~

It was the noon and hadn’t been long since EXID arrived in Tokyo, and they were heading straight to the hotel. Or, at least that was what they believed they’d stay in, before the manager informed them that they’d be staying in a motel consisting of a few separate houses. The member who was most disappointed by that seemed to be Junghwa; she somehow didn’t feel right about staying in a house. But she tried to shrug it off, they’d only stay in Japan for a few days anyways. But her dismay grew bigger and more evident when they actually saw the house; there was something lonely about the place, isolated and while it was surrounded by the noise and vibrancy of the people walking around, its appearance suggested a grave silence to Junghwa. It was a two-storage house which only had one door and a big roof, and a ground floor that you could only get to from within the house. 
The air inside was tinged with dust and age, yet if someone told them that the building had been sealed only the day before, they would have believed. 
“I don’t like this place, unni…” Junghwa cling to Solji, as the girls finally brought their suitcases and made themselves at home. 
“What’s wrong?” Solji caressed her. 
“I don’t know; I have a weird feeling about it. Why can’t we stay in a hotel?” 
“Well, I don’t know. The manager oppa said this place is famous.” Solji explained. Though, by her expression you could say she wasn't impressed, as well.

Soon enough, as the evening approached, the five gathered around the sofa to watch something on TV, and that was when LE suggested watching a horror movie. Although some of them were clearly against this idea, at least they agreed and clung to each other trembling every time there was a frightening scene. LE seemed to be the only one who enjoyed the movie and yet was unaffected by it, but others became paranoid even of the slightest noise coming from the outside. It was already the night time and the sky was coloured midnight-blue outside, and yet, the girls didn’t seem to want to go to bed. They had a tiresome day at the airport, additionally had to endure an uncomfortable flight, but somehow sleeping was excluded from their plans for at least the following hour. Before the movie ended, Junghwa stood up to visit the bathroom, and upon returning she witnessed something strange. Although the workers assured them that there was only one way to get into the house (which was the front door located not far from the living room all girls were gathered in), some noise was coming from the room nearby. 
Then she became aware of a strong smell. There was no doubting it: they were not alone, someone was smoking a cigarette nearby. And supposedly smoker(s) must have been close as the smoke smelled thick and oppressive. Junghwa dipped her head over the edge and quickly took a look to see who was there. There was no one, yet the smell of cigarette still filled her lunges and stung her eyes. Then, she witnessed something which rooted her to the spot: there was a hole in the ground, a single curling strand of smoke sliding upward through it. Someone was inside the room beneath them. Usually, she’d stay rooted to the ground, but now, without much of realisation, her panic forced her to run back to the living room.

“Hey! What’s wrong?!” Solji asked, utterly concerned. She was holding Junghwa tightly in her grip, while other members approached the two. 
“There’s someone here! I swear there is someone!” 
“Of course there is. Did you think you were alone here?” LE scoffed, but Solji only glared at her. “Ugh, I guess we shouldn’t be watching horror movies again.” LE complained, quickly took the remote and switched off to the next channel. 
“Wait! Turn off the TV!” Hani said. 
“Why?” LE blinked.
“Just turn it off!” Hani ordered again, and LE obeyed. “Listen…” Hani said and asked them all to be quiet. Indeed, a strange noise was coming from some other room. As if someone was walking, and the ground was echoing out because of his steps. 
“Pff come on. It’s just the wind, I assure you.” LE convinced. 
“No, there is someone downstairs!” Junghwa argued. 

“Downstairs? How do you know? Did you see anyone?” LE almost bawled. 
Junghwa stopped. Indeed, she didn’t see them. She just smelled the smoke which led her to believe someone was inside. “N-no…” she muttered.
“See? I told you it was all your imagination.” LE looked away, uninterested. 

“Still.. they told there was no way to enter this house if not from the front door. Are you sure there’s no back door?” Solji asked, directing her gaze to the girls. 
“There indeed is no way. Me and Hani walked around the house as we came in.” Hyerin said. “Maybe it’s just the workers...?” 
“If someone were to enter the house, we would have seen them.” Hani marked. 
“No, seriously, y’all are affected by the stupid horror film. I bet we all just have to go back to our rooms and fall asleep, for we have to get up early for tomorrow’s schedule.” LE added. 
After a little discussion which was about to form into a debate, the girls finally agreed on just freeing their minds and going to their rooms. LE, meanwhile, stayed for a little to do something about the broken glass. She knew she’d be staying with Junghwa, so she thought she’d better hurry. Upon finishing cleaning up, she retraced her steps, but suddenly stopped. She heard or saw something: was that.. movement? Her gaze tracked back and saw a shape moving slowly away from her. 
“Hey, are you guys playing a prank on me?” she scoffed. She was the only member who still refused to believe there was something wrong about the place, so she thought the members bet on how soon she’d agree with them. She soon shrugged off and turned, but too slowly to be normal. She couldn’t ignore the fact that she wasn’t entirely convinced the shape belonged to one of her team-mates. 

Yet, she reached the room safely: and saw Junghwa, sitting on the edge of bed, hugging her knees, and looking pale like a ghost. 
“Please don’t turn off the light…” Junghwa almost pleaded when LE’s hand reached to switch off the lights. 
“Junghwa, you’re 21 now, are you still afraid of the dark?” 
“Something is really wrong with this place, unni…” Junghwa muttered, trembling. 
“Listen, don’t get weird. We just watched a horror scene and it effected you.” LE spoke as she slowly undressed to finally try her new pyjamas. As she did so, she obviously noticed the redness of Junghwa’s eyes. She was on the verge of crying: she was really afraid. LE quickly climbed to the bed and patted Junghwa’s shoulder. 
“Hey, come sleep with me. I’ll hug you and protect you against the monsters residing in this house.” she giggled. Just as the coldness of Junghwa's skin caused by the the fear was getting worse, LE's hand moved around her middle, warm and soft. In seconds LE's body was moulded to Junghwa's, sharing her body heat as she shared her heart. Her cuddle felt like a little touch of heaven, warm, cozy. Junghwa wished she could extend the night just so she could stay close to LE for longer, safe in her embrace. 
“Please, never leave me.” she whispered. 
“Don’t worry. I’ll protect—“ 
“I’m serious. You will stay by me, right?” 
“Junghwa, you’re talking as though you’re dying. We—“ 

Whatever LE was going to say was instantly silenced as a glass-shattering scream filled their eardrums. 
“Who was that?!” LE exclaimed and shot up straight. Both got out of their bed and ran straight to wherever the scream came from. It was Hyerin, with a broken glass in front of her. The rest quickly approached them. 
“What’s going on?” Solji asked, as she approached Hyerin and wrapped her in her arms. 
“I came down to drink some water, but... I swear I saw a figure tracing me! There was someone here!” 

~