‘Hi, uh, my name is Park Jimin and I’m uh, a full-time employee here. I’ve worked here, officially for 2 years now, and unofficially since I could walk! But I was still paid! I mean, it’s not child labour- I wasn’t forced to or anything like that- but it was fun! No it really was- wait, uh, I’m sorry but can I start over again? Sorry!’

*

‘Hello, I am Manager Yoo, and I oversee the greenhouse activities, maintenance such as pest control, water schedule, harvest schedule, planting schedule, plant breeding, and other things. I’ve been the manager for over 15 years now. I grew up in this town, and I also take care of the sales for our fruits down at the orchards, we are especially famous for our apples!’

*

‘Nice to meet you, my name is Sang Jiyoung and I’m the assistant manager to Manager Yoo. I’ve been working here for 8 years with  my husband-‘

‘Nice to meet you, I am head gardener Sang Byunjoon, I’ve been working here for 7 years now.’

*

‘Hello, my name is Go Jongsoo, I am uh, a gardener here, at uh, this place. It’s been 4 years since I’ve worked here. I also help Manager Yoo with plant husbandry. It’s nice to meet you.’

*

Baekhyun very clearly does not want to sleep alone.

It might be the fact that he stuck very close to Minseok on their way back, practically glued to his back making it difficult for Minseok to carry the equipment on his back.

Or possibly how Baekhyun furtively followed people to the washroom, holding in his pee so that he wouldn’t be alone.

Or how he laughed a little too hard at Mr. Park’s jokes about the odd sounds that sometimes ripped through the night.

Or mostly mainly because of how he was “testing” out Minseok’s sink because his wasn’t working well, apparently, as he barged in with is toiletry bag, eyes just a tad bit wide, smile slightly stiff.

‘Do you want to sleep here with me?’ Minseok asks, tired and full from the delicious and hearty stew Mrs. Park cooked up for the guests. There were the only ones at the hotel for that night, so Mrs. Park had served them all massive proportions. Jongdae had been excessively enthusiastic about the fish stew, discussing recipes.

‘I uh- I don’t want to impose hyung,’ Baekhyun’s face takes on the kicked-puppy look (aptly coined by Jongdae who was not so immune to it as he claimed to be).

‘It’s okay- I’ll go down and tell Mrs. Park that we’re moving the mattress over to my room,’ Minseok says with a short yawn. ‘I don’t think we’re not allowed to do it- but just in case.’

Baekhyun looks like he’s about to cry as he thanks Minseok, sprinting out to his own room next door.

Minseok makes his way down and instead of coming across Mrs. Park near the small registry at the end of the hallway, finds their son, having difficulty with his very thick coat.

‘Oh! Hi!’ the young boy greets, wide and bright smile turning his eyes into slits. ‘I’m Park Jimin! I’m a massive fan!’

‘Oh- I uh- it’s not me-‘ Minseok begins, a little flustered.

‘No!’ Jimin exclaims, shaking his head violently, ‘I can’t imagine what it’s like to be the cameraman in all of your episodes! It must be terrifying!’

Terrifying in ways that Jimin was probably not aware of but Minseok nods nonetheless.

‘That’s so cool!’ Jimin grins, finally winning his battle with his long thick coat. ‘Ah- are you looking for ma? She’s in the kitchen!’

‘Oh yeah- I just wanted to ask if it was okay we take one of the mattresses from another room and take it over to mine?’ Minseok asks.

‘Yeah no problem!’ Jimin throws up a thumb’s up. ‘I’ll come do it!’

‘Oh that’s no-‘ Minseok says at once but Jimin is brightly waving aside Minseok’s words and is already halfway up the stairs, taking two steps at a time.

Minseok suddenly feels very old and tired.

Mrs. Park pokes her head out, clearly notified by their voices.

‘Oh! I knew it!’ she exclaims, ‘It’s much colder out here, city folks often need more blankets when they stop by here during the winter.’

‘Ah, it’s not that- I just wanted to know if it was okay if my friend stays with me for the night?’

Mrs. Park laughs, ‘He’s a bit scared isn’t he? I was hoping the stories didn’t put him off too much.’

‘Oh, he was very scared, but he likes it?’

‘We all know someone like that,’ Mrs. Park says very meaningfully.

Minseok is not exactly sure he wants to know what she meant by this but nods nonetheless.

*

‘So um- I guess I’ll start with my first real weird experience? I just used to, uh, chalk it up, to my imagination, or being tired, the usual, ehe. But when I look back at it now, with what I saw with Kookie, then I guess, definitely, something was wrong.

I think one of the first things I experienced that was strange or weird was when I was younger actually- around 9 years old I guess? I remember trying to help out Taehyung and his dad closer to the orchards down that way. Taehyung and I were allowed to take apples for ourselves and we were running down the stone wall towards the well over there to keep our apples. We were excited because we thought we would exchange the apples for some candy at the local store, so we were really careful with them. Taehyungie said he would go get the last apple so I stayed with our small half dozen apples. There were a bunch of farmers and workers working around the place, and the well is a common place to come and stop for some water or a break to wash off or something. I remember getting a bucket out to wash our apples, and in the puddle around me, I realized I saw the reflections of a few people. I ignored it because, again, I thought they were workers coming around to get water. At one point I look around behind me because I was wondering why no one was moving. But no one was standing behind me. Taehyungie came back and we left- but ever since that first time, I keep catching reflections of people near the well. I don’t like looking at the water anymore- I kinda realized I did this without really thinking about it just last year.’

‘Have you looked at the water near the well recently?’

‘I tried- but I’ll be honest my memory freaked me out, and it was not just one time, but a few times, so I kinda don’t want to.’

‘Understandable.’

‘Reasonable.’

