"Why are we here..."

"Ilhoon, come on. You're the one who suggested this idea after I got you untangled."

"I'm sure that if we walk over there, we can find a nice place to eat ice cream and all. Plus, they're probably on their summer break. Why else would it be so quiet on a college campus?"

Namjoo rolled her eyes and decided to leave Ilhoon standing in front of the building. As she had expected, he chased after her, not wanting to be alone in the summer's heat. It had been a few weeks since summer arrived, and Namjoo finally made up her mind on where to start for answers: at the hospital where Suzy was staying in. After all, her name was fifth on the list.

"What are we exactly going to ask Suzy, huh?" Ilhoon asked.

"Anything that we can ask. There's a big chance that she isn't going to answer, so keep that in mind. Plus, she's suffering from the past, so it's best to take this conversation slowly and painlessly," Namjoo replied, stepping inside the cool lobby. The old, strange scent filled her nose as she inhaled the stuffy air. As usually, the building was warm and cozy, but depression drifted across the faces of those who were hospitalized.

Ilhoon looked around, then looked back at Namjoo. "Namjoo? How long are we going to stand here?"

She snapped out of her unhappy thoughts. "U-Uh... To Suzy's room!"

Namjoo began walking, but stopped when she realized that Ilhoon wasn't following her. She turned around, confused. When she saw Ilhoon's finger point to the other direction, she flushed her cheeks and nodded her head.

"Oh, right... It was that side that was closer to her room..."

Before she got to take another step, a nurse rushed over to her. "Excuse me, miss! Are you here for Bae Suzy again?"

Ilhoon finally walked towards Namjoo, but hid behind her back. "What's the problem?"

"I'm not so sure." Namjoo shrugged her shoulders. "Yes, I am here for Suzy. I already know her room number, so--"

"I'm sorry, but Suzy is resting today. No one is allowed to see her."

"Resting? Is she sick?" Ilhoon asked.

"Oh, no, no. Actually, some special guests will arrive. She really seems like she wants to avoid them..."

"Who? Who?" Namjoo inquired curiously. From behind them, they heard three girls chat among themselves. The nurse only smiled faintly, and quickly left to aid the others. Namjoo and Ilhoon were left dumbfounded, but not for long. Their ears managed to catch Suzy's name among the conversation between the girls behind them.

"I seriously don't want to visit her. Just hearing her name makes me sick," a pink-haired girl commented.

"Don't be a jerk, Jia. Besides, it's Min who's doing the talking. You don't even have to say anything to that murderer," another girl said.

"But Fei, that was your script. You're the one who told me to say the things on the script," Min pointed out. "Do you have anything to say, Jia?"

"Oh, I have a lot of things to say, but they aren't very nice words," Jia said, flipping her hair. 

"Well, we're just staying there for ten minutes, act like we care, and then leave. No big deal, right?" Min giggled, and sighed. "You know what? I kind of miss Krystal."

"Agree. She was really fun to hang out with. If only Suzy wasn't such a tyrant," Fei agreed.

Namjoo, who couldn't handle the nasty comments made about her friend, shot them a glare. "You people are gross! Suzy? A tyrant? Please, it was three versus one. You want me to believe that one person can cause you to become pip squeaks?"

Min narrowed her eyes. "Pip squeaks? Who're you calling 'pip squeaks'? I think I hear some annoying words coming out from your mouth, brat. Shut it before you cause a scene."

Furious, Namjoo disappeared for a second. She came back with a can of soda in her hands. Without wasting a second, she shook the cold can with frantic movements, earning attention from those around her. Ilhoon was just about to stop her, but another hand (much larger than his) grabbed ahold of her. Namjoo shot the stranger a glare, but quickly softened when she figured who had stopped her.

"You don't want to mess with these people," L whispered. He motioned her to put away the soda, and walked over to the three girls. "Min, Fei, Jia! Good to see you again."

The girls smiled back.

"Oh my gosh! L! It's been such a long time! How have you been?" Min asked, grinning.

"Are you still visiting Suzy? Ugh, she's such a clingy child," Jia muttered.

Just when Namjoo thought that L was going to defend Suzy, L laughed in agreement. Apparently, he had different plans.

"I know, right? She's such a despicable woman... No, scratch that. She's probably just an alien."

