Supernatural - Chapter 4
Chapter 4:
It was a black sign with golden letters. Written in handwriting script, "Thirteenth Bookstore" was nailed on a sign on top of the double glass doors that lead to the antique bookshop in the streets of downtown. He lean his weight on the doors and it opened with the noise of a bell chime. Kangin followed closely behind him.
Inside was dim, crammed with aisles and aisles of books, however the store itself wasn't big. Behind the five rows of shelves, between the aisles, a long desk can be seen at the back. Eeteuk quickly walk through to the back, all the while hearing Youngoon squeezing his way.
*ding ding*
After ringing the small silver bell on top of the counter, he waited patiently as he heard shuffling from the back of the counter, which was also stuffed with books in uneven rows and columns of bookshelves.
"How do people even prevent stealing when there's no one to even look at the shop?" Youngoon asked curiously as he reached the counter finally. After some more time and the sound of more books falling on the ground, a boy finally emerged through the mess at the back.
"Hi."
"Er... hello. We're looking for the store owner?"
"That'd be me."
Eeteuk and Youngoon looked at each other before turning their eyes back to the boy in front of them again. White sweater with faded jeans, he was tall and had a mature look on his face, however still barely looked like he was a university student. Definitely, this person does not look like a typical owner to a bookshop.
"Ah, don't get too shocked. Family business. My passed-away parents left it to me."
As if sensing their question, the boy provided them with the answer first, while trying to stack the books on the desk into a more presentable pile. Realizing that they had stepped into an impolite topic, Eeteuk quickly started.
"My apologies, we weren't trying to offend..."
"It's alright. So is there anything I can help you with?"
"Actually yes--"
"--we were told that you can give tours to that mansion up the hill?" Youngoon quickly cut Eeteuk off from any useless chatter with the most straight forwarded question, and promptly received a glare.
"The hill? Scarlet's Mansion?"
"Yes, that is the one."
Eeteuk looked expectantly at the boy.
"... I'm sorry, but I don't give that kind of tours."
The boy shook his head and looked apologetic, while the other two on the other side of the counter were giving looks that screamed 'why'.
"But we're told--"
"--that is a really dangerous place, I'm sure you've heard the rumours. And I hope you guys don't wander there by yourselves either."
Sensing the finality in the boy's tone, Eeteuk sighed and turned to Youngoon with a questioning look.
"Changmin said this is the only place..."
"Wait! did you say Changmin?"
The young storeowner suddenly interrupted their conversation as if the name had ring a bell.
"Yes, it was Changmin from that cafe who told us to find you."
"...I see. Then alright, I'll give you a tour."
"Really?"
-- Wow, that was a quick change of mind.
"Meet me at the entrance tomorrow at noon. I'll show you around the place then."
Youngoon was about to say something when he stepped on his feet. The older man ignored Youngoon's pained look and took out his electronic notebook to write it down.
"Thanks a lot for your help, we'd really appreciate it. Um... we didn't quite get your name..."
"It's Kyuhyun."
~~~
It's been a thirty-minute walk down the street, and there was only one thought that crossed his mind.
-- This town is so haunted, there's more spirits on the streets than humans.
Siwon once told him that spirits are usually just remnant of someone who just passed away, and would only stay around for a while before going on to the other side. Of course, there are exceptions to this, as there are ghosts who are still attached to this world because of something. Those usually stick around until it has completed what it wants. Then there are the aggressive types, which are usually vengeful -- those are the ones where exorcists are hired to clean up.
The conclusion is that, if the spirit is normal, then it would be difficult to tell them apart from humans. That is of course, if one can seem them like Sungmin. The only way he could tell was from the shadows.
Sungmin shook his head to get rid of the strain in his eyes from staring too long.
It was one of the habits hammered into him by Heechul, to always keep alert when he was by himself, because he would never know what will happen next being an exorcist. Though the real reason was because his master gave him all kinds of shit during training, and he had to turn on his alert mode before he gets killed unknowingly.
-- Just when I thought it was nice to have a partner.
Looks like on this mission, he'd have to work by himself more than with Eeteuk, now that... Youngoon is here.
-- Correction, it's Kangin. That bastard wouldn't even let people call his real name.
Sungmin pouted mentally as he thought of the intruder, aka. Eeteuk's ex-partner. The fighting last night really didn't give them a good start, and from the looks of Eeteuk, he could tell that his partner didn't want the other man to be here. However, Sungmin didn't have a say in the matter since it was Eeteuk's business. And it didn't look like Kangin will leave any time soon. So all he can do, is be a good sport and make it as pleasant as possible.
That's the only reason why he came to look for motel while letting the other two get information.
