Ghost Writer

Latent Longing and Truthful Talk

TRIGGER WARNING: blood

SOFT PIANO MUSIC FILLED THE QUIET LIVING ROOM. Chung-Cha swayed with the melody, her finger absent-mindedly tracing the air. The song made her feel bittersweet, but she couldn't stop herself from listening. Then, an alarm rang, abruptly cutting the music. Chung-Cha turned it off and paused the song. She sighed; her house was peaceful and safe, she didn't want to leave it. However, it was almost time for the residents' meeting, and Yi-Hyun made it extremely clear that attending it was compulsory.

Honestly, Chung-Cha wasn't looking forward to seeing everyone again, especially after yesterday's fiasco. Also, there was Andrew to worry about. And the couple from Unit 501 who would probably be watching her more intently. Not to mention, Hyun-Kyung had been keeping secrets from her. It felt like the whole world was against her.

Before Chung-Cha went out, she stood in front of the door, hyping herself up. She was going to be fine, she just had to act normal. That was easy, considering she usually did nothing but tag along with Hyun-Kyung. She didn't even talk much. Simple, really.  

Hyun-Kyung was waiting for Chung-Cha in the corridor. She offered her a tight-lipped smile, and they went down together. There was a crowd in front of the gym, which Chung-Cha was really tempted to push through. But Hyun-Kyung held her back, motioning to Sae-Bom who was guiding someone covered with a blanket through the crowd. Peeking behind the grey blanket was a green vest. Chung-Cha's breathed in shakily. She could recognise that vest anywhere; she had seen it every day before the lockdown started, and she tried to convince the owner to change out of it, without success. Chung-Cha turned hastily, trying to hear Bo-Ram and Sae-Bom's conversation, but they were too far. The others were staring too, in a way that made Chung-Cha want to hurt them. Instead, she clenched her fists and headed to the gym.

Chung-Cha stayed by the treadmills, hoping nobody would talk to her. But Andrew came and stood beside her. Did he think they were friends because they spent 10 minutes together? (Did he suspect her?) "How was she?" he asked.

It caught her off-guard. She thought he was talking about Bo-Ram. Then, Chung-Cha remembered she told him that she would check up on the little girl in Unit 501. "A little scared, but she was fine." Her voice quivered. Maybe she was talking about herself.

Andrew nodded. He was about to speak again, but Yeon-Ok started the meeting. "Everyone who can come is here. The 15th floor guy never joins us, and the family on the third floor said they'll just stay home."

"The pastor isn't here. Make sure to check if he is infected," Yi-Hyun said.

Yeon-Ok marched towards him. "What did you say?" Detective Kim went between them, telling them to calm down. The meeting barely started and people were already arguing. Chung-Cha would have laughed, if she wasn't so terrified of being beside a murderer.

"The cleaning lady isn't here too." The female cleaner turned to Hyun-Kyung. "By any chance, is she at your house?"

Hyun-Kyung shook her head.

"Didn't she go to the basement? There's an employee lounge there," the male cleaner said.

Nobody could confirm that. Uneasy, Chung-Cha closed her eyes and listened to the ghosts, but it was difficult to tell exactly how many were there, so she had no idea if Andrew did kill the cleaning lady. When she opened her eyes, Yi-Hyun was looking at her. Chung-Cha shrugged slightly. His gaze shifted onto Andrew.

"Let's not drag this out and find the infected. You said they go insane when they see blood." Hae-Sung waved his hand. "Detective, please speed it up."

Yi-Hyun grabbed a cup from the water dispenser, and placed it in front of Hae-Sung. "Well then, you can do this yourself. We have a knife too. Fill half the cup, like in a urine test."

Hae-Sung protested. Nobody wanted to do it, too. Beside Chung-Cha, Andrew started rolling up his sleeves. Then, he picked up the knife and sliced his arm in one quick motion. Chung-Cha flinched; he seemed so calm when he cut himself. Was he like this when he killed people? Blood streamed down, and Andrew positioned the cup such that it collected the blood. He held it up to Yi-Hyun. "Would this be enough?"

