#sua angst

[thatonesociologystudent]

controversial opinion the alnst fandom hasn’t suffered enough

reference under cut

[sanccharine]

whistle | sa

royalty au, ghost au

pairing: necromancer!sua x ghost!reader

genre: angst, fantasy

word count: 2.7k

warning: mentions of blood

summary: where sua desperately wishes for you to return by her side and surprises herself with what she discovers.

song rec: whistle by dreamcatcher | still can't believe they performed it ;-;

a/n: happy halloween !!! wrote another fic for ficscafe’s event, picked prompt forty-seven – necromancer x ghost ; where they bring back what’s supposed to be lost. kinda had more planned,,,,but i got lazy :P and thanks to @masterninjacow​ for beta reading and picking the banner <33

Deep within the thicket of the forest, before the moss-covered monolith stood Bora. A withered piece of parchment fluttered under the grip of her fingers while a curved silver dagger was held in her left hand. She wore a strange, concerning expression. Her gaze, laser-focused on the altar before her, was controlled yet obsessively desperate.

The sight of her was appalling.

Porcelain skin was marred with scars and cuts, purpling circles under her eyes accompanied with unkempt hair and hollowed cheeks. And her clothes; what was once expensive leather armour, stitched by expert hands, had been reduced to tatters, wrinkled and sodden with dirt and sweat. Above it all, under the presence of the eclipsed moon, she was coloured a crude shade of crimson akin to fresh blood.

Tonight will be the night she’d see you again.

For months, Bora roamed the halls of her royal library, turning pages until her fingers bled and reading line upon line of words until her head spun. Without a moment of rest, she researched for a way to bring you back to her. Her servant maids cried at her unruly appearance and begged for her to eat, while the royal court scorned her for ignoring her duties and plotted to dethrone her. With your opal pendant around her neck, none of it worried her because when you return to her side, everything will be at balance again.

She’d come close, frustratingly close, at finding you. However, you always managed to slip away from her grasp.

The first time had been on a sombre, windless night. In the large castle grounds, flames of amber and vermilion danced brightly at the hearth. Amongst the warm scent of oak firewood, she caught glimpses of your fragrance; lavender dew soap mixed with a touch of fresh soil. Tears came to Bora’s eyes as she reminisced about your touch. The smooth skin of your cheeks and lips rested on her collar to the roughness of your calloused palms from many years on the battlefield. Every inhale was overwhelming, your scent and the responding memories stronger than the one before, slowly building up as the fire grew.

But you never came.

In fact, embers sparked and crackled before bursting into colours of fire Bora had never witnessed. Taking a step back, she watched in horror as all her work literally erupted, before being snuffed out by a mystical gust of wind that chilled her to the bone. Squinting at the charred wood, she crinkled the stolen piece of parchment and threw it into the hearth. Lingering sparks caught the sheet and consumed it before resuming the calm night, unlike the tempest of despair raging in Bora’s mind.

Though the attempt showed no promising results, the enchantment Bora had used had been a success; you were there that night, she just knew it! So she returned to the library and navigated the ancient book she’d torn the page from to try once more.

This time Bora stood at the tallest spire of her castle, glistening under the light of the crescent moon. With a talisman – your opal necklace – in one hand and salt in the other, she recited an enchantment in a language long forgotten. Then she waited patiently with her eyes closed, listening and feeling the biting draught that passed the stone walls. At the touch of a delicate finger kissing her knuckles, Bora’s eyelids flew wide open. It was for nought because there was no apparition of you, instead, she was left with a low whistle carried by the howling wind which was awfully alike to your humming. Disheartened, she closed her fingers around your opal pendant. It was warm to the touch, emanating a soft glow.

Maybe the night hadn’t been a waste! That had to mean something!

Slowly and steadily, Bora found herself casting more spells, refining herself and learning. One could say she was adept at the skill, another could argue it had developed into an addiction.

Bora depleted all the magic she’d come across, wasted every ingredient, and chanted every spell in search of you– in an attempt to see you one last time.

And see you, she did.

They were fleeting moments; your form cast by sunlight filtering through the clouds, finding your vague shape constructed by ocean foam, and felt your commanding but patient presence lingering by her shoulder as she walked down the castle halls. The last was the most painful, it was those moments that broke Bora – drove her insane, because she knew it, she knew you were there!