The motel he was looking for is called "East Sea Fish", which seems to be the only one in town. Only one motel and it was like five blocks away. It didn't make sense, but then again, who would want to visit a town like this? He was just surprised that people even lived here. Wouldn't they be freaked out by all the 'weird' occurrences?
Finally seeing a unique sign with a big blue fish plastered on the second floor of a small building, he jogged across the street and walked through the entrance.
It wasn't as lavish as a hotel, however, the interior was nicely decorated in royal blue, with the carpets and walls. There was a silver front desk facing the door, with a the 'receptionist' sign dangling at the front. Sungmin stepped in front of it, as a head suddenly popped up from behind it.
"Hey!"
"Er.... hello."
"Sorry did I scare you? I was under the desk looking for--"
*wof wof*
"-- ah! There you are Bada! Where did you run off to?"
The boy across from Sungmin jumped over the desk and brushed pass him as he tackled the small white dog that appeared suddenly.
He waited for a few minutes watching the two wrestle before saying anything.
"Um... excuse me?"
The person and dog on the floor snapped their heads at him, then the boy sheepishly smiled and picked up the dog quickly as he returned to behind the desk.
"Sorry about that. What can I do for you?"
"I'm staying in town for approximately a week, and I want to rent out a room... I mean, three."
"Alright, three rooms?"
"No, wait. Two."
"Two rooms?"
"One of them for two people."
"Sure. May I have your name and credit card?"
"It's Lee Sungmin." He said as he took out his wallet and dug out his card. The boy took it as he started to file the information on his computer. Sungmin pondered for a while before starting a conversation since the silence was getting too awkward.
"So, I suppose you don't get too many tourists in this area."
"Not much, but since this is the only motel in town, I get all the customers."
"Oh, are you the owner?"
"Yup."
"Never thought of moving?"
"Haha, I'm sorta tied here. But I'm not losing money, so it's alright. Here's your card." The boy slid the card across the top of the desk back to Sungmin, and handed him two keys along with it, "I'm Lee Donghae by the way. You can find me here if there are any problems. Your rooms are 202 and 204, which are upstairs on the second floor. Enjoy your stay."
"Thank you." He nodded to Donghae before moving towards the stairs.
"Ah-- by the way..."
"Yes?"
"Please don't wander off to other vacant rooms. This is just our motel policy."
"Sure."
~~~
It was a black sign with golden letters. Written in handwriting script, "Thirteenth Bookstore" was nailed on a sign on top of the double glass doors that lead to the antique bookshop in the streets of downtown. He lean his weight on the doors and it opened with the noise of a bell chime. Kangin followed closely behind him.
Inside was dim, crammed with aisles and aisles of books, however the store itself wasn't big. Behind the five rows of shelves, between the aisles, a long desk can be seen at the back. Eeteuk quickly walk through to the back, all the while hearing Youngoon squeezing his way.
*ding ding*
After ringing the small silver bell on top of the counter, he waited patiently as he heard shuffling from the back of the counter, which was also stuffed with books in uneven rows and columns of bookshelves.
"How do people even prevent stealing when there's no one to even look at the shop?" Youngoon asked curiously as he reached the counter finally. After some more time and the sound of more books falling on the ground, a boy finally emerged through the mess at the back.
"Hi."
"Er... hello. We're looking for the store owner?"
"That'd be me."
Eeteuk and Youngoon looked at each other before turning their eyes back to the boy in front of them again. White sweater with faded jeans, he was tall and had a mature look on his face, however still barely looked like he was a university student. Definitely, this person does not look like a typical owner to a bookshop.
"Ah, don't get too shocked. Family business. My passed-away parents left it to me."
As if sensing their question, the boy provided them with the answer first, while trying to stack the books on the desk into a more presentable pile. Realizing that they had stepped into an impolite topic, Eeteuk quickly started.
"My apologies, we weren't trying to offend..."
"It's alright. So is there anything I can help you with?"
"Actually yes--"
"--we were told that you can give tours to that mansion up the hill?" Youngoon quickly cut Eeteuk off from any useless chatter with the most straight forwarded question, and promptly received a glare.
"The hill? Scarlet's Mansion?"
"Yes, that is the one."
Eeteuk looked expectantly at the boy.
"... I'm sorry, but I don't give that kind of tours."
The boy shook his head and looked apologetic, while the other two on the other side of the counter were giving looks that screamed 'why'.
"But we're told--"
"--that is a really dangerous place, I'm sure you've heard the rumours. And I hope you guys don't wander there by yourselves either."
Sensing the finality in the boy's tone, Eeteuk sighed and turned to Youngoon with a questioning look.
