She kicked stones on the path dejectedly. Who the hell were those guys? And why was she even in Korea? She wasn’t even sure where she was from, but nothing about this place seemed familiar in the slightest.

She’d walked down countless streets and through too many alleyways to even find her way back to where she was 5 minutes ago. Her legs were cramping and she had no idea where she was trying to go. She eventually found a playground and sat on the swing, hunger and fatigue nagging at any positivity she could have had. As if the situation wanted to prove it wasn’t the worst it could be, fat drops of rain began to fall at a rapidly increasing pace. By the time she managed to slip under the covered part at the top of the climbing tower, her thin shirt was soaked all the way through. She shivered and pulled herself into a sitting position, only to lose control of her limbs. Panicking, she noticed her eyes drifting shut as she lost consciousness again.

* * *

“I’m looking for her.” Suho jumped up and shrugged on his coat. “Anyone else going to help?”

One by one the other boys got up and followed suit, all looking worried.

“Kyungsoo, you stay here and cook something so we have something warm to eat when we get back.” Suho ordered. Kyungsoo nodded and made his way to the kitchen.

“Chen aren’t you coming?”

“To find the sasaeng on the chance she’s not one?”

“Chen.”

“Fine. Whatever.” Chen got up and joined in the plan. They all knew the area well and were assigned to search different streets.

“If anyone finds her, call me immediately and bring her back here. Ok?” Suho was answered in multiple nods and grunts of agreement.

* * *

The rain was falling so hard the sound was deafening under the umbrella. Chen’s hands had already become numb with cold and there had been no call from Suho to stop searching.

I was right, he thought. He had reached the end of his searching zone and was about to turn back when he saw a small figure curled up underneath the dome of the climbing tower. It was little lower than his head height, and he made his way across the playground until he was only a few meters away. He opened his mouth to call out and berate her for being so stupid, when he noticed that her body was shaking and looked strangely frayed around the edges.

After a minute of just standing and looking bewildered, he slowly edged closer, his footsteps hesitant. As he reached the tower, he could see more clearly the way she seemed to be evaporating and losing form. He reached out to touch her. As his fingers touched her fading ones, his eyes widened. Her strange mirage-like hand was regaining its form along with the rest of her. Her fingers intertwined with his and before he knew what was happening her lips were locked onto his. Her eyes were filled with a strange light and her body was more like a silky haze than flesh and bones. Only a few moments later, she fell back as a solid mass with a great thud.