Midnight Counseling

The city never sleeps. It merely drifts into a shallow, restless doze. The roar of motorcycle engines, the hum of neon signs that refuse to die, the distant shouting of drunkards—everything tangled together to fill the urban night with a chaotic noise. But for Kang Ji-hyuk, even that shallow sleep was a forbidden luxury. "Sigh..." Ji-hyuk let out a deep, ragged sigh, rubbing his dry face with rough hands. He couldn't even remember the last time he’d had a proper night's sleep. Every time he closed his eyes, the screams returned. The stinging stench of acrid smoke, the sickening smell of burning flesh. That day, ten years ago. The memories of the inferno that had swept through everything became a curse, a severe insomnia that clung to him like a second skin. "Damn it." Ji-hyuk crushed the half-empty can of convenience store coffee and threw it violently into a trash bin. Surviving on caffeine had reached its limit. His head felt foggy, as if filled with thick mist, and his heart beat irregularly for no reason. He wanted nothing more than to collapse right there on the street and black out, but he knew the moment he lay down in bed, his mind would only become cruelly sharper—a vicious cycle. It was then. From somewhere in the gray, dead-end alleyway, a strange scent drifted toward him. It wasn't the usual city stench of rotting garbage, exhaust fumes, or sour food waste. It was deep and rich—like the smell of wet earth after rain, or perhaps the sweet fragrance of wildflowers. A refreshing coolness, as if he were standing in the middle of a deep forest, brushed past the tip of his nose. He moved as if possessed. Normally, he would never have walked into such a narrow, dark alley without a single streetlamp. His detective’s instinct screamed *danger*, but his exhausted body chased the scent like a magnet. How long had he walked? At the end of the dead-end alley, a small light flickered. **[Midnight Counseling]** Purple neon light glowed softly above an old wooden sign. *Was there a shop in a secluded place like this?* Ji-hyuk had worked as a detective in this district for five years, but this sign was news to him. An antique brick building covered in ivy. The interior was completely hidden behind the glass windows, blocked by heavy, dark violet velvet curtains. *Creeeak—.* As he turned the handle, the door opened heavily with the sound of rusted hinges. And in that moment, the scent he had smelled in the alley crashed over him like a wave. A fragrance so intense it was dizzying—lavender, chamomile, and nameless herbs all mixed together. It felt like stepping across the boundary of reality into a hazy dream. "Welcome." The inside of the shop was dark, but warm. Amidst countless dried flowers hanging from the ceiling and antique wooden furniture, a single small candle flickered on a table. And behind that candlelight sat a woman. Pitch-black long hair and skin so pale it looked porcelain white. Her eyes were deep and silent pools of black, seemingly holding the candlelight within them. She looked at Ji-hyuk without moving a muscle, like a doll that had been fixed there from the beginning. "Are... are you still open?" Ji-hyuk asked, rubbing his gritty eyes with a numb mind. He glanced at his watch. It was past 2:00 AM. A tea house open at this hour? "Yes. The door only opens at midnight." The woman's voice was low and soft. A resonant tone, like a mother whispering a lullaby to a child. The moment he heard that voice, the tense muscles in Ji-hyuk's shoulders seemed to melt away like a lie. "It’s just the time when the tea steeps best. Would you like a cup?" Before he could refuse, she held out a teacup. The liquid inside the clear glass was a mysterious, deep indigo. A profound color, as if the night sky itself had been melted down and poured into the cup. Above it, something like gold dust floated and twinkled like the Milky Way. "What... is this?" "Starlight Tea. It’s medicine for people who are lost and cannot sleep." Ji-hyuk’s eyes widened. *Someone who cannot sleep.* Was it because he looked like a homeless person who hadn't slept for days? "How did you know I have insomnia?" "Your shadow... looks very heavy. As if it could sink into the ground." The woman smiled faintly as she spoke strange words. That smile was curiously cool, yet it offered a warm comfort. As if bewitched, Ji-hyuk sank into the chair and lifted the teacup. Warmth spread from his cold fingertips. *Sip.* The moment he held a mouthful, the fragrance of flowers exploded in his mouth like fireworks. It wasn’t just simple tea. As the warm liquid slid down his throat, he felt the heavy lead weight crushing his brain begin to melt. At the same time, a heavy, sweet drowsiness washed over him like a tsunami. It was a comfortable lethargy he hadn't felt in days—no, years. "Who... are you..." Ji-hyuk’s eyelids grew heavy as iron, slowly closing. In his blurring vision, he saw the woman slowly spreading something out on the table. It was Tarot cards. On the card she flipped with her long fingers, there was a drawing of a clown standing at the edge of a cliff. **<The Fool>.** Beginnings, adventure, and recklessness. "My name is Seo Eun-jo." The woman’s voice echoed like a deep reverberation in his fading consciousness. "I am the one who listens to your night. Please, have a sweet dream." Ji-hyuk dropped his head onto the table. It was a deep, deep sleep. Into a perfect, peaceful darkness without screams, without smoke, without nightmares—he sank for the first time in a very long time. *** Silence returned to the shop. Eun-jo quietly looked down at the sleeping Ji-hyuk. Her white fingers grazed over the back of his rough hand. "It's been a long time... Mister. You look very tired." A bitter yet affectionate smile spread across her lips. Outside the window, cold rain was still falling, but inside the shop, it was quiet and peaceful, as if severed from the world. Midnight Counseling. A place where lost souls rest for a while. Today's first guest was someone terribly familiar and achingly missed. Eun-jo did not blow out the candle on the table. Because the real night for him was just beginning. (End of Episode 1)