Winter Kim wakes up to the annoying sound of her alarm. Her friends thought it was funny to record themselves harmonizing to her name and set it as her alarm clock. As she turns off her alarm and her fan, she quickly feels the summer heat sneak into her skin. Winter breaks into a small smile. She loves the summer season. It means clear skies, birds chirping, good lighting for photos, and basically life in full swing.

“You look like , Winter.” A disembodied voice says. Winter opens her eyes and sees Vernon, the ghost of a soldier from World War 2 peering down at her. Winter rolls her eyes.

Seeing ghosts have been a staple in Winter’s life since she was 6 years old. Her grandmother thinks that her paranormal skills have been granted to her by their ancestor who worked as a spiritual advisor to the emperor in the old times. The Kim family is an influential member of society with most agricultural businesses established by the clan after the second world war.

This social ‘influence’ is the reason why Winter’s father wants her to get rid of her abilities, often sending her to different therapists when she was young. Throughout the years of dealing with the supernatural, Winter learned to accept that she experiences one of life’s greatest mysteries.

Now here she is, living alone in an 80-year-old penthouse apartment in a rural, agricultural town near her university. The apartment complex is owned by her family -- nothing luxurious, just a normal four-storey building surrounded by trees established in the 30s. The catch, however, is that the house is infested by spirits and entities.

Winter did not mind having them as she learned to control her abilities and speak to the spirits. They never harm her and she never caused trouble in return. Some of them even became her friends.

Winter looks up at Vernon and frowns. “Isn’t it too early to be this annoying?” she asks the specter. Vernon gives a huff. “Well, I’ll be having a great day if not for that red-haired witch who stole the essence of the pudding you left for me!” He explains.

“Red-haired… you mean, Gahyeon?” Winter asks.

“Bah, I don’t want to even mention her name. It makes me want to strangle that pudding thief!

Before Winter can answer, an otherworldly scream can be heard all over the apartment floor. “First and foremost,” a deep voice of a woman said. “I am not a witch.” Both Winter and Vernon follow where the voice is coming from. Gahyeon the Ghost always has a flair for drama. “Second,” Gahyeon says as she appears in front of the two. “I did not steal your pudding.”

The appearance of Gahyeon sparked an argument between the two ghosts and Winter takes this opportunity to get up and cook some breakfast before heading out. Maybe she’ll have enough time to drop by her favorite kiosk inside the campus to eat some rice pudding.

“You woke up late, Winter,” a beautiful ghost named Seolhyun said. Winter smiled. “I had a weird dream.” She answers the kitchen ghost as she prepares a simple tuna omelet and fried rice.

“What’s the dream about?” another ghost asked. By this time, even Vernon and Gahyeon gathered in the kitchen to hear the story of Winter’s dream. Winter just shrugged. She told them about the woman asking for help and the shadowy entity.

“Now that seems like a bad omen,” Gaheyon commented.

“I heard from the spirit grapevine recently that there was a spirit trying to contact a relative, I think. That must be her.” Vernon shared.

“I’ll just ignore it for now. If it is really that dire, I guess I’ll be seeing that ghost sooner. If not, maybe she just mistook me for another person.” Winter answers as she eats her breakfast.

It was exactly 8 in the morning when Winter finishes her morning routine. Despite the weird dream, she is feeling good today. She figures she can leave the apartment early so she can enjoy the 15-minute walk from her apartment to the university. Anyone who knows Winter well can attest to her love for long walks. She does not mind the distance, the heat, and the pollution as long as she can take the time to slowly traverse the places and take in the environment.

Winter considers walking as meditative and she especially loves it when she sees stories unfold before her eyes -- a seemingly minor plot to the grand chapters of the universe. It is already 8:30 when Winter finishes packing her equipment for school and heads out. The neighborhood is silent save from some chatter in the distance along with the summer birds chirping and establishing their brood in the nearby trees. As soon as she finds herself alone, Winter’s thoughts automatically went back to her dream -- or nightmare -- she can’t decide yet.