‘One of the other things that I guess really made me not want to stay here after dark happened when I was teenager. The greenhouse wasn’t as big at that time, and it was only just starting out as a sort of destination location. I was waiting for Taehyungie outside right over there by the partition there- it was starting to get dark and I remember feeling fidgety because there were a lot of mosquitoes. And it’s not there anymore, but there was a shed like structure next to the partition, and it had a small window that had a very shoddy piece of glass over it that rattled with the wind. It was really hot that evening, and there was no wind. But the glass in the shed started rattling. I ignored it at first, because I didn’t realize it until after a while. I was surprised? So I looked around at the window but nothing was moving- and there was no wind either. I thought I was imagining things so I put my back to it again. Then the sound started almost immediately and I turned back as quickly as I could. At this point I thought Taehyungie was playing a trick on me so I yelled- haha, I yelled pretty loudly like stop playing around let’s just go already I’m hungry or something like that. The rattling stopped and I thought Taehyungie was gonna come out. I heard shuffling inside the shed and I was waiting for Taehyungie to exit but I noticed that the shed door was locked. This massive padlock was hung over the latch. And I was worried, I wondered if someone was locked in, and just a few weeks before that, my mum had a heatstroke and I had seen how weak she was. I wasn’t scared, like, it was ghosts or something, but I just was worried that maybe someone had collapsed or something. I tried to undo the lock but I didn’t have the key, so I thought I’d run to get Manager Yoo and I turn around to run and the rattling starts again. So I yell ‘I’ll come back with Manager Yoo, just stay there,’ and I ran. I brought Manager Yoo and he was of course concerned. But when he opened the shed, no one was inside. I was given a massive scolding about lying, but I uh- I cried really hard, haha, and Manager Yoo I guess he felt bad- and uh, he still kinda does because he went through something similar too, hehehe.’

*

By the time he’s upstairs, Jimin is very enthusiastically pulling out a rolled up mattress from Baekhyun’s room, talking a mile an hour. Jongdae is there too, looking amused but not teasing Baekhyun. Instead he’s also carrying his own mattress.

‘-my favourite episode from Season 1 was when you covered the haunted penthouse!’ Jimin is saying, eyes bright with excitement. ‘And from this season it was the mansion! Such a cool house but I would never live in it even if it came free!’

Minseok can heartily agree to this.

Baekhyun and Jimin catch sight of him as he walks towards them.

‘Sleepover!’ Baekhyun exclaims, ‘Jongdae was jealous and didn’t want to miss out on a sleepover!’

‘I totally was!’ Jongdae adds before turning to Jimin and saying, ‘I know this was already discussed in the emails between us and Jungkook, but I just want to make sure that you’re okay with interview for tomorrow?’

‘Yeah it’s cool!’ Jimin replies as he sets the mattress down in Minseok’s room. ‘This area has quite a lot of stories- like the one Taehyungie was telling  you about earlier today.’

‘That’s great, more content,’ Baekhyun smiles though it’s as though he’s telling himself this.

They bid Jimin goodnight and the cheery boy waves energetically at them before bounding down the steps, two at a time.

‘Ah! To be young,’ Jongdae says sagely as he closes the door.

‘Again- I think he’s just barely 3 years younger than you,’ Minseok comments dryly.

‘Youth,’ Jongdae hums thoughtfully with a sage-like attitude.

The lights are out and only the light of Jongdae’s phone is faintly illuminating one side of the room.

‘You know I think-‘ Baekhyun begins suddenly.

‘Hm?’ Jongdae hums before dropping his phone to the side, turning over on his mattress.

‘I think this one- these stories. I think there’s something to it.’

‘Okay,’ Jongdae yawns.

‘Taehyung’s story freaked me out- don’t tell me it didn’t scare you guys either.’

‘It was a very good story,’ Jongdae mumbles out sleepily, ‘Can’t say it was made-up or anything. The whole town seems to know the story.’

‘…it’s- I dunno- unsettling I guess.’

‘Hope we can prove you right,’ Jongdae says almost inaudibly.

Jongdae’s breathing evens out in a few minutes. Minseok is about to fall asleep too when he hears Baekhyun whisper, ‘Hope we’re wrong.’

*

Everything feels much better the next day, in broad sunlight, temperatures much more bearable, with a stomach full of delicious breakfast. They’re going over their itinerary for the day as they go over their equipment. The greenhouse wasn’t far but going to and fro to retrieve equipment would take time and no one wants to bother with that sort of thing. Their batteries, back-up batteries, and every sort of chargeable device is fully charged and juiced. Minseok makes sure to attach the wind muff around every microphone they had on hand.

Right before they leave, Minseok’s phone alerts him of a message. It’s from his aunt who simply tells him to be careful and to not disturb the eggs if he comes across them. He had needed to vent about the situation to someone, and his aunt was more than happy to listen.

She also tells him that she would look into the whole story, and to tell her every detail later that night.

‘Okay so we have 3 night-vision cameras, and two static cams,’ Jongdae reads out. ‘I’m also adding this extra extension cord just in case.’

‘Jungkook said we could use the generator from the greenhouse to charge our stuff if we have the adaptors,’ Baekhyun adds, holding up an oblong adaptor, ‘This should be enough?’

Minseok nods in agreement.

‘Okay I guess we’re good to go,’ Jongdae says as he stands up. ‘Oh! Jungkook and Taehyung are here- they’re downstairs.’

Minseok stands up as well to look out of the window and the two tall teenagers are indeed standing outside, talking amongst themselves.

‘Really wish I was little taller,’ Baekhyun grumbles, ‘Next time we have someone over for an episode, can we please make sure they’re shorter than us.’

‘That’s a tall order,’ Jongdae says, pleased with himself while Baekhyun groans in response. ‘Besides, god made you short because you’d be insufferable if you were tall.’

‘I am offended that you’re right,’ Baekhyun sighs before adding, ‘Minseok-hyung was meant to be short. Imagine his power if he was tall?’

