Seohyun stood still, fear devouring her into an infinite cavity of darkness. The same scene played right before her eyes like a broken record. A man had his arms around a young woman, who desperately squirmed under his hold like a worm under the claws of a hawk. It felt like a scene straight out of a horror film. The woman’s face was dripping in sweat and drenched in salty tears. Her hair was a fractious mess of tangles dulled by city smog. 

“It’ll be a while until our ride comes to pick us up, won’t you like to have some fun before we go, darling?” The hooded man whispered into her ear, gently brushing away her matted curls to the side. The woman’s screams were muffled by the black cloth tightened around her jaw, almost choking her. Seohyun felt her heart rate shoot up like a firework, the beats pounding like a hammer in her chest. 

The man nuzzled his face deep in the nook of the girl’s exposed neck, breathing in her scent. She could hear him panting and moaning in premature climax, the lust in his breath, like an animal in heat. He sensually slid his hand up her thigh and snuck it underneath her mini skirt while the other fondled around her breasts with so much excitement like a kid tearing apart gift wrapper.

Seohyun gagged at the sight, utterly disgusted. She had one hand covering her mouth and the other clutching her stomach as she hunched slightly. Fuck. Seohyun kept in the need to vomit out the single protein bar in her stomach, feeling the heavy breaths echo in her ears. I can’t stand by and do nothing about it. Seohyun snatched the phone in the pocket of her jeans and turned away to hide back in the pillar. 

“Why hello there, dear.” 

Seohyun widened her eyes as she came face to face with another man. A hooded mask blackened his entire head. Before she could make another move, the man roughly grabbed her by the shoulders. The phone slipped from her hands and fell to the ground. 

It was like a switch flipped in her body, like a reflex when his fingers dug into her skin. Instantly, Seohyun grabbed the man at his elbows. She connected her forehead to his with a loud smack, resulting in him to let go of Seohyun and clutch his head in agony. Ignoring the aching pain that rattled her own skull, she swiftly ducked down to the ground as the man swung his fist to throw a punch. The air whirled above her at the sharp move, but Seohyun could only be thankful he missed. 

She bounced back up from the ground and lifted her leg to strike a kick up his groin. Her foot plunged right into his crotch, eliciting an agonizing grunt from the perpetrator.

“Hey!” Seohyun whipped her head at the other man who held the girl hostage. She was now fully exposed in the open. Shit. The woman took advantage of her perpetrator’s loose arm and elbowed him before she ducked out of his hold. Seohyun followed her and grabbed her arm to run. They dodged past the man lying near the stairs leading to the ground. Climbing up the flight of stairs to the next floor, an ear-ripping blast surged through the air. 

The woman lurched forward as if she had been violently shoved from behind. Seohyun caught her before she fell on her face on the blunt edge of the steps, and the woman screeched through the rag clogged in her mouth. It was a sound full of anguish and pain that it could’ve torn her vocal cords. 

Seohyun glanced to see red staining her leg. Shit shit shit shit. “Come, we don’t have much time.” Seohyun laced the victim’s arm around her neck and carried her up the steps as fast as she could. Reaching the top, Seohyun’s eyes raced every inch of the place for a hiding spot; she knew for sure that it was impossible to run in this situation. Spotting a massive bundle of metal bars piled a couple of meters away, she rushed to it with all the strength in every fiber of muscle within her. 

She carefully placed the woman down against the hefty metal bars that acted as a wall. The woman’s chest heaved up and down as if she was having a panic attack, and she bit down on the cloth fastened around her face. She was shaking, tremors enveloping her. “Calm down, I’m a doctor.” Were the only words Seohyun managed to whisper. But at that moment, she didn’t feel like one.

She was scared for her life. 

And there was no doctor to console her as she did to the victim. 

Seohyun kept a passive face as she panicked on the inside. She rolled down the thigh-high stocking on the woman’s injured leg and turned it around to see the thick, voluminous blood gushing out like a fountain. A puddle of sultry red was already pooling on the floor, and Seohyun began applying manual pressure above the wound. Fuck, if the bullet ruptures the femoral artery, this girl will be drained of blood in seconds. With the blood loss she’s having, I’d even be thankful if it was just the veins. While pressing her hands on the cold skin of the victim, Seohyun’s eyes were fixed on the cloth around the woman’s mouth. An idea sparked in her head. 

Seohyun untied the fabric from around her face with quick fingers. She snatched a pen from the pocket of her jeans and yanked out the tie that held her hair in a ponytail. She was determined to create a makeshift tourniquet for her patient, aiming to limit the blood flow and prevent hemorrhage. 

“Come out, come out wherever you are.” 

Trails of sweat flooded the side of Seohyun’s face and blood trickled from her forehead, but she continued to perform first aid on the woman. “What’s your name?” Seohyun whispered, hoping to distract the woman from the burning pain searing her leg and climbing up her body. 

“Kitel,” she breathed, suddenly feeling light as a feather.  

“Do you have a phone?” It came out more of a demand than a question, and Kitel could only offer a feeble nod. Her shaky hands snuck into the pocket of her mini skirt and pulled out a cellular phone. Seohyun tightened the cloth of her makeshift tourniquet and Kitel jerked her back up, gritting her teeth at the pressure. 

