"I'm still alive."
Jake faintly heard the sound of someone on the phone nearby.
"It's really fine if I stay. I'm feeling a bit worried. Hmm, no, I think I'll just stay here and wait for you to come home. OK, I won't go anywhere."
Whose voice was this? Jake felt it wasn't his friend's.
Slowly, he opened his eyes.
"W-who are you?"
The tall young man smiled back at Jake, who was staring at him suspiciously.
"I'm Jo, Jungwon's friend," he said.
"Jo." Jake remembered what Jungwon had said back when they were still in that empty house; Jungwon had mentioned that a friend of his was helping out.
"Were you the one who helped Jungwon get his mates out of Jeongin's house?" asked Jake.
Jo nodded. "Actually, I wasn't that close to Jungwon, but that day I was really worried when I found him in such a mess, and he wouldn't let me take him to hospital. Instead, he wanted me to help his mates first."
Jake looked at his own body, which was heavily bandaged; there were even a few plasters stuck to his face.
"Did the person you helped survive?" asked Jake.
"Luckily, they survived, although at one point Niki was almost beyond saving," said Jo.
"Do you want me to take you to another room, where your friends are?" he offered.
"No need." Jake instinctively refused because he still felt guilty; this whole incident was his fault. He'd killed Sunoo's only family member, and he'd also failed to protect his own friends, leaving them injured because of his actions.
"Jay and Sunghoon are visiting Sunoo right now, but Sunghoon said he'll be back at the hospital soon," said Jo.
"Jungwon?" asked Jake.
"He's just had his operation and is doing better now," said Jo.
Jake fell silent for a moment; it seemed the police would be coming for him any minute now and he would soon be arrested. His life would be over before long if the organisation found out about this.
Creak.
The door opened to reveal several men in smart suits but with menacing expressions.
"Jake, it's great to finally see you're awake," said one of the three men.
"I'm also glad to see you lot somewhere other than the office," said Jake sarcastically.
"Well, that's good then. Looks like we can continue our chat at the office; the boss says he wants to interrogate you for a bit," he continued.
Jake wasn't stupid, of course; the 'questioning' in question was no ordinary affair—it involved torture, and it was highly likely that Jake's life would end immediately afterwards.
"I promise I'll come to the office once I'm feeling better. Just give me time to see my family and my other friends," said Jake.
"Oh, that's a real shame, actually. The boss wanted you to come straight away."
Jake glared at the stocky man, who was beginning to raise his pistol.
"He's not anyone important." Jake knew full well that a member of the organisation would point his gun at Jo.
"There's no one else here, mate. He's the only one who can be taken hostage," he said.
Jake pulled the IV drip out of his arm. "No need for a hostage—just kill me straight away."
"Can't do that. The boss wants you to meet him alive so he can have a chat with you first," he said.
"Right, in that case I'll come with you lot." Jake got off the bed.
"Don't go." Jo grabbed Jake's hand, trying to hold him back.
"Don't get involved, kid."
The stocky man immediately pulled them apart, but Jo grabbed Jake's hand again.
"I'm fine, Jo," said Jake.
"You'll die if you go with them. Please stay here—your family and friends will be so happy to hear you've woken up now; they don't hate you," said Jo.
Jo's words made Jake fall silent for a moment. Had he made his decision too hastily?
Bughhh.
"Come on, you're taking too long. This lad's getting in the way again."
The stocky man was annoyed with Jo, feeling she was holding up his work of taking Jake to the organisation's office straight away; if left to continue like this, it seemed Jake might be swayed and decide not to go to the office after all.
"You lot." Jake glared sharply at the three men in front of him, his heart pounding.
******
Jo caught a whiff of a pungent odour around him as soon as he opened his eyes.
"Akh, my neck."
He sat up slowly, then was startled by the sight before him:
The three men who'd been talking to Jake were lying on the floor, covered in wounds; he couldn't tell if they were dead or just unconscious.
"Jake."
Jo immediately ran towards the toilet, but it was empty; he went outside to look for Jake.
He'd searched the first, second and third floors, but still hadn't found Jake; only the fourth floor remained.
"One more floor to go, but I think I'd better let Sunghoon know about this."
********
Meanwhile, Jay and Sunghoon were in the lift heading to the third floor where Jake was being treated. Jo had managed to let Sandy know that Jake had come out of his coma, which was why Jay and Sunghoon had rushed home from the police station after visiting Sunoo.
Ding. The lift doors opened.
"J-Jay,"
"Why are you shaking like that, Hoon?" Jay looked at Sunghoon in surprise; he was still staring at his mobile.
"Report to the hospital staff that something's happened in Jake's room. Jo was too panicked to report it first," said Sunghoon.
"What do you mean, 'something'?" asked Jay.
"Just do as I say for now; I'll be back as soon as possible," said Sunghoon as he pressed the lift button, leaving Jay standing outside.
"Jake, please wait for me." Sunghoon waited for the lift to reach his floor, feeling a mixture of hope and anxiety.
Ding. The lift doors opened to reveal a vast, empty space, with only a few decorative items and a clear view of the sky.
Not far away, he heard someone crying. Slowly, Sunghoon made his way towards the source of the sound.
He found Jake standing at the edge of the rooftop, his head bowed as he wiped his eyes with one hand, his sobs clearly audible.
"Jake, we'll be fine. You don't need to blame yourself anymore; we've all forgiven you," said Sunghoon.
"S-Sunghoon," Jake turned towards Sunghoon.
"Yes, it's me. The others are waiting for you, so let's go down now," said Sunghoon.
"It's all my fault, Hoon—this tragedy, and now I'm being targeted by that organisation. Even people I've only just met have been hurt because of me," said Jake.
"It's not like that, Jake. You can still put everything right," said Sunghoon.
"Put what right? Everything's already ruined and can't be fixed," said Jake.
He took a step closer to the edge of the rooftop.
"Jake, stop! Don't be mad," Sunghoon immediately pulled his friend back and hugged him, trying to pull him away from the edge.
"Let me go, Hoon," Jake kept struggling in Sunghoon's embrace.
"Just let me die; my life's no use anymore," said Jake.
"You've still got us, Jake," said Sunghoon.
"It's all pointless. I'll just rot in prison, or I could die at any moment at the hands of the organisation," said Jake.
Crash.
He managed to break free from Sunghoon and even pushed his friend, causing him to fall. Jake quickly walked to the edge of the rooftop.
"Hoon, thanks for being a partner and a friend who's helped me so much all this time."
Jake wiped away his tears and smiled as he looked down at the motorway stretching out beneath his feet.
Crash.