ii.

Kyungsoo lays wide awake in the middle of the large poster bed and he stares in a daze at the intricate crown mouldings on the ceiling. The rain has stopped and the forest surrounding the estate is deathly silent. Listening to the pumping of his heart in the dark, the journalist prays for sleep to come but it seems the sandman has abandoned him for the night. The feeling of uneasiness is still tingling in his body and his brain buzzes nosily.

‘This room looks awfully like that room in the doll house,’ his mind reminds him out of the blue and the image of the doll surfaces before his eyes. Kyungsoo’s right eye twitches again and he lets out a shaky breathe. Kicking around underneath the cover, he tosses back and forth constantly. Until he is huffing and puffing, tangled messily with the cover and wrinkled bed sheet, he finally stops moving about.

However, he still cannot calm down.

His mind begins to conjure up a million and one ways of how he could die and about 90% of them involve Park Chanyeol killing him; 75% of which involve his corpse being stuffed and put on display, like the bunnies and squirrels downstairs. Shuddering at the unpleasant thought of being a part of the taller man’s collection, Kyungsoo sits up abruptly and smacks his hand on his forehead hard, trying to clear his mind. Feeling extremely anxious and even more paranoid, the young journalist hops off the bed and starts to pace around the room. The day processes rapidly through his mind as he tries to distract himself from his own imagination.

“My friends also live with me.”

Kyungsoo recalls Park Chanyeol’s words from the interview and he pauses from his pacing. Standing still in the darkness, a frown slowly forms on his face. Ever since he arrived, he did not see anybody aside from the home owner in the large estate; not even the supposed servants. However he is sure they are not alone in the small castle. He is certain not only because his instinct tells him so, but also because their dinner was obviously prepared fresh by someone and when he arrived at the bedroom earlier, pajama was already laid out for him on the bed as well.

‘Maybe the servants are his friend?’ The young journalist questions dubiously as more of the taller man’s words reply in his head.

Kyungsoo found out over dinner that Park Chanyeol grown up pretty much in solitude, as his parents were always busy. Frail and sickly as a child, he rarely had the chance to go outside. So to relieve his loneliness, his parents bought him the large doll house and the realistic looking dolls, hoping that they would compensate for the lack of human interactions he had while growing up. However, they were not expecting the opposite effect. As Park Chanyeol got older, he became more comfortable being surrounded by inanimate objects of human likeliness rather than real humans of flesh and bones. So when he came across a book on Victorian art décor and the works of Walter Potters, he began experimenting with animal taxidermy. He started with the small games, like rats and squirrels, and eventually moved on to larger games, like the bunnies and kittens. As his skill improved, he became voracious to experiment with larger creatures.

“I know my hobby is really strange but this is who I have come to be,” Chanyeol said flatly as he forked a cherry tomato around on his plate, “It is not my fault. I feel lonely too.”

Kyungsoo looked up from his food and stared speechless at the taller man’s cool façade, pangs of pity and dread hitting his heart.

“It is not my fault. I feel lonely too.”

Park Chanyeol’s voice echoes again in his head and Kyungsoo resumes his pacing. No doubt, he sympathizes with the taller man’s past but his discomfort around human perplexes the young journalist: if Park Chanyeol really is uncomfortable with people like he claimed, then why would he invite his friends to stay in his home? Kyungsoo can understand why the servants are living in the house because they are necessary for caretaking purposes; but, friends? Is the man so lonely that he invited his friends to live with him despite his discomforts? If so, how come Kyungsoo didn’t see them at all, even during dinner? There doesn’t seem to be any signs of other people living in the estate either; the young journalists had been meticulously observing everything around him.

So then, where are these ‘friends’?

‘Maybe his friends are sick,’ his mind answers naturally as if trying to stop him from getting into more unnecessary troubles, ‘maybe Park Chanyeol doesn’t want you to disturb their privacy. You are after all a journalist.’

However, if Kyungsoo could be so easily satisfied, he wouldn’t be stuck in a stranger’s creepy estate in the middle of nowhere right now.

A mixture of pure curiosity and need to uncover as much dirt on Park Chanyeol as possible stirs restlessly inside Kyungsoo’s mind and he is itching to go exploring. He’s not sure what he is looking for, perhaps the friends the lanky man is hiding or maybe something more shocking, but the lack of clear direction does not deter him one bit. Contemplating a moment longer, the young man gives in to his nosiness and he quickly grabs his phone off the bedside table. Tiptoeing out of the door of his bedroom, he slips into the night.

