A/n: First part of today's 2-chapters update.

Chapter 44

[Pied Piper of Hamelin]

“If we run now, we can get help from the nearest town,” suggested Sooyoung.

Heechul shook his head –tired and frustrated altogether. “We don’t have a lot of time. You know that, Sooyoung,” Heechul began as he opened the cupboards –trying to find weapons. “It would take us nearly an hour to reach the entrance to the forest gate. Another two hours ride to the nearest town. We cannot expect the villagers to risk their lives for ours. And even if we call the official force from the army or the police, it may take up to another hour before help finally comes,” he mumbled to himself as he strolled from one cabinet to another.

He opened the fourth cabinet and finally found the weapons he was looking for. There were some revolvers and knives, and he greedily took them all out of the cabinet.

Heechul’s viewpoint still sounded reckless to Sooyoung.

“Yes, but what can we do?” Sooyoung asked; her hands were clenched together in agitation. “What we’re facing is a serial killer. And if my cousin is involved, the Choi bodyguards will –“

“At least the Choi won’t harm you,” Heechul remarked in a bitter chuckle. “I’ve never been this envious of the Choi until now.”

Sooyoung did not need Heechul’s sarcasm. No one wanted to hear such discouraging words in such a seemingly-hopeless situation. “Come on, Oppa, you’re not planning to ambush them yourself, are you?”

Heechul glared at her. “Well, duh, no. You’re coming with me. You’re the only one who knows the way to the Choi villa right?”

Sooyoung widened her eyes. Baffled, she replied, “T-true, but this is not a mere courage test. This will be a reckless suicide. We –“

“Fine,” Heechul interrupted her there –not really in a mood for a debate. He murmured something under his breath that sounded like ‘girls’ and ‘troublesome’. Heechul did not even look at Sooyoung anymore when he continued his words, “If you’re afraid, then just do whatever you want. You and Jessica can climb down the hill, call for help if you’re still willing, and just pray the help comes before that Tiffany and your cousin kill me.”

The Choi lady massaged her temple in exasperation. She mildly remembered how Ryeowook said debating with Heechul would always be a useless kind of battle. Sooyoung cleared , glanced momentarily at Jessica, before she came up with another point, “Not that I doubt Jessica-sshi’s testimony here, but there’re chances they would not kill them yet.”

“Right,” Heechul agreed. “Chances. Unfortunately, I’m not taking that risk.”

“This is suicide, Kim Heechul,” Sooyoung warned again.

That, he knew and perfectly understood. He didn’t even know what kind of determination that had possessed his body. True, Heechul grew up being a curious kid who longed for an adventure. But he knew that this was no longer a childish adventure – or an adventure at all. The risk was not being scolded by his parents, the risk would be his life. He was always the big-mouthed coward who claimed to be a daredevil, but he knew that he was really not that courageous, or heroic, or anything.

He was only Kim Heechul. He was human; he feared death. If it weren’t for the presences of the two girls and the existence of his own ego, maybe he would have wailed the whimpers of fear. But he shook it off. Because if he was not a brave man, he just needed to act like one. “I only need to climb up that way, right?” he asked for Sooyoung’s confirmation as he pointed out at a direction from the hut’s window.

“Come on, Heechul Oppa,” Sooyoung still tried to persuade him to cancel his idea. “There’s nothing you can do. Why do you have to do this?”

The reply did not come from Heechul’s mouth, but rather from Jessica’s.

“Yoona, correct?” she said.

Heechul did not affirm nor deny it, but Jessica’s response was indeed the answer. He had prepared his supplies. Knife and gun in each of his pockets; determination in his heart. Standing up, he then walked towards the door. “Just go down the hill, call for help. Leave Donghae here, but make sure someone picks him up later. I’ll just… try my luck and see what I can do.”

Sooyoung stood still.

Jessica stood up –her legs were wobbling in the process. Without saying a word, Jessica walked to one of the cabinets and took another gun from it. Both Heechul and Sooyoung glanced at her questioningly. To their inquiring gazes, Jessica only sighed. ”Boys are not the only ones who know how to defend themselves,” she said as she walked to Heechul’s direction.

