The drive to the place was way too long. Y/N had to make many stops so she wouldn't fall asleep. Well, she wouldn't sleep even if she wanted to. She took a deep breath to prepare for what was to come and exited her truck.
"Wow, it's so dark out," Y/N huffed out a chuckle. It felt as if the sky was way darker than when she moved into her apartment. Looking at the piece of paper and back at the hotel,
Y/N nodded to herself. "This is the place no doubt." She placed the paper back into her bag and looked at the large doors of the place. "Huge place. Looks like a hotel. Would he be here?"
There was a board next to the door, and she leaned back to read it.
-
Hotel Ruhenheim
Giving you a serene stay.
-
Y/N pushed the large doors, and the first thing she saw was a reception area. It was abandoned, but it didn't look abandoned. Though when she went around the reception desk to open the door, it was locked.
And when Y/N tried to open the other door on the right, there was wiring that she couldn't remove. She blew a slight raspberry, looking at the "Staff Room" sign next to the door.
"Might as well look around," she muttered, moving away from the reception desk. Y/N walked into the left hallway with a line of doors, lightly shaking the handles to see if any of them would open.
The fourth door was the first door to open, and she looked around as she slowly walked in.
Her eyes caught a piece of paper on a dresser, causing her to automatically move toward it. Y/N chuckled to see a childish drawing of nine tables with a crown over the top right desk. -
"* Treasure hunt *
Dear
Mom
Dad"
-
A drawing at the bottom right of a little girl that was labeled "Me" above, with an arrow pointing at the little girl.
"Treasure hunt, huh?" Y/N licked her lips. "I guess some kid staying here drew this." She let out another chuckle with a shrug. "Sure, I'll look for your treasure." Y/N folded the paper and placed it in her bag before looking around the room for anything.
But there was nothing.
She exited the room, closing it behind her, and tried to open the remaining doors. The last door at the end was a blue metal door that was locked with a passcode, making her hum in confusion as to why a door would be locked with a passcode.
It was labeled "STAFF ONLY," so maybe that was why.
But a passcode?
Y/N walked up the stairs after leaving the hallway. Two main doors. The one on the left was labeled "Rec Room," and the one on the right was labeled "Cafeteria."
Y/N opened the door and realized how this room looked like the drawing.
And if the top right table in the drawing had a crown, then—"The far right," Y/N guessed, walking fast to the far right table at the end of the room and looking around.
She got on her knees, raised the cloth, and noticed a key. Not just a regular key, but a gold key. And a piece of paper lay beside it.
-
"You found the treasure! Congrats!"
-
She smiled and placed the paper in her bag. Maybe it wasn't something she needed to ensure that she wasn't crazy when she told Jane about this trip.
Y/N left the cafeteria while looking at the key.
She went into the nearest hallway, seeing a bigger pair of doors than the other ones. Walking down, she saw the "bar" label beside the door. Y/N attempted to unlock the door.
"Wait, how did a kid get a key to one of the locked rooms?" She couldn't help but question when she paused at the point of removing the key, realizing it wouldn't fit. "Maybe I am crazy."
A quick attempt to unlock all the doors, but nothing.
Y/N went across the building to the hallway further down. No doors would open until the third showed movement.
It was way different than the first hotel room.
Two twin beds at the far right corner, a table the same size as the ones in the cafeteria in the middle with six seats surrounding, and a candlelight. A desk against the left wall.
There is a cabinet in the far left corner with a big mirror dresser beside it. And there was a scrap of paper on top.
-
"It was our special place.
She loved the pretty room with its big mirror.
She would wonder what to wear for dinner.
But now it's just me.
I thought it might help to come here, but it didn't.
There's only emptiness."
-
Y/N frowned, feeling as if this was talking about her. As if it talked about the memories of her and Jeongguk. They didn't have a special place. But her special place was with him, cliché or not.
She shook her head to get out of her head, looking back down at the paper. Something caught her eye.
The rule on this page matches the one from my room. Y/N dug into her bag for the paper from her apartment.
I wonder if he's still here. She chuckled with no humor. So he got dumped. The note at home also mentioned that. And "our special place," he came here with her.
She looked around as if he were there, wondering where he could be.
She placed both pieces of paper back in her bag and made her way to the door. Y/N jumped at the sound of glass cracking, turning quickly to see the mirror broken.
And she isn't going to deal with that.
So she walked out of the room, not looking back. There's no way she's going to investigate that. She isn't that much of an idiot.
Kind of.
Ignoring the fact that she is going out on a whim with a person she barely knows. And that hint is that he is around her age.
Y/N closed the door behind her and continued down the row of doors, none of them open. Many of them were painted over, so she couldn't use the key.
The last door was the same design as the pair of doors of the "bar," and it was labeled "Library."
An attempt with the key and the doors was successful.
A tiny fist bumped into the air, and Y/N entered the library, briefly looking at the note to pass by.
-
"Do you consider yourself kind?
You don't get to decide that.
It's decided in the unconscious.
Even if you believe you are cold-hearted,
you may be warm and emotional inside.
...And they will sniff it out.
They will be lured by your unconscious kindness,
and they will drag you away."
-
Maybe being called to it was not worth it. It was some kind of occult book. Y/N blew a raspberry, "I bet Jane would love this. She's way into this stuff for her age." She looked around the library for more. No other books have caught her attention.
But that seemed to be enough when she heard footsteps running down the hallway on the other side of the door.
Her eyes jerked in the direction of the doors, questioning her sanity if she had heard that or not.
Could it be the previous tenant?
Y/N ran out of the library but saw nothing down the hallway. She frowned but continued her way through the hallway in hopes of seeing a male around her age.
And another set of running feet made her slightly pause in her steps. "Is someone there?" Her voice echoed through the building, but no response.
She hoped she wasn't going insane. Her adventure had just started. Y/N exhaled deeply through her nose and continued her way to go back downstairs and into the hallway to the right, going straight to the second door to unlock it.
The room was small, just like the first one, and she looked around. But there was nothing. Y/N's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. She looked through the cabinets and the closet, but found nothing.
Then she checked the tables and under the beds, and looked deeply in the bathroom, but still nothing. Could there be something on top? That's a smart move.
Good thing she thought about that.
Her mind went straight to the chair and dragged it to the cabinet. There was nothing on top, but she saw a wire cutter on top of the closet. Y/N had to drag the chair in front of the closet to grab it, but she had it.
A wire cutter...
Oh!
There was a wire around the staff room behind the reception desk.
Y/N walked out of the room with the wire cutter in her hands. It wasn't a key, but she was still able to get into a room that might get her closer to the former tenant.
Entering the main room of the hotel, notes from a piano were echoing out.
Was it the former tenant? Y/N smiled big and ran up the stairs.
Okay, there wasn't a piano in the library or the cafeteria. And the bar is locked along with that staff-only metal door. That would only mean the Recording Room.
Y/N opened the door and ran in. "Who's there!"
Her yell may have been a little too much, as a male yelped and turned around at her voice. "I'm sorry," he quickly apologized, his deep voice bouncing off the walls. "I-I just came in and... and the piano looked nice."
Y/N realized her mistake, seeing that her yelling may have seemed like she was a staff member. "Wait, wait," she held her hands out to the man as she walked up to him. "I'm not a staff for the hotel or anything—sorry I yelled at you."
The man kept a distance from Y/N. A suspicious stare stayed in his eyes. "Who are you, then?" he asked.
"I'm Y/N," she introduced herself with a hand on her chest. "I'm sort of... looking for a guy. What about you?"
He didn't answer for a few seconds.
"I'm Taehyung," he finally introduced himself. Y/N will not lie. This Taehyung guy looked very handsome. Very tall, brown eyes, very fluffy black hair. He dressed in a cream sweatshirt tucked into black pants and a long brown coat.
Taehyung looked... soft.
And she wondered why someone besides her would be here. The hotel is abandoned, no?
"Taehyung, then," Y/N bowed her head lightly. "What brings you here? It could be dangerous, you know." It may seem a bit strange for a girl to say that to a guy, but anything could be dangerous for anyone.
"I stayed at this hotel once," Taehyung stated to her. "But I forgot something important, so I came back to get it."
"I see," Y/N hummed, fiddling with her fingers. "Did you find it?"
A sad look on Taehyung's face when he shook his head. "No, I'm still looking," he answered. "It's just this little box decorated with rubies... but I'm not leaving until I find it."
"Right," Y/N removed one hand from the other to cover her mouth as she coughed lightly. "Well, again, sorry shouting. I'll probably be here for a while longer, so I could help you find it."
"Oh, that'd be great," Taehyung showed a small smile that looked a bit like a box. "Please help."
What if his smile was the box? Y/N almost spoke that out loud but reminded herself not to creep the guy. "Just do me a favor, too, though," she requested. "If you see a man about my age, would you tell me?"
Taehyung gave her a weird look but nodded nonetheless. "I'll be going, then," he said, moving his body from the piano. "Uh, Y/N, you be careful too."
He walked around her and left the room.
Y/N breathed out, which turned into a light chuckle of disbelief.
"What am I doing yelling at people," she scolded herself lightly, placing her hand on her forehead. "I feel like the shady one here." She shook her head and tried to get herself up.
She walked out of the room and looked around to see where Taehyung might be.
But he was nowhere to be seen.
Did he get to a room so quickly? Either way, it wasn't her business.
Y/N quickly went down the stairs to head to the door with the wire. After a few tries of messing up, the wire was fortunately cut to let her in. And, well, it looked like a standard staff room.
The only odd thing is that the door next to the bookcase was missing its doorknob. A small red book was laid on the table in the middle of the room, so that could be another odd thing.
But there was a key on top.
And in the book, there was information on how the bathroom door in room 106 needed fixing. Y/N looked back at the door with no knob, and that concluded that her next place to go was the room.
Before she left, she looked at the board hanging next to the door. She wanted to explore more of the room before she went to 106. It wasn't much information for her to know.
The only thing that stayed in her head was the main note pinned at the front.
-
"Four chapters of the book have mysteriously gone missing.
Should you find the pages, please report to the owner."
-
Y/N nodded to herself to keep the information in her head, but she flinched with a light jump at the sound of crying on the other side of the door. "Is someone in there?!"
Her eyes widened, and she placed her ear against it to make sure she heard it right.
And she was.
She looked to see the label "Owner's Room," which made her wonder if this was the owner. "Uh... don't worry! I'll find some way to open the door and get you out!"
She ran out of the staff with the key to 106 in hand. Running down the left hallway, she unlocked the door to room 106.
If it were mentioned as a door repair, hopefully, it would be useful.
Fortunately, it was when she opened the door to the bathroom that she saw a doorknob on the ground in front of a door to, most likely, the bath.
What luck this is, as it looked like the same kind as the other door without a knob. Y/N ran back to the staff room and didn't take her time to enter the knob into the door.
Entering, the crying had stopped. And it looked like a normal office. Y/N wanted to call out, but there was no one. And she could see almost everything. Investigating everything, she saw another board.
-
"Book of the Month:
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde"
-
"Congratulations, but what about the—" In the corner of her eye, she noticed a loose tile on the floor next to the trash can. "Owner."
She stalked up to it and placed one foot on top of it.
Nothing happened when she placed her weight on the tile. Y/N stomped on the tile, and she let out a small scream when she heard metal flying. Holding herself as a reaction, she took a deep breath of relief to discover that the metal door against the far wall had opened.
"Just some mechanism in the floor." Speaking the statement out loud, she felt calm again and went down the ladder.
So dark. She complained to herself and felt for the lighter in her bag.
Lighting it up, she saw as much as she could and moved it around for her surroundings. Boxes, cabinets of unused items, drums of gasoline, and random chairs. Definitely a storage room.
Going around, she heard a groan.
Turning, she saw a man's figure against the wall.
Was this the owner?
"Hey, are you okay?!" she asked, tilting her head. "Were you locked in here?" but the figure only ground. "Wh-what? Are you... okay?" She brought her lighter toward the figure, and the color in her cheeks left.
Bones were cracking with movement, and Y/N realized there was blood covering this man. But that wasn't what made her feel sick.
This man had a long, crooked neck, his head was hanging, his black hair was falling, and his eyes were cut out and blacked out. It was as if he hung himself and came back to life.
He was like... a Crooked Man.
Y/N gulped down the vomit that was trying to come up. She let out a yell when Crooked Man took a step toward her.
"S-Stay back!" she warned. "Don't come near me." But he didn't listen. He took another step and blasted into a full run. Y/N ran off, becoming the chase. She climbed up the ladder, but her right ankle was grabbed.
"Let go!" she pleaded, tears forming, and she shook him off. "Let go!" She kept shaking her leg and trying to get Crooked Man away, kicking his limp and bumpy neck. Y/N was shaking and kicking wildly, and the monster cried out when she finally kicked him away.
She didn't look back and kept climbing up.
Finally out, Y/N closed the door and leaned on it. A few seconds later, there was a pounding that made Y/N's body bounce from the impact, but it slowly died down. She panted and shook in fear.
His neck was... all crooked. Was he even a human?
She immediately registered the figure as male, but from what she saw, it was most likely an "it" after the incident.
Everything is proving that I'm going crazy—that thing—it couldn't've been real. She groaned and rubbed the temple of her head. I'm just seeing things. I'm just tired, and I feel sick.
Taehyung.
At the thought of the new acquaintance she had made, Y/N stood up and walked out of the room.
"I... should at least check what he's up to," she muttered to herself. She would make herself feel better to know that he's okay. "Hopefully, he found what he came for." Even if this were just her imagination, it'd be best if he left soon.
Y/N kept telling herself it was in her head, but she couldn't get rid of the feeling of its rough skin on her ankle, despite it being covered by her jeans. It was as if its touch melted through her jeans and came in contact with her skin.
She looked around the first floor, but there was no sign of Taehyung. It was clawing at her stomach that the monster had found Taehyung.
No, no, no, she reminded herself that it was her imagination.
Going up the stairs, Taehyung wasn't in the recording room or the cafeteria. So that left it with the two upstairs hallways. Y/N ruffled her hair to keep herself sane, but she stumbled with the hotel shaking and a screech following after.
Taehyung? Y/N ran into the left hallway and went into the hotel room she was in near the beginning, pausing at sight.
Taehyung was at the large window, and the ground caved around him, and the floor underneath was about to break under his weight.
"Taehyung!" she called out, running around the table in the middle to him. "What happened?!"
"I-I went to the window, and the floor gave away," Taehyung stuttered out, trying to stay still as stone. "What—what should I do?"
Y/N gulped, knowing the possibility of the risk. But it was the only option. "Taehyung, jump over," she tried to speak calmly, her arms spread wide. "It's dangerous over there."
Taehyung shook his head, trying to keep his feet from slipping off. "N-No, I can't," he was too scared to jump. "I'm slipping!" he was moving too much despite trying to stay still as a stone. "And I can't possibly jump that far! A gap this big—"
"This is no time for pessimism!" Y/N cuts him off in urgency, shaking her hands. "It's going to crumble soon! Hurry, I'll catch you." Her arms were out, and Taehyung didn't have to be told for a third time.
He jumped into Y/N's arms, causing the two to fall back.
Y/N cushioned Taehyung's impact as her head and upper back hit the table behind her. She moaned slightly in pain after grunting.
"Way too close. That was—are you okay, Taehyung? Hurt?" She had to cut herself off when reminding herself that it wasn't just her. But he didn't say anything. "Taehyung?"
