You were seated nervously on the cushy couch in your family’s basement, eyes glued to the television screen. Small cracks of light played across the dark floor, only adding to the spooky effect. The only served to further remind you of the lines of moonlight filtering in through the dirty windows on the screen.


Yes, only you, Kim KaYeon would get up at five in the morning to play your new video game. It wasn’st just any video game though. No. This was in your opinion, two of the best games in the whole world. Fatal Frame, and Fatal Frame II. They were horror games, and you loved anything to do with horror. You were hooked on that adrenaline rush you got when you were scared. 


That’s what got you seated in front of the television, unable to tear your now wide eyes from the glowing screen. Your breath hitched in anticipation as the controller rumbled with your characters heartbeat. Suddenly the blue-white lights in the form of an all too familiar ghost sprung through the floor right in front of your character. 


Screeching in terror, you just barely had time to hit the pause button before throwing your arms in the air on impulse. The controller slipped from your used-to-be tight grip and flung across the room landing with a dull thud on the beige carpet.
“She’s come back for me!” a cry tore from your throat, and followed the mad flurry of movements. Soon the room was blanketed in a veil of silence that made you all the more jumpy.


Harsh breathing could be heard as you sat curled into a tight ball, on the floor where you had fallen from your perch on the couch. With trembling hands, you brushed away stray strands of hair that had fallen into your face in the commotion. Calming your breath slowly, you uncurled your limbs until you were in a comfortable position again, albeit a tad more tense than normal.


“KaYeon dear, you should get ready for school now. If you don’t leave soon you’ll be late again, and you don’t really want another detention, do you?” You father called down cheerily. “Oh, and try to keep the noise down please. It sounded like someone was dying down there.” He continued, and you could almost see the scolding look he would be giving you right now. Had you been in the same room as him of course. He always was strict about school.


Sure, you had been late a few times last week, but you just couldn’t tear yourself away from the game. Besides, you were able to finish your homework in that detention you had on Friday. You probably wouldn’t have gotten it done otherwise, homework was just so boring! He was right though. If you got detention again you wouldn’t be able to play as much.


Sighing heavily, you used the coffee table in front of you to pull yourself to a standing position. Inching closer to the screen and game console, you shuddered at the images frozen in place. Pressing the buttons rapidly you quickly shut down the system before falling back with a yawn. Exhaling noisily in relief now that the screen was free of the chilling images, you let your eyes close sleepily. 


You hadn’t really noticed until now, but you really weren’t able to get much sleep at all this weekend. I mean sure, you got at least six hours of sleep of night, but you were still pretty tried. It was mainly because the light of the glow in the dark stars on your wall kept reminding you of the ghosts roaming about the display. 


Shaking your head to clear your muddled thoughts, you groggily made your way to you bedroom. Stuffing your homework in your bag haphazardly, you tried to make sure it didn’t get too ruined in the process. After all, it still needed to be marked. Of course, it wouldn’t be all that hard to re-do really. First year high school wasn’t as bad as you thought it would be. 


Shuffling into the bathroom beside your bedroom, you continued with your morning activities and routines. The usual, things you did every day of course. This was probably a good thing right now, because you probably would have forgotten anything new right now. You were still pretty on edge right now. Brushing your teeth with your favourite green apple flavoured toothpaste, and styling your hair until you’re satisfied. Smiling happily at your reflection, you spun around hair fanning out and hitting the mirror as you headed back to your own room. 


Slipping into the schools uniform of skirt and dress top, you went over your morning check list mentally. Once you were sure nothing would be left behind, you slid out of your bedroom door. Stopping halfway, you rushed back to your large wooden desk in the corner of your room. Sifting through the papers littering the desk, you quickly grasped your digital camera. You never know when it might come in handy. 


Running up the stairs you were welcomed by the dull morning light washing over you. It was better than no light at all though. Hopefully it would help dispel the spine-chilling illustrations of ghosts, swimming through your mind every time you closed your eyes, even for a second. I suppose it made sense though. The game had been on constantly all weekend. 


A shudder rippled through your body when a particularly scary ghoul passed through your mind. Slipping on your shoes you reached for the doorknob, camera in hand, only to be stopped midway by your mother.


“Here’s your umbrella. It looks like it’s going to rain soon.” Your dad told you, hand you your small black umbrella. “Oh, and don’t forget, I have a small trip. I’ll be back tomorrow after you get back home from school though. You may have a friend over you company if you want though. Behave yourself.” He reminded you. With a bright smile you dad bustled away, leaving you dumbfounded in the entrance holding an umbrella.