Jongdae shudders comically, shooting Minseok a wink, ‘The realest threat.’

Minseok simply sighs in response.

Jungkook and Taehyung greet them brightly when they exit the hotel, instantly helping them with their equipment. On their way to the greenhouse, Jungkook walks next to Minseok, asking him questions about the equipment. It’s nice, talking to the young boy about cameras, mics, editing software. Minseok promises to give Jungkook some good YouTube links for tutorials and reviews that had helped him previously. There’s laughter from the front, where Jongdae and Baekhyun have clearly hit it off with Taehyung.

‘Do you believe in ghosts?’ Jungkook asks after a short silence.

‘I mean- it depends?’ Minseok hopes it’s a good enough answer.

Jungkook accepts this answer thoughtfully.

‘I never believed in ghosts or spirits, but I guess sometimes, it’s the only answer to something. Right?’

‘It can feel like that sometimes,’ Minseok replies just as Baekhyun yells from the front, ‘GUYS! STRIKE A POSE!’

Minseok doesn’t have time to do anything other than look surprised as Baekhyun’s phone shutter goes off.

The three at the front are doing some ridiculous pose while Jungkook and Minseok are in the background, eyes wide and expressions confused.

‘You guys don’t mind if we put this up?’ Baekhyun asks, flashing his phone screen before them.

Taehyung shakes his head and Jungkook just shrugs with a small embarrassed smile.

‘So the plan today is to interview the workers at the greenhouse, and Taehyung you said that some of the elders in the community want to share some stories about the land?’ Jongdae asks as they approach the greenhouse.

Taehyung nods, looking excited, ‘Yeah! They were asking about why and who you guys are and stuff like that! And we explained it and they said this was a great time to preserve some of the past in this cool way! I think they’re also excited to be on “TV”.’

Baekhyun and Jongdae chuckle at that. But Minseok is too busy mentally preparing himself for the icy cold that seeped out of the greenhouse the closer they got to it. It’s the same as yesterday, but somewhat more bearable in the morning, with many people walking around and about.

Minseok had made sure that their schedule would end around the same time as the greenhouse closed for the day. He didn’t need Baekhyun and Jongdae wandering about this piece of land after dark.

*

‘Kids and young folk like to make up stories, and there’s always something going on about the greenhouse in general. My family has lived in this town for nearly 3 generations now, and we’re aware of the stories- stuff that’s been handed down by families over the fireplace in winters. But that’s all they were to me really- stories, exciting things to discuss as kids; I never thought I would genuinely believe any of what was going on I’ll be honest.’

‘What did you experience that made you change your mind?’

‘I’m not saying I believe in ghosts, but there’s a lot of history- small history, nothing great like what you read in the newspapers. But we have a lot of history here. Lots of old families still stay here, and they don’t like to spend time at the greenhouse even during daylight. We always thought it was some nonsense that the rich believed in, or very religious folk lived with. But just over a decade ago I was checking up on our evening primroses to take pictures for our website which had just opened. My wife bugged me to take some of the pictures so of course I went. Back 10 years ago, the cameras were not so great, but what I had came with a flash setting.’

‘Oh -‘

‘Shh!’

‘The evening primroses grow inside the inner greenhouses, and this was almost 7 in the evening I guess- but the sun was already down, so the flowers were blooming. I switched on the lights, but at the time, we didn’t have the budget or the technology to really allow good lighting, not unless they’re in the specialist greenhouse for some of the more rare flowers and shrubs we’re growing. I set up my camera- and this kind was the type you had to look through the viewfinder rather than have a panel- uh, display, at the back. So I started taking some pictures. A lot of them actually because my wife is specific about what type of pictures we put up.

As I looked through the camera to take a wide-shot of the greenhouse floors, I thought I saw a few people standing outside the greenhouse, leaning against the walls. I called for them to step back, because I mean, greenhouses aren’t always the strongest. They moved away and I went back to taking pictures, and again, they were there. I was mad, my temper got the better of me and I yelled loudly. But they didn’t move, instead they pressed in even more. I thought Taehyung and the other kids were fooling around- so I stepped out and I was going to scold them, even though I should have realized the figures were much too big to be the kids, there was no one outside. I was frustrated and I went back in to switch off the lights- and just as I did, a whole row of figures were standing at the very end of the inner greenhouse- inside. I yelled, and switched on the lights again, but no one was there. My assistant manager at the time came running because of how much I was yelling. I said we should call the local police because clearly there were people out here, messing with us and potentially trying to vandalize. But- but I will never forget what my assistant said to me that night.’

‘What did they say?’

‘He said ‘I’ve seen them too, don’t confront them, or they will follow you.’’

*

‘Okay so let’s set up the cameras,’ Baekhyun announces bravely, hands on hips, looking over the wide piece of land. ‘According to what we’ve been hearing, the 2 inner greenhouses, the 4 corners, the well, the Easter orchard walls, the electric room, and the storage room outside of greenhouse 5 are hotspots.’

‘Is there anything I can do?’ Jungkook asks eagerly, ‘I’d like to help.’

‘Thank you,’ Minseok smiles up at the tall teen. ‘We’ll need to keep these charged throughout the night, and we have these cables and extension cords-‘ Baekhyun holds said cords up.

‘I got it!’ Jungkook picks up the cables, ‘I know where all the outlets are, I can help plot out the cords.’

‘That’s great- come on, I’ll show you our set-up,’ Baekhyun says eagerly, ‘And tell me about your classes!’

Jungkook, flustered but eager to help, guides Baekhyun towards the outlets.

‘I’m afraid I have to go attend to my chores,’ Taehyung is saying apologetically, smiling sheepishly.

‘That’s completely fine!’ Jongdae says reassuringly, ‘Thank you again for helping us arrange this with Manager Yoo, as well as getting him to agree to an interview!’

