38.

I spotted her at the back staircase. Where I was burning incense, muttering to myself when she came. She was horrified. Terrified. I could feel it. She made one very wrong move. She made one wrong move that cost her life. She was so silly.

Her grocery dropped, and I immediately chased after her. I remember how scared and how tears were falling, blurring her vision, but all she could think was keeping alive, to tell this secret, which she didn’t had a chance to.

I even remembered, she was running up the stairs as she muttered to herself, she muttered, “I must stay alive, to tell Tao this.” How ignorant. She was still thinking to bring me to justice than thinking of her studies.

Hyomin ran as fast as she could. She could feel the numb and her legs slowing down, the energy in her was dying. But she didn’t care. She had to stay alive. She never once glanced  behind because she knew Jiho was always behind her.

She was scared, terrified. She was just a graduated student and yet she had to face this challenge alone, which she had no confidence in winning.

“I need to stay alive. I can’t die. I still need to tell Sohyun and Tao-“

Before she knew, she was already at the rooftop. She gulped as she quickly hid at a corner squatting down, hiding herself from Jiho. Hiding from death.

The fear in her was overwhelming and she covered , preventing herself from screaming.

When facing death, she really was terrified. She had no experience of death. She only saw people dying in dramas, and now she’s facing it, she could feel the fear.

Jiho panted as he looked around the rooftop. He warily approached every corner, and he smirked when he heard it.

Hyomin’s ringtone.

Hyomin’s phone rang and she gulped, quickly turning off her phone and hid it in her pocket.

He approached Hyomin slowly, pressing his hands on the ledge, narrowing his eyes down.

“Hyomin,” he said which sent shivers down her spine. “Come out, now.”

“You’re already dead. You’re just dragging it. Face it, Hyomin.”

Hyomin mustered up all of her courage as she stood up and she spoke up, “Face it too, Jiho.”

“You kill, you have to pay the price. Turn yourself in.”

He walked over and saw Hyomin, looking at him warily and her eyes were darting, looking left and right every second. “You are such an ignorant girl. At your deathbed and you still think of others and not yourself? You should know that once you die your future it over. No studies, no career, no job and no dreams.”

Before she could reply, he grabbed her by her neck and his grip on it tightened, as he pushed her to the ledge of the rooftop.

A bit more and she would fall.

Her eyes widened in shock as she choked, struggling as her frail hands weakly struggled with him. “Turn.. yourself.. in..” she choked on the words and struggled even more, hitting his hand that was tightening on her neck even more. “You choose to hear. You choose to die. You choose to be nosy. Goodbye." Jiho frowned and pushed her.

She shook her head. “Jiho you’re wrong. You’re totally wrong. How can you do that?" she whispered, shivering. "How am I wrong for killing someone that deserves to die? I'm just protecting myself!"

"If she deserves to die, then why don’t you kill me?” she said weakly, exhausted. Both mentally and physically.

“You treated me as your friend and so, I will give you a choice. I'm never letting you out. After my wife comes back, you need to come with us, or die."

"Your wife is already on trial. She has an appeal, why can't you wait for desicion?"

"Wrong. You're wrong. Entirely wrong. This place, if filled with injustice. Judges are blind, everyone is blind, only I can see. My lawyer told me, the chances of winning are slim.. I can't do a single thing about it, but I can change one thing-Our lives." he walked around. "Why wait for my wife to be out of jail and get discriminated, looked down on my society to hold onto false hope when I can just bring my wife out and leave for another country, start anew. Isn't that better?"

He glanced at her phone that was beside him and he grabbed the phone, scrolling through her inbox which made his eyes widened in shock, and Sohyun could see that pair of eyes were filled with anger, hatred. Jiho threw the phone on the ground harshly, smashing it into pieces.

Sohyun flinched as she looked up at Jiho in confusion who was breathing in heavily.

For the first time, she actually saw tears in his eyes.

He quickly turned his back on her, and walked out of the hut.

*What happened..?*

Kris bit his lip as he drove at full speed. “Sohyun, hang in there..” He had to reach there in time, or else.. *Shudders*

Once Jiho was out and nowhere to be seen, Sohyun immediately fidgeted and struggled as she tried untying the knot. She rocked the chair left and right as she tried untying.

---

When she glanced out of the broken window, it was still dark, but guessing and estimating the time she was in there, she guessed it would be around four or five in the morning. “Almost dawn..” she said and continued.

She didn’t know how long she spend trying to escape, but she knew that Jiho was back when the broken door creaked open.

She looked up and saw Jiho, holding onto a container that was almost half his size, and his face was expressionless.

“I told you. You either die, or you come with us, but I shall choose your fate now, since she’s gone,” he said and Sohyun immediately grew confused. “What do you mean by she’s gone?” she muttered and Jiho walked out again, closing the broken door.

He opened the lid of the container and carried it, pouring kerosene around the hut until none was left and he threw the container aside.

He looked up at the sky, seeing that it was already dawn.

He took out a lighter and threw it at the door, dropping it as it lit up the kerosene and it burst into flames.

Sohyun’s eyes widened in shock as she looked around the hut.

Burn. Fire. Flames.

She’s so dead. She bit her lip and tried freeing herself, but Jiho was really strong in tying knots. It was like a dead knot.

Kris braked as he looked around the place. Not too big, but to cover up the whole place within an hour, was hard.

He frowned and looked at the signs. It was hardly bright and not many people were out.

He was near the beach, and the streets were a kilometre away in the east direction, while the rest of the directions were all bushes.

He glanced at the bushes, and decided to go west. He walked in, stepping on the wild grass and moving away branches and bushes away from his view.

Then, from afar, he saw flames in the air and he knew who was in. Sohyun.

He immediately ran forward towards the hut, then quickly darted back due to the heat. He looked around and his lips nervously. “Sohyun!” he shouted and her ears perked up. “Kris?” she murmured and immediately shouted back, “Kris! Don’t come near! It's dangerous!"

“Oh no, it’s really Sohyun..” Kris gulped as he looked at the burning hut. He had to go in. He needs to save Sohyun."Sohyun! Don't worry! I'll save you!" he shotued and Sohyun shook her head furiously. "Kris! No! The hut is on fire, it's going to collapse, don't come in!" she screamed, warning him but he ignored her and he ran in.