“Chucky… what am I going to do?!” Ren whispered as he was huddled up in the corner of his dark room.

It had been close to two weeks since he came to stay at the mansion. Since then, he hadn’t come out of his room for anything besides the bathroom. Most of the housemates nearly forgot he was even there since he never came to eat at the table. He had been in minimal contact with Minhyun through a few letters, but soon Ren didn’t know what to say back to the guy and so the contact was soon dropped. He thought he wouldn’t be bothered again after that, but here Minhyun was, banging on the door asking him to come out.

“Please, Ren… Min Hee and I have to clean the rooms.” Both Minhyun and Min Hee were usually the ones in charge of cleaning the mansion's rooms together. They made a great team, that and… the other housemates were too lazy to clean, period. So, they took it upon themselves to keep the place clean.

“Just skip mine!” He managed to call out to them. 

“We skipped it last week because you were still settling in, that’s not happening this week!” Minhyun warned.

“We won’t touch anything, we just have to vacuum the floor and dust the walls.” Min Hee explained behind the door in her soft voice. Ren froze at the sweet sound, it was so angelic to him… like music.

“Ren?” Minhyun asked again before turning the locked knob again.

“What do I do?” Ren whispered to the Chucky doll in his arms nervously. He really didn’t want to let them in. Actually, he didn’t want to let Min Hee in… he was too nervous to let such a beautiful girl into his messy room!

“Maybe we should come back later?” Min Hee turned to Minhyun quietly with a look of concern on her face. She felt maybe Ren wasn’t comfortable in the mansion yet?

“It won’t matter, he won’t open the door then either.” Minhyun sighed, he was feeling a little frustrated. He was a bit of a clean freak and the thought of Ren’s room being messy irked him. The room was going to be cleaned one way or another, even if he had to kick the door down, but he wouldn’t since he didn’t really have the guts to go to that extreme.

“He has to come out of the room eventually, right? Maybe we can clean it then?” Min Hee mumbled quietly while looking back to the closed door.

“Open this door, Ren! I’m done being patient with you!” Minhyun shouted, he wasn't going to negotiate today. Suddenly they heard the door unlock before them and it slowly creaked open by itself with no one standing at the entrance. The room was pitch black and gave off a creepy vibe, it suddenly felt cold.

Min Hee jumped slightly and hid behind Minhyun while clutching onto the back of his shirt in fear. “It’s so dark.” She whispered.

“It’s fine. It’s just Ren’s room. Nothing to be afraid of.” He assured her before taking a step forward. She let go and remained behind while visibly shaking where she stood. She absolutely hated the dark. “Not coming?” He asked. She swallowed hard, she was unsure of how to answer. Chances are, we’re not allowed to turn the light on… “Then I’ll go on ahead-Ah~!” He was saying while backing up to the room when out of nowhere he was pulled back into the darkness and the door slammed shut.

“Minhyun!” Min Hee shrieked, she nearly had a heart attack at the sudden situation. She collapsed to the ground and tried to calm down her racing heart.

“Min Hee! What’s wrong?!” Baekho came rushing down the hallway and knelt next to her in worry. “I heard you shout!”

“M-Min… Min-Minhyun was into the darkness!” She pointed a shaky finger towards Ren’s bedroom door.

“What?!” Baekho gasped before looking towards the door. When it suddenly opened, he held onto Min Hee protectively as they watched a pale arm extend out and snatch the vacuum cleaner Minhyun left behind. The door slammed shut once again.

The two stared at the door for a few seconds while the color from their faces drained.

“Ahhhh~!” They both screamed and jumped to run away down the hall in complete horror.

“What?! What’s wrong?!” Their friend Aron asked startled when they came running into the living room.

“Hyung! Hyung! I think there’s a ghost in Ren’s room! They took Minhyun, and the vacuum!” Baekho exclaimed, he was completely shaken along with Min Hee.

“What kind of nonsense are you spewing out over there?” JR asked while looking over his shoulder. He was sitting on the floor in front of the 75” flat screen tv playing a videogame with Nari.

“There’s a ghost?!” She turned around looking extremely interested.

“Ghosts aren’t real.” JR rolled his eyes.

“Did someone say ghost?” Just then Hana walked into the room with a bowl of chips. She had left a few minutes ago to fetch her friends a snack.

The faint sound of the vacuum turning on was heard and that caused both Baekho and Min Hee to scream. Hana dropped the bowl of chips when she was startled as a result and covered her ears.

“Calm down you two!” Aron laughed at their behavior. “I’m sure it’s just Minhyun vacuuming.”

“Bu-But the ghost!” They exclaimed.

“You mean, Ren?” He raised a brow.

“...” The two sat there and looked at each other.

“You must have mistaken Ren as the ghost.”

“Obviously.” JR agreed.

“Awh! So there is no ghost?” Nari frowned while sounding disappointed.

