Karoake song is Breathe Easy by Blue, if you know it, you know it ;) you're welcome

It wasn’t better off during the day.

Because the voices that you hear sometimes came from the walls, under the floorboards, behind the mirrors in the bathroom.

They always knew your name.

They called you with familiarity, authority- sometimes even with longing. Students often reported being reprimanded by someone who wasn’t there. But most waved it off, brushed it aside as their own consciousness, guilty or not, for conjuring some voice telling them to finish their homework.

But every student, every child, reported the same person.

The Red Knot Matron- she wore a brown skirt, different from the blue skirts the actual matrons wore. And her hair was tied away with a red scarf, tied in a knot on the top of her head. She would peek into study-rooms, just half of her face visible, the red knot visible in your peripheral vision. She would stand there for long minutes, before eventually moving away.

Cheating while she watched always made her angry – some say she might scream in your ear from behind you. Some say she stands behind you as you study, leaning down, her hair coming out of the scarf to tickle your cheek or neck.

Her breath cold and moist against the nape of your neck.

Sometimes she braided your hair if it was long. She even pulled harshly on it if she thought you weren’t paying attention.

Sometimes the red knot was visible through the book shelves of the cold and empty library. Just behind where you needed your book. Sometimes she just stood there, waiting. You never went to the library alone. She sometimes pushed books off, rearranged them, turned them over, right behind where you stood. And the librarian forced you to undo all her work as she watched, half her face visible behind the shelves, red knot bright and lurking.

Always watching.

*

‘I can’t sleep at night-!’

‘Till you’re!! By my saaaaaaaiiiiiideeeeeee- yeaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAH!’ Baekhyun slips easily into an annoying falsetto.

‘Can’t breathe easy!!! NO EYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!’ Jongdae screams emotionally.

‘I can’t dream yet another dream without you lying next to me there’s no air-‘ Baekhyun says this so breathily it barely comes out.

Zitao is almost crying, wheezing as he falls over Kyungsoo who has his face in his palms.

‘There’s noooo air…’ Jongdae ends dramatically.

‘I hate you guys,’ Zitao weeps.

Minseok doesn’t remember who suggested they go to a karaoke but here they were. It’s almost midnight and Minseok has Many Regrets™. Zitao has genuine tears of embarrassment, laughter, and joy in his eyes. Kyungsoo looks like he’s trying to drown in the couch he was sitting on and Minseok would join him if possible. The song ends, with both Baekhyun and Jongdae kneeling dramatically on the floor.

But it’s enough to tire out everyone when they head back to their own hostel, keeping very quiet as they walk down the hallway to their room. Fitting Kyungsoo into their room was easy; Jongdae just smiled his way through the talk, added with Kyungsoo’s natural god given trustworthy countenance (Baekhyun’s words), the hostel staff were more than accepting and added Kyungsoo to their room listing without any trouble.

They do need to time their schedule carefully though- including washing up, showering, taking a dump (Baekhyun’s words), make-up (Tao’s words), and breakfast. So they decide things in the most democratic manner possible: rock, paper, scissor.

Baekhyun loses at once, followed by Kyungsoo, then Zitao, and then Jongdae, who screams victoriously but is immediately pummeled with pillows into silence.

They’re one person extra, meaning two would need to share a bed.

Both Jongdae and Baekhyun make it a point to wiggle their eyebrows at Minseok, sliding up to him while he brushed his teeth, attempting some form of seduction. It’s mainly hilarious because Baekhyun’s wearing a mud face-pack, his hair tied away with a hair tie (borrowed from Zitao) on the top of his head. Jongdae has his hair pushed away with a fluffy band, a shiny purple facemask covering his whole face. When Kyungsoo realizes what they’re doing he chokes painfully on his toothpaste foam, making Zitao smack him on the back, a look of disdain on his face.

They both end up aggressively doing the back-pack dance around Minseok in the bathroom. Zitao, ever the opportunist, takes a video of it. Minseok does not want to know how their notifications were going to blow up soon.

Jongdae and Baekhyun pile in easily together in the same bed, only complaining for a minute before they both knock out completely. Zitao is on his phone for a while, and Kyungsoo is on his back, eyes closed, chest rising slowly.

Minseok would have to wait a while.

About an hour later, everyone clearly asleep, Minseok gets up quietly. The bunks are sturdy, not noisy or creaky as Minseok sits up. Creating a sort of barrier with his legs, Minseok lays out the paper between his legs and using the light of his phone, starts carefully writing the protection charms.

He could probably make some more tomorrow but he wants a head start. Who knows, maybe this would be enough?

Something in the air shifts and Minseok feels the hair on his arms rise.

Minseok just barely stops himself from screaming out loud when he looks up to find Kyungsoo watching him curiously from across the room in his bunk.

Great. What was he going to say now?

‘I didn’t know you were superstitious hyung.’

Kyungsoo’s voice is low, but Minseok still looks around worriedly. Zitao was sound asleep, and Baekhyun’s light purring snore uninterrupted. There was no need to worry about Jongdae who slept like a rock.

‘I uh- I guess, it makes me feel better.’ Minseok tries to sound convincing.

Kyungsoo had weak eyes- like, super weak eyes. So he either squinted heavily at you, or just didn’t bother, his eyes going rather blank. But right now his gaze is clear, looking at Minseok and through his terrible lie.

‘Those won’t work there.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Those won’t work. At the Hostel.’

Minseok doesn’t know what to say.

Kyungsoo turns over quietly to face Minseok.

‘I know you can see,’ Kyungsoo tells him.

Minseok sighs tiredly, looking down at his charms.

‘How?’

