The man kept moving. The fencing walls on either side of him trapped him within that narrow path that stretched forward and met at a dot in the vision of his inhuman eyes. It seemed too long— the path. And it was. He didn't know how many years he had passed on the monotonous path. He truly was undeterred, however. It hadn't even been that much of time(just half a day on earth, really) since he missed his chance with the new soul he witnessed earlier. Anyone else would be discouraged after that. He was too, he just chose to keep going. It was hours, but it only felt like minutes to him; That was the quality of being conditioned in the dark earth.

Sometimes he would wonder if he regretted his decisions(just the one that landed him in the dark earth). No ghouls in the dark earth were spared from such thoughts, that was certain. He could never bring about an affirmative answer to that question, however. Yes, he had killed a few humans when he was a free soul, but who those humans had been, played an important role too. They were the ones responsible for his own death. It was humorous that someone who was rotten from the start, even when living, would reason with that strategy. What of those poor beings who he killed accidentally! Or for sport just because he could(as a new spirit with heightened powers)! Of course, he didn't remember those details. It just slipped his mind. And that, would be, a criminal's mind!

What he did remember, was that he had to avenge. The one that he needed to kill the most, the universe didn't give him enough time to do that, he was enslaved in the dark earth before that could happen. The main antagonist in his story, he had to make sure all the debts were paid. And that motivated him to keep going, to set himself free.

He knew of the way that would help him escape out of his prison. It was dangerous for evil spirits to be aware of that, yes, but he knew. It was accidental, really; when he used to roam around after his death, he would just inspect on random humans, and one of those people(or was it a soul?) had to be a shaman who he heard teaching her son about some random essentials. Surely enough, he didn't hear about the part that explained why souls would get trapped in the dark earth in the first place.

He kept walking. His tall form and wide shoulders, the dark aura surrounding him, heightened the essence of the otherwise empty, narrow path. He tilted his head and stretched his neck on each side, a clack sounding at each, and rolled his shoulders for a revival; Few old habits of his.

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The metal frame entrapping the photo glistened under the dim ceiling lights, some sharp rays blotching the cornea cells of Jimin's bewitching left eye. Jimin shifted to avoid the glare, the rug underneath him slipping back and forth on the floor in accord to his flow. He was careful not to slam his head on the open drawer of his wooden desk he was supporting the back of his trunk on. 

A single tear cascaded down his eye as he stared at the photo-sized figures of three jovial humans. The old Park Jimin, Pyo Jandi and Geum Sera were smiling at him with utmost genuineness. No one could comprehend still of how terribly Jimin missed Jandi, not even his so-called 'best friend' Sera.

'Jimin, umm...I love you!'

Jimin lost count of how many times he had played those words in his mind. He'd always imagine Jandi's sweet voice from back when she confessed. It never made him any better anyway though.

'Let's run away, Jimin. Let's go to Seoul. We'll live there.'

/His Jandi was no less beautiful than a Goddess. She had long, straight, inky hair unique to not many of her race, yet it contributed to a certain uniqueness, witnessing how very well it complimented her. Fair, milky skin guarded her pious, perfectly feminine frame. A fresh, jovial visage with heightened features to keep up with every other Godly facet.

Jandi never had a problem trying to get boys to date. All she had to do was turn around, have a look at all the crowd following her and select one. She held pride in whatever she owned, whether it be her looks or money, and it was a real intimidation factor. Her passive menace was her magnet. Girls in school stuck by her just so that they could influence themselves and grab a segment of the attention and admiration she owned.

When Jandi confessed to him, Jimin was on the moon. He knew he loved her more, and he could've confessed first, but he was scared. Not because she was an arrogant, popular girl, Jimin never saw her as such because she never arrayed it to him. To Jimin, Jandi was the sweetest, colourful-most fun person, and he afeared if ever his lacklustre self could match up to her.

Jimin met Jandi at a party— to be precise, she met him. He was a studious kid who studied at a prestigious high school with the help of the scholarship he earned. Mixing music had always been his interest. The kids from the richest school in his backward town would always engage themselves in house parties; studying was at the lowest of their priority chart. Though Jimin was from a different school, his ability in mixing music was well known among the party eskimos. He was the DJ at most of those parties. Though he did it for fun, those wealthy kids would ensure they paid him. Jandi was one of them. Another rich kid from that school.

