Neul Gi was busy drowning herself in the local  dollar bookstore to kill time, pressing her fingers against the rough and rugged covers of the books left unread for years.

"Hmm. Romance? Pass" she murmured to herself as she skip the romance section, as always, and marched directly to the sci-fi section with laser eyes scanning the covers and titles expertly

"Meh, I think I've read most of these already. Ahjussi! Don't you have any other books? Perhaps, new ones?" She turned her head towards the cashier area on her left but keeping her hands and body positioned towards the tall shelves just because

"You wish. The books in this tiny bookstore has been the same for the past 5 years!" The ahjussi with a graying beard and a low-tipped eyeglasses turn to look at her with that usual annoyed look on his face

"Aw man!" Neul gi sighs and plops down on the old and creaky couch in the bookstore, the only one you can find in here amidst the clutter of books scattered and piled on the ground

"You've probably read everything in here, except the romance section and you don't buy any of it!" The old man wheezes as he bangs the cash register which usually gets stuck due to its old age. This was actually the  old school kind of cash register that would make a ding! sound when it opens up

"I don't buy them because they're so good and I want the others to read it and appreciate it" Neul gi approaches the ahjussi with a shameless smile on her face, she was actually sorry to the old man because its not like she does not want pay for it, she just does not have the money to pay for it.

"Whatever. Go, go away. Go home. Your parents must be looking for you. It's almost dinnertime" the ahjussi shooed her away as he tries to fix the stuck cash register but instead, Neul gi was glued to her place opposite of the cash register. She smiles warmly at him because she knew, that his annoyed and strict face is just a facade and he is actually a soft and kindhearted ahjussi who lets her read all of the books without asking her to pay for it

"Thank you, ahjussi. Thank you for letting me read your books even though I don't have the money to pay for them. Thank you for being like a family to me when my own does not feel like a family at all" Neul gi could feel herself tearing up but she held them back, it was too embarrassing to cry in front of this ahjussi who was now gawking at her. She felt awkward and instinctively rubbed her nape to try and shift his attention away

"Why are saying that? You sound like you're going away" The ahjussi stared at her for some time but she did not dare meet his gaze, she was already embarrassed enough. She just realized that those words came out of her without even knowing it

"U-uh. What? No, it's nothing. Thought I'd say those kind words in exchange for those books you let me read" Neul gi joked to laugh off the awkwardness. She actually does not know why or how those words spilled out of her. Maybe it's the stress she's been experiencing at home or at school. But thankfully, the ahjussi just shrugged her off, not entirely listening to her now as he returned his focus on the jammed cash reguster

"Anyway, I got to go. Bye, ahjussi. See you again tomorrow!" Neul gi secretly slid a dollar in the cashier before running off, it was half of her daily lunch money but she would always save it for ahjussi. Yes, she visits the store daily but no, she rarely reads those books. She prefers to accompany the old man who's been alone now ever since his wife died 5 years ago, just before the opening of his bookstore, than go home to an empty house.

Neul gi breathed in heaps of air as she tilts her head upwards, resting on her nape. She momentarily stops on her tracks to admire the stars that are shyly hidden behind the clouds.

"Come out, stars. Twinkle twinkle little stars" She raises her hand to trace the stars on sky with her fingers then abruptly drops her arm beside her as she heaves a sigh and resume walking. It was getting darker and the night was getting colder.

"Tsk, I forgot to bring my jacket again. I hate the cold" Neul gi rubs her hands together and shoves them deep in her skirt's pocket as she quickens her pace. She now actually regrets not catching the bus at the stop earlier.

"I should've ridden the bus, tsk. I should have" Neul gi continues to scold herself as she pass her neighborhood's park but it was unusually quiet and empty. It was only 7 pm but the streets and park was empty.

"Hmm? That's weird" Neul gi thought to herself as she takes a turn in an alley but she was frozen on her spot. She could feel the hairs on her nape and arms standing. It didn't feel right. The alley was too dark and empty.

Neul gi tried to take a step forward but something was stopping her, her guts were telling her not to. Her grip on the straps of her shoulder bag tighten as she muster up her courage to walk through

"This is nothing. This is nothing" Neul gi was saying it out loud to elude herself from the fear that she was feeling but the deeper she was in the alley, the more her stomach turned. Something was definitely not right, it's strange. 

Neul gi was now only a few feet away from her house but she stopped abruptly as a foul smell filled the air. It smelled rotten, it was indescribable. Neul gi's eyes darted everywhere, trying to locate where that foul smell was coming from. She was now scared beyond her wits so, she decided to dash her way to her house.

"Ugh!" As she was running, Neul gi tripped on something and she came crashing on the ground. It was a pretty bad fall, her knees were probably scraped.

"Ahh, aish" Neul gi could feel her knees burn, she was a 100% sure it was bleeding. And in that moment, Neul gi momentarily forgot about her fear as she tried to gather herself up but as she was about to stand, Neul gi was pinned down.

It was too dark to see who or what it was but something was holding her down. Neul gi's eyes widened and she started to panic. She tried shouting but she can't, something was stopping her. Instead, she tried wriggling her way out, she was now so scared that hot tears poured out from her eyes. 

Maybe it was a or a drunkard or a murder, she does not know. But what she knows is, she was definitely going to be killed as she feels the grip on her wrists tightens that it started to hurt so much. Then suddenly, a familiar foul smell was coming from her perpetrator, the same foul smell she encountered earlier.

Maybe it was following her from earlier, stalking her. She closed her eyes as she continue to cry her eyes out, this was it. She's now in the process of being murdered.

She felt something sharp against her skin, it was so sharp that she could feel it ripping through her skin. Maybe it was a knife, a very sharp one. Neul gi flung her eyes open as the pain was getting worse, she wanted to shout but she can't. It was as if she went mute suddenly.

"Stop.. stop. HELP! HELP!" Neul gi was able to find her voice and she was now out of the shock state. She wriggled more, trying to get away with all her might but it was stabbing her chest, piercing her and it definitely did not seem like a knife.

It was only then that Neul gi began to see her perpetrator as her eyes adjusted to the dark. It was a monster, she's never seen it before. It was those kinds that you'd read off of fantasy books. She was quivering in fear and crying her eyes and heart out.

"HELP ME! HELP ME!" Neul gi shrieked to the sky as tears continue to pour from her eyes and pain continues to fill her body. She was dying, she was really dying. She couldn't  believe it.

Neul gi finally gave up as the pain in her chest grew more, it was being pierced through so hard yet so slow. Neul gi kept her eyes in the sky as she pray for a miracle to happen and as she was losing consciousness, a bright light beamed from the sky, so bright that she was blinded by it and then everything was still. It was as if time slowed down. Was she dead? Was she finally dead? Maybe yes, she couldn't feel the pain anymore nor smell the foul scent from the monster. Or maybe no, she can't tell.