South Korea was nothing like I had imagined. I had found a small apartment in the middle of Seoul, the capital. I had only been living there for two months, but life was a bit challenging. City-life was challenging. I found myself not sleeping for a couple of weeks from how much traffic there was. There were no trees nor hills; just people and skyscrapers. It was a bit overwhelming, but yet I found myself slowly fitting in the best I could.

         I still got stares from children and old ladies every time I took the bus. I understood why, though; They had never seen blonde hair before. I even found some shops that I enjoyed going to. My neighbors were fine. They were always polite when they saw me, but never stayed long enough to hold a conversation. Everyone here seemed to be…shy.

         I was lucky enough to find a teaching job at a nice high school. That was where I finally started to make some acquaintances within my coworkers. They were all welcoming and kind, filled with questions. None as many as my students. I was only a temporary teacher, however. I was just there to fill in till summer break; which was coming up soon. During summer break, the faculty would talk it over if they thought I could stay. I was pretty much guaranteed to stay, but rules are rules. I was finally starting to enjoy this new life I made for myself.

         “Lucy!” Ji-ae called out as she ran into my classroom. She was the math teacher down the hall. She had chestnut brown hair that was always tied in a ponytail. Her face and body were petite, and she was full of life.

         “What is it?” I asked, not looking up as I put the many paper on my desk away. She grabbed my hand grinning.

         “Everyone is going out for a drink tonight. Please come with us.” She pleaded.

I sighed, “I really shouldn’t. I have a lot of homework to correct, and besides, I barely speak to anyone.” She pouted.

         “Nonsense! Everyone loves you and WANTS you to come. Besides, it’s Friday. You can’t work all the time.” She had a point. Ever since I got this job, I spent my time either grading homework or jogging around the local parks.

I looked at her wearily, “But I don’t really even drink that much.” She tilted her head at me in confusion.

         “I’ve never met someone who didn’t drink, but can’t you just take a shot or something? Please come!” I shrugged my shoulders, caving in.

         “Alright, why not.” I smiled.

She beamed at me, “Great! Meet us at this location at 9pm.” She then ran off giggling. I couldn’t help but laugh. She was so youthful and charming. I grabbed the rest of my things as I left for home.

         As I walked to the bar I couldn’t help but take in the night summer air. It wasn’t dark yet, but it still felt a lot calmer compared to the usual morning and afternoon. Even the other people on the sidewalk seemed to be at peace. Everything was just so refreshing. It was times like these that I liked to take a moment to look at everything. That’s when my eyes caught an old dark building on the other side of the road. It stood out compared to the other building because, it looked…well…burnt. Normally it would have looked eerie, but the building, to me, just looked pitiful.

         “Lucy, thanks for coming!” Ji-ae had jumped on my back. I managed to steady myself from falling as she latched on to me.

I laughed, “I’m glad you convinced me to come out.” I noticed that we were standing outside the bar. I must have spaced out too much to not see it before.

         “By the way, what were you looking at?” Ji-ae asked, as we sat down. Everyone else was already seated, pouring each other drinks.

         “Oh, I was just looking around. I noticed that old building over there, but I didn’t really know what is was there for.” I explained. The vice principle, Mr. Lee, laughed next us.

He began, “That building used to be a warehouse. It was used quite a bit, too, but a couple years ago some damn hooligans were being foolish and set it on fire. The owner didn’t think it was worth it to dump money into it, so it just sat there ever since.” We nodded in amazement.

         “I’m surprised it hasn’t fallen down yet. Shouldn’t something burnt like that fall apart?” I questioned. Mr. Lee merely shrugged.

         “The building may look like crap now, but it was built pretty damn sturdy. Everything on the inside was destroyed, but the foundation stands. I wouldn’t recommend jumping or running around the roof, but if you walked inside, you would be just fine.” I nodded once more.

         Everyone was slamming down drinks laughing, singing, telling jokes; I really enjoyed myself. I stopped drinking after I felt a slight buzz hit, but that didn’t stop the fun at all. I felt closer than ever to everyone. Before I knew it, it was a little past midnight, and I was a bit sad our time together was over.

         “Are you sure you’ll be ok going home?” I asked Ji-ae as she leaned on me. Her face was flushed as she stumbled.

         “I’ma be fiiiinnnee, Luty. I’mm takin a tashi.” She slurred.

         “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure she makes it home safe.” I looked up to see Hyungsoo take her from my arms. Hyungsoo is a physics teacher. Him and Ji-ae had been seeing each other for a while now. He didn’t sound drunk at all as he waved a taxi down, but the smell on his breath told a different story. By now, the rest of the group had made their leave. “Are you sure you’ll be ok walking home?”

I smiled at him, “Don’t worry, I’m not really drunk and I know my way back home.” He nodded then got into the taxi.

         “Ok, be safe guys.” I smiled. Ji-ae stuck her head out the window.

         “BYYYYEEEE LUSHHHIIIII!” She yelled as the taxi drove off. I laughed at the scenario before breathing in the night air. Dusk had finally fallen upon me and the streets were empty. It was quiet once again. I glanced at the warehouse once more. The night sky gave the building an ominous feeling, but I didn’t pay it much head as I started on my way home.

Pat-pat

         The sound of feet running made me quickly forget how to walk. I turned back around to see a mop of orange hair run into the building. It was a guy, though I didn’t catch a good look. I caught myself hunching over behind a trash can as I watched another guy with black hair walk leisurely into the building after him. Then another guy with pinkish hair ran in to, followed by a guy with something poking out of his hands. Then I saw two guys, one with silver hair, the other with blonde, dragging an unconscious man in a suite into the building. My heart thumped against my chest when the final man with light brown hair shut the door behind all of them.

