​First Meeting, First Kiss

​“I’m going to be a contestant on Implovessible!”

​Sania, Sarah, and Antonio’s eyes instantly went wide. Melya had just strolled into the office wearing a fiery red outfit that drew everyone’s attention.

​Her three best friends—who also happened to be her employees—exchanged a quick glance before leaning in to whisper.

​“Are we sure she’s sane? What if all the spirits she’s handled finally decided to strike back and ruin her brain?”

“Yeah, something’s definitely wrong up there. I told you guys, she needs to quit this job before these ghosts destroy her physical and mental health for good!”

“Or maybe... she’s actually aiming for one of those rich contestants so she can just retire early?”

​“Ahem!”

​Melya cleared her throat and crossed her arms over her chest. The three of them had literally turned their backs and huddled together like a football team to hide their gossip, but Melya could still hear every single word loud and clear.

​“Wow, you guys whisper so quietly. Pretty sure even a bat couldn't hear you.”

​Melya gave them a sarcastic smile. She stared at her three friends, who were now flashing her the most awkward, guilty grins imaginable.

​To be fair, Melya already knew they’d react like this. After all, nobody understood the daily chaos of her life better than these three.

​“Hey, sorry! We were just shocked you suddenly agreed to star in that dating show,” Sarah said with a shrug. “Did you forget? Just yesterday you literally said you’d rather fight a hundred vengeful spirits than appear on that thing.”

​She suddenly paused, tilting her head. “So, what actually made you change your mind?”

​“Don’t tell me you suddenly want to date and get married?”

Sarah narrowed her eyes, her face dripping with suspicion.

“Or...”

She strolled over to Melya, who was now lounging casually on the sofa. “Does this sudden agreement have something to do with ghosts again?”

​“Of course not! Why do you guys always think everything I do revolves around ghosts?”

​Melya snapped straight up from her relaxed posture, pouting in annoyance at Sarah’s accusation.

​“It’s just that last night before bed, I was thinking abou it—hey, why not? It could be fun! Plus, we can treat the show as free marketing for our business, right? Remember that classic old wisdom: kill two birds with one stone. Not only do we get paid, but we also score free promotion!”

​“Well, it’s not like we actually need promotion,” Sania chimed in. “Word of mouth alone brings in more than enough clients as it is.”

​She was totally on board with Sarah’s suspicion. There was just no way Melya would change her mind overnight without a solid reason.

​You once said you’d rather die than get married and end up like your mother,

Sania thought to herself. She did her best to swallow the lump in her throat, hiding the sadness on her face as the grim memory flashed through her mind—Melya in tattered clothes stained with blood, her face bruised, and patches of her hair roughly chopped off.

​“Eyy, what is up with you two?” Melya blurted out, breaking the heavy tension. “Trust me! I really don’t have any secret motive other than having a little fun!”

​Noticing the lingering suspicion written all over Sarah and Sania’s faces, Melya quickly turned to Antonio to pivot the conversation.

​“Oh, right! Antonio, how’s little Dominic doing? Is he still waking up in the middle of the night?”

​“Nailed it!” Melya muttered under her breath as Sania and Sarah instantly snapped their attention toward Antonio. Her quick distraction had worked like a charm.

​The suspicion on their faces vanished in a split second, replaced by sheer concern.

​“Right! How is Dominic doing now?” Sania asked anxiously. “Is that female ghost still bothering him?”

​Antonio flashed a big thumbs-up. “All clear! Thanks to the legendary Miss Melya over here, those ghosts took off running for their lives.”

​Antonio was actually one of Melya’s clients (though in his case, Melya always worked pro bono). His wife had just given birth a few months ago.

​As luck would have it, just a month before the baby arrived, the couple had upgraded from their tiny rented room to a spacious apartment—purchased using the savings Antonio had painstakingly built up working as Melya’s accountant and bodyguard.

Honestly, that apartment was basically the bargain of the century for Antonio and Julia. It was right in the middle of the city, shiny and well-kept, and most importantly—dirt cheap!

​But hey, as we all know, nothing in this world comes without a catch. And this sweet deal had one tiny, terrifying flaw: a woman had once committed suicide right inside that unit.

​When they first moved in, the ghost didn't bother Antonio or Julia at all. But the moment baby Dominic was born? That was when she decided it was showtime!

​At first, it was just classic, low-budget ghost pranks—floating random objects or making creepy laughing and crying noises. But then things got out of hand. The ghost started popping up right in front of baby Dominic in the middle of the night, scaring the poor kid into screaming at the top of his lungs and waking up the entire block.

