West: The Sun From Another Star

I woke up annoyed by the incessant ringing of the phone. I searched for the phone buzzing all over the bed, found it, looked at the screen, and saw it was Tonfah calling. Is it already six thirty? Damn, I'm too late! I jumped up immediately and took Tonfah's call.

 

"I'm awake now."

(Come quickly.)

 

"Okay," I replied, then hung up and quickly went to shower and change. Although other departments weren't on break yet, we had to be on duty; being in our fourth year meant having to be on duty, and it was incredibly tiring. Normally, I'm used to the noise from the next room, but it seemed louder than usual last night. Probably because a new person moved in and they had a party.

 

Thinking about it carefully, that chair-dragging sound couldn't have been Dount's. Since he was the only one I knew, I blamed him for any noise. He was mischievous when he was alive, and he's still mischievous in his grave. Even after his death, he's still holed up in his room after his wife stabbed him, constantly appearing in my dreams demanding food and the money I borrowed before he died. I already gave the money to his mother at the funeral, so why keep asking for it? I even drove dozens of kilometres to help at his funeral. What more do you want from me?

 

I'm complaining because I dreamt about him again last night, and he kept constantly complaining about being hungry. Hungry, time and time again. People have to study, be on duty, and do all sorts of reports, so where would they find the time to buy offerings for him? He's already a ghost, and he's still so demanding. Just appearing in a dream and demanding food, demanding all sorts of things—isn't that going too far, Dount!

 

Because of it, I didn't get enough sleep, so I was late this morning. The professor probably scolded me because of him; is he going to take responsibility? I sped to the hospital on my motorbike, and as soon as I parked, Jo was parked right next to me. We were both equally late, so we both rushed upstairs at the same time. 

 

Morning shift in the ward, afternoon classes, and then another shift until eight o'clock in the evening. After everything was done, I went back to my room and threw myself onto the bed, exhausted and dejected. Studying medicine is tough, and I have reasons for studying it, but I'm too lazy to talk about it, and I don't want to tell you anyway.

 

I was almost falling asleep when the phone rang again. Direk?

 

"What's up?"

(Talk to your father nicely.)

 

"Direk."

(Do you consider your dad a playmate?)

 

"Just kidding, we can be friends if you want."

(Ugh, that's a shame. I heard you're not going to the racetrack anymore?)

 

"I'm so busy, working shifts day and night is so boring, Direk, I want to drop out of school, Dad, please support me."

 

(Hmm, isn't your dad supporting you now? It's good that you're not racing, but the racetrack would be deserted without you, and many people would ask about it.)

 

"Oh, so you want me to go or not? You got angry when I went the other day and even blocked my messages."

 

(I've unblocked him, but I always relied on Johan to text me.)

 

"See? Just go to Johan, and you can talk to him right away. He's your own son, and he still won't talk to you!"

 

(Johan is also sensible. As for blocking messages, it's because his dad finds it annoying, always asking for money. Does your dad think he's that rich?)

 

"Oh, if you don't have it, just tell me, and I'll borrow some from Jo."

(Dad is really rich, but stop asking for money all the time.)

 

"Yes, yes. So, what did you call me for?"

(Dad had a bad dream last night.)

 

"Do I need to comfort you, Dad? It's alright, don't overthink it. Bad dreams turn into good ones, right?"

 

(You're such a busybody.)

"Hey, why are you scolding your child? What did you dream about?"

 

(Dad dreamt about your mother.)

"...Really, Dad?"

 

(Why would Dad lie to you?)

"Did Mom say anything?"

 

(He said nothing, just like always.)

"Maybe Dad has been working too much; he should take a break."

 

(Yeah, probably. So, how was your shift? Don't let anyone else get into trouble, or you'll be sued for bankruptcy, and that would be the end of you.)

 

"It's alright. Probably no one will die... I don't think so."

 

(Is your "haunted" room still the same?)

 

"It's the room next door. Someone moved in yesterday, and last night was like a reunion party; it was incredibly noisy."

 

(Who moved in? Can they live here? What about you? Living with ghosts for a whole year, are you alright?)