The group laughed. Ilhoon and Namjoo stared at him with wide eyes, stunned. Was L being serious? Did he just bad-mouth Suzy, his ex-girlfriend?

"I pity you, I really do. I mean, first you lost your parents, then Suzy broke up with you, and it turned how that you were dating the devil," Min said with sympathy.

L grinned naturally. "Mhm. You know, if it wasn't for Suzy, I'd probably date on of you three."

"Or how about all three of us? Oh wait, I already got a boyfriend back at China. Jia and Min are free. They can probably share," Fei joked.

"Really? Then after meeting the zombie, why don't we go and have fun? We can--"

Splash!

L blinked her eyes as he felt something wet hit his back. He slowly turned around, and saw Namjoo with an open grape soda can. Without bothering to smile, she dropped the can in front of his shoes and crushed it with her feet. Ilhoon covered his mouth, but to hold back his laugh rather than to hold back his shock. She slowly bent forward and gave him a lazy twenty degree bow.

"Oops, my hand slipped," she said sarcastically. She kicked the can towards the girls. "If you guys want to flirt all day, why don't you guys stay away from the hospital? I'll deliver your sincere message to your beloved Bae Suzy."

Fei scoffed and stared down at the can. "That little kid sure is annoying. You're quite a--"

"You know, I think I would feel more pitiful towards Suzy. She, according to all of you, might've been a bully, but the words you speak behind her back cause more wounds to her heart than her words can cause to you. You three have each other, but Suzy?" Namjoo gave L an offended look. "Well, I thought Suzy had someone, but it seems like I was wrong. She simply has no one. No one!"

Before Namjoo could add anything else, Ilhoon quickly stepped in front of her. "I'm so sorry for her actions. I--"

"Don't you dare apologize, Ilhoon!" she demanded. "I'm not sorry for anything--"

"If you're really sorry, how about washing L's jacket?" Jia asked, taking his jacket off for him. She dropped it in front of them. " it clean."

Ilhoon, as usually, was going to obey until Namjoo pulled him back.

"No. We're not sorry. We'll be leaving now," she informed them. She gave them a fake curtsey and walked off with Ilhoon. He followed her, but stared back at the jacket, unsure of what to say or do. Once they entered the elevator and were alone, Namjoo decided to give him a small advice.

"Ilhoon, I know you consider yourself weak, but you need to understand that one cannot be weak forever. If the time ever comes, you need to fight back. Even if it costs your life, you should fight back. If you do lose your life, you'll have the satisfaction of living a life with accomplishments," she explained to him. Ilhoon only nodded his head, unsure of what she exactly meant. At that moment, he receieved a message. When he looked, he bit his bottom lip. The doors opened.

Namjoo stepped out, but looked back to see Ilhoon in the elevator. "Aren't you coming?"

He sighed. "I... I got to do some stuff."

There was a short pause. She gave him a small frown, but raised her fist.

"Fight back when you have to, okay?" she said, as if she knew where Ilhoon was going.

"O...Okay," he stammered. The doors closed, and he felt like he was enveloped in darkness again.

It was midnight. A few officers were around, looking for students who looked too young to stay out too late. Among those young students was Ilhoon, who covered himself with a suspicious black coat. The officers didn't even bother to ask Ilhoon what his age was or who he was. They pretended that he was a mature student who was just heading home from tutor.

In the end, he finally arrived at a dark alleyway. It was empty, like usually, but there was an odd metal sound tapping against the wall. The sound echoed in every inch of the path, causing him to feel sick. He walked deeper into the dark, until something cold and hard hit his cheeks. He collapsed on the ground, and gasped for air.

"Where'd you hit him? Where'd you hit him?" a familiar voice asked.

Jiyoung.

"Think the head... Oh, nope. I hit his cheeks. Let me hit him once more. I almost got him!" another voice exclaimed.

Niel.

"No way! You promised that I can hit him. Give me the bat," Jiyoung said, flipping her dark hair. The boy heaved a sigh and blew his bangs, while handing his new bat to the girl. Jiyoung stared at the weapon with amazement, running her snow white hands against the cold surface.

"Remember, Kai gave me that. It's expensive, and he said if I broke it, I'll be dead. He wants to use it tomorrow on Ilhoon," Niel informed her.

"Yeah, yeah. I know, I know," she said, waving her hand. She closed on eye and swung the bat for fun. The end of the stick landed on Ilhoon's stomach, causing him to stop breathing for a moment. He clutched his stomach, and struggled to breath.

