《Whatever It Takes | Rosekook ✓》27: unite
Advertisement
"Can I ask you a question?" Jungkook asked. "It doesn't have to do with Sunghyun."
"It's never a good sign when people ask permission to ask a question but sure. Who am I to tell the leader of the Trinity not to ask me any questions."
Jungkook rolled his eyes. "Let's not bring that up. I'm genuinely curious. What do you get out of doing this?"
"Ghost hunting or making videos?"
"I know what you get out of making YouTube videos. Hell, even I've noticed your channel is growing. What do you get out of making horror-content videos? I know your dad got you into this but is that it? This seems pretty scary for someone to do alone."
"I'm not always alone. My friend Mark usually comes with me but lately, he's been too busy with work at Retropolis and then there's Yuju."
"What about her?"
"Mark likes her so he'll spend every moment he can with her. Not that I blame him. I wish I had someone I could be infatuated with the way he is with her."
"You've never been infatuated with anyone? Never had a crush? I find that hard to believe."
Roseanne laughed. "Believe it or not, it's true. I was too busy trying to survive. I never had time to think about who the cutest guy in school was."
"So, Mark spends his free time with the girl of his dreams — a girl we've established as a liar."
"Secret holder," Roseanne corrected.
"Lies of omission are still lies."
"I refuse to believe she purposely lied to us. I won't pass judgment until I've heard her side. It's the intention that's important. Was she purposely lying because she was hiding something bad or maybe she just didn't think it was important? I need to hear that first."
"Fine. If you say so. You still haven't answered my question. What do you get out of telling scary stories and creeping around old houses acting like Scooby-Doo?"
"I thought I told you. I do these videos to forget things. With everything that's been going on...I needed to make this video."
"You mean Tzuyu's murder?"
Roseanne frowned. "Should you really be bringing her up in this video?"
"Why not?"
"I wouldn't put it past people to take this video the wrong way. You know I have a ton of people who hate me."
"Your audience is growing. All of those people don't hate you," Jungkook reminded her. "Are you upset about your friend, Yuju? Why don't you just confront her about it tomorrow?"
"And say what? Hey, I know you're Tzuyu's cousin. Why haven't you mentioned anything? What else are you hiding? Did you secretly kill your cousin?"
"Whoa...I didn't see that last question coming."
Advertisement
Roseanne rolled her eyes. "If I'm being honest, everyone in Tzuyu's life is suspected as far as I'm concerned."
Jungkook pointed at himself. "Including me?"
"Yes, including you and Jaehyun and Eunwoo."
"I didn't murder Tzuyu!" Jungkook insisted. "How could you even think that?"
"As I said, I barely know you. Besides, I have too much to worry about than Tzuyu's murder."
"Like what? You got a stalker or something?" Jungkook laughed. When Roseanne didn't join in, he tilted his head to the side. "That was supposed to be a joke. Don't tell me you really have a stalker. Do you really have a stalker?"
"Would you believe me if I told you I did?"
"Wait. You're serious? Have you gone to the cops?"
"Yes, but they can't do anything. So what if someone is carving stupid messages into my apartment door? So what if someone breaks into my apartment to take pictures of me while I sleep. So what if I get sent smelly voodoo dolls? I feel like I deserve all of this."
"No, you don't Rosie. Nobody gets to make your life a living hell for things."
A door slammed to their right, causing them to get quiet.
"Did you hear that?" Roseanne whispered.
"Maybe it was the wind," Jungkook suggested. "Would it be insensitive to say I hope it's your stalker and not a ghost?"
"Yes. Now, hold the camera straight," Roseanne ordered. She leaned close to Jungkook, staring directly into the camcorder. "We just heard a door slam. I really think we're going to make contact with the other side here."
"We're talking about ghosts here, Rosie. Why do you sound so happy about that?" Jungkook groaned.
"Are you scared?" Roseanne couldn't stop the giggle that followed her question. "If you would rather wait outside...I'll totally understand."
"And leave you here alone?" Jungkook asked. He straightened his shoulders and cleared his throat. "No, if you can do it. So can I."
Roseanne shrugged. "Then let's head that way. Maybe we can pick something up from the spirit box."
They made their way to the room with the slamming door. Roseanne looked back at Jungkook. "I'll go first."
"I'm not stopping you," he muttered. "Ladies first and all that."
She walked in and gasped. "Are you getting all this?" Jungkook entered and left the bedroom door open behind him.
