The cold night air moved slowly through the empty streets as Kim Do-Yoon and Park Min-Jae stood under a dim streetlight.
Min-Jae looked at Do-Yoon and asked, "So bro… now what?"
Do-Yoon stayed silent for a moment.
Then casually, with a straight face, he said, "Now… let's go spend two hours wasting our time."
Min-Jae blinked.
"…That's your plan?"
"Yep."
Min-Jae sighed. "You know what? I expected nothing better."
"Same," Do-Yoon replied.
And just like that, the two began walking.
At first, everything felt normal.
They walked side by side, looking around carefully. Every shadow, every movement, every sound made them alert.
"Bro… this feels like a horror movie," Min-Jae whispered.
"Yeah," Do-Yoon said. "And we are the unlucky characters."
They kept walking.
Ten minutes passed.
Then thirty.
Then one hour.
Nothing.
"Bro… I think your man retired," Min-Jae said.
"Shut up," Do-Yoon replied. "Just keep looking."
They continued.
After three hours—
Both of them stopped.
Do-Yoon bent slightly, holding his knees.
"…I feel like I'm dying," he said.
Min-Jae leaned against a wall. "Inside… I'm already dead."
Their legs were heavy. Their eyes were tired. Their bodies were screaming for rest.
But they tried to act normal.
"Let's just… act like we're not dying," Do-Yoon said.
"Yeah," Min-Jae nodded. "Totally not dying."
They took one step forward—
"…Bro, I'm dying," Min-Jae said.
"Same," Do-Yoon replied.
They both stood there, breathing heavily.
Then suddenly—
Do-Yoon's eyes narrowed.
"…Did you see that?"
Min-Jae looked up. "What?"
"There," Do-Yoon pointed.
A shadow moved in the distance.
Both of them slowly turned their heads toward each other.
No jokes.
No smiles.
Only serious faces.
"…Let's go," Do-Yoon said.
Min-Jae nodded.
They followed the shadow carefully, step by step, trying not to make any noise.
Their hearts started beating faster.
This was it.
Finally—
They reached the corner.
Do-Yoon slowly looked ahead.
Min-Jae leaned beside him.
And then—
They saw it.
A small… black cat.
"…Bro," Min-Jae said.
"…Yeah," Do-Yoon replied.
The cat looked at them for a second… then walked away.
Silence.
Both of them slowly looked at each other.
"…We're idiots," Min-Jae said.
"Big ones," Do-Yoon agreed.
One and a half hours later—
Now it was worse.
They were not just tired.
They felt like their bodies were breaking.
"Bro… I can't feel my legs," Min-Jae said.
"I can't feel my soul," Do-Yoon replied.
Their movements became slow and heavy.
Every step felt painful.
A cold wind blew.
Do-Yoon looked around.
"…Wait."
Min-Jae looked up. "What?"
"…It's midnight."
Both of them froze.
The atmosphere changed.
The air became colder.
The silence became deeper.
"…Why does it suddenly feel scary?" Min-Jae whispered.
Do-Yoon swallowed. "Because something is wrong."
They stood close to each other.
For the first time—
They were actually afraid.
"Bro…" Min-Jae said softly. "Maybe we should go back."
Do-Yoon stayed silent.
"…Yeah," he finally said. "Let's—"
He stopped.
His body froze.
Min-Jae noticed. "…Bro?"
Do-Yoon slowly raised his hand and pointed forward.
"…He's there."
Min-Jae turned his head.
And then—
They both saw him.
The man.
Standing under the darkness.
Not moving.
Just… watching them.
"…Run," Min-Jae whispered.
But this time—
They didn't run away.
They ran toward him.
"HEY!" Do-Yoon shouted.
They rushed forward—
But in the next second—
The man disappeared.
Both of them stopped.
"…Where did he go?" Min-Jae said.
Do-Yoon's breathing became fast.
"…Behind us."
Min-Jae's eyes widened.
Slowly—
They turned around.
And what they saw—
Was not human.
The man stood there.
But he looked… wrong.
Dark liquid dripped from his body.
His posture was twisted.
And his face—
A broken, unnatural smile stretched across it.
Not normal.
Not human.
Not alive.
It felt cursed.
Completely twisted.
Min-Jae stepped back. "Bro… what is that…?"
Do-Yoon couldn't speak.
His body froze.
His mind stopped working.
That smile—
It was too much.
Too wrong.
Too terrifying.
The happy, lazy, joking Do-Yoon—
Was gone.
Only fear remained.
Pure fear.
Then—
Do-Yoon slowly turned his head.
"Min-Jae…" he whispered.
But what he saw—
Was not Min-Jae.
The body was there.
Same clothes.
Same height.
But the face—
There was no face.
Nothing.
Just emptiness.
"…"
Do-Yoon's breathing stopped.
Behind that faceless figure—
Multiple eyes opened.
Watching him.
All of them.
Staring directly into him.
"…No…"
His legs shook.
His vision blurred.
His mind broke.
"I don't want this…"
He stepped back.
"I don't want this…"
Tears filled his eyes.
"Please… stop…"
The eyes kept staring.
The smile of the man widened.
The world twisted.
Do-Yoon fell to his knees.
At that moment—
He didn't want to survive.
He didn't want answers.
He didn't want anything.
He just wanted it to end.
"…Someone… help me…"
But no one came.
Somehow—
He endured.
Barely.
His body shook uncontrollably.
