An old, abandoned mansion is never good news. It's a typical scene in horror movies but to Jinhoo, it conveyed another type of scare; one that had nothing to do with supernatural intervention.

Jinhoo took in a deep breath once he pulled the brakes of his car. It's okay, Jinhoo. You can do this. It's been 20 years. You'll be fine. He chanted this over and over again under his breath as he slowly unloaded his car. His words of reassurance had little effect, however.

The second he stepped into his old house, an onslaught of memories overcame him. Nostalgia hit him hard in the chest, so hard he was rendered immobile. The scars in his chest felt as if they were fresh, as if everything just happened yesterday.

His parents' radiant smiles staring back at him as they stood before the front door, about to leave for a 'date'; The sudden news flash the same day of a car crash in the same district they were heading to; The announcement that there were 2 victims. It was no doubt.

Jinhoo was broken once again. 

Before the flashbacks could continue, he snapped himself out of his trance. "It's going to be okay, Jinhoo," he recited to himself in a shaky voice. 

Recovering from his breakdown with some deep breathing exercises, he started to take notice of his surroundings. The gleaming hallways where he once ran through chasing his father in a game of tag lost its shine. He swiped a finger on the wall and retrieved it, thick-coated with dust. 

The ceilings were mouldy and the paint on the walls had begun chipping away. He could barely see through the dirty windows as he stared at the backyard. Tall weeds hid the ground and all the flowers his mother had planted were shrivelled up, dead. The house itself didn't seem all that welcoming to him.

Jinhoo sighed. He wondered if he should carry on with his idea, if there was any hope at all for him to accept this situation.

At that moment, his phone rang. "Annyeonghasaeyo, Halmonie," he replied curtly, wiping away the tears that had unknowingly begun to form at the corners of his eyes. 

"Jinhoo-ah, have you reached?" The raspy voice of his grandmother comforted him over the line.

"Nae." His voice betrayed him.

A sigh sounded from the other end. "Have you eaten the noodles I packed for you? You should eat it quickly before it goes cold."

The warm meal his grandmother had packed for him flashed in his mind and automatically, he felt a bit better already. "Nae, Halmoni."

A pregnant silence ensued. "Were you crying?"

"A-a-ani," he denied, caught a bit off-guard. "What makes you say that? I'm as bright as ever. I swear, the sun is even hotter here." He added a laugh at the end which only made him sound more fake.

A sigh followed by an advice from his grandmother. "I just hope you can stay there, and finally move on."

"I hope so too, Halmoni," he whispered, and he really did wish so.

"If it gets lonely, you could always call a friend over, or- or me, if you don't have any frie-" He cut his grandmother off before she could complete her suggestion.

A flustered laugh escaped from Jinhoo's mouth. "I have friends!" Noticing that his tone was a bit too loud for the frail woman, he coughed awkwardly. "Thanks for the offer but I think I'll pass. Also, thank you," he paused awhile, "for letting me return."

"Aish, there's no need to thank me. I'm technically your guardian now. It's just," she stopped for awhile before asking, "promise me one thing, Jinhoo."

"Hm?"

Grandmothee advised, "Take care of yourself." She paused for a moment, as though deep in thought. "Eat. If I find out you've been skipping your meals, I'll come there just to spoon-feed you! Oh, and you can also bring a girl over if you're–" 

"Arasseo!" With a blush coating his cheeks, he ended the call.

Jinhoo immediately took out his food. As he shoved the noodles into his mouth, he eyed the house.

It isn't that bad, actually. It just needs a bit of a makeover. 

But even then, with the house newly decorated and such, could Jinhoo be able to live all alone in there?

The young man hummed to himself. It's been awhile since he had seen the house actually filled with a lot of people. He considered the option of asking his friends to move in but then he remembered that what his Halmoni said was true: he didn't have much friends. He cringed inwardly at the fact.

He had been too absorbed in studies and work in an attempt to divulge in something else other than his emotions. Hence, his non-existent social life.

His knitted brows untied themselves and his lips curved into a smile. Jinhoo knew just what he had to do. "Boarding house."