## Chapter 0 – White Flower
“So, what about this part? Anyone know?”
The professor’s calm, steady tone echoed in the ordinary classroom, and already, people were dozing off in various spots.
Even with students asleep, the professor didn’t point it out, silently continuing the lecture.
Most of them were people who had drifted through ordinary grades and school life,
ending up at this university without much deep thought.
I, on the other hand, had some interest in this field.
Not into active things like soccer or hide-and-seek,
I was an introverted kid who liked reading books, listening to music, and drawing.
But even though I liked many things, strangely, there was nothing I really wanted to do.
Then, among the universities I considered, I ended up in the design department of a university that seemed neither prestigious nor a complete no-name.
I was a freshman who hadn’t been here long,
and I didn’t go to orientation or anything like that because it felt awkward, so I didn’t recognize any faces.
“……”
Is this what I wanted? What did I even want in the first place?
Something feels empty. I’ve lived without any particular lack,
or so I thought, as I twirl a pen and stare out the window.
Both my mother and father are good people, and we’re not exactly poor,
or rather, if you think about it, I grew up in a relatively affluent household.
My friends in school were all good friends too.
But this is a university in a different city.
Left all alone without anyone I know,
I end up thinking a lot about myself in various ways.
The professor keeps talking enthusiastically about something, and the students are listening, writing, and sleeping.
In the daily life that turns stiffly like a machine with gears fitted together, I hear a noise ringing,
and I clutch my head at the noise.
I hate the silence that this space creates.
Feeling like I can’t take it anymore, I put my books in my bag and leave the classroom,
but the professor doesn’t call me back.
Or maybe they didn’t even notice.
I walk out of the classroom and head to the studio apartment I’ve secured near the school.
It’s a studio apartment that I got within walking distance.
With the money I saved from part-time jobs after the college entrance exam,
plus a little extra from my parents, I was able to secure a place relatively close to the school.
“…Headache.”
I rub my left temple at the unknown headache.
This unknown emptiness, could it be that I haven’t adjusted to school?
“Should I go see a psychiatrist or something…”
A mental illness out of nowhere,
these days, all young people have at least one mental illness.
I’ve heard that going to a psychiatrist isn’t something to be ashamed of,
but because I haven’t adjusted to school? And I’m just a freshman.
Angry at myself, I scratch my head hard as if trying to tear my hair out,
and then I looked up at the sky at a petal brushing past my hand.
White petals, something like cherry blossoms, fell gently in front of my eyes.
Is it already the season for cherry blossoms?
It’s still March, and the weather is relatively chilly.
But something is strange.
Feeling a sense of unease, I look up at the sky, and the hand that had been scratching my head stops,
and I stare blankly at the flowers.
It’s not just that cherry blossoms in late March are strange,
“…..What.”
The unbelievable amount of cherry blossoms.
Or are they even cherry blossoms in the first place?
A large number of white petals flutter down like a snowstorm.
Where did this suddenly large amount of petals come from?
Not only did it dye my vision white, but the road was already a white flower path.
And then, the flower snow stopped instantly. I was confused, but soon calmed down.
Could it be that a truck carrying something like flowers had an accident somewhere?
Just as I was about to take another step, what happened before my eyes was definitely beyond common sense.
“What~ It’s already over.”
“I know, I wanted to take a picture, too bad.”
The surroundings became quite noisy.
People who were outside,
students who opened the windows in the classroom and peeked their heads out to look at the sky,
and couples behind me making disappointed, listless noises.
“Still, honey, look, the road is covered with flowers, it’s pretty. Should we take a picture?”
“……..”
“…Chaeyoon?”
“……..”
At the man’s question as he playfully held up his phone to his girlfriend, the woman stared blankly into the air without saying a word.
“…I guess so, should we take one?”
Soon, the couple smiled cheerfully again and walked away from me.
It looked normal at first glance, but I, who was standing close to them, only I saw it.
Something came out of the petal that had fallen on her shoulder and slipped into the woman’s ear.
It was far away and too small to see properly, but I didn’t see it wrong.
After it went inside her, her expression twitched and frowned,
then turned expressionless past a painful look, and then acted as if nothing had happened again.
My body stiffened, and I barely managed to lower my head to look at the petals piled up below.
All these things are the same as that thing..?
My whole body won’t move.
