Joan was enjoying music from her phone through him headset as he climbed the stairs, one step at a time.
But he wasn't paying close attention to his footing and slipped. Fortunately, the person behind him reacted quickly and caught him before he could fall.
"Ah, sorry."
"No worries, but be more careful next time," Hesa replied with a slight smile.
"Hehe, yeah, I got distracted thinking about my favorite idol," Joan scratched the back of his head, embarrassed.
The older student ruffled the younger's hair, amused by him behavior.
"You're such a handful," Hesa said.
The two of them continued walking up the stairs together toward their classrooms.
"Are you a superhero or something?" Joan asked out of the blue, though he was genuinely curious—this wasn't the first time Hesa had coincidentally saved someone from danger.
"Why would you think that?" Hesa asked, making sure he didn't know too much.
"You always show up right when someone's about to get hurt," Joan said.
"It's just coincidence, I guess. Maybe I was fated to be your protector," Hesa replied, brushing it off.
"Ugh, not that."
"Anyway, we're here. You wanna keep talking or go to class?" Hesa said, using the moment to steer the conversation away.
Luckily, Hesa had an excuse to end the discussion—he feared that if it went on, he might accidentally reveal the secret he'd kept so well.
"Alright, I'll go to class now. See you," Joan waved briefly.
"Yeah."
Joan went to his class while Hesa continued up to the top floor—Grade 12 was on the highest level.
~~~~~
The break bell rang. Students swarmed the canteen.
Just like the others, three boys were already seated, discussing the vlog they were planning to record later.
"So, are we still going to the villa today?" Setta asked.
"Of course, when else can we shoot a video?" Niki replied, eyes still glued to his phone.
"Let's wait for the others first to confirm everything," Joan said, casually munching on fries.
Irritated by a game loss, Niki decided to prank Setta by adding chili sauce to his meatballs—Setta wasn't a fan of spicy food.
"Nikiiii!"
Joan quickly covered his ears as Setta unleashed his dolphin scream.
"Oops, my bad. Guess I'll eat it then if you can't handle the heat," Niki said smugly.
"Fine, take it," Setta handed him the bowl, which Niki gladly accepted.
"But you still owe me."
"Nope, too bad~"
"Man, what kind of demon friend did I end up with," Setta said, shaking his head.
"You're one too," Niki teased again, making Setta fantasize about tossing him into the Amazon River to be eaten by piranhas.
"Watch your mouth, will you!"
"Alright, I'll buy you a new one," Joan stepped in to end the squabble.
"No way, you're not the one who ruined it—he should be the one paying!" Setta protested.
"Let it go. I already ordered another dish and haven't paid yet. I'll just pay for both together," Joan reasoned.
Eventually, the rest of the gang showed up and joined them at the table.
"What's the topic?" Jio asked.
"Our vlog plan," Joan answered.
"So we're going to that haunted villa today, right?" Arka said, excited.
"We'll stay overnight until tomorrow morning. We're doing Hitori Kakurenbo later," Setta clarified.
"Yup," Jio nodded.
"Where's Hesa?" Joan looked around.
"Probably stuck with organisation duties again," Satya said dryly. Hesa was often late to their gatherings.
Shortly after their food arrived, Hesa finally showed up.
"Guys, sorry I'm late." He smiled apologetically.
"No worries, bro," Jio said.
"What were we talking about?" Hesa asked, joining in.
"Just confirming the vlog. Everyone's coming, right?" Arka asked.
Hesa assumed someone might not be joining. "Is someone not coming?"
Everyone shook their heads. Arka clarified, "We're all in."
"Great. Let's finalize it for today," Hesa confirmed.
"Who's bringing the equipment for the ritual?" Satya scanned everyone.
Hesa, Setta, Joan, and Niki raised their hands.
"Same groups as in the chat, right?" Setta asked.
"Yup," Hesa nodded.
"We're in charge of the cameras and recording gear—me, Jio, and Satya," Arka said.
"Alright, make sure no one forgets anything," Jio reminded.
"Yeeee~" Setta cheered.
"Kak, I ordered food for you too," Joan offered a plate.
"Thanks, Jo," Hesa said.
They ate together until the bell rang and returned to class.
~~~~~
That afternoon, the seven boys stood before the old villa they were going to explore for their video.
