Snow season may still be a long way off for Jack. Even now, it was the rain that was pouring all over the city. But the cold feeling that covered the surface of his skin, made Jack remember the winter.
He wasn't a big fan of cold weather, but he didn't hate it. In fact, he had some sweet memories from his childhood. When it snowed, his mother would give him a cup of hot chocolate and hug him tightly while telling him interesting stories that accompanied him throughout the cold night.
It was those sweet memories that made Jack never hate the cold weather. It was precisely at times like this that he was reminded of his childhood memories with his mother.
***
But tonight was different. The heavy rain outside the window gave a gloomy and tense atmosphere. Lightning occasionally struck, adding to the horror of the night. Jack sat in the living room with a thick blanket wrapped around his body. His teeth chattered in the cold, even though he had turned on the heater.
Lea, his wife, came over to him with a seductive smile. "Well, this poor man makes me feel sorry for him, you're so weak. It's only been raining a little and you're already shivering like that. Since childhood I've been used to cold weather. Not like you. Can't you see the endurance of the body of a rich man's son who is often considered weak and helpless,” he said in a mocking tone while showing off his condition which was much better than Jack.
Jack ignored her but suddenly an idea popped into his head. He, who knew very well that Lea was most afraid of ghost stories even though she often did not want to admit it, decided to reply to Lea's taunts with a story that he had long kept. He smiled faintly, thinking of a way to get back at her.
“Hey, Lea,” he said in a low, mysterious voice. “You know about Yuki Onna, right?”
Lea, who had seemed confident, suddenly seemed doubtful that the woman was the weakest with ghost stories because she had a trauma in her childhood related to ghosts. "I-it's just a Japanese ghost story. There's nothing to be afraid of,” she replied, though her tone of voice trembled slightly but it was clear she was trying to hide it from outside view.
Jack chuckled as he knew that Lea's weakness for ghost stories made it easy for her to become frightened just because of a nonsense story that was too far-fetched to scare others. "Oh know that Princess, Yuki Onna is more than just a ghost story, unfortunately. She is a female snow spirit who appears on snowy nights, freezing anyone she meets with her cold gaze and icy breath. It is said that she often targets those who are weak to the cold and have a timid spirit,” he said as he fixed Lea with a piercing gaze.
Lea swallowed, clearly starting to feel uncomfortable. "Never mind, Jack, it's just an old story. There's no way there's a Yuki Onna here. If what you're saying is true, then it's obvious that the person she's targeting the most should be you since you're so weak to cold!” she said evasively, though her voice sounded less convincing.
"Not really. She actually prefers scaredy-cats like you,” Jack teased, not to be outdone.
"Tsk. Shut up and don't make things up!” snapped Lea.
Suddenly, the lights in their house went out, leaving them in total darkness. Only the sound of rain could be heard, making the atmosphere even more tense. Jack was a little surprised but he was sure Lea must have become very scared by now.
“It's getting cold, Jack,” Lea's voice sounded shaky in the darkness but she was still trying to hide her fear. Jack couldn't see her face, but he could tell that she was getting really scared.
“Yeah, it's cold,” Jack replied in a low voice, trying to hold back a smile.
Suddenly, there was a soft tapping on the living room window. Both of them were silent, trying to digest the sound they had just heard.
“Did you hear that, Jack?” asked Lea in a trembling voice.
"Yes, I did. It's probably the package delivery guy, don't be scared,” Jack replied while trying to remain calm and also punctuated with his crisp jokes. He walked slowly to the window, trying to see who was knocking. However, the darkness and heavy rain made it difficult to see anything.
The knock sounded again, louder this time. Jack took a deep breath and opened the window slowly. However, there was no one outside. Just darkness and the sound of the rain continuing to pound.
“Looks like nothing,” he said as he closed the window. However, as she turned around, she saw a white shadow standing in the corner of the room. It moved slowly closer, and Jack felt his hair stand on end.
“Lea, did you see that?” he whispered, pointing at the shadow. Lea nodded slowly, her eyes widening in fear.
The shadow got closer, and Jack could see that it was a woman with long hair and white clothes covered in ice. Her breath looked like a cold mist, and her eyes emitted a piercing blue light.
“Yuki Onna...” Lea whispered in an almost inaudible voice.
The woman approached, and Jack felt his body stiffen even more from the intense cold. “J-Jack, what do we do?” Lea held her hands tightly, terrified. Even her whole body was already shaking like a fish with an electric shock.
“Calm down, Lea,” Jack tried to say in a calm voice even though his toes were already trembling. "This is just an illusion. Nothing is real."
However, the woman was getting closer, and Jack could feel her cold breath on his face. He closed his eyes, hoping this was all just a bad dream. When he opened his eyes again, the shadow disappeared, and the lights came back on.
Lea was still clutching his hand tightly, her eyes firmly closed. “Did that really happen?” she asked softly.
Jack breathed a sigh of relief."Maybe we've just heard too many ghost stories.Come on, let's go to our rooms and get some rest. Pretend it never happened,” Jack suggested.
They both got up and walked to their respective rooms. Jack still felt the coldness of Yuki Onna's breath on his skin, but he tried to ignore it.However, as they were about to head to their rooms, they were surprised to see traces of snow on the floor, as if someone with snowy feet had just crossed there.Lea looked at Jack with a pale face."Jack, are you sure this is just a story?I didn't see anything wrong. Oh my God, if something bad happens.I'm really putting it all on you."Lea panicked to death, suddenly she got an unexpected supernatural terror like this.
Jack didn't answer, just smiled wryly. “Well, maybe we should have more respect for old stories, right?” he said, trying to sound casual even though his heart was pounding.And he himself did not expect his intention to make a joke to end up horrifying like this.He really couldn't mess with this kind of world.
And that night, Jack was forced to sleep in front of Lea's room. Because the woman was already scared to death.