One Month Later…

                Jongup sat on the bench outside of his school, quietly drawing random little doodles on his notebook. Zelo had been by earlier but Jongup was waiting for Himchan at the moment. He’d called him a few days ago and asked if Jongup would want to go out and eat today. Zelo shrugged and had left him then to be on his way home. The older boy had been calling and checking up on Jongup at least twice a week since they’d left that house. Zelo told him that Yongguk had been calling and checking on him as well…

                “Jonguppie!” Himchan called to him from the car that had pulled up. With a smile, Jongup got up and went to the car, looking in the window at the older male, “Sorry I’m late. Hyosung wanted coffee so I got her some before meeting you here.”

                “How is she doing by the way?”

                “She’s good,” Himchan motioned for Jongup to get in, to which the younger complied, “It’s still new to me. Having a girlfriend again and all. I forgot how much time you have to give them.” Himchan laughed good-naturedly before pulling out of the school, “where to? Craving anything?”

                “Not really,” Jongup replied, yawning and unconsciously rubbing the back of his once injured hand. He didn’t miss Himchan’s worried gaze, “it’s fine. I just got use to it being itchy when it was healing,” when the troubled expression didn’t fade Jongup sighed and continued, “I’m fine. I’ve been sleeping  better.”

                “Have you heard from Daehyun?”

                “Not too much. Youngjae says he’s doing better. Just been busy with practice and all,” Jongup watched Himchan’s brows furrow, “Hey. We’ll be okay.”

                “It was my idea to go to that house…”

                “We’re going to be fine. At least we have a story to tell later, right? Eh?” He nudged Himchan in the side, trying his best to cheer the older up, “So I think I want meat!”

                “What? You know how much that’s going to cost me?!”

                Jongup smiled a little when Himchan’s mood lightened. The last few weeks had both Himchan and Yongguk fussing over the younger boys. On his part Jongup was trying to smile and convince both of them that everything was okay. He turned to face window. Slowly a frown formed on his face instead while he rubbed the back of his hand.

                Sometimes when he’d daze off he’d find himself back in that sunflower field…

~~~

                Daehyun awoke with a start when his head hit the keyboard of his laptop. Shaking his head furiously he resumed his scan of the websites he’d pulled up in the search engine. There had to be something. He was still losing too much sleep over this. From the corner of his vision sometimes he’d see the girl…or at least what he thought was her…maybe he was just being paranoid…There was something about just “leaving” that place that unsettled him. It was like something was left unsaid…

                “Hey…”

                Daehyun jumped and knocked over his computer. Fortunately Youngjae barely caught the thing, laughing apologetically and handing it back to him.

                “Jumpy?”

                “Shut up,” he grumbled and snatched the computer back to resume his search.

                “Still not sleeping?” Youngjae flopped down on Daehyun’s bed, stretching out on it.

                “Mmm,” he hummed, still staring at the screen.

                “Well you’ve looked better.”

                “Mmm.”

                “You’re starting to go bald.”

                “Mmm.”

                “Dae!” Youngjae finally snapped in frustration and snatched the laptop back.

                “Hey!” Daehyun tried to grab for it but Youngjae was on his feet and scrutinizing the screen.

                “What the?” Youngjae paused and looked to Daehyun, brows raised in surprise, “more about this place? I thought we were trying to forget about it? Anyways why are you looking up real estate?”

                “I don’t know…I thought maybe if I checked enough pictures…I don’t know…” Daehyu n sighed in defeat. It did sound ridiculous.

                “Hey, don’t worry abou…” Daehyun saw something move near Youngjae and was on his feet immediately, pulling the other away from where he’d been standing. Something dark vanished behind the dresser and Daehyun seemed near panic.

                “She’s here!”

                “Whoa, calm down, its okay,” Youngjae tried to soothe him. At that moment Daehyun didn’t want to hear it. Keeping his hold on Youngjae he dragged the protesting younger to the door and both left promptly. At least out in the open he didn’t feel as vulnerable.

                It was getting worse.  This last shade looked like a girl. There was no way he could have mistaken that…he felt like he was going crazy now. It wasn’t until Youngjae yanked him to a halt that he realized he’d been dragging his friend all the way to a local shopping center.

                “Dae…”

                “Don’t say it. I know it. Hell,” Daehyun collapsed onto a bench, holding his head in his hands, “it just feels like I’ll never get any peace. Its like you forgot something and can’t remember what…except I’m being stalked by some ghost girl!”

                “Shh!” Youngjae hushed him after his last outburst earned them a couple of odd looks.

                “I’m going insane…”

                “Have you told anyone else? I knew you were having nightmares still but this is something else,” Youngjae took a seat next to him.

                “No. I didn’t want any of you to worry.”

                “Idiot,” Youngjae shook his head, “let’s figure this out then…”

                “Ah! Young man!” A familiar woman’s voice called nearby. Youngjae looked up and a look of utter and complete astonishment swept over his face.

~~~

                “What? Why? No, no, don’t take it the wrong way,” Himchan said his phone while he paced in front of the restaurant they’d chosen to eat at.

                Jongup watched him for a moment, not really trying to listen to what he was saying but with Himchan’s typically theatrics it was hard to miss. He assumed it was Hyosung until her name came up in the conversation. Maybe it was Sunhwa or Jieun, maybe Zinger. Whatever it was Himchan seemed a little off put by it.

                Deciding to give Himchan a little more privacy, Jongup began walking down the street. He wasn’t going to go too far; just enough to not have to hear everything they were discussing. His stomach gurgled hungrily at him. Thankfully he’d been able to guilt Himchan into taking him to a good place.

                “Remember! As horrible as this whole thing was, now is the time to get whatever you want.”

                He snickered a little at Zinger’s words. At least there was something good that came out of the whole experience.

                “Oh, sorry!” He quickly apologized to the girl he’d just run into. When he tried to move out of her way her arm shot out and grabbed his hand, the one that had been injured. Pain immediately shot through it and Jongup met the girl’s gaze.

                Her wide, dead stare was all too familiar.

                He was back in the field, but this time he was already in the clearing. The foul odor of rotting flowers filled his nose before he realized the girl, long black hair obscuring her face. Her head cocked suddenly to one side. Trying to swallow his fear, Jongup followed the movement with his eyes and reeled back when flames began to engulf the field to his right.

                The girl had vanished. Where she stood was a fresh mound of earth that was consumed by the flames as well. The heat was becoming unbearable. Jongup turned to escape…only to see a shadowy figure ahead of him. It raised some kind of long handled weapon and brought it down over Jongup’s head…

                Jongup felt the car zoom by him, the air it created moving his hair and clothing. He was barely an inch off the curb, headed into traffic. He slowly stepped back, heart pounding. Another inch and that car would have at least clipped him…but in spite of it he was far more concerned with the girl. As the cars whizzed past he could still see her on the other side of the road, staring at him…but he blinked and she was gone.

                Before panic could set in someone clapped him on the shoulder and he spun around with a surprised cry.

                “Sorry!” Himchan laughed, “Anyways, that was Sunhwa,” his expression turned grave, “and I’m going to regret what I just agreed to do.”

                “Oh?” Jongup responded a little more uninterested than he meant. He was still looking for the girl again. This was the first time he’d experienced anything other than a few brief flashes of the sunflower field…

                “Sunhwa needs to go back to the house…”

                A shooting pain went through Jongup hand at the same time a cold pang of fear ran through him.