"Scared," his deep voice came out, slightly breaking. "I was... scared." he held onto Y/N, slowly cuddling into her. "No more. I don't like the dark." he was slowly going into stutters, not able to create words with his shoulders shaking and warm tears forming and dropping onto Y/N's turtleneck when he brought his face into the crook of her neck.
Y/N hesitated but raised a hand to lay across Taehyung's fluffy locks. "It's okay, Taehyung," she murmured. "I'm sorry, I know you were scared... but it's fine now. Please don't cry."
That must've gotten Taehyung to realize their position, and he removed himself from her. The two were now sitting across from each other on the floor. "Sorry," he apologized. "I was... scared and confused."
"It's alright," Y/N assured with a light chuckle. "I'm glad you're not hurt." She rolled her shoulders back to get the pain away. But as she did so, she remembered something. "Did you find what you were looking for?"
"No, not yet," Taehyung answered. "It wasn't in the room we stayed in." her brought his hands up to his face and let out a slight groan. "I wonder where it could be."
Her eyes lingered on him a little bit. "It must be important if you came all by yourself," she commented. "You could always just give up on it. It's not entirely safe here."
"I can't give up on it!" Taehyung yelled, making Y/N flinch slightly. "I have to find it."
Maybe it wasn't the best thing to say. And Y/N didn't know if she should mention what had happened earlier. "What exactly is it?" But if what she saw wasn't her imagination, still trying to tell herself it was, then maybe Taehyung shouldn't be here. "Sorry to ask, but I've been wondering, was it a present, or?"Taehyung stared at Y/N for a little longer but looked away.
Taehyung stared at Y/N for a little longer but looked away. "It's a present from my girlfriend," he muttered. "It's the most important thing to me, after my own life. . ."
"I see," Y/N gave Taehyung a look of sympathy. "Sorry if I was rude. I'll keep looking for it too."
He didn't say anything in response, but he did look back at her. "You're looking for someone, right?" he asked. "I haven't met anyone yet, but can you tell me more about them?"
"Er, well," Y/N grimaced lightly when he mentioned it. "I don't know that much either. Just that he's a man about my age."
"Huh?" Taehyung blinked a few times. "You know that little about the person you're looking for?" Y/N gave him a crooked smile, unsure of what to do now that he knew the only details. "You're a strange girl, Y/N."
"I-I'm not," Y/N weakly defended herself, but he had a point. "There are just some things I want to ask, and I don't know how he looks because, um—"
"Strange, but very kind," Taehyung cut her off with a warm smile. "I would've been hurt badly if you weren't here. I'm grateful to you for saving me." he stood up from his spot, holding his hand out to Y/N.
It took her a moment to realize what he was doing, and she grabbed it.
The two stayed in their spots until Taehyung let go of her. "I should get going. Take care, Y/N," he nodded at her and walked off. "I'll see you!"
And he was gone.
Y/N didn't like how this had happened a bit after what she had gone through in the basement. And that's where she had gone first. Opening the door and into the owner's room.
And like that, she felt fear.
"The basement door's open," she whispered to herself, slowly walking around. Y/N looked down, but it was dark.
Every fiber in her body was telling her not to go down. But she still went down. Her curiosity was too much to ignore. Her lighter was quickly fished out so she could look around for the monster.
There was no monster.
Only a key was in its place.
She left after there was nothing, and she closed the door. Hopefully, there will be nothing else for her to go back to. Looking down at the item in her hand. It was a bronze key labeled "bar."
Y/N calmed herself down before leaving and heading up to the bar. The key fit the lock, and she entered the room. Not much to expect from a bar. Tables with abandoned bottles of beer.
And one table had a book. The closer she got, the more it looked like a journal. The handwriting was sloppy, and it looked as if whoever wrote this was rambling on.
Y/N read the last page.
-
"A toast to our owner, who left his employees
and fled into the night! We'll drink all the beer we've got—
hell, it's the only good thing here!
Being out of a job's no good,
but at least we don't have to see his mug anymore!
We were SO sick of that egghead always trying
to flaunt his intelligence!
Installing weird stuff for the basement door,
having a number lock on the food storage. . .
All his silly crap made the place impossible to run!
Plus, the passcode was this thing with a book
which he changed up every month!
What the hell do you do if you forget?!
Maybe it 's good for him, but sure as hell, not us!
Ah, whatever!
Once we're done with the booze, we're out of here!
A toast to our bright futures!"
-
Y/N leaned on the table with a bite of her lip. "Passcode," she was beginning to think of the doors. "The door is at the far end of the first floor, right? A passcode on food is pretty absurd." she pushed herself off the table and looked around more. Still, there was nothing off. Every bottle was empty except for these two giant wine bottles, which were full but open.
Very brandy. It has a lot of alcohol in it.
"I might catch on fire if I drank both." She did have her lighter, after all.
But that made her think.
The passcode was related to a book that the owner changes every month. And that made her think of the books she had thought of when in the staff room and owner's room before going down to the basement.
The Strange Case, wasn't it? Y/N made her way to the other side and went into the library.
Her fingers gleamed across the spines of the books in a hurry to find that one book. She slowed down when in the "S" titles. And she found it. Pulling the book out, she had to think about what the passcode would be.
The chapters?
Y/N remembered reading how four chapters were ripped out of a book and reporting it to the owner. Is it possibly this book? Skipping through, she noticed missing chapters, as the board had mentioned.
3, 6, 7, 9
Okay, that has to be the code.
If this is the same book both journal and board had mentioned, then this has to be the passcode. Y/N nodded to herself and put the book back. hallway.
But she froze at the sound of a growl.
Her eyes stayed staring ahead, and she gulped in fear.
No, no, no. It can't be. It was her imagination. It had to be her imagination. 't real.
But it was.
The same figure walked into her vision, showing itself at the door of the hallway. "The monster... did it really—" Y/N cut herself off as it had its upside-down smile widen at the sight of her.
She gulped and took a step back. As far into the hallway, she was next to the room where she had saved Taehyung, and the library was behind her. It slowly stalked up to her.
It's coming this way... I gotta escape. Y/N ran into the room, and the first thing in sight was the candle, and she grabbed it.
Even if she closed the door behind her, it was opened up seconds after. Running around the table, she tripped on the leg of a chair, almost falling into the hole.
Y/N looked at the hole, wondering what would've happened if she had fallen. What would've happened if it fell through? The monster was coming up to her. It reached out for her, and Y/N slammed the candle into the monster's side.
Not much impact, but it did stumble, giving her time to raise her arms, slam them both into its side, and push it into the hole.
The yell echoed in the hole, and Y/N dropped the candle for her fingers to rake through her locks.
"What is that monster?" Her breath was staggering as everything poured into her mind. "What—what I saw earlier." She brought herself up to her feet, telling herself to calm down. "To think that thing actually exists."
Y/N turned to look at the hole.
"But still, there's no way it's coming back from that fall. And the room under here's locked tight." She realized the best opportunity she had with Taehyung. She groaned to herself. "I should warn Taehyung when I see him. I knew it would be dangerous for him."
It wasn't the time to scold herself and hit her forehead. She had to get to the food storage.
Y/N walked out of the room and down the hallway. It was hard to get the image of the monster out of her head in the light. Somehow, it was more creepy in the light than in the dark.
Push it to the side.
After another deep breath, Y/N was already in front of the metal door. Her eyes blinked a few times to realize where she was.
3, 6, 7, 9
The door unlocked, and Y/N entered. Well, it looked like a food pantry—nothing interesting in this room besides a knife on the countertop in the corner with a sink.
Something shone in her eyes, and she looked in the area to notice something was on top of the boxes.
Y/N turned to see a ladder next to the door. She probably wouldn't've been noticed if she didn't swoop around.
She brought the ladder to the stack of boxes and climbed up. It was a key, and it was for room 209.
Another room to unlock.
"How many rooms do I have to unlock?" Y/N asked herself with no humor, going down the ladder. Her way to the room was normal. No growls or yells. And the room was normal when entering it. All, except for burnt paper, were near the two beds.
No, it wasn't paper when Y/N walked up to it and kneeled down. "Was this a photo?" She picked up the burnt pieces but couldn't figure out what the photo was.
But there was something under the pieces—a scrap from a notebook.
-
"I don't need her memory anymore.
Because I know she won't come back.
I have to erase everything, good and bad.
And all the memories inside of me, too."
-
A ringing in her head began to play, and Y/N dropped the scrap and burnt pieces of the photo to bring them up to the temples of her head. She was shaking in pain, trying to get rid of it.
A few seconds, and it began to ease up.
But tiredness was taking over.
"Sheesh, I'm exhausted," Y/N spoke, getting to her feet after picking up the scrap and burnt pieces. "So he burnt this photo to mend his broken heart, huh?" She chuckled at the fact that this previous tenant could do this. "I know I couldn't do that. I'll never forget. Never." T
he memories of her and Jungkook taking so many pictures played through her mind. "According to Jungkook, that makes me a pansy."
The sound of a door creaking made Y/N turn around and see Taehyung at the door. "Oh, there you are, Y/N!" he smiled with a greeting, walking up to her.
Y/N smiled back lightly. "Did you find the box?" she asked.
"No, I can't find it," Taehyung's smile turned sad. "There are a lot of rooms I can't get into, so it might be in one of those," he said, staying silent as he took in the details of Y/N's face. And his smile fell with concern. "What's wrong, Y/N? You look kind of pale."
"Oh, it's nothing," Y/N tilted the pieces of photo and scrap of paper, so Taehyung didn't notice. "But Taehyung, you should really leave soon." She took a deep breath.
"You may not believe me, but there's some kind of bizarre monster around. I found it in the basement," It was a reminder to herself, and the feeling of the monster's hand on her ankle came back. "I was attacked by it earlier. You'd definitely be in danger too, so I think you should go."
Silence endures them both. It was hard to figure out what expression was on Taehyung's face. "Look, I don't like the dark, scary places either," he spoke, making Y/N flinch. "But there's no need to tease me like that. I'm not a kid afraid of the Boogie Man, okay?"
He didn't believe her.
"Sorry," she apologized. "But I'm not trying to tease you! I'm telling the truth!"
Taehyung let out a laugh before Y/N could ramble on about how she was not lying. "Don't worry, I'm not mad," he assured. "You don't seem like a dishonest guy, so I'd like to believe you, but a monster?"
He placed a hand on her shoulder. "Maybe you mistook something in the dark? You could be susceptible to seeing things when you wander around in the dark like this."
"I'd like to think you're right," she admits. "All right, if you insist." Even if she admitted it, she pushed his hand off her shoulder. "But be careful, okay?"
"I know," Taehyung smiled at her. "Well, I'll go looking elsewhere." He waved goodbye to her.
Y/N waited a little longer to follow Taehyung out. She put the pieces of the photo and a scrap of paper into her cross-body bag. While she went down the hallway, a crash made her stop in her mid-step and look at the doors of the bar.
Did Taehyung stop by the bar and drop something off? Y/N walked into the bar, but Taehyung wasn't there.
There was writing on the far end when she looked around for what had caused the crash. She went down on her knees to lean down to read the smears.
Was this here before? Y/N didn't even want to know if this was written in blood from how red this was.
-
Leave me
alone
Please leave
me alone
Come to me
I'm waiting
for you
-
Sounds pretty inconsistent. Y/N commented in her head. Taehyung couldn't have written that. So who could've?
As if her thoughts were a cue, a growl made Y/N jump to her feet and turn around at the sight of the monster opening the doors with its arms widened out. "W-Why?" She stuttered out with a whine. "I dropped you down a pit!"
Y/N slowly walked to the table on her left, grabbing the wine bottle for protection. It walked up to her. They stared at each other, wondering what the first action would be.
The monster ran around the table, and Y/N moved to the side for it to run forward.
It almost ran into a chair, but it turned again for her. The hand reached out for her and grabbed her arm. Y/N slammed the bottle on the monster's arm to bring it to the ground.
But its grasp on her brought her down with it. The monster was on the bottom, and her on top. Y/N was trying her best to get off the monster, but it kept its grasp. An attempt to bring her down as its mouth was wide open. Sharp teeth were shown, blood staining its mouth.
She had attempted to drag her arms away, but it was dragging her close to its face. It was covered in wine, drenching her in the process.
Y/N got a bit on her, but with her straddling the monster and being pulled with her body against it, she might as well have been the one to have gotten hit.
Her right arm was favored for being closer to the monster's mouth. Which meant it let go of her left arm so it could have both hands on her right arm. Y/N grunted, trying to pull her arm back and her free hand, holding his, to let go.
Come on, think! She was telling herself, but it was hard to think. Covered in wine with flammable alcohol—
The wine.
She did have a lighter in her bag. But it was a possibility that the fire could spread to her, as she was drenched in the wine. What choice did she have? Y/N licked her lips and let go of the arm.
The struggle became harder when she let go and dug her free hand into her bag. Her arm was brought closer and close to the mouth of the monster.
With the advantage, the monster brought its sharp teeth into her arm. Y/N yelled in pain but tried to focus on fishing for the lighter. It was like the monster was chewing on her arm as if it were food.
She had to turn down all her instincts to remove her arm right at the point of feeling the lighter in her hand.
Y/N grabbed the lighter and ignited the light. It was breathed onto the monster, and the fire roared loudly. Roaming to every bit of the monster. And her arm was let go, for the monster to yell in pain.
It pushed Y/N off of it before getting to its feet and running out with cries of pain. The fire had extended to Y/N, but she was able to put it down.
A breath of relief left her, but the pain in her arm wasn't being nice.
She looked at her arm to see holes in the sleeve of the hoodie. Well, that's unfortunate. "I should be glad that he ran away," she told herself as a reminder, getting up from the ground. "What the hell is that thing? Why is it changing me?"
So many questions were going through her head that she didn't know what was real. "How did it survive before?"
That was a good question.
She locked it in the basement. It somehow got out. She pushed it down a hole on the first floor that was locked, and it still managed to get out.
"I might need something to defend myself, even just a knife could help. Was there one of those around?" Thinking deeply, she now remembered.
There was a fruit knife in the kitchen.
Her mind wasn't on the bite as she went straight to the kitchen. And there it was. She told herself to take it and that it was just for self-defense. Her life felt a bit safer now that she had a weapon.
Y/N placed the fruit knife in her hoodie pocket and left the kitchen.
A smell of something iron hit her nose, and she looked to her left. "Blood?" There was a trail of blood ahead, a path out of the hallway. "This wasn't here earlier."
Did something happen to Taehyung?
With that thought in mind, Y/N began to worry about the other person in this hotel. She followed the trail of blood to the right hallway of the hotel and saw it leading into a room.
Wasn't it locked before? How is it unlocked now?
Y/N opened the door to see Taehyung's back facing her. He was sitting on a bed and looking at his arm.
Was he hurt? Did he get hurt when the monster ran away?
She jogged up to Taehyung, and with the sound of her feet, she got Taehyung's attention.
"Taehyung, what are you doing here?" she looked right at the arm he was looking at before she came in. "Your arm's bleeding. So it was your blood. Were you hurt?"
Taehyung was quiet. He was looking as if he were piecing together what to say in his mind. "My arm caught on something," he finally said. "It's not that big of a deal. Don't worry about it."
"It's bleeding a lot, though," Y/N commented, trying to push more into it. "And you've been resting here, right? What if you get anemia?"
"I'm just a little tired," Taehyung avoided the questions. Y/N easily caught it, but he probably didn't want to talk about it. "I've been walking around a lot. Really, don't worry."
And she'll respect that.
