Yoseob froze. The silence was impenetrable. He strained his ears, searching for the sounds of another being - apart from himself - present.

He had heard a laugh. Just there, when he was inspecting his pictures with the strange figure. He had heard a laugh.

Or had he?

One thing was for sure, he was alone in the dark room. Maybe there was an intruder present elsewhere in his apartment, but he doubted it. If there was, a laugh would give them away. And besides, the sound had come seemingly from the empty space to Yoseob's right. There was definitely no one there.

He listened again. The air seemed heavier than usual, as if it was laden down with suspense. The tension seemed to be so thick you could cut it with a knife. Yoseob turned, and stealthy as he could be, crept out of the darkroom.

When had it gotten so dark? It was hard to see without the light on. The winds howled outside, and the rain had been pelting the windows in huge drops since Yoseob had taken his pictures. The light was fading rapidly as the sun set for another day, the remaining light making normal, everyday objects cast long ominous shadows, making simple things look sinister. 

Feeling paranoid, half telling himself he was being stupid, half telling himself someone would jump out and murder him, Yoseob quickly checked the rooms of his apartment.

Bedroom. Nothing.

Kitchen. Ditto.

Sitting room. Zilch.

Bathroom. Nada.

Back in the hall Yoseob shook his head. "You've been watching too many horror movies," he told himself, speaking out loud, so that it wasn't so quiet. He flicked on the lights and walked to the window in the hall. The curtain was up, and from his position he could see the moon. It was nearly full, and in a few nights it would be full. Yoseob shut the curtains.

After the apartment was flooded with artificial light, he set about making himself a meal. He was tired from both the days events and the paranoia that had settled over him, so he wouldn't be doing anything fancy tonight. "Instant ramen it is," he said aloud. "For the fifth night in a row. It's a good thing I don't have a roommate," he thought. "Or a girlfriend, for that matter."

Yoseob was a young man, who would be celebrating his twenty third birthday next year. He was nearly finished in college, where he was taking courses in photography and journalism. Photography was his passion. Unfortunately, his parents didn't approve of the direction Yoseob decided to take his life in. His father managed a chain of banks, Yang Finance, which had branches and offices all around Korea. He was a rich business man. His mother was a lawyer. They had Yoseob's life, worked out for themselves. They made Yoseob  study hard, and always told him he would go to wither business or law school. After graduating from highschool, Yoseob told him he was going to make his own path in life, not follow the course they had set out for him. They had told him, "very well", but had also told him he would be cut out of their inheritance.

Yoseob didn't give a . 

Now he was in college, and for once, he had made proper, true friends. Doojoon, Hyunseung, Kikwang and Dongwoon. They were as close as anyone could be, all attending the same university.  The four of them stayed on campus, but Yoseob preferred to keep to his apartment in the middle of the city. He worked part time for a fashion magazine. Not that he had any interest in anything to do with fashion, but it was a well known magazine that would hopefully set him off in the right direction to becoming a journalist. It was nothing major, just getting coffee's for the real writers there, but he would get connections, and he had to start somewhere, so he bore it with a grin on his face.

The microwave pinged loudly, and Yoseob jumped. "Ok," he said to himself. "You really need to calm down."

He took out the ramen and grabbed a pair of chopsticks. His nerves were very highly strung, and he couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching him. He knew he was alone. He was alone, as he always was on Friday nights. Nobody was watching him. He was safe and sound.

But why did he feel so uneasy?

After eating he went to bed. It was only ten o' clock, and it was a Friday night. He had plenty of things he could do, including a project for college that was due on Monday morning, but the evenings events were tiring, and he wanted to hide under his covers and fall asleep. "Maybe these paranoid feelings will have passed by morning," he thought to himself. He changed and climbed into his bed. He still felt uneasy, bu he was tired and within the hour, he had fallen into the embrace of sleep.

