A oneshot for Kayla3470

***

Every time she walks at that same place, some kind of chillness rushes through her body. It’s like she’s being watched. Very closely..

‘Hey, Bomi!’ She jumps at the sudden voice behind her. A sigh of relief escapes as she sees a very familiar figure, grinning idiotically at her.

‘You scared me!’ She hits her friend’s arm playfully while trying to convince herself that that eerie feeling only came from her friend’s playful prank.

‘I know..  Aigoo.. You looked so cute with the surprised face of yours.’ Son Naeun, her best friend mimics Bomi’s face just to receive another slap on the arm. But somehow, the uncomfortable feelings still didn’t escape Bomi’s mind.

‘Let’s go, Naeun-ah.. This theater gives me chills.’

‘But did you finish your jobs?’

‘Yeap. Let’s go.’ She drags her friend out of the place, shaking off the weird feelings in her little mind.

Bomi always tries to finish her part time job cleaning some parts of the old theater every Thursday as soon as possible. Well, she needs some extra money for her high school girl needs and working at the place’s the only way. It’s almost a month she worked at the theater where a regular play’s being shown every Friday night and the feeling of being watched always lingers inside her mind.

***

The True Phantom

While looking for a good book to read, Bomi’s eyes catch the sight one that piques her interest. She swiftly takes the book from the shelf and reads the description at the back of it.

What was it like, quietly living in the shadows? He definitely knows. Who can he hold on to when people around don’t even glance at him?

It definitely hurts to be different from everybody else.

She turns the book over and stars closely at the cover page. A picture of a dark apparition shone by the moonlight but his face’s still couldn’t be seen. Darkness is still covering his face. How interesting that book is to her.. No. She shouldn’t buy it.. Or maybe she should..

‘Like the book, Miss? You shouldn’t open the plastic wrapper.. If you like it, just buy it.’ Boomi looks up to the deep voice in front of her. Suddenly, she feels annoyed at his remarks and the feeling of buying the book vanishes just like that.

‘I wasn’t going to buy this book anyway..’ She gives him a death glare. Maybe he’s a worker, judging from the uniform he’s wearing..  But disturbing a customer when she’s deciding is not a good worker’s act. Bomi puts the book back on the shelf and walks away.

That Friday’s definitely not a good one for her. Being bothered at the bookstore and her father just texted her that he’s postponing his return to the next Monday. How could he easily do that since she eagerly waited for him to come home that day? Boomi’s only parent always works out of town due to business and as the only child, she always feels lonely.

Bomi sighs while waiting for the bus at the bus station. She glances at her watch and looks around her. It’s almost ten at night and obviously, no one’s waiting for the bus at that kind of hour and that kinda makes her feels a little scared.

The sound of her tapping shoes is the only thing that can be heard. Feeling like she’s being watched, she’s anxious alright. Her sight roams wildly around the silent night streets. It’s a chilly one too. Suddenly, her gaze stops at the black figure standing not far from where she’s at, hiding behind one of the lamp posts. She can’t see the face clearly as the light doesn’t hit his face.

Bomi quickly trembles and with all the courage she has, she tries to run but before she can take one step, the bus arrives which gives her some kind of security. Without wasting any more time, she gets up on the bus and leaves safely.

***

One week passed like every other weeks. Except for not going to the bookstore anymore, not wanting to look at the annoying worker’s face. Well, she’s a little sensitive.. And there she is, at the same old theatre, doing her job cleaning the place.

‘Hmm.. Phantom of The Opera.. Why’re they showing the same old play every week? Don’t people get bored with it?’ She complains to herself after reading the poster inside the place. The show’s tomorrow. But suddenly, it hits her. The same feeling of being watched by someone. Her hair stands on end, feeling so uncomfortable.

‘Bang!’ Bomi jumps in shock after she heard a loud banging sound behind the curtains. Her heart’s pounding. Her imagination runs wild, thinking worst things that could be hiding behind the blue curtains.

‘Who.. Who’s there?!’ Her voice’s shaking as she walks towards the sound. She’s so scared but curious at the same time. She’s trembling when her hand gets a hold of the curtains. With all the courage she has, she pulls them and her eyes widen at the sight in front of hers.

‘You?!’

It’s a boy with a broom in his hand. But the thing that surprised Bomi the most is he’s the worker who annoyed her at the bookstore.

‘Hi.. Never imagined of seeing you here..’ He utters a fake laugh.

‘Me neither. You scared me! I thought you’re some kind of ghost!’ She says, irritated.

‘I work here too. Part time.’ His words make Bomi feels even more puzzled. How come she didn’t see him when she’s inside? She works there for about a month already.

‘But I’ve never seen you here. We only met at the bookstore last week.’

‘Maybe you didn’t look around carefully.. I’m Hoya.’ He shows her his hand, wanting to shake hands. Hesitantly, she takes his. Weirdly, some kind of electric shock goes through her body when they shake hands. He’s good looking too.

‘Yoon Bomi.’

And so, they work together until their job end that day. When Bomi’s packing her things to leave, Hoya approaches her.

‘Hey, I want to give you this.’ He hands her a book.

‘The Phantom?’ She laughs as she takes the book from his hands.

‘Thanks.’

‘Sorry that I annoyed you before. I was wanting to give this since forever..’ He says meaningfully.

‘So, you’re coming for the play tomorrow?’

‘Psh! I hate Phantom of The Opera.. The ugly phantom guy scares me.’ She says jokingly.

Hoya’s expression darkens at her answer. They stay quiet until they walk at the entrance. An awkward one too.

‘Nice meeting you. You know Bomi-shi.. Phantoms aren’t scary just as long as you try to know them. They might be ugly from the outside but from the inside, they’re like any other human. They just want to be loved like anybody else.’ Just like that, Hoya walks away and leaves her.

‘But I was just kidding..’ She mumbles to herself as Hoya’s figure slowly vanishes from view.

***

That night, Bomi opens the book Hoya gave her earlier. There’s a note attached inside. A weird pain went into her stomach after reading the note.

To the prettiest girl, time’s ticking.40 days are almost over. According to the deal, I can only be a handsome man only in 40 days. I’ve been watching you since then with my handsome face but I still didn’t have any guts to talk to you. From the theatre where I first saw you to the bookstore I’ve been following you. Maybe I’m handsome now from the outside but inside, I’m still the ugly phantom. I’m afraid if you would fall for me just because of my looks. What if I transformed back into the hideous creature? Would you still like me? Maybe after I gave you this book, I would be the ugly phantom again because the 40 days period is already over. Would you still talk to me after this?

Hoya

Guilt’s coating her. After that day, she tries to search for him but no sign of him anywhere. Not at the bookstore or the theatre. What shocks Bomi the most is the theatre she used to work’s gone. What used to be the theatre is a small motel. When she asked the owner of the place, he said the theatre no longer exist since it was demolished ten years ago.

What really happened? Where’s the place she used to work? Who’s Hoya?

Naeun! Naeun used to be with her inside the theatre!

‘Theatre? What theatre? You must’ve been dreaming, Yoon Bomi!’ That’s the answer she received along with a laugh when she asked her best friend. Until now, the mystery still couldn’t be explained and Hoya? She never saw him since then.

***

[Ramblings]: I don't know about this.. I guess it's because I'm not fond of APink. lol But I tried my best to find some inspiration to write this oneshot, so I hope you like it :) Thanks for reading *hearts* Ooh.. Please be specific about the couple. I think I might go crazy thinking about the pair that you guys gave the name of the group only. lol It'll take longer if you gave only the name of the groups. Hope you enjoy reading :)