Reveal | haobin

Thirty-Eight

"Don't worry, everything's okay." Hanbin rubs Zhang Hao's back. Since Jiwoong came with Hanbin, he walks into the room and sees Matthew and Ricky are also crying.

"What happened?" He asks them. "When Zhang Hao called Hanbin, we figured we'd come here as well, but we weren't able to watch the livestream since the signal's not too good coming here."

Matthew's about to say something, but Ricky immediately hugs Jiwoong. "We were so scared! This creepy old ghost lady kept knocking on the door and chasing us. The people watching the live said they couldn't even see her, there's bugs in here, the tv only has one channel and it's a scary one, and the lights kept turning off!"

"It's okay, we're here now." Jiwoong doesn't know what to do since Ricky won't let go of him.

Matthew frowns. He wanted to be comforted too. He's also scared. "Matthew, are you okay?" Hanbin walks over to him and pulls him in for a hug. "Don't worry, everything's going to be okay. We're here now."

"Did you see the old lady outside?"

"No, I didn't. Are you sure she's a ghost?" Hanbin pulls away from the hug. "Maybe the viewers were just messing with you guys."

"Should we all go check? Let's get out of here." Jiwoong stands up.

"Is this everything you guys brought?" Hanbin asks and picks up a bag. Zhang Hao just nods as the three of them are still pretty startled. "Okay, let's go check." Hanbin's about to walk out, but sees Zhang Hao's the only one who hasn't walked out of the room. "Don't worry, I'm here." Hanbin takes his arm. "I'm holding onto you. Do you not feel a little more safe now?" Hanbin asks him.

-

Matthew walks behind Ricky and Jiwoong since Ricky's still holding onto him.

Matthew doesn't dislike Ricky or anything... he actually sees him as a good friend even though they met not too long ago, but why is he being so touchy with Jiwoong?

It annoys Matthew. He barely even knows him.

"Look! That's the old lady." Ricky whispers to Jiwoong. "Do you see her?"

Jiwoong stays quiet for a while, but then answers. "Where? What do you mean?"

"Jiwoong! Are you serious?! You don't see her?" Matthew asks him.

"What are you going on about?!" The old lady asks him.

"I'm sorry, ma'am. Could you please tell us how much we have to pay?" Jiwoong asks her.

"You do see her! Jiwoong!" Matthew hits his arm and Jiwoong laughs.

"Okay, okay, Matthew. I'm sorry." Jiwoong takes Matthew's hand to stop him and Matthew feels a strange feeling in his stomach.

"You don't have to pay anything." The old lady tells him. "No one really comes here anymore, so whenever someone does, it makes me happy."

"What?" Matthew asks, confused. She was being so rude earlier.

"I know I seemed rude, but that was the point." She tells them. "Do you see the name of the hotel?" She points.

"Cup Hotel?" Jiwoong reads it. He hadn't noticed the name since the signs is almost falling off and some letters are gone.

"Cupid's Hotel." She corrects him.

"And why's that the name?" Ricky asks her.

"Not many people come here anymore, but when they do, they find it so scary and it makes them think of their loved ones. Sometimes, it even makes them admit their feelings for the person they love." The old lady tells them.

"Has that really happened?" Matthew asks her. "Have you seen it happen before?"

"Oh, I've seen it happen many times." She nods. "So this time won't be an exception."

"Huh?"

"Sorry, I have to take this call." Ricky answers his phone and walks out the hotel.

"Wow, perfect timing." The old lady smiles. "I wanted to talk to you two."

Matthew looks around, hoping she's not talking to him. She may not seem so creepy now, but he can't forget what happened earlier.

"Yes, I'm talking to you... and you." She looks at Jiwoong.

"Me?" Jiwoong points at himself.

"I just want to give you two some advice."

"Advice?"

"If you like someone, don't wait until it's too late."

Matthew just looks at her with a confused expression. "Sorry?"

"Sometimes you don't realize your feelings for someone until that person is with someone else and it's too late. I hope coming here made you recognize the feelings you have for that someone."

"Feelings?" Jiwoong asks her. "Are you talking about us? Oh no, you must be mistaken."

"Yeah, we're just friends." Matthew nods and realizes he and Jiwoong are still holding hands, so he lets go.

"I never said I was talking about you two... but if that was your first thought..."

Matthew doesn't know what to say. He can't forget about what he felt when he saw Jiwoong and Ricky so close... and he can't forget the strange feeling he felt when Jiwoong held his hand.

-

"Should we go now?" Hanbin asks Zhang Hao.

He shakes his head. "I'm still scared."

Hanbin let's go of Zhang Hao's arm and takes his hand instead. "How about now?"

As soon as Hanbin takes his hand, Zhang Hao feels his heart beating faster... and it's not because he's scared anymore. "A little better, but I'm still scared."

"Really? So what should we do?" Hanbin thinks for a while and looks around, trying to think of something.

"I'm sorry, this is so embarrassing." Zhang Hao let's go of Hanbin's hand and can't help but start crying again. "I was so scared earlier, but I tried not to show it since Ricky and Matthew were scared as well. As the oldest, I tried to be the one they could rely on."

"It's okay to get scared, Hao." Hanbin pulls him in for a hug. "By what I heard Ricky say that happened, it must've been so scary for all of you. As the oldest, you did a really good job, Hao. But next time, don't hold all those feelings in. It's okay to get scared. We're human."

"I know... I just thought it'd make everything worse." Zhang Hao doesn't want to let go of Hanbin, but eventually, they pull away from the hug.

"Don't come to these kind of places anymore, Hao. I was so worried. You could've gotten hurt." Hanbin says, worriedly. "And I don't like seeing you cry."

Zhang Hao had felt so scared, but as soon as Hanbin came, he felt so safe. As if nothing bad could happen to him anymore. He also felt how much Hanbin cared about him. He now knows he's really someone he can count on.

So in that moment, he didn't think of what he was about to do and the consequences his actions would have later on. He just did what his heart was telling him to do in that moment.

Zhang Hao looks at Hanbin, and Hanbin looks right back at him with a confused expression. Zhang Hao cups Hanbin's face and Hanbin looks down at him, not being able to process what's happening in that moment. Zhang Hao slowly starts leaning in...

And he presses his lips against his.

______________

Finally!!! I hope you liked this chapter 💙
This story might be coming to an end soon unless I get more ideas for it ☹️ thank you so much for 30k reads!! 🫶