Still, he was bleeding, and Y/N did have something in her bag.
"Give me your hand, Taehyung," she gently instructed. Getting down on one knee, Y/N took off her bag and backpack.
She dug through her backpack for the first-aid kit she had stored at home. It was unfortunate she had to use it.
There was no plan for her to get hurt and chased by a strange monster covered in blood and inhumanly sharp teeth that used to bite her arm.
But here she is, in that predicament. Y/N looked through her kit to see the low supply of bandages—and her lucky handkerchief. Well, it could be used for her arm. If she were to use the bandage, there wouldn't be any left for her wound.
A handkerchief wouldn't be much useful... but she didn't want to be selfish.
"Here, I have a bit of bandage left—"
"That's okay. You can use the handkerchief," Taehyung spoke over her, looking at the first-aid kit.
Y/N wanted to argue that he might need it more, but he insisted. Also, why was her handkerchief there?
Maybe it really was a lucky handkerchief.
"I guess this is better than nothing," she muttered, but loud enough for Taehyung to hear. Y/N grabbed Taehyung's hand and cleaned his wrist before wrapping the handkerchief around it. An easy fix, as he had already taken off his coat, and his sleeve was rolled up. "Doesn't hurt?"
"It's fine," Taehyung attempted a smile. "Thank you. You're so kind, Y/N."
Again, Y/N had noticed it. Maybe she should comment on it. "You don't seem so well," she let out after thinking. "Did something happen?"
"It's nothing," Taehyung tried again for a smile. "I've just been so silly."
"Silly?"
"It's silly that I'm wandering this dark place all alone, falling in holes, cutting my arm, all to find some measly box," he let out. Y/N widened her eyes for a second before letting go of his hand.
"Measly?" Y/N repeated again. "But it's important, right? A memento from your girlfriend?" He looked at his wrapped arm before looking into Y/N's eyes.
"Well, she's my ex, to be exact," he corrected. Y/N let out a sound of slight shock. "She left me quite a while ago, but while we were dating, this hotel was our special place. That was when I lost the box. I've been worried abotu it ever since, but I only just worked up the courage to come look. I thought I could forget everything about her, but it was no good. Coming here just brought back all these memories."
"Why did you break up?" Y/N asked. It may've been a sensitive question, but she was curious.
"I don't know," Taehyung shrugged. "Maybe that's why I won't give up. She said she appreciated my kindness, but when we broke up, she said it was 'all I had.' And she was exactly right, so I couldn't reply." his arm dropped to the bed, eyes turning into a sad emotion.
So melancholy.
"I really am a wimp. No wonder she'd break up with me. Even I'd hate a guy like me," he looked back up at Y/N and cleared his throat at the realization of her being there. "Sorry, I know I'm just annoying you. I'll rest her a while longer. I'm a little dizzy."
He made a third attempt at a smile, and, fortunately, the ends of his lips twitched up the slightest bit. "Thanks for your help, Y/N. Oh, and here," he reached his good hand into his coat and brought something in front of Y/N. "I found this. I'm not sure where it goes, though."
"Thanks," Y/N wasn't able to say anything. She felt like she was in Taehyung's shoes when he spoke the short story of how he and his girlfriend broke up. "Uh, don't strain yourself, okay?"
"Be careful," Taehyung called out, watching her clean up the first aid kit. "It's dark. And make sure to wrap up your arm."
Y/N looked at Taehyung and at her arm. She guessed it was noticeable that she was hurt with these bite marks on her hoodie. "Thanks, I will," she nodded. "I'll look for your treasure, too."
She stood up and paused when hearing Taehyung let out a slight chuckle. "You sure are nice, Y/N," he complimented again. "You might be growing on me." Y/N's cheeks had a light red brushing against it.
A forced chuckle came out of her, not knowing how to react. "I don't know if such a wonderful guy would suit a loser like me, sorry," she denied the compliment.
Taehyung wasn't able to say anything as Y/N ran out of the room. Her heart was racing, and she leaned against the door. But it didn't last long, as memories were flooding in.
-
"Why are you always like this?"
Kuu looked up from the table and at her fiancé. "Like—Like what?"
"You're always such a yes-woman. Just go with the flow," he continued. "Do you even have a personality?" he let out a sigh and sat across from Y/N, leaning his hand on the table.
"I don't mean to," she spoke quietly, trying to read his facial features. "I mean, I try to think for myself."
"I don't see it that way," he spoke honestly, still not looking into Y/N's eyes. As if he were hiding from her. "You're not kind. You're just indecisive. You'd treat anyone else the same way, right? That's why I can't trust you."
Her heart was breaking more with every word he spoke. "Look, please, just listen," she was ready to get down on her knees and beg. "I'm always thinking of you, I promise. Please. If I'm a pain, then I'm sorry." Her hands went together and intertwined.
His head jerked up, finally looking into Y/N's eyes. Hand toward her as if motioning to her body. "There you go again," he almost raised his voice, but kept it balanced. "Thinking you can just apologize and everything will be fine. You don't understand a word I'm saying."
"Then what should I do?" Y/N asked. "You just don't trust me, is that it?!"
They kept eye contact, but he let go first by hanging his head.
"Maybe it's hopeless for us," he whispered. "I hate for it to end this way, but I think we would both be worse off staying together any longer." He stood up and went to the front door. Why did the front door have to be right there? "Thanks for everything, Y/N." his hand was on the doorknob, and he opened it without hesitation. "Goodbye."
Y/N got up from her seat and ran for him. "W-Wait! We can talk this out!" she begged, but he closed the door before she could chase after him. A sob left her, and she fell to her knees. "Jeongguk!"
-
"Kindness is all you have," Y/N repeated Taehyung's words, leaning against the door. "Taehyung and I are the same like that. Timidly refusing to forget. The moment I realized he didn't love me, I felt like I was nothing but worthless. I wonder if Taehyung felt that way, too?"
She let out a sigh and looked at the key in her hand. "I think this key goes to the door by the receptionist desk. The only locked door I can remember."
Y/N walked out of the hallway and placed the first aid kit on the desk. She rolled up her two sleeves to see the bite. It somehow didn't hurt anymore. It did when he ran away.
But talking with Taehyung and the memory of Jeongguk made her forget about it. It just stung now. Y/N cleaned the bite marks and blood and wrapped the bandage around it.
Note to self: get more supplies. She mentally noted this, then closed the kit and put it in her backpack.
Once she had everything and her backpack on, Y/N walked around the desk and inserted the key into the doorknob. It was at the back of the hotel. The night sky and gentle wind were something she needed.
She took a deep breath of the fresh air and let out a light smile.
Such fresh air.
Y/N closed the door behind her and walked to the fountain in the middle with benches around it.
Something shining caught her eye when walking around the fountain.
Her eyes blinked a few times before realizing it was a brown box in the clear water. "A box?" she questioned. However, it didn't take long to put two to two together. "Maybe this is the one Taehyung lost."
She shivered lightly when her hands entered the cold water. Inspecting it, Y/N noticed the details. "It has to be. It's decorated with rubies. Did someone throw it away or what?"
It didn't matter. She had Taehyung's box.
She ran into the hotel and ran fast to the hotel room, but Taehyung wasn't there. "Did Taehyung leave already? But he's wounded," she spoke her question out loud, putting the box into her backpack with a quick slide off one shoulder.
And that's when she heard the same yell as before.
"Taehyung?!" Running out, she looked through every door that was open, and she finally got into the recording room to see the monster stalking up to Taehyung. "Taehyung!"
Taehyung was slowly walking backward till his body hit the wall. "No," he was shaking in fear. "Stay away!"
Y/N ran around the monster and stayed in front of Taehyung. "Stop right there!" She held her arm out to the monster. "Back off, monster!"
"Y/N?" Taehyung looked at Y/N in surprise.
The monster only had its smile and growled in response. "Damnit," Y/N cursed under her breath, her hand moving slowly into her hoodie pocket. "Taehyung, get out of the hotel."
Taehyung tried to call out to her, but Y/N talked over him.
"I said run away—I'll take care of this," She brought out the fruit knife. "Hey, monster!" she pointed to the monster with the fruit knife. "I don't know what the hell you are, but don't you lay a finger on Taehyung!"
Taehyuung gulped and ran around the two with an easy exit from the room. It wasn't surprising that the monster didn't leave to chase Taehyung. It was after Y/N, for some odd reason.
Y/N took a deep breath and tried to swing at the monster, but it dodged. She swung her bad arm behind her to hit it away with a kick. It hissed out at her, trying to grab her.
Keep him away. Just try to get a stab. She told herself mentally, backing into the couch when the monster tried to swing at her.
Y/N looked back at the table and grabbed a flowerpot with fake flowers, and threw it at the monster.
She watched the monster run into the piano, the pieces of the flowerpot sticking into its body. It went after her again, but she went towards it as well.
The fruit knife stuck into the monster's shoulder, causing it to yell at her. She pushed her body against the monster, ripping the knife out of its shoulder. And she kicked it into the piano, ran after it, and raised the knife high. Slamming it down into the back of the monster, hearing the loud cries of pain.
Y/N didn't want to give it any chance of getting away from her.
It was swinging back to elbow her off. But she brought the blade with her to stab more into him again.
And again and again.
She kept him from struggling and getting him down to the ground. Y/N straddled the monster's back, trying her best to stay on, and stabbed again.
Going and going until the blade of the fruit knife broke apart. It wasn't as if she was doing it so many times.
She really only thrust the fruit knife a few times.
Though that is probably what a psychopath would say.
But the monster wasn't moving. Y/N raised her arms lightly to make sure she wasn't moving the monster. She stayed still for a few minutes before getting off the monster.
Y/N didn't want her eyes to leave the monster. If it escaped locked rooms, she was scared it would come back. So did the thought of her killing this thing. But she'd rather do that than have it come back and terrorize her and Taehyung.
Taehyung.
He was probably worried. Y/N walked backward till she hit the doorknob. It still wasn't moving. Maybe that was a sign. She got out of the room and ran down the stairs, bursting through the front doors.
Maybe a little too rough as she stumbled down the steps. Luckily, she caught her balance.
"Y/N!" Taehyung's voice called out. "Y/N, are you okay?!"
Y/N huffed out a breath, catching it from the run.
"Yeah, I don't think it'll chase us anymore," she assured, turning around to look at Taehyung. He was on top of the staircase. Y/N wondered if she hit him with the doors when passing through. "I'm fine. I'm not hurt." She gave him a tired smile. "But never mind me, are you okay?"
"I'm fine. I'm not hurt," Taehyung responded quietly. "But."
After a few moments, Taehyung fell to the steps. His eyes were leaking tears, raising one hand to try and wipe them away. "Taehyung! What's wrong—are you not feeling well?!"
"Why? Why did this happen?" he whispered. "Why did I have to go through this? Why did that monster attack me?" he was digging himself into his arms. "I just didn't want to forget her. I just wanted to have my memory of her, at least!"
Taehyung's body was shaking with the sobs passing through. "Is it because I'm such a wimp? Is that why this happened? Can I—can I not even love her?!" his head was shaking. "No, I hate it. Someone. Somebody, help."
"Taehyung," Y/N weakly called out to him. Memories flooded them that had only happened tonight.
She wanted to tell him not to cry, but was that something he needed to hear?
"What's wrong with being a wimp?" This would have to be a start. That had caught Taehyung's attention, his head moving up from his hands. "You may feel like a sissy for not being able to forget him, but is that such a bad thing?"
Her chest rose and fell deeply. "You know, I was dumped a few months ago, too. I was sure we were going to get married."
"You too?"
Y/N gave him a crooked smile.
"I was dejected," she told him before looking down at her hands. "Even now, it still pains me. I don't think I can truly forget it. I've always hated how I was such a coward. I'm a miserable excuse for a woman, especially in romance."
Her fingers fiddled with each other.
"I couldn't even be happy when my best friend got married. And it made me hate myself more and more," Y/N looked back at Taehyung. "But looking at you, I've come to think, maybe it's not bad to keep thinking of someone? In fact, maybe it's a wonderful thing. I decided I wouldn't give up, either. And it's thanks to you, Taehyung. Thank you."
"Y/N," Taehyung called out her name.
She walked up to him, grabbing the box out of her bag. "This is your treasure, right?" she asked, relieved to see that it was not damaged midst of her fight with the battle.
"It's a pretty fancy box. It'd be a shame to throw it away," She placed it in Taehyung's hands when he held them out. "Take good care of it, okay? I'm sure the one you love will understand. And I know I'll always support you."
He brought the box close to his chest and hugged it dearly.
"Thank you, Y/N," he bowed his head to her. "I... I'll try a little harder. I hope things go well with you, too." Taehyung moved the box around, and his eyes turned to confusion. "Hey, Y/N. Did the box come with a key?"
"A key?" Y/N repeated in confusion with him. "No, I didn't see one."
"Strange. The box needs a key to open, so... though I didn't lock it,"
"A key," she repeated to herself. An idea hit her head. "Wait, hold on." She dug into her bag for the key she found in the crack in her room. "Maybe this brass key." She then laughed at herself for her stupidity. "Nah, of course not—"
"Yes, that's the one!" Taehyung exclaimed with glee, grabbing the key from Y/N's hand. "Where did you find it?"
Y/N was shocked, not knowing how to form words. "Wha—r-really?" She looked at the key and the box, and then repeated to herself before answering Taehyung's question. "Er, I picked it up around here." It was best to lie.
A key from my house opens Taehyung's box, so the former tenant is involved with the box? What does that mean?
"I wonder why it's locked," Taehyung hummed. "Let's open it!" he inserted the key into the lock, and he raised the lid. "Oh? There's a piece of paper."
That caught Y/N's attention really fast. "That's—Taehyung, can I look at that?" she asked quickly. Taehyung nodded and handed it to her. Y/N grabbed the other scraps of paper to compare. "I thought so. It matches with the notebook pages... which means he—"
"I don't get it, but I guess the guy you're looking for put this paper in here?" Taehyung guessed, making Y/N look up at Taehyung.
She looked back down at the papers. "Yeah," she agreed. "He wasn't here, so I'll check there next."
"Okay," Taehyung hesitated in his word. "Be careful."
Y/N nodded at him, placing the papers in her bag beside the one from the box while walking toward her car.
She heard footsteps behind her. As if he were staying near her to be safe.
"I'll escort you home, Taehyung," She turned around, seeing him flinch. "It's dark out, after all."
He stared at her for a few seconds before clearing his throat.
"I'll be all right," he assured. Somehow, his voice had gotten a bit deeper and more confident. Was he trying to tell her he wasn't scared? "Thanks, though, Y/N." he looked behind her and took a breath.
"Well." Y/N chuckled lightly and moved out of the way for Taehyung.
He walked down the path but stopped.
Y/N was about to call out to him, but he turned and walked up to her.
Taehyung gently cupped Y/N's face and placed his lips on her cheek. "I'm really thankful, Y/N," he said, separating from her yet staying close. "Let's see each other again sometime!"
"Oh, uh, sure!" Y/N agreed, giving him another crooked smile. He waved her goodbye and walked away. "That surprised me." Y/N let out a chuckle, blushing madly.
"But he seems happier now. That's good. I feel a little more relaxed myself," She looked down at the paper to read it. "Lingering Scent of Dreams. And is this an address? Maybe that's where he is now."
She licked her lips, deciding if it was worth it or not, but it was an obvious answer. "I'll go check it out. I've come this far."
Y/N opened her eyes slowly at the sound of a phone ringing.
