Lee Hong Ki

 One week ago.

 "C'mon, big guy. Come out," I shout to the night air.

 I'm now at an abandoned and destroyed building, where the man ran off earlier. I'm now standing at the center of what it seems to be like the lobby. The floor is cracked in half, like a fissure from an earthquake. Steel rods are dangling from the second floor, blocking some of the doorways that are stuffed with crumbled rocks.

 I look around, concentrating on where the man can hide. I've already shot the guy in his right leg, but he can still run. Persistent son of a .

 "Oh, you wanna play hide and seek, huh?" I shout again, walking to my left and ducking to avoid being hit by the dangling steel rod. "Be my guest, then."

 After that, I climb on a broken wall with protruding metals that serve as its brace and push myself up, getting to the second floor through a huge hole. I keep my movements quiet as possible. Wouldn't want to startle the guy. I know he's hiding here somewhere.

 As I round the corner at the end of the destroyed hallway, I finally see him. I snicker silently.

 "Just as I expected." I chuckle.

 His back is on me, while peeking over the wall at the other end of the hallway. He's holding his wounded leg with a hand, trying to stop the blood from oozing out from his wound.

 I flip my knife in my hand as I slowly walk my way to him. When I'm only a few meters away from him, I come to a halt.

 "Boo," I say and laugh hysterically.

 It makes him jump and whirl around to face me, his eyes wild. He slowly walks backward while shaking his head.

 "Please, don't kill me," he pleads with a broken voice. His foot comes to the edge of the floor, and he almost falls down to the first floor. Almost. He looks down and gulps. It sure is a high jump, if he dares to jump. He looks back at me, and I look at him blankly.

 "I didn't do anything wrong," he says with a whimper, tears starting to fall from his eyes.

 I fake a grimace. "Listen, bro, tell that to the one who sent me," I say.

 I kick him squarely on the chest and he falls backward, landing back-first on the floor below with a loud thud. The guy groans in pain and tries to roll to his side. I smirk at the view. This guy's sure made of steel. Little hard to kill.

 I jump down, landing in front of the guy in a crouching stance. I stand up straight and he backs away from me, looking horrified.

 "Look, this won't last long," I say with a laugh.

 I put a foot on his chest, pinning him to the ground. I brace my arm on my knee as I crouch down to look at him.

 "Go to hell," he growls. He stares at me angrily.

 "Don't worry. I'll see you there," I say and drive my knife home.

 His body slumps as the life in it fades away. I draw back my knife and wipe the blood on it with my hand.

 "Hate ichor," I mutter.

 I wipe the blood on my hands on my hanky and throw it somewhere in the building. I look back at the guy before going my way out of the building. When I'm finally out of the perimeter, I'm finally able to breathe normally. I always shudder whenever I can hear the last words my targets say to me. I can always hear them inside my head, playing repeatedly every day. It's the same, and always will be.

 As I walk on the sidewalk by the busy road, I bump someone with my shoulder.

 "Oh, sorry about that," I say.

 I turn to look at the person I've bumped. He looks at me with a frown. He's dressed in a black and white suite, his coat slung over his arm. I notice that his I.D is clipped on his shirt.

 Prosecutor Lee Seung Hyun.

 I look back up at him. Too young to be a prosecutor. He's like about my age.

 "You look familiar," he says after a moment, "have I seen you before?" He looks at me with curious eyes.

 My eyebrows shoot up. "I don't think so," I reply slowly. "You must have mistaken me for some guy."

 He narrows his eyes at me. After looking at me for years, he finally nods. "Well, yeah. Maybe I've just mistaken you for someone else," he says. "I'll be on my way."

 "Okay," I say and watch him walk away. That's weird.

 I shake the thoughts away and continue my way back to my place.

- - -

 I slump down and lie on my couch, the handle of my pistol that is tucked at the waistband of my jeans presses hard against my back as my weight sinks on the soft cushion. Looking up at the blank ceiling, I sigh heavily. Another man I've killed. Not much of a difference.

 I raise my left arm to look at my watch, and it says 20:37. "What the--? It's that late already?" I mutter to myself.

 I drop my hand back down to my side. Then suddenly, my front door bursts open. I bolt up from the couch and quickly pull my pistol from my back and point it up. But when I realize who it is, I lower my gun with a curse.

 "What the , Adam?" I snarl. I look past him and to the door. The upper hinge has been removed from the doorframe, resulting to the door at an awkward angle. "You bastard, you just broke my door. You know what, that's my third door you've broken. Seriously, you should be named as 'The Door Breaker' or 'The Destroyer of Doors’. Damn you, man," I growl.

