Dahyun's heart raced as she walked down the deserted road, the dim glow of the Buddha's shrine fading behind her. The scent of incense still clung to her skin. Yoshi was nowhere to be found. And what clawed at her more was she couldn’t even tell him how much she had fallen for him.

Was it fair? She wondered, her steps fumbling. The Buddha, calm and tranquil, held the answers, like every time. She had questioned him, her painful cries echoing against the temple walls. Why would he twist fate, entwining her heart with Yoshi's, just to separate them?

She had fallen for him. Hard. The kind of love that rearranged constellations and set stars ablaze. But life was a cruel architect, constructing bridges only to burn them. 

Why would he do something like that happen to a man like Yoshi? Talented, soft and loving. Dahyun’s tears blurred the path ahead. She had made a promise, “Let Yoshi live,” she had bargained. “I’ll bury my love, but please.” The shrine had listened.

She had spent longer than intended, lost in her grief and futile prayers. The stars above blinked, indifferent witnesses to her suffering.

The sound of her own footsteps echoed in the eerie silence of the night. Every now and then, she couldn't shake off the feeling that someone was following her, a prickling sensation on the back of her neck.

The streetlights flickered, their feeble glow casting elongated shadows across the pavement. Dahyun’s breath hitched; she quickened her pace.

The road curved, and she found herself in a narrow alley, flanked by crumbling brick walls. The darkness thickened, swallowing her whole. Dahyun’s pulse raced, and she dared not look back again. She could almost hear the phantom footsteps closing in.

As she hastened her speed, the roadlights overhead exploded with a loud crack, plunging the surrounds into complete darkness. Panic gripped Dahyun as she struggled for her phone, its dim light barely illuminating her route. A shudder raced down her spine as she heard a tiny whisper in the wind, which sparked terror in her already worried thoughts.

Fear surged within her, urging her to run. She sprinted, her footsteps echoing off the walls, heart pounding in her chest. But the pursuer was relentless, a shadowy figure matching her stride for stride.

Before she could make sense of the situation, a figure materialized from the shadows behind her. Mazikeen, a mysterious and sinister presence that seemed to materialize out of thin air, moved with a deadly grace. In a flash, she closed the distance between them, her hand reaching out to ensnare Dahyun.

Her skin seemed to absorb what little light remained, rendering her almost invisible. Dahyun’s scream caught in her throat.

Her breath came in ragged gasps as she stumbled through the darkness, heart pounding. “Who are you?” she called out.

Mazikeen circled her, her movements fluid and predatory. “The love of your life is missing, isn’t he?”

Her breath hitched. “Yes,” she whispered. “But he doesn’t know. I couldn’t." She stopped, her eyes wide with realisation, "how do you know?”

Mazikeen didn’t speak, but her right arm wrapped around her body like a vice, immobilizing her, while her left hand crawled up Dahyun's neck and twisted it, rendering her unconscious with a sickening crack. It twisted, and Dahyun’s world fractured. Pain exploded at the base of her skull, and then darkness claimed her.

She smoothly hoisted Dahyun's limp body over her shoulder, her expression emotionless as she surveyed her prey with cold, calculating eyes. And then with a single forceful beat, she rose from the ground and soared into the night sky, clutching Dahyun's unconscious form tightly and securely.

When Dahyun regained consciousness, she was weightless. Her eyes fluttered open, and she gasped. Two immense wings, black as midnight, unfurled from Mazikeen’s back. They beat rhythmically, lifting them higher into the sky. Dahyun’s mind reeled. Was she alive?

Mazikeen’s voice, almost like a whisper reached her. “You are mine now, Dahyun. A soul claimed under the moon.” The words held no warmth, only purpose.

They soared above the city, the world below a blur of lights and shadows. Dahyun’s neck throbbed, and she wondered if death would have been kinder.

And then, as if mocking her, the road lights flickered back to life. The city sprawled beneath them, oblivious to the cosmic drama unfolding in its midst. Dahyun glimpsed her home, the shrine she had visited earlier, and wondered if anyone would miss her.

