Occupant
AN: Soooo I wrote a taekey focus ghost story...yeah that's about it.
Occupant
This occupant was a little different from the others. The man didn’t try to change his house. The man didn’t complain about the noise the pipes made randomly, and even though the house was big, he lived alone. He smiled only when his friends came over but it didn’t seem like he meant it. He played piano, he danced, and he read books in both Japanese and Korean but never English. In fact his English wasn’t very good at all which he found the most odd of all. Why move from Seoul to Los Angeles when you can’t speak English? Even more he didn’t have a job or go to a school. He wasn’t sure how this occupant came to be here. Only that he was quiet and only that he was lonely like Kibum.
The man had been living here for a month when he made up his mind that he wouldn’t get rid of him. Even though the man was almost always in his home, the house seemed like it did before he moved in. Kibum liked it that way. Sometimes he did little things, not scare the man, just to remind him that this was his house but the man didn’t seem to mind it at all. He’d smile and say that’s what made the house charming.
“Why are you living in this creepy old house?” His friend asked. He moved to sit in Kibum’s spot so he flipped the pillow onto the floor. The man jumped, away started and sat somewhere else, “Taemin I swear this place is haunted.”
“It’s not creepy.” Taemin shrugged taking a seat opposite his friend, “Well it was listed at a steal for a house like this. It was fully restored but I’ll probably have to replace the pipes soon. They sound like they might be giving out.”
“It was cheap because the last people who lived here almost died from accidents and the people before also had the same strange accidents which cause one of them to die.” He raved, “I looked it up, the people before them lost someone to accidents too. That’s why the realtor said she’s always selling this house.”
“Well I haven’t had any accidents.” He retorted sipping at his coffee, “It’s a beautiful house and I only paid a fourth of what it’s probably worth. Most houses around here cost upwards of a million. This house was just under half that and mirrored wall that works great for studio space. It’s perfect.”
Kibum agreed. His house is perfect, that’s why he’s letting this man stay here…for now.
“You live in this big house alone,” He sighed, “You barely get out of the house and I know you’ve been living off delivery and restaurants. You can’t cook. You don’t clean well. You should at least get a house keeper.”
“Ok, I’ll think about it hyung.”
“And learn some English,” He retorted, “You could’ve moved somewhere else. You could’ve moved to Japan, at least you know some Japanese. The fact that you’re living here and you don’t know English or Spanish it makes no sense.”
“I’ll study Jonghyun-hyung,” Taemin smiled but it’s the same smile Kibum always sees, “When do you fly back?”
“Thursday,” He sighed, “I have a suitcase of just souvenirs.”
Kibum gets bored of their chatter as they drift on to talk about friends back in Seoul. Kibum has never been and he could care less. He watches them leave happy when he has the house to himself. This occupant isn’t very tidy. It drives Kibum a little crazy but Kibum’s room is just the way he likes it. Most of the people who came to live in this house always tried to live in Kibum’s room. This occupant has not and that makes Kibum happy. It doesn’t feel like his space is being violated like in the past.
The occupant doesn’t return to the house until late. Kibum watches him stumble inside. He forgets to lock the door, so Kibum does it for him. He treks up the stairs with a sleepy smile. Unlike before it feels more genuine but it’s caused by his drunkness. He slips towards the top but Kibum is there to ensure he doesn’t fall down the large staircase. When he looks behind himself after his balance has returned Kibum smirks at his clueless expression.
“You can’t see me unless I want you to see me.”
Taemin blinks looking around, “I’m,” He grins again, “I’m really, really drunk.”
Taemin collapses in bed and falls asleep almost instantly. It’s a side of him, Kibum hasn’t observed before. He decides to help him out considering he’s too drunk to remember anything. He strips him down to his t-shirt and briefs and covers him with a light blanket. He grumbles in his sleep but otherwise doesn’t seem to notice much.
The next morning Kibum laughs when he wakes up hung over and irritated but helps him out by making coffee. Taemin stares at the pot for a long moment, “Did I set it up yesterday?”
He looks through his near empty fridge and eats cold pizza from two days ago. “Maybe I should get a housekeeper.”
That’s the opposite of what Kibum wants and he hopes the occupant isn’t serious about it. They are getting along. His occupant stays out of his way, is amusing but he doesn’t want someone else in his house, touching his things. Unfortunately people start showing up for the job, so Kibum has to take things into his own hands.
He’s scares away three of them easily much to his occupants befuddlement. He’s toughest on a portly Korean American woman who scolds Taemin for his poor English. After three rejections over the last two weeks, she’s turns out to be Taemin’s perfect candidate. Kibum sends her running when Taemin leaves her in the kitchen while he heads to the bathroom. In only a moment she’s screaming and then running to the door where she’s met by a confused Taemin who’s literally run from the bathroom; it gives Kibum time to shut all the cabinets and drawers. When Taemin returns to the kitchen with her everything is back to normal but as soon as Taemin turns his back to tell her nothing is wrong Kibum is pulling a knife from the rack on the wall. She screams again rushing out of the kitchen.
“Mrs. Park please.”
“I can’t work here.” She yelled at him, “You should live here. I’ll send you a priest. I saw your rosary you’re a good catholic boy right? I’ll send you a priest. This house is cursed.”
Taemin tries to reason with her as she puts on her jacket and shoes. She refuses adamantly and Kibum makes sure to wave to her when she takes one last look at his house. She stumbles before power walking to her car.
Taemin is in the kitchen frustrated. “Damn it, I’ll have to call the agency. They must’ve sent people who know about the house. Of course people would be afraid and imagine things if they knew about the past.”
Kibum frowned but he had a plan for incase Taemin proved too stubborn so he rang the bell. Taemin opened the door confused to see him. “Er He-hello how can help you?”
“I’m here about the housekeeping position.” Kibum smiled, “I’m looking for Mr. Lee.”
“Yes, yes, please come in.” Taemin sighed, “Um my English is not very good.”
Kibum nodded and continued in Korean, “I’m Kim Kibum.”
“Oh you’re Korean?”
“Yes,” Kibum continued, “I have an accent but we shouldn’t have any problems communicating. You just need someone to cook and clean right?”
Taemin nodded, “Yes.” He looked Kibum over, “You can do this job?”
“Let me guess you’ve had mostly older women recommended for this job.” Kibum began, “I know I don’t look it but I’m actually very good at domestic things a lot of practice.”
“I can show you around the house and tell you a little more about the job.”
It was weird having someone show him around his own house. When they came to Kibum’s room he decided to ask, “You don’t use the master bedroom?”
“Nah,” Taemin shrugged, “It feels…It feels like this room belongs to someone else so I feel like I’m intruding. Most of the rooms aren’t being used so the upkeep isn’t much. I’ll only need you three days out of the week if everything is agreeable you can start Monday. I’ll need your pay information.”
“I can start tomorrow,” Kibum suggested. “I’d like to start right away so I can properly clean everything.”
Taemin doesn’t object and Kibum sees himself out only to follow Taemin back to the living room.
“I hope he doesn’t start having problems like the other ones.”
Being Taemin’s house keeper is an easy task for Kibum and it makes it easier for Kibum to do the things he wants to do. He can listen to the radio without Taemin turning it off thinking there’s something wrong with it. He can turn on lights and go into rooms make noise without Taemin coming to see if there’s a problem.
Taemin seems to be happy with the situation too. He compliments Kibum’s cooking, is astounded by how Kibum has set up delivery for his groceries, but remains completely professional.
The second week into their arrangement Taemin finds Kibum unpacking things for the kitchen.
“What’s all this?”
