(this story is also published on wattpad and ao3)
Well, well, well....i couldn't resist and i couldn't wait so i decided to publish another chapter hehehe , i hope you guys are enjoying the story so far and i'm so eager to read your comments so please don't hesitate!
let's get this!!!
A new day, a new year. And people were still recovering from partying hard last night that it amused Jeongguk, seeing most of his workers were hungover and the rest were complaining about having to work after they stayed up last night for the fireworks. Now usually Jeongguk isn't an evil boss, but he really couldn't help teasing them a bit as he made comments then and there about partying too hard and stuff while reviewing today's share of work in his real estate company, getting data from his agencies around South Korea.
Everything was going smoothly for the CEO and he was about to get his cellphone to order some fried chicken for lunch when his secretary came to give him some mail. Usually mail was all receipts and bills but sometimes he would receive cards from his business partners and rivals so he went through them carefully, setting aside cards that he will answer with the help of his secretary and those that he won't.
Until his attention was on one little envelope, with no name, no address, no post stamp.
Only an elegant handwriting of "To Jeongguk".
It could be a scam or a "fan letter" but the handwriting ....was very familiar...
Who was he kidding, he knew the handwriting but he refused to believe it. He refused to think about it.
Pale and feeling his breath all leaving his lungs, He reached to take off his wedding ring, seeing the carvings inside it. A little sentence in elegant handwriting saying "My One and Only Guardian". A matching sentence was on Taehyung's ring, "My One and Only Rose".
The same handwriting on the seemingly innocent envelope.
He opened it carefully, expecting...what was he expecting? He didn't know what to do!
All that was inside was a small paper and a photograph.
The photograph....he would recognize it anywhere...since he was the one who took it with his own polaroid camera.
A picture of Taehyung smiling in their hotel room at Lake View Hotel. A picture he took on surprise and he recalled how Taehyung had whined saying his hair looked a mess and he should throw it and take another one.
He could almost hear his angel...
Hands trembling, he turned the picture to see if there's anything at the back. Nothing.
On the paper, the words sucked his breath away and drained blood from his face.
"Jeonggukie...
Our life...Our dream....Our perfection....
Come to Silent Hill...
Your Tae."
His vision was blurring. His breaths were getting shorter. His hands were trembling and the paper slipped from his hands to fall on the surface of his chrome and glass desk. Black spots were dancing in front of his eyes and he felt the world tip on its axis while a pounding sound was in his ears.
"Come to Silent Hill"
The words on the letter... because it was a letter, were ringing in his ears obsessively, repeatedly and insistently.
A letter from his angel, his Tae.
But it's impossible! Taehyung died five years ago! He died and he was no longer here with him! How could this be?? How could he receive a letter from his deceased husband??
Unacceptable!!! If this is a prank then whoever did this has an obvious death wish! Because it wasn't funny AT ALL!!!!
Some of his workers thought it would be so funny huh?? He'll show them!!! He isn't a violent person but he'll damn right make them regret ever fucking with him like this!
But two seconds away from slamming the door open and teaching his staff a lesson, the raven haired man halted, hands on the handle with wide eyes.
No one knew his husband had passed away. Only his inner most intimate circle of friends. And he was hundred percent sure none of them would ever prank him like this! Jimin had been devastated with Taehyung's death, being their childhood friend since the couple were children. Hoseok had a mental breakdown at the funeral which led him to a strict resting cure in a sanatorium. Seokjin had to distract himself with working erratic shifts at the hospital in order to take his mind off of his little brother's death, and Namjoon had buried himself in business meetings and alcohol to forget his baby brother's passing. And Yoongi had shouldered the mission of taking care of him, Jeongguk, in order to forget he needed to come to terms with the beautiful male's passing himself.
None of them would dare...none of them would even think of doing something like this! Namjoon and Seokjin were Taehyung's older brothers. Hoseok and Jimin were Taehyung's closest friends and confidantes. Yoongi was his own best friend and would never dare hurt him this way after witnessing what Tae's death had done to him the first few months. No, they won't.
Plus no one knew about Silent Hill being their safe haven. No one knew how much the small town had been their own place, their secret place, their little spot where they only existed for each other.
And none of his friends had access to his personal pictures and polaroids.
Jeongguk made his decision. He needed to find out and clear everything. So first step, verify if this picture wasn't stolen from his personal album. Then call the hotel to verify if they had kept a copy or whatever of the pictures he had developed while being at Silent Hill.