His room is located at the most eastern end of the second floor and the dark hallway seems to stretch into infinity. The dim light from his phone screen is practically useless in the darkness and Kyungsoo clicks it lock without any hesitation. Patiently, he stands by the entrance of his room and waits for his eyes to adjust to the night. When he can vague make out the outline of the many doors lined up on either side of the hallway he stealthily but slowly moves forward. Barefoot, the soft bristles of the rug tickles lightly at the palm of his feet. One step, then two; waving away the eerie feeling of being watched, Kyungsoo walks towards the first door while holding his breath. After some aimless fumbling, he jolts at the coolness of the brass door handle against his skin. Grabbing hold tightly, he inhales slowly and begins to twist the knob. However, the door is locked and young man’s sweaty hand simply wiped around the knob one round. Slightly disappointed but not in the least discouraged, Kyungsoo sneaked his way to the next door across the hall.

This continued for a while, exactly how long the young man isn’t even sure. After failing to open a dozen doors, he finally comes across one that is unlocked. Feeling surprised and ecstatic as the knob in his hand twists along with the slight movement of his wrist, Kyungsoo steadies himself before completely unlocking it. The retracting click of the latch bolt echoes loudly down the silent hallway and the young man cringes at the noise. Frozen in his crouching position, he peers around cautiously around as his heart thumps erratically. When he sees nothing but darkness, he carefully pushes at the door.

Slowly, a crack opens up and pressing his face against the narrow opening, he peeks inside. Having completely adjusted to the night, most of Kyungsoo’s vision has returned. Scanning around, he spots a bed, a table in the middle of the room and a couple of bookshelves lined up by the wall. In the furthest corner beside a floor lamp, someone is sitting in a large arm chair. Kyungsoo stiffens when he spots the figure in the corner but soon relaxes a little when he realizes he is still inconspicuous. Gulping nervously, his mind races in frenzy out of pure excitement; he had his doubts about the existence of these ‘friends’ Park Chanyeol mentioned. But now he has seen one, although not clearly but has indeed spotted one, the young journalist is already thinking of all the questions he could be asking of this friend.

Calming his racing heartbeat, Kyungsoo peers at the shadowy figure in the corner again and contemplates how he should greet the new stranger. The person has not moved once since Kyungsoo saw him and the young man assumes he must have fallen asleep. Squinting as hard as he can, the journalist focuses on the figure’s face in the darkness: 3:7 parted short black hair, high nose bridge, thin lips and sharp jawlines that look like it could cut through air like a knife.

‘Hm?’ Kyungsoo hums as a sense of familiarity washes over him. He has seen the face in the shadow somewhere before, but where? Pulling away from the door, the he desperately tries to recall as he shuts the door with utmost care. With a simple click as the latch bolt returns to its original place, Kyungsoo remembers and his eyes widen.

‘The doll house,’ his mind mumbles shakily, ‘there is a doll that looks almost exactly the same as that man...’

“What are you doing here?”

A breathe of hot air gusts by Kyungsoo’s ear and all the hair on his neck shoots up, standing stiffly on its roots. Park Chanyeol’s husky voice whispers coldly from close behind the journalist. Scared out of his wits, the young man’s knees almost buck. Before he could even let out a squeak, a large boney hand seals over his mouth and Kyungsoo’s breathe hitches painfully in his throat. Overwhelmed by shock and fear, a deafening ring buzzes in his head and dizziness distorts his vision. The young man’s body goes completely limp as Park Chanyeol puts him into a headlock from behind. Scared stiff like a corpse, Kyungsoo couldn’t even put up a fight as he is dragged roughly further down the hallway.

Once they are inside a room, Park Chanyeol swiftly shuts the door behind him and throws Kyungsoo against the back of the door. Bouncing off the hard wooden surface, the young man collapses to the ground with a dull thud and he begins to cough, gasping desperately for air. His chest rises up and down dramatically as if he is on the verge of hyperventilating and his trembling arms are barely supporting his body off of the floor. Chanyeol squats down to eye level with the journalist and he glares menacingly. Kyungsoo shrinks backward automatically and presses himself against the wooden door, his arms flailing about in a panic as his hands searched for anything to grab hold of.

