Dongho felt it slipping through his fingers.

Truth be truth, he felt his childhood slide down the drain, along with his hopes and dreams, as soon as the bell rang. He felt the cold shiver which made him tingle in fear. He could hear everything, yet everything seemed so distant.

He could only watch, meekly, as they led the one person who cared away. Dongho didn’t know his name, but the boy had referred to himself as ‘AJ.’ Dongho liked AJ. Dongho didn’t like many people. He didn’t like his mother who was kind to a point where it seemed fake, nor did he like his father who was so perfect he was flawed. He liked AJ though. AJ was nice.

AJ wasn’t the type of person Dongho should’ve talked to though. AJ was a gang-boy.

Dongho knew AJ was part of a gang the first day he saw AJ stagger into class with a ripped shirt. Dongho should’ve kept his distance, but the boy’s smile was so addicting. Dongho found himself drawn to AJ, and so their friendship had begun.

Dongho counted the bullets, loading the gun swiftly. He had to be quick, and he had to be quiet. The death would be fast and flawless. It was fool-proof.

He closed his eyes, remembering the time when AJ had saved him from a bunch of bullies. Dongho had whimpered a ‘thank you,’ but AJ had only laughed.

‘That was nothing,’ He said, ‘You haven’t seen some of the other gang kids. Compared to them, these guys are as innocent as puppies.’

AJ had sounded so confident that Dongho had felt safe. Dongho liked the life AJ had described – AJ seemed to have so many friends. He had people to teach him things no one would teach him at school. Dongho, suddenly, wanted to be a gang boy. He asked AJ one day, to which AJ laughed. This time, it was more sarcastic – more mocking. AJ didn’t sound like he was joking.

‘No you don’t,’ AJ said, ‘Promise me you won’t, okay? Promise Dongho – promise me now.’

Dongho smiled, feeling the cold metal under his fingers. He laughed into a distance, having no direct receiver. He kept his promise. Dongho wasn’t part of a gang. No, he was just a murderer. A cold, bloody murderer.

He walked out the door, his gun safely tucked in his jacket pocket. With his baby face and innocent eyes, he didn’t look like he could hurt anyone. He walked out the door, taking his desired route. AJ’s voice came, as if on cue, to arouse his anger.

‘Oh no,’ AJ broke into a run, dragging Dongho with him. ‘, why couldn’t I deal with this later? I’m sorry Dongho, but we’ve got to run. I’ll take you to a safe house, and I want you to stay there, okay? Don’t follow me. When they’re gone, run back home, and don’t let anyone see you.’

Dongho chuckled softly, walking past his target. An alleyway, how convenient. Dongho shot him in the stomach, not missing a beat. He watched him bleed for a few brief seconds, watching the latter groan in pain. Dongho admired his work. The bleeding would stop in ten minutes. Ten minutes of agony.

He watched in satisfaction, as the latter dropped in pain. His target raised an accusing finger, but in seconds, it seemed too much of an effort. The pain became so terrifyingly prominent that his target rolled on the floor, clutching his stomach as he waited for his life to pass. Dongho walked towards the other, lifting his target’s chin. Funny, had he not intended to kill this boy, he would’ve made a wonderful friend. The boy had soft, gentle features, a submissive personality and a loving smile. The boy just made a mistake. Being a friend of Kiseop Lee.

Dongho knew the boy’s name. It was Kevin Woo, and he was supposedly a blood relation of Kiseop, but Dongho couldn’t be sure. All he knew was that Kiseop cared dearly for this boy, and if Kiseop ever died, Kevin would be likely to avenge his death. Dongho didn’t care how innocent and sweet Kevin looked. He learned, long ago, that this didn’t matter. Emotions were strong things.

The boy, Kevin, stopped fighting, and eventually he stopped squirming as well. It was just another bloody body. Dongho left the scene quietly, making sure that he was inconspicuous. He nonchalantly strolled past, his hands in his pockets. He would have to do some researching soon. This Kevin boy was sure to have friends. Gang member friends in particular. Those who would kill to avenge his death. They would need to be ridden of.

In honesty, Dongho hadn’t expected it to go this far. He hadn’t expected it at all. It had started off as an act of revenge. Shin Soohyun took AJ’s life, therefore Dongho took his. He had expected it to end there, clean and simple, but Dongho hadn’t anticipated the angry relations of Soohyun. He hadn’t expected people to avenge deaths, yet it was exactly what Dongho himself was doing.

Things got more complicated. Each killing lead to another, and before he knew it, Dongho was no longer the innocent kid AJ wanted him to be. No, now he was a cold heartless killer who killed to keep alive. He had to kill Alexander, Soohyun’s brother, to avoid his death. Alexander led to Kibum, Kibum led to Hoon, Hoon led to Kiseop, and Kiseop led to Kevin. Each of these people had a motive to kill Dongho. They needed to die before they could touch him.

