1 A Late Night

11:45 P.M

December 12th, 2022

A girl is standing behind the counter of a convenience store staring at her phone when the bell rings and the door opens.

*Ding*

"Welcome respected customer. What can I help you..." she lazily speaks up but upon seeing the two vacant eyes staring her down the words get stuck in her throat.

"...w-with?" she stutteringly finishes the sentences and slowly takes a step back while clutching her phone tighter.

The man on the other side of the counter has a very sloppy appearance. A wild beard, short military-style hair, dark circles around his eyes, and a face that would even make grown men falter.

It looks like he is staring into space and completely looking past her.

"S-Sir?" she asks again while inconspicuously dialing the first number on her speed dial, "Can I help you with anything?"

His hand suddenly shoots up, startling the poor girl, to point at the rack behind her. She steps to the side and turns her head halfway to look at what was there.

"O-Oh, you wanted cigarettes? Sure, let me get that for you."

She quickly takes a pack and places it on the counter, "That will be 5000 won-"

He slaps down a note and before she can finish, picks up the pack and walks out in one smooth move.

She checks it quickly and breathes a sigh of relief but then suddenly calls out to him, "I NEED TO CHECK YOUR ID, SIR! SIR!"

She yells but he is already halfway across the road.

Just as she sprints to the other side of the counter a middle-aged man walks in from the door behind her. He is wearing the same blue jacket as her with the name of the convenience store stitched on the chest.

"What's with all the yelling? Did you already get into trouble on your second week on the job?" he grumbles through a yawn.

"Owner! That guy- I mean that guest didn't show ID when buying cigarettes!" she points at him through the glass.

The owner stumbles over to the window and squints his eyes, "Him? Oh, you don't have to worry about him, he is harmless," he laughs at the idea but she is unconvinced.

"But he didn't show ID, and his eyes-" shut mutters.

"It's not a requirement to show ID if you are an adult, does he look that young to you? Haha."

The owner opens the door and pokes his head out to yell at the man just as he enters the park across the street, "Geun Tae-shi, did you finish yet?? The deadline is tonight right?" ('Shi' is the most common and general honorific in the Korean language)

Geun Tae looks back, giving him a wave instead of a verbal confirmation.

The owner smiles and goes back in, "See? Harmless. He lives in the old building next to us, we have been neighbors since before 'Im Jae' was born."

"Your son?"

"Yeah. He even babysat our oldest a few times when we had a few emergencies over the years. He looks like that but trust me, you have nothing to worry about."

The girl nods half-heartedly, still having a hard time believing everything. The owner saw that and chuckled, patting her on the back, "You will see him often around this time, he comes out to take a break from work and have a smoke every now and then. Don't bother him too much, he is usually lost in his own little world while working."

"Mhm, okay. But what does he do this late at night?"

"He's a writer, some kind of a book or comic or something you know. Im Jae knows it better."

Her eyes widened from shock, "HIM?! A Writer? He looks like a gangster, no, a LEADER of a gang!"

The owner burst out laughing, "Hahaha you're right! He really does," but his smile faded just as quickly, "Life really is unfair. He didn't always use to be that way. Tsk, that poor man. Anyways, I'll take over now, thanks for staying so late. Be careful on the way back."

"S-Sure," the girl handed him the jacket and was out in the next two minutes.

As she stepped out onto the street her gaze drifted to the park bench where Geun Tae's lonely figure could be seen sitting in the dark, plumes of smoke rising from his mouth.

She zipped up her jacket and walked around the corner, disappearing from sight.

A few seconds later a hushed whisper came from somewhere behind the bench, "Is she gone?"

"Hnn."

A small figure fell out from the bushes, dusting his pants as he spoke, "Nice, she stayed longer than usual today. I was afraid she would see me playing."

*Thunk*

"Owww, Hyung! Why did you do that?! Your stupid flicks hurt so baaaad~"

The boy held his forehead while jumping up and down in an exaggerated manner.

Geun Tae looked over at him with his usual deadpan stare.

"Im Jae, What did I tell you about playing around here after dark, especially this late at night?"

