-Chapter 2-

In My Head

“Aww look at that. Our little Sehunnie is checking up on his little sister~”

Sehun jumped up at the sudden voice breaking his concentration and he snapped his head to stare at the culprit who spoke. Standing before him was his long time friend Jongin with the usual smirk and arched eyebrow plastered on his good-looking face. Surrounding Jongin was Sehun’s other four friends that made up their posse; each of them sharing similar amused smiles and smirks. Sehun’s cheeks began to warm up subtly as Jongin’s words finally sunk into his head.

“I wasn’t checking up on her! I was just passing by and happened to notice her in class!” Sehun quickly retorted back, turning away from the classroom door he had been ‘secretly’ hunching over for five minutes now.

“It’s okay to admit it Sehun. It’s nice to see you actually taking the time to check on her.” His fatherly figure of a friend Joonmyeon lightly chuckled. “Unlike usual when you would walk past her without even looking back.” Sehun heaved out a sigh as he ruffled his own hair in annoyance. No use hiding it anymore he supposed. Sehun turned and continued peering inside of the classroom at you, who was sitting alone in a desk off in the corner of the room, despondently staring at your empty desk.

“What’s the occasion anyways? Is she sick or something?” Baekhyun casually asked as he put his arms behind his head.

“No, not really…” Sehun slowly replied back, unsure of his own response. Were you really sick? Since the incident last night, Sehun was extremely worried about you and was racking his brain trying to figure out what got to you so badly last night. He had never seen his little sister so scared and so distressed before so of course he was worried.

“She doesn’t look any different if you ask me.” Jongin said, leaning over to get a good look inside the classroom, hands stuffed in his pocket. Of course Jongin had to put his two cents into the conversation- whether his opinion mattered or not. “She’s always quiet and depressed. I sit next to her everyday and she’s always just sitting there looking at her desk- like she’s thinking extra hard about something.” Jongin shrugged at his own words, finding you as a subject too complicated for himself.

“Is she like that at home too, Sehun?” Kyungsoo timidly pondered out loud. Sehun paused for a bit before answering back.

“Most of the time, yes. She’s always quiet.” His eyes softened a bit as he stared at you. “She wasn’t always like that though. She was only like this when we both started high school.” Nostalgia began to wash over him as he thought back on the days when you weren’t so reserved and emotionally unstable.

“Huh, wasn’t that also the year you guys moved into that house of yours?”

“Oh you mean that haunted house?” Chanyeol’s deep voice rang; a considerable contrast considering it followed Kyungsoo’s gentle voice. Sehun silently peered at Chanyeol with slightly consuming eyes after hearing the remark.

“Chanyeol! It is not haunted! Sehun, don’t listen to him, he’s just kidding.” Joonmyeon swiftly said soon after, glancing over at Sehun nervously. Sehun ignored Chanyeol’s comment for the most part because he knew all too well about the rumors going around about his house being ‘haunted’. He never paid it any mind since he wasn’t a believer in ghosts and such. Plus, he had never experienced anything out of the ordinary in his house. His only complaint was that it was obviously completely worn out and old what with its cobwebs and creaky floors.

Sehun had noticed, however, how terrified and nervous you always were in the house since day one. He figured it was only because you were gullible enough to listen to the rumors and was being paranoid all on your own. But after the events of last night, Sehun was beginning to think that maybe this whole rumor was starting to seriously get to you…

There were no ghosts or spirits at your house- that was something that Sehun was completely and utterly sure about.          

Jaeyun… Jaeyun… Jaeyun…

All that filled and boggled around in your mind all day was that unexplainable voice that you had heard last night in your kitchen. It was still crystal clear in your mind, as if the force that had called out your name was still with you and whispering it in your ear in order to have it permanently ingrained into your mind.

My beautiful Jaeyun…

“Jaeyun? Yah, Jaeyun!” you were jolted back into reality when you felt a firm hand gripping your shoulder and roughly shaking you back and forth. You glance over to your side and see your brother Sehun looking down at you impatiently. “Could you not space out like that when I’m talking to you.” he sternly reprimanded. Usually during your walks home with Sehun, he wouldn’t even bother acknowledging your presence let along talk to you. So you were a bit surprised to have him actually starting a conversation.

“Sorry, I was just thinking is all.” You silently murmured, looking down at the pavement and at your feet.

“Of course you were.” He sarcastically said, rolling his eyes. “As I was saying, why were you crying so hard last night? If it was because of what I said about you last night- you know, about you being scared to go anywhere alone. If so, then I’m sorry. I was just kidding around okay?”

Jaeyun…

Your breath hitched up a bit and you brought a hand up to hold onto your head. Why couldn’t you get the voice out of your head? “It… was nothing…” you vacantly uttered out, finding it increasingly difficult to push any words out.

“Obviously it wasn’t.”

Jaeyun…

The voice was getting louder as the memory of last night’s incident began to come back to you. “Jaeyun, answer the question.” Sehun pressed on.

“I… just saw a spider and got scared.” You finally said. There was then a long pause that followed your unexpected response.

“A… spider…?” Sehun slowly repeated, taking in the word himself as the words escaped his lips. Finally, Sehun broke out into sudden laughter. “Seriously? That’s what you were crying about last night? I should have known it would have been because of something like that.” He said between laughs. During Sehun’s hysteric rambling and realization, you were still deeply engrossed in your thoughts.

You wanted to tell him the truth- that some unknown invisible force had grabbed your last night, that it coherently said your name several times, that this same strange being had been following and watching you for years now, but you couldn’t. Who would believe someone if they had been told such a ludicrous story anyways? Especially to such a skeptic like Sehun.

Besides… what was he even supposed to do if he actually believed you? What was anyone supposed to do if you told them?

“Finally home.” Sehun’s voice rang, his tone full of tired relief. You stopped where you were near your front gate as Sehun casually strode towards the front door. You silently watched Sehun’s back as he walked and then you gradually peer up at a window on the second floor of the house which happened to be the window to your bedroom. Staring up at the darkness behind the window, you saw something.

It was a shadow that was unmistakably the same shape of a person. Even from down below, you could feel its intense and impatient gaze on you. “Jaeyun, come on! Are you just going to stand out there all day or what?” Sehun called out over his shoulder from the front door. If you were paying any attention to Sehun then you probably would have told him you wanted to stay out there more than anything. With eyes still fixated on the figure at your window, you could tell in an instant that…

Whatever was staring back down at you, was carefully waiting for you to come back into the house.