I struggled to move my unmoving legs and barely took one step.
Then the other leg followed.
After my legs moved, I arrived at my studio apartment at a speed I couldn’t even think about how I got there.
My whole body was drenched in sweat, my body demanding oxygen to my burning lungs,
and my heart working non-stop to meet the body’s demands.
I moved my creaking joints, having already moved to my limit, and shook off the petals stuck to my body.
“Ugh! Uweeek!!”
Whether it was because of the released tension or because of the excessive amount of exercise my body had undergone,
I collapsed on the spot and threw up.
I’m dizzy, should I report it?
Would anyone believe me in the first place?
What should I do? How should I….
How….
“Ugh!!”
When I opened my eyes, I was lying on the floor of my room. I turned on my phone to check the time, it was 5 AM.
Did I just collapse and pass out?
I grabbed my dizzy head,
and got up while habitually touching my phone.
My body smelled like rotting corpses,
and the floor smelled of the disgusting vomit I had thrown up.
I decided to start by cleaning up and organizing things.
After cleaning the living room, I washed my whole body, threw myself on the bed, and stared at the light on the ceiling.
Then I turned on the phone by my head and searched.
‘Cherry blossom’
‘White flower’
‘Cherry blossom bug’
‘Slime’
Of course, all were in vain.
“Of course it wouldn’t come up…”
I sighed and lay down on the bed as if collapsing.
Then the hand holding the phone vibrated.
A text at this hour? Who is it?
An unknown number, a number I’ve never seen before.
After entering university, contact with my friends became infrequent,
and my family wouldn’t contact me at this early hour.
It’s rare for me to get a call at this hour, but it doesn’t feel good.
Is it because of what happened during the day? I’m suspicious of everything.
I carefully checked the text.
‘Hi, how are you? This is hard..
Ah, but I get it now.
Hello? We ran into each other earlier, right?
I’m the female you made eye contact with.
Reply if you’re alive?’
….What?
Awkward and clumsy letters, a text with unnatural content that can’t just be dismissed as typos.
‘Who are you?’
I sent a reply as soon as I read it, but there was no reply for a long time.
And after about 3 minutes, 5 minutes, a reply came.
‘You’re alive! That’s amazing,
Um.. I don’t think this is something to talk about over text, so should we meet tomorrow and talk?
Tomorrow is a school day too!’
The sense of unease I’ve been feeling since earlier in the conversation, yes, the sense of unease I’ve been feeling since earlier.
I don’t know what’s different, but it’s somehow different from the way a normal ‘person’ speaks.
‘I’m asking who you are?’
I ask again as if pressing her.
Without realizing it, I’ve become aggressive.
‘I’m Chaeyoon, this Chaeyoon? Yes, that’s right,
I haven’t completely eaten yet…’
I keep asking questions that I actually know the answer to.
I saw the scene earlier in the day, so I have some idea of what that thing is.
That’s probably something using the body of a woman named Lee Chaeyoon as a shell.
The fact that that thing was clearly stating its body’s name gave me goosebumps.
‘What makes you think I should meet you?’
‘I guess so? You probably don’t trust me,
Anyone would be like that after seeing such a vulgar meal,
I’m sorry, but could you trust me just once?
It’s definitely a good story for you too.’
I’m going crazy, I’m about to jump up and down,
How does she know my name?
‘How do you know my name.’
‘I asked around for your name,
I’ll apologize if you feel bad. I’m sorry.’
I’m going crazy, I’m going to lose it.
I wanted a change in my daily life, but it’s contact with a monster I don’t even know the identity of.
My mind goes blank and the headache that’s been going on since the day suddenly rushes in.
‘…I’ll meet you tomorrow.’
No matter how much I think about it, this is the only answer.
Meeting in person,
If it’s a hidden camera! That would be good too.
What I saw during the day.
Please let it be that I saw it wrong, I prayed to God, who I don’t even believe in,
No, I prayed to all the gods I know.
But if it’s really a monster..
I went to the kitchen and took out a kitchen knife and wrapped it in newspaper.
While I was preparing, a reply came after a long time again.
I took out my phone and checked.
‘Thank you! Then could you come to the 2nd dormitory during lunch break?’
Damn it, I made an appointment.
Dating a girl with a boyfriend.
I wish it was that kind of situation.