But she could never trust her senses. Her desperation transcended the simple spells she learned– No, she needed proof! Something more significant than her sightings.

Then one day, having taken a liking to the room in the spire, she sat surrounded by torn parchment and used materials. Bora had stayed up all night and was captivated by the sunrise. Across the room, a majestic mirror with clawed feet and a golden frame stood upright. Its molten border was intricately designed, depicting three hooded women with threads of gold connecting them. It had been tossed into this forgotten room because the mirror had always unsettled Bora. Rightfully so because she definitely caught your fleeting image crossing it only to vanish as soon as she looked.

For once, Bora used her own wits before jumping to tattered pages. Her eyes never left the rising sun as she waited, feeling out the room as your necklace warmed her collar. One low creak had Bora snapping her head to the mirror just as fist shrouded in shadows smashed the glass. Shards erupted and clattered beside Bora, who scrambled back for fear of getting cut.

Once her haggard breathing stopped, Bora’s mind began its whirring; book titles and whispered cautionary tales flashed past her eyes. There was something more at play here – something greater than her weak attempts at magic.

Bora found herself in the library again, and before she knew it, in a mirror dimension. Suddenly, there were unexplored worlds, unspoken enchantments, and unlimited resources for her to gain. Her cycle began again, she ventured worlds that no ordinary mind could conjure, witnessed creatures beyond her imagination, but most of all encountered a magic-user like herself though the old woman preferred to call herself a necromancer.

After a cup of brewed tea and charming words, Bora had a spell that was promised to work. Seeing the gleam in Bora’s eyes, the necromancer had offered her warnings. That her promise, her ambition to travel the edges of the world, or to the moon and back could become her ruining. What is the moon when one has witnessed the wonders she has, Bora thought to herself but she didn’t say a word except for goodbye.

As soon as the eclipse arrived, she dived deep into the woods behind her castle.

The forest was silent save for a few hoots of an owl, buzzing of insects, rustling leaves, and a distant growl of a large animal. Bora stumbled her way through dense roots before arriving at the altar. A slab of stone, upright and covered with rich green moss which was tinted brown under the darkened sky. In front of it placed was your necklace, the opal pendant reflecting a fascinating amalgamation of colours. On every face of the monolith, there was a symbol drawn in blood glowing faintly after completion.

Under the towering evergreen and the eclipsed moon, stood Bora. Soiled parchment stuffed into her pocket, her dirtied silver dagger glinting by her feet while she clutched her bleeding forearm. Her expression was pained but undaunted. So screwing her eyes shut, Bora began whispering an otherworldly enchantment.

At first, there was silence – the rumbling of the forest had come to a stop. Then the skin around her arm began to prickle before searing pain shot up through Bora’s arm. Gasping, she opened her eyes to see beads of crimson getting soaked up into the earth and moss. Tears cleared a trail down Bora’s cheek as she kept chanting through the pain, as trees began to rustle again, violently.

The breeze of the night turned into a chilling torrent, amassing leaves as it circled the monolith and the necromancer before it. Bora gulped as she watched wet earth clump together and roll past her feet, collecting cracked twigs and crushed leaves. Slowly and surely, the shape of a human body formed leaving Bora gawking. Rising up with it was your opal pendant, which now rested around a neck retaining colour. Then your features formed as if being sculpted by a phantom artist.

Bora’s temple ached when her eyes widened. She couldn’t believe it. There you were, real, solid, formed from clay and her blood.

Speechless with awe, Bora opted to observe you. Your eyes flutter open, taking a moment to familiarize yourself with the darkness before shifting your gaze to your bare toes and then stiff fingers. Calmly, you turned your palms, your fingertips floated above them, afraid to caress the newly formed skin. Once contact was made, you couldn’t help but stroke the curve of your face, dragging it down to the fall of your neck and picking up the pendant hanging there.

All Bora felt was elation, but she couldn’t comprehend the expression you wore.

You were biting your lip, eyebrows drawn together while your hand gripped your pendant. Bora’s breath hitched at the pressure you applied, it formed minuscule fractures along your knuckles.

“Y/N–” Bora’s cracked voice stopped before it could begin once she caught your pained stare.

