Imp

(ɪmp/)

noun

plural noun: imps

a small, mischievous devil or sprite.

I have the same dream every night. The nape of my neck being burnt by the same shape and size of the metal. But when I wake up and see the scar growing bigger, I know it wasn't just a dream. It’s real.

My roots have started to grow out as well. Or so I thought. My hair length wasn't changing, the brown hair was still at my chest level. But the black have reached the level of my eyebrows.

What’s happening to me?

I was scared. I don't know what's going on with my body. In my bathroom’s mirror, i stared at myself. Eyebags sunken deep, dry skin and dry lips. I was wearing a crumpled oversized white shirt, making me look small and fragile.

There's a reason why I hate my hair in black. There were multiple times I woke up to the sensation of my neck was being strangled. I wake up feeling out of breath, the hair sticking to my sweaty forehead and a piercing sharp stab in my lungs. As impossible as it sounds, I was being strangled by my own hair. The black strands looked like claws, suspended in the air above my face. The black gave an ominous vibe as well, looming distinctly against the already dark room.

I’ve learnt to ignore it. Dong Wook explained that it was similar to sleep paralysis in a way, a problem that’s common amongst the humans.

I’ve installed night lights that decorated the headboard of my bed, and Dong Wook recommended me to dye my hair to a different colour. That nightmare didn’t appear for years. Not until today.

Today, they were back, the black reaching the ends of my hair. The black strands curling around my throat, depriving my lungs of oxygen.

I haven’t been to school for the entire week and I’m guessing that Dong Wook noticed it already. I hear those dreaded knocks on my door. I didn’t have the energy to face anybody right now. I’m feeling like and I don’t even have to look into a mirror to know that I look like too.

"Min, I know you’re in there, but I just want to talk." his calm voice resonated from behind the door.

"Go away. Maybe tomorrow," I lazily drawled.

"I’ve known you for 90 years and you are NOT pulling this stunt on me again. We both know that you will not talk about it tomorrow. But you know me very well too, I’m stubborn and I will get what i want, Park Min Kyung. You either open the door now, or I will do it the hard way."

"Go ahead, the door’s unlocked anyways." I turned myself around, burying my face in the couch so when Dong Wook comes I won’t have to see his ugly face-

"You idiot! Why couldn’t you have told me that you didn’t want to go to school! So i didn’t have to go to play the role of an overly-concerned father who is deeply worried about his child’s odd behavior. Heck, even your teacher advised me to talk to your non-existent mother-" Dong Wook grabbed my shoulders and flipped me around, and immediately stopped his blabbering when he saw my tear stained face.

", I’M SORRY MIN YOU KNOW I CAN’T HANDLE YOU CRYING!!" Dong Wook’s demeanour changed and he scrambled around my room, taking whatever that could wipe off my tears. I laughed at his antics - At least I knew he was trying.

"Seriously? My underwear to wipe my tears? You’re impossible!" I huffed out, with a fond smile on my face.

"At least you’re smiling now!" Dong Wook dumped the tissue papers, toilet paper, my underwear and napkins on me. I took a piece of tissue paper and stuffed it in my nose, sitting upright on the couch so Dong Wook could sit beside me.

"So what’s up, it’s only been a week and you dyed your hair back without telling me?" He had a mock expression of hurt, but the mention of my hair turned the mood a notch down.

Recalling the sleepless nights with constant tossing and turning, I took a shaky breath,

"They’re back… My nightmares…" I trailed off, but Dong Wook already knew where this was going. He quickly scanned my body for any scars but sighed in relief when he found none.

I shifted uneasily, knowing that if i told Dong Wook that there was actually a scar but it miraculously disappeared, he would probably say "You’re crazy" and "Min, you’re just immortal, you’re not a superhuman."

"How have you been dealing with it then?" He selected his choice of words carefully, afraid to trigger me for the second time that night.

I shrugged my shoulders and said, "I don’t know, I try to sleep i guess." I didn’t really want to continue talking about depressing things.

He nodded his head before asking, "Do you need me to get you more sleeping pills from Doctor Ren?"

"Yes, please. I’m running low on it." I shoot him a grateful smile which he returned with another.

"Alright then, I’ll give him a visit now." He placed his hands on his thighs before standing up. Looking down at me, he patted my shoulder. "If you need anything else, like a milkshake or some fries, you know how to call me."

Looking up at him, i chuckled slightly and fell backwards on the sofa. "Yeah yeah. Just get out already, after talking to such a boring person, I feel like sleeping right now."

"Do you have a better name than "boring", sweetheart?" His sickeningly voice grew further away as he walked to the direction of the door.

"Don’t call me that!" I threw a pillow at his direction.

Dodging it skillfully, he continued, "Sweetheart, I’m afraid not."

Closing the door behind him, he took a few steps forward before ruffling up his hair in frustration, and letting out a loud sigh. Dong Wook felt bad, really bad for Min. Maybe bad was an understatement. He felt absolutely terrible about her nightmares, always feeling like he couldn’t do anything to help her, feeling like he was the one who had caused it, feeling that the nightmares were partly his fault.

But what could he do? He couldn’t be too involved in it, not this time round.

Sehun was able to control the air in that place, even if he was miles away from it.

He could feel the air in Min’s room change as another presence entered the room. He could also tell when that presence had left her room. He swear he wasn’t stalking her, but if he told the rest about what he was doing, he would be surely named as one.

Frowning, he was trying to figure out the stranger that visited Min and was considering if he or she was a threat. But after hearing Min’s chuckles and feeling no tension in the air, he relaxed slightly.

But after hearing about Min’s whereabouts