New Place to Begin

The beginning

For Yunjin, thunderstorms had always been comforting. The sound of the rain falling on pavement, the rumble of thunder. There was no better feeling.

Unfortunately, thunderstorms were significantly less relaxing when she didn't have a roof over her head. She fought off a chill, pulling her jacket tighter around her in a fruitless attempt to protect herself from the rain.

Yunjin had been on her own for a few weeks now, and it hadn't been as horrible as she thought it would be. It wasn't pleasant, by any means, sure, but it wasn't insufferable.

At least, it was better than the alternative, she knew.

However, staying on the streets this long had never been the plan. She was meant to have enough money for shelter by the time she finally left, but...

Plans change.

So here she was, stuck on the streets. Soaking wet and hungry, but free of the prison her home had been.

So at least it wasn't all bad.

Swinging a left at one of the traffic lights, she reached a hand up to move the wet hair from her forehead. However, her hand stopped in place when she noticed the menacing figure standing a few feet in front of her.

This time, Yunjin was unable to prevent a chill from running down the back of her spine.

Something about this figure, the way it was standing...

Yunjin turned around and walked the other direction, unconsciously tugging at the sleeves of her jacket.

A particularly loud clap of thunder sounded, and Yunjin couldn't stop herself from jumping a little, blinking at the flash of light that almost immediately preceded it.

She continued on her way, shaking off her unease.

However, that same sense of dread returned full-force as she turned another corner, only to find the same figure standing ahead of her, unmoving.

Yunjin swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry.

She couldn't bring herself to move, frozen in place as she and the mysterious figure simply stared at each other. It remained motionless, as if waiting for something.

Yunjin felt her stomach drop suddenly, unable to control the overwhelming anxiety forming in the pit of her stomach. However, it wasn't just anxiety. She felt a familiar pull in her gut, something she knew wasn't a good sign.

She took a deep breath, struggling to control herself.

She didn't want another...accident.

Except, trying to calm down was significantly harder when the figure finally moved. Without warning, the thing shot towards her, armed with almost inhuman speed.

Yunjin nearly slipped on the wet concrete in her hurry to turn and run. Quickly regaining her footing, though, she ran as fast as she could, hyper aware of the heavy footsteps behind her.

Still, she was confident she could outrun this person, whoever they were. She'd always been quick, and running from her problems was something Yunjin particularly excelled in.

Except, as she whipped around another corner, she knew she wouldn't be able to outrun this particular issue.

The same figure was inexplicably waiting a few feet in front of her. Yunjin did slip on the wet concrete this time, unable to stop her forward momentum in time.

She plummeted towards the ground, grunting as she landed particularly hard on her elbow. Blood mixed with the rainwater on the sidewalk, and Yunjin groaned, planting her hands on the ground and pushing herself off the sidewalk as fast as she could. It wouldn't be long before...