‘I don’t think this is a good idea.’

‘Have some faith in me buns.’

‘Don’t call me that.’

‘You love it.’

‘I don’t.’

‘Can you two please act your age.’

Minseok grimaces at his phone screen propped up on the couch where his aunt is scowling at him and Lu Han.

‘Also I’m sure this is against government mandated social distancing,’ Minseok points at Lu Han who was definitely not 6 feet away from him, freely breathing his air.

‘Excuse me? That’s racist,’ Lu Han pretends to be offended.

‘Minseok, stop being racist,’ Sohee sighs out.

‘I- I was not-!’ Minseok stutters indignantly.

‘You’re neighbours and neither of you have gone out to the hot spots so I think you’re both fine meeting like this- wash your hands if you’re so afraid.’

Let it be known that Minseok is not a morose or petulant person- not even when he was a child. He rarely threw tantrums or fits and always tried to look at any situation with a sense of responsibility and calm. But right now.

Right now.

In a weird sense, Minseok guesses he held a high sense of pride in his ability to handle himself. Being independent, not just in a general sense, but within this matter. Handling what he could see, hear, feel- Minseok prided himself in being able to always handle all of this.

And now, a result of that misconstrued pride lead up to this.

It’s not that Minseok doesn’t like Lu Han. Lu Han is fine. He’s a good spirited, easy-going if not slightly unhinged fellow 1990 born dude. Also, Minseok really likes his cats Ma, Ku, and Mon.

And Minseok knows he should stop being embarrassed about his situation because there was no time for feelings like that. And like Sohee had lectured him the other night, he should stop thinking too deeply into this because while introspection was good, it was also a way for Minseok to sink deeper into his mind, making it easier for his stalker to prey on him.

‘We need to understand what this is, and where it came from, how it has latched onto you,’ Sohee continues, pushing her glasses up her nose- something she wore mainly for show because she had corrective surgery done years ago. Minseok side-eyes Lu Han who also pushes his glasses up his nose and Minseok can tell they’re purely decorative because he doesn’t even bother with the glass pieces inside the frame.

‘Understandably, you have repressed these memories, and this is where Lu Han will help you,’ Sohee continues, ‘The fact that you don’t remember what happened until just recently when you were at that hostel-‘

‘By the way, that was an interesting thing that happened,’ Lu Han cuts in apologetically, ‘I want to know what happened exactly.’

Minseok leans back on his chair, pulling his legs up to fold under him.

‘The memories in that hostel- they spanned decades,’ Minseok explains, ‘From what I know of the research we did, it was a government land which was later used to build official buildings which was transformed into a hospital and then ultimately into a hospice when things got worse. After that, people used it to camp in when they had lost their property, family- people came to drop off their children in hopes they would be safe on government land. I’m pretty sure from what I saw, there might have been an air-raid that flew over that area. There’s just…a lot. It’s very layered.’

‘And then they built a hostel for children over it,’ Lu Han raises his eyebrows, ‘I’m almost impressed at how stupid the whole idea is.’

‘And well, of course children are more susceptible to spirits, strong emotions,’ Minseok gestures vaguely. ‘Kyungsoo is…he’s very sensitive. He sees, feels a lot. And well, the hostel was something that dragged on behind him- the way it did for Zitao but intensified.’

‘He’s not trained right?’

‘Kyungsoo?’

Lu Han nods.

‘I don’t think so- he’s a bit, uh, freelance. He doesn’t do anything about it though,’ Minseok clarifies.

‘Makes sense then,’ Lu Han nods to himself and Minseok is itching to find out what he means by that.

‘You said it was like you fell into Kyungsoo’s dream- his memory of his childhood,’ Sohee asks.

Minseok nods, ‘I understood what I was going through at that moment was that place compounding our fears into something we could all feel- Kyungsoo was a child, and that was when he felt powerless, weak, lost. It made him feel weak as an adult too- as a result I also became a child- it wasn’t for too long though. I think that triggered something to…’ he frowns, ‘-to wake up in me I guess.’

‘Or you remembered something because for a moment, you were accessing who you were as a child,’ Sohee ruminates. ‘And then this came out.’

Minseok nods.

‘Well, whatever it is, is extremely attached to you,’ Lu Han remarks, ‘I’m surprised you never remembered it, or it never came back again in a way where you’d notice it.’

