"Busy thinking of ways to get rid of me?"
Kiho posed a question, but not in a questioning tone.
"You're absolutely right. I've been quiet because I really have to go to the bathroom. It must be the coffee..."
Mumbling the last words, Lim Soohyun sneaked past Kiho.
"You stay here and finish your drink. It might take a bit long."
Holding his stomach, he rushed to the ground floor where the men's bathroom was—or at least wanted to—until he saw Kiho getting up, ready to follow.
"What are you doing?"
"Let's go, Mr. Soohyun."
Without hesitation, Kiho grabbed his drink and walked past in even more of a hurry than him to go to the ground floor. Lim Soohyun grumbled under his breath and followed after him.
Should I just run out the door? No, why do I have to do that?
"Kiho... let's go our separate ways from here. I'm going to stay in Gangnam. You go home now."
"Where in Gangnam?"
Kiho asked as they walked out of the café, rendering him speechless.
"I'm not meeting any new mediums. I think it's best to avoid them for the next ten years at least."
"I'll drop you off. Get in."
Lim Soohyun stared at the car door being opened for him. His mind was already spiraling due to his boredom. He decided to give up for now. Getting in the car, he immediately reclined his seat all the way back until all he could see was the ceiling of the car.
"That's dangerous, Mr. Soohyun. Please sit upright and put on your seatbelt."
Kiho spoke from the driver's seat. Closing his eyes to cancel out the thoughts creeping into his mind, he mumbled out a response in a low voice.
"Doesn't matter... just drive."
"What is it? Are you being deprived of any solid entertainment?"
He was in the same condition he'd be in while he was working for a company. For eight hours he'd try to get through it because he knew he could do something interesting after work. He would look forward to that time and pull through, but now that it was becoming unclear when he'd be able to see and feel any merriment, he was starting to lose any motivation to do basically anything a normal person should be able to with no problems.
"Mr. Soohyun."
"Don't talk for a bit. Let me clear my mind."
"Does visiting another haunted house spark your interest? The process of uncovering something new and previously unfamiliar is inherently exciting."
"...."
Readjusting his seat, he quickly put on his seatbelt.
"Let's go. Where is it? When will we get there?"
"It's a house in my neighborhood. It should take about thirty minutes."
Starting the car, Kiho spoke, putting down the location in the car's GPS.
"You live in a village? I thought only old people lived there."
"I live with my grandparents. They like living in the village."
This time Lim Soohyun didn't even have to fight over the volume. Kiho turned it up to as much as he had. It was more difficult to think about anything else because the music was too loud, keeping his head filled with many different words. Keeping a neutral stance, he didn't complain once over the thirty-minute drive and obediently followed after Kiho as he parked the car and picked up a call.
He seemed to be talking with the owners of the haunted house. Glancing around at the old traditional houses in the village, Kiho finished his call and took a few steps back to walk by his side.
"Sorry, I hope that didn't bore you."
"No, it's fine. It's my first time here. These houses are interesting too. I was thinking maybe it wouldn't be too dull living here."
"Do you see the house in the front?"
Kiho lifted his hand and pointed toward the only house dominating their view—an old traditional Korean residence, its presence grand enough to swallow everything else around it. The sprawling hanok stood behind high, time-worn walls, its dark tiled roof peeking over the top like a silent protector. At the center, a heavy black gate pulled open as if the owners knew they were just outside the house.
"That's the house we are visiting. They know my grandparents and often came to play with my parents when they were in middle school. Then they fell in love and got married right after their high school graduation. Their daughter turned five this year, and they're not even in their thirties yet."
"They got married young, huh... Were you trying to hint at something?"
Kiho didn't reply, gazing straight at the house. They slowly walked side by side. Lim Soohyun found the houses fascinating enough to slow down and get a good look at them. He had heard that people in the village got married young, unlike the people in the city who were busy wasting away their lives in work, not even having the time or energy to think about marriage or children. Lim Soohyun also had to busy himself in work for years before he could become this carefree about his money.
As he wondered which house Kiho spent his childhood in, his gaze naturally shifted to the person in question. Kiho would probably get married soon. There must be many eyeing a young man like him for their daughters, and as the neighborhood was familiar with each other, it wouldn't be long before someone asked for his hand in marriage.
TOK TOK
Kiho knocked on the door twice to make their presence known before entering the house together.