Heechul did not tear his eyes from her, and despite anything, he gave a quick glance from her head to her toes –as if scrutinizing whether she fitted the battle or not. Jessica could not help but to think how nostalgic it suddenly was. When she first met Heechul, he also had this doubtful look on her.

But I prove you wrong a lot of times, don’t I? Just as you prove me wrong equally as much.

“I owe you my life. And this would invalidate your theory on girl power,” Jessica sated firmly.

The skeptical stare slowly softened and Heechul eventually responded, “You know what? I wish I could be that gentleman and tell girls to stay out of this kind of business, but,” Heechul chuckled, and for the first time since he last remembered, he allowed himself to show Jessica a small, sincere smile. “But I’m glad I’m not that gentleman.”

Jessica also mildly chuckled. “I always know you are the coward sissy boy.”

“I’ll second you for that this time only,” he replied with a little laugh. “But seriously, thank you… Jessica.”

Jessica nodded briefly as she put on the smallest boots available in the hut that Sooyoung had prepared earlier.  “Come on. We’re running out of time.”

Heechul nodded back and the two of them walked out of the hut, leaving Choi Sooyoung standing still on her spot.

Sooyoung walked hazily down the hill.

I’m doing the right thing, she told herself.

She was the only rational one out of them. Probably not the bravest, but still, she was the one with the common sense. Perhaps the guilt would linger for a while, but she tried to brush the negative thought away. She repeated to herself that she was doing the wisest choice; that someone needed to get help from the local people; that her being in the crazy partnership of Heechul and Jessica would not bring much contribution; that she would only die silly if she decided to follow them.

She continued her march down the hill –to the opposite direction of the Choi’s villa. She continued her journey down to safety.

Sooyoung ignored the fact that Heechul tried to fight his own fear to settle things right; she tried to forget that even the barely-alright Jessica still decided to help Heechul; she tried to numb her senses, telling her mind that this was the right thing to do.

This was her sense of justice.

The snow layer was deep. That, or she had been out of focus that she tripped on her steps. Letting out a mild gasp, she fell down to the ground, her face was slammed to the thick snow.

She stayed there.

Her fists tightened.

Get up, Choi Sooyoung. There’s nothing you can do if you follow them. Go down quickly and call for help. That’s the only thing you can do.

“Damn it,” she groaned as she punched the snow.

She was still a righteous person and she had been living her life as one. One instance of rational thought to call for help would not wipe off that fact.

            “Sooyoung Unnie, thank you for always taking care of me. Thank you for still befriending me.”

Seohyun’s voice resonated in her mind.

            “Sometimes I’m embarrassed with myself. I’m the guy, you’re the girl. Yet you’re way braver than I am.”

Ryeowook’s words mocked her senses.

            “My daughter, you may not inherit the Choi throne. But I could never ask for more. Having you as a daughter is already a pride for me.”

Her father’s hope that now sounded cynical to her ears.

“Damn it, damn it…” she chanted more, she punched the snow more.

Why did you come here in the first place, Sooyoung? You want to stop your cousin, right? You want to set things right, don’t you?

Tears stung her eyes.

She was doing the right thing. For goodness’ sake, she had always been doing the right thing. She was the righteous, justice protector Choi Sooyoung. She had protected the weak from bullies; she had fought for against the unfairness in social structure; she had done what she could have done. Surely no one expected her to do more than what she could have done, right? Saving peoples’ lives? Had she not done enough?

Kim Heechul’s voice resonated in her mind.

            “Where is the justice, Choi Sooyoung?”

Sooyoung let out an irritated shout to the silent hill, to the oblivious snow, before she pushed herself up and ran back upwards towards the hill.

Both Jessica and Heechul widened their eyes when they realized there was someone running behind them, who finally stopped her steps and caught her breath.

“Why –”

“I don’t even know,” Sooyoung muttered, still trying to breathe normally. “Don’t ask.”

“But what about the help?” Jessica asked instead.

Sooyoung shrugged. Oh, see? She was doing the irrational thing, and now none of them had back-up. She knew she should have ignored that irritating sense of crazy justice and went to the nearest town instead.

