Chapter 1 

Found A Ring

A man was pushing the door open before he entered his house this noon. He walked to the kitchen to find his mother. She was preparing the dishes for lunch on the dining table.

“Hi, Mom?” He greeted his mother as he grabbed a roll egg, eating it in one bite.

His mother took off her apron and looked at her son. “How was your job, Jay?”

“I got the news and I have to finish it before the deadline tomorrow.” He answered.

“Jay?”  

“What is it, Mom?”

“You are twenty six now, but you still don’t have a girlfriend. You never introduce me your girl. Why is it? Don’t you want to get married?”

Jay rolled his eyes. “Mom.. Please, stop talking about it. I’ll show you my girl when I get the right one. For now, I’m still busy with my work life.”

“Really? You always gave me the same reason and you never did it. I can see some girls are interested in you, but you just let them go. Uhm... Next Sunday, my friend and her daughter will visit us here. I hope you’ll be at home when they are coming.” She told him.

Jay looked at her mother with a suspicious look. “Are you planning to arrange my marriage with her? Mom, let me tell you, I don’t like it. I can choose the best girl by myself.”

“Don’t be mad. I just want you to know her. It’s up to you to like her or not. I won’t force you, Jay.” His mother said.

Jay kept silent for a moment, thinking of something. “I don’t know. I’ll be at home if I don’t have something to report. I’ll go to my bedroom.” He said before walked away, leaving her mother.

“Hey.. You don’t want to eat your lunch?” She asked.

Jay waved his hand as he walked to the upstairs. “No, I’ll eat later. I’m not hungry now.”

Jay’s mother sighed. “Okay..” She replied as she walked to the kitchen again. “Why is it so hard for me to talk about girl in front of him.” She mumbled and shook her head, wondering her son’s behaviour.

Jay opened his bedroom door and stepped into his room. He threw her bag on the bed before sat in front of his laptop, turning it on. He was feeling bad mood after heard about his mother’s plan to get him a girl. Then, he glanced at his radio and turned it on, searching for a good song to cheer his feeling.  The song was played as he began typing on his laptop. Then, his phone was ringing. He glanced at his phone and turned the radio off.

“Yoboseyo?” He answered the call.

“Jay, where are you? We have to go now. Didn’t you say that you want to come with me to my filming set? I’ve been waiting for you. Don’t say that you forget.” A man voice on the phone said.

Jay looked at his clock and hit his forehead with his palm at the realization. “Uh... I’m sorry. I forget because I’m so busy doing my news report now. I’m still at home, but I’ll get there as soon as possible.” He said as he turned off his laptop.

“Ugh.. I’ve guessed that you forgot.” His answered sounded that he was getting annoyed.

“I’m really sorry, Yunho. I’m preparing now.” Jay did apologize.

“Okay. Hurry up.”

“Okay!” Jay hung up his phone. He took his camera and put it in his bag. He grabbed his jacket before headed out his bedroom.

Jay was running down the staircase when his mother greeted him from the living room. “Where will you go, Jay?”

“I have a promise to do a photoshoot with Yunho. I’m going now.” He said.

“Don’t you eat your lunch before you go?” Jay’s mother asked as he looked his son leaving the house.

“I'll eat later, Mom. Yunho will be mad if I am too late!” Jay answered from outside the house.

"All right. Be careful." His mother said.

 ۩  ۩ ۩

Jay, Yunho, and some of the filming crews were standing in front of the mansion with its great architecture. It has two floor with a chemney on the rooftop. However the brick wall color began to fade, it’s garden was till arranged well. Jay had been ready with his camera. He was taking a picture.

“What do you think, Jay? Is it a great place to be my filming location?” Yunho asked.

“Yeah, it suits your classic movie. This house is unique, solid, and quite old. The European-style of this house is bold. This is my first time to see this kind of house in Seoul. The owner must have a great sense of art.” Jay said as he looked at his pictures on the camera. “I’m glad you invite me here. I’ll have more collection of photography.”

“You can judge this house just by the look? Cool. Yeah.. I need your opinion too.”

“A movie director asks for a help from a reporter? You can just ask the art depatment about this matter. Why do you want to look for your filming location by yourself?”

“Because I just want to do it. Sometimes, you have a great sense of art. That’s why I need your opinion about this house. This is my first debut as television movie director. I want to make my movie looking great with its setting and storyline. You’re my best friend too. I believe you more than anyone else.” Yunho said. He tapped Jay’s shoulder. “Come on, let’s take a look inside.” He said before walked away, leading Jay to get in the house.

Jay smiled. “Thank you. You’re my best friend too.” He walked to follow Yunho.

“How did you find this house, Yunho?” Jay asked when he was inside the house. He looked at the painting hanging on the wall in the living room. “I feel like in a castle, it’s so luxurious.”

“My producer showed me a list of ancient houses. I picked this as my first choice and called you.”

Jay nodded as he kept looking around to find something interesting.

“The owner of this house was Seo family. They had left this house many years ago. I ever heard that there was a tragic event in this house.”

Yunho’s words made Jay paying attention more to him. He stopped looking around and looked at his friend in concern. “Tragic?” Jay asked.

Yunho nodded. “They said that one of Seo family named Seo Joo Hyun had committed suicide in this house. It happened decades ago. I don’t know if it’s true or not because some people said it’s just an issue. So, this house would never owned or bought by other people, except Seo family. They had a thought that people would be afraid with this kind of story, a ghost story.”

Jay was silent as he listened to Yunho’s story. His head was thinking about it.

“Hey, are you afraid now?” Yunho asked when he looked at Jay.

“Huh? Afraid? No. I don’t believe in a ghost.”

