Yuri and Jessica finally went out to the playground to practice. The ground was filled with sand, the trees were starting to shed their orange-colored leaves, and the slides, swings, and seesaws were in good condition, considering that no one has been in the place for more than a year. The hinges and metal parts of the playground equipments were starting to rust, but they were still functioning properly. Leaves were scattered through the ground; old, dead ones, and newly fallen ones altogether. The wind blew the girls’ hair towards one direction as it caressed their faces with its chilly breeze. The sun was still up, though it was already four thirty in the afternoon and it was contrasting the wind with its warmth.

Jessica sat down on a swing, five steps from where she was previously. She started pushing her feet against the ground, causing the contraption to gradually move back and forth. The chains supporting the seat Jessica was on creaked as soon as she sat down and it became louder as she swung the seat in a front to back motion. She stared at the sky as the rust-filled chains carried her weight to and fro, with the wind blowing in her face. The sun blinded her eyes but she kept a smile on her face. She closed her eyes and sensed the beautiful weather which was upon them. Then, she opened them, and right before her was a girl. Yuri was staring at her, with crossed arms and a raised eyebrow.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Yuri asked as she stepped away from the path of the swing.

“You demonstrated something for me when we sang right?” Jessica answered as she continued to play with the swing. “So, I was waiting for you to dance, to demonstrate. Isn’t that right?”

“That’s not what I had in mind,” Yuri replied as she smiled wickedly at the girl.

“What do you mean?” Jessica, frightened at the statement, said as she planted her feet on the ground, stopping the swinging. “What did you have in mind?”

Yuri came closer to Jessica after she stopped swinging. Then, she leaned closer, her face almost against Jessica’s. The other girl closed her eyes and bit her lip, expecting something to happen.

“Get up,” Yuri ordered.

“What?” Jessica said as she opened her eyes.

“Get up from the swing,” Yuri repeated.

“Why would I?”

“I’m going to sit.”

“Why?”

“Just get up.”

Jessica did as she was told and stood up. Yuri replaced her and sat on the swing.

“Now, run around the playground.”

“You want me to do what?!”

“I’m asking you to do something simple. Run around the playground.”

“Didn’t you want to go to a spacious place because we’re going to dance?”

“Well, that wasn’t my main purpose. Now, start running.”

“Are you crazy?!” Jessica yelled out, surprised at the request. “Why would I do that?”

“Stamina is very important when you dance. And it’s especially important when you have to dance, sing, and act all at the same time. The play will probably last for an hour or so, and it’s important that you condition yourself.”

“Come on Yuri,” Jessica whined as she stomped her feet like a child in disapproval. “Do I really need to do that?”

“Yes. It’s necessary,” Yuri replied as she pushed herself backwards with her feet, her hands gripping the swing’s chains tightly. “That is, if you want to graduate.”

“Isn’t there any other way?” Jessica complained. “I’m really tired, and I can barely stand on my feet.”

“Tired?” Yuri exclaimed as she set her feet back on the ground. “How can you be tired? You barely stood up when we were in the closet, and when you were gone, all you did was slept! How can you be tired?”

“Look, you don’t know what I’ve been through,” Jessica answered back as she raised her tone. “You don’t know how long I walked, how far I ran, and how hot it was when…” Jessica paused as she covered with her hands.

Jessica realized that she was already talking about what happened in her dreams earlier. Only Taeyeon knew about it and it didn’t end well for them. With Yuri as her only hope for doing well in the play, she couldn’t afford to tell her about her secret.

“What are you talking about?” Yuri asked as she stood up from the swing’s seat in curiosity.

“Nothing. It was nothing,” Jessica replied, keeping her ‘dream adventures’ a secret.

“You were saying something, and it seemed like you didn’t want to run,” Yuri told the other girl, forcing her to repeat what she was saying. “What was it?”

“How many laps?” Jessica asked with a lower tone, changing the subject, and at the same time, agreeing to what Yuri initially wanted.

“Start running. I’ll tell you when to stop,” Yuri ordered harshly as she sat back down on the swing.

Jessica started to move her tired legs as she jogged towards the farthest corner of the playground. The place was bounded by tall wooden fences, and a gate was located at the side opposite the school’s back door. The gate led to a small, empty parking lot. It was empty and trees were starting to grow around it. It was paved, unlike the sand-filled territory that the playground had. It seemed like a forest once you stepped out of the playground. No one has been in the place for years until the girls visited that afternoon. Jessica had to run around the playground, following a path parallel to the fences.

The trees were rendered useless against the sun as its leaves were already on the ground. It has only been two minutes since Jessica started jogging, but she was already sweating. Despite the cold breeze that was present, the sun’s heat pierced her skin and opened her pores. As she was running, she decided to tie her hair back so that her face will be a little bit refreshed. She took out a couple of hairpins from her pocket and tied her long, blonde hair up in a messy bun as she kept on jogging.

Yuri was still sitting on the swing set, watching Jessica’s every move. The place she was sitting at was perfectly shaded by the thick branches above her, helping her eyes avoid the blinding gleam of the sun. She watched as Jessica’s healthy legs move against the ground, one after the other. She watched as Jessica wiped the sweat from her forehead with her arms. She watched as the girl ran with a cold, expressionless face.

