The livid flare burns on the wick. The smokes ascend through the space mystically creating mysterious shadows throughout the room. He sat there under the puny glow from the kerosene lamp. His eyes watched the dark ink wave and danced on the rough marzipan page.
Pages to pages, Dr. Park crammed through the long and short paragraphs in the hope to find the answer to all of this mess. And as his eyes drilled into the alphabet, a sentence caught his attention and called to his awakening mind. 'On November 23, 1884, when the famous actress Min Eun-na died under mysterious circumstances.'
Dr. Park frowned at the article read. He immediately grabbed his pen and a notepad to jot down the date. "September 23, 1901, is also the day when the family Chui was murdered in their house." Park came to a realization. The retrospective events were permutated like birds falling from trees, one by one. "And the scar on Yoongi's nape, it has the number 23rd too," he whispered to himself.
Park hurriedly opened his computer and search for the date. May 23rd, the month of Lucifer, was also the month of a lunar eclipse, the day when the ritual happens.
Each year, a ritual is cast by a group of cults on top of the mountain. This rumor is known throughout the town, some people believe it, and some just see it as a ridiculous horror story to scare kids. But this rumor is indeed real. The cult is said to make a person's wish come true. Even the most impossible wish can become real through their 'God'.
To do that, they offer a head of a sacrificial goat as a witness to the ritual. It symbolizes the hungry and tainted soul of the person. But the ritual cannot be done without something in exchange. For a wish to command, there must be a soul of an unborn child. A soul to pay for a soul. And lastly, the person will sign in the contract with their blood to prove that they agreed to the deal.
A long time ago, a lady wish to be a famous actress, but no one pays attention to her talent. No one wants to take her because they say she wasn't good enough. She just doesn't suit to be an actress. The lady was desperate at the moment, and it left her with the only choice she has. Someone told her that if she wants to fulfill her dream, she should go to the top of the mountain at 3:00 am, and they should help her. She's pregnant with her son and her boyfriend ran away after she told him. The lady doesn't want to live a penurious life for her and her coming child. So at 3:00 am sharp, she went to the mountain, made a deal with the devil, and gave her unborn son as payment. After that, the lady becomes a famous actress...And her name was, "Min Eun-na."
Dr. Park felt his body grow limp as a realization strikes him like a truck. Everything is making a lot of sense now. He dropped his pen and his lips drained in color. 'It's Yoongi... He's the missing soul.'
Dr. Park grabbed the calendar and blotted the date. He has to think of something to break the deal. There must be a way to break the deal. There has to be.
November 23rd is the next eclipse and the next ritual, when that day comes, Yoongi was already twenty-three. During the eclipse, the souls are weak and the devils' strength is strong, which will make it hard to defeat them.
"Only if there is a solution to stop the next ritual," Dr. Park wondered.
____
He sat immovably, staring at the ground. He could see from where he is, the thick smoke forming like clouds, the blazing fire of misery. Yoongi can hear from their laughter, the amusement of seeing people suffering under their merciless hands. Their loud voice piercing in his ears. They celebrate because they know the day to take the missing soul is near, and nothing can stop them.
It is his fate. And he can't change it.
He's starting to think, that maybe hell is not that bad. Sure it is full of tribulation, affliction, and grief-but above all, it is better than the real world. Here, to what they called home, it has no freedom. You'll get to live, but your life is meaningless because you're trapped between the barricades. It is so dark. He can't breathe. He is suffocating.
There is no light. It is hopeless.
But he'll be there soon too. He'll make sure. Probably alive but worse than being dead, at least he's away from them. They're the real monsters. They said they want to help, but they only want him to die by injecting him with those drugs that make him inert. He hates those shit so much. If only not because of Dr. Park, he has killed them all already. Burn their souls and watch them sinners beg to die.
That would be a sight to see.
"I tried to be a good guy because that is what you want, yet, you still left me." A tear rolled down his cheeks. His expression remains stoic and his wild lavender eyes that glow in flame were now just an empty void.
____
Yoongi heard the door scrape, he turned in its direction, ready to greet the young doctor. However, the look on his face immediately dropped as it is not the man he expected to see.
It's Dr. Kim.
