Donghae suddenly woke up, gasping for air, his trembling hands wrapped around his body, as he turned on his side. His throat parched dry as if he had screamed until his vocal chords numbed. He shut his eyes tight, taking in deep breaths to calm his racing heart. For a couple of minutes he lay there, still disturbed by his nightmare, not a single sane thought conjuring up in his mind. 

'Exhaustion', Donghae thought as he slowly sat up in his bed, his eyes flicking to the clock near his bedside table striking five. He could feel his tired muscles ache, a buzz down his legs, sore perhaps from yesterday's long hike. He flexed his arms and felt a singeing pain shoot up to his shoulders. 

"Ah" he grimaced as he gingerly stood up, walking slowly to the kitchen to have some water. His body ached with each step as if it was pulled and pushed for real. 

It was the wee hours of morning but Donghae was already thinking of what he had to do today. He had a few errands to run, like stack up his almost barren kitchen and meet his friend Siwon for the afternoon lunch. He also had to scope some locations for possible future projects, but the previous day's unluckiness sent a shiver down his spine. Donghae internally shuddered at the thought of visiting a forest alone again. For some reason he was scared, he didn't know what it was that's bugging him. Surely it wasn't the first time that he ever had a night schedule. But yesterday's was just a bit creepy, with the nightmare adding a touch of horror to his uneventfully eventful day. He would probably look up the locations on naver instead, he mentally noted.

Donghae took some time to get ready. He dressed himself in a casual t-shirt and jeans, foregoing his daily routine of morning exercise as his body begged for a day off. He took out last night's noodles and reheated them. Not being a picky eater, he ate the soggy noodles, thankful to his friend/neighbour/landlord once again. The gloominess had left him and he found himself looking forward to his day's task. It had been a while since he met Siwon, he would make sure the taller guy pays for his lunch this time too.

Donghae walked to his neighbourhood general store that was just round his building. He picked up a few instant noodles pack, two milk cans, couple of protein bars, a pack of orange juice, some fresh vegetables from the fresh food aisle and headed to the counter. The part timer at the counter he saw a while ago had disappeared, instead he found a strange person in black garb with his back towards him, blocking his way. 

"Excuse me, do you mind moving out of my way?" Donghae asked politely. He stepped back allowing some more space between the two, when his nostrils picked up a strange decaying smell. The stranger murmured something and abruptly closed the distance between them. Startled by the stranger's actions, Donghae fumbled, his face scrunching at the awful smell and eyes confused at what he was seeing. The lights started flickering and the Stranger's garbs emitted black smog, slowly encasing the entire store. 

It stood there, a mere inches away from Donghae's eyes, yet its face was a shapeless, formless mass of black smoke. Twin crimson orbs slowly materialised, entrancing him. Within it he saw a blood-soaked body, its form slowly getting bigger, or maybe closer....

Donghae was terrified, he wanted to run away as fast as he can. But his feet won't budge. He stood there frozen, his eyes glazed over, a thin sheen of sweat covering his almost shivering body.

"Donghae-ssi, Mr Donghae", the part-timer was back at his post, clearly concerned about their regular customer, "Are you alright?" he asked as he shook him lightly out of his daze.

"Y-yeah, h-here I'll take these", he placed his stuff with shaky hands on the counter. "Where's that person?" Donghae asked, as he looked around, noticing how the black fog was slowly vanishing.

"What person? It's just you", the part-timer replied.

"Huh", confused over what he saw and how he felt, Dongahe ran a hand through his hair.

"Ah, you should get the lights fixed," he cleared his throat, "they kept flickering when you were gone'', he commented, feeling suddenly conscious of his behaviour. 

"O-kay..., here", he handed the bag to Donghae.

Donghae gave him the money, greeted to have a good day and walked out. He hurried back home, an unsettling feeling nestled in his chest. Trying to ignore the ...weirdness, yes weird, all these things were just plain weird, he thought as he placed the few things that he had bought, into the kitchen. His head throbbing slightly in pain.

"Ugh", he grimaced as he pulled out his smartphone, dialling Siwon.

"Hey, So you know how to call", the voice immediately greeted.

"Sorry Siwon, my phone ran out of battery yesterday", Donghae replied solemnly. "I did text you though."

"Yes, you did. You remember our date today right?" Siwon asked 

"It's not a date, Siwon" Donghae replied coolly. "I called to confirm if you have time."

"Of course, at our usual place, Yeon's Cafe" Siwon answered.

"Ok see you soon" Donghae hung up. 'Waiting alone would be self inflicted torture', Donghae thought as he pulled on a jean jacket. "I need company." Instantly Donghae was out of his apartment and at Kyuhyun's door. He rang the bell a couple of times and waited. 

No response.

He rang the bell again. Still no re