‘There’s…’ Minseok grimaces again. He doesn’t like talking about it. ‘There’s a lot I don’t remember from when I was younger. I think it’s mainly things I don’t want to remember.’

‘That thing I saw in the Not-White-House,’ Lu Han begins slowly, ‘It was raining- I could see you looking in through a window- what was that about.’

Minseok sighs.

‘One of my earliest memories,’ he confesses, ‘I think that’s where I can pinpoint where It started attaching itself to me.’

Minseok tells Lu Han the overall story behind the memory briefly while Sohee pushes for the full length details.

Lu Han is quiet for a while, absentmindedly Mon on his lap before he says, ‘Sometimes…sometimes, when you face or go through trauma as a child, the emotions you feel then are too…too large, too overwhelming. Processing something like loss, death, violence, aggression- children deal with them differently than we do as adults. I’ve come across people who claim they lived in haunted houses or experienced heavy and oppressive supernatural events- and many of them are now adults who were unable to process that trauma that they faced as children- depression, anxiety; they can manifest into something that might be more…that make more sense to a child. A child claiming they see a dark ghostly monster following them in the dark? A figurative manifestation of their fear of their parent figure.’

He pauses a moment again before continuing, ‘I’m not an expert in things like this, but after seeing it a lot, experiencing their memories in a sense, understanding what might have been happening instead. But it’s of course, not just that- people genuinely experience things. And well…I don’t want to overstep here or project anything but,’ Lu Han says gently, ‘But I think, you were traumatized as a child because of what you saw- and you developed some form of anxiety. Children deal with these things differently- for you, I guess you chose to shut down your memories. Did…’ he glances at Sohee who looks like she’s about to cry, ‘-did any of the adults in the family ever notice a change in you? Or like, make a comment about how maybe you changed in your childhood?’

‘Yes,’ Sohee says at once, ‘Yes- um, his mum, she had said that she was worried that Minseok wasn’t dealing well with school because he became quieter, more reserved. She was worried, would talk to our mother about it frequently.’

‘Do you have memories of when you first started school?’

‘No,’ Minseok shakes his head. ‘It’s just…just a solid blank and then I remember things after I turned 9-10.’

Lu Han leans back on his chair, his cats all follow his motion.

‘I’m guessing you want me to look into that- look into the past?’

Sohee nods but it’s hesitant.

‘I don’t know if unlocking things will cause more harm,’ she admits, ‘That’s why I introduced you two- hoping you would come to a decision by yourself first.’

Minseok sighs out quietly.

He understands why Sohee wanted him to do this. Ever since he found out that Lu Han was skilled in retrocognition. And honestly this is what he would recommend to anyone facing the same problem like him. But faced with the choice himself, he’s not sure how to feel.

There’s a strange stagnancy to everything- and it wasn’t just him. There’s a strange wait- a breath they were all collectively holding, bracing for an outcome they couldn’t understand. And it’s displacing; atop of everything on Minseok’s mind, the whole world seemed to collective pause, unsure what to do, how to do anything. And yet, ruthlessly, today turns into tomorrow, everyday.

‘I know this isn’t…this isn’t ideal,’ Sohee starts, ‘And that this is difficult for you.’

Minseok suddenly wishes he could hug his aunt again. She was so understanding of how he felt without having to explain himself in words he didn’t have.

‘And even though I’ve brought Lu Han here to you like this, I don’t want you to do something out of obligation towards me- but I also want you to think this over carefully,’ Sohee tells him earnestly, ‘You know what can happen to people like us if we’re not careful. And with something…with something like It that is so obsessed with you. I think…well, you should think carefully about this. And no matter the decision you make, I will do my best to support you until you can leave this behind.’

Minseok nods, unable to answer for a moment. And again, Sohee seems to understand as she smiles and says, ‘So, with the lockdown and things looking like they’re gonna be unstable from here on out, what are you gonna do with Unsolved? How are Baekhyun and Jongdae?’

‘We’re editing episodes for the new season right now,’ Minseok laughs.

‘Do you guys know what you’re gonna do now with all of this lockdown going about?’ Sohee asks.

‘University classes have been postponed until they come up with a new plan,’ Minseok relays the information to his aunt. ‘But luckily mine has only been once every two weeks and it’s easily discussed over emails or even skype meetings I guess. We’re still seeing how things go.’

‘I already paid for my classes I’m sad,’ Lu Han complains with an exhausted sigh that’s comical. ‘But it’s fine I guess? My visa is still valid so hey, I’m not too worried just yet.’

