─────── 𝐂 𝐇 𝐀 𝐏 𝐓 𝐄 𝐑    𝟑𝟔 ───────

[5:43pm]

By half past 5, they had arrived at their destination- Crepusculum woods, and were now hurriedly making their way to the old warehouse belonging to a car manufacturer based in South Korea that had left the place back in the early 2000s.

"There, hurry," Yeram commanded and everyone began speed walking after seeing the wooden structure. They stopped in front of the massive gates, looking at each other.

"Remember whatever may happen in there I love you all," Hari said, making everyone scoff at her.

"We're not going there to die," Jongseong affirmed. "We're all going to make it out alive."

"Let's leave our bags out here," Jake said to those who brought their bags.

"Good idea," Sunoo nodded, taking off his backpack and placing it beside a tree.

"Aren't you putting it down?" Yeram asked after realizing Aera was yet to take off her.

Area shook her head, "No I'd rather have it on me."

"If you say so," Yeram shrugged.

"Everyone ready?" Heeseung asked, putting his hand on the door whilst using the other to turn on the flash on his phone.

Everyone nodded, making the elder push g the gates open.

The old wood scraped dangerously on the ground, making it difficult to open at first. But with all his might, Heeseung opened it enough so that everyone was able to slip in.

"Let's go," he gulped, walking in first. Everyone followed closely after him.

Everything was dark inside and the place smelled metallic, like wet earth and fresh blood at the same time.

Heeseung used his phone to look around, at first seeing nothing. But when he directed the flash in the middle of the warehouse, he finally found what they were looking for.

"He's there," Heeseung pointed to where he saw the tied up Jungwon. At his signal, they all ran after him.

Heeseung naturally reached Jungwon first, ripping off the tape from the boy's mouth.

"Jungwon, Jungwon! Fuck, fuck hold on. We're going to get you out of here," Heeseung tried to calm down Jungwon who kept on squirming in his chair vigorously.

Jongseong, who was now behind Heeseung, took out a small knife from his pocket. His eyebrows furrowed in concentration as he began hacking away at the thick ropes, "Shit stay still Jungwon, you're making it more difficult."

"No, no," Jungwon shouted. "What are you guys doing here?! You need to get out now! It's a trap, this whole place. Fuck! She's going to kill you all!!"

Hari stepped forward, "Who Jungwon? Who's going to kill us all?"

Jungwon finally calmed down in his seat when Jongseong freed his leg and moved on to his hands tied behind his back. He dropped his head back, drenched in dirt, dried up blood and sweat; breathing heavily. "Aera's it is her. It's-"

Dainty clicking footsteps of heels, before a sadistic giggle, "Me."

Everyone's head cronned up to where the voice came from as Jungwon stood up with them after Jongseong completely freed him.

A clean looking Kwon Jiu, dressed in fine clothes and decorated in beautiful makeup, smirked. "Hello, my friends."

"Jiu?!" Yeram gasped, stumbling back with Hari.

"Yes Ahyeun?" Jiu's perfect eyebrow cocked up.

"You fucking bitch, it was you all along," Heeseung spat.

The girl scoffed, picking up something from the table next to her, "Oh Lee Heeseung , don't act all innocent now. You're just as bad as me. You all are."

"But I don't understand... why?" Aera felt the most betrayed out of everyone.

Jiu's face fell, her smile turning upside down. She looked straight into Jungwon's soul, "My sweet Jungwon-ah, do you want to tell them?"

"Guys," Jungwon began, gulping down hard. "Kwon Jiu, the nameless girl- the one who's disappeared after we tried drowning her in the pool."

"That was you?" Hari's eyes widened.

"Yeah," Jiu smiled. "Yeah, it was. You guys made me suffer those two weeks. In two fucking weeks you managed to ruin my life. My parents took me out of school for a couple of months and I came back as a new person. Changed my looks, style and everything so you wouldn't recognise me. And it worked. To celebrate me being happier, my parents took me on holiday. To the Maldives and boy was it amazing. But even that ended in disaster. My parents died coming back. I lost everything. Including my sanity, because yes- the accident did crazy shit to my brain. The rumors spread by Shen Xioating? They weren't 'rumors'... I was really was admitted to the mental hospital."

Everyone listened in silence, all cowering back when Jiu began taking slow steps towards them.

"They diagnosed me with intermittent explosive disorder, gave me these disgusting medications I have to take everyday so I don't lose my mind. I had to undergo months of torturous therapy and rehabilitation programs. And then a year later, I came back a different Jiu. That only lasted so long though because you little friend Dana ruined everything I worked so hard for again," Jiu's tone hardened.

