prompt: He/she works as a host at a restaurant when someone comes in

and says they have a reservation. He/she looks it up to find that the
reservation was booked 40 years ago.

TWIST AND SHOUT

It's another quiet evening in the small town. The moon shines brightly high
on the horizon, surrounded by millions of tiny little dazzling dots that, when
combined, light up the gloomy sky. The streets are nearly deserted, which
is not surprising given that the residents are generally in the little restaurant
or visiting the drive-in theater, using it as an opportunity to make out in their
cars. Nobody could have predicted that it would be different from any
previous nighttime. How could they? Nothing ever happens here in town.

Jihyo dashes toward the car with a radiant smile on her face in which her
boyfriend waits for her a few houses down from hers. She is dressed in a
red knee-length summer dress with white dots on it, her dark hair is tightly
pulled into a ponytail and her long curls lightly caress her shoulders, while
Jongkook is clothed in a leather jacket over a white shirt and dark jeans,
channeling James Dean or Elvis Presley. When she climbs shotgun, she
pecks her lover on the lips, who is too surprised to say anything other than
that Jihyo is simply breathtaking. He had no idea how a troublemaker like
him could be together with a pretty little thing such as Jihyo. Jongkook's
dark orbs remain focused on Jihyo's sweet and happy face, and Jihyo's
features are bright and overflowing with warmth, making him feel better. He
loves her. He loves spending time with her, sneaking around, kissing her,
talking to her, and doing whatever she wants him to do. He is wrapped
around her fingers. It's a breath of fresh air in the middle of the chaos of his
life. Jihyo is excited to be with him and go on another date, this time a
proper one in the local restaurant and not behind the school during breaks
or in the drive-in theatre. She is afraid that her parents will find out that she
climbed out of the window to meet Jongkook, but she has no other choice
as it's forbidden for her to date the boy.

Before driving to their destination, Jongkook leans forward and invites Jihyo
into another kiss. This time, it is deep, feverish, and messy, his tongue
dominating hers, inviting it into a wild dance as if they were dancing to the
rhythm to the beat of the song Break on through (to the other side) by The
Doors which plays in the background from the radio. And the song a little
bit fits the situation as it's night, they are chasing their pleasures and they
find an island in each other's arms. When they separate from each other to
regulate their breathing, another smile appears on their face.

Jongkook is driving his father's Plymouth 67', and both Jihyo and he are
singing along to The Beatles song which is Jihyo's current favorite. She is
dancing cutely in her seat, singing the song out of tune and with the wrong
lyrics but it doesn't matter to him. The girl is free and enjoying herself, so
he sings along with her, causing Jihyo to be more cheerful. They are
heading to the place called Blue Moon, a small local restaurant always
bustling with life on Friday nights and the weekends, so if you still want to
have a table for yourself, you have to reserve it beforehand, just to make
sure. Actually, it's more like a diner than a fancy restaurant, frequently
visited by the high schoolers and the young people living in town. It's the
heart of the neighborhood, always noisy with loud laughter or crowded
when the teenagers dance to the songs played on the jukebox. Jongkook
and his friends often visit the diner, sometimes they were even thrown out
thanks to Donghoon or Heegun's absurd behavior or because of his fights
with other people, but this is the first time Jihyo visits the place in the
evening. She often went there to drink a smoothie with the girls from her
class after school hours, but her parents are strict and never let her go
anywhere with boys.

Twist and Shout by The Beatles is the last song they hear before the car
stops.

Jongkook climbs out of the automobile, then goes to the other side of the
vehicle to assist Jihyo. He may be a bad boy, but he has manners; his
father instilled them in him when he was little and disrespectful. They stroll
to the restaurant holding hands. He opens the door for her, allowing Jihyo
to enter ahead of him. When he steps inside, he is perplexed as the inside
has been renovated since his last visit with the boys a few days prior, but
the exterior is still vintage. Instead of the youthful sixteen-year-old guy, Ji
Seokjin, whose family owns the establishment, a very cute girl named Jeon
Somin welcomes them. She has the night shift with her boyfriend, Yang
Sechan, and their friend, Lee Kwangsoo. Sechan is behind the counter,
and Kwangsoo is the waiter for the night while she is the host, welcoming
the visitors.
"Good evening," she greets them with a smile. "How can I help you?"