"What the hell is this?" Jungkook asked, his eyes following the light of Roseanne's flashlight. The words 'help me' were scrawled all over the walls.
"This must've been one of the boys' rooms. Zoom in on that while I set up the K2," Roseanne said. She turned on the small device which measured the frequency of the room. It immediately began flashing red which indicated a spirit was near. "Look at this, Jungkook. It's turning red."
Advertisement
"So?"
"We're not alone here. That's what it means."
A loud pounding against the glass window caused both of them to jump. Roseanne turned to see no one was outside.
"We're on the second floor," Jungkook hissed. "How is someone or something able to hit the window?"
"Is anyone there?" Roseanne asked aloud. "Sunghyun, is that you?" When nothing happened, Roseanne walked to the corner of the room. "We're not here to hurt you. We just have some questions."
"Not we. Just her," Jungkook said. "She has questions for you, not me. I'm happily content knowing you're a bad man."
Roseanne ignored his comment and began rearranging the furniture in the room.
"What are you doing?" Jungkook asked. "Now isn't the time to be redecorating."
"One of the stories said if you move stuff around in the room, the ghost would move it back."
"Yeah? Well, I wouldn't want anyone moving my stuff either. How can you be sure it's Sunghyun or one of the boys?"
"We don't," Roseanne replied. "Spirits are typically tied to the place they spent the most time in but there are some ghosts who roam. Maybe they're attached to a person or maybe the spirit was never attached to a certain area. I'm guessing the spirits here belong to the boys or Sunghyun but really it could be anyone. If it's Sunghyun, I want to know why he murdered everyone."
"You don't need Sunghyun for that answer," Jungkook said. "He was crazy. That's why he did it."
Roseanne turned on her spirit box. "I'm going to ask you some questions. If you answer, I'll be able to hear you through my spirit box. Is Sunghyun in the room?"
The spirit box crackled but both Roseanne and Jungkook heard the reply. "No."
Roseanne's eyes widened. "Did you get that?"
"Yes, you freak. It's on film. I swear you're the only person I know excited to be talking to dead people."
"I'm not a freak. You are. If it's not Sunghyun, it must be one of the boys." She looked around the room. "Were you murdered?"
The single syllable vibrated through the spirit box. "Yes."
"Was it Sunghyun who murdered you?" Roseanne asked.
"No."
"No?" Roseanne looked into the camera Jungkook was carrying. "Could it be that we've had it wrong for years and Han Sunghyun didn't poison all those children years ago?" She looked up to the room and spoke loudly. "Can you tell us who murdered you?"
"No."
"Who are you?" Roseanne asked. "Will you tell me your name, please?"
"Tzuyu."
Roseanne dropped her flashlight. "What did you say?"
"Name is Tzuyu. Chou Tzuyu."
"Oh hell no," Jungkook muttered, shaking his head. "Is this some kind of joke, Rosie? It's not funny."
She ignored him. "Why are you here?"
The spirit box crackled to life. "Send message."
"Send message? Is it a message for me or Jungkook?"
"You."
"I can't believe Chou Tzuyu is sending me a message from beyond the grave. This is different from the ouija board. This is incredible," Roseanne said. "My views will definitely go up."
"I thought you didn't care about views and followers," Jungkook said.
"I didn't until I realized I have nothing else to lose. I might as well build my YouTube channel. Don't be salty that your ex wants to talk to me instead of you," Roseanne turned to her spirit box. "What's my message?"
"You're..."
"I'm what?"
"Going."
"Going where?" Roseanne asked, impatient to know the answer.
"To die."
"Oh crap," Jungkook muttered.
"Soon," the spirit box made another crackling sound before going quiet.
Roseanne and Jungkook stared at one another. "Well, that sucks," Roseanne said dejectedly.
Jungkook nodded. He placed a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry. We're all going to die eventually."
"That's not making me feel better."
"Fine. How about this instead. I'd like you to join the Trinity."
Roseanne's mouth fell open in disbelief. "What?"
"I want you to join my squad."
"Why?"
"Why not?"
"I'm like the social pariah of YouTube right now."
"No, you're making a comeback. This video is going to go viral. Almost every video you've made has gone viral lately. Let me help you."
"Why do you want to do that?" Roseanne asked. She didn't quite trust Jungkook.
