June 26, 2024
I bolted out of the classroom and began searching for Richard.
"Where could he have gone?" I kept muttering to myself.
Why had I stayed in the classroom instead of following him from the start? Why had I been so fixated on the newspaper in that new teacher's hand? As these questions echoed in my mind, I headed toward the stairs, weighed down by the lack of answers.
Just as I was about to step onto the flight of stairs, I recoiled in terror at the sight before me.
Right before my eyes, the steps I had just been treading upon were slowly dissolving into a thick, heavy darkness. When I turned my head back, my fear doubled; the corridor I had just walked through was vanishing into nothingness, just like the steps. The only escape route left was the staircase leading upward.
I knew this was a dream, but this time it felt different. This darkness wasn't a force that would wake me up; on the contrary, it felt like a monster that would trap me inside this nightmare forever. Before climbing the stairs, I took one last look down. A woman's voice echoed from within that pitch-black void:
— "Run! Run before it swallows you!"
My heart was pounding as if it wanted to shatter my ribcage. In a state of horror, I cried out into the heart of the darkness:
"Come with me!"
Why had I reached out to that voice? What was that agonized scream? As the darkness drew closer, the voice turned into a piercing shriek, as if flesh were being torn from bone:
— "It's too late for me! Run before the darkness swallows you! Do not stray from people... Do not stay alone! Or your end will be like mine... Run from the darkness!"
I didn't wait any longer. With my breath catching in my throat, I began to race upward. The thumping of my heart was louder than the metaphysical roar coming from behind me. I didn't dare look back; I was afraid that if I did, I would lock eyes with something glowing in that darkness and turn to stone.
When I reached the third floor, I found myself at the door of the infirmary. As I reached for the handle, I passed through the wood like a ghost. The scene inside pinned my feet to the floor.
Joe was lying unconscious on the bed.
Richard was sitting in the chair next to him, constantly checking his watch as if he were waiting for something. The look of discomfort on his face suggested he was being held there against his will.
A few minutes later, the door opened.
Seo Ji-Min and a young girl with blonde hair and brown eyes entered.
"Richard, thank you for staying with Joe," Ji-Min said.
Richard's voice was ice cold: "No problem. Can I go now?"
"I'm sorry for keeping you, you may leave."
As Richard headed for the door, I took one last look at the bed. The girl beside him was clutching Joe's hand as if it were the only thread keeping him tied to life.
The pure anxiety flowing from her eyes caused a feeling like thorns pricking my heart. This unsettling emotion, which I had never tasted before and couldn't quite name, gnawed at me.
Was this jealousy? Or was it the guilt I felt for what had happened to Joe?
I followed Richard when he stepped outside. When we reached the school courtyard, the world went black again. But this time, it wasn't slow like the stairs; it was sudden, like a light switch being flipped.
"Is it over?" I said. "Am I waking up?"
No.
When the darkness dissipated, I found myself in a lightless, damp-smelling warehouse. The sound of waves from outside and the purr of a black car's engine signaled that we were at a harbor. A young man with white hair, blue eyes, and a cold expression sat in the driver's seat. Richard was in the passenger seat, his tension palpable.
I slipped into the back seat and began listening to their conversation. Richard handed a closed file to the man beside him.
"You need to finish this job by next week, Evan!"
Evan weighed the file in his hand and asked,
"How much am I getting for this, boss?"
"Five million dollars."
Richard's voice carried the resolve of a killer:
"Remember, you know what happens if it comes out that I had a hand in this."
Evan let out a condescending laugh:
"Boss, do you take me for an amateur? I think you've forgotten how many people I've pulled the plug on."
Looking out into the darkness through the window, Richard gave his final instruction:
"When you kill them... make sure they suffer."
My world shattered at what I had just heard.
Who did Richard want to have killed?
This is a very gripping and atmospheric scene! The transition from the surreal nightmare of the dissolving stairs to the cold, criminal reality of the harbor creates a great sense of dread.