The air was warm and humid, as it had been the past few summer nights. Streetlights lit the empty roads, and one by one the local shops were beginning to close up. A group of teenagers emerged from the twenty-four hour convenience store, popsicles in mouths and sodas in hands. They laughed and chatted as boys their age usually did, but quickly, their conversation took a turn.

   "You guys ever heard of the game Satoru-kun?" asked one of the boys. His plump lips split as he slid his popsicle into his mouth, on it for a moment as his friends all looked at each other and shrugged. With a roll of his eyes, the boy released the popsicle with a loud pop. "Seriously? Geez, you must live under rocks or something!"

   "Sounds stupid, whatever it is," said the eldest of the group. "Nobody cares about your horror games, Daniel. They aren't even scary."

   Daniel openly gaped. "I resent that, Minsoo-hyung! You guys just never give them the chance!"

    "Yeah, because they're stupid," said a boy with big ears. Everyone laughed, and he took on a confused expression. "W-What? What's so funny?"

    The shortest of them all slung an arm around the big-eared boy's shoulder. "Changhyun," he said almost solemnly, "you practically piss your pants whenever Daniel tells one of his ridiculous stories. Don't just follow Minsoo-hyung, okay?"

   "I-I wasn't just 'following him'!" Changhyun exclaimed, cheeks reddening as he slipped out of the other's hold. "Daniel's stories are stupid and fake! There's nothing scary about them!"

   As if on a cue, everyone stopped walking. 

   "You sure about that, Changhyun?" said the boy with big nostrils.

   Changhyun gulped and nodded a bit too quickly. He wasn't about to embarrass himself, especially in front of Minsoo. That'd be downright mortifying. So, squaring his shoulders, he proudly declared, "Yeah, I'm sure, Chanhee-hyung."

   "Great." Chanhee's lips split into a wide grin, and he nudged Daniel in the side. "Go ahead and tell us about the game then, Daniel."

   With a grin just as wide as Chanhee's, Daniel chuckled and nodded. "Alright, fine. There's this ghost kid called Satoru and you can ask him any one question you want, but if you turn around and see him, he'll take you straight to hell. You gotta call him-- or, well, you gotta call...yourself. Your cellphone. You call your cellphone from a payphone and you say: 'Satoru-kun, Satoru-kun, please come here. Satoru-kun, Satoru-kun, please show yourself. Satoru-kun, Satoru-kun, please answer me if you are there.' And then the next day, he'll call your cellphone and tell you where he is." 

   Everyone had begun to walk, albeit slowly, as they were focused entirely on Daniel's story.

   "He calls you once a day for seven days straight, and then on the seventh day he'll say 'I'm behind you.'" Daniel looked around at his friends' faces, gauging their reactions. "You gotta ask your question right away, 'cause if you don't..." 

   "YOU DIE!" Jonghyun suddenly shouted, springing onto Changhyun's back and nearly knocking him to the ground. Changhyun shrieked, flailing wildly as he tried get Jonghyun off of him. Minsoo rolled his eyes and yanked Jonghyun off the other boy by his shirt collar, and then smacked him upside the head. "Ow! Hyung, come on, I was just kidding around!" Jonghyun said, rubbing his head.

   "It isn't 'kidding around' unless it's funny to everybody." Frowning a bit, Minsoo gave Changhyun's hair a ruffle and bent down a bit so they were eye-to-eye. "You alright?" he asked concernedly.

   His breath caught in his throat, Changhyun only managed a nod and a noise that vaguely sounded like a "yes". 

   "Good." The eldest of the group's frown turned into a smile, and he patted Changhyun on the shoulder before straightening up. His eyes narrowed as he looked over the group of teenagers. "Look, as the oldest out of all of us, you guys have to listen to what I say, and what I say is we quit all this 'scary story' crap. Not all of us are exactly fans of it, so we shouldn't be talking about it--"

   "No!" exclaimed Changhyun suddenly. Everyone turned towards him, surprised by his outburst. He pursed his lips together, fingers clenching into fists, mind racing with things to say but nothing coming out of his mouth. Unable to make even a simple sound, he instead shoved his hand into his pocket and pulled out a few coins. There was stunned silence as he ran ahead a few feet to a payphone and inserted the coins.

   Was he really about to do this? He stood there, finger hovering over the numbers as he just realized what he'd done. Everyone was watching him, though. There was no going back.

   So, he dialed his own cellphone number. And then, voice trembling, he said into the phone, "Satoru-kun, Satoru-kun, please come here. Satoru-kun, Satoru-kun, please show yourself. Satoru-kun, Satoru-kun, please answer me if you are there." 

   He hung up the phone, eyes staring ahead blankly. His fingers curled around the cord and he squeezed his eyes shut, breathing out harshly. 

   There were whoops and hollers as his friends ran over to him, clapping him on the back and shaking him around as they cheered for him. Changhyun wasn't nearly as excited as they were; he could feel the terror rising up in him and he pushed through the circle his friends had formed and bent over, hands on his knees as his fear was expelled onto the street. 

***

Did you even sleep last night?

no

Seriously? Come on, you know all this stuff is fake. There's nothing to be scared about.

you dont know that though! theres no proof this stuff is fake!!

And there's no proof that it isn't.

youre not helping, minsoo

Hm. Sorry, I guess that isn't very helpful.
Look, how about I come over? I'll spend the day with you and help keep your mind off of this crap.

oh uhm
yeah sure
thatd be cool, thank you

It's no problem. After all, what kind of hyung would I be if I left you to go crazy by yourself?
Sorry, that probably didn't help either.

   Changhyun sighed, setting his phone down beside him on his bed. He stared blankly at the world map plastered onto the wall in front of him, his eyes drooping tiredly. This was totally stupid — what was he getting scared about? There was no way a ghost could call his phone. Hell, there was no way ghosts even existed!

   Right?

   Right.

   Yeah, right! A smile crossed his face and he let out a chuckle. "I can't believe how ridiculous I am," he said to himself, rolling his eyes. With a laugh, he laid down. "An all-knowing ghost boy calling my phone and telling me where he is... Hah!"

   Changhyun slid his arms beneath his head, and he stared up at the ceiling as he chuckled to himself. Minsoo was right, it seemed. But he was always right, so Changhyun wasn't too surprised. 

   "Ah... I should probably text him and tell him to not come over..." Changhyun mumbled to himself. He sat up again, reaching for his phone, when it suddenly rang. Squeaking and flinching in surprise, Changhyun quickly retracted his hand, instead leaning in a bit to get a closer look at the screen.

   He felt the world spin around him as he saw the name and number— or lack thereof, to be exact.