Slaughter House

Our room numbers were odd…I mean numerically odd. Boyeong got 1, Mina got 5, Shinhye got 9, and I got 13…Hyuntae got 3, Dongjoo got 15, Sanghoon got 21, and Yoogeun 7. But I saw only one even numbered room…4. That was odd I mean even…the only even number was 4. I shrugged it off and unlocked the door of my room and entered, closing the door behind me.

I switched the lights on and saw the room I was to sleep in for the night to come. It was blue and glassy. Nice I thought honestly. It felt very homey and comfortable.

The first thing I did was head towards the bathroom to take a cold bath. While I was scrubbing my back, I realized I had forgotten my clothes back on the other side of the door. I finished cleaning myself and took and dried myself off, going out with the towel wrapped around my body. Never had I done this, I was taught to change into fresh clothes in the bathroom. I had once asked my mother about it when I was in preschool and she said some people did it to avoid drenching their clothes in the bathroom while changing.

I bent down and took out spare clothing from my bag to then lay it on the bed. As I unwrapped the towel slightly, I felt a slight gush of wind on my bare wet body. I quickly rewrapped myself in the smooth cloth and held it in place at my chest. I turned around to face the direction from where the sudden cold air came from and saw it was coming from an open window. However, when I had arrived, none of the windows were open… Or so I think. I took a glimpse of the outside and saw nothing but darkness. I popped my head back in and locked the windows shut and pulled the curtains.

Afterwards, I looked at the clock and guessed I should start dressing and then head downstairs for dinner. I headed towards the main light switch and turned on a dimmer one. I did so for a reason though. No matter what I did, close the window, pulled the curtains, dimmed the lights, I felt as if someone’s gaze were on me, as if I was being spied on, as if I was being watched the whole time but didn’t notice until now.
--
When I had arrived, almost everyone was already seated and the food was already nicely set on the table. Dinner was silent at the beginning. Nothing could be heard but the sound of the cutlery against the matching platter until finally Boyeong broke the ice and made an argument about how the presentation was quite nice. Nevertheless, it was quite uncomfortable to be honest. Especially the fact that Mina was quiet for once as well. She would normally be seen talking with her boyfriend or friends as the others were doing other than the professor, Yoogeun, and me. Something must have happened to her.

“What’s the matter, girls?” professor Daewon asked Mina and me, “Both of you have a pretty dark expression on your faces.” I simply looked back to my plate and continued eating in silence. I couldn’t tell the guys what happened in my room. I just couldn’t. So I said nothing. Though I wondered what was her problem...

“Um, sir? Do you think it would be possible for me to share rooms with somebody..?” Mina hesitantly asked. I was shocked. Never had this girl wanted to share a room or anything with anyone of lower status than her. Well, from what I know in any case. Professor agreed and asked who she would like to bunk with.

And unsurprisingly, her thick boyfriend just had to make a nasty comment. “You can always come sleep with me, baby,” he said as he slightly smirked at her. For the first time since they’ve been together, Mina completely ignored Sanghoon.

“Boyeong? Would you mind sharing rooms with me?” She had a somewhat frantic look in her eye that I doubt anyone really noticed.

“Sorry, Mina-ssi! I would like to be alone since I have some work to do,” the girl stuffed her face with food from her plate like someone would after days without food.

“Oh,” Mina sighed and looked at her other companion and asked, “and what about you, Shinhye?” Once again, a certain frantic look on her face made a brief appearance before being replaced with a hint of hope.

“Well… you see… um… I move a lot at night… and… uh…”

“You don’t have to make up excuses you know…” Once more, the uncomfortable silence from the beginning came back. I looked towards my bully and realized she looked concerned for some reason.
“You can come sleep in my room if you want,” I suggested causing Mina to choke on the food she was chewing.

“What?! Are you serious--”

“Take it or leave it. Your choice,” I answered coldly. I may have invited her in my room, but it didn’t mean I liked her in the least bit. It was out of pure pity… and because I had never seen her act like that, which gave me a bad feeling.

“Thank you… really… thank you…” She smiled, though I didn’t see any gratefulness at all in it. I had fallen for this trick once too many.
--
“I know I’ve said this already, but thank you very much for letting me stay with you in your room. I never thought that you’d even propose it!” my new roommate, if that’s what she was now, told me again. I carefully laid my pyjamas on the couch and afterwards headed to close the window and pull the curtains that I had opened to let in the fresh outside air.

“Well, no one volunteered. Even your ‘friends’ didn’t want to bunk with you. Well, your boyfriend did… But I just couldn’t resist.” So much sincerity could be detected in my statement… Note the sarcasm.

Mina only ignored the fact that I had said anything. “Honestly. I can’t express just how grateful I am right now. You have no idea what happened to me after I came out from the bathroom,” she whispered. The last sentence she had said caught my interest. I looked at my bed and saw her slim figure sitting there in fetal position against the headboard of the bed, hugging her knees to her chest. I asked ‘what happened’. “Well, I came out of the bathroom in only a towel and as I was changing, I realized that the window was opened when I had made sure it was closed first thing when we got here. It felt like someone was watching me change.”

“Really?” I was intrigued by this. Pretty much the same happened to me… “Have you asked any of the others whether something similar happened to them or not? Did they, too, come out like that from the bathroom?” I asked trying to see whether anyone else had felt the same as us.

“Yeah, and they all said they didn’t feel a thing! And they said they didn’t even wear a towel when they got out!” That was weird. If they’re naked, then they should have felt the wind more than I did with my towel on, but they said they didn’t feel a thing…

“Don’t worry. Professor wouldn’t let anything happen to us afterall. Now let’s go sleep. You can have the bed, I’ll just take the couch,” I finally said.
“Thank you, honey,” she squeaked. That ungrateful little brat… She tucked herself snugly in the bed and turned of the lamp which was our source of light. I took the blanket and pillow I had prepared beforehand for myself and set the correctly on the bed. I then laid down and slipped under the thin sheet to keep me warm and closed my eyes. I couldn’t wait to go to sleep.
--
I woke up in the middle of the night, feeling a little cold. I raised my head up a little and looked towards the window. It was open and gushes of chilly wind were coming in. Then an alarm was set off in my head. The window was closed before we both went to sleep. I remembered clearly. Afterall, it was I who had closed it in the first place. Maybe Mina opened it? No… she looks like she’s in too deep a sleep to have woken up to open it between the time we went to bed and now.

I sat up on the couch and looked around the dark room, starting to panic a little. Then I noticed it. It was right in front of the window. But… it wasn’t there just a few moments ago! The presence of an unwanted being was strong too, how could I have not sensed it earlier? The clear figure of a man stood there. I was ready to scream so that the others would know that there was something wrong but the man was next to me before I could do anything. A gloved hand covered my mouth immediately preventing me from making the slightest sound.

“MMMMPH!” I struggle to get out of his unnaturally solid grip. He forced me down on the sofa with his strength and held both my hands with his free one. I attempted kicking him multiple times in the stomach severely but there was no apparent reaction. I moved my head frivolously to try and free my mouth but was once more greeted with failure. I was alarmed. Scared. Terrified. I didn’t know what this man was going to do to me and I wouldn’T be able to identify him later on if I was still alive since I couldn’t see a face.

His grip on me got stronger. His face got closer to mine and our faces were now only centimeters apart. He eyed me carefully as if he could see right through my clothes. My breath got heavier. I wanted nothing other than for him to get off of me. I could now feel his breath on my nose. I hated the look he was giving me. Get off me… Get off…

JUST GET OFF OF ME!

Notes