Another client came by the shop during the afternoon. He was fashionably dressed, with full makeup on his smooth, clean face.

He looked just like the idol trainee from some reality singing competition my deskmate had gushed to me about a few days ago.

Mom was in the attic then. She would always stay up there for a long while after each appointment.

In the end, I had to call her to come downstairs.

The idol trainee was a sweet-talker, just to get her to make him a perfume.

She kept a pleasant smile on her face the whole time, but eventually turned him down. "I only take ten clients a month, and every appointment has to be booked a month in advance. You can try again next month."

Mom was ready to show the idol trainee out after that, but he clearly wasn't ready to give up.

"Please, Ms. Anderson. I'm really in a hurry. This could decide whether I debut or not. Please help me out. I'll pay double!" the idol trainee said.

I quietly watched him from some distance away as he continued to plead with Mom, knowing that she'd never agree to it.

Over the years, many had offered several times, even dozens of times, her usual price just to cut the queue. But she never relented.

Eventually, Mom still didn't budge even after he dragged it out for some time. Seemingly busy with something else, she ended up heading back to the attic, telling me to see him out.

As I watched her head up, I walked over to escort the idol trainee out. Before I even reached him, he started cursing, "Screw her! I can't believe a widow like her is still acting all high and mighty!"

Gone was his earlier gentle and polite demeanor. Although he was still wearing the same face, it felt like he'd turned into a completely different person.

He reminded me of the bullies who shook people down for protection money around the alleys near school.

The only reason someone could change this quickly was that that was who they really were to begin with.

My deskmate would probably bawl her eyes out if she ever found out that the idol trainee she'd been voting for so obsessively was such a character.

The idol trainee's lips pursed in annoyance when he saw me walking over. The flicker of emotion in his eyes was unreadable.

"I heard that the perfume here can last for a whole month with just one use, and it can attract other people. Haven't you ever seen how your mom makes it, missy? Or where she keeps her stuff?" he coaxed, his face softened once again.

I replied, "I… I don't know—"

I continued to shake my head no matter what the idol trainee asked. Only after he was certain I wouldn't tell him anything did he lose interest and turn to leave.

Even after his figure disappeared through the doorway, I remained staring in that direction, lost in thought.

The idol trainee's words were like a seed planted in my heart. For years, mysteries surrounded me, like a fog that never fully lifted.

What exactly was in the attic? What had Mom really been doing?

…

The idol trainee came again the next day. This time, he brought a wealthy socialite with him.

She was a regular who would visit our shop almost monthly for nearly three years.

The idol trainee looked well-behaved standing beside the wealthy socialite, far from the obnoxious attitude he showed yesterday.

Judging by the delighted, lovestruck look on her face, it was clear he had successfully charmed her.

I wasn't sure what the idol trainee had done in less than a day's time to have managed to convince the wealthy socialite to give him the appointment slot she'd booked a month in advance.

Mom was reluctant, as there were still days before the original appointment date. But eventually, she agreed to it.

She made them wait downstairs for a while, saying she needed to prepare in advance. Then, she returned to the attic.

The three of us were left in the hall. I was planning to mind my own business as the two of them flirted with each other, but I happened to meet the idol trainee's gaze.

In that brief moment, I was reminded of his words from yesterday, and my curiosity was piqued.

Before I realized it, I had already slipped up the side staircase to the attic, quietly hiding in a corner behind the door.

Mom didn't come out until over ten minutes later. She did not lock the door, but instead, she called for the idol trainee from the stairs to come up.

I quietly inched out from behind the door and slipped into the room while she wasn't paying attention.

The room was decorated like an ordinary study. Before I could get a good look around, I quickly slid under the daybed Mom usually napped in.

Not long after, Mom walked in with the idol trainee. She told him to lie down on a folding bed on the other side of the room. Though he looked perplexed, he still did as he was told.

Then, she lit some incense, letting the fragrance gradually spread through the air.

Mom smiled and explained that it was aromatherapy incense that worked best when used together with her perfume.

The idol trainee nodded. But the moment I caught the familiar scent, I quickly covered my nose.

I knew that scent far too well. It was the sedative incense Mom bought.

