The Maze (I)

      Zico stared at Joohyuk across the bush and watched as Kyungri approached from beside.

"Good knife," Zico nodded. "But poor aim."

Suzy got up and wiped the dust off, standing beside Zico. 

She couldn't believe Joohyuk was acting this way; it wasn't the Joohyuk she knew. 

"Thanks for this," Zico smirked and folded the knife blade, slipping it into his pocket. "Appreciate your donation."

Zico eyed Suzy and walked the opposite way, turning a right. 

"I know what you're thinking," Zico said. 

"What?"

"Will it take a knife in your head to realize that he doesn't love you? "

"I didn't say that-"

"You think I'm that stupid to not see that you're about to break into tears?"

Suzy sighed. She hated whenever Zico did this.

"Suzy, he doesn't care about you. If saving himself takes killing you, he would do it. When will you start it up and start helping us get out of here?" 

Suzy glared at him and walked past him, shoving him on the shoulders.

"Bae Suzy," he grabbed her wrist forcefully and pulled her back. "I'm talking to you."

"What do you want from me?!" Suzy blurted. "Do you think it's easy for me to forget someone just like that?!"

"So if you don't, then are you going to continue kissing his until he gets to the merry-go-round? Do you really want your eyeballs rolling around in the dirty pits? Nam Joohyuk doesn't give a about you-"

Thwak

Suzy slapped him across the cheek.

Zico's cheek became red at the pain and the embarrassment of getting slapped.

"If you're that desperate, then play this game by yourself." Suzy glared at him and walked past him, taking any cut she saw. 

"Stop fooling around," Zico grabbed her wrist and pulled her back forcefully, half yanking her on the floor. "This isn't a joke."

"I'm not joking either," Suzy pushed his hand away. "Let go."

"This is the last chance," Zico looked into her eyes. "Get a grip."

"You know what?" Suzy stared. "You're the one that needs to get a grip." 

And with that, Suzy turned her back and walked away from Zico, walking into the thick fog. 

     She felt her mind getting weaker with each step because even after all that, she was still scared. A million thoughts were running through her head, but there was one that felt stuck in her heart like a fish bone. 

No matter how much she thought, she didn't know why the knife that Joohyuk threw felt like it was aimed at her. 

"No way," she shook her lips.

Suzy turned around, her heart feeling weak at the sight of Zico no longer behind her. He was gone, completely out of her sight.

Suzy gulped and stood in her spot, frozen. 

There were two paths in front of her and she wasn't sure which one to take. 

     After a long hesitation, she gulped and took the left path, her footsteps growing faster each minute. She felt paranoid; even the sound of the wind felt like footsteps behind her. She looked at the sky and saw it getting darker by the minute. She tapped around her pocket and found the lighter that Myungsoo had given her. pushing the cap to ignite the flame. She stuck the flame in front of her and walked slowly. The sky seemed to get dark real fast because soon enough, the only thing that led her was her light.

shhk

An anonymous sound echoed.

With a gasp, Suzy spun and stuck the lighter in front of her, desperately trying to find out the source of the sound. 

She began spinning in circles, afraid something would be behind her back. 

     "Boo!" Jooheon popped up from behind, laughing hysterically. His partner Minjeong sniggered from the side, both staring at Suzy whose hands were shivering so hard the light was guttering in her hands.

"I didn't know I'd see you here!" Jooheon exclaimed, wrapping his arm around Suzy's neck. "We were so lonely in this big scary maze! right, Minjeong?"

"We're so cold too!" Minjeong laughed and Shawn her torch directly at Suzy's eyes. 

"Let's share the heat!" Joohyun snatched the lighter off Suzy and tossed it to Minjeong who tested it once and slipped it into her backpack. Suzy searched her pocket for her torch and hurriedly tried to switch it on. She cursed under her breath as the light guttered and completely died, just like her chances of survival right now.

"Give it back," Suzy said sternly.

"Whoa Suzy," Jooheon pouted. "That's not a nice way to talk to your friends!"

"Get your dirty hands off me," Suzy said in an undertone. "You dirty pig."

Jooheon scoffed under his breath and the smile completely wiped off his face, replaced by an expressionless face that seemed to represent all the horrors of this world. 

     "Ok ok, anything for the pretty lady." Jooheon released his arm and before Suzy could take another step, kicked her in the stomach. Suzy gasped and fell to the floor, clutching her stomach in pain. She couldn't breathe because he kicked her right in the abdomen; the pain from her stomach seemed to spread across her entire body. 

"Sorry, my foot slipped." Jooheon faked a smile and forced Suzy's backpack off, emptying everything onto the ground.

He kicked the materials with his foot and passed all the food to Minjeong who stuffed it in her backpack. 

     Suzy's eyes stopped at the box that Jieun gave her. Jooheon crouched down and opened the box, examining the sling-shot, ointment, and the survival kits that Jieun had lent her. Before Jooheon could close the lid and pack it in his belongings, Suzy grabbed her stomach and rose from her place, kicking Jooheon in the face. She snatched the box and the backpack, running the opposite direction. 

She could feel Minjeong chasing after her; Suzy opened the box and slipped out the swiss knife, throwing it in Minjeong's face. 

Suzy shrieked internally as the swiss knife buried deeply inside Minjeong's forehead. 

Minjeong fell to her knees and with one final stare, collapsed to the ground.

Suzy stared at Minjeong, horrified. 

     "You ," a low mumble came from above as Jooheon, wiping his bloody mouth kicked Suzy in the face. Suzy collapsed and screamed as Jooheon got on the top of her, grabbing her by the throat. Suzy watched in confusion as Jooheon began ping his pants, pulling them down.

