"Souls."
The first time he heard it, Kihwa genuinely thought somebody else was in the house with him. The shock of it caused him to drop his coffee cop, shattering it across the kitchen tile. With his heart leaping hard in his throat, he turned around. Nobody else was in the house with him. It was just Kihwa. Scared, his hand shook as he reached for the broom. Clean it up. If he focused on the task at hand, he wouldn't be so terrified of silly voices. In his head.
But as the day went on, it got worse. Kihwa went outside, in the garden, thinking that the fresh air would help. But it was so cold and foggy out that he had to wrap himself up in a thick blanket as he sat on the balcony and looked out over the backyard. His toes curled inward. He took a sip of coffee. He'd made another cup after throwing the last one all over the kitchen.
The voices came and went but they began to echo louder in his head. They echoed and bounced until he could hardly think anything for himself. When he went back inside, he left the door open, letting some of that insidious fog inside to follow him.
By the time he called Soo Hyun, he could feel it, threatening him. But the more he talked to Soo Hyun, the more he could feel its hold on him solidify. He closed his eyes as Soo Hyun left. But he hadn't left. He was at the door. Kihwa slowly got up from where he'd been sitting with his back against the kitchen cabinets. Sching. The sound of metal against tile, brief but dangerous. He held the knife tightly in his right hand, readying it.
There were already marks on the human body he'd taken over, curious about how easy it would be to rend their flesh. Using the human's voice and the human's smile, he spread his arms out wide as the human's lover stumbled in.
"Soo Hyun-ah," he said, in the cutest pout he could manage. "You took so long. I thought you were going to leave me all alone here..."
The first time he heard it, Kihwa genuinely thought somebody else was in the house with him. The shock of it caused him to drop his coffee cop, shattering it across the kitchen tile. With his heart leaping hard in his throat, he turned around. Nobody else was in the house with him. It was just Kihwa. Scared, his hand shook as he reached for the broom. Clean it up. If he focused on the task at hand, he wouldn't be so terrified of silly voices. In his head.
But as the day went on, it got worse. Kihwa went outside, in the garden, thinking that the fresh air would help. But it was so cold and foggy out that he had to wrap himself up in a thick blanket as he sat on the balcony and looked out over the backyard. His toes curled inward. He took a sip of coffee. He'd made another cup after throwing the last one all over the kitchen.
The voices came and went but they began to echo louder in his head. They echoed and bounced until he could hardly think anything for himself. When he went back inside, he left the door open, letting some of that insidious fog inside to follow him.
By the time he called Soo Hyun, he could feel it, threatening him. But the more he talked to Soo Hyun, the more he could feel its hold on him solidify. He closed his eyes as Soo Hyun left. But he hadn't left. He was at the door. Kihwa slowly got up from where he'd been sitting with his back against the kitchen cabinets. Sching. The sound of metal against tile, brief but dangerous. He held the knife tightly in his right hand, readying it.
There were already marks on the human body he'd taken over, curious about how easy it would be to rend their flesh. Using the human's voice and the human's smile, he spread his arms out wide as the human's lover stumbled in.
"Soo Hyun-ah," he said, in the cutest pout he could manage. "You took so long. I thought you were going to leave me all alone here..."