 

"I'm too lazy to move. Besides, moving would mean losing to them, and I don't want to."

(Even a ghost wants to compete?)

 

"If you move away, Dount will be lonely."

(Are you planning to make offerings for him? We're friends, after all.)

 

"I've never been to a temple in my life."

(Come on, you're not a Buddhist anyway. If you can stay here, just stay, it'll save you money on rent.)

 

"Hey, Direk, I want to change the rims. So we can race next week."

(What kind of tray?)

 

"I've placed the order, Dad, please pay for it for me."

 

(Give it to your dad to pay. Yes, it's me. Here we go again, you're so clever, all you know is to order things and then make me pay for them.)

 

"Let's make the reservation first and then decide later. Let's meet at home."

(Oh no!)

 

I hung up. Direk is my dad, my biological father. I've called him that since I was little, and we've talked that way happily. It's a habit. Direk once said he wanted to be a friend, not a father, so we could talk about everything, and he could still feel young. His personality is still that of a young man, even though he's over forty.

 

So, it's no wonder my personality is like this. Look at my dad, we're exactly alike. Direk said I'm just like Direk when he was young. The only difference is that he didn't study medicine. Direk owns a company that imports a wide range of auto parts. He not only imports but also l manufactures, expanding to the point of having large repair shops with branches nationwide. Now he's looking to expand internationally as well. It's not just a desire; he's actually achieved this in the past few years, and it's safe to say Direk is becoming increasingly wealthy and prosperous.

 

Ah…

Since my dad is rich, he definitely needs someone to help with the expenses, like me, for example. I kept asking for money so much that he blocked my messages. Because I've been exposed to cars since I was a child, I really like them. And if anyone asks why I studied medicine, I would answer that…It's better not to tell them, I'm afraid everyone will cry.

 

Before I could even get up to do anything, another call came in. Why are they calling so much? I took out my phone to check, and it was Jo's wife calling.

 

"What's up?"

(He didn't reply to my messages on Line?)

 

"What is up?"

(Let's play a game together.)

 

"You just invited me to play games, huh?"

(So, are you going to play?)

 

"Yeah, let's play. Just a moment."

 

I turned off the computer. Jo's wife really knows how to get people to play games. I like to play too, and I'm pretty good at it, but I have to play more because Jo's wife keeps inviting me. When we first met, I was surprised because I didn't think Jo would like someone like that, but now it's been almost a year. The only problem is that Jo doesn't have time to go drinking with me anymore; he just spends all his time lying around with his wife.

Fah is married, Hill is married, everyone is married except me. It's a little annoying, but their sweetness makes me uncomfortable. But it's not so bad, as long as they're happy, that's all that matters.

 

I opened the game, and less than ten seconds later, North was already inviting me to play.

 

(What game are you playing?) North's voice came from the game, because when we play, we turn on the mic to talk. It's only for friends.

 

"Anything is fine to play, but what should we play?"

(Play carry, I'll go into the jungle too.)

 

"So who's going to tank?"

(My friend.)

 

"Yeah." I just noticed there's another person in the game room, but they're not using their mic. 

 

"Who is that? Your friend?" I asked when I saw that the name sounded unfamiliar. Usually, the friends North invited to hang out were Duean Nao, Kyu, Khet, and Ger—all familiar faces, but I didn't know this person.

 

(Daotok, that's my neighbour.)

"Oh, yeah, can you tank? You're really bad at it."

 

(Then you'll be surprised by your friend's tanking abilities.)

 

"What the hell are you talking about?"

(It's time to choose a champion, man.)

 

"I really admire you," I said jokingly, not seriously, since we're quite close. I chose an Assassin champion to farm in the jungle. North played carry, and the tank player also chose a tank champion that suited my farming champion.

 

He must be a very skilled player; you can tell from his champion selection. Not only do they know how to play, but they're incredibly skilled. I've never met anyone who plays tanks as well as you.

 

"Aishhh, is this even a competition? How can they not lose when three of them are fighting one person like this?"

(I told you, my friend is very capable. But it would be great if you could help, he's dying.)

 

"Look at the blood! I'm not going to help you, understand?"

