***

Her red hair sparkled like a last flame in the tender moon's light. She ran over the small alley trying her best not to scream. She was mentally cursing the minute she decided to take her night walk in this god forsaken park from outside the city. She really didn’t wanted to meet her death tonight, but there it was, chasing her all over the small, deserted alleys.  She was too busy to feel pain right now, only the three sharp knifes ruled over her mind, as fresh and shiny as they looked when they pierced her shoulder. Her legs started failing her, so she thought it will be safer if she’ll hide amongst the trees. A sudden brake threw her on the ground, snapping and popping the dried leaves under her. She couldn’t restrain her scream anymore and she shouted form the top of her lungs when some sort of a white dog appeared from nowhere just in front of her. She covered quickly, understanding that she exposed her precise location now. She watched the white dog with teary eyes as it came really close to her, so close that she could feel his warm breath on her hands. The red ruby she was wearing mirrored strangely in its eyes. Just before she would react in anyway the “dog” howled, making her to cover her face in fear.

A single thud, a short squeal and then everything turned quiet. The only noise was her beating heart and her heavy breaths.  She uncovered her eyes slowly.  An incontrollable quiver spread through all of her body. She got up, still shaking. Leaning on every tree she encountered, she advanced towards the big lighting pole from several feet away.

***

A couple of lurching footsteps made him blink twice as fast until  his sight got clear. He was looking at his feet and his hands were crossed above his head. When the footsteps got close enough, he raised his eyes but just to see a falling body over him. He quickly caught it, helping it to reach the ground safely. The long, red hair pointed out a female body. He slowly turned it face up and watched it. It was indeed a girl’s body, a beautiful young girl. Even though she was a total stranger for him, she could’ve been his latest victim. He stared at her until the blood on her shoulder started coloring the cold asphalt. He gasped loudly understanding that she was indeed what he feared the most. He gathered his strength, got her in his arms and quickly looked for a way out of this maze that seemed to be nothing more but an unknown park. While he was hurrying on the narrow alleys he couldn’t help asking how was she able to escape from him. The fact that he haven’t once again awaken in a blood bath, but he instead  met the one he was about to slaughter, made him think that either he was getting weaker or this girl was something special. He had to shake his head several times to cleanse the road from the tears covering his eyes.

He took a deep breath then easily hit the white door with the tip of his shoe. In less than two seconds Jiyong opened up, freezing in the doorstep.

“Hyung…” he barely slurred.

Seunghyun heard his friend saying something more but he couldn’t listen to him right now. He rushed the girl to his bed and carefully placed her in.

“Did you…” Jiyong came following him.

“I don’t know!” he snapped before Ji got to finish his sentence.

“Are… are you OK?...” Ji struggled to ask this simple question for his eyes kept being drawn by the girl’s wound.   

“No…” Seunghyun answered gathering his hair up in his palms.

He was absently watching the girl in his bed when Ji’s voice scared him again:

“Who is she?”

“I don’t know!” he flinched visibly. He fearfully caressed her hair. “I don’t know…” he whispered touching her wounded shoulder.

“What you’re trying to do?!” Ji stopped his hands when he started ping the sweatshirt she was wearing.

Seunghyun couldn’t take this question seriously, so he kept on pulling the cloth until it came off. He folded it in half and threw it away. On its way to the armchair, it rolled over revealing the contents of its pockets. His heart stopped beating for a second when his big black eyes mirrored the same red ruby as the one Lee Yong noona wore.

“Hyung…” Jiyong picked it up. “…isn’t this…” he asked carefully checking it up.

Seunghyun simply nodded while gathering up everything else – some banknotes and a library pass.

“Park RinNah…” he read it out loud. “It doesn’t mean anything…” he said massaging his temples, trying to remember something that it just wasn’t there. Suddenly he remembered something. He rolled his eyes around and asked: “…where are the…” he would’ve said ‘the guys’ but he wasn’t sure he was still allowed to have such an informal language towards them.

“They all went to the hospital with…” usually Ji would’ve use ‘kiddo’ but today he summed it up as formal as he could: “… with Lee Seunghyun” he said coldly, stabbing Seunghyun’s heart. Him and the youngster shared the same surnames, so that’s why everybody called the younger ‘Seungri’ or ‘kid’. 

“He claimed he couldn’t breathe anymore” Ji quietly mumbled.

Seunghyun couldn’t find a response to this, he dropped his eyes on the white towel he took to clean the girl’s shoulder.

***

The first ribbon of light slowly tickled the shut almond eyes. The black bags underneath them marked the sleepless night he had, and so did the great pain in his stomach. He quickly opened his eyes when Seunghyun’s big hand came back to grab his throat. He slowly calmed down looking around. He was alone in the white, hospital room. Two hurried tears dashed across his face. He slowly got off the bed looking at the smashed window in front of him. The pain in his stomach stole him a long sigh and a big frown when he lifted his blouse. A big bloody – black exfoliating wound stretched from his waist line towards the ribs. He quickly covered it back, sighing. He easily kicked out of his way the window’s blinds that were laying on the floor, crumpled up. The entire room looked like there was a fight in there, but he didn’t care, he just needed to get out of this place as soon as possible.