Chapter 3 Don't Turn Around
The contact name changed change to Ms. Haejin. Yuni realized it was her professor.
Yuni's chest tightened so sharply it hurt.
Her fingers twitched, like she might drop the phone at any minute now,but she didn't.
She couldn't.Because the messages didn't stop. It kept coming.
Ms. Haejin:
You moved your bag.
Yuni's breath stuttered.
Slowly but not too slowly she turned her head toward the chair. The strap hung slightly off the side now. She just left it and her stomach felt twisted. Move her bag.
Buzzed.
Ms. Haejin:
Left side this time.
"I didn't…" Yuni whispered.But the certainty wasn't there anymore.
Had she?
Her memory felt… soft. Unreliable.
Like something had pressed fingerprints into it.
Buzz.
Ms. Haejin:
That's not like you.
The words didn't read like an observation.
They felt like a correction.
Like disappointment.Yuni's breathing grew uneven.Her eyes darted across the apartment again the walls,the ceiling,the corner and even the wall. But nothing and yet the feeling remained the same and closer now inside.
Buzz.
Ms. Haejin:
You didn't eat properly.
Yuni froze at and her throat tightened and she didn't told anyone or texted nor spoken to them she hadn't.
Ms. Haejin:
Just a drink isn't enough.
Her grip tightened around the phone.
"How do you know that…?" she whispered.
Silence,but then .....
A pause
Buzz.
Ms. Haejin:
You keep checking your door.
Yuni's head snapped toward the door it's still locked. Her pulse in her ears were pounded.
Ms. Haejin:
It's locked.
A pause.
Long enough to make her breath hitch.
Ms. Haejin:
For now.
The air shifted not imagined this time and Yuni stumbled backward. Once or twice her heel caught slightly on the floor and didn't remember the floor feeling uneven.
Buzz.
Ms. Haejin:
Don't look behind you.
Yuni froze every instinct she wanted to screamed at her to turn to check to prove nothing wasn't there. But her body refused it was locked in place. Her breathing went shallow and careful like making noise might trigger something.
Ms. Haejin:
You get scared too easily.
A pause then another message appears.
Ms. Haejin:
I'm not going to hurt you.
Yuni's eyes shut tightly.Those words They weren't comforting.They were worse,because they sounded like a promise made too early.Like something that hadn't decided yet.Her hand trembled as she reached for her bedroom door.The handle felt colder than it should have.
Buzz.
Ms. Haejin:
Your window.
Yuni's breath caught her head turned just slightly to the window across the room. It was closed and locked she was sure of it and she had checked it. She always checked her window.
Ms. Haejin:
You should check again.
Yuni didn't move, because something deep inside her knew telling her something would be wrong.
Buzz.
Ms. Haejin:
You left your light on.
Yuni's eyes flicked upward the overhead light faintly on.
Ms. Haejin:
Do you want me to turn it off?
Yuni shook her head immediately.
"No."Her voice barely existed.
"No don't!" Yuni said to herself. The light flickered not once,but twice then click.
Darkness collapsed over the room.
Yuni gasped, stepping back hard enough to hit the wall.Her phone lit her face harsh, cold light against her skin.
Everything else were gone.
Buzz.
Ms. Haejin:
There.
A pause.
Then
Ms. Haejin:
That's better.
Yuni couldn't move.Her ears strained against the silence.But it wasn't empty anymore.It had weight. Like something was breathing.Just out of sync with her.
Buzz.
Ms. Haejin:
Don't be afraid.
Yuni's lips parted, but no sound came out.
Her hand slowly curled into her shirt, gripping the fabric near her chest.
Trying to ground herself ,trying to feel real.
Ms. Haejin:
I told you.
A long pause this time and final
Buzzed
Ms. Haejin:
I'm here.
Something moved.
Behind her.
Not loud.
Not fast.
Just—
A shift.
A presence adjusting its weight.
Yuni's breath stopped.
Her entire body went rigid.
Her phone buzzed again.
Slowly—
Like it was the only thing she could still control—
She looked down.
Ms. Haejin:
Now…
A pause and then Yumi received a message.
Ms. Haejin~Turn around.