Everything seemed to halt as fear washed over her body. Her giggling was frozen in her throat the moment she heard the sounds of someone else in the hallway she was in, the dark hiding away the source the moment she stopped. Turning her head back and forth, Ji-Min tried to peer into the dark as if it was only through sheer effort alone that was preventing her from being able to see through the void.

Goosebumps began to form on her arm, the longer she stood where she was. She wanted to say something to give herself reassurance, but the fear of revealing her location was too high.

Without anything to keep track of the time, Ji-Min didn't know whether it had only been a few seconds, minutes, or an hour. Time didn't appear to have any meaning. Touching the medical gown helped to maintain her sanity and prevent her from getting lost in the moment. Lifting up a portion of the dress and letting it gently fall helped to tell her that she was still standing and not floating.

Like roots, digging into her brain, a thought came to her mind. "You're just imagined the giggling," A part of herself seemed to say. "They would be equally blind as you are, so you'd have heard something if you weren't alone." It continued to reassure her.

Her palms sweated as she was torn between believing those thoughts or believe that someone was in the hallway with her. Not being able to handle much more of the psychological strain, Ji-Min forced herself to move away from whatever made the sound.

Beneath her feet, there was the sound of dirt and leaves being gound up as she moved slowly. A ringing noise was heard as she strained herself to listen for any hints of the intruder, but only emptiness answered back.

Sounds of metal rolling across the tiles were heard the moment her feet brushed up against the object, nearly making her scream if not for her hands clasping over her mouth. Though it was muffled, in such a hallway, the sound felt like it flew through the air towards anything that would listen.

Ji-Min jumped in fright when the hallway lit up behind her, casting a long shadow in front of her. This time her scream wasn't able to be contained by her hands. The light lasted for a brief moment, but for an instant, she thought she saw a figure slowly coming towards her.

Turning around to run into the dark, her eyes noticed a faint glow on the ground. Realizing what it was, she scrambled towards the object frantic to have it in her hands before the light disappeared and she was no longer able to find it again.

Reaching out, Ji-Min felt the cold metal but only for a moment when she misjudged the distance and caused it to roll further away. As it moved, the object slightly faced her and allowed her to see the near absent burning light. She no longer cared about being silent and her mind became singularly focused on grabbing it.

Knees scrapping against the tile while her nails clawed into the flooring to help her move faster. A low wail dribbled out of her mouth, Ji-Min's eyes locked onto the device that would not only provide security but also comfort in the void.

Not worrying about missing again, both her hands shot out, causing her chest to hit the floor. Ji-Min also felt stinging pain as her chin bounced off the tile, making her feel dizzy. None of it mattered as she finally clawed at the metal object. Rolling onto her back, she fumbled with it to locate the switch. Breathing heavily, Ji-Min could now hear the sounds of rapid footsteps heading towards her.

Breathing rapidly, she begged, "Please! Please! Please!" Over and over, until she heard a metallic click and light flooding the hallway.

Her eyes were shut from being blinded by the light, pain coursing through her eyes. "Stay away from me!" Ji-Min pleaded at whatever was chasing her. At any moment, Ji-Min expected something to grab and drag her away into the nothingness of the building. Images of Jason looking at her, his mouth open as he screamed.

Seconds passed by, and nothing had happened. There was no claws or tentacles that grabbed her, instead only the usual silence. Fearfully opening her eyes, she was only able to squint due to the light. Adjusting to the beam, Ji-Min saw that nothing was in front of her. There was only the tiled walls and non-functional lights on the ceiling.

Lifting her head from the floor, she could see that nothing was present. It also took her a moment to realize that she was in the middle of the hallway. Turning her head, Ji-Min could see a chair on its side that was partially moved to away from the wall.

Hugging the flashlight, she began laughing that soon turned to sobs. Not moving from the floor, she cried from the relief of being alone and the fact she was alone. Curling into a ball, she wept at her current circumstance, wishing someone would take her away from this nightmare.

Slowly getting up, Ji-Min wiped her face with the front of the medical gown. Getting control over her emotions, she looked in front of her only to see a hallway long enough to not be fully illuminated by the light.

"Where am I?" She asked as she slowly felt a sense terror building up inside.

------

"Please! No! Not Now!" Ji-Min begged the flashlight when the light flickered. She smacked the head a few times, hoping to get it working again.

Soon, the beam became active again, and she sighed in relief. It didn't happen often, but whenever the flashlight started to malfunction, Ji-Min felt like her world was crumbling. Continuing down the same hallway wasn't helping her mental condition, and the flashlight helped to keep her feeling grounded.

Using her footsteps to keep track of time, Ji-Min was confident that several hours had passed. The problem was how there was no change related to her predicament. Thinking back, Ji-Min didn't remember any building that required several hours of walking, especially the lack of doors or windows. If it weren't for the window back in the room, the idea that she was underground would be dominating her thoughts.

Leaning against the wall, she wiped her forehead though there was no sweat to mop up. Resting her head against the wall, she wondered, "How does such a building exist? It can't be that this hallway goes on forever. It just can't!" She said the last part forcefully.

Thoughts wandered to Jason and Charles. Thinking of Charles made her wonder whether he was doing well, him pleading for her not to go into the forest coming to mind.

She also thought back to that night in the park, where he confessed his feelings for her. Tears began to stream down her face as she muttered, "Why did you have to do that... I thought we were friends."

After Charles had confessed to her, Ji-Min remembered how she had pushed him away though he hadn't put in much effort to resume their friendship either. Knowing how he had felt, Ji-Min began to question his motives when they ran into one another. This was, even more, the case when she learned that he had decided to go to the same school as she did, though Ji-Min deep down knew that Charles didn't go to Cherry State because of her.

As her lips quivered, she thought about how Charles had started to reach out to her. After Ji-Min had begun dating Jason, she had felt Charles was just jealous and trying to be controlling. Not being able to distinguish whether Charles was genuine or not, Ji-Min had reacted to Charles' attempts negatively, lashing out at him.

Thinking of that moment again, she began laughing and sobbing as she suspected Charles words were coming from a place of concern for his friend, regardless of the unfortunate history between them. He truly worried about her safety, but she was too stubborn and blinded to see such things.

"I really don't deserve a friend like him," Ji-Min continued laughing in the dark with only the light from the flashlight to comfort her.

"You're already trying to replace me, Ji-Min? I thought we were going to be together forever?" A voice called out from the darkness in the direction she came from.

Sweeping the light to pierce the void in the direction of the voice, Ji-Min only saw the typical chairs, paperwork, and leaves. The hair on the back of her neck stood up, though the lack of anything different helped to take some of the edges out of the terror growing inside.

An uneven scraping noise soon eliminated any relief she had gained, replacing it with horror as Ji-Min slowly saw a faint figure beginning to emerge into the light.

Not waiting to see who the figure was, Ji-Min fled further into the dark away from whatever was following her.