Well how have you been

After you left me the day after you left me Oh

Everything I got from you, all of it

Was false, it all became false

- Already -

Anna barely ate that night and she waited in her bed for Taemin to arrive.

He did it like he did every night, the smile on his face fading once he saw her expression and the way she was still dressed not waiting for him like she normally did, under the covers of her bed.

He stepped closer to her and sat by her side.

“I met your brother today.”

It didn’t surprise him because he knew that it would happen sooner or later. Anna was too curious and she wanted to make things right, she needed to know all the truth. That was the main reason she didn’t leave the house either. Her self righteousness, her personality wouldn’t let her.

“You know.”

She teared up and Taemin wondered if he should touch her.

“You killed him.”

“I did.”

In a way Anna knew that it wasn’t only Taemin’s fault. It was also her boyfriend fault. She knew him. Always living life too fast, not worrying about the future about the consequences. She hated that about him.

“I was stupid.” Taemin added “I committed a big mistake. I shouldn’t have agreed to drive the car that night…I-”

“That’s why I’m the only one who can see you, right?”

He frowned sadly, knowing that now everything would change. He only hoped that she would let him stay closer to her, to let him protect her.

“I came to Earth for my last quest. Since I didn’t commit the sin directly, I have a second chance to not become a demon, to not go to hell. I can cross over if only you…”

“If only I forgive you.”

“Yes.”

Anna chuckled because that was so ironic. If she did forgive him he could get what he wanted, the peace he searched, but she would have to say goodbye to him. If she didn’t forgive him he was doomed to room the world of the living forever and she would be able to see him. But did she want to keep seeing him?!

Anna turned to him. She still loved Taemin even though she felt betrayed.

“You should have told me.”

“I couldn’t. I would be doomed if I did. It’s the law.”

“It was also the law not to sleep with an angel and you did it!” her tone wasn’t the sweetest one and Taemin couldn’t blame her.

“I love you and I could protect you at the same time…I did it because of that. He was my friend, I wouldn't have fall for you if I could avoid it. I couldn't...my feelings are too strong, my desire to protect you is too strong!”

She knew. She was the one who asked that from him. She also loved him.

“Please leave.”

“I can’t. If I do, the spirts and the presence will come for you."

“I don’t care. Just leave and don’t come back.”

Taemin face contorted in pain and he felt the life he gained by being with her leaving him “No. I can’t leave you. I love you. You love me!”

“That doesn’t change anything. I don’t want to see you again!”

“You are lying!”

“Chaos! You were right! From the very start! We weren’t meant to be together! You killed my best friend.”

Anna stood up upset “I will never forgive you. You won’t ever cross!” She said angrily and Taemin stood up too.

“Is that what you really want?”

“Yes!” She firmly answered and Taemin left, using the window like he always did.

Before he did so he glanced at her one last time and Anna did her best to keep looking at him until he disappeared. She almost could swear she saw a tear falling down his cheek but that was ridiculous since he told her that he couldn’t cry.

Anna could though, and she lied down on her bed crying.

She loved him so much it hurt but could she stay beside the man that indirectly killed her best friend?!

Time moved slowly now that he wasn’t by her side anymore and Anna lied on her bed hearing the tickling of the living room clock as if it was beside her, something she never noticed before, ever since the day she step foot inside that house.

She wondered why her senses were so alive, why she felt her body burning, where her energy went to.

Her fever was back. She was sick again but now it was much worse since all of her hurt inside and out.

Her aunt and uncle took turns checking on her and they managed to control her fever long enough for her to walk around the house if she wanted. But she didn’t. She only lied on her bed trying to heal her heartbreak. She wasn’t even sure if it was possible.

Days passed by slowly and Anna wasn’t sure anymore how many.

One afternoon while she was lying on her bed, her eyes on the open window she never dared to close again, even though Taemin wasn’t going to enter it anymore, a soft piano music started to be played downstairs.