‘Rich people,’ Sohee mutters under her breath.

‘I heard that.’

‘You were supposed to,’ Sohee beams.

‘What about you aunt?’ Minseok asks.

‘Hm- gonna work from home with my friend Sunmi- you remember her right?’ Sohee claps her hands together excitedly. Minseok vaguely remembers Sohee’s best friend as a lanky, hilarious, and amazing editor who was also a crazy powerful shaman. But she took a break because it was starting to effect her in a bad way. Minseok hopes she’s doing better.

‘Yeah.’

‘She’s gonna room with me!’ Sohee sounds excited.

‘Aww,’ Lu Han coos, ‘Please don’t burn down your house.’

‘I’ll punch you on the next time I see you!’

‘Please socially distance yourself from my -‘

‘I would much rather not hear you talking about your to my aunt.’

‘She- she started it! I’m defending myself!’ Lu Han splutters, pointing at Sohee’s wheezing pixelated face on the phone.

‘Okay gays- I mean guys,’ Sohee grins with an unnecessary wink, ‘I gotta go. Please keep me informed on what you’re gonna do next about this.’

‘We will,’ Minseok promises.

‘So, will you?’ Lu Han an eyebrow at Minseok the moment the call ends.

‘Of course I will. Think carefully about it,’ Minseok frowns at him. ‘I would never lie like that to Sohee, I don’t have a death wish.’

‘Hey look! You actually can use your brain!’ Lu Han cheers, beautiful face alight with sarcastic enthusiasm.

‘And I would like to think about this alone,’ Minseok says firmly, pointing towards the door.

‘Please don’t think in circles about this,’ Lu Han says, not putting up a fight as he collects all three of his cats with ease. ‘You seem like the type to do that.’

‘Thank you.’ Minseok says crisply, standing up and ushering Lu Han out of his door.

‘Not a compliment.’ Lu Han points out as he slips on his absurdly expensive and original bright red Supreme slippers.

‘I wasn’t actually thanking you- you know what, let me think about this properly- I also need to work.’ Minseok opens the door and more or less pushes Lu Han out, although quickly patting Ma, Mon, and Ku in the process.

‘Face-timing your two boyfriends is not work-‘ Lu Han yells as he’s shoved out of the door.

Minseok takes a moment to meditate by the doorway, rubbing at his temples as he tries to not feel overwhelmed. His phone buzzes as though right on queue and he hurries to it to see a message from Baekhyun asking if he was ready for the call. He quickly confirms that he’s ready, opening his laptop and hurriedly tapping the spacebar to wake it up. He ignores the protesting sounds of the fans (he was going to have to get his laptop checked out but considering all things he might as well put a ward of protection over it instead) and quickly grabs himself a glass of water.

He takes a deep breath and accepts the waiting call.

‘Hyung!’ Baekhyun’s very zoomed in face is looming on his screen.

‘Hey- good morning, it’s nice to see you both awake before noon,’ Minseok grins, adjusting himself on the seat.

 ‘-hyung, your video is super blurred, what’s up with that?’ Jongdae asks, poking his head so that he’s visible.

Minseok frowns as he looks at the tiny camera on his laptop screen. He leans in a little and pulling his shirt sleeve down, wipes at it carefully.

‘Is that better?’

‘You’re still blurred- almost as though there’s a face-blurring app on you,’ Baekhyun laughs, ‘Is this a new filter choice hyung?’

The walls in his apartment pulse.

‘I don’t think I approve- it’s kinda creepy hyung,’ Baekhyun says nervously.

‘We could try the call again,’ Jongdae is saying but Minseok is acutely aware of the pulsing on his walls, his floors. ‘Hyung, we’ll call again-.’

Minseok doesn’t pay much attention to what is being said, getting up and heading straight for the door. He opens it rather aggressively, only to find Mon on his doorstep. The cat gives a plaintive meow and walks in.

With a stiff step forward, Minseok pokes his head out of his door. The hallway is empty and there’s nothing out of the usual to be seen or felt.

There’s another meow and Minseok takes a step back and closes the door. Mon is on his recently vacated seat, as though waiting for him. Minseok is a little nervous, looking around his apartment.

‘One moment Mon,’ he says to the cat as he checks his bedroom, bathroom, and even the small pantry cabinet. All of Lu Han’s wards are holding well, untouched, free of erosion and corruption.

But there’s nothing.

