"S-survive?" Takashi uttered—befuddled by the message.

"T-this has to be a joke, right? Right?" Sungah asked repeatedly. Her mind could not comprehend her current situation. It was utterly ridiculous. An intangible holographic screen that would usually be found within movies, comics or even novels suddenly appearing from thin air? She could only regard it as nothing but a mere hallucination.

But could she never have predicted that this supposed hallucination of hers would be her first crucial mistake. As she tried to gather herself, a monstrous creature burst forth from the glass behind all of them.

Calling it humanoid would be too much of a stretch. It looked more akin to that of a black blob exuding a foul stench with human limbs protruding from its body.

Its sudden emergence proved to be fatal as the sight of limbs and the putrid scent made Sungah vomit on the spot. Out of blue, it stretched its slimy body as it tried piercing her head. However, Jeongeun immediately kicked it out from where it came from—causing it to crash everything that stood in it's descent.

"You two, protect her." He said as he grabbed a decorative katana and leaped out of the window as well.

"S-sir!?" She screamed out of fear and concern—her eyes seemingly bulging from their sockets due to the chains of events.

"Don't worry about him. He'll survive." Takashi assured, giving her a pat on the back.

"I can vouch for his words." Kafil added.

"W-what? How…how can you guys be so s-!" Her sentences were shortened as the skyscraper quaked violently.

Vases crashed onto the ground—shattering into a million pieces. Paintings loosen as they nearly flattened Takanashi into a pancake. But the shaking simply worsened until eventually…the entire building was split in two.

Sungah watched in horror as she lost her balance and began falling along with half the building. Meanwhile Takanashi and Kalfi were fortunate to be on the side of the structure that remained upright.

"H-help…" She murmured out of desperation. Her face turned as pale as ivory as their appearances became smaller and blurrier overtime.

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After seemingly an eternity of falling—she reluctantly opened her eyes and was left in shocked as she found herself surprisingly unscathed. No matter which body part she examined—all of them were freed of any sort of injuries. A sigh of relief escaped her throat as she laid down on a soft and slimy texture…wait, soft?

Slowly and cautiously, she turned behind and found a horde of plant-like creatures that bore an uncanny resemblance to the pitcher plants. A few were closed, and most were opened. And those that were sealed contained what appeared to be all sorts of creatures within them. Their translucent skin made it easy to discern the animals they had supposedly swallowed.

Sungah's flight-or-fight instincts took over as she instantaneously backed away. It was no wonder she survived as their bodies were soft like gelatin. Nevertheless, her endeavours of escaping were futile as pink-like tendrils sprouted from their mouths and caught her.

"No! No! Let me go! Let me go!" She shouted for help as they began dragging her.

Dreadfully for her, there did not seem to be even a single person close to her. It was certainly a bizarre sight but she was far too distressed to notice the silence in the air. Her helpless cries were unheard of as they echoed throughout the empty streets.

Eventually, her entire body was consumed in one of the creatures as corrosive liquid slowly melted her clothes and gave off an addictive scent. Just for a moment, she felt like she was in a paradise despite the apparent danger that enclosed her entire body.

"So…sleepy…But…I have to… escape…But a nap…wouldn't hurt…" She mumbled as her eyes closed and her breathing neutralised.

…

"Sungah! Sungah! Where are you!?" A young maiden called out as she roamed the hillside with a concerned look plastered onto her face.

She was a worker at a humble orphanage that contained a measly 12 children. It wasn't founded by someone of a great power, but was instead erected with her own money out of pity for those that lost their family and had nowhere to go afterwards.

Even though she was barely living off scraps to ensure the orphanage could remain running—it was a sacrifice she did not mind making and at some point of time, every single children there began calling her 'Mother'.

"Sungah! Sung- There you are!" She sighed, relieved.

A small child donning old, worn-out clothes with black hair was leaning on an ancient tree. A notepad and a pencil in her left and right hands respectively. A drawing of what seems to be a village surrounded by mountains was sketched onto the notepad.

"Sungah!" The young maiden shouted louder than ever—breaking the small child's concentration as she looked at her.

"M-mother?" She stuttered before she was pulled by the woman.

"Don't go wandering off without telling me or the others! It's dangerous!" She scolded the little girl.

"S-sorry…I…just wanted to draw the village…" The young girl spoke timidly.

"Ha…alright, I'll forgive you. But please, at least tell me or someone else beforehand. You are very precious, Sungah."

"O-okay…"

As they both began heading back to the orphanage while holding hands—the woman decided to ask Sungah a question.

"Sungah. When you grow older, what do you want to be?"

"I-I don't know…" She hesitantly answered.

"I see. But it's alright. There is still a lot of time left for you to choose. But remember, when you do something?"

"D-do it without regrets!"

"Yeah! That's the spirit!" The woman exclaimed as she lifted Sungah high up into the air.

After a few moments, she put Sungah down on the ground again as she patted her head.

"And remember. Always give it your all when doing anything."

"Y-yes! A-and mother…h-here!" Sungah pulled out her notepad once more, and showed a drawing that consisted of the women, and the 11 other children in the orphanage together—all holding hands with smiles on their faces.

"Aw, thank you so much, Sungah. Now help me prepare dinner, will you?"

"Yes!"

As Sungah aided the woman with preparing dinner—her imagination went wild as she envisioned herself working

for a big corporation to support those she considered family.

'When I grow up, I'll make everyone smile like mother does.'

…