Chapter 246: In Cha Seongbin’s Closet
Click.
Right before takeoff, I took a picture of the dim sky outside the window.
It was the first flight heading to Paris. Since it had been a while since my last trip abroad, I felt a little giddy inside.
I opened Private Message and sent the photo I’d just taken.
[맴찌: Off to Paris!]
[맴찌: Sleeping next to Junseo-hyung lol]
[맴찌: Oh, he’s awake now]
“What are you doing?”
Ha Junseo leaned in with his eyes half-open.
“I was sending a Private Message.”
“Ah….”
Ha Junseo rubbed his sleepy eyes and nodded. Since it was an early morning departure, everyone was feeling groggy.
We had just wrapped up album recording recently, so this overseas schedule was for a combination of international activities and the music video shoot.
Ha Junseo slightly lifted the eye mask he had on and asked,
“This time too, it’s like, a three-day schedule or something, right?”
“Yes. I think so.”
Tough schedule, huh.
I’d better get some sleep in advance.
I leaned my head back, wrapping around my neck the hamster neck pillow I got from Seo Haim on my last birthday.
Tiny people, like cotton swabs, were scurrying around far below.
Looking from this high up, the world really did feel small.
I crossed my arms as I gazed out at the airport scenery.
While I was peacefully enjoying the calm of the early morning—
Suddenly, an ominous thought flashed through my head.
“Wait a second.”
Bolt—
I stood up and checked my seatbelt.
It was a gut feeling of anxiety.
I mean, this was a situation where dying wouldn’t even be that strange.
No way.
The plane’s not gonna crash… right?
“Gasp.”
Before the plane could take off, I quickly opened the TokTok chat. I didn’t know if he’d be awake, but I could only hope he’d see it.
Swallowing nervously, I messaged Kim Woochan.
-Senior!
-I just got on the plane
-Is there any chance this plane might crash?
-Can you ask my Status Window?
“Sss…”
I mean, if the plane crashes… would a seatbelt even matter?
For a split second, a movie scene popped into my head and I shook it off hard.
Where was the parachute again….
As I scanned my surroundings, a message arrived with a bzzzt vibration.
It was from Kim Woochan.
-A disaster-level terrorist event like that;;
-It wouldn’t just affect you, so it’s not likely
“Ah.”
So even if the universe was trying to eliminate a variable, if the disaster would sweep up people around me too, it couldn’t happen.
-I’m saved….
Got it.
The hyungs next to me had all been alive in my previous life too, so even if something changed, they wouldn’t get caught up in it.
Are they walking talismans or something?
I should stick by them at all times from now on.
“That’s a relief….”
I nodded contentedly—then felt another vibration.
-Oh, but are you sitting by the window?
└Huh?
└Then only Seohan-ssi’s window might open
“…!”
“What’s wrong?”
Ha Junseo asked with wide eyes.
“I was just… a bit worried the window might break….”
“Huh?”
Press, press.
I pushed on the window just to be sure, and thankfully, it felt sturdy.
Now I’ve gotta worry about window seats too?!
“It’s fine.”
Suddenly, I felt wronged.
As soon as we arrived at the hotel in central Paris, I dragged my heavy body in and started unpacking.
The room was prepared for two people.
My roommate for this overseas schedule was the eldest hyung, Ha Junseo, who had sat next to me on the plane.
“Aigo…”
Ha Junseo let out a groan and collapsed onto the bed.
Next to him, I rummaged through my suitcase, looking for chocolate.
Ah, I’ve got a sugar crash.
I tore open a pack of ABC chocolate and stuffed a piece in my mouth.
After hastily refueling on sugar, I got busy pulling out the luggage I’d hidden in a corner of the suitcase.
I’d packed so many things back in Korea that there was way too much to unpack now.
With his face buried in the pillow, Ha Junseo asked lazily,
“You brought it, right?”
“Ah, of course.”
No way I’d go through that alone.
After getting pranked by the hyungs on my last birthday, I’d been grinding my teeth for a year straight.
September 21.
Tomorrow was Cha Seongbin’s birthday.
When Jin Sehyun came up with that brilliant idea, I agreed immediately.
“I prepared everything, without missing a thing!”
“Wow, your prep’s insane…”
Humming a little tune, I pulled a pure white ghost costume from my suitcase.
The design was baby-friendly and not too scary.
“I think Seongbin-hyung’s going to love this.”
“Cha Seongbin? That guy’s a total scaredy-cat too.”
“Right.”
Not as much as me, but he's a pretty big scaredy-cat too.
Typical Ocean Sunfish type—scared of ghosts.
“This is gonna be an epic birthday party.”
