Screams could be heard throughout the amusement park as the sun kissed the horizon; the darkening blue sky was streaked with multicolored clouds, the October air growing exceptionally crisp. The smell of vendor and restaurant dishes wafted through the senses as the people waited in lines. It was the season for treason, the night for fright. It was Halloween.

“I’m so ready for this,” Jinae bounced on her toes, her grin wide, as they waited in line to get into the haunted mansion.  

“Oh! So excited!” Kyungmi exclaimed, her form unable to stand still.

Yun stood against the ropes farthest from the mansion at the edge of their group, her knees trembling minutely. Her hair stood on end with every scream that pierced through the walls of the mansion. Sunhi and Chunhei conversed in their position at the front of the group.

Unlike the others, Heeyoung stood silently in the center of the group, her expression bored and her fancy not tickled. She was immune to haunted corn mazes, haunted hay rides, haunted hospitals, and she was especially immune to haunted mansions. They all had the same fog-and-fear-filled air, the same claustrophobic walking space, and the same gruesome settings. Some were better than others, of course, and sometimes the design was more original, but they were all the same, and Heeyoung was not amused. Besides the fact that she had been going to haunted Halloween events since she was little, Heeyoung was also a prankster, and frightening people was a hobby of hers. She never tried to creep them out and make their hearts shrivel up and bury themselves in their stomachs, like the people in haunted mansions and such did, but making people jump was a kind of art she had perfected. She wishes her antics could have a similar effect on her as they did others, but she just can’t feel it from staged haunting anymore.

“Yah, Yun-ah,” Heeyoung turned to Yun, noticing as she jumped before turning to Heeyoung.

“Yes, eonni?” Yun’s teeth chattered.

“Share some of your terror with me,” Heeyoung demanded flatly.

“I wish I could,” she grumbled in return, her arms wrapping tightly around her shoulders.

“Just act like they are really annoying, really creepy fans that don’t understand personal space. Or something like that,” Heeyoung offered advice.

“Is that what you do e-eonn-nni?”

“No. I’m basically immune to all of this.”

Yun’s face fell.

Heeyoung sighed seeing how scared her dongsaeng was.

“You know,” she leaned down all secretive. “Sometimes, even I jump when they come surprise us.”

“R-really?” Yun’s eyes glimmered with hope.

Nodding, Heeyoung was glad to start a conversation with her, the conversing lasting until they got to the front of the line. Squeezing Yun into the middle of their line with Chunhei and Sunhi in front and behind her, Kyungmi at the front of the line, and Jinae with Heeyoung at the back of the line, they marched into the fog.

Within the mansion, the sounds of screaming, bubbling, whirring and gurgling could be heard over the sound of feet clambering against the floor. Yun attempted to hide her almost six-foot self behind Chunhei, curling up against her back hoping all of the hauntings would ignore her. Heeyoung carried on at the end of the line, observing the effort put into making the fiasco.

The line experienced tremors, screams, stumbles, yelps, and the occasional tear of fear as they wormed their way through the house at a moderate pace.

Hesitantly approaching a dark hallway, the group walked in anticipation, their breath silenced as they waited for something to come out of the dark. Kyungmi was just giddy with the feeling as she followed the florescent arrows on the now cement floor. Exiting the hallway, Jinae called up the line.

“That wasn’t so bad, guys.”

“Yeah. I’m really surprised that no one-“ Kyungmi started, her smile relieved and wide as they turned into the next setting. She only cut herself off to scream as a deformed figure rattled chains at their entrance.

“Welcome to the cellar where the young Miss kept all of her playmates,” the guard chuckled, the sound coming out as more of a throaty gargling, opening a faux metal gate so they could enter the cellar. “Enjoy your stay.”

All eyes drifted over the deformed figure in the cell that lay off to the side before the gate, its toxic eyes running over their forms. They passed into the cellar completely, but not without another rattling of the figure’s chains, causing Yun to jump and whimper.

The cellar had dim lighting, the bare bulbs hanging from the ceiling flickering and whining with age. In each dark cell was a different chained thing that was once human; the first few were skeletons playing games and glaring at the group passing by, the next few decaying humans that were missing bits and pieces of themselves as they groaned, and the next bunch growling crippled beasts that banged against the bars and ripped at each other. They were holograms, but it was still very impressive and realistic. They turned another corner to be met with dark cells and silence. It was eerie, and the members were even beginning to regret having gone into the mansion in the first place. Continuing, the faint scraping of nails against the cement flooring resonated, soon followed by the echoing jingle of chains. Hands came out of the black and grasped the bars of the cells, heads peeking through, and cackles reverberating against their ear drums. Heeyoung’s heart rate picked up, her palms sweating. She could feel something coming, and it scared her.

“Help…” a soft whisper came into hearing range as they neared the end of the hallway. “Help me…”

The group as a whole shook with pure terror, the whisper growing louder until they reached the last cell. It sat grand in size at the end of the hallway. There was no corner or staircase, just the open cell with the whispered plea for help.

“Why won’t you…” the voice grew intense before slipping away. No one breathed in that moment. “Help me!?”

The demonic howling pulsated through the air, the man trailing chains and scuffed feet behind it as he lunged at the bars, jerking at them and snarling. His horrifying display made a chorus of hysterical shrieks rip out of the group’s throats.

The cries calming to whimpers, the man let go of the bars. His skin was painted an ashen blue, his irises a wild yellow-orange against the black whites of his eyes. His teeth were formed to look ragged, jagged, rotten, and forgotten in his mouth, the gums swollen and sagging blood over his lips. The tongue was a disturbing, noxious blue; the sleeping gown over his body was black, tattered, dragged behind him, and was splattered with stains that had a pestilential luminescence to them. His nest-like black hair rustled as he stepped away from the bars. Limping into the empty space where the gate would have closed over him, he lifted his hands. The chains had been chewed until they were no longer connected to the wall. Grinning devilishly, he lowered them, stepping towards the group that had become a mass of fright.