Was that my phone? She looked to her right to see her phone in the passenger seat.
Her hand reached to the other side, not looking, with her head lying back. The phone was in front of her face, wincing slightly at the brightness hitting her eyes.
It was Jeongguk. He called me again. What could he want this late? She looked at the top of the screen to see the time—almost midnight. I really fell asleep for a long time.
It took her a day to get to this hospital, and she decided to take a quick nap before heading in. But it looked like the nap turned into a five-hour sleep. She let out a sigh, turning off her phone.
Y/N didn't want to use her phone much, never using it in the first place, but she didn't want it to die. Despite having a charger, it was useless if none of the places she was going to had electricity.
"Maybe he'll call again tomorrow," she spoke out loud, putting her phone in her jean pocket. "I need to get going." She reached for her backpack and cross-body bag at the back of the car.
She exited her vehicle, put on her two bags, and looked up at the building. "A hospital," she hummed, walking to the door. "Must be abandoned, or else it's got terrible upkeep." Y/N was able to get in with ease through the front door. "What's with him and these creepy places."
The place was very rundown, so hopefully, it was abandoned. It looked like it was.
The lights were out, and nobody was there. Very abandoned to her. Y/N looked to the right and saw a reception desk. She walked up to it and saw a pile of maps, grabbing one for future reference.
There was an elevator to her right, in the corner, but she couldn't get it to work, and the arrow above it pointed to the fourth floor. It must be stuck on that floor.
Going around the desk, Y/N entered the staff room for anything, but she didn't see much. She could open all the lockers, except the fourth, which was locked.
Something was easily unlocked, and she saw a box lying against the wall.
Opening it up, a wooden square piece lies on top. Normally, she wouldn't stare at this thing for so long, but she felt like it was something she needed to grab.
And she did. But there is something she can do besides staring at a wooden piece.
A key box is locked with a passcode. Not any passcode, a puzzle. Something she liked to do in her pastime, even if it condemned her to be a slight nerd. Y/N pressed the middle button for the buttons around it, a plus sign, and pushed in. And pressing each corner till they were all pushed for a click to tell her it was unlocked.
Inside were an elevator trunk key and a cafeteria key.
Y/N guessed she was going to the cafeteria on the second floor and the elevator on the fourth floor. But she wanted to explore first, instead of going straight to the fourth floor after the cafeteria. She didn't want to think about having to do this key thing again. It was too much pain back at school, but she wasn't surprised anymore.
Still a pain, though.
She left the staff room and tried to open the two doors, but they were locked with a combination lock. With not much left, Y/N walked up the staircase to the second floor, starting her way to attempt to open the doors.
The first two doors were painted over, but Y/N noticed a nameplate of the cafeteria across the doors. So it wasn't weird looking at the map. The walls in the middle were the cafeteria, and they weren't just there for a pathway.
She unlocked the cafeteria and entered.
Two long brown tables against the wall on each side of her. A stack of dirty plates and so many dirty glass cups around. Y/N noticed a dirty teacup with the same wooden square piece with a letter she found in the box.
"What?" Y/N mumbled, picking it up and dropping it in her bag. "Could be a puzzle."
The sound of something falling made her turn around quickly in defense, but she only noticed one blue can standing and a red one now lying with a slight rolling from the reaction of falling.
Or was the standing can green...
Y/N looked around for any clues, but saw nothing. She slowly stalked up to the can and crouched down to pick it up.
Tilting it, a wire fell out.
Thinking back, there was a locked locker in the staff room. A very simple lock that she could unlock easily with the wire.
Y/N walked out of the cafeteria and tried to open more doors. All the doors were painted until she stumbled upon the two connected doors next to the elevator.
Blood was in front of the doors, and a light streak was in the direction of the room. She didn't try to think much of it and went through the doors to see movable curtains.
Separating the ones closest to her, it was a normal bed. The other one hid another normal bed, but the last one hid a bed with writing in blood.
-
"Do not mourn them.
Do not avert your eyes.
It is happier for them...
I have saved them."
-
"Them? Who's them?" Y/N questioned, looking away. She didn't want to look at the blood anymore.
Walking out, the remaining doors were painted over. Y/N most likely didn't need to stop by this room. Walking to the third floor, she saw that the first three doors were also painted over.
And, according to the map, the room across was the day room.
Inside the dayroom, fortunately, it was unlocked, and there was nothing strange, but an open book on the far corner table. Y/N blew a raspberry, not wanting to read.
But from past experiences, she most likely needs to read as well in this place.
-
"If I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life, the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain
- Emily Elizabeth Dickinson"
-
"That's an interesting quote," Y/N left the book alone, not wanting to think much of it, and looked around the room some more. Magazines seemed normal; the only other thing was the tables and non-working beverage stations.
Opening the door, one footstep out, there was a really loud yowl from a cat. Y/N walked out more and looked to her right at the door in the corner.
The three doors across from her were painted over, so it had to be from that door. She quickly went through, but her skin went slightly green at the sight of a dead cat with two stillborn kittens around it.
The mama cat had its stomach cut open, and Y/N slowly walked up to it.
"Poor kitty," she mumbled, not being able to look away. "Were these her—no doubt. Were they cut out of her stomach? Who could—" she couldn't finish, going down to one knee and letting out a low vibration from her throat. "Poor thing, why would you do this?"
Y/N wanted to look away, but she really couldn't.
But she noticed something in her cut stomach. Was there something in the cat's stomach?
"Sorry." She reached forward to grab the object, finally looking away when she felt vomit coming up.
She had to leave the room quickly; the smell of blood was too much. In her shaking, bloody hand lay a blood key. Was this even worth it?
Y/N smeared the blood on her jeans, rubbing the key after. She tried to see if there was a label, but it was smeared off.
Keep going, she told herself.
Y/N gave herself a few breathers before she continued. And the remaining doors were painted over. That only gave her the fourth floor. Her first notice was dried fluid next to the first door, looking like vomit.
Not much thought was given to it as she walked around it to move the handle. It was unlocked, so she walked through.
It was a room with a dirty bed, dresser, and chair. For a split second, Y/N swore to herself that she saw a shadow sitting on that chair. But there was nothing, and a scrap of notebook paper lay in the corner.
She looked at the seat a little more before going to the paper, getting back up to her feet.
-
"I sat in the chair and watched the bed like always.
Only there was no one in the bed anymore.
What have I accomplished?
I could only watch my family scream...
I still can't answer that question."
-
"It's his notebook," Y/N confirmed to herself, looking at the rule that was the same as the others. "No doubt, he was here. But is he still here now?" She looked at the bed and then the chair. "Was this the room someone close to him died?"
It's possible. She still believed she saw a shadow, even if it was for a split second.
Y/N left the room while placing the paper in her bag, looking for more doors. The door across the three was the counseling room, but it was locked. And the next three doors were painted over. But it was the fourth floor, so she could finally enter the elevator.
Using the elevator trunk key, Y/N found an AED.
And the remaining doors were painted over. How surprising. Y/N jogged down the staircase to the third floor. She was about to go to the second floor, but heard a kid singing.
"What—" Y/N made her fast walk into the dayroom, and there really was a kid. He was dancing around to his little song. She didn't want to alarm him, so she slowly walked up to him.
But he noticed her already and jumped back away from her.
Y/N went down to one knee to try and meet his height.
"What are you doing here?" Her head tilted lightly. The kid stayed quiet. "Are your mom and dad not around? Did you come here alone?" the kid stayed silent. Y/N looked at him a little more, seeing how he looked so much like Jeongguk when he was a kid. "Are you mute, perhaps?"
"Mama said not to talk to strangers," his gentle voice spoke out.
Very adorable, but this isn't really the time to be fond of this kid.
"Well, then I'll introduce myself," Y/N placed her hand on her chest. "I'm Y/N. I'm twenty-six years old. I live kind of far from here. My hobby is watching baseball, I guess."
The boy lit up at the mention of the sport. "I like baseball too!" he gleamed. It would explain his baseball cap and "Cardinals" jersey with black pants and sneakers. "Mama gave me a glove, so I play every Saturday."
"Whoa! I'm jealous," Y/N smiled back, trying to match his emotions. "So, what's your name, little guy?"
"Bunny!"
Y/N blinked, wondering if she heard him correctly. "Bunny? That's your name?"
"Yeah," Bunny nodded. "Mama says my smile remembers a bunny!" he gave her a wide smile. "See?!"
Wow, this kid really does resemble Jeongguk. A secret love child of some sort? She wouldn't be shocked. "I see," she accepted the fact of this kid's name. "Where is your mama, Bunny?" the kid shrugged after a few seconds. "You don't know? Did you not come here with her?"
"Well," he extended the word out, rolling on his feet. "We were going back home, and I was walking right by mama, then she went to get something she forgot. I didn't want to wait outside, so I came in here to sing. But mama hasn't come back."
"So you got lost," Y/N declared, more for herself than for Bunny. "Is your house close to here?"
Bunny let out a sound while thinking. "My house is close to school, but you can't see school from here, so I guess it's probably far."
"Right," Y/N blew out a little air. "You're really something to have waited here all alone," she said, looking at Bunny before looking at the ground.
Great, a kid lost late at night. She thought. I think there's a sheriff's office nearby. Maybe I should take him there.
"Hey, Bunny. It's scary in the dark, isn't it? How about you go with me to Mr. Policeman?" The kid stayed quiet, and Y/N moved up to her feet. "Okay, let's go."
"No!" Bunny rejected the idea, taking a step back.
Y/N gave him a look of confusion. What does he mean by no?
"What's wrong, Bunny?" she asked. "I'll have Mr. Policeman show you a patrol car! Don't you want to come along?"
"I'm not scared of the dark!" Bunny yelled, giving her a pouty face. "I'm a big boy! You're the scaredy-cat, aren't you?!"
And he ran out. "Bunny!" She reached out for him and sighed. "Better go chase him—then again, maybe his mom'll find him. I don't wanna be questioned by the sheriff anyway."
She went out of the room and ran down to the first floor, then walked to the staff room and tried to pick the lock with the wire she had taken from the can earlier. The only thing useful here was a note about a number lock.
Well, wasn't that a coincidence?
Y/N kept the note in her hand and walked out of the staff room and to the locked door. Looking over it, she noticed something just before entering the passcode.
"Is this lock battery-operated? It's not working, so the batteries must be dead. Well, the place is abandoned." she dug for the AED in her bag. The battery shows it at about half a charge.
She opened the lid and took out the old battery, then replaced it with the new one in the lock.
After a few moments, Y/N pressed the code.
4489
Y/N walked through the day, trying to prepare herself to explore more space. It was too good to be true when she unlocked all the doors besides the counseling room.
But she thought that the room was just locked with a key thrown away. She went into the first room she saw, one of the three staff rooms, and noticed something right away on two of the desks.
The table to the left had a very heavy-looking hammer, something heavier than what she had at the school. There's no way she'd carry it around. But it definitely would be useful. Y/N walked up to the other table, and it was the key to the counseling room.
I really need to stop thinking. She scolded herself.
The moment she thought there was no key or that the key had been thrown away, she found it a minute later.
Well, now she is walking up the stairs to the fourth floor and unlocking the counseling room. Through the curtains that she stumbled upon, she saw the shadows of two people.
She quickly walked around, but there was no one there—only a table with two chairs across each other. Looking through the room, only two diaries were in the far bookcase.
-
12/3, 3:35 PM
Tape 15
Subject: Visitor A (Guarantor for relative in room 409)
Contents:
A visited after sudden change in patient's condition.
Patient was hospitalized upon identified brain illness.
Surgery deemed necessary due to declining health.
The patient still thinks herself healthy,
which causes A a great deal of distress.
Her memories of A are also vague.
A sought counseling on how to cope.
The patient misunderstands it as A abandoning her.
She cries and screams, her mind unstable.
Counseling will likely continue for both.
-
12/10, 8:20 AM
Tape 16
Subject: A (Guarantor for relative in room 409)
A visited after the patient's death.
He lamented that, given she was going to die,
he couldn't watch over her at home.
He stated that living in itself is not happy.
So if life is agony, then wanting death is unavoidable.
...Should I refuse him as a doctor,
or tolerate it as a person of dignity?
I wish he would come back here,
but unfortunately, I can't force him."
-
"I wonder if this kind of thing happens a lot," Y/N spoke to herself, closing the diary after picking up the psychiatry key that lay on top of the page and putting it back in the case.
There was nothing left in this room, so she went back to the clinic side of the hospital and checked the other two doors she hadn't checked when unlocking the door.
The door in the middle was the director's office, which looked very nice despite being messy.
Dirty curtains slightly divide the room in half, with a table decorated with artificial flowers and sofas on either side, and empty shelves on either side of it.
Very pretty.
On the other side, there was a desk with a small table and a locked safe. On top of the desk were a wooden box with six empty square holes, a folded piece of paper, and an open diary next to it.
-
"I received a puzzle box the other day.
Rather interesting thing; to open it,
you have to arrange letter pieces to form a word.
Of course, I made the keyword my favorite word.
That irreplaceable thing which always
makes me happy just to say.
In fact, I should show the box to my daughter.
Unbelievable! When I showed my daughter
the puzzle box, she hid all the pieces!
But what's inside isn't something you
use every day, so it's not a huge deal.
She actually gave me hints on where they are,
but I can't find any. Maybe when I have time."
-
"Is that this paper?" Y/N picked up the paper and unfolded it.
-
Flowers are nice
Wash your hands!
Where do you have lunch?
Give me a call
The nurses know
Get close to the sky!
-
Thinking about it. The third hint had Y/N grabbing the piece she found in the dirty teacup. Putting it near the box, Y/N saw how the wood was the same. Placing it in a random spot, it matched the hole with ease.
But the first hint was that there were artificial flowers in this room. She quickly went around the curtains and gently moved the flowers, seeing the same wooden piece.
An A piece.
Y/N placed the piece in a random spot in the box and left the room, folding the paper and setting it in her bag. Between the doors of the director's room and the elevator was a green board with a map of the outpatient clinic hanging.
Score. Y/N grabbed the map and folded it up, and stuffed it into the bag.
The elevator, emergency escape, and bathrooms were locked with broken locks. It didn't give her much choice but to go upstairs. She saw the staircase to the basement but automatically avoided it due to recent experiences.
Y/N entered the first door to her left, the pediatrics room, and stopped to see Bunny dancing around.
"There you are, Bunny," she breathed out in relief, walking up to him as he turned around at her voice. "Don't you know not to wander off alone?"
"I can handle the dark fine!" Bunny pouted, crossing his arms. "I told you, I'm a big boy! I'm not gonna cry like some baby!"
She stared at him a little more, going down to her knees. "Wow, you sure do seem brave, Bunny," she praised lightly. "I have to admire that!" Bunny's face lit up with a giggle. "You're as brave as Iron Man! I'm kind of scared of walking in the dark, but here I am looking for someone."
She put the back of her hand on her forehead with drama. "If only there were someone here I could depend on! Just my luck—"
"Okay! I'll go with you, Miss Y/N!" Bunny cut her off.
"Whoa! Really?!" She placed her hands on her chest. "Wow, what a relief! Thanks! I feel so much safer with you here, Bunny!"
Bunny jumped a little on his feet. "I'll protect you, Miss Y/N!" he promised with another giggle. Y/N gave him a smile.
We'll stick together until his mother shows up. If she doesn't... sheriff's office it is. Y/N stood up and held her hand out to him.
