Chapter 3: Ghosts.

- 4 days later -

I woke up in the middle of the night unexpectedly, no sleep left in my eyes as I could hear the soft foot tapping shoes, the type of sound that would make you stop in your ways and just close your eyes for a moment to calm your mind down and might as well provide you with an escape from the reality. The room wasn't cold necessarily even though my mind felt the blue stone aesthetic hitting over it multiple times that urged it that whatever was surrounding the ambience wasn't a light energy instead it consisted of something dark and possibly evil, but then my eyes fell over his figure for the first time. The same presence that's been following me and chasing me through my sleepless night, he almost felt like a familiar being to me now. He sat their playing on my piano. He seemed like how any other ordinary human would be, but he wasn't ordinary neither was he a human for sure. Passion towards music sparkling within his eyes as he smiled a little with each note. I wasn't aware of the song, but it seemed like a very old classical piece which might be his original work but neither less it had something about it that made one stop right their and then and get lost within the depths of the overlapped tune.

His thin fingers jumped over from the black polished tiles to the white ones like some unseen yet addicting ballet dancer that shines within the crowd. His aura was captivating but the thin white glowing rays that surrounded him didn't leave unnoticed, the atmosphere was creeping and cold but still not uncomfortable. It was if something inside me didn't want to leave even though my mind knew that what I was standing near at, what I was admiring wasn't a human. But then before I could process further the tune stopped and that's when he turned to face the intruder: me. He was a male that resembled a deity in my eyes. Expensive material of dark laced fabric turned into a black suit hugged his well-built frame, his buff chest pushing past the vintage maroon scarf that stood a little low towards the arch from the heat that gobbled the atmosphere just from the moment he faced me. There was a moment in between everything where I questioned the heat: was it the environmental conditions or him? He had the perfect balance of danger and charm. His eyes spoke for itself and the look within those eyes did the physical work on one's mind.

He could manipulate, lie, punish, scream with those crystal eyes, and it'll all end up into an addicting seductive pit. He felt like the type of male towards whom people would mindlessly gravitate from all directions like a planetary orbit regardless of their or his sexual preferences. He possessed the strength of a character that he was dismaying, his physical features were perfect in my eyes. His breathes were uneven now but what the point of him breathing when he wasn't even alive? He definitely had some kind of energy that didn't allow me to scream my heart out and run away right from the moment I saw the unknown male at my place in midnight.

His eyes were deep and calm like an ocean that you'd love to drown in, a perfect conclusion to your story. His lips seemed edible and sugar coated within those pink lumps of crystal cherries, it lurked a dangerous invitation to play. His facial structure just demonstrated flawlessness straight up to one's mind and could get anyone down to their knees out of need and hunger or insecurities. His light brown hairs danced with the slow loo that pushed a couple of tiny strands on his forehead that he didn't seem to mind and good for him because it surely made him seem more than just the word attractive but in a forbidden way.

I stepped back, this wasn't a human. This wasn't something that belonged to this world because deep within his eyes I could see the lifeless shadow lingering over him. I knew that he was the one all after me since a week, he was the reason behind which people feared this place, he was the reason the area remained isolated, did they see him like me before? Was I really not just hallucinating? It was hard for me to accept that this was the time when I would interact with something that didn't belong to this life filled world, something that exists only in stories. Even if he wasn't alive but still I could feel his strong presence as he continued to stare at me, that unknown meaning dinged within his dark stare was not allowing me to run which is what any sane person would most possibly do in a situation like this.

But then maybe I was insane or maybe something caused by him was not allowing me to run away. Something was stopping me, maybe it was me, or maybe it was him, but it didn't let me move a step away from him.

His voice was honey dipped. Music to my ears even though it was just a single word you could feel the depth of his speech just within a second.

Then it rang my mind that he was indeed one of the Jeon's that once existed around here but then were their others too? Was he really buried around here somewhere that caused his condition this bad?

My body crashes within my mind, I could see a faint scar on his face. It wasn't infected neither it was bleeding, it looked like it was healed but the left the mark behind which just added more dimension to the way he looked. My eyes scanned his outfit to only see the ruffles around his corner and sleeves knowing that it wasn't the pattern of fashion any sane person would follow around in a hot day of summer, his leather shoes were dusted with mud like he just stepped out of a battle ground even though that wasn't the point but still I could see the slight hint of resemblance between him and the picture of Kim Nar that I managed to dig from the web.

I felt frustrated but my physical body refused to leave even though I tried my best, it felt like I was doing it on my own but I wasn't at the same time. Him assuring me didn't do anything positive to my mind instead it scared me even more knowing the fact that if he really was something inhuman then trusting him was same as choosing death,

He questioned impatiently.

As my eyes met his this time their was a hidden hope in between the curtains of discovering something new and a hint of fear of losing something.

I shrugged my shoulders not believing that I was having an actual conversation with him.

A soft satisfied smile was now plastered over his lips.

I questioned back with a bit louder voice causing him to step back in order to not make me more uncomfortable even though in reality he wasn't.

My eyes widened at the amount of time he has wandered around trapped within these walls, I could feel my throat run dry with pain not being able to imagine how lonely and empty it must have felt through all the years that passed trapped within a couple of walls.