“Care to explain why the you were sneaking around my estate in the middle of the night?” Chanyeol hisses and his dark eyes glow dangerously with rage, “I know journalists are nosey but I thought you’d be different. I guess I was too naïve. You’re all the same trash, disgusting human trash.”

Cowering away from the angry man’s piercing gaze while shaking his head hysterically, Kyungsoo stutters quietly. His voice is hoarse and his gaze is wandering about, looking anywhere but the grim face merely inches away from his own.

“No, no, I’m not! No, I was just c-curious! Y-you said your friends are living with you, an-and I just wanted to meet them too, that’s all! I didn’t mean to offend, I’m sorry, Mr. Park!”

Eyeing the terrified young man up and down with disdain, Chanyeol narrows his eyes and leans even closer. Kyungsoo shudders uncontrollably as the other’s hot breathe falls over his face, burning fear into his skin.

“Too late, I am already offended,” the taller man hisses bitterly, “you have two choices right now, Mr. Doh. One, you disappear out of my sight at the count of three; or two, you continue your journalistic investigation and learn more about the darker side of me.”

Kyungsoo focuses his attention on Park Chanyeol instantly. The man is looking down at him like a predator ready to tear its prey apart and a sinister smirk is dangling on his lips. From the depths of the other’s gaze, Kyungsoo’s sharp eyes spot a gleam of maniacal glee. A sickening feeling punches the journalist repeatedly in the stomach and he suppresses the urge to throw up. He cannot believe Park Chanyeol is having fun intimidating and terrorizing him.

“One.”

Chanyeol’s deep voice echoes in the night like a murmur from hell and it sends Kyungsoo scrambling to get on his feet again. Grabbing onto the door knob above his head, the young man pulls himself up with difficulty and he almost fall again when numbness pricks painfully at his feet.

“Two.”

The buzzing in his head returns and half leaning against the heavy door, Kyungsoo’s sweaty hands grip and twist desperately at the doorknob, but it refuses to open. Pulling and pushing until the entire door is shaking violently against the frame, the young man whimpers pitifully at the jammed lock. In the darkness, the urgent rattling echoes throughout the large estate.

“Three.”

Just then, the door unlocks in the last millisecond and it swings open with excessive force. Flung into the hallway, Kyungsoo’s face hits the floor first and his cheek rubs crudely against the carpet lining the hallway. Ignoring the burning pain on his face, the young man crawls forward madly as he hears the sound of footsteps approaching him from behind.

“Time’s up.”

Kyungsoo’s eyes widen fearfully and his entire body shudders at the sound of Park Chanyeol’s voice. He shoots up and as the last of his adrenaline surges through his tired body, the young journalist makes for his escape down the hallway without looking back. Running faster than he has ever before in his life, despite being barefoot and barely able to see anything in the darkness, Kyungsoo sprints all the way back to his room.

After what it seems like an eternity to the terrified young man, he finally reaches his room. Slamming the door behind him and locking it immediately with fingers that won’t stop shaking, he leans against the back of the door and gasps frantically for air. His heart thumps loudly in his ears and slowly, he slides downward and curls up in a ball on the floor. Panting, he buries his face inside folded arms. He isn’t sure what evil looks like but he thinks it probably looks similar to Park Chanyeol’s smirking face.

Gradually, Kyungsoo calms down and his body recovers from the earlier fright. In the blinding darkness, he lets out an exasperated sigh. As his mind clears up more, his paranoia and the bad feeling brewing at the pit of his stomach resurface.

“What the was that…” he mumbles and peeks up from his folded arms, voice being muffled in between the folds of his clammy skin, “I seriously thought I was going to get killed…”

Peering warily at the moonless sky, Kyungsoo pulls his knees closer to his chin. He closes his eyes and tries not to think too much of the event that has just transpired. He will leave at the first light of dawn, he decides; even if he will have to walk all the way back to Seoul, he will do it. Sighing again, the young man hugs himself tighter.

Vaguely, the familiar face he saw in the shadow lingers at the back of his exhausted mind as he falls asleep that night.

---

Kyungsoo hears his door unlock and snapping his eyes open in alert, Park Chanyeol’s lanky figure appears in the line of his vision.