“What did you do?” Was all you said, rubbing your neck as anguish blazed in your irises, akin to the hearth where she’d tried to summon you. Bora opened her mouth to explain herself, but was interrupted again. “This isn’t right, Bora. This–”

You hesitated as you let your hands fall to study them again. They were hairless and unblemished by your years of toil, you’d say they were just smooth but no skin is poreless. At the junction where your fingers met your palm, there were cracks, spiderwebbed to form the lines of a hand.

“What did–”

“I found you, I finally found you,” Bora said, the back of her hand pressed to her lips as more tears and blood spilt. Stammering and choking on tears, Bora continued, voice increasing when she saw your gaze flitting away, “We can finally be together again, this– this way you can be my side again!”

“What are you talking about, Bora?”

“I can’t– I can’t do this without you!” Bora shrieked, no doubt scaring creatures lurking in the night. With an emotionless expression, you watched the trees behind her. Bora raked a hand down her face before muttering, “You have to return… Our kingdom, our citizens, those irritating royals! I can make this work! This form–!”

“Do you hear yourself?” you hissed, shaken by the state of your loved one, glimpsing at the ground. “What have–”

“I know you were there!” Bora screamed before stopping completely to allow the sobs to pass through her quaking shoulders. After she collected herself, she began, a hint of betrayal tinged in her voice. “You were there, I could feel you. In the fire, the tower, the mirror. But you didn’t … want to be?” When you stayed silent, Bora connected the pieces for you, “You sent that gust of wind to put out my spell. At the tower, you held my hand and then… the mirror. You broke it?”

The last one came out more of a question in disbelief than an accusatory statement like Bora had intended. She waited for you to say something but all you did was toy with that opal and stare off into the woods. Hanging her head low, Bora fell to her knees before you.

“Can’t you just come back to me… ” Then, with a choked sob, she asked, “Please?”

“It wasn’t me.”

The silent confession had Bora tilting her head up, the confusion clear as day.

“It wasn’t me. I never did… any of that.” You squinted at the rustling forest, the branches dancing to the wind as leaves scattered to the ground then caught Bora’s distraught stare. “It was you.”

Bora, being the educated ruler of a great kingdom, now well-versed with forgotten languages and witchcraft, eloquently said, “Huh?”

A chuckle quickly transformed into a cough as you cleared your throat. Taking Bora’s shoulders, you pulled her to your height and held her scarred palms in your unmarked ones.

“It was you, who else could it be? At every attempt, your raw emotions, your ambition – your passion – stopped you from hurting yourself. I mean look around you!” Bora glanced at the rowdy forest but didn’t pay it much mind. She attempted to interject, but you were already a step ahead, “Wondering about the mirror?”

Bora was a woman of company, there was never a quiet moment with her… at least when you were alive. So the sight of her being slack-jawed had a smile forming on your lips, though it vanished quickly when you spoke.

“Dead people are gone. Lost. They–” You pursed your lips before cautiously continuing. “We have no corporeal forms, we’re powerless. I couldn’t harm a fly even if I wanted to. I mean, even now,” you slightly raised Bora’s palms to gesture. “I’m only here because of you. Watch.”

You lifted your index finger, waved it in the air until Bora followed it like a cat would a beam of light before brushing her cut. She hissed but remained still under your touch before gasping. A small part of the cut began stitching together skin, the blood finally slowing to a stop as colour returned to her arm, all that remained was a flesh wound. However, when your gaze moved to your hand, you watched the cracks deepen as your skin turned to the colour of stone.

“There’s some power within you, some magic, something strong, that you’ve awakened.” Your movements were slow, but you ignored them and drew Bora closer to you. “You’ve cultivated it in such a short period and for me! Could you even imagine how you could help our people?”

You paused to look over the forest, and Bora followed you. This deep within the woods, the kingdom wasn’t visible but the two of you could envision the flickering lights, the horse-drawn carriages, and the worn streets with tired merchants. What you could see was your home, your castle to the north, and the tallest spire you often visited and now Bora resided in, looking majestic and haunting under the eclipse.

Exhaling, you tilted your head to the sky as you said, “The dead cannot cross over to the living again, it’s not possible… it’s not permanent.” You smirked, bringing your greying hand up. “There’s a balance that must be maintained.”

Bora bit her lips and shied away from your gaze, fully aware that you were right.

