Ravenwood Manor ӏ ATEEZ

CHAPTER

The large door opened to reveal a sinister scenery of plastic sheets, boxed up furniture and empty rooms. No light was able to pierce through the thick veil of the closed curtains and the air felt stuffy as if the windows had been shut for days already. The floor remained slightly warm, a sign that the owner had left not so long ago, a statement that only clashed with the emptiness that resided inside this lonely mansion. High ceilings, red curtains, thick carpets and old, medieval paintings and ornaments on the wall, all of the cliches were there and yet, neither of the boys felt disappointed, the manor truly was everything they had hoped for.

"Are you sure old Mr. Jeon only left today?" Yunho asked. "Who could ever live in such a place? And alone" he added.

Wooyoung stayed quiet, he knew the void that one person could leave after they died. His house had never felt the same after his mother died. The first months felt as though the heart o the home had been ripped out, the lights were darker, the air was colder and even his own bedroom had lost its comfort. And even then, Wooyoung still had his father, who tried his best to make the loss of his mother easier on him, but Mr. Jeon didn't have anyone. His daughter was everything he had and when she died, a big part of him had died as well.

"I am officially creeped out" Yeosang made sure to stay in the center of them all, his hands stuffed inside his hoodie, his eyes wide in order to catch any suspicious activity.

"Babe, let's go check out the kitchen" Jongho left with Yunho, turning on their flashlights and walking away.

"Why did you bring flashlights if our phones have them?" Yeosang asked, confused.

"To really get into it" Wooyoung replied as if it was an obvious answer. "Can imagine facing a ghost holding out your cell phone?" he scoffed.

"Yeah! This makes it more real" Seonghwa encouraged, smiling as he played with his lamp going left, right and up.

The blonde rolled his eyes. "Why is everyone so into this? Aren't you creeped out or scared??"

With his back to his friend, Wooyoung gave a faint smile, he was loving this. Even though larges boxes were stocked in the middle of the room, there were still many, many items left in the house. He made his way to a big chimney, on top of which there were photos of Ravenwood Manor that seemed to have been taken years ago. The roof retained more of its black color, the weathercock was still proudly set on one of the towers, and the rose bushes were much smaller than they were now.

Next to it, a framed photo facing down. Finding it odd to not have it boxed away with the rest of the personal belongings, Wooyoung grabbed the frame.

"Guys, take a look at this". The friends hurried over to where he was as he showed them the picture of the Jeon family.

"That's old Mr. Jeon" Seonghwa pointed out.

"More like, young Mr. Jeon" both boys glared at Yeosang. "What?" he whispered.

Mr. Jeon was considerably younger, some salt and pepper in his hair, no glasses and casual clothes. Next to him was Jeon Chaeyoung, a pretty, young women with straight black hair, bangs and a kind smile. They were both standing on either side of a stone bench-like structure, holding onto a little girl in a blue tutu, skates and pigtails.

"This must be Jieun" the ravenette said, looking at the little girl.

"I can barely remember the last time I saw Mrs. Jeon, she looks so young" the elder whispered. "Yeosang, shut up" he said before the other could even speak making Wooyoung giggle.

"That's probably because it didn't end well between them. I mean, judging by the cross drawn across her face" Yeosang pointed out, shivers running down his spine.