Ghoul 

 

Warning(s): none. 

••••••

Y/n finishes brushing her wet hair from the shower she just took, pulling out a blow dryer right after. The night was very calming and the only thing on her mind was the four days off she managed to snag. All she wanted to do at the moment, though, was chat with her friend through the internet. 

 

“I wonder how he’s been doing. I haven’t spoken to him in days.” she mumbles to herself, threading through her hair in hopes of not finding another annoying knot. Luckily, her fingers run smoothly through her hair. 

 

Placing the blow dryer down and turning it off, she twirls around and walks over to the nightstand to pick up her phone. Upon turning it on, she’s met with a blank screen, not even one notification appearing. 

 

“Should I text him. . . or. .? Would he think I'm being clingy or something?” in the end, she decided to text him a simple ‘hey’. After her hovering, trembling thumb sends the message, she throws the phone onto the bed and squeals. 

 

Oh my god. Why did I do that? 

 

Internally freaking out, Y/n didn’t hear the small ‘ding’ coming from her phone. “What if he leaves me on read or worse, what if he blocks me for disturbing him late at night?” she paces around her room, fingers tapping her chin, her heart rapidly racing and her cheeks a light pink dust. 

 

After what feels like an eternity, she finally decides to check her phone, seeing a new message- no, two new messages. They were sent almost ten minutes ago. 

 

Y/n’s eyes widened in surprise before she unlocks the phone and eagerly opens the messages. 

 

The first one was a simple reply to her greeting while the second one was them asking her how she’s been doing with a smiley face. 

 

With a deep breath and a small smile, she begins to type out her answer. After sending it she lays down on the bed and turns on the television to distract her bothered heart. 

 

That doesn’t last long when he replies within a minute and she quickly picks her phone back up. Calm down, Y/n. You’re acting like a love-sick puppy. Ah, who am I kidding. 

 

Reading the message, a look of worry surfaces Y/n’s face, her eyebrows slightly furrow. 

 

“I haven’t been doing too well. My friends left so I don’t really have anyone to hang out with. I spend most of my time in the room because there isn’t anything to do. Sometimes it gets lonely here.” That was their response. It was odd because her friend was always doing something new. 

 

Y/n didn’t necessarily know how to answer that but she tried. “Why not explore a new place?” Quickly that was rejected, claiming it would only make their loneliness worse because they weren’t accompanied by someone else. 

 

She proceeded to tap her chin in focus, trying to come up with some other ideas but it became futile when they changed the topic. 

 

They had asked how work has been or if there was anything new in her life. 

 

Of course, the reason as to why they knew so much about her was because they had been conversing for three years now. 

 

On a boring, drizzling night, Y/n had nothing to do and was looking for some form of entertainment. She had browsed through countless social media platforms, played games, even read for a bit but that wasn’t enough to satisfy her boredom. 

 

Then, she had spent an hour cleaning the already almost dirt-free house, watched a movie but nothing. It didn’t help that she had consumed a huge amount of coffee because she was supposed to do an all-nighter but she had completed all the work needed within the work hours. 

 

In the end, she felt like a clown for drinking all that coffee. Somehow - in the end - she ended up on a platform where one could speak with strangers. 

 

She didn’t think much of it, clicking on the first profile that appeared. The person was under the name of “Im Jaebum”. The man's photos were mostly of a set of cats but there were the occasional ones of him and she couldn’t help but gush at the dark locks of hair that perfectly fit his face. 

 

That itself intrigued her. 

 

“It wouldn’t hurt to message him, right?” And right off the bat, the two hit it off. It started in somewhat of an awkward way but they quickly became comfortable talking to each other. 

 

Throughout the years, the two managed to learn a lot of one another, from happy memories, sad memories, even their darkest secrets. Whenever one was feeling down, the other was there to comfort them. 

 

When good news came their way, they’d be quick to congratulate each other. There were even a few times when he’d sing to her through the phone, taking it as a form of comfort whenever Y/n was on her period. 

 

Jaebum definitely had one of the most angelic voices Y/n’s heard in her life. 

 

Luckily, fights almost never occurred. Really, it was only two times but it was over what season was the best. 

 

But despite the friendship that was blooming, the pair never got the chance to meet each other face to face. It was always through the photos and/or videos sent to each other. Both had their share of busy lives, their schedules always clashing with one another. 

 

Y/n told Jaebum about her few days off along with the small raise given to her for outstanding performance. He was quick to congratulate her with a silly picture of himself. 

 

“Why are you so cute?” She speaks to herself, fangirling over a simple picture. She’d be lying if she denied having even a speck of feelings for the man. 

 

Her phone rings one more time, this time, in the form of a call. 

 

He… he’s calling me! 

 

“Calm down, Y/n. It’s just a simple call between friends. Nothing more.” Putting the phone on speaker, she mumbles a quick ‘hey’. 

 

Jaebum chuckles through the line, a bit of shuffling heard before he clears his throat. “You might call me crazy but I just had an idea and it might interest you.” 

 

Y/n raises an eyebrow and asks, “what is it?” 

 

For a few seconds he doesn’t say anything before rapidly saying, “how about you come visit me in my hometown? You’re free for the next few days and so am I. It would be the perfect opportunity to meet each other face to face.” 

 

Without another second to waste, Y/n agrees. “I would love to!” 

 

“Great then-ah!” he gets cut off by a blood-curdling scream heard in the background. Y/n jumps in surprise, “is everything alright?” 

 

“Y-Yeah, it’s just the kids playing with each other. As I was saying, I’ll send you the address tonight and hopefully tomorrow we can see each other?” 

 

A silly grin is plastered on her face, “I can’t wait.” 

••••••

“Excuse me, do you drive to this village or is it another bus?” Y/n shows the middle aged driver the address displayed on her phone. The man visibly stiffens in surprise but also what seems to be fear. You don’t question it though because the next second, he’s back to his tired look. 

 

“Yes, but-” 

 

“Oh, thank you so much! Please take me there!” 

 

The man raises an eyebrow and with a low, almost harsh, tone asks, “are you sure you want to go there?” 

 

Y/n smiles and nods, holding a small bag of clothes to her chest. “I am one-hundered percent sure, sir.” The driver sighs and gestures for her to get on. “It’s going to take a while to get there.” 

 

When she steps in and begins to scan the area for an open seat, she’s surprised by the emptiness of the place. There was literally no one but her and the bus driver. The man seems to sense her confusion and quickly explains, “rush hour was a few minutes ago. It gets empty for a few hours.” 

 

With that, she plops down on an empty seat and closes her eyes, knowing it was going to be a while before she even arrived. 

 

“Miss, we’re here.” The old man loudly says. Y/n jumps at the sound and looks around with a confused look on her face. “Where am I…?” she grabs her bag and takes careful steps to the door, her eyes never leaving the eerie place outside of the windows. 

 

Y/n takes slow steps down and steps out, looking around at her new surroundings. A heavy mist coated the area, very faint street lights illuminating, no sun in sight. The chilly wind harshly brushes against her body, pushing her whole body to the side. 

 

But other than the wind, it was completely quiet.