His mind was on the edge of breaking.
But he didn't completely lose himself.
Not yet.
Morning Again
"Oppa! Wake up!"
Do-Yoon opened his eyes.
But this time—
It was different.
He couldn't move.
His body felt heavy.
His breathing was unstable.
His sister stood beside him. "Oppa? What's wrong with you?"
Do-Yoon tried to stand—
But his legs gave up.
He fell back onto the bed.
His sister panicked. "Oppa?!"
Do-Yoon's eyes slowly opened wider.
His pupils—
Were completely dark.
Empty.
Broken.
He stared at nothing.
His voice came out weak.
"…It wasn't a dream…"
His hands trembled.
His whole body shook.
The fear—
Was still there.
It didn't go away.
It stayed with him.
Deep inside.
Destroying him.
The morning felt different.
Very different.
For the first time ever—
Kim Do-Yoon reached school early.
Very early.
The school gate was still quiet when he walked in. A few students were just arriving, and when they saw him, they froze.
"…Is that Do-Yoon?""Bro came early?""Did the world end?"
Whispers spread quickly.
Do-Yoon walked past them with a calm face, but inside… he was not calm at all.
His eyes looked dull.
His movements were slow.
Someone suddenly called out, "Hey, Do-Yoon! Why are you so early today?"
Do-Yoon stopped for a second.
Then he scratched his head and gave a small fake smile. "Ah… I just woke up early today."
"YOU? Woke up early?" one student laughed.
"Yeah, right," another said.
Do-Yoon didn't reply.
He just walked away and entered his classroom.
He sat on his seat quietly and looked outside the window.
The sunlight came in… but it didn't feel warm.
Nothing felt normal anymore.
Classes started.
Teachers came and went.
Students talked, laughed, joked.
Everything was normal.
But Do-Yoon…
Was not.
He couldn't focus.
Every small sound made him feel uneasy.
Every shadow made his heart beat faster.
That twisted smile…
Those eyes…
They kept coming back in his mind.
"…It wasn't a dream," he whispered to himself.
Finally, lunch break came.
The classroom became noisy again.
And right on time—
Park Min-Jae walked in and sat beside him.
"Bro," Min-Jae said, looking serious. "Where were you last night?"
Do-Yoon froze for a moment.
"…What?" he replied.
"I was waiting," Min-Jae said. "You said we'll meet, but you didn't come."
Do-Yoon looked at him.
"…You weren't there either," he said calmly.
Min-Jae frowned. "What are you talking about? I went."
"No, you didn't," Do-Yoon replied.
Both stared at each other.
A strange silence filled the air.
Min-Jae scratched his head. "Bro… that's weird."
"Yeah," Do-Yoon said.
He didn't say anything more.
He didn't talk about the man.
He didn't talk about the illusion.
He didn't talk about what he saw.
He just stayed quiet.
Min-Jae looked closer at him.
"…Bro."
"What?"
"…Your face looks bad."
Do-Yoon blinked. "Huh?"
"You look tired," Min-Jae said. "Like you didn't sleep at all."
Do-Yoon quickly looked away. "It's nothing."
Min-Jae narrowed his eyes. "Are you sure?"
"Yeah."
A few seconds passed.
Then Min-Jae asked again, "Bro… seriously, what happened?"
Do-Yoon forced a small smile. "I just couldn't sleep well. That's all."
Min-Jae didn't look fully convinced.
But he didn't push more.
"…Okay," he said.
After school ended, students started going home.
Min-Jae waved. "See you tomorrow, bro."
"Yeah," Do-Yoon replied.
But instead of going home—
Do-Yoon turned in another direction.
The library.
The school library was quiet.
Too quiet.
Rows and rows of books filled the room.
Do-Yoon walked slowly between the shelves.
"…Maybe I just need to relax," he muttered.
He scratched his head. "Yeah… a comic book should help."
He started searching.
One shelf.
Then another.
Then another.
He picked up a few books.
Looked at the covers.
Put them back.
"…Boring."
He sighed.
"Why are all these so boring?"
He kept walking.
Searching.
Looking.
But nothing felt interesting.
Nothing caught his attention.
After some time, he leaned against a shelf.
"…Maybe I should just go home."
He turned around—
But then something caught his eye.
A small gap between two shelves.
Hidden.
Hard to notice.
"…What's that?"
He stepped closer.
There was a bookshelf behind the main one.
Covered.
Almost invisible.
And it was full of old books.
Very old.
Do-Yoon felt something strange.
"…Why is this here?"
Slowly, he moved the books in front.
Dust fell down.
The air felt heavier.
He coughed. "Ugh…"
But he didn't stop.
Something was pulling him.
Something was calling him.
From inside.
He reached his hand in—
And touched something.
A book.
Different from the others.
It was darker.
Older.
And colder.
Do-Yoon slowly pulled it out.
Dust covered the cover.
There was no clear title.
Just strange marks.
"…What is this?" he whispered.
The moment he held it—
A strange feeling ran through his body.
Like something had just noticed him.
Watching.
Waiting.
Do-Yoon stared at the book.
His heartbeat slowly increased.
"…Why do I feel like… I shouldn't open this?"
But at the same time—
He didn't want to let it go.
His fingers tightened around it.
The library was silent.
Too silent.
Almost like the world itself had stopped.
Do-Yoon swallowed.
"…Just one look."
He slowly opened the book.
And at that moment—
Something began.