Chapter Two
A Scrapbook Full Of Short Stories
Everything had been still in the gang's HQ. That was until morning came. Everyone scurried to get dressed, have showers
and get to the table before breakfast had all been eaten. There was only one room that remained quiet. Siwan stared
at the door. He wondered if he should knock, but the thought of her undressed made his cheeks flush. Still, he was
curious, so he knocked his fist against the door, expecting a sarcastic reply from the girl, but none was made. This
made him panic now. What if she escaped and has the police onto us? I will be in deep trouble since it's my duty to make
sure she doesn't escape. He cleaned himself up quickly and joined the table for breakfast. Lee Hoo raised his eyebrow at
Siwan. Siwan hung his head, knowing he'd have to admit it eventually. "She's gone."
Everyone stopped eating to look at him. "Gone? What do you mean?!" Lee Hoo bellowed.
Siwan picked at his food guiltily, not raising his head to look at anyone. "Maybe it's best.
She wasn't the friendliest anyway." Everyone stared at Chul in disbelief.
"Did you even hear what Lee Hoo said? We can't let her go because she knows too much." Hasun scolded him,
knocking his knuckles against the older male's head. Chul gave him a death glare.
"Come on! I know she's pretty hot, but you're all crazy." Kevin rolled his eyes at Chul's comment.
Kwang felt ready to explode. His fists tightened for no reason. He held back a growl. Kwang's anger was all of a
sudden gone, and in its place was sadness. "She's upset," everyone looked at him.
"She must be upset, we haven't been most welcoming." He excused, feeling under pressure.
The gang members ate in silence, thoughts swirling around in their heads.
“There is no way out. Especially for a prisoner. How did she escape?” Lee Hoo bit his lip.
Chul rolled his eyes. “Through the door, that’s usually where people go out from.”
“Chul, if I wanted one of your smart comments again, I would’ve asked.” Chul shut up immediately.
“As I was saying before I was interrupted, the door will only let one of us nine out. There is no way she could have
escaped unless she forced open the door, but that would’ve caused noise.”
“But half of us sleep like the dead anyway, it is possible.” Hasun joked, brightening the atmosphere.
Lee Hoo ruffled the younger’s hair playfully, a smile replacing the troubled frown he wore.
Eventually, the worries that filled the gang’s minds escaped them. The thoughts that troubled them were
forgotten, and now they all laughed and joked like other boys their age would.
Several days later, in Kyunghee’s hut.
Since my encounter with ZE:A, I made it my goal to learn more about them so that I could figure out each of their
weaknesses. I flipped through the member profiles that I had been given as a guide.
“Lee Hoo, the leader, real name unknown. Born 1989, in Hongdae. Blood type A. Come on, come on I need more.”
I mumbled to myself. “An only child. Hates snakes, mum runs a restaurant.” I bit my lip, the cogs turning
inside my brain. At last I smiled, knowing how I could use this against him.
If a gang’s leader is their pillar of strength, it must be him that I capture first.
I thought of the strange welcome I received from T, and decided to read his profile too.
“Real name unknown. What is wrong with these boys? Born in 1989 also.” I muttered.
What I read next would break my heart.
He lost both parents to cancer.
Unconsciously, a tear fell onto the sheet of paper. I wiped my eyes free of tears.
Can I really capture him, knowing the kind of pain he’s felt? Can I betray the friendliness he showed towards me?
The rational part of my brain fought back. It’s a mission. Nothing more, nothing less.
That night I slept in discomfort. My bed felt itchy and irritating as it rubbed my skin. My clothes stuck to my body
and suffocated me. My skin was now dirty again and my stomach rumbled, though I had eaten during the day.
I had not much food left, and that’s when I knew that I should stop hiding and start my mission. As my eyes finally
fluttered closed, I felt my skin tingle, as if I was being watched. My feet pounded against the wet ground, echoing
my heart that drummed against my chest. I was alone now, standing in a dark room. I didn’t know how big it was, or
what shape it was. I didn’t see any colour, except the colour of nothing. From nothing, I saw a blindingly bright blue light.
The light surrounded me, floating around in lots of small spheres. I stared up at them, in awe of their beauty.
That when I was stopped by a woman’s voice. “Darling,” she called out softly.