The place was run-down, surrounded by overgrown weeds, and had an empty, eerie-looking swimming pool in the back. A perfect ghost-hunting location for their group, Thirteen.
"Alright, let's get ready," Jio said.
They entered the villa and began setting up cameras, recorders, and other tools. Once done, they regrouped in the main hall, as per Hesa's chat instructions.
"Everything's working, right? Wouldn't be funny if the cameras failed mid-recording," Hesa asked.
"All good, captain." Arka responded.
"We're done, but it's still a few hours till dark," Niki said.
"So now what? Just sit around bored?" Joan asked.
"Let's play hide and seek," Setta suggested. "To kill time and scout the layout too."
"I'm in. The seeker starts at the front door," Niki said.
"Let's decide who's it," Satya said.
They played rock-paper-scissors until Hesa and Niki were left. Luck wasn't on Hesa's side.
"Yay, I won!" Niki cheered.
"Alright, turn around and cover your eyes," Joan ordered.
"Yeah, yeah," Hesa turned toward the door, covered his eyes, and began counting.
At the count of ten, he turned, holding his phone, and began searching.
Thud, thud, thud.
He spotted a large cupboard—big enough to hide someone. Quietly, he opened it.
"Gotcha, Arka." He snapped a photo and tagged him.
"Aw man," Arka pouted, stepping out.
Hesa continued. A rolled-up rug had a corner sticking out—suspicious. He pulled it.
"Niki, found you." Another photo, another tag. Niki gave him a deadpan look.
Time passed. Night fell. Darkness blanketed the villa, dimly lit by flickering garden lights.
The seven boys gathered by the pool, now preparing for the forbidden game—Hitori Kakurenbo. Each followed the ritual to the letter. One by one, they vanished into hiding spots: closets, staircases, under beds—each alone, phones recording every moment, every whisper.
"Hi guys," Setta whispered nervously to his phone from inside a cramped kitchen cabinet. "I'm hiding alone. Was supposed to be with Kak Arka, but we split for the challenge."
He tried to smile, but it was stiff. The air was thick with dust and mildew. He heard a creaking above him.
Thud… thud…
Footsteps echoed nearby. Setta froze. "G-guys, I hear footsteps," he whispered.
Then... giggling. A child's laughter, faint and chilling. There were only seven of them.
Setta clamped his hand over his mouth, shaking. The footsteps drew closer—closer—until...
STAB!
A knife pierced the cabinet door, inches from his face. Wood splintered.
"I found you…"
A child's voice. Sweet. Innocent. But cold.
"Let's play together…"
~~~~~
Hesa hid under the dining table, bored, occasionally waving her hand to shoo away the mosquitoes that came close. The smell of dust and rotting wood filled the air, making her cough occasionally. On the table, a faded white cloth dangled, almost touching the floor, gently swaying with the evening breeze that seemed to come from nowhere.
Her mind drifted to the words of the mysterious figure he had met yesterday. Their face was blurry, and their voice sounded layered, as if coming from two different directions. But Hesa dismissed it, considering it just a trick of the mind, something not worth worrying about. However, it seemed she would perform a summoning ritual later to bring that figure back, as Hesa still couldn't bear to part with his compass.
"So boring... maybe I should look for that doll," he muttered to herself, almost whispering.
Hesa crawled out from under the table, dust rising in the air. With cautious steps, he walked down the quiet hallway, illuminated only by the faint glow of his phone's light. Shadows from the cabinets and chairs stretched long across the walls, moving with his steps.
"Where's that doll?" he muttered again.
Fifteen minutes had passed, yet the doll he was searching for still hadn't been found. Hesa began to feel something was off; it shouldn't have taken this long, considering there weren't many rooms in the house, even though the area was quite vast.
When Hesa opened one of the doors at the end of the hallway, a strange metallic scent suddenly filled the air, faint but sharp. He directed him phone's light across the dark, dusty room. In the center stood a young man with lavender-colored hair, standing still, his empty eyes staring straight ahead. His body was stiff, as if he weren't alive.
Hesa's heart raced. "No way... did the doll turn into a person?" he muttered with a shaky voice.
"Wait, the doll I used was a girl, but why is this guy like a doll too? Could he be a spirit that entered the doll?"
