Aerin was still staring at the door, her body slightly tense. The voice from behind it called out again.
"Aerin..."
Aerin swallowed. Her fingers trembled as she reached for the doorknob. Fear told her to back away, but curiosity pulled her closer instead.
But suddenly, the mysterious man was already beside her, gently stopping Aerin's hand from opening the door. It was the first time Aerin had seen him move that quickly. Even the chair where he had been sitting shifted across the floor. His hand was cold. Not cold from the rain, but cold in a way that slowly spread all the way to her bones.
"Don't."
He said only one word. His blue eyes looked darker, never leaving the door. The mysterious man stepped forward.
The voice from behind the door sounded again, but this time it was not Aerin's voice. It was the voice of her late mother. Aerin's body trembled with fear when she heard it, and her legs moved back several steps until, instinctively, she stood directly behind the mysterious man. Cold sweat broke out across her skin as she watched him walk closer and closer to the door.
He opened it, but only slightly. Aerin couldn't see what was outside, but when the door opened, she felt a cold wind enter the bookstore and brush across her face. Then, all at once, the fog covering the bookstore windows vanished. The mysterious man closed the door again.
Aerin hurried toward the window because the mysterious man was blocking the door, preventing her from opening it herself. She looked outside. Everything was still the same as before. The sky was dark, and the rain was still coming down hard. The only difference was that the lights in front of the other stores had already been turned on. Aerin looked at the mysterious man, who stood silently in front of the door with his head bowed.
"Who was that just now?" she asked.
The mysterious man was silent for a moment before lifting his head to look at Aerin. His expression was unreadable.
"No one."
Then he took out a bill and placed it on the checkout counter before finally leaving the bookstore without saying another word.
Aerin stood there in silence, confusion written across her face. Finally, she let out a quiet scoff and put the money in the cash register. She straightened the chair that had shifted, washed the tea glass the mysterious man had used, and returned the book to its original shelf before closing the bookstore.
At midnight, Aerin paced back and forth inside her room, still thinking about what had happened that evening and keeping herself awake. Outside the house, the rain was still falling, but now it was only a drizzle, nowhere near as heavy as it had been earlier. Aerin had been used to living alone in this house her parents had left her for the past nine years, but for some reason, tonight felt quieter than any night before.
She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself, then lay down on the bed and attempted to sleep. Her eyelids felt heavy, and the silence slowly swallowed the sound of the rain. Then... darkness.
A white bird flew across a sky filled with cracks, and a moment later, the sound of something shattering rang out.
Someone stood with their back to her. Their silhouette was indistinct behind the fog. Just as Aerin was about to call out, a soft whisper reached her.
"I'm sorry..."
Then everything cracked.
Aerin woke with ragged breaths, sweat dampening her forehead. She drew in a long breath and shifted herself into a sitting position.
"I had that dream again..." she murmured.
In the end, she spent the rest of the night awake, unable to fall asleep again until morning.
The sound of birdsong and the aroma of coffee from Elliot's café mingled with the scent of old books, filling Aerin's ears and nose as she opened the bookstore. This morning, the sky was covered in fog as usual.
Aerin began wiping down the checkout counter, her routine after opening the store. The small bell rang when the door opened, revealing Elliot with a sweet smile on his face.
"Good morning," Elliot said, carrying a box of pastries in his hands.
"I made too many pastries today, and I don't think they'll all get eaten, so I brought some for you. If no one eats them, they'll just go to waste. Help me finish them, okay?"
Aerin gave a quiet laugh, nodded, and accepted the box of pastries. Elliot didn't return to his café right away. He stayed with Aerin, chatting with her a little while watching her eat the pastries he had made.
"Oh, right. You were unusually late turning on the lights in front of the bookstore yesterday. What happened? They're usually on before six."
Aerin stopped chewing, her thoughts returning to what had happened the day before.
"Did you see anyone in front of the bookstore door that time?"
Elliot fell silent for a moment, trying to think. Then he shook his head.
"I didn't see any customers or anyone else in front of your door then." He turned his head toward the window to check on his café before looking back at Aerin.
"I thought you'd closed the bookstore early, but not long after that, I saw your mysterious customer leave the store." Elliot paused for a moment.
"...But your customer looked really pale when he came out, like he was sick."
Aerin was silent for a moment. It was clear from her face that she was thinking about something. "Strange..." she murmured.
"He looked fine when he left," she continued softly.
Elliot gently patted Aerin on the shoulder, bringing her back to herself. "I'm going back to the café. If you need anything, just call me. You'll come home with me tonight, okay?"
Aerin nodded slowly with a smile.
"Thanks for the pastries."
She knew Elliot cared about her. She also knew he had deliberately invited her to go home with him to make sure Aerin was safe and didn't stay up too late overthinking things.
Elliot had left. Aerin now stood alone behind the checkout counter, holding half of the pastry that remained. Her green eyes traced the door and then the floor. Suddenly, her brows furrowed.
There, exactly where the mysterious man had stood yesterday with his head bowed, was a faint red stain. It was elongated and irregular, as though someone had tried to rub it away until it faded.