Bunny grabbed her hand, hands somehow like a puzzle piece with the two. "Miss Y/N! I measured myself the other day!" he pointed at the height measurer that lay against the wall. I'm up to three feet! What about you, Miss Y/N?"
"I think I'm around Y/H," Y/N answered, trying to think about her last visit to the doctor besides her mother's appointments.
The two exit the room, hand in hand. The other two rooms were painted over, and the bathrooms were busted. There was a hallway with their rooms, but they were all normal, and she'll probably look at them again if they were all unlocked.
Every unlocked room had something.
Going up to the third floor, a public phone was right next to the staircase.
"Miss Y/N! There's something in there!" Bunny pulled her to the public phone when she tried to get to the door.
Y/N reached her finger into the change slot and felt something. Taking it out, it was an F piece. "Thank you, Bunny," Y/N ruffled Bunny's hair, being careful with the piece, and dropped it in a small pocket in the bag.
She continued to look through her bag for the hints and read through them again. Maybe the bathrooms had something when she read, "Wash your hands." The men's bathroom was unlocked, and Y/N looked at the sink.
"I'm really thirsty," Bunny whined lightly, shaking Y/N's arm. "Can I have a drink?"
"Not this," Y/N shook her head, letting go of Bunny's hand to remove her backpack. "Here." She took out one of the many water bottles she stored and handed it to Bunny.
She drank a little but didn't want to open another in case she needed it. Bunny grabbed the bottle and raised it, taking a long sip.
He almost dropped it, but Y/N caught it, keeping it leveled and removing it when noticing he was drinking too much. "Better?"
"Waaaay, better," Bunny wipes his mouth with the collar of his jersey. The water bottle was placed back into her backpack, and she put it on.
Y/N grabbed Bunny's hand before leaving and going into the women's bathroom, and she looked straight into the sink. "Hey, there's somethin' over there!"
He was right; there was an A piece.
"You have such an eyesight," Y/N lightly complimented, dropping the piece into the small pocket with the other. There were five in total and one more. But the one with the stars may take her a while if it's hidden outside.
Bunny shook Y/N's arm again. "Miss Y/N, I have to go," he told her.
She looked at him. "Did I give you too much water?" she asked him. "I'm sorry." She looked over at the stalls. "This is the girls' room, so you should technically go to the boys' one. Not sure if it'll flush, though."
Y/N helped him out of the bathroom and opened the boy's bathroom door for him to enter. "Come out once you're done, okay?"
"Okay!" Bunny nodded, closing the door for Y/N.
Y/N leaned against the wall, waiting for Bunny. But he was taking a little too long for a kid. "Hey, Bunny!" she called out. "You okay in there!"
"Hang ooon!" Bunny yelled back. And after a little bit, there was a jiggle of the door. "Huh? I can't open the door!"
"What?" Y/N was holding the handle of the door in a split second, trying to pull it. "I-It really won't open." She tried to open the door a few times. "Did that door just break or what?"
The sound of Bunny crying filled the atmosphere, and Y/N's heart clenched a little. "Miss Y/N. I can't get out. Am I going to be stuck here forever?" he asked through his sobs.
"It's okay, Bunny!" Y/N quickly ensured, not wanting him to have any more negative thoughts. "I'll get you out right away—" she cut herself off, putting her hands on the wall all around to see if anything was hollow and easy to break. None.
Y/N ran into the girls' room and did the same thing before seeing a crack in the middle of the wall that divided the two bathrooms. "There."
If she remembered correctly, there was a very heavy hammer in the first room she entered on this side of the hospital. She ran down, almost falling to the ground from how fast she was going, and burst through the doors to pick up the hammer she saw already.
Damn, this really is heavy. She grunted, picked the hammer up over her shoulder, and went as fast as she could up the stairs with a heavy hammer.
A screech in the air made Y/N almost fall back down the stairs at the shock. "Bunny?!" She didn't hesitate to enter the girls' room. "Bunny! Get away from the wall. I'm going to break through!"
She slammed the hammer against the wall so many times that it finally broke through. Going through, Bunny was nowhere.
She looked to the left at the door of the only stall, opening it to see Bunny crying. "Bunny? Hey, what's wrong? What happened?"
"No, no, nooo!" Bunny huddled himself more in the corner, eyes still shut tight and arms hiding his face. "Don't come near me! I'm scared!"
"Bunny!" Y/N called to him gently, going to her knees. "It's okay! It's me, Y/N!"
At the name, Bunny removed his arms from his face and opened his eyes. "Miss Y/N?" Tears formed more, and he sobbed heavily, running into her arms.
"Bunny, are you okay?" She slightly removed him from her to look over him. "Are you hurt?" Bunny didn't give her time to look as he clung onto her again. "Seriously, what happened?"
"I-I. I was waiting for you, miss Y/N," he began, still crying with heavy tears, stuttering through his sentences. "A-And then I-I turned around and there was a guy there! And he—he tried to get me!"
Y/N paused from rubbing his back but kept going to let him go on. "His neck was all—I'm—and he was grinning! He looked at me and said, 'Found you!' I was so scared; I hid in here!"
It's him. Y/N bit her lip to keep herself from shaking in anger. So he followed me here, too? Dammit. Why Bunny and not me? She can't think right now.
She has to calm Bunny down, who keeps repeating how he was so scared. "It's okay now, Bunny," she hushed, patting his back comforting. "You did well for yourself. I'm proud of you." she kept patting his back, hushing him gently.
If he's here, then I can't let Bunny stay here. I'll have to take him to the police.
Y/N tried to remove Bunny from her, but he didn't let her. "Bunny, shouldn't we go to Mister Policeman? It's dark and dangerous around here. I'll take you there. It'll be okay."
"No!" Bunny dug himself more into Y/N. "I'm staying with Miss Y/N! I'm waiting for Mama!"
"Bunny," Y/N said with a slightly scolding tone. "Please, don't be selfish. I'm sure your mama went to the police too—"
"No!" he yelled again. "Mama said to wait here! So I know she's going to come to find me! And I'll wait for her 'cause I'm tough!"
Y/N huffed out a breath.
If I can't find him here soon, and if Bunny's mom doesn't show, then I'll have to take him to the sheriff. She thought. Bunny sure won't like that, though. Boy, this is getting troublesome. I hope she just shows up soon.
Her hands moved to rub his arms, comforting him. "Alright, Bunny," she surrendered. "We'll wait to get a little longer, okay? So, hey, don't cry. You're a big boy, right?"
Bunny sniffled and rubbed his eyes. "D-Don't tell mama that I cried," he asked lowly. "Mama hates when I cry. She gets mad."
He finally separated from Y/N, who crossed her heart. "I won't tell a soul," she promised. "We should get going now—"
"Can you carry me?" Bunny's big E/C eyes widened with a plead. Y/N's breath hitched, trying not to coo at how cute he was. "Mama sometimes carries me to cheer me up. And you look like Mama." Y/N's heart clenched a little more.
"Alright, come here," Y/N caved in easily, putting her hands under Bunny's armpits and picking him up while getting up to her feet.
Bunny easily melted into her body, head on her shoulder, and his small hand on her chest.
Y/N kept a grunt from picking Bunny up, his weight adding to her backpack and bag. But she already did it—she doesn't want to put him down and have him complain.
She adjusted him and went into the second door when the first one was painted over. Right as they entered, Bunny pointed at an embryo model.
"A baby?" he guessed and then giggled. "It looks like a monkey!"
"Well, babies are kinda like that," Y/N muttered, moving around the room for anything.
There was nothing much but machines and books. On the other side of the bed, she looked over at the small wooden shelves and noticed something in the back of the top left shelf. It was a small key.
And every door was painted over beside the three rooms in the small hallway and a locked door that contained a three-number code. Y/N made her way upstairs, and right away, a scrap of notebook paper lay on the ground.
She put down Bunny, quietly telling him that she'll pick him up in a second so that she could grab the paper and read.
-
"My mother told me I was born here.
She called it a place of happiness. . .
But for me, it's a place of regret.
I wish I could kill my child self.
Back when I was pure. . .
When I still thought everyone loved me."
-
"What does it say, miss Y/N?" Bunny asked, looking at the paper.
Y/N quickly tilted the paper away from Bunny's eyes. "Something not needed for your cute eyes," she spoke fast, placing it in her bag with the other papers and picking Bunny back up.
The first two doors were painted over, but the third was the psychiatry door she unlocked after fishing out the key.
She went around the curtains, and the first thing she saw was an open diary. Most likely a psychiatrist's diary.
-
"John Smith is dead.
It appears he hung himself.
I was no help at all, it seems.
All I got, in the end, was his suicide note."
-
The book was closed before Bunny could lean down and look at the book. Though there was a note on the page, having her grabbing it before the book closed fully.
-
"It's chasing me.
No matter where I go.
I can't ever escape.
So I've decided to die.
But I realized... It's grinning.
In fact, it's grinning behind me right now.
It's been waiting for me to do this.
This is what it was chasing me for.
But now, I'll be free from it.
Doctor, please take care.
It might start to follow you next.
There's no point in running.
Because it's always at someone's back.
Goodbye.
Thank you for everything, doctor.
You were the only one who showed sympathy."
-
Y/N felt heavy, slowly putting the note over the book and flipping it upside down. Her breath was shaky, and she tried to keep the tears back from blinking them out. She had to take a few seconds to pick herself back up and go over to the board under the unmoving clock.
A memo.
Three rows, all of which are made into three boxes.
2, 3, 4.
The one under the number two had the second box circled, labeled "bed." The middle one, under number three, had the first box circled and labeled "trash." And the last row, under the number for the last box, was circled and labeled "board."
And that's when Y/N snapped her finger the moment she looked over this a couple of times.
The thin hallways on every floor looked normal. "Can you hold this for me?" Y/N asked, ripping the memo off the board and handing it to Bunny.
"Of course, Miss Y/N!" Bunny was quick to grab the memo and kept it in Y/N's view. Y/N chuckled at the little boy's silliness and walked out of the room and into the hallway.
Looking at the paper, the three boxes most likely meant the last door at the end. She still looked at all the rooms to see that they were identical. No wonder this was a memo. Y/N noticed the board in the last room was the most filled up.
She looked through the paper one by one, tearing them down till there was nothing.
And there was nothing but a big number six on the board.
Y/N looked back at the memo Bunny was still trying to shove into her face and saw the third floor next.
The closest room, knocking over the trash can, had a number one written on the bottom.
In the middle room, under the bed, the number seven was written on the ground. Bunny didn't like that Y/N put him down, but she grabbed his hand. A kid has wants despite the situation they're in.
Kids are weird. Y/N commented to herself, embedding the numbers right after. But again, we were all like this before. Once or twice.
But what was "716" for?
She could only think of that locked door leading to the emergency. It was a three-digit code, but it's a bit too fast to figure out the code, right? Well, nothing seems to make sense. And it was a good thing Y/N decided not to hold Bunny because they had to go back up the stairs.
Of course, she was currently pulling him back up to his feet from tripping on the stairs up—she doesn't know how he did that—but it beat her tired arms.
The door unlocked after taking a bit long to register the code to be correct, and it was only a staircase to the top. Y/N wasn't allowed to think about going downstairs with it being covered by heavy bags, and she wasn't able to unlock the doors from the inside into the floors above.
So she was only able to reach this door, which was tightly covered by thick wires. Not even pliers would be strong enough. Not that she has pliers.
"What now, Miss Y/N?" Bunny asked, tapping on Y/N's thigh.
"I guess we find something strong enough for these wires," Y/N answered. She didn't see any rooms to have chemicals. Maybe that room with the hammer had some chemicals in those drawers. She still had a small key. It could be something to unlock those.
And there was a basement she still had yet to see. After what she went through in the hotel and at school, Y/N really wanted to stay away from basements, but it looks like she has to do it again.
"Come on, Bunny," Y/N held her hand out for Bunny, and the little boy grabbed it without a thought.
They went down the stairs and down to the first floor, into the staff room. Y/N dug out the small key to try and unlock the top two.
They did unlock, but nothing.
After another two attempts, Y/N could only find a key to the chemical room. Which, without a doubt, was in the basement. "Another key!"
"Yep," Y/N sulked, getting up to her feet and exiting the room. Bunny followed after her with his fast legs to grab her hand. He gave her a little glare. Y/N chuckled, giving him a sorry glance.
She helped him down the stairs to the basement, and the first door had a label for the chemical room.
Did she mention that she didn't want to be down here?
"There was a crooked man, and he walked a crooked mile!" Bunny randomly sang out, having Y/N turn to face him. Well. Now she doesn't want to be in here anymore. "He found a crooked sixpence upon a crooked stile! He bought a crooked cat! Which caught a crooked mouse! And they all lived together! In a crooked little house!"
"There was a Crooked Man, huh?" Y/N spoke up when Bunny finished singing, which was the moment they stepped into the basement.
Bunny nodded. "Mama taught it to me," he informed with a happy glint in his eyes when he mentioned his mother. "I like to sing, so I sing lots! And I like that song!"
"I actually learned it as a kid, too," Y/N told him, seeing his excitement double. "But I didn't like it very much."
And the excitement dropped, the boy asking her why.
"It just... felt like a sad song to me. The guy's been crooked his whole life, and all he's got around him is crooked stuff. I was scared to think, what if I was a crooked man?"
She had her hand brought up to her face unconsciously and realized it when Bunny was giving her a confused look.
She was ranting to a child.
"Only when I was a kid, of course," she removed her hand to cover her mouth with a cough.
"I don't get it, miss," Bunny admits softly. "But sorry for singing a sad song."
"N-No, it just reminded me of that," Y/N shook her hand toward him. "You're a good singer, Bunny. Do you sing with your mama?"
"Yeah!" And the happy, excited Bunny was back. "Mama likes to sing too! It's fun to sing with her! Do you sing too, Y/N?"
She thought about the time she would sing with—No, not now.
"No, I'm no good," she said. Y/N didn't know if that was a lie or not. Her friends would say she was good, and so did he, but she didn't know personally. Only went by what others thought. "You're better off not hearing me try." she looked over at the door with the label. "Let's continue."
Y/N unlocked the door and had to take a double step back from the strong smell of chemicals hitting her in the face.
Bunny reacted a little more dramatically, yelling out loud how it smelled and digging his face into Y/N's leg after making loud sounds of gagging.
Drama queen. Y/N hid her face from Bunny's view to keep a laugh and finally entered the room to have Bunny ripped away from her leg.
He grabbed her hand again when she walked up to an open book lying on the small desk tucked in the corner by the door.
-
"That newbie Steve made a fine mess!
He spilled some hydrogen bromide
made a hole in the wall!
I TOLD him that stuff could eat through iron...
He'd better pay me back for this!"
-
"Hydrogen bromide it is," Y/N muttered.
"Let's go find some hidey-gen!" Bunny said, tugging Y/N to look through the chemicals.
There was no heart in her to tell him the correct pronunciation and let him drag her around till she took control and looked at the back left corner of chemicals, where there was no luck on the other shelves.
"Zin, ethanol, oxy dol, mercury," Y/N mumbled, reading through and her free hand pointing at every chemical she saw to not get lost.
"Even I know these names," And that's when she saw what she was pointing at. "Oh, here we go! Hydrogen bromide!" Her hand grabbed the chemical, and she stared at it before closing the safety glass. "Have to be careful with this."
Looking over to the kid, she told herself to be extra careful.
And she successfully brought the chemical to the door. Bunny stood back from her instructions as she opened the bottle and carefully poured it over the thick wires. The sizzling was showing her that it was working.