“I never left you,” you said beneath a whisper, as your hand closed around the pendant again. “My presence you said you felt… Do you always carry my pendant with you?”

“Don’t even remove it when I bathe,” Bora said, wearing a proud grin.

“Do you even bathe anymore?” Bora barked a sardonic laugh as you chuckled, taking a moment to cherish your banter before becoming serious. “But that must be what you felt, my pendant.”

There was a moment of silence between the two of you as Bora allowed the weight of her realization to wash over her.

Instead of drawing her in, this time, you stepped away from the symbols she’d drawn. Instantly, you felt the energy drain away so you made quick work of what you wanted to do. Unclasping the necklace, you secured it around her neck and centred it right below her chin. Her eyes were glassy as she looked at you, her hand mindlessly reaching for the pendant.

“I’ll always be with you, Bora.” You offered a grim smile, pointedly avoiding her gaze under the pretence of fixing her hair while Bora couldn’t tear her gaze away from you. Taking the back of her neck, you drew her in and pressed your lips gently to her forehead and mumbled into them, “Always.”

When Bora had opened her eyes, you were gone. Despite your absence, a warmth emitted from inside her closed palm. As the eclipse came to an end, a lonesome tear fell as a small smile graced Bora’s lips. Now, she really did know that you were there, right beside her.

any feedback is much appreciated.

a/n: i loved writing this one hehehe. once again, happy spoopy day !

tagging: @its-a-me-mario-hihi​ @luvlyyrv

[multiphandomunnies]

Trust me||Sua&Siyeon

A/N: Please share your thoughts with me. Your opinions are very important to me. Thank you for reading this story ^-^

Admin: Heather

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Chaeyoung's journal

Running away was not an option. Neither was screaming. You were completely at Jiu’s mercy and she seemed to be enjoying that kind of power. “Just tell me, Y/N.” It seemed like the question has been cut before getting to the important part, but the other half never came. Jiu was glaring at you in expectation and her patience was clearly wearing thin.

“What do you want from me?” you asked, cursing the slight shakiness in your voice. Showing weakness could be deadly in your current situation.

“Explanation. Why are you here?” Maybe it wasn’t the smartest move to snap at her, but you couldn’t help it.

“Why am I here? Aren’t you the one who brought me here? It all happened when you decided to start chasing me in my dreams!”

Surprisingly, your angry words seemed to make some impact. “It’s a completely different thing that we’re not going to discuss now.” Jiu stated firmly. “I’m asking about your presence in Dreamworld.”

“You invited me to Dreamworld. You even personally welcomed me here!”

Her icy glare made her look like a polar opposite of the bubbly girl you saw at school. Almost like she was a different person. “So you really have no idea. Good.” You wanted to know what she was talking about, but forcing her to talk would probably be fruitless. “You don’t want to go deeper into this, Y/N.” She said and glanced towards a mirror on of the walls. “You could get hurt.”

“At least we know they work together.” Your friend noted everything about this night’s dream in her notebook. “Now we have to find out what they want from you.”

You leaned on a table next to her. “I’m not sure they want something from me. Jiu seemed irritated by my presence and Siyeon only wanted to get answers.”

Your friend looked at you curiously. “There has to be some reason for all of you to keep hanging out in this whole dreamworld.” Being forced to talk in a creepy room wasn’t your definition of hanging out, but Chaeyoung had a point. It seemed to be a part of something much bigger, but you couldn’t put your finger on it. “Maybe we should find the house.”

You turned rapidly and knocked down some books. “You think this place exists?”

Chaeyoung shrugged. “Look, it’s better than nothing. The girls are real, so the mansion can be real too. I read that it’s almost impossible to imagine something with so many details.” That was a start. Very questionable and a bit absurd, but a start. If you found that place, maybe you could find out more about your situation or even put an end to it.

You were lost in thoughts about regaining healthy sleep schedule when Chaeyoung started hitting your arm. “Y/N, Y/N! Look!” She pointed towards one of the exits where Sua and Siyeon were talking. It was the first time you saw these two together at school. “They may be saying something important.” Your friend suggested.

