Chapter nine: Best wishes from other side.

Part I


ADVENTURES GONE WRONG!

The mysterious disappearance of Andong's junior high schoolers

Authorities of Andong have been reported of a disappearance of four high schoolers yesterday (20th). The four boys — Kim Tae Yeon(16), Kim Min Ah(16), Lee Yeon Gi(16) and Park Dae Hyun(15) — were last spotted on the paths heading towards the northern parts of the noted 'Whispering Forest'. In an interrogation, their fellow classmates have admitted that the boys were preparing for an 'adventure'.

The forest holds fame for a number of mysterious disappearances. One of such was the 1946 case of the missing farmers. The three farmers–Kim Bong Chang(59), Yun Seok Ju (60) and Baek Bong Gil(55) had gone searching for wood, and two of them, have disappeared without a trace. Yun Seok Ju — the one survived, was immediately admitted to a mental health institute and was going under treatment until passing away in 1987.

"It's the spirits!" say the villagers. "The deaf and blind; the hosts of the guests house...They(the boys) had probably drunk their soju!..."

The myths and legends about the noted forest has again stirred up, and the village authorities are planning to build a fence around its borders to ensure more safety to the surroundings.

Search parties have been sent out, under the guidance of Inspector Park Chang Ho. Though currently, they have been removed due to the difficult weather conditions. Despite the various folklore, Inspector Park stays stiff on his believes.

"We take this as a crime. A crime to be solved. Our investigations won't stop, until the boys are found and safely reunited with their respective families."


"1992, May." Yi Jeong read the date of issue, before handing over the paper-cut. So it was a spirits' guest house— they've been. He processed the facts.

"The forest has been abandoned ever since." Said Bom Chun Hee—Master's dongseong and ten years his junior. Receiving the worn piece of paper, she safely placed it back in a metal box along with another few articles of its own kind.

"No one had been there for ages." She said looking up. "Until You two did."

...

...

It was an early evening—about an hour past sunset—with orange ness still lingering on clouds. The streets were already dark, and the lamps were lit, showering the pavements with yellow lights. The hanok was bright and lively and much to their pleasure—facilitated—with electricity.

The three of them— So Yi Jeong, Chu Ga Eul and Bom Chun Hee—were gathered around the short table at their dining. Chun Hee, who was eight months pregnant, was allowed to do nothing and the other two, were too tired to do anything. Hence it was only Master and Go Hyun Bin—his brother-in-law— who were running around the kitchen, preparing dinner.

"So... the boys..." It was Ga Eul. "... Did they find them?"

Chun Hee shook her head. " Not a trace of them. No one knows what happened to them, or at the least..." She hesitated. "...if they're still alive."

Ooh... they probably did not. Stirred a ghostly voice in Ga Eul's ears. In second thoughts... they wouldn't have returned home, even if they were alive...

"Waeyo?"

"Eh?"

"Ani..." Ga Eul chuckled.

The article had missed a little detail in it... The whispers continued. ... their cloths were found neatly folded —and who knows? Perhaps ironed? By that creepy old lady—lying near the fence, the very next day...And for your information... the bundles included their underwear as well...

"Eww!" Ga Eul made a face, but fortunately for her, a rattling and clattering of bowls came out from the kitchen, distracting them.

A few seconds later, came a loud clang. A bowl was dropped, and was shattered in to pieces.

"Gwen chanaeyo?" Chun Hee called out, slightly turning her round figure towards the kitchen.

"Gwen chana, gwen chana." Came two muffled replies.

She smiled and turned back to Ga Eul. "Oh, what were you saying ?"

The ghostly voice continued, as Ga Eul tried to form a question as soon as possible. "P-Park Dae Hyun... Was he... a friend of Master?"

"Not close friends—as far as I know... Just classmates." Chun Hee said. "But that was an intriguing case— quite the talk of the town back then... It even marked the beginning of —you know— uri oppa's 'research'..." She chuckled tapping the little box.

"Oh. Yes. Hyung had told that before." Yi Jeong grinned, reminiscing the day they(Ga Eul and Master) had opened up about their reasons to share the interests. Yi Jeong did not. And he had better reasons to keep them hidden.

