Feeling tired of being restricted indoors, Baekhyun decided to spend some time writing by the beach, hoping that a change of scenery would provide some unexpected inspiration and give him the much needed urge to write. The previous manuscript he had sent to his editor had been received with praise, and somehow the direction of his next novel had unknowingly been pushed towards something imbued with historical elements. At this rate however, Baekhyun feared that he will end up writing a non-fiction history book rather than a novel of his own creation. He needed something of his own to add into the manuscript to tie it together in a narrative form that was both entertaining and also held his own stylistic flavour. What that something was however, remained yet to be decided.

Finding his way towards the beach hidden behind the cliff where Chinsun had previously released the sea cucumber shaped spirit, Baekhyun kicked off his shoes and dug his feet into the sand, enjoying the sensation of the soft granules moulding around his toes. He then sat down and propped his laptop on his legs, letting the rhythmic sound of the sea waves lull him into a state of deep concentration.

“Now, how on earth do I tie up the story about the Jeju Uprising with the comfort women?” Baekhyun mumbled to himself with a pout. “I can’t possibly just write out what happened with Chinsun and Jongin, that would be lazy writing and an invasion of their privacy… but simply retelling history would make it no different from a boring history textbook.”

Sighing in frustration, Baekhyun punched the sand and let his mind wander off along with the specks of sand that were being blown away by the wind. His eyes naturally drifted towards the moving waters where the wind had carried the sand towards. This resulted in Baekhyun completely zoning out, enchanted by the dazzling blue waters glistening under the noon sun.

Baekhyun’s eyes suddenly noticed a discrepancy in the water; something round and featureless floating along the surface and being brought closer to shore by the waves. Frowning, Baekhyun leaned forward to get a better view of the foreign item, only for realisation to strike him like lightening. It was the egg ghost that he had previously seen, only this time it seemed to have something black clinging to it like seaweed. However no matter how strong of a wave hit the egg ghost, the seaweed did not detach itself and Baekhyun was convinced that somehow, since their last encounter, the egg ghost had started to grow hair.

Choking on the air that he just inhaled, Baekhyun stuffed his laptop into his bag and haphazardly put his shoes back on, ignoring the discomfort created by the friction of the sand grinding between the sole of his feet and his shoes.

The scared male ran so fast that his surroundings blurred, momentarily blinding him. However Baekhyun did not need to see where he was going for his body already knew the all-too-familiar route towards Naesae; the one place he knew for certain would provide him with safety. Thus Baekhyun ran with all his might, fearing that if he stopped for even one second, it would become the end for him.

Only once the pristine sign of ‘Kim Funeral Home’ came into sight did Baekhyun slow down into a gentle jog and dared to glance behind him to make sure that he was not followed. After affirming that he was indeed alone, Baekhyun sighed in relief, and all the adrenaline and tension drained from his body as he pushed his way into the bookshop with the sheer weight of his body.

To his surprise, the counter was empty and Chinsun was nowhere in sight. However, Baekhyun’s ears picked up the sound of footsteps further in the back. Regaining control of his breathing, Baekhyun shuffled towards the direction of the sound which led him towards the entrance to the archive, and was greeted by a familiar but unexpected figure.

“Jongdae?” Baekhyun asked in surprise.

Jongdae had his back facing Baekhyun, however it was clear that his shoulders had tensed upon sensing Baekhyun’s presence. Seeing no reaction from the male, Baekhyun stepped closer and tugged Jongdae’s arm to turn him around only to jolt back in shock when Jongdae stared at him with such intensity through his pure-black eyes, deep like an endless abyss.

An uncontrollable wave of panic flooded through Baekhyun’s system, sending chills down his spine. Unable to register what he was seeing, Baekhyun snapped his eyes shut and furiously rubbed his eyes. When he opened them again, he came face to face with a confused Jongdae — his eyes back to normal.

“Oh hey Baek,” Jongdae greeted the male, a hint of uncertainty lacing his voice. “I was bored and came over to annoy Chinsun and then…”

Jongdae’s voice faded, and his eyebrows furrowed together in concentration as he tried to recall what happened next and why he was lingering in the back of the bookshop — somewhere he never really ventured towards. He then turned to look at the curtained door, a question looming in his mind since the archive was the one place Chinsun