Im Jae suddenly stood up straight, looking left and right with a pondering expression, "To...not to do it?"

"So why are you here again? What if your dad finds out?"

"He won't. He is too busy working all day and taking care of mom..."

Geun Tae shook his head weakly, putting out the cigarette on the bench before leaning over to pat Im Jae on the head.

"You're already nine years old, brat. I remember when they brought you home, crying and wailing like someone had stolen your life savings. There is- *sigh* -you are too young to understand some things so all you need to know is that your parents love you very much, and you are very lucky because of that. That's a gift not everyone has..."

Im Jae bobbed his head up and down in agreement, "I know, I love them too. I'm a big boy now so I know what to do!" he said proudly.

"Good. Promise me you won't come here at night."

"Fiiine~" he rolled his eyes and hopped back in the direction of his house, pausing momentarily to yell, "But then you have to play with me like you used to play with Nu-na!"

"IM JAE! WHAT ARE YOU DOING OUTSIDE?!" the owner suddenly ran out of the store after hearing his voice and chased after him, both father and son running into the house next door.

Geun Tae watched their backs disappear behind the walls before he stood up.

He lit up another cigarette and moved over to the only street light on the road. It flickered over and over again, catching his eye.

Geun Tae looked up, staring at the dark shadowy figure scurrying on top of the wall in the darkness of the night.

"Stay away from the kid. Just because they can't see you doesn't mean you are invisible, don't make me come out again," he muttered under his breath.

The shadow got down on all four, crawling like an animal to come as close as it could without touching the light. The darkness around its head receded just enough to reveal a horrifyingly disfigured human face.

Geun Tae chuckled, "Really? Resorting to this shit now? You pathetic little rat. No wonder even the other evil spirits look down on you."

The spirit's face contorted from anger. Its lips moved up and down but no actual sound came out.

Geun Tae shook his head amusingly and crossed the street to enter his building. Just as he crossed the front gate a hushed whisper swayed into his ears.

'Your time...is near...'

Unperturbed, he closed the gate behind him while muttering under his breath, "I know that better than you."

The building had three floors and a basement. There was a main entrance and a staircase on the side which Geun Tae preferred to use whenever he went out late at night.

He walked up two flights of stairs to reach the second floor. The door could only be opened from the inside but it was already propped open with a piece of wood which he kicked inside and it automatically closed behind him.

He paused to check the talisman that was glued above the exit, making sure it wasn't coming off.

The door opened into a simple hallway. On the other side was the main staircase and in between them were four doors, two on either side, each leading to a different apartment.

Geun Tae walked over to the closest one on the right and pushed it open since it was unlocked, then locked the door behind him.

The old tube light in the hallway flickered several times as a gust of icy cold wind blew in from nowhere.

**

It was a very old building but it had been maintained well. His apartment had one room and a bathroom with a half kitchen. There was one broken window opening outside, giving a clear view of most of the street and the park.

It was closed with the help of a black tie but there was still a few centimeters of space from which the cold winter air managed to wriggle its way in.

The rest of the apartment was relatively clean despite the two mounds of clothes sitting on the chair and the mattress.

In the corner was a table with a dusty monitor and computer case.

Geun Tae moved the other mound of clothes from the chair over to the mattress and rolled it towards the computer table before promptly taking a seat.

With a single click the screen flickered on, showing thirteen different tabs on the browser.

He lit up another cigarette before pulling out a half-empty soda can from under the table to use as an ashtray. His hands moved with an agility that was quite unlike his burly appearance as he began typing sentence after sentence, soon falling into a trance.

It was only when the clock struck 12 that a notification popped up on his phone and he instinctually flipped it over to check.

"Happy Birthday Mr. Geun Tae! Here is a free voucher for..."

He scoffed and turned off the phone, throwing it on the mattress behind him, "What's so happy about it? Just another day- Urk!"

Geun Tae clutched his chest in distress while the veins on his neck and face dilated and almost doubled in size. He reached out to try and pick up the phone but fell from the chair, unable to get up or move in the slightest.

"NO! NOT....LIKE....THIS...."

In less than a minute all the color was drained from his face and his body had gone limp.