‘No not at all!’ Taehyung grins down at them, ‘This is fun!’

Jongdae waves as Taehyung lops off, hair bouncing under the strong morning sunlight as he bounds towards Jimin who waves at them vigorously, a sort of yelled muffled greeting directed at them. Taehyung bodily picks up his best friend, twirling him around before practically throwing him away. Jimin chases his taller best friend, revenge glinting in his eyes even from this distance.

‘Ah- adorable,’ Jongdae says fondly.

Minseok makes sure to capture all of this in one of the hand-held GoPros.

‘This is a really beautiful establishment,’ Jongdae comments, looking around as he unfurls a length of wire. ‘Don’t you just wanna retire to a nice town like this and wake up every morning to a clear non-dusty sky, green-blue hills rolling around, orchards and farm land around?’

‘You’ll have to work to make your keep,’ Minseok snorts.

‘You don’t think I’d be a good farmer? Hyung! I’m offended!’ Jongdae exclaims indignantly, in his outfit that screams inconvenient for a farming-town-city-fashion, right down to his white Nikes. Minseok pointedly stares at them, making Jongdae whine.

‘I think I’m gonna gain weight in these 3 days here,’ Minseok groans, still full from their very heavy very organic breakfast.

‘Tell me about it- I love it,’ Jongdae grins, ‘God, can I kidnap Mrs. Park, her stew is to die for, I would fish so that she could make me that stew.’

‘I don’t think Jimin would appreciate that- or your mum.’

‘Okay- maybe I just borrow her to cook that stew like, once a week or something,’ Jongdae smiles dreamily, ‘Such a wonderful stew.’

‘Can we please set up,’ Minseok playfully kicks at the younger.

‘Aye aye Captain,’ Jongdae salutes solemnly.

*

‘This is something we both experienced. And after that, we talked about it, and realized we both experienced things, but separately.’

‘We also heard a few stories here and there, but nothing like- nothing terribly ominous. We thought it was just for fun.’

‘I was used to hearing footsteps behind me- but I thought it was just my own echoes, or sound travelling strangely- I saw on television that sound waves travel differently geographically. We’re in a valley, so I thought maybe someone walking down the street somehow sounded like it was right behind me.’

‘I kept losing my gloves, rags- small utensils. I didn’t mind it at much- but after a year or so, and Manager Yoo had to come to me and literally give me a talk on expenditure did I realize it wasn’t actually normal to lose so many things all the time.’

‘But the most disturbing thing I guess, was about 3 years ago right?’

‘Yes, 3 years ago.’

‘It was spring, but we still had some frost.’

‘Yes- and we had a few fan heaters, but they were old, and though I had asked manager Yoo to invest in some new ones, we were still short of budget.’

‘The old fan heaters we had were faulty- and would switch off and on by themselves.’

‘We’ve actually had them fixed by our local mechanic shop now, so they’re fully functional now, but they would just, shut off by themselves.’

‘This wasn’t good for our orange tree saplings- so we had to maintain a nice warm draft- just enough so that the frost won’t take hold.’

‘I said I would go check on them during the night to Manager Yoo, and Jiyoung said she would stay with me.’

‘It’s best to have two people regardless-‘

‘-so we put timers to go and check every 2 hours. We stayed at the main reception area with the gift shop to keep warm ourselves. If you can see for yourselves, the chairs here are pretty comfortable too.’

‘The saplings were near the Eastern orchard wall- and it’s around 10 minutes from here. But the fan heaters were plugged into the generator near the electric-room towards the south of the land. You can yell and hear each other very well. We tried just to make sure!’

‘We had strong flashlights and we thought that would be enough for the night. For the first few trips it was all right. The fan heater had only switched off once, and Jiyoung went to the generator to switch it off and restart it after I disconnected the heater.’

‘Then around 2 in the morning, it was very dark, no moon out, we made our way back to check on the fan heater again. We were both very sleepy, and it was starting to get very chilly inside here too. We thought we would stay inside the greenhouse by the fan heater to regain some warmth before going back.’

‘It was switched off again, so Jiyoung went down to the generator to switch it off. I waited for her confirmation to switch off the heater to restart it. She hadn’t left for more than 20 seconds and I heard her yell that it was switched off. I found this odd, but I thought maybe she hurried because it was cold. So I switch on the heater and the back sort of blows up.’

‘And when I was close to the generators, I thought I saw a figure just a little out of the light of the electric room. I quickly aimed my flashlight and I stopped walking. Sometimes you had drunks wandering around the street, and there was that one time a drunk man had fallen into the orchard sometime back. But it just- it just ran- I don’t know how to describe it, it was so strange and I was immediately terrified. Just then I heard something explode, and I immediately ran back to where Byunjoon was. And as I ran, I heard, so clearly, footsteps faster than my own, running behind me and getting closer. I panicked. I was so afraid, I didn’t even realize I dropped my flashlight I was so terrified. I rushed into the greenhouse I think I was calling for Byunjoon, and Byunjoon was just stepping out because there was so much smoke inside.’

‘She was pale- so pale, I was instantly worried of course- I was also confused she sounded so afraid. She said someone was chasing her and I thought- I didn’t know what to think, and I went back out with her and her torchlight which was on the floor, still rolling a little so clearly illuminated a figure. We both saw it-‘

‘You both saw it?’

‘We did- and I – I was frightened- but I was more worried for Jiyoung and I thought some mad man had entered the greenhouses to terrorize us. So I know that we still had some shovels inside the greenhouse behind us, so we backed carefully, still looking at this figure-‘

‘-it was still there?!’

‘And I told Jiyoung to get the shovels from inside so we could arm ourselves. I then called Manager Yoo to tell him someone was inside the compound. Just as Jiyoung stepped out the flashlight she dropped switched off and these heavy footsteps started making its way towards us- they just-‘

‘-I was screaming I know I was- I just pulled Byunjoon as hard as I could and we ran.’