“I think it’s only appropriate you have more than just one of each dish. You could have guests over, and it’s a bother to make a list or send you out because you never bought proper dinnerware.” Kibum explained.
“But where did it come from? That looks pretty expensive” Taemin asked.
“Well of course the pots and pans are new but these were in the basement.” Kibum said putting them up happy to have his china in his cupboards again, “You can use them for dinner parties. There’s a set of silver that been polished too. I bought newer dinnerware for everyday use.”
“You used your money to stock my kitchen?”
“I did it to make my job easier,” Kibum answered, “Besides it makes it seem more like a home.”
“Is there more stuff in the basement?” Taemin questioned looking at the china, “Seriously this stuff could be worth a lot.”
“It’s the original owners.” Kibum informed, “A lot of things from the owner are down there. Most of the furniture in this house is from the original owner, the antiques in the study, even the curtains I put up in the sitting room.”
“You put up curtains?”
“You did hire me to keep the house sorted,” Kibum finished stocking the cabinet marveling the job, “I’m only doing my job.”
“All my other housekeepers got scared away before getting this far. One of them didn’t even have a chance to finish the tour of the house.”
“Because of the past here right?” Kibum smirked, “Well I don’t believe in ghost stories and haunted houses.”
“That’s good for me.” Taemin halted as he turned to leave the kitchen, “How old are you Kibum-ssi?”
“22.”
“Oh you look really young. I was wondering where you got all this experience.”
“My grandmother was a housekeeper.” He lied, “She took me to jobs when I was little so I learned from her.”
“You look really young,” Taemin commented, “I didn’t expect you to actually be good at this job. Honestly I was just desperate because everyone else was running away. They think the house is creepy.”
“I think m-this house is perfect.” Kibum smiled, “You’re lucky to live in such a home.”
“Really?” Taemin returned the smile, “I thought so too.”
Everyday Taemin seems to talk to him more. Kibum doesn’t mind. He hasn’t had anyone to talk to in a long time.
“This coffee is so good,” Taemin sighed contently, the pipes creak. “I’m gonna have to get these pipes checked. I was researching about the house and I found out they’re still original. It’ll be a shame if I have to have them replaced. The two maybe three sales ago the owners restored almost everything in the house. The only thing they modernized is the kitchen but they had an accident and decided to sell.”
“Accident? Yes, I hear there are a lot of accidents in this house.” Kibum smiled cooking breakfast, “People don’t stay here very long but you seem comfortable.”
“Well I haven’t had any accidents.” He shrugged, “The history of this how is a little bloody but only because of what happened to the original owner. Though there were deaths after that, only one person died in the house, everyone else died at the hospital.”
“The original owner died in this house?”
“Well their son that’s who they built the house for,” Taemin explained, “They were actually some of the first Korean immigrants to the US and this neighborhood had been white only until they had this house built. They were really rich and one of their neighbors paid people to attack the house. The parents had gone out but their son was still home. They butchered him and of course when the parents came home to this they were devastated. They didn’t sell the house right away. Their elderly mother lived here alone for a few years before she passed.”
Kibum nodded but he felt sick, “Then they finally sold the place?”
“The house was left on the market for a long time after that. The story of the kid being murdered here didn’t help but it finally was sold years later and hasn’t had a stable owner since.” Taemin informed, “You know the wife of the man who orchestrated the crime and one of the men he hired confessed to it in the nineties almost fifty years after the crime. It had gone unsolved until then. There is no statute of limitations on a hate crime resulting in death three were sentenced to death and the confessor to life in prison but they were all old men by then. I think the youngest was seventy. The real punishment seemed to be the shame placed on their families.”
“You did a lot of research.”
“Yeah I wanted to know why people were so afraid of this house and why it became famous.” He grinned as Kibum set a plate before him, “The house got famous when the trial happened. That’s when it started sell again but after people were sent to the hospital and some even died there. I guess it got a bad reputation.”
“You don’t seem to have any problems with the house though.”
“Well maybe because I’m Korean too the ghost,” He rolled his eyes, “doesn’t mind me living here.”
“Maybe.”
Taemin throws a small party for his friends visiting from Korea just a week before Halloween. Kibum busies himself preparing food and making the house look immaculate. Taemin has invited him to the party as a guest but Kibum refused. It wasn’t safe no matter how much he wanted to go to a party again.
“Oh who’s this?” His friend asked. Kibum remembers him, he’s the reason Taemin started looking for a housekeeper in the first place.
“Remember you said I should get a housekeeper, this is Kim Kibum.” Taemin introduced, “He doesn’t look it but he’s actually really great at domestic things. He’s why the house looks so great now. This is my hyung from Seoul Kim Jonghyun. He showed up early to help out.”
Kibum bowed, “Nice to meet you.”
Jonghyun bowed in response, “Nice to meet you too Kibum-ssi.” He shivered, “It feels a little colder in here than in the other room.”
Kibum can tell even if he doesn’t know it about himself. Jonghyun is a little sensitive to his kind and he’ll have to be careful of him in the future. “I didn’t want to get too hot in the kitchen. I’ve cooked a lot for the party.”
“Oh, well thank you for taking care of Taemin,” Jonghyun smiled, “Sorry he’s troubling you with all this.”
“It’s my pleasure.”
“Will you be at the party?”
“No, I have other engagements.” Kibum continued to tray the food, “I’ll be leaving once I’m done here.”
The party was small but fun. Many people paid compliments to the house and he was happy when Taemin repeated mentioned that it was because of Kibum’s hard work. That night a two of Taemin’s friends stayed over.
“You can sleep in this room I guess.” Taemin said gesturing to Kibum’s room.
Jonghyun shook his head, “No way, of this entire creepy house that room seems the creepiest.”
“Don’t tell me you’re actually afraid of this house?” Taemin other friend asked.
“A kid was murdered here,” Jonghyun said, “Not just murdered butchered. The men that did it admitted they raped and tortured him for hours before they hacked up his body and I’m pretty sure that’s the room they did it in.”
“You don’t know that.”
“The hell I do Minho.” Jonghyun pointed to the door, “There’s no way in hell I’m sleeping in that room.”
“It’s the last room with a bed.”
“I’ll sleep on the couch then.” Jonghyun went on, “I don’t want to sleep in the ghost room.”
“Don’t call it that.” Taemin frowned opening the door and turning on the light, “See there’s nothing wrong with this room.”
“Why don’t you use the master suite then?” Jonghyun asked pointedly.
Taemin shrugged, “I don’t know. It just doesn’t feel mine.”
“Maybe because it’s already being occupied,” Jonghyun continued, “by a ghost.”
“Jonghyun you’re being ridiculous.”
“Taemin I’m telling you there’s something wrong with this house.” Jonghyun looked into the room again, “It’s definitely something wrong.”
“Maybe we should do a ghost hunt.” The tall one jokes, “That could be fun.”
“No way it’s too creepy and you should meet his housekeeper. I totally got weird vibes from him earlier too. He probably knows about the ghost and doesn’t want to be here at night.”
“Kibum has been here late plenty of times,” Taemin defended, “and he is not weird. He’s the one that’s made the house so nice.”
“Yeah is that all he’s made nice.” The tall one teased, “You’re smiling a lot more than the last time I visited you.”
“Minho-hyung I thought you were tired and going to bed.”
“I was but watching Jonghyun get freaked out by a “ghost” is too fun and teasing you about your housekeeper is fun too.” Minho smirked, “Do you know if he’s single? Do you know if he likes men?”
“Stop it.” Taemin grumbled embarrassed, “Our relationship is strictly professional. Kibum doesn’t like talking about personal things. Are you going to stay in the room or not?”
Minho stepped into the room, “I’ll stay here. This room is nice.”
