Chanmi was located in the underground. With frightened eyes, she looked around her, where twilight reigned. Apart from her, there was no one else around. There were disturbing clatters, as well as other sounds coming from the corridors.
She had no idea what she was doing there. Why did she wake up in such a strange, scary place?
Moving barefoot, in the pajamas she had fallen asleep in, she walked ahead, wanting to find the exit at all costs. Fear overpowered her body, causing her to strenuously restrain herself from crying.
Had she been kidnapped in her sleep?
She opened the first door that appeared to her eyes. She cautiously stepped inside and held her breath. Her feet pressed against the ground. She had never seen anything like this in her life! In front of her was a satanic altar, and right in front of it was a giant statue of the devil!
The girl took two steps back, feeling that she began to get weak.
- Bow down to your master. - She heard from the depths of the room.
Her breathing sped up as she looked in that direction. She saw a man whose posture expressed arrogance.
- Take a bow! - This time he yelled, making her twitch in fear.
- Why should I do that? - She asked in a low voice.
- Because our master will soon take you to his kingdom. Your soul is his.
Chanmi seemed to have her feet stuck to the ground. She couldn't move. She simply stared at the man, meanwhile glancing at the devil statue. She tried to understand the words she had just heard.
- Why should my soul belong to him? - Once again she asked in a weak voice. She then saw a sultry smile on the face of the terrifying man.
- Because you were sacrificed twenty years ago.
She woke up, terrified as never before. Her heart was beating so hard that at the first moment she thought it would leave shortly.
It was the middle of the night, and with wide-open eyes, she stared at a single point, breathing loudly.
What was that? It wasn't a dream, it wasn't even a nightmare, but something so realistic that it seemed to her as if her soul were actually in that place.
She looked to the side as she got the impression that the curtain had moved, even though the window was closed.
Was this a sign that something bad was waiting for her? A warning for her to be careful with the next few days?
She rose from the bed and left the bedroom. She walked into the living room connected to the kitchenette. Her friend was asleep, and Chanmi felt she wouldn't get another wink of sleep that night, so she poured herself a glass of milk and sat down on the couch.
She stared at the turned-off TV, all the while sipping her milk. The hand in which she held the glass was still trembling.
She once again felt anxious when the lights went out. She looked around the room, and her body was covered with goosebumps.
- Soon you will be mine, Chanmi. - She heard a whisper near her ear. A shriek escaped from her lips. She let out a glass of milk from her hand, which shattered on the floor.
The redhead sprang to her feet, looking with terrified eyes at Jisoo, who emerged from her room drowsy.
- What are you doing in the middle of the night? - She asked, rubbing her eyes.
- Jisoo, I feel that something is wrong. I think I'm about to die....
These words clearly worried her friend. She walked over to Chanmi and grabbed her by the shoulders, putting her face-to-face.
- What the hell are you talking about?
- The devil, he will come for me. He is already here. He's waiting for me - Chanmi said in a whisper. Her pale face and vacant eyes were scary enough for Jisoo, so she was clearly worried when the redhead unexpectedly fainted in her arms.
- Chanmi, hey, wake up! - Crouching on the floor with her, she tried to revive her. She had no doubt that something bad was happening to her friend.
*
After a panicked Jisoo called Jin, telling him to come see his sister in the morning, the redhead herself didn't quite know what had happened during the night. All the questions from her brother, the concerned gaze of her friend, who insisted that she looked like a human wreck a few hours ago and spoke of death, led to her having to leave the apartment as she began to suffocate. She needed to get some fresh air and arrange her thoughts.
She closed the door behind her, and Jisoo looked with worried eyes at her beloved.
- I was really horrified when I came out of my room in the middle of the night and saw her in such a state. Now she won't admit it, she'll keep repeating that she's fine, but a few hours earlier she was so scared that she fainted in my arms.
- So she concluded that she would soon die because the devil would come for her? - Jin furrowed his brow, wondering if it was stress that caused his sister to have such realistic nightmares.
- Yes. Her gaze was frantic. She said something about him already being here and waiting for her.
The young man rubbed his forehead, beginning to worry about Chanmi.
- I'm not a doctor, but if this starts happening again, we'll have to react. Let's hope this is just a one-time action and Chanmi will recover. She's been through too much lately, that's why. We need to keep an eye on her.
- So how much longer are you going to sit in the family home? We need you, Jin. Your sister requires you.
- My mother has already stopped watching me, so I plan to leave home soon - he announced, stroking Jisoo's cheek with his hand. - Everything will be fine. We will get through this.
The girl hugged him, resting her head on his shoulder.
- I wish I could be of good cheer, but I have a bad feeling. I'm afraid that our end will not have a happy ending.
Seokjin moved away from the girl, and she looked at him with a sad gaze.
- Why do you say that?
- Your mother is a powerful person. You know very well that she will find you, even if you move out secretly and leave the company. You are her son, the apple of her eye. She will get mad if she finds out that you are protecting me and Chanmi.
