It was an early morning once again on yet another winter’s day. The sun, though up and about, was hidden by the cotton-like, silvery clouds. Flecks of cold, powdery snow dropped from its heights down to the earth, falling onto whoever and whatever was in sight. The snowfall wasn’t terrible by any means; it seemed rather comforting to be honest. Calm and constant too. The wind was chilly but not bitingly so, yet another layer of comfort ironically provided by the cold.

Kyuhyun stood at the mouth of Gughwa Drive, a rather unreadable expression on his face. In his hand, he held a single stem of a red rose that had just reached its full bloom.

He looked straight at the long road ahead and noticed how, though it looked the same in appearance, it felt like the place was far more peaceful than it ever did in a long time. Gughwa Drive was to be reopened to the public the next day and Kyuhyun couldn’t help but wonder if the people would ever know about what had to happen just to give Gughwa Drive back to them.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Midnight was a few minutes away. Though no one really bothered to look at any timepiece, they knew. The air somehow seemed a lot colder, much more tense, crisp and rather haunting. The snow continued to fall yet everyone had the sense to be grateful that it wasn’t stronger than it was at the moment. Despite the warmth and comfort of being indoors, Amber, Yoona, and Siwon still felt cold. No one really dared to speak, their eyes focused solely on the cluster of monitors before them. From where the cameras were strategically placed, they could see Kyuhyun, Donghae, and Kris standing by the proverbial finish line, their shoulders squared, their expressions serious, their eyes worried and tense. Heechul and Jessica took their places midway and three-fourths of the way through, ready to move in case they were needed. It was Seohyun and Yonghwa who stood nearest the white Chevrolet Corvette waiting for its opponent, the two standing about a quarter of the way into Gughwa Drive, their attention firmly on the vehicle carrying the two risking their lives to end this madness.

Inside the Corvette, its two passengers too were silent, their expressions rather blank, their gazes faraway as the car’s wipers shoved snow off the windshield at maximum speed. It was only a matter of time now. Everything could start and end in the blink of an eye. Changmin kept his hands on the wheel and he held onto it so tight that his knuckles were being to grown pale. Sooyoung frowned at the sight but knew not how to convince him to be calm. Their lives were on the line now and things could go horribly, horribly wrong. But she couldn’t dwell on that for both their sakes.

“I trust you.”

She wasn’t sure he heard her for she spoke it such a low, soft tone that it could be easily ignored. But he did and he turned to look at her, his boring into hers. “When we make it out of there…” She couldn’t help but smile at his word usage. When, not if. “Do you want to split an extra large cheese pizza?”

She laughed then, because she knew this was him trying to make it all better. This was him telling her I got this and that he wasn’t going down without a fight. “As long as you pay, Min.”

“I’m not a cheapskate. My brother is.” Even as he spoke to words, he made sure to say it in his head too, for he knew his brother was probing around his mind, waiting.

I heard that.

I made sure you did, idiot.

I’m not a cheapskate. I’m practical. A beat passed. Are you two alright there?

Given the circumstances? Yeah, I guess we are.

“Tell Kyuhyun I said hi.”

Sooyoung says hi.

Hi back. What were you two talking about?

“Idiot brother says hi.” We were talking about how we’re going to split an extra large cheese pizza after this race.

Give me some too!

No.

Now who’s a cheapskate now?

Changmin would’ve laughed out loud. He really would, but then he heard that all too familiar sound he’d been waiting for approaching rather slowly. By his side, Sooyoung had gone stiff in anticipation and fear, her eyes finding his this time. This was it.

It’s time.

He shut his connection with his brother then, his grip on the wheel tightening even more. The sound of an approaching car became louder and louder until a red car appeared a few feet to the right of their white Corvette. He looked out of Sooyoung’s window then to get look of the other car, Sooyoung leaning back slightly before doing the same. Minjun and Nara stared straight ahead at the rest of Gughwa Drive, both unmoving and unresponsive. It seemed like they were just content on ignoring their potentially last opponents, yet Changmin and Sooyoung soon discovered differently when both Minjun and Nara’s head turned towards them, their eyes dead and a pair of sinister smiles on their faces.

Sooyoung shook almost violently in fear, so much so that Changmin had noticed, his wide eyes trailing on her shaking form. “Look away!”

She wanted to. Heaven knew she wanted to. But it was like she was frozen, wanting to move yet somehow losing connection to the rest of her body.

“Sooyoung, goddamn it, look away!” Even as his own cold hands shook, he reached them out, gently yet quickly diverting her attention from them to him, worried eyes searching her fearful ones. “It’s okay. It’s gonna be okay. I’m here. I’m right here.”

From where he stood being pelted by the cold, soft snow from the open skies, Kris growled all of a sudden, Kyuhyun and Donghae jumping in surprise. It was Kyuhyun who understood what was going on first and, just as the blonde healer was taking a step forward, he placed a hand on the younger man’s arm. “You know you can’t.”

“The spirits must’ve done something.” He nearly bit out. “I’ve never… She was never like this. I’ve never… It’s the first time.”

“Your necklace.” Donghae breathed out, realization dawning in. “What’s happening to her?”

“Fear.” Kris said first, only to shake his head soon after. “Fright. Horror. The kind that makes your blood run cold.”

When Sooyoung’s eyes finally focused on him, Changmin could only breathe a sigh of relief, leaning forward to press his forehead against hers. “Don’t be scared. I’m right here.”

She could only nod, raising her hands to put them on his. Even then he kept his hands on her face, gentle and careful yet still comforting and ever present. “I’m okay… I’m okay.”

“Hang in there.” He’d wanted to say more but then he’d looked past her shoulders at yet another distinct sound coming from outside, watching as the wheels of the red car turned even as the car itself remained stationary. He frowned at the sight before he turned to look back at the woman with him. “It’s time.”

Sooyoung nodded once and tried to smile for him. “We can do this.”

He grinned despite the situation. “Of course we can.”

He pressed a kiss to her forehead before he pulled back, his foot stepping on the gas pedal as he looked straight ahead, keeping a hand on the wheel and the other on the gear. A burnout always began each race. It was just the way it was. And so when smoke billowed from beneath both cars, Sooyoung chanced one last glance at their opponents. They were both looking ahead once more yet this time, there was a rather malicious touch in their expression, something that resembled that of triumph even if the race hadn’t begun.

Sooyoung hissed under her breath and faced forward, her eyes falling on the time. Just a few seconds more before the of midnight.

“You ready, Soo?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be.”

Back in the truck, Siwon, Yoona, and Amber watched, grim expressions marring their faces, holding each other’s hands tightly for strength.

15

From where she stood, Seohyun closed her eyes shut, her lips moving sl