Taemin stepped into the room also looking around, “This is the master suite. Of course it’s bigger and better than my room.”
“This is probably the best room in your house.” Minho continued standing beside the bed.
“My house,” Kibum mumbled behind him.
“Yeah,” Taemin smiled, “Kibum took extra time to make this room look great and the people who restored this place spared no expense. They even replaced the stain glass skylight.”
Jonghyun entered the room hesitantly, “It’s ok.”
“It’s perfect.” Kibum whispered frustrated that all these people were in his room that three men were in his room.
“This is a great room and you know it,” Minho went on looking at the curtains on the bed, “Your housekeeper redecorated it?”
“He’s been decorating all the rooms,” Taemin said, “He says I have been living in the house without trying to make it a home. I guess he’s right about that. I was a little depressed when I first got here.”
“Yeah sure a little, I don’t get that housekeeper. Why would he work at a place like this?” Jonghyun scoffed, “He looks like he’d make a lot of tips as a waiter or a barista but no he chose to work in the creepiest house ever. There’s got to be something wrong with the kid."
“I should push you down the stairs.” Kibum grumbled.
Jonghyun turned and looked directly at him, or the space Kibum was in. He knew the man couldn’t see him.
“What is it Jonghyun?”
“I thought I heard something,” He shrugged, “Must have been someone outside or something.”
“Don’t tell me you’re hearing things?” Minho laughed, “That seems a little much don’t you think?”
He frowned, “Are you seriously telling me that nothing about this house creeps you out? We should’ve gotten a hotel.”
“Why would we pay for a hotel when Taemin has this huge house? Do you know how much we’d spend on a hotel that we can save staying here?” Minho griped.
Kibum grew angry. Taemin didn’t say they were staying. He hadn’t mentioned it.
“Wait you’re going to stay here?” Taemin began, “I didn’t know you meant for the whole time. I thought you meant for tonight. I didn’t even get to tell Kibum.”
The lightbulb blew out, and Kibum tried to make himself calm down as the tv flickered on but he was angry. There were three men in his room just like that night.
“Woah did a fuse blow.”
“Get out.”
“No, no I’m telling you there’s something here.” Jonghyun scrambled.
“Jonghyun don’t-”
“Tell them to get out now!”
“No,” He interrupted, “We need to get out of this room.” Jonghyun had already returned to the hall. “Get out now.”
The others followed him, the teasing had ceased. The TV flickered off. “Tell them to go to bed Jonghyun.” Kibum sighed sitting on his bed. “Tell them its best if you all just go to bed.”
“We should go to bed.” Jonghyun repeated, “Yeah we should go to bed now.”
The next morning Kibum met Jonghyun in the kitchen. Jonghyun looked tired but surprised to see him. “Oh sorry I didn’t know you were here.”
“I didn’t expect anyone to be up early after the party.” Kibum began, “I just came to clean up the house and receive the groceries.”
Jonghyun nodded, “You must work hard.”
“The house is usually very tidy, so it’s not much work.” Kibum replied, “I hadn’t known you’d still be here. Taemin didn’t tell me he’d have guests.”
“Um actually he meant to tell you that a few of us would be staying until November.”
Kibum stiffened, “Oh lovely, I’ll be sure to modify the groceries then. Do you need me to make up any of the rooms?”
“No, I don’t think so.” Jonghyun smiled uneasily, “We’re fine.” He hesitated, “But about this house…you do know the past about his house right?
“Yes of course I do.”
“Then do you think that maybe something is in this house?” Jonghyun asked, “Something…no someone that maybe lived here before?”
“I don’t believe in ghosts.” Kibum replied lowly, before turning to the other with a shallow smile, “Would you like some coffee?”
When Taemin came down stairs with the other two men, he was surprised to see Kibum. “I didn’t know you’d be here today.”
“I just came to tidy up from you little party and receive the groceries,” Kibum started, “I also wanted to tell you I won’t be in on Halloween.”
“Oh,” Taemin frowned, “Do you have big plans for Halloween?”
“Not really,” He set a cup of coffee before the other, “I just like to avoid the crowds.”
The guests didn’t repeat the offense they made the first night. They left Kibum’s room alone but Jonghyun was sensitive to him. If Kibum entered the same room as him even if he couldn’t see him physically he’d glance in Kibum’s direction with a frown. He had to be extra careful when he wasn’t the housekeeper and he was until Halloween.
He had the day off but Taemin had a problem and texted him. He came in through the back, Taemin was waiting in the kitchen.
“This is going to sound strange but some men came by earlier and they wanted to see you.”
“How many?”
“Four, they seemed really angry.” Taemin frowned and shivered, “Your lip is bleeding and-and is that a bruise? Hey are you ok?”
Kibum nodded, “I’m fine.”
“You sure?” He shivered, “Woah it’s pretty cold must be a draft somewhere.”
“You need to leave the house Taemin-ssi.”
“W-what?”
“You need to get out and so do your guests.” Kibum walked past him out of the kitchen, “You were a good occupant but your time is up.”
Minho and Jonghyun were sitting in the living room when Kibum stormed through Taemin following behind him. They both shuddered.
“What’s going on?” Minho asked looking between the two. “Nice costume. Did you have to leave a party or something?”
Kibum felt sick. The rope dug into his wrist then the banging came on the back door. He could feel the blood on his legs.
Taemin looked baffled but Jonghyun’s eyes widened in realization. He backed away towards the door. “We need to go.”
Minho turned to his face scrunched in disapproval and confusion, “What? Why?” He shuddered again rubbing his arms, “Damn, why is it suddenly freezing in here? Is you AirCon broken?”
Taemin shook his head, “I don’t think so but why are you two saying we have to leave.”
“Who else said we have to leave?” Minho huffed surprised he could see his breath, “Woah something’s definitely w-wrong. I can see my breath.”
Jonghyun had backed himself to the front door, “We have to get out of this house. We have to get out of here now.”
Taemin was staring at the floor where Kibum stood eyeing the growing red pool. The banging grew louder. “Are you bleeding?”
“Get out.”
“Kibum-ssi?”
“Get out!”
“Hey w-ait a minute this is T-Taemin’s house and he’s your b-boss. You should be mo-ore respectful.” Minho gritted out his teeth chattering.
“His house?” Kibum shook, he turned to Taemin, “Your house?”
“Fucking listen to me, we have to get out of this house!” Jonghyun yelled opening the front door. Before him stood a man and he immediately shut the door in his face locking it again, “Fuck ok but not that way, shit, shit, shit.”
The TV flickered and started to change channels, the bulbs in the room began to flicker on and off. The banging came from the front and back doors now.
“What the hell is going on?” Minho shouted pulling Taemin behind him.
“I told you to leave.” Kibum glared, “But no you think this your house.”
“No, no look we’ll leave,” Jonghyun tried, “We’re leaving just tell us which way to go. Those things are at the front door. The men from earlier except they aren’t men. They’re like you-”
“They aren’t like me!”
“No, not like you but not like us either and they don’t want us to leave.”
“Get out of my house!”
“Those things are trying to get in!”
“GET OUT!”
There was a crash as one of the windows broke and the banging at the front door stopped. Jonghyun opened it again to see nothing blocking the way but a man on the sidewalk with a brick. “Get out of that house!”
Jonghyun rushed out, Minho followed pulling Taemin along behind him. The door slammed behind them.
“Get to the side walk, you can’t be on the property!” The man yelled at them.
Once on the sidewalk Jonghyun lost whatever he had in his stomach. Taemin lost all the strength in his legs.
“Wh-who are you?” Minho asked in shaky English.
