there was a house nearby; isolated, deep howls sweeping between the crevices, with stories of something brutal. during the summer break with too much time to kill, the three friends decided to enter the rotting doors of something evil.
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07.
"i saw mister hiroshi."
the three were in the back of the shop, near fermenting pickles, and boxes of opened snake plants. yeonjun couldn't tear his eyes away from jia. the girl looked terrified. for once yeonjun could recognise an emotion on her face.
"he's dead. you might have confused him for someone else." taehyun rested his back against a pile of cardboard boxes. he was the sole being in the room who owned some sort of composure.
"no. i'm definitely sure it was him. he was standing in front of the forest. he looked so blank. i- i was shocked. he just stood there watching the sky. i tried calling him but he looked so disconnected." jia felt a construction in her chest. she had to pause, and close her eyes to the back, where she could see the graveyard of red. "i ran outside. he wasn't anywhere."
"are you sure you weren't imagining it?" yeonjun broke his soft silence. his voice gave away hints of nervousness.
jia looked at him, her face empty of any fabrications. "i don't own the will to prank you guys when there is a cyclone warning around."
taehyun chimed in. "i know you were shocked by what happened earlier, but i promise there isn't anything to worry about. you might have seen some other old person roaming around. and you know that 90% of people around here are all old and weird, right?"
jia was breathless from a growing frustration. "taehyun, i told you what i saw. i'm not lying. it was mister hiroshi. i saw him by these two eyes."
taehyun raised his hands in surrender. "whatever let's you sleep at night."
there was an incoherent argument in the kitchen. taehyun sighed, looking at the two. "that's where i take my leave." he lifted his cap slightly at jia. "and nice meeting you." with that he was out of the room.
the static of rain outside filled the room. jia sat down on a wooden stool nearby. "i am not lying. you believe me, right?"
yeonjun swallowed hard. "i am trying to."
"yeonjun, you and i both were there. we both saw him being pulled out. i won't act like crazy for no reason."
"i know." yeonjun sighed, sitting down on the floor opposite to her. and once again they were in the alleyway, watching each other through two scared hearts.
"are you feeling any better now...?" jia shifted in the seat, taking a glance of yeonjun's lost gaze.
"i'm not sure." he felt a bubbling heat in between his ribcages. this was the last moment where he should start catching feelings for this girl. "are you?"
jia laughed softly. "i don't know. seeing dead people probably isn't a positive sign."
yeonjun liked her laugh - how her eyes creased up, or how her teeth looked. "i'm sorry."
"call me crazy, but i think this whole place is weird. there is something hiding among us. i just know about it." jia looked at her chipping nail paint, avoiding yeonjun's gaze.
"are you talking about the murderer?" yeonjun watched the flashing lightening outside the window.
"maybe something worse than we could ever imagine."