Throwing the front door open in a hurried motion, you exited the house. At least you wouldn’t be late for school again. Stepping out into the humid, gloomy morning you took in a deep breath of the cool dawn air, letting it pass through you. 


Really though, weren’t mornings supposed to be all bright and cheery? A nice cheerful morning is really what you needed right now. Something to life your dampened spirits from all the fear weighing them down. That and it would’ve helped to keep your mind off of tonight.


Now, on any normal day you would love to have the whole house to yourself. Time to just relax without having to worry about turning your music up to loud, or being to noise with your dying person screaming. 


‘How could he actually be mad about the screaming?’ You thought incredulously, letting your eyes glaze over in your momentary flash back. ‘Besides, for all he knows, I could be dying.’ You thought to yourself sulkily, kicking a random pebble on the sidewalk in front of you. ‘Well my character could be anyway.’

Growling angrily you stomped a few times in frustration before spinning in a circle. Who knew that one little video could get to someone so much? Especially you, the queen of horror video games. They were just your thing, everyone knew that. That’s why you couldn’t let anyone know one got to you.


In all fairness it was dark out and you never knew what could be hiding just mere feet from you! Okay, so you were a bit paranoid. You had every right to be! Anyone who played the same video games that you did would be just as terrified. Well, that’s just what you kept telling yourself. You thought that if you said it enough times, maybe you would actually start to believe it.


Your eye snapped close on its own accord as a rather large drop of water fell into it. Stopping you put out you hand for a moment to test a theory you had brewing in your head. Stretching an arm out in front of you, open palm up you waited for a few seconds, and it was just as you had suspected. Now, by this time, rain drops were falling rapidly around you, hitting your once perfectly dry form. It was times like this when you were so happy that you had your umbrella with you. It was also times like this when you felt sorry for whoever didn’t have one.


Looking around, you could only see a few select people that were complete strangers to you wandering about the school near empty school yard. Your best guess would be that you were probably just a little too early for school today. 


Sighing unhappily you scuttled through the soggy grass to the cluster of picnic tables in off to the side of the schools main pathway. Picking the one you thought would be the one most untouched by the rain; you sat down carefully, drumming your fingers on the wooden top to pass the time faster. Someone was sure to show up relatively soon well you hoped anyways.


You were hoping that once you had finally reached the school, you wouldn’t have to dwell on your disturbing thoughts anymore. That you would have someone to talk to that would get your mind off the game that was seared into your mind. Like SooMin, her bubbly attitude would surely have brightened your spirits. Also, if SooMin showed up, all the others in you group would show up too. Then you’d just have more friends to have a conversation with. Now all you had was more time to think about how to get past certain ghosts, which you could see each and every one of them clearly in your mind’s eye. On the bright side, at least you weren’t late for school again.


Minutes dragged on, and much to your total happiness, you could see a larger than normal group of people walking closer in the distance. When the cluster of people moved forward, you were happy when you could finally make out their forms through the light mist that was now in the air.


It was the same assembly of people that you were hoping it would be all morning. The group of Kingas: , Tao, Lay, Baekyun, Chanyeol, Kai and of course the one you were closest to , Yifan. Well, more commonly known as Kris. You would never tell him or anyone this of course, it was your little secret. Along with the kingas came SooMin and her two friends of course. Bomi and Aida. Finally, you were able to go on like it as any normal day. 


Just when you thought you’d have the regular chaos of the large group of friends, about half of them just stopped, much to your dismay. It was another of their famous morning fights of course. That only left Kris and Bomi to keep you company until the bell rang to start classes for what would possibly be the longest day of school ever. 


Kai and SooMin were the ones who were actually holding them back though. It wasnt really their fault though, the other three stayed like they always did when things like this happened. As usual Chanyeol and Aida were trying to break up the little brawl, while Lay was egging on SooMin. For some reason he always seemed to enjoy these fights. Mind you, you would to, if you had been close enough to hear what was going on. You were just out of hearing range though. 


Some of the dark shadows haunting you melted away when you saw Kris now standing practically beside you. Okay, well, it was sort of behind you, but that wasn’t really the main focus here. It was you being so close to Kris. It freaked you out a bit though at how much you were acting like some love sick high school girl, even though you were a love sick high school girl. It didn’t really register in your mind, since it was such a small detail, but both Bomi and Kris were wet, quite obviously from the rain. You assumed the others would be the same. It was a good thing that the bell would be ringing soon.


Looking away from Kris quickly when you realized your eyes had been lingering on him longer then usually, you turned back towards Bomi. You were hoping no would notice the pale pink blush spreading across the apples of your cheeks. Besides, maybe she had something interesting to say. You figured out a second to late that that probably wasn’t the best idea.