“She hasn’t changed a bit,” Yuri told herself as she followed the girl with her eyes. “She’s still that innocent, cold-faced, Barbie doll that I knew.”

Yuri grinned at the thought of the past the two of them shared. They used to be good friends. That was the case for a long time, until that one decision that changed their lives. Neither of them wanted to talk about it, and Yuri already erased it from her memories. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t erase all of the memories that she had with Jessica. No matter how hard she tried, her heart still beats faster when she’s with her. No matter how hard she tried, she still yearned to be with her.

It’s strange how Yuri never felt anything special for Jessica at first. She just treated her as her best friend, nothing more. But ever since that thing between them happened, she changed. Her personality, the way she treated people, and among all, her heart leaned to a certain direction. She started to love Jessica, ironically, when she wasn’t around anymore.

But now that they’re in each other’s presence, Yuri couldn’t find the courage to tell how she felt. She tried hard to hide the fact that she loves her. Jessica, of course, being innocent, oblivious to anything that’s happening in the real world, doesn’t know anything.

It has been over six minutes since Jessica started running, but she wasn’t slowing down. She was running as fast as the sun was setting. The atmosphere started to get cooler as the cold wind kept on blowing and as the sun’s intensity started decreasing. At the ten minute mark, Yuri decided to stop Jessica from running.

“Hey Jessi!” Yuri shouted at the girl who was running her hundredth lap. “You can rest now.”

“Really?!” Jessica yelled back as she leaned on her knees to catch her breath.

Yuri stood up from the swing and walked to where Jessica was.

“You tired?” She asked

“Obviously,” Jessica replied.

“Do you want to get something to drink?” Yuri continued to question.

“Do you know where to get something to drink?” Jessica answered coldly.

“Well… no…”

“Didn’t think so,” Jessica said as she finished her brief moment of rest. “But I do,” she continued, smiling at Yuri.

Yuri led the way to the door back to the school and clutched the rust-filled doorknob attached to it. She turned it clockwise but unfortunately, it wouldn’t be attached for long. A loud clank echoed through the silent playground and it surprised Jessica.

“What was that?” Jessica asked.

“Uhmm… nothing,” Yuri innocently replied as she faced Jessica while hiding something behind her back.

“What are you holding?” Jessica questioned suspiciously.

“N-nothing.”

“Let me see!” Jessica shouted as she grabbed Yuri’s arms.

“It’s nothing!”

The two girls fought over the object for quite some time until it slipped out of both their hands. It went flying through the air, and then dropped to the sandy ground with a thud. It was the doorknob, sadly.

“You broke it?!” Jessica asked rhetorically. “How can we open the door without the doorknob?!”

“I-I didn’t know it would break.”

Jessica ignored Yuri’s explanation and walked towards the door. Then, she started kicking it. She tried to open the door with force, but she was too exhausted to do so.

“Can’t we just go around the school and enter through the front doors?” Yuri suggested.

“Around the school? Are you crazy? Look around you!”

“And so?” Yuri exclaimed after doing as Jessica ordered.

“Oh. Right. You’re new here. You don’t know anything about…”

“About what?” Yuri asked anxiously.

“The things around here,” Jessica continued to speak creepily as she looked around the trees that surrounded the playground.

“Things?” Yuri muttered as she started to walk backwards.

“They appear at night,” Jessica started to narrate as she looked at the setting sun.

“It’s still not n-nighttime. The s-sun is still up. W-we could still go around the school right?” Yuri, authentically scared, suggested once more as she started to get fidgety.

“It’ll be too late. It’ll be harder for us if the ‘thing’ gets a hold us in the middle of the forest. It’ll be better to stay here. And wait,” Jessica contrasted with a deep voice. “But I’m safe from them. You on the other hand…”

“You’re starting to scare me Jessica,” Yuri, genuinely frightened, told the other girl.

“They don’t come for normal girls. They want fresh ones. Someone like you. A transferee.”

“Stop it! It’s not true!” Yuri screamed as she pushed Jessica softly. “Don’t try to scare me!”

“They like dark-haired girls. They don’t like girls like me with light-colored hair” Jessica continued, ignoring Yuri’s plea to stop.

Yuri pulled Jessica by her shirt, and clamped her arms on the girl’s shoulder, her eyes observing her surroundings. Jessica was sweating, but Yuri would rather hide behind the perspiring girl than get eaten by the “thing” Jessica was talking about.

“They are very fond of hair. They like to pull it out of their victim before they pierce their victim’s chest and pull their heart out.”

Jessica knew that Yuri was afraid of ghosts, monsters, and anything of the kind and she took full advantage of it. Then, Yuri started to cry, unexpectedly. She sat down on the ground and buried her face between her knees.

“I don’t want to die! I don’t want to die! I don’t want to get my hair pulled out! I don’t want to get my heart eaten!” Yuri murmured repeatedly. “Jessica! Don’t leave me here! You’re going to protect me right?”