"We have a reservation under the name of Kim Jongkook."

Somin checks the notebook where they write their bookings for the day and
frowns when she discovers something odd. There is no reservation for Kim
Jongkook. Usually, their boss scribbles down each person and day with his
sloppy handwriting, but as he gets older, he may have forgotten it. Perhaps
this couple came on a wrong day. "Sorry, I don't see it on the list," she
responds. Jongkook insists that he made a reservation, and Sechan just
keeps looking in their direction confusingly, not understanding what Somin
is doing. "Ah, I can double-check it." She cautiously unfolds the book once
more, as it is extremely old, and flips back a few pages, but still nothing.
Then she spots the name, however, it doesn't make sense to her. Their
reservation is forty years old. "Sorry, I must have made a mistake. I can
take you to my boss, who might be able to get you a table," she makes an
offer. "We have a full house, but I'm sure we can work something out."

Sechan walks to Somin, a curious frown on his face. "Somin-ah, who are
you talking to?" he asks after watching the girl talking to herself for almost
ten minutes. He knows that her girlfriend is weird, often immersed in her
own little world, but usually during work hours, she is alert and professional.
He doesn't want her to scare away the customers. Some of the high
schoolers also sent weird glances at her but she haven't noticed it.

But Somin doesn't even have time to respond when the diner's outdated
jukebox, which is no longer functional but contributes to the retro ambiance,
switches on and the electricity begins to flicker. At first, no one appears to
notice the lights, but the music box's screeching is a different issue. The
bulbs subsequently flicker again, this time quite intensely, eventually
exploding and the jukebox comes alive and begins blasting music,
prompting everyone in the establishment to scream and run, trampling over
each other. When Somin looks around, all she witnesses is chaos, and
Sechan and Kwangsoo drag her behind the bar just when the windows
shatter, scattering shards everywhere and wounding the terrified onlookers.
With blood splattering where the fragments are cutting the escaping
patrons and hearing the ruckus and commotion, Seokjin emerges from the
safety of his office, which is located behind the diner's storage room, and
afterward freezes on the spot. He recognizes the well-known tune.
Something tragic happens in town whenever the unplugged and broken
music player is turned on. And then every time, it's the same song that
repeats as the night's deathly melody. He is aware of what is going to
happen. This night, somebody might die. This has occurred only twice thus
far. He was also friends with both individuals. Ha Donghoon was the
inaugural victim three decades ago; the short man had only been
twenty-six years old at the time when he suffered a heart attack and died
right in front of this bistro, ready to go home. Kang Heegun, Donghoon's
closest friend, became the second victim. Gary passed away on the same
day, close to the Blue Moon, twelve years ago. He was frightened to death.
The boombox blasted The Beatles' Twist and Shout in both instances.
Then he notices an all-too-familiar couple dancing to the rhythm, but it can't
be possible. They are dead; he knows, he was present when the event took
place. Nonetheless, Jongkook spins Jihyo about to the beat of the upbeat
sound, the girl's red summer dress with polka dots swirling in the air as she
spins around before they both stare at him, their bubbly mirth was gone,
only vindictive smirks and pitch black eyes remaining. Their attractive and
overall pleasant characteristics are fading, resulting in them transforming
into a bloody mess with wounds and colorless features. The only
consistency seems to be that their focus is locked on Seokjin.

While Seokjin is still processing the fact that Jongkook and Jihyo are in
front of him, clearly vengeful and agitated, Yoo Jaesuk, the current sheriff
and the sole lingering customer in the eatery, stealthily creeps behind the
counter, causing Kwangsoo, Somin, and Sechan startle when he
unexpectedly speaks. "What the hell is going on, guys?" he asks, voice
barely above a whisper. "Hyeong seems scared, but everybody is gone."