‘You glow.’

‘Hm?’

‘You glow- there’s a haze of light around you.’ Kyungsoo explains. ‘A few people glow- but your light is…it’s strong.’

‘Oh…what…-what do you see?’ Minseok asks quietly.

There’s a soft mumble- either from Baekhyun or Zitao, Minseok can’t immediately tell. Kyungsoo turns over on his bed and Minseok grimaces at himself.

Great.

He stares at his little charms, wondering if Kyungsoo meant it. Would these work at all? If Kyungsoo could see – whatever that was – then he knew what he was talking about, right?

His phone lights up with an incoming message.

It’s from Kyungsoo.

Kyungsoo:

People call it “aura” I guess

Minseok:

But it’s not?

Kyungsoo:

I don’t know what it is, exactly, just I can see it.

You’ve always had it

Minseok:

Does anyone else have it

Kyungsoo:

Seeing aura or having aura

Minseok:

Both

Kyungsoo:

I know that the boy from your other episodes had it

His was super bright

Minseok:

You can see it even if its digital?

Kyungsoo:

Yeah, I mean, you can see them in digital form too right

Even if they’re not visible to others

Minseok:

Yeah. For how long?

Kyungsoo:

Since I was a kid. Ive had bad eyes for a long while, I used to think it was normal for some people to just, shine, I guess

Minseok:

Then you realized it wasn’t so?

Kyungsoo:

Yeap. Very cliché, movie-trope worthy. What about you hyung?

Minseok:

Since I was a kid too. It was worse when I was younger though.

Tell me about the hostel.

Will it be dangerous?

Kyungsoo:

I came because

I’m worried for Tao

Minseok:

How come?

Kyungsoo:

He doesn’t have good memories of the place.

Zitao can’t see, but he can, I guess, sense.

His light is very weak, super soft- but he gets agitated quickly.

I tried to dissuade him about this whole thing but

I guess for him, he thinks he needs it to

Come to terms

DK is not a good place overall

But Zitao had an especially rough and terrible time in it

Minseok:

I can imagine…but if he thinks he needs to do this then

Kyungsoo:

I want to make sure he’s not giving more than he already has to that place

Minseok:

What do you mean

Kyungsoo:

It’s the land there- something’s just

Off

It’s almost as though it’s alive

Minseok:

What do you mean?

Kyungsoo:

Actually, hyung, I wanted to join you all

I mean im sorry for just

Imposing myself I really am

I feel really bad about that but

Minseok:

What is it

Kyungsoo:

I was worried for you too

Minseok:

How come

Kyungsoo:

I can explain in detail tomorrow but

That place it just //takes// from you

And if you shine

Its worse

Minseok:

But what about yourself?

If it was bad for Zitao

What about you

Kyungsoo:

I learnt

I knew how to hide I guess

Minseok:

Tell me

Kyungsoo:

Tomorrow, hyung

Minseok:

Okay

Thank you, for telling me

Lets make sure our friends get out of this properly

*

And if sometimes, you found yourself on the stairs, no matter what time of day, and you were alone. Someone always joined you, their footsteps a step behind, their hand on the bannister rail just behind yours. Most students walked closer to the walls as a result. Sometimes you could hear their breath behind you if you walked up too fast, as though labored.

But determined to follow you.

If you were especially unlucky, the footsteps would follow you out of the staircase and for the rest of the day. Sometimes it followed you to bed, sitting on the mattress heavily as you pretend to be asleep, ignoring the cold weight pressed to your curled form. Ignoring the cold heaviness on your shoulders.

You could never see it.

If you were overwhelmed with fear, reckless with shaking adrenaline, turning mid-stair to challenge it head-on, you would see nothing. No one stood there. No one followed you.

But when you walked past the windows, their footsteps still echoing yours.

You would see them on the window glass panes, hands on your shoulder, as though playing a game, red figures of young boys and girls without faces, merrily streaming behind you.

They liked to crop up in pictures too, unaccounted additions- faces blurred and disconnected from their bodies. Just their blurred faces, and their hands, clasped over shoulders and sometimes over faces.

Sometimes when it snowed, the ground patchy, it dragged behind you- no footsteps, just a massive drag mark over the dirty snow.

Your shoulders would always bruise.

*

‘Mr. Son?’

‘Yes! It’s good to meet you.’

They all bow in greeting at the slightly older man.

Baekhyun had already called, along with Zitao, discussing what they would be doing for the interview. So Mr. Son, an office employee, had lived in DK almost all of his young life, and was about 8 years older than Kyungsoo and Zitao. He was happy to give an interview, finding it only slightly amusing that he was approached by a ghost-hunting YouTube channel. But he was nice about it, so that was a plus.

‘I lived in DK for 9 years,’ Mr. Son starts. ‘From when I was 6 till I was 15. I studied at the local school here, and my parents struggled with finances, finding work and all that during that time. Our family had to move in with our other extended family, to save on living expenses. My younger brother, two cousins, and a neighbour of ours all entered at the same time.’

‘You had family with you!’

‘Yes I did, I think that really helped with homesickness if I’m being honest. I would tell my younger brother we were going long-time camping- it was hard on him, he was only 5.’

‘That is very young,’ Jongdae nods.

‘When you were living in DK, did you ever come across anything strange, I mean other than just rumors-‘

‘-yeah because, all schools and hostels have their own, I guess, urban stories and spooky tales.’

‘Oh definitely of course,’ Mr. Son laughs, ‘My cousins, they stayed in the girls dorm, and they would tell us stories from the girls dorms. But it was mainly just to spook my younger brother. Exaggerations, mainly, and second-hand stories.’

