Red. 

Red gleaming with imperilment.

Unearthly, petrifying stain of red - her eyes - staring back at her in the reflection.

‘What did you do to me?’ Her breathing ragged, the tip of her index finger shook upon approaching those daunting eyes. ‘What did you do to me!’ 

A faint shades of black crept onto the wall besides her, casting away the only light illuminating the room and overshadowed the young woman’s figure. A clear sound of cracking followed by an uneven line spreading across the mirror, splitting into few branches right under the red eyes’ intense gaze. It was in sync with her instability, it was manifesting the raging emotions clotted up in her chest.

I assure you there is no abnormality or violation of our deal. You can see this as…in human language, the freebie that comes with our agreement.

The black shadow relied diplomatically, unbothered to cover up the amusement embedded in its tone.

When any of the seven deadly sins floods your heart and soul, crimson will claim your windows on the world, and it will gradually fade away when tranquility returns.

‘You…’ The young woman was at a loss of words, still unable to compile every word came out rhythmically from the dark presence. 

It is just a symbol, a marker designed for easy recognition. Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it soon enough.

‘No…’ She whispered to herself, ‘No…no…’ She shut her eyes tight in attempt to empty every thought in her throbbing head.

The excruciating pain began tearing her mind apart. She was drained, unable to remain standing even with hands gripping tight on the edges of the dressing table. Her knees easily gave away and landed on the soft carpet with a loud thud. agape desperately grasping for air but to no avail, her lips trembled while groaning, as if that would alleviate some of her suffering. A surge of warmth blurred her vision as the headache grew more unbearable - she only wanted to be put out of her misery then, her shallow breathing mixed with quiet sobs. The last thing she saw before losing consciousness, was the crooked smile on the shadow slowly engulfing her.

No, no, no no no no no no - 

They were coming after her, they - the demons - they were going to tear her soul out of her weakening body and devour her like calfs -

‘Hey - hey! Taeng! Wake up!’ 

A light slap on both of Taeyeon’s cheeks woke her.

Slowly lifting up her hefty eyelids, the sight of a distant white ceiling confused Taeyeon. She swiped the sleek sliver strands from her face before rubbing her sore eyes, she wasn’t sure why her eyes were puffy because there was no trace of tears, but the stench of alcohol on her shirt collar solved the puzzle. It didn’t take long for her to recognise her surroundings, it was none other than her friend Lee Soonkyu’s unique apartment, and she was lying flat on her back on the sofa. To her right stood the house owner, Sunny, and there was an apprehensive frown on her face.

‘Geez, you kept saying no just then, it scared the hell out of me! What happened?’ The shorthaired woman stared at her worriedly while handing her a glass of water. ‘Here, and you stink of alcohol, just saying.’

‘Thanks, exactly what I needed in the midst of a killer headache.’ Taeyeon said wryly, taking a sip of cold water. Her ears were still ringing and the head-splitting pain followed through the dream - the vivid dream which she was…consumed by darkness, by demons. Taeyeon lowered her head and saw her own sweaty palms, her heartbeat raced madly just a while ago, her mind still unsettled from the rare nightmare. 

It felt incredibly real. The claws creeping up her shivering limbs, how she was frozen under the slight touches of cold air, the way darkness stained her soul little by little until it was smeared with sins. It was rare for Taeyeon to have dreams while asleep, she had always been a light sleeper but her body was too exhausted to dream, sleep was too luxurious for Korean artists like herself. Was it initiated by the demon? Because Taeyeon knew the devil enjoyed nothing more than watching humans suffer and terrified. Or was it a foreshadow of her bleary future? Steadily heading towards her own death with her soul torn between demons’ fangs?

‘Taeng, you kept shouting no while asleep.’ Sunny shot her another worried glance. ‘You’re forcing yourself to work too hard lately, it’s taking a toll on you.’ 

‘I’m fine, it was just a bad dream.’ Taeyeon sat up, voice still thick with slumber.

‘You really should take a break, I swear you’ve gotten thinner than the last time I saw you.’

‘Am I not taking a break now? I’m not even doing anything productive these days.’ Taeyeon let out a sarcastic smile, making her friend furrow her brows.

‘Whatever. I’m not taking a drunkhead in next time, just so that you know.’ Sunny threw Taeyeon a bath towel and walked off. ‘If you’re gonna use the shower then make it quick cause I need to leave for a meeting soon.’

Taeyeon nodded. She dragged herself off the sofa and approached the opened curtain. Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, the sunlight was blinding as usual, the busy streets of Seoul beneath her feet left her momentarily dizzy. Just another ordinary day, another day completely stuck in the progression of her ‘most anticipated’ new album. 

Some people are expert in disguising themselves, while some wear their hearts on their sleeves, ridiculously easily understood by merely one look on their faces. Of all the people whom Tiffany had crossed paths with, not once had she met someone so…careless in displaying her emotions. The popular conception of Kim Taeyeon the artist was bundled with slight pessimism and enigmatic, but these were baseless assumptions because the real Kim Taeyeon was in fact fairly crystal-clear, as in how her moods were shown obviously like an open book.

Having spent a little more than two week