‘Manager Yoo nearly had to break down the door before we opened it for him. We told him what happened, and we called the police, but nothing was ever concluded.’

‘How are you both still working here?!’

*

‘, I am so happy we’re not spending the night here,’ Baekhyun says fervently.

‘Still- walking around the compound for 10 minutes each sounds good enough considering everything we’ve heard today,’ Jongdae shrugs, securing Baekhyun’s scarf around his throat.

Minseok would rather they didn’t spend any time after dark but this was part of their show, and even if Baekhyun was losing blood from his face, he was adamant in following through their set criteria. Minseok is just happy they're not spending a night.

This was their last night, and they would be leaving around 4 in the afternoon tomorrow. All of the interviews were done for the day, and now it was just this final part where Jungkook and Taehyung would take them on a detailed tour and then leave them to their own devices after closing hours. Manager Yoo was a nice elderly man with a calm air to him. And hearing him speak of his experience nearly sent Baekhyun running out. Even Jongdae was increasingly disturbed by all of the stories they were hearing. 

‘You know I just really hate the sound of running footsteps that are like- disproportionate- you know what I mean?’ Baekhyun whines lowly as they wait for Jungkook and Taehyung to approach them. Jimin is yet again in the background, waving violently in farewell.

‘Ah- Jimin’s not going to be joining us?’ Jongdae asks, ignoring Baekhyun’s complaints and worries as the two young teens are within earshot.

‘Yeah he’s got someone to woo at the mechanics,’ Taehyung rolls his eyes while Jungkook snorts.

‘Ah- to be young and in love,’ Jongdae trills, elbowing Baekhyun, ‘If he gives them those radishes from yesterday, pretty sure they’ll agree to a date. Or better yet, that fish stew-‘

‘Yes! Ma’s fish stew is to die for!’ Taehyung exclaims emphatically, jumping a little and making Jungkook had to hold him down a little. God, where did they get all of this energy from, Minseok is exhausted from the work and the increasingly oppressive air.

As the young people would put it, this place did not pass any vibe check at all.

‘All the cameras are set up, and we’ll switch them all on as we walk past them,’ Baekhyun nods. Minseok takes this as cue to start up his camera. Jungkook checks on his and Taehyung’s mics, getting a nod of approval from Minseok before he counts down quietly.

‘Three…two…one!’

*

‘My story actually, haha, it happened almost immediately during my first week. It was building up throughout the week, and I thought, hey maybe this was some hazing thing? I didn’t know what to think, but I just ignored it.’

‘Things like what?’

‘When I was working a little late in some of the greenhouses, people would walk past really close to the plastic walls, or I’d see their hands pushing hard against the plastic. I just thought- well, this was just some prank.’

‘People, please never prank others like this!’

‘So I thought after the 3^rd day I’d tell Manager Yoo- but he was going through a stressful time- his daughter was having some complications with her birth, and I didn’t want to bother him. So I just decided to ignore stuff.’

‘But she’s okay?’

‘Yes! Perfectly healthy baby girl!’

‘Aww! We love happy baby stories!’

‘On Friday night, I was getting ready to go back home, but I couldn’t find my phone. I checked everywhere and couldn’t find it on me or in my bag. I asked the others but no one saw my phone. So I retraced my steps, and I realized I had stopped by to pick up some fertilizer at the storage room near greenhouse 5.’

‘Oh god I already hate this story so much.’

‘Sorry about him, please continue.’

‘So I made my way to greenhouse five. It’s probably the furthest from this spot- it’s where we normally grow our cactus and other hot-house plants. It was fine, it wasn’t dark yet but the sun had already gone down, and I was just, zoning out I guess. There used to be a long line of shrubs about this high- kinda just below my height in front of this area. And as I walked past, I saw a pair of bare feet walking towards me from the opposite way. I was, kinda confused? I knew that at the time, some of the younger kids liked walking around barefoot but that was normally by the well. Also the feet looked old, the skin around the edges of the feet were cracked and a little caked in mud. So I called out. The feet stopped and I don’t know why- but I stopped too. Then the feet took one step towards me. And I- I just stepped back. This happened for a few steps and I’m kinda- kinda frustrated? I’m a little annoyed too. So I just kinda angrily shoved through the shrubs but- but no one is there. I was- and am still very sure, that it was not a trick of my eye. So I just- I just ignore it, and I make my way to the back of the greenhouse to the storage room. The only entrance into this storage room is through greenhouse 5, it’s at the very end. So I get there, and I find my phone on the work bench. As I leave the storage room I hear knocking behind me. I don’t think, I don’t even pause to think how odd it is and I turn.

So the thing is, as you’ll see later, the storage room has some pretty tall metal shelves, and they’re- you can access them from any side, there’s no back to it. And they’re normally pretty stuffed because we lack organization here, haha.

I’m at the doorway and when I turn, I see the same pair of feet behind the second shelf. I also see some frayed edges of fabric? It’s shuffling around, and I just- I just start moving backwards, I don’t know how anyone would have gotten inside without me knowing or even seeing them while I was inside and it started shuffling towards the edge of the shelf and I just immediately turned around and ran- when I ran out I bumped straight into Mr. Kim and Taehyung. They were very nice, and helped calm me down. They were looking for me because they were trying to invite me to a dinner to welcome me. Mr. Kim noticed I hadn’t closed the storage room and was worried about the temperature inside the greenhouse but I was- I was hysterical I guess, it was like all the fear in me just gushed out. Mr. Kim took me back and Taehyung went in to close the doors.’

‘Have you experienced anything of the sort since?’

‘No- nothing to be honest- just sometimes it’s like I’m being watched- or something is behind somewhere but it’s not- that was the only time.’