His reaction was going to be something worth seeing.
It always happened—when far from home, all sorts of thoughts come rushing in.
For a composer, even those thoughts were a kind of inspiration, and Cha Seongbin had been quietly staring out the window for a while.
“Ah, I think something’s coming to me.”
Cha Seongbin murmured to himself as he brewed a hot Americano in the coffee pot.
If possible, he wanted to include a song he composed on the next album, so lately his head had been filled with nothing but melodies.
“Or maybe I should try writing a carol song for the year-end…”
Since the end of the year was approaching, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to prepare a carol song for the fans.
Just as he was mulling over different musical directions—
Bang—
The back door opened.
It was his roommate for this schedule, Jin Sehyun.
Jin Sehyun tossed off his black hoodie and opened his mouth.
“Ah, hyung, did you hear?”
He had said he was going for a walk, but it seemed he’d already made a round trip. That’s why he went down to eat lunch alone.
Cha Seongbin tilted his head and asked,
“What?”
“The ghost story about this hotel.”
“Huh?”
Hearing something like this from the extremely realistic Jin Sehyun was rare.
Cha Seongbin let out a small laugh and asked,
“Out of nowhere?”
“It’s super famous. Manager told me about it.”
“What ghost would come to a hotel this expensive…”
Hey, do you know how much this place costs?
Cha Seongbin scanned the room’s interior and clicked his tongue.
“Ghosts don’t care about price tags. It’s not like they’re paying rent. Oh, and ghosts usually prefer the rich, you know.”
Jin Sehyun grinned and pointed at Cha Seongbin.
“And the richest person here is… you, hyung.”
“Sehyun, you must be really tired~.”
Planes really mess people up.
Cha Seongbin shook his head and spoke.
“Why are you bringing that up all of a sudden?”
“Of course I don’t believe it. But it was kinda interesting, so I was analyzing whether it made any sense scientifically.”
I knew it.
Jin Sehyun sat next to Cha Seongbin and began murmuring.
“How would they have fixed the horizon coordinate system…”
“Hm.”
“Can ghosts defy gravity?”
My head hurts.
Rather than listening to this, I’d rather hear that supposedly interesting ghost story.
Cha Seongbin pulled his work laptop out of the suitcase and asked,
“So where does this ghost appear?”
“In the closet.”
“The c-closet?”
Glance.
Cha Seongbin instinctively turned toward the closet.
Even if he pretended otherwise, he was secretly a little scared of things like this.
“They say it pops out while you're sleeping at night, and if you put clothes in the closet, they keep disappearing… Hmm. I wonder if ghosts can be charged with theft.”
“Oh dear.”
“Anyway, that’s why Manager said not to put stuff in the closet!”
Jin Sehyun casually added that he just wanted to pass along the message.
But Cha Seongbin couldn’t just laugh it off.
“Popping out while you're asleep is a bit…”
Even ghosts should have a sense of ethics.
Isn’t it wrong to mess with someone when they’re defenseless?
Cha Seongbin muttered this nonsense that wouldn’t work on ghosts anyway, and once again glanced toward the closet.
Noticing that look, Jin Sehyun smirked.
“Hyung, are you scared?”
“What are you talking about.”
Cha Seongbin waved his hand, baffled.
“You actually believe that?”
“I don’t believe it, but hyung just looked like you really believed it.”
“No~.”
Cha Seongbin shook his head and smoothly added,
“My neck just hurts. Maybe it’s a herniated disc or something—my head’s twisting on its own~.”
“Then just check it.”
“What?”
“The closet.”
Jin Sehyun shrugged as he spoke.
“It’s better to check during the day than to have it pop out at night. Whether it’s real or not, you’ll know once you open it.”
“…I said I don’t believe in that.”
“Then you should be confident and open it.”
This guy talks way too well sometimes.
Cha Seongbin pressed on his temple, deep in thought.
Fine.
It’s not like a ghost appearing in broad daylight is going to kill me.
And with him pushing this hard, it’d be weird to back out now.
Clap—
Cha Seongbin clapped once and declared boldly.
“Alright, hyung will prove it~. That there’s no ghost.”
Jin Sehyun took a step back and watched him quietly.
“Great. Show me.”
If it were late at night, maybe it’d be different, but there was no real reason to be scared right now.
Step, step.
Cha Seongbin gulped and cautiously grabbed the closet door handle.
“I’m opening it, okay?”
“Yes.”
Really, this is nothing scary.
Fling—
The moment Cha Seongbin decisively swung open the door—
“Wak!”
“Uwaaaaah…ss!”
A frantic scream burst out inside the room.