Not caring to answer his secretary, he left the office and sped toward his villa, the picture of a smiling Taehyung in his head and the lines from that letter repeating in his head.
"Come to Silent Hill."
Once home, he searched through his office and found the album neatly in the bookshelves as usual. He went through it.
And froze ....seeing the same picture in its place, kept safe as expected, with the protective film over it to keep it from harm and dust.
At this moment, Jeongguk felt cold sweat break onto his forehead, feeling countless tingles all over his body.
The feeling of being watched.
He quickly turned around, heaving, panicking as he looked around for the source of this insistent feeling of being watched. He ran around the entire house, inspecting every nook and cranny to no avail. No one was home but him. No one was here but him. He was alone....He had always been alone ever since his Tae passed away.
But his Tae sent him a letter! A letter in his own handwriting, he would swear on his own life that it was his lover's own hand that wrote this letter! And the picture. There is only one copy of that picture and it's in his album right now, still open on the coffee table as he heaved, feeling terrified at the weird circumstances .
Could it be....Could it be that his Tae....his Tae could be....
The loud ringtone cut the silence like a sudden bomb and it made the CEO jump up in fright, realizing his phone was in his pocket and ringing. He picked it up, seeing Jimin's number and answered after taking some seconds to calm down.
"Y-Yeah hello?
-Jeongguk! Hey how's everything going man? You still working?
-N-No I'm home...
-Whattt? But weren't we supposed to meet at the café today? Hobi's treat this time?"
Jeongguk felt his mind slowly emerging from the fog of panic that seemed to have taken home there ever since he read the letter. He recalled he was indeed supposed to meet up with his friends today as part of their weekly gathering, and it was Hoseok's turn to pay for dinner and drinks. He exhaled and tugged on his tie, going upstairs to change and leave. A shower would also do him some good and help clear his mind so he decided to head to the bathroom.
"Yeah sorry, it kinda slipped my mind. Where are you guys? At the usual spot?
-Actually I'm on my way to your place since I got those antiques you wanted today and was thinking of surprising you and seeing how they look in your living room. So what do you say we leave together? I'll drive this time?"
Right, Jimin owns an antique shop and runs purchases for private collectors and wealthy buyers who have a thing for antique furniture or unique pieces of art. It was a difficult business but Jimin was a genius at it and had an impressive list of clientele who were all satisfied with his services. Taehyung used to always buy some trinkets from his childhood friend and that's how he introduced the cheerful but intelligent Jimin to the raven haired CEO who in turn became one of his clients. The pieces he was supposed to get today were a small tea set, dating back to the Victorian era and would find a place in his private porcelain collection.
The ravenette breathed a sigh of relief, knowing he won't be alone for too long since his friend was coming over. Maybe...should he tell him about the letter? Jimin had been very affected by Taehyung's passing after all...if this was a prank it would only serve to devastate the blonde businessman after giving him false hopes.
"Jeongguk you still there buddy?"
The kind tone of the blonde snapped Jeongguk out of his thoughts and he answered quickly.
"Yes, yes, ok I'll see you in a few. How long till you get here?
-Five minutes tops! See ya!"
Jeongguk hung up and proceeded to go upstairs, deciding on changing out of his suit into a casual outfit. Maybe this is all he needs, some breath of fresh air with his trusty friends and to forget about the strange letter with its strange circumstances. It could be a prank, or it could be a card Taehyung had forgotten at the hotel back then and one of the staff found it and decided to send it.
....but there was no address...no post stamp...no explanation note....
He threw his jacket and button-up shirt on the bed, going to his en-suite bathroom, deciding to freshen up a bit, shave and comb his hair and forget about all this for now. He was starting to get a headache for God's sake!
Quickly he got in the bath and had a quick cold shower, feeling better after that. He heard the front door open, whistles sounding through the calm house and Jimin yelling his name to look for him.
"Where are you man?
-Shower!"
Jeongguk chuckled hearing Jimin's mocking laughter and got out, draping a towel around his waist before going to shave and brush his teeth.