A silence followed as both Yi Jeong and Ga Eul took turns to exchange awkward smiles with Chun Hee, deliberately dismissing the opportunities to give a helping hand at the kitchen. In many ways, it had been an exhausting weekend so far.

It was mostly due to the stay at the said 'spirits' guesthouse' which was clearly not meant for humans.(How Ga Eul had thought that mattress would be comfortable?) But gladly for them, they were offered better accommodations at Chun Hee's and Hyun Bin's.

They were given two separate rooms; Yi Jeong–the guest room–and Ga Eul–the little living place between the guest room and the couple's room turned in to a bedroom. In which they had resided for the better part of that day, easing their joints and backs that ached from their previous stay. But sadly for Yi Jeong, he didn't get to rest for long.

Barely an hour past, he was woken up by a call from a very concerned Song Woo Bin. Much to his dismay, his 'concerns' only grew worse, after he had absent-mindedly slipped the (unnecessary) detail about sharing a room with Ga Eulyang.

Well, Yi Jeong blamed Master. He was the one who had informed the rest of the F4, first thing after their 'supposed' disappearance.

But it appears, that Master had had his reasons too.

"I still remember that day, as if it was yesterday." Speaking of whom, who just returned from the kitchen, with a very large container of glutinous rice.

"The police first suspected it had something to do with bullying, but anniyo... They weren't the type to be bullied." He let out a grunt, placing the container on the middle. "Perhaps the spirits had understood that as well."

... It was more likely the other way...you know?... The demon chuckled. ... Can't you see? Happiness is gleaming out from those little spectacles...

"Master's not like that." Ga Eul whispered under her breath.

... Isn't he?... Or perhaps then that's curiosity... that disease!...beware! it runs in their family!..

Ga Eul rolled her eyes. "Baekga, can't you please_"

"_Ughm." Master interrupted, clearing his throat, and eyed at his sister.

Oh. There... we... go... again.

She heard the demon sigh, but Ga Eul didn't reply. Instead she cringed, and cleared her throat, pretending to straighten her skirt. They were told on beforehand, not to bring up the inauspicious subject about Baekga, in front of the expecting mother.

"So... the spirits." Yi Jeong interrupted. "I never thought about that. Do you think that was why they could step through the talisman?"

Master nodded with a sigh. "I suppose so. They are deities after all." He adjusted his glasses. "Not quite evil, though mischievous and greedy ones."

Yi Jeong smirked. "Oh, that explains a lot." He said, leaning towards the rice container and helping himself with a few spoons-ful.

"In fact, it's mostly these legends about them running a guesthouse and serving soju, that turns their guests into silver sculptures."

"Sounds ridiculous."

"Of course it is."

"It's probably a made-up tale by the villagers. There were a lot of silver, hanging from their boundary wall, but none of those was a sculpture."

"Yes. Yes." Master nodded, heading back to the kitchen.

During the silence that followed after, Yi Jeong took a moment to scan the premise. The hanok was renovated—he noticed. The kitchen, which stood at the far end of the house, was connected to the central dining through a slender corridor, neatly bypassing the other bedroom that was at his left.

The room was still a mystery—none of them were led in there, during their little 'tour' around the house. It's doors were sealed with dust and cobwebs. Though Yi Jeong assumed the rooms were recently cleaned, for some reason, the little spiders were persistent.

At the sides of the locked doors( were they locked, in the first place?) lied two short racks, the antique type, with thin bars and a square plate of wood, supporting a large porcelain vase, containing bouquets of lavender. And from one of which a grumpy Ga Eul was angrily pricking the buds.

Well... they could have always melted them?.. and make a prettier bracelet or something?... Baekga was objecting. No one with a right mind would decorate their entrance with figures of naked horrified men!... what would happen to their first impression?!

Ga Eul pursed her lips. She couldn't demand the demon to shut up and not that evil inauspicious creature would understand it himself.

I am the only evil one here?! The inauspicious?!

But of course, it could read her mind, which had some advantages as well.

...Ahrasso, ahrasso... I'll shut up. Just come begging for help when you need it!...

Ga Eul let out an exhale, when at last the whispers came to a halt.

Chun Hee stared at her brother, who disappeared back to the kitchen. As soon as he did, she leaned in ( as much as her swollen belly had allowed) and hurriedly whispered.

