episode_0017

… … … … …

To my terrified eyes, everything in the house now looked threatening.

The sunlight streaming through the window felt eerie, the pictures on the wall seemed to be staring at me, and even the slight sway of the curtains in the wind seemed to hide something malicious.

As I was shivering under the blanket, I suddenly felt a warm breeze behind my back. It felt as if someone was gently embracing me.

“Heee… … !”

At first, he screamed softly and curled up even more.

But strangely enough, as that warm feeling continued, my heart began to calm down little by little.

Perhaps I am the only person in this house, so the ghost must have hugged me because it couldn’t stand to see me.

It was a terrifying situation, to the point where I would feel as if I was wetting my pants, a ghostly hug.

The warmth of the ghost living in this house… … did not feel as threatening as I thought. Rather, it felt comfortable and safe.

“Ugh, haa, ha… … … ah.”

My heavy breathing calmed down, and I felt a little more stable. I was still a little scared, but a small curiosity began to bloom inside me.

By any chance, could this ghost be trying to help me?

As I thought about it, the puzzle began to come together in my head.

If a ghost with enough power to prepare a meal by itself, that is, with the ‘physical power’, had tried to harm me, it would have done so already.

But Mr. Ghost didn’t do that. He prepared breakfast for me… … and he knocked on the dishes to make a rattling sound, which may have been intentional to tell me to hurry up and eat before they got cold.

And the hug that was continuing even now, I thought, was trying to reassure me, who was trembling with fear.

As my thoughts reached that point, courage suddenly surged up in me. I wanted to talk to the ghost who was hugging me.

“Ho, by any chance… … Mr. Ghost… … is a good person?”

When I said the name ‘Mr. Ghost’, something seemed to be embracing me from behind and I flinched.

“I, I… … Can I trust you, Mr. Ghost… … ?”

As soon as I said that, this time I felt as if someone was stroking my head. It was as affectionate and warm as the hands of Sister Seo-yeon or Teacher Wol-hee.

The sensation was both surprising and strangely reassuring. My heart was still beating fast, but it wasn’t because of fear anymore.

“Did Mr. Ghost… …make you breakfast too?”

Of course, there was no answer to the question. However, the air around me felt a little warmer.

I slowly got up and looked around. The same scene as before came into view, but now everything looked a little different.

The paintings that had felt threatening now seemed like ordinary decorations, and the sunlight felt warm and bright.

“It’s still scary… …but I don’t think Ghost is a bad person.”

As I said that, an invisible ghost patted my shoulder. I was still scared of being with a ghost, but strangely enough, I felt a little more at ease.

“How should we… … get along?”

There was no answer to this question, but at least for now, it seemed like I was free from the extreme fear. A strange cohabitation with a new cohabitation order(?) had begun.

… … … … …

After a brief moment of silence, I let out a deep sigh. Now, I was finally, somewhat, calmed down.

“Come to think of it… …I thought I would be lonely if I lived alone… ….”

Even though he is not a living person, I found myself muttering to myself when I thought that there was someone listening to my story.

“Thanks to Mr. Ghost, I don’t think so.

Hey, it might be weird to say this to a ghost, but… … I feel reassured for some reason.”

In response to my words, a warm feeling—even a little, but tangible, as if Mr. Ghost had put his arms around me—came over me once more. Now, the feeling was not scary, but reassuring.

“But you shouldn’t tell anyone. They’ll definitely think you have a serious mental illness… … .”

As I was muttering to myself and heading towards the kitchen, the door suddenly opened slightly. I was surprised to see the door open without me even touching it, so I stepped back.

“You, Mr. Ghost… … ?”

Of course, there was no answer. After a few seconds, a rustling sound was heard from the kitchen. As I cautiously walked into the kitchen, I saw the dishes on the table moving slightly.

It was as if it was saying, ‘Come here and have breakfast.’

“Um, uh… …Are you telling me to eat it?”

After a while, something very gently nudged my back. Only then did I realize that it was the ghost who had prepared breakfast for me.

“Thank you. Mr. Ghost, I’ll enjoy it.”

I sat down at the table and started eating. The warm rice, soup, and carefully prepared side dishes were all delicious. Although I was eating alone, I didn’t feel lonely for some reason.

