#celes:tials

She’d been a fool and much too careless for her first trip in a foreign country, now seated by the sidewalks, back resting against a shop — she doesn’t know what kind because she couldn’t read the tiniest bit of the characters written on its signage — and her hands clutching her head. Yamamoto Sayaka had been sent there by her father to take care of the new company branch established there in Seoul and she thought she could do it, she thought it wouldn’t be so different as going to a different prefecture in Japan for the same reason so she accepted the “challenge”.

Except, she didn’t expect for all of her things to be stolen the second day she was there. Wallet, clothes and passport spared as she had left them in her hotel, her laptop, camera, phone and the company’s car keys had been stolen away from her by some yankee of sorts (she doesn’t know how they call it here) and now she just doesn’t know what to do. She’d been deeply depending on her phone’s GPS to tell her where to go and the way to and fro from the company she’s supposed to be tending but know she just — she just doesn’t know where she is anymore.

She flinched when she heard a voice different from those who’d merely passed by her, talking to their friend or lover or family and slowly, she turned her head up to meet the dark chocolate orbs of another female; her own eyes wide and surprised because as much of a laughing stock she must seem right now, sitting on a sidewalk looking all troubled, the last thing she expected was for someone to approach her and well, while she is grateful about it, she just couldn’t understand anything the girl was saying.

"S-Sorry?" She cleared her throat as she spoke in broken English, her Japanese accent thick and evident, "I don’t understand…" and that was as far as her English could go, unable to find the words she wanted to say next.

She listened carefully to the girl's thick accent as she spoke English, or at least she thought it was English. She nodded her head as if she could understand a single word she was saying, but in reality the only she did understand was her apology. Minah cleared her throat and leaned her weight on one leg with her arms crossed. The girl looked more nervous than other people, fidgeting and looking so desperately for help. She smiled sincerely, or at least as sincerely as her tired body would let her.

"Japanese? Come here. We can go somewhere quieter to speak, yeah?" She hummed and held her hand out to grab the other girl's, pulling her through the crowd until they got into the cafe just a few meters away from them. The bell rang to announce their arrival. She raised her free hand at the cashier, mouthing two hot teas that he somehow understood. Minah let go of the girl's hand when they stood in front of a table with two seats, pulling out the girl's seat before sitting down in her own.

When she was younger, she would explore the art of everything she could put her hands on. She found a passion for trying out new things, exploring the unknown because that was the best she could do to help quench her curiosity.

It was then, at the age of fifteen, when she found her passion for music and film. They intertwined together so beautifully, so wonderfully so, that she couldn't help but catch her breath when she thought about either of the two. Her greatest accomplishment, however, was not either of them. It was the fact that at age nineteen, she had fallen so deeply in love that she couldn't help but to write songs and produce short films about love.

However, whenever she thought about her recent love, she couldn't help but feel an ache in her bones. It wasn't an ache for past love, but it was an ache that resemble darker emotions; emotions she'd never felt before. They stirred and rumbled inside of her, so quickly that the sweetness of her love became a headache to her. Darkness would loom in her eyes and she could've sworn that every time she thought of the anger and bitter hate toward the girl who took her love (she was glad he was not her first love) away from her that her blood was as black and murky as tar. Her friendly aura would begin to exude distaste, and her words would slither out past her lips with poison she did not know her words could hold. It was because of this that she decided that it was best for her to throw away anything relating that the boy she once loved. She didn't bother to think about the girl who ruined her love life either.

Yet, what was Minah to do when she found a familiar shadow dancing in front of her stairs? Her struts were dark, laced with mockery and deceit that Minah had held her breath when she found her walking back and forth in front of her staircase. Her fists were clenched so tightly and everything was so quiet that she could nearly hear her skin breaking from the tension of her nails. She clenched her teeth to stop them from clattering in pure hate. She narrowed her eyes at the figure and glared with a glare so full of malice that if anyone were around her besides the girl in front of her, they would shiver in fear.

     antiquity sat beside the girl, clearing through her files on her computer and yawning quietly. it was late, sometime past dawn, but she and her friend were still up. antiquity was working while minah scribbled, scratched out, and re-scribbled lyrics to one of her newer songs. and it had been like that for awhile, since after they ate dinner hours before, but it was quiet. soon, even minah began to grow frustrated; most likely out of exhaustion, boredom, and whatever else it could be. so she stood from her spot and roamed antiquity’s home.

     antiquity lived in her parent’s home, since it had been entrusted to her in her father’s will after he died, along with whatever else was in there. their family had no other relatives that really kept in touch, so when her father died, her nanny took her into her own home until she was old enough to take care of herself, finding herself again in her parent’s home after so many years.

     antiquity ignored minah as she moved around until she picked up a silver tin that lay in the corner of her father’s office, now her own, and asked about it. “what’s this? it looks old and rusty.” and it was, crusted with red and brown from wear and tear, but the film inside was still intact. it was the last remaining thing that was left of her father after he died. the last film that he had shot. it was antiquity, at a ballet recital that she hadn’t known he’d been at. she thought he was busy, but he surprised her after the show with a large bouquet of flowers and a big hug. it was a warm memory, and was the only living proof that he was her father, and that he’d loved her.                     « that is a scene that i can’t erase.