 He stares at me with a blank look. I notice that his eyes are bloodshot, like he's just cried his heart out.  After a few moments, he places the door back in its place and turns to face me.

 "Bro, you okay?" I ask him. He really looks weird right now. It's just like he's learned that he's just an adopted child from his family.

 He snickers and shakes his head. "Just stressed about something," he replies and walks to the couch. I follow his movements with my eyes as he slumps down on the couch and sighs. "Why the heck are you looking at me like that?" he asks with a frown.

 I fight the urge to roll my eyes. "C'mon, bro, you look really--I mean, really--weird right now. I don't ing know why you're like that," I say in a fast pace.

 He laughs, but I notice that his voice is tired. "It's nothing much that I can't handle," he says. "You don't have to worry about it."

 "Then what brings you here?"

 "What? Is it wrong to visit an old friend?"

 "No not really." I pause. "But really, what are you doing here?"

 "I told you," he seethes, "I just came to visit."

 "Something's wrong, Adam. I know you," I say irritably. "Look, Jung Yong Hwa, I don't have time for this ing and just tell me what the is wrong with you!"

 He looks away this time; his face is crumpling, and I immediately regret that I just shouted at him.

"It's just that--" he trails off as his breaths become ragged. He then takes a deep breath as he regains his composure. He looks up at me and gives me a tired smile. "I'll tell you someday. If there is still time."

 I find myself frowning at his statement. Someday? That can't be good. "Adam, what--"

 "Well," he stands up from the couch and smiles at me, "I just have to make things right. Some things are meant to be right."

 I seethe. "What the--Adam, I'm not good at riddles or what." I raise my arms up in annoyance. "Screw this, bro."

 He laughs. What, he's laughing now? Has he gone bipolar? "Don't worry, buddy. You'll know someday," he says. "Let's just forget about it, okay? Well, I'd better be going. Looks like I've disturbed your thoughtful thinking about your recent kill."

 "How did you--?" I raise my eyebrows as he points down to my shirt.

 "Busted," he says with a laugh, still pointing on my shirt stained with blood. "You have period on your shirt." He laughs again like a retarded hyena.

 "Damn you," I snarl. "Earlier, you look like you're going to have a nervous breakdown. Now, you're laughing like ?"

 "Oh, trust me, buddy," he says, wiping the tears from his eyes from laughing so hard. "I'll be fine. I should get going." He pats my shoulder. "I'll see you again.” He walks to the door and stops. He looks back at me. "Try not to blow your cover up by the period on your shirt. You could end up in jail, you know. And I won't bail you out." He wiggles his eyebrows. "Goodbye, Marv."

 With that, he goes out of the broken door and disappears.

 What the did just happen? I run out of my place and follow Adam, but he's already gone. I go back inside my place and frown at myself.

 There's definitely something wrong with that guy. I just don't know what. But I know, it's something really, really serious.

- - -

 The week passes in a blur, and ever since then, I've never seen or heard about Adam again. Whenever I tried to call him, he wouldn't answer. I try to think the he's just busy with his jobs that's why I haven't heard of him.

 As I walk at the park, I see someone that made my anger rise up. My face scrunches up as I hold off my anger. He's sitting comfortably on the backrest of the bench while talking to two other guys.

 A group of kids nearby are playing rugby when their ball lands on my feet.

 "Hyung, can you throw back the ball here?" one of the kids shout.

 I snicker and pick up the ball. "Would you mind if I borrow it for a minute?" I ask them. "Just have to deal with something."

 "Alright, take your time," the kid replies.

 I turn my back to the kids. "Yow, Jay!" I call out.

 The guy sitting on the bench looks at my direction. His eyes widen in shock. "Oh, ." He scrambles from the bench and runs off, while the two other guys just leave with the hoods of their jackets draw over their heads.

 "Heads up!" I shout, and throw the rugby ball at him. It hits him squarely on the back of his head and he crashes down face-first on the ground.

 A cheer erupts from behind me and I look back to see that the kids that own the ball I've just thrown are shouting.

 "That was so cool!"

 "Go kick his !"

 "Hell, yeah!"

 I laugh and pick up the ball. "Stay awesome, guys." I throw back the ball at them. I turn back to Jay who's still groaning in pain on the ground. "Where you going, Jay? Why you walking away from me?" I grip the collar of his shirt and force him up on his feet.

 "What the , Marvin?" he groans. "Look, let's just forget what I've done to you. Just—"

 I knee him on the gut, and he stifles a groan on his mouth. "Forget? C'mon, Jay. You almost had me caught by the police. What the are you going to do if I rant all about you to the police? Run and hide til' you die?"

