Title: Mr. Widemouth (Chanbaek)

Summary: I always wondered what is at the end of that road he wanted me to go.

Mr. Widemouth:

     “Come, let’s play. It’ll be fun...”

Like every adult in this world, I’m one of those people who vaguely remember their childhood experiences. To the different corner of fear a child has or the magical moments one assumed as memorable – neither did I have on my said timeline of growing.

When I was only five, I realized my family and I had never really stayed in one place. I remember opening my eyes in the open sea water of Busan, and with lack of knowledge of time a child carried in his mind, next thing I know mom is talking about us being at Mokpo. And next, I remember my father and me playing at the shore in one of the beaches in Gangneung.

It was like jumping in one place to another. What was tiring about the moving was that we always need to clean the new house we have and just few months after settling in, I would see the familiar face dad will have when he’ll come home to speak to mom. Maintaining friends at early age was hard for my situation but given that I was a good child back then, I never really complained.

All of the childhood memories I have from the various places we’d lived in now are distant and useless. But somehow, I know one certain piece of my childhood map that I will never forget.

We moved into a new place again and I was seven, well at least just turned seven in the day of such unfortunate event I had come down with a fever. I forgot what disease it was called but it was so awful because I had to be bed ridden for a month. The doctor said I wasn’t allowed to use too much energy and because I was too sick, I couldn’t argue. My mom was worried too much then she spent hours and hours asking if I need anything.

Our house contained too many rooms and space a three person family such ours didn’t need to consume but it was the only one available to live in at that time so the Byun couple took it. My father’s work was an hour away from it and the house was resided at a lot near the opening of the mountain so it was also described as secluded.

But since my mother was a busy person and I wasn’t her only priority, most of the time I spent the month alone in my room – at least for the first three days I thought I was.

I don’t quite much have any idea of what Mr. Widemouth wanted to accomplish by playing with me at that time. I don’t even know how I met him.

I remember how he looked.

He was tall, so tall, and eyes are wide. His face was flawless and it was quite disturbing if such human existed. I count him beautiful but there will always be something about him that is creepy. Oh, I haven’t mentioned about the mouth. His mouth was the largest from his facial parts just like how his ears are round and big also.

First thing first, he always smiled so wide.

He doesn’t really scare me and I wanted a playmate my age. But he was the only friend I had back then and my illness keeps me suffocated with boredom so I stick with him.

“My name is Park Chanyeol. You can call me Mr. Park but most children I played with like to call me Mr. Widemouth. Nice to meet you, Baekhyun,” I remembered him saying but for the first 5 mornings we were together, we really didn’t do much. He would just rummage through the books I have and look at them with wonder.

Mr. Widemouth always greeted me with a smile with feigned mischief twinkling in his eyes (although now in my age I think it was pure mischief).

Oh, and he hides under my bed whenever my mom will go in to check on me. He will always explain to me that if my mom will see him, she’ll never let us play again. Of course, being the child I was, I let it be.

“I have a new game to show you. But it’s after your mom shows up,” Mr. Widemouth said one night and I only nodded. When mom came out then after giving me my books and food, Mr. Widemouth went out under my bed and looked at me excitedly.

“Come on,” he smiles once again and I compromise. When he gestured for the door though, I immediately stopped and frowned, “But mom would be angry. I am not supposed to go out my room...”

“Come on now, let’s play... It’ll be our little secret,” Mr. Widemouth assured me and although I was still doubtful, I conceded. We went out my room and walked towards the end of the hallway which I had never gone so far for the months we were living in that house.

On the end of our walk was a window. Mr. Widemouth opened it and what I saw outside was the back part of the house where the green view of trees welcomed my sight. The bottom was covered with hard rocks and it was too high for my child eyes.

“I want you to play with me. I want you to jump,” Mr. Widemouth held my back and I suddenly looked at him. “That is a... one high jump,” I only answered and he shook his head, “It’s fun. Trust me. I’ve already tried it! If you tried enough a trampoline will be there and will bounce you back.”

He smiled wider and I was starting to think of the impossible pleasure I will have by giving in.

But the sensible part of me overcomes. I shook my head and pulled myself back from the window, “Maybe next time. I’m not feeling well and my imagination might not work...”

Mr. Widemouth frowned and said, “But you’ll miss the fun in it!”

I firmly held my decision and we walked back to my room without talking.

He came back under my bed and I was left alone on the company of my blanket. I was starting to think he is scowling at me but I decided to ignore him.

The following nights didn’t come peacefully as he kept staying beside me, whispering everytime about the jump and that he had placed an invisible trampoline on the ground. I kept ignoring him.