Her breaths came out ragged as she activated her phone and handed it to the doctor. Seohyun snatched it from her hand and quickly dialed her brother’s phone number. Just then, the metal bars started clanking and flying into a mess. The two women screamed in horror at the screeching noise that raked the air. 

Seohyun looked at Kitel, who fell limp to the ground, then up at the man who won their deadly game of hide and seek. 

“You can’t run, and you certainly can’t hide.”

* * *

Eunho’s gaze grilled the line of men standing behind the one-way glass. They each held up a board to their chests as they frowned at the glass. They couldn’t see, but they knew law officers alike were standing behind the surface, watching their every move. Eunho sighed, dropping his shoulders before turning to face the head of the criminal department. “Are these all the suspects you have? They all work solo, not even a duo?” 

Seojin shrugged, shaking his head. “Sorry, but this is all under the investigation previously handled by Prosecutor Yang. This is the list he supposedly deduced.” Seojin spared one last look at the men lined up behind the glass before ushering police to dismiss them. Eunho headed out, Seojin following close behind. 

Near the entrance of the police station, Eunho released a deep sigh once again before a weary smile pressed on his lips. “Thank you, Mr. Min, I’ll be sure to come back tomorrow with the crime investigator so he can give some insight into the case.” Seojin opened his mouth to respond but was cut off by the landline ringing from the desk. 

“Sorry, let me just take the call.” Seojin approached the reception behind them and lifted the telephone, bringing it up to his ear. “Seoul police department, how can I help you?” Eunho watched from afar as Seojin’s eyes popped out for a second, but he still kept a calm demeanor. Quickly, he grabbed a pen and notepad from nearby and began scribbling down notes as he entertained the caller. “Alright... Do you need an ambulance there? Yes, okay, please give me your location and we’ll be there shortly. I’ll transfer you now to a medical dispatcher.”

After a couple of minutes, Seojin placed the telephone back on the landline and jogged back inside the police station. “What happened?” Eunho questioned while following alongside him. 

“Boy called, saying a woman entered a construction site, and he heard lots of noise and possible gunshots from inside. Listen up! Who is on duty? I need 3 guys, stat!” Eunho watched as Seojin grabbed his parka from the desk and took out car keys from his pocket. They didn’t have much time to waste if it was an actual emergency that needed immediate attention. 

“Can I come along?” Seojin scrunched up his face at Eunho’s query, clearly bothered. 

“Sure, sure, why not?”

* * *

Jiwoo ran a hand through his dark hair as he walked along the sidewalk. It’s kinda chilly out here and my head’s starting to pound, why did I even think it was a good idea to miss the metro? Shaking his head at his own stupidity, Jiwoo sped up his brisk walk, dying to go home. 

Just as he made a sharp turn, a young boy no older than 16 nearly collided into him. “Woah.” Jiwoo dashed back with a quick reflex to avoid colliding into him. A grimace warped on his lips and he was about to give him a harsh scolding, but the boy spoke up before Jiwoo could utter a word. 

“Please, come with me. I need help...” The young guy panted, clutching his knees to catch a break from his run. “A lady got stuck inside, please, help me.” The urgency and shakiness in his breath alarmed Jiwoo, erasing any bitterness that engulfed his sense.

“What are you waiting for? Go, lead the way!”

Adrenaline surged through Jiwoo’s nerves, and it was as if his blood was on fire. His limbs were now moving on their own, racing in the direction the boy led him to. The air carried an icy chill, but Jiwoo could only feel the scorching fervor of his body heat burning him up. After a few minutes of nonstop running, they finally stopped in front of an isolated construction site. His lungs were burning, expanding as if to catch more oxygen. 

“She’s in there. I called the police department and an ambulance. They said they’re on the way.”  

Jiwoo nodded once, his stare fixed on the eerie site before turning to the boy. “Stay here, wait for them to arrive.” Without hesitating, he sprinted towards the dull unfinished building. Entering the place, Jiwoo’s eyes scanned the complete area. Noise suddenly erupted from above, and so he fled to the nearest set of stairs. 

Reaching the top, Jiwoo widened his eyes when he was greeted by a hooded man. The man swung a quick punch to Jiwoo, but he deftly moved to the side, dropping his suitcase in the process. He tackled the assailant with a jab straight to his jaw, cracking his knuckles. The man stumbled backward, holding his jaw. He growled like a feral animal, before launching to Jiwoo, pushing him down to the ground.

The back of Jiwoo’s head collided with the bare concrete, aching pain throbbed his whole head. For a moment his vision was blurry with static, before readjusting to the faceless mask staring him down like a hunter ready to feast on his prey. The man swiftly raised a pocket knife in the air. The tip of the slim blade glistened under the moonlight as if winking at Jiwoo. That pocket knife is... “Ahh!” Jiwoo seethed and jolted up with so much force it sent the man tumbling down.   

Jiwoo could feel his pulse palpitating in his arm where the knife had been driven into. Ignoring the pain, he jumped at the attacker, more adrenaline pumping wildly in his system. He struck his fist into the man’s face once again, tackling him to the ground. He threw punch after punch, rage consuming his every movement and distracting him from the blade embedded deep in his shoulder. 