Screaming in the sheer shock of the moment, you jumped back fully on impulse. Running directly into Kris in the process of course, in that moment, you felt like the biggest dork ever. At least he wasn’t the type of person to hold this little moment against you. Well, you hoped he wasn’t anyways


"KaYeon, are you alright? Kris asked, concern softening his rain dampened features. It was still a complete mystery as to how this happened, but you weren’t going to complain about that of course. At this moment you could just melt back into him, but there were other problems at hand right now that were demanding your attention.


Turning around you shrunk back into Kris’ comforting arms, just trying to escape what you had seen just before. Bomi’s black mascara had run down, pooling around underneath her eyes in thick black blobs. It reminded you perfectly of blinded, one of the scarier ghosts that had you so freaked out right now.


“Ya ya, Im fine.” You finally got out, trying to shove the shockingly similar resemblance from your mind. Shuddering, you snuggled back into Kris, brushing off his confused look. You weren’t really in the mood to explain anything right now. Besides, he would be your source of comfort right now, he was nice that way.


Like any normal day? Oh how very wrong you were. This was the start of the worst school day you had had, quite possibly in forever. It would be filled with enough unnatural moments to last you a life time.


With one last reassuring squeeze from him, you made your way towards the large school doors. The muffled sound of the school bell ringing echoed in your head, as you were swept away in the massive swarm of bodies pushing you ever forewords towards your destination.


You knew things could only get worse as you were now in the school, but you continued on, cautiously opening the classroom door. It was almost as if you were expecting a ghost from the game to be behind that very door. You knew that was impossible though. So, ignoring the strange looks from those students around you, you peeked around the door before dashing to the safety of your desk. It was right by Kris naturally. 


Fidgeting nervously you stole a few glances at Kris, before you went back to waiting somewhat patiently for the teacher to arrive. What would really happen with the teacher there? Minutes later she did enter the room, and you let out a breath in relief. Now you could do attendance, and get on with the rest of your day as you normally did. 


Kagome Kagome! Why, oh why did that have to be the first name on the list? In your mind, it seemed as if the teacher’s voice had changed to those of the small spirits of the children swarming about you. Trying to take you with them in their own twisted game of demon tag, Kirei. That was the last straw. You could almost feel Kireis ghostly hands tightening around your throat. 


You did the only thing you can think of. You screamed as loud at the top of your lungs. The mocking laughs of your classmates warped into Saes malicious laugh ringing constantly in your ears. Pictures of the bloody villagers at her feet ambushed your vision.


Stray tears leaked through your tightly seal eyelids, and you could faintly her the teacher shushing the class, until only a snicker sounded here and there.
“KaYeon, Im sending you home to get some rest.” The teacher told you, sounding rather annoyed at your interruption. Everything she said after that was lost upon your deaf ears.


With your hands were still shaking from fear and suppressed sobs. You weren’t sure which was the most influential to your actions at the moment though. Papers kept slipping from your grasp, until you felt two large hands collect them into your bag for you.


Letting yourself be guided gently into the empty school hallway, you turned to get your first look at your guide. Your already horrible mood only worsened when you saw Kris standing there looking back at you, a tender smile on his face. How could you possibly be so embarrassingly scared? Especially in front of him. The guy you’d had a crush on forever, he had the best personality. Hard to anger, this was good, considering your wicked temper.


Sniffing lightly you clung to his arm, trying to gather enough nerve to actually speak a complete sentence. You didn’t really want to sound like a blubbering fool.
“Wha why are you here?” Your voice was a lot quieter then you would have wanted it to be, but at least he was able to hear you clearly. 


Holding up your school bag with one hand he smiled lightly.
“I was asked to you home.” He started, but hesitated when it came to the next part. “She didn’t think you were quite stable, enough to get home on your own. It’s okay though, I’ll be happy to know that you got home okay.”


Twisting your face into a look of confusion, you thought back to your little episode moments earlier.
“About that.” Laughing nervously you wrung your hands out of habit, releasing his sleeve. “Well, the ghosts and what if they came for me?” You asked desperately, trying to stomp down your feelings of dread bubbling to the surface. You blushed as you thought of how insane that sounded, even to your own ears.


Raising an eyebrow delicately he put one of his arms around your shoulders securely.
“Ghosts?” He questioned you disbelieve. Ah, from that game. Laughing he continued his mini speech. I told you not to play that game so much.


“Dont laugh!” You exclaimed, your mouth forming a frown. “If aliens, why not ghosts?” You asked critically, looking him straight in the eye searchingly. Hey, it really made sense to you. They were both, after all, of the supernatural. Besides, anything’s possible, right? Well, that’s what everyone kept telling you at least.