Half a year ago, I was kept awake by mosquitoes in my room. So I went to the storage room to look for some mosquito repellents.

The only thing I found was a box of unknown incense with no instructions.

Desperate after being tormented by mosquito bites all night, I didn't think too much about it, figuring it was worth a try.

I lit the incense after I returned to my bedroom. I didn't expect to lose consciousness not long after.

It was still dark outside when I woke up. It wasn't until Mom came in to talk to me that I learned I had slept for an entire day, until the following night.

That was also when I found out that the box contained the sedative incense she had bought. It was so potent that a small amount was enough to knock out a full-grown adult.

I would never forget that familiar scent.

Sure enough, the idol trainee slowly closed his eyes and lost consciousness on the folding bed.

The room fell completely silent. After confirming that he was fully asleep, Mom walked to the bookshelf and pulled out a book.

Behind it, a hidden button was revealed. I watched as she pressed it.

A faint noise came from the smooth white wall beside the bookshelf, and a narrow seam slowly appeared.

It was a door.

That was when I realized that there was a hidden chamber inside this unremarkable room in the attic.

Mom came back out shortly after she went in. In her hands was a metal tray with something that I couldn't make out at first.

It wasn't until she picked it up that I realized it was a medical IV blood bag filled with dark red liquid, complete with tubing and a needle.

The entire setup looked no different from the blood transfusion equipment you'd see in a hospital.

Then, I watched as Mom hung the blood bag on a nearby stand and inserted the needle into the back of the idol trainee's hand.

The transfusion wasn't exactly slow, but it still took a little over ten minutes.

My eyes widened in disbelief as I watched the entire scene unfold.

Wasn't Mom supposed to be making him perfume? Why was she giving him a blood transfusion instead?

Besides, anyone with basic common sense knew that transfusions required matching blood types. Wouldn't this kill him?

Everything around me seemed like nothing was out of the ordinary, yet cold sweat broke out across my back.

The blood bag ran empty ten minutes later. Mom removed the needle and carefully cleaned the back of the idol trainee's hand.

She used just the right amount of incense. Before long, he slowly began to stir.

I stared at the idol trainee as he stood up and took Mom's hand to thank her. He didn't seem uncomfortable in the slightest.

Moments later, she escorted him out.

Every logical part of me screamed that none of this was normal.

Once I made sure the room was empty, I hurried out from under the bed and tried the door, only to realize Mom had locked it.

Through the window, I saw the wealthy socialite lead the idol trainee into a car in the courtyard. I knew Mom would be back any second, so I quickly scrambled back under the bed.

Sure enough, she came back shortly after and went back into the hidden chamber, staying in until the night.

The time on my phone showed a little past 8:00 pm when Mom finally left the attic. She'd usually go back to rest in her bedroom at this hour.

I couldn't leave as the door to the study was still locked from the outside. I had no choice but to text her, telling her I'd be staying over at a classmate's house.

Mom's short reply came almost instantly. "Okay."

Once I was done with texting her, I looked over to the hidden chamber. I reached out to remove the book from the shelf, my hand trembling as I pressed the button.

The door to the hidden chamber slowly slid open, and a wave of fragrance mixed with a rotten stench rushed out. The cloyingly sweet scent mixed with the foul odor was somehow even more nauseating than the foul odor alone.

I couldn't help but gag several times.

Unable to see things clearly in the dark, I dug out my phone and turned on the flashlight.

The light illuminated the interior of the chamber. I took one glance and froze.

The dimly-lit chamber was covered in a thick layer of soil. Right in the center grew a plant about half my height, with a grayish-green stalk and oversized leaves veined with black streaks.

A dark purplish-black flower bloomed at the top, its bloated petals looking like slabs of rotten meat. They reminded me of the man-eating plant from the game Plant and The Undead.

Its roots stretched long, bulging up from the soil and spreading toward the edges of the chamber. Along each wall of the room sat a long container, where its roots had crawled into each of them.

And in the farthest corner of the chamber lay an iron cage, with something trapped inside. It let out a weak sound when I stepped in.

I aimed my phone's flashlight at the cage and slowly inched closer.

It looked like a person.