(Daejung's POV)
She reminded me of someone I used to play with long ago, that hint of caring in anger, that fragrance of sunflowers and long straight light brown hairs, I know it.
segments of flashbacks kept playing in my brain, the faces blurred, NO WAY!
no way she's Eva! 'Evangeline?' I said looking deep into her eyes, I clearly remember them. 'How do you know my name?' she said, it's her. It's Eva. But she doesn't remember me.
she looked at me the way I looked at her 'Daejung? it's you?'
before I could react, I heard a loud heart-throbbing knock. 'OPEN! NOW' as the guy on the other side screamed. the scream was full of pain and sorrow.
'Are they here?' said Hyun wu. 'What do you mean by that?" as a furiously replied him.
before I could react, I heard a loud heart-throbbing knock.
'OPEN! NOW'
the guy on the other side screamed.
the scream was full of pain and sorrow.
my chest tightened.
'Are they here?' said Hyun wu.
'What do you mean by that?' I replied furiously.
another knock. harder. louder.
the door shook.
Eva stepped back without a word.
my mind was racing.
too fast.
too loud.
no. not now. not after everything.
'Daejung…' Eva whispered. my name sounded strange coming from her mouth. familiar yet distant.
'Stay behind me.' Hyun wu said, his voice low. dangerous calm.
the knock turned into banging.
'HYUN WU!'
that voice.
I froze.
I knew that voice.
blood rushed to my ears. my hands went cold.
they followed us.
I moved before thinking, grabbing Eva's wrist, pulling her back.
'Don't come near the door.' I said. my voice didn't sound like mine.
'Who is it?' she asked. her eyes were wide. scared. but still trying to understand.
Hyun wu didn't answer. he slowly walked towards the door.
'Don't.' I said. 'It's a trap.'
the banging stopped.
silence.
too much silence.
then,
'Please…' the voice cracked. 'I'm hurt.'
my heart dropped.
Eva looked at me. I could see it. that same look. the one she had when we were kids. when someone cried, she believed them. always.
'We can't just—' she started.
'Eva, no.' I said sharply.
she flinched.
I hated myself for that.
Hyun wu looked back at us. his jaw clenched. his knuckles white.
'They use sympathy now.' he said. 'They learned.'
the door creaked.
it opened just an inch.
a body fell inside.
blood. everywhere.
the man was barely breathing. bullet wound. fresh.
Eva screamed.
I caught her before she fell.
'Daejung…' she said again. softly. like she was asking a question she was scared to hear the answer to.
outside, footsteps.
many.
I lifted my head.
the game has started.
and Eva…
Eva is right in the middle of it.
the body lay there. unmoving.
blood slowly spreading across the floor like it had a mind of its own.
Eva's hands were shaking. I could feel it through my sleeve.
'He's alive.' she whispered. hope. stupid, dangerous hope.
she always had that.
even back then.
I pulled her closer without realizing.
my arm was already around her before my brain caught up.
Hyun wu shut the door quietly. too quietly.
'They wanted this.' he said. 'They wanted us to open it.'
the man on the floor coughed. blood spilled from his mouth.
Eva dropped to her knees.
'We have to help him.' she said. not asking. telling.
you never changed.
I remembered scraped knees.
band-aids stolen from home.
her scolding me for fighting when she was the one crying.
'Eva—' I started.
she looked at me.
those eyes.
the same eyes that used to look at me when I climbed trees I shouldn't have. when I got hurt on purpose just so she'd look worried.
my chest tightened. again.
I looked away.
Hyun wu knelt beside the man. checked his pulse. his face hardened.
'He won't last long.' he said.
Eva's breath hitched.
'I can't—' she swallowed. 'I can't just watch someone die.'
I clenched my fists.
this is why I liked you.
the thought hit me so hard it scared me.
I had buried it. years ago. under distance, blood, forgetting.
but it was there.
it always was.
I remembered waiting for her outside. pretending I was just "there".
remembered the jealousy when other kids made her laugh.
remembered the day she stopped coming.
no goodbye.
just gone.
and now she was here again.
standing between life and death like she always did.
'Daejung.' she said softly. 'Please.'
my name sounded like a wound.
I nodded.
Hyun wu looked at me sharply. 'You know this could be fake.'
'I know.' I said. 'But if it isn't…'
Eva was already cleaning the blood. focused. calm. brave.
too brave.
I watched her hands move. careful. gentle.
I used to watch those hands when we were kids.
I turned away.
footsteps outside.
again.
this time closer.
voices.
I caught fragments.
'…inside…'
'…don't let them escape…'
Hyun wu stood up. 'They're not leaving us alone.'
Eva froze.
fear finally reached her eyes.
I stepped in front of her.
'I won't let anything happen to you.' I said without thinking.
she looked at me. really looked.
'You sound like you've said that before.'
I didn't answer.
because I had.
a long time ago, before everything broke.
the window shattered, glass everywhere, reflecting the moonlight as it fell on Eva's face.
Hyun wu cursed, the man on the floor screamed.
Eva screamed too.
I grabbed her.
held her.
shielded her.
some things don't change.
even if she forgot.
even if the world burned.
I would still choose her.
and I knew it then.
clear as blood on the floor.