“There’s a ghost?!” Hana gasped before looking frightened.

“No! There’s no ghost!” Aron and JR exclaimed together before facepalming.

~💮~

“Oh man, I can’t imagine the look on her face when you pulled me in here.” Minhyun chuckled as he was finishing up dusting the walls of Ren's room.

“Min Hee’s?” Ren asked while standing off to the side, he was watching the taller boy clean.

“Nyctophobia. She’s absolutely afraid of the dark.” Minhyun replied before turning to Ren. He could see the small frown on Ren’s lips in the dim light from the night light plugged in nearby. Ren really didn’t want the light on.

“She’s… afraid of the dark?”

“Terrified… she’ll cry.” Minhyun nodded. “That’s why, I think I’ll just come alone next time.”

“That would be best.” Ren nodded and gripped onto the hem of his shirt. He felt bad… he felt horrible. She’s afraid of the dark? That means… she’ll never come in here. He wasn’t sure why that bothered him. It was apparent he struggled looking at the girl for more than two seconds, she was just so beautiful. Min Hee never coming into his room shouldn’t even bother him… but it did.

“That’s interesting, though. You must have Nyctophilia, fondness of the dark while Min Hee is the complete opposite with Nyctophobia.” Minhyun mused out loud as he continued his cleaning task. Ren stood there, thinking about that for a moment. That would mean we’d clash, wouldn’t we? “Something wrong?” Despite it being dark in the room, he could see the dejected look on the blonde boy’s face. At least he stopped wearing that ridiculous black cape all the time.

“No…” Ren mumbled, but of course who was going to buy that?

“You suddenly seemed bothered after I talked about Min Hee?”

“Uh…” Ren turned away from him and acted like he just got caught doing something he shouldn’t.

“Do you like her?” Minhyun asked with a grin forming on his face.

“It’s not like that!” Ren shook his head before backing away and getting nervous all of a sudden at Minhyun’s questions.

“Then what is it?”

“I don’t know…” He sighed and stared at the ground. “She seems so nice…”

“She is.” Minhyun confirmed.

“She doesn’t seem too bothered about me not wanting to come out and eat at the table. She brings me my food and makes sure I enjoyed it. She’s always asking if I need anything.” She did a lot of things for him that he didn't ask for. He didn't know why she was being so kind and going out of her way for him. He never had someone care so much for him like that before, not even his own family or house maids. Whenever they were nice to him like that, it seemed forced or like it was something they had to do. With Min Hee, it felt real, genuine... it felt nice.

“She’s being friendly.” Minhyun snapped him out of his thoughts.

“Friend-...ly.” He slowly repeated the word, as if he never heard of it before.

“You want to be her friend? Is that it?” Minhyun suddenly figured it out.

“Well… that would be nice.” Ren knew he couldn’t deny it when it was true.

“I’m sure she’d like to be your friend, too!”

“Really?!” Ren almost seemed surprised when he said that. The poor guy must've thought making friends wasn't that easy, like there was a long process he needed to go through to actually obtain a friendship.

“Yeah! She loves making new friends, she’s easy to get along with, too.” Minhyun explained with a small nod.

“But…” Ren frowned before looking around his room.

“Yeah… I don’t think she’d want to come in here.” Minhyun gave a weak smile. “Unless you turn the light on, though, maybe that would be worse.” He scratched the back of his head when he noticed the scary movie posters and decorations on the walls. There was no way the girl would last even half a second in his room with the light on.

“I can’t go out there.” Ren stared at his bedroom door.

“Sure you can, you just have to try.” Minhyun encouraged him. “The other housemates aren’t that bad, they’re quite friendly, too.”

“Yah~! Give that back, you four-eyed freak!” They suddenly heard JR’s voice shout as Aron’s giggling zipped by the door.

“Uh… ignore that.” Minhyun assured him with a small laugh.

“I don’t know…” Ren dropped his head. Could he really bring himself to go outside and socialize? He would have to sooner or later…

“I know you can, so please try. No one’s forcing you, but I’m telling you, you really should try to socialize a bit more… it’d be good for you.”

“Would you be mad if I didn’t?” The blonde asked hesitantly. He was curious, that's why he asked.

“Uhm, I don’t think so, I’d be more disappointed. I mean, if you socialized more, we could do a lot of fun things like going out to eat or shop. We’re limited in this dark room.” Minhyun pointed out.

Ren sighed and turned away from his concerned friend. “If I socialized more… then, could I be Min Hee’s friend?”

“She’ll be your friend anyway- I mean… yeah!” Minhyun caught himself before he said too much. If that’s how Ren saw it, then he might as well use it to their advantage. “She’d like it if you socialized more.” Because it was the truth.

There was a short silence before Ren turned around and faced him once again. “Then… I’ll try.” Minhyun was glad to see a change in Ren's expression. This was good, this was a start.