This i
s kinda fun. She admits to herself, enjoying the reactions in front of her eyes. It reminds me of a science experiment.
There was no way she would say this out loud in front of Bunny in case he wanted to come close and try to see it.
Bunny did make the sound when the wire melted, and the remaining fell to the floor.
The bottle was now empty, so she set it by the door, as she no longer needed it. "It's safe to come out," Y/N told Bunny, opening the door wide for Bunny to run through.
And he did.
"Yay! We're outside!" Bunny cheered, running around the roof with his arms out and flapping them like wings. Y/N stared at him with a warm smile, feeling like she was watching herself when she was a kid.
"Don't run too fast, Bunny," Y/N finally called after him, walking to him when he got near the edge with iron fences that were very low for a kid like Bunny to easily jump over. "You might trip."
But it was like Bunny didn't hear her. "I can't see mama from here," he said, putting a hand above his eyes and looking around. "She must still be looking for that thing she lost. I hope she comes to find me soon."
"She'll be here soon. I'm sure," Y/N was quick to ensure, walking beside him to place a hand on his cap. "You sure love your mama, huh, Bunny?"
"Yeah," and at the mention of his mother, Bunny looked up at Y/N with a happy look in his eyes and bunny teeth peeking through. "Mama's the best! Do you like your ma'am, miss Y/N?"
"Yeah, I've got to love my mama," Y/N said after a few seconds, but quickly corrected herself. "I mean, my mother." This kid was really rubbing off on her. "Family is important."
"My mama's nice, but she's scary when she's mad," he shivered dramatically. "Is your mama nice?"
"I'm home!" Y/N yelled out, entering the house. "Are you feeling better, mom?" she noticed her mother sitting in her favorite chair in the living room. Watching whatever came on. "Did you go to the hospital?"
"Welcome home, Sunshine!" Her mother greeted her when she looked over at the open door. "It's just a cold, don't blow it out of proportion."
Y/N sighed, placing a hand on her mother's shoulder and calling her name in a scolding manner.
"I feel a lot better after getting some rest. There's really no good side to being feeble. I'm sorry to always cause you trouble."
"Don't worry about it," Y/N shook her mother's words, kissing the top of her mother's head. "We're just a family of two, of course, we have to help each other."
Her mother let out a gentle laugh. "You're so kind," she complimented, not seeing Y/N's worried look. "Say, how is it going with Jeongguk? He hasn't come by here lately."
"We haven't met much because of work," Y/N answered, going simple with the question. "Though I'd like to talk with him more about the future and all that."
"He must be anxious," Her mother declared after a thought. "It's a big event in a man's life. Make sure to support him, will you?"
"What about the woman?" Y/N deadpanned, and the two let out a laugh together. But she stopped when she heard her mother wheeze after laughing. "Are you sure you're not in pain, Mom? You don't look very well, get some sleep. I can make my own meals."
"I'm glad to have such a kind daughter," Her mother reached and cupped her daughter's cheek. "Thank you, Sunshine."
"Yes, she's very kind," Y/N spoke, realizing she was back in reality after reminiscing about her mother. "She always cared about me."
"You better get home soon, Miss Y/N!" Bunny giggled. "Your mama must be really worried!"
Y/N felt the tips of her lips go up in a tight smile. "I suppose you're right," she said. "Same reason why yours will show up soon. So just wait with me until then."
Bunny nodded at her and kept running around. He is enjoying his time out here before Y/N brings him back inside. Y/N shook her head at the kid and noticed an old newspaper slightly moving from the light breeze of the night sky.
She picked it up and saw the main title.
A psychiatrist had taken their own life.
-
"Early this morning, a doctor employed at
the general hospital was found dead
by a nurse from the same hospital.
He was hanged, so police are deeming it a suicide..."
-
"Dark," Y/N commented, dropping the newspaper and rubbing her thighs to keep the bad luck from the newspaper from her.
She looked around the flat roof, remembering the hint for the last piece, and noticed a ladder on the side of the wall. It was climbable. Y/N climbed to the small roof and saw the last piece.
"Okay, Bunny! We can head back down."
"Already?!" Bunny yelled back, waiting for Y/N to climb back down. He had stopped in his tracks of running around when she called out his name.
"Already," Y/N repeated, opening the door for Bunny to go through.
As much as he didn't want to go back in, he went through by the look Y/N gave him.
Y/N patted his head before holding his hand, the two going to the third floor and leaving the hallway quietly. But it wasn't quiet when going through the door to the main hallway of the floor.
"Miss—"
He was hushed, Y/N focusing on the sound of something being eaten.
As if it were chewy and wet from the sound of the item getting torn apart by someone's teeth.
Y/N knew the only unlocked door was the room with the embryo model. She pulled Bunny behind her, and the two slowly trailed to the door, slowly opening it to keep the attention off of them.
Looking around the curtains to see a similar bloody back of the crooked neck figure. The head and shoulders were bouncing, but there was no doubt this thing was eating something.
But what was—Y/N's face paled at the realization.
"It's eating the embryo model," Y/N felt sick.
But she didn't know she said that aloud. The monster stopped and turned around, tearing a piece of the embryo model and dropping it. The piece hung from his lip until it fell out after he had roared at them.
Y/N let go of Bunny to cover her ears from the loudness, but that only gave the monster an advantage.
It ran up to her at lightning speed, grabbing her and throwing her against the wall between the dirty whiteboard and the metal desk.
He seriously threw me across the room! Y/N was shocked but only focused on the sight of the monster.
"Miss Y/N!" Bunny yelled out, running around the corner to look at Y/N in her current state. The monster turned to look at the kid, now between him and Y/N. "N-No. No! S-Stay away!"
Bunny ran off, but the monster chased after him.
"Bunny!" Y/N moved to get to one knee but groaned. "N-Not now... I got to... chase that monster!" Y/N staggered up to her feet, almost falling. "My head." She reached up but flinched at the slight touch to her head. "I'm bleeding. So... dizzy."
She went as fast as she could with a possible concussion she had gotten seconds ago from the monster. Going against the wall for support, she opened the door and went through.
Y/N kept using the wall for support as she slowly got to the staircase and went up to the fourth floor. Almost fell a few times, but she successfully got up again and saw the monster between her and—
"Bunny!" she yelled, ignoring the sting of the head from how loud she spoke.
It crept up to Bunny, who was sniffing with light sobs. "No," he cried. "I don't want to. Stay away—stay away!"
She had to do something quickly, turning around to find something. Y/N saw a fire extinguisher by the staircase. This will have to do for now. The vision was hazy colors, but she kept going to grab the object.
Y/N tried to be fast, getting close to the monster. The fire extinguisher was raised over her head.
"Get away from Bunny!" Y/N yelled, slamming the fire extinguisher onto the monster.
"Miss Y/N!" Bunny called out, the monster stumbling away from them.
Y/N moved to Bunny, hiding him behind her. The monster growled at her and ran off. She kept her eyes on the monster until it was out of view. She knelt at Bunny's height, facing him.
"Bunny," she called out. "You're not... hurt?"
"I'm not!" Bunny shook his head, trying to get rid of the tears. "I'm sorry, miss Y/N! It, it was my fault that you-you got hurt, miss Y/N!"
"It's okay," Y/N gave him a painful smile. "Not your fault... didn't do... anything wrong—"
And the vision blackened.
"It's not your fault. Don't be distraught. Maybe I shouldn't say this, but. This kind of thing happens all the time. If we had noticed a little sooner."
It wasn't known how long she had been out, but she woke up to Bunny sobbing loudly. Y/N groaned, fluttering her eyes open and pushing herself between her calves. Her first instinct was to grasp her head, but she winced.
"Head still hurts," she spoke, voice slightly breaking. "Stupid monster."
"Miss Y/N!" Bunny yelled, running into Y/N. She groaned but didn't push him away. "Are you really okay?!"
"I'm fine, Bunny," Y/N said, rubbing Bunny's back. "You're not hurt?" he shook his head against her collarbone. "I'll be fine too. Sorry for worrying you. Looks like that monster went away." she tried to push him away to look at his face, but he stayed against her. "Bunny?"
His sobs went loud again. "I-I want my mama," he sobbed. "I don't like the monsters. I don't like the dark."
"Bunny," Y/N sighed, rubbing the boy's back again. "Should we go to the police? I'm sure your mother's there, so."
Another shake against her collarbone. "I-I told Mama I'd wait. Mama said she was proud of me, so I'll-I'll wait for her," he kept close to her, tightening his arms around her neck. "Mama wouldn't lie, she's going to come for me! So I have to wait here!"
He really should be with the police. Y/N thought to herself, keeping her hand moving to soothe the boy. But he just won't listen. And if I try to force him, he'll just run.
I'll give it a little more time. Then I'll force him to go if I have to. I do wonder what his mom's doing, though.
Leaving her son behind like this. I can't believe some people. And what's that monster up to? He was chasing me before, but now he's just after Bunny.
I don't think I can possibly know. I just need to protect him from being attacked. Maybe I should find a weapon somewhere.
"You're a good kid, Bunny," Y/N praised. "Putting up with all this, you're really great. I bet your mama's really glad. Hold out a little more, okay? I'll stay with you."
"N-No more monster?" Bunny asked, separating from Y/N a little to look up at her.
"I can't say," Y/N spoke honestly to him. "But I'll protect you if there are. So don't wander away from me, okay?"
"Okay!" Bunny removed his arms from her neck and grabbed her hand. "I'll stay with you, miss!"
Y/N smiled at him and got up to her feet. Hands connected, they walked down to the first floor and into the director's office. She put the last piece with the others and looked at all six to figure out what word this all made.
Something that was important.
Family.
That word felt a little foreign to her, but she put them in the order they had to be. Reminiscing right now isn't what she needs. And thinking hurts. The box unlocked, and Y/N opened it to see a key to the safe.
Y/N walked over to the safe and unlocked it. Opening the safe, a loaded revolver with more ammo.
Now she has something to protect Bunny.
She got up to her feet and loaded it fully, only a few bullets inside, while walking to the door. Y/N pushed the door open with the side of her arm, still looking at the gun.
But that wasn't ideal, as she got pushed down to the ground.
"Miss Y/N!" Bunny yelled, turning around at what had pushed her. "M-Monster!" That was the reason?! "M-Miss Y/N, help!"
Y/N growled, grabbing the gun that had skidded a few inches away from her. "This monster's persistent," she commented under her breath, pointing the weapon at the creature. "Bunny! Over here!"
"Noo," Bunny shook in his shoes, not looking at Y/N. His eyes on fixated on the creature. "I'm scared of monsters! I don't want to. I don't want to."
And he ran off. "Bunny!" she reached out, but chased after. They had gotten out of her view a little bit, but she kept up to see them on the roof. The monster walks close to Bunny.
"No, no, no, no, no!" Bunny was walking backward, holding his arms out. "Stay away! Miss Y/N, help!"
Y/N raised the gun at the monster. "Over here, Bunny!" she called out. "Don't let it get near!" Bunny tried to walk around the monster, but it kept staying between the two.
Bunny cried out for Y/N for help.
"Dammit. It really is after Bunny! Why?" She licked her lip, keeping the gun pointed at the monster. "Bunny! Listen! Don't let it catch you! Run away! I'll take care of it!"
"Okay!"
Bunny began to run around, but the monster kept going on the chase. Y/N had to move around, too, shooting carefully at the monster. Even if it was shot and roaring out, it kept going after Bunny.
It kept going as if it wasn't shot, only slowing down and chasing with blood pouring out of its body. Ten shots in, it still wouldn't slow down.
Until she was able to reach for Bunny and pull him behind her, the monster tried to go after it, but Y/N pointed the gun at its head.
"This is the end," Y/N promised the monster, moving the gun around to keep it at bay. "Don't come near Bunny again, monster!" She shot at the monster before pushing him over the low iron fence.
The adrenaline left her when the monster was no longer heard from its echo yells and the sound of something hitting the ground.
"I don't know how many times I shot it, but not even it could survive that," She said and dropped the gun beside her, not wanting to push anything, and turned to Bunny. "I'm sorry you had to go through that, but it's all okay now." she saw tears falling heavily down his cheeks. "Bunny? What's wrong? Were you hurt?"
"Why?" Bunny asked, voice quiet. "I-It's so scary. But I. I keep hanging in there, and I just want to go home, so why won't Mama come?" he raised his hands in an attempt to get rid of the tears, but more tears replaced them.
"Does Mama hate me?" he choked out, sobbing. "Mama hates me, so she'll never come back for me. I'm just an unwanted kid." Y/N's eyes widened at his words.
She took a step toward him, but he took a step back. "I'm going to Mister Policeman."
She stayed in her spot, not wanting to do anything wrong. "I see, okay," she finally responded. "I'll go with you—"
"I'm fine!" he yelled over her. "I can go there myself!"
"Bunny, you shouldn't be alone late at night," Y/N tried to reason, but Bunny faced away.
"I'm a tough kid," Bunny huffed. "I can make it on my own even if mama isn't here. Even if mama isn't there, I won't cry."
He walked off.
Y/N tried to go after him, but she stopped when she felt the pain in her head, just like in the hotel and school. "It feels like it's gonna explode!" She brought her hands to her head for a soothing.
When it went away, Y/N noticed that Bunny was gone. She looked around for him, but he was gone.
"On his own?" She brought her hand up to her head, shaking it. "No, Bunny. Your mother didn't hate you. It was you who lost faith in her." She dug her head into her hands.
"What have I been doing here? Wandering these ruins, looking for a man I don't know. I should go home. There's no point to this. Nothing. Nothing will change."
Y/N walked into the hospital and quietly walked down to the first floor.
It was quiet walking to the front doors, but a sound of a woman crying stopped her. Y/N turned in hope, thinking it could be Bunny's mother.
"She did come for him," she breathed out in relief, walking back to the clinic side of the hospital. "I must have passed Bunny by."
The sound came from the basement.
She walked down the steps and saw the door at the far end slightly open. Y/N walked through, hoping to see a woman and Bunny, but only a shadowy figure stood at the end of this room of tubs filled with water to the brim.
This isn't Bunny's mother.
"Who are you?!" she yelled to the figure.
The figure turned around, and Y/N took a step back. "Sunshine, why do you abandon me?" Y/N's mother asked. It looked like her mother, but the face looked like a stranger.
"Th-that's not," Y/N gulped. "Mom, how can you be here?"
"I hate hospitals," her mother continued. "You're my family, yet you abandon me?"
"No!" Y/N lightly reached out. "You were sick, mom!"
"So you left me?" Her mother's voice slowly rose with a firm tone. "My own family couldn't stand me anymore?"
"No! No, you're wrong!" Y/N yelled, trying to get the lies out of her head. She ran up to the woman and wrapped her hands around her neck. Slowly tightening them. "Who are you?! My mom couldn't possibly be here! Why are you pretending to be her?!"
"It hurts, Sunshine," the woman choked, holding onto Y/N's wrists. But it wasn't as if she was pulling Y/N's arms away. Her head was tilted up for more access.
As if she wanted this to happen.
To worsen Y/N mentally.
"Just like it did then... are you going to try and kill me again?" Y/N automatically let go of the woman and took a slow step back. "It hurts so much, Sunshine."
"Who are you?!" Y/N's mother asked, holding a glass vase in her hand. She stared at Y/N down hard, who was sitting at the dining table. "Why are you in my house?! What did you do with my husband?! Answer me!"
