【Sweet Dreams Kumanthong Baby】2:It Rang. It Knocked. It Sang

The next morning, Zhi Wei walked into the apartment management office looking like death warmed over. His eyes were bloodshot, skin pale, and every step he took screamed fatigue.

The receptionist was hunched over her phone, blood-red nails tapping against the screen with the urgency of someone very much not on duty.

He rapped his knuckles on the desk. "Hey there. Got a quick question."

She glanced up, lazily. When she recognized him, one brow arched and a smirk followed. "Mr. Lee again? What is it this time—another round of insurance pitches? I swear, you've canvassed this whole building twice over."

Zhi Wei forced the kind of polite smile he usually reserved for clients. "Nah, no sales talk today. Just wondering about the tenant in 1502. Miss Lim, right? She lives alone?"

"Yeah."

"And recently—"

"She left for Japan last Wednesday. Vacation, I think." Then she leaned in a bit, voice dropping half an octave. "Why? She miss a premium or something?"

He chuckled, shook his head. "No, nothing like that. Just checking."

"Right."

He thanked her and left.

His smile vanished the moment he turned away.

Exactly what the old man said last night.

The weight in his chest sank deeper.

————

Back at the insurance agency, the morning meeting had just wrapped up.

Zhi Wei was about to slip out unnoticed when his manager caught him by the elbow. The man took one look at his bloodshot eyes and that stiff, practiced smile, then clapped a hand on his shoulder.

"Even top producers are human," he said, voice low. "Take a few days. Get some real sleep."

Zhi Wei nodded.

Exactly what he'd hoped for.

————

He was a lifelong atheist, but he found himself climbing the steps to Tow Bow Keong Temple, incense in hand and a heavy sense of unease creeping through his chest.

The smoke hit his throat the moment he lit the sticks, setting off a coughing fit.

"Protection talisman from the Nine Emperor God," the temple keeper said, folding the yellow paper into a neat triangle. "Keep it close. Keeps evil away."

Zhi Wei took three.

One for his wallet.

One under his pillow.

One for the dashboard.

By the time he got home—Unit 1503—it was just past two in the afternoon.

He crawled into bed and slipped the talisman into his pillowcase.

The sense of reassurance from the talisman, combined with his overwhelming exhaustion, made him collapse onto the bed and fall asleep immediately.

Zhi Wei opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was the ceiling—completely dark. The glow from his phone lit up the ceiling. He squinted at the screen: 12:01 AM.

He froze for a second—had he really slept from 2 PM to midnight?

He sat up slowly, sheets rustling beneath him. His limbs were heavy, his mouth dry, head clouded with the kind of daze that came from oversleeping. The apartment was hushed, every sound—cloth shifting, mattress creaking—strangely amplified in the stillness.

Suddenly—

Ding-dong.

The doorbell rang.

He froze. Who the hell rang doorbells at midnight?

He threw on his coat and walked to the living room door. "Who's there?"

No response.

He raised his voice and shouted again, "Who is it?"

Still nothing.

He leaned closer to the peephole and looked outside.

The hallway was empty.

No one.

He turned away, brow furrowed, mind racing.

Just a prank?

He walked a few steps, but then—

Ding-dong. Ding-dong. Ding-dong.

The chime came rapid-fire now. He whirled back, jammed his face against the peephole again—

Nothing.

Zhi Wei planted his feet. Fine. He'd wait right here, catch the little—

BANG!

The door shuddered under a massive impact. His heart lurched into his throat.

He quickly pressed his eye to the peephole again—

Nothing.

The hallway light still illuminated the empty space, everything silent.

Zhi Wei took a step back, his throat dry, mind racing.

What the hell was going on?

Before he could gather his thoughts, a slow, deliberate knocking came from the door again—

Knock... knock... knock...

He jerked backward, eyes wide with fear, staring at the door.

The peephole? He didn't dare look.

Was it that thing from next door?

Was it coming to get back at him for knocking on its door last night?

Suddenly—

"AB...CD...EFG"

A child's voice slipped through the gap in the door, the tune off-key and eerie.

Zhi Wei's breath froze in his chest, his eyes burning with dryness. A cold sweat drenched him.

He ran back to his room and dove into bed, clutching the talisman-stuffed pillow to his chest.

"Namo Amitabha, Namo Amitabha—"

The Buddhist chant spilled from his lips. He didn't care that it had nothing to do with the talisman.

Miraculously, it worked.

The singing stopped. The doorbell and knocking ceased.

No sounds came from next door.

Two trembling hours later, exhaustion dragged him under again.