The sound of a door locking could be heard from outside.
Jungwon felt relieved. He lay down on the bed, trying to bear the pain.
Before leaving the house, Sunoo had beaten Jungwon up and then locked him in his room so that the hostage couldn't do much whilst he was away.
"If only that murder hadn't happened…" Jungwon glanced at the table nearby. There was food and drink that Sunoo had prepared for him.
Srekkkk. The sound of someone moving could be heard from outside.
Jungwon turned towards the window. Someone was staring at him from there.
"Jungwon..."
It all began that day. Jo had just returned from the garage where he'd had his car repaired. As it happened, his regular garage was in this area.
On his way back, he looked towards that house and remembered the one on the edge of the forest that was rumoured to be haunted.
"I wonder if it's true… maybe I'll just check it out."
The young man, whose surname was Asakura, eventually got out of the car, following his curiosity. The house looked deserted and uninhabited, sending a shiver down his spine.
"The atmosphere is really creepy… I'd better turn back."
He should have turned back, but his eyes accidentally caught sight of Jungwon—his classmate who was rumoured to have died.
"Jungwon, you're still alive, aren't you?"
Jo was worried to see his friend looking pale and covered in bruises.
"I-I'm still alive," said Jungwon from behind the window.
"Come with me to the hospital," said Jo.
Jungwon shook his head, indicating he didn't want to go. "I'm fine."
*****
It was already dark when Jake stood in front of the police station.
He stood silently, watching the people coming and going there.
"If I turn myself in, the police might track down the organisation… but they'll definitely still be out to kill me."
Jake reconsidered what he should do now.
"Does Unknown want me dead?"
Jake walked away from there. He saw the traffic lights turn green.
"Is this what he wants?" Jake walked forward, about to cross the road.
He would certainly have been hit by a car if someone hadn't pulled him back.
"Jake, what are you doing?" said Sunoo, annoyed. "Are you deaf? Can't you hear the horn?"
Jake just stared blankly at his friend. "Don't worry about me."
He shook Sunoo's hand off his arm.
"What's wrong with you?" asked Sunoo, puzzled.
Jake didn't answer; instead, he carried on walking towards his car, which he'd parked in front of the police station.
"Jake." Sunoo took the car keys from Jake's hand.
"There's my favourite satay stall nearby. We might as well chat there whilst we eat."
Sunoo immediately dragged Jake away from there. They hadn't walked far when they came across a small stall with the mouth-watering aroma of grilled meat.
The two of them sat on a bench, facing each other.
"Are you in trouble or do you want to die? Crossing the road when the light's green," Sunoo teased.
"Nothing," Jake replied, turning his face away.
"Why would you want to die? Don't you still have a family?" Sunoo took a bite of the satay skewer in front of him.
"Think of your family. Don't make rash decisions," he continued, reminding Jake.
"I-I just didn't see the red light," Jake made up an excuse.
"Oh, come on…" Sunoo glared, realising his friend was lying.
"You're lucky, you know, to still have a family… unlike me."
"You? What happened?" asked Jake.
"I used to go on holiday with my whole family. We all loved playing on the beach. But on the way back, we had an accident. Only me and my cousin survived, so the two of us have had to rely on each other ever since," explained Sunoo.
"Oh… my condolences," said Jake, sympathetically.
"Yeah, thanks." Sunoo gave a faint smile in response to Jake's words.
******
That evening, Sunoo didn't go straight back to his hall of residence; he went home to his cousin's house first.
When he arrived, the house felt quiet. He walked towards the room Jungwon was staying in and unlocked the door with the key he'd brought with him.
Click.
As the door swung open, Sunoo stepped into the room and looked at his friend, who was fast asleep. Sunoo glanced at the empty plate of food on the table.
"Well, it seems the medicine has been working all this time after all; I'd actually been worried," he muttered after hearing a strange sound.
Luckily, Jungwon didn't wake up from that mysterious sound.
Without wasting any time, Sunoo immediately headed for the basement—the place where he usually executed his victims and where the strange sound was now coming from.
Click.
Sunoo gave the young man, who was still stamping his feet, a lazy look.
"Aren't your legs sore? You've been tied to that chair for almost the whole day."
Sunoo walked closer, which reflexively made the young man shake his head quickly, realising it was Sunoo who had beaten him and locked him up here.
So, earlier that morning Sunoo had left but left something behind; he'd returned to retrieve it but had accidentally spotted a young man who appeared to be communicating with Jungwon using pieces of paper.
"I don't know when you realised Jungwon was here, but seeing him in such a mess must have made you suspicious, right?"
Sunoo opened the bag the young man was carrying and tipped out its contents; he carefully read through some of the papers inside.
"Oh, so Jungwon didn't sort out the rest, did he? He asked you to take Niki, Heeseung and Sunghoon to hospital. And that's why they're still alive,"
Sunoo walked over to the bucket and slowly poured its contents all over the room.
Once he'd finished, Sunoo walked over to the victim and removed the duct tape covering the victim's mouth.
"Asakura Jo, thanks for saving my friend. But I'm afraid your life is the price you'll pay now," said Sunoo, not forgetting to accompany his words with a sweet smile.