Yunho chuckled. “Me too.”

Then, they heard someone calling Yunho. Jay and Yunho turned their head to the source of the voice.

“Yunho!” One of the crews called as he run closer to his director. He was Yunho's assistant.

“What is it?” Yunho asked.

“We need to discuss something with you.”

“Okay. I’ll get there.” Yunho looked at Jay. “Jay, I have to go. You can enjoy this place with your camera.” He pointed the camera hanging around Jay’s neck.

Jay nodded. “Sure. I’ll walk around here.” He saw Yunho and his crew leaving him alone.

Feeling interested with this house, Jay decided to go upstairs. He walked through the corridor and took some pictures. Suddenly, he saw a silhouette coming into a room before him.

“Who is it? I think there’s no one here except us.” Jay said to himself as he followed the silhouette into the room. From the door frame, he look inside the room. It was a large and luxurious bedroom. He continued walking again to see all the things in the room. They were all in white, started from its bed, wall, chairs, carpet, and the wardrobe.

Jay stepped away and touched every furnitures which had unique carvings. “Amazing.. I should take its picture.” He stepped backwards to make a distance. Then, he used his camera to snap the part of the bedroom.

“It’s a woman’s room I guess.” Jay said when he was looking at the flowers which were made from the glass. “Beautiful..” He cleaned dust on the flower.

Jay’s eyes were set on the mirror right now. He was looking at his reflection on the mirror hanging on the wall. Suddenly, on the mirror, he saw a woman with long hair standing behind him. Feeling surprised, Jay widened his eyes as he quickly turned around to see who it was. But, she had disappeared in a second.

The silence enveloped the room as the wind was blowing from the windows. Jay rubbed the back of his neck, feeling goosebump. “Why do I feel something wrong here? So strange..” His eyes still watched in alert.

Jay didn’t notice that a black cat was walking closer to him. “Miaaww..” The cat’s voice broke the silence as the cat sniffed and rubbed its head on Jay’s leg. He was jolted up because of it. He quickly stepped backwards in response, raising his elbow which hit the mirror behind him. Its hanger broke as the mirror dropped onto the floor and smashed to pieces.

Jay rushed turning around, looking at what happened. “Oh God!” He gaped when he was realizing that he had broken something in this house. He squatted to clean the mirror’s pieces.

Suddenly, Yunho appeared from the door. “What happened? I heard something broken.” He asked Jay.

Yunho’s voice startled Jay, making him injuring his index finger with the mirror splinters. The blood started dripping from his finger, dropping onto the mirror. Jay clutched his finger to stop the bleeding as he looked at Yunho. “I’m sorry. I.. I didn’t mean to break the mirror. It’s just an accident. I promise I’ll change it.” Jay said. He didn’t notice that a ring slowly appeared from his blood on the mirror splinter.

“It’s okay. It’s just a mirror. Let it be, Jay.. I’ll tell the other to clean it.” Yunho suggested.

“Oh.. Thanks..” Jay said as he saw Yunho leaving him again. Then, he looked at his small wound and sighed. He looked at the mirror splinters on the floor again to find something. It was a silver ring.

“A ring? How could this ring appear in sudden? I thought there was nothing here.” Jay blew his breath from his mouth. “This place is really strange.”

Jay took the ring and examined it carefully. He stood up and thought of something. “Maybe it doesn’t matter if I wear this ring for a while.” Without thinking twice, he put the ring on his finger easily and it fitted him.

A woman with long hair and wedding dress appeared again, watching Jay from afar. But, Jay didn’t know it.

Jay smiled as he looked at the ring on his finger. Then, he shook his head in refusal. “No. I will only use something like this when I get married. That’s what my mother want.” He said as he tried to take off the ring. Unfortunately, he could not. He put all his strength to pull the ring from his finger, but he failed.

“Come on.. Come on...” Jay tried to take it off again, again, and again. But, his effort was futile. The ring was like didn’t want to leave his finger. “Ah... How could this happen to me? Why can’t I take off this ring?” Jay’s voice sounded afraid and panic.

Then, Yunho and his crew came into the room. That woman disappeared again. Jay quickly put his hand in his pocket, hiding his ring from Yunho. The crew began cleaning the floor from the shattered mirror and Yunho walked closer to his friend.

“How could you break this mirror?” Yunho asked.

“I was startled by a cat. I accidentally bumped the mirror behind me and it broke. I’m sorry.” Jay said.

Yunho sighed. “Yeah. It’s okay.”

“Uhm.. Yunho?”

“Hn?”

“I.. I..I want to leave this place. I mean, I should attend a press conference.” It was only Jay’s reason to go because he didn’t want to stay in this place any longer. “I think there is something wrong here. I can feel it. Don’t use this house for your filming set, it’s what I can say. Believe me.” Jay reassured his friend.

“Why did you change your mind? You said that this place was great.”

“I don’t know. I’m just not feeling comfort around here.”

“Do you want to say that there is a ghost here?”

“I don’t know. This house is too strange.” Jay said before tapped Yunho’s shoulder. “It’s just my opinion. You’re the one who decide it. I’m leaving.” He walked away, leaving his friend. A woman in wedding dress appeared again, following Jay to get out of the room.

“Yunho, what is your decision now?” One of the crews asked.

Yunho was thinking about Jay’s words before he sighed. “I believe him because he is always right. So, I make this house out of the list. Don’t worry, I still have one house for our setting.”

His crew nodded. “By the way, why did you believe Jay so much?”

Yunho smiled before he said, “I have my own reason. He is a unique one and my best friend ever. Let’s go.” He led his crews leaving this house.