 

(I'm listening, Daotok, what are you planning to do? Tell me.)

 

(Yeah, let's go into the forest. We don't have enough blood; it's not worth the risk. If we turn back, we'll all die. We'll help him escape.)

 

(He's your neighbour. Yeah, you live next door. Why don't you come over and play together? So you can talk more easily.)

 

"I think it's okay, let's heal a bit."

(Are you planning to come in again?)

 

"Okay, three people."

(Okay, Ultima is ready, let's open it.)

 

(Really? No more blood, just courage left, guys!) North yelled a little.

 

"Go ahead and engage," I said, before the tank initiated combat. I followed, my meagre health nearly killing me, but I still managed to get three kills. But it came at the cost of the tank's life.

 

(The tank is really dead.)

 

(It's okay, tanks trade lives with mages and carries, it's still advantageous.) A slow voice emanating from the game made me wonder who could be so calm. North was nervously shouting during the game, but this guy didn't seem bothered at all, and even chose the perfect moment to enter, reading the game incredibly well. It's so annoying dealing with such incredibly tanky tanks.

 

We played for a while without losing a single game until North's friend left. North said he had to go do something else, leaving just the two of us to play together.

 

(Yeah, how was last night? Did you see a ghost?)

 

"Last night was busier than usual. Why are you asking?"

 

(I asked my friend, and she said she saw that person. At first, there were three people, but now there's a woman who hanged herself, seemingly out of nowhere.)

 

"Oh, a hanged ghost? Oh, that girl used to live in my room." I recalled that when I first moved into this room, there was also a story about a girl hanging herself on the balcony. But that's no longer the case. 

 

"Ah, I was wondering why the sound of chairs being dragged was coming from that room. I thought it was another ghost. Turns out it was a hanged ghost?"

 

(Well, it was hanging on the balcony, you know. Daotok said it was hung around a certain time, probably midnight. So it was in your room before? Did you kick it out?)

 

"It wasn't exactly kicking him out, but well, you could say I kicked him out. He was making a lot of noise, dragging his chair around there. I yelled at him, but he wouldn't listen, so I had to resort to drastic measures."

 

(So, did you use a spell or something to drive it away?)

 

"No, at first it was incredibly disruptive; it even sat on me while I was sleeping."

(So ​​what's wrong with you?)

 

"It sat on top of me, so I thrust my hips up."

(Oh my God, you really are…) North’s loud laughter echoed through, (Really?)

 

"YES."

(You're really something, to have stumbled upon such a spooky place.)

 

"Okay, let's see. I wonder what a girl might be thinking if she's sitting on top of me in the middle of the night?"

 

(Damn... just thinking about it makes me laugh so hard!) North still couldn't stop laughing. 

 

(And then what did that woman do?)

 

"He yelled and then disappeared immediately. He was probably embarrassed."

 

(If she were a ghost, I wouldn't dare. So she went to another room afterwards?)

 

"Not yet. She would drag a chair from the middle of the room to the balcony every midnight. That night, I couldn't take it anymore. I knew that at exactly 12:30, she would drag the chair again, from the middle of the room out onto the balcony, past the bathroom. At 12:25, I would go in there and wait."

 

(What are you doing in the bathroom?)

"Let her see..."

 

(You damn idiot, Arthit, you really are… Are you really going to let ghosts see you?)

 

"That's right, even if she pulled a chair over, she'd still see me. I even left the door wide open."

 

(Oh my god, even if she's a ghost, she's still a woman!) North burst out laughing, laughing so hard she forgot about the game. That made me laugh, too, and thinking back to how I did that back then still makes me laugh. I don't know how angry I was to do that. To be honest, I think I was quite daring, and I'm even a little proud of myself.

 

It was also thanks to my conversation with North that I dared to tell this story frankly, because he's also the type who isn't afraid to speak bluntly, and we share the same taste.

 

"This is my room, I have the right to be in my room, so what did I do wrong?"

 

"That's right, but... damn, this is giving me a headache. And then what did she do?"

 

"He's completely disappeared. He probably moved to a different room from there."