“Onew.” He sighed, “I can’t believe someone else moved into this house. I would’ve come sooner but I didn’t know they sold it until I heard from a woman in my neighborhood about the Key’s house. She said the spirit that lived there was acting up and that the owner would probably sell soon. That was months ago, I thought you would’ve left by now. I can’t believe he let you stay that long.”
Taemin’s head felt fuzzy from trying to decipher what just happened in the house. He looked at the man blankly unable to translate anything he said.
“I’m sorry,” Minho was still breathless, “My English isn’t very good. Why are you here?”
“Oh yeah that’s right,” He had switched to Korean, accented but Taemin could understand him, “Key let you stay here for so long because you’re Korean. I have a car; you can wait at my place if you want. You can’t stay here tonight.”
They were quiet despite Onew’s attempts to brighten the atmosphere. When they arrived to Onew’s small home they had just barely collected themselves. Once inside and seated, Onew poured them all a glass of water, “So anything you want to ask me?”
“Why did you come to the house?” Jonghyun questioned, “How do you know about those things?”
“My grandmother used to work there, for Kibum’s grandmother as a housekeeper.” His sunny smile still present, “She passed away a few years ago. I promised her I would look out for the house. I didn’t think anyone would live there after the last residents. Kibum usually scares people away pretty quickly.”
“Kibum?” Minho scowled, frustrated, “Isn’t that the housekeeper?”
“Did that look like a damn housekeeper at that house?” Jonghyun scoffed.
“He’s the owner of the house, the original owner, and the only owner.” Jinki explained, “He was murdered there about 70 years ago and he can’t move on. Those men were the ones who did it. They started visiting the house after they were executed and the last one died in prison about six years ago but they can only visit today.”
“On Halloween? What is this some lame ghost story?” Minho griped.
“Don’t talk about it like that,” Onew started his smile gone, “What those men did to Kibum all those years ago was horrible and now they visit the house hoping to terrorize him and if he’s not there they usually mess up his house just to make him upset or terrorize the people living there. Kibum is a victim and he's still just a kid.”
“So he didn’t cause all the accidents?” Taemin asked.
“Not the fatal ones,” Onew answered, “Well except the racist guy who spit at my grandma…I’m pretty sure Kibum gave him a heart attack on purpose.”
“And you know all this from your grandmother?”
He nodded, “Yeah well she was a fortune teller and medium; that’s why she got hired to work at the house. Since I was little she told me I inherited the gift, she meant the voices I kept hearing. It was good to know I wasn’t crazy but scary to know that ‘crazy’ grandma and her ghost stories weren’t so crazy.” He stood with a sigh, “Anyone want a beer? Halloween is kind of the toughest time of the year for me.”
They return to the house in the morning. There are three visibly broken windows, there’s writing on the side of the house, the front door is open, and a cop car is outside.
“Do you live here?” One asked.
“Yes,” Taemin answered.
“A jogger reported the vandalism.” He began, “I spoke to your housekeeper. This house always get hit this time of year. You might not know this but it’s a little famous for a murder. Sickos these days have been emulating this crime for years now. This is the third time I’ve seen it, we can never catch the bastards. I think it’s a different group every year to be honest.”
Taemin nodded, “I understand.”
“It’s a good thing we weren’t here.” Onew said with a smile, “Looks nasty but nothing insurance won’t cover. Thanks officer.”
Taemin was grateful that Onew handled the officers. He felt conflicted hearing that they’d talked to the housekeeper. He reluctantly made his way upstairs. Kibum wasn’t in his room instead he was in Taemin’s packing.
“You can’t live here anymore.”
“I like this house.”
Kibum glared at him, “This is my house.”
“I know.” Taemin replied, “I understand but this is the only place I have. I can’t go back to Korea.”
“Yes you can. I bought you a ticket,” Kibum remarked. “You fly out the same day as your friends.”
“My family was in an accident. They died.” Taemin explained, “There was a manufacturer error in the car. They all died. I won a lot of money in the lawsuit so I came here. A big house in America like my mom really wanted. I don’t have any place to go.”
“And you want to stay here? You know about this house, about me, even though it had to be right in front of your face to understand anything.”
“Before yesterday, I think everything was working out pretty good,” He smiled, “I thought we were a lot like friends too.”
Kibum was quiet for a moment and then gone from Taemin’s sight. Taemin scowled, looking around, “Kibum? Kibum?”
He marched over to his room knocking on his door, “Kibum are you in there?” He didn’t get a response, “I just want to talk. I’m opening the door.”
Inside Kibum was nowhere in sight. “Kibum? I’m going to stay here. There’s nothing you can say or do to change my mind. I know you are a good person.”
“Was,” Kibum corrected but not so Taemin could hear him, “I was a good person. Now I am this.”
“Kibum are you listening?” Taemin scanned the room hoping Kibum would reveal himself but he didn’t.
Taemin left the room with a sigh. He helped Minho and Jonghyun take their luggage to Onew’s car. They’d decided to finish the last two days of their stay in a hotel. Jonghyun was particularly upset that Taemin refused to go with them.
Onew gave him his number, “If you need any help. I won’t convince you to leave but you should know that Kibum has changed since those other spirits began visiting this house. I can’t say you’ll be completely safe if you stay here but Kibum is just a kid and I don't want you to think he's some kind of demon. Just, just be very careful.”
He nodded, “Thank you for everything. I’ll definitely call if I need to.”
Taemin returned inside after Minho and Jonghyun yelled at him about not leaving. He felt exhausted and the quiet of the house was welcoming. He decided to make himself comfortable and took a shower. When he went downstairs to the kitchen hair still wet, a bowl of pasta was there on the counter.
“Thank you, Kibum.” He smiled and poured himself a glass of wine. It was early but he’d had ghost problems, ghost problems. Technically he was still having ghost problems; he deserved a glass. It stayed quiet all day almost as if yesterday hadn’t happened. Then when Taemin turned off his laptop to go to bed Kibum spoke, “Are you really going to stay?”
“I know this is your house but this is still my room,” Taemin yawned, “You should knock and if we’re going to talk I’d like to be able to see you.”
“Why are you staying?”
“I liked living here.” Taemin repeated, “Well other than yesterday, besides that it was nice. All this time I've been alone but not lonely. I guess that’s because you were there but it was nice. I needed that and I know you needed that too.”
“I’m not human.”
“I know that now.”
“I’m dangerous.”
“I know.”
“I could hurt you.”
“But you haven’t.”
Taemin was looking at him. Kibum felt himself being seen. “I’m scared.”
“I’m not.” Taemin smiled, “And you don’t have to be. This is your house.”
“No, not that.” Kibum tried not to cry, “I’m afraid of when you leave. I’m afraid you’ll leave because of me. I'm not like how I used to be not since they started visiting me. Now I want people to suffer the way I did. I get so angry all the time. There's something wrong with me.”
“There is nothing wrong with you." Taemin said watching Kibum fade from his sight, "And I'm not leaving you.”
Kibum was waiting for Taemin to leave. Occupants didn't stay this long, they left. They always left. Kibum couldn't think of anything to frighten him. Couldn't do anything to frighten him like the other occupants. Taemin had been there during halloween, he'd seen it all. He'd seen the real thing, not the fake stunts Kibum pulled to scare people away.
Taemin was watching a movie down stairs when Kibum sat next to him. He pretended that his heart was beating out of his chest when Kibum scooted closer.
"I was only 17."
Taemin moved his hand to cover Kibum's it was cold but it felt human. "I'm not going to leave you."
Kibum curled his fingers around Taemin's and leaned onto his shoulder. This occupant was very different.
AN:This was weird...sorry. If you read this thanks....I don't know ghosts man...post-halloween spoopy feelings man.