“About that…” Jessica replied as she started walking towards the playground’s gate. “I told my mom I’ll come home early. Don’t worry. You’ll be safe as long as you stay inside the gates.”

“Jessica! Don’t leave me here! The ‘thing’ is going to come after me!” Yuri yelled out desperately, as she tried to chase after the girl. But Jessica had already exited the gate and disappeared into the woods. “J-J-Jessica?”

The sun has already set and school was already over. It was dark, and Yuri was left all alone in the creepy playground. She was left only with the brief, yet frightening thoughts of the “things” echoing in her head.

“No one’s going to eat me. No one’s going to come after me,” Yuri tried to hypnotize herself as she scampered under a slide, thinking it would be the safest place in the area. “No one’s going to–”

Yuri paused as something started to irritate her ears. She pointed her sight towards something in the park that was making a weird sound. But it was too dark and she couldn’t see anything. It made the atmosphere even scarier. Then, something started to creak. The swings started to move by themselves as they swung back and forth. The seesaws flipped from one side to the other, causing a loud noise to echo through the place. Then, something else made Yuri get goosebumps. The hair on her back stood on its end as a voice whispered to her.

“Yuri~” the voice spoke softly.

The voice seemed to come from a distance, but it felt like it was very close. Yuri pressed her back against the slide, in a desperate attempt to hide from whoever was calling out her name.

“You can’t hide from me~” it continued to say in a deep, low tone.

The voice started to get closer and Yuri clamped her ears with her hands as she tried to block the voice from her hearing. But the voice grew louder and louder. It kept calling her name. It was getting closer. Then, a hand suddenly grabbed her leg.

“AAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!” Yuri yelled out at the top of her lungs in fright. She kicked the hand away with her feet and she pressed her back harder on slide even harder. “LET GO OF ME!!!” She continued to shout as she kicked and kicked.

“Ow!” The unknown entity suddenly uttered in pain.

Yuri stopped screaming and calmed down. She heard the “thing” wincing in pain. She might be afraid of ghosts, but she was smart enough to know that they don’t get hurt easily.

“Ow?” She questioned herself as she found the courage to come nearer to the thing that grabbed her leg.

She started to doubt that there was no ghost, no monster, no “thing” that was after her. And in that moment of doubt, it became silent. The swing stopped swinging, the seesaws stopped seesawing, and the creepy voice was gone.

“You didn’t have to kick that hard,” the voice suddenly spoke.

“Jessica?! Is that you?!” Yuri called out as she tried to grab a hold of the girl in the dark.

“Really. Did you really have to kick me in the face?”

“You!” It was all Yuri could say after realizing that Jessica was behind everything that terrified her for the past minutes. “You did this?”

“Yes. Yes I did,” Jessica replied calmly.

“B-but I thought… didn’t you… didn’t you leave?”

“I didn’t even touch the gate. I hid behind some bushes, but you were blind enough not to notice.”

Then, out of nowhere, the playground became bright. Lights from two lamp posts at opposite sides of the playground enlightened the whole area.

“There are lights?!” Yuri screamed out, surprised as she was finally able to see Jessica.

Jessica was sitting beside the slide Yuri was under, with her hands on her face.

“Yes, they open the lights every six in the evening. No one uses this area, but they still do open the lights here.”

“And you’re telling me that now?” Yuri rhetorically asked as she stepped out from under the slide.

“If I told you earlier, you wouldn’t have been scared,” Jessica explained as she stood up and faced Yuri.

“I can’t believe you did such a thing,” Yuri started to complain as she stopped her feet successively as an expression of discontent. “You really scared me! Why did you have to do that! My heart was about to beat out of my chest!”

“I thought you deserved something in return for making me run around the playground for ten restless minutes. That’s all,” Jessica reasoned. “And you didn’t even say sorry for kicking my face!”

“What?! I’m supposed to say sorry?! What was I supposed to do! I thought you were some monster that was about to eat my heart out and pull my hair off my head! You’re the one who tried to freak me out!”

“But you were–” Jessica tried to explain.

“I’m going home!” Yuri interrupted. She didn’t want to hear any more of Jessica’s nonsense.

Yuri headed towards the gate leading outside, when she paused in front of it.

“Do you know how to get home? How to even get out of here?” Jessica asked with a smile on her face as she walked towards Yuri.

“No,” Yuri replied with her back still turned.

“I’m sorry,” Jessica apologized, keeping her expression. “I’ll never do it again,” she continued as she extended her arms.

Yuri turned around with pouted lips and teary eyes. Then, without hesitation, she hugged Jessica.

“You can cry,” Jessica said as she rubbed Yuri’s back.

Yuri responded to the call and burst out in tears as she embraced Jessica tighter.

“I-I was so scared. I-I thought I was going to die,” the dark-haired girl whimpered.

“I know, I know. I’m sorry. It was too childish of me,” Jessica apologized once more as she comforted the weeping girl.

Yuri cried for a few more minutes until she finally ran out of tears.

“Should we get you home?” Jessica suggested as she ended the brief moment of embrace.

“Y-Yes. That would be great,” Yuri agreed as she calmed down.

“I need to go to sleep soon,” Jessica suddenly remembered. “I need to sleep.”