His knuckles were scorching like charred bits of charcoal, the blood was pouring out of his open wound and saturating his blazer. 

Jiwoo’s breaths came out heavy and uneven as he swallowed his throat while looking down at the man knocked out. He stood up and wrapped his fingers around the black handle of the weapon planted in his flesh. He clenched his teeth down, pulling the knife out with unbearable agony, the sharp edge slowly caressing the tissue and muscle fibers in his biceps. “Ugh.” He threw the knife down, bouncing to the ground like a rubber ball. Jiwoo panted, looking back at the man on the ground. 

It’s time to reveal your identity. 

He approached the man lying down on the freezing cement and knelt beside him. He was about to reach out to unveil his mask when he heard metal clamoring upstairs, followed by a shrill cry ringing in the air. Shit. Jiwoo quickly stood and sped down the empty space until he reached another staircase. He climbed up, all the while gripping his shoulder that had blood streaming like a leaking pen, leaving behind a trail of red splotches on the floor. 

When he reached the top level, his gaze was stuck on the man in the distance, his back slightly turned to him. Below he could see a woman crouching on the ground, her face veiled with fear and panic. It was then Jiwoo recognized her. Seohyun? The question only lasted for half a second when his eyes darted back to the man loading his pistol and pointing it at her; showing no mercy.

Instinctively, Jiwoo chased straight to them, his shoes grating on the cement. When he arrived behind the criminal, he lifted his good arm to thrash a heavy punch to the man. The assailant turned around, swiftly dodging the blow. Jiwoo grabbed at his wrists, pain shooting up his left arm once he lifted it. Seohyun’s lips parted at the abrupt appearance of Jiwoo, but she snapped out of her shock. 

Quickly jumping on her feet, Seohyun lurched to the attacker, trying to help Jiwoo who struggled with his injury. She grabbed at the man’s arm, attempting to pry off the gun from his hands. He held on to it like a child clutching his favorite toy, not wanting to give it up so easily. With a forceful push, Jiwoo sent the man falling back. A striking noise resonated in the room as a spark emitted from the hole of the gun. Seohyun screamed, covering her ears.

Jiwoo snapped his head at her, scanning her from head to toe before breathing out the puff of air he was holding in. However, behind Seohyun, Jiwoo spotted the hooded man that attacked him earlier. He stealthily shuffled behind her, and Jiwoo caught a glimpse of the knife he gripped down by his side.

“Seohyun!” 

Jiwoo swooped to Seohyun’s place. He tried to push her away with the last remaining strength in his injured arm, but she only nudged slightly. He plunged right behind her, encasing his arms around Seohyun to push her away. It was too late. 

The knife cut through his coat and met flesh, the tip of the blade sank deep enough for blood to start spilling out. The man twisted the blade, all the while sinking it deeper and deeper. Jiwoo bit down on his tongue to supress the scream vibrating in his vocal chords.

He felt his skin tearing apart as the knife rotated, the sound of his muscles and nerves being gouged growing louder. Then, without warning, the perpetrator jerked it all the way into his back, until the icy steel had disappeared inside. Only the black handle was left sticking out from his back.

Seohyun stood there, the warmth of Jiwoo’s embrace clouding her senses. It was as if all tension melted away from her worries for a split second. She froze for a moment, her eyes cast on the blood dripping down her own coat. It was then it finally dawned upon her, Jiwoo had been stabbed. 

“Are you... alright?” he choked out, his voice holding a sense of calmness in that chaotic minute. Blood welled up in his mouth and dripped down like raindrops racing down a glass pane before evolving to a full-on cascading waterfall. Everything around Seohyun lulled into the background. The screeching of the police sirens, the criminals racing out of the building, all blurred into emptiness. 

She could only hear his cold, heavy breaths tickling her ear, and his thumping heart beating in his chest, a grim reminder of her own mortality. “It hurts, but that’s okay,“ he whispered softly, almost inaudible. His arms tightened for a moment onto Seohyun, holding on for the last string of life in his consciousness.

Jiwoo could feel his body succumbing to rest. He couldn’t fight it any much longer, and he certainly couldn’t tell when he can open his eyes again, if ever. A weak chuckle escaped his pale and busted lips, and his eyelids were now drooping to a close. 

“Seohyun... Will you please save me?”

Hello everyone! How are you guys? Hope you had a good week! Sorry to keep you on the edge of your seats with that last chapter, and looks like I'll have to do it again this time as well. I can be evil, I know I'm sorry. What do you think so far? Did you expect the dark turn in the story? Compare this to the first chapter lol, can you imagine just how far we've come along? Well too bad for you guys, because this is a precursor to the fire that's going to light up the house! As always, please leave a comment and tell me what do you guys think so far? And I kindly ask you to press the tiny star button so it can shine a little better c: Ghost readers I see you, come on now, don't be shy! Ahahaha, cheers everyone~

P.S. What did you think of the new banner? The talented  rayraybites made it! Seriously, go and follow her! She's nothing short of amazing!