Chapter 1
The Midnight Phantom
“Phantom must be captured no matter what it takes, officer. And when I said no matter what it takes, I meant it.”
The commander’s words resonated until those words engraved themselves in Sehun’s mind, becoming a portion of him that he took wherever he go. But to Oh Sehun, the command from his superior was pointless because he himself had decided to end Phantom’s life on his very hands.
He tightened his fists on his sides. Years had already passed but he can still feel the pain eating him inside, the sight of his father’s bloodied face that filled his nightmares. The smell of death whenever Sehun closed his eyes at night seemed to haunt him, taunting him with the memories until sleep was a state he feared the most. For sleeping meant having to face his frightening recollection of what happened before.
Phantom.
For years of climbing the ranks of Japan’s military, Sehun’s sole goal was to have the son of a squirming on his hands, to steal the lowlife’s last breath in the slowest, most agonizing way. During his sleepless nights, he imagined a thousand ways on exacting his revenge, his only way of coping with his growing nightmares. And so he kept on imagining, for it helped ease the pain inside him that refused to go away despite the years that passed by.
His another attempt of bringing Phantom, Korean’s hero – he sneered at the thought – to his death last month made him more decided to kill the bastard. A group of Korean rebels had attacked a Japanese congregation in which some of Japan’s powerful figures had attended. Four important Japanese merchants and businessmen were instantly killed by the surprise attack from the rebels before Sehun and his men arrived to help the other Japanese soldiers.
During the chaos and pandemonium, Sehun waited for Phantom to appear. And when he did, Sehun cannot helped the killing turmoil inside him that immediately boiled the moment he laid eyes on the famed vigilante.
Korean’s hero.
Japan’s enemy.
Sehun had immediately followed Phantom among the crowd until they were outside. It had started to rain when the battle ensued between the groups. Sehun could remember his rage as he fought his enemy and that last thing he remembered was losing his consciousness that night.
That was a month ago.
The sound of whip sliced through the air and landed against a squirming body. The sound of the painful cries disturbed Sehun’s train of thought.
From his position on the horse’s saddle, he watched as another Japanese officer Xiumin raised his illustrious crop. The Korean crowd watched helplessly as the Japanese man restlessly punished the captured rebels last month. Gasps and cries were heard as the punishment went on. Bodies started to collapse and as the lieutenant delivered another blow, Sehun raised his hand, effectively stopping the occurrence.
The crowd seemed to have held their breath and were now crying for the relief of their fellow Koreans.
Swirling his horse to address the crowd, Sehun boomed, “These men will die tonight if you will keep on hiding Phantom!”
His eyes roamed among their faces, reading the fear and the hatred in their eyes before they averted their gazes from him. Sehun knew hatred when he saw it. It was a part of him that he knew well and he can see that emotion in the Koreans. The corner of his lips curled to one side.
“Where is your cowardly hero, Koreans?” he taunted, fueling their hatred. He leered as he addressed their bowed heads. “You are all fools,” he spat. “You’re determined to protect that bastard when he can’t even protect these rebels!”
A shot to his shoulder caused Sehun to stagger from the saddle. He managed to hold on to the horse’s reign before he was unseated. Sehun saw the small steel ball that hit him rolled on the ground. The crowd began to murmur their astonishment as Sehun whipped his head around, his eyes narrowed into slits, observing the buildings behind him.
On the background, the sounds of his men’s swords unsheathing were heard and the crowd’s noise was becoming louder, but Sehun was too preoccupied at the moment.
He saw it coming then. He dodged before another steel ball hit him in the face. Charging his horse towards the direction, he heard his men followed him on foot.
“Phantom,” Sehun hissed under his breath as his eyes scanned the buildings before him. A flash of white between two houses caught his eye and Sehun kicked his horse harder.
He entered the premises where he saw the bastard. But Sehun had to slow down when he saw himself among rows of houses, his prey nowhere to be found. He heard his men behind him. Sehun charged his horse but caught himself in time, pulling the reign.
He whipped his head around to address his men. “Who’s guarding the rebels?”
Nervous glances were all he met and Sehun let out a hiss before he broke his stallion into a run, this time, to the direction of the dais where the rebels were being held.
The Koreans seemed to have regained their confidence as they blocked him. Sehun raised his gun and fired before their feet, effectively dividing the screaming crowd. His eyes took in the sight of the empty platform before him while the cheers of the Koreans behind him seemed to mock him.
Fury accumulated inside him as he jumped from his stallion.
Abruptly, he seized a young Korean boy from his mother among the crowd. Surprised gasps and screams were heard as Sehun grasped the boy by his neck, his cold steel gun pointed to the trembling boy's head. Blithely unaware of the boy's mother wailing and begging, Sehun's eyes were raging with indescribable fury. His gaze travelled among the building structures and the crowd before him. His eyes, cold and unfeeling as an iceberg, waiting.
A/N: First chapter is up! This is supposed to be a one shot story but if I will make it into one, I realized that it will be too long. So I decided to make it into a chaptered story. Don’t worry guys, like I’ve said, I’m making it into few chapters only. Thank you for reading! \(^()^)/
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