Minah spent a lot of her time at Antiquity's house whenever she needed some place to stay. They didn't speak to one another a lot. Most of the time, she found herself in a peaceful and long silence with the girl. The only thing she could really hear was her scribbling on countless sheets of paper, trying to get the words to her creations right. Many times Minah would groan in frustration because she could never get the right words. Antiquity never said a word about it, but that made her feel more comfortable around her.

They communicated on a different level, spoke with their silence, and basked in a friendship built around mutual understanding. When Minah glided around the home, she said nothing. Often times, Antiquity would ignore her, but sometimes, like today, when she picked up the silver tin, her friend had looked up when she asked: "what's this? it looks old and rusty." Minah already knew what it was. It was film, but what was on the film, she had no clue. When she gazed at her friend, it seemed as though her eyes were gazing into an abyss of raw emotion.

"That is a scene that I can't erase." Minah understood what she meant. She'd seen things before that would never leave her, but instead, melded into her heart and became one with her. She hummed, nodding her head with a soft smile on her face. Her fingers had left the silver tin and she was no situated beside her friend on the floor.

Minah had spent the entirety of her college years, from beginning until now, worrying about things she wished she didn't have to worry about. It was the price for running away, the price of the freedom she so desperately desired and chased after. Now that she had the freedom she's always wanted, she found herself troubled by other things like rent, working, and taking care of the band that she was in.

Maybe that was when why, she found herself at the bottom of the stairs that led to her apartment floor, she couldn't help but feel like the woman her landlord was animatedly talking to was trying to take all that she achieved away. Her eyes narrowed. The only time she ever spoke like that was when she was making a deal. The woman wore clothes that only someone who was well-off would wear, someone who had the extra cash to buy and do as she pleased. Was she planning on buying the land, or had she already done so?

She coughed in her fist. She was about to turn around when she heard her landlord call out to her. She winced. She had terrible timing. She slowly walked up the stairs, staring at the much shorter landlord who had a bobcut as her hairstyle. A small smile was on her face as she bowed to greet her.

"This is one of my tenants. She's late sometimes on rent, so you might have some trouble with this one with the new rates—"

Minah tilted her head to the side in confusion as she stared down at her landlord.  "What do you mean new rates? You said the rates wouldn't change under my contract for another—"

"Minah, don't interrupt. I know I said that, but that was under old management." She pointed to the girl standing on the other side of her, her eyes were hidden behind sunglasses. "Sooyeon here just bought out our land and is planning on renovating this broken down place. Have you got any idea what that'll do for the area? We'll get more tenants. Yes, you'll have to pay more, but this place will look really nice."

She furrowed her eyebrows together. She liked the way it was now. She liked that she was able to pay her rent. This was the only place that she could afford at the moment, and she didn't have the time for another job. Then another question popped into her head. Where the hell was she going to stay? She figured the renovations would take more than two weeks, and she couldn't just bother her friends by staying over for more than a week.

Minah licked her dry lips and combed through her dark colored tresses as she peered out the window. Night was fading fast, which meant she had fallen asleep before she could finish her video assignments. It was moments like these where she was thankful for her small obsession over murder mysteries and the thrill of the unknown. It meant she could get by without having to watch all of the videos required for class. The best part of her interest was pretending to be a detective and investigating the cases of the past and of present day. That made life a little more fun for Minah.

Maybe that was why, when her professor had begun talking the recent event of serial killings in the area they lived in, she was enthralled from beginning to end. She had heard about it in the news. It was all anyone with a strong heart ever talked about. He spoke of how many people have tried to solve this case, yet no one has ever been able to find a crack. Then he stared straight at her with a pointed look on his face that warned her not to do something she would regret. It read: "don’t you dare try to solve this. It’s dangerous. Leave it to the professionals."

It was six o’clock in the evening when she left campus, a handheld camera in hand she needed for evidence. She knew she should’ve listened to her professor. She knew that acting impulsively the way she did sometimes would end up in her getting hurt, possibly even killed. Yet, she couldn’t get the idea of investigating the case out of her mind. Maybe it was prove herself as someone worthy to her mother. Maybe she was looking for redemption after all these years of hatred.

