" Hurry up Mark " 

" Give me a minute ! " 

Mark threw his favourite shirt inside the already full suitcase. Before zipping it , he remembered something. His feet hurried to his parents bedroom , eyes scanning for particular object.And there it was in the middle of the small table paced besides king sized bed - photo frame of his family. He picked up the frame gently , delicate fingers running across the glass. A smile broke on his lips along with the tears that brimmed on the edge of his eyes.

" Mark , if you aren't here in a minute, I'll make you walk the whole way to the hostel " 

His dad's voice jolted him out of the trance. Hurrying back he wrapped the frame with his spare shirt and placed it inside the pile of clothes. The suitcase was heavy with all his belongings stuffed inside which consisted mostly his clothes and books. He dragged it across the tiled floor, sweat tickling down his forehead. When he was out of the front door his parents were murmuring something to each other. The scraping noise of the suitcase and his heavy footsteps were enough for his parents to notice his presence. 

" What took you so long ? " 

" I was just packing my clothes dad. " 

Raymond Tuan eyed the suitcase his son was currently holding  , he laughed at the bolted surface and his eyes travelled back to Mark. 

" Are you sure it will not brust out on the way ? " 

Mark lowered his gaze to where his dad was pointing and shook his head. 

" No it won't " 

" You trust your suitcase more than your dad ? Wow my son has grown up so much " 

A hit of playfulness was on his father's voice. He didn't want to farewell his son with tears in his eyes. Mark rolled his eyes at him , adorable smile stretched on his lips.

" I trust in things I love. Besides , you are always wrong " 

Mark poked out his tongue childishly, giggling at his father's fake scowl. His mother who had stayed silently watching the father- son pair this whole time joined her son in his teasing . The honking of the car nearby brust out the bubble of their happy world. The three pair of eyes landed on the parked vehicle. It was time for Mark to go. His smile flattered a little. 

Raymond gestured the driver to come and take the suitcase. The driver followed the instructions ,lifting his belongings he placed them inside the back of the cab . 

" Baby " Mrs. Tuan cupped Mark's face , worry swimming on her brown orbs " Take care of your health okay. Study hard and don't eat too much junk food. Sleep in time and if you need anything call me or your dad. I'll come to visit you soon. " 

Her voice cracked in the end and Mark knew she was going to cry soon. He quickly hugged her and kissed her cheeks " I will Ma. Don't cry "

" We aren't sending our son to his husband's house. He's grown up man Dorine, he can take care of himself " 

" I know that. But still _" 

Despite her efforts stray tears fell down her eyes. Mark was trying to hold back his own tears. He wiped her tears and kissed her again.

" Ma if you cry like this I am not going anywhere " 

" No. You need to study and fulfill your dad's dream okay " 

She wiped her tears and urged him to go. Mark stopped in front of his dad. Raymond hugged him tightly patting his back softly. 

" Sorry I couldn't drop you to your hostel " 

" It's okay dad. " 

They broke the hug and Mark waved at them heading towards the open door of the cab. He climed inside and mouthed " I love you mum and dad " at his parents. The engine roared with life and just like that they were headed to the new destination. 

Mark looked out of the window, he glanced back . His home looked so far away , unknowingly his eyes filled with tears. He shut them tightly and lifed his head up to hold the salty droplets back. Not a minute had passed and he was already missing his home , the warmth of his room. How was he going to survive being miles away from home ? 

" Hey you alright there ? " 

The voice of the cab driver made him open his eyes. He didn't trust his voice at the moment so he closed his eyes.

" You miss your home don't you ? " 

" How do you know ? " 

The driver chuckled lightly. 

" I can relate to your situation. " The driver seemed to be lost in his thought for few seconds then continued " I have a family back in the village and whenever I have to leave them behind it feels as if my heart has been ripped out of my chest. It's natural to feel this way. I sometimes regret being a cab driver , I even thought of quitting this job but then agian I remind myself I am doing this for my family. Their happiness is everything to me. And who knows maybe your destiny brought you here. Maybe she wants you to complete the unfinished story of someone " 

Mark understood half of the thing he said but nonetheless nodded his head.

" By the way you are going to study in college Maria aren't you ? " 

" Yes " 

" That's a very renowned college. Very few students get admission there. You are lucky to get that chance. " 

They driver turned the car towards the approaching jungle. 

" Wait ! why are we going inside the jungle ? " 

" It's the only way to Maria high don't you know ? Don't worry the road is fine " 

Mark slumped back on his seat. As the car reached the pathway of jungle, he could feel chill running down his spine. The wilderness gave him strong vibe of danger. The intensity of wind suddenly increased and the sound it produced was giving him goosebumps as if telling a story. Mark glanced out of the window looking like earlier. Even in day the sunlight barely reached the pathway so they had to turn the headlights on. 

" Strange ! " the driver exclaimed startling Mark " Why is it so dark all of sudden ?  I usually drive this way and it never happened to be this dark that I have to turn on the headlights " 

The driver was rambling on and on but Mark was too focused on the surrounding outside to listen to him. He sighted diverting his attention to the road ahead . Just then he caught flicker of something in rare view mirror. He felt like he saw a human face but dismissed the thought as soon as it came. He must be exhausted mentally.

