A soft audible whistle is heard in the room. Annoyed, Jinyoung turns on his side to stare at Sunwoo's broad back. The rapper has fallen ill ("This is what you get for not wearing a coat in the winter!" Junghwan snarks) and everyone in the dorm has had to suffer from the stuffy-nosed young man and his shrilly breathing.

As another snore erupts from the sleeping boy, Jinyoung gets up, knowing he is fully awake at three in the morning and they have to wake up at four for dance practice for the comeback after Christmas. He has never felt so sleep-deprived since the Solo Day comeback a few months back, and mentally makes a note to stay in the studio to sleep on the couch next time Sunwoo gets sick.

He trudges bare-foot past Shinwoo, who has his earbuds in and is blasting old ballads to the point where the older hears the music through the thin plastic of the buds. If his phone wasn't dead and charging, he would've done the exact same.

The tiles beneath chill his toes, and Jinyoung crinkles his nose in an attempt to stand the cold as he makes his way to the kitchen, suddenly thirsting for a glass of water. When he turns the corner around the hall, however, he's surprised to see the lights on and flickering in the kitchen.

Frowning at the deteriorating condition of the lights, he reminds himself to politely ask the landlord to fix it for them tomorrow, and softly pads into the kitchen to glance at the hunching back of a tall young man.

"Chanshik?" he asks, eyebrows furrowed as he walks past to get a glass from the overhanging cabinet. "What are you doing out here? It's late; I thought you were sleeping."

Chanshik makes no noise. His head is trained forward, staring at something that Jinyoung can't see from behind the younger's lanky frame.

Jinyoung frowns. "Chanshik, I asked you what you were doing out here," he calls louder, just in case the younger was simply zoning out. When he still doesn't get a response, Jinyoung walks to the younger and gently nudges his shoulder. "Hey, what- ?"

"Do you see her?" Chanshik almost inaudibly asks. In fact, he inquires in such a small voice that Jinyoung has to lean in to hear him.

"See... who?" Jinyoung hesitantly asks. He looks out the window that Chanshik's looking out, the shutters open and letting the light from the streetlamps into the dorm.

Chanshik's hand abruptly wraps around Jinyoung's wrist, a steel tight grip that makes him jolt out of surprise and pain. "She's right there," he whispers. "A few feet back. That lady."

"Chanshik," Jinyoung begins, squinting out the window. "There's no lady out on the streets."

The younger shakes his head, and he's visibly quivering. "No, hyung," he hoarsely says. "Not out on the streets. The reflection. Look at the reflection in the window."

Pursing his lips, Jinyoung begins to protest. "Chanshik, if this is one of your games, it's too early for this right now; we have- "

"Jinyoung." His name escapes from the younger's lips in a rush of quiet air sounding like a plea, and Jinyoung stops. Chanshik almost sounds like he's about to cry. "She's right behind us."

When Jinyoung lifts his head again to peer at their reflection in the window, he drops his glass, and it shatters against the linoleum floor.

There's a young woman standing right behind their shoulders with a long and frayed white dress and black hair traveling down to her waist.

Her distorted face shows malevolent glee, flaky skin peeling off of nonexistent lips that spread literally from ear to ear, black eyes glinting as she stares right into Jinyoung's eyes.

—

a/n: h aha h editing + im writing up another one soon.