Sae-ron and Yerim crept quietly through the hallways, sneakily slinking across the tiled floor, each footstep punctuated by a soft click. Yerim could feel the anxiety welling up in her as they traveled down the dimly-lit corridor. Sae-ron led Yerim by the hand away from the sounds of other students and the brightness of the main wing of their school. They passed a seemingly endless stream of abandoned lockers, a stream which was only periodically broken by one of the many locked classroom doors. The further they delved into the darkness of the abandoned section of the building, the tighter Yerim held on, pulling herself closer and closer to her best friend until she was practically pressed up against the taller girl’s back. Sae-ron didn’t seem to mind, however, and would offer Yerim the occasional squeeze of the hand for comfort.

    “Are you sure about this?” Yerim asked after a time, jumping slightly in surprise as her words echoed off the empty walls.

    “Positive,” Sae-ron replied without turning around, “I’ve been here a million times. No one ever comes back here.”

    “But what if there’s a janitor or something?” Yerim whined, “I can’t get caught, especially doing something like this… what would my parents say? We’d get expelled, Sae-ron, and I’m not an amazing actor like you, I don’t just go to school because I’m legally obligated to-”

    Yerim was cut off as the tall girl before her spun around and enveloped her in a hug. Yerim felt herself reflexively relaxing as she pressed her face to Sae-ron’s chest, inhaling the comfortingly familiar scent that the younger girl always emanated.

    “Trust me, Yeri,” Sae-ron cooed softly, ghosting her fingers through Yerim’s dark locks, “I would never do anything to get you in trouble. We’re almost there, anyway. I promise nothing will happen.”

    Yerim thought about saying no, about pulling away from her childhood friend- turned-girlfriend and running back to class before the bell rang. But she knew she couldn’t. Sae-ron’s touches were magic to her, had been since the day they’d met, so strong and irresistible and perfect that Yerim could never say no to her, regardless of how bad the decisions she sometimes made were. And so, after a few more moments of being rocked back and forth by Sae-ron, Yerim wordlessly began following the younger girl once again.

    As they walked, Yerim couldn’t help but remember the words of warning her mother had constantly given her about their neighbor Sae-ron. She was bad influence, a girl who focused solely on hedonism, a girl who smoked and drank, a girl who stayed out late, a girl who may even be a lesbian. Yerim knew that her mother’s main concern with Sae-ron was her questionable uality; although no one knew for sure whether Sae-ron was gay or not, there were an abundance of rumors floating around, most of which involved a supposed secret relationship between the young actress and the smartest girl in school. Yerim’s mom knew nothing of these rumors, for if she did, Yerim was absolutely certain that she would have her daughter transferred to a different high school without delay. At the thought of such an unjust prospect, Yerim felt anger beginning to roil within her, replacing her nervousness entirely and giving her a sort of sharp anticipation for whatever it was Sae-ron wanted to show her.

    They stopped in front of a classroom door that looked not at all that different from any of the others besides its lack of a room number on its frame. Instead, there was a wooden plaque above the door that read, in fading bold letters: “PL_NE_AR__M”.

    Before Yerim could say anything, Sae-ron opened the door and pulled her into the complete, full darkness of the room.

    Yerim’s anger was replaced by fear as Sae-ron detached from her, leaving her completely and utterly alone in the inky blackness.

    “Sae-ron?” she called, her voice becoming fearful, “W-where did you go?”

    Yerim began to walk cautiously forward, her hands stretched out in front of her as she shuffled blindly. She could hear the sounds of Sae-ron giggling in the distance.

    “This isn’t funny! Turn the lights on!”

    Sae-ron gave her no response, t