*

Jongdae is wheezing silently as they listen to Baekhyun squeaking throughout the distance in the greenhouse compounds.

‘Ah, always so good,’ Jongdae wipes at his eyes.

When Baekhyun gets back, he’s so pale he’s almost transparent.

‘Please- I just- I just want to go back to Mr and Mrs. Park’s hotel and just- just cry-‘ Baekhyun manages to get out. Jongdae fondly hugs him, rubbing his cheeks to get warmth into them and giving him his own hot-pack. Minseok takes one last footage of the greenhouse compound before he aims at Jongdae and Baekhyun again.

‘Well- that’s it for this episode and I- we heard a lot, saw a lot, god we heard a lot-‘

‘You heard a lot. I had a nice stroll through some beautiful flowers.’

There’s a strange shuffling sound, and Minseok’s ears pick up on it at once, the hair on the back of his neck prickling. He can’t hear what the two are talking about, only keys in on the footsteps making its way towards him.

It’s then he realizes that he’s still within the greenhouse compound, while Jongdae and Baekhyun were outside of it.

The footsteps stop right behind him, something large pauses behind him, something oddly blurred, pressed down, but large.

Something cold touches his back and Minseok freezes.

‘You guys done?’

Jungkook appears, and there’s an arm wrapping around Minseok, pulling him out of the compound, out of the freezing snare, and into the street which was brighter than Minseok had initially thought.

He realizes he’s sweating.

‘It’s time for stew!’ Taehyung says next to him, arm still around Minseok, ‘And if you thought the fish stew was good, wait till you try the pork stew!’

*

They stop at the local market to pick up some dessert- it’s mainly for Jimin and their other friends who were going to come for dinner. Minseok stands outside the shop, lower back still cold.

Minseok’s mind is reeling.

There was something so putrid about what had been there- something degraded, something so horribly wrong. Minseok feels the desperate need to shower. He looks inside the brightly lit 7-eleven and feels a little better at how Baekhyun had regained all of his colour, laughing at something Taehyung was saying as Jungkook inhales an ice-cream cone whole while Jongdae watches with a combination of mild disgust and admiration.

‘Excuse me.’

Minseok jolts, turning around and stepping aside to let a middle-aged man, pushing someone on a wheelchair through.

‘Oh I’m so sorry-‘

There is a very old woman in the wheelchair and as they’re pushing past, for some reason, Minseok looks down and-

His chest feels heavy, hands clenching into tight fists without warning without his knowing- the cold spot on his back suddenly ignites and her expression changes from passive to a small frown.

She looks up and-

Minseok immediately looks away, his heart hammering in his chest, ears ringing sharp and loud.

They pass through into the 7-eleven and Minseok nearly falls where he stands.

*

It’s nearly 1 in the morning when Minseok quietly makes his way out of the hotel. They all had a massive dinner with some drinks and Baekhyun and Jongdae had clonked out immediately around 12. But Minseok had waited until everyone else had either turned in to sleep or left.

It’s cold and quiet, and Minseok hopes no one will randomly walk out and check out the night sky or something.

He had to check on it. He couldn’t not.

‘Be careful.’ His aunt had messaged him again. Probably knew he was going to do something dumb like this.

The first thing he does when he goes to greenhouse is switch off the generator their equipment was attached to. This short blip could just be excused as it was a seemingly common occurrence in this area with unstable power connections. It had already happened once in the hotel when they were eating (and Mrs. Park’s pork stew was to DIE for) and Baekhyun had screamed bloody murder.

Thankful that Jungkook had shown him so much of the electric grid system, Minseok walks out of the main reception room knowing that he wouldn’t be spotted on the camera footage or trigger anything. The oppressive air is worse this late at night. But Minseok is on a mission. He easily finds a small hand-held shovel and makes his way to the corners of the land that Jungkook had pointed out to them as the spots where he and Jimin had found those eggs.

Pausing before he gets to work, Minseok listens carefully.

There’s nothing.

Crouching down, Minseok gets to work. He squints a little, not wanting to risk his mobile phone as he uses the small shovel to scoop out the sort earth around the walls.

He digs carefully in a wide berth- he doesn’t want to break anything by mistake-

And there it was.

A single perfect egg.

His stomach tightens, sweat cold on his forehead.

He doesn’t touch it, doesn’t disturb it too much. Covering it again carefully, Minseok steers himself to get back up and turn around.

Taking a deep breath, he heads for the next corner.

At the final corner he finds an egg again. And though his aunt had warned him- and though he knew he shouldn’t be doing this, Minseok cracks the egg carefully and mixed with the yolk inside is hair.

There’s a soft sound behind him and the hair on his neck stands on end, his eyes blurring and losing focus.

The same massive large thing looms behind him. The cold spreads like fire from the point in his back and Minseok is frozen in place, his breath stuck in his throat and-

‘Oh! Minseok-hyung?’

It’s gone. The cold is gone, the darkness gone. Turning around with a breathless gasp Minseok nearly falls backwards on the ground as he squints up, momentarily blinded by a small flashlight.

It’s Taehyung.

‘Ah-‘ he sighs, plastic bag rustling in his hands, ‘So, I should have guess. But you can see?’

‘Uh-‘ Minseok’s pulse has not settled yet.

‘My family has lived in this area for 4 generations,’ he explains, squatting down next to him and removing the broken egg with the hair as though it was nothing. ‘This is the only way we’ve been able to contain this bull in this area.’

Minseok’s mind is temporarily blank before the questions come out in full force.

‘You- your family has been taking care of this place?’

‘My uncle does, to be specific,’ Taehyung explains, ‘We change it out every other week.’

‘What does it do?’

‘It draws out the thing here.’

‘Do you know what it is?’

‘Back in the past, according to my uncle at least, there were- eh,’ Taehyung sits on the ground, knees bouncing a little as he continues, ‘A bit, immoral, I guess.’