Baekhyun is calling him again and Minseok hurries to answer, holding Mon close to his chest in the process.

‘Hyung hey so I-! OH MY GOD HYUNG!’ Baekhyun shrieks so loudly Mon flinches and turns his head away.

‘Oh this is so perfect,’ Jongdae is squealing.

‘Please hold that precious baby up so I can take a screenshot-‘

Minseok only just notices that Mon’s collar is decorated with a series of small talismans, meant to reinforce wards of protection. Suddenly, he feels like crying so he lifts the cat up and pushes his face against his furry body.

‘I will cry this is the cutest ever-‘

Eventually they do get around to editing. To Minseok’s bemusement, they’re editing the videos they took from the night he first re-encountered It. As he scrubs through the files, he can’t help but wonder how he didn’t see It. Because in the raw files he’s able to see It’s tall form stretched out by the tree line, getting closer as they day wears on. At one point it’s standing directly behind Hyunwoo.

Mon continues to stay on his lap the entire time, moving only when Minseok moves either for toilet break or to get something to eat. Lu Han had left behind some cat food because he apparently saw that Minseok would need it in the future and placed some food in Minseok’s pantry.

It’s oddly helpful, having Mon there with him, on his lap, occasionally purring, sometimes stretching his legs up, claws extended before curling up into a warm lump. He proves a good distraction here and there, Baekhyun and Jongdae keep meowing at him over the call.

They finish the general blocking of the videos as well as marking the timing for the audio.

‘Good night hyung! Goodnight Mon! Hug hyung for us!’

‘And hug Mon for us!’

Minseok obliges by putting Mon up and mushing their faces together, causing a reaction that was probably at a frequency only bats could hear.

Minseok feels better after all of that, and with Mon’s warm weight on his lap or by his feet. He genuinely wonders if he should take up Jongdae’s all-too-serious-to-be-a-joke joke that he should kidnap him from Lu Han. Seeing as Mon makes no attempts to leave him for the remainder of the evening, Minseok assumes the cat is there to stay for the night.

‘Do you…need to pee? Or anything?’ Minseok looks down at the cat who sleepily flicks a single ear as though to tell Minseok he’s listening. Minseok opens the balcony doorway hesitantly for a few seconds and Mon doesn’t move an inch. So he closes it again and announces, ‘Well…I’m gonna shower?’

Mon makes no move to do anything other than sit on Minseok’s chair. When he comes back out of the shower, Mon is sitting on his bed, as though telling him what to do next.

Minseok snorts to himself.

‘Let me at least dry my hair.’

He finishes up and decides that maybe reading a book before sleeping would be good. He’s heard that a bunch of people were starting to take up reading as well with the uncertainty of how things were headed and most people staying in. Mon curls up on one side of his bed and occasionally lets out a small purring sound.

A little past midnight, Minseok puts the book away and switches off the lights and tucks himself into his bed. He’s comfortably sleepy and very quickly falls asleep.

He’s barely closed his eyes when Minseok suddenly wakes up, fear wrapped over him when he realizes his head is not covered, ear exposed. He has no idea why he woke up like that- fear gripping his limbs, his pulse thundering in his ears. Taking a few calming breaths, Minseok checks his phone for the time. It hadn’t even been 30 minutes since he went to sleep. Sighing, Minseok turns his pillow over, welcoming the cool side of the pillow on his heated head. His exposed ear is still tingling. He belatedly realizes Mon is not there. He looks around his dimly lit room for the cat but he’s not there. so he turns over on to his other side, covering his cold ear with the blanket, and facing his windows, closes his eyes.

He keeps doing this for the next couple of hours. Finally, Minseok pushes his blankets off, frustrated that he can’t sleep. He knows it’s futile to try and force yourself to sleep and become upset at yourself for not being able to do so. Getting out of the bed he checks his apartment once more. There’s nothing wrong with the wards- no issue, no damage.

‘Meow.’

Minseok looks over and finds Mon in his bathroom, eyes gleaming a little in the darkness. When he switches on the light, he’s surprised to find the cat has all of his fur standing on end.

‘Mon?’ Minseok reaches down to maybe pick up the old cat but Mon makes a small hissing sound at him, ears flat and tail flicking sharply to the side in warning. Minseok takes a step back warily. Mon was the most relaxed of the 3 cats and was basically what most would call a lap-cat. So Minseok is unsure why he was behaving like this.