She closed her eyes, a lonely tear leaving them because that sad melody that someone was playing downstairs was meant for her.

She knew it was Taemin playing, he was trying to reach out to her somehow, to beg for her forgiveness. His soft voice singing made her stare into the ceiling.

I want to let you go inside of me
I’m trying to clear you from my mind
I still haven’t been able to fix our misunderstanding
I need your forgiveness
Yeah I know you miss me miss me Baby
Give you kiss me kiss me
Yeah I know you miss me miss me miss me
If I can wash away my sins
I will get on my knees right now
Even if you choke me even if you destroy my body
I swear to the sky I raise my hand
I just wanna be a Soldier
I just wanna be a Soldier

He was speaking to her, asking for her forgiveness, for her to accept him into her life once again.

She couldn’t. She didn’t dare to, because if she did it he would disappear forever, he would also die and leave her alone. 

The truth was that Anna forgave him already. 

She was a coward. Yes, she told him she didn’t want to see him anymore and yet she waited for him every night, she hoped he would come ignoring her request.

That night the nightmares came back, hours and hours of screams of pain, of terror, echoing all around Anna to the point that even keeping her eyes open wouldn’t make them go away. The fever returned that night and Anna was almost sure that she wouldn’t survive it, that her aunt would find her lifeless body in the morning.

Anna moved on the bed trying to shake those screams away that were like hands grabbing her legs and arms, even pulling her hair pleading for her help to catch their killer, to give them peace. She moved and moved until she had no strength left. That’s when the screaming ended and a cold hand was on her forehead.

Cold….it should be hot! She opened her eyes to see Taemin there with sad eyes caressing her face.

She was burning so much that even his hand was like a bucket of ice on her skin.

“I know you don’t want to see me.” He said from very far away, his image fuzzy in front of her “But I couldn’t let you go like this.”

Morning came and Anna woke up with her body wet in perspiration, her fever gone, probably thanks to Taemin that stayed by her side the whole night.

That morning she felt like leaving her bed. She had something to do. She needed to find out what happened in that house and she needed to do it quickly.

Since her aunt and uncle were away from the day (they wanted to stay since she was sick but she insisted she was better so they left to visit a friend) Anna took her time exploring the whole house searching for clues. She even entered the attic even though it scared her. She didn’t find anything important there besides some old clothes and ruined furniture.

It was a place where her family didn’t go often and she wanted to leave it quickly. However something caught her attention.

It was an old beauty table with a broken mirror, the kind of ones you normally see in movies.

She wasn’t sure if she wanted to touch it since it was covered in dust but still she opened the small drawers searching for something she wasn’t even sure what. All of them were empty and she gave up on her search until she noticed a thin box hidden behind the mirror.

She pulled it out and looked at it in fear. It was probably the only thing not covered in dust and that meant that it was used recently. That wasn’t a good sign and she could feel her heartbeat accelerating.

Anna opened the box and she almost let it fall to the floor when she saw the pictures.

It was several pictures of women, smiling aroudn the house, some in the woods, others of them alreayd inside the bathtub crying or dead. The image of the women inside the bathtub that she saw before came to her mind and Anna stepped back almost tripping on the old chair behind her. She let all the pictures fall to the floor adn picked them up her fingers freezing when she saw one of her outside with the dogs. 

She paled in fear grabbing the picture.

“Anna?” her uncle’s voice came from downstairs and she quickly put the pictures and the box where it was. She didn’t want to scare her family members with that. They already thought she was crazy.

“What are you doing there?” Her uncle asked once she came down from the attic and Anna tried to act normal.

“I was exploring. I was bored!”

He didn’t seem to believe her and rubbed the dust from the sleeve of her sweater.

“Where is my aunt?” Anna asked noticing that her uncle was alone.

“She decided to stay with her friend since she is sick and lives alone. I said I would take care of you so she accepted to stay.”

