❁Petal: 01

As another one of the multiple low hanging pieces of foliage smacked Jiyong in the face and he once again tripped over a fallen rotten log or, he made a mental note to never agree to a game of truth or dare with his four friends for as long as he may live. Or at the very least, never pick dare. As he crept closer to his destination in the center of the forest, he began to hear a chorus of unsettling noises coming from his right. It was impossible to see what it was due to the fact that it was the dead of night so he immediately took off, making another mental note to strangle Seungri to death for making him perform such a dare in the first place.

His dare was to travel out to the middle of the forest located not too far from Jiyong’s house and take a picture of the abandoned mansion that stands there. Jiyong was 100% reluctant at first. That is, until Seungri began to make a series of clucking noises and loudly announced that the great Kwon Jiyong was a chicken, and like the childish and easily provoked man Jiyong is, he uttered the words “challenge accepted”. So really, if he were to die here it would be his own fault yet he still felt better saying that after he was brutally killed by whatever lurked in the shadows he could happily haunt Seungri for the rest of his life.

Jiyong’s thoughts were instantly brought away from haunting Seungri when he stepped into a clearing. The trees stopped in what seemed to be a perfect, and rather large, circle. Lush green grass covered the ground with a few strayed flowers of varying colors here and there. But what grabbed Jiyong’s attention immediately was the massive mansion in front of him. It stood tall with its off-white paint slowly peeling off, and its brown shingles mottled and slowly falling down. A large black metal fence closed off the entire place with rich green vines creeping up it. A decrepit wooden sign protruded from the ground, which Jiyong disregarded completely.

His eyes focused in on something inside the house. Or should I say someone, inside the house, standing there and staring at him through a large window. His feet began to move past the gate of the slightly opened fence. Curiosity gnawed at him as he walked closer and closer until he stood directly in front of the large window. A girl with fair skin,  with stunning blue eyes, and silky sandy brown hair, in a beautiful white dress stood on the other side, the moonlight beamed in and cascaded across her. Her alluring eyes stared at him and he stared into her eyes as if in a trance. The nearby hooting of an owl snapped him back to reality.

He gave a curious gaze, “Why are you here?” he asked. However, she did not respond. She just stood there, a look of pain and sadness in her eyes. Jiyong peered into her eyes again and was hit with a sudden wave of emotions. Her emotions. She felt her sorrow, and fear, her pain, and worry.

Help me. These two words bounced around in Jiyong’s head. He looked stunned for a moment, like a deer in headlights until he finally understood that that was her voice he had heard. Her eyes began to water before a plump tear ran down her right cheek, and the words help me, filled Jiyong’s head again.

They trapped me. Please save me.

Jiyong placed a hand upon the glass, “Don’t worry, I’ll get you out, I promise.”

A voice was heard from inside the building, but not hers. It was a strong, deep, masculine voice, accompanied by heavy footsteps coming closer by the second.

“Specimen L33 H4Y1. Curfew has passed, testing is over, report back to your cell immediately.”

Hide.

Jiyong stepped to the side, out of the view of the window and crouched onto the ground. The girl hurried off to her “cell” as the deep voiced man called it. The man stood in front of the window now, and adjusted his spotless white lab coat and glasses before pulling the curtains and walking away.

Jiyong waited for a bit before getting up only to see that the girl had left. Immediately he started running. Running back to his home. Screw the picture, all that mattered was the girl. So one foot after the other, Jiyong ran back with only thoughts of her filling his mind.