"Changmin said this is the only place..."
"Wait! did you say Changmin?"
The young storeowner suddenly interrupted their conversation as if the name had ring a bell.
"Yes, it was Changmin from that cafe who told us to find you."
"...I see. Then alright, I'll give you a tour."
"Really?"
-- Wow, that was a quick change of mind.
"Meet me at the entrance tomorrow at noon. I'll show you around the place then."
Youngoon was about to say something when he stepped on his feet. The older man ignored Youngoon's pained look and took out his electronic notebook to write it down.
"Thanks a lot for your help, we'd really appreciate it. Um... we didn't quite get your name..."
"It's Kyuhyun."
~~~
It's been a thirty-minute walk down the street, and there was only one thought that crossed his mind.
-- This town is so haunted, there's more spirits on the streets than humans.
Siwon once told him that spirits are usually just remnant of someone who just passed away, and would only stay around for a while before going on to the other side. Of course, there are exceptions to this, as there are ghosts who are still attached to this world because of something. Those usually stick around until it has completed what it wants. Then there are the aggressive types, which are usually vengeful -- those are the ones where exorcists are hired to clean up.
The conclusion is that, if the spirit is normal, then it would be difficult to tell them apart from humans. That is of course, if one can seem them like Sungmin. The only way he could tell was from the shadows.
Sungmin shook his head to get rid of the strain in his eyes from staring too long.
It was one of the habits hammered into him by Heechul, to always keep alert when he was by himself, because he would never know what will happen next being an exorcist. Though the real reason was because his master gave him all kinds of shit during training, and he had to turn on his alert mode before he gets killed unknowingly.
-- Just when I thought it was nice to have a partner.
Looks like on this mission, he'd have to work by himself more than with Eeteuk, now that... Youngoon is here.
-- Correction, it's Kangin. That bastard wouldn't even let people call his real name.
Sungmin pouted mentally as he thought of the intruder, aka. Eeteuk's ex-partner. The fighting last night really didn't give them a good start, and from the looks of Eeteuk, he could tell that his partner didn't want the other man to be here. However, Sungmin didn't have a say in the matter since it was Eeteuk's business. And it didn't look like Kangin will leave any time soon. So all he can do, is be a good sport and make it as pleasant as possible.
That's the only reason why he came to look for motel while letting the other two get information.
The motel he was looking for is called "East Sea Fish", which seems to be the only one in town. Only one motel and it was like five blocks away. It didn't make sense, but then again, who would want to visit a town like this? He was just surprised that people even lived here. Wouldn't they be freaked out by all the 'weird' occurrences?
Finally seeing a unique sign with a big blue fish plastered on the second floor of a small building, he jogged across the street and walked through the entrance.
It wasn't as lavish as a hotel, however, the interior was nicely decorated in royal blue, with the carpets and walls. There was a silver front desk facing the door, with a the 'receptionist' sign dangling at the front. Sungmin stepped in front of it, as a head suddenly popped up from behind it.
"Hey!"
"Er.... hello."
"Sorry did I scare you? I was under the desk looking for--"
*wof wof*
"-- ah! There you are Bada! Where did you run off to?"
The boy across from Sungmin jumped over the desk and brushed pass him as he tackled the small white dog that appeared suddenly.
He waited for a few minutes watching the two wrestle before saying anything.
"Um... excuse me?"
The person and dog on the floor snapped their heads at him, then the boy sheepishly smiled and picked up the dog quickly as he returned to behind the desk.
"Sorry about that. What can I do for you?"
"I'm staying in town for approximately a week, and I want to rent out a room... I mean, three."
"Alright, three rooms?"
"No, wait. Two."
"Two rooms?"
"One of them for two people."
"Sure. May I have your name and credit card?"
"It's Lee Sungmin." He said as he took out his wallet and dug out his card. The boy took it as he started to file the information on his computer. Sungmin pondered for a while before starting a conversation since the silence was getting too awkward.
"So, I suppose you don't get too many tourists in this area."
"Not much, but since this is the only motel in town, I get all the customers."
"Oh, are you the owner?"
"Yup."
"Never thought of moving?"
"Haha, I'm sorta tied here. But I'm not losing money, so it's alright. Here's your card." The boy slid the card across the top of the desk back to Sungmin, and handed him two keys along with it, "I'm Lee Donghae by the way. You can find me here if there are any problems. Your rooms are 202 and 204, which are upstairs on the second floor. Enjoy your stay."
"Thank you." He nodded to Donghae before moving towards the stairs.
"Ah-- by the way..."
"Yes?"
"Please don't wander off to other vacant rooms. This is just our motel policy."
"Sure."
~~~