Red String (Series #1) \\ Ateez ✔

v. abyss of despair

JANGMI

The first thing I registered is the darkness.

A darkness that awfully reminded me of a liminal void between life and death. 

The weight of my physical body felt as if I left it behind; I felt weightless, almost as if I were made out of air. 

But a distant glimmer of light caught my attention. At first faint, it gradually intensified, pulling me towards its radiant source. The light seemed to pulse with a gentle warmth, inviting and comforting amidst the darkness I was in.

Then I saw a figure—a figure of a person that was increasingly getting larger and clearer in my eyes, yet his face remained blurred amongst the blinding light.

And when my eyes landed on him, I instantly knew who he was.

The anonymous man, hell prince.

The same man visiting me in my dreams.

"I saw you again," I managed to blurt out. His face may be unknown, but his eyes were evident. Those black irises never fail to make me feel like I had known them for centuries before this world.

I can feel my heart leaping in bliss at the mere sight of him. But why? 

My head was aching, but my heart ached the most. There was something I needed to remember. I am sure there is, but what?

But it all ended with silence, and again, words fell into my ears.

"When this life ends, it represents something new. I have no doubt that this red string of fate will lead me again to you."

Those words are the ones I saw engraved in that painting before I collided with a vehicle. But this time, it came from a voice.

It's the voice of a man.

A voice I know very well.

Hell prince.

..

I felt my body being destroyed by particles, and it flew in a certain direction when an audible cough left my mouth. 

The first thing I felt was the hard surface of the bed under me as soon as I regained consciousness. It was a contrast with the softness of my bed back in my house. 

Blinking away my clouded vision, I began to take in my surroundings. The nature around me, the gentle chirping of birds, the distant running river, and the rocky roof above me. 

With each passing moment, my heart was beating faster, a drumming rhythm of fear in my chest as realization struck.

I wasn't in a bed, but inside a cave!

Panic surged within me as I surveyed my torn white dress, the fabric stained with a gruesome mix of blood, dirt, water, and soil. "How did I end up here?" I croaked, my voice hoarse with terror.

The cold seeped into my bones—a relentless chill that seemed to enter my veins. And the pain oh, so unbearable.

Memories of last night flooded back into my mind, the event, the piano, and the car accident...

But how could it have led me here to this desolate cave? The pieces of the puzzle refused to fit together and it only left me in a desperate search for answers.

"Is there somebody here?" I instantly called out in desperation. I have to get out of here, I have to.

Catching me by surprise, two figures suddenly appeared, sprinting their way towards the nook I was in the moment they heard my echoing voice.