Horror
HERSHE"."
Seulgi gawked at signage in front of her. She just came back from a quick phone call with her dad, having no idea which rides Irene had chosen for them.
Irene walked closer to link their arms together while she sips from her juice box.
"What's the matter?"
"Uh. Nothing."
Irene sensed that there is something wrong. She looked up the signage to check on what Seulgi saw.
'Horror House – Where Your Worst Nightmares Come True'
Irene almost spat her drink out with what she realized. A soft mocking laugh followed it.
"Oh. I guess we have a scared cat here, huh?"
"I'm not scared," sneered Seulgi.
"Just what?" Irene bit her straw, still having that mocking smile on her face.
Seulgi's eyes examined the hem of her jacket and played with it. "I'm just... just afraid of the dark."
Irene burst out laughing. "Wow. So, the office heartthrob is a Nyctophobia?"
"Hey. Don't laugh at me." Seulgi pouted. "I have a serious fear of darkness."
"Do I remember someone telling me earlier that she walks on the wild side and laughs at the face of danger?"
"I was thinking of the rides that time, not this one," grunted Seulgi. "I never thought you're a fan of horror."
"Not really. I'm a scaredy-cat myself. But I want to try this with you." Irene looped back her arm through Seulgi's and dragged her.
"Are we seriously going in?" Seulgi was still not moving from her spot while Irene was pulling her.
"Don't worry. I'll protect you." Irene tried pulling with much effort this time, but Seulgi stayed glued to the ground.
"Please, let's just take the rides instead."
"We'll take the rides later, let's do this first." Irene pulled Seulgi again but the latter won't even budge. "Come on. Don't be a wimp now."
"Hey. I'm not a wimp. Come here you..." Seulgi pulled Irene closer to her.
It was too sudden that Irene's brain wasn't able to process how to balance. She landed face-first on Seulgi's neck, breathing in an intoxicating combination of the latter's cologne and body scent. It was just for a split second but it's enough time to completely enthrall her.
"Irene, stop sniffing me."
Irene shoved Seulgi away. "Excuse me! I'm not!"
"Hah! Maybe you're not, but your blushing face tells me otherwise."
Irene stomped a foot. "Ugh. I hate you. I hate you."
"Don't be mad, boss. Come here." Seulgi put an arm around Irene's shoulders. "Let's go get some rides now, okay?"
"Nope. No rides yet."
"What? Still not giving up the horror house?"
"Definitely not."
Seulgi pinched the bridge of her nose. "Ugh. Can we just drop this off?"
Irene shook her head. "Let's go in now..." She tightened her grip on Seulgi's hand and tried pulling the latter to the entrance. When she felt that Seulgi isn't budging, she stopped.
"Yah! Seulgi-ah!"
Then from hard rock, Seulgi turned into a soft jelly. "Ugh, no..."
---
"WAAAH!"
Irene was laughing crazy at the sight of the terrified Seulgi. She's pretty much as scared as her companion but hearing Seulgi's ludicrous yell every once in a while turned the horror house into a comedy show for her.
"Meanie!" Seulgi hissed while she was walking close to Irene. "Jeez! Why does the exit seem so far away?"
"We're still halfway there, could you make sure your heart stays in place?" said Irene.
"Yah. Not funny." Seulgi glowered. Just before she could fully recover from the recent shock, a skeleton jumped out of nowhere and surprised them. "Waaaaaaaah!"
Irene was shocked too but after the skeleton disappears, she laughed again. "I wonder what your fangirls would think if they found out you're a ghost wimp?"
"Ugh. I don't care. Besides, I'm not afraid of ghosts, okay? I'm afraid of the dark. Don't tell me you're not scared of anything?"
"I am scared of a lot of things. But I've trained my mind to focus on resisting those temporary feelings," said Irene.
"Psshh." Seulgi rolled her eyes.
Squeak... Squeak...
Irene stopped walking. Seulgi halted beside her.
Squeak... Squeak...
"Did you hear that squeaky sound just now?" Irene linked arms together with Seulgi again.
They stood up silent for a few seconds trying to make out another squeak.
"Uh. I hear nothing." Seulgi shrugged.
Squeak... Squeak...
"THAT!" Irene exclaimed, tilting her head left and right to look for the source.
"Yeah. I heard that." Seulgi looked around too.
"I don't know, but I don't like the sound of it." Irene clenched her hand on Seulgi's arm.
