chapter 2: Static
1278 Words
The apartment was dark except for the television light flickering silently across the walls.
Yuna sat curled up on the couch, barely paying attention to the movie playing in front of her while rain poured endlessly outside. Empty instant noodle cups covered the table beside unopened moving boxes.
Her phone vibrated suddenly.
Unknown Number.
Yuna frowned.
For a second she considered ignoring it.
Then it rang again.
Something about it felt strange.
Slowly, she answered.
> “Hello?”
Static crackled softly from the other side.
Then breathing.
Weak.
Shaky.
And finally—
> “...Yuna?”
Her expression froze instantly.
That voice.
No.
Impossible.
Yuna slowly stood up from the couch.
> “Mom?”
Silence.
Then a quiet relieved laugh came from the other side.
> “You finally answered.”
Yuna’s jaw tightened immediately.
Years.
Years without speaking properly.
And suddenly this?
> “Why are you calling me?”
Her mother stayed quiet for a moment.
The sound of rain echoed through the phone exactly like the rain outside Yuna’s apartment.
> “I didn’t know who else to call.”
Yuna laughed bitterly.
> “That’s funny.”
> “You remembered you had a daughter?”
The words came out colder than she intended.
But she didn’t take them back.
On the other side, her mother inhaled shakily.
> “You still hate me that much?”
Yuna looked away toward the dark kitchen.
Memories flooded back instantly:
hospital lights,
funeral flowers,
her father’s empty chair at dinner.
All because of that night.
Because of her.
> “You want an honest answer?”
Silence.
> “After Dad died…”
> “You stopped being my mother.”
The line became quiet except for soft static.
Yuna continued before she could stop herself.
> “You cried every day.”
> “You locked yourself inside your room.”
> “You looked at me like I reminded you of him.”
Her throat tightened painfully.
> “I was grieving too.”
The television behind her suddenly glitched.
The screen flickered violently for a second.
Yuna barely noticed.
On the phone, her mother sounded like she was trying not to cry.
> “Yuna… your father’s death wasn’t your fault.”
Yuna froze slightly.
Not my fault?
Why would she say that?
Before she could respond—
THUD.
A loud sound echoed through the phone.
Yuna straightened immediately.
> “What was that?”
No answer.
Only hurried breathing.
Then another sound.
Footsteps.
Slow footsteps.
Somewhere inside her mother’s house.
Yuna frowned.
> “Mom?”
Her mother whispered suddenly:
> “Someone’s here.”
The atmosphere changed instantly.
Yuna’s heartbeat quickened.
> “What do you mean someone’s there?”
Another loud creak echoed through the phone.
Like a door slowly opening.
Her mother’s breathing became uneven.
Terrified.
> “I thought I locked it…”
Yuna gripped the phone tightly.
> “Mom, call the police.”
But her mother ignored her.
Instead she whispered something strange.
Something that made Yuna’s stomach drop.
> “She came back.”
> “Who?”
Silence.
Then—
The line crackled violently.
Yuna suddenly heard another voice in the background.
Female.
Whispering.
Too distorted to understand.
Her mother gasped softly.
As if she could see someone standing in front of her.
> “No…”
> “You’re not supposed to be here…”
Yuna’s pulse began racing.
> “MOM?!”
The television screen behind her exploded into static.
The lights flickered once.
Twice.
Then the screen suddenly changed.
Yuna slowly turned around.
And froze.
On the television—
she saw her mother’s house.
Live.
Dark hallways.
Flickering lights.
Rain hitting the windows.
And standing at the end of the hallway—
was a figure
Watching.
The exact same moment her mother whispered into the phone:
> “Yuna…”
> “I think she can see you too.”
The call disconnected.
The apartment fell completely silent.
Then slowly—
Yuna’s phone rang again.
Yuna woke up gasping.
Darkness swallowed the room around her while rain slammed violently against the apartment windows. Her chest rose and fell unevenly as cold sweat clung to her skin.
For a few seconds, she couldn’t breathe properly.
The phone call.
Her mother.
The woman standing in the hallway on the television.
It all still felt horrifyingly real.
Yuna pressed trembling fingers against her forehead before looking toward the digital clock beside her bed.
3:06 AM.
Thunder rumbled outside.
> “...It was just a nightmare.”
Her voice sounded weak even to herself.
She slowly leaned back against the bed, trying to calm her heartbeat. The apartment was silent again.
No television static.
No strange calls.
Nothing.
Just darkness.
Yuna closed her eyes briefly.
Then—
RIIIIING.
Her eyes snapped open instantly.
The sound came from inside her room.
Not her cellphone.
An old telephone ring.
Slow.
Sharp.
Wrong.
RIIIIING.
Yuna’s heartbeat stopped.
Because sitting beside her bed—
where nothing had been before—
was a black rotary phone.
Her blood ran cold.
The phone continued ringing in the darkness while rain echoed outside endlessly.
RIIIIING.
Yuna stared at it without moving.
That phone should not exist here.
Her apartment didn’t even have a landline.
Another ring echoed through the room.
Louder this time.
Almost impatient.
Her breathing became shaky as she slowly reached toward it.
The moment her fingers touched the receiver—
the ringing stopped.
Silence.
Yuna hesitated.
Then slowly lifted the phone to her ear.
Static crackled softly.
And then—
breathing.
A girl’s breathing.
Uneven.
Terrified.
Yuna’s throat tightened immediately.
> “...Hello?”
For a moment, nobody answered.
Then the girl whispered:
> “You answered again.”
Yuna froze.
Again?
The voice sounded young.
Around her age.
But there was something strange about it.
Something unstable.
Yuna sat up slowly in bed.
> “Who are you?”
The girl ignored the question.
Instead she whispered shakily:
> “She’s looking for me.”
A loud creaking sound echoed through the phone.
Like footsteps moving across wooden floors.
Yuna frowned.
> “Who?”
The girl’s breathing quickened.
> “The woman downstairs.”
Thunder exploded outside.
At the exact same moment—
Yuna heard another sound inside her apartment.
CREAK.
A floorboard.
Outside her bedroom door.
Yuna’s entire body stiffened.
Slowly—
very slowly—
she turned toward the dark hallway outside her room.
Silence.
The girl whispered suddenly:
> “Don’t open the door.”
Yuna gripped the receiver tightly.
> “What’s happening?”
Another creak echoed from outside.
Closer this time.
The girl sounded like she was trying not to cry.
> “She keeps watching me.”
Yuna’s pulse began racing.
> “Who are you talking about?”
Then the girl said something that made the air leave Yuna’s lungs completely.
> “My mother.”
Silence.
Yuna’s expression darkened instantly.
> “What?”
The girl began breathing faster.
Panicked.
> “She said if I try to leave again…”
> “she’ll kill me.”
Yuna stood up immediately.
> “Stop talking nonsense.”
But deep down—
fear was already crawling beneath her skin.
Because the voice on the phone did not sound like someone lying.
Another loud footstep echoed outside her bedroom.
Slow.
Dragging.
Yuna stared at the door while her heartbeat pounded violently inside her chest.
Then—
the doorknob moved slightly.
CLICK.
The girl whispered one final sentence:
> “She found me.”
The line went dead.
At the exact same moment—
someone knocked softly on Yuna’s bedroom door.
- Writer
