Kringgggg.
The sound of the alarm woke Hesa that morning.
He got up from his bed weakly. He had been awake on and off all night, unable to feel at peace. His mind was still filled with the unexplainable events that happened at the villa yesterday.
But the rumbling in his stomach forced him to get up and forget about that matter for a moment.
Hesa stepped out of his room, but as he reached the front door of his boarding house and was about to open it, he noticed a piece of paper slipped under the door.
— Last night I saw your friend being chased and then caught by his dark side. I'm sorry I couldn't help him. —
"Whose sticky note is this?"
Despite being confused, Hesa didn't want to overthink it. He simply placed the sticky note on his table, then left his place to look for food.
When he reached another block of the boarding house, he saw some workers there. Hesa remembered that this block had structural issues. He knew because Jaehyuk lived around here and often complained about his room leaking every time it rained.
Thud.
"Sorry," said a young man as he picked up the things he dropped.
"N-no, it's my fault, I'm the one standing in the middle of the path," said Hesa, reflexively helping him.
He had been too distracted watching the workers to realize he was blocking someone's way.
"Sorry, I accidentally made your stuff fall," said Hesa.
"Hehe, it's okay," the sweet-looking boy said with a smile.
Hesa glanced at the boy, who was still wearing his uniform. His hand reflexively reached out to straighten the boy's nametag, which had been crooked. The small gesture made the boy look flustered.
"T-thank you," he said.
"New here?" Hesa asked.
"Y-yeah, I just moved in. The landlady told me to leave some of my stuff here first while my room is being renovated."
"What's your room number?" asked Hesa.
"N-number 4."
"Be careful with the room next to yours. Room number 3," said Hesa.
"W-what's wrong with that room?" the boy asked.
"The tenant is… anomalous," said Hesa before walking away. He continued toward the front gate of the boarding house. Not far from there were many food stalls, and even from a distance, the delicious aroma was tempting.
"HESA!"
Jaehyuk called out while waving. Hesa walked toward his friend, who was sitting and waiting for his fried rice order.
"Should I get the same thing?" Hesa asked.
"Yeah, order it. We can wait here together," said Jaehyuk.
"Alright then," said Hesa, heading over to order his food. He returned shortly afterward.
"Wait for me, okay?" said Hesa.
"Relax, I don't think mine's even cooking yet," said Jaehyuk.
Hesa looked around the area; it was pretty crowded.
"Jae, your room's being renovated, huh?" he asked.
"How'd you know so fast? I was just about to tell you," said Jaehyuk.
"I saw it earlier when I passed your block," said Hesa.
"That landlady is unbelievable. She only renovates when someone new moves in. I even heard the new guy originally wanted a room in your block, but it was full," said Jaehyuk.
"Oh, good thing it was full. That way your block gets renovated instead," said Hesa.
"Yeah, guess that's a win," Jaehyuk replied.
"I met him earlier. He's kinda timid… and pretty jumpy," said Hesa.
"Yeah, I talked to him too. Kinda seems like an easy target," said Jaehyuk with his annoying grin.
"Idiot." Hesa reflexively smacked his friend's head.
"But, don't you know him from somewhere?" asked Jaehyuk.
"Nope. Today was my first time seeing that new kid," said Hesa.
"I'm not trying to accuse Sakala or anything, but… did you find a weird piece of paper under your door today?" asked Jaehyuk.
"I did find a sticky note. How'd you know?" asked Hesa.
"Last night I saw someone slipping it under your door. I even tried knocking, but you didn't wake up," said Jaehyuk.
"So Sakala left that sticky note?" asked Hesa.
"He was wearing a black hoodie, totally covered up, so I couldn't see clearly. But I caught a glimpse of his hair—red," said Jaehyuk.
"That's why you're suspicious of Sakala? Just because he also has red hair?" Hesa thought for a moment, wondering if he had seen Sakala before.
"No, Jae. I don't know that kid at all. How could he suddenly show up and leave that note for me?"
After thinking carefully, it was true—Hesa didn't know the new tenant and had never met him before.
~~~~~~~
Around 1 p.m., Hesa finally arrived at his destination. He parked in front of Joan's house, noticing that his friends' vehicles were already there.
Without wasting time, he went inside to meet them.
"Guys, sorry I'm late," said Hesa.
"It's fine, as long as you brought bribes," said Niki, grabbing the paper bag of food from Hesa's hands.
"Yeah, I stopped by a restaurant first. Anyway, how's our content?" asked Hesa.
"No worries, it's edited and uploaded already," said Setta.
"Not exciting enough. I watched it again and there were no apparitions," said Satya.
Hesa could only smile faintly at Satya's comment, remembering Satya's reflection in the mirror when they played hide and seek.
"If you saw a real ghost you'd cry," said Jio.
"No, I wouldn't," Satya denied.
"You just didn't realize the place actually messed with us," said Jio.
"You got messed with?" asked Joan.
Jio nodded. "When I was making breakfast for you guys, Arkha talked to me and even asked me to make milk. But when I turned around, he wasn't there at all. I don't think it was a prank—it happened so fast, and the glass of milk he was supposedly drinking was gone too."
"At that time, I wasn't even there. I was waking up Hesa," said Arkha.
"So that villa wasn't just isolated… it was haunted. Look at this picture of me and Joan—it got an extra filter," said Niki, showing the photo.
"Whether you felt it or not, I think all of us were messed with. But what I'm most curious about is… Hesa," said Joan.
Hesa reflexively pointed at himself when everyone stared at him.
"During the clap game, you were acting really strange," said Joan.
"When it was my turn to guard, you guys disappeared. I kept looking until I found Setta, who looked terrifying," said Hesa.
"That's what you saw before you fainted, right?" asked Arkha.
"Yeah, I told you. I thought you guys were pranking me," said Hesa.
"Oh, just that? I thought you saw something weird even before that," said Arkha.
"That was weird enough. Looked like some kind of—"
**Vision?**
The word struck him. He *had* seen something before the game.
Before the clap game started, Joan had shown him a red cloth, and it made Hesa see something.
Someone was standing at the edge of the empty pool. That person removed the red cloth from their eyes… and someone called out their name.
"Hesa."
Hesa snapped back when Joan tapped his shoulder.
"G-guys, I think I need to go home," said Hesa, sounding uneasy.
"In a hurry?" asked Jio.
"I forgot I have plans with my girlfriend. S-sorry," said Hesa.
"Ohh, okay. Drive safe," said Setta.
Hesa quickly headed outside toward his car. But as he opened the door, he caught a glimpse of someone watching him from not too far away.
"T-that's the girl from before? The one who was supposedly cursed?"