BROKEN SPIRITS |VMIN FF|

𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝟷: 𝙶𝚞𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝚘𝚏 Autumn

Sung Joon knelt before the termite-eaten chair, eyes level with his mother's vacant gaze. Her once sharp eyes, now milky and clouded, seemed to peer through him, staring at a darkness only she could see. The sickness had stolen her mind, leaving behind a hollow vessel, memories forgotten like old furniture in an abandoned house, draped in dust from a life long passed. He gently took her frail hand, tracing the wrinkles with trembling fingers.

"Mother..."

No response.

"Mother..."

Only her ragged breathing, like the clanking of rusted chains, gave any sign of life. But was this truly life? She was little more than a shell—breath animating a body emptied of its soul. Everything, everyone, gone. Her name—forgotten. His name—forgotten. Time, relentless, devours all.

Sung Joon stood, a shadow falling over his face, his eyes burning with unspeakable grief and rage. How could she forget him? How could she let time erase everything they once shared?

With trembling hands, he pulled the pillow from her lap, his fingers tightening around it. He hesitated for a fleeting moment, then pressed it firmly against her face. Her body twitched, her breath becoming jagged, a broken machine coming to a final halt.

"I have to let you go, Mother. I must."

Tears spilled as her brittle nails dug into his hand. Then, her resistance ceased. Her hands fell limp by her sides, her body lifeless—no more than a broken puppet.

Outside, the wind howled like a savage beast, and Sung Joon collapsed to the floor, the pillow tumbling from his grasp. But in the eerie silence, something stirred. He froze, staring in disbelief as his mother's lips curled into a grotesque smile, her voice a rasping whisper through rotten teeth.

"It was about time..."

He stumbled back, eyes wide, a cry catching in his throat as her twisted, lifeless form slithered across the floor like some ghastly serpent. He blinked, frozen, unable to comprehend what he was seeing.

"No... no... no..." His voice cracked with terror as he tried to crawl away.

Then the phone rang.

Jimin gasped, the book slipping from his hands as reality crashed back in. His heart pounded as he blinked at his bedroom, the chilling scene evaporating from his mind. The phone continued ringing, jolting him fully awake. He scrambled to his desk and snatched it up.

"Hello?"

"I'm done, where are you?" Ari's voice cut through the haze.

"Uh... Ari... I'm..."

"Why do you sound like that? Did something happen?"

Jimin shook his head, trying to shake off the lingering unease. He grabbed his jacket, already moving. "No, no. Where are you? I'll come get you."

"I'm just outside the library. Are you sure you're okay? You weren't rereading one of those creepy thrillers, were you?"

Jimin laughed nervously, already pulling on his shoes. "I'm fine. I'm coming now. Don't move."

He hung up and dashed out of the apartment, the dark tale still swirling at the edges of his mind.

***

Ari stood shivering outside the library entrance, arms wrapped tightly around herself as she scanned the street, her head swiveling like an owl. It had been twenty minutes since Jimin's call, and there was still no sign of him. She glanced at her wristwatch, huffing impatiently, her feet cold, her stomach growling, and her hair frizzing into a tangled mess in the damp air.