" The darkness is far darker than I had imagined. Now I'm at a complete loss as I'm in pain. "

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"Life is not as easy and beautiful as you see it. I don't know what will happen this time, but I'm not the same person as I used to be. Like when I'm used to storms, the wind can not blow me away. I have changed thanks to a certain someone. " A small smile and light pink shades decorated her cheeks.

"Ma'am, we're about to land." The personal air hostess's voice made Soo Ah jump out of her drowsy world. It's a non-stop flight which takes around 10 hours and 45 minutes. Even though she traveled from her own plan, she felt little bit exhausted by flying from Sydney to Seoul. She stretched her arms and fixed her dress.

When she landed in Seoul, it was sunny but the air was a bit cold somehow. Her hands are buried in her pockets to protect herself from the chill in the air. Peeking here and there, she found her same old driver in the parking lot. The one she drove to dance academy two years back. The one who drove her to her friend's place. He shared a familiar loving smile, indicating that he was happy to see her again.

"How was the flight, Soo Ah? " He asked while helping with her luggage.

"Nice. How are you and your daughter? " Soo Ah asked, smiling.

"We're doing well. She misses you. " With that, the driver door swings open and Soo Ah gets in.

"Jiah's place" and the driver starts the engine with no words because he knows where Jiah lives already. When they reached Jiah's place, Soo Ah was too excited to not to notice the unexplainable darkness in that house. She ran to the door step and rang the bell. After waiting for a solid 2 minutes, the front door opened with a creek sound. The tired-looking Mrs.Kwon was the first she met. She looked shattered and so tired. A confused look lingered on Soo Ah, indicating that she was beyond shock. This is not the happy Mrs.Kwon she knew before. What happened these two past years? Why is she looking so tired?

"Hi Aunty. What are you doing? You look so tired. " Instead of answering Soo Ah's question, Mrs.Kwon pointed upstairs. What? Is she pointing at Jiah's room?

"Jiah?" Mrs.Kwon nodded at that. Soo Ah decided to check on Jiah without making Mrs.Kwon more tired. She looked so worried. Soo Ah talked to herself while climbing the stairs. Should I knock first or barge in and surprise Jiah? Ah! It wouldn't be a good one. After all the looks Mrs.Kwon gave, I guess something bad happened. She knocked on Jiah's bedroom door and waited for a minute, but there was no response. Why is she not responding or opening the door? Should I ring her? Soo Ah took her phone and tapped on Jiah's number. The next second, she heard a buzzing sound from the other side of the door . It continuously buzzed one or two times and that sound fade away.

"Jiah, it's me, Soo Ah. Open the door. " Soo Ah hit the door, but again it was pure silence. What's got on with her? Is she still mad at me? She put her ear to check whether Jiah was showering or not, but she didn't hear any water dropping sound. Maybe she's showering. Soo Ah opened the door, cracking a creek sound like the door had been closed for years. She stopped her steps and took a step backward, which she put inside the room.

The room was a whole mess. This is not the room she had seen before. I mean, yeah, it's the same room, but a mess, unlike the clean and beautiful room she saw before. Clothes were everywhere and windows were closed. There was no light in the room even though it was day time. Slowly stepping inside and touching the cold wall behind her, she finally succeeded in finding the switch. She switched on the light, but it was dim for seconds and then the light was off. It seemed like it was out. She tiptoed to the place where she could barely see the windows, but she stopped when she felt a sharp pain in her feet.

"Ah! " It was like she stepped on a sharp object. Face palming herself, she took her phone out of her pockets and switched on the phone torch. She pointed to her feet, where she felt hurt. It was bleeding but not too much. A shiny object was there tearing her rosy skin. She took it out. A painful expression lingered on her face. glass pieces! She crouched down and pointed the phone torch light at the floor. She saw there were hundreds of glass pieces shattered into little, little pieces.

Step by step, she carefully reached for the window. Pulling the dark, dirty curtains away. She hit the window to open it because it was so hard to open. They were glued to the frame because they had not opened for so long. The sun beat down on the room and the wind blew inside. Because of the wind, the dust stirred. Every object in the room was covered with dust and had dark cobweb management. Soo Ah coughed hard as the dust went into her nostrils and made it hard to breathe properly.

The eyes were glossy as she coughed hard. Wiping her tears, she adjusted herself in the room. Everything was covered with dust. Clothes are everywhere on the floor and on the bed. The bed looked like no one had slept there for so long. Spiders are running everywhere, busy making their own cobwebs. Dirty plates are behind the couch. The smell is not good to breathe here. The smell of rotten food and the smell of dust filled that room. It'll take hours to get rid of this smell. Soo Ah stepped into the attached bathroom and got some air freshener and sprayed it into the air.

"Better. Where is Jiah? " She mumbled and looked around suspiciously. Her eyes widened when she saw what was behind Jiah's closet. It was like someone covered with a blanket, crouched down and crawled to a ball. Is-Is that Jiah? But why? What? Questioning herself, she slowly dragged herself to the person. Her inner self is scared to death as even if the person is Jiah, Soo Ah is scared of the reaction. Gulping her salvia, Soo Ah bent down to throw that blanket away, but a pale white hand stopped her hand immediately.

"Ahhh! " Soo Ah screamed at the top of her lungs and backed away, pushing that pale white hand away from hers. Jumping on her own foot, she landed on the floor still eyeing scaredly at the person who was covering themselves.

Hi Sugarplums ,

Sorry for being a little late. What do you think about the start? I was really busy but managed my time well to update this chapter for you. Don't be a silent reader, leave a comment about how you feel. It is the best inspiration for me all time.

So get ready with your Sprite guys. Who knows what will happen next? Raise your hands please. *hide my hands in my pants pockets* 😂

Only God can guess the end, because I also don't know it. * windshield laugh *

[ pic credits goes to real owner ]

[ pic credits goes to real owner ]

Love you. 🤍

Stay safe. 😷