Jandi liked what she saw, Jimin's charms spared no one when he was on it. Girls would just go to the party to see Jimin. At school, Jimin was just another studious kid who kept a low profile; no stunts, no public display of teenage 'dopeness', even if he did, no one would bother to give him a look. Jandi's school worked differently when it came to matters such as that./

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"Look," Jimin said in enthusiasm not glancing up from his laptop once.

"I'm sorry, did you say something?" Jandi who was striving to make an edible sandwich shouted from the kitchen, her voice competing against the click-clacking of the steel utensils and cutlery.

"Come here, honey." 

Jandi rushed to sit on Jimin's lap obstructing his view of the laptop screen. She eyed the device herself. "So, did you find any?"

"Yes, I found the perfect job," Jimin chimed.

Jandi gave him a look of uncertainty.

"What?" he asked.

She shrugged. "We only have a high school qualification. 'Perfect job' doesn't suit our worth. Waiting tables is what people our age can do utmost."

"Well, this job is better than waiting tables. It just requires me to do what I love the most."

"What is it?"

"DJ, of course. This new club is hiring. Even undergraduates can apply as long as they are studying music, DJ technology or something."

Jandi's eyes lit up. "Really?"

"Yeah."

"But you have not yet enrolled in a college."

"We still have time."

"Where is this club, by the way?"

"Gangnam. It has a unique name. 'Etiquettes'. I don't know what that word means though," Jimin laughs.

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Jimin kept the photo frame back in the drawer and wiped the lukewarm liquid off his face. He was displeased, the effect of the chalk he snorted last night withered away too fast. He also slept for a while. He would have to increase the dose again. Or maybe he'd just switch to a higher quality one.

When he woke up from his sleep earlier, he found himself naked from the waist down. That was a shock. He felt utterly disgusted. There was a used condom in the bin. So he concluded he had had engaged with Sera. But Sera would always clean and dress him up when she'd finish. Jimin hated being reminded of his sexual relationship with Sera.

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Jimin's eyes landed upon a figure lying on the floor with a knee raised and the other leg crossed over it, head rested upon the palms. Quite a stylish way to lie down, he thought. The person's face was covered with a cap. He took in the surroundings as he approached the person; looked like a female. 

The building was empty and spacious. He imagined how fun it'd be to work there. Although there was no seeming speck of dust anywhere, it smelt like it. And the lying body's dirt-stained pastel shirt confirmed it, she'd have just finished cleaning.

"Excuse me!" Jimin voiced out.  And waited for a whole minute to repeat it again. On getting not one response, Jimin confirmed that the person was sleeping. He went in and grabbed the cap from the face. No sooner did he do that than he jumped at the sudden voice.

"Who in the motherfuc—" Sera stopped when she saw a scared boy jumping back at her sudden movement. She sat up and grabbed the cap from Jimin.

"Who are you, why are you here and how dare you do that to me?" She yelled, pulling the earplugs out.

"I- I- I'm sorry," the trembling boy began. "I tried to call you many times."

Sera sighed, she realized she was in a new town where people didn't do well with harsh language. "Yes, but your purpose?"

"I heard you're hiring a DJ, so," he blushed.

"So?"

"I would want to work here."

"Nice aspiration, kid," Sera folded her arms, "But no! Not until the owner hires you."

"Umm? Could you tell me where the owner is?" He tried to be cute, but Sera only raised a brow. "Please," Jimin said charmingly. Both of her brows went up.

"This ain't an acting audition, kiddo," she sneered.

Jimin pouted. Sera rolled her eyes and pointed at herself. "Here."

Jimin questioningly hummed.

"Wow, you're thick-headed. I said I'm the owner."

"Really?"

She gave him a questioning look, and the boy just settled his eyes at the ground in shame.

"Help yourself," she said gesturing him to sit, hand pointing to the floor.

Jimin side-eyed the stool that was kept in the far end as he proceeded to sit down on the floor.

"You could go grab that stool if you want. Do whatever."

"No thanks."

"You sure?"

Jimin went ahead and dragged the stool.

"Sit," Sera commanded. "So, aren't you a little underage, boy?"

"Oh, your requirements didn't provide an age criterion."

"True, but how old are you?"

"I'm nineteen."

She nodded. "So you know how to mix music?"

Jimin nodded.

"Good! You're selected. I'll let you know when you've to come for the job."

"Wait, what? What about the interview or test?"