~💮~

“Whaaaa~! Oooo~! Ahhhh~! Noooo~! The feels!”

“Can we please change the channel now?!” JR groaned after hearing Hana and Nari gush over the y kpop idols on the TV screen.

“You hogged the TV up for three hours earlier, it’s their turn now, let them have their fun.” Aron chuckled, he didn't even bother looking up from his book. Baekho was currently doing some studying on the coffee table near the girls.

“How about we study together?” Baekho suggested innocently. He was ignored by the girls and both Aron and JR shook their head, not very fond of the idea.

“Why is Ray so y~?!” Hana wailed on the ground while covering her eyes with her arm. Fangirl problems.

“Why don’t you girls watch something more educational?” Aron immediately said after her comment.

JR snickered at him for it. “You just said no to studying! And I thought you said they should be having fun?” He teased. Aron frowned when he looked up to see Hana’s bias doing a hip . The girls squealed and fell back onto the floor.

“He’s not that y.” Aron lied.

“Jealous.” JR laughed.

“Am not!”

“Are to.”

“Am not!”

“Are to!”

“Excuse me…” Minhyun cleared his throat at the living room entrance. Everyone looked his way quickly.

“Minhyun! You’re alive!” Baekho jumped up while looking relieved.

“He never died, you idiot.” JR lightly kicked him behind the leg.

“Hey, Min! Oh, is that who I think it is behind you?” Aron greeted from his seat. He could see a figure behind his tall friend, the blonde hair immediately gave away who he could be.

“Yup! Ren, say hi.” Minhyun took a step aside to push Ren forward, but the boy only mirrored his step and remained behind him. For a second, Minhyun almost thought Ren really was a ghost and disappeared!

“H-Hi.” Ren said quietly before holding up his right arm to wave.

At the sight of his pale arm… “It’s the ghost!” Baekho suddenly shouted, clearly frightened.

“Ghost?!” Nari repeated.

“Ahhh~!” Baekho and Hana started to scream and hid behind the couch before Nari quickly joined them after.

“What the hell, Nari? I thought you wanted to see the ghost?!” JR couldn’t stop laughing.

“Not now, I don’t!” She exclaimed behind the couch and huddled up together with her friends.

“He’s not a ghost!” Minhyun scolded his friends. “Don’t be rude!”

“What’s going on in here?!” Suddenly Min Hee came rushing into the room when she heard all the commotion. She was suddenly met face to face with Ren… or well… part of his face. His blonde hair covered his eyes like always. “Oh, Ren?” She smiled.

“Uh… h-hi.” He shyly replied. There were those strange feelings again! Despite seeing the other girls, the second Min Hee came into the room he started to feel warm and fuzzy and... happy.

“Hello.” She greeted back, she was honestly happy to see him outside of that dark and scary room.

“Are you going out?” Minhyun asked when he noticed Min Hee wearing her coat.

“Yes, I was about to go get some stuff for tonight’s dinner.”

“Take him with you!” Minhyun gently pushed Ren towards her, the boy nearly fell over at the sudden action. Min Hee helped him stand straight but when he realized what was going on, he took a step back only to bump into Minhyun.

“We shouldn’t push him… literally.” Min Hee giggled. Ren froze in place suddenly… My ears have been blessed with an angel’s symphony! That was really cute! How do I make her do that again?!

“Just a little push wouldn’t hurt.” Minhyun gently pushed him towards her again.

“Then, would you like to come with me to the store, Ren?” She asked with a tilt of her head.

He froze again and began to think it over. Yes, this is good. My friend Minhyun is offering me a chance to do the act of socializing with Min Hee. I wasn’t expecting to be thrown in her presence so soon, but that’s okay! If I do well, I can be her friend and maybe her bright light(beauty) won’t blind me too much and- he was thinking when he stole a glance at the girl- perhaps being immune will take some time. But it’s a start!

“S-Sure… I’ll go with you.” Ren managed to say quietly.

“Great, go grab a coat and then we can go.” She replied happily. “I’ll be waiting outside!”

~💮~

“Chucky! What have I gotten myself into?!” Ren panicked as he was on the floor, he had collapsed the moment he entered his room. Socializing was a lot harder than he thought.

Despite knowing Chucky couldn’t reply, he could imagine the doll telling him to get it together and get back out there. “You’re right…” He sighed before picking himself back up and headed over to his closet to retrieve his jacket. “It’s just a trip to the store, how hard can that be?”

~💮~

“It’s okay.” Min Hee said softly as Ren gripped onto her right arm while walking close to her side like a child with his mother. The amount of people surrounding them was unsettling to him. He was very uncomfortable at the moment. Once they were able to reach a more less crowded area, Min Hee started to apologize to him.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t think there would be this many people out right now.” She looked at him with an apologetic look.

