Fern threw open the door and rushed in. Muttering apologies she ran to the back of the cafe, avoiding the glare of her manager, and headed into the changing rooms.God why was she always late she couldn't fathom it, no matter how hard she tried time was just not her thing. Unless it came to exams where surprisingly she exceled.

As Fern threw on her apron her friend Talia strolled in with a smug look on her face. 

" Hey stranger long time no see"

Ferns head whipped around to the sound of her long lost friend.

" Omg Talia is it really you" Fern gushed. " I haven't seen you in ages, woah did you dye your hair? I love it. Ugh i missed you so much, i thought i'd never see you again after you left for that internship.... wait what the hell are you doing here? Shouldn't you be there now?

" Yeah about that" Talia said hesitantly

" Did you burn something?" Fern asked knowingly

" The instructors hair" Talia admitted

Fern couldn't help it and burst out laughing, she bent over with the pain of her laughter and wiped a few tears from her eyes. Talia rolled her eyes while she let Fern laugh it out.

" Haha yes I know my life is the sole source of your entertainment but would ya mind making it less obvious?"

" Nope not at all, this is the funniest thing i've heard in my life"

" I bet you won't be laughing when i fire you for slacking off" The manager said intuitivly as she came in to present Talia with an apron

"No Miss not at all" Fern said hurriedly straightening up.

Fern loved Miss. Heavin . She was kind enough to take a kid with no time skills like her in. Fern was even late for her interview. But sometimes Miss. Heavin could be a little scary especially how such an old woman could move around so quietly. Fern had to remind herself that she was the woman that was paying her.

" Thank you " Talia says and takes the apron from Miss. Heavin

" Now the two of ye better get to work or else there will be two more slices of chocolate cake for everyone else tonight"

" Yes Miss" they say in unison as she walks out

" What cake was she on about " Talia enquires

" Oh its just a treat she gives all the employees of a Sunday night...Wait your working here?"

The realistion finally hits Fern as Talia ties the full apron around her slim body

" Yep its the only place that takes in bakers who haven't finished their internship" Talia says defeatedly

" Hey thats great it means I get to work with my best friend"

"Thats true" She says brightening up

Ferns about to let out another witty joke about not burning down the cafe when the door bell rings again.

" We really ought to get to work" she said "i love you but your not worth sacrificing chocolate cake"

" Ditto" she giggles as she walks into the kitchen to start on some pastries. Fern grabs her notebook and pen and heads out to the front for another evening of work.

***

Fern eases herself into a booth and sits across from Talia, there's a sizeable slice of chocolate cake each sitting infront of them.Without hesitation they dig in in unison and smile at eachother.

"woah..this...really is... a good...place to...work at" Talia manages to mumble between mouthfulls of chocolate cake.

Fern nods in agreement as she continues to stuff her face with the delicious cake.

" How'd you find this place anyway" Talia asks as she finished off her cake in one last big bite. There was a reason Fern called her big mouth.

" My Aunt knew Miss. Heavin" she answers quietly

Instantly Talia became quiet, so much for bigmouth.

" Oh"

"Ya"

Fern's Aunt, who had raised her since the age of 3 months, had died of cancer two years ago. It was still a touchy subject. Ferns Aunt had been like a mother for Fern and Fern had loved her as a daughter, never knowing much about her birth mom apart from the fact she had died in a fire. Along with Fern's Dad. Not many people knew this and those who did were highly trusted by Fern, Talia being one of them.

To stop the mood from worsening finally Talia pipped up

"Well I'm glad I found this place it has a real family atmosphere to it and the cake is great"

" It is isn't it" Fern responds waking up from her thoughts" Who ever thought you'd be able to find such a quiet place in central Seoul"

" I know it's crazy, I absolutely love it, I acctually can't wait for work tomorrow for once"

They both laugh in agreement until Miss. Heavin walks up to them to take their plates

" Well it's going to be tomorrow pretty soon dears"

They both look up to the clock and gasp in horror

"Omg it's almost midnight" Talia says in shock

" Minzy won't be happy with me, I'll have to get her something special on the way back" Fern says as she unties her apron to leave

"Who?" Talia enquires as Fern throws her apron at her

" Oh she's my cat, you can come see her some time, she gets very moody without food. Can you throw my apron in the back? Thanks I love you" Fern says as she whisks out of the cafe and out into the cool midnight air.

As Fern ran to the nearest 24/7 shop she berated herself for loosing track of time. Again. Fern entered the shop and startled the teenager behind the desk who had been playing video games.

" Good evening" Fern greets hurriedly and dosen't wait for a reply

She makes her way to the fish section and keeps an eye out for custard cream. Once she's located a tin of sardines she decideds to treat herself to a bottle of soju. Standing in front of the fridge Fern debates whether it would be a good idea. 

She knows that she is a lightweight and can do stupid things when she's drunk, like trying to order pizza while pretending to be peppa pig, let's just say it didn't turn out well.

In the end she decides she might aswell, she's finished all her projects for the weekend and she would turn off her phone the second she opens the bottle. Grabbbing two bottles she heads up to the check out and places her iteams on the counter.

