Flashback.....
Ryo pinched the bridge of his nose.
"You three… shut up. Now come inside. And please, just once in your lives, behave like moral children who respect their elders — even if the elder looks like a half-dead raisin."
With a deep breath, he turned the key in the lock.
Click.
The door creaked open slowly…
Darkness leaked from inside.
Flashback end...
Chapter 2: Four Brains, One Haunted Room, Zero Survival
The key turned with a soft click.
Ryo slowly opened the door to Room 402.
The hinges creaked like they hadn't moved in centuries.
Darkness spilled out from the room like fog.
Suddenly—
"WuuuuuuuOOOOoooooo—"
Jariot let out a long, guttural, scary ghost noise.
"AAAHHHHHHH!"
Ryo, Taka, and Jade all FLINCHED at once.
Jade immediately clung to Ryo like a terrified koala.
"Broooo! GHOSTTTTT! GHOSTTTTT! It's starting! IT'S STARTING!"
Meanwhile, Jariot — the menace himself — was LAUGHING.
Full-volume.
Hands on knees.
Losing his MIND.
"YAAAHHHHH—YOU—" Taka pointed at him like a man on the edge.
"I SWEAR I will BEAT you, then put you in a JUICER, make a Jariot smoothie, and let the jungle wolves drink it!"
"WITH A STRAW," Ryo added, deadpan.
Jariot: Still laughing.
Jade: Still clinging.
Taka: Still plotting murder.
And behind them…
The door to Room 402 creaked open wider.
A cold draft swept past them.
The lights in the hallway blinked.
Room 402 had just started breathing.
The door creaked wider behind them, and they finally stepped inside.
The room was eerily quiet.
Velvet chairs, vintage wallpaper, a tall mirror in the corner…
Then—
CRASH!
A picture frame on the wall suddenly fell to the ground, shattering into sharp, glittering glass.
Jade jumped three feet back.
"THAT'S—THAT'S HOW—HOW THE HELL DID IT FALL!?"
His eyes were wide. Arms flailing. Voice cracking.
Taka, already done with the nonsense, pointed casually.
"C'mon, dude. Look at that window."
The window was cracked open, a cold breeze sneaking in.
"You do know how common sense works, right?" Taka continued.
"Window open → Wind blows → Frame falls. Basic physics, Professor Panic."
Jade blinked. "It… could still be a cursed wind."
Jariot stepped over the shattered glass with zero concern. "We love a dramatic ghost entrance."
Ryo grabbed a towel from the dresser and dropped it over the broken glass.
"One day in this hotel, and we'll all need therapy."
The room fell quiet again.
But not for long.
The room had just gone still.
Too still.
CLICK.
The door snapped shut behind them with a loud, metallic lock.
Jade shrieked and latched onto Ryo like a koala clinging for dear life.
"BROOOOO! THE DOOR! THE DOOR! It's locked!"
Ryo stumbled slightly. "Okay—okay! Calm down! Breathe, don't crush my ribs!"
Taka backed up, eyes locked on the handle.
"Oh GREAT. Now the door's locked. And tell me HOW, exactly?"
He pointed toward the hallway.
"I told you all that old man was cursed. Look what he did! We're officially trapped in the world's creepiest AirBnB!"
Jariot, unfazed, leaned on the wall with a dreamy expression.
"Wow… now it's really giving romantic vibes."
Taka and Jade, in absolute unison:
"HOW the HELL is this romantic, you idiot?!"
Then—
Ryo's voice came quiet. Serious.
"Guys… is that… a hand coming out of that mirror?"
All three turned their heads.
The tall antique mirror on the far side of the room began to ripple—
like water.
And from the center of that shimmering surface, a hand began to emerge.
Pale. Long fingers. Nails sharp like knives.
Reaching.
Grasping.
Taka, Jade, and Jariot stared in stunned silence.
They blinked. Rubbed their eyes.
Jade screamed.