I was instantly drawn towards the unfamiliar woman. Her eyes twinkled with joy at seeing me.
The woman’s hands cupped my face gently, whispering soothingly “Kyunghee.” I felt safe.
I felt the tingling sensation again, as if I was being watched. I called out. “Who are you?”
The woman smiled at me, opening to speak. Then all of a sudden she was gone.
ZE:A’s HQ, that same night.
Kwang lay in his bed, as restless as before. He had no idea why he had felt so angry when Chul talked about the
girl like that. He opened a drawer and pulled out the tiny silver bracelet. He knew who the bracelet had belonged to;
his little sister. He sometimes found himself missing her, although he never remembered her since he was so young.
He thought of the girl, and wondered if she had family, too. Kwang soon felt himself drift off to sleep grasping the
bracelet in his hand. I stood before a girl. There were spheres of blue light dancing around her. I tried to
move towards her, but my body felt stiff. I continued to watch as a woman appeared. As she spoke, my jaw dropped.
“Darling,” she called out softly to the girl. The girl moved closer. I stared closely at the woman, feeling the sense of
familiarity. Something clicked in my mind and I called out. My voice made no sound. The woman I now recognised
as my mother cupped the girl’s cheeks and whispered. “Kyunghee.” I narrowed my eyes, trying to think who the girl was.
The girl called out, and that’s when I knew. My mother opened to speak when a tall, raggedy man stepped
forward, pushing her away and into the darkness. His jaw was covered with dark stubble. As the man moved closer
to the girl, I sensed danger. But the girl seemed calm. “Appa?” she called out like a little child.
The man did not smile like I had expected him to.
Instead, he dragged my mother out again into the light and pulled out a gun.
I yelled and yelled but my voice still made no sound. When Kwang awake, the sound of the gun shot still
rang in his ears. He sat up in his bed, wide awake and teary eyed.
Now, he felt as if it was his duty to protect the girl. No matter what.
Kwang, knowing that the others would wake soon, sneaked out of the HQ as swiftly as he could.
The sun had begun to rise by now, and Kwang hoped he could get some fresh air and relax his mind.
He walked along the warm pavement, finding that he had ended up in the park where he had first met the strange
girl they captured. Kwang smiled fondly as he recalled the way she defended herself. She’s certainly no damsel
in distress. The sound of glass breaking brought him out of his thoughts. When he turned to the person standing in
the direction the sound had come from, he felt relief wash over him. There she stood, jaw agape, and a broken
glass lying on the floor. “I-I’m sorry. Don’t make me go back there. I won’t tell anybody your secret. Let me go.” she begged.
Kwang was about to hug her when someone pulled him away from her.
Siwan found himself pulled from his dreams. Sleep did not seem to come easy tonight. Through the walls, he
could hear sniffling. He immediately knew that Kwang had had a bad dream again. Siwan sat upright in his bed,
waiting to see if Kwang went to sleep again, but instead, he heard the older boy getting up out of his bed, and
quickly exiting the door. He quickly dressed and followed after Kwang, wanting to know what he had dreamed of.
Siwan stood outside in the new light, looking for any sign of Kwang. When he found that he wasn’t sat on the bench
like he usually was, he went searching. For an unknown reason, his feet pulled him to the park, where he saw Kwang
staring at a girl. As Siwan looked closer, he recognised the girl as the one they captured before.
He drew closer to the two, pulling the elder boy away from her just as he was about to draw nearer.
“What are you doing?” Siwan asked in confusion. Kwang stared at the girl, before taking hold of her wrist.
Siwan stared at Kwang, frustrated when he didn’t answer. “Why are you with her?”
The girl stuttered and rested her hand on Kwang’s arm soothingly. “Please don’t blame Kwang. I didn’t know he was
going to be here. He can’t be punished for meeting up with me.”
Siwan stared sceptically at the girl for a few moments. “Why are you begging? It’s not like you.”
The girl scrunched her nose up. “And you wonder why I left. You lot are so judgemental.”
“Or just mental.” Siwan mumbled. The girl stared at him in confusion. “I’m mental for listening to you.
You still have to stay with us, you know too much now, but this time you’ll have to work for us.”
The girl widened her eyes. “What?!” she spluttered. “Work for you? Why?”