“Holy son of a motherer!” the young man shrieks at the other’s unexpected appearance. Still jumpy from last night, Kyungsoo flails about in a panic before slipping off the bed and falls to the ground.

He had the worst sleep last night; drifting between asleep and being awake, he was plagued by strange nightmares all night long.

Wincing quietly at the stabbing pain in his back, he squints at the morning sunshine streaming in through the large windows. Wary of the other’s presence, Kyungsoo quickly raises his head and meets eyes with the taller man looking down on him with contempt a few steps away.

“Uh… good morning?” The journalist says uncertainly still feeling tense from their strange encounter last night, “W-why are you in my room, Mr. Park?”

“This is not your room. Get out of my estate.”

Park Chanyeol answers curtly, not a trace of emotion in his voice or eyes as he watches the young man’s face turn from red to white, then back to red in the matter of seconds.

“W-what?” Kyungsoo gawks, “Wait, wait, wait… Are, are you kicking me out of your house?”

“Yes,” Chanyeol replies bluntly and tosses Kyungsoo’s clothes and bag at him, “You have five minutes. The car is already waiting for you outside.”

Having said what he needed to say, Park Chanyeol turns on his heels and leaves. Shocked and confused, Kyungsoo dazes out on the floor sporting dark eye bags. Rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand, he tries to rid of any lingering sleep and grasp onto the situation; was he just kicked out? Glancing at the antique grandfather clock that displayed 7:05, Kyungsoo blinks blankly a few times more before getting up from the floor. Huffing angrily as he quickly changed, the journalist makes his way downstairs within the other’s time limit.

‘Not like I want to stay any longer anyway,’ the young man scoffs as he stomps pass Park Chanyeol by the front door, ‘I don’t want to stay another minute with this psycho.’

However, when he is about to get into the same black Cadillac that had picked him up before, Kyungsoo pauses and he turns around. Hesitantly, he stares at Park Chanyeol, who is staring back at him looking extremely unfriendly. Kyungsoo cannot deny feeling slightly guilty for his behaviour last night. Sure Park Chanyeol’s reaction last night may have been too extreme, but it was exactly that: a reaction. If Kyungsoo hasn’t snuck around like a thief in the night and just stayed put like how a normal guest should behave, he supposes the other man would not have turned into such a creepy all of a sudden. Recalling Chanyeol’s story of his childhood, of how he grew up mostly alone and how the man finds it difficult to dealing with people, Kyungsoo feels even guiltier; and maybe just a little sympathetic. He should be thankful that Park Chanyeol has chosen him of all people to open up to and do an interview with, yet he steps out of bound and offends the man who is the ticket to his big break. Suddenly worried if he still has permission to write about his interview with Park Chanyeol, Kyungsoo frowns and he closes the car door. Walking up the stone stairs until he is directly under the taller man’s scrutinizing gaze, the young journalist sighs and begins to apologize sincerely.  

“Look Mr. Park, I am really sorry for what I did last night. I know I’ve stepped out of line and invaded your privacy. It is just that you are such a fascinating person I can’t help but want to find out more about you. I am a young journalist fresh out of university and I am still learning the ropes, so would you please overlook my lack of professionalism last night? To be honest I was both shocked and honoured when you agreed to do an interview with you. This may not be a big deal to you, but it is a big deal to me. This story is the beginning of my career and right now, it is literarily my everything. I want to make it perfect and I don’t want to misrepresent you in any way at all. Thus my over enthusiasm to learn more about you, but I must admit I could have taken a better approach.”

Kyungsoo lets out another half-hearted regrettable sigh. When he notices no change in Chanyeol’s expression or demeanour, he gulps and resumes his speech.

“Honestly, Mr. Park, I am very sorry for my unprofessionalism last night and I am regretting deeply for my actions. I would be extremely appreciative if you could still let me write the article and I promise, I won’t put any nonsense in the story and everything will be true to what you have told me. I won’t include anything you’d be uncomfortable sharing with the rest of the world, such your uh eclectic hobby, and I promise I will make you sound amazing. You can even read the story before I find a publisher and we can discuss any alterations you’d like to make. So won’t you please forgive me, Mr. Park? Please, I beg of you!”

The young journalist bows down sharply and his body folds into a right angle. Kyungsoo usually is too proud to beg but he understands that a real man knows when it’s necessary to lower himself. So putting his pride aside for the sake of his success in the long term, the young journalist does all he could to appeal for the other’s forgiveness.

