The door of her room creaked open.
Kangwoo, her older brother, leaned in. "It's time to leave. Got your stuff ready?"
Darin didn't look at him. "Hyung… can we not move this time?"
(Hyung=Big brother in Korean)
Kangwoo stepped inside, and Darin's eyes flicked to the shelf behind him. His old baseball medal rested there, a gold circle catching the dim light, its ribbon faded but carefully kept. She remembered how proud he'd been the day he won it.
Even now, through all the running, he always made sure it came with them.
He stepped inside and sat on the edge of the bed, his back to her. "Darin… you know what happens if we stay. There are people out there who'd kill to find you, Darin. People who shouldn't even know you exist."
Tears burned at the corners of her eyes. "...Ever since Mom and Dad died, it's been nothing but running. We never get to live, never stayed anywhere long enough to belong,"
Kangwoo finally turned, meeting her eyes.
Her hands twisted the hem of her shirt. "…I just want to live a normal life!"
Kangwoo's eyes glistened as he pulled her into a rough hug. "...I'm sorry, Darin." he whispered. "But this is the Wildlaw. Survival first, everything else comes after."
…
The motorcycle roared down a deserted road, horizon stretching empty in all directions. Darin clung to Kangwoo's back, her heavy pack digging into her shoulders, her face pressed against his jacket.
Her eyelids drifted shut… until the motorcycle slowed.
Kangwoo got down the motorcycle, then cursed, kicking the side of the motorcycle. "...Damn it!" The tire was shredded. He crouched beside it, rubbing his face in frustration. Darin just watched, not knowing what to say. Even the road itself seemed determined to push them away.
Later, the two of them sat on the cracked pavement, sharing stale bread and bottled water from their bag. Kangwoo broke the silence. "Two miles."
Darin glanced up.
"We'll have to walk the last two miles," he said.
She sighed, "Whatever…" then pulled her phone from her pocket to check the time.
Her thumbs hovered over the screen. One tiny signal bar blinked to life. A shiver ran down her spine.
…
Why would there be signal here?
This road was supposed to be a deadzone.