I begged even though something inside wasn't still so sure about what I said, did I really just mean that or was I in panic. If wasn't for his aura I could have easily mistaken him for a human but then the sad dripping in his eyes after hearing me send a pang through my heart, I didn't want to be manipulated into something evil but at the same time what if he just wanted some help, and maybe it was all destiny planned out to help me find his stairway to heaven especially after so many years of constant isolated suffering.

He held his wrist tight as his eyes squeezed in with pain causing me to take a step towards him without thinking, he was already dead what could possibly hurt him worse.

With that he vanished in the dark like he never existed.

...

My eyes open as I find myself in terrible pain, what it all a dream that happened earlier? But I remember each and every bit of it like it felt real, but then I find myself laid down on the couch while the piano he played last night rested in front of me neat and steady.

I remember his face, his voice and his presence. Something inside me wasn't just allowing me to run away like any normal sane person would, it wasn't even allowing me to just ignore the fact that he wanted help. Was he really stuck here or was it my kind playing games or what if he was lying and was an evil spirit after my soul?

Did I perhaps offend any energy unknowingly that caused the little episode from yesterday, if he said that I was the only one who could feel his presence around then how come the people who lived here before me ran away within the span of weeks? I rub my face a little, doubting my existence more than ever. My eyes scan around the room once again, and I could have sworn that somehow the scene from yesterday immediately flashed in front of my eyes like a haunted movie. Taehyung wasn't around at the moment I couldn't just randomly call him knowing that he wouldn't really believe what I just saw, I wasn't an artist either who could draw him out even though I remember each and every single detail about his beautiful face. Right from the way a little dimple appeared towards his right cheek causing the depression to the way his eyes contained a little galaxy within itself, something you'd get lost in willingly. If he was someone real I'd have definitely fallen for him just by his looks, but unfortunately he wasn't, I felt guilty knowing that maybe he actually did need help because that smile on his face seemed genuine, but then evil can easily lie and manipulate anyone and I didn't want to lose myself. I immediately ran towards my room and started packing up whatever that could reach my hand, my cash and my phone was enough and with that I rush outside knowing that all I can do first is to feel safe. I was going to drive to Jimin and Yoongi right now because that's where I would feel safe, my hands look through the desk to find my car keys. Cursing multiple times as I keep on finding my keys, but they were not even in my sight, I pull out my phone only to find the network dead unfortunately which happened quite often during the early morning and that's why I had a separate landline for emergency but all that was left in my mind was to get my car keys and run away.

Finally, the familiar leaf keychain come into my view but as I pull it away I notice the opened book it laid on, I couldn't help but just stop and look at it knowing that I wasn't the one who kept it here.

I read the little paragraph as the key slipped down from my hand. Immediately gripping onto the brown dirty leather book I turn it to face the cover "The hope in the dark" and that's when I felt his presence again.

I gulp the lump in my throat down that now burned from all the pressure that was building up inside me. Turning back I immediately see his figure smiling at me softly, Jungkook lifts his hands a little to point towards a certain direction. His figure looked like a ball of glowing dust and light walking through the materialistic world, he looked even more enchanting than he did last night but this time I felt connected towards him rather than battling between negativity and positive beings. I knew their was something between us, I knew that their was an alive connection between us that was meant to be cherished and perhaps god declared a meaning behind it and whatever that meaning was, it was our job to find it. I looked at the direction his hands pointed and to my surprise the main door opens immediately showing up the bright world outside that was filled with nothing but darkness whereas he stayed within these dark worlds for as long as he could remember but had the brightest light within him, he was the real light. He smiles at me once again but this time his eyes glistened with tears of pain, Jungkook gave me a choice to leave even though he knew I was most possibly his only and last chance to escape from the dark crippled world between life and death. Even in a moment like this he chooses to not be selfish and let me go but before that he showed me his true self, that he wasn't an evil and taking advantage of me was the last thing he would do. All he wanted was my help, all he needed all along was me but not at the cost of scaring me away for life. He was ready to accept his lonely faith which most probably wasn't even his fault, the good in him shattered my heart wishing to just engulf him in a hug right now and make him feel the warmth of love that he must be craving all these years. I held the book tight while hugging it against my chest as unknowingly tears started to slide down my cheeks, my figure slipping down and leaning against the rack that stood still unlike my unsteady figure. He was still their, I don't know why, but I didn't want him to leave because somehow his presence turned out to be the only thing At that moment that kept me sane while making this life-changing decision. The irony of the whole chapter was that he wasn't even alive, he didn't even have an existence of his own, yet I was the one idolizing his presence in order to find the right path. It was the sort of bone deep emotion that made me want to gravitate towards him and understand this bond between us maybe because that was the only way we both could have possibly achieved peace. Now I had two choices: to run away from him by the way he provided me himself and have my peaceful life where I wouldn't connect with any spiritual beings, where things would be the same as it was before and where Jungkook would remain as nothing but a haunting memory which would start to fade away with time just like a scar.

Maybe thier will even be a day when I would completely forget his existence while he suffers within these four walls until the world ends and beyond that, battling between being alive and dead. But then he wasn't the one who walked me out, he just showed me the way out to suit myself. I had the chance to stay back and help him, to know his story. To know what caught him trap within these walls and to change his life knowing that his existence was just a question now.