"There's this other legend about a terrible injustice. Two lovers, brutally murdered...They say it's their ghosts, still roaming in the forest searching for ea_"

"_I think it's high time we stop this conversation." Said Master, returning with two dishes on his hands. He laid them on the table and shot a stern look at his sister.

"Deh, deh, Yeoboe... Ghosts and murders... It's not good for the baby!..." Hyun Bin followed behind.

Chun Hee rolled her eyes. " Aish! You two never let me do anything!" she let out a cry. "You know what? That makes me even more stressed!"

Silence...

The in-laws shared a horrified look, before starting to shower her with affection.

...

...

Oh...no. please. Do kill me! The ghostly voice returned. And almost forgot... I am already dead!

But this time, it had a point. Ga Eul was growing tired of that drama. Hyun Bin massaged her shoulders (and then her feet?) as master went on about the nutritional benefits of the dishes they've prepared, voluntarily filling her bowl, as Chun Hee enjoyed all the attention she'd got.

Ga Eul let out a sigh, which coincidentally came together with one of Yi Jeong's . Their eyes met for an instance, and then turned away.

"Ga Eulah, how did your date go? Was it fun? I almost forgot to ask..."

It'd be a surprise if he had remembered...

Master looked up, still grinning after whatever cooing of his unborn niece.

"D-date?" Ga Eul went stiff.

The rest of the table turned towards her. (Except for Yi Jeong, who was more interested in his bowl of rice and pair of chopsticks.)

"You were really excited about it, weren't you?" Master shot a confused look.

"Oh. That one." Ga Eul cringed even lower. She sighed. The demon was cheering in her ears.

C'mon! tell them! They'd love to hear the good news!... It was rocking back and forth, giggling, like one of those dumb fan girls back in Seoul, who squeals whenever seeing the F4.

Despite its plea, Ga Eul kept silent.

"I think they broke up." Yi Jeong answered from the depths of his seat, his eyes still glued to his bowl. "She doesn't talk about it anymore."

Silence...

"Oh. I see." Master cringed. "I've always thought you two were acting weird, ever since arriving here. I thought it was something else..." he sighed again, still with his confused face. "By the way, Yi Jeongah, that bruise on your neck, hasn't it spread wider?" he reached for the purple spot on his neck, which had grown into the size of a coin.

"Aish! Stay away from me!" Yi Jeong let out a cry, playfully pushing him away. He scratched the itchy spot, and shot him a childish glare. "You know that tickles me." He murmured.

Laughter spread around the table as Yi Jeong took time to regain his composure.

"By the way," Yi Jeong straightened up. "... when are you going to explain that 'urgent purpose' you've called us for?"

...

...

...

The most part of the next day was spend on typical tourist stuff— a tour around the Hahoe village and a visit to the mask museum. No need to say, Yi Jeong had first preferred indoors on that hot summer day, but unfortunately for him, the colleagues he had chosen consisted of 'very excited tourists' who objected his decision. Under that white shirt and shorts, he was sweating like a popsicle in sun and couldn't be more glad, when they finally agreed to turn around.

It was way past noon and almost dark, when they returned to Chun Hee's and Hyun Bin's, where they had an early dinner and finally settled for their actual purpose.

The case.

Just as Yi Jeong had suspected, it was to do with that room.

In fact, it had once belonged to Hyun Bin's father who had passed away two years prior to his marriage to Chun Hee. The house was silent ever since. Psychically. Until recently there were some disturbing occurrences.

"There were knocks on our door, at the middle of the night. But when I slid them open, there was none." Said Chun Hee. "And there was this noises on walls, beckoning to abeoujji's room. But it had always been empty. Well..." She hesitated "...if not for that strong smell of alcohol."

Yes. It was always there—the unappealing odour, mingled with grief, dissatisfaction and depression. Both Yi Jeong and Ga Eul could sense it spreading across the dark room, filling every corner of it and fighting for dominance with the strong scent of lavender.

"Appa... was an alcoholic. As far as I could remember, he had been one." It was Hyun Bin. "Every won my eomma had earned labouring all day and night was wasted on his drinks and gambling..." He sniffed aloud, and was comforted with a pat on his shoulder by his wife. "Eomma died overworked."