He skirts around the cat who only turns his head to eye Minseok, before he comes to stand at the sink.

When Minseok looks at himself in the mirror his whole world spins.

His face is blurred- features warped out leaving a strange misted flesh coloured smudge.

He’s paralyzed- unable to move away, unable to look away, unable to do anything but just stare into the fleshy blurred expanse that was supposed to be his face- and to his absolute horror, the features start to deform, morphing into something that is most definitely not his face.

‘Meow.’

Minseok falls backwards, the shock of his fall pushing him into action. He scurries off the cold bathroom tiles and with Mon leading the way, barrels out of his apartment, somehow instinctively pulling at his hanging facemask by the doorway and rushing out into the empty hallway. He almost crashes against Lu Han’s door, banging loudly on the front before realizing he should be ringing the alarm by the side instead.

Not 15 seconds later, Lu Han appears, and he looks properly confused and half-awake.

‘What-?’

‘Let’s do it.’ Minseok gets out breathlessly.

‘I-…Minseok, I’m flattered but you’re not my type-‘ Lu Han sleepily mumbles.

‘No-!’ Minseok pushes his mask off of his face, ‘I meant look into my memories.’

Lu Han blinks sleepily at him for a while before he says, ‘Why couldn’t you have just messaged me or something, it’s like, 2 in the morning.’

‘I’m sorry, I just-,’ Minseok takes a step back, realizing how ridiculous he looked in his pajamas, coat, slippers, and face-mask. And maybe there was something in his expression- or maybe Lu Han can see the blur on his face, the morphing taking place because his expression is a bit more awake, and a whole lot more worried.

‘What is it?’ Lu Han gestures to him to enter, looking down to see that Mon had also walked in.

‘Can- can you see my face?’ Minseok doesn’t enter just yet.

Lu Han is definitely awake now. His expression is wary before he nods.

‘What do you mean by that?’ he asks slowly.

‘I-,’ Minseok points towards his doorway, briefly looking around and catching sight of It standing, peeking past his door post. Lu Han also looks out.

‘Oh,’ he manages to get out. ‘Well. Guess you’re gonna have to crash in here with me.’

‘Wait-,’ Minseok pulls his arm away from Lu Han. ‘I- am I safe? For you? What if…what if I bring it with me?’

Lu Han gives him a look of pained understanding.

‘Then we deal with it,’ he tells him, extending his hand out again.

Minseok glances to the side, finds It looming closer than before, a blurred shape now starting to take an almost recognizable form, hands clasped together before it; polite, simply waiting, like it was expecting Minseok to give up eventually- inevitably.

Lu Han isn’t looking away, he’s just looking straight at Minseok, clear large eyes that held no mirth or any of his teasing nature. Like this, Minseok can see the strength of Lu Han’s determination. So he does what he should have done from before.

Minseok reaches out and takes Lu Han’s hand.

*

‘Welcome everyone to Unsolved Vlogs new segment: Once Upon an Unsolved Vlog.’

‘And today we are starting off with Chapter One: The Bicycle.’

‘…’

‘…’

‘…’

‘Hyung we can’t act serious-‘

‘How are we supposed to be scared of the fact that this story is called The Bicycle?’

‘Sigh.’

‘…’

‘…’

‘Hey guys! This is a new style of video! It’s a little odd for us too, so I hope you will understand and also learn with us.’

‘I knew it, hyung has the best words.’

‘I think hyung, you should just start us off with all of the introductions for our story time chapters.’

‘Please just prerecord me.’

‘So! Like we’ve been announcing and now finally executing! In light of the still ongoing pandemic and going out being a non-essential activity for us, but!’

‘But we still want to upload fun content in the true spirit of Unsolved Vlogs!’

‘In a safe way!’

‘We present the Once Upon an Unsolved Vlog segment!’

‘Again, if you have a story about something that’s happened to you or a friend slash family, please do send it to us!’

‘Of course, they need to be well, real, I guess-‘

‘Minseok-hyung and Lu-hyung are our readers and they go through the stories you’ve sent so far-‘

‘-first of all, a round of applause to both of them!’

‘And yes, we do have a new person on board our small team! But he’s shy and doesn’t want to be shown! So every time we refer to him, we will be showing you these cats instead-‘

‘These are his cats by the way! Aren’t they absolutely adorable?’

‘Moving on back to this segment- don’t worry, we will get better at it-‘

‘-eventually-‘

‘-hopefully-‘

(CATS!)