"If you're wondering, I am the one that recorded Doyoung and Ahyeun at that party, and I am also the one that told Dana the 'secret' that caused drifts between her and her cheating boyfriend. Doyoung manipulated her though, convincing Dana that it was somehow my fault. Hah, and then stupid Dana got her silly friends on me. They cornered me one day and threatened to ruin my life if I dared tell anyone about Doyoung and the video." A cold tear slipped down Jiu's cheek as she paused. "It felt like I was reliving the past again. I was a weak mouse in the game of chase with a big, powerful cat."

She continued, with a shaky breath, "But soon that feeling of weakness grew into anger. Anger at Dana, and I knew what I had to do. I only had one goal, and that was to kill her. And so I told her to meet up with me during that day you were all working on that project. I lured her to the thirteenth floor of the construction site of that new apartment block and killed her. And that was that."

Ahyeun, who was choking back tears, shouted out, "So why did you come after us?"

Jiu laughed, as if it was obvious why she targeted them too. "Simple, the need for revenge grew inside me. It felt as though one kill wasn't enough for me... the smell of blood, the pleads and fear in the eyes of people enthralled me. It was exciting. It felt fucking glorious."

"You're sick," Sunghoon snarled.

"And you aren't?" Jiu cooed. "Didn't you ask me to cover up the murder of your aunt. The murder you committed?

Sunghoon clenched his jaws as his friends all turned to him one by one.

"That was you?!" Sunoo's mouth hung open.

"It doesn't matter who it was!" Jiu's loud voice made their heads snap back to her. "Not anymore."

Jiu exhaled sharply, "My point is you guys aren't good. I'm not good. None of us are good. And it's ok, because we're all going to die anyway."

Everyone's eyes widened in fear.

"W-what?" Ahyeun exclaimed, grabbing onto Yeram's arm.

"This is what I tried to tell you at the start. This is a trap.. There's explosives in here. And she has the switch to it," Jungwon reiterated.

Before anything else could be said, a loud ping ringed in the air.

"Fuck, we need to get out now," Jungwon panicked.

"Go, go, go!" Heeseung ushered everyone to start running out.

Jiu, who remained in her exact spot, began laughing. Louder and louder.

"She's fucking delirious," Hari screamed, running as fast as she could.

A small scream stopped them in their tracks, making them turn back. Aera withered on the floor, her face contorting in pain. "Oww."

They rushed to her side, Jake and Heeseung trying to pick her up.

The two managed to get her on her feet, but progress was very slow as Aera couldn't even move an inch by herself. Her ankle was bleeding from an injury she sustained. She struggled in their arms, dropping to their floor again.

"Aera, no, no! Guys help her up again!" Yeram screamed, panicking.

The boys tried to, but Aera only swatted their arms away.

"No! Leave you have to go, none of us will survive if you try and help me," Aera said.

"No, no," Yeram crouched down, grabbing her beloved friend's cold arm. "We're not leave... I won't leave without you!"

Aera shook her head, whimpering. "You have to. It's fine, Yeram, I'll be ok."

"1 minute and counting," Jiu warned them, testing their patience.

"Go," Aera tried shaking her hand out of Yeram's grasp.

"No!" Yeram kept shaking her head, now sobbing. Everyone around them was brought to tears at the scene.

"FUCKING GO!" Aera screamed, as the pinging around them got quicker.

Yeram pulled back, shocked. This girl that just screamed at her right now was the girl that never even raised her voice around others before.

Yeram choked back tears as she limply got up.

Aera took off her bag, unzipping it before taking out a biscuit tin. She held it up to Yeram, "Do me one last favor and give this to Nishimura Riki. No matter what, make sure it reaches him."

Yeram nodded, heart-broken, taking the tin in her hands.

"Now, go," Aera blinked back tears.

They nodded, faces crippling in mixed emotions.

"Thank you for being my best friends," Aera smiled at them one last time.

They ran out, leaving her behind.

The trees and leafage around them whizzed past into blurs of greens as they ran as fast as their legs could take them.

BANG!

They whipped their heads around, stopping running. The fiery blaze exploded in front of them, the orange light reflecting in their glassy eyes.

Ahyeun dropped to the ground, clutching her chest as she finally began crying, everyone else joining her soon after.

"Guys?" A male voice startled them.

Yeram crawled up from the ground, sobbing even more now. Their heads turned around, seeing Riki stand still behind them.

"Where's Aera?" he asked.

———

im not crying, you are 😭