Everything from the dream was still clear to Winter especially the woman with the sharp eyes. Her image has been a constant every time Winter closes her eyes. Yet, she feels warm and safe.

“Winter,” a disembodied voice calls her. Winter stops abruptly from walking, her skin feeling the chills. One by one, all the sensations she felt from her dream become real. Winter faces the direction of the caller and there she sees the same beautiful specter from her dreams. Winter’s eyes widen at the sight. She shakes her head as if to convince the universe that she is not buying the joke.

“N-no,” Winter says, closing her eyes and continuing to shake her head. “T-this isn’t true. T-this is j-just one o-of those d-dreams within a dream.” She says and slaps herself hard even the specter flinched. “O-ouch,” Winter says slowly with tears forming in her eyes. She silently cursed herself for slapping her face hard.

“,” Winter says as it sinks in that the specter from her dreams is in front of her.

“Winter, please,” the specter begins. “Please listen to what I have to say.” She begs, trying to hold Winter’s arm. Winter immediately feels intense chills when the ghost held her arm. It must have taken the specter an immense amount of energy to be able to hold her physical body.

 In a split second, Winter hears a groan. , she thinks. Her nightmare came to life sooner than she expected. “Winter,” the specter pleads. “Winter, please.” She says again with a little more urgency.

 As if on cue, the leaves from the nearby trees start to rustle and everything turns gray. Winter looks around but sees the neighborhood still in its usual summer stillness. As panic starts to kick in, Winter hears a growl. She quickly turns to the source of the sound.

 Winter knows fear. All her life she had lived with the constant fear that involves her abilities and who she is. However, fear -- as she knows it -- dims in comparison to what she feels in this moment. The entity from her nightmare is right in front of her. Gone was the shadowy figure. Now, she is seeing clearly. She sees but her mind cannot process the sight. All she knows and understands is the yellow orb -- the eyes.

 She feels the grip on her arm once again. Winter looks at the specter in front of her. The lady looks at her with fear and pleading. “Please trust me, I know a place where it cannot follow us.” She said and pulled Winter along. “Whatever you do, Winter, please do not look back at it.”

 Winter feels as if she is riding the wind. She is running as fast as she can but she can still feel the entity behind her. Her skin crawls and the chill is starting to creep in. She tries so hard not to look back and check on whether the entity is still following.

 She loses her sense of direction as she allows the specter to lead her to that safe space. , this could be a trap. Winter thinks. Stupid, Winter! Stupid, stupid! She silently reprimands herself. She closes her eyes, trying to think of a way to easily get out of the mess she is currently in.

 No coherent thought was yet formed in Winter’s mind when the specter stopped moving. The sudden stop made Winter gasp for air. She looks around, disoriented. The specter and the entity are no longer in sight. Winter was left wondering what happened and if everything was real. It took her a couple of minutes to register where she is. Great, this will take ten freaking minutes to reach the campus! She thinks. She takes a moment to gather her thoughts and catch her breath until her watch signals that she is running late.

 ! Winter inwardly exclaimed. She looked around hoping for a quick ride to the campus. She realized that there will be no miracles in an empty street. She begins to run again.

 Winter wishes she can channel the same adrenaline rush that made her escape the entity earlier. She thinks she must really be the unluckiest person in the world for this to happen.

 9:45. Winter checks her watch. She can’t believe it has been an hour ever since she left her apartment. She continues to run while thinking about everything that had happened and will happen.

 Winter is so lost in her thought that she never knew that there is a car approaching from the corner. Luckily, the car stopped just in time. A blue BMW. Winter is in awe. Her heart beating loudly, she barely hears other sounds. She looks around and sees that the streets are still empty. It must have taken her a long while in her thoughts when she finally hears the car honk. The driver was obviously annoyed. Winter raised her hands as a sign of apology and moved out of the car’s way. Before the driver manages to turn her car successfully into that cramped corner, Winter managed to see the glare that the driver has given her. Beautiful, sharp eyes. That is all Winter registers.