And it didn’t stop there. Slowly but surely, the female ghost started clinging to Julia, leaving her completely exhausted and moody all the time.

​Things got so bad that just because Antonio forgot to hang up his wet towel after a shower, Julia went full rage mode and started beating him up with a baby bottle.

​Unable to take the madness any longer, Antonio finally begged Melya for help.

​“You absolute idiot! I told you from day one that unit was bad news! But did you listen? Nope!”

Of course, Melya’s help came with a free, endless lecture.

​The problem was, Antonio hadn’t mentioned a single word to his three friends when he bought the place. They only found out when he threw a small baby shower party for little Dominic.

​Naturally, kicking the ghost out was a walk in the park for Melya. Besides, the ghost hadn't even turned into a full-blown revengeful spirit yet. As usual, Melya just had to ask the Prime Minister to dig up the ghost's unresolved earthly issues. And if the ghost still refused to pack up and leave? Well, Melya would just order the Prime Minister to use a little 'physical persuasion'.

​It turned out the ghost had taken her own life after falling into depression from failing her dream university’s entrance exam. To make matters worse, on the exact same day of her failure, she caught her boyfriend cheating on her with her best friend. Talk about tragic.

​“I just wanted to know what it feels like to study at my dream college,” the ghost sobbed. “To go on library dates and join freshman orientation with my boyfriend!”

​The moment Melya heard the ghost's tragic dream, she happily made it happen. Though that happiness came at the expense of the Prime Minister’s sanity and rage. The reason? He was forced to play the role of the ghost’s ‘college boyfriend’.

​“You crazy girl!” the Prime Minister roared. “Just because I need your help doesn't mean you can use me however you like! I am a former Prime Minister of a royal kingdom! How dare you order me to act in some cheap romance drama!”

​And blah, blah, blah... in the end, the Prime Minister still sucked it up and did as Melya said. After all, he was totally helpless. Without Melya, he would never be able to rest in peace and reincarnate.

Melya could barely hold back a laugh remembering how ridiculously stiff the Prime Minister looked playing the doting college boyfriend. Honestly, it was a miracle the ghost found peace right before she could plant a kiss on his lips during the campfire night.

​Melya glanced over at the Prime Minister, who was currently floating near the office entrance with his hands on his hips. He was locked in a heated argument with Celia—the latest ghost now following Melya everywhere she went.

​Celia’s blood-stained white wedding gown was definitely hard to miss. Recalling their conversation from last night, Melya could still hear Celia’s shaky voice:

​“He stabbed me with a knife without a second thought! A total wolf in sheep’s clothing! Even when I begged for mercy through the unbearable pain, he just laughed in my face!”

​The sheer terror in Celia’s voice as she described her final moments was more than enough to make Melya realize just how brutal and painful her death had been.

​“Oh, by the way... can you please keep my request a secret?” Celia had pleaded. “I’m way too embarrassed for anyone else to know my story. Besides, my killer is dangerous. I don’t want your friends getting dragged into this—they don’t have a powerful guardian spirit like you do.”

​And that was the real reason Melya kept Celia’s case under wraps. For some reason, Melya had agreed to her terms without a second thought.

​“Alright, let's hit the road!”

​Sarah clapped a hand onto Melya’s shoulder, making her jump in surprise. Melya had been way too focused watching the chaos between Celia and the Prime Minister. But wait... something about the way they were talking felt different. Maybe it was just Melya’s imagination, but even though they bickered constantly, they almost seemed... like they’d known each other forever?

​“Hey, are you even listening to me?”

“Huh? Oh, sorry! Wait, go where?” Melya asked, shaking her head to clear out the weird thoughts.

​Sarah blinked at her in total disbelief. “Are you serious? I literally just told you the show’s producer wants you at the studio for an initial interview!”

​Oh, crap.

Melya realized she had been completely lost in space the entire time.

​“Oh... right! Yeah, of course you said that,” Melya stammered out.

​Sarah narrowed her eyes, concern washing over her face. But just as Sarah was about to ask if she was feeling okay, Melya grabbed her arm and practically dragged her toward the car to head to the TV station.

​Melya figured the rest of her day would play out like any other. I mean, what could possibly go wrong with a quick TV station visit for a simple interview?

​Well... turns out Melya was dead wrong.

​Melya’s eyes nearly popped out of her skull as her lips landed squarely on top of a man’s—who was currently pinned right underneath her. The guy’s face turned bright red, and Melya could actually see tiny tears welling up in the corners of his eyes.

​“S-sorry... that... was my first kiss...”

​Stammered the guy who was none other than Darius Hartono—Melya’s number one target!