Warning: This chapter contains shocking elements; reader discretion is advised.
"Remind me again why we have to be here so early?" With a groan, I looked at the queue ahead, waiting outside the bookstore.
"Because," Wendy replied, as though it were obvious, "The paperback print of the latest season of The Grim Reaper's dropping today. If we're late they might all sell out."
"Your Webtoon boyfriend isn't going anywhere, Wendy."
"Pa-per-back," she enunciated. "Do you have any idea how long it took me to get the last season? It dropped on–"
"On the day of your finals," I finished her sentence. "Yes, you wouldn't stop whining over it for a month before you finally bought it online."
"The reselling price was insane." She crossed her arms, pouting.
"Still, the store doesn't open until 10. Can't we go somewhere else in the meantime? Or, you know, find a place to sit?" I lifted the shopping bags I held in both hands, containing the clothes she'd bought earlier this morning.
She snatched one of the bags from me. "If you're gonna be such a crybaby you can look for a place to sit. I'm staying here."
"Until 10?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow.
"10's only in like half an hour."
I shrugged, taking back the shopping bag she'd snatched from me. "Suit yourself. I'm gonna just walk around."
I walked along the streets of Jongno District, which were not too packed, yet not desolate, with it being a Saturday morning. The wind that morning was chilly, but didn't bite into your skin. At least it spared me the urge to tuck my occupied hands into the pockets of my hoodie. Funnily enough, I enjoyed being in a crowd like this. It allowed me the liberty to ignore everyone, living or otherwise. That way it was harder to accidentally make eye contact with a ghost, letting on that I could see it. With the number of cases I've been on where I had to actively communicate with these things, it was a welcome escape.
Buildings scrolled past me as I continued on my stroll. Until I stopped. My blood turned to ice as my right fist clenched harder on the handle of the shopping bag. I turned to my left, where my gut told me to look. A somewhat familiar building greeted me. Its structure consisted of several brick red box-like sections of irregular size. The entrance extended from the front of the building, the name of the place spelled out above the doors.
Arko Arts Theatre. The theatre where Jisoo had brought me to watch a play with her a month ago.
The moment I laid eyes on the place, the front doors opened and a man dressed in a janitor's uniform emerged, wheeling a green trash can. I couldn't explain it, but an odd compulsion overcame me. I had to talk to the man, to shed some light on the presence I felt which caused me to stop in my tracks. A presence that didn't seem to be accompanied by any entity I could see.
"Excuse me, sir?" I walked towards the janitor, who stopped next to the entrance.
"How can I help you?" His smile was warm and welcoming, contrasting the unease the location gave me.
"I was just wondering, has anything happened at this theatre lately? Anything, I don't know, inexplicable, out of the ordinary?"
The man barely missed a beat. "Yes, in fact. I had to clean blood from under the carpets in the main hall."
"Blood? From where?"
He shook his head, turning back to face the trash can, placing a hand on the handle. "I'm just a janitor. I don't ask questions, I just do my job."
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The Next Life (?? ?? ???)
Fanfiction"You found me once, you can find me again." - Jisoo x Male Reader - Jang Y/N never had much to call his own in life, but two things: his best friend Wendy, and his ability to see ghosts. When both of those things combine, and he ends up tagging alon...
