The evening sky glowed golden-orange as the girl laughed in her backyard. The wind whispered softly, carrying the scent of damp soil and the wilting frangipani flowers. She had just turned eighteen today. She twirled alone in her white dress, the ribbon in her hair fluttering, as if celebrating something only understood by the unseen world.

As always, someone watched her from the edge of the old moss-covered building.

Nishimura Riki (18) leaned against a weathered wooden post at the back of the house. His hair was slightly tousled, his face forever youthful, his eyes still reflecting a spark of life he had left behind forty-five years ago. His body never changed, always appearing as a boy on the brink of adulthood in the last autumn before death took him. The girl sensed his presence without having to look.

"You finally showed up. I thought you were playing hide-and-seek with some other wandering spirits," she said, still facing the sky, a mischievous smile on her face. Ni-Ki didn't answer. He walked slowly, his steps making no sound. Not because he wanted to be silent, but because the world no longer gave him weight. The girl glanced his way and squinted.

"Are you going to hug me like you used to when I was five and called you Uncle Ni-Ki? I admit, that was embarrassing," she said with a laugh.

Ni-Ki gave a small smile, though there was something else behind it. Back then, when he first appeared in the girl's world, she used to call him 'Uncle'... pure, innocent. Now, she repeated the nickname only to tease him. Still, their bond was like family, like best friends, like something beyond what human words could ever explain.

Ni-Ki had seen it all. Her first steps. The first time she was scared of the noise under her bed. Her first nightmare. The day she realized she could see ghosts other than him. Ni-Ki had been her invisible shield. Her guardian of the night. A witness to the growth of a human being from toddler to young woman with eyes that could still see both worlds. But now... something had begun to change.

Ni-Ki noticed every second. Day by day, the girl was growing beyond the shadow of her age. As she matured, the distance between them became more real. He knew… a few more years, and she would walk into adulthood. She would move on. Forget. Or worse… lose her ability to see him. He wasn't ready. And for the first time in decades, Ni-Ki felt something unfamiliar. Fear. Not of the dark. But of losing her.

Today, when their ages matched, when their bodies looked the same, and time seemed to pause for a moment, a dark thought crept into his mind. A mad idea that came out of nowhere. If this world keeps trying to separate them… why not bring her into his?

Ni-Ki watched her smile as she gently touched the frangipani leaves. He stepped closer. Only inches apart. Then he spoke softly, almost like a whisper carried by the breeze.

"Have you ever wondered… what it feels like to die without pain?"

**[ WELCOME TO AU ENHYPEN! NI-KI IS HERE! HAVE A GOOD TIME<3 ]**