Candles flickered as Han Sooyoung scrunched her eyes trying to decipher symbols written in the book. The only other source of light in the room was moonlight seeping through the curtains but she wanted to be sure she didn't make any mistakes. After all, if you decide to summon a demon at 3am might as well go all out and do it properly.
She had found the book on accident and she'd been itching to try the described rituals ever since. Taking a deep breath Han Sooyoung looked over her work checking whether she didn't miss anything: a four-armed star drawn on the floor with a different number of candles in each corner - nine, one, five and eight - representing which demon was going to be called upon.
Everything was ready. The woman started slowly chanting phrases she read from the book.
At first nothing seemed to happen but when she finished the incantation inside the star several squid-like tentacles crawled out towards the candles. Light went out. Curtains moved despite lack of wind and in the soft shimmer of the moon Han Sooyoung saw a silhouette of a man with enormous black wings floating above the floor casting a shadow across the room. Red horns sprouting from his forehead gleamed faintly as his eyelids fluttered. The scene could seem beautiful but Han Sooyoung felt terrified, threatening aura oozing of the creature, crashing down on her in waves as she shuddered under his gaze. After what felt like hours, the demon opened his mouth. '-ake up!'
''Wake up, Han Sooyoung!'' The woman's eyes snapped open when she sat up abruptly, almost falling off the couch she'd been sleeping on. Kim Dokja, seeing her stumble, let out a snort before starting a conversation about the latest chapter of his favorite web novel. The two soon fell into familiar banter, her friend's passionate rambling helping her forget the terror of the memory she was forced to relive in her dream. Even though they became companions, Han Sooyoung's first time meeting Kim Dokja three years prior still was fueling her nightmares.