"Khan," Hesa called from the doorway.
The boy he called instantly turned his head.
"Yo?"
"The others want to play something," Hesa said.
"Play?" Arkhan asked.
"I don't know either. They just said everyone has to gather first," Hesa replied.
"Okay, wait."
Arkhan walked toward Hesa and showed him the drawing he was holding.
"Look at this."
"The Lavender ghost" Hesa said.
"Yeah. I redrew it. I gave the hair blue and gray," Arkha explained.
"Why redraw it?" Hesa asked.
"The one yesterday was too creepy. I didn't mean to mock that demon, but it really looked creepy," Arkha said.
"Hard to explain… it has a sweet but scary visual. Like a haunted doll," Hesa muttered as he took the paper.
"This is good, even though I still think the original is better," Hesa added.
"If you want it, take it," Arkha said.
~~~~~~~
Hesa and Arkha walked to the living room where the others had already gathered.
"Let's play, guys," Jio said.
"What a play?" Satya asked.
"I don't know the name of the game, but for now let's just call it clap. One person gets blindfolded and stands in the middle while the others surround them. The blindfolded person has to catch someone based on the sound of clapping," Jio explained.
"Sounds fun," Setta said.
"Let's just try it," Niki said.
"Who wants to be the seeker first?" Satya asked.
"I'll do it," Joan volunteered. "I happen to have a cloth to use as a blindfold."
Joan pulled out a red cloth from his pocket—something that made Hesa freeze for a second.
He standing beside a huge empty swimming pool. He had looked down into the dusty, leaf-filled basin. His eyes caught a strange red cloth lying inside. He had climbed down to pick it up.
"This cloth is clean…" he muttered, holding the red fabric, then pressing it to his face, hoping for some kind of vision.
"Sakala…"
Crack.
"Hey?"
Right on time, Arkha caught Hesa before he fell to the floor.
"What happened?" Arkha asked, confused.
Hesa hesitated.
"N-no… my head suddenly hurt."
"You looked like you were spacing out," Niki said.
"He's dizzy, Nik. Of course his eyes look empty," Setta said.
"B-but I'm okay now. Seriously," Hesa insisted.
"Then just sit out," Jio said.
"I want to play," Hesa quickly replied.
The others exchanged glances.
"Seriously, I'm not dizzy anymore," he reassured.
"Okay, guys, let him play. If he gets dizzy again, he can stop," Joan said.
"Fine," Niki agreed.
"By the way, Jo… where'd you get that cloth?" Hesa asked.
"It's mine. Why?" Joan replied.
"N-nothing. L-let's start," Hesa said quickly.
They started the game, taking turns being the seeker until it was Hesa's turn.
He tied the red cloth over his eyes. He could still faintly see the floor—his friends' feet moving around him. At first nothing seemed strange, until he noticed a pair of bare feet wearing white pants standing perfectly still among the others.
He quickly lifted the blindfold and looked around.
"What's wrong?" Setta asked.
"J-just—" his serious look melted instantly.
"My eyes were itchy."
"I thought something happened," Jio said.
The others believed him easily, but Arkha didn't. The boy stared at him blankly.
"Sorry for scaring you guys," Hesa said.
His hands trembled as he tied the cloth again.
None of his friends wore white pants. And all of them were wearing shoes.
Despite shaking, he continued the game.
He peeked downward again.
Nothing.
No feet.
No shadows.
No movement.
"Guys…"
His breath quickened. He tore the blindfold off.
"Guys… are you pranking me?"
Everyone had disappeared.
He was alone.
But he hadn't heard footsteps. No running. Nothing.
With trembling steps, he began searching for his friends.
Room after room—empty.
As if only he existed inside the entire villa.
"Guys… where are you…" his voice cracked.
Crack.
The sharp sound made him instinctively walk toward it.
His heart froze.
It was the same room where he had met the Lavender demon yesterday.
He opened the door, entered, and closed it behind him.
Standing in the same spot as before was someone with their back to him.
"…Setta?"
The boy turned around, smiling—too wide.
~~~~~~~
"My car's fixed," Jio said as he walked back in after being outside with the mechanic for a long time.
"The tire's not leaking anymore?" Satya asked.
"Nope. Replaced already. The mechanic also checked the other parts. Why call a mechanic all the way here if the car would still be broken?" Jio said.
"Okay lah, trust this rich guy," Satya joked.
"Better start loading your stuff into the car. We're going to the hospital first anyway," Jio said.
"Okay," Niki said, standing up. The others followed.
"You guys go ahead. I'm staying here a bit," Arkha said.
"Okay. We'll wait, but not too long," Setta said.
"Yeah, yeah," Arkha said.
Everyone left, and Arkha remained sitting alone on the sofa.
He looked at the clock—4 PM.
"Since one o'clock… that's about three hours."
His eyes drifted toward Hesa, lying unconscious on the opposite sofa. The boy moved, slowly opening his eyes. His head turned toward Arkha.
"Khan?" Hesa murmured.
"Still dizzy?" Arkha asked.
Hesa shook his head and sat up.
"Why am I here? Where did you guys go?"
"What do you mean?" Arkha frowned.
"You guys disappeared when it was my turn to be the seeker," Hesa said.
"Disappeared? You fainted not long after you put on that blindfold," Arkhan said.
"W-what?!"
~~~~~~~
Drap drap drap.
Quiet, cautious footsteps echoed through the boarding house corridor.
He kept glancing around, making sure no one saw him.
He tightened her gray hoodie and tucked him red hair deeper under the hood.
Reaching a room, he crouched and slid a folded note under the door.
Drap drap drap.
He looked up—someone was approaching.
"J-Jaehyuk."