" I love you!!" the girls scream, tears flowing from her eyes.
He turns away, ignoring her pleas.
"WAIT PLEASE" she rushes forth hand outstretched in desperation. Her fingers barely graze the material of his shirt before he turns abruptly jerking his arm away.
It stings the sensation on her left cheek. The force of it throws her to the floor with a pained gasp.
She looks up finding indifferent eyes watching her.
"I-I-" she mumbles struggling to find words.
He sneers as he speaks, "If I ever see you again, I will kill you".
Blood pools down from his eyes and mouth as his shaky hand reaches out to her.
She screams crawling back until she hits the wall behind her unable to move.
The hand come closer and closer, dread fills her stomach-
"STOP!!" She screams sitting up abruptly. Her heart is hammering in her chests. When she rubs her eyes tears are falling from them.
It was just another nightmare Da Hye, it's okay now. You're okay, she reassures herself taking slow breaths.
It takes her a moment to adjust to her settings, when she does she realizes it's still dark everywhere. Glancing at the clock on the wall it reads three AM.
The nightmare hadn't eased up even after three months.
Sighing she tugs the blanket off of her and leaves the bed. There's no way she'd be able to fall back asleep after that. The floor is cold under her feet and she shivers searching for her slippers.
Heading down the stairs to her living room she pulls the string under the lamp by the couch. This was her usual routine, come downstairs, sit down, sometimes even watch TV until sleep finally found its way to her.
Plopping onto the couch she grabs the remote and flips the TV on picking a random channel only half paying attention. Pulling out her phones she finds zero notifications (typical). Opening the contact list she scrolls to a familiar name.
"Seokjinnie🌹"
Would he be awake now? Probably not she sighs. Wouldn't hurt to try though.
To: Seokjinnie🌹
3:06AM
Thank you for the pastry earlier :)
From: Seokjinnie🌹
3:07AM
Anytime (｡◕‿◕｡)
Why aren't you asleep!?
To: Seokjinnie🌹
3:07AM
Couldn't sleep *-*
I could ask you the same thing! @-@
From: Seokjinnie🌹
3:07AM
I'm out with friends,
if you really can't sleep
try drinking a glass of milk!
To: Seokjinnie🌹
3:09AM
Ew I hate milk.
From: Seokjinnie🌹
3:09AM
Ლ(ಠ益ಠᲚ)
To: Seokjinnie🌹
3:09AM
(ಥ﹏ಥ)
She giggles feeling much better than before. Her phone buzzes with a reply but something flashes on the TV catching her attention.
"The unidentified body of the female that was discovered at Hybe Park last Sunday has been identified as Risa Kim. A 24-year-old college student. Her hands were tied behind her back and her throat had been slit.
Officers were at the scene earlier hoping to gather evidence.
This has been the fifth unsolved murder in a string of murders shocking our small town in the past year. There have been no reports of any leads that could potentially help us identify the perpetrator-"
A picture appears on the screen of the woman. She's young, too young.
A shiver rushes up her spine as she grabs for the remote and shuts off the TV. All sleep leaves her as she stares at her reflection on the blank screen.
She had heard about the murders when she first moved here. The killer was still at large.
Mr. Park had warned her about walking late at night as well, thankfully her neighborhood was secure. There were always neighborhood watchmen patrolling the streets so she felt a little better.
Maybe a snack would help her sleep. She's halfway to the kitchen when what sounds like something falling to the floor and shattering freezes her in her steps. It came from the front of the house. Her blood runs cold thinking about the news report from earlier.
Should she call Jin? Would he get here on time?
The silence is stifling, she should have left the TV on.
Tiptoeing towards the couch she takes off the lamp, everything goes dark and she slowly begins to approach the front door.
Her heart is racing and her hands are clammy as she reaches for the knob. Placing her hand on it she hesitates to turn it. She should call the cops, this is a terrible idea.
The moment she releases the knob a loud bang resonates through the door and she falls to the floor with a scream. Her heart nearly leaps from her chest as she backs away when another bang comes.
"Da Hye!!" Comes a familiar panicked voice "Are you okay?!"
She nearly cries from relief. Jumping to her feet she shakily opens the front door revealing a disheveled, pink-haired man. His eyes are puffy from sleep and there's worry etched into his brows.
"You scared me Hoseok!!" she half screams weakly.
Relief flushes his face, "Shit, I didn't mean to I was worried".
"Did you make that sound earlier?"
His expression morphs into a serious one "no, don't be alarmed but the reason I came running was because I saw a figure of a person rushing off your porch".
Her blood runs cold, what?
When she doesn't respond he sighs, "I could be wrong maybe it was just a shadow or an animal".
It does nothing to reassure her. She steps outside with him and finds one of her potted plants, the begonias, tipped over and scattered all over the porch. The pot is smashed.
She hopes it was an animal.
"I texted Jaebum to patrol the area, he's out there now looking around. Do you want me to stay with you tonight?".
She sighs trying to calm her breathing, "It's okay Hobi, I'll be alright" she smiles.
He looks skeptical but nods anyway, "if you need anything at all just call me okay?"
"Okay, thank you"
He smiles and turns walking away.
She's just about to head inside when she feels something grainy under her foot, glancing down she finds a small envelope resting on the floor.
She picks it up noticing the red wax seal with a tiny daisy pressed into it. Flipping it over she finds her name written in script. Walking back into the house she makes sure to locks the door before rushing up the stairs to the bedroom. Sitting on the bed she tears the envelope open, there's a faint floral scent that engulfs the letter inside and a dried rose along with it.
It reads:
Da Hye,
Bloomed in the garden of my heart
I present to you this rose
As vibrant as your beauty
As beautiful as your eyes
From the moment I first saw you, I knew
You and I are meant to be.
Until we meet
-your rose
Your rose? What the fuck??
Could it be? She eyes the letter suspiciously. That person who knocked down her plant left this letter.
A secret admirer?
Or perhaps the unnamed killer? She thinks anxiously.
No, it can't be! Maybe it's just some person with a crush. How would she reject this person? Did they even want a reply?
She decides not to ponder on it too much, placing the letter on her nightstand she tosses the rose in her trash can and huddles into her bed.
YOU ARE READING
The Red Cosmos
Детектив / ТриллерDesperate to escape her past, Da Hye settles in the small town of Cosmos where she meets and falls in love with Kim Seokjin, a pastry chef at the local bakery. When she begins receiving love notes from a mysterious secret admirer her life begins to...