Occupant
This occupant was a little different from the others. The man didn’t try to change his house. The man didn’t complain about the noise the pipes made randomly, and even though the house was big, he lived alone. He smiled only when his friends came over but it didn’t seem like he meant it. He played piano, he danced, and he read books in both Japanese and Korean but never English. In fact his English wasn’t very good at all which he found the most odd of all. Why move from Seoul to Los Angeles when you can’t speak English? Even more he didn’t have a job or go to a school. He wasn’t sure how this occupant came to be here. Only that he was quiet and only that he was lonely like Kibum.
The man had been living here for a month when he made up his mind that he wouldn’t get rid of him. Even though the man was almost always in his home, the house seemed like it did before he moved in. Kibum liked it that way. Sometimes he did little things, not scare the man, just to remind him that this was his house but the man didn’t seem to mind it at all. He’d smile and say that’s what made the house charming.
“Why are you living in this creepy old house?” His friend asked. He moved to sit in Kibum’s spot so he flipped the pillow onto the floor. The man jumped, away started and sat somewhere else, “Taemin I swear this place is haunted.”
“It’s not creepy.” Taemin shrugged taking a seat opposite his friend, “Well it was listed at a steal for a house like this. It was fully restored but I’ll probably have to replace the pipes soon. They sound like they might be giving out.”
“It was cheap because the last people who lived here almost died from accidents and the people before also had the same strange accidents which cause one of them to die.” He raved, “I looked it up, the people before them lost someone to accidents too. That’s why the realtor said she’s always selling this house.”
“Well I haven’t had any accidents.” He retorted sipping at his coffee, “It’s a beautiful house and I only paid a fourth of what it’s probably worth. Most houses around here cost upwards of a million. This house was just under half that and mirrored wall that works great for studio space. It’s perfect.”
Kibum agreed. His house is perfect, that’s why he’s letting this man stay here…for now.
“You live in this big house alone,” He sighed, “You barely get out of the house and I know you’ve been living off delivery and restaurants. You can’t cook. You don’t clean well. You should at least get a house keeper.”
“Ok, I’ll think about it hyung.”
“And learn some English,” He retorted, “You could’ve moved somewhere else. You could’ve moved to Japan, at least you know some Japanese. The fact that you’re living here and you don’t know English or Spanish it makes no sense.”
“I’ll study Jonghyun-hyung,” Taemin smiled but it’s the same smile Kibum always sees, “When do you fly back?”
“Thursday,” He sighed, “I have a suitcase of just souvenirs.”
Kibum gets bored of their chatter as they drift on to talk about friends back in Seoul. Kibum has never been and he could care less. He watches them leave happy when he has the house to himself. This occupant isn’t very tidy. It drives Kibum a little crazy but Kibum’s room is just the way he likes it. Most of the people who came to live in this house always tried to live in Kibum’s room. This occupant has not and that makes Kibum happy. It doesn’t feel like his space is being violated like in the past.
The occupant doesn’t return to the house until late. Kibum watches him stumble inside. He forgets to lock the door, so Kibum does it for him. He treks up the stairs with a sleepy smile. Unlike before it feels more genuine but it’s caused by his drunkness. He slips towards the top but Kibum is there to ensure he doesn’t fall down the large staircase. When he looks behind himself after his balance has returned Kibum smirks at his clueless expression.
“You can’t see me unless I want you to see me.”
Taemin blinks looking around, “I’m,” He grins again, “I’m really, really drunk.”
Taemin collapses in bed and falls asleep almost instantly. It’s a side of him, Kibum hasn’t observed before. He decides to help him out considering he’s too drunk to remember anything. He strips him down to his t-shirt and briefs and covers him with a light blanket. He grumbles in his sleep but otherwise doesn’t seem to notice much.
The next morning Kibum laughs when he wakes up hung over and irritated but helps him out by making coffee. Taemin stares at the pot for a long moment, “Did I set it up yesterday?”
He looks through his near empty fridge and eats cold pizza from two days ago. “Maybe I should get a housekeeper.”
That’s the opposite of what Kibum wants and he hopes the occupant isn’t serious about it. They are getting along. His occupant stays out of his way, is amusing but he doesn’t want someone else in his house, touching his things. Unfortunately people start showing up for the job, so Kibum has to take things into his own hands.
He’s scares away three of them easily much to his occupants befuddlement. He’s toughest on a portly Korean American woman who scolds Taemin for his poor English. After three rejections over the last two weeks, she’s turns out to be Taemin’s perfect candidate. Kibum sends her running when Taemin leaves her in the kitchen while he heads to the bathroom. In only a moment she’s screaming and then running to the door where she’s met by a confused Taemin who’s literally run from the bathroom; it gives Kibum time to shut all the cabinets and drawers. When Taemin returns to the kitchen with her everything is back to normal but as soon as Taemin turns his back to tell her nothing is wrong Kibum is pulling a knife from the rack on the wall. She screams again rushing out of the kitchen.
“Mrs. Park please.”
“I can’t work here.” She yelled at him, “You should live here. I’ll send you a priest. I saw your rosary you’re a good catholic boy right? I’ll send you a priest. This house is cursed.”
Taemin tries to reason with her as she puts on her jacket and shoes. She refuses adamantly and Kibum makes sure to wave to her when she takes one last look at his house. She stumbles before power walking to her car.
Taemin is in the kitchen frustrated. “Damn it, I’ll have to call the agency. They must’ve sent people who know about the house. Of course people would be afraid and imagine things if they knew about the past.”
Kibum frowned but he had a plan for incase Taemin proved too stubborn so he rang the bell. Taemin opened the door confused to see him. “Er He-hello how can help you?”
“I’m here about the housekeeping position.” Kibum smiled, “I’m looking for Mr. Lee.”
“Yes, yes, please come in.” Taemin sighed, “Um my English is not very good.”
Kibum nodded and continued in Korean, “I’m Kim Kibum.”
“Oh you’re Korean?”
“Yes,” Kibum continued, “I have an accent but we shouldn’t have any problems communicating. You just need someone to cook and clean right?”
Taemin nodded, “Yes.” He looked Kibum over, “You can do this job?”
“Let me guess you’ve had mostly older women recommended for this job.” Kibum began, “I know I don’t look it but I’m actually very good at domestic things a lot of practice.”
“I can show you around the house and tell you a little more about the job.”
It was weird having someone show him around his own house. When they came to Kibum’s room he decided to ask, “You don’t use the master bedroom?”
“Nah,” Taemin shrugged, “It feels…It feels like this room belongs to someone else so I feel like I’m intruding. Most of the rooms aren’t being used so the upkeep isn’t much. I’ll only need you three days out of the week if everything is agreeable you can start Monday. I’ll need your pay information.”
“I can start tomorrow,” Kibum suggested. “I’d like to start right away so I can properly clean everything.”
Taemin doesn’t object and Kibum sees himself out only to follow Taemin back to the living room.
“I hope he doesn’t start having problems like the other ones.”
Being Taemin’s house keeper is an easy task for Kibum and it makes it easier for Kibum to do the things he wants to do. He can listen to the radio without Taemin turning it off thinking there’s something wrong with it. He can turn on lights and go into rooms make noise without Taemin coming to see if there’s a problem.
Taemin seems to be happy with the situation too. He compliments Kibum’s cooking, is astounded by how Kibum has set up delivery for his groceries, but remains completely professional.
The second week into their arrangement Taemin finds Kibum unpacking things for the kitchen.
“What’s all this?”
“I think it’s only appropriate you have more than just one of each dish. You could have guests over, and it’s a bother to make a list or send you out because you never bought proper dinnerware.” Kibum explained.
