Chapter Text
[Day ?]
It's pitch black...
Or rather, I cannot see anything. My eyes are open, yet the darkness remains.
I'm unable to control my body, I can't even tell if I'm breathing.
The only sensation that I have is my hearing.
I can hear two people talking to each other, but I don't understand what they're saying. They continue to speak to each other, but I still can't make out what they're saying.
The sound of bubbles begins to echo the voices out, clogging my ears with anything useful for me to perceive.
The world goes quiet.
[Day ?]
A cold light flickers gently in the darkness.
It's almost captivating how I'm drawn to escaping this darkness.
My eyes open, but this time, I see a man standing in front of me. He looked exhausted with messy hair, an unclean shave, and bags under his eyes from more than likely days without sleep.
The man is looking at me with a stern look, his mouth moving. Unlike before, I can't hear what he's saying.
For a moment, I look around to see bizarre contraptions around me. Machines and cables that clogged the room around me are connected to something under me. Despite that, I'm unable to move my head to see what's going on.
Another person walks up—a man in a white tailed lab coat. He had long grayish-blue hair tied in a braid. He turns to me as I stare into his golden eyes. He says something to me, but I can't make it out.
The darkness engulfs me.
[Day ?]
My body feels light, almost like I'm floating in mid-air.
I can feel myself relax in this stagnant feeling, unable to do anything else.
Moving my body is so easy, but before I realize it, I can feel something touching my hand.
It's tough and won't budge at all. Before I realized it, I could tell that I was surrounded all over. No matter how much I moved, I was trapped.
It was almost like I was encased in some kind of prison that restricted me from moving. That feeling is enough to make me gasp for air.
That's when I started to touch my body, feeling the rough sensation of my flesh, covered in some wrinkles.
The sensation disappears almost instantly, and I can't move anymore.
[Day ?]
It's sweet.
Something is shoved into my mouth. I can't really describe the taste aside from that taste.
It's salty.
Two minutes later, something else enters my mouth. It's weird that my mind can tell these things apart.
It's bitter.
I don't really mind it.
It's spicy.
Managable...
I can't taste anything anymore.
[Day ?]
Soft... I'm resting my head on something soft. It feels almost entirely foreign to me that I slowly open my eyes.
I'm in my bedroom, the same room that I've lived in for the past twenty years of my life.
I turn to the window and am forced to squint at the light shining through. Pulling the covers off me, I stand up, only for the weight to be too much for me as I flop to the ground.
It doesn't hurt, but it surprised me that I would simply fall like this so easily.
It takes me a few minutes to pull myself up and regain my balance. Turning to the window, I slowly take one step after another until I open the curtains to find where that light was coming from.
There's a full moon tonight, and it shines over my hometown of Busan. Despite seeing this sight a million times, it still leaves me with bated breath.
I could see the ocean reflect the moonlight as I found myself oddly attracted to the gleam for some reason.
There is a knock at the door, catching my eye.
"Excuse me, Mr. Song... Is everything alright? I heard sounds."
"Don't worry. I just tripped a little, is all. There's nothing to worry about."
"That's good to hear."
The person standing towards the entrance of the bedroom was one of the servants in the house. His name was... Chan-woo.
I've never seen his face since he wore a mask to cover it. He has two brothers, all of whom are triplets and work at the manor. Fortunately, I can differentiate them from their voices, so it does help a lot.
Still, I find it weird when they cover their faces like this. Each of them gave me some odd feelings in my stomach that made me uncomfortable to the very core. No matter how much they helped out with tasks like cleaning or other household chores, I still can't get comfortable with their presence.
It's almost like they're staring at me, assessing me. I can't help but do the same to them. They all seem very familiar to me, but they've been in my life for as long as I remember...
"Still. Is there anything to your discomfort?"
"Nothing comes to mind. Maybe I'm still tired from today. I feel like I should get some sleep."
"If that is what you like. If there's anything wrong, please feel free to call me. I'm here to make sure you're comfortable."
"Right... I will. Good night, Chan-woo..."
"Good night, Mr. Song."
Chan-woo closes the door behind him, leaving me by my lonesome. Thankfully, he went quickly, leaving me alone. For a moment, I just stood there and took everything.
However, it doesn't take long for a wave of exhaustion to wash over me. I plopped on my bed and struggled to keep my consciousness up. Before it claimed me, I could feel the back of my hand burn a little. It wasn't enough for me to stay awake.
"What the heck are these..."
I could barely stay conscious as I looked at them to see red markings on the back of my hand. I don't remember having these, yet they look normal to me, almost like I was always supposed to have them. Did I get tattoos before, and I just can't remember?
But before I could continue, my eyes closed, and the world became dark once more.