- So you'd rather I stay in the family home? After all, that's not what you wanted all along.
Jisoo shook her head.
- No. I don't want you to stay in the family home. I'm glad that you made such a decision to be with me and Chanmi, but I can't hide the fact that I'm getting more and more afraid of your mother and what awaits us.
- So you have to stop, Jisoo. It's fear that makes us weak. We will have to fight to have a happy ending.
- But your mother is crazy. We both know what she did to Chansung and his family.
- Do you think I would risk being with you if I wasn't going to protect you? You are everything to me, Jisoo, remember that. And I will never let a hair fall from your head - he declared.
A smile appeared on her face. She cuddled into him even more than last time.
*
Jungkook looked surprised when he saw Chanmi after opening the door. The girl walked inside without invitation, passing under his arm.
- I didn't come to see you, I came to see Chansung - she announced, pulling off her shoes in the hallway.
The boy shrugged his shoulders, though his lips stretched into a smile.
- Now, do you have an excuse to visit me or not? - He asked without any embarrassment. The redhead snorted under her breath as she stopped in front of the stairs and turned to face him.
- Just because you saved my life didn't make me fall madly in love with you.
- It is surprising that you just thought of that. I wouldn't dare presume so, Chanmi said. - He loved to tease her. He loved the feeling when she looked at him with furious eyes. She was incredibly feisty and sweet then. - Before you go to my brother, I just want to let you know that the other day, when I rescued you from under the wheels of a car, I scheduled an appointment in the neighborhood with your sister.
The girl furrowed her eyebrows.
- Why did you go out with her? - She asked, walking up to him. She lifted her face and looked into his eyes. - Did you find a way to hurt her?
- Don't tell me that you are still worried about her. She wants your death, and you want to protect her. You are so naive Chanmi, I feel like locking you in a room and never letting you out.
The redhead was indignant as he grabbed her around the waist and pressed her against him. She measured his face with furious eyes, repeating that he should let her go.
- I would rather not protect her, not after what I heard from Chansung, but I can't allow my friend to become your accomplice in the murder of my family," she announced.
Jungkook smiled broadly.
- I like that sentence. That is, you won't be sorry if they die, but at this point you only care about protecting Chansung. - The brunet looked ahead and nodded. - No worries, pearl, if I finish off your mommy and little sister, my brother will have nothing to do with it.
- Have you been this crazy since you were born? This is how you intend to destroy the rest of your life? There is another way to punish my family. Revenge is not about becoming a murderer.
The boy pretended to be surprised.
- But you are sexy when you try to sound smart. - Chanmi once again tried to extricate herself from the embrace of this madman, but he wouldn't let up. - The other day, when I rescued you, your sister saw us. I met with her to get information from her. In a rage, she chimed in that I should give you a break and return to her because you would soon die.
The blood drained from her face. Her body became motionless as she stopped jerking in his embrace.
- What - she mouthed.
- I don't know what exactly she meant, but her sneer drove me crazy. She wasn't even bothered by the fact that she had talked herself out of it.
- It must have something to do with the subject of the contract she was referring to when they left me in the burning building - spoke up Chansung, who appeared halfway up the stairs. - One thing I am sure of, you are in danger from them, Chanmi.
The redhead turned even paler as she recalled the nightmare she had tonight. Her knees buckled under her, and she would have fallen if Jungkook had not continued to embrace her.
- What is it? - He asked, looking at her with a caring gaze. She lifted her face and looked into his eyes.
- The contract... - she whispered. - At night I had a strange, frightening dream. No, it wasn't a dream. It was real. I was sacrificed.
- What?
- The devil, he is indeed waiting for me. - She looked in the direction of her friend. - I came here because I wanted to talk to you about it, Chansung said.
Jungkook released her from his embrace, and she took a few steps back and leaned with her back against the wall.
- Have you been sacrificed to the devil? - repeated Chansung, coming downstairs. He stood in front of his friend and looked back to face his brother as he spoke.
- It sounds absurd, but can't you put it all together? - They both looked at Jungkook with concerned eyes. - This is what Jieun had been referring to all along. Her family is waiting for the day in the contract, the day Chanmi dies.
- I was sacrificed twenty years ago.... - added the redhead in a whisper.
- It could have been just an ordinary nightmare, what are you talking about? - Chansung didn't want to believe it, but his body was covered with goosebumps.
- If Chanmi really was sacrificed twenty years ago, there must be a reason for it, Jungkook stated.
- Something for something - interjected the burnt boy. - We need to know the truth.
- So do you believe me? - Chanmi looked confused.
- I've been through so much in my life that I'll believe anything anymore. He, too - Chansung announced, nodding at his brother. - From now on you will be under our constant care.
The girl shifted her gaze and looked Jungkook in the eye. He nodded in response, and a slight smile appeared on his face.
The time had finally come when she should give him a chance and trust him, if she wanted to survive this clash?