I felt my way through the darkness, extending both arms as I took each step cautiously. Within the darkness, a speck of light shone from a distance, which made me quickened my steps. I hastened myself, trying to get out of this peculiar misery that was slowly consuming me. Somewhere along the way, I felt the force of gravity pulling on me as I plunged deeper and deeper through the ground. I must’ve fell through a hole, a never ending, bottomless pit. I continued to plunge deeper into the unknown, however, temperature suddenly started to rise making my surrounding scorching hot. It was as if I’d fallen through the Earth and reaching its core of 5,000 degree Celsius. I felt the burning sensation, my body twitched and flailed in silent torment. Happiness, love, and pleasure, all were stripped clean from my mind, only to be replaced by sorrow and grief. Unhappy thoughts of the past flashed through my mind. Unseen flame engulfed me as agonizing, searing pain swept through my entire body. I gave in to the pain, my lids became heavy with anguish. Slowly and silently, they shut themselves up. Death has found me, once again.

From the last bits of consciousness that my mind retained, I could hear a small familiar voice called out my name. “Park Shin Hye! Park Shin Hye!” Louder and louder the voice echoed in my mind as I struggled to open my eyes. “Shin Hye! Wake up! WAKE UP!” A small figure with white snow-like wings flew towards me, his right arm reaching out while calling my name. The figure flew nearer until he was in focus, allowing me to identify that it was none other than Hyun Joong. After realizing who it was, I used what’s left of my energy and reached my hand out to him. Our fingers intertwined.  “Park Shin Hye! Get a hold of yourself!”

My eyes instantly opened. They scanned the surroundings while my brain tried to regain its consciousness. I was still up against the wall where they had thrown me earlier, and Hyun Joong was calling out to me from about twenty feet away. His body was slowly consumed by the shadows, he was no longer solid like I’d seen him, but rather transparent. I quickly got up, but I somehow lost control of my legs which now felt extremely heavy. A shadow was on both my legs, trying to pin me down. Out of instinct, I grabbed the flashlight which was still in my hand, and shone at it. The shadow screeched in pain and retreated, then disappeared. What the..? The light actually works on these things? I got up at once and ran towards Hyun Joong, shining my light onto those cursed creatures. They all let out an ear-deafening shriek that echoed throughout the warehouse before vanishing before my eyes. After a while, Hyun Joong solidified once again and grabbed my hand. We returned to my apartment, where I collapsed onto the floor.

“I’m sorry, I should’ve been more careful.” Hyun Joong spoke quietly.
“What do you mean? What were those things?” I asked, still trying to catch my breath.
“They’re known as the Darkness. They come from hell. Massacres like the one you saw at the warehouse earlier usually attract them. Those souls with mortal sins that have accumulated over time were condemned to Hell, so the Darkness come to claim what’s theirs.”
“So, all those souls I helped to cross over earlier, they were suppose to go to hell?”
“No. Not all the ones we helped. Just some. But the Darkness are usually greedy, they claim what’s not theirs as well. If you get in their way they attack you and drag you to Hell. Tonight, you and I barely escaped.” Hyun Joong sighed. “My fault, I should’ve been more careful. Should’ve known not to take you there. Sometimes I forget you’re human. Usually I’m always able to escape them.”

I shuddered. The pain I felt while I was unconscious back at the warehouse was excruciating. What I’ve experienced was probably Hell.
“I’ll let you rest for now. I won’t bother you.”
“Wait…” Hyun Joong vanished quicker than I could word out my sentence. After he left, I felt exhausted and plopped onto my bed, drifting into a deep restless sleep. The next day, I didn’t feel like going to work so I took my sick leave. However, it was strange that I didn’t see Hyun Joong that whole entire day.

The following day at work, I completely spaced out. Nurse Kim thought I had something up my sleeves and kept prying me for this ‘secret’ that I could never reveal. During my break, I was informed that someone was waiting for me in the visitor’s waiting room. Not knowing who to expect, I went to find out. I didn’t think it was possible, but it was Jae Joong who was waiting for me. He was looking as charming as ever.

“Shin Hye-ssi! So sorry to bother you at work. I didn’t have your number so I couldn’t call you when I was discharged yesterday. I’m so glad you have time for me.” He got up quickly as soon as he saw me.
“Oh hi Jae Joong-ssi! Y..You still remember my name.” I spoke awkwardly and felt my cheeks slowly turning rosy pink.
“Of course. I was out yesterday, now I’m back here again.” He joked.
“How are you feeling?”
“Awesome, just glad to be out and about again instead of bed-ridden.”
“Hehe, I’m glad.” I smiled at him.
“Well, remember what I asked you the other day?” He beamed.
I shook my head, pretending I didn’t.
“Now that I’m out and healthy again, would you like to grab some dinner with me tonight when you’re out?”
My head was screaming in excitement. ‘Of course!’ it blurted out.
“Oh yea..S..sure.” I meekly agreed, trying to contain my excitement.
“Great! So, what time does your shift end?”
“At 7 tonight. But can I..?”
“Yea I was going to say you can go home and get ready if you like and I’ll come pick you up as soon as you call me.”
Incredible. He just read my mind. This reminded me of someone.
“Okay I will call you.” I smiled shyly. We exchanged phone numbers and I headed back to work. For the rest of the day, the anticipation of this first date was intolerable.

As soon as my shift ended, I drove home and gussied up. I have never been on a date before so I wouldn’t know what to expect. After deciding on my look for the evening, I nervously picked up the phone and called Jae Joong.
While waiting for Jae Joong, I heard a loud bang in the kitchen which startled me. “Hyun Joong, is that you?” I called out. I got up to investigate the sound, and found a pot on the kitchen floor.
“Oh, just a pot fallen off the shelf.” I picked it up and went back to the living room. Suddenly, the light in the living room flickered wildly. Pots and pans flew off their shelf and landed across the room. I was terrified.

Through my peripheral vision, I caught sight of a dark shadow zooming across the room and up the ceiling. I felt it brushing against my hair and leg, whirling me around in circle as I tried to take a look at it. Where is Hyun Joong when I need him most? He was definitely not nearby. I stood frozen in place, hand clutching my pendant, not knowing what to do. ‘Please let this end now. Please!’ I desperately pleaded, hoping that the shadow would leave me alone. I gasped in fear as I heard it whispered in my ears, “Mine.” I closed my eyes and prayed.

Ding dong! The bell suddenly rang, and with the sound of the bell, all activities came to a dead halt.