The night without the moon

Save me, please

"Are you leaving?" Aera asked Chan-sung as she noticed him heading towards the exit. "I'm sad." She added. "I'll miss you. You'll visit me, won't you? Think about his offer. Come to work here. It will make me happy. Very happy." She put on a smile which didn't reach her eyes, but it was the first time she'd attempted in a very long time.

"I'll think about it. I don't know if I can do it. Take care of yourself and leave, Aera. Do not linger in this world. Don't let your regrets chain you to this place. Do not trust Mr. Lee. I have a bad feeling about him." She nodded.

"Just return. Please." She called as he disappeared behind closed doors. "Please." Tears were running down her cheeks as she kept staring at the closed doors.

*******

Aera got a few amazing days at the hotel. She was busy discovering new things every day, visiting each room or relaxing in the moonlight at the sky bar. She had such a great time speaking with the customers and serving them. Though, her happiness didn't last long. She started to miss Chan-sung and everything became empty and cold.

Mr. Lee stopped being kind and patient with her. He kept shouting at her as she started to ignore the guests and became clumsier and clumsier. She always dropped food when serving the customers and even brought the items commanded by a customer to the wrong person. Once she caused a ghost to get a panic attack after Aera had brought her a glass of wine. Later, Aera found that the ghost had been poisoned by her husband...he'd put the poison in her glass of wine.

Another ghost left the hotel after Aera made her wait for her dessert and when she finally came Aera served her a melon pudding. The ghost hated melons.

One day she spilt the hot tea on one of Mr. Lee's wealthy customers, causing the CEO to lose a fortune as the ghost refused to tell the CEO where he'd hidden the money. That was the last straw.

Mr. Lee had hoped to gain some money from Aera, but soon he'd discovered she was poor. Though, he kept the facade, hoping she would manage to bring Chan-sung to the hotel. However, as Chan-sung didn't return and she proved to be good at nothing, the CEO lost his temper.

He'd studied Chan-sung's CV and all his references. He thought about all the money that stupid human could provide him with and he was fuming as the days passed and he had no news of Chan-sung. He needed a plan to convince him. If only that idiot would drive his car to work.

*****

Chan-song tried his best to go on with his life, but seeing the hotel, being among the ghosts again, all those opened a wound that didn't heal properly. He had conflicted feelings. He wanted to return, but he didn't have the power to. He felt that if he were to make up his mind to go, he would never be able to run away.

A few weeks passed. Even Sanchez gave up asking questions. He met a few ghosts during this time, but none of them lingered too long. He'd ignored Aera for three years, he could deal with some passer-byes.

He was on his way to his job when he realized the GPS directed him to a different part of the town than he was supposed to go to. He hadn't driven his car for a while and he wouldn't have driven it that day either if he wouldn't have missed the bus and risked being late. Now, he would definitely be late.

He stopped in front of an old house he recognized as the Blue Moon hotel.

"I should have known". Chan-sung thought. "Well, I haven't given him an answer. I guess he doesn't like to wait." His mind roamed freely as he studied the surroundings, debating if he should enter or start the engine and leave.

A woman dressed in a casual blue dress waved at him. She instantly ran towards him, afraid he might drive away. He smiled as he recognized her. Aera.

"You didn't leave." He muttered as he got out of the car and met her.

"I've waited for you."

"All this time! I thought you were enjoying your time here."

"I did....for a few days. It was lovely, but I felt so alone without you. I got a job here, too, but....I'm too clumsy and Mr. Lee is so mean. It's awful. I thought about running away, but... Please, do not get mad at me. I've tried." She sobbed.

"What about the rest of the staff? Are they unhappy, too? Is he mean with them, too?"

"He only thinks about how he could extract money from the guests. He doesn't care about us. If one of the customers refuses to pay, he will blame us. He always does that."

"I don't know how to help you, Aera. I..."

"If you were the owner, the things would be amazing for us." She declared.

"I have no intention to become the owner." Chan-sung cried out as if her words had burnt him.

"That's what Ma Go said."

"You told that to Ma Go!" He exclaimed. He couldn't believe Aera would want something like that. Yet he didn't say anything to her. He supposed she didn't know what becoming the owner meant and so he decided it wasn't fair to scold her for what she'd said and done.

"She came to me," Aera explained. "I didn't know who she was. I thought she was a ghost and that she loved flowers and so....whatever. She came to me and asked me why I was so sad. I told her everything. I told her that I wished the hotel had an owner like you rather than Mr. Lee. She explained to me that Mr. Lee was punished for his sins and she had no reason to chain you to the hotel. She said that she wanted to help Mr. Lee to find peace. But I wouldn't bother if Mr. Lee would turn to ash. He deserved it. I admitted that to her, too. She insisted she wanted to save him. I hate her, too."

"Aera," Chan-sung called gently. "You don't know anything about him. Maybe, he isn't that evil. You better learn his story before hating him like that."

"You're too kind, Chan-sung. People are mean and selfish. Very selfish. Do not imagine they are all like you."

"Let's go inside. I need to speak with Mr. Lee."