 He holds up his hands. "Fine, fine. I'm sorry, alright?" He pauses, then laughs after a few moments. "Well, are you going to rant your friend Adam if you've ever been caught by the police?"

 I release him with a push. "Don't change the ing subject, Jay."

 "What? I'm not changing the subject, Marv," he says and shakes his head. "God, he's doomed."

 I frown at him. "What did you say?"

 He looks at me curiously. "Oh, you still don't know? Poor you." He chuckles.

 "What happened to him?" I snarl.

 "Now you're asking me? I thought you were angry with me. Why are you asking me about details now?" he chuckles again. "I'm not going to tell you anything."

 My blood roars in my ears as my anger rises up. One of the fence's tip is pointed up sharply near him. I grab him by his collar again and push him to the fence, the tip almost touching his back.

 "Hey, let go of me!" he shouts.

 "I said," I tighten the grip on his collar, "what happened to him?"

 "I ain't telling you nothing," he spits. "He got what he deserved. Now, he's going to die in boss' hands. That's what he gets for betraying all of us."

 I stare at him in confusion? What the is he talking about? Betray? What did he do?

 "Hey, hey," someone calls. "Don't raise some ruckus here. People are already looking at you."

 I roll my eyes and turn to look to the person who has spoken. I see a girl with an innocent face. If you look at her closely, you would've mistaken her as an angel. But instead of speaking nicely to her, I speak to her coldly. " off, sis. You wouldn't like me angry."

 She scoffs. "You wouldn't like me angry, either," she says back to me with equal coldness. "How old are you, anyway? Twenty-five? Twenty-four? This guy looks like a teenager and you're doing this to him?"

 By this time, I think my ears have already gone red because of my anger. Why the does she care? This girl has some guts, huh? 

 I exhale roughly and glower at her. "Be thankful I respect women," I growl. "But if you really--I mean, really--annoy me again, I won't hesitate to hit you."

 She just snickers which makes me even more pissed off. Who is this girl? Maybe she's one of the badass girls here in the city. But still, she's too high of herself.

 "Just let go of him now, blondie," she says.

 Blondie? What the ? Oh, please. I turn back to Jay. "If you don't tell me where he is, then, fine. Don't. I can find him on my own." I push Jay away and he runs off.

 I watch Jay run off like a prey being chased by its predator. "Screw everything," I mutter.

 I haven't noticed that the girl that is already at my side. "What's the big deal about him?"

 "What the eff--" I curse. What, is she a ghost or something? I scowl at her. "Why do you need to know? Haven't I told you to off?" I growl. Then I mumble, “Jackass,” as I walk away.

- - -

 I go to Adam's place next. I ring the doorbell once. Then twice. But there's no answer.

 I open the gates and set off the alarm and all the cameras behind the thick bush on the wall of the lawn of his house. I walk across the front lawn and reach the front door. The doorknob seems to be locked and I get a hairpin on my wallet. (Hey, I don't use the damn hairpin for my hair. I'm not gay. It's for opening purposes only.)

 I open the door and step inside. The whole house is quiet, quiet as a church. The furniture and appliances are covered with thick dust.

 "Wow," I mumble. "Ghost house."

 I go upstairs and check the rooms one by one, but I find nothing. Then I hear a sound of a car engine pulling into a stop outside. I peek to the window of the room and look outside. A white Audi is in front of the gates, and someone steps out of the car. I squint hard to see who it is, but the tall gates cover the person in front of it. Maybe my eyesight is just a little blurry sometimes. I'm more of a night person. I can see better through the dark. The person at the gates holds one of the bars and yanks it open, and I mentally kill myself.

 "," I curse and hit my head. "Forgot to lock the gates." I hurry downstairs. "Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid," I keep on mumbling.

 I turn off the lights and go to the side of the door. I open it a little and climb up the wall above the door. I grab hold of one of the steel rods that supports the ceiling. The door opens and someone steps inside. I can make out clearly that it's a girl, but her back's on me that's why I can't see her face. She has her gun pointed up. Then this suddenly makes my eyebrows shoot up. Why is there a girl here? And how did she know about this place?

 "That's weird," I hear her mutter.

 I jump down from above the door and create a thud, which makes her whirl around. She leans back as fast as my fist almost collides with her face. I grab my knife from the sheath on my belt and hold it up. When I look up, I almost jump up in surprise. What is she doing here?

 I slowly walk backwards and click the light switch on, and all the lights in the living room flicker to life.

 She closes her eyes for a moment and blinks them repeatedly. Then she sees me. "Blondie?"