Eunbi stood in the pouring rain as people around her scrambled under the night shower. Water poured down from the skies and drenched people in rain, a cruel reminder of how forgotten she was to whoever sat up there watching them like pawns. Eunbi knew she should be heading for cover, knew that she should be looking for a ledge to stand under, but something in herself couldn’t force herself to move. She had been late just once and that had been enough to get her fired. It wasn’t like she could have ever raised the money necessary anyways, it wasn't like anything had changed, but somehow knowing that she had fallen somewhere below rock bottom, had put her at the end of her rope.

“Darling, you should get out of the rain” The old man said, trudging up to her, holding a ratty umbrella over her head.

His words brought her out of the trance she had been in. She nodded, unable to form any of her own words, allowing the seemingly harmless man to walk her under the awning from the store front besides them.

“Are you alright, darling?” He asked and Eunbi got her first opportunity to study the older man in front of her. The hairs on her arms pricked for no reason, as she took a subtle step backwards.

Everything about him was non threatening, from the graying hair on his head to the old brown shoes on his feet, nothing that would make anyone look twice. Still, she had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach, a warning, a plea to run as fast as her feet could take her.

“I-I’m fine” She whispered.

“You look like you could use some help” The man said wisely, something gleaming in the depths of his dark eyes.

“No, I’m fine thanks” Eunbi insisted. She thought about the bus schedule and glanced down at her watch, frowning when she stared at the time.

She could have sworn… that it had been 10:45 pm when she left the store she had been fired from. So how was it still 10:45pm even now? She shook her head, the rain must have been messing with her head. It must have she decided as she confirmed the time on her phone. At least, she hadn’t missed the bus home yet. She craned her neck, seeing the big headlights in the distance, there it was.

“Take it. Follow the instructions to the letter and you’ll have everything you’ve ever wanted” The old man said, grabbing her hand and placing a piece of paper in her palm.

“Hey, let go!” Eunbi cried out, surprised at the strength in the man’s fragile looking hands.

“Disclaimer, all things come with a price!” He said gleefully, letting her go at once.

Eunbi gasped and took off for the bus which was just now pulling over to the curb. It wasn’t until she was safely in the bus and taking the seat in the back that she gained the courage to look back. The old man was gone, the rain had stopped, and the ratty umbrella laid on the ground forgotten.

A shudder rippled through her as she questioned the reality of the man she had met. It couldn’t have been in her head and as if suddenly remembering it, she glanced down at the piece of paper that had been left in her hand.

Everything I’ve ever wanted…

She opened the paper carefully, surprised that it wasn’t soaking wet. The inside of the paper was black and in it, was a set of instructions written out in golden ink. She glanced around her, this must be some sort of joke she decided, reading the words inside, each one confirming to her that this was nothing more than the ramblings of a very crazy, very old, man. Still, she pocketed the paper when she arrived home. Her mother was crying, something she had grown used to hearing. It never stopped. Her father was coughing, another sound that had grown familiar after his diagnosis. No one asked how she was, no one cared. She was nothing, but a blip in the scheme of all the problems they had. They all were.

“Where are you going?” Eunbi asked sharply, catching her brother by the arm on the way down the stairs.

“Making some money” He said casually.

“You know I don’t want you getting involved with those people. They’re dangerous”

“Would you rather dad die?” He asked angrily, and Eunbi fell silent.

He shook her off and sighed, “That’s what I thought” He snapped, slamming the door shut after he stepped out.

Eunbi walked into her room and closed the door behind her. She stayed quiet as she discarded the wet clothes sticking to her body. Standing in her room, she suddenly felt as vulnerable as she was. She pulled on a shirt and slipped into some shorts, towel dried her hair and carefully picked the black paper up from the wet pile on the ground. The instructions were simple, it even came with a handy diagram to help out. She set the towel in her hands aside and went towards her desk, quickly finding a washable marker.

Eunbi had never been superstitious, she didn’t believe in good luck charms, talismans, anything supernatural. So whenever her mother used to drag her to the fortune tellers, she would whine the entire way to and from. She thought it was all silly. Charlatans who could read people carefully and knew to exploit the weaknesses in them. It was one of those very same charlatans who stole a large chunk of their savings from her very naive mother 5 years ago. If anyone asked, Eunbi was always quick to admit that yes, her family had always been cursed.

“I’m a damn idiot” Eunbi muttered to herself as she pulled back the shabby carpet on her floor and got down to her knees.

“I might as well find the nearest fortune teller and give them my savings now” She snapped, staring at the drawing and copying down the triangle in the diagram, careful to recreate the curves coming off each point in the triangle.

From the center, three arrows shot out, each ending in an asterisk like figure. The whole thing was encased in a circle of three repeating symbols. Eunbi was embarrassed, but she had nothing to lose and when this didn’t work, she was going to be free to focus on finding an actual solution to their problems, not just wishing on a star or something as equally ridiculous. Sitting back onto the ground she stared at her replica, nearly perfect, it not for a few misguided attempts at repair from herself.

Clear your mind and repeat the phrase below three times… Take a needle and prick your finger, dropping three drops of blood on each point of the arrow.

“Ridiculous, this is ridiculous” She snapped, throwing the paper aside, “Some must be getting a real kick at imagining the stupid idiot following their stupid directions”

“It is quite the kick” The deep voice said merrily as the lights flickered and went out completely.

Eunbi scrambled up from the ground, the lights shutting off should have never caused the depth of darkness that this had. Everything had gone completely dark, darker than it was outside, no light filtered in from anywhere. She stumbled back and felt along the walls of the room she had been sleeping in for the past 19 years. She was imagining things, going crazy, she thought as she flickered the lights on and off. No light came up and she cried out loudly.