Shaking his head with a small sigh, he led you briskly down the long corridor. You really are too stubborn for your own good. He commented good naturedly, squeezing your shoulders affectionately, looking down at you with his sparkling navy eyes. 


The warmth from Kris’s body seeped into your own, as you ambled down the hallway by his side. It seemed perfect. Too perfect for today, the day when nothing seemed to go right. Suddenly you felt your vision clouding over in brief warning of another flashback to your game.


You could almost feel the ghostly clumps of hands suffocating you. Clawing at your throat and limbs, attempting to pull you into their clutches. You batted away the torn ropes draped around your body, closing in towards you. Trying to fight off the accursed appendages seemed hopeless, as there were hundreds more seemingly tearing at your clothes.


Your eyes shot open when Kris took a firm grip of your hands, his own dwarfing your own in the process. your dry cracked lips, you could taste your salty tears again. Gods, why did you have to be so damn weak? It was all irrelevant right now though, as just being so close to his comforting presence made you feel warm. Much better then the cold feeling fighting to take control, numbing your body. 


“Shh you’re safe now.” Kris soothed, encasing you in a cocoon of warmth his long arms. Pulling you down in the middle of the path, he scooted against the wall, and simply cradled your shaken form to his strong one. “Just calm down, I’m here now.” No matter how cheesy those words sounded, they seemed to be just what you needed. You could feel that seed symbolizing your feelings grow and swell in your chest. 


Hugging him tightly around the middle, you sat curled into his chest, in as tight a ball as you could morph your body into to. In the meantime, you took in deep breathes to calm yourself, knowing Kris would wait. You didn’t really want to make a fool out of yourself right now anyways by being some blubbering wreck.


I should probably get home now. You murmured quietly, reluctant to leave his welcoming safety. You both knew though, that if a teacher came out, you’d both be in big trouble, despite your mental state. You really didn’t think they’d care about that. 


Walking out into the dewy mid-morning air, you were happy to see that the rain from before had stopped completely. Not even a drizzle remained. However, the sun reflecting off the puddles of rain water gave off an almost ethereal blue-white glow. Just like the spirits when they were collecting to attack you. Springing into action, you pounced over Kris to retrieve you bag, your camera. You never know, it might work like in the game. Your own digital camera could somehow operate like the Camera Obscura, and you could click away your problems with the push of a button. Sadly you were caught by Kris himself. 


“I dont even want to know what youre doing.” He sighed, slinging you onto his back, ignoring your squeak of protest. “I’ll bring you home, and stay with you for a bit.” He told you, probably trying to pacify you, or maybe he really did want to be near you. “Just until you’re feeling better.” He added on quickly.


Bouncing lightly on his back when he moved, you lay your head on his shoulder. For the whole ride back home you were simply relishing in the heat radiating from his body, and his heart thumping loudly in your ears. Sighing in contentment, you snuggled into the warmth, feeling slightly drowsy and exhausted from the craziness of today.


Sliding down, you produced your key from your school bag, and unlocked the front door. Gently easing it open you allowed yourself and Kris into the still entrance room. You just barely had enough time to slip off your shoes before Kris was ushering you through the halls of your house, stopping momentarily just outside your room. Still in your baffled state you were still wondering why you were no longer at the door you didn’t notice Kris placing you carefully in your warm bed, pulling the covers around you. Lying there, you were left there to blink in befuddlement as Kris hurried out the door to some unknown destination. 


It wasn’t all that long for you to wait before Kris came back into the room, carrying a mug of steaming hot liquid. He pushed it into your shaking hands when you had yourself seated upright on your bed. He sat down on the bed beside you, watching you closely with soft eyes. Taking a cautious sip, you hummed happily as the taste of chocolate filled your mouth, flooding your taste buds. Hot cocoa, you should have guessed, it fixes everything. 

When you had finished the whole glass, Kris took it from your warm fingers and placed it on top of your desk out of the way. He then pushed you down carefully onto your cushiony pillows, before he moving to get up himself, only to have you hold him down to the mattress firmly. 


“Please stay with me for a while?” You requested sleepily, unable to go on as you yawned widely, tugging lightly on his sleeve. You smiled happily when he placed your head in his lap and ran through your hair with his fingers. 


“Love you.” You muttered sleepily, unaware of just what it was you were saying in your state. He froze for a moment before relaxing again, continuing his soothing brushing movements.


“Love you too” He whispered as you fell into a deep sleep, your fears melting away. Hey, your parents did say you could have a friend over.