Siyeon looked pretty troubled and kept glancing around as if she was worried somebody could hear them. Her companion must have noticed that, because she took her hand and led her out of the cafeteria. Chaeyoung hit your arm once more and showed you to follow them. You got up from your seat and quickly moved towards the exit. The hard part was to find the girls and listen to their conversation without raising their suspicions. You walked through the hall, passing some other students without any trace of Sua and Siyeon. Where could they go? It had to be some secluded place, but close to the main building.

“Hey, Joy!” You waved towards the cheerleader and quickly approached her. “I have to ask Sua about our assignment. Do you know where she is?” You lied with an innocent smile.

Joy scoffed and frowned at the mention of her fellow cheerleader’s name. “She’s probably making out with her girlfriend somewhere.” She answered with venom in her voice.

You were taken aback by it, because Joy was always smiling brightly. “Her girlfriend?” you asked and Joy smiled weakly.

“Don’t even try Y/N. She’s the type of girl to get whatever she wants. Try looking in the locker room.”

Her suggestion made a lot of sense, but something still didn’t add up. “I thought cheerleaders can’t be there when it’s not practice.”

Joy’s eyes got even more clouded and she cleared her throat. “Yeah, well. The captain can go anywhere she pleases.”

You nodded as she walked past you when suddenly you understood her weird behavior. “I was sure you are the captain.”

Joy turned around and flashed you another sad smile. “Whatever she wants, Y/N. Be careful.” With that she walked away to join her another friends. You moved towards the locker room thinking how in the world Sua managed to push Joy off her position. Students loved that girl and replacing her seemed to be impossible.

You creeped into the locked room and noticed that it was empty. It seemed like the girls already left or were never here in the first place. Just as you were about to turn around and leave, you heard voices getting closer and closer. Your breath caught in your throat as you dashed into one of the bathroom stalls and prayed that no one catches you lurking around locker rooms like some kind of creep.

“We’ll find her, Singnie.” Sua’s voice sounded uncharacteristically soft. It wasn’t her usual high chipper or the low whisper she used that night. A loud sigh was heard next to her.

“I don’t know, Bora.” This took you by surprise. Why would Siyeon call Sua that? “It’s like she disappeared into thin air. No sign of her anywhere.”

There was a short moment of silence that was soon ended by Sua’s serious tone. “Did anyone tell Dami?” Siyeon must have answered nonverbally, because you didn’t hear anything. “We have to do something about this. We lost another member less then a week after the first disappearance.”

“You don’t have to remind me.” Siyeon huffed and you had to restrain yourself from imagining her bangs being moved by the stream of air coming from her lips. “At least we took care of that guy.”

Sua’s warm giggle made your heart flutter, even though the conversation started drifting towards the murder territory. “Yeah, no more trouble from that one.” She announced smugly. “It was fun, though.”

Her words earned another huff from Siyeon. “We have different definitions of fun.” You could practically hear her rolling her eyes. “Let’s just hope Gahyeon finds something soon.”

The answer was drowned by the sound of the bell and the girls left. You waited until their footsteps weren’t audible and quickly moved back to the class, knowing that you will be terribly late. Maybe Mrs. Lee won’t give you detention.

“So we’re sure that Yoohyeon’s missing.” Chaeyoung whispered. You were both trying to talk about everything without getting busted by the supervisor. Being late to class made you get detention immediately and Chaeyoung heroically sacrificed herself and joined you. “What about the other one?”

You shrugged. “No idea. Sua called them a “member”, so they must be one of them. Do you think it’s another student?”

Chaeyoung shrugged and kept typing on her phone. She preferred that to taking the notebook out in school since that incident a few days ago. Besides, it way easier to hide a small device that the journal. “None of our students disappeared recently.” She whispered after a moment. “At least, there is nothing about it on the Internet.”

The teacher left for a while, so you could talk normally for a moment. Chaeyoung moved her chair closer and looked around the room. “Why would Joy be here?” You looked at the girl. She avoided eye contact with anyone and stared at the wall. “Doesn’t she have practice?”

“She may not want to be there at the moment.” You sighed and Chaeyoung glanced at you curiously, ready to ask another question. “She’s not the captain anymore.”

Your friends eyes got big as she stared at Joy in shock. “What?! They have a huge competition coming up. Why would they do that? Who is the new captain?” You sighed again and moved closer to her.

“Sua.” You revealed and Chaeyoung seemed like she was about to pass out.