‘Do you yourself remember any of these stories?’

Mr. Son frowns a little in thought.

‘After you contacted me, I really thought hard, back to my days in DK. I even asked my younger brother, my cousins. I know we were miserable- we tried to make the best of everything. But it was…it was a sad time- not just for us in DK, but overall- the economy was not good-‘

‘Capitalism has not only been ruining overall society, but it’s also been causing the supernatural to thrive- people, if this is the wake up call you need-‘

‘Shut up!’

‘People did not laugh, had no time for…had no time for kindness I guess; for themselves, for others. There was…there wasn’t a lot of comfort to be experienced during those times. And as the eldest, I always tried to make sure my cousins, younger brother, friends- we were always somehow taken care of. I did what I could.’ Mr. Son has a wistful expression on his face, ‘I know my younger brother used to have night terrors. As we were in separate classes, sometimes separate rooms too.’

‘Ah yes- you couldn’t choose right?’

‘No we couldn’t. But a few times we were able to share. I spoke to him last week about it, and he doesn’t remember much of when he was younger during DK- but I remember trying to wake him from his night terrors and it was always…disturbing, I guess.’

‘How so?’

‘Most people overcome their night terror by well- it either fades, or they fall asleep again. But my brother- it was like he was wide awake. His eyes were wide and he couldn’t look around- he was frozen most times.’

‘How could you tell when he was having night terrors?’

‘Oh it was mostly by chance,’ Mr. Son admits, ‘He made no sound- there was no indication of him going through a night terror. Sometimes I’d just wake up- and after I realized what it was, I guess I woke up more frequently just to check on him.’

‘You’re a good older brother!’

‘Ah- well, I tried my best,’ Mr. Son chuckles sheepishly, ‘But he would just lie there, frozen, unmoving, just looking to the side. We would have bunks, and I normally took the lower bunk because the higher classes had to wake up earlier. I would climb up to his bed to check on him and wake him up. It took a while- maybe 10 minutes? I’m not sure, you know where you’re a kid, time is a bit messed up, especially how you remember things in the middle of the night.’

Both Jongdae and Baekhyun nod.

‘But he would just be laying on his back, head tilted to the side, eyes wide. It was always in that position. The best way to wake him up I found out, was to cover his eyes. Then he’d close his eyes, move and shift around, and go back to sleep.’

‘Did he ever remember his night terrors?’

‘No he didn’t.’ Mr. Son explains, ‘But every time I found him like that, it was always in that position.’

‘Did you yourself experience night-terrors?’

‘I don’t know if I did to be honest- my brother doesn’t remember these at all,’ Mr. Son shrugs, ‘It’s hard to say if I did or didn’t. But I’ll be honest, DK was not a nice place, and sleeping was always a challenge. Especially in winter when it was cold. Sometimes two of us would share the same bed, to keep warm and double the blankets. The matrons didn’t allow it, but we would manage to be sneaky about it. If we were caught, the matrons would take breakfast out of our schedules.’

‘I’m pretty sure that’s illegal,’ Jongdae frowns.

‘It was a long time ago,’ Mr. Son chuckles, ‘And at that time, many people would skip meals, saving them; we were considered privileged to be living in a hostel like DK, where we were given 3 meals a day.’

‘You know I’ve always had a love-hate relationship with interviews,’ Baekhyun says abruptly, staring at the camera. ‘Because like this, it’s 10 times more personal, which makes it 100 times more realistic, which makes it a thousand times more likely to freak the living daylights out of me, which makes it a million times more likely to crop up in my dreams-‘

‘-hundred-thousand.’

‘…what?’

‘You were counting the numerical system wrong,’ Jongdae explains.

‘I-…I literally don’t care!’

Mr. Son is shaking with laughter. He’d been told in advance that for the recording part, they might cut in occasionally to give some comment and it may be chaotic but it’s part of their whole banter and to simply continue forward like it was normal.  

When Mr. Son’s time is up they thank him profusely, bowing as he leaves.

‘He was nice,’ Baekhyun comments, stretching and enjoying the sunlight. ‘A good big brother, just trying his best.’

Zitao nods, ‘I always thought siblings or close relatives had it much easier in a way- they had that support system.’

‘Unless your sibling is a ,’ Jongdae says with emphasis.

‘Oh yeah, there were -ish siblings for sure,’ Zitao rolls his eyes before turning to Kyungsoo who volunteered to watch over the cameras as well, relieving Minseok. ‘Hyung, do you remember the Lims? God, the older sister was such a .’

Kyungsoo snorts, ‘They were rich. They had it a little better than most of us, but yeah, her younger sister was miserable.’

‘Misery breeds more misery,’ Baekhyun nods wisely.

‘How much time left before we meet Mrs. Son?’ Kyungsoo asks, looking down at his watch.

‘About an hour- we should get something quick to eat- I saw some pancake stalls down the park there,’ Jongdae points across the park they were filming at.

‘Oh, yeah, that’s good, we can get a bus to the other park from here. Cheaper.’ Zitao comments before he crouches down to help Minseok with the tripod, unlocking the brakes at the bottom.

‘Do we need to empty out the cards?’ Baekhyun asks as he turns one of the cameras around in his hands, going through the footage they just took.

‘No- we’re good,’ Minseok shakes his head. ‘Even if so, I can transfer the files straight to my phone if needed.’

‘Kyungsoo be real with me,’ Jongdae is wheedling- he has that wheedling tone to his voice, ‘Have you watched any of our shows before?’

Kyungsoo looks offended that Jongdae would ask him that but it’s brief.

‘Of course I have.’