"How does it feel? Feels great, right?" Niel asked, grinning from ear to ear.

"I don't know if it was because of that really hard test last time, but woah! Hitting him with this feels breathtaking!" she commented. The two were getting fired up.

For the next ten minutes, they took turns beating Ilhoon up, ignoring his desperate cries. He whimpered in agony, but no one heard him. He was being tossed from wall to wall, and be felt that his body was being ripped apart. The duo played many fun games: kicking Ilhoon in place of a soccer ball, smashing the bat against him as if they were dribbling a basketball, and so on.

In the end, Ilhoon's body was flung towards the dumpster. He groaned and slumped down, landing on his stomach.

"Huh. He looks more broken than I thought he'd look. Should we stop?" Jiyoung asked, biting her bottom lip.

Niel scrunched his face. "But Kai wanted him close to death, but not exactly dead. We have to beat him up a little more. One more swing would do the trick, huh?"

Ilhoon heard her clap her hands. By now, he was covered in blood and bruises. His face was scratched from the rough bricks, and his bones were nearly broken. He was dizzy and weak, unable to speak or move. His eyes slowly rolled up, and he saw a metal pole (much harder and heavier than the bat) under the dumpster.

"Fight back when you have to, okay?"

Everything had happened so fast afterwards. Ilhoon remembered getting on his feet and hearing a woman's scream. When he looked down at his feet, Niel was on the ground? Why was he on the ground? He gave him a gentle tap, but his body was cold. He slowly stood up, and realized that the floor was covered in blood; the blood did not belong to him. Suddenly, his heart began to pound against his chest. He looked at his hands, and realized that the metal pole was in his position.

I killed Niel, he realized. Ilhoon was about to widen his eyes, but the bruise around his left eyes made him squint. Jiyoung stood a few feet away from him, too shocked to say anything.

"P...Police," she whispered frantically. "P... Police!"

Don't call the police. I never called the police and reported you. Don't you dare call the police--

"Police! Police, help--"

Like Niel, the outcome was the same for Jiyoung. Ilhoon felt his arm get heavy, and he dropped the pole, which was covered in Niel's and Jiyoung's blood. The two bodies were on the ground, cold and lifeless. Was this how dead bodies looked like? Awkward, yet somehow beautiful at the same time?

Sirens alerted Ilhoon's senses. Was he going to jail? No, he couldn't go to jail. He fought back. Didn't he deserve some kind of prize? A sense of accomplishment?

Not wasting any time, he grabbed the two bodies and put them in the dumpster. He put the pole back into its rightful position, and grabbed some dirty tissues from the garbage to wipe away the blood on the ground. He grabbed ahold of black coat, wore it inside-outside to cover the blood, and scurried away. When he made it out in the light, he took a few steps away from the alley. After two minutes of walking extremely slow, he turned around. A garbage truck appeared and went inside the alley.

Sweat forced on the palm of his hand. He felt his cheeks burn in guilt, and his heart race. Was he going to get caught? He quickly ran back to the alley, curious of his outcome. He watched the truck grab ahold of the dumpster. The large bin tipped over, and several trash flooded out. Among those trash, two bodies limply fell from the dumpster. Ilhoon continued to watch in silence. Then, there was a sweet pause. Did the driver see the body? Was Ilhoon done for?

At that very moment, he heard something crumble. He knew that the garbage truck was compressing the trash, breaking the plastics and crushing any other waste. Among those sounds, Ilhoon heard a rather deep, hollow sound. He heard Niel's and Jiyoung's bone crush, cursing him for their unexpected death. 

"Hey you! You, over there!" a loud voice shouted. Ilhoon jumped, and turned around, panting heavily. An officer walked over to him with a serious frown. "Do you know what time it is right now?"

"V-Very late," he reported. Do I tell him? Do I tell him about what happened?

"Here, I'll take you home," the officer offered.

"N-No! My home isn't very far..."

The officer gave him a glance. "Okay, if you say so. Run along, now. Be safe!"

Ilhoon thanked the officer and quickly ran off. At the corner of his eyes, he saw the garbage truck back out, and drive away. He looked back at the officer, who gave him a small smile. He smiled back, and continued to run back home. A sense of accomplishment fulfilled his anxious heart.

Well, those two deserved it, he thought.