“Does Mr. Ghost eat it too? Or does he just watch?”

There was no answer, but the chair across the table moved slightly. As expected, Mr. Ghost was there too.

“Um… … Mr. Ghost. What should I do from now on? Can I help you, Mr. Ghost?”

After thinking about it for a while, some things came to mind.

“Oh, should I read a book out loud? Or should we watch TV or the radio together? I think Ghost might be bored too.”

At that moment, I felt a warm sensation on my hand. It felt as if it was saying, ‘Yes.’

“Okay! Then let’s start spending time together from today and slowly get to know each other.”

Even while I was finishing breakfast and doing the dishes, I could still feel Mr. Ghost’s presence.

“Mr. Ghost, I… …Please take good care of me in the future.”

As I spoke in a small voice, a soft breeze brushed my cheek.

After finishing the dishes, I started thinking that it was time to start cleaning up the house.

“The house is a bit big, but… …I have to clean it.”

I started cleaning right away, having made up my mind. I swept the floor with a broom first. Even while I was cleaning, I could still feel the presence of Mr. Ghost. Was he watching my movements?

As I was sweeping the floor diligently, I noticed a suitcase that I had left behind yesterday without even unpacking it properly.

“Ah… … I guess I’ll have to organize my clothes later. I have a lot of them. Let’s clean up first… … .”

I left my luggage in the corner and focused on cleaning the floor. After cleaning for a while, I returned to where my luggage had been, but it was gone.

“Oh, where did my luggage go?”

I looked around in wonder and saw an open closet. Surprisingly, the clothes that had been in my suitcase were neatly organized and hanging in the closet.

“Mr. Ghost… …Did you do it?”

I immediately felt a hand stroking my head.

“Wow, thank you so much!

Mr. Ghost looks just like a crow from a fairy tale.

No, is it a ghost girl? Hehehe―”

At that moment, the energy that seemed to be stroking my head suddenly stopped. In that moment, I felt the air around me change.

“… … … … ?!?!”

And then suddenly I heard someone take a deep breath, as if they were shocked and speechless.

After that, the floor shook slightly with the sound of small footsteps. It was as if someone was jumping in place.

“Huh, huh? Mr. Ghost?”

I looked around in surprise, and suddenly I felt a warm sensation and something hugged me tightly. It felt like a human arm, and I could hear a heartbeat.

“Ahaha, Mr. Ghost! You’re suddenly being playful!”

At that moment, I heard something like the sound of the wind blowing in my ears. It was as if someone was holding back laughter from happiness.

After finishing cleaning, it was already lunch time. I decided to make a simple pasta dish.

“Mr. Ghost, I’m going to have lunch. Do you want to watch?”

I said as I headed to the kitchen. While I was taking ingredients out of the fridge, the gas range suddenly turned on and started boiling water.

“These days, Blue Storage and Valkyrie, the Goddess of Victory, are popular in mobile games――

Mr. Ghost, do you like games?”

I muttered to myself while boiling the noodles. Of course, there was no answer, but what should I say? It wasn’t just me talking to myself. It felt like someone was listening.

“Oh, the sauce is a bit salty? Ghost, would you like some to taste?”

I said it as a joke, but after a while, I felt like the sauce I had poured out had decreased a little. Even if I were a ghost, I couldn’t possibly eat the sauce, so I guess it was an illusion.

Even while eating lunch, we continued to talk.

“What should I do in the afternoon? I can watch TV, or I can read a book… … .”

Then, suddenly, the TV turned on, so it seemed that Ghost wanted to watch TV. Since I didn’t really have anything I wanted to do, I decided to follow Ghost’s wishes and watch TV.

“Thanks to Mr. Ghost, I’m not bored at all. I thought I’d be living alone, but it feels good to be with someone.”

Sometimes, when I felt bored, the channel would change automatically, but I thought it was Ghost’s prank and laughed it off.

Time passed quickly, and it was past dinner time and time to go to bed.

“Mr. Ghost, I had a great day today. I hope you have a great day tomorrow too.

Good night.”

As I muttered under the blanket, something soft and moist touched my forehead.