“That’s impossible.” She stated. “Or unreasonable at least. Sua is a senior, Y/N. Giving her charge for only a few month doesn’t make any sense. Unless…”

“Unless what?”

“Unless it’s just a cover for something bigger.” Chaeyoung took out her phone and got back to typing. You eyed her without any clue what was happening.

“What do you mean, Chae?” she looked at you as if you were dumb.

“Think about it, Y/N.” she started explaining. “Sua is the cheerleader captain. Siyeon and Yoohyeon are the most important ones in the band…”

“And Jiu’s the school president.” You finished as everything finally clicked. “They have the most important duties in school.”

Chaeyoung nodded and moved her phone in your direction. “The band previously played different music, but got no recognition. Siyeon and Yoohyeon changed everything and became crazy popular.”

You saw a photo of a few girls in bright clothing. They seemed to be very sweet and cheerful as they smiled and made cute poses to the camera. Next to the them was a picture of the current band which was the polar opposite. You noticed that it was the same set of girls with two members added – Siyeon and Yoohyeon.

“These are the same people.” You noticed. Chaeyoung nodded and put her finger on the first photo.

“Minus Wendy.” She explained and you looked at a pretty girl with bangs. Your friend was right, she wasn’t in the second picture. “People say that she got severe stage fright and stopped performing.”

You couldn’t stop thinking that all of this wasn’t a coincidence. Influential people in school started losing their positions due to these girls. “What about Jiu? She isn’t the president for that long either.”

“There’s no drama in her case.” Chaeyoung shrugged. “Irene graduated and Jiu was elected as the next president.” In that moment the supervisor walked into the classroom and announced that you can go home. You linked your arms with Chaeyoung and left. You were planning to have a sleepover soon to destress and try to take your minds of the terrifying dreams that kept haunting you. Walking through the familiar streets with your best friend made you feel a bit more at ease. Like you could finally breathe. Maybe there was a way to solve everything. Your optimistic thoughts were interrupted by a paper flying right into your face. Chaeyoung burst out laughing as you yelped in surprise.

“Very funny.” You grumbled and she took the page off. She crumpled it and started walking towards the closest garbage can when your blood ran cold. “Wait!” you snatched the paper and ignored her confused questions. You straightened the paper and looked at the headline as you felt yourself trembling. Local man goes missing and a picture of a building. The building. That building.

“Y/N? Y/N, what’s wrong.” Chaeyoung shook your arm.

“We found the house.”

[multiphandomunnies]

Trap||Sua

A/N: Second part of the Halloween AU. Hope you like it!

Admin: Heather

Warnings: It’s kind of dark, a bit more than the other one. Nothing gory though.

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Almost tripping over a branch again was kind of pathetic, but it wasn’t your concern right now. You were on the run once again. The forest was quite dense and you kept tripping every few minutes. You heard someone behind you. Was it Jiu? Or someone else? It almost seemed like there were several people running after you. Maybe she had backup. A horde of shadow creeps or something like that. 

Doesn’t matter. Just. Keep. Running. Maybe it was better not to know anyway. 

You sprinted through the trees, trying to avoid any obstacles. Will that chase ever stop? Will Jiu ever get bored? Something moved in the dark on your left. You ducked behind a tree and tried to control your breathing. She was here. She would get you this time. 

You peeped from your hiding spot and almost screamed. Someone was there. A girl. But she didn’t look like Jiu. Her hair was shorter and brown. Plus she seemed scared. Sitting on a stone with some branches blocking her from moving. No, they were hands. Heavy, wooden hands. A hostage? You observed the upset look on her face when she turned her head a bit and looked right at you.

Your eyes snapped open and got instantly blinded by the lamp that you forgot to turn off last night. Sleeping was even harder now that the situation in your dreams changed. Somehow, you managed to run away from the mansion where Jiu was chasing you. You were now running away in the woods around it from what seemed to be a group of people. 

Unless Jiu got super powers and could instantly teleport or duplicate herself. You never actually saw anyone except for her in your dreams. Until that girl appeared. No matter how hard you focused, somehow you couldn’t recall her face. Who was she? What was she doing there? What was your subconsciousness trying to tell you? All these questions felt too difficult for your tired brain. If you wanted to figure this out, you would need some support.