“But where did it come from? That looks pretty expensive” Taemin asked.
“Well of course the pots and pans are new but these were in the basement.” Kibum said putting them up happy to have his china in his cupboards again, “You can use them for dinner parties. There’s a set of silver that been polished too. I bought newer dinnerware for everyday use.”
“You used your money to stock my kitchen?”
“I did it to make my job easier,” Kibum answered, “Besides it makes it seem more like a home.”
“Is there more stuff in the basement?” Taemin questioned looking at the china, “Seriously this stuff could be worth a lot.”
“It’s the original owners.” Kibum informed, “A lot of things from the owner are down there. Most of the furniture in this house is from the original owner, the antiques in the study, even the curtains I put up in the sitting room.”
“You put up curtains?”
“You did hire me to keep the house sorted,” Kibum finished stocking the cabinet marveling the job, “I’m only doing my job.”
“All my other housekeepers got scared away before getting this far. One of them didn’t even have a chance to finish the tour of the house.”
“Because of the past here right?” Kibum smirked, “Well I don’t believe in ghost stories and haunted houses.”
“That’s good for me.” Taemin halted as he turned to leave the kitchen, “How old are you Kibum-ssi?”
“22.”
“Oh you look really young. I was wondering where you got all this experience.”
“My grandmother was a housekeeper.” He lied, “She took me to jobs when I was little so I learned from her.”
“You look really young,” Taemin commented, “I didn’t expect you to actually be good at this job. Honestly I was just desperate because everyone else was running away. They think the house is creepy.”
“I think m-this house is perfect.” Kibum smiled, “You’re lucky to live in such a home.”
“Really?” Taemin returned the smile, “I thought so too.”
Everyday Taemin seems to talk to him more. Kibum doesn’t mind. He hasn’t had anyone to talk to in a long time.
“This coffee is so good,” Taemin sighed contently, the pipes creak. “I’m gonna have to get these pipes checked. I was researching about the house and I found out they’re still original. It’ll be a shame if I have to have them replaced. The two maybe three sales ago the owners restored almost everything in the house. The only thing they modernized is the kitchen but they had an accident and decided to sell.”
“Accident? Yes, I hear there are a lot of accidents in this house.” Kibum smiled cooking breakfast, “People don’t stay here very long but you seem comfortable.”
“Well I haven’t had any accidents.” He shrugged, “The history of this how is a little bloody but only because of what happened to the original owner. Though there were deaths after that, only one person died in the house, everyone else died at the hospital.”
“The original owner died in this house?”
“Well their son that’s who they built the house for,” Taemin explained, “They were actually some of the first Korean immigrants to the US and this neighborhood had been white only until they had this house built. They were really rich and one of their neighbors paid people to attack the house. The parents had gone out but their son was still home. They butchered him and of course when the parents came home to this they were devastated. They didn’t sell the house right away. Their elderly mother lived here alone for a few years before she passed.”
Kibum nodded but he felt sick, “Then they finally sold the place?”
“The house was left on the market for a long time after that. The story of the kid being murdered here didn’t help but it finally was sold years later and hasn’t had a stable owner since.” Taemin informed, “You know the wife of the man who orchestrated the crime and one of the men he hired confessed to it in the nineties almost fifty years after the crime. It had gone unsolved until then. There is no statute of limitations on a hate crime resulting in death three were sentenced to death and the confessor to life in prison but they were all old men by then. I think the youngest was seventy. The real punishment seemed to be the shame placed on their families.”
“You did a lot of research.”
“Yeah I wanted to know why people were so afraid of this house and why it became famous.” He grinned as Kibum set a plate before him, “The house got famous when the trial happened. That’s when it started sell again but after people were sent to the hospital and some even died there. I guess it got a bad reputation.”
“You don’t seem to have any problems with the house though.”
“Well maybe because I’m Korean too the ghost,” He rolled his eyes, “doesn’t mind me living here.”
“Maybe.”
Taemin throws a small party for his friends visiting from Korea just a week before Halloween. Kibum busies himself preparing food and making the house look immaculate. Taemin has invited him to the party as a guest but Kibum refused. It wasn’t safe no matter how much he wanted to go to a party again.
“Oh who’s this?” His friend asked. Kibum remembers him, he’s the reason Taemin started looking for a housekeeper in the first place.
“Remember you said I should get a housekeeper, this is Kim Kibum.” Taemin introduced, “He doesn’t look it but he’s actually really great at domestic things. He’s why the house looks so great now. This is my hyung from Seoul Kim Jonghyun. He showed up early to help out.”
Kibum bowed, “Nice to meet you.”
Jonghyun bowed in response, “Nice to meet you too Kibum-ssi.” He shivered, “It feels a little colder in here than in the other room.”
Kibum can tell even if he doesn’t know it about himself. Jonghyun is a little sensitive to his kind and he’ll have to be careful of him in the future. “I didn’t want to get too hot in the kitchen. I’ve cooked a lot for the party.”
“Oh, well thank you for taking care of Taemin,” Jonghyun smiled, “Sorry he’s troubling you with all this.”
“It’s my pleasure.”
“Will you be at the party?”
“No, I have other engagements.” Kibum continued to tray the food, “I’ll be leaving once I’m done here.”
The party was small but fun. Many people paid compliments to the house and he was happy when Taemin repeated mentioned that it was because of Kibum’s hard work. That night a two of Taemin’s friends stayed over.
“You can sleep in this room I guess.” Taemin said gesturing to Kibum’s room.
Jonghyun shook his head, “No way, of this entire creepy house that room seems the creepiest.”
“Don’t tell me you’re actually afraid of this house?” Taemin other friend asked.
“A kid was murdered here,” Jonghyun said, “Not just murdered butchered. The men that did it admitted they raped and tortured him for hours before they hacked up his body and I’m pretty sure that’s the room they did it in.”
“You don’t know that.”
“The hell I do Minho.” Jonghyun pointed to the door, “There’s no way in hell I’m sleeping in that room.”
“It’s the last room with a bed.”
“I’ll sleep on the couch then.” Jonghyun went on, “I don’t want to sleep in the ghost room.”
“Don’t call it that.” Taemin frowned opening the door and turning on the light, “See there’s nothing wrong with this room.”
“Why don’t you use the master suite then?” Jonghyun asked pointedly.
Taemin shrugged, “I don’t know. It just doesn’t feel mine.”
“Maybe because it’s already being occupied,” Jonghyun continued, “by a ghost.”
“Jonghyun you’re being ridiculous.”
“Taemin I’m telling you there’s something wrong with this house.” Jonghyun looked into the room again, “It’s definitely something wrong.”
“Maybe we should do a ghost hunt.” The tall one jokes, “That could be fun.”
“No way it’s too creepy and you should meet his housekeeper. I totally got weird vibes from him earlier too. He probably knows about the ghost and doesn’t want to be here at night.”
“Kibum has been here late plenty of times,” Taemin defended, “and he is not weird. He’s the one that’s made the house so nice.”
“Yeah is that all he’s made nice.” The tall one teased, “You’re smiling a lot more than the last time I visited you.”
“Minho-hyung I thought you were tired and going to bed.”
“I was but watching Jonghyun get freaked out by a “ghost” is too fun and teasing you about your housekeeper is fun too.” Minho smirked, “Do you know if he’s single? Do you know if he likes men?”
“Stop it.” Taemin grumbled embarrassed, “Our relationship is strictly professional. Kibum doesn’t like talking about personal things. Are you going to stay in the room or not?”
Minho stepped into the room, “I’ll stay here. This room is nice.”
