Dara leaned her head back to the headrest and sighed for the nth time that day. Her brother, who was driving the car beside her, chuckled.

"I'm glad my misery amuses you, Teddy oppa," she says sarcastically.

"Aigoo, my pretty little sister. I know you hate schools but please bear with it until you graduate, okay?"

"You could have at least placed me in an advanced class." she whined.

"Sorry, but you have to socialize with kids your age."

Dara just pouted and played with her bracelet. It was a special bracelet. A charm very old yet still very sturdy. She has been wearing it since she was ten. It was a gift from a friend. The first friend she's ever talked to since…

"...since that stupid mistake." Dara closed her eyes as she tries to keep her mind from wandering into memories she wanted so desperately to forget. She heard her brother's phone beep and he answered the call. She let the noise fade into the background and concentrated on singing in her mind. Preoccupying her mind was the only thing that could keep her calm from the old lady sitting at the back of the car looking at her from the rearview mirror. A couple of dark voids sat where her eyes were supposed to be at. curved downwards, an arm twisted in a way no arm should ever look like.

Her brother cleared his throat after a while, interrupting her thoughts. She turned her head to look at her brother. Teddy Park grinned at his little sister and said, "We're here."

Dara gave him a peck goodbye. He made her promise to make friends before pinching her cheeks and letting her go. Enthusiastically, Dara got off the car and walked towards the school gates. She waved goodbye as her beloved and doting big brother drove off. Once she was sure he was out of sight, she plugs in her earphones and blasts the music as loudly as she could take then walks towards the school building.

Geez. These guys are everywhere, she thought as she expertly walks past a student with disheveled hair and rotten, torn uniform who kept her gaze at her.

There were plenty of them, things other people couldn't see. They were everywhere yet nowhere at the same time. A lot of them lurked in corners, away from people. Some stayed under the sun, asking for help or just trying to live the way they used to. They came at people who never noticed them. But Dara was different. She could see.

Everything was in order. Her family made sure of it. All she had to do was walk to her class and try to act like everybody else. With the way her eyes worked, the least she wanted was attention. She had to be inconspicuous, she had to blend in.

It has been eight years since she stopped coming to school and started being homeschooled. Eight years since she acted reckless in school and started seeing them. And now after eight long years, she's back to face everything she left behind after living in so much fear.

No matter how much she tried, she could never get used to being able to see people who clearly weren't people at all. She hated seeing hands popping out of nowhere and heads rolling on the floor. She hated walking dolls and bloodied children. Fortunately, as time went by, she developed a mental fortitude strong enough to be able to igore them and carry on with her life.

Dara hated making her parents worry, especially her loving brothers. It was for them she was taking on this challenge to go to school. You have to stop letting them down, Dara, she thought to herself.

Taking deep long breaths, she entered her classroom and looked for an empty seat.