𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐀𝐋𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐄-𝐓𝐀𝐈𝐋𝐄𝐃, lee yeon x nam ji ah

5| Mysteries of Death

JI AH WALKED towards the bus stand in the dark of the night. A girl, probably a high-school student sat and a drunk old man, grunting on the ground.

She walked around holding her notebook wide open and looking around her surroundings.

"Take the bus tonight I told you about." The boy that she met in the morning had told her. "There's a condition though." He added.

"A condition?" She questioned.

"You need to come alone."

His words echoed in her mind as she moved to sit at the bus stand near the girl. She sat down and crossed her legs feeling the young girl's eyes on her. The girl glanced nervously at the man for a second, her posture tense.

He groaned and screamed as he cradled the bottle of alcohol in his arms. Ji-ah stared at him for a moment before looking around at the posters in the bus stand.

Ji-ah positioned her diary and camera on her lap. The girl stared at the label on her diary that stated, 'Searching for Ghost Stories in the City'

"Hey, are you a producer?" The girl asked with a shy smile on her face. Ji-ah glanced at her notebook and nodded, "Yes."

The girl's body language changed, now a much more relaxed pose. "That's what I want to be as well." She gave a slight grimace, "I suggest you change your mind." She looked down to see her watch, "'I've been working for twenty-two hours now." Both of them chuckled.

As the bus rolled around, both of them stood up as did the man. The girl boarded the bus and as Ji-ah was going to, the man suddenly fell on the pavement. "My leg!" He groaned, his hand wrapping around his leg.

Ji-ah quickly moved towards him, "Sir!" she said. "Are you all right?" She asked while picking him up and grabbing his arm.

As the man sat up, she saw his face for the first time. One of his eyes closed, with a jagged scar going across his eyelid to his forehead. Her eyes widened, a weird feeling bubbling in her stomach. "Are you coming or not?" The bus driver asked with a dragged-out voice.

"I am, just a minute!" She replied hurriedly, trying to get the man to stand up. "Get up. let me take you to a hospital." She said, a little out of breath, trying to get the man on his feet.

She was pushed away by him, "Let me go." He screamed. "Sir, I need to take this bus." She said, her voice shaking just slightly. "Just close the door." One of the passengers muttered to the driver. "Are you not coming?" The driver asked, annoyed at how long she was taking.

"I am. One minute!" She replied, distressed. She moved to go in the bus but the man had latched himself onto her legs, preventing her from making any movement whatsoever.

"Don't go, you wench!"

"Sir!" She screamed, in hopes that he'll stop. "DON'T GO!" he shouted as the bus closed its doors and started to move. Her eyes widened as she saw the red-haired man leaning his head on the window of the bus, his umbrella sticking out behind him.

It's him, she ran after the bus as the man finally let go of her leg. "WAIT!" she screamed hoping that the bus would stop and let her on but to no avail. The bus went on crossing a sign that stated, ' YEOU GOGAE '

Inside the bus, the girl sat at the very back, her bag resting on her lap as she pulled out her earphones to keep herself entertained. The bus entered a tunnel and the lights cut off. Everything in the bus was dark, only the vibrant yellow cap of a gentleman, that was sitting with his wife and eating crisps, visible.