But instead of going downhill again, Sooyoung just stood straight. “I’ll figure out a way. If we can get near the villa, there must have been some signal reception. We can try calling for help there,” she stated, feeling a bit foolish for not thinking about it sooner. “Now, we’d better hurry up,” she exclaimed as she made more advance steps towards the direction of the Choi’s resort.

Sooyoung directed them through a pathway that led them to the back passage of the Choi resort. The villa stood tall and beautiful in the dark night of December, but the three of them knew that the grand villa might be a bloody slaughterhouse by the end of the night.

“What time is it?”

Sooyoung checked her wristwatch. “Half past ten. Less than two hours before midnight.”

“So how do we get inside the villa, again?” asked Heechul, looking up at the tall metal bars that worked as the back gates. “Climbing up again?”

Sooyoung dug her pocket and revealed a chain of metal key. She had predicted earlier that morning that they would be going to the Choi villa, so she had stolen the keys from her housekeeper back there in Seoul. “Come. We’ll get inside through the garden,” she told her accomplices as she walked to the direction to her right.

The three of them walked, leaving their footprints on the thick snow. Heechul glanced pass his shoulders to the obvious trail they were making and gave the comment, “Hope your Choi guards are not that diligent enough to patrol around at night,” Heechul commented.

“Hopefully not,” agreed Sooyoung. “There might still be guards inside though. Worst comes to worst, I expect you to knock them unconscious, Oppa.”

Heechul grunted. “This is why I don’t like teaming up with girls.”

Both girls ignored his usual ist comment and continued their walks instead.

Soon, they were greeted with the sight of metal gates surrounded by plant walls. Sooyoung sighed and began to sort the correct key to open the gates. It took her nearly five minutes of trials and errors, before she could finally find the key that matched the lock. The sound of matched lock was dull, but the sound that came when Sooyoung pushed open the gate was not.

The three of them stood rooted in alarm –the creaking sound of the gate was almost painful to hear. Jessica nearly imagined that panicked footsteps would come to their spot upon hearing that creaking sound, but to their fortune, everything around was still.

“Come on,” Sooyoung commnded, that time in a whisper.

The Choi’s garden was truly beautiful, even in winter –where snowdrops were the only flowers apparent in their views. The pile of snow covered the dark soil and decayed plants like a soft blanket. Porcelain sculptures portraying Greek Gods and Goddesses were placed in the suitable corners. There was something rather whimsical about the garden. The garden itself was designed as a miniature of a maze and Jessica could only wish Sooyoung would still remember the way out of the puzzling garden –or else they would be wasting their time circling around it.

From how determined Sooyoung seemed, Jessica felt assured that the girl had a better knowledge on what to do. At the back of her mind, there had been a lingering suspicion towards Sooyoung, but Jessica knew how the girl had saved her life. Even if Sooyoung turned out to lead them into a trap, Jessica would just consider it as her own risk.

Sooyoung finally stopped in front of a door –a wooden one that was designed to imitate those wooden doors in the medieval centuries. From Sooyoung’s expression, Jessica could tell that this was the door that would drag them closer to the main building of the Choi’s villa.

“The villa is some feet away behind this door,” informed Sooyoung. “The thing is, I’m not sure whether there would be guards positioned between this garden and the main building.”

“Assuming that there are no guards, do you already have the key to the inside the building?” inquired Heechul.

Sooyoung nodded. She sorted the keys again for precautions, and her trembling finger finally stopped at a silver one, quite distinguishable from the rest of gold-polished keys. She looked up to Heechul. “This is the key that would lead us to the servants’ back door. But…”

Heechul sighed impatiently. “Then just open this door. We cannot waste time here anyway. If there are guards, we’ll think of it later.”

“So much of a plan,” commented Jessica.

“Do you have a better idea?” rhetorically snapped Heechul. To this, Jessica remained silent.

“Alright,” exclaimed Sooyoung as she inserted the key to the entrance door of the garden. “Here goes nothing,” she said as she turned the key.

Anxiety crept inside Jessica again as Sooyoung opened the wooden door, still creaking, though not as much as the previous gate. Sooyoung carefully sneaked her head from the door to examine the situation.

“I think the ground’s clear. But try to reach the main building as fast as we can, okay? I don’t want to risk the chance of meeting the patrolling guard.”

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