TAEMIN

I was left alone after a while, and I began to read the paper that was thrown at me. It was a profile of a man.

“Minki Park. Aged 52, owns many small companies, owes money to the Boss.”

The photo that was attached to the profile provided an image of the man, he had a bald head and a well-groomed beard. A face that seemed all too alike to a familiar face in my past, I quickly crumpled the photo into my pocket. I couldn’t let my emotions take over just yet.

It has been four years since I had been officially diagnosed with bipolar disorder, as well as severe depression. The news wasn’t a shock to me at that time, I had expected it since I was seventeen years of age.

Starting from the age of two, my mother and I were severely abused by my father. He would come home drunk every single night, he would beat my mentally unstable mother and do horrendous things to both of us behind closed doors, details that are too much for me to detail. Finally, when I was the age of 8, my father left us, bringing relief to the household.

Through the abuse, my mother’s mental state was broken and she became deranged. She began to talk to the dead plants we kept, she didn’t acknowledge me as her son, she would crash cars on purpose, and she would constantly scream at nothing. I had to start feeding myself, stealing money from other kids so that I could buy food and school supplies. My mental state was already hurt by my father, but my mother’s insanity set it off. After four years of living like that, I was taken by Child Protection Services and placed into a children’s home while my mother was placed in a residential home for the mentally ill.

I didn’t start my… sins until I was 17. I ran into a man on the way home who offered to give me a ride home himself. He had the same bald head as my father did, same beer-belly, and a peppery beard. The image of my father burned into my mind, my vision became red, and I soon found myself wringing the neck of a dead man. In shock, I ran away from the children’s home I resided in. After the first man, came a second and a third. Every single time a man like father came about, I would find myself staring at their corpse not long after a blackout.

I have never murdered anyone else than those people, no children, women, etc. My mental state shuts down only for those men, I never mean to kill them but I find myself doing it without my control. It comes in handy though, I take their money right afterward so that I could fend for myself.

I continued to analyze the profile and saw in fine print that I would have to bring him to the manager un-harmed by sundown. I also saw that the man’s office was a warehouse in a secluded area of Seoul. I smiled to myself knowing how easy that would make my job. I gathered my things, brought my pistol into my pocket, and headed out.

++++++

IRENE

I began my mission immediately, searching the news for any signs of Gunmetal anywhere. I began to map the areas of his recent murders and started to find a pattern. They were people with money, but I couldn’t figure out where his next target would be. I decided to take the bus around Seoul.

On the bus, I began to observe the people who entered and exit the bus, pondering if Gunmetal would be the type to ride buses. What I didn’t tell my chief was that I had actually had a glimpse of Gunmetal himself a year ago. I had run away in fear, I was a coward of a policewoman at that moment.

I had witnessed him standing over the body of a man when I was doing night patrol. I remember him looking behind him if anyone saw him, his face barely lit by the moonlight. I couldn’t recall his face in too much detail, however, I remember the glint in his eyes.

After the fifth stop on the bus, around 20 people went in and out. Suddenly I made eye contact with a man who looked close to my age. He had dark hair that curtained over his eyes, silver piercings on his ears, and looked like a brooding prince. His cheekbones were perfectly high, his skin pale like snow, his lips full and pink.

I was enchanted by his smooth stature and he came up to the handlebar next to me. I continued to observe his face, and I was taken aback when he met my chestnut eyes with his dark ones.

There was something deep in his eyes that triggered a memory in me. I couldn’t pinpoint what it was until I saw the dark glint in his eyes. The same glint I saw in my witness of Gunmetal.

Before I could completely comprehend what I just saw, the man started to exit the bus. I quickly followed him unnoticeable. He moved fast, I followed him in hot pursuit.

He led me to an area that was secluded from the bustle of the city, an area hidden by the trees looming over it. The absence of people around me sent chills and it grew harder to trail him unseen.

Suddenly, he stopped abruptly in front of me, skidding me into a stop. He spun towards me, my heart dropped to my ankle. From his back pocket, he brings out his pistol, aiming towards my direction.

“I know you’ve been following me.”

I too, brought out my gun, pointing it towards him as I stepped into his field of vision. He stared at me, shocked at my utter calmness at his weapon that was just a few feet away from my head. 

"You need to leave now. I'm telling you it's dangerous." I held my ground, ignoring the bull he seemed to be spewing from his mouth. He began to back away from me, "I'm dangerous, you don't understand."

I wiped a bead of perspiration forming on my brow with the back of my hand, confidently holding up my pistol with the other hand. 

"Freeze. Raise up your hands and lower your gun slowly, or we'll get to see who survives this one. " I warned, locking a steady gaze at the man before me."

"I'm really warning you, go before it's too late."

I started to furrow my brows in thought, why would he be so begging for me to leave. I brushed away the eerie feeling that grew upon me, 

"I said. Put your weapon down."

With a sudden flash in his eyes, the light of the man's eyes shifted into something more... malevolent. The corner of his mouth shifted up into a crooked grin, his chin angling downward, causing his hair to fall forward on his face. 

With his dark bangs shading over his eyes, he took a couple steps forward, close enough so that he could press my gun right in the center of his forehead. He reciprocated my piercing gaze with an even sharper one, he pursed his lips and growled,

"Make me."

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AUTHOR'S NOTE 

I am falling in love with my own OC couple, I've prewritten a couple of chapters because I've been feeling so inspired lately!

I am super excited about this story's journey and where it will take me and my readers! I am also making this a subscriber's only story after a couple more chapters, so subscribe, subscribe, subscribe! Also, make sure to leave some comments down below if I have you hooked by the collar<3 

Until next time my lovelies,

Exoexoverdose