"You ing ," Jooheon cursed as he forced Suzy's pants off. "I knew you were a ing ever since the club. I'm going to finish you-"

Jooheon slapped her on the face and continued, trying to Suzy. 

"STOP IT!" Suzy shrieked but her voice only echoed into the dark sky. 

"Yeah scream ," he said cynically. "No one's going to save you this time."

     Suzy screamed and punched Jooheon in the face, pulling her pants up and trying to escape. She ran but was caught as Jooheon yanked her by the hair and pulled her to the ground once more.

Jooheon pulled her by the hair and yanked the knife out of Minjeong's face, the blood off with his tongue. 

"You dare try to kill me?" Jooheon hissed. "I'll kill you first."

Jooheon pushed her to the floor and threw the knife down at Suzy's face.

     Suzy rolled to the side and stared at the knife that was deeply buried in the dirt. She got up without hesitation and ran for her life, grabbing her stomach in pain. Jooheon chased after her with a loud scream and the knife tightly gripped in his hands. 

Suzy cut a corner and looked behind, Jooheon still chasing her at full speed.

Her stomach was hurting too bad and she could barely go on. 

Before she knew it, Jooheon kicked her back and she landed on the floor powerlessly.

She watched as Jooheon panted and aimed the knife at her head.

Is this really how I am going to die?
 

Suzy stared at the knife, powerless. 

The pain took over her entire body and she didn't even have the power to roll over to the side. 

     "I'll finish you an-" before Jooheon could finish, he fell to the side and the knife slid across the ground. A dark figure was holding Jooheon down by the wrist and punched him in the face. Jooheon screamed and pulled the figure down to the floor, getting on top of him. 

Jooheon punched the figure before getting a blow in the stomach.

Jooheon punched the figure in the face and blood splattered from his face and the figure fell on his back. 

Suzy squinted her eyes and saw that it was Zico, his lips filled with blood.

Grabbing her stomach, she crawled and grabbed the knife that slid across the ground. 

     Before Jooheon could take another blow on him, Suzy slid the knife into Zico's hands and Zico plunged the knife right in to Jooheon's heart and pushed him off. Zico watched as Jooheon gasped in pain before his body became still and died.

His eyes were wide open.

     Zico crouched down and closed his eyelids, turning his gaze toward Suzy whose entire face was bruised and bloody. With a frown, he hurried over to Suzy and grabbed her face, examining all the bruises on her face.

"Are you an idiot?" Zico said angrily as he looked right into her eyes.

His face was super close; Suzy felt her face burning up. She had never noticed that he had an inner crease on his eyes.

"Worry about yourself," Suzy pushed him by the chest and looked at the ground. 

"Let's go," Zico offered his hand. 

Suzy ignored his hand and walked past him.

     With a sigh, Zico rushed up to Suzy and grabbed her hand tightly as he led her through the maze. Suzy stayed silent and watched as he walked slightly ahead with the torch in his other hand flashing the route. There were no words needed between them; this connection was enough.

"Don't let go of my hand," Zico said quietly. "I don't want to lose you again."

"K," Suzy murmured, staring at Zico's back. 

At this moment, he seemed like a completely different person. His power, his sternness; everything was gone.

All that was left was Taewoon walking a lonely road. 

After a few minutes of walking, the bush walls were replaced by thicket walls and the moonlight shawn between the trees, giving more light than the maze. 

"Let's climb up," Zico walked in front of a tree and saw that Suzy was gripping her stomach in pain. "What's wrong with your stomach?"

"Nothing," she murmured. "Just.. hurt it a little."

Zico sighed and forced her shirt up, shocked at the large red bruise on her stomach. 

"This is a little?" Zico said angrily. "If you're hurt say that you're in pain!"

"Ok.. stop yelling at me," Suzy said, avoiding his eyes.

"Get on my back."

"What?"

"I said get on," he said. "You can't climb the tree."

"You can't carry me up the tree," Suzy stuttered. "Do you know how heavy I-"

     Zico grabbed her by the wrist and wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his stomach. With a small grunt, he began climbing the tree. Suzy could hear his soft short breath each time he climbed higher. 

     At the top of the tree was a flat surface made out of branches. It seemed as Zico had already made the cover with leaves as he laid Suzy in the leaf pile and climbed in to the branch himself. 

"What is that?" Zico asked, staring at the little box in Suzy's hands. 

"Jieun gave this to me," Suzy opened the box to reveal the ointment and other materials. "Come here."

     She grabbed the ointment and crouched closer to Zico, right in his face. She examined his lips that were bloody and ripped apart. She grabbed a leaf from the side and wiped the blood off his lips, careful not to hurt him. 

She squeezed a small amount of ointment on her finger and tapped it across his lips, carefully spreading it across him.

"Are you okay? Your face is really red," Suzy asked as Zico's face began burning up. 

"I'll do it myself," Zico pushed Suzy away and murmured under his breath.

"Fine," Suzy muttered as she threw the bloody leaf down the tree and returned back to her spot, lying down. "Good night." 

Suzy laid in her spot and closed her eyes, trying to get some sleep. 

Zico touched his heart that was beating so fast. 

He glanced at Suzy who slept with her head leant against the branch and stared for a while.

He glanced at the large moon and back at her with a soft grin that escaped from the corner of his mouth.

"She's prettier than the moonlight."

Zico said lightly as he lied down, closing his eyes to sleep.

Hi, I finally updated again.

Thank you guys for your comments, I really appreciate it because comments encourage me to update faster haha

Thanks for reading my story <3