It suddenly got dark, even though the sun had been lighting up the sapphire sky only a few seconds beforehand. The trees around me were bare and ominous, yet only a moment before they were blossoming and thriving. Snow had begun to fall slowly and without any sense of urgency, but the crust of the Earth was almost immediately caked in the white powder. Something was very wrong. No – everything was wrong. My heart started racing again and this time it wasn’t because of Baekhyun, it was because my body knew before my mind that if I didn’t leave right at that moment, I might never have that opportunity again.

Lost and afraid, I sprinted away from the shack – away from whatever-it-was that I’d followed. I felt the ground beneath me slip out from under my feet. Instinctively, I kicked both my legs out in front of me as I was pulled towards the slippery surface by an invisible magnet. The cold slab of ice hit my body like a dart hitting the bullseye. Pain rippled up my spine. My body refused to move even when my brain commanded it to.

I forced myself to look behind me and regretted it in an instant. The shadow was outside the shack, approaching me in a painfully slow manner; it was deliberately taking its time reaching me. Without warning, the shadow rapidly increased in speed.

Time was running out. I dug my trembling hands into the snow either side of me and – using every ounce of strength I had left in my partially frozen body – pushed. My body didn’t move. I let myself collapse on the floor for a few more seconds before trying again. Nothing happened. As I glanced behind quickly again, I saw that the shadow was no longer there…

It was in front of me.

For the first time, I saw the shadow’s face. It had a face. It was quite handsome – perhaps more handsome than Kai and Sehun – but could not compare with Baekhyun’s beauty. Its eyes were dark and enigmatic; its lips were thin and pulled into a secretive smile. Maybe it wasn’t a shadow – maybe it was something else. The blackness that shrouded it turned out to be a cloak. With two pale hands it pulled down the hood of the mantle, revealing its sleek chocolate-brown hair.

It wasn’t a shadow, but it wasn’t human.

It knelt down beside me and I noticed it had stopped snowing. It stretched out a hand as if to touch me. I impulsively recoiled in fear. “Get away from me!” I yelled at it, but it didn’t react – it didn’t seem to hear. Instead, it rose from the ground and walked around me in circles a few times, examining me. I stayed still and silent as it did so. It stopped behind my back.

A moment later I felt something – skin, a hand – on the back of my neck. My entire body stiffened. The hand moved downwards and was joined by another. The two hands met each other at my waist and I was hoisted to my feet. This time, though, I didn’t collapse – I didn’t allow myself to. “Stop! Let me go!” I screeched, turning to face the creature. It simply held a shivery finger to its blue-ish lips, coiled a hand around my wrist and dragged me (kicking and screaming) into the shack.

It finally let me go once we were both inside the tiny dilapidated shed. The interior of the derelict building was murky and gloomy. A heavy pungent smell hung in the air. My vision was obscured by the shadows, causing me to lose sight of the creature that had dragged me inside. However, I quickly located it when I heard its heavy breathing. It was close.

“Don’t be afraid.” There was no mistaking it: that voice came from inside my own mind. “You can hear me, can’t you?” I nodded, not sure how else to respond. “Try it. Try speaking to me in your mind.”

This was crazy, yet I still did it. “Can you hear me?”

“Yes. See? It’s simple.”

“Who are you? Why did you bring me here?” What I really meant was ‘What are you and when will you let me go?’

“My name is Lay, and I didn’t bring you here – you followed me, remember? If you meant ‘why did I bring you inside?’ then I suppose the answer would be ‘to stop you from getting frostbite.’”

I didn’t answer. How could I? This whole situation was madness. “Do… do you live here?” He nodded, staring at me with serious eyes. “Just let me go. I know my way back home, I’ll be fine, so don’t worry.”

The expression in his eyes grew even more intense and solemn. “I’m afraid I can’t let you do that.” He inched towards me. “Stay.”

I sighed. Judging from his expression he wasn’t exactly about to let me walk away, so I agreed to stay for a little while. We sat in the darkness, and honestly I was glad of the company and the warmth. Never speaking aloud, he told me stories – gruesome stories of death and murder, sad stories of friendships dissolving into arguments and tears, heart wrenching stories of broken families. Each one of his narratives I could strangely relate to in some way. It was as if he knew me, as if he’d met me before and I’d forgot him – he’d got lost somewhere in the sea of memories. And he was drowning.