"I don't know, hyeong, but I don't like this at all," Kwangsoo sighs.

"It all started when Somin-ah started to act strange and talk to herself for
ten minutes," Sechan adds.

"Shhh," Somin makes a shushing sound, placing her finger in front of her
mouth. "We are not alone. They are still here." The three men eye the
woman strangely, peeking out from behind their hiding place, but see no
one except Seokjin. Then Somin points at one of the photos on the wall,
displaying a happy young couple, probably in their high school years.
"Them. They are still here."
"Somin-ah," Jaesuk answers in a whispery tone, "they can't. They
disappeared, probably died, when I was still a kid."

"I see them, oppa. They are smiling evilly."

Seokjin swallows and begins to walk backward as his old friend and
Jongkook's gorgeous girlfriend approaches. The remorse is consuming him
alive, and he realizes he should have done something four decades ago
but he was too afraid. He witnessed something and was scared that he
would get punished even though he was innocent. He did nothing, even
though it feels that he is the person responsible for their tragedy. He's been
carrying this burden and weight for forty years, but he's never dared to
reveal anyone the truth. He constantly debated going to the police station,
and then when he finally mustered the courage, Donghoon died.

When a loud shriek is uttered, the lights start to flicker again, and each of
the liquor bottles and glasses commences to tumble off their placements.
Jihyo is enraged, and Jongkook leaps up to Seokjin, seizing his throat and
forcing the bespectacled man to struggle for oxygen. "You're next," he
snarls. The owner of Blue Moon attempts to free himself from the firm grip
on his windpipe, but he chokes, and Jaesuk only sees his friend grasping
his neck while his orbs enlarge and almost roll out of his eye sockets. This
is the moment Somin shouts, surprising even the ghosts. Jongkook's hold
relaxes for a fraction of a second, allowing Seokjin to catch some fresh air.

"I'm sorry," says the oldest of the group. "I apologize, Jongkook-ah." But
this isn't enough for the aforementioned man, who picks him up and hurls
Seokjin into the wall while roaring angrily. The man collapses to the ground
with a loud thud, groaning as the anguish spreads to every joint and muscle
in his body. "I'm sorry," Seokjin sobs, shrinking himself in fear of the
repercussions. He doesn't want to die, he has a family. He wishes to see
his son and his wife before his demise. They are expecting him at home.
He never believed in spirits until the strange occurrences, but who would
have thought that this would happen after that night a long time ago? When
he was about to close the restaurant, he heard a huge crash. He was
afraid, so he went into hiding and examined his surroundings. He
recognized the automobiles; Jongkook and Jihyo were in the Plymouth,
their corpses limp and bloodied, and Donghoon and Heegun were in the
next car, inebriated from the stolen alcohol they consumed, and they drove
directly onto Jongkook's vehicle. All the blood made him sick, eventually,
throw up, and then when he glanced out the windows again, all he could
see was his friends hauling Jongkook and Jihyo's bodies away somewhere
hinter the diner. They were frantic and crying uncontrollably, as well as too
drunk to think logically, consequently the only feasible and, in their opinion,
the clever decision at the moment was to bury the corpses and then crawl
back into their car prior ly passing out. The authorities never discovered
their bodies, and the once-grassy area has since been filled in concrete,
transforming it into a parking area. And Donghoon and Heegun got away
with murder until they became victims of it.

"Where are our bodies?" Jihyo inquires, her anger-filled voice echoing off
the walls, making Somin cover her ears.

"Wait," Somin speaks suddenly. "If you find your bodies, will you rest in
peace?" she asks the forever sixteen years old girl, who nods. "If you kill
him, you will never know where are you buried."

