Chapter 5
“Hey.”
How long had I been asleep?
“Wake up.”
At someone’s urging, I slowly opened my eyes. My head felt hazy and confused.
“…The sun’s up.”
A calm voice informed me of the situation.
Realizing what that meant, my eyes flew open.
“Already?”
That news jolted me fully awake.
“We really made it through the night?”
“Yeah.”
“In this elevator? Nothing else came after that?!”
“Nothing. I brought your phone, too.”
The phone Dan Seo-hyuk handed over was dead. Poor thing—my precious phone had suffered through a lot.
“Is ‘Morning Eden Villa’ a safe place?”
“It’s safe because we lasted till morning. If we leave and come back, or if it turns to evening again, it’ll go back to how it was yesterday.”
I see. That’s… not exactly comforting.
“This is the first time I’ve survived like this…”
“What did you say?”
“Nothing. Don’t worry about it.”
Then don’t mumble to yourself if you don’t want me to ask…
The elevator floor was spotless, as if nothing had ever happened. Like it was all just a dream.
“Oh, right! I have to find my little sister!”
“I already checked around before you woke up.”
I stopped mid-step as I tried to rush out of the elevator.
He’d already checked…?
“…But you’re alone right now.”
“There was no one up there.”
“You’re lying. Why else would I force myself to come here, even though I was terrified?”
I looked down at the strand of hair tied around my wrist. I’d trusted that terrifying ghost’s words, endured everything that happened last night—all to find Chohae.
And now he’s saying she wasn’t there?
“Don’t tell me… I was tricked?”
“I don’t know.”
“I’ll go see for myself.”
“Hey.”
Seo-hyuk grabbed my wrist as I started toward the stairs. I yanked it away, irritated.
“Why are you stopping me? She’s my sister! I have to see for myself!”
“Calm down.”
“How am I supposed to calm down? What if she went through what I did last night, and there’s no one to help her, nowhere to hide—what if she’s… gone?”
The tears I’d held back all night finally burst out.
“When our parents aren’t around, I’m supposed to protect Chohae…”
I knew—rationally—that breaking down wouldn’t help anything. But knowing didn’t stop the tears.
“You go ahead without me. I’ll stay and look for her. You don’t have to help.”
I waved him off, telling him to leave.
Seo-hyuk stared at me for a long moment before letting out a sigh.
“My parents are missing, too.”
I froze. I already knew that.
“It wasn’t just a disappearance.”
He’d witnessed his parents vanish right before his eyes. I’d read that part in the novel.
“So I get how you feel. I didn’t look around lightly.”
I shut my mouth. I knew how much losing his parents had hurt him—it had been written in painful detail.
‘He didn’t open up about it until long after he met his companions…’
Maybe he told me because we were in the same situation.
Seo-hyuk held out his hand.
“It’s dangerous to be alone. We don’t know what could happen.”
I couldn’t ignore that hand.
‘He might have a foul mouth, but he’s protected me the whole time.’
In dangerous moments, he’d even tried to sacrifice himself—for someone he’d just met.
“…Alright.”
I finally nodded.
The heat in my head slowly cooled.
He was right. For now, we had to get out of here and start looking for clues about Chohae’s whereabouts.
The door handle was visible again, and unlike before, it opened normally.
Stepping outside, I felt the cool, crisp morning air.
‘Ah… I only signed out for a short leave from the dorm…’
I’m going to get scolded for staying out all night.
“You’re heading straight home, right?”
“I live in the dorms, so I need to go back to school.”
I fiddled with the strand of hair around my wrist.
“And I’ll take care of this thing using the method you told me.”
[Noona.]
An unexpected intruder cut into our conversation.
Seo-hyuk and I both looked down. Between us stood the red-haired kid—no idea when he’d shown up.
[It’s still okay. For now.]
“…Huh?”
What does that mean—‘for now’?
[Don’t untie that.]
[I have to come find you later.]
