Hyunji put her phone back in her pocket, then turned to face Jungkyu. "Come on!"
Jungkyu trailed behind Hyunji. He was about to walk towards the main door, but Hyunji stopped him. "Why?" he asked.
"Don't enter from there!"
"Then?"
Hyunji looked up a little. "Over there."
"Balcony?" Jungkyu asked in amazement after seeing the object that Hyunji meant.
Hyunji nodded. "Yes. That's my bedroom. We'll go through there."
"Why don't we go in through the door?"
"I left my access card in the bedroom."
"It can be accessed by pin."
Hyunji was silent for a moment. "I don't want to."
"Why?"
"Less challenging."
Jungkyu massaged his temples and sighed tiredly. "Whatever. Now, how do you get up there?"
"Climbing." Hyunji walked over to a large tree about three meters from the balcony.
It created a frown on Jungkyu's forehead. "Can you?"
"Basically, I believe that humans are still related to apes. Even monkeys can do it, why can't I?"
Running out of words, Jungkyu decided not to respond anymore. He chose to be an observer when Hyunji rolled up her sweater sleeves and started climbing a tree.
Beyond Jungkyu's expectations, Hyunji seems to be very agile. It didn't take long for her to reach the nearest branch and jump onto the balcony.
Hyunji patted her clothes, before looking down. Gave Jungkyu a code to follow her right away.
Jungkyu snorted. He had no choice but to follow Hyunji's words. But rather than climbing which requires more energy, he has other alternatives which he thinks are more efficient. He ran, stomped firmly on the tree trunk and walls alternately, then grabbed one of the branches that looked solid. He swung to reach the railing of the balcony and easily jumped over it.
When he landed his feet on the floor, the first thing he got was Hyunji's unusual glare. The girl squinted at him with an appealing gaze. "I didn't know you could do parkour."
"So what?"
"We'd better get in through the door then."
"What?!"
Not giving Jungkyu a chance to grumble, Hyunji turned her body quickly. She crouched down by one of the three potted ornamental plants. She removed the dense leaves that the plant had. With her sharp eyesight, she managed to find what she was looking for. A key peeked out among the leaves. She reached for the key to open the balcony door of her bedroom.
The sound of the door opening filled the silence. Hyunji looked around. Her bedroom was still the same as when she last left. Perhaps the difference was only a little tidier than the last time she remembered. Apart from that, nothing has changed.
"Come in." Hyunji shifted, making space for Jungkyu to enter her room.
Jungkyu came in. His gaze spread all over. He looked one by one the furniture there which consisted of a bed, a cupboard, two sofa units complete with desks, two bedside tables, a dressing table, a bookshelf, a large mirror, and a desk with study chair.
The bedroom—that measuring seven by seven meters—seemed normal so far. Too normal in fact to make Jungkyu suspicious. His gaze shifted to a closed door. He approached, was about to grab the doorknob, but was blocked because Hyunji suddenly stood up in front of him.
Jungkyu jerked back.
"What do you want to do?" asked Hyunji interrogating.
Jungkyu blinked. "That's a bathroom, right?"
Slowly, Hyunji nodded.
"Move. I need to use the bathroom right now."
"Wait!" With lightning speed, Hyunji locked the bathroom door and pulled the lock. "You don't even let me use the bathroom in your apartment, so why would I let you use my bathroom?"
"I told you before, I'm not letting you because-"
"I don't wanna hear anything."
Jungkyu snorted. "You want me to pee in here?"
Hyunji glared. "Are you crazy?"
"Monkeys can pee anywhere they want, why can't I?"
Jungkyu turned around, headed to a corner of the room, then made a gesture as if he wanted to take off his pants.
Hyunji squealed, "Go to the bathroom downstairs!" Irritated, she threw Jungkyu out of her room.
Jungkyu chuckled, not refusing when he was pushed out of there. Even though he was still curious about that room, he had no intention of finding out further. If indeed the host wouldn't allow it, let time answer it. After all, he was not that coveted to know other person's privacy.
For a while, he spent time exploring Hyunji's house. So far, he saw no sign of life at all. Luxurious furniture filled every corner of the room, but the dust on the surface showed how neglected the house was.
Every time he touched his finger on the furniture there, he felt nothing but the chill stabbing his skin. He felt the furniture was barely touched. It was as if the house had long been abandoned by its owner.
Cold and lonely ambushed as his steps grew further. How gloomy. Even the kitchen—which should feel a little livelier because it needs to be used every day—is just like any other room. Instead of a horror atmosphere, being in the middle of a large uninhabited house like this, Jungkyu felt so lonely.
For a moment, he pondered. He wondered, what kind of loneliness does Hyunji feel every day? Where did her parents go? How could they leave their daughter to grow up alone in a house like this?
While busy with questions in his mind, Hyunji patted him on the shoulder. Not hard, but enough to make Jungkyu surprised and turn his body spontaneously. "You startled me."
"Why are you here?"
Jungkyu cleared his throat. "Looking for the bathroom. You didn't tell me where it was."
Hyunji took a deep breath. "Follow me."
Without arguing, Jungkyu trailed behind her. Their steps stopped in front of a room with the door tightly closed. When Hyunji pushed the door open, it appeared that the room behind it was a bathroom. "Get in there."
Jungkyu didn't say much. He stepped in, was about to close the door, but stopped when he saw Hyunji stay where she was. Did not move even an inch. "You're not leaving?"
"I have to make sure you don't touch anything in this house."
Jungkyu raised one of his eyebrows. He opened the door wide and moved slightly to make way. "Come in."
Hyunji goggled.
In contrast to Hyunji, Jungkyu shrugged casually. "You need to make sure I don't touch anything, right?"
"But ... geez! Get in there!"
"Are you sure you don't want to come in? I can-"
Hyunji quickly pushed Jungkyu into the bathroom, then closed it. She crossed her arms, leaning against the wall while waiting for Jungkyu to finish with his business.
Suddenly, the vibrations of her phone distracted her. Again, Jimin Hwang's name appeared on the screen.
Hyunji let out a long breath. Without thinking twice, she rejected the call. She was about to turn off the power of her phone again, but the message notification in the pop-up stopped her. The message she had received since five minutes ago was written,
From: Jimin Hwang
I'm at your house. Don't think about running away!
"WHAT THE FUCK?!"
Hyunji was at a loss. Not caring about the prohibition at the end of the message, she immediately opened the bathroom door without the consent of someone in there who almost jumped in surprise.
Jungkyu quickly adjusted his pants zipper. He turned his head, looked at Hyunji with a creepy gaze. Luckily, he was done with his business, so that Hyunji didn't see something she might regret for the rest of her life.
With an annoyed face, Jungkyu exclaimed, "Hey! What are you-"
"Get out! We're leaving right now!"
"Huh? Why? We just arrived."
"Don't ask!" Hyunji grabbed Jungkyu's hand, dragging him to follow her. "The most important thing is we have to quickly get out of here."
Before they had time to set their feet outside, suddenly someone appeared in the doorway and blocked their steps.
Hyunji flinched backwards because of his unexpected appearance. She bumped into Jungkyu behind her who unconsciously tightened their grip so that Hyunji didn't fall.
But there was no time to worry about that.
The person who came uninvited looked shocked. One hand is still gripping the phone positioned to his ear. A second later, he aimed his death glare at Hyunji.
"J-Jimin ...."