Unveil | Choi Yeonjun

02 - MISTRUST

I wake up in my bed, disorientated.

One glance around the room tells me all I need to know—my bedroom is not my bedroom.

The world around me shifts and warps, constantly moving like a living, breathing beast.

What once felt safe now feels utterly terrifying: the way the inanimate curtains begin whispering to each other, the windows seemingly observing me through their wide, unblinking frames. Along the walls, cracks in the plaster look like human mouths; they open and close, eerily whining about how heavy the roof is.

I almost jump out of my bed as a fox, covered in forked tongues of fire, springs into my room and leaves a blazing trail across the floorboards, the acrid smell of burning wood and smoke hitting the back of my throat.

Shit, this must be hell.

Panic fills me at the sight of the flames rising higher and higher, completely surrounding me.

Wait, where actually am I?

As if he were Satan himself, the man appears inside the fire, those long, bewitching eyes mirroring its orange glow. "You are in a dream. Controlled by me."

Icy fingers of terror glide across my nape.

I gingerly scan the burning room, the very alive room, before turning back to the man—no, not a man. One thing for sure is that this being, whatever he claims himself to be, is no human. "You... control all of this?"

A small, fluttering laugh. "This, and so much more."

Like in my dream, he offers his hand. The flames lick harmlessly against his skin, its eager movements similar to a dog leaping at its owner. "Come with me, and I'll show you."

I stare at his extended hand. Accompanying some strange magician guy who could have just drugged me with hallucinogens to gods know where? Uh, no thanks.

One thing I know is that this male cannot be trusted, even if what he is saying about his 'powers' or him being a faerie are true. Heck, the otherness radiating off him should already be a red flag. I can just imagine how dumb I'll look by accepting his offer to an early grave.

But do I want to live though?

A memory of my smiling Aunt Yona, holding a tray of baked goods to cheer me up, flickers in my mind. Since my parents' death, she's been trying her best to take care of me despite having already so much on her plate.

I guess I still have a life to live. Not for myself, but for my aunt.

Letting that thought sink in, I meet the eyes of the so-called faerie. "Sorry, but I'm afraid I'll have to decline your offer."