He looked into the mirror, zoning off as he contemplated the sight of his body. Not bad for a 32 years old guy who was still grieving his deceased husband, he thought with a small sad smile. His reflection showed him a pale man, healthy despite slight dark circles under his onyx eyes, muscular body with the eight packs he worked so hard for, a full sleeve and shoulder tattoo and a tattoo on the right pectoral that was his favorite amongst all the ink on his body. A tattoo of Taehyung's name surrounded by feathers, stars and a heart with the infinity sign, he had designed it himself and got it at the end of their third year of marriage. He smiled sadly at it before he continued his shaving, humming slightly while he heard Jimin in his bedroom popping open one of the bottles in the mini bar.
"Dayum, that's one nice vodka bottle you got there!
-Don't drink all my stuff Jimin. That was expensive."
Jimin ignored him, judging by the sound of the bottle opening and the glass tinting. Jeongguk bent down to wash his face, promising he'll whoop Jimin's ass once done.
When he got up to inspect his face closer, He could only yell in terror at what he saw.
The reflection of ....of a something! It couldn't be human! It looked like a corpse with peeled skin, a blindfold over its eyes while its teeth were bound by chains of metal that dug into what could be its chest and neck, blood tears trailing from underneath the blindfold while it stood frozen right behind Jeongguk who jumped back and quickly turned around, the door bursting open as Jimin came in yelling.
"What happened?? Jeongguk what the hell???"
....There was nothing ....there was no one beside him and Jeongguk had his eyes wide from terror, staring at the place where the ...the thing was standing in right now!
He felt Jimin grasping his shoulders, shaking him slightly, worried.
"What happened Jeongguk? You were yelling and God it sounded like you saw a ghost or something!
-...m-maybe I did...
-You what now?? But man I.....I..."
Jimin was looking at something behind Jeongguk and his eyes were widening, paling suddenly. Jeongguk frowned in confusion before he turned to see what was terrifying Jimin to this point, dreading the return of the nightmarish vision he just had.
No monster there, but something was on the wall.
A writing, underneath a little painted sign, looking awfully like a circle mounted on a square with some symbols within it.
"W-What's that Jeongguk? D-Did you do this?"
The ravenette understood why Jimin was panicking. The entire thing was scarlet red, splashes and lines of red trailing from it as if the paint was still fresh.
It looked like it was made from blood.
And underneath the sign, a small sentence, looking straight out of a crime scene.
"Come to Silent Hill"
***
Silence was engulfing the living room, while a group of men sat on the comfortable couches, all grim and looking like they dreaded breaking the heavy silence.
Jeongguk was sitting on the couch, in between a pale Jimin and a worried Hoseok, fixing his unfinished cup of whiskey, clasping his hands on his knees as he sat hunched. On the chair beside Hoseok sat a tall, serious looking Namjoon who had a pair of stylish reading glasses perched on his nose while he was examining the letter that disturbed Jeongguk's day. Seokjin was on a chair beside the tall maroon haired Namjoon with worry covering his handsome face, Yoongi standing by the window and smoking.
Finally, Namjoon cleared his throat and broke the silence.
"You say you received this today...with a picture of Taehyung?
-Yes.
-And there's nothing indicating the sender? Nothing that rings a bell?
-Just the handwriting ....and you know whose it is.
-Yeah...I know..."
Namjoon frowned, knowing the handwriting belonged to his baby brother, his deceased baby brother and couldn't help but glare. If this is a joke then it was NOT funny! Not.at.all!!!
But he contained himself, knowing Jeongguk must've been feeling worse and added.
"You say the picture was taken in this town...this Silent Hill...
-Yes. That's where we went...West Virginia, a little town ...that's where we spent our honeymoon..."
Everyone felt the sad undertone in the ravenette's voice, knowing the memory was as beautiful as it is painful. But Namjoon quickly carried on, not wishing to linger on the painful memory of his baby brother's death.
"And this...thing you think you saw-...
-I didn't hallucinate what I saw Namjoon-Hyung. I did see it and it was..."
Jeongguk messed up his damp hair before he sighed, glancing at Jimin who nodded and intervened.
"I didn't see what he saw but the writing on the bathroom wall is real, Hyung.
-I don't mean to disrespect but...Jeongguk that writing could be a thief or someone who broke in-...
-How many times do I need to repeat it? The wall was clean when I went to shower not even three minutes before ! Jimin was the only one with me at home and no one entered the bathroom while I was showering!! I would've seen them!
-You don't know! You were absorbed in this letter that your attention could've been elsewhere!
-I checked the security camera footage. No one broke inside today! No one broke inside while I was there! No one could've broken inside while I was showering! Jimin was drinking in the bedroom, right in front of the bathroom door! He would've seen it if someone came in to leave some scratches on the wall and magically leave within three minutes without me noticing them or noticing the smell of paint!!!!"