Stumbling to one end of the city, she highlighted the locations of the murders. She walked around casually until the street cleared before she quietly went into the alleyway where the first murder had happened. There wasn't anything she could note except for the charred marks on the brick walls. The marks left a residue behind that she picked up with a swab and placed in a plastic bag. She ultimately ended her investigation with one zip-lock bag of evidence with a heavy, defeated sigh. The culprit was an experienced killer who probably wouldn't retrace his steps. He killed all around the city, not favoring one spot over another. He jumped from one end to the next, which meant no patterns could be traced.

With slumped shoulders, she dragged her feet along the concrete ground until she heard a screech. Her ears perked, taking in the sound. She stopped dead in her tracks until she heard the sound once more, turning her head left before she began to run. Adrenaline swam through her system as she made it to the front of an alleyway, staring almost excited with her camera held out in front of her. She saw a man hunched over, staring at something on the ground before her eyes landed on a man. At least, she thought it was a man. His body was terribly scorched black that it was hard to decipher the features on his face. She gasped as he reached a hand out toward her. The smile on her face was wiped clean off and fear had taken refuge in her eyes where curiosity once slept. "W...what—"

Then the hand slumped to the ground. Her eyes were locked onto the corpse until she heard a cackle. She had almost forgotten there were two of them present. She stared at a male who didn't seem that much older than her. He had a satisfied grin on his face that made her blood run cold. When he looked up at her, her breath caught in her throat. His eyes were sinister and full of malice. She hadn't seen anyone with eyes that could paralyze even the bravest of men. His gaze turned to the camera in her hand and then back to her. His knitted eyebrows and the glare he gave made her aware that he wasn't planning on letting her live especially with the knowledge she now held in her grasp. She flinched back a few steps when he took a step toward her, her hands in front of her body as a form of defense.

"S-stay away from me!" She screamed almost pathetically, but he didn't listen. He took more steps toward her, decreasing the space between them. His steps nearly shook the ground she stood on, a whimper escaping her lips. 

Move now, or you're going to die.

Move now, and you might get out of this alive.

Move!

Minah thought she had escaped her past, thought that everyone she once knew was gone for good because no one had tried to find or contact her. Well, it wasn't like she had given them a way to find her in the first place. She left home without a word, made sure that no one would find her until one day, she stumbled upon younger male she once knew: Hansol. She nearly had a panic attack when she saw his face amongst the crowd. Their eyes met for a brief moment, his eyes large with shock and realization at who she was. He called out to her, adding a heartbreaking "noona" at the end of her name as she turned away from him. She tried to escape him, but he had caught up to her and demanded her to tell him why she had up and left. She was reluctant to tell him, but his eyes pleaded her for an explanation. She spilled her heart out to the younger male in the darkness of a nearby alley, and that was the last time they had seen each other. However, it was not the last time they spoke.

They kept contact after that through text messaging. Often times, it was him contacting her, and very rarely was it her contacting him. However, she felt the need to talk to someone who understood her before and after high school. After all, they had known each other before. They had a history together. Scrambling around the inside of her bag that she left beside her futon, she found her cellular device and dialed his number. She didn't even realize she had memorized his number. It was after three rings that he picked up the phone, his voice groggy and full of sleep.

Minah liked to think she was a simple person with goals and aspirations just like any other person. She had obstacles to face and varied relationships, but nothing she couldn't eventually overcome. She had a decent pool of friends and associated contacts on her phone, so it wasn't like she lived a life of solidarity like some people chose to live. Yet, sometimes Minah couldn't help but think that she wasn't like other people in one way or another. She'd scratched her head about it countless times, but she could never satisfy the itch that overcame her whenever she had dreamless nights. Those were the worst nights for Minah. She'd always end up thinking too much about topics she knew she didn't want to think about, but with no dreams to keep her busy, it was all she could ever think about.

Her thoughts connected and swam around her mind like fish in a pond, and it was so suddenly that one thought collided with another that she began to wonder about someone. There was a girl in her literature class she sat next to. Her name was Eunah, and she was a very sweet girl who always seemed to be inclined to ask Minah how she was doing. They weren't close friends, but they were close enough that when Eunah stopped coming to class for nearly two weeks, she began to worry.

Minah knitted her eyebrows together and thought to herself about where the girl had gone and why she left without a word. It wasn't like her to miss class. At least, not without telling Minah or the professor where she was, but even the professor had no clue where Eunah had gone. So there Minah was lying on her bed with thoughts of where a certain brown-haired girl might be. 

She groaned, rubbing the weariness from her eyes as she sat up from her slightly uncomfortable futon. There was no need for her to worry, but in the pit of her stomach, she knew that if she didn't find out where Eunah had gone, she would continue to worry for who knows how long. She needed to know where her friend had gone and fast.

Which was why when Minah found herself in a place she would never go to on her own free will, she questioned whether or not she wanted to know where Eunah was these past two weeks. She scanned the room filled with females clad in nothing but lingerie and men gawking at them in the audience before she shivered and averted her eyes to the people on the sidelines.