Winter felt like she was running a marathon of nightmares, racing each one breathlessly without an end. In between some dreams she caught a few words here and there that belonged outside of her consciousness:

“… she was alone when I found her… this scrap of paper is the only evidence of the crime…” Even in her stupor his voice was easily recognizable. Moon Bin? her voice sounded weak in her head.

“… the basement is strictly off-bounds to unauthorized personnel…” said another voice Winter did not recognise.

“There seems to be a girl that has a strong motive… Han Shin Ah and Winter have been at loggerheads with each other, I heard…” Moon Bin’s voice sounded serious.

“… there are no CCTVs in the basement… if she has a strong alibi, I’m afraid it might be difficult to prove…”

And then those conversations had gone as quick as they had come and Winter was swept in another wave of ugly, terrifying nightmares. The most poignant one showed Winter stuck alone in utter darkness, a certain icy coldness seeping into her bones as she tried to keep sane. Without warning, a door opened to her right, bathing her in bright light, and Winter could only make out Shin Ah’s contemptuous face, cackling back at her like a witch before she slammed the door closed. Within a second another door opened to her left, Shin Ah’s wide grin clearly visible before she threw it shut. On and on the same thing repeated with a different door in the room such that by the end of it, all Winter was able to hear was Shin Ah’s evil, high-pitched laughter as Winter raised both palms to her ears to block out the noise.

“No… help me, please! Stop! Someone help!” she yelped hoarsely, tears flooding her cheeks.

“Miss, wake up! Wake up!”

Winter gasped upward for air, her eyes flying open to a white ceiling. She had both palms pressed against her ears, her lungs contracting and expanding uncontrollably as her whole body shook. As she adjusted her eyes to her surroundings, a lady wearing a white attire was bending over her, both hands gripping her shoulders.

“Miss, can you hear me?” the lady was saying. “What is your name?”

“Winter,” Winter said meekly, “Winter Lee.”

“Very good. Now I’m going to need you to lie down and relax while I call the doctor for you. Can you do that?”

Winter nodded and the lady turned to leave. Doctor? With great effort, she managed to lift herself to her elbows on the bed. Indeed, she was in a hospital ward, though she was the only one in the room. There was an IV drip that connected from her hand to a bag of transparent liquid beside her bed, and a few other gadgets that Winter had no idea for its use. Otherwise, the room was rather empty except for her. You shall not see daylight again—Unbidden, the series of events that occurred in the basement of Fantagio building flashed across her mind like a deck of shuffling cards. “Ow!” she winced from a sharp pain in her skull.

“It would do you some good to lay back down,” said a voice from the door. “I’m Dr Yang, your doctor-in-charge. How are you feeling?”

“Terrible,” Winter said as she pasted her back down on the bed obediently. “How long was I out for?”

“Two days.” He turned to the lady in white beside him. “Have you recorded down the date?”

“Yes,” the lady said swiftly, scribbling something on the clipboard. “Date of consciousness: 5th January, 2017.”

“5th January? 2017?” Winter exclaimed in horror. “I can’t believe the New Year has passed, I need to get back to training! You don’t understand, I have a debut performance, and it’s my last—”

“Miss Winter, you have just gone through a very traumatic experience and was diagnosed with hypothermia. You are still weak, and what your body really needs now is absolute rest. I’m afraid whatever training it is that you have, it has to be postponed,” Dr Yang said resolutely.

“But—” Winter protested.

“Nurse Gong,” Dr Yang turned his back on Winter as if he hadn’t heard her at all and continued ignorantly, “can you please make a call to the patient’s guardian and inform them that she is awake? Above that, we’ll also need to give her some antidepressants…”

A few hours later, Winter watched as Dr Yang, Nurse Gong and another man announced to be from Fantagio battle over Winter’s need for rest outside her ward. Despite there being a wall between them, Winter could hear almost everything they were saying with a bit of amusement.