Trembling, he mustered up the courage to step closer. "W-who are you?" he asked, his voice barely audible.
The young man just stared at her with a blank expression. Without saying a word, he turned and began walking away with a light, almost soundless step. Hesa froze for a moment, then quickly followed, his curiosity overpowering his fear.
Thud... Thud...
His steps stopped when a strange sound came from one of the rooms. Hesa looked left and right, him eyes searching for the source of the noise. Her phone's light swept across every corner, but there was nothing. Only shadows that seemed to tremble at the end of the room.
"Where did that guy go?" he muttered in confusion. The young man had vanished, as if swallowed by the darkness. Hesa wanted to search further, but the strange noise grew louder. "Thud... Thud..." It sounded like an irregular heartbeat.
He opened an old door at the end of the hallway, its hinges creaking loudly, echoing in the quiet night. The light from him phone pierced the darkness, and in the corner of the room stood the doll he had been searching for, its back facing him.
"You found me..." the small, high-pitched voice came from the direction of the doll. Hesa froze for a moment, the hairs on the back of his neck standing up.
The doll slowly turned, its empty glass eyes staring at Hesa, a faint smile playing on its face. Without warning, the doll took a step forward, its gleaming knife catching the dim light from Hesa's phone.
"Hahaha, finally found this devil doll!" Hesa shouted, trying to push away him fear. Without hesitation, he sprayed the doll with the saltwater he had prepared.
"We won, we won, we won!" he shouted loudly, her voice echoing in the empty room.
The closet door behind the doll suddenly creaked open slowly. From inside, Setta emerged, his face pale, holding a trembling phone.
"Hesa..." his voice was raspy, almost a whisper.
Hesa hurried over to him, his heart still racing at the memory of the knife the doll had just stabbed into the closet. "You're okay, right?" he asked, worried.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Setta answered, though his expression was unconvincing.
"Thank goodness. Let's go look for something else," Hesa said, trying to comfort Setta. Along the corridor, their shadows stretched long, trembling with each step they took, slowly moving away.
After everyone had gathered in the yard, they stood in a circle, watching the doll burn in the small bonfire. The flames danced in the reflection of its glass eyes, as if it were staring back, until it finally melted away with the embers.
"I can't believe it's already 3 AM," Satya stretched his arms upward.
"I'm so sleepy," Arka yawned.
"Well, we should probably sleep now," Hesa said.
They all went back into the villa to sleep.
~~~~~
Setta woke up from his sleep, feeling confused. The room was dark, only lit by the dim light coming through a crack in the window. The rain was falling softly, creating a rustling sound on the roof. He rubbed his eyes, trying to shake off the drowsiness that still clung to him. "Why did I wake up? I'm still sleepy... don't even need to go to the bathroom,"
He muttered, his voice hoarse and shaky. Hhe pulled the blanket over him again, trying to cover his cold body. But before he could reach her shoulders, a faint voice interrupted, echoing softly from the dark corner of the room.
"I made you wake up..."
Setta froze. His body tensed, and his heart raced. "W-who's there?"
He asked, his voice trembling, almost inaudible. No answer. Only deafening silence. The rain outside seemed to lessen, leaving behind a suffocating stillness.
"Look at the mirror in front of you..." the voice whispered again, closer this time... as if it were whispering directly into her ear.
With trembling hands, Setta turned to look at the mirror on the wardrobe at the foot of his bed.
Faintly, he saw her reflection. But something was wrong. The reflection... was smiling. A smile that shouldn't have been there. Setta wasn't smiling.
He was terrified. But the reflection grinned widely, its eyes staring sharply as if they were stabbing him in return.
Setta gasped for breath, his hairs standing on end. His legs felt weak, but he forced herself to move. Without thinking, he leapt out of bed and ran toward the door in a panic.
"Hahahahaha..."
The laughter echoed throughout the room, bouncing off the walls. It didn't just come from the mirror, but from every direction. The sound seemed to travel through the air, growing louder with every step Setta took in his panic.
Setta ran, his hands trembling as she turned the doorknob. When the door opened, he glanced back into his room. The reflection in the mirror was still there, smiling wide, waving slowly at him. Setta didn't wait any longer. he stepped out, the laughter still following his, echoing down the dark corridor of the house. No matter how far he ran.