‘Which one is your favorite episode? If you’re partial to certain ones I have no grudge-‘

‘The first episode of this season. You guys were in serious ,’ Kyungsoo snorts, throwing Minseok a brief but meaningful look.

‘Yuck, I hated that episode to my core,’ Zitao adds, shuddering for effect. ‘There’s a reason why asylums have a bad rep and a specific aesthetic. Can you believe? A classmate made a whole concept based on mental asylum fashion- god, talk about tone-deaf.’

‘What happened after that?’ Kyungsoo asks, genuinely intrigued while Baekhyun looks at Zitao in horror.

‘Oh yeah, she made it out into a whole thing,’ Zitao rolls his eyes, ‘Typical.’

‘How is typical?!’

*

Most students learnt not to drink water after dinner.

Dehydration was a rite of passage for most, and learning how to control your thirst was not only a way of saving your expenses because the hostel charged you for every time you filled your canteen, the bill collected and sent to your parents at the end of the month, but a way to avoid mistakenly entering the third toilet stall. Nothing was inside the third toilet stall. But once you left it, you would always see them. Two girls, one boy, standing by the far corner sink. You can’t really hear what they say, but no one wants them to ever turn around.

But.

If they did.

They would keep you, stricken and standing still, shaking with fear, eyes closed.

They spoke to you.

But it was like a dream- you couldn’t remember what they said. What they told you.

But you would always feel heavy- as though you carried some dreadful terrible secret. You wish you could rid yourself of the feeling but you can’t- how can you share the burden of this terrible secret if you didn’t know what it was yourself?

And once you knew the secret, you would see them everywhere. Watching you as if warning you, checking you, to see if you would tell someone their terrible secret.

*

Mrs. Son (not related in any way to Mr. Son) requests that they blur her face and change her voice as well. They readily accept of course, having already made those agreements and conditions. She’s older than Mr. Son by a few years, and was currently working as a receptionist in some office.

She seemed like a nice enough lady, as Zitao had put it with a slight shrug, and strongly reminded Minseok of a side-character in cop-movies who are bullied into opening the safe for the bank-robbers. Minseok knows that’s really specific, but somehow that’s the only image that comes to his mind.

‘It was always cold.’

This was clearly a reoccurring theme with DK.

‘Really cold- I don’t really recall any clear moments where I experienced genuine joy or comfort while I was there,’ Mrs. Son tells them. ‘I was 8 when I got there- my mother had recently died, and my father didn’t know what to do with me, so I was sent to school while he tried to get things back together.’

She didn’t sound particularly sad about it, but Jongdae and Baekhyun both comment gently.

‘I couldn’t sleep most nights. And the matrons,’ she gives them a rueful expression, ‘Were not the kindest. I didn’t want to wake my roommates, so I used to sneak out every night. The lobby was always the nicest place in DK- it wasn’t as cold. And the lights were always switched on in the corridor way. I would sit down on the guest couches, much softer than our bunks, and I would fall asleep there. Most times I didn’t remember getting there- I think I had problems sleepwalking. I’ve been told I tend to sleep-talk by my husband, so I’m guessing sleepwalking isn’t too far off.’

‘He’s never mentioned you sleepwalking?’

‘Not at all!’ Mrs. Son laughs. ‘He’s a light sleeper- which is how he knows about my sleep talking.’

‘Why did you think you used to sleepwalk?’

‘I used to wake up in random places around the hostel,’ Mrs. Son explains to them, ‘Most times, most frequently, I woke up near the girls bathroom, on the first floor. I wondered if it was some need, to go to the bathroom, and so instead of actually waking up, I would sleepwalk there. A few weeks ago, after you contacted me, I did some research about that actually, and it turns out that some children do, but it normally involved bed-wetting, which to my knowledge, never happened.’

‘Uh, not to be crass, but how do you know?’

‘The wardens punished children who would wet their beds. They always performed checks every morning. I was never once punished for wetting my bed,’ Mrs. Son laughs a bit at their discomfort of asking that question. ‘But I would sometimes remember going down, mainly because I thought I would find my mother waiting for me- but I can never remember the moments after leaving the dorms, and only waking up outside the girls bathroom.’

‘You were never caught?’

‘No- I always made it back to bed somehow. Though I used to have very extensive dreams- sometimes I would feel myself being carried out-‘

‘-of your bunk?’

‘-yes, and also carried back in- I would go through a whole tour of the hostel, into areas I wasn’t allowed into- into hallways that didn’t exist, and stair cases that were endless,’ Mrs. Son makes a thoughtful face, ‘I guess I had an active imagination- and of course, the stories kids used to tell each other weren’t always the best things to be exposed to.’

‘Were you scared? When you used to find yourself outside the girls bathroom?’

‘I don’t really remember- but when I think about it, I think I might have extensively talked in my sleep as a child. I remember my mouth being dry- the same way it does right now when I have my bouts of sleep talking.’ Mrs. Son explains. ‘I became very ill, staying in DK, like a lot of other children who used to stay there. A little before my time, there were cases of children dying from pneumonia or even the flu. This was why I left DK only 2 years after being there.’

‘You got sick?’

‘I did- as a result I still have asthma. I’m not surprised really- when they most recently inspected the buildings, they said that the mold problem was incredibly dangerous. The damp! I hope you’re all careful when you go there,’ she says with genuine worry. ‘I am more than happy knowing that the entire place will be taken down.’

‘Is there anything else you remember from your time there?’

‘You know, I hadn’t thought much about DK, only after the news about the place was brought up in the news, and after you contacted me,’ Mrs. Son turns her head around, as though looking for the hostel. ‘I had a dream about it, after so long!’

‘What did you see?’