“A girl?” Chaeyoung asked, chewing on her pen. “Where did that come from?”

You shrugged your shoulder and took a sip of coffee. Recently it was your only source of energy. 

“I have no idea, Chae. She was just sitting there. It almost look like she was a hostage.” Your friend pointed her pen on you. 

“Or a bait. Really, Y/N this whole situation just seems bizarre.” 

That was the conclusion you came to without her help. Having the same nightmare over and over again was kind of suspicious and you couldn’t shake off the feeling that there was even more to come.

“I heard that it’s impossible to come up with a person.” Chaeyoung stated. “So, you had to see her before. Maybe she goes to our school?” 

You could only shrug again in defeat. “It would be easier if I could remember her face.” This discussion was fruitless. 

It was really hard to make the next move without knowing who the hell was in that forest with you. And most importantly, what was she doing there? 

“Hey, Y/N.” You looked at Chaeyoung who was smiling encouragingly. “Don’t give up, we will find the way to stop these dreams.” 

Before you could answer, a few people approached your table with big smiles on their faces.

“Hey Chaeyoung, hey Y/N!” a bubbly voice of Joy, the cheerleader captain, greeted you with enthusiasm. Other girls surrounding her also flashed dazzling smiles, but you were focused on the one person behind Joy’s back. It must have looked pretty bad, cause Chaeyoung jabbed you in the ribs. 

“Ow!” You yelped in protest as she shot you a fake smile. 

“Joy just asked if we would watch the next game.” She explained and you moved your gaze back to the tall girl in front of you.

“It will be amazing!” she squealed and clapped her hands. Sua prepared an amazing routine and you can’t miss it!” 

A short girl peeked from behind Joy’s back and did a small bow with a big smile on her face. It made you blush a little, but you quickly composed yourself. 

“We’ll be there.” You answered and the girls moved to the other table.

“Dude, you were practically drooling at Sua. Seriously, you want to eat her or something?” Chaeyoung’s teasing was cut short by your sharp glare. “Y/N what’s wrong?” 

“It was Sua!” Your friend tilted her head a bit in confusion. 

“Yes. I just said that.” You groaned and shook your head. 

“No! It was her. In my dream.” 

That got Chaeyoung’s full attention. 

“Okay, so first you dream about being hunted down by the school president and now the star of the cheerleading team is there too? You really need to get laid.”

You punched her arm for that last comment. She had a point though. Why was students appearing in your dreams? And in so weird circumstances. You weren’t sure if you even interacted with Sua before. 

“How do you know her?” You asked Chaeyoung. 

“She worked with Mina to choreograph the school play.” 

It took every ounce of self-control not to tease your friend on her hopeless crush on the Japanese student. Sometimes she was just so adorably obvious.

“It doesn’t make any sense.” You groaned once more and rested your head against the table. “It’s just not adding up.” 

Maybe you were just going crazy. Having weird nightmares was just a result of constant stress and crushing anxiety. School could be so fun. 

“Y/N. I think you should take a look.” 

You straightened yourself on the chair and followed the direction of Chaeyoung’s gaze. Sua was standing by a wall and talking with- 

“Jiu?” that was surprising. “Are they friends or something?” 

Your friend shrugged. “Well, they’re the same age and have Maths together I guess. But they don’t seem too happy.” 

She was right. Sua was visibly upset and kept vigorously explaining something to Jiu. It almost looked like an argument. 

“Maybe it’s not a coincidence that these two keep appearing in your dreams.”

 You looked at her as if she was crazy. 

“What do you mean?” “That maybe Sua really is trapped. By Jiu.”

 That was quite a theory. A pretty illogical one. 

“So Jiu is a witch now?”

“You can’t say that it’s not possible.” 

Maybe it was the lack of sleep, but it really seemed like she could have a point. What if Sua was another victim of the creepy dreamworld. But if she was trapped, it meant that-

“I have to save her.” 

Chaeyoung nodded slowly. 

“Seems like it.” 

You looked back to the girls only to catch Sua’s eye. Jiu was nowhere in sight.

The same pattern again. Dark forest, tall trees and the footsteps following you. Right behind you. Almost catching you. They were everywhere. Surrounding you. Luring you somewhere. Probably to your inevitable doom. Maybe it was even Jiu herself. Still nothing. You didn’t see anyone, but you knew they were there. Waiting for you to make a mistake. Ready to attack. 