"What are you doing here? Where's Dr. Park?" He asked. Min Yoongi had never liked Kim. He's a pain in the neck. Besides that, he hates how his eyes stare at him. They just look stupid. Dr. Kim always acts smart, but the truth is, he's dumb and far away from being a genius.
He's like those cows that don't know their place on the farm. In essence, he's just dirt on the floor, and he can wipe him out whenever he wants.
"Dr. Park can't come today. He took leave," Dr. Kim replied, his infuriating eyes looking back at him. He put the tray with medicine on the floor. "Don't ask me why, I don't know either," he remarks, shoving his hands inside the pocket of his jacket.
"But... He's coming back, right?" Yoongi watched him walk to the door, he stopped for a moment before turning back. Now had a smirk imprinted on his face. "Probably yes, probably not. But I advise you not to keep your hopes up, Park is still a human and he can refuse when he doesn't want it anymore. He can leave you whenever he wants."
---
The sound of metal grating against the ground echoed through the hallway, and a pair of unfamiliar feet walked in, breaking him out of his thoughts.
"Do you think he can do it? That kid acts like a wimp, I wouldn't be surprised if later he'll come stumbling out the door," Dr. Kim gauged.
Seokjin smacked his head. "Yah! Don't look down on him. He might have balls than you." Dr. Kim only shook his head, the confidence was evident in his smile. "I doubt that."
****
"What are you doing here?" His deep emotionless voice gives him chills. Taehyung's grip on the tray tightened, trying to stand in his position and fight the fear that slowly grew inside him. He doesn't feel good inside the room. The aura is just too dark and feels oddly enough for his urine to burst from his meatus.
'Oh God, this is bad.' He thought.
He took a deep breath. "It's time to take your medicine," he said bravely, trying to stop his voice from shaking. Taehyung digs his nail into the metal he's holding subconsciously. His eyes never leave the boy.
The pale boy snickered, his head lolling still. Taehyung looked at him confused, the room slowly grew darker and he found it quite hard to breathe with the bubble in his chest blocking the airway. The awry temperature makes him want to flee out the door and leave his shit behind. The patient started laughing. A dark malicious laugh.
He slowly raised his head to look at the terrified man. His body is stiff. He's caught like a fly in his deadly 'gaze'. He wanted to scream, but he couldn't find his voice. It is gone right behind his throat.
His eyes. He doesn't have eyes. They're just empty holes where his eyes are supposed to be, and blood is leaking from them.
The door behind him suddenly shut, and he recoiled in surprise. "I don't want that. I'm hungry," The boy said, his voice was calm and rather sounded like a whisper. But the smarmy grin across his face tells otherwise.
Taehyung scoots away, silently trying to find a way out only to find himself locked in a room with the devil. A bead of sweat fell from his eyebrow onto the floor, and his lips quivered. "I-i... I will get you food. Tell me, what do you want? I-i... I'll get it for you..." The smile on the man's face grew disturbingly wider.
"Really? Will you do that for me?" Taehyung nodded his head violently. "Y-yes... I'll do anything... For you..." He gobbled, holding back his pee. His legs began to shiver as he was tormented with a tremendous fear of what might happen to him in the next second.
The patient smirtled. "Sometimes I don't know if humans are just too blind or they are stupid..." He slowly stood up and took a step forward. His mouth slits into a devilish leer. He stopped two steps away from the shaking man. Taehyung can feel the tension inside the room.
"What do you mean?"
"I hate humans... but they taste good." His mouth leaked with saliva. Taehyung attempted to run but his feet remained rigid to where they stood. He was rendered useless as his nightmare materialized before him. The monster pounced on him giving him no place to escape. Taehyung screamed, tears pricking his eyes, he could feel the sharp fangs seeking the nerves beneath his skin, strong nails slicing his back, and blood spurting out his neck as the man bit and ate.
Taehyung was scared. He was struggling to keep afloat. He couldn't think of a way to maneuver, his brain was freezing, as well as his body as the monster, hug him like a sloth.
He knew they heard him. They're just outside, listening. They knew this was going to happen, but they didn't do anything to stop it. He heard their footsteps coming, the loud banging on the door, and their faint voice screaming for him. It all sounds like a buzz of bees to him.
Taehyung felt dizzy and weak. His legs gave up on his weight.
They are right, humans are selfish; They only save themselves; they don't care if there's someone who's hurt or dies. Their needs were all that matters to them.