Taemin stepped into the room also looking around, “This is the master suite. Of course it’s bigger and better than my room.”
“This is probably the best room in your house.” Minho continued standing beside the bed.
“My house,” Kibum mumbled behind him.
“Yeah,” Taemin smiled, “Kibum took extra time to make this room look great and the people who restored this place spared no expense. They even replaced the stain glass skylight.”
Jonghyun entered the room hesitantly, “It’s ok.”
“It’s perfect.” Kibum whispered frustrated that all these people were in his room that three men were in his room.
“This is a great room and you know it,” Minho went on looking at the curtains on the bed, “Your housekeeper redecorated it?”
“He’s been decorating all the rooms,” Taemin said, “He says I have been living in the house without trying to make it a home. I guess he’s right about that. I was a little depressed when I first got here.”
“Yeah sure a little, I don’t get that housekeeper. Why would he work at a place like this?” Jonghyun scoffed, “He looks like he’d make a lot of tips as a waiter or a barista but no he chose to work in the creepiest house ever. There’s got to be something wrong with the kid."
“I should push you down the stairs.” Kibum grumbled.
Jonghyun turned and looked directly at him, or the space Kibum was in. He knew the man couldn’t see him.
“What is it Jonghyun?”
“I thought I heard something,” He shrugged, “Must have been someone outside or something.”
“Don’t tell me you’re hearing things?” Minho laughed, “That seems a little much don’t you think?”
He frowned, “Are you seriously telling me that nothing about this house creeps you out? We should’ve gotten a hotel.”
“Why would we pay for a hotel when Taemin has this huge house? Do you know how much we’d spend on a hotel that we can save staying here?” Minho griped.
Kibum grew angry. Taemin didn’t say they were staying. He hadn’t mentioned it.
“Wait you’re going to stay here?” Taemin began, “I didn’t know you meant for the whole time. I thought you meant for tonight. I didn’t even get to tell Kibum.”
The lightbulb blew out, and Kibum tried to make himself calm down as the tv flickered on but he was angry. There were three men in his room just like that night.
“Woah did a fuse blow.”
“Get out.”
“No, no I’m telling you there’s something here.” Jonghyun scrambled.
“Jonghyun don’t-”
“Tell them to get out now!”
“No,” He interrupted, “We need to get out of this room.” Jonghyun had already returned to the hall. “Get out now.”
The others followed him, the teasing had ceased. The TV flickered off. “Tell them to go to bed Jonghyun.” Kibum sighed sitting on his bed. “Tell them its best if you all just go to bed.”
“We should go to bed.” Jonghyun repeated, “Yeah we should go to bed now.”
The next morning Kibum met Jonghyun in the kitchen. Jonghyun looked tired but surprised to see him. “Oh sorry I didn’t know you were here.”
“I didn’t expect anyone to be up early after the party.” Kibum began, “I just came to clean up the house and receive the groceries.”
Jonghyun nodded, “You must work hard.”
“The house is usually very tidy, so it’s not much work.” Kibum replied, “I hadn’t known you’d still be here. Taemin didn’t tell me he’d have guests.”
“Um actually he meant to tell you that a few of us would be staying until November.”
Kibum stiffened, “Oh lovely, I’ll be sure to modify the groceries then. Do you need me to make up any of the rooms?”
“No, I don’t think so.” Jonghyun smiled uneasily, “We’re fine.” He hesitated, “But about this house…you do know the past about his house right?
“Yes of course I do.”
“Then do you think that maybe something is in this house?” Jonghyun asked, “Something…no someone that maybe lived here before?”
“I don’t believe in ghosts.” Kibum replied lowly, before turning to the other with a shallow smile, “Would you like some coffee?”
When Taemin came down stairs with the other two men, he was surprised to see Kibum. “I didn’t know you’d be here today.”
“I just came to tidy up from you little party and receive the groceries,” Kibum started, “I also wanted to tell you I won’t be in on Halloween.”
“Oh,” Taemin frowned, “Do you have big plans for Halloween?”
“Not really,” He set a cup of coffee before the other, “I just like to avoid the crowds.”
The guests didn’t repeat the offense they made the first night. They left Kibum’s room alone but Jonghyun was sensitive to him. If Kibum entered the same room as him even if he couldn’t see him physically he’d glance in Kibum’s direction with a frown. He had to be extra careful when he wasn’t the housekeeper and he was until Halloween.
He had the day off but Taemin had a problem and texted him. He came in through the back, Taemin was waiting in the kitchen.
“This is going to sound strange but some men came by earlier and they wanted to see you.”
“How many?”
“Four, they seemed really angry.” Taemin frowned and shivered, “Your lip is bleeding and-and is that a bruise? Hey are you ok?”
Kibum nodded, “I’m fine.”
“You sure?” He shivered, “Woah it’s pretty cold must be a draft somewhere.”
“You need to leave the house Taemin-ssi.”
“W-what?”
“You need to get out and so do your guests.” Kibum walked past him out of the kitchen, “You were a good occupant but your time is up.”
Minho and Jonghyun were sitting in the living room when Kibum stormed through Taemin following behind him. They both shuddered.
“What’s going on?” Minho asked looking between the two. “Nice costume. Did you have to leave a party or something?”
Kibum felt sick. The rope dug into his wrist then the banging came on the back door. He could feel the blood on his legs.
Taemin looked baffled but Jonghyun’s eyes widened in realization. He backed away towards the door. “We need to go.”
Minho turned to his face scrunched in disapproval and confusion, “What? Why?” He shuddered again rubbing his arms, “Damn, why is it suddenly freezing in here? Is you AirCon broken?”
Taemin shook his head, “I don’t think so but why are you two saying we have to leave.”
“Who else said we have to leave?” Minho huffed surprised he could see his breath, “Woah something’s definitely w-wrong. I can see my breath.”
Jonghyun had backed himself to the front door, “We have to get out of this house. We have to get out of here now.”
Taemin was staring at the floor where Kibum stood eyeing the growing red pool. The banging grew louder. “Are you bleeding?”
“Get out.”
“Kibum-ssi?”
“Get out!”
“Hey w-ait a minute this is T-Taemin’s house and he’s your b-boss. You should be mo-ore respectful.” Minho gritted out his teeth chattering.
“His house?” Kibum shook, he turned to Taemin, “Your house?”
“Fucking listen to me, we have to get out of this house!” Jonghyun yelled opening the front door. Before him stood a man and he immediately shut the door in his face locking it again, “Fuck ok but not that way, shit, shit, shit.”
The TV flickered and started to change channels, the bulbs in the room began to flicker on and off. The banging came from the front and back doors now.
“What the hell is going on?” Minho shouted pulling Taemin behind him.
“I told you to leave.” Kibum glared, “But no you think this your house.”
“No, no look we’ll leave,” Jonghyun tried, “We’re leaving just tell us which way to go. Those things are at the front door. The men from earlier except they aren’t men. They’re like you-”
“They aren’t like me!”
“No, not like you but not like us either and they don’t want us to leave.”
“Get out of my house!”
“Those things are trying to get in!”
“GET OUT!”
There was a crash as one of the windows broke and the banging at the front door stopped. Jonghyun opened it again to see nothing blocking the way but a man on the sidewalk with a brick. “Get out of that house!”
Jonghyun rushed out, Minho followed pulling Taemin along behind him. The door slammed behind them.
“Get to the side walk, you can’t be on the property!” The man yelled at them.
Once on the sidewalk Jonghyun lost whatever he had in his stomach. Taemin lost all the strength in his legs.
“Wh-who are you?” Minho asked in shaky English.