         ‘What’s going on?’ I thought. ‘Are they going to harm that man? What was in that guy’s hand? Do I call the police?’ I couldn’t really see any of their faces, and there is no guarantee that they were going to do something bad…but what if they were. I didn’t even realize what I had done until I found myself standing in front of the door to the building. My head was screaming at me to turn around now.

         ‘Run! Pretend you didn’t see anything!’ I begged myself, ‘But I did see something, and they hadn’t seen me.’ I slowly opened the door to peak in. I noticed that no one was there. Subconsciously, the breath I had been holding was released. I walked in, carefully closing the door behind me. I quietly walked around noticing all the burnt wood and metal, the boxes that had sat there in dust, and the slightly a-jarred door in the back. The voices in that room appeared to get louder so I dashed quickly to the nearest box to hide behind. Luckily, they couldn’t see me.

         “Hyung, what do you want us to do with him?” The blonde hair asked as he pushed the business man on the ground. His face looked like it got bashed in. The light brown haired man walked casually around the poor man.

         “We ask him some questions.” He grabbed the back of the man’s hair, making him yelp. “Alright mister Choi, tell us where can we find your boss. If you tell us, we might just spare you.” The man was trembling.

         “I-I don’t know.” He whimpered. The guy nodded then snapped his fingers.

         “Suga,” he called, “I think he needs some convincing.” The black haired man, Suga, pointed a gun right at the man’s face. The man began to cry. “You see, I thought the pain in your poor face would have told you not to lie to us, but I guess not. So, I’m going to ask again, but if you don’t answer I can’t promise you what my friend, Suga, will do.” The guy that appeared to be the leader walked around slowly before bending down again, “Where is your boss?”

The business man began to cry loudly, “I s-swear. I don’t know where he is. Please, I have a family.” The guy with orange hair laughed.

         “Maybe you shouldn’t have gotten into this type of business then.” He smirked.

BANG! I covered my eyes as I heard the gun fire, but I quickly opened them again when I heard screaming. The man had been shot in the knee.

         “You should really just answer the question.” Suga remarked, “For your family’s sake.”

         “ you!” The man screamed, crying. Three men in the back, blonde, silver, and brown were laughing at that. The leader glared at them.

         “V, Jimin, Jungkook! Be silent!” They all quickly fell deaf but the smirks never left their faces. The leader turned back to the man.

         “Next bullet will go through your head. This is your last chance. Where is your boss?” The man bitterly looked at him.

         “The last time I saw him; he was in Gwangju. I swear I don’t know anything else.” The leader then nodded.

         “Alright, fair enough.” He began talking to the pink haired man before the business man spoke again.

         “I swear I will have the police find you! You are all dead!” He yelled. The leader chuckled.

         “I thought you would say something like that.” He turned to the pink haired man, “Jin?” Jin sighed shaking his head at the business man.

         “I got this. Come help me Jhope, Jungkook.” Jin said as he grabbed the poor man, dragging him through the door.

         “Our pleasure.” Jhope laughed. I couldn’t help the quiet yelp I let slip as I heard 3 more shots fire. My heart was pounding, not just for the fact that a man died mere feet from me, but also because, I could have sworn the one they called Jimin noticed the noise I made. I tried to calm myself as he glanced over in my direction.

         ‘Please don’t come over here, please don’t come over here.’ I repeatedly begged silently.

         “Hyung, “Jimin spoke to the leader, turning his attention away from my direction. “What do we do next?”

         “I don’t know why you guys don’t just call me Rapmon or Rap monster or my name.” He muttered.

V spoke up, “Cause it’s weird.” Rapmon glared.

         “Just keep watch of the area. V, you take left side, Suga you take right side, Jimin you take front. I’m going to cover the back as Jin, Jungkook, and Jhope finish getting rid of him. Move out!” Everyone left the main room leaving me in the empty building.

         ‘What do I do?’ I curled myself up in a fetal-position. ‘I could stay, but I swear that Jimin guy saw me. What if he tries to burn the place down again? What if they stay here all night? What if this is their base? I could try to run, but they seem to have everything guarded.’ I started to quiver as panic sank in. ‘What if I call the police?’ I carefully pulled out my phone, making sure silent was on so they wouldn’t hear it ring, but then I noticed that there was no signal.

         “Of course, the one place in a giant city that doesn’t have a connection.” I muttered. I had no other options. “I have to make a run for it.” I looked around to make sure no one was around before slipping to the front door. I cracked it open to see that there was no one in sight. I crept out, hiding in a bush nearby, looking around to see if anyone was there; No one.

         “I was wondering when you were going to come out of hiding.” I heard a chuckled behind me. I didn’t even hesitate to look. I made a bolt down the sidewalk, pushing my legs as fast as they would go. I could see a house with lights on as I came closer to a crosswalk.

         ‘Almost there’ I screamed in my head before I felt something hit me in the back. It was sharp, it stung, and I felt my body collapse on the ground as warmth cloaked my body. The only pain I felt was from my hands scraping against the sidewalk. I heard the sweet chuckle again, before Jimin came into view.

         “I got to say, you surprised me by running.” He was speaking more to himself than to me. “But alas, you weren’t fast enough sweetie.” I felt sleep sink in as I heard other footsteps approach me.