Jeongguk stood up, angry and nervous and terrified, filling his cup with whiskey and gulping it in one go while his hyungs were all exchanging glances and worried looks behind his back. He knew what they were thinking: Taehyung's death had affected him to the point of making him hallucinate things just so he could give himself hope. BULLSHIT!!!! He was the one who got the news of his angel's death! He was the one who organized his funerals!! He was the one who had to cope with his absence! He was the one who kept the pictures as the only way to remember Taehyung's laugh and boxy smile since he couldn't see it anymore!! He was the one who got back to work and went out with his friends to heal and get over it!! He wasn't crazy! He never was!! He thought he would turn crazy with the unbearable feeling of loss but Taehyung wouldn't have liked that! His angel would've loved to see him healthy and getting his life back on track instead of being interned in an asylum because grief was too much!!!!
"I believe you Jeonggukie. So please stop drinking and sit down."
He turned to see Seokjin standing next to him, worry visible in his eyes as he gently took the bottle of alcohol from the CEO and guided him to sit down. The handsome doctor smiled at him to reassure him before adding.
"Guys, the problem is the letter. We have to verify if it's real or not.
-Brilliant...and how do you suggest we do it?"
All eyes were on Namjoon who looked skeptic, legs crossed and one eyebrow raised in challenge. His older brother looked about to slap him when Hoseok intervened, shyly.
"I mean...you said you guys went to that hotel in Silent Hill often, like three to four times? Why not call it? The reception could help and could even do some research for you...
-That's what I was going to suggest before Joon wanted to be an ass about it!
-I wasn't! I wanted to see if you had a plan, I had no intention of picking a fight with you Jin-Hyung!
-Guys! Come on, focus! So Jeongguk, up for it? Since you went there, you're the best one qualified to make the call."
Hoseok had his eyes on Jeongguk who thought about it for some minutes before nodding. He looked at Jimin and hesitated, not sure how to word his question. Jimin sighed, running his hand in his blonde locks and answered the silent question.
"It's kinda spooky but I can't forget how you looked when I heard the yell ....at first I thought you were pranking me but then the letter ....the picture..."
Jimin seemed lost in his thoughts for a second before he snapped out of it and continued, this time smiling to reassure the raven haired CEO.
"I know you're not the type to prank us like this, not with...with Tae...Anyways, I believe you Jeonggukie, let's make the call and verify. We'll get to the bottom of this, I promise!
-Thanks Jimin...I owe you."
He took a deep breath and took out his phone, set on going on with this small plan. Something in his heart was inclined to believe the letter came from Taehyung, hope flaring in his chest despite the circumstances looking weird and spooky. Not to mention the weird hallucination he got and the dripping writing on his bathroom wall, but he really wanted to believe...that there's a perfectly logical explanation to all this. His hyungs got here as quick as they could after a stuttering Jimin had called them for help, saying weird shit is happening at Jeongguk's house and they all came here running. Of course Namjoon being the logical person he is was very skeptical, not finding an explanation for the dripping scarlet writing in the bathroom and quickly supposed the pair had been too distracted to notice a thief had broken in. The letter had made him kinda angry though, since Namjoon had blamed himself for not taking good care of his baby brother's health, but Seokjin, the eldest of the Kim brothers had taken it upon himself to consider all options. And while Jimin had been too shaken to contribute much, he had offered his help to Jeongguk and for that the raven haired man was grateful. It had been Hoseok who believed him quickly, the professional dancer had been keen on anything that could help him hope for his childhood friend's possible revival.
Jeongguk scrolled through his phone contact list to find the number he was looking for while everyone awaited eagerly. But before he could get the chance of finding it, the phone was snatched from his hand by none other than a stern looking Yoongi.
"What're you doing Yoongi-Hyung?
-The question is, what are YOU doing, Jeongguk?"
Blinking in confusion, the ravenette frowned, not understanding the purpose of the obvious question.
"We agreed on calling the Hotel reception in Silent Hill to ask for any possible leads. Weren't you listening while smoking?
-Oh I heard you perfectly. But it's you who's gotta listen now."
Yoongi took out his own phone, a website visible on the screen and gave it to the confused ravenette.
"Go ahead, read it and you'll get it.
-But-...
-Read before saying anything."