--------

Yoseob woke up. The first thought in his mind was how relieved he felt. Whatever presence he felt had been lurking over him was gone. He shook his head. "Pabo! It was just you imagining things!" Yoseob climbed out of bed. He opened his window, letting a blast of cold air ventilate his stuffy bedroom. The day smelled of rain, and the clouds looked stormy. "It will probably rain again later," Yoseob predicted. He showered and dressed and began to work on his project that was due in on his professor's desk on Monday.

A few hours later, Yoseob's stomach was grumbling. He stood up, and checked his wallet. Not wanting instant ramen - again - he decided to go out to eat. He grabbed his jacket and an umbrella. 

After a short ten-minute walk, Yoseob arrived at one of his favorite little restaurants. He greeted the waiter as he came in and ordered some bulgogi - marinated beef. He sat down in a small table in the corner. As he was waiting for his food to arrive, the elderly man sitting at the next table folded his newspaper and stood, preparing to leave.

"Excuse me sir," Yoseob asked politely. "If you're done with that, may I have a look?" he asked, gesturing to the folded newspaper. The old man smiled and handed Yoseob the newspaper.

"Of course. I'm finished with it. Have a good day."

"Thank you," Yoseob bowed slightly. The man smiled and nodded, and left the restaurant.

Yoseob sat down again and took a long drink of water. When he was hungry, he seemed to consume anything that was in front of him - even if it was just water. He unfolded the newspaper and nearly spat out the water.

On the front page was a headline; Month-old murder case still not solved? Underneath was a photo. It looked like a passport photo. The man wasn't as pale as he had been in Yoseob's photos, but there ws no mistaking those penetrating dark eyes or tousled dark hair. It was a picture of the man who had appeared in Yoseob's photos the previous day,

Underneath the photo was a subtitle; Yong Junhyung (22), was found dead at his parents home on the 20th of April. It appears he was the victim of a viscous stabbing, the reason or reasons are still unknown. A month on, yet the police are still without a lead? Read more, page 7.

Yoseob swallowed, his mouth was dry. He quickly flicked to page seven.

Yong Junhyung, first son of millionaire Yong Jaesoom was found dead on the morning of the twentieth of last month. He was in his parents house, in his old bedroom, when he was found by his mother. He had multiple stab wounds in his chest, and it had appeared that he was stabbed as he slept. No one knows who might've killed the twenty two year old, but many suspect it might have something to do with his inheritance of Yong Motors, a multi-million car company owned by his father, that was, by rights, his inheritance.

A month later, and yet the police have no leads. What has it come to when a person can kill and get away with it?

"We will find whoever did this," swears Kim Dohyun. "Whoever committed this crime must have been a master criminal, he left no traces. But mark my words, we will find and arrest him." Kim Dohyun is one of the highest ranking police officers in Seoul at the moment, as well as one of the youngest. It is also known that he was best friends with Yong Junhyung before his untimely death.

"We just want justice for the murder of our Jun," a distraught Mrs Yong told our reporters.

Hopefully, the police will soon find a lead on this murder. Yong Junhyung is survived by his parents, two younger brothers and a fiancé.

-Kim Hyunjae, Seoul Searcher.

Yoseob swallowed again. The revelation that a man who was - supposedly - dead for weeks appeared in his photos was disturbing to say the least. Could it have anything to do with the sense of being watched that had plagued him all the previous night? Yoseob's free and easy mood lifted instantly, now he felt like there was a dark cloud of fear hanging over him.

"Your order sir!" The smiling waitress set down his food in front of him. Yoseob attempted - and failed - at giving her a smile as he paid and thanked her. He looked down at the food, but he no longer had an appetite. 

A/N

So I think I prefer this version of chapter two more than my previous attempt...what about you?

Please tell me how you like this story, what you like about it, what you're curious about, what you think could improve it. I welcome criticism!

Thank you so much to everyone who commented and subscribed! I love you all, and a special big thank you to codename000!

Thanks for all the support!
 

-ScissorsandElves