“It’s fine.” He tried to reassure her. He didn’t want her to look so sorry like that.

“We can go home now if yo-”

“No, that’s okay, I’m fine! I promise!” He interrupted her, he didn't want to ruin this chance of socializing with her. He wasn’t entirely sure, but being surrounded by strangers was scary, though, having Min Hee here brought some sort of comfort. He was able to speak without stuttering too much, and he also was able to look at her for at least four seconds compared to the usual two seconds. He found himself focusing more on her than everyone else.

“Are you sure?” She asked, her tone was full of worry.

“Yes… let’s keep shopping.” He nodded. He was hoping that would help ease her worried mind.

“Alright, if you want to go home, just let me know.”

~💮~

“Min Hee?” Ren quietly asked as she was picking out some vegetables.

“Yes?” She hummed while placing some onions into the basket.

“What are you cooking tonight?”

“Kimchi jjigae.” She looked back at him. She could see his mouth drop. “What is it?”

“Kimchi jjigae?!”

“Yes. D-Do you not like that?”

He gasped. She stuttered! Oh goodness, I made her stutter! What do I do?!

“Ah, no!” He shook his head quickly, failing to add ‘it’s not like that’ to his reply.

“No?” She frowned.

“No! I mean yes!”

“Yes? You like it?”

“I love it!” For the first time in two weeks, she saw him smile.

“Really?” She couldn’t help but smile back at him. “I’m glad.”

He stared at he for four seconds before turning away. “Why are you so beautiful?!” He covered his eyes.

“Excuse me?”

“Nothing!” He waved his hands in the air now embarrassed.

“You’re funny.” She giggled for the second time that day and he was thrilled, ecstatic, pleased… happy. It was such a nice sight to see, it warmed his heart. She’s just absolutely adorable!

Soon after, they left the store they took a cab back to the mansion. During the car ride, Min Hee decided to ask him a few questions out of curiosity.

“Ren?”

“Yeah?” He turned to her.

“Uh…” She hesitated, her first question was going to be about his fondness for kimchi jjigae, but seeing his hair in his face… she opted for that question first.

“Why do you wear your hair that way?”

“Oh…” He brought a hand up to his blonde locks. “I don’t really like to talk about it…”

“Oh, I’m sorry.” She apologized, hearing a hint of sadness in his tone. “Forget I asked.”

“I’ll tell you one day…”

“Take your time.” She nodded, hoping he’d feel more comfortable if she didn’t say things that would make him feel obligated to answer right away.

“Was that all you were going to ask?”

“Oh, right. I was going to ask why you like kimchi jjigae so much? You seemed pretty happy when I said I’d be making it.”

“My grandmother.” He mumbled. “She used to make it for me whenever I asked for it.”

“Oh no… is she?” She frowned.

“Yes… last year.” He nodded.

“I’m so sorry, again! I just keep asking these questions that bring up unwanted feelings… I’m really sorry!” She exclaimed, feeling terrible. “I won’t ask anymore!”

“No, no, it’s fine. Don’t worry!” He frowned seeing her saddened face.

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sad!” He hesitantly extended his hand out to pat her shoulder. “Your sad face makes me sad.” He couldn’t help but be honest. “I like it more when you’re smiling.”

“I’m sorry.” She apologized again.

“It’s okay! Don’t apologize, you’ve done nothing wrong!” He brought his other hand over to pat her arm as his other patted her shoulder. He was being awkwardly cute right now and it brought a smile to her face.

“Thank you, Ren.”

“Oh, my eyes!” He pulled back, covering his face with his arms. “So… radiant.”

“Are you okay?!”

I lasted up until now, at least! Ren thought to himself as he leaned against the cab’s backseat window. That was a lot to take in, but I’m glad I did better than I originally thought! I didn’t ruin the chance Minhyun gave me! I hope he’ll be pleased!

When they arrived home shortly after, Ren ran all the way back to his room once he was inside the mansion. Min Hee couldn’t help but laugh as her friends questioned what just zipped by them. She was pleased how long he lasted at the store, it was longer than she had thought. She was impressed. Moments later she headed to the kitchen to start dinner.

“Chucky! I did it! I went to the store with Min Hee… I didn’t run away, not once!” Ren exclaimed as he collapsed in front of his doll. “Although… last minute I…”

He lied on the floor,and faced the ceiling. “She was so nice, today. Even though she’s nice every day from the start… I really liked the short time we spent together. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be.” He continued to talk quietly to his doll. “It was so sudden, but I’m glad it happened. I should thank Minhyun later…” He felt like he made some serious progress today… which he did. He left his room… he left the mansion… he went to a store full of strangers… things he would have never thought of doing if it weren’t for his friends.

“I’d like to do it again… maybe a few weeks from now.” He sighed tiredly.

Well… it was a start.

Chapter two~!

Yay, Ren is making progress! LOL