Crimson Park

Chapter 1

You weren't sure how long you had been staring. And you weren't sure for how much longer you would've been staring had the knock at the door not snapped you out of your trance. Moments ago, if not minutes, you had taken a pause from reviewing the file opened neatly in front of you on the borrowed shiny, mahogany desk, and after briefly scanning the room in all its wood panelled, green leather studded glory, you noticed the framed picture. The image was of a thick, dense forest, smouldered by clouds of mist and fog. It was beautiful - welcoming even - but it was also ominous and haunting. However, it wasn't the photo that had first grabbed your attention - it was the words written beneath it.

"If you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you."

It was a quote by Nietzsche - or at least part of it. You vaguely recollected the full passage. Something about fighting monsters, but also fighting to not become a monster yourself. that's how you got lost in the photo - you were trying to figure out how a forest was a metaphor for such a statement.

The words had been written in a cursive, white font and laid over a solid, black border which wrapped around the photo. It was designed like one of those motivational posters that had been marketed to businesses, schools, and to individuals who needed a morning mantra to get them through their day – although it seemed those who already had their life perfectly intact were the kinds of people who actually bought them. Since quotes about becoming a monster wasn't something most people needed to wake up to in the morning, this poster was clearly not for motivation, but instead to mock it. Regardless, it was a fitting passage for a place like this.

You had remembered the proverb because it had been recited to you by a man who you once thought to be your saviour. Truthfully, he was more of a boy, but back then his seeming maturity, worldly intellect, and kindness – a virtue which was so foreign to you - were so spellbinding that you became completely hypnotised by him. You idolised him, and in return he made you feel as if you were the most beautiful, most interesting and most precious person in the world. He listened to you. He showed you things you never thought you'd see. He took you to places that many would find to be mundane and unremarkable, but they were remarkable to you since they were so far out of your reach before you met him. He took care of you the way no one ever had - and then he promised you the stars.

That persona was only a part of his game - you knew that now. The poetry, the softness, the sense of security and hope was only something he offered when he was seducing a person into one of his many traps. The truth was he probably hadn't ever actually read Nietzsche, or any of the others. You realised there was a big chance he had once stood right in this very office, and read this same poster, then pulled out his phone and did a Google search.

A second knock brought your attention back to where it belonged and away from the memory.

"Who is it?" you asked.

"It's Joohyuk," a familiar voice answered from the other side of the door.

"Come in."

The opening of the door brought with it the obnoxious jingle of bells and sounds of gambling patrons from the casino below. It was almost irritating because you couldn't quite hear Joohyuk when he told you "He's here." Fortunately, you knew the reason for his intrusion into the office, so, with a nod, you gave him the green light. You pulled your compact out from the front pocket of your bag, flipping it open to check yourself over. After wiping away a nearly unnoticeable touch of mascara that had made its way to the corner of your eye, you inspected your lips, ensuring your signature colour of crimson red was still precisely intact. Satisfied, you replaced the compact and returned your attention to the file in front of you, picking up your pen and scanning the pages for anything important. You, of course, already knew everything in the file by heart, so the task was futile.