‘I dreamt of what it looked like when I was there- so cold. When I woke up from my dream, I almost felt like I was there again- it was horrible, after so long I remembered the place and it was terrible,’ Mrs. Son laughs a bit before adding, ‘My husband was awake, he told me that I was talking, in a childlike voice for a whole minute before I woke up.’

‘Uh-‘

‘He couldn’t really hear what I was saying- but he was concerned because I had never done that before,’ Mrs. Son laughs as though she’s talking about basic magic tricks. ‘But he woke me up and- and well, here I am I guess!’

*

Also, if you were unwell, which was frequent in the DK Hostel, you battled fever dreams laced with hallucinations, and what you hope are figures from your deepest nightmares, gathered around your bed in the nursing room, looming above you, holding aloft white cold candles, just enough to illuminate the turn of their lips as they smile at you.

Because nightmares you could defeat. You could wake up.

But no matter how many times you counted down to 10, no matter how many times you closed your eyes, pulling the blankets over your head- they always gathered around you, looking down at you and just-

Waiting.

*

‘I think we can conclude, with even more surety, how much this place deserved to be closed down and absolutely destroyed,’ Baekhyun says firmly as they part ways with Mrs. Son. He looks disturbed. ‘Also pretty sure she has some like, deep-rooted trauma, unresolved from her mother’s death, her feelings of abandonment, and then that -hole of a place, no offence.’

‘None taken,’ both Kyungsoo and Zitao reply as they trudge along the busy street.

They eat dinner out, going over their schedule for the next day. They would first be shown around by the maintenance, showing them areas that would be safe, areas deemed unhealthy, and also just in general a clear guide of the place. Baekhyun and Jongdae had already, with Zitao, made the full arrangements regarding where they would be filming.

This would also be one of the first times they would have to send their footage to a Counsel for approval. Technically they could upload whatever they wanted, but Baekhyun and Jongdae did not want to be blamed for anything potentially negative, so they were being safe. It was one of the reasons why Minseok was also glad that Kyungsoo was there to help out with the technical aspects.

When they get back to their hostel, Minseok empties out their cards into both his laptop’s internal drive, as well as an external one. For safe keeping, he even uploads key footage into an online drive. 

‘We still need some b-roll though,’ Jongdae frowns, ‘I mean I know most of it will come from the hostel but-‘

‘It’s okay- Kyungsoo can take me around,’ Minseok says at once.

‘Yeah that’s a great idea!’ Baekhyun adds on, ‘We can take the heavy with us- we can neatly divide what sort of footage to keep in the episodes that way.’

Minseok and Kyungsoo wave goodbye to the three, promising to be back soon. Minseok understood Baekhyun’s visual ideas and Jongdae’s pace and editing, which made taking b-rolls easy. They liked interjecting key-elements and visuals during longer narration or interviews. And with these episodes, Baekhyun and Jongdae wanted to add an element of something disturbing be putting the interview narration over seemingly normal scenery. They had both been very serious discussing the seriousness of the practically criminal activity within DK. And everything that had happened, even without the idea of some supernatural activity to make the whole place horrifying, was honestly a much more horrendous thing that had taken place, and in many parts of the world, was still taking place.

‘What did you think of the interviews?’ Minseok asks Kyungsoo after walking a bit.

‘They were good- credible.’

Minseok laughs, ‘You think they were lying?’

‘No, not at all- just sometimes, people over exaggerate for the TV, or well, YouTube.’ Kyungsoo snorts.

‘So- fill me in on what I need to know about DK,’ Minseok requests as he finds a park bench. He places his camera on it, fixing the aperture to complement the current scenery.

‘DK- or well, at least the entirety of that land, it’s as though it has a sentient quality to it.’ Kyungsoo explains.

‘Sentient? How?’

Kyungsoo frowns a little, looking off into the distance before saying, ‘It targets you- specifically. It tends to shift how it wants to appear to each person, each individual. Children were easier targets- not that I don’t think the patrons were not aware of things within the hostel it was just-‘

‘-yeah,’ Minseok nods in agreement and understanding, ‘it’s different when you’re older.’

‘Fear manifests in different ways, and DK preyed on the children most effectively,’ Kyungsoo says with a shrug, ‘Hungry, weak, scared, anxious children.’

Minseok adjusts the camera, holding it in his hands for a change in pacing, redirecting it towards the street and busy traffic, people walking about.

‘It was different for all of us and-‘

‘-and for you?’

Kyungsoo gives him a small wry smile, ‘I saw everything.’

‘Didn’t it hurt?’ Minseok asks carefully, remembering his bout of illnesses when he was younger after exposure to certain places and even people.

Kyungsoo nods, ‘It did- but DK just knew, that I could see everything.’

‘Did…did it come after you?’

‘Many times,’ Kyungsoo huffs out, ‘But it was mainly to see how it could try to get to me.’

‘Did it ever get to you?’

Kyungsoo points towards the office buildings lighting up in the slowly darkening sky and Minseok redirects his camera, purposefully filming through the busy electric wires and poles for that Urban Aesthetic™.

‘3 months after I started living in DK I woke up one night because all of the children sharing my dorm room with me had sat up in their beds and called my name.’ Kyungsoo explains without any warning. ‘I freaked out. And then they all pointed towards the door; which of course was open.’

‘Of course,’ Minseok says almost breathlessly. He’s had a lot of experiences as a child, but this was clearly surpassing everything he’s ever had the misfortune of witnessing and remembering.