Squeak... Squeak...
The sound went louder this time. Irene looked in the direction where the sound came from. Even if it was dark, she clearly saw the furry creature walking around just a few inches away from her feet.
"Eeeeeeeeeee!" Irene jumped screaming, rushing to Seulgi.
"What was that!" Seulgi also panicked, didn't saw what Irene had seen.
"Rodents! Rodents! Eeee!"
"Ah?" Seulgi saw the rat moved quickly to get something from one box on the ground and escaped right away. "Hey. Stop panicking. It's gone now."
"Where did it go?" Irene's whole body is shaking.
"It ran away after seeing you're scared of it."
Irene slowly turned around to observe the area. "Is it really gone?"
"I think so."
It was then when Irene realized that she was hugging Seulgi. "Oh... I'm sorry..." She jerked from Seulgi's hold and fixed her blouse.
"Not scared, huh?" Seulgi smirked.
"It was a rat, for Pete's sake." Irene folded her arms on her chest. "And I hate them so much."
"They hate you too, don't worry," said Seulgi, earning a glare from Irene.
Irene rubbed her palms over her arms, still can't erase the image of the rodent in her mind. "They are so disgusting!"
"You're afraid of rats and I'm afraid of the darkness. It's just the same thing, right?"
Although it's dark, Irene saw how Seulgi's lips formed into a lopsided smile which to Irene is one of Seulgi's irresistible assets. She turned around when she realized that she's being possessed again.
"At least I'm scared of living things, unlike you, scared of the unknown." Irene walked forward, leaving Seulgi behind.
"Bae, wait up!"
---
"Seulgi, let's take a picture together!"
There was a photo booth near the exit of the horror house. Irene excitedly pulled Seulgi by her arm.
"Uh. Don't you think it's creepy to have a photo booth inside a horror house?" asked Seulgi as they enter the booth.
Irene pushed Seulgi's shoulder down, forcing her to sit on the chair. "It's just for a souvenir." She sat beside Seulgi.
"Welcome. Please choose the frame you want."
They looked at each other. Seulgi shrugged, telling Irene to choose whatever frame she likes. There's a small screen in front of them. Irene chose the simple frame with a haunted house silhouette design.
"Thank you. I will take your picture in ten... nine... eight..."
"This will be a nice souvenir!" Irene clapped her hands together.
"Seven... six... five... four..."
Irene leaned her body closer to Seulgi. "Make sure you smile, okay?"
"Fine." Seulgi pressed the corner of , attempting to smile but failing.
"Three... two... one..."
"BOOOO!!!"
"Waaaaaah!!!"
"Eeeeeee!!!"
There was sudden scary bam music from the speakers behind. After that, a beheaded figure appeared in front of them and disappeared in a blink. Seulgi and Irene shouted and jumped at the same time.
"That was a nice pose! Your pictures are in process. Please wait a second."
". I thought I was about to die there," said Seulgi, rubbing a hand over her heart.
On the other hand, Irene's hands were on her head. "Oh my gosh. oh my gosh."
"Your pictures are now ready."
Irene took the picture out and they laughed right away.
Instead of them smiling, the camera captured them screaming. Both their eyes were widely shocked. Their mouths were opened in fury and scare.
Irene couldn't make out a word to say. She started to hold her stomach with one hand while the other was still holding on to Seulgi's arm.
"Stop!" Irene's already feeling her stomach hurt quite a little.
"That was totally crazy!" said Seulgi, wiping tears of joy from her eyes.
"What a nice souvenir, huh?"
"A scary souvenir I would say." Seulgi chuckled. "Would you like to keep both?"
"No. You should get a copy too. The other one is mine. The other is yours."
"Seriously? Do I really need to keep this embarrassment?"
"Yeah. You should. It's a souvenir, okay? Now give me your wallet." Irene waved her hand in the air.
"Wallet?"
"Yes, wallet. I'll put the picture in your wallet and I'll put it in mine too."
Seulgi scratched her head to protest. She pulled her wallet from the back pocket and handed it to Irene.
"This is our first picture for this day," said Irene, sliding it in. "You should keep it."
"Yes, boss."
"Good."
Seulgi took one last look at the place. "I can't believe I survived this." She turned back to the exit and followed Irene's trail. "Where to now, boss?"
Irene turned to her and smiled. "Let's go get some real rides this time."
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