If there's one thing Lisa hates more than staying over late at school, it would have to be writing a damn paper over Art History. She took up Dance, thinking it would be all about dancing, making choreo and worrying about impressing agents from the entertainment industry -- not wasting away time looking for heavy history books about Art in a dark musty University library, and staring at a blank word document for what seemed like forever. The library was like that, you go in, work and lose track of time. Lisa swears it was cursed

Okay, Lisa, time for you to get those brain cells to work

The History of Korean Art in the Joseon Dynasty. 

This period in Korean history has left an impact in Modern Korea.

There, that wasn't so bad right? Just 3479 words to go. 3479 words standing between her and her sweet sweet bed. She was beginning to regret waiting on the last day of submissions, before working on her paper -- well, she's been making quite a lot of questionable choices recently. The growl from her stomach was starting to become a distraction. And all she could think about was sinking her teeth into the tender meat and the sense of comfort from the spicy stew of Gamjatang. She was beginning to get used to skipping meals, that the slight pang and rumble was slowly becoming an extension of her weary self. She promised her parents she'd be a successful dancer first before going back home to Thailand, and two years of University life has drained her mentally and emotionally. There were days where she didn't feel like leaving the comfort of her dorm room and days where she longed for a crowd, and to drown out the nagging feeling of loneliness by putting on a smile on her face and sometimes even dancing the night away. Maybe... no, she couldn't stand seeing her parents disappointed. , let's be honest here, she couldn't stand herself if she gave up on the one thing that ever made her happy. 

Another growl pulled her from her thoughts. Glancing at her phone screen, she had to let out a long sigh; 8:26pm. Had she been in the library that long already? It seems she has to talk with her professor tomorrow for an extension. 

Meow.. meow..

Wait? Were cats allowed inside the library? Did she hear that right?

Meow..

Seriously? Is she that hungry to hallucinate a cat in the library, of all things?

She glanced around and found that this part of the library was too damn quiet. Clearly everyone, aside from her of course, already left. Great, just great. Careful not to grate the chair against the floor, Lisa tried to locate the source of the sound. She wasn't even sure there was a source to begin with. 8:29pm, a minute passed, no cat. 

"Damn Manoban, you and your wild imagination" chuckling to herself 

She placed the books into her bag, and was about to leave when a flash of white passed by her peripheral vision in a blur

Wait, what was that? 

Lisa turned around too fast and landed on her face flat on the floor. 

"Urgh, for someone who prides herself in dancing you're such a klutz." Lisa mumbled under her breath, struggling to get up.

She felt her breath hitch as something furry came into contact with her shoulder, causing her to jerk back and scream. Two innocent looking cat eyes peered back at her and purred as it nuzzled Lisa's neck.

"For s sake, I know you're cute and all but scare me again and I swear to God I'll --" the cat meowed in response, looking at her with an odd expression. It was as if it was calling out to her. The cat scurried away as soon as Lisa stood up, glancing and meowing back at her. 

"Okaay?" The cat was white with splashes of gray around it's head and back, it went off into one of the least visited aisles. The aisle led to a darker more secluded part in the Library. The wooden walls were bare and the air heavy with dust, she never knew such a part existed within the university library -- well of course, how could she? When she barely spent her time there, the only exception was when she had exams and stupid papers due the next day. 

Why was she following a cat again?

She heard another meow and the same green eyed cat looked at her, disappearing as soon as it had Lisa's attention behind a fairly empty shelf. Rounding the corner she found herself staring at an open door. Now any normal, sane person wouldv'e left right then and there. Who wouldn't? Dark, dusty, creaky room with a slightly opened door? -- isn't that the requirements to a good horror flick? The voice in her head kept telling her to go back, but her heart screamed to follow the cat inside. Her heart won, let's face it, it always did. Knowing herself, she'd probably be sleepless for days if she backed away now, never knowing what was inside the mysterious room. 

Slowly opening the door and allowing her eyes to adjust to the darkness, she could make out Leo's form amidst the shadows. Yup she named the cat, it was weird calling it just "cat" up until now anyways. Walking further inside, she bumped into what seemed to be paintings and large canvasses covered with white cloth. Strange ... she never knew that their school had a collection of antique paintings, or were they old paintings from the Art department? Leo was rubbing against a huge frame at the back, looking at Lisa with it's expectant eyes. 

"Hey buddy, what do you have here?" taking off the white cloth. 

An old painting with cracked paint and what might be, upon closer inspection, looked like mold took form in the dark. Lisa took a closer look at it. Grass, a huge tree, falling flowers? Or were those leaves? Hmmm.. nothing special. A field for it's backdrop and mountains, a palace, people or common folk tending the fields and -- wait? Did the people at the back just moved? Legit moved as they planted? Was this some kind of optical illusion? Lisa closed her eyes and breathed. There, slow and steady, 1-2 , 1-2. She looked at the painting again as the room seemed to sway. She suddenly felt nauseous and wanted to throw up as she dropped to her knees. There was a low constant buzzing in her ears she can't seem to get rid of, drowning out her thoughts. She tried to cling unto the filthy painting, the damn painting that kept on moving, and the damn floor that wouldn't stop spinning. Leo, she saw through the corner of her eye was looking at her,  as everything swam before her, her vision getting more and more blurry.

She fell onto the hard floor as she was slowly consumed by the slow creeping darkness. She cursed unintelligibly and for a split second before passing out felt grass and heard ... horses?