CHAPTER THREE

You’re hands are so red, little boy. Is that that man’s blood in your hands? What was that? You wish to feel it again; having blood redden your hands? What was that, little boy? You wish to hear your victim scream for mercy? Then, all you have to do is to listen to everything I say. You must listen to every word I say. That’s right, little devil, you must do exactly as I tell you.

[SEOUL, Year 20XX]

LEE JAEHWAN grinned as he and Hakyeon ran around the place. Taekwoon was sitting under a shade of a tree, silently watching them while admiring the place. Hakyeon was right to call it paradise because; it was just like how Jaehwan’s old books used to describe paradise. There were flowers and trees everywhere. In the middle of the place was a small pond. Although it was just yet another small garden, the fact that it was inside a compound such as their new home made it all the more special. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end.

The boys flinched when the door was slammed open. Jaehwan notices Hakyeon flinching when a uniformed man enters the room. The man had his eyes only on Hakyeon as he makes his way towards the two boys. From the corner of his eyes, Jaehwan sees Taekwoon stand and slowly walk towards them. Hakyeon stands in between the two boys and the uniformed man but Jaehwan could clearly see that the older boy was shaking.

“I-it’s not t-their fault,” Hakyeon said as he looked up to the man. “I was the one who brought them here. I just wanted to show them around the building, that’s all. We didn’t really do anything. We just played. I promise you, we didn’t touch anything,” Hakyeon tried to smile but he knew that it was no use. The man had seen what he had seen; there was no changing it.

Without another word, the uniformed man walks away, Hakyeon following shortly after him. But before he went out, he looks at the two boys and smiles. “I’m sorry I can’t show you around after all. But, don’t worry; we’ll have more time for that later. I’ll see you guys later,” he smiles.

Jaehwan, however, notices that Hakyeon’s smile disappeared as fast as it appeared. He casts a worried glance over at Taekwoon and sees that although he had his usual emotionless face, his eyes told a different story; Taekwoon was also worried (and a bit curious) of what’s going to happen to Hakyeon.

“They’re not gonna hurt him,” Jaehwan found himself saying to Taekwoon although it was actually more to himself. He wanted to reassure himself that no harm will be done to the boy. They wouldn’t hurt him, right? If they were of such importance to the future of science, they wouldn’t hurt any of them, right?

Taekwoon doesn’t say a thing and watches as another uniformed man walks into the garden and towards them. The man – younger than the one earlier actually seemed a lot kinder; at least, in Jaehwan’s eyes. “I will take you to your rooms,”

Without a word, the two boys followed the uniformed man deeper into the building until they stopped in front of an elevator. Going up to the third floor, they finally arrive to the more “residential” and “homey” part of the building. “This is where you’ll be staying. Taekwoon, you have room 3 and Jaehwan, yours is room 5. Dinner will be in 2 hours,”

Jaehwan looked into Taekwoon’s eyes; searching for comfort. He, however, found nothing but dark brown orbs looking back at him. The other boy simply turns around and faces his door before turning the knob and entering, closing the door without another glance. Jaehwan sighs and walks towards his own room.

Closing the door, Jaehwan soon finds himself sliding to the floor, shaking. He had a bad feeling that something bad was going to happen but he didn’t want it to be true. He didn’t want anything bad to happen. Wanting to get rid of the bad feeling, Jaehwan bites his bottom lip. Jaehwan soon calms down and stands up to begin fixing his things.

He, however, didn’t know that what he had felt earlier was a sign. It wasn’t until late into the night, while he was busy writing on his journal that he hears someone running and entering his room. Because of the darkness of the room, with only the lamp to provide light, Jaehwan finds himself getting nervous as he hears someone panting heavily. “W-who...,”

“Be quiet idiot, or we’ll both get hurt,”

Author's Note: Here comes the third chapter! I seriously wasn't planning on updating yet (since i just updated) but I couldn't resist. I was supposed to be writing a chapter for VOID but my mind kept shouting for this. Also, it's a birthday gift for our leader and eomma, Cha Yeoji. So, here comes the chapter. It's centered mostly on Jaehwan since I didn't really dwell on him that much. Questions: who do you think was the person in Ken's room? What happened to N? Well, comment your answers below. The answer will be revealed in the next chapter. Also, there were some changes with the top. I decided to change the top from HYUK to KONG. The reason...will be revealed in the next chapters to come.