The cashier greats her with a smile and looks her up and down. The kid must have been around 18 and was pretty good looking. But Fern had no interest in boys, the only love in her life at the moment was Minzy.

"Looks like your in for an eventful night, been a hard week?" he asks indicating towards the soju

"Yes, trying to avoid sleezebags like you" Fern thinks to herself " In a manner of speaking" she replies instead

" Look if you want someone to share these with i-"

Fern cuts him off and says " Sorry this is all for me thank you, I don't share easily"

looking taken a back the cashier scans the last iteam. Fern reads the screen and leaves the exact change on the counter, she grabs her iteams and leaves the stunned cashier behind

"Goodnight" she calls back as she hits the footpath again. She quickly makes the short walk to her apartment. Her aunt had been surprisingly wealthy due to the big cosmetic business she had owned and so had passed on the majority of her wealth to Fern.

Fern had spent it on a penthouse apartment in a fairly standard apartment block, nothing too shaby or expensive. Still a hell of a journey up. Even though the elevator was operational it was entirely too slow for the rush that Fern was in.

She decided to take the stairs. Big mistake.

By the time she made it up the fifty something flights of stairs she was out of breath and gasping for air. Atleast she had burned off the chocolate cake she had earlier. She opened her door and the light. Not even two seconds into entering the room and Minzy was already all over her.

Fern bent down to greet her but soon realised the sleek black cat was more interested in the contents of her bag.

" Of course Minzy, you always have food on the brain" Fern sighs and walks into her kitchen.

The apartment is an open floor plan with the kitchen to the left, the sitting room to the other side and a balcony off of the sitting room. Her room was just around the corner of the door to the right and everything shouted home.

There were loads of pictures that dotted the walls from elementry to college and souvenirs from various places she had been. Of course her apartment was incredibly messy but that was to be expected, the only clear area was around Minzy's bed and bowl.

Fern prepared Minzy's favourite dish of sardines with a bit of custard. Minzy weaved in and out of Fern's legs as she set down the cats bowl. Minzy meowed in appreciation and began to chow down with sophistication. Fern seated herself on the couch and watched her cat enjoy her meal

" God I really should stop feeding you custard it's so bad for you" 

Minzy meows contentedly in response making Fern smile. Speaking of things that are bad for you...

Fern got up off the couch and went to the kitchen to grab the soju she bought earlier. She grabbed her phone and turned it off then strolled out onto the balcony.

It was a beautiful clear night and the cool night air kissed her skin. Fern the fairylights and cuddled up in a chair with a blanket. She unscrewed the cap of the bottle and took a glug of the vile liquid, then she let herself wander off into thought.

 She loved her life she really did but when she was alone or lost in thought she always felt like there was someone or something missing.

It was as if a big chunk of her life had been taken away from her and she didnt even realise it was gone.

Sometimes it saddend her and sometimes it annoyed her but all in all she just felt lonely.

But she wanted to change that.

Fern was getting to the last few dregs of her bottle. She knew she would not be able to handle a second as she already felt light headed. She set down the emoty bottle and stood up to let the night air envelop her.

She wanted to sober up a little so that she wouldn't have such a bad hang over tomorrow morning. Ugh she truly hated hangovers. Fern leaned out over her short glass railing and took in a deep breath, then she let out a roar.

She wasn't worried about noise complaints at that moment in time she simply wanted to let loose. 

Feeling renewed in herself she began to turn around to go back inside, but something caught her eye. There was movement a top the apartment block behind hers.

She could make out the outline of figures from the streetlights but due to the darkness she couldn't see their faces. She soon realised they were running acroos the aprtment block and were about to run out of building. Fern began to call out to tell them to stop when suddenly they were flying across the street.

Fern stopped her cry short and rubbed her eyes. She opened them again and sure enough there were seven figures flying across the street with arms pulled back. She must have been really drunk.

Next thing she noticed more figures a top the same rooftop and thought they must be chasing those who were flying at this moment in time. It was ovious that they couldnt fly as they all filled back into the building.

Her eyes were soon drawn back across the street where there was a burst of light. A swirl of colour and light apeared on the wall of the other apartment block and the seven figures hoverd in front of it. They seemed to be waiting for it to open. 

For some strange reason Fern felt a pull towrds this portal. It almost seemed as if that was where the ominous thing she had been missing was. In her enchanted drunk state she thought it was a good idea to go towards the light.

She had totally forgotten that she was over fifty flights up and did not know how to fly.

She continued to lean forward and lost her footing. She began to fall into darkness and let out a desperate scream.

The eerie sound echoed off the walls as her impending doom neared.

There were so many thoughts rushing through her head as the wind rushed past her ears, but the predominant one was "Minzy won't be happy"

***

A/N: So guys what do you think so far?

Will Fern surive the fall or does it all end here, please tell me what you think will happen next in the comments.

Sorry for leaving you on a cliffhanger but it just means you'll have to read the nex chapter, I'll see you then

bubyeeeeeee

love. Nero1t xxx