Mother had always warned me about the monsters in my closet. Or the hallways. And even under the bed. 
When I was little, Mother would always check those places in my room for monsters. 
Now that I'm 24, and moved out on my own, I have to check these places by myself. 
I was terrified but no matter how many times I checked, there was never anything there. I checked out of insecurity, always needing that one final glance towards the closet before I was able to sleep. 

I had roommates though. Nine of them, living under one roof. My roommate, Chen, aka Kim Jong Dae, was like my little brother. I wasn't the oldest in the apartment, but I was still in command. 
He never questioned me when I looked into the closet or under the bed, for he too was suspicious when he was little. His mother did the same things. Our friends only laughed at our suspicions. 

On one particular night, I was alone with Chen in the apartment. The rest of our group were off doing their own agendas. It was 10:30 at night and I was feeling somewhat drowsy from our day's activities. 
After a shower I began to get ready for bed. It was still only me and Chen home. 
I emerged from the bathroom, drying the water out of my hair as I walked into our bedroom. My eyes gazed over the the figure on the other bed, Chen must have fallen asleep. I sat on the edge of my bed, and tossed the towel into the laundry bin. 
I then heard my roommate groan, making me peek over at him. He was moving a bit. I smiled, thinking he was dreaming. 
I stood up, checked the closet. 
Clear. 
And under the bed. 
Also clear. 
I sighed peacefully and climbed into bed. I reached over and turned off the lamp, sleep taking me within minutes. 

A while later I was roused from my slumber, by items moving around in the kitchen. With a tired sigh, I expected it to be the others getting back from their activities. 
But it sounded like only a single pair of feet bustling around. The clock beside our beds read 12 am. 

"Suho," someone called my name. "I need help with something." I heard. Due to my sleepy state I couldn't exactly pinpoint whose voice it was. 
I pushed off of the bed, and looked over to see Chen still asleep. Seems like the noises didn't bother him one bit. 
"Alright... I'm coming!" I answered as I removed the covers from my body and hauled myself out of the warmth. Still filled with sleep, I rubbed my eyes wearily as I strode out of the room. I turned the light on in the hallway, only to hear silence upon my action. I scratched the back of my head, and called out into the darkness of the apartment. 

"Hello?"

Nothing. 

"Hello? Xiumin, is that you?" 

Again, nothing. That was odd. 

I frowned, about to further investigate the situation. Until I felt an hand grasp my bicep. I jerked and turned to see Chen standing beside me with a serious and frighten look on his face. I hadn't heard him at all, so he had frightened me from randomly appearing. 

"You're not supposed to answer when they call." He whispered to me. 

"Who?" I asked him, furrowing my brows at him in question. 

"The shadow man." 

I blinked at him, my hairs stood on end as I looked at him. For a moment I thought he was joking, till his eyes flashed over to the dark end of the hallway and gulped. He looked spooked. 

"Chen, there's no such-" his frail hands were on my mouth. His brown eyes wide in fear. 

"Don't say that. He will hear you." His hushed tone began to frighten me. His eyes glanced behind me, and he exhaled a shaky breath. 

"He's right there..." He informed me as he dropped his hands. "Suho, you weren't supposed to answer him!" His voice still hushed but distressed. 

I was confused beyond anything else at that point, I attempted to turn to see what was making him fret. 
Again I was stopped by Chen's hands on my face. 

"Stop." He warned. 
I became skeptical. He knew my fear of monsters, and Chen was a trickster. He could easily be tricking me, along with another member. 
But the look on his face said otherwise. I've never seen such an afraid look painted over his expression. "Suho please..." He begged me, "Don't look. You can't... Promise me..." 

"Chen, you're being childish. It's probably another member-"

"It's not." He said sternly, backing away from me. "Please... Trust me. Come back to bed." He told me, "If we ignore him, he will leave." He said reaching his hand out to me. 

I sighed, playing along with his game. "Okay," I nodded  with a smile and took his hand to satisfy him. He grasped it tightly and I noted how cold his hand was, but didn't pay heed to it. 
He led us back into the bedroom where my smile faded. 

On my roommates bed, there was a figure of a body... 

Of Chen's body. 

In the same position it was when I left the room. 

I froze in absolute fear. My skin prickled and my blood ran cold. 
I felt breath tickle my neck. 

"You're not supposed to answer when we call."

-----

Mother had always warned me about monsters. 

But she never told me about answering them.