"Mom, please stop," Y/N pleaded, leaning on the table with her head in her hands. "You keep saying things like that. Dad left a long time ago, okay? Did you forget?"
Her head was already hurting all day. "Shut up!" Her mother yelled, attempting to throw the vase, but she missed Y/N with the wild throw. "Intruder! I don't know anyone like you! I'll call the police on you!"
Y/N sighed, removed her hands, and faced the woman. "Stop it," she tried to plead again. "Don't tell me you're already going senile? Please. Take a rest for today. I'm tired from work. Just tell me if I'm a bother—"
"Shut up!" Her mother yelled again. "Keep your mouth shut! Do you think I know you?! Get out of here!"
"Stop!" Y/N yelled back, the pain in her head worsening. "What are you saying? Did I do something wrong? Please, just tell me if I did something wrong! Are you teasing me?! Because it's not funny! Please, mom!"
"Quiet! I'm not your mother! I don't know you! Get out!"
"Enough,"
One second to another, Y/N was suddenly straddling her mother on the ground, the chair abandoned and fallen to the ground, hands around the woman's neck.
"M-Murderer!" Y/N's mother yelled out for help. "S-Somebody! Murderer!"
As if her voice was heard, Jane opened the door to see what was going on. "Y/N? Hey! What are you doing?!" She ran to Y/N and used her strength to pull Y/N off. But even she was struggling. "Hey, stop! Let go! Are you trying to kill her?!"
"It appears to be a brain tumor," The doctor told Y/N hours after the event. "It's putting significant pressure on her brain. Sudden changes in behavior, violent action, and memory loss can be signs of brain disease. In some cases, counseling to resolve friction in a family can uncover an illness.
Maybe I shouldn't say this, but this kind of thing happens all the time. If we had noticed a little sooner." he cleared his throat. "Back to the topic of your mother. She appears to be very weak.
We'll have to postpone the operation for now. We've hospitalized her for the time being, and her condition will influence our decision. Hopefully, it won't last long. Please, come by to see her often. Even if she doesn't seem to know you, she is family."
"No," Y/N whispered, seeing the figure gone when getting the memory away.
"We're not family anymore. Don't. Don't say we are. If I hadn't been stopped, just like that, I would have—I would never have been forgiven for it. There really was hatred in me... and it's true I've abandoned her in the hospital.
She was my only family.
My precious mother, who cared for me after my father left, and yet I. ..my wishes never come true. My dreams, love, and even family all go awry. I can't have anything that's not crooked. What have I been searching for? I don't have to anymore. It's obvious now.
Y/N groaned and threaded her fingers through the locks of her hair when getting the last stuff put away.
It wasn't much, especially with a girl like her, but she didn't move into this apartment empty-handed. She still had a few boxes to bring after selling the little furniture she had when moving out of her previous home.
She couldn't keep up with the rent, and the landlord was a bastard. Either she agreed with his deal of pleasure or to get out. And she chose the latter.
Even if she was depicted as a "people pleaser," she knew her place. She thinks. But that's why she was in the small apartment, on her knees, and placing the last cleaning supply under the sink.
A loud groan left her mouth when she closed the door and leaned her head against it.
Her best friend, Kim Jane, released an exaggerated moan and stretched her arms high up in the air.
"Finally!" she yelled out, making her newlywed husband, Kim Namjoon, flinch at her loudness. "Things look tidy in here."
"Don't yell so loud," Y/N covered her ears jokingly and got up to her feet. She slightly stumbled back but caught her balance and walked up to the newlyweds to get so close to them.
But when she got close to them, Jane punched the tired girl's arm slightly. "That should be that," Namjoon brought himself in the middle before Jane could say anything to make the two childhood friends bicker, which would possibly last for ten minutes.
A small ability the two shared for growing up together since diapers. Jane always ends it by saying she's older.
A funny inside joke between them as they were both hours apart, and were born across the hall from each other.
And their mothers made sure they had millions of playdates to stay connected, as excuses for wine and the little girls running around.
"Is there anything else we can help with, Y/N?"
There were a few seconds of Y/N thinking if she did need something from them. It wouldn't hurt, as he did offer. But her mind went blank.
"Nah, I'm fine," she said, shaking her head with a slightly crooked smile. "Sorry for making you guys help me move." she rubbed the back of her neck. "And thanks for showing me the place, Jane. I'll have to pay you back sometime!"
Hearing the last sentence, Jane jumped on Y/N and tangled her arms with Y/N's. "We could go out drinking then!" she suggested in a heartbeat. "Go to a karaoke bar and sing our lungs off while Namjoon can show his rapping skills."
"I look forward to the drinking," Namjoon chuckled, ignoring the last part his wife had mentioned. Though he couldn't help but blush at the mention, it was something he loved to do and had only started making music from the push of the two girls telling him that he was amazing.
When he blushed, he looked out of one of the two small vertical windows to see the moon coming up and the red and orange sky kissing the ground goodbye. "Would you look at that, it's getting late," he said. The two girls looked out the window to see that it was getting late. "We'd better get going." he pinched his wife's top and pulled her away from her best friend.
"Yeah, you should probably get home," Y/N agreed when seeing the sky now fully dark. "Be careful, you two." after one last hug with the newlyweds. They left with goodbyes.
She was left with silence, looking around at her new home. It was mainly a studio room with a tiny hallway that led to a computer room and a bathroom, located across from each other.
Y/N can't lie but wished that the computer was brought into the big room and had a small bedroom where her full-sized bed would most definitely fill almost half of the room.
But it was furnished by the previous tenant, so she only made a few changes.
A sink in the far left corner was connected to a countertop that extended out, allowing her small stove to sit with little surface area to cook on. Next to the countertop was her old mini fridge and an old pantry cabinet that had been here for a while, along with dishes.
The same TV that was kept.
A dresser in the opposite corner with her landline phone and small decorations. Her bed was in the right corner closest to the door, and two sofas faced each other with a table in between to take up some space in this lonely apartment.
The only thing that bothered her was a large crack in the wall between the TV and the dresser that could knock the clock off if it extended more.
Something caught her eye. "Huh?" Y/N had to do a double-take to realize there was an item on the table that wasn't hers. And it made her sigh. "Of course, Jane forgot her license." It was always Jane's habit to do such a thing. Fortunately, it was always her forgetting stuff at Y/N's place, wherever she lived, Namjoon's workplace, or their apartments. So she hasn't gotten anything stolen... yet. "Let's hope they haven't left yet."
Y/N grabbed Jane's license and began to jog lightly to the door, opening it up and jogging again through the small hallway. Her hand cupped the doorknob. "What's with that place, seriously?"
Jane's voice was heard clearly through the space under the door.
"It's filthy! It's practically falling apart!" She could hear Jane moving her arms around and her hands smacking her thighs. "What were you thinking?! She wanted to move for a change of pace, and that will not help her, you hear?"
"Look, what can I do?" Namjoon didn't raise his voice or show any tone of arguing. "She's not the richest person, y'know? And not many places come with furniture... Besides, you told me to look for a place, right? Don't come complaining to me now."
The top rows of her teeth captured her bottom lip so she wouldn't make a sound. "...you're right," Jane spoke quietly. "I'm sorry. I just wanted to help Y/N out."
A few sounds of movement, and it was known to Y/N clearly that Namjoon went in for an embrace. "I know," he also spoke quietly. Quietly, but softly. "Look, I should be sorry. We'll pay her a visit sometime."
The sounds of steps went away, and Y/N slowly let go of the doorknob. "The license can way, I guess," she told herself, placing it in her wallet once she had fished it out. Her tired eyes showed presence. "Should sleep this off... maybe I'll feel better in the morning." She let out a sigh, walked back into the room, changed into her pajamas, and placed her old outfit into a small basket she had placed next to the dresser.
Before she could think of raising herself to her feet, the landline phone rang.
Her eyes moved up to see the thin wire hanging off, giving her a moment to stand up, pick up the white phone, and place it against her ear. "Hello?"
Nothing, but there was a breath.
"Hello? Who is this?" She leaned closer to the green screen to show that similar number that made her heart almost stop beating and clench up.
"Jeongguk?" He was the one who hung up the phone, and she slowly placed it back in its spot.
Stumbling back slightly, Y/N placed a hand on her forehead and tried to take a deep breath, but it failed. "Sleep... I need to sleep and call it a day. I should take it easy for my first day in the new place."
And that's what got her into bed after turning off the lights. Once her head hit the pillow, tiredness was in control.
So tired in so many sorts of ways. She thought, with a yawn coming out loudly.
Her eyes closed, but it wasn't long before she was sent to dreamland when a man's cry appeared loudly. As if it were in the apartment... but at the same time, in her head.
Really, is that somebody crying? She let out a loud groan of annoyance, trying to cuddle into her blanket. But the crying wouldn't go away. Is it one of the neighbors? It wouldn't hurt to ask.
Getting out of bed, Y/N placed her feet in her slippers and left the apartment. Light knocks down the row of doors for her, only to get a response from the last door on the floor. "Yes?" A tired woman's voice called out through the door. "Who is it at this hour?"
"Pardon me," Y/N tried to speak politely without the annoyance tunneling through. "It's just... I can hear you from my room, even. It's making it hard to sleep... would you stop?" Her face cringed lightly at the request. Maybe she could've worded it nicely.
"What're you saying?" The woman's voice was already irked with her annoyance. "I was asleep until you woke me up! You trying to start something?" Y/N raised her hands in surrender, even if the woman couldn't see through. "You're the girl who moved into 204, right? There's no way you'd hear from there!"
One of Y/N's hands fell, and the other lay on her shoulder. "I guess so," she agreed slowly, looking down at the ground with a blush of embarrassment. Y/N looked back up at the door. "S-Sorry for waking you! Bye now."
She took a step back, trying to bring back to her head what had happened since the crying.
"She's right... the rooms are pretty far apart," She looked at her door at the far end before walking down toward it. "More importantly, it was a man's voice." She realized something. When she had left the apartment, the crying had stopped. "Was it just my imagination?" The hand on her shoulder raised to knock her temple lightly. "Think about it in the morning; I need to get some sleep."
Opening the door, she stopped at the sound of water running. Her brow rose in confusion. Walking into the apartment, and closed it behind her. Locking the door without looking, Y/N made her way into the bathroom. There was nothing there. Her eyes went to the faucet, and she turned the handle back.
Is the faucet busted? She asked herself when the handle was already back. Y/N moved it closer to her to make the water run faster, and back to default to stop the water running.
Something pushed her chin up like a string, and she noticed how foggy the mirror was.
And something was written messily.
Under the bed? She read in confusion. Is... Is Jane trying to prank me? She was never one to prank.
Walking back out of the bathroom, Y/N went into the main room and walked up to her bed. But she stopped herself from going in.
"Under the bed... what's down there?" She spoke her thoughts into the air, the writing on the mirror getting the best of her. Y/N got on her hands and knees to look under the bed. And that's when she found something. A ripped piece of paper. Her hands held it delicately as she read.
-
"Ever since she went away, I've spent every night
clutching my sweaty pillow and writhing.
I can't say goodbye. What other choice do I have?"
-
"Did the former tenant leave this?" She couldn't help but wonder about the question. But that had to be something for the next day, and she needed sleep.
That's all she wanted.
Sleep.
So, she placed the paper on the table, crawled into bed, and tried to enter dreamland. But the crying back.
That sound still? she complained with a slight whine. Where is that coming from? Give me a break, please. I only want sleep.
It was a rough night, and the morning had her being woken up by the ringing of the landline phone. "Why not my cellphone?" she complained, but the ringing of the landline seemed to have gotten louder. "Alright, I'm coming. . .I'm coming."
She got up from her bed, went to the landline, and answered.
"Hello?" Her tiredness went away, most of it from the doctor's sound.
"Oh. Yeah, thanks for all the—" the doctor cut her off and kept rambling, almost as if judging her for not stopping by in a while. "No, no, I didn't mean, just, I'm busy with work, so—"
And she was cut off again, trying to stay with the doctor of what he was saying. "Yeah, I'll come to visit today," it was her turn to cut off the doctor. "Tell her that for me. Okay, bye."
Y/N changed into a white T-shirt and worn-out blue jeans, sliding her feet into low converse shoes that were pre-tied, so she didn't have to bother. She grabbed her black jacket and her cross-body bag with her wallet, cell phone, and other necessary needs.
I really did sleep in till noon. She thought when looking at her phone to see the time. Yeah, I need to go. So much for taking it easy. Y/N jumped when seeing Jane walking down the hallway.
Jane seemed to have also jumped at the sight of Y/N's apartment door opening and having her name called out. "I... forgot my license yesterday," Jane admitted after calming her racing heart. "Was it on the table?" Y/N nodded, grabbing Jane's license after fishing out her wallet.
"Sorry, I was going to bring it to you, but—"
"Thanks." Jane cuts off Y/N at the sight of the object in question. Y/N gulped lightly, deciding to stay quiet about what she had heard yesterday. The license was returned to its rightful owner, who sighed in relief before taking in Y/N's outfit of the day. "So, you going somewhere?"
"Yeah, to the hospital,"
They stayed silent. "I see," Jane mumbled. "Take care of yourself, love."
Jane patted Y/N's arm before leaving. Well, attempt to leave. "Hey, Jane," Y/N called out, making the said woman turn around with a hum. "Did you... did you write something on the bathroom mirror?"
That question made Jane almost take a step back from such a question. "Write on the mirror?" she repeated, wondering if she had heard her best friend correctly. "What kind of prankster kid do you take me for, Y/N?" Then she said goodbye when getting a text message from Namjoon. Y/N stayed in her stance a little longer, waiting till Jane was out of view before she moved.
At the hospital, Y/N checked herself in and asked who she was going to see. The doors in front of her made it hard for her to take another step forward. But that's what she did, pushing them through to see her ill mother lying in bed in comfort. Y/N took a deep breath and walked to her mother. "Mother... it's been a while," she spoke softly, dragging a chair against the wall to sit next to her mother's bed. "Are you doing okay?"
Sound of Y/N's voice, her mother turned her head with a smile. "Oh my," her fragile voice cracked through. "If it isn't, little Miya. You've certainly grown." She had delight in her eyes, and Y/N gave a strained, crooked smile, the best she could.
"Good, you look healthy," Y/N commented, leaning back in her chair. Eyes never left her mother. "Sorry I can't see you very much... I've been busy with work. But I took a few days off... and I moved to this great room, with furniture and everything!" Her hands moved as she explained. "It's near your favorite cake shop, too! So when you get better, we can live together."
"My... that's wonderful," Her mother hummed in delight. "Get along with Mihyun, will you? All that fighting you do worries me so much. Maybe I can come to visit you sometime? You like apple pie, don't you? I'll make the best I know how..." Y/N's smile faltered as her mother turned to look back up at the ceiling. "Oh yes, they opened a bakery the other day! It smells so wonderful! Maybe I should buy from there."
Y/N called out to her mother. At the sound of Y/N's, her mother turned with a confused look.
"Oh? Who would you be? Why are you here?" She rose into a sitting position, flinching when Y/N reached to try and lay her back down. "This is my room... do you have the wrong room?" Y/N couldn't find anything to say. "Who are you?! Say something, will you?!" She flew out of her bed, going toward Y/N. The daughter stood up and took a step back, almost falling as the chair hit her knees. "Get out! I'll have you thrown out!" she began yelling for help. "There's a strange woman in my room! Get rid of her, now!"
