#*s: thread.

{ @yixingwrites }

“What better way to celebrate Valentine’s Day with your loved one than by taking a week-long vacation on the Han River? For a limited time, room rates are going to be 75% off! Book now!” 

It’s not normal for such a new hotel to become that popular, especially in such a short amount of time. Ads are taking over television and radio, and rooms are booked in record time for the week. Yet, Seulgi is under the impression that there might be something rooted a bit deeper than a simple hotel stay. There’s a gut instinct that’s telling her something’s amiss, and her intuition tends to be spot-on. With so many people occupying the hotel, she could only wonder what would be happening on property. Intending on getting to the bottom of the situation, Seulgi devised a plan, something that would lure out whoever would be able to explain what was happening. 

{ kangheirs }

While Friday nights for most college students meant getting dressed up and going out to parties, Seulgi was a bit more... reserved. Much too shy and introverted to be in front of that many people, she usually spent her Friday nights either studying, at the hospital, or out doing her night job of fighting crime. Her life had been entirely predictable, but Seulgi didn’t mind the routine in the slightest. She was living her life as best as she could, after all. With the temperature warm at night still, she could still go out in a thin sweater and miniskirt without having to worry about getting cold. With the weather as nice and balmy as it was, Seulgi decided to take the long way home from the library, taking a stroll through the city from school to home instead of the bus. 

By the time she had arrived to her apartment building, it was already past midnight, yet there were still people walking around to get from place to place; Seulgi was hoping she’d be able to get home in time to avoid any drunk and rough people that would cause her any sort of delay. As she entered the doors of her building, she assumed she was in the clear. That was, of course, before she noticed the trail of drops of blood along the tile of the floor leading through the lobby. Stopping in her tracks, Seulgi’s eyes followed the crimson track, scanning across the floor until the droplets stopped at the door to the stairwell. Whereas people tended to stray away from situations like these, it was in her nature to go toward it. 

Taking step after cautious step, Seulgi quietly followed the trail of blood across the lobby, stopping just in front of the door. As her eyes flickered to the door handle, the sterling silver stained crimson had her heart beating faster; what would be awaiting her on the other side of the door? Reaching for the pen she kept handy for these types of situations, Seulgi reached a hand out, taking a deep breath and counting off slowly before turning the handle and tugging it open. What had met her gaze had Seulgi’s eyes widening in surprise. Sprawled on the stairs, bloodied and battered, lay a young man that was around her age; she’s seen him before at school. 

{ pseudonyist } 

For as long as Seulgi can remember, the hospital had been her second home. From weekend trips to see her mother at work, to more frequent visits after her parents separated, the hours there had made her comfortable enough to be completely at ease without any wish to disappear. While most people dreaded the hospital, she looked forward to making a visit there, not surprised if she ended up spending hours on end in the building. Her mother had been at the same hospital since before Seulgi was born, so it was more familiar to her than anywhere else. And even if she was busy with her own education and destiny, she always made sure to stop by once a week, at least to visit the nurses and doctors that were like a second family to her. 

With her anatomy textbook tucked under her arm and a knapsack hanging from her shoulders, Seulgi entered through the automatic sliding doors at the entrance, silently brushing past people and giving quick bows of her head as she passed familiar faces that belonged to both doctors and patients. Holding the cloth bag full of food containers in her other hand, Seulgi was already heading toward the elevators, needing to get her mother’s lunch to her mother’s office before doing anything else. Seeing the sliding doors of one of the elevator cars slowly converging, she sped up, feet moving much faster into a jog. “Hold the elevator, please!” she cried out, quickly stepping before slipping in just as the doors were about to shut. 

{ wearetides } 

Summer nights were Seulgi’s favorite; the sun sunk over the horizon much later in the day, shining stars scattered themselves amongst the heavens, and a balmy breeze blew through the city, leaving the atmosphere humid thick. With the air so warm, it was nothing like cooling off with a night swim in the ocean. It was on these nights that Seulgi was completely at ease at the beach; she was in her element, with not a worry in the world. Spreading a towel down over the sand and setting her tote on top, she raked her gaze over her surroundings, making sure she wasn’t around too many people. She chose this spot along the sea for a reason, and a satisfied smile appeared on her face as she realized that once again, nobody was around. 

{ t-hwangs } 

With summer classes ending the week before and the sun still out at 8 o’clock, it’s one of those evenings where Seulgi’s enjoying being outdoors. The sun is shining but not blazing uncomfortably like it would earlier in the day; rather, the light breeze was enough to keep her satisfied as she spent the later hours of the day in the park instead of in the library. Seated on a bench near the fountain with her nose buried in a romance novel--her guilty pleasure--Seulgi was immersed in the story, reading page after page about the headstrong protagonist that fought for what she wanted. As she read on, she thought about what it’d be like to be that confident; to be outspoken and uncaring of what others thought of her, to be content with herself and to not let her shyness get the best of her. 

Just as the sun was beginning to make its way towards the horizon, the sky filled with hues of pinks, blues, and oranges, Seulgi slipped a makeshift bookmarker (the label off her drink bottle for today) between the pages before shutting the book and lifting her gaze. At the sight of a young woman stopping in front of the fountain with her fingers wrapped around her cellphone, Seulgi couldn’t help but straighten up in her seat; the woman looked familiar, but she couldn’t quite confirm if it was who she thought it would be. As the woman snapped a photo of the fountain with the lighting from the setting sun in the back, Seulgi began to grow more and more curious. She had to know if this was the Tiffany Hwang, the woman whose blogs were visited by Seulgi at least once a day.