" Close the window please " 

Mark reached for the lock to close the window when something jumped in front of him out of nowhere. A unmanly scream escaped pass his mouth. Trembling hands placed on his chest.

" Give me some money please. I haven't eaten for days. Give me some money " 

It was a begger. Mark was still in shock to move or process anything so the cab driver stopped the car and shooed the begger to go away. But the begger was persistent , his hands banging the closed window. 

Mark collecting his breath, fished out some bills from his pocket and opened the window again to hand it to the man. The beggar eyed his hand , his mouth opened in horror.

" Why are you here ? ! Go away ! He's going to kill every one of you. He's back ! He's back ! " 

" Uh who is back ? What are you talking about ? " 

" Ja__" 

Before he could finish his sentence the cab driver pulled the cab from there. The begger was still shouting something along the line like ' He's back ' Mark was curious to know what he was talking about. 

" What was he saying ? " 

" Oh don't mind him. He speaks nonsense. Everytime I drive here he scares my passengers saying the rumors about this jungle are true " 

" What rumors ? " 

" They say this palce is haunted by some  supernatural creature . I don't know why people come up with such bulls . You don't believe in such things , do you ? " 

" I don't. " 

The driver let out a hearty laugh " Teenagers like you come up with nonsense ideas . I see you are an exceptional case. Last time I brought some students here , they were crying because they actually believed what that mad begger said." 

" I am not scared of such things. My father taught me such things don't exist. They are just imagination of our mind "

" You know , your father is my old friend. We used to do everything together. We had visited this jungle before when you were a little boy. Maria high was just under construction and now you are going to study there " 

" Oh, that's why you know so much about this place. Do you mind me asking why had you visited this jungle ? I mean my dad doesn't like to visit forest or areas like that " 

" We had to take care of some business. Nothing important " 

" I see " 

Mark stayed silent for the rest of the ride. Finally after hours of driving they stopped in front of the huge building. Mark read the sign broad hung in front of the gate : Maria high college. 

The driver helped him with his luggage and left. Mark swallowed the lump forming on his throat. He was going to start a new life from now on. He showed his identity card to the gaurd who let him in. Dragging his heavy suitcase besides him , Mark entered the hostel premises just opposite of the college building. The students outside glanced at him and the suitcase in his hand. Mark felt heat raising on his cheeks as his remembered the bolted surface. 

The hostel warden greeted him with warm smile.

" You must be Mark Tuan " 

" Yes mam " 

" You father had called me earlier. All the documents are ready. I'll hand you your uniform later. Let me show you your room first " 

She gestured him to follow her and led him inside the building of hostel. On the way to his room , Mark scanned the surrounding. Bright red paint decorated the walls and some paintings were hung here and there. The lady stopped in front of wooden door engraved with number 107 and handed him the key.

" This is your room. You are lucky you don't have to share it with anyone " 

" Thank you mam " 

Mark took the keys from her hand. She nodded her head and left him alone. The door made creaking sound as he unlocked  and pushed it. It wasn't so big , a medium sized  bed was placed on the right corner  , study table was by the window and book shelf near the bed. That was it. Mark placed his suitcase aside. He was too tired to unpack his belongings. He threw himself on the bed with an intention to get some rest. 

Not a minute had passed and there was a loud knock on his door. Tiredly he paddled to the door and opened it. Standing in front of him was a black haired boy with sweet smile and besides him were three other boys. 

" Uh do you guys need something ? " 

" Well actually we wanted to help you if you don't mind that is. You are new here and we thought we should  give you some company "  The black haired boy said and other three nodded their head. 

" Come in then " 

Mark let them enter inside. They eyed the room and took the available seat. One of the boys sat on his suitcase.

" Bambam it's not nice to sit on other's suitcase " 

The black haired boy scolded baby faced boy. Bambam what a strange name.

" Oh, what's your name by the way ? " 

" Mark, Mark Tuan " 

" Nice to meet you Mark. I'm Jinyoung " The black haired boy introduced himself " This is Youngjae " The boy with huge smile waved at him. Sun was literally shining through his eyes. " And this is Yugyeom " The gaint boy with cute features smiled at Mark. " As you already know the spoiled brat is Bambam. Well his actual name is Kunpimook Bhuwakul . Complex isn't it ? " 

Bambam rolled his eyes at Jinyoung 

" At least my name is not fake like yours. You are nowhere near young . It must have been Jinold . " 

Jinyoung hit Bambam in the head lightly. Mark couldn't help but laugh at them. Yugyeom and Youngjae joined him. Soon their high pitched laugher filled the whole room. They looked like stupid teenage girls. They rolled on the floor , mouth and stomach hurting from too much laughing.

" You *haha guys * hahahahaaa * stop * haaaa laughing hahaaaaaaaaha please " 

There were tears in Mark's eyes as he spoke between giggles. He stopped breathing in and out but as his eyes found laughing face of Yugyeom he brust out into laughter again. 

After what felt like ages the room filled with silence again. Maybe it was not so bad being here as he had thought it would be. Mark smiled at his new friends fondly.