Forget me not flower

Chapter 1 — The Nightmare

Darkness.

Complete silence...

A faint, pale silhouette of a girl appeared in the distance.

Her hair was loose, falling around her shoulders as she slowly walked deeper into the darkness.

The air was strangely still, as if the silence itself had swallowed every sound.

Suddenly, a strong gust of wind swept past the girl from behind.

She froze.

And then, without warning, she collapsed onto the ground.

Her breathing was fast and uneven.

The silence around her suddenly felt suffocating.

The girl slowly lifted herself from the ground.

“W-Who’s there?”

Silence.

For a few moments, nothing answered her.

She looked around nervously before finally getting back on her feet.

She took a few hesitant steps forward.

Suddenly—

Another strong gust of wind rushed past her with a terrifying sound.

The girl immediately stepped back in fear.

Then she saw them.

Two innocent, pale eyes glowing in the darkness.

Her eyes slowly filled with tears.

She looked around frantically.

“Who’s there?” she screamed through her tears.

And then—

Her own voice came back to her.

But this time, it wasn’t her normal voice.

It was filled with unbearable pain.

A scream echoed through the darkness.

“Ahhh... ahhhhhhhhhhh...”

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...”

The scream didn’t stop.

It grew louder and louder, as though someone was suffering terribly.

The girl looked around desperately.

But there was nothing.

Nothing except darkness.

It felt as though she was the only person left in the entire world.

She didn’t know what to do.

She was terrified.

Because that scream—

It was hers.

But nothing had happened to her.

Then whose scream was it?

Suddenly, the scream changed into a painful cry.

As if someone was desperately begging for their life.

“Ah... please let me go... What did I ever do to you? Please, just leave me alone... Don’t come near me... No... no, not again... Nooooooooo!”

The screams suddenly became louder.

Now, all the voices seemed to overlap.

“Ahhhhhhh! Let me go! What did I do to you? Please, let me go! Nooooooooo!”

The girl’s breathing became faster and faster.

Her own frightened breaths mixed with the screams echoing around her.

She couldn’t take it anymore.

The voices seemed to be coming from inside her own ears—

as if someone was screaming right behind her.

She was drenched in sweat.

And then—

She suddenly screamed and woke up.

Her chest rose and fell rapidly as she struggled to catch her breath.

A few broken sobs escaped her.

After several seconds, she finally managed to steady her breathing.

She pushed the hair away from her face.

Then she held her head with one hand and let out a tired sigh.

Her trembling hands reached for the glass of water on the bedside table.

She drank it quickly before switching on the lights.

For a while, she simply sat there in silence.

It was as if she was still thinking about those screams.

After some time, she glanced at the phone lying on the table.

5:30 A.M.

She sighed.

“Not again...”

She rubbed her face with both hands before slowly falling back onto the bed.

Just then—

Riiiiiing... Riiiiiing...

Her phone started ringing.

Without even checking the screen, she picked it up.

“Babe! You remember, right? Today is our date!”

It was Lily, her best friend.

“Hmm...” the girl replied quietly.

Lily immediately sounded concerned.

“Babe, are you okay?”

“What happened to you?”

“Are you sick?”

“I’m on my way. Just hold on for a minute!”

“No, no need,” the girl replied softly.

“I’m not sick.”

“I just had a nightmare.”

Lily let out a long breath of relief.

“I’m glad you’re okay.”

There was a brief pause.

“Jiwoo... did you have that same nightmare again?”

Jiwoo remained silent for a moment.

Then she quietly replied,

“Hmm.”

Lily’s voice softened.

“Babe... are you terrified?”

“Not really.”

“I’m used to it.”

Lily tried to cheer her up.

“Babe, don’t worry.”

“Today, we’re going to have fun the entire day!”

“Hmmmm...”

“I miss you so much.”

“And today, I’m staying with you tonight.”

Jiwoo smiled faintly.

“Okay.”

“Now I’m going to take a shower. You should get ready too.”

“Our date is almost here!”

Lily laughed loudly.

“Okay!”

“Don’t be late, babe.”

“I don’t want to wait any longer.”

“I love you so much!”

“Okay,” Jiwoo replied.

“Love you too.”

“Gotta go.”

“Bye-bye.”

“Muah, muah!”

Lily blew her kisses before hanging up.

Jiwoo slowly got out of bed and began getting ready for the day.