"IT IS! IT'S A HAND! IT'S REAL!"
Jariot, dazed: "Woooooww…"
WHACK!
Taka smacked the back of Jariot's head.
"THE HELL YOU SAY 'WOW' FOR?! IT'S NOT A MOVIE TRAILER!"
The mirror hand moved again.
The mirror rippled one final time…
And then—
She stepped out.
A woman, if you could even call her that.
Her body dripped with terror.
Hair long, matted, and soaked in something dark red —
no, not hair dye.
It was blood.
Her face…
too twisted.
too inhuman to look at directly.
Skin deathly pale.
Eyes hollow.
Nails like blades — each one sharp enough to cut someone in half.
Her dress clung to her frame —
dark red, torn, dragging across the floor like it was soaked in nightmares.
Ryo, Taka, and Jade instantly clung together like terrified penguins.
No one moved.
No one breathed.
Then—
Jariot, as calm as a tour guide, held up an imaginary checklist.
"Scary vibes? ✅
Long cursed nails? ✅
Bloody ghost lady? ✅
Fear level? 100% ✅
Only thing missing is the creepy horror music in the background and—"
He tilted his head.
"Wait. Why the hell are you wearing red?
I thought ghosts always wear white?"
Everyone turned to look at him.
Even the ghost paused.
Her head tilted slowly.
Cracking.
Neck bending too far sideways.
She had noticed him.
And trust me the ghost is confused .
The ghost didn't blink.
She simply vanished—
And reappeared right behind Jariot.
Jade's eyes widened. "JARIOT—MOVE!"
He lunged and yanked Jariot away just as the ghost's clawed fingers slashed through empty air.
"THAT—THAT COULD HAVE KILLED YOU!" Jade shouted, heart racing.
Taka, pacing like a man losing brain cells:
"For ONCE, Jariot. JUST ONCE, use your judgement.
You may be a model, but you were this close to losing both your title and your soul!"
The ghost tilted her head.
And then…
She laughed.
A horrible sound — not human.
Echoing. Breaking.
Like shattered glass and growling wind layered together.
And with one flick of her hand—
WHOOSH!
The entire room erupted into flames.
Curtains caught fire.
Furniture cracked and sparked.
Smoke curled to the ceiling as the ghost floated in mid-air, her bloody hair billowing.
Jade screamed.
Taka, coughing: "Tch—LOOK WHAT YOU DID, JARIOT!
Now we're gonna die in fire!
I had dreams, okay?! If I die, I wanna go out in style—like MURDER. Or someone pushing me off a mountain.
Adventure death! Not death by crispy wallpaper!"
Ryo, deadpan in the chaos:
"WILL YOU ALL SHUT UP FOR ONCE?!"
Suddenly—
The ghost moved.
Her arm shot forward.
Long, deadly fingers wrapped around Jade's throat.
She lifted him off the ground with one hand like he weighed nothing.
Jade's feet dangled.
His eyes wide.
Gasping.
Clawing at her hand.
The flames around them roared louder.
The flames roared higher—licking the ceiling, swallowing the curtains.
The ghost hovered above them, her eyes now glowing a dull, dead white.
And then she spoke.
Her voice was ancient, warped, echoing from the walls themselves.
"Don't you know… this room belongs to ME?
How dare you come here… uninvited?"
Her grip around Jade's throat tightened.
His legs kicked. His mouth opened—but no sound came.
Across the room, Ryo, Taka, and Jariot stood frozen.
Jaws clenched.
Fists trembling.
Rage building.
Then—Jariot grabbed a nearby book and hurled it at the ghost.
It passed right through her.
No effect.
"Jade, bro…" Jariot said, smirking. "I'm sorry."
Jade, struggling to breathe, gasped:
"No… don't… do anything… you're doing…"
Jariot zipped open his duffel bag.
And pulled out an iron rod.
"THE HELL—" Taka snapped.
"You just casually pack an IRON ROD? WHO are you planning to kill?!"
