Suddenly a brutal clang echoed through the air. The two men who were originally holding onto Daehyun were now sprawled on the floor with their heads cracked open. Daehyun held one of the bats, and blood poured out dying the cold concrete floor. Daehyun’s mouth was gaping open with the shock of what he just done. The two men were dead; no longer in this world. 

                Soonkyu’s father stopped reeling his arm back and was now chasing after Daehyun.

                “Soonkyu!” screamed May. Soonkyu was speechless. Too many things raced through her mind. Her father just tried to murder his own daughter, he killed her mother, and Daehyun just murdered two grown men.

                As May struggled against the man who held her, the elderly woman who asked if Soonkyu and her friends wanted their fortune taken walked by rather calmly. Soonkyu’s father froze in mid-step while Daehyun was still frozen in place by what he just done.

                “Oh! Excuse me but I’d like to report these three children for attacking me and my men,” Soonkyu’s father spoke sly and deceiving. “Especially this young man! He killed my trustworthy men!” He jabbed this finger towards Daehyun who had now dropped the bat and was now staring at Soonkyu’s father with such hate it made Soonkyu feel like her eyes were burning.

                “Quiet,” said the woman. “You will leave this place now or the spirits will dispose of you.” Her voice was unruffled yet she started shaking. “I know what you do. I saw what you did just now… Leave, Jaejung.” Soonkyu’s father name boomed into Soonkyu’s ears. Hearing his name said out loud for the first time was surprising for Soonkyu.

                The man holding May was now going towards the woman, she didn’t flinch when he brought his arm around her neck.

                “Leave it,” said Jaejung. “Just leave it. We’ll clean up this mess later…” He stared at Soonkyu with caressing eyes making her stiffen. It was sick to see somebody so evil do such a thing. “I’ll come back for you Soonkyu.”

                The man holding onto Soonkyu kicked her behind her knees which then caused her to fall to the ground in anguish. The other man’s arm that was wrapped around the woman’s neck was now on this side. Jaejung leaded them away from us by going out of the alley and into the van that was parked on the sidewalk. They drove off towards the west leaving all of them unsteady and finally understanding what just happened. 

                They walked quietly with the old woman without asking any questions. The Nakdong River was rather still even though it is the longest river in South Korea, the moon shined across the river’s surface leaving a gleam. The village was nearly all dark except for the lights on the dirt road. As Soonkyu and her friends followed the woman they started to reach residences. There were Hanoks all across the edges of the river; some of them were rather big and had long entrances that led to an undercover area which then led to a building. The perimeter of the land had a stone wall that nearly covered the Hanok to where you couldn’t see it anymore. Another Hanok was quite small and had no fencing of any kind. It was made mainly of wood and a little garden that covered the whole front yard.

                As they followed the dirt road they came across a narrow street. There were more lights here and you could hear children laughing. Every house around this area was made out of brick; they all looked very similar.

                The woman led them around a corner that led to an alley. The alley was even narrower than the open street and had tall buildings surrounding it. The alley had six doors total, three on each side. There were no windows next to the doors but if you glanced up you would notice a few.  It was very dim in the alley; the only light source was from the street light behind them. She guided them to the third door on the right. It was a brownish red color and had the numbers 666 on it.

                “Follow me children,” said the lady and opened the door with a bronze key. The door led to a flight of stairs. The stairs creaked after every step. There was another door at the top of the stairs. When the lady opened it a light came on. The brightness hurt their eyes since they were in darkness for so long.

                “Grandmother, you’ve come,” said a boy about the same age as Soonkyu maybe a year older. “And you have visitors? At this hour?” He was tall and had big black glasses. His brown hair was ruffled as if he was just sleeping. He wore a denim cardigan with his sleeves rolled up to his elbow and a gray t-shirt inside that said “Roam Free”.  He also had a light gray hat with a red heart on the right side of it and his jeans had a small rip just below his knee.

                “Um, hello, my name is Sungmin,” he said awkwardly while scratching at the back of his head. “Do you guys need help with homework or something?”

                “Ha, no,” replied Daehyun who’d obviously was annoyed with Sungmin. “I can help with the homework.”

                “Geek,” May whispered and cracked a smile at him in spite of everything that just happened ten minutes ago.

                “Uh okay,” Sungmin glanced at Soonkyu awkwardly and blushed.

                The apartment Sungmin and his grandmother lived in had a small living room.  Instead of couches there were pillows surrounding a coffee table that sat in the middle of the room. A mini old TV set was in a corner at the right; the “Coffee Prince” was playing with such low volume that you had to strain your ears just to comprehend what they were saying. A small kitchen with a refrigerator, oven, and a counter covered the wall facing the north. There were two doors that led to bedrooms; most likely Sungmin’s and his grandmother’s. The walls had very few pictures and only one plant could be seen from the living room. The apartment overall was very small.

                The old woman led them to the coffee table and asked Soonkyu and her friends to sit down. They did while Sungmin stood in the corner watching them. The lady handed tea to everyone and sat down on the pillows as well.

                “What you experienced tonight shall not be said out loud to anyone.” She said quietly.

                “Why not? The police have to stop him!” May said hysterically.

                “The police cannot stop him from what he’s been doing.  If you are to tell someone, what are the chances they’ll believe you? What will happen to you?”

                “What do you mean?” Soonkyu was bewildered by what she was hearing right now. Nothing made sense.

                The elder woman shivered as if a cold draft went through her. She looked up at Soonkyu with piercing and truthful eyes then spoke. “You are in much danger, girl… Your father has been making deals with the devil.”

