of adult clothes, it would be difficult to explain to the driver uncle who took him to the mall.

Maybe he should just buy all white ones and tell the driver uncle that they were canvas materials needed for art class.

In order to “raise” Mr. Shoes, he had been sneaking around all day. But the feeling was not bad, because Mr. Shoes was his one and only friend.

So good.