Chapter 15
Pahhh…
Breathing out, I raised my head and stared into the mirror.
Water dripped off my chin. My reflection was pale and unfamiliar.
The back of my neck—red and swollen. I must’ve scratched it in my sleep.
Or maybe not.
I hated the sight of it. But I hated the idea of putting that scarf back on even more.
I threw another handful of water at my face and turned off the tap. Shaking the droplets from my hands, I used a wad of toilet paper to dry the rest, then stepped outside.
My breath puffed white into the cold air.
I was fully awake now, but I knew that warm bus would lull me back into sleep—and I wasn’t sure I could stomach another dream like that.
Should I get some coffee?
I turned toward the small convenience store beside the rest stop diner.
It had been quiet earlier, but now more people were milling about. Winter vacationers, probably. I slipped inside and went to the fridge.
I reached for a cold coffee, then hesitated.
Drinking something chilled on an empty stomach—bad idea.
Instead, I grabbed a warm, sweet canned coffee. It heated my fingers instantly. The warmth spread like relief.
I stepped into the shortest line.
It was still a bit crowded, but the register moved fast, and before long, it was my turn. I placed my coffee on the counter and unzipped my jacket to pull out some cash. The scanner beeped.
Then—
Bang.
A thud behind me. I froze.
As I fumbled to pull a 10,000-won note from an envelope, I heard the clerk murmur, “That’ll be 8,600 won.”
“I got this cof—”
“Here,” a voice cut in.
A hand reached past my shoulder and offered a card to the cashier.
My entire body jerked.
I turned—
and there he was.
Jin Eun-sol.
His expression was unreadable. His face somehow more lifeless than the overworked clerk’s.
Those dark eyes locked onto mine—calm, cold, detached.
I’d been holding my breath.
Only when he turned away did I breathe again—shallow and slow.
It felt like something in my neck had seized.
“Let’s go,” he said simply.
Let’s go?
He took the receipt and my coffee as if it was his, and started walking.
I stared at his back.
My body refused to move. My neck creaked as I turned it, like something rusted.
The dream surged back—
The collar.
The window.
The suffocating weight.
My hand shot to the back of my neck.
Still trembling.
Still there.
It had to be a dream. Again.
How terrified must I be of Jin Eun-sol, for my mind to summon him like this—even in sleep?
Yes. This was definitely a dream.
“Let’s go,” he said with a casual annoyance, glancing back.
That smile on his lips didn’t match the tension on his furrowed brow.
My entire body froze.
It felt like every drop of blood in me had turned to ice, draining out and leaving me hollow.
And yet—my legs moved.
Just like that.
Creaking forward, like a well-trained dog responding to its master.
As I approached him, his smile deepened.
I felt like I was going insane.
My scalp prickled violently, as if every hair were being ripped out one by one.
That laughter echoing in my ears—was it his?
The laughter that had filled the bus, just before everything blurred and fell apart?
Please… please let this all be just a dream.
But that expression… that strange, twisted smile—
It was unmistakably Jin Eun-sol.
“Ah… ugh, Eun-sol, that’s not—”
Words stumbled out. Excuses.
Why am I making excuses?
Why do I sound so small?
Fear toyed with my reason. And reason, cruelly, began to question fear.
Without a word, Jin Eun-sol cracked open the carbonated drink I had just bought.
Pssshhh.
The sharp hiss of escaping bubbles made me flinch. My shoulders jolted.
Cowardly.
He saw it. And smiled wider. That cruel, knowing twist of his lips.
My feet betrayed me—again. This time, taking a step back.
His face hardened in an instant. That crack on his smile—it was dangerous.
I shook my head violently.
Why should I go to you?
Why am I still pretending I have no choice?
I’m not a dog.
The moment that thought formed, I ran.
I bolted.
I didn’t look around. Didn’t care who I bumped into.
Jin Eun-sol had been holding the front door open—but I swerved, slipping out through the side door connected to the restaurant.
Shouts rang out behind me—angry voices from people I’d slammed into, doors swinging wildly.
No voice called out my name.
It wasn’t his voice.
When I looked back—nothing.
Just people. A crowd. No sign of Jin Eun-sol.
But the panic didn’t fade. It got worse.
Adrenaline surged.
My heart crashed against my ribs. My throat burned from the artificial heat I’d escaped. My head was spinning.
Then—
“Jang Hyun-ji!”
A voice. Not his. But still terrifying.
I turned my head.
The housekeeper. The driver.
From Eun sol’s parents’ house.
What—?
What is happening?
I reeled in confusion.
Then it was followed by more shoutings.
“Please hold that girl!”
“She’s a runaway!”
Heads turned.
Forks paused midair.
Chairs scraped back.
People were rising to their feet.
No!
I covered my ears.
“Hyun-ji! Hyun-ji!”
Stop calling me that!
“Someone catch that kid!”
I wanted to vanish. Melt into the floor.
But no—someone stepped in front of me.
Blocked my path.
I veered hard to the right—and ran again.
But then someone grabbed the padded hat from my head and yanked it off.
“Ugh!”
I screamed as I fell to the floor.
In an instant, a ring of people closed in around me.
What are you doing?
My breath came in sharp gasps—gasp, gasp…—as their faces loomed above me. Their eyes held pity, confusion… and judgment.
I shrank.