Jeongguk took the phone, not understanding what the platinum haired man was hinting at. He exchanged glances with the others, as confused as he was, and then took a look at the website.
The title was "Famous Ghost Towns across the World", signed by none other than Yoongi himself, who worked as a reporter and wrote freelance articles for several websites. Intrigued and confused, Jeongguk looked up, puzzled .
"Ghost towns? What does this have to do with everything going on here?
-Scroll down, you'll see."
While Jeongguk did as told, Yoongi turned to the others and explained.
"Three years ago, I received a commision from the news channel director I'm currently working for, asking for a report about, quoting, "a spicy story that could spook our viewers for Halloween". Bullshit obviously. All I had to do was visit one or two abandoned locations, string some spices into one or two urban legends circling across the town and job's well done and ratings sky high for Halloween. Only, my boss wanted a real article about several things and not just the usual crap we serve to gullible readers, so I took a plane to the USA and a small team and we went exploring famous ghost towns across the country."
Seokjin frowned, trying to remember.
"Yeah I recall you did a fantastic job, a whole forty minute report that got really popular and we celebrated it. It was Jimin's treat at the sushi restaurant.
-Yeah, I remember now! Hyung worked really hard for it too.
-Yeah thanks Jimin but that's not the point. Amongst the towns I visited, there was one rumor about a little town in West Virginia that people shared with my team."
A sudden noise startled everyone, turning to see Jeongguk slumping on the nearest chair, face pale as his eyes were on the phone screen, hands trembling. Before Hoseok could ask what happened, Yoongi answered for him.
"The town's name is Silent Hill. A ghost town that had been deserted six years ago because of an accident that had happened in the coal mines spreading underneath the town."
Jimin's eyes were wide in surprise, Hoseok asking the question everyone was dying to hear.
"W-What are you saying Yoongi-hyung? But Jeonggukie went to that town and all.
-It was prosperous ten years ago, yes. But an accident happened, a year before Tae's death. The town is currently closed and avoided. Rumors spreading about it, making it one of the most avoided ghost towns in West Virginia.
-But then-...
-Exactly Hobi. No one could've sent a letter from Silent Hill since no one lives there anymore. No one could go there anymore. No one can stay there anymore."
Silence.
Jeongguk's eyes were fixed on the picture that he was so familiar with and yet it was so different from what he remembers. The picture of the main street in Silent Hill, with the little shops being all the same...
...with the asphalt cracked in more than one place, the dust settling heavily over the shops, graffiti covering the walls, no soul in sight, abandoned, empty....
Come to Silent Hill.
The same sentence was repeated twice in the same day. In the letter from Taehyung, because he was damn sure it was from Taehyung even if his friends would present the angel's grave as an argument, and on the morbid writing on the wall of his bedroom.
Come to Silent Hill.
He was fixing the picture of the now ghost town that had been once the haven of his happiness. And while Yoongi's words were heard in the background, everyone else arguing loudly with the stoic reporter, his attention was grabbed by a tiny detail that could...or could not be real after all.
He zoomed in on what used to be the antique shop in the town, the window was all dusty and cracked but....a detail...a little blurred detail was haunting him... taunting him.
He stood up abruptly and went to the small mahogany desk on the corner of the living room, ignoring his friends who were trying to know what was happening with him. He opened his laptop and went to the website, downloading the picture before he used a software that he had installed to control and analyze the images from his security camera in order to clear the picture and zoom in as close as possible.
While waiting for the image to be processed, he asked Yoongi without even looking at him.
"Who took the picture you used for your article Hyung?
-I did. All the pictures in that article were taken by me and my team, why?"
He didn't bother to answer and waited a bit. The image was clearing bit by bit.
A silhouette was leaning from within the shop, a silhouette that had its hand on the window, its face blurred.
A silhouette that had a very familiar ring on its hand, on its index finger.
A ring he had bought himself...
The image cleared.
And he saw...the blurred face of his Taehyung, wearing the same clothes he had been wearing that fateful morning of his death.
"Jeonggukie....are you ok?"
He couldn't answer Hoseok who was grabbing his shoulder and shaking him, but he must've looked terrible for his usually cheerful friend to look this anxious, this worried.
Because even if he could argue and say it was a coincidence, that he could be hallucinating Taehyung's face everywhere, he wasn't hallucinating the writing on the window of the antique shop.
Come to Silent Hill Jeonggukie...
****