Winter barely registers what Yizhuo was saying. She tries hard to focus on her best friend and ignore the ghost’s frequent attempts to communicate with her. This is nothing new. Ghosts tend to communicate with her and ask for favors. She learned the hard way never to trust and help otherworldly beings.

Despite her attempts to ignore the specter, Winter begins to feel a buzz inside her head. She closes her eyes in hopes that the buzzing will stop. As she opens her eyes, she sees her friends staring at her.

“You good, Cold Season?” Yizhuo asks concern dripping from her lips. Winter looks from Yizhuo to Keonhee and then to Dongju. All of them know what’s happening. They know this is serious. “Is… is there a ghost here?” Dongju carefully asks. Winter nods and looks at the window. The woman from her dreams is still there with that same apologetic smile and pleading eyes. She explains that this is the same ghost from her dream.

“Maybe it is best for you to talk to the ghost, Winter,” Yizhuo says softly. She hugs Winter tightly and gives her an assuring squeeze. “Just know your boundaries.”

“We’ll wait for you here, Minjeong,” Dongju says. Winter smiles and nods, grateful that she has these people to look out for her.

Winter sighs as she goes out of the room. The buzzing in her head never stops. As she reaches the fire exit, she motions for the ghost to follow her. Somewhere she knows no harm can come to her. 

The Betelgeuse garden is a project spearheaded by Winter’s cousin Kim Yongsun during her stay with the organization. She, her friends, and the rest of the organization gathered endemic species of trees and plants from the area and planted them in this vacant spot near the Biological Sciences Building.  Five years have passed since Yongsun and the older members of the organization established this garden and it has flourished into a tranquil area where students and visitors can rest and enjoy nature. 

Winter remembers why it was named as such. The area is particularly dim in the evenings and the organization designed for it to have solar-powered lamps for security reasons. The darkness allows visitors to get a good look at the sky – particularly of the constellation Orion and its brightest star Betelgeuse.

Winter loves this place because of its tranquility and the spirit of optimism it possesses. Yongsun, she remembers, wanted to make a place for people who are restless. Throughout the years of her stay at the university, Winter considers the Betelgeuse garden to be her safest place. The trees are her guardian, the shrubs her friends.

The specter follows her into the garden and waits for Winter to get settled in one of the benches. Winter does not exactly know how to start the conversation. 

“I understand you have a lot of questions,” the specter begins. That’s highly an understatement. Winter thinks with her eyes glued to the apparition in front of her. 

“Who are you?” Winter begins. She knows there will be a waterfall of questions that will soon follow this but she needs to prioritize the information she is getting.

“I am Wonyoung,” the specter answers. “Or I once was. I apologize for what happened earlier.”

“You were in my dreams,” Winter states. “You were calling me by my name. How did you know me?”

“I,” Wonyoung answers. “I am in desperate need of help. I need to talk to…” She pauses as if she is going to cry. Winter wonders how ghosts cry. Are they able to process emotions? “I need to talk to a friend of mine. She was devastated when I died. I need to talk to her.” She explains.

“How did I enter the picture?” Winter asks.

“I asked around. I asked who can help me. I tried talking to her myself but I cannot go near her. I needed someone – a mortal to help me.”

“And that brought you to me…” Winter says concluding the explanation. Wonyoung nods, hopeful for Winter’s help.

“You do know that I am putting my life in danger every time I help you guys. There is always a price to pay. A price that I usually cannot afford.” Winter says gloomily.

“I know. But, Winter, I promise this will be worth your while. You saw the entity that chased us. If you won’t help me, it will come after you.”

“What?!” Winter exclaims. “Why me?”

“I…” Wonyoung is starting to stumble into her words. “As you said, everything comes with a price. But I didn’t know it back then.

“I was asking around my predicament. Then a hooded entity said it can help me. It gave me answers. I didn’t know it was serious when it said it will come for you, too.”

Winter is taken aback by the revelation. Words are starting to jumble in her mind but nothing comes out of . She wants to scream, throw stuff, and get angry at the ghost. “Y-you made me a c-collateral?” She asks.

“I’m sorry, Winter,” Wonyoung says. “I-I didn’t know.”

Winter wants to cry and have a breakdown but deep down she knows it will not accomplish anything. She wonders if ever she kills a ghost, will that be considered a crime? She sighs. She has no choice. Regardless of whether she rejects the request or not, the entity will come after her. Might as well give it a chance.

“Alright,” Winter says. “Who is this person? The one you want me to talk to.” Wonyoung sighs in relief and smiles. 

“Winter, I promise this is going to be worth your while,” She repeats. I doubt it. Winter thinks. “I shall leave you in peace once I get my message across to Karina.”

“Karina?”

“Yes, my friend Karina Yoo.”

What?