𝐆𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐭 • ᵐⁱⁿˢᵘⁿᵍ

Hidden Truths 16.3

"The archives," Seungmin states, his eyes also running over each book and scroll. This remote village may seem small and simple, but weirder things than one may think to happen here—and it's all recorded. "If you really think you can save him, then you'll need to start here."

Minho's eyebrows furrow as he cautious stares at Seungmin. "Are you... not human?" To a random person, it will sound like a stupid question, however, Seungmin seems to already know more than the average person.

Seungmin smirks as he chuckles to himself, "Yes, I am human. I'm the chief policeman's son, remember?"

"Ah right, yes." Minho's face relaxes. "Then may I ask how you—"

"—Know so much?" Seungmin finishes Minho's sentence while cleaning his glasses with his shirt. "That will be because I spend a lot of sleepless nights here. Knowledge is fascinating to me. Especially when it's only accessible to a small number of people." Seungmin laughs as he lets his body lean forwards, almost till he falls but his feet start moving and he's walking into a maze of words much larger than the one outside.

To not lose the other, Minho jogs to catch up, his eyes examining the mass of books and the different aura the room holds. In the main part of the library, it felt just like a library, nothing special. Yet, in the archives, it feels unreal, as if knowledge could just flow into one's brain if what these books and scrolls contain is something, not just anyone could understand, or see.

"Where are we going?" Minho asks when Seungmin seems to be making a b-line for something.

"You'll see." Seungmin answers, suddenly taking a sharp left and stopping so that Minho almost bumps into him. "Do you actually think that the ghost in that house is him?" Seungmin starts shuffling through stacks of newspapers that are all dated three years back—the year it all happened.

Minho scratches the back of his neck, "Err well, it's the only explanation I have." Minho doesn't think it's the boy, he knows it's the boy but explaining how he knows isn't the easiest thing. He doesn't really know Seungmin—who's the chief police's son—so for all Minho knows, Seungmin might be against him and part of the villagers who want to keep what happened quiet.

"You've seen him?" Seungmin stops what he's doing and leans in close to Minho's face, so close that Minho has to step back.

"Yes... can you not say his name?" Only now is Minho noticing how Seungmin says 'him' and not the boy's name.

"No one in the village can. We can't say or write. You won't find anyone else with the name in the village because otherwise, they'd be nameless. Even old traces of his name has vanished. It's a strange phenomenon, but they occur more often here than you'd think. However," Seungmin waves a finger before readjusting his glasses and going back to the newspapers, "A reporter came to the village the next day after it happened, and only he was able to write the name. He couldn't say it, but he was able to write it just once. The one time before he suddenly went crazy, screaming about seeing a reaper and then killing himself. After that, everyone refuses to speak anything about it. Though a few of us want to know what happened, even if it means we'll also die."

"A reaper?" Minho inquires, wondering if that reaper is the same one he knows.

Seungmin nods his head while pulling something out of a stack. "Yes, anyway, here's the article that was written by that reporter and never published."

Minho takes the paper and scans through, "Lee... Felix?"