"When you join my squad, I will help you grow your platform. I also get a cut from your profits. I've been thinking it would be a great idea for YouTube continue your investigation on Tzuyu's murder. It'll be like Nancy Drew meets YouTube or something. You could question Tzuyu's friends and post videos of it. Viewers will be trying to guess the murderer right along with you."
"This sounds insane."
"It's never been done before," Jungkook said. "I'll help you behind the scenes every step of the way. What do you say?"
Roseanne's eyes narrowed. "What if you're the killer?"
Jungkook smiled. "Then you'll be responsible for my downfall."
"You're really not worried? Am I supposed to guess that means you're innocent of killing Tzuyu?"
"No, maybe it just means I'm very confident in covering my tracks." He slowly reaches for her face, his fingers skimming her chin before sliding across my jaw. Then he tilted her head up so that she was looking right at him. "So? What do you say, Ghost Girl? You in or out? Let's catch a murderer while upping our views and making some money. Real money. Maybe you'll earn enough to hire a bodyguard to catch this stalker who sends you voodoo dolls."
Roseanne exhaled, before pressing her lips into a tight line. She had nothing to lose at this point. It was time she started thinking of herself. "Fine. I'm in."
Advertisement
Outside Heaven's Mandate
The Heavenly Dao decrees, and the beings of the five realms obey. A heaven's mandate is an order passed by the law of the world itself, and it is not to be defied. For defiance leads to death. Until the unthinkable happened. A human was born within the boundless void, on a remote planet known as Earth. A human who should never have existed to begin with. He who walks untethered by fate. He who forges his own destiny. He who walks outside heaven's mandate. ====================== What type of reader is this for? Do you like Xianxia? Do you like traditional Xianxia? The works of Er Gen, like I shall seal the heavens, renegade immortal, pursuit of truth, where the Dao is more than just a power. Then this is for you. Massive cultivaton worlds to be explored. Interplay of politics between sects, mystery, characters that assist or impede the protagonist- while being far stronger than him, a variety of abilities-this story is not one where the world revolves around the protagonist, but one where the protagonist is ignored by the world. His decisions shall decide whether fortune or calamity comes knocking on his doorsteps. And finally, Action. Loads of it, but with purpose behind it. Traditional Xianxia, Done Right. ====================== Updates Wednesday and Saturday.
8 73One Undead Man Armada
A story of a lowly undead's rise to power. Not through the might of the Lich Kings ten thousand undying army, but ALONE, with the strength of his own ten thousand guns!
8 74The Last Primordials
In a world where people can serve as hosts to animal spirits, Huo Lohse Lang (Lolo), daughter of the Wolf Tribe leader, makes friends during her five summers in the training exchange. Little does she know just how critical those relationships will be on a quest to unlock the hidden mysteries of the original primordial spirits and save humanity from annihilation by an ancient evil. A young adult, slow burn progression fantasy written in eight novella-length parts and published together to make one epic adventure. The story is technically COMPLETED though in a rewrite process. See chapter "00- Rewrite: A Living Draft" at the beginning of the story to follow the rewrite process. If you have any comments or suggestions, let me know! I'd love to hear your feedback! Please be advised that this story contains a wide variety of traumatizing content and dark/adult themes. I avoid graphic details, but the content is there. Reader discretion is strongly recommended. If you would like more specifics, feel free to PM me. Story inspired ART!!! Standig Thank you to RenamedUser8903457!! Beautiful work. I am blown away. I had some fun with artbreeder.com to create some loose character sketches. They aren't perfect, and I might replace images from time to time with more accurate ones. However, in case you are curious: Character Images
8 249Death God's Adventure in Another World [Dropped]
Feeling tired of the continuous and repetitive work of reaping souls and sending them to be reincarnated for countless millenias, the Death God decided to take a vacation for a few centuries. "We never knew when did his legacy start, nor how it ended, but one thing is for sure, he was regarded as a hero, a saint, a demon lord, and death incarnate." - Excerpt from 'Biology of Unforgotten Existences' A/N: Dropped Dropped Dropped Dropped Dropped Dropped Dropped Dropped Dropped Dropped Dropped Dropped Dropped Dropped Dropped Dropped Dropped Dropped Dropped Dropped Dropped Dropped Dropped Dropped Dropped Dropped Dropped Dropped Dropped
8 64Archive - shapeshifters boredom
this is now an archive of my work.
8 108Mind Poetry
A Mind filled with random thoughts.
8 89