 

"That's right, who could possibly live with such a perverted landlord?"

 

"What's so perverted about it? It's perfectly normal. I bet you've done it too, right?"

 

(Oh my god, it's just a natural thing, honey, oh my stomach hurts so much, my whole stomach hurts. You're the best of the best in medical school, I bet no doctor in the world would ever show a ghost a ghost. I'm laughing so hard I'm going to fall off the sofa!)” North's laughter rang out from the other end of the line.

 

"What did I do to make you laugh so much? Are you that easily amused?"

 

(Yeah, I laugh easily. Thinking about the ghost in your room makes me feel sorry for her, and I bet the other ghosts, too. You know, Phi Phung Tai said there was a woman who hanged herself in the middle of the night, then around two in the morning, a ghost jumped off the balcony, and there was a ghost crying in the bathroom. And that guy Donut was scratching the walls.)

 

"Dount scratching the wall?"

(Yeah, that's what Phi Pung Tai said. Think about it, why would it scratch the wall?)

 

"Oh, that Donut had a really strange habit. When he was alive, he said he always had an itch on the tips of his fingernails, so he would scratch them on the table. He'd even scratch while sitting down, and then talk to the table. I told him to stop, but he kept saying he couldn't. I never imagined he'd be obsessed with scratching his nails even after he died."

 

(Seriously, that sounds creepy. When he was alive, he loved scratching his nails, and even after becoming a ghost, he couldn't stop scratching so much that his nails all came off. My friend told me that.)

 

"So, your friend's name is really 'Phi Phung Tai'? What a strange name!"

 

"No, his real name is 'Daotok,' but I think that name sounds boring. 'Phi Phung Tai' sounds much cooler."

 

"'Daotok'? That's strange, what kind of boy has the name Daotok?"

 

"Right? But the name was given by my parents, never mind."

 

"YES…"

 

"Oh, and about Donut, was it really true that his wife stabbed him in his sleep? Was he in the room at the time?"

 

"Yes, I was fast asleep and didn't know anything. I only found out this morning that Donut was stabbed by Min last night—Min is his wife, you know. It's probably because Donut was having an affair or something, they were always arguing, and Min got so frustrated that she took matters into her own hands."

 

"Oh my God, that's disgusting! After stabbing the body, they just left it on the bed?"

 

"Damn it, he's lying there. Min's mental fortitude is unbelievable. I'm telling you, after stabbing Donut to death, he just lay there until morning, the bed covered in blood, and the next morning he even called the police himself."

 

(That's awful, absolutely horrifying. So what are you doing? Are you doing any good for Donut?)

 

"No, I'm lazy. I'm not a Buddhist either, and I don't go to temples."

 

(Phi Phung Tai said that Donut appeared in his dream, saying he was hungry.)

 

"Yeah, it appeared in my dream too, saying it was hungry."

 

(So ​​what did he answer?)

"Eat my feet if you want."

 

(That's so true, you know, even if you're a ghost.) North burst out laughing. He laughed so hard he forgot about the game. I really don't understand what kind of laugh he has.

 

(Why don't you light incense for it? Or maybe give it food once or twice, and it might stop bothering you.)

 

"Wait a minute, it's going to push its luck. Why don't you let your friend handle it?"

 

(My friend doesn't have any money; he's already spent it buying things for the cat.)

 

"Okay, then leave it like that. I'm going to sleep. I have to get up early for work tomorrow. Is Jo asleep already?"

 

(Is Jo asleep? Are you very tired?)

"I'm tired. Why didn't you think before you asked that? I'm going to disappear."

 

(Okay, you can go dive now.)

 

I turned off the game and went to take a shower and change clothes. It's past 10 PM now; I've been playing for a long time. After changing, I got ready for bed. Honestly, I didn't want to be one of those early sleepers, but I'm so tired.

 

════[changbins_delulu_wife]════

 

I was still working, just like the night before. It was now past 10 o'clock at night, and Emma was sitting beside me, keeping an eye on me. I hadn't encountered anything strange or heard any unpleasant noises today, but I thought there would probably be some commotion after midnight.