Jongkook snarls, his voice roaring like an engine, his fury, antagonism, and
vengeance-seeking desire bigger and more powerful than his beloved's,
making him visible to the other people as well, not just to Somin and
Seokjin. Scarlet liquid dripped from his fractured skull, his leather jacket
and shirt were destroyed and bloodstained, and his bone was punctured
thru the toned muscles; the absolute opposite of how he appeared in front
of Somin upon entering the doors of Blue Moon. "It's easier for me to just
rip him apart. That's how I'd find peace." Sechan, Jaesuk, and Kwangsoo
are caught off guard and terrified by his presence, but they can't stand by
and allow this spirit to murder their boss and friend. Seokjin is a decent
person but he is also a weakling. And though the female ghost does seem
to be more sensible than the male, Jaesuk chose to negotiate. Perhaps
Jihyo can help calm her incensed boyfriend.

"I remember both of you," Jaesuk speaks, breaking the tense silence,
attempting to look brave, yet shaking like a leaf. "My father investigated the
case when I was just a boy but never found your bodies. I can open the
case again if you don't kill my friend," he offers. Since he only sees
Jongkook but not Jihyo, he turns his head in the direction where Jongkook
looks, assuming that is where Jihyo stands. "We can give you even a
proper burial, some of your relatives are still alive and in town." Jaesuk
glances at Somin since she is the only one who can see Jihyo, silently
asking for an answer, and when Somin confirms that Jihyo agrees and
accepts the offer, a series of sighs of relief is heard in the room. The
decision finally makes the living people inside the building less frightened,
but Jongkook is still looking angry and imposing, but not making another
attempt to attack Seokjin, so this is a good enough sign for them.

When Seokjin brings them to the exact location where he recalls the
carcasses being buried, they commence excavating in the early hours of
the morning. It's directly beneath the parking lot's corner, allowing them to
move the ground and dig underneath it with a shovel. When they attract
attention to themselves, a crowd gathers around them, and so when
Jaesuk informs them that this is a homicide investigation, the locals bring
their gardening tools to join forces. Jihyo and Jongkook linger, seeing
several others digging the current tomb of their corpses, not disappearing
for even a second to verify that the living people keep their obligations to
them. Even after all of these decades, his resentment against his
proclaimed closest friends has so far not subsided; he still can't believe
they could betray him in such a way. How can someone do that to his
lovely Jihyo, who deserved all good in the universe when she was still
alive, if not more? Although it is summer, his rage causes the wind to blow
violently, mirroring his sentiments. Jihyo appears quieter than him, despite
having a frown on her forehead. They are observing while holding hands
underneath the large oak tree. The tumult of their raging emotions thickens
the atmosphere, and the weather has turned unkind to the people. The
citizens digging the ground are covered in dirt, drenched in sweat, and
determined to help the sheriff and the diner's staff to locate the bodies.
Somin, obeying Jaesuk's instructions, notifies the cops, so by the time they
arrive, they have dug an even deeper hole in the ground to access the
skeletal remains carefully. They delicately place the bones in the body bags
and collect the deceased's possessions, if any exist. Only Jihyo's jewelry
and a few shards of Jongkook's leather jacket are recognizable, which is
how the elders and relatives identify the victims.

The burial is the next morning, where Seokjin, Jaesuk, Kwangsoo, Sechan,
Somin, and the deceased couple's parents and siblings are present as well.
And Somin smiles when the light wind blows around her, then she nods a
tiny bit, watching how Jongkook and Jihyo vanish into thin air. Jongkook
and Jihyo are holding hands, rushing to their car with loving expressions on
their faces. Jongkook opens the door for her, patiently waiting for Jihyo to
take a seat before he also joins and starts the engine. He gives Jihyo a
quick, loving kiss and then drives away into nothingness. In the
background, The Doors playing from the radio station. This is the end of
everything, and they can't even imagine how would it be after this. Maybe
so limitless and free, that they take the highway to the end of the night, a
journey to the bright midnight. To the realms of bliss, realms of light.