"Here's your next assignment, Yongbae.  The owner won't be around today so you would have to let yourself in.  The key would be placed under the doormat.  The owner only have one set, the set you would be holding onto later.  So don't lose it!"

My supervisor, Daesung, then handed me a note with the address of the house that I was assigned to do minor wiring and plumbing work.

"Doormat eh?" I said as I shook my head in disbelief. People nowadays have such a false sense of security.

"The owner said that a list would be pasted on the front door.  Just follow the instructions. Oh! Before I forget, under no circumstances, should you look into the room with a "black door". 

I raised my eyebrow in askance.

"Hey! Don't look at me! Customers are always right.  Their wishes are our desires! Our company mantra! Remember?!" Daesung equipped while pointing to the blasted quote hanging behind him over his head.

"What you really meant was Cash is king and you are always right!" I muttered under my breath as I my heels and started walking out of his office.

"I heard that Yongbae kdbfhrbfbsjsjebdhdb...!!!"

Daesung's voice slowly muted after I closed the door behind me. I put on my helmet as I walked towards my parked bicycle.  

That cheapskate boss of mine, Daesung thought it would be more eco-friendly to get bicycles for all his staff to get around town for their various repair jobs.  Except all the bicycles were on long term consignment.  Not even purchased.  Eco-friendly my !  It's the bottom line that he was only interested in.  

As I hopped on my bicycle, I opened up the note to read the address.  ! The house in question was a little out of the way. In a more rural part of town.  But a job is still a job.  The journey would probably take him about 30 minutes by bike with no traffic. Ten minutes tops if he was allowed to drive there. Damn you cheapskate Daesung! I cursed and swore under my breath and I started to gain speed as I switched gears.

***

As I stood in front of the door, I scanned my surroundings.  I had parked my bike at the bottom of the short steps leading up to the front door. The house was a little rundown, a typical two storeys farmhouse.  The white exterior paint was visibly peeling.  It had terracotta thatched roof. I lifted the doormat and picked up the key to let myself in.  As I was about to slot the key in, I noticed a yellow post-it on the front door.  

List on fridge.

I continued to curse internally at Daesung.  I had always argued that he should run a background check on all potential clients.  Of course his reasoning for failing to do so was that the customers had a right to privacy, his detest towards running his agency with a nanny state mentality.  

Sounds mighty fine and dandy in principles.  Except, in reality he just doesn't want to pay the police force for such a service.  Furthermore, all the customers so far had been within the geriatic demographic, who uses the bed pan more than toilet itself.

Yongbae looked at his wrist watch.  9.45am. He reassured himself that he had plenty of daylight left when he finish his assignments as he glared down at his right ankle.  He walked through the door, with the key and post-it in his left hand.  

A cold breeze greeted him.  He could feel goosebumps raised on his arms. He noted that the air smelled musty and old.  A nagging feeling slowly enveloped his very being.  But he quickly pushed aside his doubts as he closed the door behind him and made his way to the kitchen.

As he walked down the hallway, the sound of his footsteps echoed throughout the house.  As he passed by a desk, he noticed that it had a thick layer of undisturbed dust.

How long had the owner last cleaned up this place?

He finally reached the end of hallway and stopped.  To his left was the dining room while to his right was the kitchen. In front of him was the back door which overlooked into the backyard.

Yongbae entered the kitchen and quickly spotted another post-it on the fridge.

Leaky kitchen tap

Yongbae slipped the post-it into his back pocket and set his toolbox down as he go about looking for the source of the leak under the kitchen sink. As he was tightening the pipes under the kitchen sink, he spotted another post-it.

Faulty basement radiator

Puzzled, he peeled off the offending post-it and kept it in his back pocket with the rest.  He continued his work with a constant frown on his face.  The nagging feeling came back but he again pushed it aside as he tightened all the rusty pipes after he taped up the leaky pipe with some plumbers tape.

Satisfied with his handiwork, Yongbae gathered his tools and placed them in his toolbox before he went hunting for the basement.

***

There he stood in the middle of the basement, with only a lightbulb as his main source of light, staring at another post-it on the faulty radiator.  

Clogged shower drain

Yongbae sighed.  "It was going to be a long day" he said to himself as he went about fixing the radiator.

Faulty porch light

Water rosebushes

Fix back door hinge

Hang guest room mirror

The instructions made him go up and down the stairs of the house, tiring him out unnecessarily. 

After he finished hanging the huge full length mirror, he leaned against a wall in the doorway of the second floor. His stomach had growled earlier to protest their hunger.  

He cursed himself again for the umpteenth time today as he had assumed he would be done with his assignment by lunch time.  He did not packed any lunch with him as he thought he could biked back to the town's Subway for his usual lunch order.

He looked at his watch. 1.45pm.  He leaned his head back and closed his eyes to rest.

Then he heard it.  

It sounded like