He was kidding himself if he ever thought things weren’t out of control. They were screwed plain and simple, and there was nothing he could do to defend himself but keep on killing. It was like being tangled in a web of killings. Dongho could feel himself being pulled in, further and further, losing all his senses and morals as he got closer and closer to the core. He couldn’t stop. The web was too sticky. He would get eaten, similar to a fly which was entangled in a spider’s web.

To put it lightly and simply, Dongho was in deep waters.

Dongho wanted AJ back. More than anything, he wanted AJ to be with him again. He wanted his friend back. He knew AJ didn’t want this. He knew AJ didn’t want Dongho to turn out like him. He knew AJ wanted to keep him as far away from the underworld as he could. But Dongho couldn’t help it. They killed AJ. They needed to pay.

He unlocked the door, heading into his apartment. Placing his gun on the table, Dongho opened the fridge, taking out a bottle of beer. He didn’t start drinking until the killings. Drinking made him feel lighter, feel less burdened. Drinking, as the song went, could take him away. He could feel the lines of reality growing blurry as he started to drink down dangerous amounts of beer. Someone knocked on the door. Dongho staggered, struggling to open the knob.

‘Shin Dongho,’ a policeman said, showing his ID. Behind him were several other armed men. ‘We find you guilty for the deaths of various citizens, including but not limited to Shin Soohyun and Lee Kiseop. Please come with me.’

Dongho was in no mood to object. He slaughtered along, allowing the policemen to effortlessly cuff him and drive him to the station. He had a soft smile on his face as they led him in for interrogation. A surprisingly gentle looking man greeted him in the room.

‘Shin Dongho,’ the man smiled, ‘care to tell me more about yourself?’

Dongho shrugged, still feeling tipsy, ‘I murdered Soohyun, Alexander, Hoon, Kiseop and Kevin. What’s more to say?’

‘What about why?’

Dongho laughed emptily. ‘Soohyun took AJ’s life. He had to pay.’

‘AJ, is it? Tell me more about AJ.’

‘AJ was my friend.’

‘Interesting. Anything else?’

‘He was my only friend.’

The man nodded. ‘AJ – by any chance, would this be Kim Jaeseop?’

‘I wouldn’t have a clue.’

‘But he was your friend.’

‘That doesn’t mean he didn’t have secrets.’

The man slid a photo towards Dongho, ‘Look familiar?’

‘That’s AJ.’

‘Kim Jaeseop.’

‘My friend nevertheless.’

The man nodded thoughtfully, taking the photo back. For someone who was talking to a killer, he was surprisingly composed. ‘Did AJ ask you to do this?’

‘Oh no, AJ would never ask me to do something like this. He’d never want me to get hurt.’

‘Then why did you?’

Dongho laughed. His laughter turned into tears as he continued to stare into the distance. ‘I wanted them to pay for what they did to him.’

‘For what they did to him or what they did to you?’

Dongho didn’t respond.

‘They took your friend, didn’t they? Did you want him to feel your pain? Your anger? Your sorrow? Did you want him to suffer the way you did?’

Dongho considered this. He nodded with hesitation.

‘AJ was my friend,’ Dongho whispered.

‘I know.’ The man smiled. ‘I know.’

They let Dongho out to wait, making sure he was secured. Now somewhat away from the police, he had a pretty accurate idea of what he wanted to do. He went to get a glass of water, looking to see if anyone was watching. No one was. He smiled, popping a pill into his mouth as he swallowed a gulp of water. He didn’t have a reason to live. He hadn’t had a reason to live since AJ died.

No matter what, Dongho didn’t want to go to jail. This was the only way out.

He laughed silently, thinking about the irony of the situation. He was killing to avoid getting killed, yet here he was, taking his own life. He didn’t understand himself, but then again, he hadn’t understood himself in a long time.

They called him back in as Dongho waited for the pill to settle in. He waited for death to take its toll. He wasn’t frightened. He wanted it to come. He wanted to relax. He wanted to be free.

‘Dongho,’ the interrogator said. It was the same man. ‘What do you think AJ would’ve said if he saw what you’d done?’

Dongho felt a sharp pain. It was coming. He kept a smile, almost laughing as his last words came flawlessly out of his mouth, ‘you idiot.’

He felt his body start numb, and before he knew it, he had fallen to the ground. People rushed in, trying to keep him alive. They yelled and screamed orders, but none of this mattered to Dongho. He laughed as his eyelids grew heavy. He could almost make out AJ’s silhouette, lit up by the light. His only friend. He smiled, imagining his hand reaching out to AJ. He laughed, seeing AJ’s comforting face. There, Dongho swear he saw a soft smile.

Smooth words fell out of AJ’s mouth. Dongho couldn’t tell if it was a trick of his mind, or if they were AJ’s own words. They made him smile. They made him feel safe. It was all over.

‘Come back to me, its okay now. We can restart everything, again and again.’

(A/N: Please comment and tell me how this was! By the way the ending is an alternative one. The story can end here if you want. Being the confusing person I am, the ending is most likely to leave you slightly confused. Let your imagination run wild!)