"Mrs. L/N!" a female voice called out, and Y/N turned around to see the main nurse caring for her mother. The nurse came in with a male nurse following along, the two trying to get Y/N's mother back in bed. "Mrs. L/N, don't strain yourself... please, go to sleep, okay?"
"Who are you?!" Y/N's mother called out, dragging her arms out of the grasp of both nurses who tried to do so. "Don't touch me! Away!"
The male nurse stayed calm. "Now, calm down, miss," he spoke calmly. "Let's get you into bed..."
"I'm sorry, Y/N," the female nurse turned around with a sympathetic gaze. "Leave your mother to us... you'll have to leave for today."
Y/N licked her lips and slowly nodded her head in understanding. "Understood," she mumbled, nudging her head toward her mother. "Take good care of her."
She made her way to the door. Thought stopped at the grasp of the door handle.
"Y/N? Is that my sunshine?" Y/N's mother called out, having Y/N turn around in shock. "Where are you going? Why are you leaving me?" Y/N had stuttered out to her mother, but it didn't seem to come out as loudly as she thought. "Your flight school exams are coming up. You want to be a pilot, don't you? Your mother has your back." She was shaking in her stance, looking as if she'd fall to the ground. "Please, don't leave me alone. I don't want to be alone here. Sunshine, please."
"Mommy," Y/N teared up, a smile of hope, and took hopeful steps forward. "It's me! Remember? Mom!"
But the first nurse strides toward Y/N to interrupt whatever hope of Y/N's mother's remembrance. "Y/N, please leave for today!" she instructed, pointing at the door. "She's very confused right now."
"But she said my—"
"I said leave!" The nurse pushed Y/N out of the room.
The screams of Y/N's mother echoed through the crack of the doors and into the hallway. Y/N's hands balled into fists, and she reluctantly walked away. She kept going till she noticed her mother's doctor standing in the middle of the hallway. "Hello, Y/N," he greeted. "Did you see your mother?"
Y/N kept herself from yelling the obvious, as the doctor was there to witness her kidding and kicked her out of her mother's hospital room. "Yeah," she nodded instead. "Though I guess she still doesn't know me."
The doctor gave her a sympathetic smile. "She's forgotten many things, and she's having trouble controlling her emotions," he informed, and Y/N wanted to bitterly chuckle. She didn't have to be informed about what she knew. Or she wanted to avoid being informed of what she knew to keep it untrue. "I ask you to be patient. She may get better, so you can live with her again."
"Thank you,"
The ride home was quiet; the music wasn't entering her ears as she was too much in thought. Y/N was too tired for any of this. And when she entered her apartment to hear a screech from her computer room, she took a deep breath. Trying to channel whatever she had to deal with, whatever it was right now. She walked into the computer room and saw that the chair had been moved in front of the trash can, not in its usual spot in front of the computer.
I know I didn't move the chair. She told herself to keep herself sane. But the slight opening of the second drawer caught her attention. Opening the drawer, she noticed a leaflet.
Y/N picked it up and moved it around to get every detail she could find. It looks pretty old... these LL.M. courses are circled. Was somebody shooting to be a lawyer? She heard her tired brain go through ideas.
I guess this must be the former tenant's. He sure forgot a bunch of stuff. Maybe no furniture is better after all, huh?
It definitely would've given her the peace she needed without this happening.
Going into the room, the landline phone rang. Can the phone not ring once? Even though it was the second day in the apartment, she didn't want to answer the phone or hear it ring. Y/N answered it. "Hello?"
"Hey, Y/N," Namjoon's voice spoke through. "How are you doing?"
A voice that made her calm caused her shoulders to relax. "You saw me just yesterday," she sighed with a chuckle. "I'm doing fine, thanks."
"Good, good," Namjoon joined her in a light chuckle. "Call if you're ever lonely, okay? I can come to visit with Jane."
"By the way," Y/N spoke up after a few seconds. "I got a call from Jeongguk yesterday. We didn't really talk, but..."
Namjoon was silent. "Sorry, I told him your number," he admits. "He said he was so worried about you."
Y/N's heart warmed up. "It's okay," she assured. But memories reminded her of being here alone. "Tell him I don't need him worry. He should just look out for himself."
"Alright," Namjoon huffed out. "Well, I'll hang up now."
The phone was placed back on its spot, and she changed into her pajamas. She spent her evening reading all the books she had brought and the book the previous tenant had left behind. Y/N even made herself some tea to relax, to hopefully get herself to sleep. Luckily, it had gotten her to the point of being tired.
Too tired to read anymore and not done with her third cup of tea.
Y/N moved the blanket to let herself in, but she jumped at the sound of the static of the bed. She looked over, walked up to the TV, and tilted her head in confusion. "Why did it turn on by itself? Is it broken?" Her hand reached for the remote, but she yelled when red letters popped up one by one. "What the hell... what's going on."
Y/N walked to the sink and saw the word that was written on the TV screen. Looking around, she noticed something in the faucet. She swore she could use the sink when making her tea. Removing what looked like a scrap of paper, Y/N lifted it and flattened it to see if she could read it.
-
"There was a crooked man,
and he walked a crooked mile.
He found a crooked sixpence
upon a crooked stile.
He bought a crooked cat,
which caught a crooked mouse,
and they all lived together
in a crooked little house."
-
Y/N licked her lips when reading Mother Goose. But she was confused about how it was there. She wanted to question if the previous tenant had placed it there, but she reminded herself that she had made tea three times.
"So much strange stuff," She tossed the paper onto the countertop. "I should just sleep and forget." She made her way to the bed and placed her head on the pillow. "Moving for a change of pace, huh. Guess that's not working so well. I appreciate Jane and Namjoon's help, but..."
She closed her eyes, and a little later, she heard a kid crying.
Is that a kid, I hear? She furrowed her brows, eyes still closed. This late at night? And what kid would live in these beat-up apartments? Her eyes opened up with a few blinks. Maybe they're lost. I should go check.
Y/N got up from her bed and exited her apartment. Looking around, there was no kid, and the crying had stopped. "'Course there are no kids here," she grumbled under her breath, starting to think that she was going crazy. She was repeating in her head to go to bed. Y/N walked into the apartment, and she paused after hearing a broken glass.
She entered the room and saw the tea on the ground, shattered, with the liquid spilled all over.
Kneeling, she chuckled lamely at herself. "Just a broken cup... that startled me a little too much." And her eyes wandered more to find details of the broken cup, but the blood drained out, and she felt cold when her eyes caught a detail. "W-Wait, what?!"
The liquid was dragged out, spelling "Help Me," making her shake lightly on the ground.
Y/N stood up and took steps back in fear. "The tea's spelling out?! Y-You gotta be." She looked around the room and wrapped her arms around herself. "This room is strange. With its voices and T.V.s turning on. What is this?"
The morning after, Y/N dialed Jane's number on the landline. "Hello?" Jane's tired voice spoke through the phone.
"Hi, Jane," Y/N greeted, messing with the wire connected to the phone. "It's Y/N."
"Yeah, what's up?" Jane mumbled, the sound of the bed moving. "You sound sleepy. So why wake me up, too?"
Y/N grimaced. "Sorry," she apologized. "I was up all last night. I got to ask you something, is now okay?" she heard Jane hum in a rhythm to let Y/N continue. "Do you know who the previous tenant is?"
"Nah, I don't know," Jane slurred lightly. "You ask the landlady? You curious?"
"Well," Y/N numbled her bottom lip. "Seems like he forgot a lot of stuff. But I'll ask the landlady, sure. Later." she ended the call before Jane could say anything, reminding herself of where the landlady would be.
Her outfit was presentable enough. A black oversized graphic-designed hoodie that was lightly falling off her shoulders, leggings, and sneakers. Y/N grabbed her cross-body bag with the needed stuff before leaving the apartment.
She took quick steps down the stairs and took long strides to the end of the first floor, knocking on the door.
"Hello?" An elder woman, the landlady, opened the door quickly after the knock. "Oh, it's Miss Y/N. What seems to be the matter?"
"Good morning," Y/N bowed her head lightly. "I just wanted to ask something, you see... about the room I'm in, can you tell me anything about the person who used to live there?"
Landlady hummed in thought. "Well, you know, these apartments always have people coming and going," she stated, trying to think of the years of tenants in the past. "Now, what was that boy's name? I believe he was a man about your age. He suddenly left a month ago. Said to leave the furniture and use it, however!"
"You wouldn't know where he went?" Y/N asked with a little hope.
"I never heard that, no," the landlady shook her head with a sad smile. "Just up and left out of the blue!" She was closing her eyes tightly to try and get deep into her thoughts. "I just can't remember that name! I could rummage through my documents to find the previous tenant if you'd like?"
Y/N raised her hands before the landlady could turn to enter her apartment. "N-No, there's no need," she assured. "I was just a little curious." she bowed her head at the landlady with a small smile. "Thanks, I'll see you around."
"Alrighty!" The landlady beamed brightly. "Sorry I wasn't useful!"
She couldn't reassure the landlady as the door was closed in front of her. "A man about my age," she hummed in thought, digging her hands into the hoodie pocket and making her way to the stairs. "I can only wonder what he was like."
Y/N removed one hand from the pocket but stopped when noticing black markings under the door.
Barely there but noticeable.
"Already?" She tightened her eyes shut and took a deep breath to prep herself for whatever was going to happen in a few seconds. Y/N opened the door and saw the black markings in a path to the main room. Steps were taken into the room to see the markings going into the crack in the wall. At the crack of the wall, she noticed something shining inside.
Reaching in, she felt the small item and dragged her arm out before feeling it get stuck. A brass key. It seemed way too fancy for any locks in the complex.
No offense to the landlady.
Nothing happened for a while as she sat at the table, trying to think of what had happened. "Voices of a man and a kid, the mirror writing, the T.V. turning on, the tea," she listed off one by one, letting out a hasty chuckle. "It's like a poltergeist or something." Y/N leaned back into the sofa and brought her head back to hit the top. "The landlady would've mentioned this kind of thing. I think. What's going on here?"
Her eyes closed, trying to think deeply. "Not that I'd much care if there were ghosts here. Nobody'd be too bothered if they haunted and killed me, either." Her hands reached up and covered her eyes. "But I wonder about that scrap of paper—what was the man who lived here like? Did this stuff happen when he was here?"
Nothing came to mind, and she swung forward and groaned. "Not much use thinking about it. I'll call it a day."
Maybe if she took a nap, it would get her mind to function better. Changing into her pajamas, still with the hoodie, Y/N got into bed and snuggled her head into the hoodie. The scent never left, even after she washed it so many times, which lulled her to sleep. And it seemed to have helped her fall asleep.
However, it did a little more than was needed, as she was woken up in the middle of the night by a strange noise.
Y/N got out of bed, looking at the clock. She was confused about the sound, knowing it wasn't from the clock, and why it sounded like it was in the house. It took her a while to look around, but she could find it in the closet next to the computer desk in the computer room.
Was there a radio there? Y/N didn't remember there being one when hanging her tops.
But not only did the sound catch her attention, but there was also a piece of paper underneath. Not only that... but it was an address. "Our Special Place" was titled at the top.
Y/N sighed, folding the paper and placing it in the hoodie pocket. She closed the closet and went through the door to the main room. But she froze on the spot. No movement in her bones. Finally, her right foot took a step forward, and she was shaking hard in fear. Y/N wanted to scream at the top of her lungs.
She couldn't talk anymore if she did, but she couldn't.
-
I M W A I T I N G F O R Y O U
-
Blood was written on the wall, and Y/N almost fell to her knees because she felt weak. She was stuttering out questions of what this meant and why it was there. But she wasn't able to complete sentences.
Nothing was clear to her.
The only clear thing was that she got her voice back. And from that, she ran out with a scream.
The first place she thought of going was Jane's and Namjoon's apartment. And she did. They took her in without questioning. After calming her down, the newlywed couple had her sleep on the couch.
Feeling safe with the scent of the hoodie, Y/N slept with ease.
No voices, no glass breaking, no electricity turning itself on.
Peace.
Morning came around, and Jane woke Y/N up before she slept through the whole day.
The two ended up starting a conversation when settling at the dining room table. "Did you sleep well?" Jane asked. "Sorry, you had to sleep on the couch."
"Nah, I should be sorry for coming over so late," Y/N apologized instead, trying to take the blame for waking them up so late.
Jane laughed. "Wasn't expecting it, but don't sweat it," she waved off her best friend. Jane looked at Y/N more. She noticed the details of the bags under Y/N's eyes, which were paler and tired, despite having had almost eight hours of sleep. "Did something happen? You don't look too hot."
"There's no particular reason," Y/N mumbled, trying to keep it away from Jane. They already saw her panicking, but she never explained what had happened. "Maybe I felt like intruding into the newlyweds' love nest."
"Why you!" Jane raised a hand, threatening to slap Y/N. But the girl only chuckled. She sighed and leaned into her chair. "Seriously, though. You can tell me if anything happens, okay? I'll do whatever I can for you!"
Y/N smiled warmly, even if it was crooked. "I'm glad to know a gal who looks out for her friends," she teased more.
"You making fun of me?!" Jane growled, controlling herself. She took a deep breath to calm down. "I heard from Namjoon. Sorry about the Jeongguk thing. I told him off for that." Y/N tried to ensure Jane that it wasn't Namjoon's fault and to not worry about it. "It's not about whose fault it is. . .I'm just not happy about it. Don't let it get you down, alright?" She had a look of annoyance, but not at Y/N. "I know you've got your mother to look after, but I think it's time you move on and look for new people!"
The last sentence made Y/N chuckle in pain. "As if a girl like me could find a date," she spoke melancholy. "I'm just some clerk with a mom in the hospital. . .and the guy I wanted to marry ran from me."
Jane rolled her eyes. "Don't be such a sissy," she lightly insulted. "You keep up that moping, and you'll have your own personal rain cloud!"
Y/N snorted at her best friend. "I'll be careful then," she promised playfully. Her thought went back to the piece of paper with the address. Reading that felt like it was tugging her to it. Something about this previous tenant wouldn't let her leave.
She wanted to know so much about this tenant. She wanted to find out about this guy, even if it was random.
"I'm going to go on a little trip," she said, her eyes going to Jane. "Don't want to waste my vacation, you know." That piqued Jane's attention, asking Y/N where she was going. "Just somewhere I was wondering about. I'll call you when I get there."
"Sweet, send a postcard!" Jane asked, but quickly took it back. "Nah, but don't, actually."
The door opened to show Namjoon. "Breakfast's ready, Jane," he informed, looking a bit nervous. He wasn't one to cook. It was mainly Jane who cooked, but he offered so she could check up on Y/N. "Y/N, will you be eating too?"
"Nah, I'm not hungry," Y/N rejected. "I'll be going."
"Come by anytime,"
Even if she dreaded going back into the apartment, Y/N knew she had to. She had to find out about the address and where it was located. Looking through many books and maps, she finally spotted where the address would lead. It was supposedly a place in the mountains, and it would take her about five hours to drive there.
Maybe the former tenant went to the place in the mountains.
Y/N only wanted to ask him about the room; maybe he'll know something.
"Hell, why not just go now?" she mumbled her thoughts. "I can't stand this place, anyway." Y/N changed her outfit to be more comfortable. White long-sleeve turtleneck that hugged her body and an oversized black hoodie. Ripped light blue sailor jeans that covered her black combat boots. Y/N grabbed her cross-body bag and her galaxy-themed small backpack with snacks and drinks.
After double checking she had everything, she left the damned apartment.