‘So, this is how we’ll break it down! Neither Jongdae nor I have read these stories, they have been selected by Minseok and Lu-hyung and I will be reading them out loud, or!’

‘Or! Depending on the story and how Minseok-hyung and Lu-hyung categorize it, I too will read it out with Baekhyun- and!’

‘And! We will also have a special guest who will either listen to us, or will partake in the narration!

We hope you will enjoy this!’

‘Also I think, before we start, that fair warning- all though yes, we do not do jump-scares and will always keep time-stamps of where anything might cause a scare or fright, please note that we do read these as they are written-‘

‘-unless the names have been changed out as requested!’

‘-also, for today’s chapter, there are several audio clips as well as photographs, and though we have been told that the photographs are not creepy but just there to better showcase the layout of certain parts of the story!’

‘-but the audio clips might be creepy for some! Though we’ve been told it’s not! Repeatedly!’

‘You’ve been told repeatedly.’

‘Let’s begin!’

Chef B is a good friend of mine. We found work around the same time at the same restaurant and we’ve been good buddies since. We work well together, him in the soup section, me in the entrees. We sometimes hang out after work, just chill, and boringly enough we sometimes try dumb stuff like attempt to infuse wood smoke into rice cooking in an electric rice cooker. We also sometimes play videogames.

I wouldn’t call our friendship a particularly deep one, we don’t quite roll like that. But he’s been there for me during hard times, and I like to think I’m there for him too though he’s generally a quiet and mild-mannered guy.

But one day during our lunch break we get to talking about how it’s difficult finding a new place. I’ve been trying to find a new place to rent out, a place I can bring my fiancé to. I know he lives in one of the islands off the mainland and I’ve heard property out there is cheaper.

He sort of doesn’t reply at once. And it’s not surprising because he’s a little bit of a slow talker- doesn’t immediately say what’s on his mind. But then he asks me instead, if I believed in ghosts.

And well, I’ve never really been a “believer”- but I know there are some things that can’t be explained, and while I don’t immediately jump on these things being supernatural, I am willing to accept that there are just some things out there that genuinely can’t be explained.

‘You know, mad respect, I feel that.’

‘You’re actually genuinely terrified so you do not feel that.’

‘But so far, I really don’t see how and where this story is headed.’

‘I was about to say that myself.’

So I told him that, more or less, and asked him why he asked me that. He doesn’t reply for a while again before he says he wouldn’t recommend the area he was living in. And so I ask him why- because honestly at this point, I’m confused with his comments and I’d like to know why he thought asking me about my supernatural inclinations had anything to do with the possibility of finding a new place to live.

So he told me he would tell me another time as lunch break was almost over, and I had to agree-

‘OH I’D BE SO FRUSTRATED IF THIS WAS ME.’

‘To be fair so would I- like, I wanna know! Who cares if lunch break is over!

Let’s conveniently pretend we have diarrhea!’

I can finally hear the story a week or so later-

‘HOW?’

-and I’m surprised because he’s the one who brings it up. So he tells me, without preamble, that a month or so after he had moved there, he and a fellow chef-buddy of ours who also lives on the same island, had caught the last ferry back to the island. This chef-buddy of ours is the one who introduced this place to Chef B in the first place. But anyways, it was almost 12 at night and they, well, they were slightly high. The island has a lot of expats living there, and they grow their own stuff inside their homes. It wasn’t anything strong, just something to let loose- or at least that’s what Chef B had told me. He’s respectful towards me in that regard because he knows I don’t touch alcohol or any form of smoking.

So they were slightly high and were walking back to their respective homes. Our chef-buddy lived further back than Chef B and while he normally walked back by himself, for some reason, in his high state, asked Chef B- more like insisted that he accompany him all the way back. And well, Chef B is easy going like that, so he agrees. I’ve attached images of what this place looks like in general so you can understand the kind of layout in the area.

(IMAGES)

It should probably be noted that well, this island has quite a lot of cemeteries. They go past 2 cemeteries in fact, to get to chef-buddy’s place. So Chef B drops him off and waves him goodnight. He’s walking back to his place now, and it’s about a 15 minute leisurely distance. So he’s just enjoying the quiet of the night and walking at an easy pace.

‘Oh I know we’re about to get started-‘

‘-isn’t living near a graveyard/cemetery kinda…I mean, I dunno about you, but just in general I think that would feel wrong- also mostly a bit sad I guess.’