“Onew.” He sighed, “I can’t believe someone else moved into this house. I would’ve come sooner but I didn’t know they sold it until I heard from a woman in my neighborhood about the Key’s house. She said the spirit that lived there was acting up and that the owner would probably sell soon. That was months ago, I thought you would’ve left by now. I can’t believe he let you stay that long.”
Taemin’s head felt fuzzy from trying to decipher what just happened in the house. He looked at the man blankly unable to translate anything he said.
“I’m sorry,” Minho was still breathless, “My English isn’t very good. Why are you here?”
“Oh yeah that’s right,” He had switched to Korean, accented but Taemin could understand him, “Key let you stay here for so long because you’re Korean. I have a car; you can wait at my place if you want. You can’t stay here tonight.”
They were quiet despite Onew’s attempts to brighten the atmosphere. When they arrived to Onew’s small home they had just barely collected themselves. Once inside and seated, Onew poured them all a glass of water, “So anything you want to ask me?”
“Why did you come to the house?” Jonghyun questioned, “How do you know about those things?”
“My grandmother used to work there, for Kibum’s grandmother as a housekeeper.” His sunny smile still present, “She passed away a few years ago. I promised her I would look out for the house. I didn’t think anyone would live there after the last residents. Kibum usually scares people away pretty quickly.”
“Kibum?” Minho scowled, frustrated, “Isn’t that the housekeeper?”
“Did that look like a damn housekeeper at that house?” Jonghyun scoffed.
“He’s the owner of the house, the original owner, and the only owner.” Jinki explained, “He was murdered there about 70 years ago and he can’t move on. Those men were the ones who did it. They started visiting the house after they were executed and the last one died in prison about six years ago but they can only visit today.”
“On Halloween? What is this some lame ghost story?” Minho griped.
“Don’t talk about it like that,” Onew started his smile gone, “What those men did to Kibum all those years ago was horrible and now they visit the house hoping to terrorize him and if he’s not there they usually mess up his house just to make him upset or terrorize the people living there. Kibum is a victim and he's still just a kid.”
“So he didn’t cause all the accidents?” Taemin asked.
“Not the fatal ones,” Onew answered, “Well except the racist guy who spit at my grandma…I’m pretty sure Kibum gave him a heart attack on purpose.”
“And you know all this from your grandmother?”
He nodded, “Yeah well she was a fortune teller and medium; that’s why she got hired to work at the house. Since I was little she told me I inherited the gift, she meant the voices I kept hearing. It was good to know I wasn’t crazy but scary to know that ‘crazy’ grandma and her ghost stories weren’t so crazy.” He stood with a sigh, “Anyone want a beer? Halloween is kind of the toughest time of the year for me.”
They return to the house in the morning. There are three visibly broken windows, there’s writing on the side of the house, the front door is open, and a cop car is outside.
“Do you live here?” One asked.
“Yes,” Taemin answered.
“A jogger reported the vandalism.” He began, “I spoke to your housekeeper. This house always get hit this time of year. You might not know this but it’s a little famous for a murder. Sickos these days have been emulating this crime for years now. This is the third time I’ve seen it, we can never catch the bastards. I think it’s a different group every year to be honest.”
Taemin nodded, “I understand.”
“It’s a good thing we weren’t here.” Onew said with a smile, “Looks nasty but nothing insurance won’t cover. Thanks officer.”
Taemin was grateful that Onew handled the officers. He felt conflicted hearing that they’d talked to the housekeeper. He reluctantly made his way upstairs. Kibum wasn’t in his room instead he was in Taemin’s packing.
“You can’t live here anymore.”
“I like this house.”
Kibum glared at him, “This is my house.”
“I know.” Taemin replied, “I understand but this is the only place I have. I can’t go back to Korea.”
“Yes you can. I bought you a ticket,” Kibum remarked. “You fly out the same day as your friends.”
“My family was in an accident. They died.” Taemin explained, “There was a manufacturer error in the car. They all died. I won a lot of money in the lawsuit so I came here. A big house in America like my mom really wanted. I don’t have any place to go.”
“And you want to stay here? You know about this house, about me, even though it had to be right in front of your face to understand anything.”
“Before yesterday, I think everything was working out pretty good,” He smiled, “I thought we were a lot like friends too.”
Kibum was quiet for a moment and then gone from Taemin’s sight. Taemin scowled, looking around, “Kibum? Kibum?”
He marched over to his room knocking on his door, “Kibum are you in there?” He didn’t get a response, “I just want to talk. I’m opening the door.”
Inside Kibum was nowhere in sight. “Kibum? I’m going to stay here. There’s nothing you can say or do to change my mind. I know you are a good person.”
“Was,” Kibum corrected but not so Taemin could hear him, “I was a good person. Now I am this.”
“Kibum are you listening?” Taemin scanned the room hoping Kibum would reveal himself but he didn’t.
Taemin left the room with a sigh. He helped Minho and Jonghyun take their luggage to Onew’s car. They’d decided to finish the last two days of their stay in a hotel. Jonghyun was particularly upset that Taemin refused to go with them.
Onew gave him his number, “If you need any help. I won’t convince you to leave but you should know that Kibum has changed since those other spirits began visiting this house. I can’t say you’ll be completely safe if you stay here but Kibum is just a kid and I don't want you to think he's some kind of demon. Just, just be very careful.”
He nodded, “Thank you for everything. I’ll definitely call if I need to.”
Taemin returned inside after Minho and Jonghyun yelled at him about not leaving. He felt exhausted and the quiet of the house was welcoming. He decided to make himself comfortable and took a shower. When he went downstairs to the kitchen hair still wet, a bowl of pasta was there on the counter.
“Thank you, Kibum.” He smiled and poured himself a glass of wine. It was early but he’d had ghost problems, ghost problems. Technically he was still having ghost problems; he deserved a glass. It stayed quiet all day almost as if yesterday hadn’t happened. Then when Taemin turned off his laptop to go to bed Kibum spoke, “Are you really going to stay?”
“I know this is your house but this is still my room,” Taemin yawned, “You should knock and if we’re going to talk I’d like to be able to see you.”
“Why are you staying?”
“I liked living here.” Taemin repeated, “Well other than yesterday, besides that it was nice. All this time I've been alone but not lonely. I guess that’s because you were there but it was nice. I needed that and I know you needed that too.”
“I’m not human.”
“I know that now.”
“I’m dangerous.”
“I know.”
“I could hurt you.”
“But you haven’t.”
Taemin was looking at him. Kibum felt himself being seen. “I’m scared.”
“I’m not.” Taemin smiled, “And you don’t have to be. This is your house.”
“No, not that.” Kibum tried not to cry, “I’m afraid of when you leave. I’m afraid you’ll leave because of me. I'm not like how I used to be not since they started visiting me. Now I want people to suffer the way I did. I get so angry all the time. There's something wrong with me.”
“There is nothing wrong with you." Taemin said watching Kibum fade from his sight, "And I'm not leaving you.”
Kibum was waiting for Taemin to leave. Occupants didn't stay this long, they left. They always left. Kibum couldn't think of anything to frighten him. Couldn't do anything to frighten him like the other occupants. Taemin had been there during halloween, he'd seen it all. He'd seen the real thing, not the fake stunts Kibum pulled to scare people away.
Taemin was watching a movie down stairs when Kibum sat next to him. He pretended that his heart was beating out of his chest when Kibum scooted closer.
"I was only 17."
Taemin moved his hand to cover Kibum's it was cold but it felt human. "I'm not going to leave you."
Kibum curled his fingers around Taemin's and leaned onto his shoulder. This occupant was very different.
AN:This was weird...sorry. If you read this thanks....I don't know ghosts man...post-halloween spoopy feelings man.