In the evenings, I play games with North. North is a huge gamer. I was, too, a game addict as a kid. I liked playing Tank or Support and only played those roles.

 

The person North invited to play games with seemed to be the guy from the next room. He was really good at it, and North was good too, so they felt more comfortable playing together. If he played against someone who wasn't good, it wouldn't matter, but if they had a bad personality, North would scold them severely. North is the type who gets angry easily when playing games.

 

As soon as the clock struck midnight, I sensed that they would become stronger after midnight. The feeling emanating from them started to grow heavier. I put on my headphones, and the scraping against the wall resumed.

 

When I couldn't concentrate on work, I decided to take a break. I decided to go into the hot tub because it helps me relax a lot. But when I got in the tub, I discovered someone claiming to be the owner of the place.

 

“I’m going to take a bath,” I said, not asking permission but simply announcing, “Don’t change the water to blood like in the movies, and besides, how could you possibly do that? A normal woman’s blood only has about four to five litres, how could that be enough for a whole tub?”

 

I turned on the hot water and filled the tub, then stepped in. I sat down to take a bath. The water temperature was just right, making me feel very relaxed. But there was a strange sensation running down the back of my neck.

 

A hand… A pale, slender hand, stroking along my neck, gently pushing down with fingertips, gradually increasing the pressure with each stroke. It felt like a slight cut running across my skin.

 

Painful…

"Painful…"

 

"I'll be angry if you hurt me," I said, rather unhappily, raising one hand and lightly tapping my neck, hoping to hit her hand as punishment. But I felt nothing. I continued sitting in the water, inadvertently closing my eyes. Suddenly, I felt my hand touch something, like a human head. I slowly opened my eyes. This is the first time I've seen anything like this…

 

Her jet-black hair, wet and dishevelled, hung down as she slowly lifted her head to look at me. I immediately withdrew my hand from her head. Her face was pale but expressionless, her lips curled into a faint smile before quickly pressing together again, and the sound of sobbing began to fill the bathroom.

 

Bright red blood flowed from her mouth, tears streaming down her face. Her naked body became more and more visible. There were cuts on her neck, cuts on her shoulder, and I didn't dare look down anymore. She sat with her legs curled up in the bathtub opposite me, crying, her sobs growing heavier and heavier.

 

"Boo hoo hoo hoo..."

 

“…”

 

"Oh no, it hurts so much... it hurts, it hurts, don't hurt me, please don't hurt me."

 

Ah, she was murdered by her boyfriend, who slit her throat in the bathtub; she's probably talking about that boyfriend.

 

"No way."

 

"Boo hoo hoo."

 

"Does it hurt? Come on, be good."

 

"Waaah, it hurts, it hurts so much, I... I can't breathe!"

 

How can someone breathe after having their throat cut, and yet still be able to speak?

 

"Sob sob..."

 

“Miss… no, sister.” I decided to call out, reaching out to shake her awake, to make her hear me. But when my hand touched her icy skin, the ghost in front of me stopped crying immediately. The sobbing subsided, and her eyes slowly turned towards me.

 

"Aaaaaaa!!!!!"

 

She screamed, and I paused for a moment before the woman's figure vanished. Did she scream to scare me, or was she startled because someone was there, or was she embarrassed because she was naked?

Never mind.

 

I continued soaking in the water for a little while longer until I felt satisfied, then got out of the tub and removed the drain plug. When the water level dropped to a certain point, I saw my hair stuck in the drain.

 

Hair?

Long hair too.

It's definitely not mine.

 

"Hey, don't let your hair fall out. What if it gets stuck? I don't want to keep pulling it out all the time. Remember to tie your hair up next time." I grumbled unhappily. Why do I have to clean up other people's hair?

 

I stepped out of the bathroom. Because I wasn't wearing my bracelet while bathing, I had already seen the woman in the tub once. Now I saw the hanged woman walking past. I thought she would just walk past me, but she stopped and slowly turned to look at me. I looked back, bewildered.

 

"Is...is something wrong?"

 

"Nothing."

 

Ah… and he answered again. The voice was slow and strangely resonant.

 

"That's good... because it's closed."

???