Park Chanyeol looks thoughtfully at the bowing man in front of him before he speaks coldly,

“Have you heard of the saying ‘curiosity killed the cat?’, Mr. Doh?”

Kyungsoo raises his head and smiles awkwardly. He isn’t sure what he should say to that, so he just continues to smile. Chanyeol indiscreetly scans over the young man from head to toe before he speaks again.

“Very well, Mr. Doh, I will forgive you for what you’ve done last night. However, you must promise me something.”

“Anything, Mr. Park,” Kyungsoo replies right away as his eyes light up, “Anything that I could do within my abilities, I’ll do it.”

An ambiguous smile slowly stretches across Chanyeol’s handsome face as he holds the eager journalist in regard.

“You have to become one of my friends.”

“You want us to be friends?” Kyungsoo asks in disbelief, “even though you were just really mad at me?” 

“No. I asked you to become one of my friends.”

Chanyeol repeats himself seriously while still smiling, and Kyungsoo frowns a little feeling confused.

“Isn’t that the same thing, become one of your friends and be friends with you?”

“No it’s not, it’s very different. I need you to become one of my friends.”

The taller man says the same thing again and Kyungsoo’s frown deepens. Maybe he just doesn’t understand rich people, he thinks, but quickly decides not to dwell on the matter any longer. He doesn’t quite understand the implication behind Park Chanyeol’s request but he supposes there could only be more pros than cons having the taller man as a friend; even though he is really creepy at times, acts like a psycho when he is mad and likes stuffed, dead animals.

‘But he is famous and he will lead you to success,’ the greed inside of him whispers, ‘he can make your dreams come true.’

“Okay, done. I will become one of your friends.”

Kyungsoo smiles politely and extend a hand outward. At the other’s words, the smile on Park Chanyeol’s face widens and something flickers in his eyes before disappearing as quickly as it has appeared.

“Great,” the taller man says calmly and accepts the handshake, “See you soon, Kyungsoo.”

“Ah, actually before I go, could I ask one more question?” the young journalist grins shyly, giving a slight tug on their connected hands, “Since I am one of your friends now, will I get to meet your other friends?”

Chanyeol blinks and questions flatly in return.

“Would you like to meet them?”

“Well, yes. That’s why I am asking,” Kyungsoo chuckles lightly, “I’d love to meet them. Actually if I could meet them soon it would be even better. I’d like to get their opinion of you as well; you know, to add to the complexity of the article. Do you think I can meet them?”

Park Chanyeol blinks again and instead of giving the journalist an answer, he pulls out a memo pad and a pen from the inner pocket of his jacket. Taking his time, he writes down a list of ten names on the note pad then tearing the page off the binding, he hands the loose paper to the young man. Looking down at the paper in his hand, Kyungsoo smiles broadly at the elegant handwriting.

“Thanks, uh, could I call you Chanyeol?” the young man asks carefully and the taller man nods. Kyungsoo’s face lights up even more.

“Ah, I guess I’ll have to find them myself? You didn’t give me their phone number or email contact… Okay, no worries. I understand you must be very busy all the time so I can just meet with them myself. Unless they are all here right now and because you are a little mad about last night, you’re not letting me meet them and make me go on a hunt for them instead? Hahahaha…”

Kyungsoo jokes but his laughter soon falters when Chanyeol simply stares at him with another hard to read smile on his face. Clearing his throat, the young man fidgets awkwardly and the two falls into other lapse of silence.

“Good bye, Kyungsoo. See you soon.” The taller man breaks the quiet a few seconds later and he gestures Kyungsoo towards the car that is still waiting for him. Not wanting to overstay his welcome any longer, the journalist quickly bids his goodbye and hops into the car.

Watching as the black Cadillac disappears around the bend, Park Chanyeol’s eyes come alive as excitement shines vividly in his dark orbs. A quiet laughter rumbles from the depth of his throat and gradually, his laugh becomes louder and sounding more and more insane. Puffs of heavy clouds roll by in the sky and block the sun; shadows cover the entire estate ground. In the distance, a flock of crow takes flight and their ominous caws accompany fittingly to Chanyeol’s maniacal cackle, echoing through the dense forest. 

Soon.

---