Yi-Hyun nodded. "Stop the bleeding."

Yi-Hyun took the cup from Andrew. Chung-Cha thought she should say something to Andrew, but nothing came to mind, so she just remained quiet. Yi-Hyun walked around the room, holding out the cup. When it came to her turn, Chung-Cha whiffed the faint scent of rusted iron, which caught her off-guard (she thought it would smell horrid). The red liquid in the cup reminded her of watercolour, which she would dip her paintbrush into before painting. Then, her mind jumped to morbid paintings of dead people, and she finally looked away. She unintentionally muttered, "Wow." Yi-Hyun and Andrew looked at her, confused. She was confused too, but played it off.

After Yi-Hyun was done, he placed the cup on the table. "Now then, let's discuss food. I heard you people are trying to make a killing," Hae-Sung said, referring to the cleaners. Arguments broke out, and Chung-Cha tuned them out. She wished she was somewhere else, with someone else.

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Chung-Cha knocked on the rooftop door, then hesitantly opened it. There was a large tent in the corner, with some supplies strewn outside. The tent opened, and Bo-Ram peeked through. "Chung-Cha?"

"Hello, Bo-Ram." Chung-Cha fidgeted nervously. "Could I stay here for a while?"

Bo-Ram nodded unsteadily. "Sure. You shouldn't come too close, though. You know, in case I turn."

Chung-Cha walked a bit closer, then sat down. Bo-Ram let the door of the tent drop fully, but she stayed inside. Her veins were noticeable against her sickly pale skin, and Chung-Cha's heart ached. She decided to focus on other things.

"I've never been up here before. It's nice," Chung-Cha started. The sun was shining, but it was not terribly hot. It was a refreshing change from being cooped up at home.

Bo-Ram hummed, closing her eyes. "It really is. I don't like enclosed places, so Sae-Bom brought me up here. She even got me all this camping equipment."

"That's really... sweet of her. Honestly, she scares me. Yi-Hyun, too. They're like the ultimate power couple."

Bo-Ram laughed, opening her eyes. "Yeah, they're great. Did you know that the little girl staying at their place isn't even their child? She's their neighbor, but they're so comfortable with each other, it's not obvious. I stayed at her house for a while, after I left Unit 302."

"You know," Chung-Cha started, "you could have just come back." Her voice was small. So much for focusing on other things.

"Always the thoughtful one," Bo-Ram teased, but she sobered up. She buried her head in her arms. "You were so nice to me, of course I wanted to go back. But by that time, I was already infected. I could feel it. I didn't want to accidentally hurt you, so I left. In the end, though, I still attacked someone. Shit, because I was so selfish, I could have hurt someone."

Chung-Cha thought about it for a short while. "Remember, on your first night, that lawyer came and told us about Trainer Kim? You said that none of the infected meant to hurt anyone. You were talking about yourself, right?" Against her better judgment, Chung-Cha reached forward, grabbed Bo-Ram's hand and clasped it. She didn't pull back. "A selfish person wouldn't say that. You're a good person, Bo-Ram. Don't let anyone say otherwise."

Bo-Ram lifted her head, smiling slightly. "You have a way with words. Thank you, for being a good person, too."

"What if I'm not?" The words tumbled out of Chung-Cha's mouth before she could even process them. She continued, "What if, I'm a coward who is afraid to do the right thing?"

Bo-Ram squeezed her hand. "I think, being afraid is normal. It doesn't make you a bad person, it simply means you're human. And if something is bothering you, doesn't that mean you care? What's stopping you, then?"

Death, Chung-Cha wanted to say, but she didn't want to worry Bo-Ram any further. Instead, she simply beamed, squeezing Bo-Ram's hand back. "You're right. There's nothing to be afraid of."