“Do you…” he started, his raspy voice dry and trailing off, his body circling the group. “Want to… get out?”

The members nodded, tears gathered in the majority of their eyes. Heeyoung had never been more terrified in her life. She finally understood why people went into haunted events. This was the most amazing feeling ever.

“Really? Then why… Why didn’t you… help me? We could have gone… together… We could have…, but you left me… all alone… to rot,” he snarled, clacking his teeth at Sunhei. “Now… I’m going to make you… rot.”

All of the lights flickered horribly, the room blinking into darkness for extremely lengthy seconds at a time as he cackled sinisterly, the boom of his voice sending them hurriedly to the cell where a doorway was highlighted in a radiant fog.

Coming out of the end of the haunted mansion, all of the members speed-walked as far away from the mansion, and any other possibly life-scarring thing, before stopping and curling into fetal position on a couple of benches. They didn’t talk for almost ten minutes; Heeyoung interrupted it by announcing she was going to the bathroom. Everyone huddled together to go, since they had to as well, and since there had been a segment in the haunted mansion when there was a child slaughtering people in a public bathroom. It was irrational, but they didn’t want to risk losing Heeyoung to a bathroom murderer.

After they had finished and calmed down to a more rational state of mind, Heeyoung asked if she could go back to the mansion to ask one of the staff something. The manager went with her, telling the others to sit quietly and behave themselves. Returning to the mansion, she went to one of the staff that was selling the pictures.

“Excuse me,” she spoke meekly, her voice wavering from the leftover adrenaline.

“Yes? How can I help you?” the woman smiled. She was in costume as well, her skin painted a sickly green as slabs of it seemed to be melting off around her cheekbones.

“I was wondering who the man that acted as the insane man at the very end of the mansion was.”

“Oh, him? Why?”

“W-well,” her face flushed. “He’s incredible. I don’t usually get scared in these kinds of things.”

The woman looked at her sideways, a knowing smirk rising on her features.

“How about I give you his card?” she suggested, digging through her purse before presenting a business card to her. “He’s an actor, but he usually travels with these kinds of seasonal events.”

Accepting the card, Heeyoung thanked her profusely. Going back to the others, she pocketed the card.

 

 

It wasn’t until a week had passed that Heeyoung got another moment to herself, the others still terrified and getting nightmares. Heeyoung, on the other hand, was having dreams about that man. He had made her feel terror without an actual threatening moment being present. Yes, within those houses, there are plenty of threatening situations, but none were real like being on a runaway train, or in a natural disaster. She could feel when she was in real situations, but not in fake ones- that was before him, though.

Picking up the card, she rubbed her thumb over his name again.

“Yang Yoseob…” she smiled. Picking up her phone, she called him. “Hello?”

“Yes, who is this?” he answered back, his voice soft and pleasant.

Heeyoung did not give a passing thought to how different his voice was like this.

“Is this Yang Yoseob?” she asked, her heart doing somersaults in her chest.

“Yes, who is this?” he repeated.

“I’m Kang Heeyoung. I was wondering-“ she started, glad it was the man she was looking for.

“Wait. Heeyoung, as in a member of VeXus?” he interrupted her, curiosity evident in his tone.

“Exactly,” she smiled. He knew her.

“Wow,” he sighed, taking a moment to breathe. “Why are you calling me? And how did you get my phone number?”

“One of the staff at the amusement park gave me your card. I called because I wanted to compliment you.” Heeyoung could feel her face burning with sheepishness.

“Compliment me? Why?”

“You were excellent at the haunted mansion,” she began animatedly. “I don’t usually get scared in any of the haunted houses, or mazes, or anything like that, but you… You were amazing.”

“Thank you,” he gasped, speechless. His idol was complimenting him, and she was so serious about it, too.

“No, thank you. Ah, but,” she flushed, stuttering. “I was also wondering if you are free this weekend? Maybe we could get some coffee, or eat lunch…”

Silence consumed both ends of the call.

“H-hello?” she questioned, hoping she hadn’t scared him away.

“I-I’m here,” he gasped. He couldn’t believe this. “Ah, yeah. I am totally free this Sunday for lunch.”

Heeyoung’s heart skipped a beat.

“Where do you want to meet?”

 

 

She couldn’t calm her racing heart as she waited in the quaint little restaurant she had chosen as their meeting place. She was going to meet him, the man who had made her feel terror again. It was weird how she had developed feelings for him after he had scared her out of her wits, but she was acting like it was normal, even though she knew it was far from it.

Hearing the bell above the door ring, her head spun to see who had come in, her eyes resting on his fit figure as it strode in confidently. She was crushing- bad.

As he sat across from her, she sighed. He was so handsome.

“You look so different without your make up on,” she jested lightheartedly, breaking the ice.

He laughed, their drinks arriving.

“You look so different without your terrified expression on,” he commented in return, taking a sip of his drink after the waiter had taken his order and left.

“Is it a good different?” she inquired.

“Hm,” he hummed to himself. “I like both. You’re cute when you’re scared, and when you’re not.”

She reciprocated the compliments, smiling as they conversed comfortably.

“So, do you want to do this again sometime?” he wondered once they had eaten their lunches and finished their drinks. “I have a lot of free time after Halloween ends.”

“I would love that.”

Smiling at each other, they left the café, going on their separate routes to their next destination, their thoughts thrumming with the image of another date.

“Wait,” they had both stalled abruptly on the sidewalks. “That was a date, wasn’t it?”

~Fin~

Thank you for reading and I hope you didn't read this at night in case it was actually pretty scary. Please comment!