It was a raw night. Fog rolled over the city. The graves were brilliantly lit by the full moon.

Suyeon was standing still by the one in front of her, the chilly air freezing her to the bones. She knew that it wasn’t a sensible idea to visit the grave of her dead friend – Lee Taemin − at this time of the night – especially not in this weather − but it was the anniversary of her friend’s death.

She was shaking like fallen leaves. The air was getting heavier and heavier, she felt as if it became more and more suffocating. Birds stopped chirping a long time ago and even night animals kept quiet. The whole graveyard was still except from the wind that was howling. Howling and howling without halt. It sounded like a warning. Like something was about to happen very soon. Something unexpected. Something dangerous. Something bad.

Suyeon shivered at the thought of something happening to her under the current circumstances. Unbeknownst to her, the worst was yet to come.

There was a sudden sound coming from behind her. Leaves were cracked under someone’s feet. She turned around to see who it was. There was no one there. She scanned through the area with the help of her torch but nothing. Absolutely nothing. Only the wind howling.

However, when Suyeon turned back to the grave, there was someone sitting on it.

As soon as she looked at him, she let out a scream and dropped the torch in fear. As a result, there was no light until she picked it up and pointed at the stranger.

There was an ivory faced, silver haired man looking back at her. He had eyes like black holes, so dark and mysterious. He was sickeningly pale, paler than anyone she had ever seen. He looked oddly old yet young at the same time. He looked inhumane. There was something about him that scared her. Her stomach churned with worry.

“Oh my god, you scared me!” Her hand flew to as she took in the man’s appearance.

If she wanted to compare him to something, she would say he looked like a skeleton. His bones were slightly sticking out, his jawline sharp like a knife and his eyes bitter like badly roasted coffee. There was something very off about him but Suyeon couldn’t pinpoint what it was.

“Well, that was my intention, young lady.” His voice came out hoarse and confident. There was a creepy edge to his tone. She shivered.

“Who are you?” The question left a peculiar aftertaste in . She wasn’t even sure she was the one who said those words out loud. She felt so distant and lost. She was so scared that she started to question whether she imagined the creature or he was actually there. “Why are you crouching on my friend’s grave?” She raised her eyebrows in question.

Even though her hands were shaking, she managed the sentence out. Why would anyone want to crouch on someone else’s grave? Wasn’t it considered rude? To step on the dead? Who was he that he didn’t feel the need to get down?

The stranger’s answer surprised her more than she would like to admit.

“I’m here because you are here.” He elevated an eyebrow, clearly amused by the expression on Suyeon’s face.

She started to feel nauseous due to the the ridiculousness of the whole situation. She was almost sure at this point that she was imagining things. Or the stranger was a crazy psychopath who found joy in messing with others and saying things like that. She didn’t know which one was worse.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” She asked, her voice shaking.

The man couldn’t help but boast a smile. His lips slowly – extremely slowly – raised into a smug smirk, one that was wicked and terrifying. It was nowhere near sane, nor reassuring.

“Fear is always with you. You just can’t see it sometimes.”

“Okay.” She in a deep breath as she made an attempt to tangle her unwanted thoughts.

Not only the man’s appearance was creepy but what he said was also eerie. She felt the blood pumping in her veins and heard her erratic heartbeat as clearly as never before; as if it was coming from her headphones. Her legs weakened and her stomach churned with a strange, unknown feeling.

She was on the verge of fainting while the graveyard was still quiet. Only the wind was howling.

“I’m probably going crazy and imagining things. It’s only a dream. To be precise, a nightmare. I’m going to wake up soon. You are not real. You are not here.” Suyeon tried to reassure herself, paying extra attention to her breathing.

When she turned to face the old man, she came face-to-face with his wicked grin.

“Maybe I am, maybe I’m not.” He rose from his crouching position and walked up to her. He stopped a step away from her. That smile that could chill her to the bones didn’t leave his face for a second.

“The question is… why would it bother you if you were going crazy?” He raised an eyebrow, his voice deep and laced with utter curiosity. The kind of curiosity that killed those cats.

She couldn’t speak at first. Maybe it was because she was dreaming but she couldn’t really think straight. Her brain was foggy. Her vision was blurry. Her heart was heavy.

“I can’t go crazy. I-I have a life to live.” She stuttered nervously. Then, a sudden jolt of confidence rushed through her out of nowhere and prompted her to continue talking. “I have loving friends, a supportive family and an amazing boyfriend. I can’t let them see me losing my mind.”

“Why?” The old man interrupted him with another one of his trademark grins. “Is it because you are afraid they wouldn’t love you anymore? They would leave you instead? Are you afraid of being lonely? Being abandoned, casted out and ridiculed? Are you afraid of being pitied?”

“I-I actually…” Her jaw hung open. She didn’t know what to say. Her heart skipped a beat.

“Because they would, you know. It’s only the beginning. You start seeing things, hearing things and soon you won’t be able to tell what is real and what is not. The only way to tell the difference is by pain because pain is real but only in real life.” The stranger boasted a smug smile and watched her reaction with amused eyes.

Suyeon, on the other hand, felt dizzy. The world around her turned upside down. As the old man said those words out loud, it was as if her hidden fears finally came to light. Those were her exact same doubts and anxieties. She had no idea how he could know so much about her. Who was he anyway?

Just a creature of your imagination, she said to herself but even she doubted her own words.

“I’m not going crazy. I’m not going crazy.” She kept repeating the words as a mantra, hoping that the old man would suddenly disappear or that she would wake up from this bloody nightmare. She would then get out of her bed, make herself a cup of tea and everything would be alright. Maybe Jimin − her lovely boyfriend − would even sing her a lullaby to help her go back to sleep. Everything would be alright and she would only laugh at this absurd dream of hers.

“Then how could I be right here now and disappear in the next second?” The creepy figure elevated one of his eyebrows and disappeared into thin air just like he had said a second ago. What was left of him was the mingled memory in her head and the sound of the howling wind.

☾

The graveyard was silent for a moment.

Suyeon was left speechless after the old man’s disappearance. Only her heart was playing an insanely fast-paced symphony assisted by the howling wind.

Suddenly, she heard noises from behind. Someone was slowly approaching her and by the time she turned to look for the source of the sound, it was already right in front of her.

To be precise, he was already right in front of her. For a moment she thought that the stranger came back but the sudden visitor turned out to be her boyfriend, Park Jimin.

“For God’s sake Jimin!” Suyeon shrieked and almost dropped her torch again. It wouldn’t be a good idea though since Jimin didn’t have one, so her torch was the only source of light in the darkness.

“What are you doing here?” She eyed her boyfriend who looked like he had just ran a marathon as he was trying to catch his breath. Drops of sweat spilled down his face, destroying the flawless picture of his pale and perfect skin. His s