The Next Life (?? ?? ???)

The Real Deal

"We can take him to investigate the poltergeist haunting," Seulgi said. "If the same thing happens, then we'll know for sure if he's lying."

Joohyun sighed. "What about the two of you? What do you think?" she asked Sooyoung and Yerim, both sitting on the brown carpet in front of the couch. Yerim nodded without a second thought. Sooyoung showed more reservation. "If you have something to say, say it, Sooyoung."

Sooyoung glanced at me, chewing on her lip. She took in a breath before she spoke. "Let's do it."

"Weren't you the one who doubted his ability all this time?" Joohyun questioned, sounding frustrated at everyone in the room being against her.

"I guess she just wants to give him a second chance," Wendy said, trying to save the situation. As she looked at me, she tensed up. Maybe not the best choice of words.

Joohyun sighed again. "Fine. Where's the haunting at, Seulgi?"

~~~

The six of us stood in front of the gate of a moderately-sized bungalow. The house was nearly indistinguishable from the surrounding buildings, save for the peeling paint and litter decorating the compound. There was a surprising lack of graffiti, with only a half-scrubbed mural sprayed onto the brick wall encircling the compound.

"The person who posted the report said that they'd gone into the house to loot for valuables," Seulgi read from her phone screen.

"Disgusting," Yerim uttered under her breath.

"I mean, hey, you gotta do what you gotta do to survive, right?" I added. My sarcasm was met with no response other than stares and raised eyebrows from the others. "Kidding."

"Anyway," Seulgi continued after clearing her throat, "They claimed that the front door opened by itself, and that the furniture inside seemed to have a life of its own."

"Did they see anything that could be causing it?" Joohyun asked.

Seulgi shook her head. "The report states that they, and I quote, 'noped out of there before the bitch from The Ring could crawl out of the TV and eat our insides.'" I couldn't help but let out a chuckle, as did the others.

The front door creaked, opening ever so slightly, bringing our laughter to a screeching halt as we all turned to look.

"You guys felt a draft, right?" Sooyoung asked no one in particular, letting out a shiver. "That's probably what made the door open."

"Who wants to go in first?" Seulgi asked.

Joohyun gave me a look which told me she expected me to go first. "Um, ladies first?" I said.

"You're not sneaking around behind us this time," she said. "You wanted to prove yourself, so go ahead."

Wendy reached out to place a hand on my back, rubbing it. "Might as well get it over with, right?" she said, giving me a comforting smile.

I took in a breath, my eyes closed. Right, might as well get it over with. I pushed the gate open with a loud, rusty squeak, and made my way to the ajar door, the others following close behind.

As I entered the house, darkness greeted me. I flicked on the flashlight I'd brought with me and scanned the area. The front door led directly to a bland entryway, with shelves meant for footwear attached to the wall. One of the shelves was dislocated from its joint, causing it to slant down onto the shelf below it. I went deeper into the house to allow room for the other five to enter.

The narrow entryway opened into a moderated-sized dining area. A large wooden dining table sat in the middle of the room on the tiled floor, lined with matching chairs. As I examined my surroundings, Sooyoung approached me, being the first one to enter after me.