Jariot shrugged.
"It's nothing. Just… these days, boys ain't even safe. This is basic survival gear."
And then—Jariot threw the rod straight at Jade.
It struck Jade's chest, and at the very same moment—
The ghost's grip vanished.
She let go.
Jade crashed to the floor, coughing and wide-eyed.
"I—WILL—KILL YOU—JARIOT!" he croaked.
"Chill, dude," Jariot said. "I just saved you from dying. With style."
The ghost screamed—her voice like metal scraping glass.
The flames surged again, now crawling toward the floor.
The room was running out of time.
And fast.
Ryo rushed to Jade, grabbing his arm and pulling him off the floor.
"Come on! Get up!"
The smoke was thick now.
The ghost was floating again—eyes glowing, hands twitching like claws.
Taka snapped, "We need to leave. This room. This hotel. ASAP."
Ryo yanked the door handle—
"It's locked. From the outside."
Taka smirked. "Okay. Ryo. Choose one finger."
Ryo stared. "What??"
"FAST, or we're gonna be ghost-toast."
Taka held out three fingers.
Ryo picked one.
Taka leaned in, whispered:
"We've got two options.
Option 1 — we jump out that window.
Option 2 — I unlock the door with my secret unlocking skills. But if the hallway's crawling with ghosts, we're dead anyway."
A nearby clock dinged.
1:00 AM.
"I vote window!" Jariot shouted.
Everyone nodded.
Suitcases in hand — because of course they weren't leaving their fashion or snacks behind —
They ran for the window.
Flames burst across the floor as they leapt.
THUD!
They all crash-landed into a huge garbage box outside.
Groaning. Covered in who-knows-what.
For a second, no one moved.
Then all four looked at each other.
And without a word—
They ran.
Straight to the car.
Suitcases thrown in the trunk.
Engine roared.
Tires screeched.
And the burning hotel behind them slowly disappeared in the rearview mirror.
But inside Room 402… the ghost still laughed.
As they sat in the car, city lights flickering through the windshield, silence returned.
But only for a second.
The car tore down the road, tires screeching, the hotel's glow fading into the black forest behind them.
Taka drove like a madman.
Through empty roads.
Past midnight fog.
Finally—
They reached the city.
The bright lights of buildings, signs, and streetlamps washed over them like safety itself.
The car screeched to a stop near a gas station.
For a moment, no one said anything.
Then—
All three brothers turned and glared at Jariot.
"Hey—HEY—whaaatttt?" Jariot raised his hands. "Don't look at me like that!"
And then—
Punch. Kick. Smack. WHACK.
The three older brothers launched a full-on revenge beatdown in the car seat.
"NEVER," Taka said between kicks, "give THIS GPS WIZARD the map again!"
Jade added, "We LITERALLY just survived a demon hotel! A GHOST tried to choke me! And this is YOUR fault!"
Ryo, rubbing his temple, sighed:
"Worst. Ghost. Experience. Of. My. Life."
Jariot curled up in the corner.
"You guys are soooo dramatic. At least we got content for my horror vlog."
Three voices in unison:
"SHUT UP, JARIOT!"
And somewhere… far behind them…
A faint echo.
A laugh.
From the forest.
Jariot leaned forward, voice low.
"But guys… do you really think that ghost's gonna forget us?"
"We literally ran from that horror hotel. She saw our faces. Our souls. That has to mean something, right?"
Taka groaned, hand on his forehead.
"Of course she has to forget us.
We're not some movie characters with zero common sense who walk into basements and say 'who's there?'
We had escape plans.
We had iron rods and GPS sabotage.
We're survivors, baby."
Jade slumped into his seat.
"That was my first ghost experience… and it was the worst."
Ryo started the engine again.
"Let's just go home.
And throw out every cursed object we own.
And maybe Jariot too."
The car rolled forward.
Street lights glowed.
Flames and ghosts were left behind.
For now....