Under Control

Chapter 1: First Night

« Mia, Mia! It's late, hurry up! » My friend called out to me as I was making my way faster than I could under the rain. The library was going to close at ten and we were amazingly late. I reached the entrance and I was completely wet. Oh, great, what a nice a day. I sighed looking at Haneul and my mouth almost fell to the ground.

« How come you're completely dried?! You didn't have an umbrella, did you? » I glanced at her.

« I, um, no? I didn't » her eyes looked away. Got you.

« Ah! You little piece of...! Why didn't you come to pick me up? I'm soaking wet now! » I threw my hands in the air while she looked at me in pain.

« I'm... sorry? » She smiled a bit and I sighed. I really couldn't be angry with her, she was just the most adorable human being. I nodded and made my way into the library. It was empty and I liked the feeling more than anything else, having the library only for us. I greeted the old man sitting in the chair and he replied with a big smile. He knew me so well since I went to the library regularly. It was my place.

« So, what do we start off with? » Me and Haneul were university students, and it is known that when you're in university you have to study a lot. That day we went to take some notes about one work we had for the next week. We were history amateurs, but we also were strange ones. We were fans of occult, all those odd stories, that's why I wanted to mix those two and become a novelist. Haneul started liking all of them at my arrive. I wasn't Korean, differently from her, but I was living there from the first day of university, as my dreams were aiming to since I was little. I was European, indeed. And I loved European history as much as those "odd stories". Then I started sharing them with my first friend and she was mesmerised by my stories. We particularly liked that library because there were a lot of books which talked about those odd stories we loved much.

I got up from my seat and went looking around for some books, since our work was almost done for that night. There was silence all over the place and it wasn't really lighted up. As I was making my way to the very end of the shelves I started feeling uneasy. The light was always less and the silence wasn't helping at all. I felt watched closely, but there was no one other than me and Haneul that day. The atmosphere sent shivers down my spine, but one book caught my attention. I don't know why, but out of all the books in the library I saw clearly that one and it even was high-placed. I took the sliding scale, bringing it near the book and made my way up. I didn't realise, indeed, how high I was until I heard some noise coming from the near shelve and I almost fell from the stair.

« Who's there? » I asked loudly but got no response. My hands and knees started shaking, the book fell to the ground with a loud thud. « Haneul, if this is a joke it isn't funny, you know?! » I screamed louder, and again no response. I felt air running through my air and I turned around. How can someone be at this height, it can't be, right? I looked down and there was no one, but the book which once was there, disappeared.

« H-Haneul? » Tears started forming in my eyes as I didn't know what was happening.

« Oh, finally, here you are! » My heart started beating normally again as tears fell from my eyes and I quickly ran down the sliding stair. I ran past her and got to the beginning of the library and I noticed our things being packed up in our bags and the old man not sitting there anymore.

« Oh my God, Mia, why are you suddenly running? » A breathless Haneul reached out for me and I turned to face her. The looked on her face suddenly changed when she saw mine.

« Hey, Mia, are you okay? What happened? Why are you so pale? » She touched my face as I was looking at the end of the library, still in shock for what had happened a moment before.