#emp:starter

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.

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.

Time seemed to always slip by whenever she was with Jiwool. She remembered meeting her today when the sun was bright, and now the sun was nearly hidden by the horizon. The sky was more dark than it was hues of oranges and pinks. The stars glittered softly against the darkening sky and the buildings were so dark against the backdrop of the sky that she could only outline the edges of the buildings. Minah peered over at her friend who had fallen asleep while reading her novel.

To be honest, she did not remember how they started out as friends. She did not remember how they met nor how things ended up as they were. They hardly knew each other with the exception of their love for reading and their compulsive behavior to daydream whenever possible. To think about it, she didn't even know Jiwool's age. 

The thick book rested on top of her stomach, going up and down with Jiwool's breathing before she picked the book up and closed it while bookmarking where her friend had last left off. Days like this always ended with her falling asleep and her wandering around the room reading and daydreaming until the other female woke up. Minah had read the entirety of Les Miserables by Victor Hugo, and now she had nothing else to do but wander into the depths of her thoughts while her friend slept.

She leaned against the wall and closed her eyes, letting the images of whatever she wanted to think about play in her mind. She liked to remember the days of her childhood, playing the episodic memories over and over again in her head until she let out a content sigh. She wished so deeply that her relationship with her mother would be like it was before, but that seemed like a far off cry from reality now. She was sure no matter how much they could try, their broken relationship will always have scars.

Minah's head swayed to one side, strands of her hair plastered on the slick wetness of her neck before she groaned. She was irritated by the outrageously warm temperatures in her apartment, but she was more irritated that she had to live through this for another day before the heatwave would finally subside. She figured she could stay at one of her band mate’s homes, but all of them had up and left for the weekend for a beach trip while she had to stay home to study. Yet with the way the weather was, she didn’t seem too keen on the idea of studying.

Which was why, after two hours of humming tunes on the radio and trying to stay cool, she decided to take the day off from studying and head into the middle of town to find a place with a working cooler. The streets were empty with the exception of a few kids that were brave enough to run around outdoors under the blazing sun. She didn’t know how many doors she had opened that day, venturing inside buildings that were just as hot as her own home before heading out. She wiped the sheen layer of sweat from her forehead with the back of her arm before she decided to take one last (and probably futile) trip into a pool hall.

The air wasn’t cool like she wanted it to be, but it was a lot cooler than all the other buildings had been. The brush of air against her sweat layered skin and the sound of the door ringing open brought a sense of euphoria within her. She couldn’t help but sigh in relief as she slumped her shoulders and leaned against the door after she closed it behind her.

Her eyes were closed and her mind was blank as she basked in the coolness of the air around her. She could feel multiple eyes staring at her, feel their dark orbs boring into her skin as she trespassed into their territory, but all she cared about was cooling her warm skin and even the breathing she didn’t know was heavy. When she fluttered her eyes open, she saw several pairs of eyes staring at her before they resumed looking back to whatever they had been doing. She suddenly felt unconscious at both her attire and her rudeness for suddenly barging in. She scanned the interior until her eyes landed on whom she thought was the owner of the pool hall and bowed to show her appreciation. The male looked at her for a moment, eyes stone cold, before he spoke. “You going to buy anythin’ or just stand there like the rest of them?”

"What do you have?" The male gave her an incredulous look before he pointed at the menu behind him. 

"You have eyes of your own. Why don't you read the menu to find out?" The male turned back to what he was doing, muttering something she couldn't hear under his breath. Her eyes followed to where his finger pointed at and her mouth formed a perfect o shape. Her cheeks tinged with pink before she decided on some soda pop as he took her order.

She remained by the door, her head tilting to the side as she listened to the almost inaudible sound of music playing in the background that mixed in with the murmurs of people talking. She tapped her foot softly against the wooden floor until her body jerked away from the wall she was leaning against when she heard the loud ringing that suggested someone’s entrance. When she bumped shoulders with the person and her eyes met into familiar chocolate orbs, whatever apology she was going to say caught in her throat. 

She heard the owner call out her order, but his voice blurred into the background as her eyes widened. She flinched a step back, her arms instinctively coming in front of her as she took in the person's form. “You…”

Minah woke up to the sound of the cicadas chirping outside her window. A warm breeze enveloped the room, her transparent curtains blowing in the wind. Her eyes were blurry, the light brighter than she wanted it to be. She instinctively reached out her hand as if trying to grasp the light that was seeping through her curtains. She squeezed her hand shut. At first softly and then tightly until her hand started to ache. She was awake, and she was bleary-eyed. When she sat up, her body ached in the most uncomfortable way from the sudden movements. She looked at her phone, reading the text message before falling back asleep again. She didn't appreciate wasting the day away, but her eyes were thick with fatigue. 

When she came to, the late afternoon had become night. The cicadas were gone and to fill in the void they left came the crickets. It was nearly midnight. She groaned, angry that she hadn't woken up earlier to have time to fill her stomach with something to eat. She quickly got out of bed, making her way to the bathroom. The warm water tickled her skin as she washed away the fatigue from her body and eyes. When she was done, she dried herself and dressed in all black with the exception of her red and black plaid shirt.  Her make up was very minimal with the exception of her eyeliner (which she always made a little thicker).

"Yah, you're finally here! Come on. We're going on next!" She nearly winced at the sudden change of scene. The quiet of her home was much needed with the throbbing headache she just realized she had. Sojin was behind her, pushing her closer to the stage. This would be one of their larger gigs, so Sojin was very anal on how things would go. Minah looked at her and saw that fiery determination in her eyes that always made her shiver. Sojin gave her a nod and continued to push her on the stage, but not without whispering a note of advice.

( Minah, look at someone. Anyone. Look at them, and pretend they mean the world to you. )

She heaved, staring at the mass of people in front of her. There were so many people staring at her, and she could feel her hands starting to sweat from the nervousness she was starting to feel in the pit of her stomach and from the high lights beaming down at her. She knew she had to speak, so she cleared her throat. "Hello, we're Lyrical Lotus. This song is called..." She paused and remembered Sojin's advice. 

( Look at them, and pretend they mean the world to you. )

Her eyes scanned the crowd until her eyes landed on a particular male with peculiar colored hair. His eyes were void of emotion, but he was there and somehow, he seemed more familiar to her than the ache in her bones. She evened her breathing and swallowed before she continued. "This song is called kaleidoscope."

She didn't know how, but Sojin's advice had worked. Her eyes would scan the crowd, but she would always find herself looking back that familiar male and stare into his reflective eyes, wondering where she had seen them before. The song was slow, one that got people thinking. It was a song she had written herself, and one she was extremely fond of. The title was a bit off, but she liked it that way. She liked that the title wasn't exactly about the song because it gave the song its wonder, gave it its uniqueness. The lyrics came pouring out of Minah without a second thought as she strummed the strings on her guitar. She didn't know, however, whether the quiet in the room meant her song was good or bad. The applause at the end said the former.

They exited the stage after a long bow. Sojin had embraced her and told her that she did well while the other two cheered at the success of the performance. Minah merely smiled before she looked through the hole in the curtain the male she had been looking for begin to leave the room. She quickly bid her friends goodbye before she grabbed her things and hurriedly ran to catch up with him.