                Soonkyu stared at the old lady as if she were crazy. The devil isn’t real Soonkyu thought. It can’t be. “No, no,” Soonkyu started chanting. “You’re lying!” Soonkyu on the verge of tears now shook violently. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head making her pupils no longer visible. Daehyun and May held her hand and started saying reassuring words but Soonkyu could barely hear them. Sungmin now looked worried and starting reciting something that was not understandable. Soonkyu blinked and looked up at Sungmin.

                “What did you just do?” Soonkyu asked shocked. Sungmin left the room in a rush and locked his bedroom door.

                “Are you okay!” May and Daehyun practically screaming at Soonkyu stared at her with horror. “I thought something possessed you!” May hugged Soonkyu and was now sobbing thinking she just lost her best friend.

                The old woman ogled at Soonkyu then said, “For your safety, please come here after school.”

                “What? I barely know you! And I have study hall after school.” Soonkyu gaped at her.

                “We are more connected than you think, Soonkyu.”

                “How do you know my name?” Soonkyu squeezed May’s hands so hard that she squeaked.

                The old woman stood up and got a book from under the table. She opened it and showed a picture of a woman that looked just like Soonkyu except older. “This is your mother isn’t it?” the lady said calmly.

                Soonkyu with a bursting headache now couldn’t answer. The shock was so great that was left gaping open. May gasped while Daehyun’s eyes became larger as if he failed a test.

                “This is my daughter, Ji-eun, which means I am your grandmother.” Sungmin walked out of his room and sat next to Soonkyu’s grandmother. She pointed at Sungmin and said “Sungmin is my grandson but not biologically, I found him crying outside of a building in Busan when he was just five years old. Apparently his parents left him; I waited with him to see if they would come back but they never did. I also noticed that he had many bruises and cuts along his arms and face which were probably from his parents. Because of that I raised him by myself. ”

                “You were abused by your own parents?” asked May.

                Sungmin shrugged. “I don’t even remember.”

                Grandmother looked at the clock on the wall. It was already eleven o’clock. “I think it’s time you get home.” She got up and put a hand on Soonkyu’s shoulder. “I know this must have been a surprising day for you but for now you just need to sleep.”

                Soonkyu, May, and Daehyun bowed to Grandmother and thanked her for the tea. Sungmin followed them down stairs and outside as well.

                “You’re coming with us?” asked Soonkyu.

                Sungmin nodded then looked at May and Daehyun. “I’m going to walk Soonkyu home.”

                “Do you even know where I live?” Soonkyu asked surprised that an actual guy besides Daehyun was going to walk her home.

                Sungmin nodded again; he didn’t seem to talk much.

“And how exactly do you know where I live?” Soonkyu was starting to get irritated. Was he stalking her?

“I don’t think this is a good time to ask those questions.” His voice was rough and strict. He really didn’t want to talk about it right now.

May and Daehyun said goodbye and walked towards their houses without looking back at Sungmin and Soonkyu. They walked side by side and didn’t pay much attention to each other; Sungmin was much taller than Soonkyu possibly by a whole foot or more.

                They walked towards Soonkyu’s house slowly and at times would glance at each other. The silence was getting so awkward to the point that Soonkyu could not take it anymore.

                “So you were born in Busan?” Soonkyu asked in a flurry.

                “Yeah… I think I was born in some village but I forgot what it was called,” Sungmin replied quietly.

                “Oh.” The quietness what getting awkward again so Soonkyu started asking more questions.

                “Do you go to school?” She asked.

                “Of course. I just don’t go to extra tutoring after school, I can do that alone at home.” Sungmin swallowed and glanced at Soonkyu. Their eyes met, and then quickly moved away from each other after realizing what happened.       

                Sungmin coughed and twiddled with his thumbs. “What school did you go to?” His voice was shaky as if nervous to ask such a simple question.

                “Kyunghee High School,” she answered back in a quiet voice. Sungmin blinked and smiled brightly.

                “I go there too!” he claimed.

                “Really? How come I’ve never seen you?” Soonkyu was also shocked. They’ve never even seen each other before.

                “I guess we just have different classes…” They walked on and didn’t talk anymore.

When Soonkyu finally reached home she bowed and said thank you to Sungmin. He smiled and saluted her in a cute way that made her blush violently, then walked off into the darkness. Soonkyu’s house was of a medium size with two floors and a small garden in the front. They were growing green onions and sweet potatoes that were almost ready for harvesting. The house was white and had a door that was newly painted red. All the lights inside the house were turned off except for the porch light that flickered constantly…

When Soonkyu walked into her house she saw a trail of scattered leaves and dirt across the hardwood floor. She followed it knowing that it wasn’t just a coincidence. Someone obviously left this for her to follow. The trail led to her living room and on the sofa was a note, the writing nearly illegible. It read “Your mother is dead, your foster parents are wrapped, you think you’re safe-“. The rest was too sloppy for anyone to read.

Soonkyu shook her head. The note was threatening but she didn’t back down; instead she followed the trail some more now curious what lied at the end of it. What made her confused was that the note said her foster parents were wrapped… What did that mean?

As Soonkyu continued to walk up the stairs she started to hear strange noises. The trail led to Soonkyu’s parent’s room. The sounds got louder and more painful sounding yet they sounded muffled as if something was wrapped around the source. Soonkyu yanked open the door to see her foster parents both tied to a chair. They were back to back and their necks were tied together with a rope. Their hands and feet were locked to each other while another rope was wrapped around the chair in a tight hold. Silver duct tape was attached to their mouths so they weren’t able to scream for help.

Soonkyu’s hand was lifted to with shock, her eyes wide and confused. She ran to them and started pulling at the ropes trying to get them off. Her foster parents shook their heads as if telling her to run. Something was terribly wrong. Soonkyu in a hurry finally got one of the ropes undone which freed their arms.

“Well, well, well,” said a voice that came from the shadows near a closest. “How sweet that a girl would actually come and save her foster parents…”