‘…do you want to expand on that?’

Taehyung grins.

‘They had those animal sacrifices and things, but then they started involving some level of necromancy- or at least, attempted to.’

Minseok understands why his reaction was one of disgust.

‘Yeah, it’s hard not to throw up,’ Taehyung nods, ‘We’re trying to cleanse this place- allow what was dead to be reborn in a sense.’

‘So- so, eggs?’

Taehyung nods, ‘It sets them free bit by bit. It’s hair now, we’re getting there.’

‘Was it- was it something else before that?’

Taehyung just grins again.

He watches as Taehyung buries the egg. No prayers, no charm, nothing.

‘Your family is different,’ Minseok states bluntly, his heart rate returning to normal.

‘Yeah- it’s generational, and I guess I’m the who has it now?’

‘The story- about that old lady-‘

‘The land wants to remain like this- it’s what the necromancy brought here- wanted to stop me I guess,’ Taehyung says nonchalantly before adding, ‘It’s nice to talk about this to someone who believes me- like it makes sense.’

‘This is dangerous though.’ Minseok gestures to all of him. ‘You shouldn’t be coming out here at night- that- that thing-‘

‘Like you coming out here wasn’t?’ Taehyung chuckles. ‘I could sort of tell there was something different about you- especially after we walked past that house.’

‘That house-‘

‘It belongs to her, the last shaman. You saw her outside of 7-eleven.’ Taehyung explains. ‘She really hates me.’

‘Is she responsible for all of this here?’

‘Her family was- they’re one of the oldest families here. But her son is the last in the family line- something about not being able to have children.’

‘I-…I mean that but at the same time-‘

‘It’s great!’ Taehyung grins widely, eyes twinkling even in this dark night.

‘And what about the other spirits?

‘They don’t cause problems too often.’ Taehyung explains, ‘They’re just…they’re just angry most times. And lonely, afraid.’

‘What are they?’

‘Consecrated bodies, souls that weren’t able to achieve peace,’ Taehyung explains. ‘But that big thing- that’s the main problem- I’ve been trying to catch it, both me and my uncle. But as we set free and rebirth the lives that were desecrated, it loses its power. We think that eventually, it will completely stop once all the spirits are reborn.’

‘What do you do with the eggs?’ Minseok asks.

Taehyung carefully opens a small pouch of felt-cloth to reveal the other eggs.

‘We bless them, and then burn them properly.’

They sit in silence for a while.

‘It’s stopped- the major things have stopped for a while now- since you and your dad helped out Jongsoo.’

‘Yeah- my uncle and I started on this from then. We’ve been able to have better nights now.’

‘Thank god or Baekhyun will never stop talking about this.’

Taehyung laughs heartily, clutching at his side.

‘Thanks for talking to me about this,’ Minseok adds, ‘It’s a little odd to hear someone else’s stories and what they see.’

Taehyung just grins before he stands up, holding out a hand for Minseok.

‘Will you keep me updated? I know it’s- it’s a bit odd but-‘

‘Of course I will!’ Taehyung exclaims, reaching for his hand to swing it a little.

They talk and exchange stories, walking out of the greenhouse compounds.

It was still oppressive, but there was something else new- something Minseok hadn’t quite noticed out of the overwhelming impression he first experienced.

The same sort of apprehension, a strange expectation and vulnerability surrounded this place now that Minseok really looks at it in the  morning light.

‘Thanks for coming again, so much,’ Jungkook says with a bow.

‘It’s no problem at all we really enjoyed it!’ Jongdae exclaims  back, bowing deeply as well.

‘YOU GUYS ARE WELCOME ANY TIME!’ Jimin yells from the end of the street, waving both arms violently. ‘WE’LL HAVE FISH STEW FOR YOU!’

‘I love him,’ Baekhyun says, with near tears in his eyes, waving back just as violently, nearly smacking Jongdae in the face.

‘Have a safe journey! I can’t wait to watch,’ Taehyung bounces a little on his toes. ‘I think the whole town will subscribe to you guys now!’

Baekhyun just laughs as he hugs the two tall teens. Minseok makes sure to take some nice footage as well as they pull out in the car. Baekhyun takes over and films the greenhouse as they leave.

‘You know- as terrifying as that all was- it was enjoyable I think.’

‘They were really nice. Very sweet,’ Jongdae nods in agreement from the back, having lost an aggressive rock, paper, scissor against Baekhyun.

‘Did you enjoy yourself hyung?’ Baekhyun asks, pointing the GoPro at Minseok.

Minseok smiles and nods, ‘It was great, almost feels like I watching the rebirth of life.’

There’s a sort of stunned silence that follows before Jongdae says, ‘Well- it was a greenhouse so-‘

Baekhyun drops the GoPro as he laughs.

*

minghaoFrogAgenda: I HAVE’NT STOPPED CRYING FROM EPISIDE ONE Y’ALL SHOULD PUT A RATING IN YOUR VIDEOS SHOULDN’T THIS VIDEO BE DEMONITIZED FOR BEING TOO SCARY

serendipity_calico: Jungkook and Taehyung really out here exposing me to the world are they? Jokes on them, my wooing succeeded.

SilverInk: I KNOW I SAID I CANT WAIT FOR PART TWO BUT I REGRET EVERYTHING NOW- I COULNDT EVEN BREATHE WHEN BAEKHYUN WALKED AROUND THAT ACCURSED GREENHOUSE FOR 10 WHOLE UCKING MINUTES DUDE PLEASE DON’T DO THIS TO YOURSEL

IndigoSalad: HAHAHAHA EVERYTHING- that story from the sweet married couple had me shaking – a COUPLE THAT GOES THROUGH HORROR TOGETHER STAYS TOGETHER also that picture you guys uploaded on twitter is A D O R A B L E – can I say that Baekhyun and this Taehyung kid have a rather similar smile? Its very adorable. Very cute.