‘I didn’t want to move, but they kept calling my name, over and over, I just left,’ Kyungsoo continues to narrate, ‘So I stepped out, and the door closed behind me at once. I couldn’t go back in. My immediate thought was to get to the matron’s rooms. Of course when I started walking, I realized that the hallway just wouldn’t end- I could never make it to the matron’s room. Somehow I ended up on the other end of the hallway, even if that wasn’t the direction I was trying to go in.’

‘The hostel wanted you somewhere.’ Minseok states, ‘Were you dreaming or awake? Could you tell?’

‘Awake,’ Kyungsoo says firmly before glancing over at Minseok, ‘I was awake in bed, but the hostel was showing me all of this.’

‘So…kinda a strange dream-scape, only you were awake? Almost as though you were, I dunno, Luke Skywalker astral projection?’

Kyungsoo laughs, throwing his head back, ‘Yeah- yeah, I guess that’s a good way of saying that.’

‘And then?’

‘Well, I went towards the direction the hostel wanted me to go- so I went to the stairs. My room was on the top floor. And there was no other way to go except downwards. I stuck close to the wall- I remember that it was raining, it was very cold and I was barefoot as well,’ Kyungsoo scrunches up his face a little, shivering just a little, ‘I went all the way down to the first floor. The door to the matron’s offices opened- it’s a long hallway, and also accessed the superintendents offices and other rooms, mainly related to administrative stuff. I know for a fact that the doors were always locked there. But that night it opened- and I just followed.’

Baekhyun would be crying right about now, Minseok knows.

‘I felt like it wanted to show me something. And this was when I looked behind me. I realized I was being followed- not by figures, I’m guessing you see them in their corporeal forms, or at least what should be corporeal?’

Minseok nods.

‘I used to see shadows- almost like dust moving within dark water- inky darkness moving, overwhelming the lobby. It was…it was massive, something massive behind the darkness- I didn’t want to see it so I quickly moved through the door. Up to this point I used to see shadowy figures moving in the shadows within DK, forms slipping in and out- over the floors, crouching under desks and beds and chairs- slipping behind closets and shelves. But it was all gathered- concentrated behind me, pushing me to a certain direction. I’ve never been here before up to this point, but I knew that the kitchens and cafeteria should be in that direction. At the end were two doorways, one leading outside, to the car-park as well as back garden that did connect to the cafeteria. I could see outside, there was a glass window on the doorway, and it was splattered. It was raining, so I couldn’t see what was outside- but, maybe it was the rain, but something slammed into the door, a dark force pushing. The lights in the corridor I walked down started switching off, the darkness moving through it and I could its hands- just, so many hands.’ Kyungsoo stops, frown settling between his brows, eyes slightly glazed, caught up in his memory. ‘I went through the other doorway, the only way I could go. It lead downwards, to the basement.’

Baekhyun would 100% cry.

‘I ran down- I was shaking so hard, and it got colder, I think I might have been calling for help, but by the time I reached the bottom, I don’t know why, but I knew I should keep quiet,’ Kyungsoo continues with a small sigh. ‘And then a phone started ringing- it shook me so hard. I turned down the stairs and it lead into a narrow hallway, I’m guessing it’s a maintenance hallway or something, but at the very end there was a faint light from a bulb, and it was on top of a doorway. The door I just walked through down the stairs slammed open hard, and I could feel like I was being watched- making sure I walked through. But it didn’t want to come in- I was, I was confused I guess. It tried to scare me from where it was. I realized it didn’t want to come down, so I looked straight at it. All…all of its hands and forms,’ Kyungsoo grimaces, ‘I guess it was like…you know how in wet markets, when there’s too many fish in a small bucket?’

Minseok nods.

‘It was like that- too many of them. Writhing, shaking- but it couldn’t move out of their bucket, so to speak.’ Kyungsoo describes, ‘I didn’t know what to do- I didn’t want to go back up, and I didn’t want to move ahead either. But the phone kept ringing. I thought, maybe someone was there, a janitor maybe. Why else would the phone ring? So I ran. I reached the door and I knocked, I called out, fear overwhelming me at this point. I was crying I think, I don’t remember. But no one answered. The phone kept ringing, and I thought, maybe I can use the phone, call my parents or grandparents- so I made up my mind and I opened the door.

Inside it was filled with like, transformers and pipes and those big metal…I don’t know what you call those, like air-conditioning units and massive fans- machines and generators- it was extraordinarily loud, and I could hear the phone over it- much louder. In the center of the room was a desk, actually, several desks stacked, like it was forming a fort or something- and there was a light from inside, through the gaps in the desk stack- like a computer light. And inside I saw someone hunched over. I was so so scared- but I had to try, I thought maybe-‘

Minseok can’t really breathe, his whole being shivering, listening to every single word, his whole body screaming at Kyungsoo to run away- but this was-…this was in the past.

‘I called out to the figure, asking if I could use the phone. Then the figure turned, it stood- it stood so tall it hunched over, its back on the ceiling,’ Kyungsoo laughs. He actually laughs, ‘I guess the janitor in DK hostel was much much worse than the one Jongdae was talking about.’

‘What-‘

‘It was wearing a janitor uniform, I don’t know it made no sense to be honest and- it was just so so tall, its arms so long- and when it opened its mouth, the phone was ringing so loud. I ran out- I ran so fast but it came chasing after me- its hands grabbed on the walls to propel itself forward. I rushed up the stairs I tripped, I chipped my tooth when I fell,’ Kyungsoo adds, looking down with a frown as though that was the most annoying thing in this story. ‘I ran out into the back garden, I don’t know how I opened the door, maybe it was never closed. It was still raining, and it hunkered out, large elongated hands on the sides of the doorway.

