There was slight discomfort in his left foot, but it was manageable. He could walk on his own now. Lim Soohyun climbed down the stairs as quietly as he could, and then his gaze fell on the basement door right under the stairs, but he didn't want to trouble Kiho any more than he already had. Turning, he stepped into the kitchen. His phone charger was here too, so he put his phone on charging as he sat down on the dining table.
He hadn't bought any other electronics with him to this house. The only other source of any easy entertainment would be Kiho's phone. Sometimes he'd be satisfied with the stuff available on the internet, but that was not an option. Glancing around, his eyes stopped on the knife holder.
Walking towards it, his hand moved to grab one. The kitchen scissors in the holder didn't interest him. He wanted the sharpest knife. Checking the sharpness of each blade, he selected the thinnest and sharpest knife out of the set of knives. Gripping the knife in his hand like he was out to murder someone, he turned around only to see Kiho walking into the kitchen, whose eyes followed the knife in his hand.
"Did I wake you up?"
"No, I was awake this whole time."
Kiho really didn't appear to be woken up from sleep, so Lim Soohyun believed him, casually taking a seat at the dining table.
"Couldn't sleep in an unfamiliar place?"
"No... but what are you planning to do with this knife?"
Kiho stood to the side as he asked.
"Have you heard of the knife game before?"
Lim Soohyun glanced up at him. Taking Kiho's silence as a 'no', Lim Soohyun placed his hand on the table's surface, palm down with his fingers apart.
"Using a knife or any other sharp object, you attempt to stab back and forth between your fingers, trying not to hit the fingers. That's the game. Simple and easy, but with high stakes."
Lim Soohyun hit the knife's edge on the table just below his thumb when a hand reached out to stop the knife in his hand from advancing further. Lim Soohyun naturally looked up at Kiho at the action.
"Please refrain from hurting yourself more. I am not here to babysit after you, Mr. Soohyun."
Clicking his tongue, Lim Soohyun loosened his grip, letting Kiho take away the knife from his hand.
"You should leave early in the morning. I'll pay you regardless because of the inconveniences I might have caused you."
"That might be difficult. I sleep in until noon at least."
"You eat one meal a day, then?"
Kiho slid the knife back into the holder before picking it up to hide it in the kitchen cabinet. Lim Soohyun waited for a response, scratching the talisman on the wall beside him with a bored expression.
"If you also can't sleep, I can keep you company, Mr. Soohyun."
"Can I play games on your phone, Kiho?"
Sitting next to Lim Soohyun, Kiho stared at him for a while but eventually gave in.
"Yay!"
Lim Soohyun added a sound effect as he got his hands on Kiho's unlocked phone, which had become a habit of his due to him being alone most of the time. He downloaded every single game that caught his eye. Only after that did he speak with Kiho, who was boring holes in him.
"So...did you see any ghosts or spirits here? I don't think it's that haunted, to be honest. Not much happened since I moved in here."
"There is a difference between a ghost and a spirit. A 'ghost' is often considered a lingering energy imprint from a sudden or traumatic death, while a 'spirit' is a more conscious and communicative entity, sometimes defined as the soul that has crossed over to the otherworld and may choose to return."
To the question he had nonchalantly asked from the top of his head, Kiho began to explain extensively, sounding like a real professional.
"All ghosts are spirits, but not all spirits are ghosts. You cannot define these things with just a word, but if I had to pick, the one in this house is a spirit of a woman who didn't cross over due to an unfair death. Full of resentful energy and with a strong urge to destroy everything. That's what I am sure of as of right now. For the séance, should we call her out directly? It would be more effective to know who to call for instead of diving into it blindly, or you can always call upon yourself another entity."
"I wouldn't suggest that. You never know what can come through."
Answering his own question, Kiho concluded, nodding to himself as if he was proud of his explanation. Lim Soohyun opened one game after another, but as soon as he got a hang of how the game worked, he'd get bored of it and delete it. Soon he had deleted everything. Squinting his eyes, he decided to finally return the phone to its original owner.
"By the way, Kiho, you're not going to be performing a séance anymore, so don't waste your time over this."
Kiho leaned onto the table, supporting his head with a hand as he stared long enough to make Lim Soohyun think he was seeing a spirit over his head before he got a response.
"Mr. Soohyun, if you have given up on it, good. If you are still going to continue doing it later, I'd like to be the one to perform it for you."
"I don't want to drag anyone into my mess and shoulder the responsibility of their safety. I'll do it alone."
Resolutely speaking out his mind, Lim Soohyun checked the time from the static clock on the wall. It was well past midnight. At that moment, he felt a touch on his hand resting on the table's surface. Seeing the unfamiliar sight of his hand under another person's hand, he raised a brow.
"Mr. Soohyun. I want to be the one to perform a séance. I am also very interested. In you specifically."