⚠️ TRIGGER WARNING: bullying, stalking and violence

 

"WHERE is Chani?" Zuho asked in an annoyed tone. The three friends, whom Chani was supposed to meet up with, now stood in front of the ticket booth of the movie theater.

Hwiyoung and Taeyang shrugged as they had no clue. "Maybe he forgot his wallet again," Hwiyoung pondered aloud.

They waited for another ten minutes and played around with the game machines in the lobby. When there was still no sign of their friend, the three decided to go look for him.

………….

A thumping sound could be heard in a small alley between two houses.

Chani was holding his hands in front of his face to avoid any more damage. His ribs were getting most of the beating from the bully leader's shoe. It felt like his sides would break if this went on any longer.

If his friends hadn't noticed that he never showed up without calling, then something was wrong with them. He couldn't tell if they had tried to call though because the bullies had turned off his phone.

"Where's the money? Did you spend it?" the leader interrogated. 

Chani refused to speak so the kicking continued. 

When the other kids had finished searching through Chani's wallet, they threw it at his face. "There's nothing. Only 10,000 won," said one of them.

Just then, an old man appeared from the main street with a cane in his hand. "What are you kids doing to your friend? I'm calling the police!"

Not wanting to risk their freedom, the bad kids left Chani on the ground and ran away quickly.

Chani felt terrible, but he didn't want to bother the old man anymore. Getting off the ground with some effort, he picked up his wallet, thanked the man, and ran off.

Some friends he had. They had probably just watched the movie anyway.

………….

With no sign of Chani, Hwiyoung started to get worried, "Guys, what if he's in the hospital or worse?" Zuho whacked the back of his friend's head, "Stop talking like that. He probably went home. It's one of the few places we haven't checked yet." Taeyang nodded in agreement while Hwiyoung still remained skeptical.

Upon reaching Chani's house, they were greeted by Youngbin at the door. He informed them that Chani wasn't feeling well and didn't want to talk to anyone.

It was odd, but the three decided to go home for the night and talk to Chani on Monday.

……….

When Monday arrived, Chani was nowhere to be found. His friends looked all over the school for him and still had no luck.

The bullies were not able to find Chani either which made them go on a warpath to find him.

At lunchtime, Taeyang spotted Youngbin in the hall. Upon catching up with the senior, he asked if Chani was at school.

"Yeah, we both walked here together. How have you not seen him?" replied Youngbin.

After this new information, the friends were determined to search harder. One place they hadn't checked was the roof which is where they went after school was finished.

They waited for a long time until Hwiyoung jumped up from the ledge he was leaning on. "It's Chani!" he pointed in disbelief.

As they watched, they saw Chani being followed by someone. Both were acting suspicious so the trio ran downstairs to follow them.

There was no sign of Chani or his follower when they reached the place he had been.

Zuho was annoyed and kicked a stray bottle on the ground, "Let's go find him."

………….

Chani knew someone was behind him but didn't dare to turn around. His pursuer seemed to be walking at a slower pace which could just be a coincidence.

However, Chani was going in the direction of the abandoned house. The person continued to follow him.

A bully was most definitely following. So, Chani decided to put his plan into action.

Picking up his pace out of nowhere, Chani dashed over to the house. There was debris and overgrowth cluttering the yard. Chani rounded the building and dodged behind a rather gnarled bush.

He heard the footsteps of the bully get closer and was soon able to see his shoes. He was so close that Chani had to hold his breath to keep from getting caught.

He was relieved when the person opened the back door and went inside. After a couple more seconds, Chani knew what he had to do. Even if the bully saw Chani now, he wouldn't be able to catch up again. Chani bolted from his hiding spot and flew down the sidewalk.

Once he had gotten a distance away, he noticed that there was nobody following him at all. Chani shivered as the icy fall wind hit him, and he ran all the way home without stopping.