In addition to the lavender guarding the door, there was salt sprinkled all around the floor, keeping the visitor at bay. They didn't put the lights on, as any source of bright light could distract the psychic senses. They kept silent and listened. There came no sound, except for the soft thud thud thud on walls and the heavy sound of feet, lazily dragging along the floor. And if their listening was good enough, there were a click clack and click..

Whatever street light that flowed through the tiny window at their left, was inexplicably absorbed.

The pencil beam of Yi Jeong's torch scanned the cupboards. Chun Hee was right. Everything was left untouched. There were a few pairs of trousers, grey shirts and moth-eaten hanboks, rather stuffed than neatly packed, on the upper shelf. A folded mattresses and a blanket in the middle, and an empty packet of cigarettes barely apparent through the nets of cobwebs woven inside the lowest rack. The tall book rack was dust coated and forgotten. An old lighter was the only object lying on the short cabinet. A bulb-less holder, gloomily suspended from the ceiling. Little black bodies ran all around the colourless walls, in search for a shelter from their torch lights.

The room was empty, but somehow felt occupied.

The expectant couple was sent to reside at their neighbour's leaving the whole hanok for the psychics for the night. Salt lines were laid around the house, and the haunted room was mopped—its floor boards cleaned, the rest undisturbed and the doors left open, welcoming the visitor.

"Shamans were told to destroy the spirits. But I can't do that." Hyun Bin sighed. "He was my father after all."

The mission was to find the source, seal it in his own grave and chase the ghost away.

But of course for that, they first needed something to attract it; a worm, dangling on the tip of their fishing rod.

And the brilliant idea came from Master himself.

"You see... ghosts aren't that intelligent creatures. They have poor eyesight and mostly attracted to smell." He had his glasses off and was fiercely rubbing them on his t-shirt. "In other words, they are quite unable to tell them apart: the genuine from a duplicate." He put them on and grinned. "And not to mention, you two would make a nice couple."

And that was how Yi Jeong ended up in Hyun Bin's pyjamas and Ga Eul in Chun Hee's with a pillow attached to her stomach in order to act as a baby bump. They lied under the blanket, maintaining the longest (and safest) distance possible, staring at the ceiling with similar blank expressions and regretting (for the thousandth time) their decision to follow Master to Andong

"You know it's pointless cursing me. I am not at fault in this." Yi Jeong broke the long silence. He had his right arm bended at the elbow serving his head as a cushion. (His pillow was given to Ga Eul, while hers formed the baby bump. Smells were significant— said Master) "I was the only one who objected. You didn't say a single word against that punk!" He continued.

In truth, Ga Eul was too shocked to say anything at all and not to mention distracted, by that demon, babbling nonsense, non-stop in her ears.

...And I've made the count. This is the third in line and the fifth in total—the times you've slept with him!... Including that once you've shared the sofa and that time when a rat invaded your room... of course that pumpkin slept in between but it could always be counted as one... But I only considered the general meaning of 'sleeping' but if_

Ga Eul sighed. "Just shut up."

"Mwo?"

Yi Jeong allowed a sigh himself, and turned around to face the wall. "You and me..."He sighed again. "... we are both suffering because of our friends." He tugged the blanket towards himself, wrapping it around his torso. It was more in terms of equality. ( She was given two pillows...) The silence and ticking clocks were allowed to lull him to sleep.

...

...

But Silence...

...was a luxury only the rest of the house had.

Not for Ga Eul.

...You could always command me to sleep you know... If you hate my voice that much... But no!... that ghost could appear anytime!... And you'll need me then... hehehe... what a dilemma!...

The demon let an evil laughter.

Poor poor Ga Eul...I feel sooo sorry about you... and flattered it's long eyelashes.

–to be continued.


A/N:

I wasn't planning to split this chapter, like I've done with the last two. But I thought there were too many things to be said in here. So for the convenience, this chapter will have two parts for it.

Myrslayer– Thanks for the encouragement! I will keep that in mind not to rush the story:)

Jodiemarie2910- Thank you for all your kind words!

And anyone else who reads this story, I am truly grateful for your support!

I'll be trying to update the next part as soon as possible.

I admit the story wasn't much of a romance so far. But I promise I'll do my best not to disappoint any of you!

:)