Mr.Jo sat down on the comfy brown leather sofa with his legs draped over the other. He clipped the paper against a board, taking out a pen from the basket set on a wooden coffee table that stood between Mark's chair and his. He placed his recorder on the table.

Mark sat opposite him, staring at his every move with his finger still digging on his cut. Mr.Jo noticed, of course, and looked at him. Then he looked down at his paper.

‘Are you sure that's the right thing to do, Mark?’ He asked, clearing his throat. 

Mark nodded, ‘I'm not the only one doing this you know, other depressed teenagers do this kinda thing so..’

Mr.Jo nodded too, ‘Yes, Mark, you are right. And that is why I'm here. To soothe things out,’

Mark hated the way he spoke to him.. It was as if he was speaking to a confused child. He sighed in defeat, leaning against the chair. Mr.Jo clicked his pen before asking him several questions.

‘Anything bothering you lately?’ He asked, studying Mark. Mark's eyes lightened up. He nodded, his mouth carved into a sinister smile. 

‘Yes,’ he responded, scratching his cut. ‘Everything. Everything is bothering me lately.’

Mr.Jo wrote a few things on his paper, ‘And have you figured any solution for this?’

Mark scoffed at how ignorant and stupid Mr.Jo's respond was. ‘Killing myself? I don't know, Jo. You have eyes don't you? Use them.’ He said, such hate burning in his eyes.

Mr.Jo raised both eyebrows. ‘Wrong, Mark. You have to stop being negative about this. The only reason why you're here is because your mother wants you to learn, maybe get a scholarship.. Why kill yourself when you could enjoy the great wonders of life?’

‘You see, I don't think you get the point,’ Mark said, tapping his feet.

‘I never chose to be in this life. I never chose to go to heaven or hell. I never chose to live. Heck, I don't want to go to school and get a job and get too old to do something I want. I ing hate life because I never belong somewhere. And I will never feel loved,’ Mark stated, glaring at Mr.Jo.

Mr.Jo sighed. ‘It's because you never try, Mark. In order to live life, you've got to make the most of it. The problem with teenagers nowadays is the lack of positivity. Life is wonderful and you have to know better than to spoil it. Some people never stop to look at how wonderful it is and you're one of them. So killing yourself might be the worst decision of all. And I'm doing this for the sake of humanity,’

Mark fought back, ‘You don't know how it feels like to be dead and alive at the same time!’

Eun-Mi didn't know where she was going but it's Mina who led the way, so she decided to tag along.

Min-Young decided to flee back to the dormitory, leaving Eun-Mi alone. Funny, Eun-Mi thought. I thought the main reason of coming here is to reconcile.

Mina and Eun-Mi walked side by side, talking about what they've been doing in the past years until they arrived the campfire. From there, they could see a boy standing before the bonfire, shouting ridiculously, ‘Gather around for the stories of Halloween! The spirit of Halloween shall not vanish, so come in!’

Eun-Mi laughed, so did Mina. ‘Oh , I know that guy,’ Eun-Mi muttered. 

‘Jackson?’ she replied.

‘Kinda,’ Eun-Mi said.

Once they were to be sighted, they sat down around the bonfire. When Jackson saw them both, he pointed at Eun-Mi and said, ‘Good to see you again!’

She laughed, shaking her head. Jackson turned somewhere else to greet other guests. Then they settled down. ‘Okay, I've got a few stories to tell,’ Jackson said to the crowd.

He smirked, looking at everyone.

‘This is a ritual but to make it sound even more friendlier, I'll just say ghost game,’ Everyone laughed, Mina didn't, instead she face-palmed.

‘Okay, continuing on.. The game is called 'El Juego Del Libro Rojo' meaning, 'The Game of The Red Book'. It is a paranormal game found in Mexico where you use a book to contact a spirit who will answer questions and divine the future. According to the rumors I heard, one of the students here went missing after playing this game,’ A boy laughed. 

Jackson did, too. It was probably his friend's doing.

‘But I, being a curious one, really want to do this game. But according to this game, I can't play alone. Is anyone here a sweetheart and is willing to step up?’ he asked, as if he was a host of a TV programme.

Mina nudged Eun-Mi's arm. Eun-Mi shook her head, telling Mina that she was too afraid to try. Mina laughed and shouted, ‘She wants to!’ 

Jackson looked at Eun-Mi and smiled. ‘Very well then. Give a big clap to Mrs..’ he stopped, forgetting the fact that he didn't know her name. ‘What's your name again?’ Everyone laughed.

‘Kim Eun-Mi,’ She replied. 

‘Mrs. Kim!’ He raised a hand to the air, waving it carelessly. 

‘Okay, shall we start?’ He asked. She nodded.

Jackson took out a red book from his bag and placed it on one of the logs. ‘Firstly, place your hand on the cover, close your eyes and say aloud, "Red Book, can I enter your game?" and close your eyes, open the book to a random page and point to a sentence. If it is negative, try again. If it is positive, proceed.’

She started first, saying, ‘Red Book, can I enter your game?’

She closed her eyes, opening a random page and pointing her finger to a sentence. 

‘I already know,’ she looked at Jackson, and through her eyes he knew what it meant. ‘I'm thinking that's positive,’ he smiled reassuringly. 

It was his turn. He did the same thing and pointed.

‘That's the Taker that killed Nell?’

He laughed nervously, reciting it aloud but Eun-Mi sensed fear for him. Soon, people started to approach, watching as they play the game.

He passed the book to Eun-Mi and she started asking questions, ‘Red Book, will I succeed in the future?’

She pointed to a sentence in a random page;

‘I promise you, we'll take very good care of her,’

She sighed in relief. Then she passed it to Jackson, who had to try asking again. ‘Red Book, can I enter your game?’ 

‘The pleasure is mine,’

Then he passed it to Eun-Mi. ‘Red Book, is anything bad going to happen to me soon?’

‘I'm supposed to wonder why Gregor Samsa is a cockroach,’

She raised a brow. They took turns, sometimes they get negative answers. But whatever, Eun-Mi thought. It's just a silly game.

They ended the game safely, earning an applause from the crowd. Jackson continued on to various ghost stories while the others listen attentively. More attentively than how they are in class.

“to die by your side is such a heavenly way to die,”
—there is a light that never goes out // the smiths