Until one time he placed a box, an old rectangular box, on my bed. I stare at it for a moment before I looked at him again. “I’ll teach you how to juggle.” He grinned and I smiled back, finally getting some real fun from him.

But when he opened the box, I widened my eyes in horror when I saw knives, in different sizes but same sharp edges. “I can’t juggle those! Mom will spank me for the whole month! No no no!” I retaliated as I back out until my back touched the headboard. Mr. Widemouth’s smile turned and he sulked. He closes the box and didn’t speak another word. He goes back to his hiding and didn’t show up until the next day.

The next few days at the usual time in the evening after mom checks on me, he continues persuading me to learn how to juggle the dangerous things. I always declined and he always scowled.

Mr. Park Chanyeol isn’t fun anymore. I don’t want to play with him already. My inner self keeps telling me he isn’t safe and as I am afraid to talk to him about it, I learned how to act cheerful when I decline his offer.

A month has passed then and my illness had gone down slightly. My mom finally let me go outside because she thinks I might get better more if I inhaled some nature’s air. I hurriedly put on my sneakers then, hungry for the outside world – maybe ride a bike also. Mom strictly told me to be back before dawn and I compel.

On my way out though, because I would pass by the opening of the trail to the mountain, Mr. Widemouth was there at the start of it. My path which was towards the city was opposite his trail and he walked slowly towards me, his creepy grin plastered on his face again as he approached.

“I want to show you something up that trail. You’re a special friend and all of my friends your age went up there with me.” He says softly but maybe my expression gave off something that made him say, “It’s safe.”

And so I followed him and we stopped at the trail to another direction. He looks at the far end and so did I. I didn’t see anything but a long road. He shifts his stare at me then and said, “At the end of this track... there is a special place I want you to go. But anyways, it is not yet the right time so I will wait for it. Once you’re ready, I will show you...”

His tone was light and casual but the temperature suddenly dropped and made me shiver. So I only enlightened him with little chit chats before saying it’s not yet good for my health to stay at such cold place. He only nodded and his lack of persistence made the atmosphere more eerie.

When I reached the door of our house, Mr. Widemouth wasn’t around me anymore.

I went inside and remembered my father’s face again.

Yep, it has only been six months and we were moving again. But that moment, he promised for the first time, “I’m so sorry for all of this, son. I promise, this time daddy will be promoted and we’ll be staying in Seoul for good.”

I smiled back. I was really happy that time.

And I was finally going to leave Mr. Widemouth. He was starting to scare me and I don’t want to be associated with him anymore. So when the day of our departure finally came, dad woke up early and carried me towards the truck.

“It’ll be a long ride, you could still sleep more in your seat,” dad says to me and I only yawned in response. I was too sleepy to know what was happening and the next thing I felt was the truck’s engine turning to life. On our way to the road out the area, I looked at the house one last time.

There at my window, Mr. Widemouth stood still with his usual countenance – his trademark mouth was turned down and he waved, slow and quite disturbing. He was holding a knife and a part of me suddenly felt relieved I was still alive.

That was the last time I saw him.

Now I’m 21 years old, a struggling singer to stardom, and own an apartment in Gangnam.  I visited the place just a few days ago when the product I was endorsing conducted a cf shoot in one of the famous beaches. When I reached the area, I saw no house anymore. It was burned and only remnants of the house were the foundation of bricks on the ground – the only proof a house was there once. It has been 15 years since I was there so it must have been burnt down due to its old age.

I was expecting to see or be surprised by Mr. Widemouth somehow while I was roaming around the lot. But he never appeared maybe because he was just an element that was part of that house. He was not human – that I am sure of. My mind has come to realization that my childhood contained a weird memory of a man under my bed. It couldn’t have been my imaginary friend or what because who would create an entity that will endanger your own life?

I turned around then and was about to go back to the hotel when I saw the trail.

My mind immediately remembered what Mr. Widemouth showed me. Curious of the end of that path road, I went for the bike I brought with me and started for the trail.

I always wondered what is at the end of that road he wanted me to go.

I paddled slowly at first and when I realized how the road was too long, I increased my speed a little as sounds of dried leaves crunching under the wheels accompanied me. The trees on either side of the road let off the color of the coming fall and I focused on my destination.

And on that end of the road, I finally learned what was there.

It was the city’s old cemetery – most of the tombstones I found were children’s.

A/N: Hello. First off, Happy Halloween!~ I don’t really like writing horror but I decided to write creepy ones for the sake of celebrating the occasion. Hehe. So if you liked this, I hoped you enjoyed it! Credits to creepypasta story Mr. Widemouth.

Other creepy stories are: Headlight Incident, Sleeping Application, & The Dancing Devil. (It'll be posted one at a time starting today until 30.)