That just made me want to untie it even more…
The red-haired boy pointed at me and spoke in that chilling tone.
‘Still… he doesn’t seem like a dangerous spirit. Scary, yes, but not malicious.’
As I hesitated, Seo-hyuk gave me a disapproving look, like he couldn’t believe I was listening to it.
Come on, how could I just tell such an innocent-looking child—well, ghost—“I don’t want to hear what you have to say”?
[Noona.]
[I want to help you.]
[So please help me too.]
“…Help you with what?”
From the situation, it sounded like he meant he’d help me find my sister.
But what could a ghost possibly need help from a human for?
I was just starting to feel uneasy when the red-haired ghost spoke again, voice trembling.
[Please find my mom.]
[I miss her.]
He sounded so sad—like a lost child.
For a moment, I almost reached out to hug him.
“Don’t trust it,” Seo-hyuk warned quietly. I knew he was right, but…
[If you help me, I’ll help you get what you want! I can do it!]
“You mean… you can find my sister?”
[Yeah! There’s a reason people go missing around here.]
He rushed to explain, worried I’d refuse.
[The Kidnapping Ghost Man.]
No way… the ghost from the original story—here?
[He’s been active around Eden-dong lately.]
I’d prayed Chohae hadn’t gotten involved with that one.
“Are you sure?” Seo-hyuk frowned deeply. The red ghost didn’t answer right away.
Maybe Seo-hyuk doubted the source because the thing he suspected was connected to his parents’ disappearance.
“Don’t throw around claims you can’t prove.”
[But it’s true! He’s been seen around Eden-dong lately!]
The red ghost’s protest faded when he saw Seo-hyuk’s cold stare.
Even for a ghost, being cowed by his glare was impressive. Truly the protagonist.
“You have no idea how much your careless words hurt the real victims.”
It sounded like he was speaking to the ghost, but also about himself.
Fearing they’d start fighting, I quickly stepped between them.
“Hey, calm down.”
“Calm down? After that?”
“Whether it’s true or not, we can check. Just treat it like an investigation.”
His expression darkened, so I hurried to add:
“All he’s asking is for help finding his mom…”
I trailed off, realizing how meddlesome I sounded.
“You…” Seo-hyuk frowned.
“How stupid can you be?”
Excuse me?
“Did you forget what we went through to get here?”
He pointed at my wrist, then at Eden Villa.
“And now you want to trust another ghost?”
His face twisted—not just angry now, but disgusted.
“You’re not just stupid. You’re insane.”
Wow. Rude much.
“I know it sounds crazy.” I pressed my forehead, forcing myself to stay calm. Normally I’d be yelling by now.
“But after what we went through last night, I can’t just ignore it.”
This was about my sister. I couldn’t back down.
“I’ve seen firsthand that ghosts are real. So why couldn’t a ‘kidnapping ghost’ exist too? People have been vanishing lately, and no one’s found them. There’s a real chance my sister was taken.”
“…”
“I know ghosts aren’t trustworthy. But if I don’t believe this one, then what am I supposed to do?”
My tone hardened.
“Go to the police? Tell them a ghost kidnapped her? You think they’ll believe that?”
“Ma Choyeon.”
“Your parents are missing too, right? What if it’s connected?”
Seo-hyuk clenched his fist.
“If you still haven’t heard from them, you must’ve suspected they were taken by that ghost.”
“…Enough. I get it.”
“You’re chasing after these haunted places because you think they’re connected, aren’t you?”
I hadn’t meant to push that far.
His face twisted in pain. I felt guilty for touching that nerve—but I wanted him to understand how desperate I was.
That I wasn’t doing this on a whim.
“If I let fear stop me now, how am I supposed to find my sister?”
“She could trick you—say she’s helping find her mom but actually lead you into danger.”
“I know.”
I looked down at my wrist, at the strand of hair still tied there.
“…I accepted that risk from the start.”
Just like when I decided to come to Eden Villa.
Even without words, Seo-hyuk seemed to understand. He fell silent.