“Oh ok…” Anna hugged herself.

“Are you hungry? I bought lots of food!”

Anna wasn’t hungry but since her uncle was alone she decided to have dinner with him. Besides she needed to recover her strength quickly.

That night she hoped that Taemin would visit her so they could explore the attic together before it was too late.

A huge lightning light the dining room and Anna shivered in fear.

Chaos.

“Scary right?” her uncle asked from the other side of the table “It isn’t even raining. It’s weird.”

Anna her lips and tried to eat more even though she didn’t feel like it. She felt uneasy as if something was going to happen, as if even the skies were trying to warn her about it.

“So you explored the house today!” Her uncle asked casually his eyes on Anna and she nodded drinking her tea.

“Did you find anything interesting?” He his lips slowly “Maybe at the attic?”

Anna shock her head “Nothing. Only some old furniture.”

“You should be careful!” Her uncle said “Because you are still sick.”

“Don’t worry with me!” She reassured him. “I’m fine…”

“You take birth control pills right?” The question came out of nowhere and Anna paled.

“Excuse me?”

“I found the box inside the drawer of your bedside table this morning.”

“You looked inside it?”

“Of course.” He said it as it if it was a normal thing “I was worried with you…”

Anna frowned pondering on his words, upset with what he did. “You don’t have the right to touch my things.”

“Why are you taking them? Are you having ? That day you stayed at the village…did you met with a boyfriend? …sometimes your bed sheets smell like …it has a very distinctive scent…” The tone of his voice changed and Anna started to feel nervous. That wasn’t the uncle she knew.

Then she realized that she barely knew him at all.

Also thebox inside the attic with no dust. No spirit could do that….

The girl they had helping around the house that disappeared, the several women that died inside it….her friend…

What Taemin said about his obsession with purity.

“Who is ing you Anna? Who is dirtying you?”

Anna slowly stood up from the seat, her hands trembling, fingers sliding on the table and he stood up too.

She didn’t have anywhere to run besides outside and screaming wouldn’t help since they were alone. He made sure of that since he probably realized Anna was having with Taemin.

“What are you talking about?” She asked entering the pretense “I didn’t have with anyone…”It was probably better if he believed that she was pure. “I am still a .”

He chuckled “No. I know you lived with your boyfriend back in Seoul. I’m not stupid…I hear your moans at night sometimes but the room is locked. I know someone slept with you. Who is the bastard?”

Anna stepped backwards slowly but he followed with her gaze, walking around the table in her direction.

“You let the window open for him every night…” He remarked “That night you disappeared and came back sick…you spent it with him…didn’t you?!”

“NO. I SWEAR!” Anna was desperate now and she moved in the direction of the door, moving her hands nervously, grabbing the sleeves of her blouse.

“It’s ok Anna…I’ll make you pure tonight…I’ll give you a bath!” His words were sweet but there was madness in his eyes.

“You murdered all those women” Anna cried still not wanting to believe it “You killed that maid and my friend.”

“No….I saved them from this filthy world! The maid had a boyfriend, she was a when she came to work here but then that boy showed up…so I killed her. Your aunt saw my bloody clothes after I buried the girl on the backyard so I had to improvise and killed one of the dogs. And your friend….well she came to you talking about boyfriends and . I had to take you away from her! I saved you like I’m going to save you! I already opened the hole to place your body!”

Anna turned around and run as fast as she could to the main door, her uncle following her but she was quicker. She actually could survive that. Anna crossed the hallway and she could open the door and run into the woods and search for Taemin.

She could do it. The door was only a few steps away.

Anna grabbed the door knob and turned it but nothing happened. She tried again and again pushing the door until she felt him behind her, his shadow covering the light coming from the living rom.

“I locked it Anna. Don’t you think the others tried to do the same?”

She moved her eyes to the place the keys normally were but nothing was there.

A huge thunder echoed outside and then all lights turned off.

Anna was in total darkness.