DaeDroid: oh god oh god oh god I know I’m supposed to be super scared by why are all these boys so cute?????? This Park Jimin could have my whole soul GLADLY- just WHO is he wooing??? Does this person deserve Park Jimin’s wooing??? Why does he need to woo anyone???? The world is unfair.

GrimArtandStuff: i sincerely regret watching this episode. Goodbye sleep, it was nice knowing you.

Erikyoooooooonggggg_ggg: Baekhyun…please…my bro, my dude, baby, honey- don’t do this to yourself please I’m begging you I could literally see the veins near your eyes popping out like in some anime please

Bocchann: I knew it- the eggs are a recent thing. Its used to exorcise tainted spirits, kinda like allowing them to be reborn. Someone in that greenhouse knows ecactly what theyre doing with those eggs. Now the question is, what exactly happened that youd need to go down the shamanism path to do something this extreme?

Mareete: in this house we stan an absolutely stoic and chill cameraman named Minseok. Also Manager Yoo is such an icon. Sees weird figures moving around? Chill as . Sees weird figures INSIDE the greenhouse? Still chill as . Is told something ominous and morbid? Still chill as . Damn, what an icon.

Why Are All The B-Sides Bops?: I think…I think I need to go and read some fluffy fanfics now…for therapy…

LuckyFrogSong: when will they have a nice relaxing video I asked, knowing full well that I’ve signed up for a horror fest every other week while following them on instagram, twitter, tumblr, and YouTube.

AZC: this was SUCH a good episode oh god, from the footage, sound, interviews, commentary, everything was so good is it weird I want to go visit this greenhouse?????????

Sehun_omayaaaaaa: lol rip Baekhyun-hyung at 15:09

*

(Author’s Notes)

This old woman in the wheel-chair thing is my experience from like, a weeks I saw her and

My chest froze, the way I froze where I stood. I was waiting for my sister outside our favourite bakery stall and this woman in a wheelchair is being pushed past me and- god, ive never felt something like that in a while

The way I was so terrified that she would look at me, I don’t know why but every fibre in my being was like DON’T LET HER NOTICE YOU OR SEE YOU I can’t explain it guys it was terrifying

The shorter horror experiences are very loosely based on some things I’ve experienced personally, and from what my parents have experienced, and then just painted over for some extra creepy jazz!! I hope you enjoyed it ^_^

This is a trend, every time I update this fic I have soething to yell about

And oh boy do I hAVE TO YELL

But first I want to

SCREAM FOR JOY

Jongdae I am so SO happy for you- Istg im not kidding when the news broke out and it was revealed Jongdae himself revealed this I was at work the SEROTONIN WAS NO JOKE DAMN I WAS SO HAPPY MY WORKPALCE PEOPLE WERE LIKE??????????????? WHO ARE YOU??? WHY ARE YOU HAPPY????

It feels like a good friend just told me they found a person that they love and cherish, and is going to marry them, and they’re expecting a child, and trusted ME with that news and information to share in on their joy and happiness I was over the moon with this news because my dudes

We all been knew that k-idols dating is just- it’s just- yeah, you get what I mean, and seeing how Jongdae has been dating her for a while, been able to more or less, live a normal life someone his age normally would despite how extraordinary his lifestyle is, it’s kinda hopeful to know that k-idols do have the opportunity to live and explore their lives in a normal healthy way in regards to their love life. Speaking as someone who is acearo relationships are not really my thing and ive never felt the need to have it but I know for others it’s a nice wholesome part of their lives and especially for k-idols should be normalized and viewed with as much interest and talk as a normal persons relationship would garner- which is to say, absolutely none.

That being said

Lbr, you guys know how much I love and adore Jongdae and exo as a whole, but we also know that, unfairly, Jongdae is probably the least “famous” of the group. And the negative reaction he has gotten is so absolutey staggering that I am absolutely LOATHE to think about if this news came from someone like Chanyeol or Jongin I just- and in the end this comes from the root issue which is delusional entitlement that occurs very frequently in fans, and is encouraged by entertainment companies for branding and marketing their artists as fantasy/make-belief escapism. Like the whole “I paid so much for you” “you owe me this” “how dare you betray us after all we’ve given you” – in what universe did you think you were spending your money (no one has forced you) on someone for the purpose/belief that you were going to be able to, idk, marry (again, no one has said that by buying 10 albums you will be able to date/marry any member of exo) them?!?!?!?? Is that what this is??? And saying like “he wont be able to dedicate himself to exo and he will destroy exo’s image”

Jongdae’s been dating this woman for possibly YEARS- during that time he’s been on world tours, released two solo albums, opened a youtube channel, had comebacks, done variety shows ETC to name a few things he’s done- the past few years exo has been giving us such fun and personal content and you think????? Just because he’s announced his intentions of marrage, he’s suddenly going to drag exo down??? no- the only that would bring down exo, and any other group, is the hypocrisy and delusional possessiveness and inhuman behavior of their so called fans

This is SO disgusting

I also hate HATE how this small minority of ty “fans” are always the most loud. WHY IS IT ALWAYS LIKE THIS.

I was telling my sister the whole situation and she’s like, ‘they’re probably the type who preach about mental health for k-pop idols and if they’re questioned about their current behavior will say its “different” and that its not “bullying”’ and even a casual listener like my sister can make these points

ALGJSLODJ I thought after the whole Baekhyun/taeyeon fiasco people would be able to connect the dots about their behavior regarding idols dating????? Clearly they conneted

So if there is anyone, though I doubt it, who reads my fics and thinks that Jongdae has “betrayed” exo and exo-ls, kindly unsubscribe, and never EVER read my fics again, what I write is not for you. And while you’re at it, leave the fandom, you were never a fan to begin with.