Yi Jung, wake up. Please.
I woke up, what time was it? I looked at the time. It was only six in the morning. I checked the calendar. Great, it was only a Saturday and yet I was already awake. I think school is the thing haunting me. I closed my eyes and went back to sleep...only I couldn't. I just kept hearing voices.
Yi Jung-ah!
Nothing's going to change. Go eat something.
I can't leave.
I'll watch him.
Ok. Do you want anything?
Whatever is good.
How could this happen...
"Can't they just shut up?!" I yelled in frustration.
"Is there something wrong?!" My umma had come running in. She looked panic-stricken and her face was all white. My abeoji was there too, he was horrified.
"Nothing, the dogs and birds just won't shut up." I lied. I didn't want to tell them I was hearing voices in my head – it wasn't exactly a great conversation starter. The last thing they needed was another kid to worry about.
It wasn't a family secret or anything – everyone knew I had an older brother and everyone knew he died, well I guess the only people who didn't know would be kids around my age since they were too young to remember. It just pains my parents to think about such things.
"So you had a brother that passed away?"
I nodded. "My parents don't like talking about it and you were too young."
"What happened?" She asked.
I sighed. "My brother was coming home from school on day, he was seven, he told my parents he wasn't feeling so well. My parents thought he must have been sick so they told him to go to bed. All I remember was hearing him screaming. I was only five so I don't remember it too well. My parents brought him to the hospital but by that time, it was too late."
She was starting to tear up. She was the type that always cried in movies, even if it was a happy ending. "What was wrong with him?"
"The doctors didn't know. It was the 90s and technology wasn't that great."
"Your parents must have been devastated."
I swung on the swing we were sitting at. Other children were playing in the sand while their parents gossiped on the benches. "Sometimes I wonder if they wished I was dead instead of my hyung."
She frowned. "Don't say that. Your parents love you."
"I know, I just wonder though. My hyung was smart. He always got excellent grades and helped out around the house. He would have been going to Seoul National if he was still alive."
She didn't say anything for a while, but when she did, it was surprising. She never failed to deliver. "Maybe that's why you never tell your parents you're smart."
"Huh?"
"You don't want to constantly remind them of their son that passed away, either that or you don't want them to mistaken you for your hyung."
"I never thought about it like that..." It sort of made sense to me.
"Tell me more about the voices."
"It's a male and female voice telling me to wake up."
"How creepy." She shuddered. The wind blew and she shivered.
"Come on, let's go somewhere else." I said. We walked into this dingy café that outsiders wouldn't have liked but it felt homey to us. Other teenagers were also relaxing in here. She ordered a strawberry milkshake and I got a root beer float.
"So how long have you been hearing these voices."
"For about a week now."
"You didn't tell me?" She sounded a bit sad.
"Sorry, it just wasn't a great topic and I know how scared you get." I said apologetically.
"So is it loud and clear?"
"Yeah, it started out very quietly, but now I can hear it so clearly when I go to sleep."
"Is your house haunted?"
We both laughed at that speculation. Our families have been living in those houses for such a long time, it was like a fact that it would be passed down to us. The idea of it being haunted was just preposterous, so much so that even a little kid who didn't have a clue about the "other world" would laugh at us and call us silly. If anything was haunting, it would be the fact that we all still reside there.
"So my mom was thinking our families can have dinner together."
"Great, what time?"
"Can you make it next week?"
"I'll check with them."
She nodded and smiled. "I can't believe everything is so perfect."
"Me too, it's almost scary."
She made a face. "Let's stop talking about ghosts."
"Agreed."
After meeting for a while at the park then at the café, Ga Eul had wanted to go back home. She still needed to study for exams despite the fact that they were months away. But that was Ga Eul for you, she always prepared and planned ahead of time. Sometimes it was endearing and other times it was annoying. I remember one time I tried to plan a trip out of nowhere...
"The beach?" She looked at me quizzically.
"Yeah, let's go."
"Do you have money for a bus ride?"
"I'm sure I do." I looked in my wallet and had a few bills. It was enough for two people to and fro.
"I didn't bring anything." She was a bit flustered.
"It's fine, we'll just go."
"Ah, the sunscreen!"
"We don't need it." I was starting to feel a bit irritated.
"But melanoma-"
"Ga Eul."
"You know I don't take skin cancer lightly."
"It's only going to be one day, not even one day, just a few hours."
"We'll need a hat and swimming clothes."
"Screw the hat and the swimming clothes."
"But what if we want to swim?"
I smiled. "We could always go skinny dipping."
"Yi Jung!"
"I'm just kidding."
"What should we do for lunch?"
"We just ate."
"Then dinner?"
I sighed. "Let's just forget it."
"Why?"
"It's not fun anymore."
She felt like she had been slapped. "Well sorry if being prepared is the most boring thing in the world, sorry if I just want us to have a fun time without worries."
"It would have been fun without all that preparation."
"Fine then, go have fun by yourself." She got up in a huff and left.
"Fine, I will."
Of course, eventually we did make up and just decided unanimously that only events that we could spontaneously go to are the movies and dinner. The park would have been an option too, but Ga Eul liked to know ahead of time so she could pack a lunch which I have no problem with.
"How was going out with Ga Eul?" My umma had asked me when I came back. She was just preparing for dinner and my abeoji was in the living room.
"Fine, she says hello and oh right, her omonim wants us all to have dinner with them."
"That's wonderful." She smiled. I always loved it when my umma smiled. She had warm brown eyes that crinkled and her bright smile that revealed her dimples made me feel safe and happy. It was the same smile she had given me when I was a kid every night when she would confirm for me again and again that there were no monsters under the bed or in the closet.
"Yeah, I can't wait." I smiled back.
Her mom had chose a nice family restaurant that was filled with people, but luckily she had made reservations. My girlfriend looked very beautiful as usual, she greeted my parents warmly and poured them tea. She was like the perfect daughter-in-law, genial and polite.
I excused myself to the restroom and I washed my hands. As I looked up, I saw a dark figure and I jumped. I slowly looked again and it was gone.
Yi Jung. You promised me...
I turned around. There was no one. It was really weird. I wonder that was going on. It was starting to scare me. I should have been used to it by now since I hear it in my sleep, but now it was calling me while I was awake. I splashed cold water on my face, I must be going crazy.
When I walked back to the table which was in its own personal room, everyone seemed to break up the conversation and stared at me.
"Is something wrong?" I asked when I took my seat next to my umma and across from Ga Eul.
"Nothing." She smiled. "We were just talking about my plans for college."
"Oh." I smiled back.
"Is everyone available for the summer?"
"Why?" I asked.
"Well, I got a letter from Yonsei!" Ga Eul announced. "They want me to visit the campus."
Everyone was ecstatic. I grabbed her hand while they all cheered. My dad even ordered us some soju which was very rare for him to do.
"You know, since Ga Eul got that letter, let's all take a trip there."
"To Yonsei? Abeonim, that's so kind of you."
"Ga Eul, you're like a daughter to me and I'm proud of you." He smiled.
I could tell she was getting teary eyed. She walked over to him and hugged him who hugged back, to my surprise. Sadly though, Ga Eul's mom had to work so she couldn't go. The plan was to go in two weeks when we had break and it was summer.
Our parents drove home while we opted to walk after dinner was done, we held hands and the night sky was beautiful. Perhaps one of the most beautiful I have ever seen. The only terrible thing was we had to walk by that abandoned house. I couldn't keep myself from ignoring it so when I took a glance at it, I could have sworn I saw a woman looking back at me.