“Mom?! Dad?!”

“They can’t hear us. Darkness tends to swallow sound” He said.

“What the hell are you?” Eunbi whispered in a panic, keeping her back to the door and blinking quickly, trying to get her eyes to adjust to anything it could.

“I sensed I was needed” The voice said.

“What?! I never said the words! I didn’t say anything!” She insisted.

“You were right about that, it’s all nonsense. The important part is the symbol, it lets me in” He said quietly, “A lot of people make it to the entire end, but I was getting impatient and am quite busy tonight and I got the feeling you weren’t going to make it any further” He said with a laugh.

A single light illuminated him, like a spotlight, it shone straight down on him. He was tall and looked as human as the next guy. If the next guy had been as inhumanely beautiful as he was. Silver strands sat neatly atop his head, dark eyes watching her with as much amusement as someone watching a show on TV.

“A bit of a flare for the dramatic, huh?” Eunbi whispered under her breath.

His lips quirked as he stepped closer.

“I found a funny one” He commented brightly, “Now, let’s get down to business please”

With a snap of his fingers a black piece of paper appeared in his hands, “If you would do me the favor of a quick signature, the contract will be sealed. Everything you could have ever wanted will be granted”

“Ha…. I’m going crazy. I’m probably passed out on the road from the rain” Eunbi said quietly.

“If it’s just a dream, what the harm right?” He asked.

“The harm is probably that you’re offering me anything I want out of nowhere. You’re really expecting me to believe this is all for free?” She asks in disbelief.

“Now, I never said anything about free” He said, a slow grin spreading.

She should have been more afraid. The disbelief in the entire situation was blocking that for now. Right now all she could really focus on was how to breathe properly. How to get this man to simply leave. She eyed the area where she guessed the symbol she had drawn was. If she could erase some of it, maybe he would have to leave?

“It wouldn’t work, an opening has already been created, you can’t close it just like that” He said, smiling at the surprise on her face, “I can’t read your mind, it’s just the first thing everyone thinks of”

“I want you to leave” Eunbi said firmly.

“Sorry, I already made the trip and I hate to waste my time. On that note, I really do have to go so how about we speed this along?” He suggested.

Before she had the time to say anything otherwise, he was in front of her in the blink of an eye. His eyes turned a black as dark as their surroundings and he placed a large hand atop her head.

“This won’t hurt too much” He promised.

He lied.

Images came into her mind, her family not in the now, but in the future. They were little more than blurs of colors, blues and purples, black edging closer and closer around them until it was all that consumed them. The crying, the coughs, everything silent. Gone. She didn't know how much time had passed, if any at all before he released her and she took a shaking breath. She met his eyes, now back to that unique color, studying her carefully.

“If I’d known you were going to cry, I would have brought along tissues” He offered, the words sounding serious, but the mocking glint in his eyes saying otherwise.

“What was that? Some sort of blackmail? Give me what I want or I’ll hurt your family?” She asked defiantly.

Something not unlike sympathy crossed his eyes so quickly she couldn’t be sure she hadn’t imagined it.

“That’s your future if you don’t make this deal, without any involvement on my part” He said and Eunbi believed him because in the depths of her heart she knew they weren’t that far behind anyways.

“What do you want?” She asked.

“Simple, I want your soul” He said as casually as if he had just asked for the time of day.

She held her breath, what on earth had she let in? Still, the images he showed her flashed past once again. In particular, the one of the darkness consuming her family. Darkness was already present, she knew that. It was sitting on the edges of their lives, just waiting for another of bad luck.

There had been nothing she could do to stop it, until now, until he came along.

“What happens to me? Without a soul? Do I die?” She asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

“Most do, the ones that don’t die get to live, but it’ll be a very empty life. Souls are what make humans, human, without one you lose morals, conscience, your humanity” He explained.

She swallowed back her fear, only thinking of the all consuming darkness around her family. It could have been a lie for all she knew, a well crafted illusion, but there was already so much darkness surrounding them that she knew this was anything, but.  

She nodded, understanding it and somehow also accepting it, “How does it work?”

“A drop of blood on the dotted line is all that’s needed for a signature. We do contracts a tad bit differently where I’m from”

“How do I know you keep your end of the bargain? I barely even know what it is I truly want” She said honestly.

“You get 24 hours to bask in the afterglow of your trade” He said, “You’re lucky you met me to be honest, my trades are lifelong. There are those who would give you years to live, but the fine print on those contracts are messy. Things never come out as you wish” He said, nodding to himself as if he was a great and kind man.

“Must be nice to be you” Eunbi whispered, “Does anyone ever say no?”

“In the centuries I’ve been doing this, only once”

She stuck out her hand, “24 hours right?”

“You’ve made a good choice Han Eunbi” He offered as condolence, taking her hand and swiftly making a small cut along her thumb.

He held her hand over the black paper and Eunbi’s hand trembled as she suddenly tried to draw it back.

“Wait” She breathed, “What’s your name? I should know your name if I’m signing away my life to you right?”

He smiled once again, “I go by Sehun”

She let out a shaky breath, “Ok, Sehun. Got it” She whispered as if it made any difference at all.  

The drop fell quickly, somehow glowing crimson against the black paper. He dropped her hand and folded the paper up, sticking into his jacket.

“Pleasure doing business with you, darling” He said as he disappeared from sight and with him, her conscious went as she hit the ground.