Ghost Writer

Uneventful Unpacking and Little Liars

"DON'T WORRY DAD, I'm almost done unpacking. Go back to work!" Chung-Cha yelled jokingly over the phone speaker.

There was a pause as she listened to her Dad's repeated reminders. Chung-Cha rolled her eyes, but there was a slight smile on her face. "Yes, I'll be careful. Tell Mom I said hello. Love you, bye!"

Chung-Cha ended the call and continued working in content silence. By the time she fluffed the pillows on the sofa and straightened the picture frames attached to the wall (a lot of things for someone who moved around frequently), evening had already fallen. Chung-Cha surveyed the living room, and when she saw that everything was in place, she beamed and clapped her hands. Her day had gone exceedingly well⁠—she managed to complete her unpacking, and the best part was that she hadn't heard any ghosts the whole time.

Chung-Cha glanced at the clock on her wall. She still had some time to kill, so she decided to explore the apartment complex. Buzzing with excitement, Chung-Cha grabbed the pocket-sized green notebook laying on the coffee table (she never left home without it) and bounded out the door. And after wandering for a while, she had to say, the place was amazing. It was huge and had almost all the essentials, so she would never have to go outside and come into contact with more people. So far, Chung-Cha had seen a grocery store; a library; a nursery, and a gym.

Chung-Cha peered into the gym. There were only a few people, so she decided to go in and check out the equipment. However, just as Chung-Cha was about to sign in, she paused. She scanned through the sign-in sheet once more. Then, she faced the gym trainer who was waiting for her to hurry up and sign in.

"Is the gym only open to residents?" Chung-Cha worded her question carefully, making sure to give no indication of which floor she lived on.

The gym trainer was impatient and oblivious. "Yeah, the residents paid for the machinery, so it's only fair. Public rental tenants aren't allowed in."

"Cool." Chung-Cha flashed a smile. Without hesitation, she signed in as a resident from Unit 602 (it was definitely not her unit). There was no way she was passing up the opportunity to exercise in a fully furnished, air-conditioned gym. The gym trainer reviewed her sign-in and let her in without any further questions.

Time flew as Chung-Cha concentrated on her run. When the treadmill beeped and cool-down commenced, Chung-Cha walked and steadied her breathing. She was the only one left in the gym. At the entrance, the gym trainer greeted another person.

"Good evening Min-Ji! Need a refill of NEXT?"

Chung-Cha was still walking when the woman, Min-Ji, stepped on the treadmill beside her. With a few quick presses, the treadmill whirled to life to a slow walking pace.

"You're not from Unit 602."

Chung-Cha was caught off-guard, and she gripped the handrails tightly. "I rode the lift with them once. They didn't seem like the type to visit the gym, so I took their place instead. I don't think they'll mind," Chung-Cha muttered. Her face was burning. She was embarrassed that she was caught so quickly.

Min-Ji gave Chung-Cha the side-eye. "If you've met them, then you should know they're lawyers. That's all they ever talk about."

It must have slipped her mind (funny, she forgot the business they were promoting but not their unit number). Chung-Cha pursed her lips, as it dawned on her that maybe she didn't choose the best fake unit. "I thought the worst thing the management could do if they found out was ban me from the gym, but apparently, I might get sued too. Although, if nobody finds out, I'll be fine."

:

"You won't tell, right?"

The older woman merely rolled her eyes. "I genuinely don't care."

Chung-Cha smiled and stepped off the treadmill, which finally stopped. "I'll take that as a yes. Now, if you excuse me, I'll get going. See you around, Min-Ji."

Park Min-Ji stared at the girl's retreating figure. A strange one, indeed.