I strayed around the hostel grounds throughout the night- the cooks found me in the back garden in the morning. I strayed in and out of consciousness, incredibly sick, for a solid week I think. Of course I was thoroughly disciplined but then everything became so clear. They weren’t just shadows I could sometimes see. I saw them so clearly- everywhere. I also saw light in people- not a lot, just some. I also kept seeing it. It kept watching me, following me. But after a few months, I didn’t see it anymore.’

Minseok is about to burst but he wants to know the full story.

‘I think a lot of what I can see now, is a result of the hostel- what happened that night,’ Kyungsoo tells him, fidgeting with his phone case cover. ‘I guess I’ve always had it, but it was heightened there. I learnt how to hide, I wasn’t…sure how to do it at first. But I eventually learnt.’

Minseok also learnt how to avoid being noticed- in Kyungsoo’s case, seen.

‘I-…Kyungsoo I don’t think you should go in there,’ Minseok tells him tentatively, ‘I don’t think it’s good for you. If you’ve had such an experience like this- if you’ve…this is not-‘

‘One of the main reasons why Zitao and I are friends, is because somehow I think in his subconscious he knew I helped him.’ Kyungsoo cuts across abruptly.

‘What do you mean?’ Minseok asks slowly.

‘We first shared a dorm room together, an accident from the administration as well as lack of rooms for certain ages- so Zitao was in my dorm room during my 3^rd year there.’ Kyungsoo explains. ‘One night I woke up because I thought I heard sobbing. Which wasn’t uncommon actually- also a lot of children had night-terror, so it was honestly in a sense, not really anything new to me.

I turned in my bed and noticed that it was Zitao- he was sleepwalking- or at least was about to, so I stopped him. Got him back to his bunk and made him sleep again. But when I got back into my bunk, he was already at the door. So I quickly followed him- just barely got through the door before it closed. And then I realized that- that basically what was happening had happened to me too.’

‘The hostel was trying to take him down? To the basement?’

‘I didn’t want that to happen- so I grabbed Zitao as best as I could- even when we were younger he was a little taller than me,’ Kyungsoo snorts and then sighs, as though offended by this height difference, ‘He wouldn’t wake up- which was both a relief, but also worrying- I’ve been able to wake up other kids many times. Got them to somehow shake themselves awake, trigger them with sounds, something. But Zitao was…the hostel really wanted him. I saw them trying to take him downstairs, downwards.’ Kyungsoo explains, ‘I almost got onto his back, if I’m being honest. We fell down, and it was as though that was needed, Zitao started gaining awareness, like his eyes cleared up slowly. I managed to get him back inside, and for good measure I slipped in to keep him on the bunk.

And then, just as I started falling asleep, I heard the phone ringing- right above my ear, ringing so clear. But Zitao didn’t even flinch- the other boys didn’t stir- the phone kept ringing and ringing until the morning came.

And then after that- things got steadily worse, for me at least. They moved more against me, I guess in a way now when I think back- it was afraid of me? I can’t explain it if I’m being honest- just the hostel was aware of me, the way I was of it. Whatever that was, the phone ringing, that thing in the basement. I didn’t want Zitao to hear it- didn’t want him to be stuck in that situation where he would see it too.’ Kyungsoo hesitates before adding, ‘I was- I don’t know if the kids who went through what I went through remembered it- or if they even ran away I don’t know.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Not all the kids used to have this light around them,’ Kyungsoo points at Minseok. ‘Zitao’s was brighter when he was a child and…’

‘You’re saying that whatever it was, targeted kids with the uh, light? So Mrs. Son probably had a light?’

‘She still does- but it’s very faint,’ Kyungsoo tells him ‘Fainter than Zitao’s. I used to notice kids with the light, and how the same kid would suddenly not have it anymore. Like, it was completely gone. I even tried asking one of them once- it obviously didn’t work out that well,’ Kyungsoo scowls.

They sit in silence for a while.

‘You…do you think it will try to take Zitao if he goes?’ Minseok asks hesitantly.

‘I don’t know- and I’m worried- for Baek, Jongdae- for you too hyung,’ Kyungsoo confesses, ‘It’s why I came- and I knew that you could see- to what extent I didn’t know, and I knew that you were doing what you could to protect those es,’ he sighs though he says it fondly, ‘but this is-…it’s like there’s some form of sentient sedimentation, a manifestation of everything that has gone wrong there, in those ground, gathered, absorbing, and just living there. And I know it’s been a while since anyone’s lived there but-…I had to come.’

‘What do you suggest we do?’ Minseok asks, ‘We could just I dunno, find a way to stop this whole shoot. I’m sure I could find a way.’

Kyungsoo shakes his head before turning to address Minseok seriously, ‘I also came here because I want your help.’

‘You want to cleanse the place?’

‘Cleanse, banish- anything,’ Kyungsoo nods his head.

‘But maybe- maybe it’s not there anymore- nothing is feeding it anymore,’ Minseok tries.

Kyungsoo shakes his head.

‘How do you know?’

‘Because for almost a month now, every night right before I fall asleep, I hear the telephone ringing.’

*

If by some misfortune you walked out to the courtyard connecting the main entrance hall to the food hall alone, the Curly Boy with the lamp that changed colours followed you, keeping close enough to catch sight of him from the corner of your eye, the light of its lamp reflecting on the dark windows above you. Later, when you eat, his hand will curl on your thigh from under the table, a wide hungry mouth resting above your knee.

*

Zitao had managed to get Baekhyun and Jongdae to agree to do the “Say So” dance challenge for TikTok or something like that, and he was busy teaching them the moves. Kyungsoo had been bopping his head to the beat absentmindedly as he kept an eye on their footage files transfer.

