The first thing that hit me when I stepped into the condominium was that my grandparents definitely didn’t design this place. It was too sleek, too modern, too… Korean-chic? Clean lines, pale wood, and furniture that looked like it came straight out of a lifestyle magazine. My grandparents were the lace-tablecloth-and-old-clock kind of people, not the minimalist-modern type.
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“Did you refurbish the apartment? It doesn’t look like a place my grandparents would own…” I walked around the room, observing the interior design. It was too clean.
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“I didn’t touch anything in this apartment. If anyone were doing any refurbishing, it would be the designer your grandfather hired.” Aunt Holly motioned us to the living room and took out a set of keys, handing me and Damian one each. “Although…it does seem strange for this apartment to look so modern.” She shrugged her shoulders, brushing off any further questions from me.
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“There are three bedrooms and one empty room, a bathroom in the corner and a study room. Oh, and the master bedroom has a bathroom inside as well.” Aunt Holly motioned us to the corridor of doors right beside the living room. “Your grandparents had already decided your rooms before they left Korea.”
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“They were here recently?” I raised my eyebrows. It didn’t seem possible that they had come to Korea, since we often went back to Sabah to visit.
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“Oh, it was years ago, really. It was one of their last trips here. The final trip was around twelve years ago, I think.”
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“I see.” I stared at the door which hung a plaque with my name on it. Somehow, part of me would rather sleep in the living room than my own room.
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“Right! Before I forget, I have some boxes your grandparents entrusted to me before they left. They’re in my apartment, about ten minutes from here. Damian, would you be so kind as to escort your favourite aunt?” Damian groaned. He was clearly jetlagged and exhausted from the flight here.
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“How about I go?” I volunteered, partially hoping to get some questions answered while we were in the car. But Aunt Holly seemed to have picked up my curiosity and promptly denied me.
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“Damian will go. You stay here and start unpacking your own luggage. We’ll be back soon. Damian, let’s go.” She twinkled her eyes at Damian and left.
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“Don’t worry, Aunt Holly won’t tell me shit either. And if she did, I’ll definitely tell you when I come back.” Damian patted my shoulder as he walked out the door.
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“Sure you will,” I muttered in annoyance. As soon as the door closed, I collapsed onto the couch and let out a deep sigh. “Well, this sucks.”
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*
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While Damian and Aunt Holly went to get the boxes, I explored the apartment, trying to find a clue to some of my questions.
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Better than moping about it on the couch. I grimaced as I studied the interior.
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The apartment looked like it came from a K-drama setting. Everything was meant to look aesthetic, down to the last carpet. Clean…and expensive. How on earth did Grandpa get the money for this apartment? Dozens of possibilities circled my head. Since he was a policeman before he retired, so…
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Maybe he took high-level cases?
Impossible. Grandpa’s cases were always assigned to him, and he wasn’t a private investigator.
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Side job?9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmmLy00cjCS
Too busy with police work—according to Dad.
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Loan.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw9whiUBOag
Never trusted banks.
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Loan-SHARK.
No debts left behind.
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Hidden funds!
Oooh… now that’s a possibility. But, where would he receive all these funds from? And now, we’re back to square one.
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As I dragged my luggage to my room, I racked my brain with possibilities I could come up with. Neither of them seemed like a viable answer. I grumbled with dissatisfaction with my lack of understanding in this entire situation.
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This really sucks.
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What the hell am I supposed to do when I have literally nothingto work on? Mom and Dad really dragged us into—
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I stopped dead in my tracks.
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A faint chill brushed against my skin.
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There was something in the air; I could feel it.
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WHOOSH.
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What was that?
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I whipped my head toward the bathroom in the corner. There was a ‘whoosh’ sound coming from that direction, and that means there’s wind.
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In the corridor.
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With no windows.
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As I stared at the bathroom intently, I could feel the nervousness creep up my spine. My fingers tightened around the handle of my luggage.
“…What the hell?”
I inched toward the bathroom; my heart was pounding in my chest. It was telling me to walk away there and then, but my instincts were drawn to whatever was behind the bathroom door.
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Before I knew it, my fingers were wrapped around the doorknob.
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Should I open it? What if there was some unworldly creature behind this door? What if it eats me?
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There are far scarier things in this world than the dark.
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Damian’s words played in my head repetitively like a record player.
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He was right.
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The airport incident should’ve been enough to tell me that.
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I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and prepared to turn the knob.
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God, if there’s some kind of monster behind this door, make sure it eats Damian after eating me.
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Three.
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Two.
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One.
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BANG!
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“We’re baaaack!”
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The door flung open behind me, and Damian and Aunt Holly burst in, laughing. In that moment, my knees gave out, and I let out a sigh of relief.
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