He’s walked about 5 minutes now when he hears a bicycle bell ring. At first he doesn’t register it. He knows that there are some people who go for nightly runs. He assumes it’s maybe someone going for a night ride. It’s also a bit in the distance- maybe past the cemetery. Then he hears it again- and it sounds like it’s turned the corner around the plot of land containing the cemetery.

I guess now is the time to tell you that Chef B is…well, I guess you could say he’s aware. He was a bit reluctant in telling me this part, because he was clearly afraid I would judge him or make fun of him. But he continues and adds that this wouldn’t be the first time he’s experienced something strange, seen something strange- and it’s like a sixth sense kicks in- he senses immediately, sort of waking up past his highness, and he realizes that something is not right.

This time, when he hears the bicycle bell ring- it’s behind him. And he can hear the wheels on the ground too- a squeaking sound of metal as well. And some instinct in him tells him to NOT turn around.

He slowly picks up his walking pace, not wanting to be jumpy or somehow…well, he described it as not wanting it to know I was aware of it.

‘Oh god- oh I hate that so much.’

‘Sounds intense!’

He hears it closer and closer and he can’t stand it anymore- as he’s walking he almost feels like something is about to grab at him so he just bolts. Chef B is a tall man- almost 6 foot 4, and though not very athletic, his leg span gives him an advantage. So he sprints forward, not looking back, runs straight to his house.

His lock is the kind you need to open with an electronic card. So he all but slams the card against the scanner and bursts inside his house.

And the moment he slams the door shut, sliding in the lock and re-engaging the electric lock, there’s a shove against the door, the handle rattles. He feels something straining against the door and he quickly steps away.

Chef B lives with his girlfriend who was surprised by his rather explosive entrance and asks what’s wrong. He doesn’t tell her what happened because she frightens easily. So he tells her he just tripped over on the doorway.

Now that he’s home, he’s not afraid anymore. So he gets ready to get into bed, washing up and heads to the bedroom. His girlfriend is still awake, to his surprise. So he asks why she’s still awake. And she says she can’t sleep because there’s some idiot who’s out on their bike outside making circles around their block.

Chef B is well- he’s alarmed but he doesn’t want to upset his girlfriend so he doesn’t say anything. She said she had looked out of the window to see who the hell would be out-

‘I will cry- if this happened to me and my partner looked out the window I would cry.’

-at this time cycling around the neighbourhood but she saw no one as it was quite dark out. He let me listen to the recording because he could hear the bicycle the whole night. He couldn’t fall asleep, so he decided to record the sound.

(AUDIO RECORDING)

The sound of the bicycle finally faded away as the sun started rising and Chef B was finally able to sleep.

So he told me that, well, if I was looking for a place to move to, he wouldn’t quite recommend the island he was on, unless I never planned on walking out after midnight. But if that’s not the case, the rent was quite cheap. And I can guess why it’s cheap to be honest.

That’s just my story- well, Chef B’s story, and I know it’s not exactly something terrifying or as cool as what you guys cover, but I hope you enjoyed it!

‘Did he honestly end the email with ‘hope  you enjoyed it’?’

‘Sure looks like he did! And you know what? I did enjoy it!

Baek, what did you think about the audio?’

‘Well, please insert that close up shot of my hair standing on end!’

(I was wondering why he wanted to set up a camera on his arms)

‘Also I think that was, how to put it, kinda low-key but horrifying?’

‘I think it’s quite unsettling I guess- when you hear or see things during a time they’re not supposed to be heard or seen.’

‘Yeah- like seeing your teachers outside of school- that’s just wrong.’

‘On another note, I quite like that neighbourhood!’

‘You can literally see the cemetery are you insane?!’

‘I mean, people are still living there, it must be fine?’

‘Yeah! Didn’t you read? Mostly expats live on this island- the locals don’t live here!

For obvious reasons!

My mum always said this, and listen up guys, don’t live anywhere the locals don’t want to live.

They don’t live there for a reason and it’s probably best that you don’t either.’

‘…I mean, I guess I know what you mean, but I’m guessing property would be cheaper!’

‘…would you live in a haunted house if it was free?’

‘Absolutely, are you kidding? If ghosts are a thing, and if there are people who can see them, I am clearly not one of them- so I am absolutely free of that horror, and I get a free place to live in! it’s a win-win situation honestly.’