“You want to be accepted by us, right? Earn our trust by working for us then. It’s the best way.”
She bit her lip, looking away. I can’t fail my mission, but I might need them to trust me so that I can carry it out.
“Fine. Whatever. I’ll work for you lot. But you better stop giving me death glares.”
Back at ZE:A’s HQ.
The gang sat around the living area in silence. “Where are they both?” DJ asked, not speaking to anyone
in particular. Kevin and Lee Hoo both shrugged. Even Prince was uncomfortable.
It was only when Kevin smiled and patted Prince’s back that he was able to relax.
There was a quiet squeak of the door. Everyone looked up at the three people who had entered the room.
Siwan and Kwang looked at each other, before looking back at their gang members.
“Why is she here?” Chul asked coldly. The girl shot daggers at him, mentally cursing him.
“Listen. Lee Hoo, Kevin, everyone, stay calm when we say this.” Siwan began slowly.
Lee Hoo panicked, standing up. Kevin sat him down again. “She will be staying here. This time she
has to pull her weight, which means she will be working for us. Leader?”
Lee Hoo was fuming. “Well do I get any choice as the leader?” he crossed his arms over his chest.
“I’m sorry. I thought it was a good idea. If not, we can keep her here with the same rules as before.”
Lee Hoo put his hand up, signalling Siwan to stop talking. “Alright. But if she does something I don’t like,
she won’t have any freedom to do as she likes around here. Got it?”
She rolled her eyes, but answered him. “Yes, yes.” Chul scoffed and shook his head.
I sat in front of ZE:A, arms resting on my knees. They all stared at me. I shifted uncomfortably.
“We only have one question for now. What is your name?” Kevin asked calmly.
I stared around at them all before my eyes landed back on Kevin. “Li.” I answered.
Siwan cleared his throat. Kwang took hold of my hand. I hadn’t realised the two of them sat with me.
“Your real name?” Prince asked, his voice stronger than I had ever heard it before.
“I don’t want to. You know my nickname and that’s what I want to be called.”
Siwan nudged me, giving me ‘the look’. I sighed and responded strongly. “Yoon Kyunghee.”
Why did you say your full name, stupid? Now they know exactly who you are.
Kevin nodded in satisfaction and dismissed the gang, letting them get on with their chores.
I stood, noticing that T was sat by the window by himself. I wandered over to him carefully.
“T?” I called out. He lifted his head, giving me a warm smile. “Kyunghee,” I winced.
His smile fell. “Ah, sorry. Li.” I nodded. “Did you want to talk to me?”
“Yes.” I answered. There was a silence between us. “I just wanted to let you know that if ever you need to, umm, talk to
me anytime, that, umm, I will always be here for you.” T was shocked by my kind words.
I shuffled about. “Sorry, I’m not good at these kinds of things.”
“Making friends?” he guessed. I gave a small smile, letting him know he was correct.
He placed a hand on my shoulder. “It’s alright.” I shook my shoulder away from his hand.
“I’d prefer it if you didn’t touch me.” I told him honestly. He apologised sincerely, making his way to his room to
finish his chores. I sighed in relief. I have the urge to protect him, why?
I leaned against the kitchen counter, watching Kwang cook dinner for everyone. Siwan had informed me
earlier that Kwang and Hasun often took turns to cook. Now, Kwang was cooking while Hasun laid the table.
I heard the clanging of cutlery and cursing coming from the living area, so I went out to find Hasun picking
all of the metal chopsticks up off the floor. “Dammit,” he cursed.
“Li, could you help Hasun please?” Kevin nodded his head in Hasun’s direction.
I remembered my mission, and nodded. I bent down to help pick up the chopsticks.
Hasun smiled at me. His smile was infectious; it was the kind that cheered you up no matter what had happened.
It was the kind of smile that would have made me smile, if I was any other person.
“I have to pull my weight, don’t I?” I mumbled. I helped arrange the cutlery and plates with Hasun, making
sure the chopsticks hadn’t gotten dirty. I dusted off my trousers. I heard a scoff behind me and turned to face the person.
Chul smirked at me. “Wow, where do you hide your halo?” he teased, walking off and sniggering to himself.
I guess making friends was harder than I thought it would be.
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