Pain.

Pain in my neck.

And I mean it literally.

"Hyung, is she okay?" I heard someone ask. It sounded so far, far, far away.

I was trapped somewhere dark, so dark that if I didn't feel myself blinking, I wouldn't be able to tell the difference. I could lift my limbs about me but it took a great amount of effort and quite frankly, I don't want to move at all. Not with this bothersome creak on my neck.

"I swear to god I didn't touch her!" The voice sounded again. It was still distant but I can somehow tell who the voice belonged to. The voice made my head throb harder and faster. I hadn't realized that it was pulsating but with the waves of voices ringing around me it only grew worse.

The muscles on my face twitched as spasms of pain erupted at the back of my head, and I could only imagine the scowl on my face. Now, who hit me? Kyungsoo? Come to think of it, he was the last one I saw before I was sent to this pain-filled darkness. Him and Jongin…

Jongin.

One moment I feel the ground shaking and the next I see him surrounded by black smoke. How in the world did he appear inside my apartment like that? How did he appear before Kyungsoo and disappear right before my eyes? How did - owww.

I can see flashes of white as pain furiously danced across my nape. An annoying buzz made my headache worsen and I just wanted to rip out my hair. I tried to clench my jaws and fists shut tight but they were shaking too much. The control I had over my body was gone and I just felt like I was going to be ripped apart by this, this pain, this buzzing, this.... whispering?

Stop. Please, someone make it stop. I beg of you. Whoever is responsible for this, stop, stop, stop.

"Find me."

Despite the burning sensation that had enveloped my body, a cold shudder ran down my spine.

"Find me, Yoon Jin Hee."

The whispering ceased until I could clearly hear every single syllable of the phrase I have come to dread every time I closed my eyes.

Usually it sounded miles away. But this time... Another shudder.

"Find me," it hissed. Pain began to subside until it was focused in one tiny spot of my nape. I heard it sizzle, that one spot, on my tender skin. It felt as if a branding iron was pressed up against my nape, digging all the way down to my flesh and bones.

"Find me, Yoon Jin Hee."

Images lit up the dark space I was floating in. They were fragments of my parent's faces, my grandmama's horse paddocks, her sweet smile... I felt my heart twinge as I willed myself to touch the pieces of my past life, the happy times.

I flinched when my fingers made contact with the image in front of me and from its luminescence, I saw blood run down the picture. As quickly as the images of my family appeared the images changed. This time the pictures in each fragmented frames were moving... and bleeding. I heard horrified screams and pleas for help. Buildings were collapsing, flames were erupting, the ground was shaking.

My nape began to hurt again and blood rushed to my head until I felt nauseous and the pictures blurred. The people... The city... The world was dying and they were all calling out for me, reaching out their hands in front of them... towards me.

"Find me, Yoon Jin Hee."

No. No. No. Please stop! Please, I begged.

The hands they were now only a millimeter away from my body and from my face. They were surrounding me. Their cries, their pleas, and the hushed whispers of the unknown filled my being.

No! Jongin! Help me!

"ert Soo! Please! No! Get them away from me!"

I felt a hand touch me and my panic only grew worse. I tried shoving it away, but it held on. I shook my arm to get it to loosen its hold but it only held on tighter.

"Jin Hee! It's alright! You're okay, you're okay."

I froze. In the midst of these horrendous cries I can hear a familiar melodious voice. Please... save me.

"You're alright, okay? Please open your eyes," he begged.

ert Soo...

"Jin Hee? Can you hear me? Please try to open your eyes. You're just having a nightmare."

The images started to disappear along with the cries. I realize the whispering had stopped when ert Soo first spoke to me. But a rock, a glowing rock, replaced the horror. What is this?

"I don't know if you can feel me, but try to grab on my energy, alright?"

His... energy?

"Please Jin Hee. I'll help you fight the darkness, okay? Trust me, please."

"Hyung, I don't think it's working! Her heart beat's slowing down!"

My heart...beat?

"You can't escape your fate, Jin Hee."

The glowing rock disappeared.

I'm bathed in darkness once again.