“We should definitely stop by the Haunted House.”

“I heard that the third years really made a big number on the gym.” Kyungsoo comments.

“I’m not sure about that… there’s probably a long line. We would have to wait for a long time.” I counter.

“Don’t tell me you’re scared?” Jongin challenges, a glint of smugness in his eyes.

Resolute, I look at him directly. “I’m not.”

“Then let’s go.”

...

Turns out, I am right about the long line but I am wrong about the waiting. Jonghyun spots us and offers a cut in the line. He warns us about how scary it would be but I doubt it. Jonghyun has a knack for exaggerating things.

...

I hold Kyungsoo’s hand as we enter the haunted house, remembering the time we had first stepped on a ghost attraction and his knees gave away in midway. I had to half-carry him to the end or else we’ll be stuck there forever. He squeezes my hand and pulls me to the front. I glance behind and see Jongin at the very end, smiling. I ignore him and walk forward.

The place is dark. I don’t know how the third years manage to rent the whole gym and have the time to make it so surreal. It looks like an inside of a run-down manor that ghosts have taken a residence to. Webbings and fake insects drape around the ceilings and even horrendous portraits of God-knows-who were hung on walls. There is an awful stench mixing in the cold and fog, like the smell of a decaying something. Accompanied by a broken tune of a music box, everything is haunted-looking it, making the hair on my arms stand.

We arrive at a nursery room. A crib is stationed on my near right and a large teddy bear beside it. The bear looks harmless so I ignore it to inspect the room. A baby’s voice could be heard wailing throughout the room. My twin tugs at our conjoined hands and I check to see if he was okay. He inclines his head towards the crib, and in understanding, I tep towards it. I realize that it was a bad move. A baby so horrid pops out with its hands up. I shrill and back away, only to bump with Kyungsoo, who I hear chuckling from behind.

“Don’t you ever do that again, you !”

Kyungsoo laughs as we march away from the room and into another. I have a bad feeling about our next destination and as soon as the thought appeared, someone else did too. The stranger grabs my arm and shoves me to a different direction, ultimately making my hand slip away from Kyungsoo’s hold. I stumble in a narrow hallway.

“Soo! Kyungsoo oppa, can you hear me?” For a few seconds, I am afraid no one would answer but thank God, he does. His voice echoes through the walls.

“Where are you, Soojung?”

“I don’t know.”

“Is Jongin with you?

I have completely forgotten we were with Jongin. “No. I don’t know where he is.”

“Just head straight. Don’t be afraid, alright?”

“I’m not!” I reply boldly but I know it’s a lie. I am scared less. The first and last time Kyungsoo had gone to a haunted house; I had a nightmare about apparitions chasing me. When I woke up, I vowed never to watch horror films or go near haunted places.

I place my free hand on the wall to navigate the place. I hear Kyungsoo’s voice telling me to be careful from somewhere; however, I’m not focusing on him anymore. I finally arrive at a room but still no sight of my brother. Instead, I find myself knocking into someone, my nose catching the strong and familiar cologne of Kim Jongin. I would have been happier if I had bumped into my brother but Jongin was alright too—at the very least I was not alone anymore.

“Kyungsoo?”

“We got separated,” I reply and saunter past him. “We better start walking if we want to…”

What made me stop talking is the image of a bloody fat man holding a butcher’s knife. He is laughing hideously and I know it wasn’t real—I know—what was going to happen but I’m not ready to see it—not ready to see the man’s head get chopped—and Jongin is aware of it as well.

Creeping closer, Jongin attempts to pull me away but is too late. I scream as the fat man raises his knife and scream more when the lights shut off and I hear the distinct sound of a chop and I scream louder when the lights appear and the butcher is gone, a head left on a table.

And damn, damn it all, I knew the head was fake—as well as everything inside the haunted house was fake—but I was terrified. My knees unbuckle and I fall on the ground, dumbfounded. I am crying, crying over a mannequin.

“I want Kyungsoo. Where’s Kyungsoo? Take me to Kyungsoo!”

Jongin grabs a hold of my shoulders but it only makes me shriek further. “We’ll go to Kyungsoo. Come on, Soojung. Stand up and stop crying.”

I am still looking for Kyungsoo but I have simmered down to a snivel a minute later. I don’t know what came over me. I was hysterical--in front of Jongin too. I feel ashamed. He asks me if I could stand up and I nod, wiping my tears away and standing shakily. Jongin waits until I have pulled myself together. He must have noticed I wouldn’t be normal any time soon so he lays out his hand to me.

“Want to hold my hand?”

Briefly, I want to agree but thought the better of it. Instead I take a hold of his sweater and look down. “This… is good.”

I watch as his legs move to a walk and I follow him, nimble and shy, closing in on him. Time passes quickly and we are out of the haunted house soon. The trip is a haze, of which I could only remember the strong cologne I distaste, Jongin’s back and the thought that I was safe.