"There's no interview or test. I'll test you on your first day of the job, if it doesn't turn out good, maybe I'll kill you. Are you confident?"

Jimin looked at her in disbelief. "Yes but—"

"Besides, mixing music is not much of a hard job. Anyone can do it."

"Not anyone can do it, ma'am. It requires talent. They teach that in college. Even your requirements included that the person should at least be a DJ Technology student. But if you want me to perform on the first day itself, I'll gladly do that. My age doesn't come in the way of my abilities."

Sera hummed. "Well then, you passed the interview. You're hired. I should see this passion in your work too, otherwise you're out."

"What?"

"I was sceptical because you were stuttering at first. This was a confidence check, so you passed. And as for the test, I'm simply not a good judge, let the crowd judge you on the opening day."

"So I'm hired?" he asked with eyes as large as saucers.

"Do I have to repeat everything?"

"I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize for every freaking thing. Just get used to it soon, I may not talk in the nicest of manners," Sera said and extended her hand for a shake. "Geum Sera, owner of Etiquettes."

Jimin shook hands with her. "Park Jimin."

"From Busan?"

"Oh, how did you know?"

"Your accent jumped out when you were lecturing earlier, kiddo. It would be such a disadvantage for a person who'd have eloped their city suppose if they'd have murdered or scammed or something, imagine." Sera spoke the last sentence staring into the oblivion.

Jimin was a bit creeped out. It definitely didn't seem like a joke. Moreover, Sera didn't seem like a humourous person at all.

'What a weird thing to say?' he wondered.

"You have a Daegu dialect, Sera-ssi or 'Sajang-nim?'"

"Yeah, I just eloped Daegu recently. And call me Sera." She said with a poker face.

Jimin felt eldritch at the mention of that. He contemplated whether to work with the queer woman or not for a solid quarter of an hour.

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Sera slammed the door open, fury clouding her dark irises.

It was customary of her to go tend to the club when the cleaners would come at seven in the morning. Today, she presented herself a little early than seven because of a certain someone.

"What the fuck are you doing here, Jimin?"

Jimin was a bit taken back. Sera rarely showered him with anger, in fact, Jimin was the only employee at Etiquettes who could get away with anything he did without falling prey to Sera's temper, and the others envied him for that.

He did not reply.

"Yo, I made sure to give Hyejin your roommate's number so that he could come down and collect you near your building, given your condition. All you seriously had to do was to let the guys drag you to the car and give Hyejin the key. When Hyunbin came up, he had to see you ass-naked, imagine how uncomfortable it'd have been for him, and all of that for nothing, because you wouldn't budge. I take efforts to give you the comfort, you ass. Why are you such a pain?"

Jimin's lips extended a smirky smile. "You care about my comfort? And is it my fault I was naked, I was fucking not conscious. You didn't bother to dress me up yesterday, tell me, who was being a selfish bitch?"

"I AM FUCKING NOT YOUR MOTHER, JIMIN!"

"Why do you care if I stayed back here?"

"Because it is my club, you fool. Just because you have your own desk in my office or you have the key to this club, doesn't mean you should do whatever you want. I expected you to go back home at two like everyone else does, and I expected you to hand Hyejin the key so she could lock it."

She continued the rant. "All you did was give them the key so they could lock you inside the club all night and leave. I woke up today to see the messages from Hyejin and that ruined my mood. On my birthday morning! And do not get me started on what could happen if your thickhead self decided to do an overdose and ended up being I-don't-know-what when no one's near to even help you."

Jimin just stared at the wall.

"Don't have anything to say now, hmm? Come now, let me take you to your apartment. I'm not asking, it's an order. Stop staring at the wall and get the fuck out!"

And to Sera's surprise, he did. Jimin had never let Sera drop him at his place after he changed his address. Sera hurriedly drove to Jimin's street, she had to get back to the club before the cleaners would arrive.

The ride was silent. Just when they reached his street, he told her to stop the car, and she did. She didn't expect him to let her know his apartment, just letting her drive to his locality was more than a lot of things. She didn't question him.

"Look, Jimin. I'm sorry for what I said. I was just angry and said a lot of things that I didn't mean. I'll make sure to devote more of my time to the anger-management." She stretched her hand to pat his hair but he purposefully slid out of the Hyundai before she could touch him, and banged the door shut.

Sera sighed in self-condemnation.

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