---xxxvi;;

It was dark.

The lack of light that was usually soothing to the frail brunette became a nightmare within a nightmare, the hell of the reality she lived in. She’d been told about the monsters that hid in darkness, preying on fear, so she marched on without trepidation. Until now.

It was dark, and she was scared.

“Hold on, you’ll be okay.”

She woke with a jolt.

Quivering, the brunette sat up abruptly, pupils dilating frantically as sunlight suddenly flooded her irises. The curtains had been drawn, fresh flowers decorating her beside. An aromatic scent of traditional congee wafted toward her, the familiar and warm scent immediately soothing her nerves.

Saebyul sat awkwardly in the large armchair next to the bed, limbs contorting uncomfortably to accommodate her shattered bones. In front of her was a small table, a burner on top cooking the rice porridge.

Shiyeon blinked, opening hesitantly and stiffly, fearful that moving would cause pain, “Byul,”

“Hey, Yeonie, you’re awake.”

“Your hair…”

It was a rather noticeable change. Her best friend’s once long, slightly wavy blonde locks had been chopped off at her collarbones and was her natural shade silky black. The dark color clashed against her pale skin, a contract that made the spunky girl almost unrecognizable.

The girl herself didn’t seem to care. Saebyul shrugged, running a hand through her short tresses to pull her bangs out of the way, “They cut it during surgery. I figured it was time for a change.”

“But…” Shiyeon frowned, reminiscing back to all the colors that her hair had gone through, never black. Her natural shade hadn’t even been so dark, it was a deep coffee brown. Her thoughts were cut short as Saebyul scooped out the porridge, setting it on a tray carefully before leaving it on Shiyeon’s lap. The raven haired girl glanced briefly at the clock then gave a small smirk, “Eat up, you’ll need the energy.”

That was more like it, the sarcastic undertone she always bore.

Chuckling slightly, the brunette gingerly picked up the spoon, finding that movement didn’t cause more than a tingle. In fact, she was rather numb; painkillers, most likely.

“Don’t burn yourself, it’s hot.”

“Thanks, I so didn’t know that,” Shiyeon snickered, shoving a spoonful in , “why is this spicy?”

Saebyul raised a brow, shaking her head with a sigh, “You just burned yourself, stupid. You’re high on morphine so you can’t feel it.”

The brunette stared at the bowl for several seconds.

“I couldn’t taste it, Byul. What is life without food and its wondrous flavors.”

Saebyul laughed.

You’ve got a call! Answer the call! Answer the ing call!

Groaning, Shiyeon groggily slapped her hands over her bedside table, groping aimlessly for her phone. After she’d slowly eaten the bowl of porridge and she had (unwillingly) taken another painkiller, sleep consumed her quickly and Saebyul left her to rest. The brunette squinted at her phone, frowning as she registered the ID and time. It had only been an hour after she fell asleep.

“What is it?” she answered hesitantly, “Kim Jongin.”

“Is Byul with you?”

Shiyeon furrowed her brows at his breathless voice, panting heavily through the speaker, “No…what’s up with you, running from the Grim Reaper?”

Kai cursed loudly, yelling something incoherent to what seemed to be other people in the background, “No, no, Yeon, do you know what Byul is? Anything, call her, bang on her room door, call her family, anything is fine—oh hell, call the goddamn police, I—“

“Why? What’s going on? Did Byul—“ Shiyeon paused, frantic concern fading into a heart-stopping fear, “—she found out. She knows who’s behind all this.”

“We’re looking for the Grim Reaper, Yeon, and we’re running out of time.”

idk how i even found time to write this but here you go
i wanted to write so much that i beared my headache and stomped through ap homework
fck i hate school /uglycrying