It felt vividly real. The scenery before her was an all too familiar one. One that Yuri has seen every night for the past few months. The same scene that she had visited every sleepless night out of fear that what she had seen, had indeed transpired. Except right now, it was morning -- the same way it always starts. And the body she occupies wasn’t hers (she never comes as herself).

 

“––-ssi?” Standing before her was an unfamiliar yet familiar man.Yuri could feel the familiar twist in her gut at the mere sight of him, nausea building up within her. He was an average-looking Joe. Not too tall and not too short. A bit of a pot belly was beginning to show and he looks to be well into his twenties with a stubble dotting his chin. All in all, a very very average Joe. 

 

Feeling herself force a smile, Yuri leaned against the railing. Chest pressed up against the cold steel, Yuri could feel the woman smile seductively, womanly wiles turned up to the max. “Thank you for meeting me here today, Jongin-ssi.” The woman’s voice was soft. Deep and soft, a full throaty melodic sound that rumbled through Yuri’s chest when the woman spoke. Despite not having heard it before, Yuri finds a strange comfort in the woman’s voice. 

 

Bashfully rubbing his head, the man failed badly at subtly gawking at the woman before him. From his actions alone, Yuri could deduce that the woman she possesses must be a real looker. 

 

“It’s no problem really,––– -ssi” The man leered. No matter how hard she strained her ears, Yuri could never hear the name of the woman.

 

Ignoring the leering look, the woman smiled warmly --a smile that never did quite reach her eyes. Leaning forward, into the flushed man, the woman moved so closely that Yuri could see every single acne dotting the man’s nose. Despite knowing how the ending goes, Yuri felt her heart pump harshly in her chest at what is to come. The familiar fabric beneath her fingers, as the woman rests her hand daintily on the man’s shoulder. The familiar light push that threw the disoriented man off balance. The feeling of that familiar empty smile that spread, as she stepped back and watched the desperate man reach out, eyes wide open in fear as he lost his footing and began his descent. 

 

“Goodbye, Jongin-ssi. -------” 

 

 

 

Yuri woke up in a cold sweat. 

 

The fading sound of her rapidly pounding heart seemed to echo through her room. The adrenaline still coursing through her from that scarily realistic dream turned her senses to their max. Even in her dim, dark room with its curtain drawn over the window, she can make out the time on the clock. 11:00AM. 

 

Running a trembling hand through her rat nest hair, she sighed to herself. I really can’t get used to this. 

 

She had killed a man. 

 

Even if it’s in her dreams, she has still killed a living, breathing human. She had pushed him off the roof and watched as he flailed desperately in mid air before his body made a bone crushing impact with concrete, head splattering mercilessly against the hard pavement. She could still remember the sickening sound of bones snapping, even as she watched from her position up on the tenth floor. Could remember the shocked pair of eyes that had shot up and made contact with her (technically not hers) tired ones as the viewer registered the traumatic scene before her.

 

But most vividly, Yuri remembered the feeling after shoving the man off. There was no excitement, no joy. Just a dead, empty sense of accomplishment. A strange feeling of relief that had coursed through the body of the woman she had possessed. Like she felt free, like she had carried a burden for so long, and was finally free from the burden. 

 

Pushing aside the thoughts and feelings of the make-belief murderer in her dreams, Yuri had just crawled out from her bed when a thought occurred to her. 

 

“... I’m not going to jail, am I? DOES IT COUNT AS MURDER IF I DID IT IN A DREAM?” Belatedly, it seems to occur to the girl that she had indeed witnessed murder in her own dreams for the past month or so. And belatedly, she seemed to have realized that even if it was in her dreams, she had technically committed a crime. A heinous one at that. 

 

“I’m sorry I failed you mom. I should have stayed home instead of coming to Seoul to pursue some stupid idol dream. I’m so sorry mom.” Be her tragic fate, the poor girl crumbled to the floor of her dirty apartment. Sobbing to herself, Yuri hugged her knees tightly to her chest. “I’m too young to go to jail, please don’t come after me.” 

 

“Wait, deep breaths Jo Yuri, deep breaths. ” That’s right. She had checked everyday since the day she had f