3 The Cheeky Brat (Pt.1)

Subin groaned as she was stirred awake by the sound of cattle lowing.

Wait... cattle?

Her eyes fluttered open immediately and she squinted, shielding her eyes with her hands as the bright rays of sunlight glared down at her.

What the...?

Subin pushed herself up, her hands meeting the soft, earthy grass that surrounded her. She blinked a couple of times in disbelief as she took in her surroundings. She was in a field of dry, brown grass with cows grazing nearby. Subin rubbed her eyes, her mind working overtime as she tried to comprehend where she was and what had happened to her. She felt so disorientated.

"Wasn't I in my room just now?" she thought aloud as she continued to survey the field around her. "Dad?" she called out, "Yoongi?"

She stood up and noticed that it wasn't just her surroundings that had changed: her clothes had too. She was no longer wearing her hideous school uniform but instead, she was wearing swathes of dirty rags draped over her body like a giant nightshirt. Dirt caked her nails and her arms and legs were smothered in filth.

What the hell happened to her?

"Dad? Yoongi? Where are you guys?" she called out again. "Come on, this isn't funny," she said, convinced that her brother and father had set her up in some sort of prank.

Subin pursed her lips as she tried to remember what she had been doing last. She distinctly remembered being in her room, reading her grandma's book before tripping over something on the floor and falling backwards.

"Oh, God."

A dreadful feeling overwhelmed Subin as she considered what could have happened to her. "Maybe I hit my head and now I'm hallucinating?" she chuckled nervously as she patted her head just to check she didn't have a concussion. Her dirty hands felt her hair and she immediately noticed that it was very dry- almost like straw.

This confused her even more.

"I swear I used conditioner last night..." she muttered to herself. But then she shook her head: she had more pressing matters to attend to.

Where the hell am I?

Subin observed her surroundings again and could just about make out the outline of a village or town nearby. If anything, maybe the people there could help her with her curious predicament. Hopefully, she could find someone that would be kind enough to help her get back home.

I swear to God, Yoongi and dad, she internally said to herself. If I find out you guys abandoned me here somehow...

Subin started making her way to the town, all the while pondering over how she managed to get to the field. She was in her room not so long ago and she had wanted to go to Yoongi for help with translating. As she clawed through her memories, she managed to remember seeing a bright light consume her before waking up wherever she was. Subin halted as a sudden thought entered her mind.

A white light? No... it couldn't be.

She glanced around and doubt started gnawing at her sense of rationality. Suddenly, her brother's voice echoed in her mind.

"Just make sure you don't end up dying in there."

Subin felt the dread in the pit of her gut rise up as she looked at the blue sky ahead of her. "Damn it" she cursed. "I'm dead, aren't I?"