Mazikeen tightened her grip, and they ascended further, leaving the earthly realm behind. Dahyun’s last coherent thought was of the Buddha. Had he forsaken her, or was this her destiny all along?

…

The room smelled of stale coffee and printer ink—a peculiar blend that had become a friend to their late-night brainstorming sessions. Their desks were a chaotic mosaic of papers, half-empty coffee cups, and tangled charging cables. It was a place where deadlines collided with dreams, and where the mundane met the inexplicable.

Lila, Enlai, and Sejin huddled together in their cramped office, the flickering fluorescent lights casting a sickly pallor over their faces. They couldn’t sit at home forever. Work didn’t work that way. And something new had been waiting for them. The trio had just received an unexpected package from the higher authorities - plane tickets to Podlazice for the fieldwork at the monastery.

Enlai leaned back in his creaky chair, staring at the plane tickets. His fingers traced the embossed letters. This should have been an exciting opportunity, but their hearts were heavy with worry for their missing friend, Yoshi. The uncertainty surrounding his disappearance loomed over them like a dark cloud.

The police had found nothing, nothing at all. The street cctv cameras had caught nothing, nobody had seen anything as if Yoshi had vanished into thin air.

Enlai believed time uncannily started ticking faster if something very bad was to come. And for the record, whatever had happened to him or perhaps whatever he had done was bad.

He had donned eight cups of coffee. While jitters and dark circles didn’t seem to leave him alone, he slapped his face every 10 minutes to keep himself sane. His reflection in the computer screen showed hollow eyes and a five o’clock shadow that mocked his attempts at sanity.

As they packed their bags in silence, the weight of their concern for Yoshi hung heavy in the room. Lila sighed, breaking the tension. "I can't believe we're just supposed to leave like this. What if something terrible has happened to Yoshi?"

Enlai nodded in agreement, his brows furrowed in deep thought. "I know, but we can't do much from here. This was his dream too and without him Podlazice will be nothing but a place."

Sejin, the most optimistic of the group, tried to lighten the mood. Though his cheeks were sunken and his eyes hollow, he still did try. "Maybe Yoshi just needed some time alone to figure things out. Let's not jump to conclusions."

“A person who needed alone time hasn’t been for ten days so this does not make sense.”

Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of the office phone ringing. Lila hesitated before answering, afraid of what news it might bring. To their relief, it was their supervisor confirming their travel arrangements for Podlazice.

With heavy hearts, they made their way out of the office, their minds still consumed by thoughts of Yoshi.

It was raining again, quite heavily. Again, not the rainy season but the rain kept falling. The chilly evening air did little to ease their worries as they hailed a cab to take them home.

During the ride, they sat in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. The streets passed by in a blur as the cab weaved through the city traffic. Finally, Sejin spoke up, his voice soft but resolute. "We'll find Yoshi, no matter what it takes. We will find him, safe and sound."

Lila and Enlai nodded in agreement, a sense of determination filling the air around them.

The rain-slicked streets blurred past as Enlai sat in the back of the cab, exhaustion clinging to his bones. All he craved now was the warmth of his own four walls. It won’t calm all the storm inside him, yet the soft embrace of his worn-out couch, the familiar scent of brewing tea and Yuhok would calm him a little.

However, as the cab slowed in the middle of nowhere, a café shined through his eyes. Trees lined the sides but that café was there. It was little place with a neon sign that flickered like a heartbeat.

Enlai’s gaze wandered, curiosity pulling him from his exhaustion. The café’s windows were misted, like secrets half-revealed. Hollow Brew, it said.

Curiosity tugged at him, pulling him from the cocoon of exhaustion. He should have dismissed it—the cab driver’s mistake, perhaps—but something about that mist-shrouded window held him captive. Enlai squinted, trying to pierce through the fog.

And then he saw him.

Yuhok.

His Yuhok.

Before he could confirm his own eyes, the cab had drove way past them.