‘You are genuinely that person in a horror movie who dies first.’

‘Hyung! Tell us why you chose this story out of all the ones you read!’

‘Uh- well, I think it’s quite…unsettling.

There’s a quality to it that is very convincing, and very haunting I guess.’

‘You and Lu-hyung enjoyed the story I’m guessing.’

‘We did yeah, also we appreciated I guess the level-headedness of both people in this story as a whole. And the way they provided us with photographs to kinda understand the whole layout better.’

‘I don’t know if I wanted those details if I’m being honest.’

‘But so fascinating! I loved it! Thank you so much for sending in this story!’

‘Yeah, it was a good time reading this one, thank you for submitting!’

‘So that was the end of our first chapter, and we hope  you enjoyed it.’

‘What will be our next story? You’ll have to wait and see!’

‘Until then, this has been Unsolved Vlogs, thanks for watching and see you next time!’

‘Bye!’

‘Avoid bicycles!’

‘Yeah! And don’t get high and walk out near cemeteries after midnight!’

*

DaeDroid: OH MY GOD WE’RE GETTING SPECIAL GUEST VOICE CONTRIBUTORS LMAO I LOVE THEM SO MUCH

Incorrect Baekhyun Quotes: I knew there would be regrets with stories from subscribers

Baguette Au Pain: I have so many questions and none of them can be answered

minghaoFrogagenda: HEY OP WHO SENT THIS STORY ARE YOU OKAY AND MORE IMPORTANTLY IS YOUR FRIEND ALL RIGHT BECAUSE WHAT THE

Where there is a will, there is an iam: This is simultaneously the most hilarious and frightening story because of the fact that the funny bits/details actually make the whole story seem so much more realistic, like, those are definitely dumb details I’d put in if I were recalling a creepy story because id be coping with the ing TRAUMA YOU KNOW?

Mareete: Which one of y’all is gonna take one for the team and listen to the audio part because I skipped that part, can you tell me if it’s creepy or not?

Bocchann: @Mareete I gotchu, it’s not creepy just listening to it, if you played it out loud with no context it’s just a simple audio recording of a bicycle bell that’s a little in the distance and a mumbling audio of the main guy OP was talking about!

Mareete: @Bocchann thank you! Still not gonna listen!

Lilithesue25: Idk who this Lu-hyung guy is, but I would die for his cats

This is a Chiitan Stan Account: Omg those are the cats that have been on Minseok’s Instagram?? Is Lu-hyung (Lu??????????) Minseok’s friend????

167 is average height: Bro one look at that neighbourhood and I take baekhyun’s side I am NOT living near a cemetery are you insane

Just a Straying Kid: Hey…uh…is anyone else hearing the humming? In that audio clip? Just me? Okay hahahaha

He’s Back from the Military Y’all: Don’t live where the locals don’t want to live is something I definitely live by too and something all of us should definitely live by as well, and not just for supernatural reasons

Professional Procrastinator 3000: IS CHEF B ALL RIGHT I NEED TO KNOW IF HIM AND HIS GIRLFRIEND ARE FINE

It’s Time for Mago Night: Okay I’ve seen SOME people say they also hear the humming in that audio and I do NOT like it

Sehun_omayaaaaaa: Still offended I have not been introduced to this supposed Lu-hyung

*

(Author’s Notes)

Happy new year y’all

You can thank my sister boyfriend for this story ^_^ this is the story of his good friend when he was living in Hong Kong. Actually I think he’s still living in Hong Kong. But apparently! Hong Kong has a lot of spiritual activity! If anyone from Hong Kong is reading this, please verify with me if this is true!

Fun fact- like Minseok I don’t remember a lot of my childhood unlike my sisters who remember clearly what happened when they were younger- it was only when I grew older that I decided to try think back to my childhood and in a sense? Unlock what I forgot or chose to forget – I had a rickety childhood and the seeing-ghosts/being-patted-by-ghosts thing didn’t help and I think that it’s totally possible I might have manifested my confusing large emotions as a child into something supernatural to better accept what I was dealing with at that age, and as a result I think it’s good to realize children see and feel more than we think they do, and without proper communication, they can manifest it into different things or remember things in a way that maybe won’t make sense

ALSO MINSEOK IS BACK

AND KYUNGSOO IS COMING BACK TOO I’M SO HAPPY WHEN I SAW MINSEOKS VLIVE AND HIS PICTURES I NEARLY ING CRIED