And Minseok is-

Well he’s trying his best to grasp everything Kyungsoo has told him.

He’s not met anyone properly who was like him, other than his aunt, and briefly, that young boy Kim Taehyung. He’s never talked to anyone about something like this, with so much detail and explanation. And let alone the person was someone he knew.

There was so much to go through. With what he knew about the background, of the history of the place- this was probably a million times worse than the asylum, if you followed Jongdae’s numerical system.

That night Minseok reads through every single bit of detail regarding the location with more concentration. It’s past midnight, and everyone’s asleep and it’s pleasantly quiet.

Minseok quickly glances over at Kyungsoo, his phone light dim but illuminating his figure faintly.

Minseok:

You’re awake?

Kyungsoo:

That Doja Cat song is annoyingly catchy

I can’t stop watching the performance versions

Minseok:

I don’t know why, but that’s incredibly cute

Kyungsoo:

Please don’t tell the other 3

Minseok:

My lips are sealed

Kyungsoo:

There’s even a Japanese cover of it

I might like it better, that’s my hot take of the day

Do you want it?

Minseok:

Sure why not

Kyungsoo:

Other than Doja Cat

And her catchy songs

Is there anything else?

Minseok:

Yeah actually

You said you could see a lot of them in the hostel right?

Kyungsoo:

Yes

Minseok:

How many?

Can you remember?

Or did they always change

Or not have any singular unique form?

Kyungsoo:

There are specific ones- like the one Mrs. Son was talking about

Even Mr. Son

His younger brother probably shone

Its why he had issues sleeping on the top bunk

Minseok:

Tell me about what I should keep an eye out for

Tell me about every single spirit you’ve encountered

*

And if you were incredibly unlucky.

You would hear the hostel calling you.

You could ignore it sometimes.

But if it wanted to be heard, there was no choice.

So if you answered, you would find yourself in the heart of the hostel, standing before the doorway.

If you opened the door, you would find it.

*

Ma ma ma maiiiii Corona: are we gonna ignore the fact that this is a genuine court case like this is a legit place with legit going on in it wow also that background history??? No wonder its so creepy?? I’m soondoongie (??) all the way (is that what it is in this fandom? Is this a fandom?) and I don’t believe in ghosts but that’s not a nice place to be in, period

Where there is a will, there is an iam: serious question did anyone sue those s for running such a terrible place? Im pretty sure everyone, including Zitao, could sue for trauma, get some form of compensation this is truly appalling wow

Mareete: I hate everything about what is about to come. One good thing is that I can sleep well knowing this place will be torn down soon, all that black mold, I felt sick watching this episode

minghaoFrogagenda: they really weren’t kidding when they said this season finale was going to be their scariest – this episode is just an prologue we are not ready. Also shout out to Zitao I love him

Tom Nook is Misunderstood: ive been wondering what Zitao has been doing so secretively with his cryptic messages and clues and that say so tiktok was really throwing me all over the palce BUT THIS IS NOT WHAT I WAS EXPECTING TBH

Erikyoooooooonggggg_ggg: I know I’m loyal ™ to Baekhyun ubt Zitao…he’s…he’s really pretty

AZC: my prediction is that this episode is the calm before the storm  

Professional Procrastinator 3000: was it just me or was this somehow depressing and also eye-opening, like I’ve never been to a hostel, and I’ve only ever heard of it as like, travel hostels? Like the place they’re staying in during this video? But this is just, a big no, I’m happy that they presented the whole history and background so respectfully but without glossing over anything with being dramatic or whatever, this was very educational!

Studio NNG: this is gonna be so good! Ps we should all do the say so dance one day

Indigosalad: omg I came here for the creepy horror but I’m staying for the cute boys??? This Do Kyungsoo is!!!! A good boy!!! He’s so squish!!! I love him!!!

Incorrect Baekhyun Quotes: never thought we would hear anyone blame capitalism for ghosts and supernatural hauntings but here we are

*

*

(Author’s Notes)

Hi

Yeah this is a long chapter Hahaha but it is supposed to be their special season finales hehe

Not that I’ll stop writing the chapters there’s more to come but yeah

The story about the red children comes from Hongkong actually- my brother in law told me about it and I just adapted it as an additional presence for the story. There’s some sort of old advertisement shot in the early 90s in HKK and it had child actors in it. I think one of the kids in the ad died on set or something because of an accident, and the company still ran the ad, and apparently in the line up of kids, all their hands on the shoulder of the kid in front of them, like those, idk, kid-train game line up thing I guess?? The kid who died is there, but he’s completely red, his face blurred.

Thanks BiL for that story

Totally wasn’t traumatized by it when I first heard it

Now all of us are!

^_^

The sick-bay/nursing room story is from my sister though

And fun fact, the tall large hand janitor that you find at the source of a telephone riging is from a recurring dream of mine! *finger guns*

Ehe

AND

JUNMYEON

OUR LEADER

OUR BEST BUNNY LEADER THIS MAN

Okay real talk time

Which one of y’all cried

Its okay you can say it because I teared up no lie

O2 is the kind of song you listen to on a road trip, early morning when the sky is somewhat still dark- when he sings ‘hold me tight, kiss me hard, show me where you want to go’ I was ready to give up everything for this man

Starry Night is absolute art, I wish I could tattoo the song onto myself in musical form, like my tattoos would sing the song y’know????????? If I hear this live I will

Idk what I will do or what will happen to me but

Yeah

And For You Now is just- *chefs kiss* I have always loved Younha’s voice and she is an absolute angel

Also you’re welcome for that image of BaekChenTao doing the Say So dance challenge