Wicked: Unveiled || Aespa Karina & Winter Story

Prologue

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - 9:45 p.m. (local time)

The sound of police sirens blared in the distance as two siblings, Sohee and Ryujin, entered an oddly empty apartment complex–there were little to no lights along the corridor they walked down, and every single unit was pitch dark.

"Hey, you two..."

Someone called out as the siblings exchanged looks before turning to look at the unit Ryujin was standing next to. A tenant peeked his head out as his eyes scanned the surroundings wildly before landing on Ryujin, "leave while you still can–no one should be out after six," he told her in a hushed tone, as if afraid of something, or someone eavesdropping.

Ryujin tilted her head and leaned closer to the door, "why not?" she replied in an equally hushed tone.

Before the man could answer, a disembodied scream rang out from the floor above them. The man cowered at the sound and started to shiver, "it's here," he exclaimed before retracting his head and closing the door on Ryujin's face.

"Hey–I'm not done..."

Sohee stopped her and pointed at the charm stuck on the door, "Ryujin, look," she whispered before inspecting it closer. There was a faint purplish aura emitting from it, "it was imbued with protection spell," she exclaimed almost at the same time as Ryujin.

While they were inspecting the charm, their attention shifted to the metal hitting the concrete floor directly from above them and. Ryujin clicked her tongue and sighed, "why do I have to come with you?" she whined quietly.

"A bit too late to complain now, don't you think?" replied Sohee, smiling at her younger sister before her expression turned more serious, "I will investigate what's causing the noise–you go and find that person," she instructed before tapping Ryujin's shoulder, walking past her toward the stairs.

Ryujin sighed as she watched her sister run upstairs. "Be careful," she muttered before walking the opposite direction. In case you're wondering what they're doing in Malaysia, well, the person they were working for received a distress call from a client asking for help to escape whatever was after him.

Sohee was originally supposed to be going with another person–a fellow exorcist named Minjeong, but she had an important exam coming up, so Ryujin ended up taking her place. Ryujin continued to walk down the corridor until she arrived at the end of it when Ryujin fished her phone out of her messenger bag.

"House 3-1A," she muttered as she looked at the plate above the door. "This is the one," Ryujin confirmed before knocking on the door, "hello, is anyone inside?" she asked as she continued to knock. "We are sent by Mr. Wang, so please open the door."

Meanwhile, on the floor right above her, Sohee stood by the stairs as she looked around–compared to the floor below, this one was darker. She took her flashlight out of her bag and turned it on, panning it around her–it was then when she realized that the floor was totally abandoned as none of the units there had any lights on.

Sohee moved her flashlight sharply as she heard a sound coming from the other end of the corridor. "Who is there?" she asked as she walked down the corridor. She could see her sister knocking on a door as she peeked her head to look at the floor below her, but Sohee quickly shifted her attention again when another noise came from a different area.

"I'm not in the mood for a game, so whatever you are, or whoever, really, show yourself," she demanded, ignoring the sudden chill running down her spine. Sohee stood still for the next few minutes, but the longer she stayed there, the more sounds started to echo through the corridor and they got closer each passing second.