Not because it was cheap, but because it was a land to explore. Vietnam, a country of excitement by inhibiting so much history. Where many lives had been lost and ghosts still tread the earth. Oh Hayoung felt extremely anxious, having looked forward to the trip for such a long time now. Fresh out of college, as a congratulatory gift, her father had bought her a ticket to visit Ho Chi Minh City. Friends who tagged along…well, they had to pay for their own expenses. Of them were Bomi, Namjoo, Kai and his childhood buddy, Xiumin.

They were to stay downtown Saigon at the Rex Hotel, an ornamented building. Its exterior resembled an ancient Roman structure with vivacious gold lights built to suit the modern age. The rumbling wheels of their suitcases followed in echoes as they walked through the flashy building. A brunette receptionist greeted them welcomingly. Once cards were received, they were on their way upstairs.

“I’m getting the creeps,” Bomi muttered, rubbing her arms in self-comfort.

“You think a ghost is going to jump at you?” Xiumin incredulously jumped a step forward for effect to which Bomi glared not amused.

“Keep talking about them and they might just pop out,” Namjoo said.

“How can you say that!?” Bomi immediately turned to her friend with an expression of betrayal.

“Oh come on, guys,” Hayoung lazily turned to look them over. “If Heaven and Hell really exists, they’ll either be up or down there.”

“Keep being cool about it and you’ll be the first one to get haunted.”

Holding out her hand, Hayoung stated, “No jinxing.”

Bomi’s lips curved up in a teasing manner and poked Hayoung’s arm, “Looks like this History major isn’t all so brave. Real stuff isn’t anything like the horror movies you marathon.”

"Back at you." 

“Aren’t you girls sharing a room?” Kai questioned. “Then it’ll mean whatever happens to Hayoung will happen to you, or better yet, you’ll get to watch the show.”

A gaze of petrifying fear overcame her face. Typical Bomi, hated anything that brought out fear. Like a fragile cat, one loud pang would send her running for her life. Why she’d chosen to come along upon knowing the destination was a wonder to Hayoung.

As a History major, Hayoung was intrigued by all sorts of places where life and death dwelled, even where the most violent of acts had been committed. Her one other goal was to go to Germany and walk through the concentration camps. There was something about how Earth served as the ground between life and death that fascinated her.

She knew of the Secret War in Vietnam where soldiers still haunted down Hmong refugees, where all the Hmong lives were lost during the Vietnam War along with all the soldiers and civilians from all the horrifying bombing. Vietnam was a land of ghosts.

She felt a magnetic pull that brought her to this place. It was something she never bothered looking into, never bothered trying to explain. Just the pull that brought her here was enough of an attraction between her and the country, and enough of a reason for her next journey into life.

^^^

The girls were to share a double bedroom for their three day two night vacation. Xiumin and Kai the other room. The crestfallen sky, dark and misty, stretched across the vast country. The view from their window was a killer, Hayoung thought, as she watched cars drive to and fro. Rex Hotel was situated on the corner of the street, hugging up the entire block.

Tomorrow afternoon they’d head out to the mall in Saigon where the girls would shop till they dropped. Their schedule would have to depend on whether Kai and Xiumin wanted to come with.

ping her duffel bag, Hayoung pulled out her set of pajamas – an old shirt and shorts. “I’m going to take a shower first.”

“Go ahead.” Bomi called from where she lay. Namjoo seemed to be knocked out from the long flight, having rushed from work to the airport to meet with them. If Bomi was tired too, Hayoung didn’t blame her. Nighttime was a time where the living was called to rest. And well, the time when ghosts woke up to walk the earth.

Hayoung laughed at the mere thought of ghosts as she walked into the bathroom, shut the door behind her. It was a typical bathroom, with the sink dipping into the counter, the bath at the side with beige shower curtains, hand soap and shampoo provided for use if occupants needed them. A large mirror extended from wall to wall before her, a neat sight, she mused, as she stared at herself. And fancy too.

Setting down her pajamas she sighted some towels folded up on a shelf above the toilet. The sudden thought that she’d forgotten her toothbrush and toothpaste came to her. Hayoung jumped when there was a knock at the door. Silence prevailed after the sound and staring at the wooden wall between her and the room outside, she wondered why Bomi or Namjoo wasn’t speaking.

The silence grew and Hayoung felt her heart thinking of the worst. Gulping down the oncoming nervous waves of anxiety, she called out, “What is it?”

Another moment of silence.

“I need to use the toilet.” It sounded like Bomi and maybe it didn’t. Bomi’s voice was a unique one and Hayoung would recognize it from anywhere, but tonight…she suddenly wasn’t sure if she was hearing her friend.

“Oh…ok, hold on a sec,” Hayoung fought to tone down her uneasy feelings. Rubbing her palms against her jeans she opened the door. No one was on the other side. Confusion slapped her in the face and to confirm for herself that Bomi wasn’t playing around, stepped out of the perimeters of the bathroom.

Just around the corner, she spotted Bomi and Namjoo knocked out on the bed.

“It’s nothing, it’s nothing,” Hayoung chanted to herself, forcing herself forward to grab her toothpaste and toothbrush out of the bag. As she rushed back to the bathroom and set the items down onto the counter, she firmly pressed her lips together in a fight for control over her mentality.

Hayoung didn’t so as much believe in ghosts. That was Namjoo and Bomi’s forte. They believed it possible that there weren’t explanations for incidents or events that took place in one’s life. Hayoung, on the other hand, believed there was an explanation for everything. History held all the answers. If one just used up a bit of their time to back track, how many things would be discovered in an instant?

“Hayoung.” This time, the voice was a whisper – nothing that sounded like her girlfriends. Swerving around, her eyes landed on the door she’d forgotten to close. Hurrying forward she slapped her palm against it to bring it to a close and sighed to herself.

She was losing it, probably paranoid because of all the ghost talk Bomi had been going on about earlier. Since when did she let her friends get to her so easily?

^^^

“It is true!” Xiumin insisted the next morning when they gathered downstairs for breakfast. The five of them were seated at a circular table, draped in pure classic white. Everyone with a full plate in front of them and all of them with a cup of coffee.

Others might have suspected there to be a love triangle within the group or that possibly two were in love, dating. That wasn’t the case here. The five of them met as college freshmans at a dorm meeting and had simply been together since. Bomi and Namjoo had a passion for music, thus sometimes they would perform together, the five of the