Jiu wasn’t dumb. She would eventually find you. Your mind was racing. Run, run, run. Faster. Quicker. Further. It was the only think on your mind. It almost felt like a trap. Wait. You suddenly stopped and tried to focus. Trap. Trapped. Imprisoned. Captured. In the dark. Dark forest. Tall trees. Somewhere. Trap. Trap.. Trap…

“Sua!” it happened again. You gained control over your dream. Snatched your fate away from Jiu. You could finally help Sua. She couldn’t be that far away. You moved to the right and started marching through the trees. The steps were not audible anymore. Your sudden consciousness must have kick Jiu out of here and let you walk around freely. 

Looking around for Sua, you could finally take a glance at your surroundings. Some tree branches had weird stick figures handing from them. Who could have hung them there? Jiu was a tall girl, but could she reach that high? It could be some charms or other occult symbols. Needless to say, you were really creeped out and wanted to find and free Sua immediately. You had to find her though and it wasn’t that easy. 

Suddenly you noticed something sparkling gently in the dark. You picked it up and saw that it was a weird book, closed with four chains. One of them was broken and it allowed you to open it. It was full of weird symbols and runes, but also pictures of girls. You were flicking through the pages when something caught your attention. The girl in one of the pictures was blocked by hands covering her body which was suspiciously similar to what happened to Sua. What were you supposed to do with it though? Could that book be the key to freeing the poor girl?

Something fell from your pocket and you frowned in confusion. Your pajamas definitely didn’t have any pockets. The object turned out to be a… lighter? That was some serious fire hazard, considering that you were in a middle of the forest. Jiu must have thought that you were an idiot. Burning the forest to the ground was definitely not a good idea. But an sudden thought appeared in your head. Paper could be burned. What if that was the way to free Sua? 

Of course it could be Jiu messing with you, but she didn’t even show herself since that night at the house. You had to at least try. The paper caught on fire very quickly and it allowed you to see better. You could notice that Sua was only a few meters away, staring at you. She was getting more visible with every second. Wait… It seemed like the forest were also burning around you. Almost as if it was connected to the page. 

“No!” you tried to make it stop, but the flames were already surrounding Sua. That didn’t seem to bother her though. She kept staring at you with blank expression while the fire kept getting closer and closer until finally enveloping-

“No!”

You got up with beating heart and tears on your cheeks. Was that supposed to be that way? Sua seemed calm and peaceful, but what is she just wasn’t aware of the situation? Or maybe you were just weird and this whole damn thing was just a dream. There was only one way to make sure Sua was okay.

“We did it!” the whole school was shouting as your team scored in the last second. Chaeyoung seemed as ecstatic as the rest and you were both yelling enthusiastically. 

It wasn’t the school spirit in your case. Sua was cheering with her team, absolutely nailing the choreography. They almost overshadowed the players with their amazing skills. Nothing bad happened to her. She was alright, smiling, laughing and cheering for the boys. It was a huge relief to see her this way and know that the fire was just in your head.

You and Chaeyoung started heading back home when suddenly you heard a high voice calling your name. 

“Y/N, wait up!” You turned around to see Sua sprinting in your direction. 

Chaeyoung glanced at you and took a small step back as you waited for the cheerleader to approach you. For someone so tiny, she was extremely fast. And strong as it turned out a second later when she basically threw herself at you and hugged you tightly. You couldn’t even move in shock as her warm whisper tickled your ear. 

“Thank you for being there.” 

After that she winked at you and ran away to her teammates. Chaeyoung seemed as surprised as you. 

“What was that about?” You shrugged. “About seeing her performing.”

Because it was about the game. Right?

You woke up in the middle of the night and tried to adjust your position. But you couldn’t move. You tried again, but without any results. For the first time in your life you experienced sleep paralysis. According to science, it was no big deal. You just had to try move different parts of your body. You opened your eyes and looked into darkness. Was it… glistening? 

Your breath hitched as you realized that it wasn’t the gloom of your bedroom. It was a pair of eyes right in front of you. And its owner was straddling you. Immobilizing you. You barely felt warm lips grazing yours with a husky whisper.

“Thanks for coming.”